PRh70e Q^T63 f . C , .; A^ A — ^S o SSS O — ^^ —I ^^E m u — 33 = = j: 6 — = ^ — as > 6 — ^= -^ 9 — ^= ^ — SE £ 7 — = ^ ^s ~^ ' J Iphigenia in Delphi IN SAME SERIES. THE LADY FROM THE SEA. By Henrik Ibsen. A LONDON PLANE TREE. By Amy Lew. WORDSWORTH'S GRAVE. By William Watson. Oreste< at the Altar of Delphi. Iphigenia in Delphi A DRAMATIC POEM With Homer's Shield of Achilles" and other Translations from the Greek by RICHARD GARNETT CAMEO SERIES T.FISHER UNWIN PATERNOSTER Sq. LONDON E.C. MDCCCXC. <^^ c .2 Dramatic, Iphigenia in Delphi. DRAMATIS PERSON/E. Hermes. Iphigenia. Electra. Orestes, eurycles. An Attendant on Iphigenia. Apollo. The Shade ok Achilles (a mute personage). The Argument, n N oracle declared that Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, King of Mycense, must be sacrificed to Artemis, to procure a passage to Troy for the Grecian fleet lying becalmed at Avilis. Iphigenia was brought to Aulis under pretence of a marriage with Achilles, and was about to be put to death when Artemis substituted a hind in her place, and conveyed her to Tauris in Scythia, where she became priestess. The Greeks believed that she had been actually sacrificed, and it was partly in revenge for this deed that Agamemnon was murdered on his return from Troy by his wife Clytemnestra. When Agamemnon's son Orestes had grown up, he took vengeance on Clytemnestra and her paramour vEgisthus by the help of his sister Electra ; and then, being persecuted by the Furies on account of the death of his mother, repaired to Delphi to 6 The Argument. ask counsel of Apollo. He was directed to go to Tauris and carry off the statue of Artemis. In this he succeeded by the aid of Iphigenia, and returned in her company to Delphi, to be purified from the murder of Clytemnestra. Meanwhile Electra, who was ignorant of the existence of Iphigenia, had also repaired to Delphi to inquire respecting the fate of her long absent brother, and to consecrate the axe with which Clytemnestra had slain Agamem- non, and with which she had in turn been destroyed by Orestes. Scene. — The Temple of Apollo at Delphi. A fire is burning on the centre of the altar. Hermes {conducting the Shade of Achilles). How should the world's great edifice subsist, But by appointed ministries of Gods, Power multiplied, one Form of many names, In heaven and hell and earth-embracing sea ? Therefore I, Hermes, have my rightful place, And sway usurped not by another God, But to myself peculiar, so that thou, My glorious brother, Lord of light and song, Phoebus, wert fain to invoke my ministry, Saying, " O fleetest, from whose hands I erst Received the lyre whose melody doth make More godlike the festivity of Gods, And whom for recompense I did equip With the caduceus, by whose might thou art prince And marshaller of all the airy shades. 8 IpHiGENiA IN Delphi. T pray thee, use it for my service now. Go, seek the realms by no celestial God Traversed save thee, arising from the obscure Of Stygian gulfs profoundest on the plain Elysian, where the great Achilles pines. Aye, pines, for well thou knowest that not amid The sweetness of undying asphodel Can rest the spirit of its right divine Frustrate on earth and in Elysium. And therefore hath he ever sat apart, Moody and undelighted to converse With them who won the Fleece, or whom the plain Of Thebes entombed, or himself with strenuous arm Slew or avenged around the ramparts vast Immortals laboured for Laomedon. Nay, but he shuns Patroclus ! Even for this. That she, at whose behest the night is clear Or dim with her pure emblem's wax or wane, Artemis, my chaste sister, bore away Iphigenia, daughter of the King Of Argolis, from all the flowery troops Of Grecian maids elected for his bride. But I, remembering how Achilles forced Iphigenia in Delphi. 9 The violent Agamemnon to restore Chryseis to her sire, priest of my shrine Sminthian, thus to stay the ravage of shafts Dreadfully speeding from my silver bow ; Have pity on him, decreeing that this day, Here in this Delphian sanctuary, where most Divine is breathed my oracular might, before The starry sequence of nocturnal hours, Iphigenia shall be his again. But go, the rest shall be a care to me." Therefore I went, and with the heroic birth Of Thetis silver-footed have returned ; Giving him once again to see the sun ; And ./Ether, milk of life to mortal men To quaff well-pleased ; in these omniscient halls Hovering a shade all-seeing and unseen ; And, witting of the issue, not the way. To wait on destiny's accomplishment. Expectant, yet, as suits the scholar of Death, Serene in observation unperturbed, Knowing that nought is done without the Gods, And knowing that the Gods do all things well. [ They disappear. Iphigenia and the Atten- dant come forward. Attendant. Bethink thee, princess, of the Aulian fane, lo Iphigenia in Delphi. And altar where thou, victim-filleted, Didst sob a helpless girl, whose limbs relaxed Rough hands sustained ; and with thy hair drawn back Another's hand entwined, exposing all The agonising neck to the bare knife, — When lo ! a Voice, and in thy place a hind ! Shall not the Gods who guarded then guard now ? Iphigenia. They saved me haply for Orestes' sake. Who seeks the fallen blossom when the fruit It heralded hangs ripe in rounded gold ? Attendant. Seest thou, then, peril, or the sign of it ? Iphigenia. No more than when I went to wed Pelides, Or wove the fillet for Orestes' head ! The Immortals need not, when they launch their shafts, The ambush of a cloud. Attendant. A pair divine, Apollo, I have heard, and Artemis, Erst with avenging arrows smote and slew Her progeny, who with irreverent speech IpHiGENiA IN Delphi. i i Outraged Latona, and now stands, a stone, On Sipylos, distilling clammy tears ; But neither priestess unto Artemis Was Niobe, nor have I ever heard Iphigenia wrong with lip unschooled The Gods, unless in deeming them to make No difference 'twixt the sinner and the just. Iphigenia. Am I not then a sinner, who have fled Artemis' altars, I her minister ? And robbed her of her sacrifice, and snatched Her image away, and made her fane a void ? Attendant. Nay, verily, for thou hast given her Greece ! Free offerings for servile, lyres for drums, And cheerful rites for savage butcheries. Iphigenia. It may be so, and yet will I beseech Apollo, lest an evil come of it. O Phoebus, is it not an augury Of good, that Fate hath led me to thy shrine Whom most of all the Gods I should implore ? For, when division anciently was made Above, and each Immortal took his own, 'Twas given to thee to be our human kind's Enlightener and healing comforter. 