tBK/ SAN D»6eO riiE GREEK TRAGIC TPIEATRE CONTVIMNG ^SCHYLUS BY DR. POTTER, SOPHOCLES BY DR. FRANCKLIN, EURIPIDES BY IMICII. WODHULF^ ESQ. A NEW EDITION, Iicvised and corrected ihroughoid hy the Translator; A DISSERTATION ON ANTIENT TRAGEDY, BY THOMAS FRANCKLIN, D. D. L'.TE GREEK PROFESSOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE;. TV FIVE VOLUMES, VOL. IV. CONTAINING EURIPIDES. LONDON: pIlINTEn FOR JOHN WALKER ; T. PAYNE ; VERNOR, HOOD, & SHARPE ; R. LEA; J. NUNN ; CUTHELL & M'aRTIN ; E JEFFFRY LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME ; LACKINCTON, ALLEN, cS.' CO. ; J. BOOKER ; J. RIC'IARDSON; BLACK, PARRY, <& KINGSBURY; J. FAULDER ; i, ASPERNE; AND J. HAJIKIS. 180O. CONTENTS. VOL. II. PAGE. Suppliants 1 Tphigenia in Aulis - "65 Iphigenia in Tauris 157 Rhesus ^39 Trojan Captives 289 Bacchanalians 347 Cyclops 411 Children of Hercules 451 THE SUPPLIANTS. Pacsanias. VOL. II. PERSONS OF THE DRAMA, .tTHRA* CHORUS OF ARGIVE MATRONS. THESEUS. ADRASTUS. HERALD. MESSENGER. EVADNE. IPHIS. A BOY, SUPPOSED TO EE MELON THE SON OF EtEOCIIs. MINERVA. SCENE— THE TEMPLE OF CERES, AT ELEUSINE, IN TIJE ATHENL^N TERRITORY. THE SUPPLIANTS. iETHRA, CHORUS, ADRASTUS. jETHRA. 1 nou guardian power of Eleusine's land, Ceres, and ye venerable Priests Of that benignant Goddess, who attend This temple, blessings for myself I crave. For my son Theseus, Athens, and the (l) realm Of Pitheus, w4io, when his paternal care, Had rear'd my childhood in a wealthy house. Gave me to iEgeus, to Pandion's son. So Phoebus' oracles decreed. These prayers 1 offer'd up when I yon aged Matrons Beheld, who their abodes at Argos leave. And with their suppliant branches at my knee* Fall prostrate, having sufFer'd dreadful woes: Now are they childless; for before the gates Of Thebes were slain their seven illustrious sons Whom erst Adrastus King of Argos led To battle, when for exil'd Polynices His son in law, he strove to gain a share Of Oedipus' inheritance. The corses Of those who by the hostile spear were slain Their Mothers would consign to earth ; but spurning The laws which righteous Heaven ordain'd, the victors Will not allow them to remove the dead. But needing equally with them my succour Adrastus shedding many a tear, lies stretcht On earth, bewailing the disastrous fate Of those brave troops whom he to battle led. Oft he conjures me to implore my son, JEither by treaty, or his forceful spear, (^1) Troezena. i -£■ 4 THE SUPPLIANTS. Back from those hostile fields to bring the slain And lodge them in a tomb : on him alone And Athens, he this honourable task Imposes. Hither were the victims borne. That we a prosperous tillage may obtain. And for this cause I from my house am come Into this temple, where the bearded (^) grain First rising from the fruitful soil appear'd. Holding louse sprays of foliage in my hand, I wait before the unpolluted altars Of Proserpine and Ceres; for these Mothers Grown hoar wiih age and of their children reft, With pity mov'd, and to the sacred branches Yielding a due respect. I to the city Have sent a herald to call Theseus hither. That from the Theban land he may remove The causes of their sorrow, or the Gods Appeasing by some pious rites, release me From the constraint these suppliant Dames impose. In all emergencies discretion bids Our feeble sex to seek man's needful aid. CHORUS. An aged woman prostrate at thy knees, Thee I implore my children to redeem Wlio welter on a foreign plain, unnerv'd By death and to the savage beasts a prey : Thou see'st the piteous tears which from these eyes Unbidden start, and torn with desperate hands My wrinkled flesh. What hope remains for me. Who neither, at my home, have been allow'd The corses of my children to stretch forth. Nor lieap*d with earth behold their tombs arise ? Thou, too, illustrious Dame, hast borne a Son (2) Brodseus has collected testimonies from a Greek glossary t# Homer, Phurmitns, Aristides, and Pansanias, to show that Eleusine was the place where coi-n first made its appeaitince, upon which tlie grate- ful inliabitants erected the famous temple of Ceres on tlie spot whence tliey first reaped her bouutiei. THE SUPPLIANTS. Crowning tlie utmost vvislies of thy Lord, Speak therefore what thou think'st of our distress In language suited to the griefs 1 feel For thf deceas'd whom I brought forth; persuade Thy Son, whose succour we implore, to march Across Ismenos' channel, and consign To me the bodies of the siaughter'd youths. That I beneath the monumental stone May bury them with every sacred rite. Though not by mere necessity constrain'd. We at thy knees fall down and urge our suit Before these altars of the Gods, where smokes The frequent incense : for our cause is just: And through the prosperous ioitunes of thy Son With power sufficient to remove our woes Art thou endued: but since the ills I suffer Thy pity claim, a miserable suppliant, I crave that to these arms thou would'st restore My Son, and grant me to embrace his corse. jETHRA. ODE. I. Here a fresh groupe of mourners stands. Your followers in succession wring their hands. CHORUS. Attune expressive notes of anguish, O ye sympathetic choir. And in harmonious accents languish, Such as Pluto loves t' inspire. Tear those cheeks of pallid hue. And let gore your bosoms stain. For from the living is such honour due To the shades of heroes slain. Whose corses welter on th' embattled plain. JL I feel a pleasing sad relief, Unsated as I brood o'er scenes of grief; 6 THE SUPPLIANTS. My lamentations never ending. Are like the moisture of the sea In diops from some high rock descending. Which flows to all eternity. For those youths who breathe no more Nature bids the Mother weep And with incessant lears their loss deplore.: In oblivion would I steep My woes, and welcome death's perpetual sleep. THESEUS, iETHRA, ADPtASTUS, CHORUS. THESEUS. What plaints are these I hear ? who strike their breasts j, Attuning lamentations for the dead In such loud notes as issue from the fane? Borne hither by my fears with winged speed, I come to see if any recent ill May have befallen my Mother; she from home Hath long been absent. — Ha! what objects new And strange are these which now mine eyes behold r Fresh questions hence arise : my aged Mother Close to the altar seated with a band Of foreign matrons, who their woes express In various warbled notes, and on the ground Shed from their venerable eyes a stream Of tears : their heads are shorn, nor is their garb Suited to those who tend the sacred rites? What means all this? My Mother, say; from you I wait for information, and expect Some tidings of importance. ^THRA. O my Son These are the Mothers of those seven fam'd chief* Who perish'd at the gates of Thebes : you see JIovv they with suppliant branches on all sides Jincompass me. THESEUS. But who is he who groans THE SUPPLIANTS. 7 So piteously, stretcht forth before the gate ? iETHRA. Adrastus, they inform me, king of Argos. THESEUS. Are they who stand around, those (3) Matrons* Sons? JETHRA. Not theirs ; they are the children of the slain. THEbEUS. Why with those supi>iiant tokens in their hands Come they to us ? JETHRA. I know: but it behoves Them, O my Son, their errand to unfold. THESEUS. To thee who in a fleecy cloak art wrapp'd. My questions I address : thy head unveil. Cease to lament, and speak; for while thy tongue Utters no accent, nought canst thou obtain. ADRASTUS. O king of the Athenian land, renown'd For your victorious arms, to you, O Theseus. And to your city, I a suppliant come. THESEUS. What's thy pursuit, and what is it thouneed'st? ADRASTUS. Know you not how ill-fated was the host I led ? THESEUS. Thou didst not pass thro' Greece in silence. ADRASTUS. The noblest youths of Ary;os there 1 lost. THESEUS. Such dire effects from luckless vvar arise, (3) Finding by Dr. Musgrave's note, that there is the authority of a manuscript for reading tutj.-v instead of T«Ta, I gladly avail myself of it, as an amendment of the text wliicli Mmerva's apostrophe at the close of this play to iEgialeus son of Adrastus strongly supports. 6 THE SUPPLIANTS. ADRASTUS. From Thebes I claim'd the bodies of the slain. THESF.US. Did'st tliou rely on Heralds to procure Leave to inter the dead ? ADRASTUS. But they who slew them Deny this favour. THESEUS. What can they allege 'Gainst a re,qucst which justice must approve? ADRASTUS. Ask not the reason : they are now elate With a success they know not how to bear. THESEUS. Art thou come hither to consult me then. Or on what errand ? ADRASTUS. 'Tis my wish, O Theseus, That you the Sons of Argos would redeem. THESEUS. But where is Argos now f were all her boasts Of no effect ? ADRASTUS. . » We by this one defeat Are ruin'd, and to you for succour come. THESEUS. This on thy private judgement, or the voice Of the whole city? ADRASTUS. All the race of Danaus Implore you to inter the slain. THESEUS. Why led'st thou 'Gainst Thebes seven squadrons? ADRASTUS. To confer a favour On my two Sons in law. ' THE SUPPLIANTS. THESEUS. To what brave chiefs Of Argos didst thou give thy Daughters' hands? ADRASTUS. My family in wedlock I with those Ol our own nation join'd not. THESEUS. Didst thou yield Those Argive damsels to some foreign bridegrooms? ADRASTUS. ToTydeus; and to Polynices sprung From Tlieban sires. THESEUS. What dotage could induce thee To form alliances like these ? ADRASTUS. Dark riddles Phoebus propounded, which my judgement sway'd. THESEUS. Such' union for the virgins to prescribe, What said Apollo ? ADRASTUS. That I must bestow My Daughters on the lion and the boar. THESEUS. But how didst thou interpret this response Of the prophetic God ? ADRASTUS. By night two exiles Came, to my door, THESEUS. Say, who and who : thou speak'st Of both at once, ADRASTUS. Together Tyd»i must be eor- nipt, Aihastus being King of Argos, and not of Sparta, but has sug- gested notliing in its stead; Heath, Markland, and 3Iusgrave, concur in substituting u.'ij.>i saeva or iinmitis ; wliich removes the objection. THE SUPPLIANTS. 13 Have on this subject held a stiong- (7) dispute; For some there are who say the ills which wait On man exceed his joys; but 1 maintain The contrary opinion, that our Hves More bHss than woe experience. For if this Were not the fact, we could not still continue To view the sun. That God, whoe'er he was I praise, who sever'd moitais from a life Of wild confusion, and of brutal force. Implanting reason first, and then a tongue That might by sounds aiticulate proclaim Our thoughts, bestowing fruit for food, and drops Of rain descending from the skies, to nourish Earth's products, and refresh the thirst of man. Yet more, fit coverings, from the wintry cold To guard us, and Hyperion's scorching ra3'^s; The art of sailing o'er the briny deep. That we by commerce may supply the wants Of distant regions, to these gifts by Heaven Is ad, v. 430, that Adi-astus bound himself by an oath to rciuitate them in their king- doms, and thus involved his own country in ruin to support his sons in law. (9) The passage included in a parenthesis is translated from three lines, which first made their appearance in an antient edition I have never been able to meet with, which is without date of year or place, but sup- posed to have been printed at Francfort, by Peter Brubach, whose edi- tion of Sophocles was published in 1544; being omitted by subsequent editors, they were unknown to most readers of Euripides till Reiskiui inserted them in his observations on this Author, printed at Leipsic 1764. Mr, INIarkland has given me the example of thus inserting them in the text, and Dr. Musgrave has admitted them iu his notes ; Barnes appear* 16 THE SUPPLIANTS. Those who unjiislly suffer, and ihe teni's OF these your hapless kinched are you bound To leverenee. for vour Motlier was the Dauohter Of Pitheus) Pelops' Son ; born in that hind ^ Which bears the name of" Pelops, we partake One origin with you : will you betray T^hese sacred ties, and from your realm cast forth Yon hoary suppliants, nor allow the boon Which at your hands they merit? act not thus; For in the rocks hath the wild beast a place Of refuge, in the altars of the Gods The slave : a city harrass'd by the storm Flies to some neighbouring city : for there's nought On earth that meets with everlasting bliss. CHORUS. Pise, hapless woman, from thishallow'd fane Of Proserpine, to meet him ; clasp his knees. Entreat him to bestow funereal rites On our slain Sons, w-hom in the bloom of youth Beneath the walls of Thebes I lost : my Friends, Lift fiom the ground, support me, bear along. Stretch forth these miserable, these aged hands. Thee, O thou most belov'd and most renown'd Of Grecian chiefs, I by that beard conjure, While at thy knees thus prostrate, on the ground I for my Sons, a wretched suppliant sue, Or, like some helpless vagabond, pour forth The warbled lamentation. Generous Youth, Thee I entreat, let not my Sons, whose age "W^as but the same with thine, in Thebes remain Unburied, for the sport of savage beasts! Behold, what tears stream from these swumming eyes. As thus I kneel before thee, to procure, For my slain Sons, an honorable grave. to liave been a stranger to tliis passage, and never to liave seen Briibach's etiition, but liis own conjecture supplied a verse very nearly similar to the lost of the tliree, as necessary to fill up the chasm. THE SUPPLIANTS. 17 THESEUS. Why, O my Mother, do you shed the tear. Covering your eyes with that transparent veil? Is it because you heard their plaints? I too Am much affected, liaise your hoary head. Nor weep while seated at the holy altar Of Ceres. JETHRA. Ah! For their afflictions. THESEUS. You ought not thus to groan ^THRA. O ye wretched Dames ! THESEUS. You are not one of them. ^THRA. Shall I propose A scheme, my Son, your glory to encrease. And that of Athens? THESEUS. Wisdom oft hath flow'd From female lips, HLTURA. I meditated words Of such importance, that they make me pause. THESEUS. \ ou speak amiss, we from our friends should hide Nought that is useful. iETHRA. If I now were mute. Myself hereafter might I justly blame For keeping a dishonourable silence. Nor thro* the fear lest eloquence should prove Of no effect, when issuing from the mouth Of a weak woman, will I thus forego An honourable task. My Son, I first VOL. II. . C 18 THE SUPPLIANTS. Exhort you to regard the will of Heaven, Lest tliro' neglect you eir, else will yon favl In this one point, though you in all beside Think rightly. 1 moreover still had kept INly temper calm, il" to redress the wrongs Which they endure, an enterprising soul Had not been re(|uisite. But now, my Son, A field of glory opens to your view. Nor these bold counsels scruple I to urge That by your conquering arm you would compcH Those men of violence, who from the slain Withhold their just inheritance a tomb, Such necessary duty to perform. And quell those impious miscreants who confound The usages establish'd through all Greece: For the firm bond which peopled cities holds In union, is th' observance of the laws. But some there are who will assert, '^ that fear " Effeminately caus'd thee to forego " Those wreaths of fame thy country might have gain'cf; " Erst with a (10) bristled monster of the woods ** Didst thou engage, nor shun th' inglorious strife: " But now calTd forth to face the burnish'd helm "• And pointed spear art found to be a dastard." Let not my Son act thus : your native land. Which for a want of prudence hath been scorn'd. You see, tremendous as a Gorgon, rear Its front against the scorner : for it grows Under the pressure of severest toils. The deeds of peaceful cities are obscure. And caution bounds their views. Will you not march, JNJy Son^ to succour the illustrious dead, (10) A wild Sow, named Pha-a, which infested the fields of Ciomyon near Corinth. Phitaroh speaks of Thescns' slaving this beast as one of his earliest exploits ; and Ovid as one of those by whirh he proved him- self a beiWfiictor to mankind. Stiubo calls this Sow Mother to tlie Ca- lydonian Boar which was killed by Mclcager. THE SUPPLIANTS. ig Am] these afflicted Matrons? for your safety I I'ear not, while with justice you go forth To battle. Though I now on Cadmus' Sons Behold auspicious Fortune smile, 1 trust They will ere long experience the reverse Of her unstable die : for she o'erturn All that is great and gloiious. CHORUS. Dearest ^thra, Well didst thou plead Adrastus' cause and mine: Hence twofold joy I feel. THESEUS. He hath dcserv'd Mother, the severe reproofs which flovv'd From my indignant tongue, and I my thoughts Of those pernicious counsels whence arose His ruin, have express'd. Yet I perceive AV^hat you suggest, that ill would it become The character I have maintain'd, to fly From danger. After many glorious deeds Atchiev'd, among the Greeks, I chose this office. An exemplary punishment t' inflict On all the wicked. Therefore from no toils Can I shrink back, for what would those who hate me Have to allege, when you who gave me birth. And tremble for my safety, are the first Who bid me enter on the bold emprise ? 1 on this errand go, and will redeem The dead by words persuasive, or if words Are ineflectuah vvith protended spear. And in an instant, if the envious Gods Refuse not their assistance. But I wish That the whole city may a sanction give : They to my pleasure their assent would yield 5 But lo the scheme, if I propose it first To be debated, I si 1 all find the people More favourable : for them 1 tirade suprem,^, c 2 20 THE SUPPLIANTS. And oil this city, with an equal right For all to vote, its freedom have bestovtr'd. Taking Adrastus with me for a proof Of my assertions, midst the crowd I'll go. And vvlien 1 have persuaded them, collecting A chosen squadron of Athenian youths. Hither return, and halting under arms, To Creon send a message to request The bodies of the slain. But from my Mother, Ye aged Dames, those holy boughs remove, That I may take her by that much-lov'd hand. And to the royal dome of -3Egeus lead. Vile is that Son, who to iiis parents yields No grateful services, for, from his children, He who such glorious tribute pays, receives Whate'er through filial duty he bestovv'd. CHORUS. ODE. I. 1. O Argos, fam'd for steeds, my native plain. Sure thou, with all Pelasgia's wide domain, Hast heard the King's benevolent design, And wilt in grateful strains revere the Powei's Divine. I. 2. May Theseus put an end to all my woes. Rescuing those bloody corses from our foes Still objects of maternal love ; his aid Shall by th' Inachian realm*s attachment be repaid. II. 1. To pious deeds belongs a mighty name, And cities sav'd procure eternal fame. Will he do this ; with us in friendship join. And to the peaceful tomb our slaughtered Sons consign II. 2. Minerva's town, support a Mother's cause. Thou from pollution canst preserve the laws THE SUPPLIANTS. 21 Which man holds sacred, thou rever'st the right, Sett'st the afflicted free, and queli'st outrageous might, THESEUS, ADRASTUS, CHORUS. THESEUS TO A Herald. Thou, always practising this art, has serv'd Thy city, and to various regions borne jVJy embassies: when therefore thou hast cross'd Asopus, and Isinenos' stream, address The Theban Monarch in these courteous words; '^ Theseus, who dwells in an adjacent reahii, *' And hath a right such favour to receive, '* Requests you as a friend t' inter the dead, ^' And gain the love of all Ercctheus' race.'* To this petition if they yield assent, Come back again in peace : if they refuse, Thy second message shall be this; " My band *' Of chosen youths in glittering mail array'd *^ They must expect : for at the sacred fount *^ Callichore, e*en now the assembled host *' Halts under arms, prepar'd for instant fight.'* For in this arduous enterprise, with zeal The city of its own accord engag'd, When they perceiv'd my wish. But who intrudes E'en while I yet am speaking? he appears To be a Theban Herald, though t doubt it. Stay; for thy errand he may surpersede, And by his coming obviate my designs. THEBAN HERALD, THESEUS, ADRASTUS, CHORUS. THEBAN HERALD. Who is the sovereign ruler ol' this land? To whom must 1 unfold the message sent By Creon who presides o'er the domains Of Cadmus, since before Thebes* seven-fold gates 22 THE SUPPLIANTS; Slain by his Brother Polynices' liand Eteocles expir'd i THESEUS. With an untruth Thy speech, O stranger, hast thou op'd by asking For a King here: for Athens, this free city, By no one man is govern 'd, but the people Kule in succession year by year ; to vveakh No preference is allow'd, but the poor man An equal share of empire doth possess. THEBAN HERALD. By yielding up this point, to me you grant Advantage such as equals the first throw At dice; the city whence I came is rul'd By one man only, not by multitudes: No crafty orator with specious words For his own interest turns the wavering minds Of its inhabitants, tliis moment dear To all around, and lavish of his favours. The next a public bane, yet he conceals By some fresh calumny his errors past. And scapes the stroke of justice. How can they Who no sound judgements form, the people, guide A city well ? for Time instead of Haste Affords the best instructions. But the man Who tills the ground, by poverty deprest, If to that poverty he add the want Of due experience, through the manual toils He is engag'd in, to the public good Can ne'er look up. Those too of noble birth Are much disgusted when the worthless hold Posts of the highest rank, and he who erst Was nothing, with his tongue beguiles the crowd. THESEUS. This witty Herald to his message adds The flowers of eloquence. But on this strife 3ince thou hast enter'd, hear me ; for 'twas thou THE SUPPLTANTS. 23 That gav'st the challenge to debate : no curse (1 1) Is greater to a city than a King. For first wheree'er no laws exist which bind The whole community, and one man rules, Upon his arbitrary will alone Depend the laws, and all thy rights are lost. But under written laws the poor and rich An equal justice find; and if reproach'd, They of low station may with equal scorn Answer the taunting arrogance of wealth ; And an inlerior, if his cause be just, ] Conquers the powerful. This too is a mark Of freedom, where the man who can propose Some w holesome counsel for the public weal. Is by the herald called upon to speak. Then he who with a generous zeal accepts Such offer, gains renown ; but he who likes not His thoughts to utter, still continues mute. How can a city be adniinister'd With more equality ? wheree'er the people Are sovereigns of the land, a rising race Of heroes gives them joy ; but these a King Esteems his foes; the brave, with those who bear The character of wise, he slays, still trembling For his ill-gotten power. How can that city On a firm basis stand, where valiant youths, Like the green sheaf cut from the vernal mead, Are in their bloom mown down ? why then acquire Large fortunes for our children, to augment The treasures of a king? or why train up Our virgin Daughters with an anxious care, Merel}' to gratify the loose desires (11) " The word Tv^am; here evidently means a King, for he is called " iWiXEjf, V. 444 ; and tlie dispute is about Monaichy, or the power of " one man compared with a Democracy: though in 8ome places tlie " Poet may seem to confound Royalty with Tyranny : in order, I appro- " hend, to place it in a more invidious light. " Markland, U THE SUPPLIANTS. Of an imperious Monarch, and cause tears To stream from their fond Paients? May I end My life, ere these indignant ey<'s beh )ld The violation of my Daughter's ho.iour ! Thus far in answer to thy speech. — Now say, Wliat claims hast thou to make on this domain f Wert thou not hither by thy city sent, Thou, the impertinent harangues thou cam'st To utter, should'st bewail. A messenger When he hath spoken what his lords enjoin. Ought to depart with speed. Next time let Creon A less loquacious messenger dispatch To the Athenian land. CHORUS. Alas! when Fortune Profusely showers her gifts upon the wicked. How insolent they are, as if they deem'd They should for ever prosper ! THEBAN HERALD. I will now Speak what [ have in charge ; your thoughts indeed Differ from mine on these contested points; But I and all the Theban race pronounce This interdict: let not Adrastus enter The land, or if he be already here, Ere yon bright chariot of the Sun descends. Regardless of these mystic branches borne By suppliant matrons, drive him from the realm, !Nor furiously attempt to take away The slain by force, for in the Argive state You have no interest. If to my advice You y eld due credence; by no boisterous waves O'ertaken in yonr course, you cross the deep Shall sail your Nation's pilot, else the storm Of direful war shall buist on us and you. And your allies. Deliberate well, noi give An haughty answer, by my words provok'd. THE SUPPLIANTS. 25 And of tho Aecdom of your city vain : For a reliance on sii;)enor might Is most pernicious, oft hath it embroil'd Contending states, and roiis'd i.nnvoderate ire. For when whole cities hy tlieir votes decide In favour of a war, there's not a man Expects to perish ; all avert the doom Which threats their own, upon another's head. But while they give their suffrages, if Death , Were present to their eyes, Greece ne'er had ow'd Its ruin to a frantic lust for war. We all know how to choose the better part. Distinguish good from ill, and arc aware That Peace, the benefactress of mankind (12) Is preferable to war, by every Muse Held justly dear, and to the fiends of Hell A h)e, in population she delights, And wealth abmidant: but these blessings slighting, . \^'e wickedly embark in needless wars; A man to servitude consigns the man His arms subdii'd, on city the same doom City injposes. But you aid our foes E'en after they are dead, and would inter With pomp funereal those who owe their fate (12) An imitation of this passage occurred where I should by no means have thought of searching for it. Euripides tra^icae que gloria prima Cama>nap, Pac -in describens, " opulentam" tumque " beatam" >ing passage of Lucretius is noticed as exactly similar with this part of Theseus' speech in Euripides, by Barthius in his Adversaria, and a note of Tanaquil Faber in Haver- camp's edition of Lucretius ; Cedit item retro, de Terra quod fuit ante, In Terras ; & quod missum est ex aetheris oris Id rursum Caili fulgentia templa receptant. Both the Greek and Latin Poet me supposed to have taken the thought trom the writings of the Plulosopher Epicharmus. ^8 THE SUPPLIANTS. When of due obsequies bereft, the slain Are left without a tomb : th" brave would lose Their courage, should sui h usages prevail. Coin St thou to threaten me in haughty strain. Yet ineakily lear'st to let the scatter'd mold Cover di dead ? what mischiefs can ensue? Will they, when buried, uudermine your walls. Or in earth's hollow caves beget a race Of children able to avenge their wrongs? Absurdly hast thou lavish'd many words In base and groundless terrors. O ye fools. Go make yourselves acquainted with the woes To which mankind are subject. Human life Is but a conHict : some there are whose bliss Approaches them, while that of others waits Till a long future season, others taste Of present joys: capricious Fortune sports With all her anxious votaries; through a hope Of better times to her the wretched pay Their homage ; he who is already blest Extolls her matchless bounty to the skies, And trembles lest the veering gale forsake him. But we who know by what precarious tenure We hold her gifts, should bear a trifling wrong With patience, and, if we the narrow bounds Of justice overleap, abstain from crimes Which harm our country. If thou ask, what means This prelude? I reply; to us who wish To see them laid in earth with holy rites. Consign the weltering corses of the slain. Else is it clear what mischiefs must ensue, I will go forth, and bury them by force. For 'mong the Greeks it never shall be said This (15) antient law, which from the Gods receiv'd (15) The law here alluded to is probably that mentioned by JElian, Var. Hist. L. 5, c. 14. No|ao; xai ulo; ATTixof* cf «v nrn^ irjjiTu^ti ow^ari «-,'9()teiw«, wavTujj mSaXm avrui -ytt, " This i^o IS m Athenian law, that THE SUPPLIANTS. Q9 Its sanction : though transmitted down to me And to the city where Pandion rul'd. Was disregarded. CHORUS. Courage! while the hght Of justice is thy guide, thou slialt escape Th' invidious censures of a husy crowd. THEBAN HERALD. May I comprise in a few words the whole Of our debate ? THESEUS. Speak whatsoe'er thou wilt : For no discreet restraint thy tongue e'er knew. THEBAN HERALD. The corses of those Argives youths, from Thebes You never shall remove. THESEUS. Now to my answer Attend, if thou art so dispos'd. THEBAN HERALD. I will : For in your turn I ought to hear you speak. THESEUS. On the deceas'd will I bestow a grave. When I have borne their relicks from the land Wash'd by Asopus' stream, " whoever meets with tlie imburied body of a man, sball be indispen- " sably bound to cast earth over it " In tlie Antigone of Soplioclcs, the Messenger, speakingofPolyniccs' corse, says, Af7r7>) J' ayo; f F170VT0; wf £7:>iv xovif. Light lay the scattcr'd earth As only meant t' avoid th' imputed curse. Franklix. The same idea prevailed among tlie Romans : and Vve find the ghost of Archytas in Horace threatening the Mariner %\ith tlie vengeance of Hea- ven against both himself and his posterity, if he neglected the pious office of strewing dust over his shipwrecked corse, which the waves had cast upon tlie shore. 30 THE SUPPLIANTS. THEBAN HERALD. In combat first Great hazards must you brave. THESEUS. Unnumber'd toiI» Have I ere now in other wars endur'd. THEBAN HERALD. Was there to you transmitted from your Sire Sufficient sti-ength to cope with every foe? THESEUS. With every villain : for on virtuous deeds No punishment would I inflict. THEBAN HERALD. Both you And Athens have been wont in various matters To interfere. THESEUS. To many a bold emprise She owes the prosperous fortunes she enjoys, THEBAN HERALD. Come on, that soon as you attempt to enter Our gates, the Theban lance may lay you low. THESEUS. Can any valiant champion from the teeth Of a slain Dragon spring ? THEBAN HERALD. This to your cost Shall you experience, tho' you still retain The rashness which untutor'd youth inspires* THESEUS. By thy presumptuous language, thou ray soul To anger canst not rouse : but from this land Depart, and carry back those empty words With which thou hither cara'st: for we in vain Have held this conference. lExit theban heralix. Now must we collect Our numerous infantry in arms array 'd. THE SUPPLIANTS. 31 With all who mount the chariot, and the steed Ca[)aii>on'd, liis niouih distilling foau), Urire to the Theban lealiu : for I will march Up to the seven-fold gat( s by Cadmus rear'd (iG) This arm sustaining a protended spear, And be myself the Herald. But stay here, Adrastus, I command thee; nor with mine Blend thy disastrous fortunes : for the host I under happier auspices will lead To the embattled lield^ renown'd in war. And furnish'd with the spear to which [ owe ]\Iy glories. I need only one thing more, Help from the gods, who are the friends of justice : I'or where all these advantages concur. They to our better cause ensure success ? But valour's of no service to mankind Unless propitious Jove his inlluenee lend. [Kxit THESEUS. ADRASTUS. Unhappy Mothers of those hapless chiefs. How doth pale fear disturb this anxious breast ! CHOKUS. What new alarm is this thou giv'st? ADRASTUS. The host Of Pallas our great contest will decide. CHORUS. By force of arms^ or conference, dost thou mean? ADRASTUS. 'Twere better thus ; but slaughter, the delight (16) Carmelli in his Italian version has thrown this hne into a parcn- thcsk. Maikland had on conjecture altered -n-o'; ipse into a-jrn hie ; but in his note gives tl;? preference to Reiskiiis's arra!ia;enier.t, who carries it two lines backward. Dr. IMusgrave, whom I hrt%c followed, brings i< one hne tbr^vard, and by so doing gives I think greater force and beautj- to the speech. I\Ir. Tyrwhitt and he are also my authorities for pntting into the mouth of .\drastus tiie following speeclies, usually ascribed to ^thra, S2 THE SUPPLIANTS. Of Mars, and battle, thro' the Thc^ban streets. With many a beaLcn bosom shall resound. CHORUS. Wretch that I f>m ! what cause shall I assign For such calamities? ADRASTUS. But some reverse or fortune, may again lay low the man Who, swollen wi'h gay [)r(iSi)crity, exults; This <2;ives me confidence. CHORUS. Th' immortal Gods Thou represent'st as if those Gods were just. ADRASTUS. For who but they o'ci- each event preside ? CHORUS. Heaven's partial dispensations to mankind I oft contemi)late. ADRASTUS. Thou thy better judgement To thy past fears dost sacrifice. Revenge Calls forth revenge, and slaughter is repaid By slaughter ; for the Gods into the souls Of evil men pernicious thoughts infuse. And all things to their destin'd period guide. CHORUS. ODE. I. O could I reach yon field with turrets crown'd And leave thy spring Callichore behind. ADRASTUS. Heaven give thee pinions to outstrip the wind! CHORUS. Waft me to Thebes for its two streams renown'd. THE SUPPLIANTS. 33 ADKASTUS. (17) There might'st thou view tlie spirits of the slaiu Whose corses weUcr on the hostile plain. Still dubious are the dread awards of fate. But the undaunted King of this domain. In yon embattled field what dangers may await CHORUS. II. On you, ye pitying Gods, again I call. In you my trust I place, your might revere. And with this hope dispell each anxious fear. O Jove, whom love's soft bandage did enthrall, VVheii beauteous lo met thy fond embrace. Erst to a heifer chang'd, from whom we trace Our origin, make Argos still thy care. Thy image rescuing from its loath'd disgrace. To the funereal pyre these, heroes will we bear. MESSENGEPv, ADRASTUS, CHORUS. MESSENGER. With many acceptable tidings fraught (17) Though the reading of "i'v/a;, which I have followed, is de- fended by Barnes with respect to the quantity, in a manner which appears to nie entirely satisfactory, especially if with Scaliger we com- poimd rev 4^v^«finto afj^-^vyjc; ; the conjectural innovation of T:/)^«; for- tunas, proposed by Mi-. Heath and IMr. Tyrwhitt, has found athnission into tlie Latin versions of Mr. Markland and Dr. Musgrave. " How could she see tlie souls of her Sotis ?" is a question asked by the former of these editors in opposition to tlie old reading. Metaphysical controver- sies are nmch bej ond my sphere, but such is the language of Euripides and the antient Poets. n» ^qtb Sninv EXev« ^vyjiv fo-i&j ; is an exclamation of tlie unfortunate Hecuba in the eighty-seventh line of the Tragedy which bears her name; on which the S.chohast observes fjws 4'jX,w EXn* iTTuSn 7i9-flr/Mg >». In the eleventh book of the Odyssey, where Ulysses sees and converses with the souls of Tiresias and other illustrious Greeks^ the word ■i-v-u;; Ti'jyj f)(cuv u.y^o;5-iv Aji;i3'ooio av«XTCi;, AlO Afll&Otf T3V l7ri)CX'i<71V XOfyV'ITOV Aviffj xi)cX)lO"y.ov, xaX'Ai^iuvoi T£ ywa.Ms;, Ouvem' rep' a TO^o.crt jj-rcy^icryiiro 5«p Te jj.ayauij A?iXa (Ttcvj-tn xogvv>i pi-'Vj^f ifeiKayyag, Homer II. L. 7. v. 136. There Ereuthalion brav'd us in the field, Proud Ari'illious' dieadfid arms to wield ; Great Ariithous known from shore to shore By the huge knottetl iron mace \w bore ; S8 THE SUPPLIANTS. He swang that formidable weapon round, Severing, like tender poppies from the stalks. At the same stroke, their necks and helmed heads. Yet scarcely could he put to flight the troops Of Argos. With a shout, then vaulting high, I clapp'd my hands while to the gates they ran. Through every street re-echoed mingled shrieks Of young and old, who by their fears impell'd Crowded the temples. But when he with ease The fortress might have enter'd, Theseus check'd The ardour of his host, and said he came. Not to destroy the city, but redeem The bodies of those slaughter'd chiefs. A man Like this should be selected for the leader Of armies, who 'midst dangers perseveres Undaunted, and abhors the madding pride Of those, who flush'd with triumph, while they seek To mount the giddy ladder's topmost round. Forfeit that bliss, they else might have enjoy 'd. CHORUS. Now I have seen this unexpected day, I deem that there are Gods, and feel my woes Alleviated since these audacious miscreants Have suifer'd their deserts. No lance he shook, nor bent the twanging bow. But broke m ith this the battle of the foe. Pope. It is recorded also of jEneas ; Ncc longc Cissea durum Immanemque, Gyam sternentes agmhia clava Dejecit letho, nihil illos Herculis arma Nil valida; juvere nianus. Virgil, j^ln. L. 10. v. 317. Not fai" from him was Gyas laid along Of monstrous bulk, with Cisseus tierce and strong ; Vain bulk and strength, for when the chief assail'd. Nor valour nor Herculean arms avail'd. Dryden. The English reader who is in the least conversant with classical poetry or painting, will immediately recognize the club, tliough not mentioned iii this version, as the characteristic weapon of Hercides. THE SUPPLIANTS, 39 ADRASTUS. Why do they speak Of wretched man as wise ? On thee, O Jove, Our all depends, and whatsoe'er thou will'st We execute. The power of (£0) Argos seeni'd Too great to be resisted ; we relied On our own numbers and superior might. Hence when Eteocles began to treat Of peace, though he demanded moderate terms. Disdaining to accept it, we rush'd headlong Into perdition : while the foolish race Of Cadmus, like some beggar who obtains Immense posscssioris suddenly, grew proud. And pride was the forerunner of their ruin. Mortals, devoid of sense, who strain too hard Your feeble bow, and after ye have sufter'd Unnumber'd evils justly, to the voice Of friends still deaf, are guided by events; And cities, who by treaty might avert Impending mischief, choose to make the sword, Rather than reason, umpire of your strife. But whither do these vain reflections tend ? What I now wish to learn is, by what means Thou didst escape : I into other matters Will then make full enquiry. MESSENGER. While the tumult Of battle in the city still prevail'd, I thro' that gate came forth, by which the troops Had enter'd. . ADRASTUS. But did ye bear off the bodies Of those slain chiefs for whom the war arose ? (20) The substitution of Afyo; for ca.yo;, which stands in tlie Alchis edition, and that of Barnes, is authoiized, as we are informed by Mr. Markland and Dr. JNIusgrave, by Uie manuscripts in the royal library at Paris. 40 THE SUPPLIANTS. MESSENGER. Who o'er seven noble houses did preside, ADKASTUS. What's this thou said'st ? but where are all the rest Of the deceas'd, an undistinguish'd erowd ? MESSENGER. Lodg'd in a tomb amid Citha^ron's vale. ADRASTUS. Beyond or on this side the mount ? and who Perform'd this mournful duty ? MESSENGER. Theseus' self; The rock Eleutheris o'er!?hades their grave. ADRASTUS. But as for those he hath not yet interr'd. Where did he leave their corses ? MESSENGER. Near at hand. For every duty that affection prompts Is plac'd within our reach. ADRASTUS. Did slaves remove The dead with their ignoble hands ? MESSENGER. INo slave Perform'd that office: if j'ou had been present You would have cried, " What love doth Theseus bear " To our slain friends !" he lav'd the griesly wounds Of these unhappy youths, the couch prepar'd, And o'er their bodies threw the decent evil. ADRASTUS. Most heavy burden ! too unseemly task .' MESSENGER. What shame to feeble mortals can arise From those calamities which none escape ? ADRASTUS. Ah ! would to Heaven that I with theni had died 1 THE SUPPLIANTS. 41 MESSENGER. In vain you weep, and cause full many a tear To biream from these your followers. ADRASTUS. Here I stand As the chief mourner, though by them, alas! Have I be'en taught to grieve. Of that no more. With hands uplifted I advance to meet The dead, and pouring forth a votive dirge ' Too soothe Hell's griesly Potentate, once more Will I accost those friends, of whom depriv'd I wail my solitude. This only loss Man never can retrieve, the Heeting breath (21) Of life; but the possessions we impair. By various means may be again acquired. [Exit MESSENGER, CHORUS. ODE. I. Dash'd are our joys with mingled pains ; WhiJe Athens and its leaders claim Fresh wreaths of laurel with augmented fame ; Doom'd to behold the pale remains Of my lov'd children, bitter, pleasing sight, I after grief shall feel an unforeseen delight. (21) " This passage is imitated from Homer, " AvJ^Of Jf 4'-'X'' '^'^'^■'1 i^Sstv are Xfip), II. L. 9, V. 406. " Lost herds and treasures we by.arms regain, " And steeds imrival'd on the dusty plain ; " But from our Hps the vital spirit tk-d " Returns no more to wake the silent dead." Pope. " Broda^us has already naade tlie same observation." Barnes. 42 THE SUPPLIANTS. II. O that old Time's p.-itcrnal care Hud kept me from the nuptial yoke. Wiiat need had I of Sons ? this grievous stroke G^uld never then have hcen my share: But now I see perpetual cause to mourn; My Children, from these arms for ever are ye torn. But lo the corses of those breathless j'ouths, Are born in pomp funereal. Would to Heaven I with my Sons might perish, and descend The shades of Pluto ! ADRASTUS. Matrons, o'er the dead. Pale tenants of the realms beneath, now vent Your loudest groans^ and to my groans reply. CHORUS. O Children, whom in bitterness of soul. With a maternal fondness, we accost ; 'i'o thee, my breathless Son, to thee I speak. ADRASTUS, Ah me ! my woes ! CHORUS. We have endur'd, alas! • Affliction^ the most grievous. ADRASTUS. O ye Dames Of my lov'd Argos, view ye not my fate ? CHORUS. Me, miserable and childless they behold! ADRASTUS. Bring to their hapless friend each bloody corse Of those fam'd Chiefs (22) dishonourably slain, (22) From the account given to Jocasta by the messenger in the Paoenissae, we learn that Hippometion, Parthenopa'us, and Capaneiis^ perished in the assault made by the Argives on the seven towers of Thebes ; after which the two Sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices^ having, in order to prevent fardier effusion of blood, agreed to decide their claims to the throne by single combat, a spot was fixed on for that THE SUPPLIANTS. 45 And by the hands of cowards : when they fell. The battle ended. CHORUS. O let me embrace My dearest Sons, and in these arms sustain ! ADRASTUS. Thou from these hands receiv'st them : such a weiuht Of anguish is too grievous to be borne. CHORUS. By their fond Mothers, you forget to add. Wretch that I am ! ADRASTUS. Ah, listen to my voice. CHORUS. Both to yourself and us these plaints belong. ADRASTUS. Would to the Gods that the victorious troops Of Thebes, had slain and laid me low in dust! CHORUS. O that in wedlock I had ne'er been join'd To any lord! purpose without tlie walls of the city, and in the mid-waj' between both armies: the Thebans still kept on their armour; but the Argives had im- prudently tlirown theirs aside : immediately on the two Princes falling by each other's hand, (an event not guarded against^ in tlie treaty), the Thebans ungenerously availed themselves of this advantage, and attacked the Argives, who were not prepared to resist them, and are hence said to have t'allen »^ a^i b^' vn' a^twv,, which witliont this retrospect sounds absurdly when applied to men slain at tlie head of their tioops in an en- gagement where they behaved with distinguished courage. As to Am« phiareus who was swallowed up with his chariot and horses, Euripides has left it dubious whether he perished immediately after that attempt to storm the city, which preceded the duel between the two Brothers, or in flying with Adrastus : but the two other chiefs, Tydeus and Eteoclus, may be considered as having survived Polyiiices, and as being the per- sons here spoken of £v oi; ayxv r.Y.;aiQn ; after wiiose deaths Adrastus having lost all hopes, quitted the lield of battle, and escaped tludiigh the swift- ness of his horse. Most of the Latin interpreters concur in rendering the last mentioned words in quibus fnntuni erat certamcn : Reiskius and Mr. Markland suppose the word locis to be understood ; but I rather apprc-»^ hend the Argive king to be still speaking of these his sJain friends* 44 THE SUPPLIANTS. ADRASTUS. Ye miserable Mothers Of those brave youths, who for their country died. An ocean of calamity, behold. CHORUS. We, hopeless mourners, with our nails have torn These bleeding visages, and on our heads Strewn ashes. ADRASTUS. Ah\ ah me! thou opening ground, Swallow me up. O scatter me, ye storms ; And may Jove's lightning on this head descend! CHORUS. You witness'd in an evil hour the nuptials Of your two Daughters, in an evil hour Apollo's mystic oracles obey'd. The Wife whom you have taken to your arms Is that destructive fiend who left the house Of Qidipus, and chose with you to dwell. THESEUS, ADRASTUS, CHORUS. THESEUS. The questions I design'd to have propos'd To you, ye noble Matrons, when ye utter*d Your loud coniplaints amidst th' assembled host, I will omit, and mean to search no farther Into the moving history of your woes. But now of thee, Adrastus, 1 enquire, Whence sprung these Chiefs whose prowessdid transcend That of all other mortals? thou art wise. And these transactions, which full well thou know'st. Canst to our youthful citizens unfold. For, of their bold atchievements, which exceed The power of language to express, myself (23) Have been a witness, when they strove to storm (23) " Heath and Markland render u^ov intellijio, because Theseus did •' not accompany the first expedition against Thebes, and Ihercfore was " not an eye-witness to the exploits performed by the Argive leaders; THE SUPPLIANTS. 45 The Theban walls. But lest I slioulcl provoke Thy laughter, this one question will I spare ; With what brave (24) eliampion in th' embattled fiekl Each fought, and from the weapon of what foe Receiv'd the deadly wound: for these vain tales But serve an equal folly to display In those who either hear them, or relate, Should he who mingles in the thickest fray, From either army, while unnumber'd spears Before his eyes are thrown, distinctly strive To ascertain what dauntless warrior lanch'd With surest aim the missile death. These questions- I cannot ask, nor credit those who dare To make such rash assertions. For the man Who to his foes in combat stands oppos'd, Can scarce discern enough to acl the part Which his own duty calls for. ADRASTUS. Now attend. For no unwelcome task have you impos'd On me, of prais-ing those departed friends, " Tliis does not seem to me a sufficient reason, why we slionid transfer " uhv from seeing to the faculty of understanding, contrary to tlie usag«; '' of tlie Greeks. Pausanias relates (p. 729, ed. Kuluiii, Leipsic 1696.y *' that tlie Peloponesittns being unacquainted ivitli the proper methods of be- '' sieging a fortress, made their attacks rather with passion tliun judgement, " Theseus tlierefore, when he was at Thebes, might have gone round the " walls, and beheld their attempts, by the places they had assailed be- " ing pointed out to him." Dr. Musgrave. The above interpretation appears to me more probable from the ac- connt Statins gives of Thebes being exposed to great danger, from the breaches made iu its walls by the former assiiilants bemg not yet re= paired when it was besieged a second time by Theseus. Muronmi patet omae latus mHBimuix portas Exposcmit; prior hostis habet, fastigia desmit; Dejecit Capaneus. Statii Theb. L. 12. v. 704. (24) This has tlie appearance of being intended as a sarcasm on the battles of Homer, and is equally applicable to those of almost eveiy other Epic writer. 4G THE SUPPLIANT15. Of whom with truth and justice I would speak. Do you behold yon Hero's graceful form. Thro' which the bolt of Jove hath forc'd its way? This youth is Cai)aneus, who tho' the fortune Which he possess'd was ample, ne'er grew vain Thro' wealth, nor of himself more highly deem'd Than if he had been poor, hut shunn'd the man Who proudly glories in a sumptuous board. And treats a frugal competence with scorn ; For he maintain'd that life's chief good consists not In the voracious glutton's full repast. But that a moderate portion will suffice. Ill his attachments still was he sincere. And zealous for the good of those he lov'd. Whether at hand or abseqt still the same ; Small is the number of such friends as these ; His manners were not counterfeit, his lips Distill'd sweet courtesy, and left not aught That he had promis'd, either to the slave. Or citizen of Argos, unperform'd. Eteoclus I next proceed to name, For every virtuous pr^ictice much renown'd. Small were the fortunes of this noble youth. But in the Argive region he enjoy'd Abundant honours : tho' his wealthier friends Oft sought to have presented him with gold. His doors were clos'd against that specious bane. Lest he might seem to act a servile part. By riches made a bondsman : he abhorr'd The guilt of individuals, not the land Which nourish'd them: to cities no reproach Is due, because their rulers are corrupt. — • Such also was Hippomedon, the third Of these illustrious chiefs; while yet a boy. To the delights the tuneful Muses yield, A life of abject softness, he disdain'd To turn aside : a tenant of the fields. THE SUPPLIANTS. 47 His nature he to the severest toils InuiinG:, took dchght in manly deeds, With fiery coursers issuing to the chase. Or twang'd with nervous hands the sounding how^ And shew'd a generous eagerness to make His vigour useful to his native land.— There lies the huntress Atalanta's Son Parthenopseus, by a beauteous form Distinguish'd : in Arcadia was he born. But, journeying thence to Inachus's stream. In Argos nurtur'd ; having there receiv'd His education, first, as is the duty Of strangers in the country where they dwell, He never made a foe, nor to the- state Became obnoxious, wag'd no strife of words (Whence citizens and foreigners offend). But, station'd in the van of battle, fought To guard the land as if he had been born An Argive, and whene'er the city prosper'd, Rejoic'd, but was with deepest anguish stung, If a reverse of fortune it endur'd : Though many lovers, many blooming nymphs To him their hearts devoted, he maintainVl A blameless conduct. — The great praises due To Tydeus I concisely will express; Tho' rude of speech, yet terrible in arms, Devising various stratagems, surpass'd In prudence by his brother Meleager, By warlike arts he gain'd an equal name. Finding sweet music in the crash of shields: Nature endued him with the strongest thirst For glory and for riches ; but his soul In actions, not in words, its force display'd.^— ■ From this account, O Theseus, wonder not Such generous youths before the Theban towers I'Var'd not to meet an honourable death. Fox education is the soiirce whence springs 43 " THE SUPPLIANTS. Ingenuous shame, artd every man whose habits Have erst been virtuous, not without a bhush. Becomes a dastard: courage may be taught; Just as a tender infant learns to speak And hsten to the words he comprehends not; But he such wholesome lessons treasures up Till he is old. From this example triiin Your progeny in honour's arduous [)aths. CHORUS. I educated thee, my hapless Son, Thee in this womb sustain'd, and Childbirth's pangs For thee endur'd; but now hath Pluto seiz'd Tl)e fruit of all my toils, and I, who bore An offspring, am abandon'd to distress. Without a prop to stay my sinking age. ADRASTUS. The Gods themselves in louder strains extoll (25) Oicleus' illustrious Son, whom yet alive They with his rapid coursers snatch'd away And bore into the caverns of the earth. (25) Anipliiareus. Dr. Miisgrave puis tlie encomiums on this herd Rnd Polynices into the mouth of Theseus; but from the circumstance of Pindar and Euripides being contemporary writers, and the 6th Olympic Ode containing an account of " the praises with Justice bestowed on the " deceased prophet Amphiareus son of Oicleus by the tongue of Adras- " tus," the Ode of Pindar bearing date tiie 85th Olj'mpiad, wliereas tliis Tragedy of Euripides appears to have been cxliibited in the 3d year of tlie 90th Olympiad, as Barnes infers from the oath proposed by Mi- nerva in the last scene, being the same w itli that which Thiif ydides, L. 5. c. 47. mentions being taken by the Argives wlien tiiey formed a' league with Alliens in the twelfth year of tiie Peloponesian war. It ap- pears, therefore, highly probable tliat Euripides should concur with what had been adviuiced little more than 20 years before by Pindar, so far as to put these words into the mouth of Adrastus rather than Theseus: but, on the other hand, Dr. Musgrave's arguments in favor of ascribing the speech to Theseus, from Polyniccs being evidently unknown to Adrastus at tlie time of his taking shelter in his vf stibule, when he appears to have recoii'iiiended himself to the Argivc king merely by his dauntless fero- city m encountering Tydeus, as well as from the stress apparently laid on the word nj^nc in the original, are so strong, that I thought it adviseable to take the middle way, by dividing the speech, and have followed Dr. Musgrave in liis distribution of the subsequent dialogue. THE SUPPLIANTS. 49 THESEUS. Nor shall I utter f'alsliood, while my tongue Recounts the praise of Polynices, Son Of Oedipus; for as his guest the Chief Receiv'd nie_, ere, a voluntary exile. Abandoning his native city rear'd By Cadmus, to the Argive lealm he went. But know'st thou how I wish thou should'st dispose Of their remains ? ADRASTUS. All that 1 know is this, Whatever you direct shall be obey'd. THESEUS. As for that Capaneus who by the flame Lanch'd from Jove's hand was smitten. — ADRASTUS. Would you burn His corse apart as sacred ? THESEUS. Even so. But all the rest on one funereal pyre. ADRASTUS. Where mean you to erect his separate tomb? THESEUS. I near these hapless youths have flx'd the spot (26) For his interment. (26) Reiskius, and after him Mr, Tyrwliitt and Dr, Musgrave, read oi>u*; instea*d of oixt^-»;. I\Ir. Markland just mentions the proposed alte- ration in his notes, but gives it no sanction cither by inserting it in liis Latin version or the various readings at tlie foot of his page. There seems to be as httle harm and at the same time as little use in it as m possible in the substitution of one word for another, where the sense differs so totally as " Wretches and Temple." The body of Capaneus is evidently borne without the Temple for iutenuent as well as the other Chiefs, nor does the spot where tiic funereal rites of Eteoclus and the rest were per- formed appear to have been at any considerable distance, from tlieir ashes being soon after brought in urns to their Mothers by tlie childreo. VOL. II. E 50 THE SUPPLIANTS. ADRASTUS. To your menial train Must this unwelcome office be consign'd. THESEUS. But to those other warriors will I pay Due honours. JNow advance, and hither bring Their corses. ADRASTUS. To your children, wretched Matrons^ DraiW near. THESEUS. Adrastus, sure thou hast propos'd What cannot be expedient. ADRASTUS. Why restrain The Mothers from their breathless Sons' embrace? THESEUS. Should they behold their children thus deform'd. The}' would expire with grief. The face we lov'd, Soon as pale death invades its bloom, becomes A loathsome object. Why vvould'st thou encrease Their sorrows ? ADRASTUS. You convince me. Ye must wait With patience ; for expedient are the counsels Which Theseus gives. But when we have consum'd In blazing pyres their corses, ye their bones Must take away. Why forge the brazen spear. Unhappy Mortals, why retaliate slaughter W ith slaughter ? O desist ; no more engross'd By fruitless labours, in your cities dwell. Peaceful yourselves, and throuo;h the nations round A general peace diffusing. For the term Tlie iutennent therefore of Capaneus within sight of the Temple, and at tlie same time near to his htiphss Friends, but in a separate tomb, is vhat I caouot consider ixa iu the least inconsistent nith unity of place THE SUPPLIANTS. 5\ Of human life is short, and should he pass'd With every comfort, not in anxious toils. IKxeuiil THESEUS and ADUASTVS, CHORUS. ODE. I. No more a Mother's happy name Shall crown my fortunes or exalt my fame. Midst Argive Matrons blest with generous heirs. Of all the parent's hopes bereft. By Dian, patroness of childbirth left, Ordain'd to lead a life of cares, To wandering solitude consign'd, I like a cloud am driven before the howling wind. II. We, seven unhappy Dames, deplore The seven brave Sons we erst exulting bore, Illustrious champions who for Argos bled : Forlorn and childless, drench'd in tears Downward 1 hasten to the vale of years. But am not number'd with the dead Or living: a peculiar state Is mine, on me attends an unexampled fate. III. For me nought now remains, except to weep : In my Son's house are left behind Some tokens ; well I know those tresses shorn Which no wreath shall ever bind. No auspicious songs adt)rn, And golden-hair'd Apollo scorn, With horror from a broken sleep Rous'd by grief at early morn My crimson vest in gushing tears I steep. But I the pyre of Capaneus behold Already blaxing, near his salted tomb ' s2 52 THE SUPPLIANTS. Heap'd high ; and plac'd without the fane, those gifts Which Theseus' self appropriates to the dead: Evadne too, the Consort of that Chief, Who by the thunderbohs of Jove was slain, Daugliter of (27) noble Iphis is at hand. Why doth she stand upon the topmost ridge Of you aerial rock, which overlooks This dome, as if she hither bent her way ? EVADNE, CHORUS. EVADNE. ODE. 1. What cheering beams of radiant light Hyperion darted from his car, And how did Cynthia's lamp shine bright, W^hile in the skies each glittering star Rode swiftly through the drear abodes of night. When Argive youths a festive throng T' accompany the nuptial song For Capaneus and me awak'd the lyre? Now frantic hither am I borne Resolv'd to share my Lord's funereal pyre. (27) Though the word reva| is rendered rex in all the Latin versions I have met with, except that of Dorotheus Camillus, printed at Basil in 1341, who has very judiciously translated it excellens vir, it is very evi- dent that this peisonage, whom Carmelli calls il Re Ife, had not the least pretensions to royalty, but was, as Mr. Markland expresses it in his note on the 873d line of this Tragedy, unus ex principibus Argivis, a man of high rank, but apparently of a very inconsiderable fortune, his son Eteo- clus being represented by Adrastus as having lived in a state of absolute indigence, a circumstance which, notwithstanding his noble descent, and the honorable employments he is said to have filled, needed not to have called forth an exclamation of surprize from the last mentioned Com- mentator; as Athens (if not Argos), long after the days of Theseus, and even subsequent to those of Euripides, had no occasion to refer to the stage for such a character, but experienced in Phocion the same uncor- rupted integrity, and poverty, united widi power in a degree far beyond what is by the Poet fabled of Eteoclus. THE SUPPLIANTS. SH With him to enter the same tomh, End with him this hfe forlorn. In Pluto's realms, the Stygian gloom. If Heaven assent, the most delightful death Is when with those we love we mix our parting breath. CHORUS. Near to its mouth you stand and overlook The blazing pyre, Jove's treasure, there is lodg'd Your Husband whom his thunderbolts transpierc'd. EVADNE. II. Life's utmost goal I now behold, For I have finish'd my career: With stedfast purpose uncontrol'd My steps doth Fortune hither steer. In the pursuit of honest fame grown bold. Am I determin'd from this steep Into the flames beneath to leap. And mine with my dear Husband's ashes blend ; I to the couch of Proserpine, With him in death united, will descend. Thee in the grave I'll ne'er betray : Life and wedlock I resign. May some happier spousal day At Argos for Evadne's race remain, And every wedded pair such constant loves maintain. CHORUS. But, lo, 'tis he ! I view your aged Sire, The venerable Iphis, who approaches As a fresh witness of those strange designs Which yet he knows not, and will grieve to hear. IPHIS, CHORUS, EVADNE. IPHIS. O most unhappy! hither am I come, A miserable old man, with twofold griefs By Heaven afflicted ; to his native land. 54 THE SUPPLIANTS. The body of Eleoclus my Son Slain by a Thchan javelin, to convey, And seek n)y Daughter, with impetuous step, Who rush'd from her apartment ; in the bund Of wedlock she to Capaneus was join'd^ And wishes to accompany in death Her Husband ; for a time she in my house Was guarded, but since I no longer walch'd her» 'Midst the confusion of our present ills She scap'd ; but we have reason to suspect That she is here ; infurm us, if ye know. EVADNE. Why do you question them ? here on this rock I, O my Father o'er the blazing pyre Of Capaneus stand, hovering like a bird. IPHIS. What gale hath borne thee hither? or what means That robe, my Daughter ? wherefore, from thy home Departing, to this region didst thou fly ? EVADNE. 'Tvvould but exasperate you to be inform'd Of my intentions: therefore, O my Sire, Am I unwilling you should hear. IPHIS. What schemes Are these which thy own Fatlier may not know ? EVADNE. In you I should not find an equal judge Of my intentions. IPHIS. But on what account Thy person w ith that habit hast thou grac'd ? EVADNE. A splendid action, my Sire, the robe I wear, denotes, IPHIS. Ill-suited is a garb THE SUPPLIANTS. 5.5 So costly to the matron who bewails Her Husband's death. EVADNF.. I'oi- an imheard-of purpose In gay habiliments am I atiii'd. IPHIS. Why stand'st thou near the grave and blazing pyre? EVADNE. Hither I come to gain a mighty conquest. IPHIS. O'er whom would'st thou prevail? I wish to know. EVADNE. O'er every woman whom the Sun heholds. IPIIIS. By Pallas in the labours ot" the loom Instructed, or with a judicious soul That best of gifts endued ? EVADNE. With dauntless courage: For in the grave I with my breathless Lord Shall be united. IPHIS. What is it thou say'st? Or with what views a riddle thus absurd Hast thou propounded ? EVADNE. Hence into the pyre Of Capaneiis will I leap down. IPHIS. My Daughter, Before the multitude forbear to hold This lans-uaffe. EVADNE. There is nothing I have said But what I wish that every Argivi; knew. IPHIS. Yet w ill I not consent thou should'st fulfil Thy d<^sperate purpose. 56 THE SUPPLIANTS. EVADME, an she is throwing herself from the Rock, It is all the same : Nor can you now l)y stretching forth your hand Stop my career. Already have I taken The fatal leap, and hence descend, with joy. Though not indeed to you, yet to myself. And to my Lord, with whose remains I hlaze. CHORUS. Thou hast committed an atrocious deed, O woman. IPHIS. Wretched me ! I am undone, Ye Dames of Argos. CHORUS. Horrid are these ills Which thou endur'st, the deed thine eyes behold Is the most daring. IPHIS. No man can ve find Than me more miserable. CHORUS. O wretch I a (28) portion Of Oedipus's fortunes was reserv'd For thee in thy old age : thou too, my city. Art visited by the severest woes. IPHIS. Why was this privilege, alas! denied To mortals, twice to flourish in the bloom Of youth, and for a second time grow old ? For in our houses, we^ if aught is found To have been ill contriv'd, amend the fault W^hich our maturcr judgement hath descried ; While each important error in our life (28) " Because one of his cliildren perished by a voluntary death, and ^' through lier own fault, like Eteocles and Polyniccs the two Sons of '' Ocdij)ni?. Hence in the Thebaid of Statins, Creoii, lamenting the fate *' of his sou Menoeceus, says, Ocdipodi par est fortuna doloris ac niihi." MARKtANP. THE SUPPLIANTS. 57 Admits of no reform : but if with youth And ri|)c old oge we twice liad been indulg'd, Each devious step that murk'd our first career We in our second miglit set right. For children, Seeing that others had them, much I wish'd. And pin'd away with vehement desire : But if I had aheady feh these pangs, And from my own experience learnt, liow great Is the calamit}', to a fond Fallier, To be bereft of all his hopeful rape, I into such distress had never fallen As now o'erwhelms me, who begot a youth Distinguish'd by his courage, and of him Am now depriv'd. No more. But what remains For me? w retell that I am, shall I return To my own home, view many houses left Without inhabitants, and waste the dregs Of life in hopeless anguish, or repair To the abode of Capaneus, with joy ^ By me frequented while my Daughter hv'd ? But she is now no more, who lov'd to kiss j\ly furrovv'd cheeks and strok'd this hoary head. Nought can delight us more than the attention Which to her aged Sire a daughter pays : Though our male progeny have souls endued With courage far superior, yet less gently Do they these soothing offices perform. Will ye not quickly drag me to my home. And in some dungeon's gloomy hold confine, To w-ear away these aged limbs by famine ? Me, what, alas, can it avail, to touch My Daughter's bones! what hatred do I bear To thee, O irresistible old age! Them too m\- soul abhors who vainly strive To lengthen out our little span of life; By th' easy vehicle, the downy couch. And by the boasted aid of magic soug. -58 THE SUPPLIANTS. Labour'ng to turn nsidv' from his cjirerr Reiiiorselcs.s Death : when ihey \vh() have no longer Tlie strcrigih requirrd tt) serve their native land, Should vanish, and to younger men give place. SEIMICHORUS. Lo there (he bones of uiy slain Sons, uhose corses Already in funereal pyres have blaz'd, Are borne along. Support a weak old Woman: The pangs which for my Children's loss I feel Deprive me of all strength. 