 | Miscellanies, in Verse and Prose |  |
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The Story of Phaeton.
From Ovid's Metamorphoses, the beginning of Book II.
Connexion of the Story with the foregoing Book.
Epaphus, Jupiter's Son by Io, reproaches Phaeton with not being, as be pretended, Son to Phœbus: Phaeton's Mother, Clymene, assures him, that this is a slander, and, for the legitimacy of his Birth, refers him to Phœbus himself, to whom be repairs at the end of the first book.
A lost, on columns, did the Sun unfold
His palace in a blaze of shining gold,
And sparkling gems; with polish'd iv'ry white,
The roof; the double doors, with silver bright:
But more stupendous was the Workman's part;
For Vulcan there had lavish'd all his art:
He drew the spacious Deep, whose waves surround
Th' incircled Earth; th' incircled Earth is crown'd
With Heav'n's blue Concave, its ætherial Bound.
Shrill-sounding Triton, and the watry Reign,
With changeful Proteus, sport along the Main.
Ægeon, on a Whale, o'erlook'd the rest,
And with his bulk the Monster's back oppress'd.
There Doris, and her Daughters; part to ride
On fishes; part appear'd to cleave the tide;
And some on rocks their sea-green tresses dry'd.
Tho' vary'd features did the Sisters grace,
A likeness might be seen in ev'ry face.
Then Earth presents men, cities, beasts, and woods,
Nymphs, rivers, Fauns, and other rural Gods:
High over all, the shining Heav'ns were plac'd;
Each gate with six engraven signs was grac'd.
When, climbing by degrees, the Youth had gain'd
The Dome, that his suspected Sire contain'd;
He strove t'approach him; but the blaze of light
Arrests his progress, and forbids his sight.
Array'd in purple, on a regal throne,
With costly Em'ralds grac'd, Apollo shone.
In measur'd periods, rank'd on either hand,
Hours, days, and months, and years, and ages, stand.
Here Spring is seen, with wreaths of Roses bound;
Here Summer with her wheaten Garland crown'd;
Here Autumn, with the juice of Grapes besmear'd;
And hoary Winter, with his Icy beard.
When Phœbus, who both heav'n and earth surveys,
Beheld the daring Youth in deep amaze,
He thus began; What errand brings my Son?
For know, thy birth I never will disown.
O! chearing Spring of universal Light!
(He strait replies) vouchsafe to do me right:
Celestial Sire! if you allow the name,
Nor Clymene, to hide her secret shame,
Would screen her guilt with this exalted claim,
Assert by open proof my heav'nly Race,
And vindicate your Son from foul disgrace.
His palace in a blaze of shining gold,
And sparkling gems; with polish'd iv'ry white,
The roof; the double doors, with silver bright:
But more stupendous was the Workman's part;
For Vulcan there had lavish'd all his art:
He drew the spacious Deep, whose waves surround
Th' incircled Earth; th' incircled Earth is crown'd
With Heav'n's blue Concave, its ætherial Bound.
Shrill-sounding Triton, and the watry Reign,
With changeful Proteus, sport along the Main.
Ægeon, on a Whale, o'erlook'd the rest,
And with his bulk the Monster's back oppress'd.
There Doris, and her Daughters; part to ride
On fishes; part appear'd to cleave the tide;
And some on rocks their sea-green tresses dry'd.
Tho' vary'd features did the Sisters grace,
A likeness might be seen in ev'ry face.
Then Earth presents men, cities, beasts, and woods,
Nymphs, rivers, Fauns, and other rural Gods:
High over all, the shining Heav'ns were plac'd;
Each gate with six engraven signs was grac'd.
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The Dome, that his suspected Sire contain'd;
He strove t'approach him; but the blaze of light
Arrests his progress, and forbids his sight.
Array'd in purple, on a regal throne,
With costly Em'ralds grac'd, Apollo shone.
In measur'd periods, rank'd on either hand,
Hours, days, and months, and years, and ages, stand.