12 Iphigenia in Delphi. Thou showest thyself, and the benighted earth Is splendid, and the drowsy hand resumes The necessary task ; thou signallest, And incense straight goes up to all the Gods. Thou measurest the year, the earth is drest By thee in all her seasonable garbs ; Yea, even thy departing beam inflames Innumerable lights, the moon walks forth Clad in the pure redundance of thy ray. By thee the herbage prospers, and the trees. And herds, and flocks thyself hast shepherded, Serving the throne Thessalian. In thy name Men rear the citied homes of wealth and law, And walls rise high with battlements and towers. Moreover thou by wisest oracles Dost make the future present, and hast found Medicine, leniment of corporal pangs. And Music, the assuager of the soul. And, taught of thee, the sacred minstrels sing Civility, and pious rites, and love, And all that makes man loveable to man. Needs must thou then hate all barbarity. All jealousy and jarring dissonance, All blood and vengeance, all the cloud of grief That folds a kinsman for a kinsman slain. Iphigenia in Delphi. 13 And righteously then thou didst avert Thy face erewhile in Argolis, and make Thy radiant car invisible, and all The earth a darkness, when my grandsire — O The horror, and the fortune of our house ! be it spent ! and may a younger race Entreat thee for an unwithholden boon ! 1 plead not my own woes. I do not urge The Aulian altar or the Scythian years. Or even remind thee how thou promised'st Orestes lustral purity, and peace From madness, and proclaim that it befits The God to keep the promise of the God. But rather would I say, with simple speech, I have a brother, thou a sister, God ! Artemis, huntress virginal, whose car Is glory of lone night, as thine of day. If thou lov'st her as I Orestes (else Thou God wert less than man, since well 'tis sung. Divine and human needs must love alike, The human being divine oppressed with bonds. Divine the human in glad liberty), Then, I adjure thee, aid him ! set him free From spasm and panic, lead him to his throne Ancestral, granting me to sit with him 14 Iphigenia in Delphi. Far through the lengthening years in quiet seats ; And with us she who saved him, greatly took The stain of half his fault, my sister dear Electra, whom not having seen I love. Attendant. O princess, be it to thy brother and thee Even as thou desirest from the God ! [Electra, carrying an axe, appears at the entrance to the temple. Iphigenia and the Attendant withdraw towards the hack of the scenes^ Electra. O thou earth-centre where in olden time Met the strong eagle-twain dismissed by Zeus, This from the east, that from the western verge : Altar, what suppliant hails thee with a heart Grateful as mine ? For as one grasps a plank. Sole stable thing in the dissolving sea. Clasped thee Orestes ; at thy precinct fell His frenzy from his soul, before thee paused With grinded teeth the baffled dogs of hell. And now would I make question [Iphigenia comes forward. ^ But methinks Iphigenia in Delphi. 15 Another — Artemis ! were thine this fane, Or bore this form of aspect blanched and mild Ouiver or crescent, she were deemed of me Thy statue, animate, unpedestalled. Iphigenia. Surely she is the daughter of a king ! Electra. What if she be the fateful Pythia's self ? Iphigenia. My heart to hers cries inarticulately. Electra. The tongue my love would loose, my awe restrains. Iphigenia. Yet why do I delay to question her ? — Thou stately one, art thou, then, sprung from Troy ? Electra. Ill greet'st thou me with an abhorred word. Iphigenla. Thou look'st so noble and so sorrowful. Electra. What, then ? Delay not to unfold thy thought. Iphigenia. I deemed that haply in captivity 1 6 IpHiGEMA IN Delphi. Electra. O enviable to mine the captive's lot ! Iphigenia. Hath Ilion wrought thee, then, such wretched doom ? Electra. Sire, sister, mother, brother, all she took. Iphigenia. Thou speak'st an unintelligible word. Electra. Wherefore ? How is my speech incredible ? Iphigenia. Fathers may fall, fighting in Ares' fields — Electra. Mine sought the Styx by a more dismal road. Iphigenia. But sisters, mothers, how shall these be slain ? Electra. Forbear, thrust not thy fingers in my wounds. Iphigenia. Forgive me ; I have known wounds' anguish, too. Electra. Unfortunate, what, then, hath been thy pang? Iphigenia in Delphi. l^ Iphigenia. The captive's doom thou deemest enviable. Electra. O were it mine, were but my brother safe ! Iphigenia. Thou hast a brother, then. What fate is his ? Electra. 'Twere best he weltered on the uneasy main. Iphigenia. miserable, if this indeed the best ! Electra. Else much I fear his limbs, repast of kites Iphigenia. Lie unentombed on some barbaric strand ? Electra. Where never shall a sister bury them. Iphigenia. 1 pray the Gods to send ye happier doom. Electra. Why weepest thou? Thou hast a brother, then? Iphigenia. Whose presence every instant I await. Electra. O happy thou ! What need of further bliss ! But I have come to entreat the God for mine. l8 Iphigenia in Delphi. Iphigenia. Then will I leave thee, deeming not the God Demands a listener at his conference ; And only say, may he be favourable ! [Iphigenia retires; Electra lays the axe on the altar. Detested instrument of infamy ! Well pleased, I lay thee now where ne'er shall man Uplift thee for our misery again. Another word was mine, O axe, what time I gave thee to Orestes' hand, and said, " Seest thou this rust ? It is thy father's blood, Till thou efface it with another stain." And now it is my mother's ; and whose next ? Knowest thou, Latona-born, prophetic God ? Ah me ! how I mistrust thy oracle. Which said to Agamemnon's son, " Go forth. And, where the inhospitable billow beats Sullen on Tauris, and a bloody steam Wavers around the effigy severe Of Artemis, my sister, do thou seize That image, hither bear it, and have rest." Gladly he heard, and his sea-cleaving bark Equipped with mast, and sail, and oar, and bench Iphigenia in Delphi. 19 Where many a comrade sat ; and in his face Glowed ardour Hke a racer's when he sees Near and more near the distinguishable goal. And I beside the billow stood, and waved My veil, while mist, born spray-like from the bright Wild fluctuation of my smiles and tears. Concealed the diminution of his sails. But, Phoebus, morn by morn thou issuest forth, A splendour pacing in four-steeded car. With light displaying nothing that I love. And warmth that cannot dry a tear of mine. And eve by eve thou duly dost commit Thy chariot to thy Hour, whose silvery star Smiles on thy forfeit pledge — and thou a God ! Yet, haply, thou wert true to happier men ; But our sad house, the refuge of all crime, Where son with mother wars, with husband wife, Brother with brother ; wherefore should the Gods Deal with us as we deal not with ourselves ? Ah me ! Orestes, is my anguish all my own ? If, as I trust, thy effort hath prevailed To win the statue, and thou bear'st it home 20 Iphigenia in Delphi. In strong sea-furrowing galley, dost thou muse, "How shall one subtly, with ambiguous speech, Prepare Electra, lest she die of joy ? " Or if, alas ! alas ! thou hast stood forlorn For slaughter in that fane, was then thy thought, " Alas, for my Electra when she hears ! " ? Indeed I know not, but too well I know Sooner a girl shall slay a weaponed man Than man love woman with a woman's love. EuRYCLES {entering the temple). Daughter of Agamemnon, turn and hear A heavy word from a reluctant tongue. Electra. Who art thou, man ? whence sent ? what thing to tell ? EURYCLES. One of Orestes' comrades, bound with him To Scythia — bound without him back to Greece. Electra. Without ! without ! thou darest not to call Orestes dead ! EURYCLES. 