1 long have luourn'd, And am enervated l)y many griefs. Can any curse severer he devis'd For mortals, than to see their children dead r (JD) BOY. O my unhappy Mother, from the flames (9'?) I'Jiis speaker does not appear to he any new persoiiase now for the, fust tinie introiiuced on the stase, hiit one of tlie Sons of the seven Chiefs, Avho appeared with Aihastiis anil the Chorus on tiie first openinsj of this Trairedy. Barnes supposes tliis Boy to he Sthcuchis tlie son of CapAneus ; and here it may be proper to observe, that as on tiie one iiand Iphis' caihhi; him tejcvov is by no incans ennrhisn e, neither on tlie other does the expression |Uf4-p appear to add the least force to the objections r.vged asainst Barnes by Heath and Markiand, because |u«1fj here means Otandmothtr, as in the Iplii^^enia m Anlis ri«]ff rn>xi.o, stain Is for Tairais the GrandlluUer of EniAalus: and Peleris in the Andrcinache calls Lis Son Achilles, and his Grandson Neoptoleinns both ny.m. That the youth, whoever he is, accosts ins Grandniotlier by tlie term pis1?p is evident from his sayinc Kx" iT SIS'* o-M Tixv«, " Thy chililren are no more," which sonnds as if addressed to the Wife of Iphis, tiie ]\iothe;' of Eteoclus and Evad- ne : but it would be peculiarly unnatural for Sthenchis, who had just seen his iMother leap into the flames, to take liardly any notice of iier death, while he breaks out into such vehement lamentations over his Father slain in battle. Eustatiiius in his commentary on Homer's Iliad, L. iv. v. 107, has included, in the list of the Epigoni, Melon tlie Son of Eteoclus, whom I apprehend to be the Boy here speakinLTANTS. 59 1 bear my Fathei's relics, wliich my sorrows Have made more vveiglity : this small uru contains All luy possessions. SEMICHORUS. Why dost thou convey The sad and pleasing cause of many tears To the afflicted Mothers of the slain, A little heap of ashes in the stead Of those wlio in Mycenae were renovvn'd ? BOY. But I, a wretched Orphan, and bereft Of my unhappy Father, shall receive For my whole portion a deserted house. Torn from the tutelary arms of him To whom I owe my birth. SEMICHORUS. U here, where are those ^^'^hom sorrowing I brought forth, whom at my breast With a maternal tenderness I rear'd. Their slumbers watch'd, and sweetest kisses gave? BOY. Your Children are departed, they exist No longer, O my Mother, they are gone For ever, by devouring flames consurn'd ; In the njid-air ihey float, borne on light w ing To Pluto. O my Sire, for sure thou hear'st Thy Children's lamenlalions, shall 1 bear The shield hereafter to avenge thy death? IPHIS. May the time come, my Son, when the just Gods T(» jne, shall for thy valiant Father's death in Em ipidem : tJie sentiment syiili yiXov' aycih^' a^o-.-.ui oig ( o;- c-i) (j.ain;, will I apprehend lo most readers seem very natui-al in the Moiitli of Ipliis ; vliereas nothing can be more t::e reverse than to make t!ie Chorus say (as Mr. Tyrwhittand Dr. Musgravehave done) " I shall no more beiiold " the dear image of thy Mother," v.lieu die CLoruc cousists of the Mo- there of the slain Chiofi, 60 THE SUPPLIANTS. A full atonement grant : that grievous loss In this torn heart yet rankles unappeas'd. BOY. I our hard fortunes have enough bewail'd. My sorrows ore sufficient. I will take My stand where chosen Grecian chiefs, array 'd In brazen arms, with transport will receive me Th' avenger of my Sire. E'en now these eyes Behold thee, O my father, on my cheeks A kiss imprinting, tho' the winds have borne Thy noble exhortations far away. But thou hast left two mourners here behind, Me and my Mother : venerable man, No time can from thy wounded soul efface The grief thou for thy Children feel'st. IPHIS. The load Of anguish which I suffer is so great That it hath quite overcome me. Hither bring. And let me clasp those ashes to my breast. BOY. These bitter lamentations have I heard With streaming tears ; they rend my inmost soul. IPHIS. Thou, O my Son, art lost; and I no more Thy Mother's dear, dear image shall behold. THESEUS, ADRASTUS, IPHIS, CHORUS. THESEUS. Behold ye, O Adrastus, and ye Dames Of Argive race, these Children, in their hands Bearing the relics of their valiant Sires By me redeem'd? Athens and I, these gifts On you bestow : still are ye bound to cherish A memory of those benefits, obtained Thro' my victorious spear. To all I speak In the same terms. With honour due repay THE SUPPLIANTS. 6l This city, and the kindness, which from us Ye have experienc'd, to your children's children Transmit thro' latest ages. But let Jove Bear witness, with what tokens of our bount}' Ye from this realm depart. ADRASTUS. Full well we know What favours you, O Theseus^ have conferr'd Upon the Argive land, when most it needed A Benefactor; hence will we retain Such gratitude as time shall ne'er efface. For we, the generous treatment which from you We have receiv'd, as largely should requite. THESEUS. Is there ought else I can bestow ? ADRASTUS. All hail; For you and Athens every bliss deserve. THESEUS. May Heaven this wish accomplish ! and may'st thou My friend, with equal happiness be crovvn'd. MINERVA, THESEUS, ADRASTUS, IPHIS, CHORUS. MINERVA. Attend, O Theseus, to Minerva's words, And thou shall learn what thou must do to serve This country ; give not to the buys these bones To bear to Argos, on such easy terms Dismissing them. But to requite the toils Of thee and of thy city, first exact A solemn oath, and let Adiastus swear. For he, its King, for the whole Argive realm Is qualified to answer, and be this The form prescrib'd ; " Ne'er will Mycene's sons " Into this land a hostile squadron lead, " But hence, with their protended spears, repell r.'i THE SUPPLiAXTS. ' Eac^Ii fierce invader." It the sacred oath Tney inipionslv should viohite, and rnarcli Against thy cily, |)ray that iiit( r ruin IVJaj hglit on Argos, and its peijui'd state. But where the Gods require that thou slialt slay The victim'^, I will tell thee ; in thy palace <3n hrazen feet a nmssive tripod stands Which eist AU-ides, when the walls of Troy He from their lui.sis had o'ei thrown, and rush'd iNew lahours to accoinpiish, gave command, Close to the (30) Pythian altar, should he plac'd. When on this tiipod thou hast slain three sheep. The destined victims, in its hollow rim Inscribe (lie oath ; then to that God consign V\ ho o'er the Delphic realm presides : such tablet To Greece shall testify the league ye form. But in the ImwcIs of the earth conceal The knife with which the victims thoujiast slain^ For this, when shewn, should they hereafter come,, With armed bands, this city to assail, Will strike Mycene's Marriors with dismay, And their return embitter. When these rites Thou hast perform'd, the ashes of the dead Send from this region, and to them assign That grove in which their corses have by fire Been purified, the spot wlieie meet three roads Sacred to th' (31) Isthmian Goddess. This to the«^ (30) Dramatic Poets are seldftm accurate in their Chronology ; upon refening to the word livQioy in SuiiJas, I find the Temple of Apollo at Athens, known by that name, was erected, near seven hundred years after the days of Theseus, by Pisistratus ; and it appears from Thuc}- dides, L. vi, c. 54, that the altar here spoken of, (which that Historian, who was some years yonnger than Euripides, informs us was standing in bis time) owed its foundation to Pi^istratus, son of Hippiiis, and grand- son to the celebrated tyrant of that nan-.e who built Uie temple. (Si) " Ino, or Leucothea, to whom the rock in the Istlnuus, where " she threw herself into the sea, was afterwards deemed sacred : it is " evident from Pausanias, that many places in the Pelopoucus bore th« THE SUPPLIANTS. Gs O Tlicscu;-;, have I spoken : to the Boys Who spring iVom those slain Argive chit Is 1 arid ; Ismenos' city, soon as ye attain ^laturer years^ shall ye in ruin lay, Retaliating the slaughter oFyour Sires; Tnou too, /Egialeus, an youthful Chief, Shalt in thy Tather's stead comnKuid the host. And marching from iEtolia's rcahn, the Son Of Tydeus, Diomede by name; the down No sooner shall o'erspread your hlooming cheeks. Than with a hand of Ajgive warriors clad In glittering armour, with impetuous rago, Ye the seven Thehan turrets shall assail ; Them, in your wrath, shall ye^ in manhood's prime, Like whelps of lions visit, and lay waste The city. What I have foretold^ ere long Will he accomplish'd. By applauding Greece Call'd the Epigoni^ ye ^^hall become A theme for your descendants' choral songs, " name of Ino, wlio, in lier fli2;ht towards the Istiimiis, is saiil to have " passed over Gerania, a mountain ot'Mc<;aia, wliicli juts out into the " sea, and is situated between Eleusir.ia and tlie Istlnnus. The ArjL;ive " chiefs were buried near the road between Eleusine and Meijara, m iucli " appears to have been situated at the foot of Gerania : she nnist (liere- " fore liave passed tlirough Eieusinia. Is it not probable tlien, that, at the " time of lier biina; there, she should liuve sat down at some spot wliere " three roads meet, either from not knowing which path to take, or " through fatigue ; or at least thit such an account shonUl have been " forged and obtained crecii"^ among the people, whence the place after- " wards retained her name from the tradition of such event, whether true " or false? moreover, tliat no one may consider this as spoken at rainloui, " it is proved by the testimony of Plutarcii, Sympos. ">, prob. ;>. that " there was a place in Megaia which derived its name from the llii,lit " of Ino." Dr, INIisgrave. Ha{l our Author's Tragedy of Ino, several fragments of wliicli are still extant, been tiansniiitted to us entire, it would, in all probahiiity, have entirely cleared np this point. But the above is so satisfactoiy a defence of the vulgar reading and punctuation, that I omit troubliiiy; the reader with the attempts of Bro'la-us, Barnes, and Markland, to apply what is here said of the Ueity of the Isthmus rattier to Diana or Neptune. (ii THE SUl'PLIAiNTS. Sucli S(|iKulr()ns ye to battle shall lead furtli FavoiuM by righteous Jove. THESEUS. Thy dread injunctions, ^ ISIitierva, awctiil Queen, will f obey : For I, while thou direct'st nie, cannot eir. I (Voni Adrastus will exact that oath, Deign only ihou to guide my steps aright, For to our city if thou [)rov*st a friend We shall enjoy blest safet}-. CHORUS. Let us go, Adrastus, and eternal friendship swear To Theseus and his city, lor the toils They have endur'd^ our grateful reverence claim. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Saepius olim Religio peperit scelerosa atque impia facta : Aulide quo pacto Trivial virginis Aram IphianassaV turpamnt sanguine fcede Ductores Danaum, delecti, prima virorun. LvCRETIVi. VOL. II PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. AGAMEMNON. AN AGED ATTENDANT. CHORUS OF DAMES OF CHALCIS, MENELAUS. MESSENGER. CLYTEMNESTRA. IPHIGENIA. ACHILLES. SCENE — THE COAST BORDERING ON THE HA\'EN OP AULIS IN B(EOTIA. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. AGAMEMNON, AN AGED ATTENDANT. AGAMEMNON. V/'OME forth, my aged follower, from this tent. ATTENDANT. I come. But what fresh scheme employs the thoughts Of royal Agamemnon ? AGAMEMNON. Thou shalt hear. ATTENDANT. I haste. Old age gives keenness to these eyes. And makes them strangers to sleep's balmy gifts, AGAMEMNON. What star now holds his course ? ATTENDANT. 'Tis Sirius borne Near the seven Pleiades in mid career. AGAMEMNON. No sound is heard, or from the feather'd choir. Or ocean's waves ; the silent winds still keep Euripus in a calm. ATTENDANT. But w hy rush forth, My Sovereign, from your tent ? fur o'er this coast Of Aulis still an universal rest Prevails, and station'd on yon walls remain The centinels, in motionless array. Shall we go in ? " AGAMEMNON. Thee, O thou aged man, Happy I deem, and happy all who live F 2 68 IPIITGENIA IN AULTS. From danger free, inglorious and unknown : But ihose on whom great honours wait, I holfoif, Hemsteriiusius substitutes v.i-^i^{j.iw for xf^^'ijLuvc; ; and Heath, ^larkland, and Dr. 7>Iusgrave, prefer vayj^nixmi; ; but I am not able to discover any reason tbey have for wishing to change the text. n IPTITGENTA IN AULIS. By proclamation to disband the host. Resolving that I never would permit ]Vly Daughter to be slain ; till me at length By every argument my Brother won To undertake an office most abhorr'd. I wrote, and to mj' Wife dispatch'd the scroll. That hither, as Achilles' destin'd Bride, Our Daughter she should send : I of his rank Full highly spoke, and said he would not join The fleet, unless a Consort of our lineage Were borne to Phthia. These persuasive words I to my Wife address'd: the virgin's nuptials Are but a fiction crtiftily devis'd. Calchas alone, of all the Grecian host, Llysses, Menelaus, and myself. Know the true fact. My unadvis'd decrees Are justly countermanded iq this letter M'liKh thou beheld'st me, mid'st the gloom of night. Opening and folding up again. But go. And take it hence to Argos : the contents. Yet unreveal'd, in words will I explain To thee at large, because, thou to my Wife, And th' interests of my house, still faithful prov'st. ATTENDANT. Inform me what they are, so shall my tongue Agree with the commissions of my Lord. AGAMEMNON. '' After my former letter, I again ** To thee, O progeny of Leda, write ; *' Thy Daughter to Euboea's vyinding shores (6) (6) The Euripiis w as so narrow in the part where it separated Aulls, which is situated in the province of Boeotia, from Chalcis in tlie island of Euboea, that we find mention made by SUabo, of a b) idiie of conunimi- cation beuig tliere thrown over it. The Chorus indeed in the ensuing Ode represent tliemselves as having passed by water from Clialcis to Auhs. In the transposition of tlie two hues spoken by the Attendant, and tJirowing the contents of tlie letter into one continued speech, I have p|}e^ed the directions of Reiskius, Markland, aud IMusgrave, IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. ' 7S " And Aulis' haven send not, we her nuptials " Will, at a future season, relebrate." ATTENDANT. Rut of his promis'd Consort when deprived Will not Achilles instantly burst forth Into a storm of anger against you And Clytemnestra ? in this too there lies Much danger: speak your thoughts. AGAMEMNON. ^Vith his name only Achilles furnishes us ; in the maid He hath no real interest, nor knows aught Of such espousals : to my'present schemes An utter stranger, never hath he heard How I my Daughter cali'd his destin'd Bride (7) Pretending to consign hei to liis arms. ATTENDANT. Most shocking was this enterprise, O King, Having pronounc'd her thus the future Wife Of Thetis' son, your Daughter to these shores A victim for the Greeks, would you have brought. AGAMEMNON. Alas ! I was not in my perfect mind. The snares of fate entangle me: but hence (7) " From Ibis form of speech we learn, that after such giving his *' Daugliter the name of her intended husband, she would no longer " be called sunply Iphisenia, but Aciiilles's Iphigenia. Penelope, itt " Ovid's Epistles, refers to tliis custom. " Tua sum tua dicar oportet j '' Penelope conjux semper Uljssis ero." Still am I yours, and this distmction claim, Still to be cali'd by your illustrious name, And to the latest period of my life, Keniain Penelope Ulysses wife. ^Ir. Maiklaiid, from whom I have extracted the above, proceeds with S variety of other inytances, some of %\ Inch seem apposite to the pur- pose, and others utterly foreign fiom it, particularly KXfjj9r«oj Ayn^^a/M from Herodotus, L. vi, 131,, wl'.ich tliere evidently means Agarista, the Paughter, and not the affianced Bride or \^'ife of Clistheues, 74 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Proceed with active step, nor let old age Retard thy journey. ATTENDANT. O my Lord, I haste. AGAMEMNON. Wiiere groves o'erhang the fountains, sit not down* Nor yield incautious to bewitching Sleep. ATTENDANT. Forbear that word ill-omen'd. (8) AGAMEMNON. As thou tread'st Where the roads separate, watchfully observe On rapid axle lest a car whirl by, Aud bear my Daughter to the Grecian fleet, ATTENDANT. This shall be done. AGAMEMNON. Away, and if thou meet Their chariot, seize the reins, and send them back To those tam'd cities which the Cyclops rear'd. (8) Sleep being considered by the antieuts as the Brother of Death, accorduig to Homer, Ev9' Tttv^j Su|U.I?>.>i']o, xxunymlu ^osvalow. II. xiv. V. 231. And seeks the cave of Death's half-brother Sleep. Pope. In like manner aniong the forms which jEneas meets with in Virgil at his entrance on the infernal regions aie Letliumque, laborque Tiuii consangiihieiis Lethi sopor. JEn. L. vi. v. 278. Here toils and Death and Death's half-Brother Sleep. Drydesj. In Hesiod's Generation of the Gods, Death and Sleep are represented as having Night for their Mother without any Father. v.ca Sfavcilov, T£'/ts ^'Ytivov, 4'x7i ^f ^JtiXov 0V£«gi«v', Ol1iV4 xoiuyiSuaa @£a tiks Ni;| s^s^em. Theog. V. CCxi. Now darksome Night fruitful began to prove Without the knowledge of connubial love. From her bla. k womb sad Destiny and Fate Death, Sleep, and numerous Dreams derive their date. Cooke. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 75 ATTENDANT. But how, if I speak thus, shall I find credit, Or with your Daughter or the royal Dame? AGAMEMNON. The seal, which on that letter I have stamp'd, Preserve unbroken. Go, for Morn lights up Her torch already, and Hyperion's steeds Breathe fire. Assist mv toils. Unmin^led bliss Till ends this fleeting life, hath none obtain'd ; The man exempt from grief was never born. [^Exeunt, CHORUS. ODE. I. 1. To AiJis' sandy coast I steer'd mj' way, Thro' Euripus' billowy straits Which separate from this winding bay Chalci«, my native city, to whose gates Diffusing riches o'er the genial soil (Q) Fam'd Arethuse conducts her spring, And hastes her tributary waves to b^ing To the dread ruler of llie main : That I might see yon host o'erspread the plain. And the stout sailors with obdurate toil. The tough oar plying, and unfurl'd each sail. The Demigods of Greece convey : Our Husbands tell ; in gallant pride A thousand vessels plough the azure tide j Brave Menelaus sheath'd in mail. And Agamemnon, o'er the watery way For Troy conduct them, Helen to regain From Eurotas' reedy plain Whom Paris bore, a gift the Queen of Love Promis'd, when at the fount she strove (9) Thus likewise Pliny ; Euboea foute Aretluisa nobilis. Nat. Hist. L. iv. c. 21. ** 76 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. With Juno and Minerva, where her eyes The golden apple won, superior beauty's prize. I. 2. With victims strewn, I pass'd Diana's grove. Blushes ting'd my glowing cheek, But youthful ardour bid me rove, A new and wondrous spectacle to seek, The camp intrench'd, the tents, and numerous steeds. Two social Chiefs, each Ajax, there My eyes beheldj this brave Oi'leus' heir, That drew from Telamon his birth ; The pride of Salamis, his parent earth, Protesilaus too; in flowery meads (10) Sporting with sculptured dice the warriors lay ; Then Palamedes, Nauplius Son Of Nei)tune was his Sire, and near Whirling a quojt did Diomede appear ; (10) The word Uito-o;, which hkewise occurs in the Medea, v. f.3, and the Suppliants, v. 409, has been productive of much controversy and various inteipretations, some rendering it Dice and others Chess. In the first book of Iloraei-'s Odyfsey, the suitors of Penelope are represented as playing at this game, llie explanatory terms made use of by the Scholiast aie Kv^oi and "i'n^oi : Pope translates it Chess, and refers us to Athensrus, who has preserved a circumstantial account of tlie maimer in which Apion the Grammarian i elates that Cteson an inhabitant of Ithaca informed him, that the suitors played at this game, which ap- pears to be of a distinct species from eitlier Dice or Chess, Herodotus asserts that the Lydians in the reign of Atys sOn of Manes, were the discoverers : tu/ii xv£uv y.cu tiuv rec■7^ay«^x^-v ywi Ti; o->p«i^.»); and every other spe^ cies of games except tu.v ns-cru-v, tiie invention of which is unanimously ascribed to Palamedes at the siege of Troy. The reader, who is curious in these matters, will find the subject largely discussed by Eustathius, p. 1396, ed. Komae 1550 : and Meursius in his tieatise do Ludis Graeco- rum. Freret in the Academic des Inscriptions, v. 5. hist. p. 2p'i, asserts that tlie game of Chess was unknown till the fiftli centurj', and origi- nated from an Indian Bramin : tlie circumstance which strikes me as giving a decisive weight to his account is, that ZaTf""ov the Greek word for Chess, said to be derived fiom the Persian language, is unknown to the more antient writers and lexicographers, but occurs in the Scholia to ft Theocritus' Idyll, vi. v. 18. Meursius Glossarium Giapco-Baibaruni, et Du Cange Glossarium ad Scrip tores media? et infinia' Gni;citatis. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 77 Astonish'd mnltitudes survey Meriones, far fatii'd for trophies won, Who from the God of War his hneagc boasts. And from the wave-encircl'd coasts Of Ithaca, for mountains steep renown'd, Laertes' Son in. arms was found, Accompanied by Nireus to the field, (11) To whose engaging form each Grecian Chief must yield. T « Achillea too I saw, whose agile feet Equaird in their career the passing wind. Him Thetis bore, and Chiron form'd his generous mind. Close by the shore where lay the anchor'd fleet ; In arms he strove with emulative pace From rapid steeds to win the race. But with loud shouts Eumelus whirl'd along, (12) Four coursers graceful to behold Caparison'd with studded gold (11) This Ode being in a great measure borrowed from the catalogue of tlie Grecian fleet in tlie second book of tlie Iliad : the beauty of Nneu'^, on which Homer so much expatiates, naturally claims a place for hini in this accoimt of the Heroes, given by the Dames of Chalcis, who forpi the Chorus, notwithstanding Few his troops, and small his strength in arms. Pope. In the sixth book of Quintus Calaber, Nireus falls by tlie spear of Eurypylns. It may seem extraordinary that the Tragic Poet should thus join Ulysses and Nireus, two persons of manners as unsuitable to eaclt other, as the islands over which they reigned were remote ; Syma, whence, Homer mentions Nireus bringing t!nee ships, and of which Diodorns Siculus also informs us he was Ring, being according to Strabo, one of those islands which are at no great distance from the coast of Caria, with tlie main continent of Greece, antl large tiac-ts of ocean between that and Ithaca. In Homer, Ulysses commands twelve ships. II. L. xii. V. 631—637. (12) Homer gives Eumelus two mares whose superior speed to any horses in the Grecian camp is celebrated II. I. ii. v. 763 — 767; and in the Chariot race, at the funereal Games of Patroclus, they are at the point of obtaining him the prize, wbeu he is thrown from his seat bj 73 IPHIGENIA IN AULTS. Onward lie drove, and wav'd his leiigtlien'd thong; White spots adoin'd the two that hore the yoke, Two more abreast, in slighter harness wheel'd The ghding car, which scarce imprcss'd the field ; Their solid hoofs with oft-repeated stroke Dasird on ; yet they obey'd the reins, Dappled their legs, flame-coloiir'd were their manes. Yet could not speed like theirs avail T' outstrip Pelides, with unwearied force Minerva, who favouis his competitor Dioraede : Eumehis brings eleven ships from Pherea, mentioned v. 711. 715. among the catalogue of the Grecian forces. That the reader may not be interrupted with a note to every sentence, I here proceeJ with my references to the second book of tlie IHad, where the Myrmidons in fifty ships commanded by Achilles are mentioned, v. 681 — 68.5, tJie division from Argos, over which Dio- mede is first in command, Slheuelus second, and Euryalus third, consists cf eighty ships, v. 559 — 568 ; the ships of Athens lu re commanded by the Son of Theseus (either Acamas or Dcmophoon) instead of sixty, are fifty, under Menestheus, whose rei?n, though its dnrafion was more than twenty years, we find (as I have had occasion to mention in a note en the Hecuba, and as appears more fully from the Tragedy entitled The Children of Hercules) is entirely passed over by Euripides, who makes Acamas and Demophoon the immediate successors of their Father Theseus, v. 546 — 556 ; tlie fifty ships of the Ba-otians under Pcneleus, Leitus, and three other Chiefs, have 120 warriors in each, v. 495—510; the Phocians (who are here but just mentioned) have forty ships com. manded by Schedius and Epistrophus, v. 517 — 526 ; the Locrians the same number under AjaxOilevis, v. 527- 535 : the division from Mycene, au hundred, commanded by Agamemnon himself, v. 569—580 ; from Pylos and o'her parts of Messenia, 90 under Nestor, v. 591 — 602 ; instead of twelve, Homer mentions twenty two ships from j^iiia in Thessaly and the regions bordering on Dodona in Epirus, commanded by Guneus, v, 748 — 755 ; the troops of Elis (sometimes called Epeans, from one of then- kings Epeus, Son of Endymion, mentioned by Pausanias in the commencement of his fifth book) came in forty ships under four leaders, one of them Thalpius the Son of Eurytus ; the same number from the islands called Echinades, situated neai- the mouth of the river Achelous in yEtoUa, under Meges, v. 625 — 630 ; the twelve sliips from Salamis, tinder Ajax Telamon, v. 557. Only part of the Grecian fleet is fiere mentioned by Euripi'les, who sometimes does not specify the number of ships, but wherever he does, his list accords in this nspect witli Homer's ; the Tragic Bard having oidy taken away ten ships from the squadron of the ,£nians in order to add them to, timt of liis country mea tiie Athenians. IPHIGENIA IN ATJLiS. 79 Hard by the spokes he held his course, Tho' cas'd in cumbrous mail. II. 1. Then onward to their numerous ships I came. Stupendous objects;, with dehght Each spectator to inflame, And strike a wondering female's dazzled sight. With fifty barks, were plac'd in the right wing The Myrmidons from Phthia's land : On each high poop, the sculptor's mimic hand In golden imagery express'd A lovely Nereid in cerulean vest. Achilles' dauntless troops these ensigns bring. Next stood the Argive fleet, whose numerous bands Of Sailors plied the dashing oar, *Twas by Mecisteus' offBpring led Euryalus, his Grandsire Talaus bred The stripling, and that high command. With him fierce Sthelenus united bore. The Son of Theseus from th' Athenian strand With sixty barks for combat mann'd Near these was station'd ; on each burnish*d car Seen from the lofty deck afar. Auspicious sign to guard them from the storm ; The Mariners revere Minerva's pictur'd form. f II. 2. Full fifty ships, I saw, Boeotia's fleet. With victorious ensigns grac'd, The Dragon stretcht at Cadmus' feet Emboss'd in gold, on every beak was plac'd, O'er these did earth-born Leitus command : But the next barks from Phocis came. With equal numbers bearing Locris* name Oileus' off'spring Ajax join'd The fleet, and left fam'd Thronium's walls behind '■ But Agamemnon, with a mightier band. 80 IPITIGENIA IN AULIS. Mjxene by the Cyclops reai'd, forsook, An lni!ulir(i sail the Monarch broughlj, {]:]) His steps Adiiistiis did attend, And with the zc.-alous courage of a friend The general's arduous post partook ; Thro' Greece, with unremitting ardour fraught. He urg'd each warrior to pursue the Dame Who yielded to a foreign flame, And from her bridal mansions basely fled* With aged Nestor at their head The barks of Pylos full in sight display 'd Alpheus, with cloven lioofs, on every poop convey 'd, II. 3. Twelve vessels ^nia furnish'd, and its king Guueus presided, Elrs' sons next came, (1 .1) Commentators have varied greatly in their explanations of thit-, passaaje. Some think Adrastiis, King of Argos, and afterwards of Si- cyon, is here introduced tlnough a poetical licence, though his death was previous to the siege of Troy. In Barnes's version we find Adrastu* hand fiigitunis Menelaiis; and Mr. Markland concurs in supposing AifC'jTo^ to mean that Hero : but I rather apprehend wf ipixo; ipihu to de- note the person here mentioned to have been a subject of Agamemnon, wliom he admitted to the familiarity of a friend ; nor is it probable, that any confederate Sovereign should be descril)ed as his assistant in marshal- ling that particular division of the fleet which attended him from Mycene, and least of all, his Brother, Menelaus, who, as Homer informs us, launched a separate squadron of sixty ships from his own Spartan do- minions. Upon the whole, I can discover no sufficient motive for either altering, or putting a forced construction on the antient reading,*- by rais- ing up tlie manes of the dead. Tliis Adrastus, I grant, is not to be found in Homer ; nor is it material to our present inquiry, whetlier he is wholly passed over as a person in a subordinate station, who performed no memorable achievement, or whether he died, or like Protesilaus and many others were slain by the enemy, in the course of those nine years, which nitcivened from the rendezvous of the fleet at Aulis, to tha Jast year of the Trojan war, at which period of time the Iliad opens. Since I wrote the above, I have consulted the note on this passage in the new edition of Euripides published by Dr Musgrave, who with great probability, supposes the Adrastus here spoken of to be the son of Polyiiices, mentioned by Pausanias, who had an hereditaiy claim by his Motlier's side to tlie kingdom of Argos, and interprets mj 91X0; (piXio Itift waving all private enmity in support of the general cause of hi« countiy. IPHIGENIA IN AULTS. 81 Whom from their antient Lord the crowd Epeans name. Them to the war did stern Eurytus bring, From the Echinades to Auhs' shores The Taph-ians plied their hghter oars, Meges commanded, who from Phyleus springs, On their inhospitable strand JSo mariner presumes to land. Closing the space between the marshall'd wings, Ajax, the prince of Salamis, appear'd, » In twelve swift barks, conspicuous to our view. His sailors I observ'd a dauntless crew : The ship, by a Barbarian pilot steer'd To grapple with such foes, no more Shall ever homeward ply the dashing oar. Hail, AuHs, from wliose sandy plain These eyes dehghted saw the naval host ; Th' encampment on thy peopled coast My memory shall retain. MENELAUS, ATTENDANT, CHORUS. ATTENDANT, (to Menelaus, who is forcing the Letters from him.) Such daring violence, such open wrong, Becomes not Menelaus. MENELAUS. Slave, depart ; Thou carry'st thy fidelity too far. ATTENDANT. Reproaches on so glorious an account But do me honour. •MENELAUS. Soon shall thou repent. If thou presume to act a part ill-suited • To thy low rank, ATTENDANT. You ought not to have opeu'd The letter I convey, VOL. II, c 82 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. MENELAUS. In or thou to have borne That scroll with mischiefs fraught to every Greek. ATTENDANT. Debate that point hereafter, and release it. MENELAUS. I will not quit my hold. ATTENDANT . Nor will I meanly Surrender up my trust. MENELAUS. This sceptre soon Shall with thy blood defile that hoary head. ATTENDANT. To perish in the service of my Lord Were sure an honourable death. MENELAUS. Let go : 31ave as thou art^ presum'st thou to harangue ? ATTENDANT. My royal Master, I am wrong'd ; thy letter . He from my hands hath wrested, nor will act As justice dictates. AGAMEMNON, MENELAUS, ATTENDAN CHORUS. AGAMEMNON. What tumultuous sounds Burst thro' the gates, what unbecoming words? ATTENDANT. My tale, not his, your first attention claims. AGAMEMNON. Say, Menelaus, whence this struggle rose ? Why didst thou drag him forcibly along ? [ExiV ATTENDANT. MENELAUS, holding up the Letter. Look on my face : to what I shall unfold, This is the prelude. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 83 AGAMEMNON. Shall not Atreus' son Open his eyes without dismay ? MENELAUS. Behold you These characters subservient to designs Most infamous ? AGAMEMNON. I see ; but first restore The letter. MENELAUS. Not till I its foul contents To every Grecian leader have display'd. AGAMEMNON. What ! wert thou mean enouo;h to break the seal And thence discover what thou should'st not know? MENELAUS. These secret machinations, to your sorrow, Have I detected. AGAMEMNON. Tell me how thou cam'st To intercept my letters ? O ye Gods, What shameless treachery in thy soul is lodg'd ! MENELAUS. I waited for your Daughter to arrive From Argos at the camp. AGAMEMNON. Why should'st thou watch Aught that is mine ? betray not these proceedings A want of decency ? MENET^US. Because my will Did instigate; because I am no slave To your behests. AGAMEMNON. Are not these outrages G 2 S4 JPIHGENIA IN AULIS. jNIost daring ? shall not I in my own house Be sufter'd to bear rule? IMENELAUS. Your crooked schemes This present moment vary from the last, And at the next as suddenly will change. AGAMEMNON. Thou shew'st thy skill : yet is there nought more hateful Than the vile sophistcr's insidious tongue. MENELAUS. The soul that wavers is devoid of justice. And not to be relied on by our friends. I would convince you ; in your wrath reject not Th' unwelcome voice of truth. I cannot flatter. Full well you know when eagerly you sought To be the general of the Grecian troops And lead them on for Troy, you in appearance Declining what you wish'd for^ humbly squeez'd The meanest of the people by the hand. Your doors were open'd wide for all who chose To enter, and to each, e'en to the man Who would have way'd such honour, in his turn You courteously gave audience, while you strove To render that authority your own (14) Which yet was undispos'd of. Having gain'd This point, your manners instantly you chang'd. And to your former friends no longer shew'd Th' attachment you so lately had profess'd^ Hard of access, and seldom to be found (14) Tlie phrase tjc fj.ia-w, v\ Iiich Barnes, and Dr. Musgrave have ren- dered a vulgo, is in iMr. INIarkland's version quod in medio jacebat. The meaning seems to be the same with that given by the interpreters to romnnmia in Hoiace, where he says in his Art of Poetry, difficile est propvie comminiia dicere, by which tliey understand the difficulty of writing on a nav subject, or what lies open to all men and is yet unap- propriated : as was the case with the command in chief of the Grecian forces on their first assembling, each squadron being led by tlie King or Gcnsral of au independent stiite. IPHIGENIA IN .AUUS. 85 At home. But when in highest stations plac'd. An aUcr'd carriage ill befits the man Of real virtue : to his friends he ought To be most stcdfast, when effectual means Of aiding them his prosperous fortune yields. My censure, with the faults I first perceiv'd Fn you, have I begun : but since you came To Aulis with th' assembled troops of Greece, \ou shrunk to nothing: Heaven's impending wrath With consternation fill'd y^'u ; prosperous gales Arose not: the impatient host exclaim'd ; " Disband the fleet, nor linger here in vain." What grief and what confusion did those eyes Express, as if depriv'd o!" your command Over a thousand ships, ere you have cover'd The fields of Priam with avenging troops! To me you then applied ; '' how shall I act, " What scheme devise?" lest stripp'd o/such high rank, You with your power should forfeit all renown. Since Calchas at the holy rites declar'd Your daughter to Diana must be given In sacrifice, that on these terms, the host A favourable vo3aige would await. With jf)y you promis'd of your own accord To offer up the victitn, and dismiss'd A messenger (pretend not to allege 'Twas thro' constraint) your Consort to direct To send the Virgin hither, on pretence That she shall wed Achilles. Now you change Your purpose, and in secrecy dispatch Another letter, that on no pretence Will you your Daughter at the altar slay. Witness thou conscious air, for sure thuu heard'st These inconsistencies. Too many act As you have done, in labouring to obtain Authority, with meanness then recoil; SomCj by the judgement of a foolish crowd. «6 IPIIIGENIA IN AULIS. By their own conscience, others, sway'd, who prove Too feehle to maintain the public weal. But chicily [ lament the woes of" Greece, Who nobly aiming at a great revenge 'Gainst those Barbarians, leaves the slaves to scoff At our repulse : this shame she owes to you, And to your Daughter. Kindred ties alone With me sliall ne'er prevail when I appoint Tlie ruler of a city or the chief Entrusted with the conduct of an host, A general should be eminently wise : Men of superior intellects were born To govern. CHORUS. O how dreadful are their feuds When brothers fir'd with mutual rage contend ! AGAMEMNON. I, too, 'gainst thee will utter my complaints In terms concise and guarded, not replete With impudence, but sage fraternal love. For a base man is wont to have no sense Of honest shame. What means that furious look. Why glare those blood-stain'd eyes? who wrongs thee speak What are thy wishes? hop'st thou to obtain (15) A virtuous Consort? such I cannot give. For she thou hadst was lost thro' thy misconduct. Must I, tho' guiltless, in thy stead be doom'd (15) The reading of the Aldus edition, Xfx7j' loa; ye xfi"« >^S'hv, has been retained by Henry Stephens, Cantcrus, Barnes, and Dr. Musgrave, either without any variation, or such as is immaterial to an English reader; Mr. Markland has, however, in the most peremptory manner, dictated an alteration, the truth of which he says he thinks it impossible to make any doubt of, and instead of tMg ye y^^^-ct, reads sixa-^f^^H;: the meaning of the passage thus new modelled is " do you tmnt to have " my Wife!" not a single manuscript is cited in its support: sciipturae vestigia, which he mentions in his note, seems too vague an expression, and no such traces do we meet with in any other editor. AVere such reading to be adopted, I greatly question whether the Tragic Muse, in IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 8t To suffer? can a Brother's rank offend? Yet seek'stthou to embrace the beauteous Dame, Tho* reason, and tho' houom's voice forbid ? The pleasures of the worthless are most vile. If I whojudg'd amiss at first, have chang'd On thoughts mature my purpose, am I frantic ? Thou rather, who hast lost a faithless Wife, And would'st bringback the pest which Heav'n remov'd. The Suitors, that insensate amorous train, Engag'd themselves to Tyndarus by an oath : But Hope became their Goddess; she, I deem, Had more effect on their deluded souls Than all thy interest, or thy vaunted powei*. Collect this troop, and issue to the field. Where, of thy folly soon am I convinc'd Thou the effects wilt feel. For sure the Gods (16) Are not devoid of wisdom, but perceive What oaths are lawless and by force extorted. Altho' thy interests may require such breach any age or countiy whatever, could furnish us wth a more striking l)reach of Horace's precept. Nee quicunque Deus, quicunque adhibebitur Heros Regali conspectus in auro nuper et ostro, Migret in obscuras humiU sermone tabernas. " Who lately shone a Hero or a God, " Array'd in purple robes and royal gold, " Shall not adopt the language of the stews." Duncombe. The faults of Agamemnon's character, as drawn by Homer and the three great Tragic Poets of Greece, are perhaps as conspicuous as his virtues, but they are not defects of that nature as to reduce liim to a level viiih the Kings of Lucian and Scarron, or aii'ord any sanction to the Critics, who introduce liini holding such language as is suited only to old Silenus, or the drunkcu monster Polypheme. (16) In adding tlie line Ovynf a^w^ai to S'.-iov, ftxx' e^ii a-jvumi, preserved in the writings of Theophilus of Antioch, and Stoba'us, Tit. 28. I have followed the directions of Heath and Dr. Musgrave; the many conjectural alterations of the latter in this speech being of a more questionable nature, I do not presume to interfere with tliem, but endea- vour to translate in the best manner I am able, what I apprehend, from the concurrence of Aldus and Barnes, to be the more genuine text. 88 IPITTCENIA IN AULIS. Of justice, I my cliildreii \vill not slay, To aid thee in tliy vengeance lor the loss or an abandon'd VVite. By night, by day. How should I ()ine, how melt away in tears. After a deed thus impious against those Whom I begot ! 'Ilie words I use are kw, Clear and explicit. If tliou wilt not judge Aright, my firm resolves I shall maintain. CHORUS. This and your former language disagrees, Yet sure 'twere right our children's lives to spare. MENELAUS. Have I no friends ? wretch that I am ! AGAMEMNON. Thou liast When thou those friends attempt'st not to destroy. MENELAUS. How will you prove that from one sire we sprung? AGAMEMNON. In wisdom would I sympathise with thee, But not in madness. MENELAUS. Friends are bound to share Then- friends' afflictions. AGAMEMNON. When by me thou act'st A aenerous part, remind me of those duties. Not when thou griev'st my soul. • MENELAUS. Are you then loth To join with Greece in these her common toils? AGAMEMNON. Greece hath been been stricken b}' some envious God : Her frenzy equals thine. MENELAUS. In sceptred pomp You now exalt, nor scruple to betray IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. sy A Brother*s cause: but I will have recourse To other stratagems and other friends. MESSENGER, AGAMEMNON, MENELAUS, CHORUS. MESSENGER. O Agamemnon, monarch of all Greece, To introduce tliat Daughter am I come. On whom you in your palace erst bestow'd The name of [phigenia ; she arrives • Accompanied by her illustrious mother Your Consort Clytemnestra, and your son Orestes. AVith what pleasure will ye meet After so long an absence ! having finish'd Their tedious journey, at the limpid fount The}' lave their wearied limbs ; but we have loos'd The bridles of their steeds, that they ma\^ graze Over the verdant mead. Rut to acquaint you AVith their approach was I sent on before. For the troops know already: fame hath spread Thro' the whole camp glad tidingS; that your Daughter Is come : the host, with a tumultuous haste, Assemble to behold the royal maid. The blest are as a public mark expos'd To wonder and renown. But some enquire, " Is she espous'd, or what are their designs? "^ Impatient for a sight of his lov'd daughter, " Did Agamemnon, our illustrious king, " Send messengers to fetch her:" others cry; " For her ere Hymen waves his kindled torch, " They to Diana, who in Aulis reigns, *^ Present the Nymph : to whom shall she be join'd '' In wedlock ?" for tli' initiatory rites Bring canisters, and crown your heads with flowers. Be it thy care t' arrange the bridal pomp, O Menelaus, let the cheering tluie yo IPHTGENTA IN AULIS. Tliro' each apartment sound, and dancers move Their active feet: for witii iis orient light This morn aii.spi«;ious to the virgin dawns. AGAMEMNON. 'Tis well. But O retire: for all beside, If fate befriend, will we couduet aright. lElit MESSENGER. What shall I say ? ah miserable me ! (17) With thine own woes, thou wretch, thy plaints begin. How am 1 shackled by the galling yoke Of dire necessity ! o'er all my craft Fortune with mightier wisdom hath prevail'd. But what a privilege belongs to those Of humbler stations! they with freedom weep. And speak of their afflictions : but the man Whose birth is noble, feels at once the weight Of all these evils : thro' each stage of life Aw'd by the voice of others, we are slaves To a vile rabble. Shame withholds the tear Just starting from these eyes; again o'erwhelm'd With griefs unnumber'd, blush I that my mourning- Is thus coneeal'd. Enough : but in what terms Shall I accost, or how receive my Wife, How teach these eyes to greet her ? for she adds To those afflictions I already feel, By coining uninvited: yet 'tis just That she a much-lov'd Daughter should attend, At her espousals, and consign the maid To a fond bridegroom's arms : but here alas, (17) The following passage in the Hecuba, cfjutvpn Xtyw >.!yn(Ta siy Ex*Stc V. 736, is a mode of spcal ing similar to what the Poet here makes use of, and the context clearly shews that Agamemnon, according to Cannel- li's inteipretation, speaks of himself by the term ctjSev. It is necessary to premise thus much in support of the genuine text ; as Grotius, Mr. Heath, Mr. Marklaiul, and Dr. Musgrave, have all attempted to under- mine it by their conjectural alteration?. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 91 She my perfidious conduct will discern. As for this wretched Virgin (but why call The destin'd Wile of Pluto by that name ?) How do I pity her! methinks 1 hear The suppliant utleriiig these reproachful words, " O Father, wilt thou kill me? may thyself, (18) '' May they thou lov'st experience such espousals.'' Meantime Orestes, by his Sister's side. With inarticulate expressive notes. For he is yet an infant, shall exclaim, How did the son of Priam, Paris, cause My ruin, for his Bride when he presum'd To seize on Helen ! thence tliese woes I date. CHORUS. Such pity, as from foreign Dames is due To the afflictions of a King, I feel. MENFXAUS Give rae your hand, O Brother. AGAMEMNON. Take my hand ; For I submit: thou triumph'st ; but my lot Is misery. IMENELAUS. By our common Grandsire's shade, I swear, by mighty Pelops, and by Atreus Our Father, that to you I in plain terms, The real dictates of my heart will speak. And banish all disguise. When J beheld Your streaming tears, compassion bade me weep. And change my former purpose : now no more A foe, to your opinions I accede, (18) Alluding to the fate of Agamemnon and his concubine Cassandra, whicli is predicted more at large, with all its concomitant circumstances of horror, in the Agamemnon of jEscliylus, v. 111(3—1334; tlie Trojan Ciptives of our Author, v. 3j7— 36'i; ed. Barnes, 445—461; and in Lycophron, v. 10P9— 1119, by the inspired Cassandra herself. 92 IPTIIGENIA IN AVLIS. Advise you by no mean-; to take away Your Daughter's liFe, nor to my interests give Such preference : tor 'twere not just that you, While I am blest, should groan, and that yourcbildren Should breathe their last, while mine yet view the Sun. What can I wish tor? may not 1 elsewhere, If wedlock be my purpose, gain a Bride, Selected from the noblest Grecian maids ? But shall I lose a Brother justly dear. My treacherous Consort Helen to redeem. And for the wicked thus exchange the good? As youth and inconsiderate rashness prompt I acted erst : but take a closer view Of these transactions, and am now convinc'd What horrors wait the murderer of his Children. Again, while pondering on our kindred tics, I feel compassion for this hapless Maid, Who in the cause of my perfidious wife Is doom'd to bleed : for what hath she to do With Helen ? let the host, disbanded, leave These shores of Auiis: but no longer weep, O Brother, and from these friitei nal eyes Cease to call forth the sympathising tear. If the responses of the Gods, which claim Your Daughter's life, affect you, let not me In these have any share; for I, to save The Virgin, my own interests will forego: But anxious to repeal the harsh decree. Am I affected by a virtuous cause. And to a natural love for bin) w ho springs From the same Father, owe this sudden change. Such is the temper of the man, whose soul Ko vicious habits warp, he ever yields To the most wise suggestions. CHORUS. Generous Avords IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 03 Are these which thou hast spoken^ and most worthy Of Tantakis, Jove's Son : thou wilt not shame Thy great progenitors. AGAMEMNON. O Menelaus, I praise thee ; the concessions thou hast made Transcend my expectations, they become A Brother. MENELAUS. Love and Avarice have dissolv'd Many fraternal ties: U13' soul abhors Such bitterness 'twixt those of the same house. AGAMEMNON. But me in such calamity hath fate Involv'd, that my own Daughter I must slay. MENELAUS. Why slay her .'' who can such constraint impose.^ AGAaiEMNON. The whole assembled armament of Greece. IMENELAUS. They cannot^ if to Argos you send back (19) The host. AGAMEMNON. From them, thus far have I conceal'd (19) Bnimoy interprets this as spoken of the sending back Iphigenia ; and Mr. Marklaiul, whose notes on the two Iphiv«ryarei.t stems iVom wliich they rose To such lii^li ^orU'iies : hke the Gods supreme They lule this tiethcr world, and on the poor Shower portions of their wealth. Here let us stand, Prcpar'd to greet the Queen, Kuboean nymphs. As from her lofty chariot she descends. And in our hands receive her lest she fall. By your assiduous courtesy remove The feais which Agamemnon's royal Daughter May haply on her first arrival feel. IS or with confusion nor in clamorous strains. Let us, who are but strangers in the land, Abruptly to tliese Argive strangers speak, CLYTEMNESTRA, IPHIGENIA, CHORUS. CLYTEMNESTRA. A favourable omen I derive From your benignity, and words whose sound Is most auspicious: hence I entertain Some hope that to blest nuptials I conduct The Virgin. From tlie car those treasures bring Intended for her dower, and in the tent Deposit carefully : with tender foot And delicate, my Daughter, leave thy seat; i3ut O receive her in your youthful arms. Descending from the chariot, and for me That I with safety may alight, perform The same kind office: but let others stand Before those coursers whom no words can sooth If startled : lift Orestes from his seat, »ny part of the island of Eubaa, \n'as at that thne subject cither to Afiiamenuion or Achilles, to whom the Chorus (mindful of the secrecy enjoined tlieni) here affect to consider Iphigenia as on the point of bein Here the printed text seems by no means to stand in need of Dr. Miisgrave's preferred assistance: nor can there be any room to doubt that the circumstance of men newly married, leaving their Wives by whom they had not yet any childien, is mentioned as an in- stance of their e.\traordinai y zeal for the cause of their country. Thus^ Iphidamas, son of Antenor, is recorded by Homer in tlie most honourable terms for leaving his Bride in Thrace, and returning; home immediately, on heai iug, at the vei-y time of his marriage, that the Greeks had in- vaded Troy ; on his being slain by Agamenmon, the Poet thus cele- brates his death : il; jj.v/ ai/6i n!3"U)V KoijJ.yi^cilo yiiK-A.iiei VT.im Oiv-lio;, a-a jj.-)nr>i; ny.oyji ri^oicnii a.yiryu-1y Kaoilm;, ytguliytaoiv iii.. II. L. xi. V. 241. Which is thus beautifully paraphrased l)y Pope ; " Stietcird in the dust th' unhappy warrior lies •' And ^lecp ctiTiial seals his swimming eyes. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. iii With firmness, is my province: for themselves Let others their peculiar wants express. 1 from the region of Pharsaha come. From Peleus' liouse, and on Euripus' banks Waiting for a propitious breeze, restrain The Myrmi(h)ns, who with incessant plaints Assail me ; " O Achilles on these coasts " Why loiter ?'"' and " How long e'er thou direct *' Thy sails for Troy ? Or instantly attempt " Some martial feat, or lead thy squadrons home *^ Nor stay for Atreus' dilatory sons?" CLYTEMNESTRA, ACHILLES, CHORUS. CLYTEMNESTRA. Son of that Goddess who derives her birth From Nereus : hearing, as within I sat, Your voice, from my apartment I come forth. ACHILLES. O sacred modesty! what female form Tlndued with every captivating grace Do 1 behold ? CLYTEMNESTRA. No wonder if you know not Me, whom till now your eyes have never seen : But I commend the revei'ence you express For modesty. ACHILLES. Inform me, who art thou? Or why to the assembled host of Greece " Oh worthy better fate ! Oh early slain ! " Thy country's friends anil virtuous, tho' in vaiu! " No more the youth shall join his Consort's sicle, " At once a Viiiiin, and at once a Bride. It is well known from Deuteronomy, Chap. 24. v. 5, wiiich we find farther illustrated by Selden, in his Uxor Heb. L. 3. c. 3. that the Jewish laws exempted a man from all employments, both military and civil, for one year after his marriage. ivi IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Dost thou a woman come, and mix w iih troops Ana^'d in gliiteiing mail? CLYTEMNESTRA. I am the Daughter OF Leda, Clytemncstra is my name, My Husband, Agamemnon, mighty king. ACHILLES. All that was needful, well hast thou express'd. And with a ckie conciseness : yet in me Unseemly 'twere to parly with a woman. CLYTEMNESTRA. Strange ! wherefore do you fly? with mine unite Your hand, blest omen of the future nuptials. ACHILLES. What mean'st thou ? Join our hands! I fear the wrath Of Agamemnon, with unlicenc'd touch Should I profane his Queen. CLYTEMNESTRA. 'Tis sure allovv'd ; Because, O son of the immortal Thetis, My Daughter you so speedily shall wed. ACHILLES. Of what espousals talk'st thou? with surprise All stupified 1 stand. Thy reason sure Must wander, when this tale thou could'st devise. CLYTEMNESTRA. How natural at the sight of our new kindred. To feel confusion when they mention marriage! ACHILLES. I never sought thy Daughter for my Bride, Nor yet by either of the sons of Atreus To me was such alliance e'er propos'd. CLYTEMNESTRA. What can this mean ? while you with wonder start At what I say ; your words in me create The same amazement. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 113 ACHILLES. Thy conjectures form ; Our own conjectures we may both indulge : For both of us, perhaps, have spoken nought But what is truth. CLYTEMNESTRA. A most atrocious insult I have endur'd, have been employ 'd it seems Thus to propose a mere ideal match. That ne'er was meant to take effect : this shames me. ACHILLES. Some one hath surely sported with us both : But scorn th' imposture, let it not disturb thee. CLYTEMNESTRA, Farewell: for I with stedfast eyes can view Your face no longer ; I am now become A har, and have suffer'd grievous wrongs. ACHILLES. Accept the same farewell : for I in quest Of Agamenmon, these abodes will enter. ATTENDANT, ACHILLES, CLYTEMNESTRA, CHORUS. ATTENDANT. Grandson of ^acus, O stranger, stay, Son of the Goddess, thee I call, and you Dau£:hter of Led a. ACHILLES. Ha ! who opes the doors ! And in wliat wild confusion doth he call me ! ATTENDANT. A servant unpresuming : to my station My temper is adapted. ACHILLES. Say to whom Dost thou belong; for thou art none of mine, VOL. II. I 114 IPHIGENTA IN AULIS. And I liave no connection with the liouse Of Agamemnon. ATTENDANT. ('29) To her family Before she wedilrd : with lier, as a gift. Her father, I'yiidarus, sent me. ACHILLES. Here I wait : If thou need aught, speak wherefore thou detain'st me. ATTENDANT. (30) But are ye two before the gates alone? CLYTEMNESTRA. Thon may'st comn5ur>icate thy thoughts as freely As if we were alone : but come thou Ibrth ' From this thy royal master's tent. ATTENDANT. O Fortune, With my precaution join'd, extend your influence O'er those I wish to save. ACHILLES. Thou must explain (29) As it appears that the Manuscripts varj', I take the middle course between the thiv^j tu-v of Aldus and Barnes, and the rfitrh t^j; of Mr. Maikland and Dr. Musgiave, by reading ma-h rtuv, and make use of the inteiprctation given by Reiskius of woroifc oixav, by which he understands the aiiticnt family of Clytemnestja or Tyndarus at Sparta. (30) A variety of situations occur in the antient drama, such a» occasion Commentators to remind us of the great extent of the Athe- nian stage, to which our modern theatres bear no proportion, and of those divisions in it which might conceal fiom sight the perform- ers stationed in a remote part : the reader also must have remaiked that at the time of the entrance of this Messenger or Attendant (who, as Mr. Markland observes, is evidently the same person with whom Agamemnon converses in the first scene of this Tragedy, thongh most editors there call him a^^cSivg, and here ^e^arMv) Acliilles and Clytemnestra were both retiring, and stood close to the door at a considerable distance from the Chorus, who bore no part in the pre- ceding dialogue. IPHIGENIA IN AULTS. 115 Thy speech hereafter : these are words of weight, CLYTEMxNESTRA. In bending suppHant-iike to touch my hand. If thou hast aught of moment to disclose, Waste not thy time. ATTENDANT. Know ye not who I am, And the attachment I have ever borne To you, and to your children? CLYTEM NOSTRA. Well I know Thou in my house hast been a servant long. ATTENDANT. And that, as an appendage to your dower. The royal Agamemnon erst receiv'd me r CLYTEMNESTRA. Thou cam'st to Argos in my train, and mine Hast ever been. ATTENDANT. E'en thus ; and hence more strongly To you than to your Lord, am I attach'd. CLYTEMNESTRA. Thy business, now at length, to us unfold. ATTENDANT. The merciless resolve her Sire hath form'd Is this; to slay your Daughter. CLYTEMNESTRA. Horrid tale ! Old man, what mean'st thou ? thou art frantic, sure. ATTENDANT. Smiting the hapless Virgin's snowy neck With his drawn sword. CLYTEMNESTRA. Ah, wretched wretched me I Hath my Lord lost his reason ? 1 2 11(5 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. ATTENDANT. He still thinks Aright, except in what relates to you And to your Daughter : here his judgement fails. CLYTEMNESTRA. Say, thro' what cause, what Fiend misleads the King? ATTENDANT. An oracle, which Calchas hath pronounc'd. That the confederate armament may sail. CLYTEMNESTRA. Sail whither? wretched me ! and O most wretched She, whom her Father hath resolv'd to slay ! ATTENDANT. To the Dardanian realm ; that Menelau* His Consort may recover. CLYTEMNESTRA. Is the blood Of Iphigenia then the price of Helen i ATTENDANT. You comprehend the whole : her ruthless Sh*e Will to Diana sacrifice the maid. CLYTEMNESTRA. With what intent those nuptials did he feign. By which he drew me hither? ATTENDANT. That with joy You might conduct her as the destin'd Bride Of great Achilles. CLYTEMNESTRA. Thou, my Daughter, coms't To perish, thou and thy unhappy Mother. ATTENDANT. Most piteous wrongs, alas ! ye both endure. And Agamemnon's purposes are dreadful. CLYTEMNESTRA. I am undone : no longer can these eyes Withhold th' involuntary tear from streaming. IPHTGENTA IN AULIS. 117 ATTENDANT. If e'er in bitterness of" soul we weep^ Tis for our Children's loss. CLYTEMNESTRA. But whence, old man, Dost thou assert that thou these tidings heard'st? ATTENDANT. I, with a second letter, was dispatch'd. CLYTEMNESTBA. To countermand, or to enforce those orders That I should bring my Daughter to be slain ? ATTENDANT. To countermand : your Lord was then inspir'd With better thoughts. CLYTEMNESTRA. But why, since thou didst bear Such letter, not deliver it to me .'' ATTENDANT. 'Twas Menelaus, the detested cause Of all these ills, who tore it from my hands. CLYTEMNESTRA. Brave youth, from Peleus and the Nereid sprung, Hear you this tale? ACHILLES. Thy wretchedness I hear. Nor th' insults shewn to me can pass unnotic'd. CLYTEMNESTRA. They mean to take my Daughter's life away. By the pretence of wedding her to you Beguiling us. ACHILLES. Against thy Lord revolts My soul, -nor will I tamely brook this wrong. CLYTEMNESTRA. I blush not at those knees to fall ; a mortal. To you who from a Goddess spring, I sue. H8 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Why should I still maintain an empty pride. Or strive with greater earnestness for aught Than the deliverance of my dearest child? Offspring of Thetis, succou-r ray distress. Succour a Virgin nam'd, tho' falsely nam'd. Your Bride; yet I with flowers adorn'd her brow, And fancied that I led her to your arms; But now I to the bloody altar lead. On you disgrace will light, if you n;eglect To aid her. Ye indeed in wedlock's bands Were never join'd, yet was you caU'd the Husband Of this unhappy maid. O by that beard, By that right arm, and your immortal Mother, Since 1 am ruin'd thio' your name, assert The honour of that name. I have no shrine Except your knees to fly to, n,ot a friend To cheer me. You have heard the cruel scheme, Th' audacious treachery, fram'd in evil hout By Agamemnon : here, you see, I come, *Midst lawless mariners in mischief bpld, Bui able too, if willing, to assert The cause of the oppress'd ; a feeble womam Extend your guardian arm, and I am sav'd. Else ruin waits me. CHORUS. Of parejital love Great is the power, and like a magic philtre : Inspir'd by nature each fond Mother toils To save her offspring. ACHILLES. My indignant soul Is fir'd by such affronts : tho' no man knows Both how to bear affliction and success With greater moderation. CHORUS. Truly wise IPHIGENIA IN AULIS 119 Are they who persevere thro' every stage "Ol" lite beneatli unbiass'd reiison's guidance. ACHILLES. There is a time when we slu)uid lay aside Each warier thought : but other seasons claim Our utmost prudence. From that virtuous man, Chiron, by whom my inl'ancy was nnrtur'd, Sinipiicity of manners 1 acquir'd. If their commands are just, [ will obey The Sons of" Atreus; when unjust, refuse Each base concession : with a liberal spirit So will I act both here, and when at Troy, As shall do honour to the God I serve Mars the invincible. But as for thee. Whose sufferings from unnatural fi lends arise. All the protection that a youth can give To thee, by pity mov'd, wil! I extend; Nor shall the ruthless Father ever slay Thy Daughter who was styFd my Bride, nor cloak Such treachery with the sanction of Achilles. For tho' I wielded not the murderous blade. My name would be th' assasin : yet thy Lord Is the true cause. No longer from the stain Of shedding guiltless blood should I be pure. If, for my sake, and on a vile pretence Of wedding her to me, this Maid should perish. While Menelaus is esteem'd a man, Shall I be far beneath the meanest Greek, A thing of nought, begotten by some Fiend, Not Peleus' son, if in my name thy Lord The Virgin slay. By Nereus, who resides Beneath the briny deep, the Sire of Thetis Who bore me, ne'er shall Agamemnon touch Thy Daughter, nor |)ollute her spotless veil. Plac'd on the limits of Barbarian realms Sooner shall Sipylus, whence yon proud Chiefs IGO IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Derive their origin, become illusirious, And martial Phtliiu have no more a name. Calclias, that Seeiv, in bitterness ot" soul Shall carry back again his salted cates And lavers, For what species of a man Is he who acts the Prophet? some few truths, With many falshoods mingled^ he deals forth When Fortune aids him : but if she oppose. His vaunted science is for ever lost. How many nymphs in wedlock vie to gain My plighted hand! no empty boasts are these. But Agamemnon, haughty king, with scorn Hath treated me : he ought to have applied For my permission, ere he us'd my name His Daughter to ensnare. For to my arms, With joy, would Clytemnestra have consign'd, And I to all the Greeks surrender'd up. The maid; if hence our voyage to the shores Of Troy had been obstructed, nor refus'd The vveal of my brave comrades t» promote. But now by those two Generals am I deem'd A thing of no account, which as they list They may respect or slight. My last appeal Is to this sword, which ere on Phrygia's coast We land, with crimson slaughter will I stain. If any one presume with ruffian hand To force thy Daughter from mp. Be appeas'd ; Thou (27) view'st me like a tutelary God ; (27) Commentators are frequently most decisive in their lanj^uage, when they have no firm ground to stand upon : Mr. Marklaud, after having pronounced that this passage, as it stands in all preceding editions, is extremehj absurd, ( " stuUissima") through a determination to give no offence to aiiij one, has sutl'ercd the text to remain, but altered the Latin version, and placed in a note his own reading, which comes apparently unsupported by any antiiority cither printed or manuscript, j^iyiolo; w 'yew «xx' oij-vc; ymotlai, maximum est discrimen : sed tamen fiet. In a subse- i^j ui |U.>j /SioTo; waAnf im K laacra iijivKm Karra ^Oi^ivoia-i)/ a.-^ci.'KJtp, Odyss. L. ii. V. 488. llather I chuse laboriously to bear A weight of woes and breathe tlie vital air, A slave to some poor hind that toils for bread, Than reign the scepter'd monarch of the dead. Pope. Tliis doctrine is however severely reprobated by Plato, in the third book of his Republic ; and tlie sarcastic Lucian has founded on this very passage of Homer his 15th Dialogue of the Dead, in which he introduces Antilochus, the son of Nestor, arraigning this declaration ?.s utterly unworthy of Pcleus' son, the pupil of Chiron iind Phcenjx. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 135 At Argos, will they kill, nor in their rage Spare either you or me, if thus I frustrate Diana's oracles. Nor yet by force Hath Menelaus conquer'd, O my Child, Nor have his subtle arguments convinc'd me : But Greece prevails, and thee I in the cause Of Greece must at the altar offer up. Willing or loth : for I to fate must yield. Us it behoves, exerting all our mig!it, The freedom of our country to maintain. For we are Greeks, and will not tamely suffer Barbarian slaves to violate our beds. lExit AGAMEMNON. CLYTEMNESTRA. My Daughter ! O ye foreign Maids ! Soon, hapless Virgin, shalt thou die ; See thy lelentless Father fly, And yield thee trembling to the shades, - IPHIGENIA. Warbling the same pathetic strain With you, my Mother, I complain. No more these closing eyes sliall view The genial radiance of the Morn, The Sun his blest career renew. From you, alas! 1 trace my woes. Ye mountains whire with drifted snows. And Ida's consecrated grove. Where, struggling with paternal love, Priam expos'd the infant, torn From a desponding Mother's breast, Abandon'd on the distant heath To fate and unrelenting death : By Phrygia's wondering tribes carest, Hence youthful Paris did obtain The name of Ida's, Ida's swain. Ah, would to Heaven th' adventurous boy 1S6 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. Had ne'er been destin'd to abide, Where he the lowing herds with joy Did as a simple peasant tend; Nor seen those hmpid rills descend. Haunted by Nymphs, who on their side Oft cropp'd the rose's blushing flowers, And interwove with hands divine Their fragrant hyacynthine bowers: Thither the sage Minerva came, Venus, and Jove's imperial Dame, With Hermes, w horn the Gods enjoin The Thunderer's embassies to bear; (In Cytherea's wanton look, Love revell'd with triumphant air. Her pointed spear Minerva shook, Juno advanc'd with statelier mien Expressive of the sceptcr'd Queen) Their haleUii contest to decide. The pov. cr of rival charms to try : Iheuce, alas! am doom'd to die ; But Greece shall with victorious pride Extend her streaming banners wide. CHORUS. Diana claims thy sprinkled gore ; Hence they shall land on llion's shore. IPHIGENIA. O Mother, how it wounds my heart. To see that treacherous Sire depart ! On him, forlorn, in vain I call. Ah me ! this miserable fate From that iU-omen'd hour I date. When Helen sought the Phrj'gian strand. And now am I decreed to full By my own Father's impious hand. O that these straits had not detain'd The fleet for Ilion bound, nor Jove IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 137 Over Einipus' gulph orclain'd No prosperous wind from Heaven to blow? On some^ the favour'd few, mild gales Cheering their souls doth he bestow, And aid them to unfurl their sails ; But others he forbids to move, Compass'd with various griefs around. And with necessity's fell train ; Those from the port their vessels guide, Weigh anchor, and the surge divide; Moor'd on the coast while tliese remain. Our feeble race with toils abound. E'en all who draw their vital breath. Shall not these destin'd ills content ? Weak man, their number to augment By searching our new modes of death. CHORUS. An2;uish and slauajhter, Greece invade. Thro' Helen, that inconstant fair. I pity thee, unhappy Maid, And wish that thou, by fate betray'd. Such woes hadst ne'er been doom'd to bear. IPHIGENIA. My dearest Mother, I behold a troop Of armed men draw near. CLYTEMNESTRA. And that brave Chief, Sprung from the Goddess, whom thou cam'st to wed. IPHIGENIA. Open the doors : I would conceal myself. CLYTEMNESTRA. O Daughter, whither fliest thou? IPHIGENIA. From Achilles, Whom modesty forbiJs me to behold. CLYTEMNESTRA. Why so? 1S8 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. IPIIIGENIA. Our hapless nuptials make mc blush. CLYTEMNESTKA. Ill floth such bashful delicacy suit Thy fortunes : stay, this is no time for coyness. ACHILLES, CLYTEMNESTRA, IPHIGENIA, CHORUS, ACHILLES. Daughter of Leda, most unhappy dame. CLYTEMNESTRA. Too truly have you spoken. ACHILLES, 'Midst the host Of Argos, dreadful shouts are heard. CLYTEMNESTRA, What shouts? Inform me. ACHILLES. By thy Daughter caus'd, CLYTEMNESTRA. The words You utter are of evil augury. ACHILLES. Her as a victim loudly they demand. CLYTEMNESTRA. , Doth no man contradict them ? ACHILLES, To some danger I also was expos'd, - CLYTEMNESTRA, Say what ; my friend ? ACHILLES. Of being crush'd with stones. CLYTEMNESTRA. While you protected My Daughter f IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 139 ACHILLES. 