The Poetical Works of Addison; Gay's Fables; and Somerville's Chase Part 9

This said, in agonies she fetched her breath.

The G.o.d dissolves in pity at her death; He hates the bird that made her falsehood known, And hates himself for what himself had done; The feathered shaft, that sent her to the fates, And his own hand that sent the shaft he hates.

Fain would he heal the wound, and ease her pain, _110 And tries the compa.s.s of his art in vain.

Soon as he saw the lovely nymph expire, The pile made ready, and the kindling fire, With sighs and groans her obsequies he kept, And, if a G.o.d could weep, the G.o.d had wept.

Her corpse he kissed, and heavenly incense brought, And solemnised the death himself had wrought.

But, lest his offspring should her fate partake, Spite of the immortal mixture in his make, He ripped her womb, and set the child at large, _120 And gave him to the centaur Chiron's charge: Then in his fury blacked the raven o'er, And bid him prate in his white plumes no more.

OCYRRHOE TRANSFORMED TO A MARE.

Old Chiron took the babe with secret joy, Proud of the charge of the celestial boy.

His daughter too, whom on the sandy sh.o.r.e The nymph Chariclo to the centaur bore, With hair dishevelled on her shoulders came To see the child, Ocyrrhoe was her name; She knew her father's arts, and could rehea.r.s.e The depths of prophecy in sounding verse.

Once, as the sacred infant she surveyed, The G.o.d was kindled in the raving maid, _10 And thus she uttered her prophetic tale; 'Hail, great physician of the world, all hail; Hail, mighty infant, who in years to come Shalt heal the nations and defraud the tomb; Swift be thy growth! thy triumphs unconfined!

Make kingdoms thicker, and increase mankind.

Thy daring art shall animate the dead, And draw the thunder on thy guilty head: Then shalt thou die; but from the dark abode Rise up victorious, and be twice a G.o.d.

_20 And thou, my sire, not destined by thy birth To turn to dust, and mix with common earth, How wilt thou toss, and rave, and long to die, And quit thy claim to immortality; When thou shalt feel, enraged with inward pains, The Hydra's venom rankling in thy veins'?

The G.o.ds, in pity, shall contract thy date, And give thee over to the power of Fate.'

Thus, entering into destiny, the maid The secrets of offended Jove betrayed; _30 More had she still to say; but now appears Oppressed with sobs and sighs, and drowned in tears.

'My voice,' says she, 'is gone, my language fails; Through every limb my kindred shape prevails: Why did the G.o.d this fatal gift impart, And with prophetic raptures swell my heart!

What new desires are these? I long to pace O'er flowery meadows, and to feed on gra.s.s: I hasten to a brute, a maid no more; But why, alas! am I transformed all o'er?

_40 My sire does half a human shape retain, And in his upper parts preserves the man.'

Her tongue no more distinct complaints affords, But in shrill accents and mishapen words Pours forth such hideous wailings, as declare The human form confounded in the mare: Till by degrees accomplished in the beast, She neighed outright, and all the steed expressed.

Her stooping body on her hands is borne, Her hands are turned to hoofs, and shod in horn; _50 Her yellow tresses ruffle in a mane, And in a flowing tail she frisks her train.

The mare was finished in her voice and look, And a new name from the new figure took.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF BATTUS TO A TOUCHSTONE.

Sore wept the centaur, and to Phoebus prayed; But how could Phoebus give the centaur aid?

Degraded of his power by angry Jove, In Elis then a herd of beeves he drove; And wielded in his hand a staff of oak, And o'er his shoulders threw the shepherd's cloak; On seven compacted reeds he used to play, And on his rural pipe to waste the day.

As once, attentive to his pipe, he played, The crafty Hermes from the G.o.d conveyed _10 A drove, that separate from their fellows strayed.

The theft an old insidious peasant viewed, (They called him Battus in the neighbourhood,) Hired by a wealthy Pylian prince to feed His favourite mares, and watch the generous breed.

The thievish G.o.d suspected him, and took The hind aside, and thus in whispers spoke: 'Discover not the theft, whoe'er thou be, And take that milk-white heifer for thy fee.'

'Go, stranger,' cries the clown, 'securely on, _20 That stone shall sooner tell;' and showed a stone.

The G.o.d withdrew, but straight returned again, In speech and habit like a country swain; And cries out, 'Neighbour, hast thou seen a stray Of bullocks and of heifers pa.s.s this way?

In the recovery of my cattle join, A bullock and a heifer shall be thine.'

The peasant quick replies, 'You'll find 'em there, In yon dark vale:' and in the vale they were.

The double bribe had his false heart beguiled: _30 The G.o.d, successful in the trial, smiled; 'And dost thou thus betray myself to me?

Me to myself dost thou betray?' says he: Then to a touchstone turns the faithless spy, And in his name records his infamy.

THE STORY OF AGLAUROS, TRANSFORMED INTO A STATUE.