1 have not seen him die. Iphigenia in Delphi. 21 Electra. Then animate ? Thou darest to be mute ! EURYCLES. O princess, listen only to my tale, And I will tell thee truly all I know. Electra. Speak quickly, while I yet have life to hear. EuRYCLES. Long did the north wind baffle, but at length We gained the coast of massacre, and found A cave low-arched, wave-whispering at its mouth. But vaulted loftily within, and dry. Therein we entered, and with food and drink Refreshed ourselves ; and then Orestes spake, " Rest here, my friends, while Pylades with me Goes forth to explore this region what it is, And how the Goddess' image may be won." And so they parted, venturous ; but the hours Wore on ; nor came there any sign from them. Then took we counsel, and cast forth a lot For perquisition, and it fell on me. Then went I forth, and found an open space Before a moated city, and in it Pylades and thy brother standing bound ; 22 Iphigenia in Delphi, Their armour rent from them, their dress defiled With blood and dust, and from the brow of each Oozed the thick sullen droppings, and I judged Our friends the booty ot a multitude, Beset by rustics armed with clubs and stones, And turned me round to fly, but as I turned Came forth a wondrous woman tall and fair, Grecian in aspect, in a Grecian garb Draping her stateliness symmetrical. And truly I had deemed her Artemis ; But that, the while she approached and shore a lock From either captive, thundering pealed acclaim Exultant from the barbarous multitude, " The priestess, who shall give the men to death ! " I turned and fled, and flying saw her still. And hastening to our ambush I called forth My comrades to the rescue, but alas ! One said, How shall we brave a host in arms ? And one. The slaughter is performed ere this. And one, The Pythian but fulfils his pledge, What peace is peaceful as the peace of death ? Iphigenia in Delphi. 23 And so we sailed. Alas ! regard me not So rigidly with thy dismaying eyes ! For verily, had I prevailed, thou hadst heard Thy brother's fortunes from thy brother's lips, Or never from the lips of any man. Electra. I hate thee not, but get thee from my sight. EURYCLES. I go as thou commandest, yet not far ; Full surely thou wilt soon have need of me. [Goes out. Electra. Now see I all the blindness of our race, Now see I all the malice of the Gods. O my Orestes ! O my brother ! now A mangled victim ! who could e'er conceive The time to have been when thou didst come a swift Avenger, terrible and beautiful, Yet cloaked with craft, unrecognisable, Bearing the urn thou feignd'st to contain thy dust? And I believed, and took it to my arms, And wept such tears as I am shedding now. But then did never deem to shed again ; Till thy dear heart was melted, and thy arms 24. Iphigenia in Delphi. Met sudden round my neck, and thou didst cry, " Believe it not, Electra, but believe Thou clasp'st the living brother, not the dead," Who had not deemed me mad had I rejoined, *' I would, Orestes, that the tale were true... Yet, had it been true, then hadst thou obtained Decorous rites of sepulture most meet, Paid by a kindred hand, thy sister had v/armed Thy chill ash for a little with her breast, And then avenged it. Yea, this hand had reeked And dripped with the adulterous blood, thou pure. And I sole quarry of the hounds of hell." Ah me ! the gladness I was glad to lose ! What sudden thought grasps and enkindles me ? The wheel of circumstance brings all things back. Again thou diest, my brother, and again My vengeance lives. Alas ! I cannot go. And with this hatchet cleave thy hateful head, Iphigenia in Delphi. 25 And spill thy abominable blood, accursed Vassal of Artemis. But thou, false God, Smooth murderer with ambiguous oracles, Thou art not safe as thou esteem'st thyself. Look down, and thou shalt see to what a deed A desperate heart can prompt a daring hand. Forsake thy nectared and ambrosial feast, And save thy shrine, if thou art indeed a God ! [^Snalc/ies a brand from the altar. Iphigenla {entering). Ha, wretched, what art doing with that brand ? Electra. I fire the fane of a deceitful God. Iphigenia. Nay, truly, if this hand can hinder thee. Electra. Thou would'st then rather I should burn thy eyes ! Iphigenia. Apollo will protect his combatant. Electra. Ah me ! the brand is caught out from my grasp. Iphigenia. Thou seest, the weak are strong by piety. 26 Iphigenia in Delfhi. Electra. O miserable slave of the Unjust ! May these requite thee, abject, with the doom Bestowed by them upon the brave and free ! Thou hast a brother ? — may'st thou see him die ! A sister ? — may'st thou slay her with thy hand ! Iphigenia. Curse, frantic, with a curse I do not heed ; For surely thou art crazed with wretchedness. Electra. maiden, as a mother who has lost Daughter or son, clasps the insensible urn. And fondles it, and feigns it is her child — So thee, though thou art colder than an urn. Yet will I feign another, and will make Thee umpire of my quarrel with the Gods. 1 had, alas ! alas ! a brother ; his name Thou knowest not, nor shalt. Suffice, he turned Hither, inquiring of his death or life. Now, had the God said " death,'' who would have blamed ? But it was little for my brother to die, Unless the Gods could have their sport with him. Iphigenia in Delphi. 27 So he was told, " Find such and such, and rest." He went to find it, and he found the grave. Now, if I stood and railed, the God would say, " What rest so deep as the grave's quietude ? " base, contemptible, and lying God ! 1 see thou chokest with thy zeal to earn The wages of thy supple abjectness. Come, plead thy masters' cause, and be repaid With some reward unenviable by me. Iphigexia. Alas ! for all thy solemn hierarchy, Olympus, and the Order that controls The world, had Love dominion for an hour ! But this was craft and wisdom of the Gods, That, knowing Love by nature masterful, Inconstant, wilful, proud, tyrannical. They compassed him with all fragility. Set him at subtlest variance with himself, Stronger than Change or Death, than Time that leaves The storied bronze with unengraven front. Yet weak as weakness' self ; nor weak alone, But without weakness inconceivable. Say now we grant it were impossible 2 8 Iphigenia in Delphi. Thy brother should perish, had I found thee here Asking the God for him with thy wild voice ? Thou buyest not Love save with the anxious heart, That quakes at what may happen — often must ; Else were thy love as empty as thy fear. Elfxtra. Methinks I hear the main's inhabitant Marvelling why the foolish seaman drowns. Thy brother is alive, and mine is dead. Iphigenia. 