'Twas e'en thus. CLVTEMNESTRA. But wlio presum'd To smite you? ACHILLES. Every Greek. CLVTEMNESTRA. Did not your liosi (.17) Of valiant Myrmidons del'end tijcir Lord? ACHILLES. They were my first assailants. CLVTEMNESTRA. O my Daughter, We then must perish. ACHILLES. With one voice they cried ; '^ How is the Hero in the Bridegroom lost ?" (37) " The comrades and the soldiers of Acliilles bore the name ^' of Myrmidons : this peGj)le were natives of jEgina, and followed *' Peleiis into Thessaly ; they are said to have been traiisfoniied from " Ants, whence they derived their name, into Men, at tiie prayers of '' ^acus, whose island of jEgina was almost destitute of inhabi- " tants : others deduce their name from Alyrmidon, tire son of Ja* " piter. See Eustatliiiis on Homer, p. 76. 1. 38, and p. 320, 1. 42. '* ed. Romap 154'2, 3ud Ovid, Metam. L. viii. v. 614." Barnes. / M-jsy-of is the Greek word for an Ant. Ovid's accoimt of the depo- pulation of /Eijina by a plague, and its beinir tliiis filled with a new race, is very diffuse : as for the Hero IMyniiidon, as Eustathius calls him, no particulars of his history liave occurred to me ; Apollodoras only says that the sons of him and Pisidicc, one of jEoIus's Daugh- ters, were Antiphus and Acfor^ Both my editions, of Romap 1555, and that of the Hist. Poet. Scriptores, by GaU;, print the name of the latter Acton, but I apprehend erroneously ; IVIenapceus, the lather of Patroclus, being called by Homer the son of Actor, and Bachet de Meziriac, in his excellent comment on Ovid's Epistles, having shewn that Patroclus was Great-Gi-aiidson to Mynnidon, the genealogy staQ4'- jjijftlius; Mynnidon, Actor, Menaeceus, Patroclus. 140 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. CLYTEMNESTKA. What answer made you ? ACHILLES. Spare my future Wife. CLYTEMNESTKA. Just was that plea. ACHILLES. ^^'hom by my name her Sire Distinguish'd — CLYTEMNESTKA. And from Argos bade her come. ACHILLES. But by their clamorous shouts was I subdued. CLYTEMNESTKA. The multitude are a dire pest. ACHILLES. In spite Of their resentment I will aid thee still. CLYTEMNESTKA. How can your single arm resist an host? ACHILLES. Seest thou yon armed warriors ? , CLYTEMNESTKA. May success Attend your courage ! ACHILLES. We will yet prevail. CLYTEIMNESTRA. Shall not my Daughter for a victim bleed ? ACHILLES. To this at least I never will consent. CLYTEMNESTKA. Will any of tbei.i hither come to seize The virgin .'' ACHILLES. Thousands, by Ulysses led. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 141 CLYTEMNESTRA. (3S) The son of Sisyphus? ACHILLES. E'en he. CLYTEMNESTRA. Thus acting Thio* his own zeal, or by the troops ordain'df ACHILLES. They chuse him to an office which he sought. CLYTEMNESTRA. Most execrable choice, with human gore Thus to pollute himself. ACHILLES. But I shall curb His ardour. CLYTEMNESTRA. Will he seize and drag her hence Altho' reluctant ? ACHILLES. By her auburn hair. CLYTEMNESTRA. How then must I proceed ? ACHILLES, Still firmly clasp Thy Daughter. CLYTEMNESTRA. By such means can she be sav'd. ACHILLES. (39) This, and this only, must at length decide ? (38) According to Ajax in Ovid ; Sanguine cretus Sisyphio, furtisq; et fraude similimus illi. Metam. L. 13, v. 32. See the question discussed in the twentieth note on this Tragedy. (39) " The hteral translation is, " But the matter will come to this," " which Achilles speaks, either laying his hand on the hilt of liis " sword, or casting a look on the soldiers that attended him ready " armed for an engagement." Bak!«ies. U2 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. IPHIGEMA. Listen to me; O Mother, I perceive That groundless zeal against your Husband fire* Your inmost soul: but think not to attempt What cannot be atchiev'd. The generous zeal Of this heroic stranger, claims our [)raise: Yet ought you to beware lest you excite The wrath of an ungovernable host. And by a conduct whence to us accrues ]So benefit, our kind protector cause To perish. But, O Mother, what resolves I on deliberating more calmly form You now shall hear. I fully am resolv'd (40) On death : but wish with glory to expire, (40) Bnimoy's remarks subjoined to tliis Tragefly in liis Tlicatre des Grecs, and those of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Hurd, Bishop of AVorcesterf in his note on " sibi constet" in Horace's Art of Poetiy, funiish de- fences of Iphigenia's character from the charge of inconsistency preferred against it by Aristotle in his Poetics, wliich it is so easy for the reader to have recourse to, that instead of making any ex- tract from them, I will lay before him much the same argimieul* expressed with more brevity by a Critic of the sixteenth century. " Euripides is here so far from deserving censure, that he ought ra- " ther to be extolled to the skies for his prudence ; for if he had re- " presented Iphigenia firm and intrepid, wiien the tidings of Iier " behig to die were first brought to her, he would by no means " have obsersed decorum, for he would have given such an in- " stance of valour in a maid as is hardly to be found in Regulus, " Codrus, and the Decii. Virgins are naturally timid, and consi- " der notliiug as more bitter tiian death. Euripides therefore does *' J ight in representing Iphigenia as timid at first : but afterwards *' slie prefers the w eal of the Greeks to life itself. AVhat then ? " the entreaties of her Father, necessity, the presei-vation of her " friends, and gloiy, all combined together, had such influence over " her."' Fr, Luisini Utinensis Comm. in Hor. de Arte Poet. f. 54. Yen. ap. Aldi fil. 1.554. Mr. Markland in his note takes tliis matter ia a ditferent point of view, and after expatiating on the inconsistency of evei7 character in this Tragedy, Clytemnestra alone excepted, infers that the wisest of Poets is entitled to our applause for having exhibited, with a moral design, the great levity and irresoluteness of tlie human mind. Some vears ago I recollect meeting with Aristotle's IPHIGENIA IN AULIS 143 And banish all resentment. Ponder well Whether [ speak aright : to me all Greece Thro' its assembled states with eager eyes Looks up, on me the fleet's auspicious voyage, On me depends Troy's overthrow: no longer From happy Greece shall these Barbarians rend Our noblest matrons, but with blood atone For Helen's rape, the foul offence of Paris, I, from these shameful outrages, by death Will rescue Greece, my name in future ages Shall be renown'd for having sav'd my country. Nor must 1 be too much attach'd to life ; For as a common blessing to Cvach Greek, Not to yourself alone, you gave me birth. With lifted shield shall Myriads rush to battle. Shall Myriads ply the sweeping oar, t' avenge Their injur'd country, act with dauntless courage Against the foe, and perish in the cause Of Greece ; while I, to save a single life^ Them in their glorious enterprise obstruct ? O where were justice then ! who could reply To such an argument ? I now proceed With one of equal force; nor shall this Chief For me encounter the whole Argive host, Nor madly perish in a woman's cause : For one brave warrior's life is of more worth Than females numberless : But if Diana Hath claim'd me as a victim at her shrine, Shall I, weak mortal, thwart the will of Heaven ? That were impossible. I here for Greece Yield myself up spontaneously : transpierce This breast, and lay the towers of Ihon waste. objections revived in a book called " Elements of Criticism," vvrittem by Heni-y Home, Esq. Lord Kaimes, one of the Lords of Session in Scotland ; but tlie arguments of the Stagyrite did not seem, in tlieir new form, to can^ with them any additional strength. 144 IPIIIGENU IN AULIS. Such, such shall be my monuments, my children, My nuptial trophies, and my lasting lame. Greeks o'er Barbarians ever should bear rule. For these are abject slaves, those free-born spirits. CHORUS. Most noble is thy conduct, generous maid, Tho' Fortune and Diana prove thy iocs. ACHILLES. Daughter of Agamemnon, were the Gods Inclin'd to make me happy, they would crown My vows with such a Consort. Greece I deem Happy in thee, and tliee in Greece : for well Hast thou express'd thyself, and as becomes Thy country, since thou hast forborne to thwart The mightier will of Heaven, that bids thee bleed. Well weighing what exalted virtue counsels. And what severe necessity enjoins. More eagerly than ever, now 1 wish To gain thee for my Bride, now I have mark'd The generous soul, for thou art truly great. Yet, O reflect ! Tor still would I redeem. Would bear thee hence to Phthia, and appeal To my immortal Mother, to attest What grief will rend this heart, should'st thou forbid me To save thee by encountering Greece. O think. How terrible is death. IPHIGENIA. Without respect To any, I these sentiments unfold, Enough (41) already hath the Dame who springs (41) For the alteration of ftfx" ^^^*^''i^ into apwj sufficit, the reader is indebted to Hardion, the acuteness and ingenuity of wliose remarks on Euripides leave every admirer of the Tragic Baid tlie greatest cause to regret tlieir not being more numerous. See Acad, des Inscrij). torn. vi. Hist. p. 178. This correction has been adopted by Reiskius, Heath, Alarkland, and Musgrave. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 145 From Tyndaius, by her charms, the bloody strife Excited. In my cause thou shalt not die, IS or hft the slaughtering blade. If in my power, O let me save my country. ACHILLES. Of thy sex Thou most heroic, nought can I object If such thy stedfast purpose, for thy views Are noble. To what end suppress the truth ? But thou may'st 3'et repent. As an assurance That I am ready to perform my promise; This troop I near the altar will arrange, Nor stand a calm spectator, but protect thee From being slain: and haply when thou seest The lifted falchion, thou of my advice Wilt then avail thyself; nor shalt thou perish Thro' thy imprudent zeal; for I will lead These hardy warriors to Diana's temple. And in it§ precincts wait till thou arrive. [Exit ACHILLES. IPHIGENIA. Why, dearest Mother, are those eyelids moist With silent tears ? CLYTEMNESTRA. I have sufficient cause To make me sorrowful. IPHIGENIA. Yet, ah desist ! Nor thus intimidate me, rather yield To my request. CLYTEMNESTRA. Say, what request thou mean'st ? Thee, O my child^ 1 never will offend. IPHIGENIA. Cut not the flowing ringlets of your hair, Nor put on sable robes. YOL, II. L 146 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. . CL\TEMNEST11A. Why speak'st thou thus ? When I have lost thee, ought I not to mourn ? IPHIGENIA. Me will 3'ou never lose : for I am sav'd. And bright renown thro' me shall 3'ou obtain. CLYTEMNESTRA. Yet, why did'st thou assert that 1 thy death Must not bewail ? IPHIGENIA. Because o'er me no tomb Shall be erected. CLYTEMNESTRA. Is not death esteem'd A passport merely to the silent grave ? IPHIGENIA. The (42) altar of Diana, sprung from Jove, Will serve me for a monument. CLYTEMNESTRA. To thee I yield, for thou, my Daughter, vvell hast spoken. IPHIGENIA. Happy myself, and to ray native land The greatest benefactress, CLYTEMNESTRA. What behest To thy lamenting Sisters shall I bear ? IPHIGENIA. Array them not in sable robes. CLYTEMNESTRA. But send'st thou No fond remembrance to assuage their grief? IPHIGENIA. Health to the Virgins ! breed Orestes up (42) " Ipliigeiiia propbetically utters this aenigma, the meaning of " which is, that she shall be bonie away by Diana to Jbe the Priestess ^ of her temple in Tauris." Brvmoy. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 147 With a maternal tenderness. CLYTEMNESTRA. Embrace him. For ye shall meet no more. IPHIGENIA. Tiiou, far as reach'd Thy power, dear Brother, didst assist thy friends. CLYTEMNESTRA. Can I do aught at Argos for thy sake ? IPHIGENIA. Hate not my Sire, your Husband. CLYTEMNESTRA. There remains For him, a dreadful conflict to endure On thy account. IPHIGENIA. Most loth he in the causuj> la-tL^cv i.tra inolam sajsam, and abundantly proves from Homer and Aristophanes that salted cakes were bore on the canisters or baskets here spoken of; but the idea of hiding the sword destined to pierce the besom of the Princess, by thrusting it into a cake, would very ill suit the dignity of the scene before us, and give it a ludicrous air, more resembling Dangerfield's meal tub plot, than the sacrifice of Iphigenia. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 153 Calclias the Seer, the svvoid, which he first drew. Then plung'd again intu its sheath, and crown'd With braided flowers the lovely victim's head. But round the altar of the Goddess ran The Son of Peleus, in his hands he bore A canister, and vase with lustral streams, Exclaiming, " O thou Goddess of the chase, " Daughter of Jove, Diana, who pervad*st *' With thy resplendent orb the midnight gloom^ *' Accept this sacrifice : the Grecian liost, " And Agamemnon our illustrious King, ** To thee devote thy spotless Virgin's blood : " Grant an auspicious voyage to the fleet, " And that our arras may level Ilion's towers." But, fixing on the ground their stedfast eyes. Both Atreus' sons, and every warrior stood, The Priest now seiz'd the falchion, to the Gods His prayers address'd, and mark'd the virgin's neck Where best to strike. I felt no common pang, And stood with eyes fast rivetted to earth. When, lo, a miracle! all heard the stroke; But how the Virgin vanish'd, wliither went. Could no man comprehend. Loudly the Priest And the whole host cried out, when they beheld, Sent by some God, a phantom strange and wondrous : Scarce could they credit what their eyes survey 'd. A gasping Hind lay stretch'd upon the ground, Ol' the most beauteous and majestic form ; The altar of Diana with her gore Was sprinkled plenteousl}^ O tliink what joy Calchas then felt; " Ye valiant chiefs," he cried, " Of the confederate Grecian host, observe ye " This victim, which the Goddess to her altar " Hath broughtj a Hind on the steep mountains bred? " This, lest illustrious blood pollute her shrine, " She to the Maid prefers, accepts our homage " Will grant a prosperous voyage, and our fleet 154 IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. '* Witft to the shores of llion : let frcsli courage ** Each siiilor warm, repair yc to your barks ; ** This day the straits of Aulis shall we leave, *' Born on our passage cross tlieiEgeaii deep.'* Soon as the flame Vulcanian had consum'd The substituted victim, that the troops Victorious to their country might return (46) The Seer devoutly pray'd. But I am sent By Agamemnon hither to relate These tidings, and inform you how the Gods Decree, that thro' all Greece he shall obtain Immortal glory. I who was both there, And saw the whole transaction, can afhrm Your Daughter evidently flew to Heaven. Let grief be done away then, nor resent The conduct of your Husband : for by ways To man most dark and intricate, the Gods Conduct our steps, preserving those they love. This one short day hath seen your Daughter doom'd To death, and now alive. [Exit attendant. CHORUS. What joy to hear Th' intelligence this Messenger conveys! He tells us that thy Daughter still survives. Borne to celestial mansions. (-J6) By rendorir.n; tccn, tfajectum, instead of rcdiUim (with the other versions, and conformably to the more obvious meaning of the word), Mr. Markland, I appreliend greatly weakens this passage. Calchas has just been foretelling a prosperous voyage, and therefore to describe him immediately after as mady praying for that, would be an insipid tautology. But his propl'.etic skill ceased with foretel- ling the conquest of Troy ; and the prayer uhich ensues, like that of Homer's Achilles, in behalf of his friend Patrochis, and Aruns's pa- triani remeabo inglorius urbem in Virgil, must necessarily turn tlie thoughts of the reader to the avor«v ti y »jv of the Grecian forces pre- dicted by Cassandra in Lycophroii, and leave a rery strong impression of melancholy on his mind, from the knowledge he has that the vows here ofi'ering up proved in a great measure iiictfeclual. IPHIGENIA IN AULIS. 155 CLYTEMNESTRA. O my Child, What God hath stol'n thee hence ? or in what terms Shall I invoke thee, what conjectures form ? But is not this a specious tale, devis'd Merely that I no longer may lament Thy fate ? CHORUS. Lo Agamemnon, mighty King, Himself arrives, these tidings to confirm. AGAMEMNON, CLYTExVINESTRA, CHORUS. AGAMEMNON. We in our Daughter, O my Wife, are blest : For she indeed holds converse with the Gods. But take this tender infant (47), and return To Argos, for the troops prepare to saiL And now farewell. No more for a long season Shall I accost thee, not till I return From llion. Thee may every bliss attend! CHORUS, Exulting may'st thou reach the Phrygian shores, O son of Atreus, and return triumphant Fraught with the choicest spoils of vanquish'd Troj. (47) Orestes. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. Castum datum cmorem, Flcntibus ante aras stetit Iphigenia ministris : Victa Dea est, nubemque oculis objecit, et inter Officium tmbamque sacii vocesque precantum, Supposita fertur mut&sse Myceuida Cevxk, Ovid. Ktifi) 3"o4'« fAoXacTK y.elx^(Ttos e? %6o»a TxvfU* AvEpa SxClivea-a.' K«t ecv^^o(pofu crag* /3»/*« NONKI DiOKYSIACA. PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. IPHIGENIA. ORESTES. PYLADES. CHORUS OF GRECIAN CAPTIVES, Iphigenia's Attendants. HERDSMAN. THOAS. MESSENGER. MINERVA. SCENE-ON THE SEA SHORE, NEAR DIANA'S TEMPLE IN TAURIC SCYTHIA. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. IPHIGENIA. 1 o Pisa's goal bj rapid coursers borne Flew Pelops son of Tantalus, and gain'd Oenomaus' lovely Daughter (1) for his Bride; From her sprung Atreus, Menelaus' Sire, And Agamemnon's. Ipbigeniu nam'd, I, to great Agamemnon, and the Daughter Of Tyndarns, Clytemnestra, owe my birth, I whom, beside those restless waves, which^ vex'd By storms incessant, to the azure main Euripus rolls, my Father, as he deems. Hath for the sake of Helen offer'd up A victim to Diana, at the bay Of Aulis, where in one confederate fleet He their elected King a thousand ships Assembled, that the Greeks around their brows Might twine the laurels borne from vanquish 'd, Troy ; Prompt to revenge the violated bed Of Helen, and display the love he bears To Menelaus. But tlie breezes sunk. Nor could his navy sail till he consulted The sacred flames, and Calchas in these terms Address'd him; " Leader of the Grecian host. *' O Agamemnon, from this port thy barks " Thou shalt not launch till Dian first receive "■ Thy virgin Daughter Iphigenia's blood.. " To sacrifice the loveliest object born '' That year, to her whose silver orb illumes " The shades of night, thou formerly didst vow. " Thy Consort Clytemnestra at the time (1) Hippodamii. ICO ll^HTGRMA IN TAUIUS. *• A Daugliter bore, (on uie the Seer bestovv'd " 1 he name ot" lovcHest) her must ihou present *' A chosen victim." Thro* Ulysses' wjies, ^e t'ltm my Mother next did they remove. On II pr tciice t!)at I sliould wed Achilles. When I ai iv'd at Aulis, being plac'd Conspicuous ou the altar, with a sword In semblance was I picrc'd. But me by stealth The Goddess thence convey 'd^ and in niy stead Before the gazing armies left a Hind ; ^Vhile me tiuo' ether's radiaut lieights she bore. And on these Tauric shores ordain'd to dwell In realms where a Barbarian Monarch rules O'er slaves Barbarian, Tlioas call'd, who moves Swift as a bird, and from his rapid march Derives the name he bears. But me a Priestess Heaven in this fane hath station'd, where Diana, Its tutelary Goddess, at her feasts Delights in customs falsely cail'd religious; For every Greek who lands upon this coast I sacrifice ; such is the antient usage Establisli'd^ here. The initiatory rites By me once s(i!eniniz'd, the hateful task To stab the viciini at her inmost shrine Belongs to others. Reverential awe (2) For her I serve bids me reveal no more ; Yet I the recenc visions which last night Produc'd, will to the conscious air proclaim. If this may haply some relief aftord. My dream was tins ; methought I left these shores^ And dwelt again ai Argos, where I slept With all my faithful virgin followers roiaid ; Earth's surface in an instant seein'd to shake, (2) In placing the line, fa J'aX>« eriyw, "rw ©wv (poft*p.Evii. after the four ^liich usually fojlow it, I have obsei-ved the cirecions vf Mr. Mark< hfii and Dr. Musgraye, who have thereby improved tae context. IPHIGENIA IN TAUmS. i6i Swift was my flight; then pausing as I stood Without the gates, I vievv'd the shatter.'d roofs Of princely domes; anon the structure fell. From Its supporters torn: one Column seem'd To stand conspicuous 'midst the general wreck, 'Tvvas all that of my Pather's house remaiu'd; And from it's capital a streaming length Of auburn hair devolved: with human voice Was it endued. Attentive lo that office Of slaying strangers, which I here am doom'd To exercise, with lustral drops I lav'd This Pillar as the victim, and shed tears Abundant. I my vision thus expound; The hapless object of these fancied rites, (3) Orestes, is no more; Sons are the Props Of their paternal mansion, and they die O'er whom my lavers shed their holy dew. To none of all my friends can [ apply This dream, for at the time when 'tis suppos'd I died, no son to Strophius yet was born. Now therefore to my absent Brother's shade Due honours will I pay : for I such rites Can solemnize, amidst those Grecian dames (3) The iniagei7 of the Pillar, on which tliis dream is founded, and tlie exposition of it, is entirely contbrmable to the doctrine of Artemi- donis, L. 2. C. 10. Kiov=f h xfs3«gM wvp* xmiojutvoi, xa/ f/ri iiaipSiixifj.siiot, t« 'Tixfa crnfJ-aivuTi th ihslo;, Rri to ^saIkiv xa« 'Ka^j.ityHi^ f/.{l<^ina,f oi h o-w7c<6a- f/.iva(, yiu/v oXf^Mv cr»fxatvBo-<, except that the instance produced by the Tra- gic Poet, is that of an earthquake instead of fire Hector is in like maimer abruptly called by Pindar in his second Olympic Ode, the Co- lumn wliich supported Troy ; and in Lycophron, his sister Cassandra, predicting tlie deatli of that Hero, expostulates with flie Fates in tlie following pathetic terms, the close resemblance of which. to this passage of Euripides has not passed unnoticed by his commentator JMeursius, E(ti<7iJt.a na-rpof Jurvx»f twoTTTtwof; V. 281. and in v. 1190 sh« calb her Brother Hector fxtXosSpav tjfxa %cn na.Tfa{ oX»if, g The mighty Pillar thou awhile dost stand. Both ot this liouse aud all thy native laiid, yoh. II. M 162 IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. Whom for my menial train the Monarch gave. But they attend not, tliro' some cause unknown, On me, beneath these roofs where is assign'd My residence, Diana's holy fane. [Exif. ORESTES, PYLADES. o'restes. Beware lest any human foot approach. PYLADES. With watchful eyes I all around me look, ORESTES. To thee, O Pylades, doth this appear To be the temple of that aweful Goddess, In quest of which, from Argos, o'er the waves, We steer'd our bark ? PYLADES. This, if I judge aright, Must be the spotj Oiestes^ sure thou form'st The very same idea. ORESTES. . And that altar Yet dripping with the blood of slaughtered Greeks? PYLADES. Its cornice,, see what crimson streams distain ! ORESTES. View'st thou beneath its pinnacles those spoils? PYLADES. Trophies from many a murder'd stranger torn. ORESTES. We with redoubled vigilance our eyes On every side must turn. Why didst thou utter Such oracles, Phoebus, as involve me In fresh perplexities? Since I aveng'd A Father's death, and shed maternal gore, Still harjas'd with fresh rancour by the Furies, Who from my native Argos drove me forth, Full many an intricate career I ran. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 16S At length I went, and question'd thee, how best To cahn tiie frantic tempest of my so.u], How end those toils which, wandering thro' each realm Of Greece, a wretched exile, I endur'd. To distant Tauris then thou bad'st me go> Where to thy Sister chaste Diana stands A consecrated altar, and thence bear That statue of the Goddess, from the skies Which fell, as the inhabitants record, Into this temple ; that when I by craft Or fortune had obtained the prize, and conquer'd All dangers, I my capture should bestow On the Athenian realm; this sole behest Didst thou impose, nor aught beside enjoin : And when such arduous task I had performed. Thy promise gav'st that all my toils should cease. Obedient to thy mandate, am I come To an unknown inhospitable land. Thee I consult, O Pylades, for thou With me in the bold enterprize art leagu'd ; How shall we act? thou seest what lofty lowers Compass the fane around : its steep ascent Shall we explore? but how conceal ourselves? (4) Can we by levers force the brazen locks Whose strength we know not ? if in such attempt. By stratagem or violence to gain An entrance at the door, we should be caught. Our certain doom is death : but ere we bleed Let us by timely flight regain the ship In which we hither sail'd. PYLADES. Flight, O my Friend, Were a disgrace to which we must not yield, (4) The alteration which I have adopted of ^a5oif/.fv sciaraus, into >^oifji.n lateamus, was tirst proposed by Abb6 Sallier, Acad. Inscript. T. 5. Hist. p. 110. and has been successively made use of by Reiskius, Heath, Markland, and Musgrave. .'. M 2 164 IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. Nor such liatli been our practice. We with scora The oracles of Phoebus must not treat. But let us leave the temple, and conceard In these recesses lurk, which oft are wash'd By ocean's riaing surges, from our ship Far distant, else miglit some officious spy An anchor'd bark beholding, to the King Haste with intelligence : we then by force Should both be seiz'd : but when that orb appears Which guides our footsteps thro' the gloom of night. Then let us greatly dare, with subtle art Uniting strength, the statue to remove. Observe those triglyphs, if a chasm appear (5) Sufficient to admit us: for midst toils New courage fires the brave, but cowards shrink Into mere nothing. ORESTES. We in vain performed A tedious voyage, should we measure back The deep, and leave these shores, while bur design Is unaccomplish'd. To obey the voice Of Heaven, thou well hast counsell'd. Let us go- Where in some cavern we may lie conceal'd; For if the oracle he gave should fail Of its effect, it will not be the God That is to blame. Now ought we to exert Our utmost courage : for severest toils. To loitering youth no just excuse affi)rd. [^ExeiniL IPHIGENIA. Barbaric natives of the shore Whose craggy rocks hang shelving o'cv The bosom of the Euxine deep, (5) In "Vitnivuis's account of the Doric order of Columns, to th« frieze of which the Triglyphs belong, his directions are to leave betw eeii- them an interval whose width is equal to their height: inter triglyphos reliuquendum intervalluni tarn latum quam sunt ipsi alti. Ed. de Laetj- ful. L. 3. p. 146, Amst. 1649. TPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 165 From Ccich ill-omen'd word abstain^ Nor our soFemnities profane. O thou who tread'st the mountain steep, Diana, Goddess cliaste, tli}- hall. Thy fane, above whose topmost wall Rear'd on high columns we behold The pinnacle of burnish'd gold j Subject to the behests of thee. Thrice awefid Queen, who bear'at the key, (6) With Virgin footsteps I ascend, From massive bulwarks which defend Illustrious cities, Grecian towers, Fair Europe's li)v'd and shadovvy bowers Where Ceres ciowns the smiliiiy; earth, Auspicious realms which gave me birth, Torn by inexorable Fate. CHORUS, IPHIGENIA. CHORUS. I come: what new solicitudes are tiiese ^^^hich wound your breast, or wherefore to this fane Me have you summouM, O unhappy Daughter Of him who bore to Troy's devoted walls In that fam'd navy of a thousand barks Unnumber'd Heroes^ the confederate troops Of Atreus' sons? IPHIGENIA. My friends, I am engag'd (6 We.«selinshis, by shewing that Diana is elsewhere called xi^-n^ny^^;, at the same time siilficiently justifies the ascii!)ing tl.is speech to Iphigenia, and obviates the supposed necessity of an alteration in the text if put into the mouth of her instead of the Ciorus: the attacks niatie on the Aldus' readuis; of Evama; three Imes lower are equally unsuccessful. >ito; A5-i«y E-j^ag .^Ejarreivav, Europe tLere meaiung Greece, occurs "in the Hecuba of our Author. Dr. Musgrave's aifi;unieiit in recrard to the Chorus valli'\5- themselves in their second speech natives of Asia, whence lie infcis then) to have been Joiiiiuis, ony recoils against himself, as this 15 a conviiiciiig reason against Iscrilmg the present speech to them in- stead oi Iphijicma ; but not fcr altering the text. 166 IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. In plaints unpleasing, no harmonious sound, But elegiac notes, for the sweet lyrc" 111 tun'd, can 1 now utter; for, alas! Domestic griefs have harrow'd up my soul ; My dearest Brother's death I now bewail. What horrors in my boding dreams appear'd Just as the pitchy darkness of last night Gave place to morn's first dawn! All, all is lost ! My lov'd paternal mansions arc no more. The race of Agamemnon is extinct. What toils have Argos' scepter'd Kings endur'd ! Me of an only Brother, ruthless Fate, Hast thou despoil'd, and plung'd him in the shades Of Orcus; for his manes I prepjtre These obsequies, this goblet of the dead. Whose mingled liquors I devoutly pour Upon the lap of earth; the heifer's milk, With purple Bacchus' gift the grape's rich juice. And yellow stores of the industrious bee. The due propitiatory offerings. Give, Give to m}' trembling hands the golden cup With this libation for th' infernal God. O son of Agamemnon, thou who sleep'st Beneath earth's hollow sm'face, I, to thee. As now no more, these solemn honours pay; Accept my duteous zeal ; for at thy tomb My hair I carinot strew, nor shed the tear. For on these coasts I sojourn, far reraov'd From our dear natal rqgion, where 'tis deem'd (7) That I, transform'd into an Hind, was slain. (7) On consulting the account of Iphigenia's sacrifice in the preced- ing Tragedy, the reader \^ill find that immediately after Calchas had aimed the wound at her breast, the whole Grecian anny turned their eyes, and saw ai Hind He bleeding on the ground : the spectators must either have concluded tliat Iphigenia was snatched away by some God, and the Hind substituted as a victim, according to the assertions of the Attend- ant and Agatnemnon, or that she was metamorphosed into this animal and slain under the semblance of a Hinrj, which must have been the idea of her Brother and those who, in the passage referred to by Dr. Mus- IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 1^ CHORUS. To you, my royal Mistress, will I chant Responsive notes, and Asiatic hymns With their barbarian dissonance, awake The plaintive Muse, tune the funereal dirge. Such as in Pluto's favourite songs resounds. Where no glad Paean ever meets the ear. IPHIGENIA. Fam'd ho.useof Alrcus ! ah, my native walls ! Thou radiant sceptre to the dust consign'd! Who now of all that race of happy Kings? Is left to govern Argos? Toil from toil Arises as Hyperion's rapid steeds Each day perform their swift career : the God Whose sacred .eye illumes the globe, his beams Averted, to our woes another source Of woe was added, when that Golden Ram Caus'd murders and afflictions to abound. Soon as those infants (by my Graudsirje's hand,) Sprung from the seed of Tantalus, were slain; With penal terrors arm'd, from inmost hell, "Gainst our devoted house, the Fiends arose. Her evil genius, in a luckless hour Unbound my Mother's zone; the very night Of my conception^ those stern Goddesses Who at the loom of Destiny attend, Prepar'd afflictions foi" the chil^ imborn. By Grecian chiefs in wedlock was I sought, But other fortunes on the first-born hope Of Leda's daughter waited ; she brought forth And nurtur'd me, a victim for my Sire To slay, unblest oblation : they convey'd In a swift chariot to the sandy coast grave, apprehended her to have perished at Anlis; the alteration he hae proposed in the reading of x' «|uaf " et mea," in the stead of ^!(.\e!l, beneath R<)( fs whch joy never visited, forlorn, Unvveddcd, ehildlesa, banisii'd from my dountiy. Bereft of every I'riend, nor can IJoin My voice in choral hymns to Juno's praise, Isor on tl)e tapestry with my shuttle weave Athenian Pallas' image, and the biood Of vanquished Titans: for 1 here am doom'd, Unvv< Icome oHice, with the stranger's blood To glut remorseie;ss Ate, and' preside At an accursed altar, where with shiieks, And piteous tears, the victims wail iheir late. But now the stranger's sufferings I forget. And wail my Rrother, my Orestes dead. Whom yet an In Ip less infant at the breast. Yet in his Mother's lostering arms I left. The heir to thrones he never juust ascend. HERDSMAN, IPHIGENIA, CHORUS, CHORUS. Behold a Herdsman from the stormy coast Of ocean hither comes; he surely brings Fresh tidings of importance. HERDSMAN. Thou, wliQ ow'st Thy birth to Agamemnon, mighty King, And Clytemnestra, hear v. hat I relate. IPHIGENIA. With what dire tal^ these ears vvould'st thou invade.* HERDSMAN. Two youths, who in their bark adventurous pass'd *Twixi (he Cyanean rocks, are on these shores Just landed : welcome victims to our Goddess Diana, them must we present. The laver IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 169 Be it thy office therefore to make ready. And the initiatory rites commence. IPHIGENIA. Whence came they ? Of what country lare they styl'd? HERDSMAN. This only do I know, ttiat they are Greeks, And nought beyond. IPHIGENIA. But canst thou not repeat These strangers' names, which haply ihou hast heard? HERDSMAN. Pyladesby his comrade one was call'd. IPHIGENIA. The other, what name boie he.? HERDSMAN. This none knows; We heard not. IPHIGENIA. How did ye discover them, jHow chance to seize i HERDSMAN. Conceal'd within the rocks. Of yon inhospitable beach. * IPHIGENIA. What commerce Have Herdsmen with the sea ? HERDSMAN. We thither went To wdsh our oxen in the briny waves. IPHIGENIA. Resume thy tale; say how and by what means Ye took them captive, for I fain would hear. T'ardy they come, nor hath Diana's altar Yet thoroughly been drench'd with Grecian blood. HERDSMAN. When we had driven our cattle to the sea Which flows 'twixt the Symplegades, we reach'd 170 IPHIGENIA IN TAURTS. The spot where ocean's frequent tides have worn A hollow cave, which, to the fisherman Who there the murex takes, its shelter yields. One of our comrades, seeing there two yc^uths, (8) lleturn'd on tiptoe cautious, and exclaini'd With wild astonishment; " Observe 3'e not? " Some Powers Divine sit there!" One more devout. Soon as he saw them, with uplifted hands In terms of adoration cried : " O son " Of the divine Leucothea, who direct'st *' The wandermg bark, Ptdaemon, aweful lord, *' Propitious hear our suit: or, O ye Twins *' WliOiii Jove begot, for haply on this shore *' Castor and Pollux sit : or do ye trace " Your birth from Nereusthe illustrious Sire *' Of fifty Goddesses?" But vain, and bold In his impiety, another, laughing At these devotions, said, *' Some shipwreck'd sailors, (8) IMr. Walton in his notes on Milton considers him as indebted to tliis passage in liis favou.ite Greek Tragedian for the followinfir beautiful lines in Conius, where tliat Enchanter describes to tlie Lady the two youtlis he had seen in the forest, « ho prove to be her Brotliers ; " Two sucti I saw, " Their port was more than human ; as they stood " I took it for a faery vision " Of some S'ly creatures of the element " That in the colours of the rainbow Uve, " And play i' th' plighted clouds. I was aw-struck, " And as I past I worshipt." The following observations of Dr. Warton ; " there is an impropriety of *' character in the mention of Leucothea, Palapmon, and the Dioscuri : *' Euripides has made the Shepherd, a barbarous inhabitant of Tauris, " talk too much like a Greek," will lose much of their weight when the reader attends to the circumstance of the Scythians having made a Grecian captive their Priestess, from whom it is by uo means improbable tiiat even tlie meanest of the people should have derived some informa- tion in regard to those on whom lier country bestowed divine honours : thus not only the Poets, but the most respectable historians of Greece, as Heredotus and I*ausanias, inform their readers, that the songs on the death of Linus had in their days reached even the Barbarian nations. IPHIGENfA IN TAURIS. 171 '' Appris'd no doubt of Scythia's laws, which doom *' The stranger to be saciific'd_, thro' fear "■ Sit in the cave." We most of us esteem'd That he had rightly spoken, and resolv'd To seize them as Diana's usual victims. But from the rock immediately advanc'd One of the strangers : dire contorsions shook His head, his hands, and every litiib, he groan'd »• Possest b}' raging frenz}', and exclaim'd Loud as the hunters, with a shout; " My friend, *' My Pylades, look there, from inmost hell *' She comes, that Dragon comes to murder me, " With dreadful vipers arm'd. Yet, yet again "'A second whose robes stream with fire, her wings '* Bear pestilential horrors, in her arms *' She holds my Mother, who, to crush me, hurls " Whole rocks uprooted. She, alas ! will slay me. " Whither, ah whither can I fly?" His gestures And frenzy varied oft; now bleating calves His voice did imitate, and now the howls Of angry dogs ; such sounds they say are utter'd By the Eumenides : shrunk up with fear. And mute like dying men, meantime we lay ; But he his falchion drew^, and, like a lion. Rushing amid the herd, transpierc'd their flanks Thinking he smote the Furies, till the foam Of ocean was died crimson with their gore. When every Peasant midst his oxen saw These dreadful ravages, we all to arms Betook ourselves, and blowing the loud shell Summoned the neighbpuring rustics to our aid. Because we deem'd that 'gainst these noble youths The force of herdsmen would in combat prove Unequal : we our numbers soon encreas'd ; But our assailant, when that frantic rage Which gave him vigour was exhausted, fell ; With foam his mouth was cover'd ; when we found 172 IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. Such great advantage ours, all took a part In the encounter; troni a distance these Hurl'd rocky fraguients, while those strove with stones To smite him ; but the other dauntless stranger Tended his comrade, vvi[)ing from his lips The clammy foam, over his body tlnew His garment to protect him, w. idcd off Tile blows vs^e aiiu'd, nor s[jar'd one friendly office. Kestor'd to reason, the youth started up, Observ'd the tempest of assailing foes, Aware that ruin was at hand, and groan'd. But we desisted not from hurlinsj; stones, By turns assailmg him on every side : This dreadful exhortation from his mouth At length we heard, " O Pylades, our death '• Is certain, hut with thy uplifted sword " Follow my steps, and let us die with glory." No sooner we beheld our foes both wave Their glittering falchions, than to woods that hang' Over the topmost promontory's verge. In crowds we fled for refuge; but while some Retreated^ others pressM upon our foes, And smote them : after they had driven these back. The party who had first given way, advanc'd. And in their turns renew'd the missile war. This circumstance was wonderful : tho' stones Hurl'd by a thousand hands flew thick around, None reachM the destin'd victims of the Goddess; Them we at length with difficulty seiz'd. But not courageously; for in a circle Gathering about them, from their hands with stones We beat their swords, and on their knees to earth They sunk o'erpower'd and wearied. We conducted Qur piisoners to the Monarch of .this realni. He view'd, and sent them hither, that with speed Sprinkling the sacred lavcr o'er their heads, The victims thou may'st purify. Exult, IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 173 O virgin, in th' arrival of such guests ; For if heroic youths hke these o!t bleed, Greece will be amply punish'd i'oi its guilt 111 having doom'd ihee to be si .in at Aulis. CHORUS. Thou hast related a most wondrous tale Of him, whoe'er he be, the youth unknown. From Greece who landed on these Pontic shores. (9) IPHIGENIA. Enough: go thou, and to the temple bring The strangers. What remains shall be my care. [ Exit HERDSMAN.. Thou, O my wretched heart, wert tender erst And merciful to strangers, ever prone. For thy poor countrymen, when any Greek Was as the destin'd victim to thy hands Consign'd, to shed the sympathetic tear. But now, exasperated by horrid dreams, Such as persuade me that Orestes views The solar beams no more, I shall receive With sternness all who may hereafter come. True is that antient maxim, O my friends, -For I am wretched now, and feel its force ; " Too oft the soul, embitter'd by distress, " 'Gainst those who are more happy than ourselves^ *' Swells with malevolence." But Jove denies A favourable wind. No bark, that sail'd 'Twixt the Symplegades, hath hither brought Helen, the guilty source of all my woes; And Menelaus, that a just revenge On them I might inflict, they here should find Another Aulis to atone for that, (9) The term novrov y»if, which I have here rendered Pontic shores, means tlie lands washed by tlie Euxine sea, which is frequently called by the Greek writers Uo-Ao; without any distinction, and from them co- pied into other languages: thus on referring to the word Hovto; in Ste- phanus Byzantinus, we find the definitiou to be, i^jw; a Eyviyo;, Ponto*. propiie £u2uuus. 174 irniGENIA IN TAURIS. Where, like a heifer, Danaus' race erst dragg'd Their Princess to the altar : but the Priest Was my own Father. Wretched me! that scene I never can forget. To touch his cheek How often did I raise my suppliant hands, " Chnging round those paternal knees, and cry, " To what unseemly nuptials am I borne '^ By thee, my Sire: amidst her Argive Dames, *' Now my deluded Mother wakes the song " In honour of my hymeneal rites, *' And with shrill flutes tlie festive hall resounds, " While by thy hands I perish. Not the Son " Of Peleus, but dread Pluto is th' Achilles " Whom thou did'st call my Husband : in that car " Hast thou convey'd me to a bloody marriage " By treacherous arts." Thro' the transparent veil. Beholding, in my trembling arms I caught This (10) dearest Brother (Brother now no more); But modest}' prevented me from using A Sister's privilege, and ere I went. As was pretended, to the house of Peleus, (10) TsTov HXofAfv is the reading of Aldus, Barnes, Maikland, and I ap- prehend, of eveiy other edition ; nor hath notice been taken of any va- riation in the macuscripts : but Mr. Tyrwhitt and Dr. Musgrave both insist, in very peremptoiy terms, on the absolute necessity of converting the affirmative into a negative, and reading «':' aK-i> ohxev ; but for what reason I am nnable to discover. Iphigenia, in the preceding tragedy, brings Orestes in her arms vFhen she implores her Fatlier's mercy, (see Iphigenia in Aulis, v. 1119 and 1241) and may be supposed to have again hastily snatched him up as she was borne to the altar, but to have re- frained from taking a solemn leave of him, or making any mention of her being, not a Bride, but a victim destined to bleed at the altar ; when such a multitude of spectators were present. As for tlie pronoim ovwf, it is indeed defined to be ^{.xtimv, but frequently refers to a person al- ready spoken of (which is the case with Orestes, whom his Sister men- tions in the commencement of this very speech) with no less propriety than to one marked out as present. Five lines farther, Reiskius, Mr. Tyrwhitt, Mr. Markland, and Dr. Musgrave, all four change r.axwi' int» vMhuJt, on their own mere conjectures. The privilege of a Translator happily does not extend so far as by any means to authorise him, in fol- lowing such examples, to call, Evil, Good, or Good, Evil. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. its Joining my lips to his: each fond caress, Like one who to her Argos might return^ To a long future season I deferr'd. If, hapless youth, thou sleep among the dead. By what disastrous fortunes art thou faU'n, Striving to emulate thy Father's fame. Such casuistry as that with which they charge Our Goddess, I abhor, who from her fane Expels the murderer, and e'en him who touches A corse, or an abortion, as impure; While she herself delights in human victims. To mighty Jove Latona never bore Such folly. I this rumour too believe not. That at the board of Tantalus, the Gods On a child's flesh erst feasted with delight. Kather the bloody Scythians have transferr'd To a celestial Being, their own crimes. I deem no God can e'er be thus deprav'd, CHORUS. ODE. ^J. 1. Cyanean rocks, beneath whose cloven height The furious tide impells the crashing mast. Where lo stung with wild affright. By Jove's relentless Consort, pass'd. From Europe driven to th' Asiatic strand; Say, whence these youths ? left they Eurotas' bank. Where reeds o'erspread the meadows dank. Or Dirce's holy fount ? they land, Their hapless voyage to conclude, 'Midst an inhospitable race. Where by yon Maid with human gore imbru'd The hallow'd altars reek, and columns' sculptur'd base. I. 2. These strangers, trusting to the dangerous seas. Each oar did surely ply, and dare t' unfold 17f> IPIlIGENrA IN TAtJRtS. Their swelling canvas to the breeze, l?y an immoderate thirst for gold Lur'd from their distant homes. Hope, pleasing banc Of mortals, with insatiable drsires To heap up riches, still inspires Its votaries wandering o'er the main. Who temptth' unknown Barbarian wastd* How vain our judgements ! some pursue Wealth, as the first of blessings man can taste j Others, the gilded bait with calm indifference view, II. 1. How could their vessel thrid th' impending steep. Or by the rocks of watchful Phineus glide (II) Sounding the chambers of the deep, And Amphitrite's boisterous tide. Where Nereus' fifty Daughters, choral note* Attuning, glide in sportive band around. Till the bark a road hath found O'er trackless ocean as it floats. Aided by the southern gale Or zephyr, to Achilles' land, Where the bold warrior aiich with the coward's hated name Shall I be ever branded. To the many (For in the many envious malice reigns) When I return alone, I shall appear To have betray'd thee, or amid the wreck Of thy unhappy house to have contriv'd Thy murder, thro' the hope thy Sister's Husband^ Heir to thy fortunes, might obtain the throne ; This fills my soul with horror; virtuous shame Constrains me now to mix my latest breath With thine, at yon dread altar: let the knife At once transpierce us, the funereal pyre Consume our bodies; for I still have borne The title of thy friend, and fear disgrace. ORESTES. Use more auspicious language : my own woes My duty is to bear, nor will I add To my afflictions, which are single now, Yours which would make them double : for each suffering And all that infamy you name, were mine, If you, the generous partner of ray toils, I caus'd to perish. It is not amiss For me, afflicted bv the scourge of Heaven, IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 191 To yield up a diseas'd and wretched life : But you are blest, your mansions neither guili Nor sorrow visits: mine at the same time Are impious and unhappy. If you scape, My Sister, whom on you 1 have bestow'd In marriage, may a race of children bear; Hence shall my name continue^ and the race Of Agamemnon never be extinct. -Go, live, support my noble Father's house. But when you reach the Grecian coast, the realms Of martial Argos, I by this right hand, The pledge of amity, implore you, heap A tomb, and o'er it place the stone, to guard My memory; let my Sister shed the tear And cut her tresses o'er my vacant grave. Relate how by a certain Argive maid I perish'd at the bloody altar, sprinkled With lustral drops, and as a victim slain : Nor e'er forsake my Sister, tho' you see (18) Your kindred, and my Father's house, o'erwhelm'd With desolation. Now farewell for ever! For I in you the dearest friend have found. O my lov'd comrade in the sylvan chase. With whom in early childhood 1 was nurtur'd. The faithful partner of my various toils. But Phoebus, that prophetic God, deceiv'd us; Expert in each equivocating art, He drove me to these distant shores, asham'd Of his past oracles. I to his guidance Myself abandon'd wholly, and with zeal Obey'd his voice, when I my Mother slew : But now I am requited with destruction. (13) ofuK here daims a place in the stead of wpoJaf, whicli seems to have been a mere bhmdering repetition of" ■TrfoJxf in the preceding line, ofav be- ing inserted on the authority of a concurrence of manuscripts (as tliey both inform us) by Mr. Markland and Dr. Musgrave : in tlie reply of Pylades, twelve lines further, o-<- & spixw; are substituted for >j.s & i^y.a. 5C toils Would set you free, and to its antient splendour Restore the falhng mansion of our Sire, ('Gainst him who would have sacrific'd his Child Bearing no enmity,) refrain my hand From slaying you, and save our wretched house: Yet tremble to think how I can elude The Goddess, and the Monarch, when he finds A vacant niche where erst the Statue stood. To 'scape from death, what plausible exQuse Shall I allege? but if you could at once That image bear away, and with it lodge Me safe aboard the ship, such bold exploit Were glorious ; but, if seizing that, you leave Me here behind, I certainly must perish. While you, accomplishing your projects, reach The coast of Argos: yet 1 shun no toils, Not death itself, if 1 \'our life can save. For when a man, the heir of mighty thrones,. Expires, he falls regretted, but our sex Are deem'd of little worth. ORESTES. Let me not add Thy murder io the guilt of having slain Our Mothei, 'tis enough that with her blood I have defil'd these hands. 1 would concur With thee in the same generous views, and share Either in life or death one common fate. (27) For if success attend my bold emprise, (27) Tlie orirfiial reading of the Aldus' edition y,Ki^ k av.o; viravSot «=-.ti; re^fXf));, and apply it to •Electra. XvFym;, no doubt, signifies either " a Brotliei-" or " a Kins- man," and in the interpretation of ambiguous words, eveiy man is at liberty to choose for himscU', without violating the context ; but a double alteration, without the smallest authority quoted m its support, merely for tlie sake of tv istinsr the version according to it, will naturally incur the strungest suspicious of being erroneous. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 213 CHORUS. Take couras^e; the sole ohj ct of thy care Be thv own safety, O my fU arest mistress : The secret which ta me tliou ha'^f entrusted. Shall never be revealM : {3'2.) impeiial Jove I call to witness. IP'IIGENIA. May each bliss attend These generous woids! It now behoves you both To go into the temple : for the King Of" these domains will in a moment come. To make enquiry if these foreign youtlis Are sacrific'd. Most venerable Goddess, AVho erst, at Aulis' winding bay didst snatch Thy votary from a Father's cruel arm Uplifted to destroy me, now protect Both me and these ; else will Apollo's voice Thro' thee by mortals be no more csteem'd For its veracity. But O depart With us from these abhorr'd Barbarian rcHlnis Propitious, and to Athens speed thy course: For here it ill becomes thee to reside. When that blest city opens wide the gates Of holier fanes impatient to receive thee. [^Exeunt iPHiGENrA, orestes, and pylades. (3'2) Lord Rosrommon, in a note on " ille tegat comniissa," sub- joined to liis translation of Horace's Art of Poetiy, observes, that the rule is not so general but it may admit of some exception; and after equally blaiiiins; tlie Corinthian women for concealing Medea's murder of her children, and the Chorus in Ion for betraying tlie secret of Xuthus to Creusa, adds ; " but I can much less fortive Euripides for tlie " treacheiy committed in Iphigenia inTauiis; the Chorus is composed " of Grecian women, and this Princess begs them to tell nobody of her " plan to can-y off the statue of Diana, promising to take them with " her. The women are faithful to her, and yet she flics away alone with " Orestes, and abandons them to the rasie of Thoas, who w ould cer- " taiuly have severely punished them, had not ^Minerva came to their ** delive\:ance." 214 IPHIGENIA liN TAURIS. CHORUS. ODE. I. ]. O restless bird, in midway air Still hovering round where pointed clifls arise, Thy song, fond Halcyon, to the wise, For Ceyx' death, expresses thy despair. With wings iinfurnish'd, yet to thee Justly compar'd for hopeless woe. The peopled realms ol Greece I long to see, Long to attend Diana, who the bow On Cynthus twangs, long for the shade The palm and laurel's foliage braid. Which on the sacred mountain grtjws Luxuriant, and the olive's vernal bloom Diffusing o'er the lake a rich perfume. Where from the dying Swan th' harmonious cadence flows. I. Q. AdoAvn my cheeks stream'd many a tear, When rapine's sons, an unrelenting band. The turrets of our native land O'erthrew with conquering fleet and hostile spear; Sold for a price I hither came, Where curst Barbarian laws prevail. By Iphigenia with indignant shame Employ 'd in tasks which shuddering I bewail: To her whose shafts transfix the hind, Here human victims are consign'd. And here I still bemoan my wretched stale. There are who to affliction long inur'd, Till fortune change, its burden have endur'd. But sorrows after bliss embitter man's hard fate. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 215 II. 1. Thee, sacred Vir2;in, from these shores {33) An Argive bark exulting shall convey, And Pan's shrill flute with rustic lay. Cheer the bold crew that ply their dashing oars, Apollo too, the Seer, shall sing, Anrl wake the lyre with magic hand ; Till 'midst auspicious melody he bring Thy vessel to the rich Athenian land : Thus shall the jocund nau'ic train For thee divide the azure main. In these bleak regions leaving mc behind, Soon o'er the waves thy prosperous bark shall ride. From the tall mast th' extended cordage glide, And swelling streameis wanton in the amorous wind. II. 2. O that these tardy Feet could spring To that bright circus of eti.erial day Whence Phoebus darts his ardent ray ; Yet would I cease my venturous course to wing, Soon as I reach'd my native land, (33) " In the original it is 'a sliip of fifty oars :' the first vessel of " that size among the Greeks was supposed to have been the Argo, *' which how ver Theo( ribis in liis Hylas calls r-jaxovrafLiyov, ' consisting *' of thirty benches,' that is to say, furnished with fixty rowers. They " before made use of small skitfs and pinnaces. The Phoenicians first " invented these long sliips, the first of wlsich that the Greeks had any " knowledge of was that of Danans mentioned by ApoUodorus: Euii- " pides, in his Helen, calls a sliip of fifty oars Sidonian." Barnes. The reign of Danaus was about two hundred years i)rior to the Ar^o- nautic expedition : on referring to Apollodoriis, I find he represents Danans as the first person who invented the art of constructing a ship, lain mfujloi tu^vt-^ivwjz, biit gives no other acconnt of the size or form of his bark, than that it was called CTsvltixoilow, on account of its furnishing a conveyance for his fifty Daughters, with whom he fled from Egj'pt to Argos ; an event on which jEschylus has founded his tra;Te(ly of tiie Sup- pliants : but with what number of oars it was furnished does not appeal- : as for the vessel in which Deucalion and Pyriiia made their escape from the deluge, it appears to have been a mere ratt, in which they were dri- ven at the mercy of the winds and waves. 216 IPHIGENTA IN TAURIS. And mansion, scene of yoiini; dcliglit. Then haste to niino;le with ihiit choral hand 'Alidst whom, a virgin, at n)y hridal rite Did I with graceful step advance Applauded thro' the mazy dance: What transports did my gazing mother share! Wild heav'd my hreast the robe's loose folds between. Scarce were tiie maiden's downcast blushes seen While o'er ray rosy cheeks devolv'd the streaming hair. THOAS, CHORUS. THOAS. Where is the Grecian Damsel to whose trust These portals of Diana's awful temple We have committed ? for those captives yet Hath she perform'd th' initiatory rites? Or do their bodies o'er tlie kindled flame Now blaze within the sanctuar}' ? CHORUS. She comes, O King, and will to thee herself explain All she hath done. IPHIGENIA, THOAS, CHORUS. THOA,S. Why from its basis move That statue of the Goddess, which ne'er ought Thence to be borne away, thou royal Maid, From Agamemnon who deriv'st thy birth? CHORUS. Stay there, my Lord, nor with unhallow'd step Enter yon precincts. THOAS. But what new event, O Iphigenia, in this fane hath happen'd ? IPHIGENIA. „^ Abomination! thro' religious awe Thus do I speak. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 2i7 THOAS. What meun'st thou by this prehule? Be more explicit. IPHIGENIA. The two strangers brought For sacrifice, O Monarch, are impure. THOAS. Whence learn'st thou this, or is it mere conjecture? IPHIGENIA. The image of Diana, with its face Averted, on the marble basis stood. THOAS. Of its own free accord, or by some shock Of earthquake^ from its wonted posture thrown. IPHIGENIA. Spontaneously, and clos'd its anger'd eyes. THOAS. What was the cause; in yonder foreign youths Found'st thou impurity? IPHIGENIA. To this alone Can T ascribe what happen'd : dreadful crimes Have they committed. THOAS. As on Scythia's coast They landed, some Barbarian did tliey slay ? IPHIGENIA. From their own home, defil'd with blood they came. THOAS. What blood ? for I their history wish to learn? IPHIGENIA. They smote their Mother with confederate steel. THOAS, O Phoebus, e'en among Barbarian tribes (34) There's no man capable of such a deed. (34) D'On'ille, in his notes on Chariton, is of opinion that Eiuipides liere alludes to the following passage of Herodotus, who, speaking of tlie Persians, says, emv/Qtiica uimt, mu "KeftKn «v tiij-j]a vswri^a ah ^>ilff«, L. 1. 137. 213 IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. IPHIGENIA. Hence from all Greece were they cast forth with hate. THOAS. Is this the cause why from the fane thou bear'st Diana's image ? IPHIGENIA. In the pure expanse Of ether, far from every murderous taint. To place it. THOAS. By what means could'st thou perceive The strangers were unholy ? IPHIGENIA. A full proof This statue of the Goddess gave, which turn'd Its face away. THOAS. Thou, by sagacious Greece Train'd up in wisdom, canst discern aright. IPHIGENIA. But now by a delicious bait they strove To win my soul. THOAS. Pretending that they came With grateful tidings from the Argive realm? IPHIGENIA. Of my Orestes, my dear Brother's welfare. THOAS. Doubtless they hop'd that such intelligence Might lure thee to dismiss them. IPHIGENIA. (35) My Sire lives And prospers, they relate. (35) This line has always strack me as a mere wanton falshood, which has not tlie least tenc^eucy whatever to p'-omote the success of tlie plot Ipiiigenif. hai hee^ ♦bmiing; it only reflects disgrace on the character of tlie Heroine, aiiu js therefore justly censurable in a Dramatic piece. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 219 THOAS. But tliou didst yield Just preference to the rites Diana claims. IPHIGENIA. Foe to all Greece, because all Greece conspir'd To take away my life. THOAS. But how dispose Of these two strangers ? speak. IPHIGENIA. We must observe The laws which here are 'stablish'd. THOAS. Why delay To use the laver then, and sacred blade ? IPHIGENIA. By washing 1 would purify them first. THOAS. With water from the limpid fountain drawn, Or ocean's briny waves ? IPHIGENIA. (06) The sea removes Each taint of evil from the human race. THOAS. Made holier thus, to Dian shall they bleed. IPHIGENIA. And 1 become more prosperous. THOAS. Dashes not The surge against the basis of the fane? IPHIGENIA. We must be private : for besides the rites Foremention'd, I have others to perform. (36) " It is reported that Euripides formerly travelled witli Plato into " Egypt, where he fell sick, and the iEsryptiaii Priests cnied hmi by " bathing in the sea, which gave rise to thu potticjii eucuiuium ou the " virtue of its waters," Barnes. 220 IPIIIGENIA IN TAURIS. THOAS. Conduct the victims wluresoe'er tlioii wilt : !No wish have I those mysteries to belioltl Which may not be divulg'd. IPHIGENIA. I next must cleanse The statue of the Goddess. THOAS. If the stain Of those who slew their Mother, it have caught. IPHIGENIA. Else had 1 never from its pedestal Remov'd it hither. THOAS. Piety like thine And forethought claim our homage. IPHIGENIA. Know you not What Hext I must transact ? THOAS. Be it thy part To give directions. IPHIGENIA. In strong chains secure The foreigners. THOAS. Why ? whither can they fly ? IPHIGENIA. Greece knows no faith. THOAS. Away, ye guards, and bind them. IPHIGENIA. Then bring the strangers hither. THOAS. Thy commands Shall be ohey'd IPHIGENIA. Cast mantles o'er their faces IPHTGENIA IN TAURIS. 321 To skreen tlicin from Hyperion's radiant orb ; And fiom your train detach some troops to aid me. THOAS. Thy steps my faithful servants shall attend. IPHIGENIA. Dispatch a messenger, who may announce To the whole city — THOAS. What must he announce ? IPHIGENIA. Your strict commands that all at home remain. THOAS. Lest they with luckless step the murderers meet? IPHIGENIA. Wlience foul abomination would ensue. THOAS. Go^ and proclaim my will, that none approach To view the mystic rites. IPHIGENIA. The love you bear This happy realm, surpasses every friend. THOAS. Such honours as on me thou hast bestovv'd. Our city to its Priestess justly pays. IPHIGENIA. But stay you here without the fane. THOAS. To me What office is a3sis;n'd ? IPHIGENIA. The sacred dome Cleanse from pollution. THOAS. Thou shalt find it done At thy return. IPHIGENIA. But while the foreign youths Are from its lofty portals issuing forth — 222 IPIIIGEMA IN TAURIS. THOAS. What must I do? IPHIGEMA. Cast o'er your eyes a veil. THOAS. Lest I from thoni contract the stain of murder? IPHIGENIA. But if my stay full tedious seem — THOAS. How long Must I remain thus cover'd ? IPHIGENIA. Wonder not. THOAS. Suflicient leisure to thyself allow For ordering these solemnities aright. IPHIGENIA. O may this pious expiation answer My utmost wish! THOAS. With thine my prayers unite. IPHIGENIA. Yon strangers from the temple I behold Advancing, and before them borne in state The ensigns of our Goddess. New-born lambs (37) Have we prepar'd, that with their gushing blood We may wash out foul murder's horrid stain. Their holy lustre blazing torches shed, And all things, that to purify the strangers And image of Diana are requir'd, Have I made ready: but with a loud voice Each citizen [ warn to stand aloof Fiom this detilement; let Heaven's chosen Priest {S7^ Orestes and Pylades, though young men, could not certainly witli any propriety be called vfoyvof " new-born." The reading of wpvoif, instead of a^evui, fii'st suggested by Pierson in his Verisimilia, is approved of by Reiskius, Heatli, and Musgrave. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 223 Who with cleans'd hands would offer up iiis vows. The Youth just hastening to his nuptial joys, And Matron burden'd with a pregnant womb. Depart, on them lest this pollution light. Royal Maid, who sprung'st from tlnmd'ring Jove And from Latona, when their bloody stains 1 shall have wash'd away, and offer'd up Due sacrifice where thy behests ordain. Thou shalt inhabit a pure fane, and bliss Hereafter shall be ours : but tho' the tongue Express no more, O Goddess, without words Can 1 to thee, and Heaven's omniscient powers, iSIake known the secret purpose of my soul. [Exeunt thoas a>id iphigknia. CHORUS. ODE. I. All hail, Latona's race, illustrious pair. In Delos' fruitful vales of yore VVliom that exulting Goddess bore, Apollo, for his golden hair, And harp's melodious notes, renown'd. With her who from the sounding bow Sends forth th' inevitable wound: The throes of childbirth thus repaid, Not long on the same spot she staid, The margin of that lake profound (38) Into whose stagnant mass of waters flow No springs refreshing: from its craggy strand, To a more hospitable land (38) " Pour intelligence de ce passage il suffira de ranger les ternies " dans I'ordre grammatical qui leur convient; fAai7ffi ^^■nua-a xXKva ?'