Here Spring is seen, with wreaths of Roses bound;
Here Summer with her wheaten Garland crown'd;
Here Autumn, with the juice of Grapes besmear'd;
And hoary Winter, with his Icy beard.
When Phœbus, who both heav'n and earth surveys,
Beheld the daring Youth in deep amaze,
He thus began; What errand brings my Son?
For know, thy birth I never will disown.
O! chearing Spring of universal Light!
(He strait replies) vouchsafe to do me right:
Celestial Sire! if you allow the name,
Nor Clymene, to hide her secret shame,
Would screen her guilt with this exalted claim,
Assert by open proof my heav'nly Race,
And vindicate your Son from foul disgrace.
He spoke: Apollo laid his beams aside,
Bad him approach, embrac'd him, and reply'd;
Nor need I blush a Son like thee to own;
Nor is thy birth from Clymene unknown.
To ease thy doubt, by sacred Styx I swear,
The lake by me unseen, to grant whate'er
Thou shalt request. The Youth, without delay,
Requests his Chariot for a single day.
His radiant temples thrice Apollo shook,
And would, too late, his hasty oath revoke:
O! might I but revoke it! this alone,
(He said) this grant I would deny my Son:
But what I can't deny, I may dissuade;
A choice too dang'rous, and too rashly made.
Thy fond desire will prove thy certain fate,
And crush thy feeble youth beneath its weight.
Mortal thy lot, not so is thy design
To undertake what e'en the Gods decline;
Unknowing what befits thee. I the rein
Alone can manage, and the seat maintain:
Nor can the Thunderer, who rules above,
This chariot guide; yet who so great as Jove?
With pain my coursers climb the morning way,
And often from the height of middle day
With terror I the land and sea survey.
But headlong is my ev'ning course, and needs
A steady hand, to curb the fiery steeds.
Ev'n Tethys fears, lest a descent too steep
Precipitate me to her subject Deep.
Add, that the sky in rapid rounds is roll'd,
With stars by its diurnal whirl controul'd.
Against it, struggling hard, I drive the day,
And stem the tide that bears the rest away.
Could you the chariot, if I gave it, steer
With steady hands athwart the circling sphere?
Perhaps you may expect delightful woods,
Rich temples there, and palaces of Gods.
Your charge thro' snares and monsters must you force;
Or should you chance to hit the doubtful course,
The horns of Taurus shall your way oppose:
The savage Lion, and th' Hæmonian Bows;
The Scorpion's Claws, and Cancer's, that embrace
An ample those, and these a scantier space.
Nor have you strength the Coursers flaming rage,
Breath'd from the chest, mouth, nostrils, to assuage.
Ev'n I their ardour scarcely can restrain,
When with rebellious necks they stretch the rein:
But you, lest I a fatal Present give,
Ere 'tis too late, retract your wish, and live.
To vouch your parentage, you ask a sign;
I give it, in the fear that speaks you mine.
Look in my face; and, could my heart lie bare,
The Father would be seen engraven there.
For further proof look round you, and survey
The blessings, heav'n, and earth, and sea, display,
And any one is yours; the curse you chuse,
Miscall'd a blessing, I would fain refuse.
Nay, hang not on my neck, mistaken Youth,
As if you question'd my unfailing truth:
My oath is sacred, for Styx heard my voice:
Chuse as you please; but make a wiser choice.
Apollo spoke, and vainly ended here.
His daring Son, decreed to persevere,
Was slowly by his ling'ring Father brought,
To mount the car, which Vulcan's art had wrought:
Of gold its axle, and its beam was made,
And gold the wheels circumference display'd;
The spokes were silver, and with jewels bright
The seat of Phœbus flash'd reflected light.
The Youth's admiring eyes the work survey;
When, on the watch to usher in the day,
Aurora open'd wide her purple door,
And scatter'd roses on her orient floor.
Before her vanish night's inferior fires,
Pursu'd by Lucifer, who last retires.
When Phœbus now beheld the op'ning morn,
And fading Cynthia shone with blunted horn,
He bad the nimble Hours his steeds array;
His high command the nimble Hours obey.