'Tis for that thing I pity thee, and now Would offer thee a sister in his room. Electra. Thee for a sister, heartless ! Say as soon Artemis' image, or her cruel self ; Or even her satellite, the murderess. Iphigenia. Alas ! thou knowest not what thou dost reject. But why curse Artemis ? 'tis her I serve. Electra. Thou servest Artemis ! Had I but known I Off! off! detested! Iphigenia. Whence this frantic rage ? Iphigenia in Delphi. 29 Electra. Off ! ere I smite thee ! Thou my sister, thou ! Iphigenia. Again I warn thee that thou dost reject, Thou knowest not what. A sister's were a breast Whereon to weep, venting in rainy tears The fury thou amassest now in clouds, And hurlest at the Gods in thunderbolts, Electra. Hear then, I had a sister, and have not. Iphigenia. Wretched, by what calamity deprived ? Electra. A Mighty One (inquire not for her name) Looked upon her, and thought — How beau- tiful ! Simple, and sweet, and innocent, and blithe With buoyant life, yet must the virgin die. For I have some strange pleasure in her death ; Wherefore she took the maid, and slaughtered her. Iphigenia. Thou talkest idly, grief hath turned thy brain. 30 Iphigenia in Delphi. Ah, me ! thy eyes blaze, and a fire of light Is poured upon thee all from head to foot. Electra. Sister, ere me a victim of the Unjust, Leave ghostly Acheron, if thou canst, awhile. And see how thy beloved avenges thee ! {Snatches a brand from the altar.) Iphigenia. Madwoman cease ! ah, me ! help ! rescue ! help! EuRYCLES {running m). What means this clamour and commotion ? {perceiving Iphigenia). Gods! Electra. Thou palsiest me with look unspeakable. Eurycles. Behold thy brother's murderess 1 Iphigenia. I? I? Eurycles. The Scythian womian, vowed to Artemis ! Electra. Kind Gods, I do not curse ye any more. {Snatches the axe from the altar, and strikes Iphigenia.) Iphigenia in Delphi. 31 Die, hatefullest ! [Iphigenia /7//y. O, drunkenness of joy ! Aye, moan. Thy moans are music to mine ears. Orestes {entering). Eyes ? what do ye behold ? Electra. Orestes ! EURYCLES. Prince ! Electra. O day of happiness ! O crown of life ! Orestes ! clasp — Orestes. Off ! off ! abominable ! O temple, fall upon us ! bury us ! Electra ! wretch detestable ! Iphigenia. Electra ! Hasten and kiss me ere it be too late, [Dies. Orestes throws himself upon the body.) EuRYCLES. The Gods be thanked, there yet is time to fly. [Escapes. Electra. Orestes, to this sudden shock of joy 32 Iphigenia in Delphi. My whole frame thrills responsive, my full heart's Glad clamour in my bosom silences All dissonancy, and I do not ask How here ? how sped ? how saved ? how taken for lost ? Or why thou spurnest my embrace, the while Thou kneelest to caress a murderer. Orestes {not regarding Electra). O speak, look, make some sign, or only breathe ! Electra. How, when thou deign'st no look or word to me ? Orestes. Thou slayest me, counterfeiting to be slain. Electra. Met ever brother with a greeting like this — Orestes, Woe ! woe ! it is most certain she is dead. [^Ri'szng, Peace, execrable, red with sister's blood ! Electra. Orestes, thou art mad or mockest me. What ravest thou of sisters and their blood ? Look upon me, thou hast no sister else. Tphigenia in Delphi. 33 Orestes. Too true the word thou spakest then, ac- cursed ! Yet rather say I have no sister at all, For never will I hail thee sister more. Electra. Alas ! alas ! the Fury grasps thee again ! Too long have I perceived thou knowest me not. hide thee in my bosom, ere she gaze Thy heart cold with her- petrifying eyes ! Orestes. 1 see indeed a Fury, seeing thee. Electra {to Iphigenia). Abominable ! more hateful than I deemed. Who thought thee but his murderer, for then Most surely I had kissed him by the Styx. But thou hast stolen his love away from me, And how to win it back I do not know. Orestes. Thou sayest well : not the abyss of Acheron Could part us with a chasm like thy crime. Electra. Why ravest thou, and idly talk'st of crime ? I have slain who would have slain thee, have I not? 34 Iphigenia in Delphi. Orestes. No, thou hast murdered my deliverer. Electra. What ? not the ministrant of Artemis ? Orestes. Yea ; and thy sister, for thy better knowledge. Electra. O foolish ! Deem'st thou her Chrysothemis ? Orestes. Chrysothemis sleeps sound in Argive earth. Electra. And all men know Iphigenia slain At Aulis, by the vengeful Artemis. Orestes. Thou art near the mark ; yet call the place Delphi, not Aulis, and the murderer of blood Electra, and no longer Artemis. For Artemis was merciful, and caught The victim away in darkness, and the Greeks Slaughtered a hind, esteeming it the maid. But she was rapt to Tauris, there became The priestess of the sanctuary, gave Me life and sweet return, for herself took death, For thee, most miserable, fratricide. Electra. Apollo, how thou art avenged of me ! Iphigenia in Delphi. 35 Orestes. Woe worth the Gods' inimitable craft To frame delight from peril and distress, And utter anguish from felicity ! O sister, o'er whose gashed and prostrate corpse The red blood rushes, smoking like a steed. How were we happy in the days of toil ! When, spent and dizzy with the uncontrolled Climbing and lapsing of the clashing brine, We hailed the expected joy more confidently Than birds the sure appearing of the morn. "Orestes," thou wouldst say, ("for I have lost The memory of the land I left so young), Come, tell me of our Argos, how it is. O foolish me, forgetting thou wert torn Away in younger years than mine, yet thou Hast seen whom chiefly I desire — Electra ! Describe her ; is she liker thee or me ? O kindest Gods, what greeting will be ours ! How will she marvel whom Orestes brings ! With what inquiry will she scan my face ! With what amazement listen to my tale ! With what enchantment leap into my arms !" O, fondly has thy sister welcomed thee ! Alas I I know not whom to pity most, 36 Iphigenia in Delphi. Thee, murdered, or thee, murderer, or myself, Robbed of two sisters by one evil blow. Electra. Thou sayest well, Orestes. I am dead ; Touch not this hand again, press not this lip, Give me no tears, this corpse demands them all. Speak not one word of pity or of love. And never call me sister any more. Only be patient with some sad last words Before I go away and slay myself. Think not Iphigenia yearned alone To greet me. Often in the dismal nights, When thou wert far in exile, and our roof Rang with adulterous revel, and I lay Hearkening on my lone couch, burning with hate And shame for her who knew no shame, a dream Has stolen upon me, and my sister appeared Departing for the Aulian armament, Bashful and joyous, bending to appease My childish grief : " Farewell till thou dost go, The bride of the most valiant of the Greeks." And, wakening, I have passionately sobbed, Iphigenia in Delphi. 