-x-'*" " vSu%y arwx-lav, ^'af ^EfSgxii." Acad. Inscr. Tom. 31. Hist. p. 186. I have transcribed the above criticism of Dnpiiy as by far tlie most obvioHS and satisfactory cxi>lanation I liave met with of this dilficivlt passaiic ; Heath's anangcnient of the \iords is in some measure similar: tlioir remarks, liowever, were cither not seen or totally disregarded by our two last editors of tliis tragedy, Mr. Marklaud, and Dr. Miis<:rave, as the former candidly allows tliat he docs not understand his Author, and the latter hius only proposed an alteration of the text, wliicli he seems to have abandor»ed, it not being inserted in liis La.in version, which affords a receptacle for most of his conjectural reauiniis. (39) Thoiu'h we find Carmelli, Reiskius, Heath, and Dr. Musgrave, all concin- in reprobating the word tjawv, and furnishing ns according to custom with their four difJereut conjectural alterations, I confess myself at a loss to i!i'^cyv<-r in v\i at respect any one of them has improved the IPHIGENIA IN TAURI&. €25 II. When Phoebus with resistless might Had cast forth Themis, child oF Earth, (40) Her mighty Parent griev'd, gave birth To various spectres of" the night. And dreams which to the mental sight Of the bewilder'd sons of men, Sleeping beneath some murky den Display'd things past, things present, and to come. Thus Earth constrain'd Apollo to resign Awhile the talent of prophetic song, Resenting much her Daughter's wrong; Quench'd by her wrath then ceas'd the voice divine. His oracles awhile were dumb : But hastening to Olympus' choir Who wait around the throne of Jove, The youthful God besought his Sire, From Pythian temples to remove, . Night*s vague responses, and the ire text, or what motive they had for making such attempt. From the Chorus' apologizing, v. 179 of the Tragedy, for their Asiatic dialect, Dr. Musgrave is of opinion that they are lonians ; if sc, tl.ey certainly could not with the natives of the province of Phocis claim any peculiar right in the oracle on mount Parnassus, or call it flairs in the lame .vnse as, in the Ion, Creusa's followers, who are Athenifuis, on seeing the pic- ture of Minerva at the Delphi, exclaim, " my Goddess." P.ut aXXojcrj^ «XXof Sauv fxi\!i, is a very just sentiment which Euripides puts into the moutli of Hippolytus : the oracles of Apollo were much visited by votaries of both sexes from distant regions, and the Pha-nician virgins ia our Author's third Tragedy are at Thebes in their road ti.ither ; nor hatb it the sound of poetical exaggeration, for an Ionian Dame, sprung from Grecian parents, to express the strongest affection for the cave whence that God dealt forth his prophetic responses. The leiitith of this Ode be- ing too great for one stanza, I very readily con)ply with Dr. Mus n-ave's example in making two of it ; which, though called in his edition, Strophe, and Antistroph^, are so very far from according with each other in their measures in the original, that I hope such conformity will be dispensed with in the translation. (40) In Hesiod's Generation of the Gods, v. 135, we find Themis enu- merated among those children of Ovcam; & Taia, or Heaven and Earth, who were the eld6r-born Brotiiers and Sisters of Saturn or Time, VOL. II. O 226 IPIIIGENIA IN TAURIS. Of Enrth dread Goddess. Jove benignly smil'd, At tlie arrival of his Child Prompted by strong desire T' obtain the honours of a God, And shrines replete v^'ith massive gold : Scar'd by the Thunderer's avveful nod. Each Vision fled, its power destroy'd. And man no longer by his fears control'd Night's treacherous oracles explor'd. For to the honours he before enjoy 'd Apoll(j was by Jove restor'd : Hence frequent votaries crowd his fane. And with implicit awe rely On the harmonious Deity, Who rouses inspiration's magic strain. MESSENGER, CHORUS. MESSENGER. Ye guardians of the temple, vvho attend Its altars, where is Thoas, Scythia's King ? Unbar the massive doors, go forth and call The Sovereign of the land. CHORUS. Ha! what hath happen'd ? (41) [f without fresh injunctions I may speak. MESSENGER. The captive youths are gone, they from these coasts Escaping, aided by the treacherous counsels Of Agamemnon's Daughter, bore away Diana's image in a Grecian bark. CHORUS. Incredible the tale thou haat related. But as for him whom thou would'st see, our King, (41 ) The latter part of this speech ought not, Mr. Heath observes,. to be construed iuten ogatively ; the Messenger having adtlressed himself not to the Chorus, but to some persons who ministered in tlie Temple, the door of which appears to have been close to the sceue ©f action. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 227 In haste but now he from the temple went. MESSENGEK. Whither r For he must hear what hath been done. CHORUS. We cannot tell: but follow him with speedy And if thou chance to overtake, relate These tidings. MESSENGER. Ldok, how treacherous the whole race Of women are ! ye too have some concern In these transactions. CHORUS. Thou I last surely lost Thy reason ! for what interest in th' escape Of strangers can we have? Without delay (42) Hence to the palace wilt thou not repair ? MESSENGER. No, not till some interpreter hath first Inform'd me, if the ruler of this land Be in the fane. Ho ! loose the massive bars ! To those within the sanctuary I speak : And to your King announce, that at the door Laden with doleful tidings I attend, THOAS, MESSENGER, CHORUS. THOAS. What miscreant raises, with unhallow'd voice, This uproar round Diana's lov'd abode. And thundering at the gate, spreads an alarm E'en to its sanctuary ? MESSENGER. To drive me hence (42) Mr. Heath and Dr. Musgrave's division of tliis and the next speech, of which I have availed myself, is a great improvement to this dialogue ; the Chorus well knew that Thoas was within the temple, and wished to send tlie Messenger to the palace iu quest of him, to delay the pursuit of theii" friends, Q2 cies IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. These women strove, regardless of the truth. When they denied that you were here within. THOAS. From such a fraud whai gain could they expect. Or what was their pursuit? MESSENGEK. Of what relates To them I at a future time will speak : Now hear what claims your more immediate care ; The virgin Iphigenia, she whose office Was to attend these altars, from the land Fled with yon captive youths, and hore away The venerable statue of the Goddess; Those expiatory rites of which she talk'd Were mere impostures. THOAS. Ha ! what's this thou say'st? What prompted her? MESSENGER. To save Orestes' life ; This haply will astonish you! \,\j- THOAS. What him Whom Clytemnestra, Tyndarus' Daughter bore ? MESSENGER. The same, whom at these altars to Diana She consecrated. THOAS. Prodigy of guilt! How style thee by a more expressive name ? MESSENGER. Thither awhile youi thoughts forbear to turn. But hear my tale, and after you have weigh'd Each circumstance with an attentive ear, Devise what means there are to overtake Tliese strangers in their flight. IPHIGENIA IN Tx\URIS. mj THOAS. Proceed : for well Hast tliou exprest thyself. So great a length Will be their voyage, that they cannot 'scape My vengeful spear. MESSENGER. Soon as we reach'd the shores Of Ocean, where conceal'd at anchor lay Orestes' bark ; to us, whom you dispatch'd To guard the prisoners, Agamemnon's Daughter A nod, the signal, gave, to stand aloof. As if for sacrifice the mystic flame She now was kindling, and without delay Would purify the victims : in her hands Holding the strangers' chains, then from our troop (Which look'd suspicious), she with them retir'd : But we, 3'our servants, to her pleasure yielded That deference, which, O JNIonarch, you enjoin'd. To make us think her more and more en2"a2f'd, As she pretended, by the solemn rite. After some interval she rais'd her voice, And chanted, in Barbaric strains, a form Of expiation : when we long had sat Waiting for their return, an anxious thought Enter'd our minds, lest from (43) their chains set free (43) Tlie word Xi/Sf/tej is, I apprehend, improperly rendered by Mr, West, " bursting their fetters :" for thougli Sinon, in A'irgil, represents himself as burstinir his bonds after the perfoniiancc of certain iiiitiatory rites, tlic salted cates being prepared, and his head crowned witli gar- lands : it was perhaps the ait of the Poet to accompany his tale with rircnmstanccs of inconsistency, which wonld not strike the mnltitude, but with an accurate observer might conduce to a detection of its im- posture ; but on the contrary, in the Hecui)a of Euripides, when Po- lyxena is borne to the altar, she insists, with great vehemence, on not iiaving her arms confined, that she mijiht die in a manner becoming one n ho was born free : and in this very Tragedy, v. 468, on Orestes and Pylades (wiioni she tlien considers as fit victims,) being first brought to Jphigeuia, she dircets their tluiiiis to be taken oft on account of Uuir «S0 IPHIGEMA IN TAURIS. Those forcigner.s might slay her, and escape Without obstruction. Wc, resiraiu'd by (h-ead Of viewing what religious awe ordains Shall be perlorni'd in secrecy, still kept Our silent station ; till at lengLh we all Concurr'd in one opinion, to advance. Nor wait tor leave to join them. But with oars. Like wings stretcht forth, we now beheld where rode The Grecian vessel; on its benches rang'd. Sat fifty marinejs: no longer bound, On the high deck those youths exulting stood. With poles, some guided from the shelving rocks The prow, on its projecting edge some lodg'd The anchor, otheis up the ladders ran. And letting dow^n the hausers, threw them forth Across the waves, that by their aid, irom shore. With (44) safety they the Princess might convey. But soon as we their treacherous aits perceiv'd, Resolv'd to face all dangers^ holding fast The Maid, and hausers of the ship, we strove, With all our might, to sever from the Poop Its rudder : in opprobrious words our rage Broke forth; Why sail ye hither? fioni these shores *' Mean ye to steal the image, and our Priestess? ** Whose son, who art thou, and on what pretence " Dost thou remove her Hke a purchas'd slave ?" being sacred to Diana ; and accordingly, after the supposed pei fonnanc* of expiatory rites, tiiey are now a second time inibound, aecordine; to the religious usages of tJiose times. (44) Without presuming to decide on this difficult piissage, and those various conjectural readings which occur in the editions of Barnes Markland, and IVIusgrave, I have endeavouied to express what seems to be the meaning of the passage, with as little deviation from the text as possible ; tlie coast appears to have been so rocky, as to make the use of long poles necessary to prevent the ship from dashing itself to pieces by approaching too near ; but the hausers and ladders which were thrown forth, in order to convey Iphigniia on shipboard, furnished soni* of the Scytliian guards and crew of Orestes with a comniunicatioii be- PivrxX the shore and the ship, on which they met and fought. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 231 He sternly answer'd ; " Know, I to this MaiU '* Am Brother, and Orestes is my name, " The Son of Agamemnon, I but seize, " And hence convey the Sister I had lost." All this prevented not our holding fast The virgin, and our utmost niiglit exerting, That to thy presence we might drag them back ; For in the hands of neither party gleam'd The steely blade; but we with fists alone Encounter'd them, until our batter'd sides Felt the superior prowess of those youths And our whole frame was in th' unequal strife O'erpower'd and harrass'd. We with livid marks DisHgur'd, to the promontory fled. Some on our heads, and others in our e3'es. Had bloody wounds, but on that height our stand Maintaining, we with greater caution fought, ^And from the rock its shiver'd fragments threw : Till archers, mounted on the lofty poop. Thence drove us with their shafts : a mighty wave ■ Meantime roH'd on, and forc'd the ship to land ; The sailors fear'd a wreck : but, undismay'd, Orestes phing'd into the waves, and bore His Sister on his shoulders ; up the side Of the high deck, then by the ladder's aid He sprung, and lodg'd her with Diana's image, Which from the skies descended, safe aboard ; While (45) from the vessel's inmost hold burst forth A voice; " Ye valiant mariners of Greece, " Now ply your oars, novv cut the frothy deep, " Since each inestunable prize is ours, (45) The reading of Eon m, instead of Boiiv W, which, according io Mr. Markland and Dr. Musgrave, is authouaed by tlie Parisian manu- scripts, appears to me a veiy forcible imliireii ent for adopting the punc- tuation and interpretition suggested first by Mr. Heath, who justly ob- teryes, tliat the statue of Diana felJ from Heav n, a> is inenli.>ned in these very lines, instead of crossing tiie Euxiue sea to reach Tauris. 232 IPIIIGENIA IN TAURIS. *' Crossing the Eiixine tide, for which we steer'd " 'Twixt the Symplegades our arduous course." They dash'd the briny wave with murmuring sounds Of exultation. Till it left the port, The ship advanc'd ; but in the narrow mouth Of ocean, by huge billows was assail'd : For suddenly did an impetuous wind Arise, which drove them backward, they in vain The stubborn cordage stretch'd, and undismay'd, With perseverance struggled 'gainst the waves ; But the tide swelling with resistless force, Baftled their efforts, and again to land ImpeU'd the bark : then Iphigenia rose And pray'd ; " O Daughter of Lalona, save ** Thy Priestess, waft me to the shores of Greece *' From these Barbaric regions, and forgive " The theft I have committed : for thou lov'st " Thy Brother, and, O Goddess, wilt excuse *' A deed which rises from a Sister's zeal," The mariners receiv'd the virgin's prayer With clamorous Paeans, and their brawny arms Extending, plied the sweeping oar, each rous'd His comrade's zeal : but to the shelving rock Nearer and nearer still their bark approach'd ; Some leap'd into the sea, the anchors some Bound up with twisted cordage. I, O King, Was hither with the utmost speed dispatch'd. That I to you these tidings might convey. Go then, with chains and gliding nooses arm'd ; For if the storm subside not, all the hopes These foreigners had form'd of an escape. Must vanish, (46) Neptun^, Ocean's aweful King, (46) The part Neptune acts in Homer directly contradicts what is here said of his animosity to the Greeks, and affection for the Trojans: intlie fifteenth book of the HiaiJ, he insists on Jupiter's demolishing Troy accordina; to the promise he had made ; and in the battle of the Gods, \a the 21st, be challenges and reproaches Apollo, who had assisted him IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 293 O'er Ilion's friths oft casts hi-s watchful e^-e. But to the race of Pelops is a foe, And will yield up, so justice hath orduin'd, To you, and to your citizens, the Son Of Agamemnon ; ye with him shall take His Sister too, unmindful how she scap'd From death at Aulis, who again is caught By that vindictive Goddess she betray'd. CHORUS. Unhappy virgin, Iphigenia, doom'd To be the partner of your Brother's fate. How are you fall'n again into the hands Of Lords most merciless ! THOAS. O ye who dwell In this Barbaric region, why delay Your steeds to bridle, and with swift career The shore approaching, intercept these Greeks As from their stranded bark they issue forth. And, aided by Diana's self, pursue These impious miscreants with redoubled speed? Will ye not launch my ships, that, or by sea. Or witli a numerous cavalry, by land. When we their flight o'ertake, we from the rock May either dash them headlong, or suspend Their bodies on the ignominious stake. in erecting that city, with having forgotten the perjuries of Laomedon, and w ith his unjust partiahty for the descendants of tliat faithless Tyrant. However, after the terrible disaster the Grecian navy had experienced on the rocks of Caphareus, the Tragic Poet may, in some measure, be jus- tified tor here representing tlie God of the Sea as unpropitious to his countiymen: but in his Trojan Captives, this deviation from Homer seems to have misled Euripides into a much greater impropriety, when he describes Minerva and Neptune as meetmg in order to eiFect a recon- cihation of their antient enmity arising from the opposite parts they had acted during the siege of Troy ; though in the last mentioned book of the Iliad, they unite to save Achilles from being overwhelmed by the waters of Scamander. 18S4 IPIIIGENIA IN TAUIUS. But as for you, 3-0 women, to their sclieines Who have been privy, I your guilt will punish When I have leisure, but am now intent On greater objects which demand my care. MiNERVA, THOAS, CHORUS. MINERVA. Whither, O Thoas, whitiier, furious King, Lead'st thou thy squadrons eager in the chase? These counsels of Minerva hear, desist From thy pursuit, nor rouse the storms of war ; Since by the dread behests of fate enjoin'd. By Phoebus' oracles, Orestes came Reluctant to this land, that he might 'scape The wrath of the Eumenides, convey His Sister to her native Argos' coast. And lodge the statue in my. chosen realm (47) : Thus far to thee, O King, relates my speech : But as for him thy purpose is to slay, Orestes, intercepted by the surge. To him e'en now doth Neptune, for my sake, A prosperous voyage grant, and waft his bark Over the level surface of the main. Thou too, Orestes, having learnt my will, (For tho' thou art not here, Minerva's voice To thee is audible) go, bear away That image, and thy Sister, from these shores: But soon as thou arriv'st at Athens rear'd By hands divine, in the extremest bounds Of Attica, near steep Carysthus' mount There is a sacred spot known, by the name Of (48) Hajas, to my people; there erect (47) Athens, as has been repeatedly mentioned: see particularly V. 90, and v. 97 8 in Barnes's edition. (48) The region called, by Strabo and Stephaniis Byzanthms, Hala*, or Halae Araphenides, is situated according to what we collect from these authors, and tlie commentaries of Holstenius, on the »ea-coast, in that IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 235 A temple to receive the Statue call'd Tauric Diana ; thus to future times Transmitting a remembrance of thy toils. And wanderings thro' all Greece, from realm to realm CbasVI by the Furies. Hence unnumber'd throngs Shall join the choral hymn, and by that name The Goddess celebrate. Enact this law. That when they mret to hold the solemn feast, Grateful for thy miraculous escape From sacrifice, the Priest shall o'er the neck Of him who personates the victim, wave His sword, and draw forth crimson drops of blood ; Tlie honours which she claims, in later days Thus shall the sacred Artemis maintain: But you, O Iphigenia, still must bear The key that opes her shrine, doom'd to reside On the bleak summit of Brauronia's rocks; Tiiere, after death, shall they inter 3'our corse. And grace your sepulchre with costly robes Of silken tissue, by those matrons left. Who in the pangs of childbirth breathe their last. But I on thee, Orestes, must impose Yet one injunction more, that thou convey These (49) Grecian damsels from the Scythian Coast, Mindful of their unshaken faith : for thee Did I preserve, when at the hill of Mars part of Attica, which borders on the Boeotian territories: the city of Carysthus, in tlie island of Eubcea, is separated from the Athenian limits by the narrow fridi the Euripiis, and the name of tiie mountain here spoken of, at the loot of which Cary.stlms was situated, is Occha. (49) Broddf^ns supposes tliat there is a deficiency in the original be. tween tliis and the following hne. Dnpny, in the Acad, des Inscript, Tom. 31, Hist. p. 187, and Mr. Maikland, have adopted the same opi« nion, and consider the Goddess as here addresi^ing herself to Thoaa. Without presuming to decide whether the authorities of tJiese learned men, or those of Barnes, Brunioy, Mr. West, and Dr. Musgrave, who think othenvise, ought to predominate, I have chosen to follow tlie latter for the sake of avoif'nig a di^-agreeable break and confusion in thit speech, where it did not seem clearly necessarj'. 23G IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. The votes were equal, and on thy behalf Gave sentence: hcnccfbiih shall the sell-same law Prevail, and an equality of votes Be deem'd sufiicient to acquit the man Charg'd with a crime. But far frf)m these domains Now bear thy Sister, thou illustrious Son Of Agamemnon, and, O Thoas, curb Thine anger. THOAS. O Minerva, aweful Queen, Devoid of reason is the man who yields No credence to the Gods' supreme behests: But I, against Orestes, tho' he bore Diana's sacred image from this land. And 'gainst his Sister, all resentment wave. For what could it avail me to contend With Heaven's resistless might? let them convey The statue to your lov'd Athenian realm, And place it in a more auspicious shrine. To happy Greece these females will I send. As you enjoin, and stay the troops, and barks Prepar'd against yon strangers. With your pleasure, O Goddess, I comply. MINERVA. Such (50) conduct claims My praise, for stern Necessity prevails Both over thee, and the immortal Powers. Go, gentle gales, go waft the ship which bears The Son of Agamemnon to the coast Of Athens : I his voyage will attend. My Sister's sacred image to preserve. Away, O ye whose every toil's o'erpaid (50) In Mr. Markland and Dr. Musgrave's editions, on tlie authority of a Parisian manuscript, tJie line, A\liich nsually closes Tiioas's spcccli, is placed at the commencement of that of Minerva, and is thought to be attiniprovemeut to the context. IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS. 237 By Fate's benignant gifts ; for ye with truth May be sty I'd happy. CHORUS. But, O thou, rever'd By Gods and mortals, Pallas, thy commands Are vye prepar'd to execute with joy. For tidings most delightful, which exceed Our utmost hopes, now vibrate on mine ear. O venerable Victory, take possession Of my whole life, nor ever cease to twine Around these brows thy laureat wreath divine. RHESUS. Nee procul hinc Rhesi niveis tentoiia velis Agnoscit lachiymans, primo quae prodita somno. Tydides multa vastabat cacde cruentus; Ardentesq ; avertit equos in castra, priusquam Pabula gustassent Trojae Xanthumque bibisseflt. VlRCIt, PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. CHORUS OF TROJAN CENTINEL5. HECTOR. jENEAS. DOLON. A SHEPHERD. RHESUS. ULYSSES. DIOMEDE. PARIS. MINERVA. THE MUSE. THE CHARIOTEER OF RHESUS. SCENE-BEFORE HECTOR'S TENT AT THE GATES OF TROY. R PI E S U S.(i) CHORUS. jLet some swift Centinel to Hector's tent Go and enquire if any messenoer Be yet arriv'd, who recent tidings bears From those, who during the fourth night! v watch Are by the host deputed. On your arm Sustain your head, unfold those louring eye-lids. And from your lowly couch of wither'd leaves, O Hector, rise, for it is time to listen. HECTOR. Who comes.'' art thou a friend .? pronounce the watch word. Who are ye, that by night approach my bed ? Speak out. CHORUS. We guard the camp. (l) The Prologue to Rhesus is wanting ; but the following part of it, taken by Isaac Vossius from a Florentine manuscript, is quoted with some corrections by Valkenaer in liis Diatribe in Euripidis perditorum i)ramatum rehquas, p. 90, 4to. Lug. Bat. 1767, usually bound up with his edition of Hippolytus. These lines are evidently spoken by Jimo : O Pallas, daughter of imperial Jove, I come : until this hour hath envious Fate With-held our succours from the Grecian host. For now, in battle worsted, are they harrass'd By Hector's forceful spear. No grief hath sat More heavy on my soul, since Paris judg'd The charms of Venus to transcend both mure And yours, Minerva, whom of all the gods I hold most dear! nor will tliis sorrow cease, Unless o'erthrown and utterly dostroy'd The walls of faithless Priam I behold, VOL. n. B Q42 RHESUS. HECTOR. Why com'st thou hither With tills tuiniiltuous haste? CHORUS. Be of good cheer. HECTOR. 1 am. ITast thon discover'd in the camp Tl)is ni^^ht some treachery? CHORUS. None. HECTOR. Why then deserting The post where thoti art station'd, dost thou rouse The troops, unless thou thro' this midnight gloom Brine, some important tidings? know'st thou not That near the Argive host we under arms Take our repose. CHORUS. Prepare your brave allies : Go to their chambers, bid them wield the spear, Rouse them from slumber, and dispatch your friends To your own troop ; caparison the steeds. Who bears the swift alarm to (2) Pantheus* son ? Who to (3) Eiiropa's offspring, Lycia's chief? (S!) We meet witli tlirce sons of Pantheus in Homer : Polydanias, who is mentioned in several battles, and is chiefly knovvni by his conference with Hector in the li>th book of tlie Iliad ; Hyperenor, killed by Mene. laus m the ilth, where he is called no(p,Ti i^awv, as bearing a considerable command in the army (of whom Barnes takes no notice), and Euphor- bus, who wonnds Patroclus in the 16th, and in attempting to revenge the death of his Brother Hyperenor, falls by the hand of Menelaus in single combat in the 17th : but it is impossible to ascertain which of them Euripides here means. (3) Sai-pedon, whom the classical writers unanimously speak of as the son of Jupiter : but though Herodotris, Strabo, and ApoUodorus, accord with Euripides in calling Europa, the daughter of Agenor, his mother, he was, according to Homer, the offspring of Laodamia, whose two parents were Bellerophon, and a daughter of lobates, king of Lycia : their son Hippolochus was the father of Glaucus, who, according to tiie RHESUS. 243 Where are the Priests who should inspect the victims? Who leads the light-arm'd squadron to the field? And where are Phrj'gia's archers ? let each bow Be strung. HECTOR. Thy tidings are in part alarming, In part thou giv'st us courage, tho' thou speak Nought plainly. By the terrifying scourge Of Pan hast thou been smitten, that thou leav'st Thy station to alarm the host ? Explain These clamorous sounds. What tidings shall I say Thou bring'st? thy words are many, but their drift I comprehend not, CHORUS. All night long, O Hector, The Grecian camp hath kindled fires, the torches Amid their fleet are blazing, and the host Tumultuous rush to Agamemnon's tent. At midnight calling on the king t' assemble A council: for the sailors never yet Were thus alarm'd. But I, because I fear What may ensue, these tidings hither bring, Lest you should charge me with a breach of duty. HECTOR. Full seasonably thou com'st, altho' thou speak Words fraught with teiror: for these dastards hope They in their barks shall from this shore escape Ere I discover them : their kindled fires Prove this suspicion. Thou, O partial Jove, Hast robb'd me of my triumph, like the prey Torn from the lion, ere I have deslroy'd circumstantial account given of those two heroes in the 6th book of the lUad, possessed, jointly with Sarpedon, Lycia, the hereditaiy throne of their common Grandmother : but, according to Herodotus and Strabo, Sarpedon obtained the sovereignty of that country by conquest, and not by iuheritaace, B 2 «44 RHESUS. With this avenging spear the Grecian liost. Had not the Siin withdrawn his radiant heams, I the successful battle had prolong'd Till I had burnt their ships, and hewn a way ITiro* their encampments, and in slaughter drench'd My bloody hand. I would have fought by night And taken my advantage of the gales Sent by auspicious fortune : but the wise, And Seers who knew the will of Heaven, advis'd me To wait but till to-morrow's dawn appear'd, And then sweep every Grecian from the land. But now no longer will they stay to prove The truth of what my Prophets have foretold: For cowards in the midnight gloom are brave. Instantly therefore thro' the host proclaim These orders; "Take up arms, and rouse from sleep;*'* Piere'd thro' the back as to the ships he flies, So shall full many a dastard with his gore Distain the steep ascent; the rest fast bound In galling chains shall learn to till our fields. CHORUS. Hector, ere you learn the real fact, You are too hasty : for we know not yet That they are flying. HECTOR. Wherefore then by night Are those fires kindled thro' the Grecian camp? CHORUS. 1 am not certain, tho' my soul full strongly Suspects the cause. HECTOR. If thou fear this, thou tremblest At a mere shadow. CHORUS. Such a light ne'er blaz'd Before among the foes. RHESUS. 245 HECTOR. Nor such defeat, in battle, did they e'er till now experience. CHORUS. This have you done ; look now to what remains. HECTOR. I give this short direction ; take up arms Against the foe. CHORUS. Behold ! iEueas comes : Sure, from his haste, some tidings, which deserve His friends' attentive ear, the warrior brings. iENEAS, HECTOR, CHORUS. TEN E AS. What mean th<2 watch, O Hector, who by niglit Were to their stations in the camp assign'd, That they, with terror smitten, at your chamber In a nocturnal counsel have assembled? And why is the whole army thus in motion ? HECTOR. Put on thy arms, iEneas. yENEAS. What hath happen'd.^ Are you inform'd that in this midnight gloom The foe hath form'd some strata2;em? HECTOR. They fly I They mount their ships. .?]:neas. What proof have you of this.^ HECTOR. All night their torches blaze; to me they seem As if they would not wait to-morrow's dawn: But, kindling fires upon their lofty decks. They sure fly homeward from this hostile land. 246 RHESUS. ^NEAS. But why, if it be thus, prepare 30ur troops Por battle ? HECTOR. As they mount the deck, this spear Shall overtake the dastards; I their flight Will harrass: for 'twere base, and prejudicial 7\s well as base, when Heaven delivers up The foe into our hands, to suffer those Who vvrong'd us to escape without a conflict. lENEAS. Ah. ! would to Heaven you equally stood foremost In wisdom, as in courage: but one man By bounteous nature never was endued With knowledge universal : various gifts Doth she dispense, to you the warrior's palm, (4) To others sapient counsels: now you hear Their torches blaze, you thence infer the Greeks Are flying, and would lead the troops by night Over the trenches : but when you have pass'd The yawning fosse, should you perceive the foes, Instead of flying from the land, resist, With dauntless courage, your protended spear. If you are vanquish'd, to these sheltering walls You never can return : for in their flight How shall the troops o'er slanting palisades Escape, or, how the charioteer direct Over the narrow bridge his crashing wheels ? If you prevail, you have a foe at hand. The S'/n of Peleus, from your flaming torches Who will protect the fleet, nor suffer you Utterly to destroy the Grecian host As you expect ; for he is brave: Our troops (4) See the conference between Annibal and Maheibal, after the vic- tory gained over the Romans at Cannee ; in Livy, Phitarch's Life of Fabius, and Rollin Histoire Romaine. RHESUS. 247 Let \is then leave to rest rrcm mart'al tails, And sleep beside their shields. That we dispatch Amid the foe some vohmtaiy spy. Is my advice: \i' they prepare for flight, Let us assail the Greeks ; but if those fires Are kindled to ensnare us, having learn'd The enemies' intentions, let us hold A second coiuicil on this great emprise. Illustrious chief, I have declar'd my thoughts. CHORUS. I. These counsels I approve: thy wayward scheme O Hector, change, and think the same ; For perilous commands I deem. Given by the headstrong chief, deserve our blame. \^'hy send not to the fleet a spy, Who may approach the trenches, and descry With what intent our foes upon the strand Have kindled many a flaming brand ? HECTOR. Ye have prevail'd, because ye all concur In one opinion : butdepait, prepare Thy fellow-soldiers^ for perhaps the host May by the rumours of our nightly council Be put in motion. I will send a spy Among the Greeks ; and if we learn what schemes They have devis'd, the whole of my intentions To thee will I immediately reveal In person. With confusion and dismay But if the foe precipitate their flight. Give ear, and follow where the clanging trump Summons thee forth, for then I cannot wait. But will this night attack the Grecian host. Storm their entrenchments, and destroy their fleet. ^NEAS. Dispatch the messenger without delay. For you now think discreetly, and in me 248 RHESUS. Shall find, whtn needed, in your bold emprise A ilrm associate. [Exit /eneas. HECTOR. What brave Trojan, present At this our conference, as a spy will go T* explore the Grecian navy ? to this land What generous benefactor will arise ? Who answers ? for I singly cannot serve The cause of Trov and its confederate bands In every station. (5) DOLON. For my native realm, Facing this danger, to the fleet of Greece 1 as a spy will go ; and when I've search'd Into the progress of our foes, return : But I on these conditions undertake The toilsome enterprise — HECTOR. Thou well deserv'st Thy name, and to thy country art a friend, O Dolon ; for this day thy (fi) father's house, W^hich is already noble, thou exalt'st With double fame. (5) Though Dolon now makes liis first appearance as a speaker, he has evidently been on the stage during the whole of tlie conference be- tween Hector and jEneas ; he must therefore, either have entered with the latter, or as I am rather inclined to think, is one of the watch who form the Chorus, and remains undistinguished among the body, till he comes forward, to accept the employment offered by Hector : the word AoAav, Dolon, tlie name of om- adventurer, signifies both in the Greek and Latin languages a kind of staff, with a little rapier concealed in it. Plutaich in his Lives of the two Gracchuses, speaks of these weapons, as only made use ol by assassms ; but Virgil has anned the followers of Aventinus wiUi them, Pila maim soevosque gerunt in bella Dolones. Hence arises the pun with wliich Hector begins his answer; but these strokes of low wit, which are too frequent in the writings of the antients, are impossible to be retained in a translation, nor is the loss of them (in a tragedy especially) to be in the least regretted. (6) The Father of Dolon, according to Homer, was named Eumedes. RHESUS. 249 DOLON, I therefore ought to strive: But after all my labours let me reap A suitable reward. If gain arise From the performance of the task enjoiii'd. We ieel a twofold joy. HECTOR. This were but just : I contradict thee not; name thy reward; Choose what thou wilt, except the rank I bear. DOLON. Your rich domains I wish not to possess. HECTOR. To thee a daughter of imperial Priam In marriage shall be given. DOLON. With my superiors I will not wed. HECTOR. Abundant gold is ours, If thou prefer this stipend. DOLON. My own house With wealth is furnish'd, I am far remote From want. HECTOR. What then dost thou desire that Troy Contains? DOLON. When you have conquei'd the proud Greeks, Promise to give me HECTOR. I will give the all That thou canst ask, except my royal captives. DOLON. Slay them ; I seek not t > withhold your arm From cutting off the vanquish'd Menelaus. «50 RHESUSi HECTOR. Is it thy wish, Oileus' son to thee (7) Should be consign'd ? DOLON. The liands of princes, nurlur'd Effeminately, arc not torni'd to till flie stubborn soil. HECTOR. From which of all the Greeks Taken alive would'st thou receive his ransom ? DOLON. Already have I told you, that at home I have abundant riches. HECTOR. Thou shalt choose Among our spoils. DOLON. For offerings let them hang Higli in the temples of the Gods. HECTOR. What gift Greater than these canst thou from me require ? DOLON. Achilles' steeds: for when I stake my life On Fortune's dye, 'twere reasonable to strive For such an object as deserves my toils. (7") Ajax, frequently called the " less," to distinguish him from the son of Telamou ; Homer niEuks out his inferiority of strength and stature in the strongest terms. Mtiwv, an rojoj ys, »7o; TiXafjMiio; Ai«j AXKa OTO?ki/ |U£(u.'V, oKiyo; fxfv £»1V. II. L. 2. V, 528. All these words in the Greek are by Pope contracted mto " Ajax the *' loss :" Homer represents him as a man of the most undaunted courage, but having had the audaciousness to ravish Cassandra in the temple of Minerva, he perished by shipwreck in his return from the siege of Troy, his fate being recorded, with some variations, by Homer, Quintus Calaber, Vii-gil, and several oUier writers. RHESUS. 251 HECTOK. Although thou in thy wishes to possess Those steeds hast inteifer'd with me : for sprung From an immortal race themselves immortal They bear Pelides through the ranks of war, Neptune, 'tis said, the king of ocean, tam'd them And gave to Peleus : J, who prompted thee To this emprise, will not bely thy hopes, But to adorn thy noble Father'ts house. On thee Achilles' generous steeds bestow. DOLON. This claims my gratitude : if I succeed, My courage will for me obtain a palm. Such as no Phrygian ever won before : Nor should you envy me, for joys unnumber'd And the first station in the realm, are yours. [Exit HSCTOR. CHORUS. II. The danger's great, but great rewards allure Thee, generous youth, t' assert thy claim. Thrice blest if thou the gift procure, Yet will thy toils deserve immortal fame : Th' allies of kings let grandeur tend. May Heaven and Justice thy emprise befriend, For thou already seem'st to have acquir'd All that from man can be desir'd. DOLON. I am resolv'd to go : but my own doors First must I enter, and myself attire In such a garb as suits my present scheme. Thence will I hasten to the Argive fleet. CHORUS. What other dress intend'st thou to assume Instead of that thou wear'st ? DOLON. Such as befits 25C RHESUS. My cirand anfl the stealth with which I travel. CHORUS. We ouglit to gain instruction from the wise. What covering hast tiiou chosen for thy body ? DOLON. I to my back will fit the tawny hiile Of a slain (8) wolf, will muffle up my front With the beast's hairy visage, fit my hands To his fore-feet, thrust into those behind INly legs, and imitate his savage gait; Approaching undiscovei'd by the foe. The trenche« and the ramparts that defend The navy ; but whenever I shall come To desert places, on two feet I mean To travel : such deception have I fram'd. CHORUS. May Hermes, Ma'ia's offspring, who presides O'er well-conducted fallacies, assist Thy journey thither, and with safety lead Thv homeward steps ! for well thou understand'st The business ; there is nought which yet thou need'st But good success. DOLON. I shall return in safety. And having slain Ulysses, or the son (8~) We are here referred by Dr. Miisgrave to Josephus, who inform? HS, that when he was besieged in Josapata by Verpasiaii, he found means for a time to send letters to his countrymen without the walls by disguising; his messengers in hides that they might be taken for dogs. Villoison thinks the shepherd Dorcon in Longiis, who puts on a wolf's hide to fright Ciiloe his obdurate mistress, acts much more in character tlian Dolon, and I confess the Mtyfigixas ja>i)(cv« of the citizen in the. Arcanenses of Aristophanes, who makes his daughters disguise them- selves like Pigs and creep into a sack that he may sell them to Dic»- polis, strikes me as a well-pointed ridicule on tiiis stratagem of Dolon; tliougli I do not find any reference made in either of these passages froiB one author to the other, by the editors of Euripides, or even those of Aristophanes, whom we naturally expect to be more ready in point- ing out parallels of this nature. RHESUS. Ci53 Of Tydeus, bring to ^ou their ghastly heads: For (9) omens of assur'd success are mine : Then say that Dolon reach'd ihe Grecian fleet. These hands distain'd with gore, my nat ve walls Will 1 revisit ere the Sun arise. \_Exit dolon. CHORUS. O D E» I. 1. O thou, who issuing with majestic tread From Delian, Lycian, or Thj'mbreean fanes, Twang'st thy unerring bow; on Phrygia's plains, Apollo, thy celestial influence shed, Hither come with nightly speed. The enterprizing Chief to lead Through mazes undiscover'd by our foes ; Aid thy lov'd Dardanian line, For matchless strength was ever thine. Constructed by thy hand Troys antient bulwarks rose. I. 2. Speed Dolon's journey to the Grecian fleet. Let him espy th' entrenchments of iheir host; Again in triumph from the stormy coast Conduct the warrior to his native seat ; May he mount that chariot di-awn By steeds that brows'd the Phthian lawn When our brave lord, the Mars of Greece, hath slain; (9) Apprehending the word cj/^Sj/ot in this passage ought to be rendered an " Omen" (which Henry Stepliens, Thes. Gr, Ling. V. I. p. 705, shews to be sometimes its meanuig, by instances from Phitarcli, Xenophon, &c. " quod signuni sit rei futura:-), and not the sign or token of a victory already gained ; I continue the reading of ex.'" ^^'i^h Ahlus, Barnes, &c. Dr. Musgrave has altered it into t-^u.y on tlie authority of two manuscripts which he has specified in his note, but on referring from thence to tlie Hst he has given in V. I, p. 381 of his edition of Euripides, we are induced to suppose that the Aidine reading of r/M is sup- ported by a greater number of manuscripts of at least equal Mcight and antiquity. 'J5i liHESUS. Coursers of unrival'd speed, Wliicli erst to Eucus's seed To Peleiis, Neptune gave who rules the billowy main. II. 1. His country, his paternal walls, to save. The generous youth explores the anchor'd fleet : From me such worth .shall due encomiums meet. How few with hardy bosoms stem the wave. When Hyperion veils his face. And cities tremble on their base ! At this dread crisis Phrygian heroes rise, Mysian chiefs, uncurb'd by fear. Brandish with nervous arm the spear ; Curst be the lying tongue that slanders my allies. II. 2. In savage guise now Doion stalks array'd. With step adventurous o'er the hostile ground; What Grecian chief shall feel the deadly wound. While the wolfs hide conceals his glittering blade ? Weltering first in crimson gore, May Menelaus rise no more; Next may the victor, Agamemnon's head Bear to Helen, stung with grief At her affinity to that fam'd chief Who in a thousand ships to Troy his squadrons led. A SHEPHERD, HECTOR, CHORUS. SHEPHERD. Most gracious monarch, may I ever greet My lords with tidings such as now I bring! HECTOR. Full oft misapprehension clouds the soul Of simple rustics : to thy Lord in arms Thou of thy fleecy charge art come to speak At this unseemly crisis: know'st thou not My mansion, or the palace of my Sire? There oughl'st thou to relate how fare thy flock. RHESUS. Q,j5 SHEPHERD. We shepherds are, I own, a shnple race, Yet my intelligence deserves attention. HECTOR. Such fortunes as befall the fold, to me Relate not, for I carry in this hand The battle and the spear. SHEPHERD. 1 too am come Such tidings to unfold ; for a brave Chief, Your friend, the leader of a numerous host, Marches to fight the battles of this realm. HECTOR, But from what country ? SHEPHERD. Thrace, and he is call'd The son of Strymon. HECTOR. Didst thou say, that Rhesus Hath enter'd llion's fields ? SHEPHERD. You comprehend me. And have anticipated half my speech. HECTOR. Why doth he travel over Ida's hill, Deserting that broad path where loaded wains With ease might move ? SHEPHERD. I have no certain knowledge; Yet may we form conjectures ; 'tis a scheme Most prudent, with his host to march by night Because he hears the plain with hostile bands Is cover'd : but us rustics he alarm'd, Who dwell on Ida's mount, the antient (10) seat (10) " The Poet here seems to allude to Homer's account of the *' inouutaui Ida being inhabited before Troy was built in the plain '; 2.56 RHESUS. Of Tlion^s first inhabitants, by night When through tliat wood, the haunt of savage beasts. The warrior trod ? for witli a mighty shtnit Tlie Tliracian host^rush'd on, but wc, our flocks. With terror siiiiiten, to the summit drove, Lesfany Greek bhoukl come to seize the prey. And waste your crowded stalls: .till we discover'd Voices so different from tli' Hellenian tribes. That we no longer fear'd them. I advaiic'd. And in the Thracian language, made enquiry Of the king's vanguard, as they mov'd along To' exploie a passage for the host, what name Their leader bore, sprung from what noble Sire, To Ilion's walls he came, the friend of Priam. When I had lieard each circumstance I wish'd To know, 1 for a time stood motionless. And saw majestic Rhesus, like a God High in his chariot, drawn by Thracian steeds Whiter than snow, a golden beam confin'd Their necks, and o'er his shoulders hung a shield Adorn'd with sculptures wrought in massive gold; Like that which in Minerva's ^gis flames, Bound on the coursers' front, a brazen Gorgon Tinkled incessant with alarming sound. The numbers of an army so immense AXX' £9' wrwfsia^ U.XEOV ■uJo'KvmSaKa I^if. II. L. 20. V. 216. Ilion then (The city since of many-languag'd men) Was not. The natives were content to till Tlie shady foot of Ida's fountful hill. Pope. " he therefore calls it avro^t^oy, as being the sole root from which the in- " habitants of that nation traced their origin." Dr. Musgrave. Strabo comments on Homer's description of tlie tomb of Ilus, the founder of Troy, from whom that city derived its name of Dion, wliich is spoken of as situated in tlie middle of the plain ; by conjecturing that he was tlicre interred because he was tha first who ventured to leave tlie jnountain. RHESUS. S57 I cannot calculate ; the horse were many, Many the ranks of troops with bucklers arni'd. And archers ; and a countless multitude. Light infantry in Thracian vests array'd Brought up the rear. Such is th' ally who comes On Troy's behalf to combat; nor by flight, Nor by withstanding his protended spear. Can Peleus* son escape him. CHORUS. When the Gods Are to a realm propitious, each event Is easily converted into bliss. HECTOR. Since I in battle prosper, and since Jove Is on our side, I shall have many friends ; But those we need not who in former time Our toils partook not, with malignant blast When on the sails of Ilion Mars had breath'd. Rhesus hath shewn too plainly what a friend He is to Troy, for to the feast he comes, Yet was he absent when the hunters seiz'd Their prey, nor did he share the toils of war, CHORUS. You justly scorn such friends; yet, O receive Those who would aid the city. HECTOR. We who long Have guarded Ilion can defend it now. CHORUS. Are you persuaded you have gain'd already A triumph o'er the foes ? HECTOR. I am persuaded. And when to-morrow's Sun the Heaven ascends This shall be prov'd. CHORUS. Beware of what may happen ; VOL. II. s 258 RHESUS. Jove ofi' o'eithiovvs the prosperous. HECTOR. I abhor These tardy succours. SHEPHERD. O, my Lord, 'twere odious/ Should you reject with scorn the profFer'd aid Of our allies : the sight of such an host Will stiike the foe with terror. CHORUS. Since he comes But as a guest, not partner in the war. Let him approach your hospitable board. For little thanks are due from Priam's sons To such confederates. HECTOR. Prudent are thy counsels. Thou too hast rightly judg'd ? and in compliance With what the messenger hath said, let Rhesus Refulgent in his golden arms draw near. For llion shall receive him as her friend. [Exit SHEPHERD. CHORUS. ODE. I. 1. Daughter of Jove, forbear to wreak Impending vengeance, though the tongue, (Uj O JNemesis, its boastful strain prolong : I the free dictates of my soul will speak. (11) " It is universally known that Nemesis was esteemed by tiie.an- " tients the avenger of arrogance and insolence. See tlie Adagy of Eras- " mvis on Adrasta?an Nemesis, and because Jupiter, as Sophocles observes, fAiyaXri; y^iuacni; M^'nu; VTiifiyQai^ii, Antigone, v. 129. hates the boastings of the proud, Francklin. " when they were disposed to speak in pompous terms, as Gasper Stib. RHESUS. 259 Thou com'st brave son of that illustrious spring. Thou com'st thrice welcome to our social hall 5 At length doth thy Pierian Mother bring Her favour'd child, while ling'ring io his fall, Adorn'd by many a bridge, thee with paternal call I. 2. Doth Strymon summon to the field : of yore When he the tuneful iSluse addiess'd, A gliding stream he sought her snowy breast. Thee, lovely youth, the yielding Goddess bore: To us thou com'st a tutelary power Yoking tliy coursers to the fervid car : O Phrygia! O my country! at this hour Hastes thy deliverer glittering from afar. Him may'st thou call thy Jove, thy thunderbolt of war. n. 1. While swiftly glides th' unheeded day, Again shall Troy without control Chant the young Loves, and o'er the foaming bowl The sportive contest urge 'midst banquets gay ; But Atreus's sons desponding cross the wave. And sail from Ilion to the Spartan strand. Accomplish what thy friends foretold, O save These menac'd walls by thy victorious hand. Return with laurels crown'd, and bless thy native land. n. 2. To dazzle fierce Pelides' sight, Before him wave thy golden shield Obliquely rais'd, that meteor of the field. Vault from thy chariot with unrival'd might. And brandish with each dextrous hand a lance : " linns says, either of transcendent valonr and invincible power, or of " any late success, on which they founded the utmost confidence, tlie " antients therefore strove to deprecate the wratli of Nemesis, who was " wont to prohibit and punish unreasonable hopes. Hence the Chorus of " Trojans, who expected every thing from the might and courage of " Rhcstls, first strive to rccoucile Nemesis to themselves." Barnes. S 2 260 RHESUS. Whoever strives with thee shiili ne'er return 'I'o Argive fanei?, and join Saturnia's D.ince, lit by I lie sptar of Thrace in combat slain. Shall lie a breathless cort«e on Troy's exulting plain. Hail, mighty chief! ye Thracian reahns, the mien Of him ye bore speaks his exalted rank. Observe those nervous limbs with plated gold Tncas'd, and hearken to those tinkling chains Which on his shield are hung. A God^ O Troy, E'en Mars himself, from Strymon's current sprung. And from the Muse, brings this auspicious gale. RHESUS, HECTOR, CHORUS. RHESUS. Thou brave descendant of a noble Sire, Lord of this realm, O Hector, I accost thee After a tedious absence, and rejoice In thy success, for to the turrets rear'd By Greece, thou now lay'st siege, and I am come With thee those hostile bulwarks to o'erthrow, And burn their fleet. HECTOR. Son of the tuneful Muse, And Thracian Strymon's stream, I ever love To speak the truth, for I am not a man Vers'd in duplicity; long, long ago, Should you have come to succour Troy, nor sufl"er*d;, Far as on you depended, by our foes This city to be ta'en. You cannot say That uninvited by your friends you came not. Because you mark'd not our distress. What heralds, What embassies to you did Phrygia send,- Beseeching you, the city to protect. What sumptuous presents did she not bestow i , But 3^ou, our kinsman, who derive your birth From a Barbarian stem, to Greece betray'd RHESUS. QCn "Us, a (l'2) Barbarian nation, tho' from ruling Ov^i a pery state, by this right arm I rais'd you to the wide-extended throne. When round Pangseura and Paeonia's reahn Rushing upon the hardiest Thracian troops I broke their ranks of battle, and subdued The people to your empire : but you spurn My benefits, nor come with speed to succour Your friends in their distress. Tho' tViey who spring not From the same ancestors, observed our summons j Of whom full many in yon field of death Have tombs heap'd o'er them, a niost glorious proof Of faith unshaken ; others under arms Their chariots mount, and stedfastly endure The wintry blasts, the parching flames of heaven, Nor on a gay convivial coucli reclin'd Like you, O Rhesus, drain ilie frequent bowl. That you may know I yet can stand alone, Such conduct I resent; this to your face I speak. RHESUS. I also am the same : my language (12) Lest there should aj^ear to the reader any inconsistency in Hec- tor's calling his own nation Barbarians, it may not be unseasonable to ob- serve, that the true classical definition of the term seems to be that given by Frerct in the Acad, des Ijiscript. Tom. 2i, Hist. p. 14. " cette quali- '• tication des Barbares sigiafie des pcuples qui nc sont point admis dans " ie corps Hellenique." iEschylus in his Pf'rsa> puts that expression not only into the mouth of tlie messenger who brings to Atossa tidings of Xerxes' defeat, but more than once into that of tlie old men who govern the kingdom during their Monaich's absence, and form the Ciioras. Mr. Bryant, in his " Observations on various paits of Antient Hi:>toi-y," has indeed laid a most unusual stress on the word Bn^apt, as applied by St. Paul to the inhabitants of tiie island Melita, and thence inferred that they were a people remarkable for their ferociousness, but Ex>.>icr» ti mu Bw^&gci;, is the language as well of St. Panl as of the Classical writers; and Cicero complains that the Greek Physicians made as jnuch havoc in his time at Rome as if they liad entered into a conspiracy, Barbaios onines necare. 262 RHESUS. Is plain and honest; 1 am not a man Of mean duplicity. My soul was tortur'tl AVith greater anguish far than thou coulti'st feel. Because 1 was not present in this land : Bnt Scythia's tribes who near our confines dwell Made war against me just as 1 to Troy Was journeying ; I had reach'd the Euxine shore To sail with Thracia's host, the Scythian blood There stain'd our spears, and iny brave troops expir'd Midst intermingled slaughter: this event Hinder'd my reaching Troy, and aiding thee In battle. Having conquer'd them, and taken For hostages their children, theiTi I bound To pay me annual tribute ; with my fleet Then cross'd the Hellespont, and marched on foot Thro' various realms, nor, as thou proudly say'st, Drain'd the intoxicating bowl, nor slept Beneath a gilded roof, but to such blasts As cover with thick ice tlieThracian (13) wave. Or thro' Paeonia howl, was I expos'd Wrapt in this mantle many a sleepless night. But I, tho' late, am in due season come : For this is the tenth year since thou hast wag*d An ineffectual war, day after day By thee is idly lavish'd, while the dye Of battle twixt the Argive host and thine Spins doubtful ere it fall. But it for me Will be sufficient that the sun once mount The heavens, while I their bulwarks storm, invade Their fleet, and slay the Greeks. To my own home I the next day from llion will return (l3) Tff^e-a fxn iuii X«f; vitai piwiij jcs itKTotiy 2fi/^ov£B Eofiao' Calini. in Delum, v. 24. Towers and walls Strymone^n Boreas levels with tiie ground. Dodd's Callimaclius. RHESUS. . 2G3 Thy toils soon ending: let no Trojan bear A shield : for with this spear will I subdue The boasters, tho' 'twas late ere 1 arriv'd. CHORUS. My soul this language dolh approve. Such friends as thou are sent by Jove, But humbly I that God beseech. To pardon thy presumptuous speech. The navy launch'd from Argos' strand, Tho' freighted with a daring band, Neither in (14) former times, nor now Contain'd a Chief more brave than thou. How shall Achilles' self withstand. Or Ajax meet, thy vengeful hand? O may the morn with orient ray Exhibit that auspicious day, When thou the victor's prize shalt gain And dye with crimson gore the plain. RHESUS. Soon with exploits like these will I atone For my long absence : but, with due submission To Nemesis, I speak ; when from the foe We*have deliver'd this beleaguer'd city And seiz'd their spoils for offerings to the Gods; With thee to Argos will I go, invade, And ravage with victorious arms, all Greece, To teach them in their turn what 'tis to suffer. HECTOR. Could I escape from the impending stroke, And wiih that safety which we erst enjoy'd These walls inhabit, I to Heaven should pay (14) Tlie word lip refers to the first expedition against Troy con- ducted by Hercules, he being an inhabitant of Argos, of \\hieh Asu- niemnon afterwards was King. These exagireiated encoiniinns are how- ever somewhat qualified by the Chorus Ijri'hining with deprecating the wrath of Heaven, or Nemesis, whom Rhesus' boastful language might have oftended. 264 RHESUS. Full many a grateful vow : but as for Avgo^i, As for the Grecian States, to lay them waste By arms, were far less easy than you speak of. RHESUS. Is it not said the bravest chiefs of Greece Came hither ? HECTOR. Them I hold not in contempt. But long have kept at bay. RHESUS. When these are slain, We therefore each obstruction have remov'd. HECTOR. Forbear to think of distant prospects now. While our immediate interests he neglected. RHESUS. Art thou so tame as to endure such wrongs Without retorting them ? HECTOR. While I maintain What I possess, my empire is sufiicient. But freely take youf choice, oi* in the left Or the right wing, or center of our host • Display your shield; and range your troops around. RHESUS. I singl}' will encounter all our foes, O Hector; but if thou esteem it base Not to assist me when I burn their fleet, Because thou hast already toil'd so long, Oppose me to Achilles in the front Of battle. HECTOR. We at him no spear must aim. RHESUS. Yet was I told he sail'd for Troy. HECTOR. He sail'd. RHESUS. 265 And still is here, but angry with the chiefs. Refuses to assist them. RHESUS. In rhe camp Of Greece, say who is second in renown ? HECTOR. Ajax, I deem, and Tydeus' son are equal To any; but most fluent in his speech. And with sufficient fortitude inspir'd. Is that Ulysses, from whom Troy hath sufFer'd Insults the most atrocious ; for by night, Entering Minerva's fane, he stole her image, And bore it to the Grecian fleet : disguis'd In tatter'd vest, that vile impostor next Enter'd the gates, and curs'd the Argive host. Sent as a spy to Ilion ; having slain The centinels, he thro' the gates escap'd, And in some fraudful scheme is ever found : (15) At the Thymbraean temple is he station'd Hard by our ramparts, we in him contend With a most grievous pest. RHESUS. The valiant man Is never mean enough to slay his foes By stealth, he loves to meet them face to face ; But, as for him, the recreant Chief thou nam'st, Who lurking with a thievish purpose frames These dark contrivances, as thro' the gates I sally forth to combat, I will seize him; Driven thro' his back, my spear shall leave the miscreant (15) Strabo speaks of this temple, sacred to Apollo, as situated at the spot where a river called Tlij'mbrius flows into the Scamaiider, at the distance of fifty stadia, or about six miles and a quarter from Troy : in this temple Achilles is related to have been trcaclierously slain by the shafts of Paris, who invited him to a conference in regard to the mar- riage of Polyxena. Dolon, in Homer, informs Ulysses that Thymbra was occupied by an encampment of Phrygian troops, and a numerous body of their allies. 2CG RHESUS. Food for tlie vultures, for the impious robber Who spoils the lemples of the Gods deserves ISo belter lute. HECTOR. Now choose, for it is night. The spot for an encampment : 1 will shew you A separate quarter where your troops must sleep. Bui mark me well, Apollo is the watch-word ; In case of an emergency, announce This signal to the Thracian host. [Exit rhesus. Extend The watch beyond the lines, and there receive Dolon our sj)y, who sallied forth t' explore The navy of our foes ; if he be safe Hcj by this time, the trenches must approach. [Exit HECTOR. CHORUS. I. Who comes this rampart to defend ? The times assign'd us centinels is o'er; Yon fading constellation shines no more Now the seven Pleiades the heaven ascend. In ether view the Eagle glide. Wake ! what means this long delay ? Rise -and watch ; now dawns the da}'. Saw ye the Moon diffuse her radiance wide ? Aurora is at hand : but at the gate (For Dolon sure returns) what faithful guard shall wait? SEMICHORUS. To whom did ihe first watch belong? SEMICHORUS. 'Tis said Choraebus, son of (iG) Mygdon, is their chief. (16) " Mygdon and Oticus were sons of Dymas, whom some writers " affirm to have been father of Hecuba ; and Homer himself calls " Asius, who is also son of Dymas, th« brother of Hecuba; but Euripides, RHESUS. ^Ci7 SEMICHORUS. Who in liis room was station'd? SEMICHORUS. The Paeonians Call'd from their tent Cilicia's hardy troops. SEMICHORUS. The Mysians summon'd us. SEMICHORUS. Haste, let us seek The fifth division of the watch, and rouse Lycia's brave warriors as by lotordain'd. CHORUS. n. Hark! couch'd on her ill-omen'd nest, Fell murderess of her (17) Son, in varied strains *' Athenion, and Tel?c!i les, are of opi'iion, that she was daughter of " Cisseus. See Eustathius on the Iliad, f. o43. 1. 28. and f. 1032. 1. 60. " and ed. Rom. 1542." Barnes. (17) By making use of the term UmhXijM^ in speaking of the'Nigiitin- pale, Enripides expresses himself conformably with Homer, whose ac- count of the transaction alluded to, we find, on an examination of the text (Odyssey L. 19. v. 518.) and Scholia of Eustathius, to be as fol- lows : Aedon, daughter of Pandareus, v/as married to Zethiie, by whom she had one son named Itylus ; envying the numerous progeny of her brother in law Amphion, she resolved to murder her eldest nephewr Amaleus, but by mist ike killed her own son. Perceiving her error, she implored the Gods to remove her from humankind, and was thereupoa changed into a Nigh tin jra'e. Her tale is very circumstantially related, with some variations, by Antonhuis Liberalis, in his Metamorphoses, Ch. 11th; but .EschyUis, and after him Sopiiocles and Euripides, have indeed altered the name of Itylus into Itys, and how far Ovid may have copied the three Greek tragedians in calling the son of Tereus and Progne, Itys, is a point foreign to my enquiry : but as Barnes in a note on the passage in Homer observes, the tale inserted in the sixth book of the Metamorphoses is essentially dilTerent both in the names and circum- stances. After examining the passages referred to by Servius in his note on Quas illi Philomela dapes quce dona pararit ; in the 6th Eclogue of Virgil, and many more which have occurred to me, the authorities I col- lect among the Greek writers for his assertion, that most of them irpresent Progne instead of Philomela as chayigcd into a Nij,kt>ngale, are the 12tli Ode of Anacreon, a passage or two in ApoUodorus, and the narrations ' of Conon : Gorgiiis the SopLister, in Plutarch's Syiiiposia, cxpsotulates 268 RHESUS. Near SImois' banks the Nightingale complains; What sounds melodious heave her throbbing breast! The flocks on Ida wont to feed Still browse o'er that airy height. Soothing the cold ear of night. Hark to the murmurs of the pastoral reed. Sleep on our closing eyelids gently steals; Sweet are its dews when morn her earliest dawn reveals. SEMICHORUS. But wherefore doth not he draw near whom Hector Sent to explore the fleet ? SEMICHORUS. He hath so long Been absent that I tremble. SEMICHORUS. If he fell Into soine ambush, and is slain, we soon Shall have sufficient cause for fear. SEMICHORUS- But haste, Rouse Lycia's warriors as by lot ordain'd, lExit CHORUS. ULYSSES, DIOMEDE. ULYSSES. Heard'st thou, O Diomede, the sound of arms. Or in these cars did empty murmurs ring ? DIOMEDE. No : but the steel}^ trappings which are link'd To 3"onder chariots, rattled, and I too •with Philomela when a Swallow had dunged upon hiin. Arist. RheJ, L. 3. c. 3. applauds the distinction, as the action, though not unbecom- ing a Bird, wouhl have been so in a Damsel : but most of the antient Greek writers follow the history cited from Homer, and \Aith them A'&y, fii;nifics the Nightingale, as does Philomela in the Latin Poets. Wiat- ever mistakes may liave arisen in later times from the injudicious blend- ing of the two stories, the writings of those Greek Poets who use the tenn A'jJti-v for Nightingale, clearly point out the stoiy they allude to. RHESUS. 269 With vain alarm was seiz'd, till I peiceiv'd The coursers, who their clanging harness shook. ULYSSES. Beware, lest in this gloom of night thou stumble Upon the centinels. DIOMEDE. Tho' in the dark We tread, I with such caution will direct My steps as not to err. ULYSSES. But, should'st thou wake them. Thou know'st the watch-word of their host. DIOMEDE. I know It is Apollo 5 this I heard from Dulon. ULYSSES. Ha ! I perceive our foes have left these chambers. DIOMEDE. Here, Dolon told us, is the tent of Hector ; 'Gainst him I wield this javelin. ULYSSES. What hath happened ? Is the whole squadron too elsewhere remov'd ? DIOMEDE. Perchance they too 'gainst us may have contriv'd Some stratagem. ULYSSES. For Hector now is brave Since he hath conquer'd. DIOMEDE. How shall we proceed ? For in this chamber him we cannot find. And all our hopes are vanish'^d, ULYSSES. ■ To the fleet Let us in haste return : for him some God 270 RHESUS. Protects, and crowns him with triumphant wreaths; We must not strive 'gainst Fortune's dread behests, DIOMEDE. Then to iEneas will we go, or Paris That Pliiygian most abhon'd, and with our swords Lop off' tlieir heads. ULYSSES. But how, in darkness wrapt, Canst thou direct thy passage thro' the troops. To slay them without danger f DIOMEDE. Yet 'twere base. Back to the Grecian fleet should we return, No fresh exploit performing 'gainst the foe. ULYSSES. What means this language? hast not thou perform'd A great expUiit ? have we not slain the spy Who to our navy went, and are not these The spoils of Dolon? how canst thou expect To spread a general havoc thro' their troops? Comply ; let us retire : may Fortune speed Our progress homeward. MINERVA, ULYSSES, DIOMEDE. MINERVA. With affliction stung. Why from the Trojan camp do ye retire r Altho' the Gods forbid you to destroy Hector or Paris, heard ye not that Rhesus, A mighty chief, with numerous troops is come To Troy ? if he outlives this night, nor Ajax, Nor can Achilles hinder him from wasting The camp of Greece, demolishing your walls. And forcing a wide passage thro' your gates With his victorious spear : him slay, and all Is yours ; but go not to the couch of Hector, RHESUS. 