The gen'rous steeds, with rich Ambrosia fed,
And snorting flame, from their high stalls they led,
And fit the sounding harness. Then the Sire,
To guard his Offspring from the rapid fire,
A sacred ointment for his visage mix'd,
And on his head the beamy circle fix'd.
With sighs repeated heav'd his anxious breast,
Which its foreboding sorrow thus express'd;
Bad him approach, embrac'd him, and reply'd;
Nor need I blush a Son like thee to own;
Nor is thy birth from Clymene unknown.
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The lake by me unseen, to grant whate'er
Thou shalt request. The Youth, without delay,
Requests his Chariot for a single day.
His radiant temples thrice Apollo shook,
And would, too late, his hasty oath revoke:
O! might I but revoke it! this alone,
(He said) this grant I would deny my Son:
But what I can't deny, I may dissuade;
A choice too dang'rous, and too rashly made.
Thy fond desire will prove thy certain fate,
And crush thy feeble youth beneath its weight.
Mortal thy lot, not so is thy design
To undertake what e'en the Gods decline;
Unknowing what befits thee. I the rein
Alone can manage, and the seat maintain:
Nor can the Thunderer, who rules above,
This chariot guide; yet who so great as Jove?
With pain my coursers climb the morning way,
And often from the height of middle day
With terror I the land and sea survey.
But headlong is my ev'ning course, and needs
A steady hand, to curb the fiery steeds.
Ev'n Tethys fears, lest a descent too steep
Precipitate me to her subject Deep.
Add, that the sky in rapid rounds is roll'd,
With stars by its diurnal whirl controul'd.
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And stem the tide that bears the rest away.
Could you the chariot, if I gave it, steer
With steady hands athwart the circling sphere?
Perhaps you may expect delightful woods,
Rich temples there, and palaces of Gods.
Your charge thro' snares and monsters must you force;
Or should you chance to hit the doubtful course,
The horns of Taurus shall your way oppose:
The savage Lion, and th' Hæmonian Bows;
The Scorpion's Claws, and Cancer's, that embrace
An ample those, and these a scantier space.
Nor have you strength the Coursers flaming rage,
Breath'd from the chest, mouth, nostrils, to assuage.
Ev'n I their ardour scarcely can restrain,
When with rebellious necks they stretch the rein:
But you, lest I a fatal Present give,
Ere 'tis too late, retract your wish, and live.
To vouch your parentage, you ask a sign;
I give it, in the fear that speaks you mine.
Look in my face; and, could my heart lie bare,
The Father would be seen engraven there.
For further proof look round you, and survey
The blessings, heav'n, and earth, and sea, display,
And any one is yours; the curse you chuse,
Miscall'd a blessing, I would fain refuse.
Nay, hang not on my neck, mistaken Youth,
As if you question'd my unfailing truth:
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Chuse as you please; but make a wiser choice.
Apollo spoke, and vainly ended here.
His daring Son, decreed to persevere,
Was slowly by his ling'ring Father brought,
To mount the car, which Vulcan's art had wrought:
Of gold its axle, and its beam was made,
And gold the wheels circumference display'd;
The spokes were silver, and with jewels bright
The seat of Phœbus flash'd reflected light.
The Youth's admiring eyes the work survey;
When, on the watch to usher in the day,
Aurora open'd wide her purple door,
And scatter'd roses on her orient floor.
Before her vanish night's inferior fires,
Pursu'd by Lucifer, who last retires.
When Phœbus now beheld the op'ning morn,
And fading Cynthia shone with blunted horn,
He bad the nimble Hours his steeds array;
His high command the nimble Hours obey.
The gen'rous steeds, with rich Ambrosia fed,
And snorting flame, from their high stalls they led,
And fit the sounding harness. Then the Sire,
To guard his Offspring from the rapid fire,
A sacred ointment for his visage mix'd,
And on his head the beamy circle fix'd.