37 And smitten upon my couch as though it were A sepulchre I summoned to restore Iphigenia only for an hour. And I have had my hour, and in my hour Reviled, outraged, and lastly murdered her Whom most I loved of mortals after thee. Orestes, now I go, but hear and mark My last sad words, as though a spirit spake. Crave nought intemperately from Gods more kind Withholding, haply, than conferring boons. Orestes. Thou didst not crave Iphigenia alone ? Electra. There was for whom I longed with such excess Orestes. That ? Haste to tell me, though indeed I know. Electra. The tears I shed for her seemed even relief. Orestes. Thou meanest thy brother surely, or whom else ? Electra. To whom else should a wretched sister look ? 38 Iphicenia in Delphi. Orestes. O faithful heart, enfolded in these arms — Electra. Off! wouldst thou be polluted with this blood ? Orestes. What is pollution like ingratitude ? Electra. So guilty, known to all Gods and men ! Orestes. So long with thee, and have not kissed thee yet ! Electra. Thou claspest, soothest me, the murderess, thou ! Orestes. To whom else should a wretched sister look ? Electra. Thou dost forget, methinks, whose blood this is. Orestes. And thou, whose thou hast kissed from off these hands. Electra. No murderer thou, but executioner. Orestes. And thou, thou thoughtest to avenge my death. Iphigenia in Delphi. 39 Electra. Thou wilt be purified, but what of me ? Orestes. Thou shalt be purified, or I will not. But yield thee to my will, resist no more ; For neither will I suffer thee to die, Nor quit thee while thou breathest on the earth. \The temple is illiuninated by the sudden appearance of Apollo. /;/ the background Hermes is seen departing tuith the shades of Achilles «;z^Iphigenl\.] Apollo. Orestes, while the man of noble heart Yet strives with circumstance, the Gods look on. Willing the glory to be all his own ; But then descend, and take him by the hand When at the last he shines a conqueror. So now that thou hast wholly put away All hatred and revenge and evil thought. And art most wholly Love's, hear the reward Of deeds divinely done from lips divine. And, first, no Fury at thee shall hurl again Her torch, or lash thee with a snaky lock. Whom now the purifying vase awaits, 4© Iphigenia in Delphi. And quiet by my oracles foretold. And also for Electra there is peace, Who, deeming to slay an enemy with an axe, Did set a bride's wreath on a sister's brow. O ignorance of blind mortality ! For know, it hath been all-constraining Love's Ancient and solemn counsel, that the bride Reft from Achilles erst, he should regain. And rule with her the sacred island-realm Invisible, inviolate, the home Of innocent sprites and hero-shades august, Screened in the secrecy of western seas. Yet by thy hand must first the hallowed dues Of sepulture be rendered. These performed, My sister's fane at Brauron seek, therein Instal the Taurian effigy, not now With carnage placable, but some young maid. With one warm drop drawn from her throb- bing neck. Shall stain it, nor shall Artemis crave more. There, too, shalt thou be purged of blood, nor less Electra. Thence to Argolis return, And prosperously reign, a kingly life Proved and accepted ; by stern fate, swift change. Iphigenia in Delphi. 41 Trials and toils and venturous tragic deeds, Splendid and dark, tempered and sealed for sway. Orestes. Phoebus, with a glad and grateful mind Will I accomplish all thou bid'st me do. A little while, dear shade, and we will come, And fondly with befitting obsequies Dismiss thee to the regions of the blest. Electra, hear'st thou ? Come, grasp my hand ; erect thee from the earth. Electra. Leave thou me here to grovel where I lie, And reign in Argolis, forgetting me. Orestes. 1 see thou art my Furies' friend, not mine, Who dost debar me from the lustral fount, Which never will I seek but by thy side. Electra. O sister, sister, how forsake thy corpse ? Orestes. O sister, sister, how repel my hand ? Electra. Thou forcest me, Orestes, I obey ; But know, more easily in Argolis 42 Iphigenia m Delphi. Did I constrain thee, frantic, to thy couch Phantasmal, with my kisses making blind Thy eyes against the serpents, from thy lips Wiping the foam Orestes. As I the blood from thee. Griev'st thou that I repay thee at the last ? Come, my Electra, we will weep no more ; Knowing that nought is done without the Gods, And knowing that the Gods do all things well. i I Epic, I The Shield of Achilles. %^ 'T'HE various shield first framed he, massive, vast. A gleaming rim around he deftly cast Of triple plates ; a silver brace, to wield The orb, contrived ; then fivefold wrought the shield. Next with embossed device the work o'erlaid, And Earth, Sea, Sky, with subtle skill por- trayed : The unwearied Sun, the Moon's perfected light, All constellations radiant in the height Of Heaven ; the Pleiads and the Hyad train ; Orion's strength; the Pole- encircling Wain, Orion's watcher, whose unsetting beams Alone are laved not with the Ocean's streams. Two cities of mankind he wrought. In one Marriage was made, and festival went on. Here brides, environed with bright torches' blaze, ^6 The Shield of Achilles. Forth from their bovvers they lead, and loudly raise The nuptial chant ; and dancers blithely spring, Cheered by the sweet-breathed flute and harper's string ; And women at their doors stand wondering. There, in the market gathered, many stood Round two contending for the price of blood. This pleaded he had paid what that one sought. And each his cause to the tribunal brought. Each had his eager friends among the crowd. Whom prudent heralds checked, nor strife allowed. Midway the elders' reverend cirque was shown Weighing the cause on seats of polished stone; Each in his hand a sceptre held, and each Rising pronounced, as came his turn for speech. Two golden talents in the middle gleamed. For him, whose sentence wisest should be deemed. But by the other town besieging sate Two hosts in shining arms, and held debate Whether to fire it with the wealth it kept, Or half as ransom for the rest accept. But they within, yet unsubdued, prepared The Shield of Achilles. 47 Ambush, their gates committing to the guard Of women, children, and old men, who all Stood up for battle on that city's wall. But to the fray went every fighting man : Athene and fierce Ares in their van. With golden arms, in golden raiment trod. Fair and tall-statured, as becomes the God ; The people somewhat less. But when they came Where fitly they their ambuscade might frame, A pool where drinking cattle oft were found, Each shining warrior couched upon the ground, Save two, who posted nigh strict watch did keep For the horned kine approaching with the sheep. They came ; two herdsmen followed them the while, Playing on reeds, unwitting of all guile ; But they who lay in wait and could foresee Their coming, sprang from covert suddenly, And the sleek herds and snowy flocks did hem Around, and slew the men who tended them. When then those tarrying in their leaguer heard The clamour by the oxen, each bestirred 48 The Shield of Achilles. Himself unto the rescue, in fleet race Urging his bounding courser to the place. And coming to that river-watered lea They showered their spears, contending despe- rately : And Strife and Tumult warred those men among. And deadly Fate wrought there, and through the throng One wounded, one unhurt, one dead she dragged along. Her garments on her limbs rained bloody rain ; While, figured like to life, they on the plain The living smote, and struggled for the slain. Next wrought he a soft fertile fallow-field, Spacious, that could three annual harvests yield ; And many ploughmen ploughing in it were. Guiding the yokes of oxen here and there ; And as each finished his straight furrow's line. One came forth with a cup of honeyed wine. And bid him drink ; then turned and drove he, fain The field's extremest limit to attain. The Shield of Achilles. 