271 jNor hope to leave that chief a welterhig trunk, For he must perish by another liand CIS) ULYSSES. Dread Goddess, O Minerva, 1 distinguish'd Thy well-known voice : for midst unnumber'd toils Thou ever dost support me : but, O say Where sleeps the mighty warrior thou hast nam'd. And in what part of tlie Barbarian host Have they assign'd his station ?j MINERVA. Near at hand, And separate from the Phrygian troops^ he lies ; Hector hath plac'd him just without tlie lines Till morn arise ; conspicuous in the gloom Of night, and close beside their sleeping lord, Yok'd to the car his Thracian coursers stand, AVhite as the glossy plumage of the sw^an; Them bear away when ye have slain their lord, A glorious prize, for the whole world can boast No car beside drawn by such beauteous steeds. ULYSSES. Either do thou, O Diomede, transpierce The Thracian soldiers, or to me consign That task ; meanwhile seize thou the steeds. DIOMEDE. To slay The foe be mine ; do you the coursers guide, For you are practis'd in each nicer art. And quick of apprehension. To each man Should that peculiar station be assign'd In which he can be useful. MINERVA. But to us Paris I see is coming, who hath heard (18) Virgil's Mox illos sua fata manent majore sub liostc, " Botii doom'd to fall, but fall by greater hands." Dryden'. where he is speaking of Pallas and Lausus as pressing on to encountei each other, is a visible imitation and improvement on this line. G72 RHESUS. A doubtful rumour from the watch, that foes Enter the trenches. BIOMEDE. Hath he any comrade, Or marches he alone ? MINERVA. Alone he seems To go to Hector's chamber, to announce That there are foes disco vcr'd in the camp. ' DIOMEDE. Is it not first ordain'd that he shall die? MINERVA. You can no more, the Destinies forbid : For Hector must not perish by your hand ; But haste to him on whom ye came to wreak Fate's dreadful purposes: myself meanwhile Assuming Venus' form, who midst the toils Of battle by her tutelary care Protects him, will with emptj'^ words detain Paris your foe. Thus much have I declar'd : Yet he, whom you must smite, tho' near at hand. Nor knows, nor hears, the words which I have utter'd. \_Ex&Kut ULYSSES and diomede. PARIS, MINERVA. PARIS. General and brother. Hector, thee I call: Yet sleep'st thou? doth not this important houJS' Demand thy vigilance? some foes approach. Robbers or spies. MINERVA. Be of good cheer; for Venus Protects 5'ou: I in all your battles feel An interest, rrtindful of the prize I gain'd Favour'd by you, and am for ever grateful : Now to the host of Ilion I conduct Your noble Thracian friend, who from the Muse, Harmonious Goddess, and from Strymon springs. RHESUS. 273 PARIS. To Troy and me thou ever art a friend. In thy behalf when 1 that judgement gave, I boast that for this city I obtain'd The greatest treasure life affords. But hither. Hearing an indistinct account, I come ; For 'mong the guards there hath prevail'd a rumour. That Grecian spies have enter'd Ihon's walls: Tho' the astonish'd messenger who bore Tliese ti(Ungs, saw them not himself, nor knows Who saw them : 1 on this account am going To Hector's tent. IMINERVA. Fear nought; for in the camp No new event hath happen'd. To arrange The Thracian troops is Hector gone. PARIS. Thy worditf Are most persuasive, and to them I yield Implicit credence. From all fears releas'd, I to my former station will return. MINERVA. Go and depend upon my guardian care To see my faithful votaries ever blest ; For you in me shall find a zealous friend. \_Exit parts. ULYSSES, DIOMEDE, MINERVA. MINERVA. But now to you, my real friends, I speak. Son of Laertes, O conceal your sword. For we have slain the Thracian Chief, and seiz'd His coursers, but our foes have ta'en th' alarm And rush upon you, therefore fly with speed. Fly to the naval ramparts. Why delay To save your lives when hostile throngs approach ? [Exit MINERVA, VOL. II, T 274 TiHESUS. CHORUS, ULYSSES, DIOMEDE. CHORUS. Come on, strike, strike, destroy. Who marches yonder? Look, look, 'tis him I mean ! these are the robbers Who in the dead of night alarm'd our host. Hither, my friends, haste hitiier; I have seiz'd them. What answer mak'st thou? tell me whence thou cam'st. And who thou art. ULYSSES. No right hast thou to knoW; Insult me, and this instant thou shalt die, CHORUS. Wilt thou not, ere this lance transpierce thy breast, Kepeat the watch-word f ULYSSES. That thou soon shalt hear; Be satisfy'd. SEMICHORUS I. Come on, my friends, strike! strike! SEMICHORUS IL Hast thou slain Rhesus ? ULYSSES. (19) I have slain the man Who would have murder'd thee : forbear. SEMICHORUS L I will not. (19) After reading the observations on this intricate passage in Petit, ^lisccl. L. 3. c. 22. p. 196, and the notes of Heatli, and Dr. Musgi-ave, I am inclined to think with the two fonner, that these words are spoken hy Ulysses, who, I apprehend, upon the Chorus seeing, and im- mediately knowing again, the horses of Rhesus, and thereupon asking him if he had murdered the Thracian king, replies, that he has slain the robher who had alarmed the camp, and recovered them out of his hands; not according to Heath's idea that he had been m the Grecian camp, killed one of the enemies there, and brought away his horses ; those of Rhesus being, according to Euripides' description, very easily distw- fuishable in the night. RHESUS. 275 SEMICHORUS II. Forbear to slay a friend. SEMICHORUS I. Pronounce the watch-\vord. ULYSSES. Apollo. SEMICHORUS II. Thou art right ; let not a spear Be lifted up against him. SEMICHORUS I. Know'st thou whither Those men are gone ? SEMICHORUS II. We saw not. SEMICHORUS I. Follow close Their steps, or we must call aloud for aid. SEMICHORUS II. Yet were it most unseemly to disturb Our valiant comrades with our nightly fears. ^Exeunt ulysses and diomede. CHORUS. ODE. I. What Chief is he, who mov'd along ; What daring plunderer fleet and strong, Shall boast he 'scap'd my vengeful hand? How overtake his rapid flight? To whom compare him, who by night. With dauntless step pass'd thro' our armed band And slumbering guards? doth he reside In Thessaly, near ocean's boisterous tide In Locris, or those islands scatter'd o'er (20) (20) By cmo^a^n ^lot is meant I apprehend " the hfe of an inhabitant " of tlie Sporades," islands so called, from being wi lely scattered over tlie iEgean sea ; they were principally occupied by Piiates, and w« find T 2 276 RHESUS. The waves ? whence comes he to this fell debate ? What Power supreme! rloth he' adore? SEMICHOKUS I. Was this IJljsses' enterprise, or whose? SEMICHORUS II. If we may form our judgement from the past, Who but Ulysses — ? SEMICHORUS I. Thiiik'st thou that it was ? SEMICHORUS II. Why not ? SEMICHORUS I. He i,s an enterprizing foe. SEMICHORUS. II. What bravery ? whom do you applaud ? SEMICHORUS I. Ulysses, SEMICHORUS II. Praise not the treacherous weapon of a robber. CHORUS. H. He enter'd Ilion once before, With foam his eyes were cover'd o'er, In tatters hung his squalid vest; He artfully concealed his sword, And sued for fragments from our board ; Shorn was his head, and like a beggar drest ; He curst with simulated hate Th' Atrides, rulers of the Grecian state. May just revenge his forfeit life demand : Would he had perish'd as his crimes deserve. Before he reach'd the Phrygian land, SEMICHORUS I. Whether this deed was by Ulysses wrought It matters not, I shrink with fear, for Hector Islander used as a term of contempt, in th« Andromache of Euripides^ and other antient writers. RHESUS. 277 Will to us guards impute the blame. SEMICHORUS 11. Can he allege ? With tenor? What charge SEMICHORUS I. He will suspect. SEMICHORUS II. Why shrink SEMICHORUS I. 'Tvvixt our ranks they pass'd. SEMICHORUS II. Who pass'd? SEMICHORUS I. They, who this night have enter'd Phrygia's camp. CHARIOTEELl OF RHESUS, CHORUS. CHARIOTEER. Alas ! intolerable stroke of fate ! SEMICHORUS I. Be silent. SEMICHORUS II. Rouse! for some one may have fallen Into the snare. CHARIOTEER. O dire calamity Of Troy's allies, the ThraciansI SEMICHORUS I. Who is he That groans ? CHARIOTEER. Ah ! wretched me, and O thou king Of Thrace, who in an evil hour bebeld'st Accursed Ihon ; what an end of life Was thine ! CHORUS. But which of our allies art thou ? 278 iniESUS. For o'er these eyes ihc gloom of night is spread. And r discern thee not. CHARIOTEER. Where shall I find Some of the Trojan chiefs? beneath liis shield where doth llpotor taste the charms of sleep? To which of Ilion's leaders shall I tell All we have suffer'd ? and what wounds unseen Some stranger hath on us with ruthless hand Inflicted ? but he vanish'd and bath heap'd Conspicuous sorrows on the Thracian realm. CHORUS. Some terrible disaster to the troops Of Thrace it seems hath happen'd, if aright 1 comprehend what I from him have heard. CHARIOTEER. Our host is utterly destroy'd, our King Hath been dispatch'd by some foul secret stroke. JIow am I tortur'd by a deadly wound. Yet know not to what cause I must impute My perishing! 'Twas by the Fates ordain'd. That I, and Rhesus, who to Ilion led Auxiliar troops, ingloriously should bleed. CHORUS. He in no riddle hath express'd the tale Of our misfortunes ; he asserts too clearly That our aUies are slain. CHARIOTEER. We are most wretched, And to our wretchedness have join'd disgrace;, A twofold evil. For, to die with glory, Jf glory must be purchas'd at the expence Of life, is very bitterness I deem To him who bleeds : (for what can make amends For such a loss as life ?) but to the living Is he the source of pride, from him his house Perives renown. But we^ alas! like fools^ RHESUS. • 279 Ignobly perish. Hector in the camp No sooner fix'cl our station, and prononnc'd The watch-word, than we slept upon the plain, O'ercome with toil; no centinels were station'd To watch our troops by night, nor were our arms Duly arrang'd, and to the harness'd steeds Hung no alarm bell; for our Monarch heard That ye had prov'd victorious, and with ruin Threaten'd the Grecian fleet. Immers'd we lay In luckless slumber; till disturb'd in mind I started up, and with a liberal hand Measur'd the coursers' food, resolv'd betimes To yoke them for the battle. I beheld Two men, who, in the midnight darkness, walk'd Around our camp; but when I mov'd, they fled, And disappear'd immediately ; with threats I bade them keep aloof: 'twas my conjecture That robbers, some of our own countrymen, Approach 'd : they answer'd not, nor know 1 more. Returning to my tent, again I slept. And forms tremendous hover'd in my dieam. For near my royal Master, as I stood, I saw two visionary wolves ascend Those coursers' backs which I was wont to guide, Olt' lashing with their tails they forc'd them on. Indignant breathing as they champ'd the bit, And struggling with dismay; but in attempting To drive away these ravenous beasts, I woke, Kous'd by the terrors of the night, and heard, Soon as I rais'd my head, expiring groans; The tepid current of my Master's blood. Yet gasping in the agonies of death, Besprinkled me. As from the couch I leap'd Unarm'd, and sought for weapons, some strong warrior Smote with his sword my ribs; the ghastly wound Display'd his might: prostrate I simk to earth. Bearing the steeds away, and glittering car, 280 RHESUS. They by the swiftness of theh- feet escapM, Tortur'd with |>ain, too taint to stand, 1 know Too well the dire calamity tliese eyes Beheld ; but cannot say, or through what means, Or by the hand of whom, my Lord was *^]ain ; Yet can I guess that by our friends we suffer. CHORUS. O Charioteer of Thracia's wretched King, Be well assur'd this deed was by our foes Committed. For lo Hector's self, appriz'd Of this calamity, draws near- he feels Such anguish as he ought for thy disasters. HECTOR, CHARIOTEER OF RHESUS, CHORUS. HECTOR. O ye accursed authors of this mischief, How did those spies^ who by the foe were sent, Thus, to your infamy, escape, and spread Dire havoc through the host; both as they enter'd And as they left the camp? Yet, unmolested, Ye suffer'd them to pass. Who should be punish'd^ But you ? for you, I say, were station'd here To w^atch the camp ; but they without a wound Are vanish'd, laughing at the Phrygian troops For their unmanly cowardice, and me Their leader. Be assur'd, by Jove 1 swear. All-gracious Father, or the scourge or death Shall wait you for such guilt, else deem that Hector Is but a thing of nought, a very coward. CHORUS. Great is, alas ! my danger, mighty Prince, The foe stole in while I to you convey'd Those tidings, that the Greeks around their ships Had kindled lires : through all the live-long night These watchful eyes have ne'er been seal'd by sleep. By Simois' holy fountain I conjure you, RHESUS. 281 My royal Lord, impute no blaiue to me. For I am wholly guiltless. If you learn That in my deeds or words I have offended. Plunge me alive beneath earth's deepest vault; I ask no mercy. CHARIOTEER. ^Vhy dost thou upbraid These for the guilt ? by plausible harangues Would'st thou impose on thy Barbarian i'riends ; thou Barbarian, thou the bloody deed Didst perpetrate ; nor can our shuighter'd «onirades. Nor we who linger pierc'd with ghastly wounds. Admit that 'twas another. There requires A long and subtle speech to make me think Thou didst not basely murder thj' allies, Because the beauty of our steeds attracted Thy admiration, and on their account Hast thou slain those who at thy earnest praver Landed on Ilion's shore ; they came, they died. With greater decency than thou obscrv'st. Who dost assassinate thy friends, did Paris The rites of hos[)itality infringe. Pretend not that some Grecian came unseen And smote us. Who subdu'd the Phrygian host. Who reach'd our quarters unobserv'd by Hector? 'J'hou with the Tiojan army weit before us ; But who was wounded, who among thy troops Expir'd, when thro' their ranks as thou prctend'st The foe to us advanc'd? But I was wounded, And they, whom a more grievous ill o'crtook, No more behold the Sun. To be explicit, 1 charge no Greek : what foe could come by night And find out llhesus' tent, unless some God Had told the murderers, for they sure knew nought Of his Cil) arrival ? therelore all this mischief Must be thy sole contrivance. (21) The reading of oj ^' eaiyfxmi, which stands in the various editions from Aldus to Barnes, is by Pierson iu his Verisinulia altered into "i' 282 RHESUS. HECTOR. Our allies Have long assisted us since first the Greeks This realm invaded ; and I never heard They to my charge imputed any crime. C(»uld I begin with thee? by such desire For beauteous steeds may I be never seiz'd. As to induce me to destroy my fiiends. Ulysses was the author of this deed. \^'hat Greek could have accomplish'd or contriv'd Such an efploit, but he? him much I fear: My soul is also troubled, lest he light On Dolon too, and slay him, for 'tis long Since he went forth, nor doth he yet return, CHARIOTEER. I know not that Ulysses whom thou nam'st. Nor did a foe inflict this ghastly wound. HECTOR. Therefore retain, since thus to thee it seems. Thy own opinion. CHARIOTEER. O my native land, Might I but die in thee ! HECTOR. Thou shalt not die: For of the dead the number is sufficient. «^y/x£vov, in consequence of the aiitlior of the Etyraologicum Ma£:nun) citing H^' u^iyfj.im to wa{j.itca »i^av from tlie Rhesus of Euripides. Mr, Toup concurs with him, and confirms the alteration by the same quota- tion from Suidas ; as does Dr. Musgrave by tlie authority of three manu- scripts. I considered it as incumbent on me to alter my version con- formably to a reading tluis established, especially as it accords with the circumstances of Rhesus having avoided the common road, and tra- velled over Mount Ida in the night, and of Ulysses and Diomede's re- ceiving their intelligence of Rhesus's arrival from Minerva, as they were quittmg the Trojan camp on not finding Hector : for they could not, in the present instance, liave extorted such infoiTnation from Dolon as in Homer, because he in this Tragedy sets out to explore the Greciau camp before the Shepherd brings tidings of Rhesus's approach. RHESUS. 233 CHARIOTEER. Reft of my Lord, but whither shall I turn ? HECTOR. Thou in my hon>e shalt careful treatment find, And healing balsams. CHARIOTEER. Shall the ruthless hands Of murderers dress my wounds? HECTOR. He will not cease Alleging the same charge. CHARIOTEER. Perdition seize The author of this bloody deed ! my tongue Has fix'd no charge, as thou preleud'sl, on thee^ But Justice knows. HECTOR. Conduct him to my palace W'^ith speed, that we may scape his clamorous plaints. But you must go, and to the citizens Proclaim, acquainting Priam, and the elders Who sit in council, first, that I direct The bodies of the slain shall be interr'd With due respect beside the public road. [Exit CHARIOTEER, Supported hy one ef hector's Attendants. CHORUS. Why from the summit of exalted bliss Into fresh woes hath some malignant God Plung'd Ti*oy> why caus'd this sad reverse of fortune? The muse appears in the air, HECTOR, CHORUS. CHORUS. High o'er our heads what Deity, O King, Js hovering ? in her hands a recent corse She bears : I shudder at the dreadful sight. -84 RHESUS. V MUSE. Ye Trojans, mark wc \v( 11 : for I a Muse, Who by the wise am worship'cl, hither come. One of the nine fani'd Sisters, having seen The wretched fate of this my dearest son, Who by the foe was slain : but he who smote The generous youth, Ulysses, that dissembler. At length shall suffer as his crimes deserve. ODE. I. Parental anguish rends my breast. For thee my Son, my Son, I grieve, Thy INIother sinks with vi'oes oppress'd . Why didst thou take this road, why leave Thy home, and march to Dion's gate. Where death did thy arrival wait? Oft with maternal zeal I strove Thy luckless courage to restrain, And oft thy Sire oppos'd in vain. But now with ineffectual love. My dearest Son, thee now no more, Thee, O my Son, must I deplore. CHORUS. As fiir as bosoms, by no kindred ties United, can partake a Mother's grief. Do I bewail thy Son's untimely fate, MUSE. II. On him 3'our tenfold vengeance shed From (22) Oeneus who derives his birth. Smite base Ulysses' perjur'd head, Ye Fiends who desolate the earth; Thro' them with agonizing pain 1 mourn my valiant offspring slain; (52) Diomede's father Tydeiis was son of Oeneus, king of Calydon, by his second v^ife Peiibea, who, according to Apollodorus, was daughter of Hipponous and sister of Capaneiis, RHESUS. 285 May Helen too partake their doom. Who from her bridal mansions fled. And sought th' adulterer's Phrygian bed ; For thou in Troy art to the tomb By her consign'd ; and many a state Bewails its bravest warriors' fate. Much while on earth, and since thy murmuring ghost Was plung'd in Orcus' dreary mansions more, (23) offspring of Philamuion, didst thou wound My soul : that arrogance which caus'd tliy ruin. That contest with Pieria's choir, gave birth To this unhappy youth: lor having pass'd The rapid current, with incautious step Approaching Strymon's genial bed, we mounted Pangseum's summit, for its golden mines Distinguish'd ; each melodious instrument Around us in full concert breath'd ; our strife Was there decided with the Thracian minstrel; That Thamyris who dar'd blaspheme our art, A\ e of his eyes depriv'd. But since I bore Tliee, O my Son, through deference for my sisters, And for my own reputed chastit}-. Thee to the watery mansions of thy Sire 1 sent ; and Strymon, to no human care. But to the nymphs who haunt his limpid founts. For nurture did consi;T;n thee: from those virs-ins When, O my dearest son, thou hadst receiv'd ('23) Tlianiyiis, who, according to Pavisaiiias, was the son of Philam- moa and Argiopa, a nymph who dv\ elt on Parnassus ; Homer gives the same account with Euripides ot' his being depiived of his eyes by tlie ]\Iuses : he is twice called o^i^r-nj; by tlie Tragic Poet, a term which it ap- pears by the passage Dr. Musgrave lias referred to in Athena»us, is also applied to a musician in a fragment of iEschylus's. Suidas says, that Tiianiyris was the eighth epic poet l>efore Homer, or according to some the fiftli ; and mentions a poem of liis on the nature of tiie (iods, con- sisting of near three thousand verses : we aie infouned by Ovil, that his father Fhilammon was the son of Apollo by Chione the uaughtcr of Do;- •lalioii. 98^ RrtESUS. The best of educations, thou bccam'st Monarch of" Thrace, the first of men. I felt No boding apprehensions of thy death ; By thee, while marshall'd on thy native ground, Athirst for blood tlic dauntless squadrons mov'd. But thee I caution'd, for 1 knew thy fate. That ihou to Troy should'st never go : but thee Th' embassadors of Hector and the Senatej By oft repeated messages, persuaded To come to the assistance of thy friends. Yet think not, O Minerva, thou sole cause Of my son's fate, that thou these watchful eyes Hast scap'd : Ulysses, and the son of Tydeus Were not the authors of this bloody deed, Altho' they gave the wound. We sister Muses Honour thy city, in thy land we dwell. Orpheus, the (24) kinsman of this hapless youth Whom thou hast slain, dark mysteries did unfold; And by Apollo, and our sister choir. Thy venerable citizen Mus^eus Was taught to soar beyond each warbled strain Of pristine melody : but in return For all these favours, bearing in my arms My son, 1 utter this funereal dirge; JBut I no other minstrel will employ. CHORUS. Falsely the wounded Thracian charioteer (24) Oeagnis, a Thracian king, was the father, and the Muse Calliope tiie mother, of Orpheus, Euripides distinguislies the mother of Rliesus by no name except that of the Muse ; but the commentators suppose lier to have been either Terpsichore or Euterpe : Homer calls Eioneus, and not the river Sti-ymon, his father; and that river was, according to Plu- tarch, called Pala-stinus before Strymon son of Mars and Helice, king of Thrace, and father of Rhesus, on hearing of his son's death, threw himself into it, and from that time the river was called Strymon : but Conon, in tlie fourth of his Narrations, in a great measure reconciles the account of Homej with tliat of Euripides, by informmg us, that tli« river was called loueus before it obtained from the Thracian king th« name of SiiAmon. RHESUS. ^8-7 Charg'd us with a conspiracy to slay him. HECTOR. Full well I knew, there needed not a seer T' inform me, that he perish'd by the arts Of Ithacus. But was it not my duty When I my country saw by Grecian troops Besieg'd, to send forth heralds to my friends. Requesting them to aid us? 1 did send, And Rhesus carne, by gratitude constrain'd, Illustrious partner of my toils. His death Lamenting, will I raise a tomb to grace The corse of my ally, and o'er the flame Strew tissued vests: for with confederate arms Dauntless he came, tho' piteous was his death. MUSE, They shall not plunge him in the yawning grave^ Such vows will I address to Pluto's Bride, Daughter of fruitful Ceres, to release His ghost from the drear shades beneath : she owes To Orpheus' friends such honours. But henceforth. Dead as it were to me, will he no more Behold the sun, we ne'er must meet again, Nor shall he see his Mother, but shall lie Conceal'd beneath the caverns of that land With silver mines abounding, from a man Exalted to a God, restor'd to life. The priest of Bacchus, and of him (25) who dwells (:^5) " From c-sfMo; roi-ra fiJi^iv it appears that this God, whoever he " was, was not generally acknowledged and worshipped : I tlierefore " refer this to Uie Thracian Lycurgus, who, according to ApoUodorus, " being imprisoned in a cave of tiie mountain P.ingeuni, was however " woj"shipped by the Thracians, tlie rites in honour of him being united " with tliose of Bacchus." See Strabo, p. 471. ed. Par. " Nonnus <' gives much the same account of Lycurgus, whom, however, he makes " an Arabian," p. 369, ed, Falkia, " We must not pass over Lycurgus's '' being numbered by ApoUodorus among the dead who were raised to " life by^-^sculapius, and the Sciioliast of Pindar, Pyth. 3. Antis. 3. "' mentions Lycurgus" being raised from the dead.' INI tsG rave. 288 RHESUS. Beneath Paiiq;eum's rock, a God ador'tl By those wiio haunt his orgies. But ere long To yonder Goddess of the briny waves Shall 1 hear doleful tidings : for bv fate It is decreed, her offspring too shall die ; But first oui sisterhood, in choral plaints, Will sing of thee, O Rhesus, and hereafter Achilles, son of Thetis, shall demand Our elegiac strains, not she who slew Thee, hapless youth, Minerva, can redeem him ; Such an inevitable shaft is stor'd In Phoebus' quiver. O ye pangs that rend A mother's breast, ye toils the lot of man ; They who behold you in your real light Will live without a progeny, nor mourn With hopeless anguish o'er their children's tomb. lExit the MUSE, CHORUS. To bury the deceas'd with honours due. Will be his Mother's care : but if, O Hector, Thou mean'st to execute some great emprise, 'Tis now the time : for morn already dawns, HECTOR. Go, and this instant bid our comrades arm. Harness the steeds: but while ye in these toils Are busied, ye the signal must await, Th' Etrurian trumpet's clangor; for I trust I first shall o'er the Grecian host prevail. Shall storm their ramparts, and then burn their fieet„ And that Hyperion's orient beams will bring A day of freedom to Troy's valiant race. CHORUS. Obey the monarch : clad in glittering mail Let us go forth, and his behests proclaim To our associates: for that God who fights Our battles, haiilv will bestow success. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. T»)y wy «7r ta^p/a^swi'oj aJy,v KCTi^ivalo vipcriVf QuiNTts Calaber. VOL. n, PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. NEPTUNE. MINERVA. HECUBA. CHORUS OF CAPTIVE TROJAN DAIMES, TALTHYBIUS. CASSANDRA. ANDROMACHE. MENELAUS. HELEN. .^CENE—BEFORE THE ENTRANCE OF AGAMEMNON'S TENT IN THE GRECIAN CAMP NEAR TRQY. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES, NEPTUNE. -Trom the iEgean deep, in mazy dance Where Nereus' Daughters glide with agile feet, I Neptune hither come. For rounJ the fields Of Ilion, since Apollo and myself With symmetry exact rear'd many a tower. Hewn from the solid rock ; the love [ bore The city where my Phrygian votaries dwelt. Laid waste by Greece, where smoke e'en now ascends The heavens, hath ne'er been rooted from this breast, For on Parnassus bred, the Phocian chief Epeus, by Minerva's arts inSj)ir'd, Fram'd with a skilful hand, and through the gates Sent that accurs'd machine the Horse which teem'd With ambush'd javelins (1). Thro' forsaken groves, (1)1 find myself under a necessity of leaving out the two next lines of the original, on account of their coni.istinK of a pun not calculated for being rendered into English. " Hence shall it be called by posterity " the — — (J«g!3i;) horse, on account of the hidden spears (co^v) con- " tained ui it." The Latin interpreters render h^ni/;, durexis, which Robert Stephens, in his Latin Thesaurus, considers as synonymous with ligncm: but Pausanias mentions a 6ra:«t statue of Uiis Horse which he still calls Jasaoj as extant among tiie curiosities in the Acropolis or citadel of Athens. By the genealogy of Epeus, which the same writcjr has given us in his Coiintliiaca, we are informed that his father was Pano- peus the son of Phocus, whence it appears that Pyrrhus (to wliom Eu- ripides always gives the name of Neoptolemus) and Epeus, w -e botli of them the greai-gi-andsons of /Eacr.s. The recollection of I'Js cir- cumstance adds gieat force to that passage of Virgil, hi wliich, after having caile thtir assistance ia building Troy, and foretold that the walls he had johied with them m erecting should be overthrown in war, but not except by his posteritj . u 2 292 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Thro' the polUitcd temples of tl)e Gods, Flow tides of eiiiiison shmgliter : at the base Of iihars saered to Hcica^an Jove, 3'eJl hoary l^riaai. But huge heaps of gold And Phrygian plunder, to the fleet of Greece Are sent : the leaders of tiie host that sack'd This city, wait but for a prosperous breeze^ That after ten years absence they their wives And children may with joy behold. Subdu'd I3y Juno Argive Caoddess, and Minerva, Who leagu'd in Phrygia's overthrow, 1 leave Troy the renown'd, and ni}' demolish'd shrines. For when pernicious Solitude extends O'er cities her inexorable sway, Abandon'd are the temples of the Gods, None comes to worship there. Scamander's bank* Ke-ceho many a shriek of captive Dames Distributed by lot; th' Arcadians, some. Some the Thessalians gain, and some the sons Of Theseus leaders of th' Athenian troops : But they whom chance distributes not, remain Beneath 3'on roof selected by the chiefs Of tiie confederate army. Justly deem'd A captive, among them is Spartan Helen: And if the stranger wishes to behold That wretched woman, Hecuba lies stretcht Before the gate, full many are her tears, And her afflictions many : at the tomb Of stern Achilles her unhappy Daughter Polyxena died wretchedly, her Lord The royal Priam, and her Sons are slain. That sj)otless Virgin too whom from his shriile Apollo with prophetic gifts inspir'd^ Ciissandra, spurning every sacred rite, Did Agamemnon violently drag To his adulterous bed. But, O farewell, Tliou city prosperous once ; ye splendid towers. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 293 Had not Minerva's self oiclain'd your fall, Ye btill on your firm basis might remain. MINERVA, NEPTUNE. . MINERVA. May I accost the God who to my Sire In blood is nearest, mighty, through high Heaven Rever'd, and lay aside our antieut hate? NEPTUNE. 'Tis well, thou royal Maid : an interview *T\vixt those of the same house, is to the soul An eflicacious philtre. MINERVA. I applaud Those who are temperate in their wrath, and bring Such arguments, O Monarch, as affect Both you and me. NEPTUNE. From all th' assembled Gods Some new commission bear'st thou, or from Jove, Or what celestial power r MINERVA. From none of these. But in the cause of Troy, whose fields we tread, I to your aid betake me, and would join Our common strength. NEPTUNE. Hast thou then laid aside Thy former hate, to pity Troy, consum'd By the relentless flames ? MINERVA. First, thither turn Your views: to me will you unfold your counsels. And aid the schemes I would elTect ? NEPTUNE. With joy: Bat I meanwhile would thy designs explore, £94 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Whether thou cotn'st on the belialf of Greece, Or Troy. MINERVA. The Trojans, erst my foes, I wisli To cheer^ and to embitter the return Of the victorious Grecian host. NEPTUNE. What means Tills change of temper ? to excess thou hat'si And lov'st at random. MINERVA. Know you not the insult Which hath been shewn to me, and to my temple ? NEPTUNE. I know that Ajax violently tore Cassandra thence. MINERVA. Yet by the Greeks unpunish'd He'scap'd, and e'en uncensur'd. NEPTUNE. Tho' the Greeks O'erthrew Troy's .walls thro' thy auxiliar might-— MINERVA. And for this very cause will I conspire With }'0U to punish them. NEPTUNE. I am prepar'd For any enterprize thou wilt. What mean'st thou r MINERVA. Their journey home I am rcsolv'd to make Most hiauspicious. NEPTUNE. While they yet remain Upon the shore, or midst the briny waves i MINERVA. As to their homes from Iiion's coast they sail. For Jove will send down rain, immoderate hail, THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 59$ Antl pitchy blasts of air : he promises To sfive me too his thunderbolts to smite The Greeks and fire their ships ; but join your aid, Cause the JEgean deep with threefold waves. And ocean's whirlpools horribly to rage. Fill with their corses the unfathom'd caves Beneath Euboea's rocks, that Greece may learn My Shrines to reverence, nor provoke the Gods* NEPTUNE, It shall be done : there need not many woi^s To recommend thy suIl. My storms shall rouse Th' iEgean deep ; the shores of Mycone, Scyros with Lemnos, all the Delian rocks, And steep Caphareus with full many a corse Will I .o'erspread. But mount Olympus' height. And from the Thunderer's hand his Earning shafts Receiving, mark when the devoted host Of Greece weigh anchor. Frantic is the man Who dares to laj' the peopled city waste, Temples with tombs profaning, and bereaves Of their inhabitants those sacred vaults Where sleep the dead ; at length shall vengeance smite That harden'd miscreant in his bold career. [Exeunt, The scene orENs, and discovers HECUBA ON A COUCH. HECUBA. Arise thou wretch, and from the dust uplift Thy drooping head ; tlio' Uion be no more. And thou a Queen no longer, yet endure With patience Fortune's change, and as the tide Or as capricious Fortune wills, direct Thy sails, nor turn against the dashing wave Life's stubborn prow, for chance must guide thy voyage. Alas! for what but groans belongs to me Whose country, children, husband, are no more? O mighty splendour of my Sires, now pent 9&S THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. In a small tomb^ how art thou found a thing Of no account ! vv hal portion of my woes Shall I suppress, or what describe, how frame A plaintive strain ? now fix'd on this hard couch> Wretch that I am, are my unwieldy limbs. Ah me ! my head, my temples, ah my side ! O how I wish to turn and lo stretch forth These joints ! My tears shall never cease to flovr^ For like the Muse's lyre, th' affecting tale Of their calamities consoles the wretched. Ye prows of those swift barks which to the coast Of fated Ilion, from the Grecian ports Adventurous launch'd amid the purple wave. Accompanied by inauspicious Paeans From pipes, and the shrill flute's enlivening voice. While from the mast devolv'd the twisted cordase By /Egypt first devis'd, ye to the bay Of Troy did follow Menelaus' wife, Helen, abhon'd adullress, who disgrac'd Castor her Brother, and Enrotas' stream : She murder'd Priam Sire of fifty sons, And me the wretched Hecuba hath plung'd Into this misery. Here, alas, I sit In my loath'd prison, Agamemnon's tent; From princely mansions dragg'd, an aged slave. My hoary tresses shorn, this head deform'd With baldness. But, alas ye hapless wives Of Ilion's dauntless warriors, blooming maids. And brides afhanc'd in an evil hour. Together let us weep, for Ilion's smoke Ascends the skies. Like the maternal bird, Who wails her callow brood, I now commence A strain far different from what erst was heard When I on mighty Priam's sceptred state proudly relying, led the Phrygian dance Before the hallow'd temples of the Gods. l^She risesj and comes forth from the Ttni% THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 297 SEMICHORUS, HECUBA. SEIMICHORUS. O Hecuba, what mean these clamorous notes. These shrieks of woe ? for from the vaulted roof Thy plaints re-echoing smite my distant ear, And fresh alarms seize every Phrygian dame AVho in these tents enslav'd deplores her fate. HECUBA. E'en now, my daughter, at the Grecian fleet Th' exulting sailors ply their oars. SEMICHORUS. Ah me ! What mean they ? will the}' instantly convey me Far from my ruin'd country? HECUBA. By conjecture Alone am I acquainted with our d.oom. SEMICHORUS. Soon shall we hear this sentence; " from these door* " Come forth ye Trojan captives, for the Greeks *' Are now preparing to return." HECUBA. O cease. My friends, nor from her chambers hither bring Cassandra, frantic prophetess, defil'd By Argive ruffians, for the sight of her Would but encrease my griefs. SEMICHORUS. Troy, wretched Troy, Thou art no more, they too whom fate ordains No longer on th}' fostering soil to dwell Are wretched, both the living and the slain. CHORUS, HECUBA. CHORUS. Trembling I come from Agamemnon's tent. «g8 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Of thee my royal mistress to encjuire Whether the Greeks have doom'd me to be slain, And whether yet along tlio poop arrang'd The mariners prepare to ply their oars. HECUBA. Depriv'd of sleep thro' horror, O my daughter, I hither came : but on the road 1 see A Grecian herald. CHORUS. Tell me to what lord Am wretched I consign'd. HECUBA. E'en now the lot Is casting, to decide your fate. CHORUS. What chief To Argos, or to Phthia, me shall bear. Or to some island, sorrowing, far from Troy ? HECUBA. To whom shall wretched I, and in what land Become a slave, decrepid like the drone Thro' age, mere semblance of a pallid corse. Or flitting spectre from the redms beneath? Shall I be station'd or to watch the door. Or tend the children of an haughty lord. Erst plac'd at Troy in rank supreme ? CHORUS. Alas! HECUBA. With what loud plaints dost thou revive thy woes! CHORUS. I never more thro' Ida's loom shall dart The shuttle, nor behold a blooming race Of children, in those lighter tasks employ'd Which suit the young and beauteous, to the couch Of some illustrious Greek convey'd, the joys THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 299 (•2) Wliicli night and fortune yields are lost to me; Or fill'd with water, fiom Pirene's spring Shall I be doom'd to bear the ponderous urn. HECUBA. O could we reach the fam'd and happy realui Of Theseus, distant from Eurotas' tide. And curst Therapne's gates, where I should meet Perfidious Helen, and remain a slave To Menelaus, who demolish'd Troy. CHORUS. By fame's loud voice I am inform'd, the vale Of Peneus, at Olympus base, abounds With wealthy and plenteous fruitage. HECUBA. This I make My second option, next the blest domain Of Theseus. CHORUS. I am told that Vulcan's realm Of iEtna, opposite Phoenicia's coast The mother of Sicilian hills, is fam'd For palms obtain'd by valour. Thro' the (3) realm Adjacent, bordering on th' Ionian deep, Crathis the bright, for auburn hair renown'd, (2) This language appears so unseemly, in the mouth of the aged He- cuba, that I have followed Dr. Musgrave in the distribution of tliis speech and several others, both preceding and following it, (see his note V. II. p. 415.) Having so done, I apprehend it to be the less neccssaiy for me to adopt his conjectural alterations, and perhaps tlie reader, who recollects the terms in which Hecuba adilresses Agamennion, when she is entreating him to suffer her to inflict vengeance on Polymestor, (He- cuba, V. 824 — 832) will think I have gone too far ; though he will find the opinion of Dr. Musgrave, in regard to this speech, in a great mea- sure confirmed by that of Mr. Tyrwhitt. (3) The country here mentioned, appears to be that, on which the famous city of Sybaris, whose iiilrabitants were ruined by their luxuiy, originally stood : after its destruction, Diodorus Siculus says, tlie Athe- nians sent a (^olony thither, who built a city on a spot very near the ruins of Sybaris, which they called Thuriuni, from a fountain of that 500 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. The tribute of its holy current pours, And scatters blessings o'er a martial land. But lo, with hasty step a herald comes Bearing some message from the Grecian host ! What is his errand? for we now are slaves To yon proud rulers of the Doric realm. TALTHYBIUS, HECUBA, CHORUS. TALTHYBIUS. O Hecuba, full oft, you know, to Troy 1, as their herald, by the Grecian host Have been dispatch'd ; you cannot be a stranger To me, Talthybius, who to you, and all. One message bring. HECUBA. This, this, my dearest friends Is what I long have fear'd. TALTHYBIUS. The lots are cast Already, if your terrors thence arose. HECUBA. Alas to what Thessalian city saidst thou, Or to the Phthian, or the Theban realm Shall we be carried ? TALTHYBIUS. To a separate lord Hath each of you distinctly been assign'd. HECUBA. To whom alas, to w horn am I allotted ? What Phrygian dames do happier fortunes wait? name. The river CrathLs, on whose banks Sybaris stood, is celebrated, as Barnes informs us in his note on tliis passage, by a vaiiety of antient writers, for the virtue whicli is ascribed to it by Euripides, of giving an auburn colour to tlie haii- : it discharges itself into tlje bay of Tarentum. The Thurians appea to have been under great obligations to the stem virtues of their law-giver Charondas, for raising their national character to a pitch far beyond that of tlieir predecessors the Sybarites. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 301 TALTHYBIUS. I know: but be distinct in your enquiries. Nor ask at once a multitude of questions. HECUBA. Say who by lot hath gain'd ray wretched Daughtef Cassandra i TALTHYBIUS. Her the royal Agamemnon His chosen prize hath taken. HECUBA. As a slave To tend his Spartan wife ? ah rae! TALTHYBIUS. No slave, But concubine. HECUBA. What, Phoebus' votive maid. To whom the God with golden tresses gave •This privilege, that he should pass her life In celibacy ? TALTHYBIUS. With the shafts of love Hath the prophetic Nymph transpierc'd his breast. HECUBA. My Daughter, cast the sacred keys awa}', And rend the garlands thou with pride didst wear* TALTHYBIUS. Is it not great for captives to ascend The regal couch ? HECUBA. But where is she whom late Ye took away, and whither have ye borne That Daughter? TALTHYBIUS. Speak you of Polyxena, Or for whom else would you enquire ? 502 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. HECUBA; On whom llatli chance bestow'd her ? TALTHYBIUS. At Achilles' tomb It is decreed that she shall minister. HECUBA. Wretch that I am ! for his sepulchral rites Have 1 then borne a Pi iestess ? but what law Is this, what Grecian usage, O my friend ? TALTHYBIUS. Esteem your Daughter happy; for with her All now is well. HECUBA. What saidst thou? doth she hve ? TALTHYBIUS. 'Tis her peculiar fate to be releas'd From all affliction, HECUBA. But, alas ! what fortune Attends the warlike Hector's captive wife, How fares it with the lost Andromache ? TALTHYBIUS. Her too Achilles' son hath from the band Of captives chosen, HECUBA. As to me who need For a third foot, the staff which in these hands I hold, whose head is whiten'd o'er with age. To whom am 1 a slave ? TALTHYBIUS. By lot the King Of Ithaca Ulysses hath obtain'd you. HECUBA. Alas? alas! let your shorn temples feel The frequent blow ; rend your discolour'd cheeks. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. SOS Ah me ! I am allotted for a slave To a detestable and treacherous man, Swoi*n foe of justice, to that lawless viper, With double tongue confounding all, 'twixt friends Exciting bitter hate. Ye Trojan dames, O shed the sympathizing tear : I sink Beneath the pressure of relentless fate. CHORUS. Thy doom, O Queen, thou know*st: but to what chief (4) Hellenian or Achaian 1 belong Inform me. TALTHYBIUS. Peace! — conduct Cassandra hither With speed, ye guards, into our General's hands When I his Captive have deliver'd up. That we the rest may portion out.— Why gleams That blazing torch within ? would llion's dames Their chambers fire? what mean they ? doom'd to leave This land, and to be borne to Argive shores. Are they resolv'd to perish in the flames i The soul, inspir'd with an unbounded love Of freedom, ill sustains such woes. Burst open The doors, lest, to their honour and the shame Of Greece, on me the censure fall. HECUBA. They kindle No conflagration, but, with frantic step. My Daughter, lo, Cassandra rushes hither. CASSANDRA, TALTHYBIUS, HECUBA, CHORUS. CASSANDRA. Avaunt ! the sacred flame I bring With reverential awe profound, (4) " The Poet here makes a distinction between Achaians and Hel- " lenians. At tlie time of tlie Trojan war the Achaians were the inlia- " bitants of Sparta according to Strabo ai.G Pausanias, and the Hel- " lenians, they who dwelt in Thessaly. There was a time too, when " the Thessahans Hkewise were called Achaians, the reason for which " Biay be collected from Pausauias." Muscrave. 304 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. And wave the kindled torch around, II ymcii, thou hcMiignant king. The Bridegroom conies with jocund pride^ 1 too am styl'd a happy Bride, My name tlirougli Argos' streets shall ring, O Hymen, thou benignant king! While thou attend'st my Father's bier, Hecuba, with many a tear, While Ihon's ramparts overthrovvn From thee demand th' incessant groan, -Ere the bright Sun withhold his ray. E'en in the glaring front of day, 1 bid the nuptial incense blaze To thee, O Hymen, thee whose power Invoking at her bridal hour The bashful virgin comes. Yon maze Encircling, 'mid the choral dance. As anlient usage bids^ advance. And in thy hand a flaming pine, O mother, brandish. God of wine. Thy shouting votaries hither bring. As if in Ilion thou hadst found Old Priam still a happy king. Range that holy groupe around O Phoebus, in thy laureat mead, Thy temple, shall the victim bleed. Let Hymen, Hymen, Hymen, sound. My Mother, for the dance prepare. Vault nimbly, and our revels share. At Hymen's shrine, my friends, prolong Your Vows, awake t!i' exstatic song ; In honour of my bridal day. Chant, Phrygian nymphs, the choralJay, And celebrate the chief whom fate Ordains to be Cassandra's mate. CHORUS. Wilt thou not stop the Princess, lest she rush With frantic step amid the Grecian host? THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 305 HECUBA. O Vulcan, wont to light the bridal torch, Now dost thou brandish an accursed flame ; My soul foresaw not this. Alas, my Daughter, I little thought, that midst the din of arms. Or while we crouch beneath the Argive spear. Thou could'st have celebrated such espousals. Give me the torch, for while with frantic speed Thou rushest on, it trembles in thy hand. Nor yet have thy afflictions, O my Daughter, Brought back thy wandering reason, thou remain'st Disorder'd as before. Ye Trojan Dames, Ilemove yon blazing pines, and in the stead Of these her bridal songs let tears express The anguish of your souls. CASSANDRA. O Mother, place A laureat wreath on my victorious brow, Exulting lead me to the Monarch's bed. And if for thee too slowly I advance, Drag me along by force : for I am now No ntore the spouse of Phoebus; but that king Of Greece, fam'd Agamemnon, shall in me Take to his arms a bride more inauspicious Than even Helen's self: him will I smite. And lay his palace waste, in great revenge For my slain Sire and Brothers. But I cease These menaces, and speak not of the axe Which shall smite me and others, or the conflict My wedlock shall produce, whence by the hands Of her own son a Mother shall be slain, And th' overthrow of Atreus' guilty house. This city will I prove to have been happier Than the victorious Greeks (for though the Gods Inspire, I curb the transports of my soul), Who for one single woman, to regain The beauteous Helen only, wasted lives. VOL. II. X SOG THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Unnumbei'd. Their wise learU r, in tlie cause Of those he hated, slew whom njost he lov'd; He to his Brother yielded up his Daughter, Joy of his house, for that vile woman's sake. Who with her own consent, and not by force. Was borne away. But at Scamander's banks When they arriv'd, they died, though not by exile Torn from their country, or their native towers: But them who in embattled fields were slain, Their children saw not, nor in decent shroud Were they enwrapp'd by their lov'd consorts' hands. But he deserted on a foreign coast : Their sorrows also who remain'd at home Are similar; in widowhood forlorn Some die ; and others, of their own brave sons Depriv'd, breed up the children of a stranger; Nor at their shghted tombs is blood pour'd forth To drench the thirsty ground. Their host deserves Praises like these. 'Tis better not to speak Of what is infamous, nor shalLmy Muse Record the shameful tale. But, first and greatest Of glories, in their country's cause expir'd The Trojans ; the remains of those who fell In battle, by their friends borne home, obtain'd Sepulchral honours in their native soil, That duteous ofhce kindred hands perform'd : While every Phrygian who escap'd the sword Still with his wife and children did reside, Joy to the Greeks unknown. Now hear the fate Of Hector, him whom thou bewail'st, esteem'd The bravest of our heroes, by the Greeks Landing on 1 lion's coast the warrior fell ; In their own country had the foe remain'd. His valour ne'er had been display'd : but Paris Wedded the Daughter of imperial Jove, In her possessing, an illustrious bride. It is the wise man's duty to avoid THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 307 Perilous war. After the dye is cast, He who undaunted meets the fatal stroke, Adds to his native i-ity fair renown ; But the last moments of a coward shame The land which gave him birth. Forbear to weep, My Mother, for thy ruin'd country's fate ; Weep not because thou see*st thy daughter borne To Agamemnon's bed, for by these spousals Our most inveterate foes shall I destroy. CHORUS. How sweetly midst the sorrows of thy house Thou smil'st ! ere long perchance wilt thou afford A melancholy instance that thy strains Are void of truth. TALTHYBIUS. Had not Apollo flr'd E'en to distraction thy perverted soul, Thou on my honour'd leader, ere he quit The shores of Ilion, should'st not unaveng'd Pour forth these omens. But, alas! the great. And they who in th' opinion of mankind Are wise, in no respect excel the vulgar. For the dread chieftain of the Grecian host, The son of Atreas, loves with boundless passion This damsel frantic as the Msenades. M\'self am poor, yet would not I accept A wife like her. Since thou hast lost thy reason, I to the winds consign thy bitter taunts 'Gainst Argos, with the praises thou bestow'st . On Troy. Thou bride of Agamemnon, come, Follow me to the fleet. But when Ulysses Would bear you hence, O Hecuba, obey The summons, you are desti n'd to attend A (5) Queen call'd virtuous by all those who come To Ilion. (5) Penelope. X 'Z 508 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. CASSANDRA. Arrogant, detested slave ! All heralds are like thee, the public scorn, Crouching with abject deference to some king Or city. Say'st thou, " to Ulysses' house " My Mother shall be borne ?" Of what account Were then the oracles Apollo gave UtterVl by me Lis priestess, which declare, ^' She here shall die?" I spare the shameful tale. He kriows not, the unhappy Ithaeus, What evils yet await him, in the tears Of me and every captive Phrygian maid. While he exults, and deems our misery gain. Ten more long years elaps'd beyond the term Spent in besieging Ilion, he alone Shall reach his country j witness thou who dwell'st Mid'st ocean's straits tempestuous, dire Charibdis^ Ye mountains w here on human victims feast The Cyclops, with Ligurian Circe's isle. Whose wand transforms to swine, the billowy deep Cover'd with shipwrecks, the bewitching Lotus, The sacred Oxen of the Sun, whose flesh Destin'd to utter a tremendous voice The banquet shall embitter : he at length. In a few words his history to comprise, Alive must travel to the shades beneath, And hardly scaping from a watery grave In his own house find evils numberless. But why do I recount Ulysses' toils? Lead on, that I the sooner in the realms Of Pluto, with that Bridegroom may consummate My nuptials. Ruthless miscreant as thou art. Thou in the tomb ignobly shalt be plung'd At midnight ; nor shall the auspicious beams Of day illumine thy funereal rites, O leader of the Grecian host, who deem'st That thou a mighty conquest hast atchiev'd. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. SO9 Near to my Lord's remains, and in that vale, Where down a precipice the torrent foams, My corse shall to the hungry wolves be thrown, The corse of Phoebus' priestess. O ye wreaths Of him whom best of all the Gods I lov'd. Adieu, ye symbols of my holy office, I leave those feasts the scenes of past delight, Torn from my brows avaunt, for I retain My chastity unsullied still ; the winds To thee shall waft them, O prophetic King. Where is your general's bark, which I am doom'd T' ascend? the rising breezes shall unfurl Your sails this instant ; for in me ye bear One of the three Eumenides from Troy. Farewell, my Mother, weep not for my fate, O my dear Country, my heroic Brothers, And aged Father, in the realms beneath, Ere long shall ye receive me : but victorious Will I descend among the mighty dead. When I have laid th' accursed mansions waste Of our destroyers, Atreus' impious sons. lExeunt cassandra and talthybius. -f CHORUS. Attendants of the aged Hecuba, Behold ye not your Mistress, how she falls Upon the pavement speechless? why neglect To prop her sinking frame ! Ye slothful nymphs, Raise up this woman, whom a weight of years Bows to the dust. HECUBA. Away, and on this spot Allow me, courteous damsels, to remain : No longer welcome as in happier days Are your kind offices ; this humble posture, This fall best suits my present lowly state. Best suits what I already have endur'd And still am doom'd to sutler. O ye Gods, 310 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. In you I call upon no firm allies^ Yet sure 'lis deceui to invoke the Gods When we by adverse fortune are opprest. First, therefore, all the blessings 1 enjoy'd Would I recount, hence shall my woes demand The greater i)ity. Born to regal state, And with a mighty King in wedlock join'd, A race of valiant sons did I produce ; I speak not of their numbers, but the noblest Among the Phrygian youths, such as no Trojan, Nor Grecian, nor Barbarian dame could boast: Them saw 1 fall beneath the hostile spear. And at their tomb these tresses cut: their Sire, The venerable Priam, I bewail'd not. From being told of his calamitous fate By others, but these eyes beheld him slain. E'en at the altar of Hercaean Jove, And llion taken. I those blooming maids Have also lost, whom with maternal love I nurtur'd for some noble husband's bed ; They from these arms are torn : nor can I hope Or to be seen by thera, or e'er to see My children more. But last of all, to crown My woes, an aged slave, shall I be borne To Greece; and in such tasks will they employ me As are most grievous in the wane of life; Me, who am Hector's mother, at the door Station'd to keep the keys, or knead the bread. And on the pavement stretch my wither'd limbs. Which erst repos'd upon a legal couch, And in such talter'd vestments, as bely My former rank, enwrap iny wasted frame. Wretch that 1 am, who, thru' one woman's nuptials. Have borne, and am hereafter doom'd to bear, Such dreadful ills. O my unhappy Daughter, Cassandra, whom the Gods have render'd frantic. With what sad omens hath thy virgin zone THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 311 Been loos'd ! and where, Polyxena, art tliou, O virgin most unfortunate? but none Of all my numerous progeny, or male Or female, comes to aid their wretched Mother. Why, therefore, would ye lift me up? what room Is there for hope? me who with tender foot Pac'd through the streets of Troy, but now a slave, Drag from the palace to the rushy mat And stony pillow, that wheree'er I fall There may I die, through many many tears Exhausted. Of the prosperous and the great Pronounce none happy till the hour of death. CHORUS. ODE. I. Prepare, O Muse, prepare a song Expressive of the fall of Troy ; The sympathetic dirge prolong, And banish every note of joy. I with loud voice of Ilion's fate will speak. Sing how the foe our ramparts storm'd Through the machine their treachery form'd. The vehicle of many a daring Greek, Who burst like thunder from that wooden steed, With gorgeous trappings grac'd, in mimic slate. Concealing armed bands, which pass'd the Scsean gate, They whom such semblance could mislead. The unsuspecting crowd. As on Trtiy's citadel they stood, Exclaim'd ; " Henceforth our toils shall cease, *' Come on, and to Minerva's fane convey " This holy image, pledge of peace." What veteran paus'd ? what youth but led the wav ? Enlivening songs breath'd round in notes so sv.eet, That gladly they receiv'd the pestilential cheat. SiG THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. II. Then did all Phiygia's race combine Through their devoted gates to bear, Enclos'd in the stupendous pine The fraud of Greece, that latent snare, To glut JNIinerva with Dardanian blood, ^ To pacify th' immortal Maid, They the huge mass with ropes convey'd: Thus the tall baik, into the briny flood Too ponderous to be borne, is roll'd along: Till they had lodg'd it in th' ill-omen'd fane Of Her to whom we owe our ruin'd country's bane. After their toil and festive song. The cloud-wrapp'd Evening spread Her veil o'er each devoted head, Shrill- Phrygian voices did resound. And Libya's flutes accompanied the choir, While nymphs high vaulting from the giound, Mix'd their applauses with the chorded lyre. And from each hearth the flames with radiance bright, While heedless warriors slept, dispell'd the shades of night. HI. Then o'er the genial board, to her who reigns In woodland heights, Diana, child of Jove, I wak'd the choral strains. But soon there flew a dismal sound Pergamus' wide streets around : The shriekino; infant fondlv strove To grasp the border of a Mother's vest, And with uplifted hands its little fears express'd ; Mars from his (6) ambush by Minerva's aid (6) " This is spoken of the Wooden Horse, whence the foe issuing " forth, warred against the Trojans in the very heart of tlieir city. The " expression of Apuj, Mars, is poetical, and signifies the Greek soldiers, ^' who, aided by the counsels of Minerva, framed that stratagem." Carmeili. THE TROJAISI CAPTIVES. 313 Conspicuous issu'd and the fray began. Thick gore adown our altars ran, , And many a slaughler'd youth was laid A headless trunk on the disfigur'd bed. That Greece might shine with laureat wreaths ar ray 'ev^, By Troy while fruitless tears are shed. ANDROMACHE, HECUBA, CHORUS. CHORUS. Seest thou, Andromache, O Queen, this way Advancing, wafted in a foreign car? Eager to cling to the maternal breast Close follows her belov'd Astyanax, The son of Hector. HECUBA. Whither art tliou borne^ O wretched woman, on a chariot plac'd Midst Hector's brazen armour, and those spoils From captive Phrygian chiefs in combat torn, With which Achilles' son from Uion's siege Triumphant, will the Phthian temples grace? ANDROMACHE. Our Grecian masters drag me hence. HECUBA. Alas! ANDROMACHE. Why with your groans my anguish strive t' assuage? HECUBA. Oh! ANDROMACHE. I by griefs am compass'd — HECUBA. Mighty Jove • ANDROMACHE. And dread vicissitudes of fate. HECUBA. My childreu. 31^ THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. ANDROMACHE. We once were blest. HECUBA. Now are those pffesperous days No more ; and Ilion is no more. ANDROMACHE. Most wretched HECUBA. My noble sons. ANDROMACHE. Alas! HECUBA. Alas my ANDROMACHE. Woes. HECUBA. O piteous fortune ANDROMACHE. Of the city — HECUBA. Wrapt lu smoke. ANDROMACHE. Return, my Husband, O return, HECUBA. In clamorous accents thou invok'st my son, Whom Pluto's realms detain, unhappy woman. - ANDROMACHE. Thy Consort^s tutelary- [)ovver. HECUBA. And thou. Whose courage long withstood the Grecian host;, Thou aged Father of" our numerous race. Lead me, O Priam, to the shades beneath. ^ n ANDROMACHE. Presumptuous are such wishes. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. :i\ri HECUBA. We endure These grievous woes. CHORUS. \Miile ruin overwhelms Our oily, for on sorrows have been heap'd FresJj sorrows, thro' the will oF angry iJeaven, Since in an evil hour thy (7) Son was snatch'd From Pluto, who, determin'd to avenge Those execrable nu{)tials, with the ground Hath levell'd Pergamus' beleaguerd towers. Near Pallas' shrine the corses of the slain Weltering in gore to vultiucs lie expos'd. And Ilion droops beneath the servile yoke. Thee, O my wretched counlry, I with tears Forsake: e'en now thou vlew'st the piteous end Of all thy wocs^ and my luv'd native house. HECUBA. My children ! O my desolated city! Your Mother is bereft of every joy. CHORUS. What shrieks, what plaints resound! what floods of tear? Stream in our houses! but the dead forget Their sorrows, and for ever cease to weep, HECUBA. To those who suffer, what a sweet relief Do tears afford ! the sympathetic Muse Inspires their plaints. ANDROMACHE ■ O Mother of that chief, Whose forceful javelin thinn'd the ranks of Greece, Illustrious Hector, sce'st thou this ? (7) Paris; who, instead of being put to death in coiisequence of Cassandra's prophetic warnings, was sent to Mount Ida, aud tiiere bred «ip among tlie shepherds. I liave disposed tbe ensuing speeches accord- ing to Dr. Miisgraves note. SlG THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. HECUBA. I see The Gods delight in raising up the low, And ruining tlie great. ANDROMACHE. Jtlence with my son, A captive am I hurried ; noble birth Subject to these vicissitudes now sinks Into degrading slavery. HECUBA. UncontroH'd The power of fate : Cassandra from these arms But now with brutal violence was torn ! ANDROMACHE, A second Ajax to thy daughter seems To have appear'd. Yet hast thou other griefs. HECUBA. All bounds, all numbers they exceed; with ills fresh ills as for preeminence contend. ANDROMACHE. Polyxena, thy Daughter, at the tomb Of Peleus' son hath breath'd her last, a gift To the deceas'd. HECUBA. Wretch that I am, alas ! Too clearly now I understand the riddle Which in obscurer terms Talthybius utter'd. ANDROMACHE. I saw her bleed, and lighting from this car Covered he with the decent shroud and wail'd O'er her remains. HECUBA. Alas ! alas ! my Child To bloody altars dragg'd by impious hands, Alas, alas, how basely wert thou slain! ANDROMACHE. Most dreadfully she perished ; yet her lot THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 317 Who perisli'd is more enviable than mine. HECUBA. Far different, O my Daughter, is the state Of them who live, from them who breathe no more : For the deceas'd are nothing : but fair hope. While life remains, can never be extinct. ANDROMACHE. (S) Thou whom, altho' I sprung not from thy womb, I deem a Mother, to my cheering words With patience listen, they will yield delight To thy afflicted soul. Tis the same thing Ne'er to be born, or die ; but better far To die, than to live wretched : for no sorrow Affects th' unconscious tenant of the grave. But he who once was happ}^, he who falls From Fortune's summit down the vale of woe. With an afflicted spirit wanders o'er The scenes of past delight. In the cold grave. Like one who never saw the blessed Sun, Polyxena remembers not her woes. But I who aim'd the dextrous shaft, and gain'd An ample portion of renown, have miss'd The mark of happiness. In Hector's house I acted as behoves each virtuous Dame. First, whether sland'rous tongues assail or spare The Matron's chastity, an evil name. Her who remains not at her home, pursues: Such vain desires I therefore quell'd, I staid In my own chamber, a domestic life Preferring, and forbore to introduce (8) The two first lines of this speech are a translation of o /«t£j, k Timc-a, KcMiTin ?oyov, wliich is restored from the Harieian and Floren- tine manuscripts by Dr. Mnsgrave, it having been omi^^ted by the pre- ceding Editors : tlie Doctoi-'s alteration of tt) into v is absolutely neces- sary to be admitted, as Andromache was daughter to Hecuba by mar- riage onlj', and not by bii th. ni8 TFIE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Vain sciUiincntnl languaqo, siirli as gains Too oft the ear of woman : 'twas enough For me to yield obedience to the voice Of Virtue, that best Monitor. My lord With placid aspect and a silent tongue I still receiv'd, for I that province knew In which I ought to rule, and when to yield Submission to a husband's will. The fame This conduct gain'd me, reach'd the (irecian ca^np. And prov'd my ruin : for whetj 1 became A captive, Neoptolemus resolv'd To take me to his bed, and in the hou:^e Of murderers I to slavery am consign'd. If shaking off my Hector's lov'd remembrance To this new Flusband I my soul incline, I shall appear perfidious to the dead; Or, if 1 hate Achilles' son, become Obnoxious to my lords; tho' some assert That one shoit night can reconcile th' aversion Of any woman to the nuptial couch ; I scorn that widow, reft of her first lord. Who listens to the voice of love, and weds Another. From her comrade torn, tlie mare Sustains the yoke reluctant, iho' a brute Dumb and irrational, by nature form'd Subordinate to man : but I in thee Possess'd a husband, O my dearest Hector, In wisdom, fortune, and illustrious birth. For me sufficient, great in martial deeds : A spotless virgin-bride, me from the house Of my great father, didst thou first receive; But thou art slain, and I to Greece must sail A captive, and endure the servile yoke? Is not the death of that Polyxena, Whom thou, O Hecuba, bewail'st, an ill More tolerable than those which I endure? THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 319 For Hope, who visits every wretch beside, To lue ne'er comes; to me no promis'd joys Aftbrd a flattering prospect to deceive TIjis anxious bosom; for 'tis sweet to think E'en of ideal bliss. CHORUS. Thon art involv'd In the same sufferings, and in plaintive notes Bewailing thy caiamit}^ inform'st me What treatment to expect. HECUBA. I ne'er did mount A ship, yet I from pictures and report These matters know : amidst a moderate storm, Such as they hope to weather out, the sailors To save themselves, exert a cheerful toil ; This to the rudder, to the shatter'd sails That goes, a third laborious at the pump Draws off the rising waters; but if vanquish'd By the tempestuous ocean's rage, they yield To fortune, and consigning to the waves Their vessel, are at random driven along. Thus I am mute beneath unnumber'd woes, Nor can this tongue expatiate, for the Gods Sucii torrents pour as drown my feeble voice ? But, O my daughter, cease to name the fate Of slaughter'd Hector, whom no tears can save. Pay due attention to thy present lord, With amorous glances and a fond compliance Receiving him ; act thus, and thou wilt cheer Our friends, and tliis mv grandson educate A buKvark to fallen liion, that his race The city may rebuild, and dwell in Troy. But a fresh topic of discourse ensues. W^hat servant of tlie Greeks do I behold Again draw near^ t' announce some new design ? S20 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. TALTIIYBIUS, ANDROMACHE, HECUBA, CHORUS. TALTHYBIUS. O thou \vho erst wert Hector's wife, that bravest Of Phrygians, hate me not ; for with reluctance Will I the general sentence of the Greeks And Pelops' progeny, announce. ANDROMACHE. AVhat means This evil prelude ? TALTHYBIUS. 