This done, the G.o.d flew up on high, and pa.s.sed O'er lofty Athens, by Minerva graced, And wide Munichia, whilst his eyes survey All the vast region that beneath him lay.

'Twas now the feast, when each Athenian maid Her yearly homage to Minerva paid; In canisters, with garlands covered o'er, High on their heads their mystic gifts they bore; And now, returning in a solemn train, The troop of shining virgins filled the plain.

_10 The G.o.d well-pleased beheld the pompous show, And saw the bright procession pa.s.s below; Then veered about, and took a wheeling flight, And hovered o'er them: as the spreading kite, That smells the slaughtered victim from on high, Flies at a distance, if the priests are nigh, And sails around, and keeps it in her eye; So kept the G.o.d the virgin choir in view, And in slow winding circles round them flew.

As Lucifer excels the meanest star, _20 Or as the full-orbed Phoebe, Lucifer, So much did Herse all the rest outvie, And gave a grace to the solemnity.

Hermes was fired, as in the clouds he hung: So the cold bullet, that with fury slung From Balearic engines mounts on high, Glows in the whirl, and burns along the sky.

At length he pitched upon the ground, and showed The form divine, the features of a G.o.d.

He knew their virtue o'er a female heart, _30 And yet he strives to better them by art.

He hangs his mantle loose, and sets to show The golden edging on the seam below; Adjusts his flowing curls, and in his hand Waves with an air the sleep-procuring wand; The glittering sandals to his feet applies, And to each heel the well-trimmed pinion ties.

His ornaments with nicest art displayed, He seeks the apartment of the royal maid.

The roof was all with polished ivory lined, _40 That, richly mixed, in clouds of tortoise shined.

Three rooms, contiguous, in a range were placed, The midmost by the beauteous Herse graced; Her virgin sisters lodged on either side.

Aglauros first the approaching G.o.d descried, And as he crossed her chamber, asked his name, And what his business was, and whence he came.

'I come,' replied the G.o.d, 'from heaven, to woo Your sister, and to make an aunt of you; I am the son and messenger of Jove, _50 My name is Mercury, my business, love; Do you, kind damsel, take a lover's part, And gain admittance to your sister's heart.'

She stared him in the face with looks amazed, As when she on Minerva's secret gazed, And asks a mighty treasure for her hire, And, till he brings it, makes the G.o.d retire.

Minerva grieved to see the nymph succeed; And now remembering the late impious deed, When, disobedient to her strict command, _60 She touched the chest with an unhallowed hand; In big-swoln sighs her inward rage expressed, That heaved the rising aegis on her breast; Then sought out Envy in her dark abode, Defiled with ropy gore and clots of blood: Shut from the winds, and from the wholesome skies, In a deep vale the gloomy dungeon lies, Dismal and cold, where not a beam of light Invades the winter, or disturbs the night.

Directly to the cave her course she steered; _70 Against the gates her martial lance she reared; The gates flew open, and the fiend appeared.

A poisonous morsel in her teeth she chewed, And gorged the flesh of vipers for her food.

Minerva loathing turned away her eye; The hideous monster, rising heavily, Came stalking forward with a sullen pace, And left her mangled offals on the place.

Soon as she saw the G.o.ddess gay and bright, She fetched a groan at such a cheerful sight.

_80 Livid and meagre were her looks, her eye In foul, distorted glances turned awry; A h.o.a.rd of gall her inward parts possessed, And spread a greenness o'er her cankered breast; Her teeth were brown with rust; and from her tongue, In dangling drops, the stringy poison hung.

She never smiles but when the wretched weep, Nor lulls her malice with a moment's sleep, Restless in spite: while watchful to destroy, She pines and sickens at another's joy; _90 Foe to herself, distressing and distressed, She bears her own tormentor in her breast.

The G.o.ddess gave (for she abhorred her sight) A short command: 'To Athens speed thy flight; On cursed Aglauros try thy utmost art.

And fix thy rankest venoms in her heart.'

This said, her spear she pushed against the ground, And mounting from it with an active bound, Flew off to heaven: the hag with eyes askew Looked up, and muttered curses as she flew; _100 For sore she fretted, and began to grieve At the success which she herself must give.

Then takes her staff, hung round with wreaths of thorn, And sails along, in a black whirlwind borne, O'er fields and flowery meadows: where she steers Her baneful course, a mighty blast appears, Mildews and blights; the meadows are defaced, The fields, the flowers, and the whole year laid waste; On mortals next and peopled towns she falls, And breathes a burning plague among their walls, _110 When Athens she beheld, for arts renowned, With peace made happy, and with plenty crowned, Scarce could the hideous fiend from tears forbear, To find out nothing that deserved a tear.

The apartment now she entered, where at rest Aglauros lay, with gentle sleep oppressed.