49 Browner behind him lay the new-turned mould, In colour like the soil, though it of gold Was wrought in sooth, rare marvel to behold ! Then wrought he a deep field of corn embrowned, Which reapers reaped with sickles ; to the ground The severed ears were falling from their grasp And binders worked with bands of straw to clasp The ample sheaves ; to whom by boys were borne Armfuls incessant of collected corn. The lord stood silent, gladdened in his heart To view the reaping. 'Neath an oak, apart, Heralds were labouring to equip the feast. Busy around a huge and slaughtered beast ; And women, careful of the reapers' weal. Were kneading the abundant barley-meal. A vineyard next of gold Hephaestus wrought, With hanging clusters, ripe to blackness, fraught. 5o The Shield of Achilles. Silver the stakes that propped the clambering vines ; Blue cyanos the trench ,* the hedge's lines Of tin ; a single narrow path confers Access upon the thronging vintagers. Merrily maidens and their youthful mates Went carrying the sweet fruit in woven crates ; A boy before them, smiting the harp-string, Made music, with his clear voice carolling The Linus chant, they, hurrying on the sweet Strain, shouted as they kept due time with tripping feet. A herd of high-horned cattle framed he then ; " Part gold, part tin ; they lowing from their pen Impetuously ran forth and straying fed Where tall reeds trembled in a river's bed. Four golden herdsmen stoutly strode beside The herd, by nine swift dogs accompanied. But two dread lions sprang, and strove to pull Down, foremost 'mid the kine, a bellowing bull. The Shield of Achilles. 51 He, roaring loud, was dragged along, but then Came to his aid the dogs and active men. Yet, rending his tough hide, the lions tore His entrails from him, lapping the black gore. And vainly sought the herdsmen to pursue. Encouraging the dogs, that backward drew, Shunning the strife, yet somewhat close remained. And bayed incessant, but to bite refrained. Next, by Hephaestus wrought, the shield portrayed A fair sheep-pasture in a woodland glade ; And folds, and huts, and stalls o'erroofed he made. A dance he next designed, such as of old Daedalus did in ample Gnossus mould For Ariadne of the lovely hair ; Mazy and many-mingled. Dancing there Moved many a youth, and maid with ardour sought In marriage ; each one with the right hand caught The other's wrist ; garbs of fine linen drest The comely maids, and each one of the rest 52 The Shield of Achilles, Wore, lustrous as soft oil, a well-spun vest. A flowery wreath each virgin well beseemed ; A silver belt, a golden dagger gleamed On every youth ; and graceful did they run Nimbly with agile motions every one. As when a potter whirls his wheel, to try If, truly wrought, 'twill run round easily ; And sometimes in encountering files advanced; And crowds stood by, beholding them that danced With joy ; to whom a bard began to sing ; And with them were two tumblers tumbling. Last, Ocean's strength he made, and with it filled The shining border of the perfect shield. Exordium of the Iliad. « TJAGER Athene thus did Zeus incite '-^ Yet more, from heaven she suddenly took flight ; In figure like an osprey long of wing She darted where the Greeks apparelling Themselves in arms were stationed, there imbued Achilles' breast with nectar, lest he should Faint in the battle, for refreshment fain, Then flew up to her father's dome again : But from the ships they poured and swarmed upon the plain And thick as Zeus' cold flakes, when forth they fare. Borne of the north wind through the crystal air. Legions innumerable landward flowed Of many-glancing helms, and mail that glowed With over-lapping plates, and bossy shields. Achilles arms Himself. 65 And ashen spears. Their splendour from the fields Flashed up to heaven, and all the earth about Laughed luminous with lustre they cast out, And quaked beneath the infinite footfall, And high Achilles armed him 'mid them all. Raging he gnashed his teeth, flame in his eye Lightened, but on his heart weighed misery ; And wrath and sadness shared him as he stood, And bright Hephsestus' battle-garb indued. First in his greaves his legs he did enclasp, Well riveting the silver ankle-hasp ; His bosom in his cuirass next arrayed ; Then hung his shining silver-studded blade Over his shoulder ; then his shield he took, Massy and huge ; whose beam was as the look Of the broad moon from heaven ; or as when Fire blazes on the hills where shepherds pen Their flocks at night, and splendour streams to sea. Discerned of them who toss unhappily On the great waters, who may not arrive At land, but with the wind unwilling drive ; Such light the fair elaborate buckler shed. Then his huge crested helmet on his head — 66 Achilles arms Himself. Which shone as if a star his brows had crowned — He set, and all the golden plumes around Danced thrilling, on the helm by deft He- phaestus bound. Then did he prove the armour, if it might Be truly fashioned, fitting him aright. And felt as he were winged with feathers light. So aptly did it sheathe him. Next the spear He grasped which Peleus anciently did bear, Tough, long, and heavy, which not anyone Of Greeks could brandish, saving him alone ; The shaft by Chiron felled on Pelion, then To Peleus given, doom-to warrior men. But Alcimus and bold Automedon Wrought by the steeds, fitting the harness on. The horses' mouths with curbs they did con- strain, And to the chariot seat drew back the rein. Automedon then mounted, in his right Shaking the beaming scourge. As sunshine bright. Godlike Achilles sprang unto his side, And loudly to his father's coursers cried : Achilles arms Himself. 