'Tis decreed thy Son How shall I speak it ^ ANDROMACHE. To a separate lord Shall be consign'd ? TALTHYBIUS. None of the Grecian chiefs Shall ever o'er Astyanax bear rule. ANDROMACHE. Must I leave here, him who alone remains Of all that erst was dear to me in Troy ? TALTHYBIUS. Alas! I know not in what terms t' express The miseries that await thee ? ANDROMACHE. I commend Such modesty, provided thou canst speak Aught to aflbrd me comfort. TALTHYBIUS. They resolve To slay thy son ; thou hear'st my dismal errand. ANDROMACHE. Ah me! thou hast unfolded to these ears An evil, greater than my menac'd spousals. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 321 TALTHYBIUS. By his harangues to the assembled Greeks, Ulysses hath prevail'd. ANDROMACHE. Alas! alas! Immoderate are the sorrows I endure. TALTHYBIUS. Saving they ought not to train up the son Of that heroic sire. ANDROMACHE. May he obtain O'er his own children triumphs great as these! TALTHYBIUS. He from the towers of Uion must be thrown: But I entreat thee, and thou hence shall seem More prudent, strive not to withhold thy son. But bear thy woes with firmness; nor, tho' weak. Deem thyself strong ; for thou hast no support, And therefore must consider that thy city Is overthrown, th}' husband is no more. Thou art reduc'd to servitude; and we Are strong enough to combat with one woman : O therefore brave not this unequal strife. Stoop not to aught that's base, nor yet revile, Nor idly scatter curses on thy foes ; For if thou utter aught that may provoke The anger of the host, thy son will bleed Unburied and unwept : but if thou bear With silence and composure thy misfortunes. Funereal honours shall adorn his grave, And Greece to thee her lenity extend. ANDROMACHE. Thee, O my dearest son, thy foes will slay; Soon art thou doom'd to leave thy wretched mother. What saves the lives of others, the renown Of an illustrious sire, to thee will prove The cause of death: by this paternal fame VOL. n. y 322 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Art thou attended in an evil hour. To me how lueklcss prov'd the genial bed, And those espousals, that to Hector's house First brought lue, when I trusted I should bear A son, no victim to the ruthless Greeks, But an illustrious Asiatic king. Weep'st thou, my Son? dost thou perceive thy woes? Why cling to me with timid hands? why seize My garment? thus hencaih it's mother's wings The callow bird is shelter'tl. From the tomb, No Hector brandishing his massive spear Rushes to save thee ; no intrepid kinsman Of tliy departed father, nor the might Of Phrygian hosts is here: but from aloof P)orne headlong by a miserable leap, Shalt thoa pour forth thy latest gasp of life Unpitied. Tender burden in the arms Of thy fond mother ! what ambrosial odours Breath'd from thy lips ? I swath'd thee to my breast In vain, I toil'd in vain, and wore away My strength with fruitless labours. Yet embrace Thy mother once again ; around my neck Entwine thy arms, and give one parting kiss. Ye Greeks, who studiously invent new^ modes ,' Of unexampled cruelty, why slay This guiltless infant ? Helen, O thou daughter Of (9) Tyndarus, never didst thou spring from Jove, Butl pronounce thee born of many Sires, (9) Barnes's note on tliis passage, informing us tliat Helen's Father Tyndarus, was tlie fonrUi in a lineal descent from Lacedamon, son of Jupiter, appears to have a tendency to mislead the reader. What An- dromache here says of Helen, being only tiie language of indignation, with as little intention of questioning her pedigree, as Patrochis, in Homer, has of depriving his friend Achilles of both his parents, when be saj's, N>)Xf£;* ajc agK aoi ys Tlanm^ m tTrwoJm niXfyf, OuJe QtjTif p.>!'r>;o' yl^avm h ri rtari S'reXoo'tra, nsTCOSk t' »jX4?«7W. 11. L. 16. V, 33, THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. S23 An evil Genius, Envy, Slaughter, Death, And every evil that from Earth receives Its nourishment ; nor dare I to assert That Jove himself begot a pest like thee. Fatal to Greece and each Barbarian chief. Perdition overtake thee ! for those eyes By their seducing glances have o'erthrown The Phrygian empire. Bear this child away, And cast him from the turrets if ye list. Then banquet on his quivering flesh : the Gods Ordain that I shall perish : nor from him Can I repell the stroke of death. Conceal This wretched form from public view, and plunge me In the ship's hold ; for I have lost my son. Such the blest prelude to my nuptial rite. CHORUS. Thy myriads, hapless llion, did expire In combat for one woman, to maintain Paris' accurs'd espousals. (10) ANDROMACHE. Cease, my child. Nor ever amorous Hero caus'd thy birtli, Nor ever tender Goddess brought Ihee fortli, Some rugged rocks' hard entrails gave thee form, And raging seas produc'd thee in a storm. Pope. or Vugil's Dido, when she says to ^neas, Nee tibi diva parens, generis nee Dardanus auctor, Pei-fide: sud duris genuit te cautibus horrens Caucasus, Hyrcansque admonint ubera tigres. mn. L. 4. V. 366. False as thou art, and more than false, fors-.\orn ; Not spnnig from noble blood, nor Goddess-born, But hewn from harden'd entrails of a rock, And rough Hyrcanian tygers gave thee suck. Drtden. In La Gerda's note on the latter of these passages, the reader will find near twenty similar instances, collected from a variety of Greek and Latin writers, not only in verse but prose. (10) From the whole tenor of this speech, and more paiticularly the terms x.n^vv,iy'.a and Uju.j1f{«; j-vufAij, I am strongly induced to conclude that Y 2 3-24 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Fondly to lisp thy wretched Mother's name, Ascend the height oF thy paternal towers, Whence 'tis hy Cireece decreed thy parting breath Shall issue. Take hitn hence. Aloud proclaim This deed ye merciless : that wretch alone Who never knew the blush of virtuous shame, ^ Your sentence can applaud. [Exeunt andromache arid talthybiu-s. HECUBA. O child, thou son Of my unhappy Hector, from thy Mother And me thou unexpectedly art torn. What can I do, what help afford ? for thee I smite this head, this miserable breast ; Thus far my power extends. Alas, thou city. And, O my grandson I is there yet a curse Beyond what we have felt ? remains there aught To save us from the yawning gulph of ruin ? CHORUS. ODE. I. ]. In Sal amis' profound retreat Fam'd for the luscious treasures of the bee. High rais'd above th' encircling sea Thou, Telamon, didst fix thy regal seat ; Near to (]\) those sacred hills, where spread The olive first its fragrant sprays, Aldus, Barnes, &:c have jiidsfed ritrlit in ascribinn; it to Andromache, who on leaving the stas;e cluls with addressing herself to Talthybins. It ap. pears, however, by Dr. Mnsgrave's notes and his Latin version, that both Mr. Tyrwhitt and himself are of a difterent opinion, and put tliese lines into the month of Tallhybius ; but I observe, that in order to effect such change of speakers with any apparent propriety, they propose altering vfAiltfa; into v^iVfa;, \\ ithout citing any authority for so doing : Corri- giuitur antique editioncs ab cruditis honiinibus, quae tamen interdum nihil emendationis indigent, is a passage in the Adversaiia of Turnebus which very frequently occurs to me. (11) Tlie hill upon which the citadel of Athens was afterwards erected, is the place where the olive first made its appearance, on Minerva's THE TROJAM CAPTIVES. 325 To form a gailiind Tor Minerva's head. And the Athenian s{)lendor raise : With the fam'd arehcr, with Alcniena's son Thou cam'st exulting with vindictive joy ; By your confederate arujs was IHon won, When from thv Greece thou cam'st our city to destroy. 1.2. Repining lor the promis'd steeds, From Greece Alcides led a ctiosen band, U'ith hostile prows th' indented strand He reach'd, and anchor'd near fair Simois' meads; Selected from eacii shi[), lie led Those who with dextrous hand could wing Th' unerring shaft, till slaughter reach'd thy head, Laomedon, thou perjur'd king: Those battlements which Phoebus' self did rear The victor wasted with devouring flame; Twice o'er Troy's walls hath wav'd the hostile spear, Twicehave insultingshouts announc'd Dardania's shame. II. 1. Thou bear'st the spaikling wine in vain With step effeminate, O (!C) Phrygian boy, Erewhile didst thou approach with joy striking the ground with her spear in lier contest with Neptune, winch of tliem should give tlieir name to Cecropia, winch was afterwards called Athens, in honour of the Goddess, from A^;m, the Greek for Minerva. The island of Salamis is situated in the Sa^'onian bay, or gulph of ^gina, not tar distant from the coast of Athens, and was reduced into subjec- tion by that state before the days of Euripides. Strabo and Eustathius say, that when the Athenians and Megarians were contending for Sala- niis, Fisisti-atus or Solon quoted the two following lines from Homer, to prove that tl»e island belonged to the Athenians : Aire; i' tx ZciiMfj-iio; afn ^■jotitahxa v>iaj, Iril-Jt ^' ayiuy (v' AOmaiixy i^ailo CfcO.ayhi, II. L. 2. V. 557. Many critics suppose the second of these Hues to have been forged on that occasion. But Aristotle, in his Rhetoric, calls tiie above passage of Homer " a clear testimony, of which the Athenians availed themselves," without insinuating the least doubt of its aithenticity. ( t'j) Ganymede. 52G THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. To fill tlie goblet of imperial Jove ; For now ihy Tioy lies levell'd with the plain. And its thick smoke ascends the reahns above. On th' echoing coast our plaints we vent. As feather'd songsters o'er their young bewail, A child or husband these lament. And those behold their captive Mothers sail: The founts where thou didst bathe, th' athletic sports. Are now no more. Each blooming grace Sheds charms unheeded o'er thy placid face, And thou frequent'st Heaven's splendid courts. Triumphant Greece hath levell'd in the dust The throne where Priam rul'd the virtuous and the just. H. 2. With happier auspices, O Love, Erst didst thou hover o'er this fruitful plain, Hence caught the Gods thy thrilling pain; By thee embellish'd, Trqy's resplendent towers Rear'd their proud summits blest by thundering Jove, For our allies were the celestial powers. But I no longer will betray Heaven's ruler to reproach and biting shame. The white-wing'd Morn, blest source of day. Who cheers the nations with her kindling flame. Beheld these walls demolish'd, and th' abode Of that dear (13) Prince who shar'd her bed In fragments o'er the wasted ehampain spread : While swift along the starry road. Her golden car his country's guardian bore : False was each amorous God, and Ilion is no more. MENELAUS, HECUBA, CHORUS. MENELAUS. Hail, O ye solar beams, who on this day. When I my consort Helen shall regain (13) Titlionus, THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 327 Your radiance shed. For I am he wiio long Endur'd the toils of battle, Menelaus, Attended by the Greeian host. To Troy, Not in a woman's cause, as many deem, I came, but came to punish him who broke The laws of hospitality, and ravish'd My Consort from my palace. He hath suffer'd As he deserv'd, such was the will of Heaven, He and his country by the spear of Greece Have been destroy 'd. But I am come to bear That Spartan Dame away, whom with regret I term my Consort, though she once was mine. But she beneath these tents is with the rest Of Phrygia's captives number'd : for the troops Whose arms redeem'd her, have to me consign 'd That I might either take away, or spare Her life, and waft her to the Argive coast, I am resolv'd that Helen shall not bleed In Troy, but o'er the foaming waves to Greece Will I convey her, and to them whose friends Before yon walls were slain, surrendei- up To perish by their vengeance. But with speed Enter the tent, thence by that hair defil'd With murder, O my followers, drag her forth, And hither bring: for when a prosperous breeze Arises, her will I to Greece convey. HECUBxi. O thou who mov'st the woild^ and in this earth Hast fix'd thy station, Avhosoe'er thou art. Impervious to our reason, whether thou, O Jove, art dread Necessity which rules All Nature, or that Soul vvhich animates The breasts of mortals, thee do I adore. For in a silent path thou tread'st and guid'st With justice the affairs of man. MENELAUS. What mean^ 328 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. This innovation in the solemn prayer You to the Gods address ? HECUBA. I shall applaud The stroke, O Menelaus, if thou slay Thy wife; but soon as th(»u behold'st her, fly. Lest she with love ensnare tliee. For the eyes Of men she captivates, o'erturns whole cities. And fires the roofs of lofty palaces, She is possess'd of such resistless charms ; Both I and thou and thousands to their cost, Alas ! are sensible how great her power. HELEN, MENELAUS, HECUBA, CHORUS. HELEN. Menelaus, this is sure a prelude To greater horrors. For with brutal hands I by your servants from these tents am dragg'd ? Too well I know you hate me, yet would learn. How you and Greece have of my life dispos'd. MENELAUS. Thou by the utmost rigour of the laws Hast not been sentenc'd ; but the host, to me Whom thou hast wrong'd, consign thee to be slain. HELEN. May not I answer to these harsh resolves. That if I bleed, unjustly shall 1 bleed ? MENELAUS. 1 came not hither to debate, but slay thee? HECUBA. Hear her, nor let her die, O Menelaus, Without this privilege. Me too allow To make reply to her defence ; for nought Of the foul deeds, which she in Troy committed Yet know'st thou: if united, the whole tale Must force thee to destroy her, and preclude All means of her escaping. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 329 MENELAUS. All iodulgeiicc Like tins supposes leisure to attend ; However, it" she have a wish to speak, She may: but be assur'd, that my compUance To your request is owing, for such favour To her I would not grant. HELEN. Perhaps with me Whom you account a foe, you will not deign, \Vhether I seem to utter truth, or faishood. To parly. — But to each malignant charge With which, O Hecuba, I know thou com'st Prepar'd against me, will I make reply. And to o'er-balance all that thou canst ursfe Produce recriminations — First, she bore Paris, the author of these mischiefs, next Did aged Priam ruin Troy and me, When erst that infant he forbore to slay. That baleful semblance of a flaming torch? Hear what ensued ; by Paris were the claims Of the three rival Goddesses decided. The gift Minerva proffer'd ; that commanding The Phrygians, he should conquer Greece; while Juno Promis'd, that he his empire should extend From Asia to remotest Europe's bounds. If he to her adjudg'd the golden prize; But Venus, who in rapturous terms extoU'd My charms, engag'd that as the great reward She would on him bestow me ; to her beauty If o'er each Goddess he tlie preference gave. Observe the sequel; Venus, o'er Minerva, And Juno, gain'd the triumph ; and my nuptials Thus far have been a benefit to Greece ; Ye are not subject to Barbarian lords, Crush'd by invasion, or tyrannic power. But I my ruin owe to what my country SSO THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. llath found thus advantageous, for my charms To Paris sold, and branded with disgrace, E'en for sut:h deeds as merited a wreath To crown these brows. Put you may urge, that all 1 have alJeg'd is of no real weight. Because by stealth I from your palace fled. Accompanied by no mean Goddess, came That evil genius, sprung from Hecuba, Distinguish him by either name you list Paris or Alexander, in your house, AVIiom, O delirious, you behind you left. And sail'd from Sparta to the (14) Cretan isle. Well, be it so. Of my own heart, not you I In regard to all that hence ensued Will ask the question. What could have induc'd mc,. Following tiiat stranger, to forsake my home. False to my native land ? impute the guilt To Venus, and assume a power, beyond E'en that of Jove, who rules th' inferior Gods But yields to her behests. JNiy crime was venial ; Yet hence you may allege a specious charge Against me ; since to earth's dark vaults the corse Of Paris was consign'd, no longer bound Thro' Heaven's suj)reme decree in nuptial chains, I to the Grecian fleet should have escap'd From Ilion's palace; such was my design: This can the guards of Troy's beleaguer'd towers. And centinels wbo on the walls were station'd, Attest, that oft they caught me, as with ropes By stealth I strove to light upon the ground ; But a new husband, fierce Deiphobus, Obtain'd me for a wife by brutal fprce, (14) " Upon Parjs's landing in Sparta he was received \*ith tlie " greatest honours by IVIenelaiis ; but, because it was necessary for " Menelaus to go at that time to Crete to divide the wealth of Atreus, " he left Paris at his house, and commanded Helen to pay the same at "■' tention to his guest a^ to himself. JJab n£S. THE TROJAN CAPT[VES. g^i Tho' every Phryi^ian disaj)prov'd. What law Can sentence me, whom 'gainst my will he wedded. By you, my Lord, with jnstice to be sluiuf But fbu the benefits thro' me dcriv'd To Greece, i in tlie stead of hiureat wreaths With slavery am requited. If" you wish To overcome the Gods' supreme behests That very w^ish were folly. CHORUS. O my Queen, Assert thy children's and thy country's cause, 'Gainst her persuasive language, for she speaks V\^ith eloquence, tlio' guilty: curst imposture! HECUBA. I those three Goddesses will first defend, And prove that she hath utter'd vile untruths: For of such madness ne'er can I suspect Juno and Pallas that immortal maid, As that the first should to Barbarian tribes Propose to sell her Argos, or Minerva To make her Athens subject to the Phrygians: Seeking in sportive strife the palm of beauty They came to Ida's mount. For thro' what motive Could Juno with such eagerness have wishM Her charms might triumph? to obtain a husband Greater than Jove ? could Pallas, who besought Her Sire she ever might remain a virgin, Propose to wed some Deity ? Forbear To represent these Goddesses as foolish. That thy transgressions may by their example Be justified : thou never canst persuade The wise. Thou hast presum'd t' assert (but this Was a ridiculous pretence) that Venus Came with my son to Meneiaus' house. Could she not calmly have abode in Heaven, Yet wafted thee and all Amycla's city To II ion ? but the beauty of my son S32 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Was great, and thy own heart, wlen ihou beheld'st him Became thy Venus: for whatever lolly Prevails, is'th'(l5) Aphrodite of mankind: That of Love's Goddess, justly doth commence With the same (15) letters as an ideot's name. Him did'st thou see in a barbaric vest With gold refulgent, and thy wanton heart Was thence inflam'd with love, for thou v.ert poor While yet thou didst reside in Greece ; but le-iving The Spartan regions, thou didst hope, the city Of Ti<:y, with gold o'erflo wing, could support Thy prodigality; for the revenues Of Menelaus far too scanty prov'd For thy luxuriant appetites: but say'st thou That Paris bore thee thence by force? what Spartan Saw this? or, with what cries didst thou invoke Castor or Pollux, thy immortal brothers. Who yet on earth remain'd, nor had ascended The starry height <" but since thou cam'st to Troy, And hither th.e confederate troops of Greece Tracing thy steps, began the bloody strife. Whene'er thou heard'st that Menelaus prosper'd Him did'st thou praise, and make my Son to grieve That such ? mighty rival shar'd thy love: But if the Trojan army prov'd victorious. He shrunk into a thing of nought. On Fortune Still didst thou look, still deaf to Virtue's call Follow her banners : yet dost thou assert (15) Tliough I am very sensible tlie word Aphrodite is not naturalized in tlie Ensrlish language as a name of Venus ; the quibble here made use of, induces me to retain it iji this passaa;e : the Greek Lexicograpiiers derive the word from a:^<;in; " foamy" on account of her origin from the sea ; but though this be its common acceptation, it is here twisted, as Henry Stephens observes ui his Greek Thesaurus, into the same etymo- logy with afporjvn which signifies " folly." An English translator, how- ever, finds hiii;sf If here under the same disadvantages with those men- tioned by Baracs in his notes on this passage, with regaid to his Latin version. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. 333 That thou by cords hast From the lofty towers In secrecy attempted to descend, As if thou here hadst been constrain'd to stay? Where then wert thou surpriz'd, or sharpen'd sword, Or ropes y)reparhig, as each generous dame Wlio sought her former husband would have done? Oft have I counsell'd thee in raany words; " Depart, O Daughter, that my Sons may take **■ Brides less obnoxious: thee aboard the ships " Of Greece^ assisting in thy secret flight, " Will I convey. O end the war 'twixt Greece " And Ilion." But to thee was such advice Unwelcome ; for with pride thou in the house Of Paris didst behave thyself, and claim The adoration of Barbaric tribes. For this was thy great object. But e'en now Thy charms displaying, clad in gorgeous vest Dost ihon go forth, still daring to behold That canopy of Heaven which o'erhangs Thy injur'd husband; thou detested woman! Whom it had suited, if in tatter'd vest Shivering, with tresses shorn, in Scythian guise Thou hadst appear'd, and for transgressions past Deep smitten with remorse, assumed the blush Of virtuous matrons, not that frontless air. O, Menelaus ! I will now conclude ; By slaying her, prepare for Greece the wreaths It merits, and extend to the whole sex This law, that every woman who betrays Her lord shall die. CHORUS. As that illustrious stem Whence thou deriv'st thy birth, and as thy rank Demand, on thy adulterous wife inflict Just punishment, and purge this foul reproach. This instnnce of a woman's lust, from Greece; So shall thy very enemies perceive Thou art magnanimous. 334 THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. MENELAUS. Your thoughts concur With mine, that she a \villint>: 'Ugilive My pahice left and sought a foreign bed ; But speaks of Venus merely to disguise Her infamy. —.Away ! thou shalt be ston'd, And in one instant for the tedious woes Of Greece make full atonement ; I will teach thee That thou didst shame me in an evil hour. HELEN. I by those knees entreat you, O forbear To slay me, that distraction sent by Heaven To me imputing : but forgive me. HECUBA. ^'^'^rong not Thy partners in the war, whom she hath slain ; In theirs, and in my children's cause, I sue. MENELAUS. Desist, thou hoary matron : her entreaties ISIove not this stedfast bosom. O my followers Attend her, I command you, to the ships W^hich shall convey her hence. HECUBA. Let her not enter Thy ship. MENELAUS. Is she arrown heavier than before ? O HECUBA. He never lov'd who duth not always love, Howe'er the inclinations of the dame He loves may fluctuate. MENELAUS. All shall be perform 'd According to thy wish ; she shall not enter My bark : for thou hast utter'd wholesome counsels: But soon as she in Argos' lands, with shame. As she deserves, shall she be slain, and wariv All women to be chaste. JSo easy task : THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. SS5 Yet shall her ruin startle every child Of foil}', tho' more vicious still than Helen. CHORUS. ODE. I. I. E'en thus by too severe a doom, To Greece, O Jove, hast tliotf betray'd Our shrines, our altars, dropping rich perfume, The lambent flame that round the victims piay\I, Myrrh's odorous smoke that mounts the skies, , Yon holy citadel, with Ida's grove Around whose oaks the clasping ivy plies. Where riulets meandering rove Cold and translucent from the drifted snows; On that high ridge with orient biaze The Sun first scatters his enlivening rays, And with celestial flame th' ecstatic Priestess glows. I. 2. Each sacrifice, each pious rite, Hence vanish'd, with th' harmonious choirs Whose accents sooth'd the languid ear of night. While to the Gods we w^ak'd our sounding l^res; Their golden images no more Twelve times each year, on that revolving eve When shines the fuU-orb'd moon, do we adore. Harrass'd by anxious fears, I grieve, Oft thinking, whether thou, O Jove, wilt deign To listen to our piteous moan. High as thou sitt'st on thy celestial throne; For Troy, by fire consum'd, lies level with the plain. II. 1. Thou, O my husband, roam'st a flitting shade. To thee are all funereal rites denied, To thee no lustral drops supplied : But 1 by the swift bark shall be convey 'd S3f) THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. Where Argos' cloiicl-capp'd fortress stands^ Erected by the Cyclops' skilful liai)ds. Before our doors assembling children groan, And oft repeat with clamorous moan A mother's name. — Alone shall I be borne Ear from thy sight, by the victorious host Of Greece, and leaving Ilion's coast. O'er Ocean's azure billows sail forlorn. Either to Salamis, that sacred land. Or where the Isthmian summit o'er two seas A wide extended prospect doth command, (If)) Seated in Pelops' straits where Greece the prize decrees. ir. 2. Its arduous voyage more than half complete^ In the /Ege.'.n deep, and near the land, (IG) Unable after the searolies I have made for that purpose, to meet eitlier with any reading or exposition of this difficult passage which ap- pears to me preferable to £v9re ■s:v>.at; llfXoTroj t^Bc-jy ihai, copied from Aldus, Ubi in portis Pelopis sunt sedes, as it stands in Bames, who thus in- terprets it in his note " Ubi sedcs Pelopis, id est Peloponesus hi an- " gusliis suis (n-jx.-y.j vocat) habet certamen Istimaicum." The Isthmian games celebraied by Pindar, date their origin from Si^^yphus khig of Corinth, who fiuiling on the shore tlie body of Mclicerta (the son of Ino, who was afterwards deified by the name of Palirmon") buried it ; soon a^er which, tlie land was afflicted by a plague, and Sisyphus con- sulted the oracle, wliich directed him to celebrate funereal games in ho- nour of Melicerta. When the Corinthians left off paying this homage to the new Sea-God, the pestilence broke out afresh, and the same ora- culaj' response commanded the games to be perpetuated : they were however intevriipted for a time by the outraiics and murders committed on the Isthiiius, but were re-established by Theseus, after he hati purged the land of Siiuiis and tlie other robbers who infested it. The circum- stance which to me s( eir.s to account for these " .J^aj" or " seats for " viewing tlie Isthmiun games," being liere introduced, is, its being meiir tioncd by Plutaich, in his life of Theseus, tliat he agreed with the Co- rinthians, as an acknowledgement for the services he had done them, that the Athenians who attended the Isthmian games should have the privi ege of occupying the first seats: an honorary distinc'ion to his country not likely for Euripides to omit making some allusion to. THE TROJAN CAPTIVES. SS7 May the red liglituing by Jove's hand * Wing'd from the skies with tenfold ruin, meet The bark that wafts me o'er the wave From Troy to Greece a miserable slave. Before the golden mirror wont to braid Her tresses, like a sportive maid, May Helen never reach the Spartan shore, Those houshold Gods to whom she prov'd untrue, Kor her paternal mansions view, Enter the streets of Pitane no more, Nor Pallas' temple with its brazen gate; Because her nuptials teem'd with foul disgrace To mighty Greece thro' each confederate state; And hence on Simois' banks were slainTroy's guiltless race But ha! on this devoted realm are hurl'd Successive woes. Ye hapless Phrygian dames, Behold the slain Astyanax, whom Greece With rage inhuman from yon towers hath thrown. TALTHYBIU.S, HECUBA, CHORUS. The Body of astyanax borne in upon a Shield. TALTHYBIUS. O Hecuba, one ship is left behind To carry the remainder of the spoils Which to Achilles' Son have been adjudg'd. To Phthia's coast. For Neoptolemus, Hearing that recent evils hath befali'n His grandsire Peleus, and that Pelias' son (17) (17) " Pelias, the father of Acastus, was son of Neptune or Salmo- ** neus, who was the son of Doriis, who was the son of Deucalion. ** Others represent tliis history differently, for while our Poet asserts " that Peleuswhen oppressed with old age was stiipped of his Kingdom " by Acastus, son of P( lias ; Apollodorus and others alfimi timt, long ** before this time, Acastus, with his Wife who had falsly accused Pe- ** leus of adultery, was slaiu by Pelcus. See Apollodonis, L. 3, c. 12.* Barnes. Upon examining the passage referred to, I find tliat it is verj' inaccu- VOL. II. Z S38 Till' TROJAN CAPTIVES. AcasUis hiitli expeirfl him tVoiii liis realm, Already liath clci)ai led w ith such speed As ^voiild a(hnit oi no tlclav: wiih him Androinachc is gone, tor wliom 1 shed A stream of tears, when tVom ilvj land she went Wailitii; her coiintiy, and to Hector's tomb Her j)laiiits au levi niiua. Hon. PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. BACCHUS. PENTHEUS. CHORUS OF BACCHANALUN WOMEN. SERVANT. TIRESIAS. CADMUS. MESSENGER. ANOTHER MESSENGER. AGAVE. SCENE— BEFORE THE PALACE OF PENTHEUS AT THEBES. THE BACCHANALIANS. BACCHUS. 1 Ills Theban land, I Bacchus Son of Jove Revisit: I, whom Seme I e^ the Daughter Of Cadmus, erst amid the lightning's blaze Brought forth. But for a human form exchanging That of the God, I to my native fount Of Dirce and Ismenos' waters come. And, of my Mother whom the thunder smote, Behold the tomb, close to her ruin'd house, Where th' unextinguishable flame from Heaven Yet blazes, a memorial of the hate Which Juno to her hapless rival bore. My praise on Cadmus f bestow, who rear'd A temple to his Daughter on this spot Which no unhallow'd feet invade: its walls I with the blushing fruitage of the vine Have skreen'd around. But now from Lydia's fields With gold abounding, from the Phrygian realm, And that of Persia scorch'd by torrid suns. Passing thro' Bactrian gates, the frozen land Of Media, and thro' Araby the blest;, With Asia's wide-extended continent Reaching to ocean's briny verge, where Greeks Are intermingled with Barbarian tribes In many a fortress, and well-peopled town (1) Where I have led the choral dance, and 'stablish'd My rites: to manifest my power divine Among mankind I come to this the first (1) I have here placed vjIvjh yo^s-jo-a; &c. and the following liiic, before E trans- position is also recommended by Dr, Musgrave in his note, and followed in Ijis version. 350 THE BACCHANALIANS. or the Helleni;in cities; lie»-c, in Tliebes First have I loudly shouted, fii&t liave worn The liides of slaiightei'd s:ags, and in their hands IJade my intrepid votaries wield the spear With iv}^ bound, the thyrrius. For the Sisters or uiy own Motlier, whom it least became, Pretend that Bacchus never s[)rung from Jove, But bv a human paramour seduc'd. That Semele unjustly charg'd the God "With her transgression, Cadmus having fram'd Such stratagem : hence falsly they assert She for this boast was by the Thunderer slain. I therefore have expell'd them from their homes; With frenzy smitten, on yon mount they dwell, Now destitute of reason ; I constrain'd them T' assume the habit in my orgies worn, And every woman of the seed of Cadmus, Fir'd with the same delirium, J drove forth From her abode; they with the Tiieban youths Sit intermingled on the lofty rocks Beneath yon verdant pines. Yet must this city, Tho' loth, be taught at length that to my riles She still remains a stranger, that 1 plead JVJv Mother's cause, and to mankind appear A God, by Jove begotten. But his throne, And rank, hath Cadmus yielded up to Pentheus, His Daughter's Son, who wages impious war With me, from his libations who repels me. Nor e'er makes mention of me in his prayers. To him I therefore, and to every Thebau Will shew myself a God: all matters here Well settled, then to some fresh land remove : But if the Theban city in its wrath With arms would from the mount my votaries drive„ Myself will lead the Msenades to battle: I for this cause assume a mortal form. And have cast off the semblance of a God. THE BACCHANALIANS. S5l But, O ye generous Dames, who to frequent My orgies came from Lydian Tmolus* height. By me selected from Barbarian tribes My faithful comrades, hither bring those timbrels Whose well-known sound pervades the Phrygian realm. By Rhea, holy Mother, and by me Invented, and around the regal dome Of Pentheus marching, beat them loud, that Thebes May all come forth and your procession view. But with my followers to Cithaeroa's top Will I ascend, and view their choral rites. [Exit BACCHUS, CHORUS. Leaving the realms of Asia, and the mount Of sacred Tmolus, most delightful toil. Pleasing fatigue, I lead the dance prescrib'd By Bromius, and attune my voice to chaunt The praises of our God. But who obstructs My path, or who at yonder portals stands ? Avaunt, and utter no unhallow'd sounds: For as our solemn usages ordain Will I to Bacchus ever wake the song, ODE. L I. Acquainted with Heaven's mystic rites. How blest is he who, purg'd from every stain. Glows with religious ardour, and deliu;hts To haunt the mountains with our duteous train ; Who to the mighty Mother, yields. To Cybele*s dread orgies, honour due, And to Bacchus' worship true. With ivy crown'd, a thyrsus wields. Away ye votaries of the God, And hither lead the Son of Jove, Who Phrygia's pathless mountains long hath trod; MidspaciousGrecian streets with transport shall he rove. 55i2 THE BACCHANALIANS. I. 2. When sudden throes her onUails tore. As wing'd from Heaven the rapid hghtnings came. The Mother an ahortive infant bore, And died o'ereoine by that celestial flame : But Jove, in such distressful state. Did fur his Son another wonib suppl}'. And safe within his fostering thigh Conceal him from Saturnia's hate: At length the horned God he l>orc, Form'd by the Fates with plastic care ; Who on his head a wreath of serpents wore, The Maenades hence twine the spoils around their hair, H. I. Fresh ivied Garlands shall be thine; O Thebes, where lovely Semele was born: Convolvulus with pliant shoots entwine. Wield in your revelry the branches torn From lofty oak, or verdant pine, And of the hides of Stags a vestment wear Conspicuous with its spotted hair. The celebrate the rites divine Now arm yourselves with sportive wand : E'en things inanimate shall dance. With Bromius, o'er yon mount, the female band. Their looms, their shuttles, left, in frantic guise advance. H. a. O ye Curetes, sacred race Of happy Crete, where Jove himself was born, And Corybantes, with terrific grace On whose bright helms three nodding crests are worn ; To your inventive skill we owe The timbrel, to attemper whose harsh sound Soft breath'd the Phrygian pipes around. On Rhea first did ye bestow That present, which the frantic crew THE BACCHANALIANS. S5S Of (2) Satyrs, from th' immortal Dame Obtain'd : to the triennial feasts it drew A numerous groupe at length, amidst whoseloud acchiim III. Pleas'd on some mountain Bacchus stands, Oft as some votary, from his agile bands, In the Stag's hide array'd, with headlong speed From its summit to the mead Descending, quaffs the wild goat's spouting gore, Eager on crude flesh to prey, And to the Lydian hills pursues his way: With Evo'e, Evoe sounds each mountain hoar : Bromius himself conducts the festive band : Rills of milk, and rills of wine. Moisten the enchanted land ; For him the bee's nectareous treasures stream. And Syrian frankincense perfumes his shrine. The God, who lifts a blazing pine, Swift rushes on, and scattering wide its gleam Excites the loiterers, in their mid-career His voice pervades their ear, While wanton in the gale his tresses bright: Inspiring thus their festive stiain, He cries, " Advance, O duteous train, " My praise to hymn on Tmolus' golden height, *' With loud-mouth'd drum, and Phrygian shout, " Record great Evan your victorious God, *' Wheree'er the pipe invites your giddy rout " To sports in my belov'd abode, '^ Such sports as suits the Meenades, who climb (2) " These two verses, hitherto little understood, ought, I think, " to be rendered, but the frantic Satyrs obtained it (i. e. the Thnbrel) " from the Motha--Goddess. For the Poet is giving a kind of history of " the Timbrel : its invention was due to the Ciuetcs and Corybantes, '< by whom it was delivered into the hands of Mother Rhea, andob- «* tained from her by the Satyrs, who united it to the trieunial dances " with which Bacchus is delighted." HEATir, not. Trag. Vet, p. 108, Oxon. 1762. VOL. II. A A 354 THE BACCHANALIANS. " With fearless step the ridge subhme." Like the young coir, with conscious pridf Who gambols by the Mother's side. Exulting see each Nymph advance To join the Bacchanalian dance. TIRESIAS, CHORUS. TIRESIAS. Who from the palace gates calls Cadmus forth, Agenor's Son, who rear'd these Theban walls After he fled from Sidon's coast ? go, say Tiresias seeks him, lie my errand knows, And our agreement ; hoary veterans both. To bear the sacred thyrsus, and array 'd In dappled hides of stags, around our heads The flaunting ivy bind. CADMUS, TIRESIAS, CHORUS. CADMUS. My dearest friend, What joy inspir'd me, when each sapient word That flows from thy instructive tongue, I heard Within the palace : but I come prepar'd. Invested with the ensigns of the God. For it behoves us, with our utmost might To raise the glories of my Daughter's Son, Illustrious Bacchus, who to mortal eyes A potent God displays himself. O where Shall we begin, or where conclude the dance. Shaking our hoary locks ? conduct the steps. Aged Tiresias, of thy aged friend : For thou art wise; and f, by night, by day Unwearied, vi^ith my th3Msus am resolv'd To smite the ground, tho' sports like these our age Has caiLs'd us to forget. TIRESIAS. You sympathise THE BACCHANALIANS. 335 With mc, for I too am grown young again. And in the dance will join. CADMUS. We in our chariots Will therefore mount the hill. ^ TIRESIAS. This mioht be deem'd An insufficient homasfe to the God. O CADMUS. Old as I am, O veteran, like a child Thee will I guide. TIRESIAS. Superfluous are our toils, For to Cithaeron will the God himself Conduct us. CADMUS. But shall we alone, of all The Theban citizens, to Bacchus lead The festive dance ? TIRESIAS. Because ourselves alone Are truly wise, but others judge amiss. CADMUS. 'Twill be a tedious march : but take ray hand. TIRESIAS. O clasp yours fast in mine. CADMUS, I am a man And hence presume not to despise the Gods. TIRESIAS. Into the nature of th' immortal Powers I search not too minutely. Those traditions Which from our Sires descended, and which long We have preserv'd, coeval with our birth. By no insidious reasoning, no device Of sophisters, can ever be o'erthrown. Some will allege, I use not the discretion A A 2 356 THE BACCHANALIANS. My age requires, when I resolve to dance, And will) a wreath of ivy crown my brows. Whether the young or old should lead his choir The God hath not dclin'd, but claims IVom all A public homage, tho' to him no joy Mere numbers by their worship can afford. CADMUS. Since, O Tiresias^ tliou these solar beams Behold'st not, by my w-ords will 1 to thee Perform tlie faithful office of a Seer. Peiitheus with speed toward the palace conies, Echion's son, to whom I have surrender'd The empire of this land. How is he smitten With wonder ! what fresh tidings can he bring ? PENTHEUS, CADMUS, TIRESIAS, CHORUS. PENTHEUS. Having awhile been absent from the realm, On my return I hear, that by fresh evils This city is infested, and their homes Our women have deserted, on pretence That they in mystic orgies are engag'd ; On the umbrageous hills they chant the praise Of this new God, whoe'er he be, this Bacchus; Him in their dances they revere, and place Amid their ranks huge goblets fraught with wine ; Some fly to pathless deserts, where they meet Their paramours, while they in outward shew Are Mienades by holy rites eiigrosa'd. Yet Venus more than Bacchus they revere. Binding their hands, as many as I caught. My servants in the public prisons hold : But o'er the craggy mountains will I chase All who escap'd, both Ino and Agave Who to Echion bore me, with Autonoe Action's mother ; them in galling chains Will 1 secure, and fwce them to desist THE BACCHANALIANS. 367 From these accursed Bacchanalian rites. But they inform me that a stranger, vers'd In fraud and viie enchantments, is arriv'd From Lydia, grac'd with auburn tresses, wrealh'd In wavy ringlets, his complexion's ruddy, And in his animated eyes are lodg'd All Cytherea's graces, he, by day. By night, holds converse with our blooming maids, Pretendinsf to instruct them in the rites Of Bacchus. But if once within these walls I seize him, he no more shall brandish wide His thyrsus, or those auburn ringlets wave, For I that head will sever from h.is trunk. He says that Bacchus is a God, pretends That erst he in the fostering thigh of Jove Was lodg'd secure, tho' by Heaven's flaming bohs He with his guilty Mother was consum'd. Because with lying tongue she styl'd herself The Thunderer's bride. Doth not the arrogance Of ihis vain stranger, whosoe'er he be. Merit severe and exeniplary vengeance ? But lo, another miracle ! I view The seer Tiresias, in the dappled hides Of stags, (O most ridiculous !) array 'd Attended by my Mother's hoary Fatlicr, Who brandishes a wand in frantic guise. 'Tis with disgust, my Grandsire, that these eyes Behold your venerable age devoid Of understanding. W^hy refuse to cast That ivy-wreath away, or why still holds Your hand the thyrsus ? was it, O Tiresias, Thro' thy persuasion ? would'st thou have him too. Busied in introducing to mankind This upstart God, observe the w^inged tribes That skim the air, or from the blazing shrine Derive a gainful trade ? Unless grey hairs Had pleaded thy excuse, thou should'st sit chain'd 35S THE BACCHANALIANS. Amid yon Bacchanalians. For when women Shaic at their Feasts the grape's bewitching juice ; From their hcentious orgies, I pronounce. No good results. CHORUS. Ye violated rites Ordain'd by Heaven ! O stranger, for the Gods Hast thou no reverence, or for mighty Cadmus, Wlio erst that crop of earth-born warriors sow'd ? Son of Echion, dost thou shame thy race ? TIRESIAS. When the wise man hath found a specious topic On which to argue, he with ease may frame An eloquent harangue. Your tongue indeed Is voluble like theirs who reason well, But in your language no discretion reigns. He who posseses courage, sovereign power. And fluency of speech, if not endued With vyisdom, is an evil citizen. I have not words t' express how this new God Whom you deride, thro' Greece shall be rever'd. The two chief rulers of this nether world, Proud boy, are Ceres, Goddess most benign, Or Earth, (distinguish her by either name) Who nomishes mankind with solid food : Yet hath the son of Semele discover'd. And introduc'd, the grape's delicious draught. Which vies with her, which causes every grief To cease among the wretched tribes of men. With the enlivening beverage of the vine Whenever they are fiU'd ; he also gives Sleep, sweet oblivion to our daily cares, Than which no medicine is with greater power Endued to heal our anguish. Tho' a God, He in libations to th' inmiortal powers Is oft pour'd forth, that men thro' him may gain Unnumber'd benefits. But you deride him. THE BACCHANALIANS. 359 Because he erst was in the thigh of Jove Enclos'd : to you I fully will expound This noble mystery. From the lightning's blaze When Jove had snatch'd and to Olympus borne The tender infant, Juno from the realms Of Heaven would have expelled him. But Jove fram'd This stratagem to thwart her ; having broken A portion of that Ether which enwraps The world, he plac'd him there, surrendering up Young Bacchus for an hostage, to appease The wrath of Juno; whence, in after-times, Deluded mortals said he in the thjgh Of Jove was nourish'd, and by thus omitting (3) One single letter, the tradition forg'd. This God too is a mighty Seer, the transports, And Bacchanalian frenzy he inspires, With a prophetic energy abound : For when he enters with resistless force The human frame, he prompts his madding votaries To speak of things hereafter, and assumes. In some degree, the character of Mars (4) (3) Substituting i^n^;, which signifies " thighs" for cjxvfos " hostage." Many antient Greek writers call Juno " tlie Air," insonuich tliat, Hoa oea^ is a definition to be met witli in Suidas, and several other Lexico- graphers ; and hence Bacchus' being lodg'd in the Air when he was aii infant, is called his being given to Juno for an hostage : But Djodorus Siculus imputes the origin of this tradition to the concealment of Bacchus in a mountain of India, called 3Ieros, overlooking the citj' of Nysa, which boasted of having that God for its founder. (4) Nonnus in like manner draws a comparison between Bacchus and Mars 3 Dionyss. L. 18. p. 504, ed. Lubini, In nought to Mars inferior thee I call ; Great 'midst th' sons of Jove, thou viest witli all : Not Mais with more success his spear doth wield Than thou thy thyrsus in th' embattled field. The same Poet, in another passage, which does not at present readily 360 THE BACCHANALIANS. For he with sudden terror smites the host. When under arms, e'en in the ranks of war. Before a lance is hurl'd: by Bacchus wrought Are madness, and these fears : on Delphic rocks May you behold him vaulting, with a torch Smiting the cloven summit of Parnassus, And brandishing the Bacchanalian branch ; He thro' all Greece is mighty. But, O Pentheus, To my persuasions yield, nor idly boast Of your authority, your rank supreme: Learn to suppress the fond conceit, nor think That you are wise. But in this land receive The God, pour forth libations, celebrate His feasts, and on your brow the garland bind. For Bacchus drags not a reluctant train Of Females to th' impure delights of Venus: But in his nature still doth there subsist An inborn modesty, which never fails. To this we should look well : for midst the rites Of Bacchus, no contagion can infect The bosoms of the chaste. Hath this escap'd Your notice ? You rejoice, when crowds beset The gates, and Thebes extolls the name of Pentheus : He too delights in homage I presume. Myself, and Cadmus whom you ridicule. Will therefore wear our ivy crowns, and dance. Both grey with age, yet is behoves us both To join the choral dance, nor shall your words Urge me to wage an ineffectual war Against the God. For with inveterate frenzy Are you possest, no magic charms can heal A malady like yours, which owes its rise To some enchantment. CHORUS. Aged man, thou hold'st occur to me, describes in a very animated strain the wonderful and instantaneoHfi effects of a Panic terror on the human mind. THE BACCHANALIANS. 36J A language not unworthy of Apollo, And wisely pay'st due honours to young Bromius, That mighty God. CADMUS. Tiresias, O my son. Hath counsell'd thee aright: with us reside. The laws forbid nor. But from us thou fliest, Tho' capable, yet destitute of wisdom. What tho', as thou averr'st, this Bacchus prove At length no God, yet call him one; the falshood Shall do thee credit: since he is the son Of Semele, th' opinion that she bore A Deity, great honour will reflect On us, and all our race. Hast thou beheld Aclseon's wretched fate, whom in the woods, Train'd by his care, the ravenous hounds devoured. Because he idly boasted to excel Diana in the chase? lest thou like him Should'st perish, hither come, and round thy head The sacred ivy will I bind; with us Yield homage to the God. PENTHEUS. You shall not touch me; Go celebrate these Bacchanalian rites. Your foily is contagious. On tlie wretch From whom you learn such madness, will I wreak A vengeance just and terrible. Let some Go to yon chair with speed, whence he observes The flight of birds, o'erturn it with their levers As if with Neptune's trident, in confusion Blend all his ensigns of the Soothsayer's trade, And to the winds of Heaven disperse his wreaths ; Hence shall I sting him deeply: but let others Range thro' the city, and trace out the steps Of that effeminate stranger, who misleads Lito fresh guilt our women, and defiles The bridal couch : if ye the miscreant seize. S6^ THE BACCHANALIANS, Bind him and drag liini hither, to be ston'd As he deserves : in Thebes shall he behold Most inauspicious Bacchanalian rites. TIRESIAS. Unhappy man, you know not what you say. You certainly are frantic, and long since Your reason has been wavering. Let us go And offer up our prayers for him, O Cadmus, (Altho' his wrath be dreadful) and for Thebes^ Lest signal vengeance, by th' offended God, Should be on all inflicted. With your staff Of ivy follow me, and let us strive Each other to support : it were unseemly For two old men to fall. But come what may^ To Bacchus, sou of Jove, must we perform Our duteous service. But beware, lest Pentheus Bring sorrow to your house. Not as a Seev This do I speak ; but by experience taught That folly issues from the mouth of fools. ^Exeunt cADMfrs and tiresias. CHORUS. ODE. L 1. Religion, O thou venerable Queen, Borne on thy golden pinions thro' the world, Heard'st thou that foul reproach, By the blaspheming Pentheus cast On Bromius, Semele's illustrious son, Who crown'd with vernal garlands, at the board W^here genial mirth presides, is most rever'd Of all the blest immortal powers ? His offices are these ; to dance. To hear the pipe's sweet sounds with joy. To bid care cease, when the grape's clusters Are introduc'd among the Gods, And foaming bowls, with ivy tendrills wreath'd, Cause the gay feast to close in lenient sleep. THE BACCHANALIANS. s63 I. 2. To certain misery, the unbridled tongue. And frenzy's lawless rage, at length must lead; But a pacific life On its stable basis rests. And Wisdom is the pillar of a throne. Distant in place, from Ether's lucid fields The Gods look down on mortals here below. That science which beyond the scope Of frail humanity aspires. Haunts not the bosom of the Sage. Short is life, and they who follow Ambition's splendid treacherous lure Taste not the blessings of the present hour: I deem their conduct frantic and unwise, H. ]. O could I sail to Cyprus, happy isle Of Venus, whence sweet Loves dispens'd to man Sooth every anxious breast ! And Paphos, where with hundred mouths The waves of ocean fructify the plains, Tho' never aided by refreshing showers ; Or to the Muses' fair Pierian seat Olympus' consecrated vale, O Bromius, Bromius, thither lead Our chosen band, thou Power Divine: In those realms are found the Graces, There inhabits young Desire, And there exulting Bacchus' festive train Their sacred orgies are allow'd to hold. II. 2. Our Deity, the son of Jove, delights In banquets, and in Peace, the source of wealth, And nurse of blooming youths : Impartial to the rich and poor. On both he showers unmingled joys of wine : Whoever sternly slights the profler'd boon. S64 THE BACCHANALIANS. Foe to the God, rejects a bliss which lasts Thro' icngthen'd days and happy nights. 'Tis wisdom to restrain our souis From crediting the doctrines taught By men, rashly overweening. Whate'er with imitbrm consent, The multitude hath practis'd and approv'd, As an unquestion'd truth will I proclaim. SERVANTS BRING BACCHUS bound, PENTHEUS, CHORUS. SERVANT. We come, O Pentheus, having seiz'd the prey^ For whom thou didst dispatch us, nor in vain Assail'd we, for we found the savage tame : He fled not, but without reluctance yielded And undismay'd, nor did those ruddy cheeks Change their complexion ; with a smile he bade us Bind him and lead him on ; his firm demeanor Extorted my respect : then seiz'd with shame I cry'd ; " O stranger, I against my will *' Convey thee hence ; but I am sent by Pentheus, " Who thus enjoin'd." As for the female choir Of Bacchus' votaries, whom, whei^ caught, by chain* Thou in the public prison didst confine, Escap'd from bondage, thro' the sacred groves They in wild measures lead the dance, and call On Bromius, on the God whom they adore. Spontaneously their fetters burst asunder, And massive bars, untouch'd by human hand, Flew from the doors. To Thebes this stranger comes With many powers miraculous endued. But 'tis thy part to see to what remains. PENTHEUS. Hold fast his hands : for now he is confin'd Amid the toils, he hath not speed sufficient To 'scape me. The mere graces of thy form Are such, O stranger, as may well entice THE BACCHANALIANS. 365 Frail women's hearts, and for this cause thou com*st. Unlike a wrestler's, o'er thy cheeks dishevel'd Stream the long ringlets of" thy hair, expressive Of wantonness ; effeminately white Is thy complexion ; the sun's parching rays Avoiding, by thy charms in shadowy groves Thou striv'st love's idle dalliance to invite. But first inform me from what race thou spring'st. BACCHUS. No empty boast I utter, but with ease Can answer this enquiry. Have you heard Of Tmolus' flowery mount ? PENTHEUS. I know it circles The walls of Sardis. BACCHUS. Thence I come : my country Is Lydia. PENTHEUS. But from whence dost thou import These rites to Greece ? BACCHUS. By Bacchus, son of Jove, Was I initiated. PENTHEUS. Is theie a Jove In those Barbaric regions who begets New Deities? BACCHUS. No : but 'tis he who here Took for his Bride the beauteous Semele. PENTPIEUS. Was it by night or in the face of day That he constrain'd thee to adopt his worship? BACCHUS. By him was I disccrn'd, him too I saw Full clearlv, when to me the God entiaisted 3m THE BACCHANALIANS. The mystic rites. PENTHEUS. But of these mystic lites What is the nature ? BACCHUS. They who never mingled In Bacchus' sacred orgies must not know. PENTHEUS. Avail they aught to tiiosc who ut his altars Present th' oblation ? BACCHUS. Tho' it well deserve All your researches, this jov must not hear. PENTHEUS. Thou artfully hast vamp'd up this deceit To raise my curiosity. BACCHUS. The rites Of Bacchus dwell not underneath the roof Of bold impiety. PENTHEUS. Since thou averr'st That thou full clearly hast discern'd the God, Describe his person. BACCHUS. He assum'd what form He pleas'd, nor did I issue my commands. PENTHEUS. My question thou full dextrously evad'st. And mak'st no answer. BACCHUS. He must seem devoid Of reason, who mysterious truths unfolds To those who lack discretion. PENTHEUS. -Cam'st thou first To Thebes, to introduce this God ? THE BACCHANALIANS. 567 BACCHUS. In dance All the Barbarians celebrate our orgies. PENTHEUS. Because in wisdom they are far beneath The citizens of Greece. BACCHUS In this respect They far transcend; but different are their laws. PENTHEUS. By night or day these sacred rites perform'st thou? BACCHUS. Mostly by night, for venerable is darkness, PENTHEUS. To women this is treacherous and oinsafe. BACCHUS. E'en in the broadest day may shame be found. PENTHEUS- Thou for thy Impious sophistries shalt suffer Dye punishment. BACCHUS. For indiscretion, you, And want of reverence to the God. PENTHEUS. How bold Is Bacchus, practis'd in the strife of words ! BACCHUS. What shall I suffer, say what dreadful sentence On me wilt thou inflict ? PENTHEUS. First will I cut Thy graceful ringlets. BACCHUS. Sacred are these locks, 1 (5) nourish them in reverence to the God. (5) " Virgil has translated tliis passage in tlie account of Amata " pretending to devote her Daughter Lavinia to Bacclms ; 363 THE BACCHANALIANS. PENTHEUS. Then let thy bands suncnder up the thyrsus. BACCHUS. Tiike it avv;iy thyself: it was the gift Of Bacchus, and I hear it. PENTHEUS. In a dungeon Thee will I guard. BACCHUS. Whene'er I please, the God, The God himself, will inslanily release me. PENTHEUS. When 'midst his frantic votaries thou shalt stand, And call upon his name. BACCHUS, E'en now the God Is present, and beholds what I endure. PENTHEUS. Where is he ? to these eyes he still remains 1,-nvisible. BACCHUS. With me : but you are impious, And cannot see him. PENTHEUS. Hold him fast ; he scorns Both me and Thebes. " Quin etiani in silvas siimilato niimine Baccbi " Evolat, et natani fiondosis niontibiis abdit, " Evoti Bacche, fremens, solum te virgine dignum " Vociferans. Elenini molles tibi sumere tliyrsos, " Te lustiare clioro, sacrum lili pascere crincm. 1£m. 1. vii. v. 385. " Wandering thiough woods and wilds and devious ways, " She feign'd the rites of Baechus, cried aloud " And to the buxom God the Virgin vow'd : " Evoe, O Bacchus, thus began the song, " And Evot", answer'd all the female throng. " O Virgin, worthy thee alone !" she cried ; " O wortliy thee alone !" the crew replied : " For thee she feeds her hair, sue leads thy dance, *' And with thy winding ivy wreaths her lance. Dbyden." Brvnck. THE BACCHANALIANS. 36g BACCHUS. Stand off, and bind me not : I still retain my reason, and say this To the distracted. PENTHEUS. I who here am lord O'er tliee, repeat it, that thou shalt be bound. BACCHUS. You know not that 30U live, you neither see Nor recollect your very name. PENTHEUS. 'Tis Pentheus; Agave and Echion were my parents. BACCHUS. Such (6) inauspicious fortunes as that name Prognosticates, you justly have deserv'd. PENTHEUS. Go, bind him to the manger where my steeds Are fed, that darkness may his prospects bound. There dance: but I for slaves will sell these women Whom thou bring'st hither, partners of thy crimes ; Or from the rattling drum at least restrain Their busy hands, and make them ply the loom. lExit PENTHEUS. BACCHUS. I will retire : For what the fates decree not. Necessity constrains us not t'endure. But for these scoffs, will Bacchus, whom you call A thing of nought, on your devoted head Inflict just vengeance : for, while me you wrong, You drag, in galling chains, the captive God. [Exit BACCHUS guarded. (6) In the Greek language vjnSo; signifies " Giief." At the conclusion of the dialogue between Cadmus and Tiresias a few pages before, the latter has already made the same miserable pun ; and 'I'heocritus ha* debased his 26tli Idyllium by it, VOL. II. B P 370 THE BACCHANALIANS. CHOPUS. ODE. I. From Achelous' slimy bed, O lovely Dirce, who cleiiv'st thy birth ; When first J uve's son young Bacchus grac'd the earth. Thy streams were sprinkled o'er his head. Th' abortive iiiFant, his relenting Sire Snatch'd horn the lightning's livid fire, And shelt^r'd in his thigh; '^ Let this male womb contain thee," cried aloud The parent God ; " till to Thebes' wondering crowd '' Thee 1 produce, their Deity, *' By Dithyrambus' name." Our solemn rite, Yet thou, O Dirce, dost confound. Regardless of our train with garlands crown'd. Why scorn my prayer? what means thy flight ? Obedient to young Bromius' nod, ^oon shall thy current hail the jocund God, Shaded by ripen'd clusters bright. And vineyards blushing rich delight. H. But ah, with what ungovern'd rage Amidst our orgies stalks yon earth-born King, Pentheus, who from the Dragon's teeth did spring The prop of bold Echion's age: No human features mark that savage face, He, like the Giants' bloody race, Defies th' immortal Powers. 'Midst Bromius' votaries, while I tread the plain. Me will the Tyrant bind with galling chain ; The partner of our festive hours Already in a dungeon he detains, Secluded from the beams of day. O Bacchus, Son of Jove, dost thou survey The Priest who chants tl)y hallow'd strains THE BACCHANALIANS. 371 Expes'd to Fate's impending scourge ? Descend benign from steep Olympus' verge. Brandish thy thyrsus, and repress That ruthless miscreant's wantonness. III. Lead'st thou the votive choir To Nyssa's (7) mount where savage beasts abound. On steep Corycian summits art thou found, Or dost tliou haunt Olympus' shadowy cave, Where Orpheus erst, with magic lyre. Collected trees that listen'd to his strain. And lur'd the howling lion from the plain? O blest Pierian mount. Revering thee, ere long will Bacchus lead His shouting followers to the Muses' fount. And crossing Axius' rapid spring The Meenades to (8) Lydia bring Streaming with joys exhaustless and refin'd, Bounteous parent of mankind. Whose waters glide thro' regions fam'd For coursers which outstrip the wind. (7) The epithet ^>i-oTft>f!); " nurse of wild beasts" seems to be here apphed to the mountain Nyssa, on account of its producing the Tigers by which Poets and Painters concur in representing the chariot of Cacclius as drawn, Qui pampineis victor juga flectit habeuis Liber, agens celso Nysie de vertice Tigres. Virgil, ;En. 1. vi. v. 804. Bacchus turning from his Indian war, By Tygers drawn triumphant in his car From Nisus' top descending on the plains ; With curling vines around his purple reins. Dryden. Mr. Jodrell having too hastily taken the last of the above lines from A'irgil, detached ; calls it a representation of the God pursuing: the Tigers from the lofty eminence of Nysa. (8) Heath and Dr. Musgrave, in their notes, observe that the Asia- tic Lydia cannot be the place here meant, bnt that the Poet is speaking of a river called Lydia, mentioned by several of the antient historians and geographical writers, which constitutes Uie boundary between som» part of Bceutia and Macedon. B B 2 372 THE BACCHANALIANS. BACCHUS (within). Ho! listen, listen, listen, to my voice, Ye Bacchanalian Nymphs. CHORUS. Who's there? whence came The sounds of Evius which thus call me forth ? BACCHUS (tcithin). To you again T speak, e'en I the Son Of Semele and Jove. SEMICHORUS I. Thou mighty Lord, O Bromius, Bromius, join our votive choir. How horribly the ground beneath our feet Shakes! venerable God ! ere long the house Of Penthcus from its basis shall be hurl'd. Refulgent in the portals Bacchus stands. To him yield duteous worship. SEMICHORUS II. We obey. See the beams starting from yon marble columns. Within those chambers tb.c triumphant shouts Of Bromius shall be heard. SEMICHORUS I. Light, light the torch, The blazing torch, and fne the house of Pentheus. SEMICHORUS II. Behold'st thou not the rising conflagration, And on the sacred tomb of Semele How with redoubled force tiiose embers burn The relics of Jove's lightning? on the ground Fall prostrate, O ye trembling MaEmades: For Bacchus, Son of Jove, our King, invades. And levels these proud mansions with the ground, BACCHUS, CHORUS. BACCHl^S. What! seiz'd with terror, ye Barbarian daraea, THE BACCHANALIANS. 373 On earth are ye fallen prostrate ? ye perceiv'd. It seems, how Bacchus shook the house of Pentheus. Rise; let those trembhng limbs resume their office, And lay aside your fears. CHORUS. O thou who pour'st A splendour o'er our Bacchanalian rites. Thee with what transport I again behold ! Forlorn we vvail'd thy absence. BACCHUS. B}' despair Were ye encompass'd; borne to Pentheus' house When I was sentenc'd to the gloomy dungeon. CHORUS. What could I feel but horror; for what friend Had I if thou hadst faii'd ? But by what means Wert thou deliver'd, after thou hadst fallen Into the hands of that unrighteous man ? BACCHUS. ' Mj'self full easily myself set free. And with no toil. CHORUS. Did he not bind thy hands In galling chains ? BACCHUS. Herein loo I his rage Have mock'd : for while he thought he had secur'd -His prisoner, me he touch'd not, but was sooth'd With empty hope : for having found a Bull In the same stall to which they had confin'd me. The beast's tough hoofs he shackled, breathing ire; Sweat from each pore distill'd, and with his teeth He gnaw'd his lips, while I sat near at hand An unconcern'd spectator : but meantime BaccVius on his arrival shook the walls, And kindled on his Mother's sepulchre The sleeping embers, which, when Pentheus saw, 574 THE BACCHANALIANS. He thought the tnansioii blaz'd, ai)d ran impetuous Now here, now there, coiiimaiidhig his attendants To bring all (£)) Achelous : to no purpose Did every servant toil; but he the flames Left unextinguish'd, and on a surmise That [ had seap'd, into the palace rush'd With his drawn sword. Then Broinius (I describe Each circumstance as it to me appear'd) Within the hall, a meteor in my shape Compos'd, which the distracted Pentheus smote. Wounding the air as if he had transpierc'd (8) The river Achelous was so much celebrated, that it has fre- quently been made use of to signify water in general, as in Virgil's Georgics, Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arist^, Poculaque inveutis Acheloia miscuit uvis. Which Dryden has rendered " Who gave us corn for mast, for water wine." When Hermione makes use of the term A-^^fXao- ijoaw in the Andro- mache, while she is threatening to employ that unfortunate Princess in the most sei^vile offices, I have concurred with the Latin transla- tion in rendering it simply " water" because I was apprehensive it might sound preposterous to an English reader to speak of the small quantity of \vater carried m a vessel at Phthia, a province of .Thessaly, by the name of a river dividing iEtolia from Acarnania, at which it was impossible it could have been filled. But where the frantic Pentheus is calling for whole rivers to extinguish a conflagration, the geography becomes immaterial, nor are we bound to enquire whether the scene is near their banks : by dropping the metaphor, and saying only " to bring water," we may be thought to weaken the energy of the original. t cannot disrover any other reason for Dirce being railed, in the pre- ceding Ode, the Daughter of Achelous, than that river's being con- sidered as ]^idymus (cited by Barnes) styles it, in the hght of the most antient of all others, noT«p.u.v ■ca^ianvja':^. ISonnus calls the fountain Firce, the Daughter of Ismenos, a liver near Thebes, often mentioned in conjunction with it by Euripides ; and Boccace, in his Genealogia Decorujn Gentilium, speak? of Dirce, who, before her metamorphosis, was Wife of Lycus, as one of tl^e Daugiiters of the Sun. In regard to tlie passage referred to by Barnes, in Na- talis Comes, a writer of the sixteenth centuiy, it atfbrds no new light, as the above-mentioned passage of Euripides is the sole awtho- rjty he produces for calling Dirce daughter of Achelous. THE BACCHANALIANS. S75 My vitals. Bacchus then afflicted him With greater evils, i'or he dash'd the roof Upon the ground, and the whole structure broke Into a thousand tVagm Mits, while lie view'd The scene ot" my captivity, a scene To him nil St inauspicious: thro* fatigue His sword he frouihis iiand let tall, and droops Unnerv'd ; presumptuous man, who with a God Hath dar'd to wage this war- But undisniay'd I from these doors the Bacchanalian chou* Conducting, join your band, nor heed the wrath Of Pcnibeus. But I deem he soon wiU reach The vestibule, for 1 his sandals iiear Within resounding. After these events What vehement reproaches will he utter? Yet will I meet him calmly, tho' lie come Breathing die threats : for ii behoves the wise To curb the sallies of outrageous ire, PENTHEUS, BACCHUS, CHORUS. PENTHEUS. Most horrid are the ills ( have endur'd : That stranger, whom so recently I bound. Hath from confinement 'scap'd. But ha! 