To execute Minerva's dire command, She stroked the virgin with her cankered hand, Then p.r.i.c.kly thorns into her breast conveyed, That stung to madness the devoted maid; _120 Her subtle venom still improves the smart, Frets in the blood, and festers in the heart.

To make the work more sure, a scene she drew, And placed before the dreaming virgin's view Her sister's marriage, and her glorious fate: The imaginary bride appears in state; The bridegroom with unwonted beauty glows, For Envy magnifies whate'er she shows.

Full of the dream, Aglauros pined away In tears all night, in darkness all the day; _130 Consumed like ice, that just begins to run, When feebly smitten by the distant sun; Or like unwholesome weeds, that, set on fire, Are slowly wasted, and in smoke expire.

Given up to Envy, (for in every thought, The thorns, the venom, and the vision wrought).

Oft did she call on death, as oft decreed, Rather than see her sister's wish succeed, To tell her awful father what had pa.s.sed: At length before the door herself she cast; _140 And, sitting on the ground with sullen pride, A pa.s.sage to the love-sick G.o.d denied.

The G.o.d caressed, and for admission prayed, And soothed, in softest words, the envenomed maid.

In vain he soothed; 'Begone!' the maid replies, 'Or here I keep my seat, and never rise.'

'Then keep thy seat for ever!' cries the G.o.d, And touched the door, wide-opening to his rod.

Fain would she rise, and stop him, but she found Her trunk too heavy to forsake the ground; _150 Her joints are all benumbed, her hands are pale, And marble now appears in every nail.

As when a cancer in her body feeds, And gradual death from limb to limb proceeds; So does the dullness to each vital part Spread by degrees, and creeps into her heart; Till, hardening everywhere, and speechless grown, She sits unmoved, and freezes to a stone.

But still her envious hue and sullen mien Are in the sedentary figure seen.

_160

EUROPA'S RAPE.

When now the G.o.d his fury had allayed, And taken vengeance of the stubborn maid, From where the bright Athenian turrets rise He mounts aloft, and reascends the skies.

Jove saw him enter the sublime abodes, And, as he mixed among the crowd of G.o.ds, Beckoned him out, and drew him from the rest, And in soft whispers thus his will expressed.

'My trusty Hermes, by whose ready aid Thy sire's commands are through the world conveyed, _10 Resume thy wings, exert their utmost force, And to the walls of Sidon speed they course; There find a herd of heifers wandering o'er The neighbouring hill, and drive them to the sh.o.r.e.'

Thus spoke the G.o.d, concealing his intent.

The trusty Hermes on his message went, And found the herd of heifers wandering o'er A neighbouring hill, and drove them to the sh.o.r.e; Where the king's daughter, with a lovely train Of fellow-nymphs, was sporting on the plain.

_20 The dignity of empire laid aside, (For love but ill agrees with kingly pride,) The ruler of the skies, the thundering G.o.d, Who shakes the world's foundations with a nod, Among a herd of lowing heifers ran, Frisked in a bull, and bellowed o'er the plain.

Large rolls of fat about his shoulders clung, And from his neck the double dewlap hung.

His skin was whiter than the snow that lies Unsullied by the breath of southern skies; _30 Small shining horns on his curled forehead stand, As turned and polished by the workman's hand; His eye-b.a.l.l.s rolled, not formidably bright, But gazed and languished with a gentle light.

His every look was peaceful, and expressed The softness of the lover in the beast.

Agenor's royal daughter, as she played Among the fields, the milk-white bull surveyed, And viewed his spotless body with delight, And at a distance kept him in her sight.

_40 At length she plucked the rising flowers, and fed The gentle beast, and fondly stroked his head.

He stood well pleased to touch the charming fair, But hardly could confine his pleasure there.

And now he wantons o'er the neighbouring strand, Now rolls his body on the yellow sand; And now, perceiving all her fears decayed, Comes tossing forward to the royal maid; Gives her his breast to stroke, and downward turns His grisly brow, and gently stoops his horns.

_50 In flowery wreaths the royal virgin dressed His bending horns, and kindly clapped his breast.

Till now grown wanton, and devoid of fear, Not knowing that she pressed the Thunderer, She placed herself upon his back, and rode O'er fields and meadows, seated on the G.o.d.

He gently marched along, and by degrees Left the dry meadow, and approached the seas; Where now he dips his hoofs and wets his thighs, Now plunges in, and carries off the prize.

_60 The frighted nymph looks backward on the sh.o.r.e, And hears the tumbling billows round her roar; But still she holds him fast: one hand is borne Upon his back, the other grasps a horn: Her train of ruffling garments flies behind, Swells in the air and hovers in the wind.

Through storms and tempests he the virgin bore, And lands her safe on the Dictean sh.o.r.e; Where now, in his divinest form arrayed, In his true shape he captivates the maid; _70 Who gazes on him, and with wondering eyes Beholds the new majestic figure rise, His glowing features, and celestial light, And all the G.o.d discovered to her sight.