67 " Xanthus and Balius, Podarge's breed, Bring ye this day your lord with better speed Back from the field, when from the field ye fare, Nor leave him, as ye left Patroclus, there." But to him audibly his steed thus said. Swift Xanthus, from the chariot, as his head He on a sudden drooped, and with his mane. Unloosened from the yoke-band, swept the plain — For white-armed Hera gave him voice — ** This day, Achilles, we shall save thee from the fray ; But nioh at hand the hour when thou must fall. For which accuse not thou thy steeds at all, But Gods, and Fates who life and death dis- . pense. Not by our tardiness or indolence Did Trojans strip the arms Patroclus wore. But the bright God whom fair-haired Leto bore Slew him amongst the first, yet Hector won The glory. Fleet may we as Zephyr run, Who fleetest among winds is famed to be. 68 Achilles arms Himself. Yet slaughter and the slayers wait for thee, Whom shall a mortal slay, and eke a Deity." Here ceased he, for his tongue the Furies tied: To him Achilles wrathfully replied, *' Xanthus, why bode my death ? thou need'st not so ; That I must perish here full well I know, Far from my father, from my mother far ; Yet verily I will not cease from war Till I have overthrown the Trojans quite." He said, and shouting drove into the fight. l^lie Gods join in the Battle, ~i|^ B UT to the Gods, coming where strove these Came strife, and with the rest they battled then. And with a mighty voice Athene cried, Now where the moat the rampart fortified Shouting, and now the roaring main beside. Ares upon his part, as storms a blast, Now crying to the Trojans his voice cast Forth from the citadel, and now where is Callicolone by swift Simois. Thus cheered they on the armies, their own might Mingling with theirs in formidable fight. And Zeus the sire of Gods and men dismayed The heavens with thunder, and Poseidon made Tremor in all the immeasurable earth, And Ida whore the many springs have birth Quaked with her peak and every mountain- spur, /O The Gods join in the Battle. And Troy's towers and the navy quaked with her. And nether Hades, despot of the dead, Leapt from his throne and cried aloud, in dread Lest earth should yawn, so strong Poseidon shook, And suffer men and heavenly Gods to look Into the squalor of his realm unblest, Which even the undying Gods detest. Idyllic. The Cyclop, PjINTMENT, or pill, or potion cannot be, So I opine, of love the remedy : Solely the Muse can soothe the amorous mind ; Sweet is her antidote, but hard to find. Thou, Nicias, best canst tell if this be true, Beloved of Muses, and physician too. Such comfort did, at least, the Muse provide For Polypheme, my countryman one-eyed. Whose love for wave-born Galate appeared Twin with his young contemporary beard. Now be it known that when a Cyclop pines, 'Tis not his wont to woo with valentines, But with distraction. Oft-times, having fed. Homeward would wend his flock unshepherded, While sole beside the Aveedy shore sat he, Languishing for the love of Galate, From morn to eve ; so rankled the dire dart By Eros deep implanted in his heart ; Yet solace found, as, looking to the main, E 74 The Cyclop. From a high rock he thus poured forth his strain : — " Than calves more skittish, than unripened fruit Of vines more harsh, why, Galate, my suit Dost thou reject, and, as the sheep doth fly The haggard wolf, avoid me : when my eye Slumber hath sealed, emerging from the main ; When I am wakened speeding back again ? " When had my passion birth ? When thou didst come And our rough mountain with my mother roam. Seeking for hyacinths, I showed the Avay, And ne'er have discontinued to this day Burning for thee, but much thou car'st for this. Full well I know whence thy aversion is ; Alerely because my shaggy eyebrow goes Right on from ear to ear, while 'ncath it glows One solitary eye, a sight uncouth. And my broad nose is almost in my mouth. The Cyclop. 75 Most trivial cause, thee from thy swain to keep ! One eyebrow have I, but a thousand sheep, Which milking, I exhaust the foaming pail. On cheese at every season I regale, My crates being always loaded. On the reed All other Cyclop minstrels I exceed. And thereupon my passion oft-times vent. Hymning our loves till night is well-nigh spent. Nay, more, for thee my thoughtful fondness rears Eleven collared fawns, and four young bears. Come — tho u wilt not regret it. Let blue sea Break on its shingly beach, unheard by thee: More sweetly wilt thou slumber in my cave. And arms, dear pet. There laurels richly wave. Blent with slim cypress, and dark ivy-twines Creep interlaced with purple-fruited vines ; And, cold from woody Etna's peak of snow. Water delicious doth beside them flow ; Who could prefer the sea, these things being so ? Am I too shaggy for thy taste ? I lay Great store of timber by, and fire for aye 76 The Cyclop. Smouldering 'neath ashes. Take thyself a brand, And singe these whiskers with thy lovely hand ; Yea, even my very soul, if this thou crave. Or my one eye, best treasure that I have. Were I but born with gills ! so might I dive Downward to thee, and thus thy hand contrive To kiss, thy sweeter lips prohibited. And bring thee lilies white, or poppies red (Those bloom in summer, these in winter weather — 'Tis clear I could not bring them both to- gether). Yet will I the next mariner beseech Whom traffic brings us here, and he shall teach The swimmer's mystery, that I may prove If deeps have aught, excepting thee, to love. Come, forth my Galatea, from the spray, Come and forget, as I, the homeward way. Come feed with me my sheep upon the leas, Milk my full ewes, and make with rennet cheese. Most do I blame my mother, for indeed The Cyclop. 77 Ne'er in my favour will she intercede, Though seeing me grow thinner day by day : But I'll be even with her, for I'll say My feet are swelled, and of my head complain, And make her thus participate my pain. " O Cyclop, Cyclop, much wool-gathering ! Get to thy cave, plait wicker there, or bring Young branches for thy lambs, 'twere far more wise. Milk thou the ewe thou hast, leave her that flies. Some fairer Galatea wilt thou meet. Oft maidens at the evening hour entreat My company to play with them, and all When I comply, straightway a-laughing fall : On land, 'tis clear, our credit is not small." Thus warbling, did our Polj-'pheme appease His amorous woe, and save his doctor's fees. T^he Fishermen, pOVERTY, Diophantus, can alone Awake invention ; 'tis by her is shown How toil must be relieved, 'tis she can keep The weary labourer even from his sleep ; Or, if a little while at rest he lies. Trouble is soon at hand to bid him rise. Two ao^ed fishers in a wattled shed Rested together on the couch they spread Of withered leaves and moss. By them were laid The tokens of their poverty and trade : Baskets, rods, hooks, baits bedded in sea-weed. Lines, wickers, nets, traps twined from rush and reed, A pair of oars, on props a boat decayed. A mat for either head scant pillow made, A cloak was cither's quilt. Not great their store, But when did ever fishermen have more ? No bolt their cabin had, no dog ; indeed. Their penury dispensed them from the need ; The Fishermen. 79 Nor neighbour had they any, save the sea ^loaning and rolling everlastingly, Close by the crazy cot. Not yet the clear Moon had fulfilled the half of her career, When, roused by need, they woke, their cares began To soothe with talk, and thus one fisher- man : — First Fisherman. 