'tis he. What prodigies are lhetUhoii;ies of Reiskiui,, Mr. Heath, Mr. Tyrwhitt, Dr. MuS- grave, and Brunck. THE BACCHANALIANS. 33 1 It is your duty not to take up arms Against the God : forego this rash emprise ; For ne'er will Bromius suffer 3'ou to drive His votive train from yonder haunted mount. PENTHEUS. Counsel me not ; but having 'scap'd from prison. Be satisfied wiih this, or I again Will punish thee. BACCHUS. Much railier I to him Would offer sacrifice, than in my wrath. Frail mortal as I am, kick 'gainst the spurs Of a vindictive God. PENTHEUS. I will consign Fit victims to the altar; slay those women As they deserve, and o'er Cithairon's top Spread universal havoc. BACCHUS. Your whole band Shall be discomfited, and to complete Your shame, your brazen shields shall be tianspierc'd With the slight thyrsus. PENTHEUS. We, a stranger harsh And obstinate, encounter, who, nor yields To punishments inflicted, nor desists From his rash enterprise. BACCHUS. You still have means Of happily composing these dissensions. PENTHEUS. By doing what? by crouching to my siaves? BACCHUS. These women hither will I bring unarm'd. PENTHEUS. Alas, thou meditat'st some fell deceit. 382 THE BACCHANALIANS. BACCHUS. Why do you talk of tie.ichery ; by my schemes When I would save 3'ou ? FENTHEUS. Ve this plot devised With one consent, that ye might ever haunt Those Bacchanalian orgies. BACCHUS. I have form'd A compact with the God. PENTHEUS. Bring, bring my arms ; And be thou silent. BACCHUS. Would you see them seated Together on the summit of the hill ? PENTHEUS» This earnestly I wish for ; and with heaps Of gold, for the discovery, will reward thee. BACCHUS. Whence caa such wondrous eagerness arise? PENTHEUS. Woe be to those I find inflam'd with wine. BACCHUS. Why long to see the objects which you loathe? PENTHEUS. Know then, in silence as I sit beneath Yon sheltering pine — BACCHUS. But they will tiace your footsteps, Tho' you attempt concealment. PENTHEUS. Face to face Shall Pentheus meet them ; thou hast rightly spoken. BACCHUS. Under my conduct will you undertake The toilsome march? THE BACCHANALIANS. 383 PENTHEUS. Without delay lead on : For I iny time to thy disposal yield. BACCHUS. Over your body cast a linen robe. PENTHEUS. Shall I foriiet to act a manly part. And wear the dress of women ? BACCHUS. Lest they kill you^ If they perceive you are a man. PENTHEUS. These counsels Are well suggested ; whosoe'er thou art. Thou sure art wise. BACCHUS. Ith From Bacchus. I these instructions gain'd PENTHEUS. Teach me therefore how to practise The wholesome admonitions thou hast given. BACCHUS. Entering the palace, in a fit disguise Will I equip you. PENTHEUS. Such as vvomen wears ? It shames me. BACCHUS. Now no longer are you prompt The votive train of Bacchus to behold. PENTHEUS. Describe the dress thou mean'st I shall assume. BACCHUS. Long hair I down your back will cause to stream In many a ringlet. PENTHEUS. But what other mode Of ornaments for me wilt thou contrive .'' 381 THE BACCHANALIANS. liACCHUS. The stole shall reach yuur i'cct, and o'er your head 1 incau lo phuc a coif. PENTHEUS. Is there aught more Which thou would'st add ? BACCHUS. The thyrsus in your hand Must you sustain, and in the dappled hide Of a slain hind advance. PENTHEUS. ISuch female robes Are \vl:at I cannot, will not stoop to wear. liACCHUS. Go then, and perish in th' unequal strife V/iih Bacchus' votaries. PENTHEUS. Better were it first Their motions to observe. BACCHUS. Ily far more v. ise Than hun'ing after others ills to swell The number of those ills alrcad}- known. PENTHEUS. But thro' the city how shall I proceed Unseen by every Theban ? BACCHUS. W^e must use Paths unfrequented : I will lead the way, PENTHEUS. I rather would submit to aught, than suffer Bacchus' infuriate votaries to deride me. BACCHUS. The palace vi'e will enter, and deliberate. If you think proper. • : PENTHEUS. Wheresoe'er thou wilt^ THE BACCHANALIANS. 285 I give my free consent, and will go forth Prepar'd to wield the javelin, or adopt Each salutary counsel thou canst give. [Exit PENTHEUS. BACCHUS. Soon shall he reach the Bacchanalian choir. And die as he deserves. Ye generous Dames, Within your reach he stands. To thee, O God Of Nyssa, now belongs the dread emprise. Nor art thou distant far : be vengeance ours ; But first do thou with madness fire his soul, For while his reason yet remains entire. He will refuse to wear a female vest, But hurried to distraction soon assume Such garb : I would expose him to the scoffs Of every Theban, thro' the city led In such apparel, since he utter'd threats The most alarming. But I go t' array Pentheus in trappings such as he shall bear. Slain by his Mother, to the shades beneath. Thus shall he know dread Bacchus, son of Jove, A God most terrible when he asserts His slighted power : but gracious to mankind. [Exit BACCHUS- CHORUS. ODE. I. When shall I join the midnight dance. With agile step my comrades lead, And as our festive choirs advance Triumphant o'er the enamel'd mead. My heaving bosom to the dewy gale Expand, high bounding like a fawn Who gambols o'er the verdant lawn. When from the hunter she with ease VOL. II CO sm THE BACCHANALIANS. Hath 'scap'd, and sprung from his entangh'ng snare. In vain a clamorous troop pursue ; Swift as the storm hursts thro' the troubled air. She leaves them I'ur behind^ and in the dale 'Midst gusliing rivulets, anew Tastes tjie sweet charms of solitude, While intervoven thickets rude Her favourite hai)itation veil? What greater priv'Iege/midst the fell debate Can sage or chieftain from the Gods request Than that of ever fasi'ning on the crest Of the miscreant whom we hate ? Pleasure with unsullied fame Ever must alliance claim. II. The tardy God amves at length His stedfast promise to fulfil. Exulting in immortal strength. Tremble, ye ministers of ill ! With vengeance arm'd he smites the impious head Of him who dares pollute his shrine. And madly spurn the powers divine. The Gods thick mists around them spread, U'^ith art the lingering foot of Time they hide^ And to his haunts the sinner trace. Desist ! ah, hope not with intemperate pride Thou canst ascend ahove Heaven's sacred laws. The wise these obvious truths embrace ; Whate'er he be, the God is strong. And every custom '^stablish'd long From nature^s self derives its cause. What greater privilege 'midst the fell debate Can sage or chieftain from the Gods request Than that of ever fastening on the crest Of the miscreant whom we hate ? Pleasure with unsullied fame Ever must alliance claim. THE BACCHANALIANS. 587 HI. Blest is the man who 'scapes the stormy wave. And in the harboui finds repose: He too is blest, 'midst dangers brave, Who soars above the mahce of his foes : And now these, now those possess Superior talents ir success; Distiiict their aims , but hope each bosom fires. There are, a rich encrease wh(j iind. The vows of some are scatter'd in the wind : But in misjudgement blest are they Who taste, tho' only for the day, The joys their soul desires. BACCHUS, PENTHEUS, CHORUS, BACCHUS. On you, O Pentheus, eager to behold The rites which are forbidden, and attempt Impossibilities, I call ; come forth Without the palace, and before these eyes Appear in Bacchanalian robes attir'd, A likeness of the Maenades, a spy On your own Mother, and the hallow'd choir. Your form resembles one of Cadmus' daughters. PENTHEUS. Two suns, methinks, these wondering eyes behold, And the strange vision of a double Thebes With its seven gates ; tliou, chang'd into a bull, Appears't to lead the way, and from thy head Rise stately horns. • Art thou indeed that beast ? For thou its semblance bear'st. Before us marches Some unpropitious God. BACCHUS. He is a friend To our designs : and now those eyes discern The objects you were destin'd to behold, c c (2 r.88 THE BACCHANALIANS, PENTHEUS. What semblance do 1 wear ? Is not this gaitj The gait of Ino, this Agave's mien ? BACCHUS. Fixing my eyes on you, methinks e'en now I see them. But those tresses are misplac'd. And loosen'd from the coif which I bound o'er them. PENTHEUS. By shaking them, as in my house I trod With Bacchanahan transports, in wild dance. I have dishevel'd them. BACCHUS. But, I, whose office Is to attend you, will their braids renew: Lift up your head. PENTHEUS. These ornaments adjust; For I on thee depend. BACCHUS. Your zone is loose. Nor hangs the decent vest in waving folds Down to your feet. PENTHEUS. To me they seem to leave My right expos'd, but cover my left ankle. BACCHUS. Will you not place me in the foremost rank Among your friends, when with surprize you find The Bacchanalians virtuous ? PENTHEUS. In which hand Holding my thyrsus, shall I most resemble One of their festive troop ? BACCHUS. You from the ground With your right hand and your right foot must lift it. This change in your opinion I applaud. THE BACCHANALIANS. 389 PENTHEUS. Upon my shoulders can I bear awaj', Citha?ron's mount, with Bacchus' frantic crew? BACCHUS. You certainly are able il" you will. Erst was your soul diseas'd, but you now think Just as you ought. PENTHEUS. Strong levers must I bring. Or with these hands unaided, from its basis Can I pluck up the mountain, on these arras And shoulders heaving it ? BACCHUS. O spare tbat seat Dear to the Nymphs, and dear to gentle Pan Whence oft resounds the flute. PENTHEUS. Thou well hast spoken. Defenceless women must not be subdued By brutal strength : but in the piny grove Will I conceal myself. BACCHUS. A place well-suited For your intended ambush will you find. When thither you ascend, a treacherous spy, To view the Maenades. PENTHEUS. I rather think That 'midst the woods, they like the feather'd race May in their beds be caught, to wanton sloth While they themselves abandon. BACCHUS. On the watch Go therefore, and you haply will surprize them If not surpriz'd yourself. PENTHEUS. In pomp conduct 390 THE BACCHANALIANS. Me thro' the midst of the fam'd Thchan reahn, For I alone of all its valiant sons Have dar'd to undertake this great emprise. BACCHUS. You siii2;ly for the city have endur'd Toils to yourself peculiar, and such conflicts As your atchievements have deserv'd, await you. But follow me, for 1 am a safe guide : Thence shall another bear you. PENTHEUS. What, my Mother ? BACCHUS. To every eye conspicuous. PENTHEUS. Such my aim. BACCHUS. You shall be carried back. PENTHEUS. Thuu represent'st me Like some inactive dastard. BACCHUS. In the hands Of her who gave you birth. PENTHEUS. How ! must I then Be so effeminate ? BACCHUS. As this imphes. PENTHEUS. An undertaking worthy of myself Is that on which I enter. [Exit pentheus. BACCHUS. You in wrath Are dreadful, and to dreadful scenes of blood Rush with impetuous step. Too high for earth. Go seek renown m Heaven Stretch forth your hf^nds, Agave, and thy sisters, O ye Daughters THE BACCHANALEANS. syi Of Cadmus. To a mighty strife I lead This youth, where I and Bromius shall prevail. The sequel, let th' event itself disclose. [Exit BACCHUS. CHORUS. ODE. I. Swift hounds of Madness, the steep morint ascend, To Cadmus'\Daughters at their mystic rite Hie instantly, each hosom rend With that portentous' rage your stings excite 'Gainst yon distracted spy, in female vest Who with a treacherous purpose drest. The hallow'd Manades invades. His Mother on the rock, surveys our foe Ascending from the plains below, And to her comrades 'midst their wonted shades, Exclaims ; '*' With impious scorn *' What Theban mounts these hills to vex our choir r '' He was not by a mortal Sire " Begotten, or of woman born, " From some lion's fierce embrace " He sprung, or from the Libyan Gorgon's race.'* Descend from Heaven, thy glittering steel Unsheath, O Justice, let that earth-born youth. Foe to religion, law, and plighted truth, Echion's Son, se*-erest "vengeance feel. II. With views tyrannic, and immoderate ire. Where Bacchus loves his midnight sports to hold. And Semele's devoted choir Her praises chant, he ranges uncontrol'd, As if man's feeble prov. ess could defy Th' unconcpierable Deitj^ Securely o'er life's dangerous stage Who hope to pass, their wandering thoughts confine. Nor scrutinise exploits divine. 392 THE BACCHANALIANS. I envy not the talents of the Sage; Far nobler aims are mine : Xhose truths alone I labour to attain Which stablish Virtue's endless reign. In such devotions prompt to join I each rite with horror view. That tends to rob the Gods of homage due. Descend from Heaven, thy glittering steel IJnsheath, O Justice, let that earth-born youth, T"oe, to religion, law, and plighted truth, Echion's Son, severest vengeance feel. Ill- Assume the bull's tremendous form, A dragon arm'd with thousand heads arise. Or with the lion's glaring eyes Thou mighty (11) Hunter rouse the gathering storm; Yet rather now thine own ingenuous face Displaying, in the snare surprize Yon Tyrant ere his danger he descries. Fallen 'mong the Msenades that fatal race. MESSENGER, CHORUS. MESSENGER. Ye mansions, prosperous erst in Greece, and fourided (12) By that old man of Sidon, in these meads Who sow'd the earth-born crop when he had slain The Dragon ; with what tears do I bewail Your fate : tho' servitude be my hard portion ; Yet sympathises an ingenuous slave In the afflictions of his lords. (11) Zagreus, one of the names of Bacchus, is derived by the lexi- cographers from his activity in the chase ; Zay^wg, quasi llavv oyjfuwv. H. Steph. Thes. Gr. vol. 5. p. 1003. (12) Cadmus, who founded Thebes, when he was yet young and previous to his marriage v ith Harmonia ; but is in tliis Tragedy repre- sented as very aged and intirm, his Grandson Pentheus being arrived at years of maturity. THE BACCHANALIANS. 559 CHORUS. What bringst thou Fresh tidings from the Bacchanalian dames .'' MESSENGER. Echion's offspring, Pentheus, is no more. CHORUS. O sovereign Bromius, now dost thou appear A mighty God. MESSENGER. What mean'st thou by this language ? At the disastrous fortunes of our King Post thou exult, O woman ? CHORUS. ^ I was born In foreign climes, and with Barbaric voice Chant Bacchus' praises. Now no more I fear The galling chain. MESSENGER. Canst thou suppose that Thebes Is thus enervate grown ? CHORUS. Not Thebes, but Bacchus, Bacchus is now our Buler. MESSENGER. I forgive thee; Yet glorying in the mischiefs ye have done, woman, is unseemly. CHORUS. By what fate The miscreant died, inform me. MESSENGER. Having left Therapne, Pentheus and myself now cross'd Asopus' current, and begun to climb Cithaeron's mount, a Stranger guided us To view the mystic orgies; on my lord 1 tended : first we reach'd a verdant grove 39t THE BACCHANALIANS. Thro' which with cautious step we trod, observing Strict silence: for unseen we hop'd to see. There was a valley, which on either side Was bounded by a precipice, refresh'd By many a spring, and shaded o'er with pines, Where sat the Maenades, their hands employ 'd In pleasing labours ; round their batter'd thyrsus Some wound anew the ivy, while the rest Leaving the craggy summit of the hill. Like sportive coursers from the yoke releas'd. Sung to each other in alternate strains Their Bacchanalian hymns. But hapless Pentheus, Beholding not the famale band, exclaim'd ; " O Stranger, from the spot on which we stand, ^ These eyes distinctly see not the wild gestures " Of Bacchus' votaries '. but if we mount *' The neighbouring hilloc, on v/hose summit grows *^ A lofty pine, I better shall discern ** Their rites unseemly." Soon as he had spoken ; Wrought by the Stranger, an exploit I witness'd The most miraculous; for with his hand He seiz'd the topmost branches of the pine Which tower'd to Heaven, and trail'd them in the dust: Thus like a bow, or like the crooked wheel Which with unweariecj motion in a circle Around its axis whirls, the Stranger warp'd The stateliest trunk which on the mountain grew, With more than human might: then placing Pentheus Upon the branches of tlie pine, he loos'd His hold with gradual caution, lest the King ^ight from his seat, by an elastic bound, Be shaken : but tlie tree, on which my Lord Still kept his seat, tower'd upright to the skies : Here by the Maenades was he discover'd ; Ere he beheld them : for exalted thus. He now was more conspicuous than before. The Stranger was no longer to be seen : THE BACCHANALIANS. 395 But from the clouds, a voice burst forth, suppos'd To be by Bacchus uUcr'd, " O }• Nyniplis, *' I bring the miscreant hither who derides " Both you, and me, and the mysterious orgies *' Which I ordain'd: 'tis yours to punish him." Scarce had he spoken, when the sacred flames From Heaven descending overspread the ground. Hush'd was the air, and in the silent grove No rustling motion of the leaves was heard, Nor roar'd the beasts of prey : yet not distinctly Did the voice reach their ears, they rose to listen, And wildly gaz'd around, till he afresh Issu'd his mandates. Soon as Cadmus' Daughters Clearly distinguish'd the commands of Bacchus, Like winged doves, they ran with nimble foot; Agave, Mother to our King, I'ler Sisters, And all the Bacchanalian Dames, o'erleap'd The foaming torrent, and the craggy rock, For Bacchus had breath'd frenzy on their souls. Descrying Pentlieus seated on the pine, First at the Monarch's head they hurl'd huge stones. Mounting an adverse chff, aud strove to smite him With tiie torn branches of the pine; their comrades, The missile thyrsus aiming at the foe, W^asteci^in air their unavailing rage: Too high for them to reach, he sat, regardless Of danger, till at length, they with a force. Like that af thunderbolts, threw arms of oaks Which they had rooted up without the aid Of iron levers. But when yet their toils Kemain'd unfinish'd ; " O ye Maenades," Agave cried ; " collected in a ring " Around the tree, take hold of it, and seize " The Beast who to its summit hath ascended, " Lest he divulge our God's mysterious rites." They, at the signal, with a thousand hands, Grasp'd the firm pine, and tore it from the ground. To earth, high-mounted, from its giddy top 59f> THE BACCHANALIANS. Fell Pentheus groaning : for he knew his fate Was near. His wretched Mother, like a Priestess, Began the sacrifice ; he threw tlie cawl From his dishevel'd hair, that she her Son Might recognise, nor in his gore imbrue Her ruthless hands : he touch'd her cheeks and cried ; " I am, I am, O Mother, your own Son, " That Pentheus whom beneath Echion's roof " You bore, take pity on me then, nor slay '' Your guilty child." But she meantime with rage Still foaming, roli'd her eyes, of reason reft, Possest by Bacchus, nor her stubborn soul Could his entreaties move: then with both hands Seiz'd his left arm, and stamping on the ribs Of this unhappy victim, tore away His (13) shoulder, nor appear'd th' exertion great, (13) In desciniing the death of Pentheus, with a minuteness which cannot fail of cli'>a;iisthi His head was cover'd with a length of hair, But on his cheeks it just began to spring: And from his shaggy mane 'tis evident That he's a Lion. Bacchus, skilful hunter, Rous'd 'gainst this Beast the Maenades. CHORUS, Our King Returns victorious from the sylvan chase, AGAVE. You praise — CHORUS. On whom do I my praise bestow ? AGAVE. Soon shall the Thebans praise me; soon shall Pentheus» 400 THi: liACCHANALIANS. My Son, applaud his Mother, who hath slain The Lion's furious Whelp. CHORUS. Do you exult ? AGAVE. With transport, yes with transport I recount The great and glorious deeds I have atchiev'd. CHORUS. Now to the citizens, O wretched woman. Display the iroj)hies you have hither brought. AGAVE. Draw near, O ye inhabitants of Thebes With stately turrets crovvn'd, that ye may view The ravenous Beast, whom we of Cadmus' race Hunted and caught, without the barbed shafts Thessalia lends, without the fraudful net, But by our hands alone. 1 hence may speak In loftier terms, and scorn the useless toil Of them who forge the spear: for with these hands Have I both caught and rent the howling Savage. Where is my aged Sire ? let him approach : And where my Son, my Pentheus ? froin the palace Go bid him bring a ladder, and affix The Lion's head to yonder sculptur'd frieze. CADMUS, AGAVE, CHORUS. CADMUS to his Attendants. Follow my steps, and in procession march Before these mansions, O my friends, who bear That miserable burden, Pentheus' corse, AVhich after long researches! have found Upon Cithacron's cliff, and hither bring. In pieces torn, and from the tangled thicket Collected : for I heard th' audacious deed My Daughters have committed ; thro' the streets, As I, with old Tiresias, to perform The rites of Bacchus went : the sacred mount Revisiting, I thence convey my Son, THE BACCHANALIANS. 401 Slain by the Meenades. Autonoe, Wife To Aiistaeus, Mother of Actaaon, And with her Ino, I beheld : possest By frenzy 'midst the thicket still they range. But hither, as some stranger hath inform'd me. Agave conies with Bacchanalian step. Nor groundless were the tidings which I heard : For I her inauspicious face descry. AGAVE. Thou, O my Father, hast a right to boast That thou the noblest Daughters hast begotten : In the same terms I speak of the whole race. But mostly of myself, who at the loom Leaving my web unfinish'd, have aspir'd To greater actions, with these naked hands Seizing the Lion. In my arms, thou seest. The trophies which my valour hath obtain'd I bring, to be suspended in the palace : Receive them, O my Father, and exulting In my successful chase, invite thy friends To share the feast, for thou, thro' such exploits B}' me perform'd, art happy, yes thrice happy. CADMUS. O grief, all bounds surpassing! and O murder, Which by those miserable hands was wrought. Too grievous to behold ! A chosen victim Presenting to the Gods, all Thebes and me You to the feast invite. First let me wail Your woes, and then my own : for from the God Tho' we deserve such treatment, too severely Have we been punish'd by the mighty Bromius Our kinsman. AGAVE. How morose ! what louring frowns Contract the eye-lids of an aged man ! May my Son prosper in the chase, and act Like his intrepid Mother, when, surrounded VOL. II. D D 402 THE BACCHANALIANS. By Theban youths, he rushes on the haunts Of savage beasts : but he can only wage An impious war against the Gods. My Sire, Let us instruct liim not to place delight In sophistry's pernicious art. Where is he? Who will invite him hither as a witness To my felicity ? CADMUS. Alas! alas I XVhen you perceive what you have done, your sorrow's Will be intolerable: but if for ever You in your present state could have remain'd, Tho' ye are distant far from real bliss Yet would not you seem wretched to yourselves. AGAVE. But which of these transactions was not right, Or can produce affliction. CADMUS. First lift up Your eyes to Heaven. AGAVE. I do. Why bid me look On that etherial region ? CADMUS. Seems the air To you as if it still remain'd the same, Or is it chang'd ? AGAVE. 'Tis brighter than before, And more transparent. CADMUS. Is your soul still seiz'd With the same stupefaction ? AGAVE. Tho' I know not The meaning of this language, by degrees Am 1 grown calm, n)y former transports cease. THE BACCHANALIANS. 403 CADMUS. Are your ears open then to wisdom's voice? Can you discreetly answer ? AGAVE. I forget Each circumstance we talk'd of, O my Sire. CADMUS. Into what mansion, *midst the jocund rites Of Hymen, did you enter r AGAVE. Me thou gav'st In marriage to Echion, w ho, they say. Sprung from the Dragon's teeth. CADMUS. Beneath those roofj What offspring to your hushand did you bear.? AGAVE. Pentheus, the product of our mutual love, CADMUS. But in those arms whose visage do you hold f AGAVE. A Lion's, as my partners of the chase Inform me. CADMUS. View it stedfastly ; with ease May you discern. AGAVE. Ha I what do I behold ? Why in my hands this trophy do 1 bear? CADMUS. Mark, and inform yourself yet more distinctly^ AGAVE? These eyes discern the greatest of all griefs. CADMUS. Doth it appear the semblance of a Lion? AGAVE. No ; I his miserable Mother hold D D 2 404 THE BACCHANALIANS. The head of Pentheiis. CADMUS. Slain before you knew him ; Most piteous doom ! AGAVE. Who murder'd him ? how fell he Into my hands? CADMUS. O wretched Truth, thou cora'st Unseasonably, AGAVE. Speak out ; my bosom throbs 'Midst this suspence. CADMUS. You, and your Sisters, slew hira, AGAVE. Where died he ? In his palace ? Name the spot. CADMUS. Where erst Actaeon by his hounds was torn, AGAVE. But wherefore did the helpless youth ascend Cithaeron's mount? CADMUS. He went to ridicule Your orgies, and the God. AGAVE. What motive brought Us hither ? CADMUS. Ye were frantic; and all Thebes With Bacchanalian transports was inspir'd. AGAVE. Bacchus hath caus'd our ruin, this at length I comprehend. CADMUS. By you was he insulted ; For hira ye deem'd no God. THE BACCHANALIANS. 405 AGAVE. But where^ my Sire, Are Pentheus' lov'd remains? CADMUS. I with much toil Have trac'd his body out, and hither bring. AGAVE Are these limbs join'd anew? but on my Son What portion of my madness did I wreak? CADMUS. Like you, he worship'd not the God, who hence All in one ruin hath iiivoiv'd, bv)th j^ou And him, that he this miserable house Might overthrow, and me who destitute (14) Of Sons, alas, my Daughter, see this youth. Fruit of your womb, dishonourably slain, And by unholy hands. To him, my house Look'd up with eyes of ho[)e. Thou, O my Grandson, The pillar of these mansions, wert rever'd By the whole city. No man dar'd i' insult me, Altho' I was grown old, wiien he beheld Thy prowess : for from thee \. ould lie have found The punishment he merited. But now Shall I the mighty Cadmus with disgrace Be from these walls expell'd, e'en 1 who sow'd The Theban race, and reap'd that glorious harvest. O most belov'd ! altho' thou art no more, (14) " Here Euripides representing the aged Cadmus without male issue, " violates tlie received tradition of aiitient ilistory, and even contradicts " his own express authority in the Phaniss*, where he declares that Cad- " nuis by his wife Hannonia had a son whose name was Polydorns. And " we learn from Diodorus Siciihis, tliat Prlydorus son of Caumus re- " turned to the kingdom of Thebes after tlie expulsion of his Fatiier, " and that his descendents there reigned in succession. Patisanias ' Ukewise mentions this Polydorus as sou of CaUiriits, and informs us " that he enjoyed the sovereignty of I'ltebes, a;ter the migration of " Cadmus to the Illyrians and the Encheleans. We have also tue con- " cuning testimony of Apoliodorus iu support of tliis on of Cadmus, " Polydorus, as king of Thebes. Mr. Jodkell. 405 THE BACCHANALIANS. Still to be number'd with my deurest children. Touching this chin, n ) more shall thou accost Tliy Grandsirc with a fond embrace^ and say; *' Old man, who injures thee ? who dares to vex " Thy sorrowing heart ? O speak, that I may crush " The author of thy wrongs." But now, one fate. One direful fate, involves both me, and thee. Thy wretched mother, and her wretched sisters. If any impious mortal yet contemns The Powers celestial, jet liim view the death Of Pentheus, to convince him there are Gods. CHORUS. For thee I grieve, O Cadmus : tho' the fate Of thy unhappy Grandson was deserv'd, Yet 'tis to thee the source of bitter woe. BACCHUS, CADMUS, AGAVE, CHORUS. BACCHUS. O Father, you behold how I am chang'd. You also, and Harmonia child of Mars Whom you a mortal wedded, must assume The form of Serpents : in a chariot drawn (15) By oxen^ as Jove's oracles pronounce. (15) " Instead of o^ov h iJJXJyun the manuscripts of Henry Stephens " have (r^>m It fj.oy^9j,y, which Barnes approves of, though extremely " harsh. Reiskuis supposes tlie Moschi to be here meant, a barbarous " nation mentioned by Herodotus and Strabo, where we learn that " they inhabited the regions situated on the banks of the Phasis, and *' consequently at a groat distance from Illyria. There is no need of " any alteration, for wi.at obstacle is there to Cadmus and Harmonia " being drawn (at least according to tlic popular opinion; by oxen liar- " nesscd to their chariot ? Nonnus in various passages ascribes such a " vehicle to the Moon ; nor was the mother of Cleobis and Biton " conveyed in any other mariner. Moreover, tliere was an antient •' rumour, that Cadmus himself, when he fled into Illyria, rode in a " car drawn by oxen. The author of the Etymologicum Magnum, " under the word Eofoi, Buthoe, calls it a city of Illyria, so named " from Cadmus' having founded it when he hasted in a chariot ' drawn by Oxen from Thebes to the Illyrians." Dv. Musgrave* THE BACCHANALIANS. 407 You and your Consort borne sublime, shall rule Barbarian tribes, and with unnumber'd troops Lay many cities waste, but after plundering Apollo's temple, shall the host return With evil auspices: yet Mars will save You and Harmon ia, both thenceforth ordain'd To live amid the islands of the blest. I, Bacchus, from no human Father sprung. But from immortal Jove, to you announce These fortunes. If ye earlier could have learn'd That wisdom which your stubborn hearts rejected, Much bliss had been your portion, while your walls Contain'd Jove's son, their guardian. CADMUS. We implore Thy mercy; we, O Bacchus, have transgress'd. BACCHUS. Too late, my power divine have ye acknowledg'd ; For at the season when 'twas most important Ye knew me not. CADMUS. Our errors we confess : But thou art too vindictive. BACCHUS. Tho' a God, By you was I insulted. CADMUS. In their wrath Gods ought not to resemble men. BACCHUS. Long since By Jove my Father thus it was ordain'd. AGAVE. Thy doom, alas! old man, is wretched exile. CADMUS. My Daughter, in what dreadful woes involv'd Are we, and you, and your beloved Sisters ! 408 THE BACCHANALIANS. I too, an aged sojourner, must go To those Barbarian tribes j Heaven's oracles Moreover have ordain'd I shall invade ]\ly bleeding country with a foreign host, And, chang'd into a Dragon's scaly form, Harmonia, sprung from Mars, my Consort lead. Who shall the same ferocious shape assume. To these polluted altars and the tombs Of slaughter'd Greeks, when to the field I bring That unrelenting phalanx. But my woes Shall never end, nor can I steer my bark Down to the tranquil shores of Acheron. AGAVE. But I, my Father, when of thee bereft. From Thebes myself will banish. CADMUS. O my Daughter, Why thus with trembling arms around me cling, As the young swan to its decrepid sire ? AGAVE. Ah ! whither turn, an outcast from my country ? CADMUS. I know not, O my Daughter: small relief Can your poor Sire afford. AGAVE. Farewell, thou palace ; Farewell, my native city, thee I leave A hapless exile from my bridal chamber. CADMUS. To Aristaeus' friendly hearth repair. AGAVE. Of thee am I depriv'd. CADMUS. I weep, my child, For you and for your Sisters. AGAVE. Terribl}', THE BACCHANALIANS. 409 Most terribly, hath Bacchus on thy house Pour'd down his vengeance. BACCHUS. Dreadful wrongs from you I suffer'd, no due honours to my name Were paid in Tliebes. AGAVE. Farewell, my Sire. CADMUS- To you I also bid farewell, my wretched Daughter, But what I wish, you scarcely can attain. AGAVE. Conduct me to my Sisters, ye who guide My wretched steps, that I may take them with me The partners of my flight. For I will go Wher^ the polluted mountain of Cithaaron Rears not its summit, ne'er will I behold That scene of hoirors, nor recall to mind How erst I bore a thyrsus : let the rest Of Bacchus' followers oe'r these rites preside^ CHORUS. A thousand shapes our varying Fates assume. The Gods perform what least we could expect, And oft the things for which we fondly hop'd Come not to pass: Heaven finds a clue to guide Our steps thro' the perplexing maze of life. And thus doth this important business end. THE CYCLOPS. Domus sanie clapibusque cruentis Intus opaca ingens : ipse arduus, altaque pulsat Sidera. Dii, talem tenis avertite pestcm ! Yirgii^ Venustjssimum et ab ipsis Gratiis compositum hoc Poema. PlERSONl VeRISIMIUA. PERSONS OF THE DRAMA. SILENUS. CHORUS OF SATYRS. ULYSSES. POLYPHEME THE CYCLOPS, SCENE -THE MOUNTAIN OF ^TNA IN SICILY. THE CYCLOPS. SILENUS. vJ Bacchus, for thy sake have I endur'd Unnuoibei'd toils, both at the present hour, And when these nerves by vigorous youili were strung By Juno first with wild distraction fir'd, Thou didst forsake the mountain Nymphs whose care Nurtur'd thy infancy. Next in that war With the gigantic progeny of Earth, Station'd beside thee to sustain thy shield. Piercing the buckler of Exiceladus, I slew him with my lance. Is this a dream? By Jove it is not : for I shew'd his spoils To Bacchus, and the labours I endure At present, are so great that they exceed E'en those. For since 'gainst thee Saturnia rous'd. To bear thee far away, Etrurla's race Of impious pirates, I soon caught th' alarm, And sail'd in quest of thee with all my children : Myself the stern ascended, to direct The rudder, and each Satyr plied an oar Till ocean's azure surface with white foam Was cover'd ; thee, O mighty King, they sought. Near Malea's harbour as the vessel rode. An Eastern blast arose, and to this rock Of ^tna, drove us, where the Sons of Neptune, The one-ey'd Cyclops, drench'd with human gore, Inhabit desert caves ; by one of these Were we made captives, and beneath his roof To slavery are reduc'd. Our Master's name Is Polypheme ; instead of Bacchus' orgies We tend the flocks of an accursed Cyclops. My blooming Sons, on yonder distant cliffs. Feed the young lambs; while I at home am station'd ^ 414 THE CYCLOPS. The goblet to replenish, and to scrape Tlie rug<;ed floor ; to this unholy lord, A minister of" impious festivals: And now must I perform the task assign'd or cleansing with this rake the filthy ground. So shall I he cave be fit for his reception, Wlien with his flocks my absent Lord returns. But I already see my Sons approach, Their fleecy charge conducting. Ha, what means This uproar ? would ye now renew the dance Of the()) Sicinnides, as when ye form'd The train of amorous Bacchus, and assembled, Charm'd by the lute, before Althaea's gate ? CHORUS, SILENUS. CHORUS. ■; ODE. I. Sprung from an untainted race. Hardy Father of the fold, AVhy, bounding o'er that craggy space, Roam'st thou desperately bold. Far from the refreshing gale. The verdant herbage of the mead. And sloping channel wont to feed Thy trough with springs that never fail ? (1> " The dance peculiar to the Satyric fables was called o-wwi; either « as Hivno-tj " a motion," some letters being transposed and changed, a« « Athenffius writes, or from Sicinnus, the inventor, according to tlie " same author in his 14th book." Causabon de Poes. Sat. L. i. c. 4. (Sicir;nus was, as Ranibach observes in his note, an attendant on the clnldren of Themistocles, a Persian by birth, who by his subtlety merited a place among the most illustaious champions of Greece. The passage alluded to, though not specified by Kambacli, is to be met with in lierodotus, L. viii. c 7.5. p. 6.54, e '. Wesseling. and gives an account of Sicinnus bting dispatched by Themistocles to the fleet of the Medes to mfoi'm them tliat the Greeks were flying, which induced the Persians to make a very injudicious disposition of their forces previous to tiie tmaX engageuient at Sakmjs. THE CYCLOPS. 415 Yon caves with bleating lambkins ring, Come, depasture with the flock ; Leave, O leave the dewy rock, Ere this ponderous stone I fling. Thee with speeding iiorns I call To the Cyclops' lofty stall. IL Thou too those swollen udders yield. That thy young ones may be fed, Who, while thou browsest o'er the field, Lie neglected in the shed ; Slumbering all the live-long day At length with clamorous plaints they wake. Thou t' appease them wilt forsake Etna's vallies ever gay. Young Bromius and his jocund rout Here their orgies ne'er repeat. No thyrsus waves, no drums they beat ; Where the gurgling currents spout. Here no vineyards yield delight, Nor sport the Nymphs on Nyssa's height. HI. Yet here I chaunt the strains which Bacchus taught, To that Venus whom I sought When with the Maenades I rang'd. Where, gentle Evan, dost thou tread Alone, and from thy comrades far estrang'd, Those auburn ringlets floating from thy head ? Thy votary once, but now a slave To yonder one-ey'd Cyclops, I abide In this detested cave : Cover'd with a goat's vile hide, Thy Friend, alas, expos'd to scorn Wanders helpless and forlorn. SILENUS. My sons, be silent : bid your followers drive Their flocks into the stony cave. 416 THE CYCLOPS. CHORUS. Proceed. But wherefore, O my Father, in this haste? SILENUS. A Grecian vessel, stranded on the coast, I see, and to this cave the mariners . Attend their leader, on their heads they bear Those empty vessels which express they want Provisions, with fresh water too their urns Would they replenish. O unhappy strangers ! Who are they? una])piis'd what Lord here rules. Dread Polypheme, they in an evil hour Are entering this inhospitable threshold, And rushing headlong e'en into the jaws Of this fierce Cyclops, gorg'd with human flesh. But interrupt me not; 1 will enquire Whence to Sicilian ^^tna's mount they came. ULYSSES, SILENUS, CHORUS. ULYSSES. Can ye direct me, strangers, where to find Fresh springs to slake our thirst ; or who will sell Food to the hungry sailor? But what means . That groupe of Satyrs, whom before yon cave I see assembled ? we at Bacchus' city Seem to have landed. Thee, the elder-born. Thee first I hail. SILENUS. Hail! foreigner; acquaint us Both who you are, and from what realm you came. ULYSSES. Ulysses king of Ithaca, and th' isle Of Cephalene. SILENUS. That loquacious man. The crafty brood of Sisiphus, full well I know. THE CYCLOPS. 417 ULYSSES» Reproach me not, foe I am he. SILENUS. Whence sail'd you to Sicilia ? ULYSSES. From the shores Of blazing IHon, from the war of Troy, SILENUS. What, knew you not the way to your own country ? ULYSSES. The tempests violently drove me hither. SILENUS. By Heaven, your fortunes are the same with mine. ULYSSES. What, cam*st thou hither too against thy will? SILENUS. Yes, in pursuit of those accursed pirates Who seiz'd on Bromius. ULYSSES, But what land is this. And by what men inhabited ? SILENUS. This mountain, Call'd JEtna, overlooks Sicilia's plains. ULYSSES. Where are the fortresses and lofty towers Which guard its peopled cities? SILENUS. They exist not. No men, O stranger, on these summits dwell, ULYSSES. But who possess the land, a savage race Of beasts ? SILENUS. The Cyclops occupy these caves, They have no houses. VOL. II, E E '' 418 THE CYCLOPS. ULYSSES. Govern'd by what chief? Is this a mere democracy ? SILENUS. They lead The life of shepherds, and in no respect yield to each other. ULYSSES. Do they sow the grain Of Ceres, or on what do they subsist? SILENUS. On milk, on cheese, and on their sheep, they feed. ULYSSES. Affords the vine, nectareous juice, the drink Bacchus invented ? SILENUS. No such thing : they dwell In an ungrateful soil. (2) ULYSSES. But do they practise (2) Tliis dialogue afFords by far the most satisfactory explanation I have met with of n.4iav axafmrwy iMiT^ta; in the Phcenissae, which ha? given rise to a great vaiiety of comments. It is moreover very ob- servable, that this very island, which for a long period was called tlie great granary of Euiope, and supplied the Roman empire with such immense quantities of com, (notwitlistanding tlie natural fertiUty of its Soil,) from the account given, in Mr. Brj done's Tour, of its present state, seems to be relapsing apace into that misery and indigence in which Ulysses found it while under the dominion of the Cyclops : what Homer says of its exuberant product while thus untilled, must be con- sidered as the language of a Poet, not that of a Philosopher ; a nation who totally neglect to cultivate their lauds, ©£01(71 WfTTftSolff ctSavaioitri, Od. L. 9. V. 107. must soon reduce the country they inhabit to a barren wilderness. Not the smallest grounds can I meet witli for tlu)se alterations which Dr. Musgrave proposes in his notes on the Troades, v. 225, which, if ad- mitted, would make Euripides contradict himself by speaking of the fruitfulncss of Sicily, which we by no means find to be the case in tlie usual reading of that passage ; he has likewise I apprehend with as little success laboured to explani away the expression cited from the Phoenissa^ 'm tlie begiiming of this note. THE CYCLOPS. 419 The rites of hospitality, and hold The stranger sacred ? SILENUS. Tliey aver the flesh Of strangers is a most delicious food. ULYSSES. What said'st thou, banquet they on human flesh ? SILENUS. Here no man lands v/ho is not doom'd to bleed. ULYSSES. Where is this Cyclops, in the cave ? SILENUS. He went To Etna's summit, with his hounds to trace The savage beasts. ULYSSES. But know'st thou by what meant We from this this region may escape ^ SILENUS. I know not. But, O Ulysses, I'll do every thing To serve you. ULYSSES. Sell us bread, supply our want. SILENUS. I told you we have nothing here but flesh. ULYSSES. By this, sharp hunger, which makes all things sweet. May be assuag'd. SILENUS. Cheese from the press, and milk Of heifers too. ULYSSES. Produce them : while the day Yet lasts, should we conclude our merchandise. SILENUS. With how much gold will you repay me ? speak. IE, E 2 420 THE CYCLOPS. ULYSSKS. No gold I bring, but Bacchus' cheering juice. SILENUS. My clearest friend, you mention what we long Have stood in need of. ULYSSES. This enchanting liquor (S) Did Maron, offspring of the courteous God, On us bestow. SILENUS. Whom erst, while yet a boy I in these arms sustain'd. ULYSSES. The son of Bacchus, T* inform thee more minutely who he is, SILENUS. Aboard the ship, or have you hither brought it? ULYSSES. Here is the cask, old man, which thou perceiv'st Contains the wine. SILENUS. It hardly is a sup. ULYSSES. But we have twice as much as this will yield. SILENUS. A most delicious spring is that j'ou nam'd. (3) Maron was, according to Homer, Son of Evantiiens, " alap aiysov (Whov t^ov fX£>.«voj oivoio, " H^foj, ov jwoj tJitxt Malory E-^SavSso; vi'i;. Odyss. L. ix. V. 196. " Then took a goatskin fill'd with precious wine, " The gift of Maron, of Evantheits' line. Pope. " but Evantheus was tlie Son of Bacchus by Ariadne ; thongh some " think Evantheus to be Bacchus himself ; and Nonnus, in his Dio- " nysiaca, calls Maion tlte Son of Silenus, Hesiod of Oenopion. " From him the wine of Maron derives its name ; and a city of the " Cicones in Thrace, situated on tJie shore of the jEgean sea, is called " iVIaronaa. Homer makes ihU IVIiiroii a Priest of Apollo, and an " inhabitant of Ismarus : Alheuajus thinks he wss one of the com- '< wanders of the troops ef Bacchus." Barnes. THE CYCLOPS. 421 ULYSSES. Shall I first treat thee with some wine unmix'd. That thou may'st taste ? SILEN us. Weli-judg'd: this specimen Soon will induce me to conclude the purchase. ULYSSES. A cup too I have brought as well as cask. SILENUS. Pour forth, that I may drink, and recollect The grateful taste of wine. ULYSSES. Look til ere, SILENUS. Ye Gods ! How beauteous is Its odour ! ULYSSES. Hast thou seen it ? SILENUS. By Jove I have not, but i smell its charms. ULYSSES. Taste, nor to words tdone confine thy praise. SILENUS. Ha ! ha ! now Bacchus to the choral dance Invites me. ULYSSES, Hath it moisten'd well thy palate? STLENUS. i So well as e'en to reach my fingers' ends. ULYSSES. Beside all this, shall money too be thine. SILENUS. Empty the vessel, and reserve your gold. ULYSSES. Bring forth the cheese and lambs. SILENUS. That will I do. Regardless of my Lord, because I wish 422 THE CYCLOPS. To drain one qoblet of tins wine, and give Tlie Hocks of" ail tUc Cyclops in its stead. (4) I'd fjom Leucad^, when completely drunk, Into the ocean take a lover's leap^ Shutting my eyes. For he who, when he (juaffs The mantling howl, exults not, is a madman. Thro' wine new joys our wanton bosoms fire, With eager arms we clasp the yielding fair. And in the giddy dance forget each ill That heretofore assail'd us. So I kiss The rich potation; let the stupid Cyclops Weep with that central eye which in his front Glares horrihly. [Exit silenus. CHORUS. Attend : for we must hold A long confabulation, O Ulysses. ULYSSES. We meet each other like old friends. CHORUS. Was Troy (4) The expression Atvuaht t^it^;, rendered by Barnes alba rupe, is in- terpreted bj- Heath and Dr. Musgrave as referring to the famous Lovers leap from the rock of Leucade, which appeals, by the account given of it in tlie antient Geographers, to have been formerly a part of Acamauia, ucited to the main contuient of Greece by an isthmus, which the Co- rinthians afterwards dtig through, and made it an island. The most au- thentic accounts of the antifjuity of tiie Lover's leap are such as render this laiigiiage by no means improper in the mouth of Silenus. Without insisting on the <^estimony of Ovid, who represents tiiis practice as origi- nating from Deucalion ; upon referring to St rabo, we find him contra- dicting Menandei , who calls Sappho the first who leaped from Leucade, and remarking that they, who write more accurately on antient history, say it was Ks^paXov B^ttjBma XItuoXk to AriiovEw;, tl.e expression is so dubious, tliat critics debate whether Cepiiahis or Ptaola leaped from the rock ; nor is it material to my purpose, w hich is merely to observe, that Cepha- lus the son of Dioneus, here spoken of by Stral)0, appears, from the account given of him by Pausanias, to hav been Amphytrion's comrade in arms, and consequently to have lived at least two ages before tlie chronological a^ra of this Draniatic piece, it being subsequent to tlie siege of Troy, where Tlepoleinus, the Grandson of Amphytrica, fell by the spear of Sarpcdon. THE CYCLOPS. 423 By you subdued? was Helen taken captive? ULYSSES. And the whole bouse of Priam we laid waste. CHORUS. When ye had seiz'd on that transcendent fair. Did ye then all enjoy her in your turn. Because she loves variety of Husbands? False to her vows, when she the painted greaves Around the legs of Paris, on his neck The golden chain, beheld, with love deep smitten From Menelaus, best of men, she fled. Ah would to Heaven no women had been born But such as were reserv'd for my embraces, SILENUS RETURNING, ULYSSES, CHORUS. SILENUS. Here, King Ulysses, is the shepherd's food : Banquet on bleating lambs, and bear away As many curdled cheeses as you can ; But from these caverns with your utmost speed Depart, when ye have given me in return The clustering vine's rich juice which Bacchus loves. ULYSSES. The Cyclops comes. What shall we do ? Old man. We are undone. Ah, whither can we fly ? SILENUS. Ye may conceal yourselves beneath that rock. ULYSSES. Most dangerous is the scheme thou hast propos'd. To rush into the toils. SILENUS. No danger truly ; For in this rock is many abiding place. ULYSSES. Not thus: indignant Troy might groan indeed If from a single arm we basely fled. Oft with my shield against a countless band Of Phrygians have I fought. If we must die. 424 THE CYCLOPS. Let us die nobly? or with life maintain The fame we erst in dubious fields acquir'd. POLYPHEME, SILENUS, CHOPtUS, ULYSSES. POLYPHEME. What mean these transports, this insensate uproar, These Bacchanalian orgies? Nyssa's God, The brazen timbrel, and the rattling drum, Are distant from these regions. Jn the cave How fare the nevv-yean'd lambkins ? do they suck. Or follow they the ewes ? have ye prepar'd In wicker vats the cheeses ? JNo reply? This club shall make ye weep forthwith. Look up, "Not on the ground. CHORUS. We hit our dazzled eyes To Jove himself; I view the twinkling stars And bright Orion. POLYPHEME. Is my dinner ready ? CHORUS. It is. Prepare your jaws for mastication* POLYPHEME. Are the bowls fill'd with milk ? CHORUS. They overflow. And you may drink whole hogsheads if you will, POLYPHEME. Of sheep, or cows, or niixt ? CHORUS. Whate'er you please; But swallow not me too. POLYPHEISIE. No certainl}'; For ye would foot it in my tortur'd paunch, And kill me with those antics. But what crowd Behold I in the stalls? Some thieves or pirates Are landed: at the mouth of yonder cave THE CYCLOPS. 425 The ]anibs are bound with osiers, on the floor The cheese-press scattered Hes, and the bald head Of this old man is swoU'n with many bruises. SILENUS. An me ! into a fever I am beaten. POLYPHEME. B} wlium, old man, who smote thy hoary head? SILENUS. Cyclops, by these ruffians whom I hinder'd From caiiyijig off their plunder. POLVPHEME Know they not I am a God sprung from the blest Immortals ? SILENUS. All this 1 told them, yet they seiz'd yonr goods, Eat up yonr cheese without my leave, dragg'd forth The lambs, declar'd they would exhibit you Jn a huge collar of three cubits long, Closely imprison'd, and before that eye, Which in the centre of your forehead glares, Bore out your entrails, soundly scourge your hide. Then throw you into their swift vessel's hold Tied hand and foot, and sell you, with a lever ' To heave up ponderous stones, or to the ground (5) Level some door. POLYPHEME. Ljdced I go whet the knives (5) '* The Poet, always mindful of keeping up the propri'^ty of his cha. *' rafters, introduces Sileniis al!udin youi Sne, great King, Full n»any a tempie on the shores ot Oreece 4in THE CYCLOPS. Have we erected ; Taeiuuus' sacred haven To liiin remains inviolate, the cliff Oi' Malea, Suniuni for its silver mines llenownVl, on whose steep promontory stands Minerva's fane, and the Gerastian bay. But those intolerable wrongs which Greece Froiu Troy had suffer'd, could we not forgive. Our triumph interests you, who in a land With Greece ((J; connected, dwell, beneath the rock Of Tiauiing /Etna. Let those public laws "Which all mankind obey, on you prevail To change your ruthless purpose, and admit Your suppliants to a conference, who have long Endiu'd the perils of the billowy deep; With hospitable gifts, and change of raiment i\3sist us, nor affix our quivering limbs On spits, to sate your glutton}'. Enough Hath Priam's land depopulated Greece, Whole myriads have in fighting fields been slain ; The widow'd bride, the aged childless matron. And hoary sire, hath Troy made ever wretched. But if you burn, and at your hateful feasts Devour the scatter'd relics of our host, W^lwther shall any Grecian turn ? but listen To uiy persuasion, Cyclops, and control Your gluttony. What piety enjoins. Prefer to this defiance of the Gods: Eor ruin oft attends unrighteous gain. SILENUS. Leave not the smallest morsel of his flesh j Take my advice, and if you eat his tongue. You certainly, O Cyclops, will become A most accomplish'd orator. (6) " The Greeks, as Thucydirtes informs us in the 6th book, in- »* troduced many colonies into Sicily ; though not till long after the " time of its being governed by the Cyclops, and Laestrygoues : but " such anticipations are faniihar to the Poets," Barnes. THE CYCLOPS. ' 42Q POLYPHEME, Vile caitiif, Wealth is the deity the wise adore. But all things else are unsubstantial boasts, And specious words alone. I nought regard Those promontories sacred to my Sire. Why dost thou talk of them ? I tremble not, stranger, at the thunderbolts of .love. Him I account not a more powerful God Than I am, nor henceforth will heed him : hear My reasons; when he from the skies sends dowji The rain, secure from its inclemency Beneath this rock I dwell, and make a feast On roasted calves, or on the savage prc)% Stretcht at my length supine, then drain a pitcher Of milk, and emulate the thunder's sound. ^Vhen Thracian Boreas pours his flaky showers. In hides of beasts my body I enwrap, Approach the fire, nor heed the peltina; snows. Compell'd by strong necessity, the ground Produces grass, and nourishes my herds. Whom, to no other God except myself. And to this bell}', greatest of the Gods, 1 sacrifice. Because each day to eat, To drink, and feel no grief, is bliss supreme. The Heaven, the object of the wise man's worship. I leave those gloomy law-givera to weep. Who by their harsh impertinent restrictions Have checker'd human life ; but will indulge My genius, and devour thee. That my conduct May be exempt from blame, thou shalt receive As pledges of our hospitality The fire, and that hereditary cauldron Well heated, which shall boil thy flesh : walk in. Ye shall adorn my table, and produce Delicious meals to cheer my gloomy cave, Such as a God can relish. 430 'JHE CYCLOPS. ULYSSES. I have 'scap'd, Alas, eacl) danger at the siege of Troy, 'Scap'd the tempestuous ocean ; but in vain i^ttempt to soften the unpitying heart Of him who spurns all laus. Now, sacred Queen, Daughter of Jove, now aid me, O Minerva. For 1 such perils as i'ar, far exceed My Phrygian toils, encounter : and, O Jove, Dread guardian of each hospitable rite, Who sitt'st enthron'd above the radiant stars, Look down : for if thou view not this, tho' deem'd Omnipotent, thou art a thing of nought. [Exeunt polypiikme, ulysses, and silenus. SEMICHORUS I. That insatiate throat expand, Boil'd and roast are now at hand For thee, O Cyclops, to devour : From the coals in evil hour Yet reeking, shall thy teeth divide The iimbs of each unhappy guest. To thy table serv'd when drest In dishes form'd of shaggy hide. O betray me not, my friend. For I on you alone depend : Now approach the shades of night, Launch the bark, and aid our flight. SEMICHORUS II. Thou cave, and ye unholy rites, Adieu, the Cyclops' curst delights. Who on his prisoners wont to feed. Hath banish'd pity from his breast. Lihuman execrable deed ! On his own hearth, the suppliant guest. Regardless of the Lares' guardian powers. Now he slays, and now devours: Hot from the coals, with odious jaws. Human flesh the miscreant gnaws. THE CYCLOPS. 431 ULYSSES, CHORUS. ULYSSES. How, mighty Jove! shall I express myself? (7) The dreadful scenes I in the cave have view'd Are so astonishing, they more resemble Some fable than the actions of a man. CHORUS. What now, Ulysses, on your lov'd companions Feasts this most impious Cyclops ? ULYSSES.' Two, the fattest. Having well view'd, and pois'd them in his hands — CHORUS. How did you bear, O miserable man, These cruel outrages? ULYSSES. Soon as we enter'd The rock\f cave, he lighted first the fire, On tlie wide blaze heap'd trunks of lofty oaks, A load sufficient for three wains to bear ; Then near the flaming hearth, uj^jn the ground, Airang'd his couch of pine leaves, fill'd a bowl. Holding about ten firkins, with the milk Of heifers, and beside it plac'd a Jug Adoni'd with ivy, the circumference seeniVl Three spacious ells, the depth no less than four : (7) " It seems not only inconsistent witli liistoiical faith, but also " with reason, that Ulysses should now be able to ^vanJer ioi th from " the cave of the Cyclops ; but it was absolutely necessary that the •' spectators should be acquainted with tlie transactions going on within, " and the projects formed by Ulysses. Wherefore, the Cyclops not " being yet fallen asleep, it is to be supposed the cave was not shut up, " but some passage left open for Ulysses, whom the Cyclops said he " would devour last of all ; but tliat his comrades being cooped up were " unable to follow him : being at liberty, he would however by no " means fly v\itliout them, but was determined either to die or escape * together: see v. 47G. Tlius much was it proper to say for the sake " of Euripides, who though he in this matter somewhat differ from " Homer, lay under a necessity of accommodating his fable to tfc'* " stage." Barnes. 4.32 'IHB CYCLOPS. Then made liis cauldron bubble, and reacli'd down Spits burnt at tbo extremities, and jiolisliM iSot with a knile, but hati; T^aUafnoi;. Virgil, in liis Georj^ics, describes the Paliurus as of a prickly nature, and springing wp iijion nncnUivatcd land. Carduus et spinis snrgit Paliurus acuris, " Knotty burrs and thorns disgrace the ground," Dryuen, In Martin's comment on this passage, and Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, we find it given as tlieir opinion, that the Paliurus of the antients wa? the shrub now called Christ- thoin. THE CYCLOPS. 433 Antl emptied the whole bumper at one draught, Then lifting up, in tokeri oF app!an!«e. His hand ; *' O dearest stranger," he exclauii'd, " To a delicious banquet thou hast added *' D( licious wine." Perceiving he grew merry I phed him with a second cup, well knowing That wine will stagger him : he soon shall feel Such punishment as he deserves. He sung; I pour'd forth more and more, to warm his bowels With strong potations: 'mid^t my weeping crew He makes the cave with unharmouious strains l»e-echo. But I silently came forth, And, if \'e give consent, design to save You, and myself. Say therefore, will ve fly From this unsocial monster, and reside With (9) Grecian maids beneath the roofs of Bacchus. (9) Dr. Mussrave having in his edition removed the Aldus reading ofAradiiwv, and substituted that of Nco«^iuv, for which he produces no other authority than the conjecture of Causabon ; it may not be impnper to lay before the reader the following note of Barnes: " Thus have I left ** the text unchanged as it formerly stood, not but that Isaac Causabon *' with great acuteness reads N«(^tw, nor because the Naiades were not *' the associates of Bacchus, nor that the Danaiiles (Daughters of Danaus) " have any thing to do here, but because Ulysses does not promise to f* conduct tlie Satyrs to these Nymphs, the Naiades : (for how could he, ** being unacquainted with the place of their residence r) but because <' he meant to remove them from Sicily to Greece, where the worship " of Bacchus was established, and Grecian maids (not the Daughters t* of Danaus) celebrated his rites. I admire Causabon, I embrace " Scaliger ; but it behoves me not to f lice imphcit trust in the great " names of any men, however learned." The versions I have referred to, from Camillus down to Cannelli, accord with Barnes m his ir.terpre- tation of the words : nor does Dr. Mu-grave in his note dissent from them in t' at respect, but attempts to prove the absolute necessity cf an alteration, from the Satyrs who compose the Ci.orus being utter sti angers to " tlie Grecian mai('.s:" admitting tiiis circumstance, the object seems to carry with it no force whatever, as the words are not put into their mouths, but into tlie moutli of Uiysses, who proceeds in a subsequent speech more dn ectly to promise, wliat at the dose of the piece he is supposed to effect, that he will convey the Satyrs with him in his ship from Sicily to Greece. YOl. IJ. F F 434 THE CYCLOPS. Your Sire witliin approves of these proposals : But now grown i'ccble and o'erchurg'd with wine. Attracted hy the goblet, as if bird-lime Had snicar'd his wings, he wavers. But with me, Do thou picserve thyself, for thou art young: And I to Bacehus, to thy antient friend Far diflercnt froju this Cyelops, v;ill restore thee. CHORUS. My dearest friend, O could we see that day. And 'scape yon impious monster ! for we long Have been depriv'd of the enlivening bowl, Nor entertain a single hope of freedom. ULYSSES. Now hear the means [)y which I can requite This odious savage, and thou too may'st 'scape From servitude. CHORU,^. Speak, for we should not hear The sound of Asia's harp with more delight. Than the glad tidings of the Cyclops' death. ULYSSES. By wine enliven'd, he resolves logo' And revel with his brethren. CHORUS. I perceive You mean to seize and kill him when alone, (10) By some enchantment, or to dash him headlong From the steep rock. (10) A variety of proposed alterations are enumerated by Barnes ta his note on the word fj9jjMo-i, which he and most editors have inserted iii their text from the Aldus edition. pjT>)OTi, loris, was discovered by Henry Stephens in some antient manuscripts ; others, he says, but not vrith his concurrence, read pjS^^w av, which they explain uno ictu : ^tMo-i, in Ht- toribus, is tlje conjecture of Broda^us and Duport, pw^xoic-t tractionibus, of Scaliger and Causabon ; nor have later critics been backward in tumishing their quota : Carnielli proposes either to continue the reading of fj9fj.oiG-i, and to render it rationibus, or to substitute in its place T^Qoic-i^ lapidibus ; Reiskiiis prefers ^(j-as-t, in prxcipitiis ; Mr. Tyrwhitt and THE CYCLOPS. 455 ULYSSES. I have no such design As these : on craft alone my plan depends. CHORUS. How then will you proceed : For we long since Have heard that you for wisdom are renown'd. ULYSSES. I will deter him from the feast, and say He must not portion out among the Cyclops This liquor, hut reserve it for himself And lead a joyous life : when overcome 15y Bacchus' gifts he sleeps, this sword shall point An olive pole, which to my purpose suited Lies in the cave : I in the fire will heat, And, when it flames, direct the hissing brand Full on the Cyclops' forehead, to extinguish The orb of sight. As when some artist frames A nautic structure, he by thongs directs The pondrous augre ; thus will 1 whirl round Within the Cyclops' eye the kindled staft", : And scorch his visual nerve. CHORUS. Ho! I rejoice; This blest invention almost makes me frantic. ULYSSES. Thee, and thy friends, and thy decrepid Sire, This done, aboard my vessel will I place. And from this region with a double tier Of oars convey. CHORUS. But is it possible Dr. Miisgiave eou^^oij-i, in sylvis. Amidst all this diversity of opinioJis, my principal inducement for giving tlie preference to Uie antient reading and inteipretation of ^•jQ^jmc-i., ihythmis vel carminibus, arises from its appearing to me gieatly strengthened by the Chorus saying after- wards, V. 642, oii' enwhit o^i^;, scio incaJitationem Orphei, and supposing that by this incantation the flaming brand might be caused to fall ou the Cyclops' eye. F F 2 436 THE CYCLOPS. That I, as if dread .love were my confederate. Shall guide the wcll-pois'd brand, and of his eye-sight Deprive the monster ? For 1 wish to share 111 such assassination. ULYSSES. 1 expect Your aid : the brand is weighty, and requires Our social cilbrts. CHORUS. I'd sustain a load Equal to what an hundred teams convey, Could I dash out the cursed Cyclops' eye E'en as a swai m of wasps. ULYSSES. Be silent now; (Ye know my stratagem) and at my bidding To those who o'er th' adventurous scheme preside Yield prompt obedience: for I scorn to leave My friends within, and save this single life. True, 'scape I might, already having pass'd The cavern's deep recess : but it were mean If I should extricate myself alone. False to the faithful partners of my voyage. [Exit ULYSSE8. CHORUS. Who first, who next, with steadfast hand Ordain'd to guide the flaming brand, The Cyclops* radiant eye shall pierce ? * SEMICHORUS L Silence ! for frouj within a song Bursts on my ear, in tuneless verse. Insensate minstrel, doom'd ere long ITiis luxurious meal to rue, He staggers from yon rocky cave. Him let us teach who never knew How at the banquet to behave, Outrageous and unmanner'd hind, Soon shall he totally be blind. THE CYCLOPS. 437 SEMICHORUS II. Thrice blest is he, in careless play *Midst Bacchuss' orgies ever gay, Stretcht near the social board whence glide* The vine's rich juice in purple tides. Who fondly clasps with eager arms The consenting virgin's charms ; Rich perfumes conspire to shed Sweetest odours on his head. While enamour'd of the fair He wantons with her auburn hair. But hark ! for surely 'tis our mate Exclaiming, " Who will ope the gate ?" POLYPHEME, ULYSSES, SILENUS, CHORUS. POLYPHEME. Ha ! ha I I am replete with wine, the banquet Hath cheer'd my soul: like a well- freighted ship My stomach's with abundant viands stovv'd Up to my very chin. This smiling turf Invites me to partake a vernal feast With my Cyclopean brothers. Stranger, bring That vessel from the cave. [Exit ulysses. CHORUS. With bright-ey'd grace Our master issues from his spacious hall; (Some God approves— the kindled torch — ) that form Equals the lustre of a blooming nymph Fresh from the dripping caverns of the main. Soon shall the variegated wreath adorn Your temples. ULYSSES returning. Hear me, Cyclops ; well I know Th' effect of this potation, Bacchus' gift^ Which I to you dispens'd. POLYPHEME. Yet say what sort 438 THE CYCLOPS. Of God is Bacchus by his votaries deem'd ? ULYSSES. The greatest source of pleasure to mankind. POLYPHEME. I therefore to my palate hmi it sweet. ULYSSES. A God hke this to no man will do wrong. POLYPHEME. But in a bottle how can any God Delight to dwell ? ULYSSES. In whatsoever place We lodge him, the benignant Power resides. POLYPHEME. The skins of goats are an unseemly lodging For Deities. ULYSSES. If you admire the wine, Why quarrel with its case ? POLYPHEME. Those filthy hides I utterly detest, but love the liquor. ULYSSES. Stay here; drink, drink, O Cyclops, and be gay. POLYPHEME. This luscious beverage, must I not impart To cheer my brothers ? ULYSSES. Keep it to yourself And you shall seem more honourable. POLYPHEME. More useful. If I distribute largely to my friends. ULYSSES. Broils, taunts, and discord from the banquet rise. POLYPHEME. Tho' I am fuddled, no man dares to touch me. THE CYCLOPS. 