'Tis certain they must lie, my friend, who say That summer nights decrease with lengthen- ing day ; Ten thousand dreams I've dreamed, nor yet the sun Is risen ; will the night be never done ? Second Fisherman. Rashly thou blam'st fair summer, time of all Fittest for fishing. It doth not befall Night to transgress her limits, but the throng Of cares persuades thee to esteem her long. First Fisherman. Canst thou interpret dreams ? This night to me A rare one came, which I'll impart to thee ; 8o The Fishermen. Our visions like our fish divided be ; And thou will tell me why it came, and whence ; The better half of prophecy is sense. Leisure have we ; how else, the sea beside, Can slumber's gaps be better occupied ? And wakeful as a nightingale at night, Or as the lamp perpetually bright In the town hall, am I. Second Fisherman. Come then, and tell What was this visionary miracle. First Fisherman. When yester eve, o'ercome Avith toils marine, I slept (not full J our meal, thou know'st, had been Early and scant), methought I watchful sate Perched on a rock, dangling deceitful bait Into the sea (such dreams our day prepares : Fishers must dream of fish, as hounds of hares). A huge fish bit, was firmly hooked ; well-nigh, Plunging, he snapped the bended rod that I Held with both hands, with all the skill I had The FiSHERMHN. 8i Playing him, fearful, for the hook was bad. Now slow I pulled, and let him feel the pain, Now slacked the line, now tightened it again ; At length prevailed, and, marvel to behold ! Drew from the deep a fish of solid gold. And much I feared lest peradventure he Some favourite of the monarch of the sea, Or azure Amphitrite's pet might be : Yet not the less him from the angle took. Gently, lest gold should cleave unto the hook ; And towed him happily to land, and swore Devoutly I would go to sea no more, But stay on land, and lord it with my gold ; And then I woke, and now my dream is told. But thou advise me, friend, for I am loth To go to sea, lest I should break my oath. Second Fisherman. Nay, friend, your scruple is but a mistake ; You caught no fish, and so no oath can break. Dreams are but lies, yet to your promise hold So far as it concerns the fish of gold ; But seek the fish of flesh, or like it seems That you will starve amid your golden dreams. spring. From Meleager, \ Jl /INDS sleep, snows melt, the sea's revolt is quelled, The blue of heaven unveiled, and Spring beheld, Scattering glad boons, a bright and fair-robed thing, Whose path is life, as o'er the carpeting Of emerald earth she wends with gracious tread. Now leaves transparent in soft light are spread Forth from the quickening branch that sways and droops With blossom ; now the meadows bloom with troops Of meek and pastoral flowers, where sits in peace The shepherd piping for his flock's increase. The ports are void, the issuing vessels strew A moving whiteness o'er the mirroring blue. Spring. 83 With shouts and thrilHng laughter, o'er the sod Bounding, the ivied Bacchante hails her God. Forth sally the thick bees, the feathery crowds Assemble on the branch, or from high clouds The note descends ; the river teems with swans ; The thatch her swallow harbours ; halcyons Talk softly to the sea ; and brake and dell Sequester the sweet throat of Philomel. Then, if the leaf be new, the bare earth clad. The flock prolific, and the shepherd glad. Furrowed the sea, and Bacchus served with songs, The hive astir, the air with winged throngs Peopled, and music breathed from every tree. Silent alone and thankless shall he be Whose gift 'mid mortal men is melody ? Nay, rather let him smite his lyre and sing Hymns with a happy heart to genial Spring. From Moschus. \yi /HEN gentle winds but ruffle the calm sea My breast courageous grows, and earth to me Dear as enticing Ocean cannot be : But when the great main roars, and white with foam Huge waves tower up from it, and bellowing come To burst on land, I wistful seek a home In groves retired, where, when the storm descends. It brings but music to the pine it bends. Unblest, whose house the wandering billows bear With them, who strive with sea for fishy fare. But I beneath the broad-leaved plane will lie, Where some bright fountain, breaking forth hard by, Delights and not disturbs with bubbling melody. Fro7n Bion, WOUNG was I when I saw fair Venus stand Before me, leading in her lovely hand Eros, whose drooping eye the herbage sought, And thus, " Dear herdsman, let my child be taught Music by thee," therewith she went away. Then did I in all innocence essay To teach, as though he would have learned of me The sources of sweet-flowing melody : Pan's pipe and Pallas' flute, how Hermes bade The tortoise sing, and how Apollo made The cittern. But, not heeding mine a whit, He sang himself a song, and taught me it — Mow Ve/ius ra'gns, and all in heaven above And land and sea is subject tcnto Love. And I forgot all I to Love did tell, But all he taught me I remember well. From the Sa?ne. n LONE of all, the Muses do not fear Eros, but love, and joy to have him near ; And him, who sings by Eros unsubdued, They shun, and hence his strain is wild and rude ; But he who sings as Eros doth persuade, The Muses' minstrel also shall be made. Witness myself, for when I seek to sing Of any mortal or immortal thing Save Love, my song expires in stammering. But when of love, or one beloved by me, Spontaneous streams the might of melody. From Macho, QHILOXENUS the bard, report assures, Was ranked the paragon of epicures. One day a huge and special fish he got (If dory or if lamprey, fame says not), And made one meal of it, except the head, Then, with good cause, betook himself to bed. And for the doctor sent. The leech with speed Arrived, examined, pondered, and decreed : " As near as Hippocratic art can fix, You'll die at five, perhaps it may be six. Improve the span allotted, say your prayers. Send for your friends, and settle your affairs." " Thanks, leech," the patient said, " but you must know My testament was sealed some time ago. Bacchus and Venus have I served with heed, And with the other Gods have well agreed : Phcebus will guard my laurels, if attacked : My copyrights are settled by the Act. 88 From Macho. Then, since fell Fate, with her abhorred shears, Slits the frail tissue of my mortal years. And Charon calls, that I may die resigned, In peace and charity with all mankind. And nothing may regret, nor aught may wish ; Just send me up the remnant of that fish." Melinno s Ode to Rome. TJ AIL, child of Mars ! to whom alone The Gods with equal hands have given Earth for a kingdom, yet a throne Stable as heaven. To thee most ancient Fate allowed A destiny unshared, to be A Oueen unburdened and unbowed By royalty. Earth's neck is bended to thy yoke. Thy bands her mighty bosom span. The hoar Sea quivers at thy stroke, Pilot of Man I And Time that doth to all allot, Save thee, brief date and various day, To thee alone awardeth not Change or decay. F DATE DUE CAYLORO PRINTED IN U. S A l|imiMniM[Sti,f?f.r?i"f!'*l LIBRARY FACIl ITY Iilniljillllllillllllllillllillllillllillllllllllllljllljlllllj AA 000 606 907 4 m m