439 ULYSSES. He who liath drunk too freely, O my friend. Ought to remain at home. POLYPHEME. Devoid of reason Is he Avho when he drinks pays no regard To mirth and to good fellowship. ULYSSES. More wise, O'ercharg'd with wine, who ventures not abroad. POLYPHEME. Shall we stay here ? What think'st thou, O Silcnus? SILENUS. With all my heart. What need, for our carousals. Of a more numerous company? POLYPHEME. The ground Beneath our feet, a flowery turf adorns. SILENUS. O how delightful 'tis to drink, and bask Here in the sun-shine : on this grassy couch Beside me take your seat, POLYPHEME. Why dost thou pljxce The cup behind my elbow ? SILENUS. Lest some stranger Should come and snatch the precious boon away. POLYPHEME. Thou mean'st to tope clandestinely : between us Here let it stand. — O stranger, by what name Say shall I call thee .'' ULYSSES. (1 1) Woman is my name. (11) The quibbles on the word Ovn;, " no man," both here and again from V. 668 to 671, are very closely copied from Homer, Odyss. L, 9, V. 366— .410. 440 THE CYCLOPS. But for what favour shall I praise your kindness. POLYPHEME. Thee last of all ihe crew will 1 devour. ULYSSES. A wondious privilege is this, O Cyclops, Which on the stranger, you hestow. POLYPHEME. What mean'st thou .-' Ha! art thou drinking up the wine by stealth ? SILENUS. Only the gentle Bacchus gave that kiss. Because I look so blooming. POLYPHEME. Thou shalt weep. Because thy lips were to the wine applied, JVior did it seek thy mouth. SILENUS. Not thus, by Jove ; I drank because the generous God of wine Declar'd that he udniir'd me fur my beauty. POLYPHEME. Pour forth ; give me a bumper. SILENUS. I must taste To see what mixture it requires. POLYPHEME. Damnation ! Give it me pure. SILENUS. Not so, the Heavens forbid ! Till you the wreath bind on your ample front, And i again have tasted. POLYPHEME. What a knave Is this my cup-bearer ! SILENUS. Accuse me not ; THE CYCLOPS. 441 The wine is sweet : you ought to wipe your mouth Before you driuk. POLYPHFME. My lips and beard are clean. SiLENUS. LoU thus upon your elbow w th a grace, Djiuk as you see me drink, and imitate My every ge:iture. ^ POLYPHEME. What art thou about? SILENUS. I swallow'd then a most delicious bumper. POLYPHEME. Take thou the cask, O stranger, and perform The office ot my cup-bearer. ULYSSES. Tlit'se hands Have been accustom'd to the pleasing office. POLYPHEME. Now pour it forth. ULYSSES. Be silent : I obe}'. POLYPHEME. Thou hast propos'd a difiicult restraint To him who largely drinks. ULYSSES. ISuw drain the bowl; Leave nought behind ; the toper must not prate Before his liquor's etided. POLYPHE?4E. In the vine There's wisdom. ULYSSES. When to plenteous food you add An eqnal share of l-quoi, and well drench The throat beyond what thirst demands, you sink Into sweet sleep : but if you leave bchmd 44« THE CYCLOPS. Alight of th' iinfinislj'd beverage in your cup, Bacchus will scorch your eu trails. POLYPHEME, 'Tis a mercy (12) How I swam out; the very Heavens whirl round Mingled with earth. I view Jove's throne sublime, And the whole synod of encircling Gods. W^ere ajlthe Graces to solicit me, I would not kiss them: Ganymede himself Appears in matchless beauty. SILENUS. I, O Cyclops, Am Jove's own Ganymede. POLYPHEME. By Heaven thou art ! Whom from the realms of Dardanus I bore. [Exit POLYPHEME. SILENUS. Ruin awaits me. CHORUS. Dost thou loath him now r SILENUS. Ah me! I from this sleep shall soon behold The most accurs'd efttcts. [Exit silenus. ULYSSES. Come on, ye Sons Of Bacchus, generous youths ; for soon dissolv'd In slumber shall the monster from those jaws Vomit forth flesh, within the hall now smokes The brand, and nought remains but to burn out The Cyclops' eye : act only like a man. (12) This language, as Barnes and Carmelli both obsenre, is extremely natural in the mouth of a drunken man, who from the giddiness of his head, and tlie effects of the fumes of the m ine on his senses, imagines he has been phmged into the sea, and is with great difficulty just escaped from thence. It appeared expedient to me to omit a line and half at the close of this speech. THE CYCLOPS. 44,5 CHORUS. The firmness of my soul shall equal rocks And adamant. But go into the cave With speed, before tumultuous sounds assail Our aged Fatlicr's ears; for, to effect \ our purpose, all is ready. ULYSSES. Vulcan, King Of iEtna, from this impious pest, who haunts Thy sacred mountain, free thyself at once, By burning out his glaring eye ; and thou Nurtur'd by sable JNight, O Sleep, invade With thy resistless force this beast abhorr'd By Heaven ; nor after all the glorious deeds Atchiev'd at Ilion, with his faithful sailors, Destroy Ulysses' self, by him who heeds ^>or God nor mortal. Else mu^t we hold Fortune A Goddess, and all other Deities Inferior to resistless Fortune's power. [Edit ulysses. CHORUS. The neck of him who slays his guest. With burning pincers shall be prest, And fire beroavins; him of siijht Soon shall destroy that orb of light. Within the embers near at hand Lies conceal'd a smoaking brand, Torn from its parental tree. Maron, we depend on thee ; May th' exasperated foe With success direct the blow ! May the Cyclops lose his eye. And curse his ill-tim'd jolity ! Thee, Bromius, how 1 long to meet Thy front adorn'd with ivy twine ; Leaving this abhorr'd retreat. Ah, when shall such dehght be mine f 444 THE CYCLOPS. ULYSSES, CHORUS. ULYSSES. Be silent, O ye savages, restrain Those claaio; uiis tongues : by Heaven ye shall not breathe. Nor Avink your eyes, nor cough, lest ye awaken Tills pest, the Cyclops, ere he of" his eye-sight Is by the fire bereft. CHORUS. We will be silent. And in our jaws confine tlie very air. ULYSSES. The pond'rous weapon seize with dauntless hands, Entering ti;e cavenn ; for 'tis Cully heated. CHORUS. Will you not give directions who shall first Manage the glowing lever, and burn out The Cyclops' eye, that in one common fortune We all may share. SEMICHORU- I. We who before t!ie portals Are station'd, are not tall enough to drive Full on Its destin'd mark the hissing brand. SEftllCHORUS IL But I am with a sudden lameness seiz'd. SEMICHORUS L The same calamity which you experience To me hath also happen'd ; for my feet Are by convulsions tortur'd, tho' the cause I know not. ULY^SSES. If ye feel such dreadful spasms. How can ye stand ? CHORUS. Our eyes are also fill'd With dust or ashes. THE CYCLOPS. 443 ULYSSES. These allies of mine Are worthless cowards. CHORUS. We forsooth want couraixe Because we feci com passion for our shoulders. Nor would be beaten till our teeth drop out. But I a magic incantation know, Devis'd by Orpheus, which hath such effect, That of its own accord the brand shall pierce The skull of him, the one-ey'd ^on of Eai^h. (13) ULYSSES. Long have I known ^e are by natiu'e such ; But more than ever do I know you now. On my own friends I therefore must rely. Yet if thou hast no vigour in that arm, Exhort my drooping friends to act with valour And let thy counsels aid the bold emprise. [Exit ULYSSES. CHORUS. Such be my province : we this Carian's life (1-1) (13) " Apollonins Rhodius, in the first book of liis Argoiiantics, call* Polypheme the Cyclops, son of Neptune and Eiiiopa, daughter of Tityus; but Andron of TeVum, Possidonius, and ApoUodorus relate, * that Poiyphenie was son to Elatus one of tlic Lapilha? and the Nymph Stilbe ; Conon, m his Heraclca, calls him tlic son of Elasus and Amynione. But we must eitiier say tiiat these authors confounded Polypheme the Argonaut with the Cyclops, or give the entire pre- ference to the authority of Homer, who assigns to liiin Neptune for fatlier, and Thoosa daughter of Phorcys for mother. Euripides also calls Neptime, the father of Polypheme, nor doth he deny that Thoosa was his mother ; but calls tiie Earth his mother, hecar.se the Earth ' produced Giants like him ; the enemies of the Gods." Barnes. (14) " The Carians, according to ^liau, in his history of Animals, * L. 12, c. 30, and Lycophron, v. 1384, were the first nation tliat * ever fought for hire ; whence a Carian among the antients has much ' the same signification with a mercenary soldier. Hence arises the * proverb m iw Ka^i i^i-ihivju-i, when any person in making an expeiiment ' hazards the life of another. Hesychius informs us tliat ti.is expression •^ is principally made use of iji speaking of those wlio expose meaner 445 THE CYCLOPS. WiU hazard. But my counsels shall induce them To burn the Cyclop.s. Ho ! with courage whirl The brand, delay not to scorch out the eye Or hini who banquets on the stranger's flesh. Will) fire assail the savage, pierce the front OF iEtna's shepherd, lest, with anguish stung, On you he perpetrate some deed of iiorror. POLYPHEME witlii)i. Ah me! by burning coals I am depriv'd Of eve-sight. CHORIS. That was a melodious Pcvan : To me, O Cyclo[)s, sing th' enchanting strain. POLYPHEME, CHORUS. POLYPHEME, Ah, how am I insulted and destroy'd ! Vet shall ye never from this hollow rock Escape triumphant, O ye things of nought :. For in my station rooted, where this cleft Opens a door, will 1 spread forth my hands And stop your passage? " souls to diinger in their stead ; which Polybius calls the pait of ■ " prudent man. The Ciiorus tiieretoie facetiously says, We whose life '' is of jireat value will stand aloof from danger, and expose you, a vile " and ignoble man, to die for ns." Dr. Musghave. I have only abridijed this valuable note, which amply obviates the supposed necessity of an alteration in the text. The term of Carj'alidei is to this day given to entablatures supported by female figures in the stead of columns, in regard to the origin of which denomination, Vitru- viiis gives the following account : Caria a city of Peloponesus conspired with] the Persians against Greece ; no sooner had the Greeks ended tiiat war by agloiious victory, than they with one consent declared war against the inliabitpose the best Which possibly can happen, that a prospect Of future good hence rises; distant hopes fall short of present gain. In riper years 111 can these youths be qualified to fight Against the Argive host, (if this elate tHfi CHILDREN Ol- HERCULES. 4fil Vour soul with hope) and ere that wisli'd event There is a length of inferuiediaie time In whieii ye may be ruin'd : but comply With my advice; on me no gift bestow, Let me but take what to ourselves belongs, Mycene shall be yours. But O forbear To act as ye are wont, nor form a Ie;igue With those of no- account, when mightier friend* Moy be procur'd. DEMOPHOON. Who can decide a cause. Or ascertain its merits, till lie hear Both sides distinctly ? lOLAUS. In 3'our land, O King, This great advantage, freedom of reply To the malignant charge against me urg'd, I find, and no man, as from other cities. Shall drive me hence. But we have nothing left For which it now behoves us to contend With him, nor aught, since that decree hath pass'd. To do with Argos : from our native land We are cast forth. In this distressful state. How can be drag us back again \vij;h juctice As subjects of Mycene, to that realm AVhich hath already banish'd us? We there Are only foreigners. But why should he Whom Argos dooms to exile, by ail Greece Be also exil'd ? JSot hy Athens sure : For ne'er will Athens from its blest domains. Expel the race of Liereules, appall'd By Argos' menac'd wrath. Fur neither (4) Trachb, (4) Acconlinff to Pausaiiis, Ceyx tiie Ki;:!r ot' Tracbis, a city in 'riiessaiy, tiiulins liini'^clf imabic to prottrt the 0:iitircu of Hercules asiainsl tlie tyianl Eiirvstheiis, soiit thcni to Atlieiis, iiopiiiir thty miglit lind a more powerful tlefeiult rin Theseus. In a fraainent of Hecata^us, an antieiit Gieek liistoiian, ciUd l)> t.umimis, niiose writings are not 462 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Nor is that city of Achiiia here. Whence thou by boasting- of the might of Argos In words hke those whicli thou hast utter'd now. These suppliants didst unjustly drive away Tho' seated at the altars. li thy threats Here too prevail, no longer shall we find Freedom, not e'en in Athens: but I know Full well the generous temper of its Sons, And rather would they die. For to the brave Shame is a load vvhieh renders life most hateful. Enough of Athens — for immoderate praise Becomes invidious: I remember too How oft I have been heretofore distress'd By overstrain'd encomiums. But on you How greatly 'tis incumbent to protect These Ch.ildren, will 1 shew, since o'er tliis land * You rule: For Pittheus was the Son of Pelops, From Pittheus ^thra sprung, From iEthra Theseus Your Father: from your ancestors to those Of your unhappy suppliants I proceed; Alcides was the Son of tliundeiing Jove And of Alcniena ; from Lysidice Daughter of Pelope, did Alcmena spring, now extant ; it is said that Ceyx coinmanded to? Hpa>c>«fej tmfma;, " The " desccndcmts of Hercules' Ckiklreii' to quit his kingdom, lest they them- selves should perish, and involve liim in their ruin. Euripides, by making lolaus bring the infant Sons of Hercules tc Demophoon and Acamas, the two Sons of Theseus, and joint sovereigns of Athens, appears guilty of a chronolcgica! inaccuracy, as Theseus, according to Dr. Blair's tables, survived his friend Hercules 17 years, and Menestheus oc- cupied the throne of Athens after his deatii for 23 years, so that a space of 40 years intervened between the death of Hercules, and Acamas and Demopijoon's becoming Kings of Athens : but Euripides, as I have had occasion elsewhere to observe, evidently considers the two Sons of Theseus as tlieir Fathci-'s immediate successors. The classical reader will meet with further particulars relative to Ceyx, who was the liusband of Alcyone, and had been a friend to the deceased Kercules, iu Barnes's note upon this passage. / THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 463 One common (5) Grandsire gave your Giandame birth. And theirs: so near in blood are you to them: But, O Demophoon, what beyond the ties Of family you to these Children owe Will I inform you, and relate how erst With Theseus in one bark I sail'd, and bore Their Father's shield, when we that belt (6), the cause Of dreadful slaughter, sought j and from the caves Of Pluto, Hercules led back your Sire. This truth all Greece attests. They in return From you implore this boon, that to their foes They may not be surrender'd up, nor torn By force from these your tutelary Gods, And banish'd from this realm. For to yourself 'Twere infamous, and baneful to your city. Should suppliants, exiles, sprung from ancestors The same with yours (ah miserable me! Behold, behold them !) with a forceful arm Be dragg'd away. But to your hands, and beard. Lifting these hallow'd branches, I entreat you Slight not Alcides' Children, undertake Their cause; and, O, to them become a Kinsman, Become a Friend, a Father, Brother, Lord, For better were it to admit these claims, (5) The term made use of in tlie original is, thy Father and theirs. were u\j'\a;)i\iiu, an expression which Henry Stepiiens in his Greek The- saurus will not allow to be equally vague with a.Tc\o; which is rendered ** Cousin ;" but by saying, restringi significationem puto, means appa- rently to confine it to Cousin-Genuans, or the Children of Brothers, or Sisters ; but it being evident from the foregoing pedigrees of Theseus and Hercules, that they were related to each .ther in tne degiee of Third Cousins only ; I knew not how to express this in the English ian^ giiage in the accurate manner which njcaj wh in tlie next line seems to render necessary, otherwise than by a circumlocution ; which I fear will be thouglit very ungraceful. Where Eurystheus, near the close of this Tragedy, calls himself k-^Iot^'o; to Alcmena, he evidently mean First Cousin, as their Fathers Sthenelus and Electiyon were Brothers, being botli of them Sons of Perseus. (6) Of Hippolyta the Amazon: see Hercules Disfacted, v, 4j.5, ed. Barnes, 464 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Than suffer them to fall beneath the rage Of Argive tyrants. CHORUS. I \\ith pity heard Their woes, O King, but now I clearly see How noble Birth to adverse Fortune yields: For tho' they spring from an illustrious Sire, Yet meet they with afflictions they deserve not, DEMOPHOON. Three powerful motives urge me, while I view The misery which attends you, not to spurn These strangers; first dread Jove, before whose altars You with these children sit; next kindred ties, And services perform'd in antient daj's. Give them a claim to such relief from me As from their godlike Father mine obtain'd; And last of all that infamy which most I ought to loathe : for if 1 should permit A foreigner this altar to despoil, I in a land of freedom shall no longer Appear to dwell, but to surrender up. Thro' fear, the suppliants to their Argive lords. In this extreme of danger. Would to Heaven You had arriv'd with happier auspices : But tremble not lest any brutal hand Should from this hallow'd altar force away. You and the children. Therefore go thou back To Aigos, and this message to Eurystheus Deliver; tell him too if there be aught Which 'gainst our guests he can allege, the laws Are open : but thou shalt not drag them hence. COPREUS. Not if I prove that it is just, and bring Prevailing reasons? DEMOPHOON. How can it be just To drive away the suppliant? THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 465 COPREUS. Hence no shame Shall light on me, but ruin on your head. DEMOPHOON. Should r permit thee to convey them hence In me 'twere base indeed. COPREUS. Let tliem be banish'd From your domains^ and I elsewhere will seize them. DEMOPHOON. Thou foolj who deem'st thyself more wise than Jove! COPREUS. AW villains may, it seems, take refuge here. DEMOPHOON. This altar of the Gods, to all affords A sure asylum. COPREUS. In u different light. This to Mycene's rulers will appear. DEMOPHOON. .; Am not I then the Monarch of this realm ? COPREUS. Offer no wrong to them, if you are wise. DEMOPHOON. Do ye then suffer wrong when I refuse To violate the temples of the Gods ? COPREUS. " j I would not have you enter on a war Against the Argives. . DEMOPHOON. Equally inclin'd Am I to peace, yet will not 1 yield up These suppliants. COPREUS. Hence am I resolv'd to drag Those who belong to me. VOL. 11. H H 406 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. DEMOPIIOON. Thou then to Aigos Shalt not with ease return (7). COPREUS. Soon will I make Th' experiment and know. DEMOPHOON. If thou presume To touch them, thou immediately shalt rue it. COPREUS. I by the Gods conjure you not to strike A Herald. DEMOPHOON. Strike I will, unless that Herald Learn to behave discreetly. CHORUS. Go. — And you, O King, forbear to touch him. COPREUS. I retire : For weak, in combat is a sinsrle arm. But I again shall hither come, and bring An host of Argives arm'd with brazen spears : Unnumber'd warriors wait for my return. The King himself, Eurystheus, is their Chief; He on the borders of (8) Alcathous' realm (7) The Atlienians are said by Philostratus to [have instituted a public and solemn mourning in commemoration of the crime they had com> mitted in killing the herald Copreus^ as he was forcibly ckagging away the Children of Hercules from their altars ; but Euripides was too vviell acqiiaiuted botli with the laws of the Drama, and poetic justice, tu throw out any thing beyond a distant hint relative to this flagrant breach of the laws of nations. To have exhibited on the stage the murder of an Embassador, (whose person was held sacred even among nations the most uncivilised) committed by the people, whom he on all occasions describes as models of honour and justice, would have been in him the most glaring mconsistency, and must have rendered him odious to his Gountrynien. (8) This province, of which Megara was the capital, situated be- tween Athens and Corinth, usually known by the name of Megaiis, THE CH[LDREN OF HERCULES. 46? Waits for an answer. He in glittering mail. Soon as he hears your arrogant repl\-. To you, your subjects, this devoted realm, And all its wasted forests will appear. For we in vain at Argos should possess A band so numerous of heroic youths, Jf we chastis'd not your assuming pride. \lLxk COPREUS. DEMOPHOON. Away, detested Miscreant; for [ fear not Thy Argos : and thou ne'tr, by dragging hence Tliese suppliants, shalt disgrace me: for this city As an appendage to the Aigivc reahn I hold notj but its freedom will maintain. CHORUS. 'Tis time each sage precaution to exert, Ere to the confines of this land advance The troops of Argos: For Mycene's w^rath Is terrible in combat, and more fierce Than heretofore will they invade us now. For to exasrsrerate facts beyond the truth Is every Herald's custom. To his King, How many specious tales do you suppose Of the atrocious insults he enduj'd, He will relate, and add how he the loss Of life endanger'd ? was also called Alcathoe, from AlcaUious the son of Polop", who, beiusf suspected of having slain his brother Chrysippus, came to that country for an asylum ; the king Megaroiis having lost botli his sons, the elder of whom, Timaleus, came with Castor and Pollux to besiege Aphidna. and was tliere killed by Theseus, and Euippus the younger, had recently been torn to pieces by a terrible lion, who haunted the mountains of CithaEron : Megareus hereupon promised his Daughter and hi? kingdom to whoever would dispatch the hon ; Alcathous undertook to encounter this formidable beast, and proved victorious : after he had thus ob- tained the crown, Alcathous erected a citadel in Megara, whicli was called by his name, and Apollo is said to have endued its walls with the quality of emitting harmonious sounds. See Pausanias and Barnes. H H 2 46^ THI- CHILDREN OF HERCULES. lOLAUS. To the sons devolve ^lU honours whicli e.x'cced the being born Of an ilhistrious and heroic Sire, And weddin<>; into virtuous famihe:?. But on that man no praise will 1 bestow, N^'^ho by his hists impell'd, among the wicked A nupti^il union forms; hence to his sons Disgrace, instead of pleasure, lie bequeaths. For noble birth repels adversity Better than abject parentage. When sinking Under the u; :K)st pressure of our woes. We find these friends and kinsmen, who alone Amid the populous extent of Greece iStand forth in our behalf. Ye generous j^ouths. Now give them your right hands, and in return Take those of your pvoteetors : O my sons,. Draw near: we have made trial of our friends* ii' ye again behold your native walls. Possess the self-same mansions, and the honours Which your illustrious Father erst enjoy 'd ; Tliese deem your saviours and your friends, nor wield Against their fostering land the hostile spear. On your remembrance let these beiuefi'ts Be ever stamp'd, and hold this city dear ; For they deserve your reverence, wh.o from us Repel so great a nation, such a swarm Of fierce Reiasgian troops : and-, tho* they see Our poverty and exile, liave refus'd To yield us up, or banish from their realm. Both while I live, and after the cold grave Receives me at the destin'd hour j. my friend, I witli loud voice your merits will applaud. Approaching miglty Theseus, and my words Shall soothe your Father's car when 1 recouni. With what humanity you have receiv'd us, And how protected the defenceless Sons THE CIIILDllEN OF HERCULES. 4G9 Of Hercules: by your illustrious birth Distinguisb'd^ you the glories of your Sire Thro' Greece maintain : sprung from .1 noble lineage, Yet are you one among that chosen few Who in no instance deviate from the virtues Of your great ancestry : akho' mid thousands Scarce is a single instance to be found Of those who emulate their Father's worth. CHORUS. This country, in a just and honest cause. fs ever prompt to succour the distrest. Hence in it's friends' behalf hath it sustain'd Unnumber'd toils, and now another conflict 1 see impending. DEMOPHOON. Rightly hast thou spoken. And in such toils I feel a conscious pride. These benefits shall never be forgotten. But an assembly of ,tlie citizens I instantly will summon, and arrange A numerous squadron, to receive the onset Of fierce INIycene's host, first sending spies To meet them, lest they unawares assail us. For the bold warrior, who without delay Goes forth to battle, keeps the foe alooli I also will collect the Seers, and slay The victims : but do you, old Man, meanwhile Enter the palace with these Children, leaving Jove's altar: for my menial train are there. Who will with fond solicitude attend you, Altho' I am not present: but go in, IOL.\US. I w^ill not leave the altar; on this seat We suppliants will remain, and |iray to Jove, That prosperous fortunes may attend your cit}'. But when you from this conflict are with glory Jleleas'd, we to your palace will repair; 470 THE CHILDREN OE HERCULES. Nor are the Gods, who war on our behalf, O King, inferior to the Gods of Argos. For o'er that city, Jove's majestic Consort, Juno, but here Minerva doth preside. This I maintain, that nought ensures success Beyond the aid of mightier Deities, Nor will imperial Pallas be subdued. [Exit DEMOPHOON. CHORUS. ODE. L Boast as thou wilt, and urge thy proud demand, This nation disregards thy ire, Thou stranger from the Argive land. Nor can thy sounding words control The stedfast purpose of my soul : Great Athens, by her lovely choir Distinguish'd, shall iiustain'd preserve Her antient glory, nor from viitue swerve; But thou, devoid of wisdom, dost obey (9) The Son of Sthenelus, the tyrant's impious sway, (9) " Eurystheiis, whos> father Sthenelus was tlie son of Perseus and '•' Andromeda: hence Ovid calls him Stlieneleius : " Quem non mille ferae, quem noji Stheneleius hostis, " Nonpotuit Jimo viiicere, vicit Amor." He whom a thousand monsters, whom his foe The son of Sthenehis in vain pursued, Nor e'en the wrath of Juno could o'ej-tiirow, Was by tlie shafts of love at length subdued. " When Hercnle? was on the point of beius; born, Jupiter, in an assem- " biy ot die Gods, swore tliat there shoidd that very day be born a " child of I'.is race, who should rule over the neighbouring nations : Juno " hereupon descending to the earth, came to Argos, delayed the de- " Ijveiy of Alcmena, and forced Archippe, v/ife pf Sthenelus, then only " seven months gore witli child, to bear a son afterwards called Eurys- " tlieus ; who on this account obtamed the Argive throne, and ruled '' over (Tercules." Barnes. J'eiseus being the son of Jupiter and Danae, and one of Perseus THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES, 47i n. Who com'st amidst an independent state, In nought inferior to the strength Of Argos, and with brutal hate Dar'st, tho' a foreigner, to seize The exiles, who our Deities Implore, and in these realms at length From their distress obtain a shield : Thou e'en to scepter'd monarchs will not yield. Yet no just plea thy subtle tongue hath found. How can such conduct warp the man whose judgment's sound f in. Peace is the object of my dear delight : But thou, O Tyrant, thou whose breast Well may I deem by frenzy is possest, li 'gainst this city thou exert thy might, Pant'st after trophies which thou ne'er shalt gain. Bearing targe and brazen lance Others with equal arms advance. . O thou, who fondly seek'st th' embattled plain. Shake not these turrets, spare the haunt Of every gentle Grace. — Thou wretch, avaunt. DEMOPHOON, lOLAUS, CHORUS. lOLAUS. Why com'st thou hither, O my son, with eyes Expressive of affliction ? from the foe What recent information canst thou give? Do they delay their march, are they at hand, Or bring'st thou any tidings? for the threats That Herald utter'd sure will be accomplish'd. Blest in the favour of the Gods, the Tyrant Exults, I know, and arrogantly deems sons, Electi yon, father to Alcmena the mother of Hercules, that herp was doubly descended from Jupiter, botli by his matemal ancestor, Jjud by tlie God's amour witli Alcraena. 472 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Tliat he o'er Alliens shall prevail : but Jove Chastises the presumptuous. DEMOPHOON. Aigos comes With numerous squadrons, and its king Eur3'stheus, Myself beheld him. It behoves the man Who claims the merit of an able Chief, Not to depend upon his spies alone To mark the foie's approach. But with his host He hath not yet invaded these domains, But halting on yon mountain's topmost ridge Observes, ([ from conjecture speak) the road By which he may lead forth his troops to battle. And where he in this realm with greatest safety May station them. Already have I made Each preparation to repel their onset. The city is in arms, the victims stand Before the altars, with their blood t' appease The wratli of every God, and due lustrations Are sprinkled by the Seers, that o'er our foes We may obtain a triumph, and preserve This country. Every Prophet who expound^ The oracles, convening, have I search'd Into each sage response of antient times. Or public or conceal'd, on which depends The welfare of the realm. Jn all beside Differ Heaven's mandates: but one dread behest Runs thro* the several auspices, to Ceres They bid me sacrifice some blooming Maid Who from a nohler Sie derives her birth. Zeal have I shewn abtrndant in your cause, But will not slay my Daughter, nor constrain Any Athenian citizen to make Such an abhorr'd oblation : for the man Exists not, who is so devoid of reason. As willingly to yield his children up With his own hands. But what afflicts me most TlliJ CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 471 Is tliis ; tumultuous crowds appear ; sotnc cry, *Tis just that we the foreign suppliants aid, Knt others hiame my tolly. It' no memis Can be devis'd to satisfy tiieui all, i^oon will a storm of civil war arise. See tliou to this, and think of some expedient, Jlow ye, iiud how iliis country, may i,)e sav'd, ^V'ithout the citi.'^ei^s' calumnious tongues INly fame assailing. For I rule not here With boundless power, like a Barbarian King: Lot but my deeds be just, and in icturn bliall 1 experience justice. CHORUS. \V ill not Jove Suffer this city to exert its cor.raije. And aid these hapless strangers as we wish? lOLAUS. Our situation, O my sons, resembles That of the xNLiriners, who having 'scapM The storm's relentless fury, v. tjcn in si<>ht Of land, aie from the coast by adverse winds Driven back into the deep. Thus from this realm Just as we reach the shore, like shipwreck'd men. Are we expell'd. O inauspicious Hope, Why didst thou sooliie me with ideal jo}', Altho' it was ordain'd that thou should'st leave Thy favours incomplete ? The King deserves At least to be excus'd, if he consent not To slay his subjects* Daughters ; to this city My praise is due, and if the Gods would place me In the s^ie prosperous fortunes, from my soul Your benefits should never be effac'd. « But now, alas I no counsel can I give To you, my children. Whither shall we turn ? What God have we neglected ? To what land Have we not fled for shelter f We must perish. We shall be yielded u]>. My being dooiii'd 474 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. To die, I heed bnt for this cause alone, That by my death, I shall afford delight To our perfidious foes. But, O my sons, For you I weep, 1 pity you, I pity Alcmena, aged Mother of your Sire, most unhappy in a lite too long! 1 ti)0 am wretched, who unnumber'd toils Have fruitlessly endur'd : k was ordain'd. It was ordain'd, alas ! tliat we should fall Into the hands of our relentless foes, And meet a shameful, miserable death. Know you, what still remains for you jto do. On my behalf? For all my hopes of saving The children, arc not vanish'd. In their stead Me to the Argive host surrender up, O King, and i-ush not into needless danger. Yet save these children. To retain a love Of life, becomes me not ; I yield it up ' Without regret. It is Eurystheus' wish The rather to seize me, and to expose To infamy, because I was the comrade Of Hercules : For frenzy liath possest His soul. The wise man, e'en in those he hates, Had rather find discretion than a want Of understanding : for a foe endued (lO)With sense, will pay due reverence to the vanquish'd* CHORUS. Forbear, old Man, thus hastily to blame This city : For to us tho' it might prove More advantageous, yet to bur disgrace Would it redound, should we betray our gue^ijife. DEMOPHOON. A generous, but impractioable scheme (10) Instead of reading Km •r!;x'';i I have availed myself of the altera- tion of substitdting Krkvjv;, i. e. Kat aTjjri;, as proposed by Mr. Tyiwhitt, and approved by Dr. Musgrave, who in his Latin version renders this line, multam enim clementiam etiam infelix quis consequatur. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 475 Is that ihou hast propos'd s for Argos' King III quest of thee no squadrons hither leads. What profit to Eurystheus from the death Of one so old as thou art could arise ? He wants to murder t/use : For to their foes The rising bU^ssoms of a noble race, To whom the memory of thei; Father's wrongs Is present, must be dreadful ; for all this Ho cannot but foresee. But if thou know Of any other counsel more expedient, Adopt it; for my soul hath been perplex'd. Since that oracular response I heard Which fills me with unwelcome apprehensions. [Exit DEMOPHOON. MACARIA, lOLAUS, CHORUS. MACARIA. Deem not that f, O strangers, am too bold Because I from my chamber venture forth ; This is my first request: for silence, join'd With modesty and a domestic life. Is woman's best accomplishment. I heard Your groans, O lolaus, and advanc'd Tho' not appointed by our house to act As their embassadress ; in some degree Yet am I qualified for such an office, I have so great an interest in the weal Of these my Brothers ; on my own account I also wish to hear if any ill, Added to those you have already suffer'd, Torture^your soul. lOLAUS. Not now for the first time. On thee, O Daughter, most of all the children Of Hercules, my praise can I bestow : But our ill-fated house, just as it seem'd Emerging from its past disgraces, sinks 476 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Afresh into inextricable ruin. The King informs us, thai the Seers, vvliose voice Expounds the will ol Heaven, liave signified ]No Bull nor Heifer, but some blooming Maid Who from a noble Siie derives her birth, jN'lust be the victim, if we would redeem The city and ourselves from utter ruin ; Here then are we perplexed : lor his own children He says he will not sacrifice, nor those Of any of his subjects. Tho' to me Indeed he speaks not plainl}-, in some sort He intimates, that if we by no means Can extricate ourselves from these distresses. We must find out some other land to flee to. For he this realm would from destruction save. MACARIA. May we indulge the hope of our escape Upon these terms .'' lOLAUS. These only : in all else With prosperous fortunes crown'd. MACARIA. No longer dread The spear of Argos, for myself, old Man, Am ready, ere they doom me to be slain. And here stand forth a voluntary victim. < For w'hat could we allege on our behalf. If Athens condescend to undergo Dangers so great, while we who have impos'd These toils on others, tho' within our reach Lie all the means of being sav'd, yet shrink From death ? JSot thus : we should provoke the laugh Of universal scorn, if, with loud groans. We suppliants, at the altars of the Gods Should take our seats, and prove devoid of courage. From that illustrious Father tho' we spring. How can the virtuous reconcile such conduct? THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 477 This to our glory would forsooth redound, (O may it never happen!) when this city Is taken, should we fall into the hands Of our triumphant foes, when after all Some noble Maid reluctant must be dragg'd To Pluto's loath'd embrace. But from these realms Cast forth, should I become an abject vagrant, Must I not blush when any one enquires, " VA'hy came ye hither with your suppliant branche9 ** Too fond of life ? Retreat from these domains, '' For we no aid to cowards will alFord." But if when these arc dead, my single life Be sav'd ; I cannot entertain a hope That I shall e'er be happy: tho' this motive Have caus'd full many to betray their friends. For \\\\o with a deserted Maid will join, Or in the bonds of wedlock, or desire That I to him a race of sons should bear? I therefore hold it better far to die. Than to endure,, without deserving them, Such foul indignities, as can seem light To her alone, who, from a noble race Like mine, descends not: to the scene of death Conduct, with garlands crown me, and prepare If ye think fit, th' initiatory rites; Ye hence the foe shall conquer: for this soul Shrinks not with mean reluctance. I engage For these my Brothers, and myself, to bleed A willing victim ; for with ease detach'd From life, I have imbib'd this best of lessons. To die with firmness in a glorious cause. CHORUS. Alas ! what language shall I find, t' express My admiration of the lofty speech I from this Virgin hear, who for her Brothers- Resolves to die ? What tongue cap utter words 478 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. More truly generous; or what man surpass Such deeds as these ? lOLAUS. Thou art no spurious child. But from the godlike seed of Hercules, O Daughter, dost indeed derive thy birth. iVhho' thy woids are such as cannot shame, » Thy lute afflicts me. Yet will I propose What may with greater justice be perform'd. Together call the Sisters of this Maid, And to atone for the whole race, let her On whom th' impartial Jot shall fall, be slain ; But without such decision 'lis not just That thou should 'st die. jMACARIA. 1 will not die as chance The lot dispenses; for I hence should forfeit All merit : name not such a scheme, old Man. If me ye will accept, and of my zeal Avail j^ourseives, I ghully yield up life Upon these terms, but stoop not to constraint. lOLAUS. The speech thou now has uttcr'd soars beyond What thou at first didst say, tho' that was noble: But thou thy former courage dost surpass By this fresh instance of exalted courage. The merit of th}^ former words, by words More meritorious. Daughter, 1 command not, Nor yet oppose thy death : for thou by dying A\^iJt serve thy Brothers. MACARIA. You in cautious terms Command me : fear not, lest on my account Ypu should contract pollution : for to die is my free choice. But follow me, old Man, For in your anus would 1 expire : attend, « THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES, 479 And o'er my. body cast the decent veil : To dreadful slaughter dauntless I go forth, Because I from that Father spring, whose name With pride 1 utter. lOLAUS. At the hour of death I cannot stand beside thee. MACARIA. Grant but this. That when I breathe niy last, I may be tended By women, not by men. lOLAUS. (11) It shall be thus, O miseiable Virgin : for in me 'Twere base, if I neglected any rite That decency enjoins, for many reasons; Because thy soul is great, because 'tis just, And of all women I have ever seen, Because thou art most wretched. But from these And from thy aged kinsman, if thou wish For aught, to me thy last behests address. MACARIA. Adieu, my venerable friend, adieu ! Instruct these boys in every branch of wisdom. And make them like yourself, tliey can attain (11) Mr. HeathjMr. Tynvhitt, and Dr. Mnsgrave in liis Latin version, put this speech iiito the moutli of Demophoon, and v;itli great ap- peiirance of probability : but from his iiaving no concern either in the preretling part of the dialogue, or througliout the reniiiinder of the f ragedy, I am, upon the whole, induced to mark liis tinal exit at v. 474 of Bai'nes's edition, immeuiately before the entrance of Macaria, not seeing where it can with propriety be placed in any subsequent part of this piece, and aware of the absurdity of supposing the King to remain on the stage as a mute chai-acter for the space of moie than tluee acti ; as to the close of the speech before us, instead of supposing the person by^ whom it is uttered leaving the stage, it evidently invites tliat reply which Macaria immediately commences with addressing herself to lolaus, whom I therefore apprehend to be now speakinsr. 480 THE CHILDREN OF III'RCULKS, Nf) hit^lu i- pitch ; strive to piotfcl tliem still. And tor their sake thiit vahicd life prolong; ^ Oiu children we, to yon our nurture owe. ]\]e you behold, mnture for bridal joys, Dying to save them. J>ut may ye, tny band Of Brothers who are here, be blest, and gain All those advantages, which to procure i'or you, the falchion shall traMS{)ierce my breast, llevere this good Old Man, revere Alcmena Your Falher^s aged Mother, and these Stranger^. IShould ye be ever rescued from your woes. Should gracious Heaven permit you to revisit Your native land, forget not to inter. With such magnificence as I deserve, Your benefactress, for I have not prov'd j^eficient in attention to your welfare. But die to save (mr family. To me 1 hese monumental honours shall suffice Instead of cliildren, or the virgin state. If there be iKight amid the realms beneath. But 'tis my wish there juay not; for if grief On us frail mortals also 4here attend, I know not whither any one can turn : Bor by the wise hath death been ever deem'd The most eflectual cure for every ill. lOLAUS. O thou, disUnguish'd by thy lofty soul. Be v/ell assur'd th3' glory shall outshine That of all other women; both in life And death, shalt thou be honour'd by thy friends. But ah, farewell ! for uith ill-omen'd words J tremble lest we should provoke the Goddess, Dicad ProbCrpiiic, to v. horn thou now art sacned. [Exif. MAC ARIA, My soH'- I perish : grief unnerves my frame; .Suppoi t and phtce me in the hallow'd seat : Aud, O my ikarcst cliildren, o'er my face THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 48! Extend this garment : for I am not pleas'd With what is done : yet, had not Heaven's response Found this completion, we nnist all have died; For we must then have suffer'd greater ills Than these, which are already most severe. CHORUS. ODE. In just proportion, as the Gods ordain, Is bliss diffus'd thro' life's shoit span, Or sorrow portion'd out to man : No favour'd house can still maintain From age to age its pr<;;sper<)us state. For swift are the vicissitudes of Fate, Who now assails Pride's towering crest. Now makes the drooping exile blest. From Destiny we cannot fly ; No wisdom can her shafts repel ; But he who vainly dares her power defy Compass'd with endless toils snail dwell. Ask not from Heaven with impious prayer, Blessings it cannot grant to man, Nor waste in misery life's short span O'erwhelm'd by querulous despair. The Nymph goes forth to meet a noble death. Her Brothers and this land to save. And Fame, with tributary breath. Shall sound her praises in the grave. For dauntless Virtue finds a way Thro' labours which her progress would delay. Such deeds as these, her Father grace, And add fresh splendour to her race. But if with reverential awe thou shed Over the virtuous dead A tear of pity, in that tear I'll join, Inspir'd with sentiments like thine, VOL. II. I I 482 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. SERVANT, lOLAUS, CHORUS. SERVANT. Ye children, hail ! but where is Tolaus, That aged man; and hath your Grandame left Her seat before the altar ? lOLAUS. Here am I, If aught my presence can avail. SERVANT. On earth Why art thou stretcht, what means that downcast look ? lOLAUS. Domestic cares have harrovv'd up my soul. SERVANT. Lift up thy head, arise. lOLAUS. I am grown old. And all my strength is vanish'd. SERVANT. But to thee I bring most joyful tidings. lOLAUS. Who art thou? Where have I seen thee ? I remember not. SERVANT. Hyllus' attendant, canst thou not distinguish These features ? lOLAUS. O my friend, art thou arriv'd To snatch me from despair ? SERVANT. Most certainly: Moreover the intelligence I bring Will make thee happy. lOL-^US. Thee I call, come forth. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 483 Alcmena, Mother of a noble Son, And-listen to these acceptable tidings: Full long thy soul, for those who now approach. Was torn with grief, lest they should ne'er return. ALCMENA, SERVANT, lOLAUS, CHORUS. ALCMENA. Whence with your voice resounds this echoing dome ? lolaus, is another Herald From Argos come, who forcibly assails you ? My strength indeed is small, yet be assur'd Of this, presumptuous stranger, while I live. Thou shalt not bear them hence. May I no more Be deem'd the Mother of that godlike Son, When I submit to this. But if thou dare To touch the children, with two aged foes Ignobly wilt thou strive. lOLAUS. Be of good cheer, Thou hoary Matron, banish these alarms; No Herald with an hostile message comes From Argos. AICMENA. Why then rais'd you that loud voice, The harbinger of fear ? lOLAUS." That from the temple Thou might'st come forth, and join us. ALCMENA. What you mean 1 comprehend not. Who is this ? lOLAUS. He tells us Thy Grandson marches hither. ALCMENA. Hail, O thou Who bear'st these welcome tidings! but what brings hira 1 I 2 4S4 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. To these domains? Where is he ? What atfuirs Prevented liim from coming hither with thee. To fill my soul with transport ? SERVANT. He now marshals The forces which attend him. ALCMENA. In this conference Am I no longer then allow'd to join ? lOLAUS. Thou art : but 'tis my business to enquire Into these matters. SERVANT. Which of his transactions Say art thou most solicitous to know ? lOLAUS. The number of the troops he leads ? SERVANT. Is great, I cannot count them. lOLAUS. The Athenian chiefs Are sure appriz'd of this. SERVANT. They are. appriz'd. And the left wing is form'd. lOLAUS. Then the wliole host Array 'd in arms is ready for the battle. SERVANT. The victims to a distance from the ranks Already are remov'd. lOLAUS. But at what distance Is the encampment of the Argive warriors ? SERVANT. So near that we their leader can distinguish. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 485 lOLAUS. What is he doing ; marshaling our foes ? SERVANT. This we conjecture : for 1 could not hear His voice: but I must go; for I my Lord AVill not abandon when he nobly braves The dangers of the field. lOLAUS. I too with thee Will join him ; for the same are our intentions, As honour bids us^ to assist our friends. SERVANT. Unwisely hast thou spoken. lOLAUS. With my friends Shall not I then the stubborn conflict share? SERVANT. (12) That strength which erst was thine is now no more. lOLAUS. Can I not pierce their shields? SERVANT. Thou may'st : but firsts More likely, fall thyself. lOLAUS. ]Slo loe will dare 'I'o meet me face to face. SERVANT. By thy mere looks, With that debilitated arm, no wound Canst thou inflict, lOLAUS. My presence in the field (J2) This aii'J the four next Uncs are arranged in the translatioii, according to the method of transposing them, recomnien('.cd in Dr. Mus- grave's note^ as the connection seems tliereby better preserved : they stand in this order, 5, 2, 3, 4, 1, in Barnes, and the otlier editors. 486 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Will to our troops give courage, and augment Their number. SERVANT. Of small service to thy friends Will thy appearance prove. lOLAUS. Detain me not : I for some glorious action am prepar'd. SERVANT. Thou Ijast the will to act, but not the power. lOLVUS. I will not be reproach'd for loitering here, Say what thou wilt beside. SERVANT. But without arms How wilt thou face yon warriors sheath'd in mail ? lOLAUS. The various implements of war are lodg'd Beneath these roofs; with freedom will I use. And if I live, return them : if I die, The God will not demand them back again. Go then into the temple, and reach down Those martial trappings from the golden nails On which the^' hang, and bring them to me swiftly. For this w^ere infamous, while some are lighting. If others laiter slothfully behind. [Exit servant. CHORUS. Time hath not yet debas'd that lofty soul, 'Tis vigorous, tho' thy body be decay 'd. Why should'st thou enter on these fruitless toils. Which only injure thee, and to our cit}"^ Can be of Jittlf service ? on thy age Should'st thou reflect, and lay aside attempts That are impossible, for by no arts The long-lost force of youth canst thou regain. ALCMENA. What schemes are these? distemper'd in your mind. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 4S7 Me and my Children mean you to abandon? lOLAUS. The battle is man's province : to thy care Them I consign. ALCMENA. But it" you die, >vhat means Have I of being sav'd ? lOLAUS. The tender care Of the surviving children of thy Son. ALCMENA. Should they too meet with some severe mishap, Which may the Gods forbid. lOLAUS. These generous strangers Will not betray thee ; banish every fear. ALCMENA. In them I trust: I have no other friend. lOLAUS. Jove too, I know, is mindful of thy toils. ALCMENA. I will not speak in disrespectful terms Of Jove: but whether he his plighted troth Have kept, full well he knows. SERVANT (returning). Thou here, behold'st The brazen panoply, now haste to sheathe Thy limbs in mail ; the battle is at hand, And Mars detests a loiterer : if thou fear Accoutrements so pvjnderous, to the field Advance disarm'd, nor till thou join the ranks Wear these unwieldy trappings ; for meantime I in my hands their burden will sustain, lOLAlS. Well hast thou spoken ; with those arms attend me Ready for the encounter, place a spear 486 THE CHILDREN OF HEIICLLES. In my right hand, and under my lel't arm Hold mc, and guide uiy steps. SERVANT. Shall I conduct A warrior like a child ? lOLAUS. I must tread sure. Else 'twere an evil omen. SERVANT. Would thy power Equal'd thy zeal. lOLAUS. Haste : greatly 'twill afflict rae If> left behind, I cannot join the fray. SERVANT. Slow are thy steps, and hence thou deem'st I move not. lOLAUS. Behold'st thou not the swiftness of my pace ? SERVANT. Thou to thyself I see appear'st to hasten, Altho' thou gain'st no ground. lOLAUS. When in the field Thou seest me, thou wilt own I speak the truth. SERVANT. What great exploit atchieving? I could wish That thou might'st prove victorious. lOLAUS. Thro' his shield Some foe transfixing. SERVANT. We at length may reach Th* embattled plain, but this I greatly fear. lOLAUS. Ah, would to Heaven, that thou, my wither'd arm. Again wert vigorous, as in former days THE children; of HERCULES. 489 Tliee I remember, when thou didst la}' waste The (1:3) Spartan realms with Hercules; thus fight My battles now, and singly will I triumph Over Eurystheus, for that dastard fears To face the dangers of th' embattled field : Too apt in our ideas to unite Valour with wealth, yet to the prosperous man Superior wisdom falsly we ascrihe. [Exeunt lOLAUS and servant. CHORUS. O D E. I. 1. O fostering Earth, resplendent M0611, Who gladd'st the dreary shades of night. And thou, enthron'd at broadest noon, Hyperion, 'midst exhaustless light. To me propitious tidings bring, liaise to the skies a festive sound, And waft the gladsome notes around. Till, from the palace of our King, They echo thro' Minerva's fane : My house, my country, to maintain Against the ruthless spoiler's pride, Menac'd because this realm extends Protection to its suppliant friends, I with the sword our contest will decide. (13) " Tliis passage refers to the Iiistory which relates that Hercules, " on acconiit of their having slain his Cousin Oeontis, Son of Licymnins " Alcniena's Brother, made war on the Sons of Hippoccoon and Lace- " dsnion, and having overcome them, and taken the city of Sparta, " reduced it under the dominion of Tyndarus, with vvloni he nearly " connected himself by marriage, taking to Wife Deianira, tlie Daugh- " ter of Oeneus and Althiea, and Isiece of Leda. See Scholiast on the " Orestes of Euripides, v. 457, Paiisanias Lacon, p. ;244, cd. Kuhnii, " and ApoUodorus, L. ii, c. 7, j. 3, after taking Pylos, Kercules fought " against Sparta, wishing to punish the Sons of Hippycoon ; which is " here spoken of by Euripides, becai\se he was not fond of the Lace- " dapmonians." Barnes, 490 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. L 2. Altho' there seem just cause for dread. When cities like Mycene blest Whose triumphs fame hatli widely spread Enter this region to invest Our bulwarks, harbouring ruthless hate. Think, O my country, think what shame, Should we reject the suppliant's claim Appall'd by Argos' haughty state. Resistless Jove shall aid the spear I brandish unappall'd by fear; The tribute of eternal praise Prom all that breathe, to him is due : Nor magnified by our weak view Shall men above the Gods their trophies raise, n. I. Descend with venerable mien, O thou our Guardian and our Queen, For on thy fostering soil we stand. These walls were rear'd by thy command. Drive from our menac'd gates the lawless host. Suppress that Argive tyrant's boast ; For if by you unaided, is this hand Too weak their fury to withstand. n. 2. Thee, O Minerva, we adore. Thy altar ever streams with gore; We on each Moon's concluding day To thee our public homage pay ; Thro' every fane harmonious numbers sound. Sweet minstrelsy then breathes around. And th' echoing hills their nightly dance repeat As the Nymphs move with agile feet. SERVANT, ALCMENA, CHORUS. SERVANT. O royal Dame, the message that to you THE CHILDKEN OF HERCULES 4LH I bring, is both concise^ and what reflects On me abundant glory to relate, In fight have we prevail'd, and trophies rear'U On which the armour of your foes is hung. ALCMENA. This day hath brought thee hither, O my friend, Thy freedom for such tidings to receive ; But one anxiety there still remains To which thou leav'st me subject; much I fear For the important lives of those I love, SERVANT, Tliey live, and have obtain'd from all the host The greatest fame. ALCMENA. And lolaus too My aged friend? SERVANT. Yet more, he hath perform'd Thro' the peculiar favour of the Gods Exploits most memorable. ALCMENA. What glorious deed Hath he atchiev'd in fight ? SERVANT. From an old man, He is grown young again. ALCMENA. Thou speak'st of things Most wonderful. But first, how fought our friends With such success, I wish tiiee to inform me. SERVANT. All that hath pass'd, at once will I relate: Wlien, to eacli other in the field oppos'd. We had arrang'd both armies, and spread forth The van of battle to its lull extent, Flyllus alighting from his cliariot, stood In tlie mid-way 'twixt either host, and cried ; 4[)2 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. " Thou leader of the Argive troops^ who com'st *' With hostile fniy to invade this land, " Th}' interests recommend what 1 propose, *' Nor ran Mycene suffer from the loss '' IF thou deprive her of a single warrior ; " Therefoie with me f-p.counter hand to hand, '• And if thou sla}' me, seize and bear away " The Sons of Hercules; but if thou die, *' My palace and hereditary rank *' Permit me to enjoy " The troops assented, And prais'd what he had spoken as the means Of finishing their labours, and a proof Of his exalted courage. But Eurystheus Unmov'd by reverence for th' assembled host Who heard the challenge, and with terror smitten. Forgot the General's part, nor dar'd to face The lifted spear^ but acted like a dastard: Yei he who was thus destitute of courage Came to enslave the Sons of Hercules. Hyllus again retreated to his rank ;> The Prophets too, when they perceiv'd no peace Cc>r toils Shall be set free, and of Eurystlicu?, doomd With sliame to perish, burst the galling yoke, Behold your Father's city, the rich fields Of your inheritance a^ain possess. And sacrifice to your paternal Gods, From whom excluded, in a foreign land 'i e led a wanderiui? miserable life. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 495 But with what sage design yet undisclos'd. Hath lolaus spar'd Eurystheus' lite. Inform me: for to us it seems unwise Not to avenge our wrongs when we have caught Our enemies. SERVANT. He thro' respect to you Hath acted thus, that you might see the Tyrant Vanquish'd, and render'd subject to your povver, Not by his own consent, but in the yoke Bound by Necessity; for he was loth To come into your presence, ere he bleed. And suffer as he merits. But farewell, O venerable Matron, and remember The promise you first made when I began These tidings, and O set me free : for nought But truth should from ingenuous lips proceed. [Exit SERVANT. CHORUS. ODE. L 1. To me the choral song is sweet. When the shrill flute and genial banquet meet, If Venus also grace the festive board : I taste a more refin'd delight Now I behold my friends (transporting sight !) To unexpected happiness restor'd. For in this nether world, eventful Fate, And Saturn's offspring Time, full many a change create, I. 2. Follow the plain and beaten way. From Justice, O my country, never stray, Nor cease the Powers immortal to revere. To heights scarce short of frenzy rise The errors of that mortal, who denies Assent to truths confirra'd by proofs so clear. iOC> THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. Jove's power by signal judgeiiietits is descried, Oft as his veiigetuicc blasts the towering crest of pride. IF. 1. In heavenly mansions with the blest. Thy Son, O venerable Dame, doth rest ; He hath confuted those invidious tales, That to loath'd Pluto's house i^c came Soon as he perish'd in that dreadful flame: (15) He nnder roofs of burnish'd gold regales. On the soft couch of lovely Hebe plac'd ; Them two, both sprung from .love, O Hymen, thou hast grac'd. Events, which strike man's wondering eyes, From a variety of causes rise. For fame relates, how Pallas sav'd the Sire, And from her city far renown'd. Her race, protection have the Children found ; She hath suppress'd th' o'erweening Tyrant's ire, Whose violence no laws could e'er control; Curse on such boundless pride, that fever of the soul. MESSENGER, EURYSTHEUS, ALCMENA, CHORUS. MESSENGER. Your eyes indeed behold, O royal Dame, Yet shall this tongue declare, that we have brought Eurystheus hither, unexpected sight, Reverse of fortune his presumptuous soul Foresaw not, this oppressor little deem'd That he should ever full into your hands. When from Mycene, by the Cyclops' toil (15) " On mount Oeta, ■where Hercules, tortured by the poisoned " vest which the Centaur Nessus l:ad given to Deianira, threw himself " into a funereal pyre, and was burnt to death. See Apollodorus, " Natalis Conies' Mythology, the TrachmiLK of Sophocles, and Seneca's " Hercules Octteus." Larnes, THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 497 Erected, he those squadrons led, and hop'd With pride o'ervveenlupj to lay Athens waste ; But Heaven our situation hath revers'd : And therefore with exulting Hyllus joins The valiant lolaus, in erecting Trophies to Jove the author of our conquest. But they to you commanded me to lead This captive, wishing to delight your soul: For 'tis most grateful to behold a foe Fali'n from the height of gay prosperity. ALCMENA. Com'st thou, detested wretch ? at length hath Justice O'ertaken thee ? First hither turn thy head. And dare to face thine enemies: for, dwindled Lito a vassal, thou no longer rul'st. Art thou the JSJan (for I would know the truth) Who did'st presume to heap unnumber'd wrongs, Thou author of all mischief, on my Son While yet he liv'd, whereever now resides His dauntless spirit ? For in what one instance Didst thou not injure him ? At thy command, Alive he travell'd to th' infernal siiades; Thou sent'st, and didst commission him to slay Hydras and Lions. Various other mischiefs. Which were by thee contriv'd, I mention not. For an attempt to speak of them at large Would be full tedious. Nor was it enough For thee to venture on these wrongs alone. But thou, moreover, from each Grecian state Me and these Children hast expell'd, tho' seated As suppliants at the altars of the Gods, Confounding those whose locks are grey thro' age With tender infants. But thou here hast found Those who were men indeed, and a free city Which fear'd thee not. Thou wretchedly shalt perish. And pay this bitter usury to atone VOL. II. K K 498 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. For all thy crimes, whose numl)er is so s^reut That it werejust tijou more than once should'st die. MESSENGER (16). You must not kill him. ALCMENA. Then have we in vain Taken him captive. But what law forbids His being slain ? MESSENGER. The rulers of this land Consent not. ALCMENA. Is it not by them esteem'd A glorious action to dispatch our foesf MESSENGER. Not such as they have seiz'd alive in battle. ALCMENA. Is Hyllus satisfied with this decree ? MESSENGER. He, in my judgement, will forsooth act rightly. If he oppose what Athens shall enjoin, ALCMENA. The captive Tyrant ill deserves to live. Or longer view the sun. (16) " Mr, Tyi"B'hitt judiciously observes, that the names of the " speakers prefixed to this aiul the thirteen following lines are faulty: " Barnes also perceived that those which are in the editions ascribed to " the Messenger, belong to Alcmena : Mr. Tyrwhitt was tlie first to " observe, that those to which the character of the Chorus stands prc- " fixed, are spoken by the jMessenger. What shews this, is Alcmena's " asking whetlicr Hyllus bore patiently the decree of the rulers of " Athens, which the Chorus must have been equally ignorant of with «' herself: it is also evident from the Chorus afterwards asking Alcmena's " leave to give their opii ion, wliicli would be ridiculous, if they had " previously conversed together on that subject." Dr. Musguave. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 499 MESSENGER. In this first instance They did amiss, when by theii- swords he died not. ALCMENA. Is it not just that he should suffer still? MESSENGER. He who will slay him is not to be found. ALCMENA. What shall I say if some adventurous hand — MESSENGER„ If you do this, you will incur great censure. ALCMENA. I love this city, I confess : but no man, Since he is fall'n into my power, shall force This prisoner from me : let them call me bold And more presumptuous than becomes a woman, I am resolv'd to execute my purpose. MESSENGER. Full well I know the hatred which you bear To this unhappy man is terrible, And such as merits pardon. EURYSTHEUS. Be convinc'd Of this, O Woman, that I cannot flatter. Nor to preserve this wretched life say aught. Whence they may brand me with a dastard's name. For I with much reluctance undertook This contest ; near in blood am I to thee. And of that jace whence sprung thy son Alcides. But whether I consented, or was loth. Me Juno caus'd by her immortal power To harbour this dire frenzy in my breast. Since I became his foe, since I resolv'd Upon this strife, much mischief I devis'd, And brooded o'er it many a tedious night, K K 2 500 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. That after I had wearied out and slain Those I abhoir'd, 1 might no longer lead A life of feur : for well I knew thy Son Was no mere cypher, but a man indeed : Tho' strong; my hate, on him will I confer The praise he merits from his valiant deeds. But after he was dead, was I not forc'd. Because I was a foe to these his Sons, And knew what bitter enmity 'gainst me They from their Sire inherited, to leave No stone unturn'd, to slay, to banish them, And plot their ruin? Could I have succeeded In these designs, my throne had stood secure. If thou my prosperous station hadst obtain'd, Would'st thou not have attempted to hunt down The lion's whelps, instead of suffering them At Argos unmolested to reside ? Thou canst prevail on no man to give credit To such assertions : therefore, since my foes Forbore to slay me, when prepar'd to lose My life in battle ; by the laws of Greece, If I now die, my blood will fix a stain Of lasting guilt on him who murders me. This city hath discreetly spar'd my life. More influenced by its reverence for the Gods Than by the hatred which to me it bears. My answer to the charges thou hast urg'd Against me, having heard, esteem me now A suppliant, and tho' w^retched, still a King, For such is my condition : tho' to die I wish not, yet can I without regret Surrender up my life. CHORUS. To you, Alcmena, A little wholesome counsel would I give. This captive Monarch to release, since such The pleasure of the city. THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. 601 ALCMENA. If he die, And to the mandates of th' Athenian realm I still submit, what mischief can ensue? CHORUS. 'Twere best of all. But how can these two things Be reconcil'd ? ALCMENA. I will inform you how This may with ease be done. I, to his friends. When slain will yield him up, and with this land Comply in the disposal of his corse: But he shall die to sate my just revenge. EURYSTHEUS. Destroy me if thou wilt; to thee I sue not: " But on this city, since it spar'd my life Thro' pious reverence, and forbore to slay me, Will I bestow an antient oracle Of Phoebus, which in future times shall prove More advantageous than ye now suppose ; For after death, so have the Fates decreed. My corse shall ye inter before the temple Of the (17) Pallenian maid : to you a friend And guardian of your city, shall I rest Beneath this soil for ever; but a foe To those who spring from this detested race When with their armies they invade this land (18),. Requiting with ingratitude your kindness : Such strangers ye protect. — But tlius forewaru'd^ Why came I hither? Thro' a fond belief That Juno was with far superior power To each oracular response endued, (17) Minerva. (18) " Which the Laceda^motUans, the descendants of the HeraclidiCj " did more than once, during the time of the Peloponesian war." MUSGRAVK. 502 THE CHILDREN OF HERCULES. And that my cause she ne'er would have betray'd. On me waste no libations, nor let gore Bo- poiir'd forth on the spot of my interment. For I to punish these their impious deeds. Will cause them with dishonour to return : From me shall ye receive a double gain, For you I will assist, and prove to them Most banerul e'en in death. ALCMt:NA. ( Why are ye loth To slay til is man, if what ye hear be true, That weliare to this city hence will spring. And your posterity ? For he points out The safest road. Alive he is a foe. But after he is dead will prove a friend. Ye servants bear him hence, and to the dogs Cast forth without delay his breathless corse: Think not, presumptuous wretch, that thou shalt live Again t' expel me from my native land. CHORUS. With this am I well p'eas'd. My followers, go. For hence iu our King's sight shall we stand guiltless. END OF VOL. If. E. BiaclLJiIer, Kriiiter, Toole's Court, Chancery Lane. AA 000 886186 6 CENTRAL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY University of California, San Diego DATE DUE vm^rm C139 UCSD LibT.