With sighs repeated heav'd his anxious breast,
Which its foreboding sorrow thus express'd;
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Let me at least this one desire obtain;
Forbear the lash, and strongly pull the rein;
The coursers, flying of themselves too fast,
Will ask your utmost strength to check their haste.
Thro' the five zones direct appears the way;
But, if you chuse it, you misguide the day.
Within the middle three obliquely winds
The Zodiac, and my yearly circuit binds:
Worn by my chariot-wheels the track behold
Aloof, at either end, from polar cold:
Be this your choice; and, careful to renew
The heat, to heav'n and earth in measure due,
A path, unhurt by each extreme, pursue.
Too high or low, or heav'n or earth you lay
In ashes; safest is the middle way.
Between the twisted Snake and Altar steer,
To neither, on the right or left, too near:
The rest I leave to Fortune; may she guide,
And better for you, than yourself, provide,
But, while I speak, behold th' Hesperian shore
Involv'd in night; I can delay no more:
Aurora, shining, sheds her fragrant dews;
Snatch up the reins, or rather yet refuse,
And not my chariot, but my counsel, use,
While yet on solid ground secure you tread,
And only wish the seat you ought to dread:
Let me alone dispense the light, which you,
With all the world besides, may safely view.
But, deaf to warning, he with youthful heat
Takes quick possession of the chariot-seat,
Rejoic'd to handle the permitted reins,
And with unwelcome thanks his Father pains.
Forbear the lash, and strongly pull the rein;
The coursers, flying of themselves too fast,
Will ask your utmost strength to check their haste.
Thro' the five zones direct appears the way;
But, if you chuse it, you misguide the day.
Within the middle three obliquely winds
The Zodiac, and my yearly circuit binds:
Worn by my chariot-wheels the track behold
Aloof, at either end, from polar cold:
Be this your choice; and, careful to renew
The heat, to heav'n and earth in measure due,
A path, unhurt by each extreme, pursue.
Too high or low, or heav'n or earth you lay
In ashes; safest is the middle way.
Between the twisted Snake and Altar steer,
To neither, on the right or left, too near:
The rest I leave to Fortune; may she guide,
And better for you, than yourself, provide,
But, while I speak, behold th' Hesperian shore
Involv'd in night; I can delay no more:
Aurora, shining, sheds her fragrant dews;
Snatch up the reins, or rather yet refuse,
And not my chariot, but my counsel, use,
While yet on solid ground secure you tread,
And only wish the seat you ought to dread:
Let me alone dispense the light, which you,
With all the world besides, may safely view.
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Takes quick possession of the chariot-seat,
Rejoic'd to handle the permitted reins,
And with unwelcome thanks his Father pains.
Four horses, pair'd to draw the Solar car,
Breathe sultry flame, and neighing spurn the bar,
Which Tethys open'd to the boundless sky,
Unconscious of her Grandson's destiny.
Releas'd, the clouds they scatter; and the wind,
From the same quarter issuing, leave behind.
The burden lighter than it was before
They scarce can feel; and hear the reins no more.
And as a ship, for want of ballast lost,
On swelling seas unsteadily is tost,
The chariot so was rock'd and leap'd in air,
As if no driver had been seated there.
This when the horses once perceiv'd, they took
Their flight at random, and the road forsook.
The Youth is struck with dread, nor knows the way;
Nor, if he knew it, would the steeds obey.
Then first the Bear perceiv'd the burning rays,
And vainly sought to plunge into the seas;
The Serpent (that beneath the northern pole
Congeal'd in volumes, ne'er was seen to roll,
Nor shoot his venom, nor his head to rear
Thro' the wide compass of the frozen year)
Now felt the parching heats, and rouz'd his train,
And glowing poison shot thro' ev'ry vein,
And slow Boötes fled, and dragg'd his pond'rous wain.
The Youth turns pale, from his ætherial way
The globe immense beneath him to survey:
His trembling knees a sudden dread confess,
And darkness veils his eyes with light's excess.
He wishes void of proof his high descent,
His pray'r not granted, nor the chariot lent;
E'en Merops for his fire he now would own;
And like a vessel fares, by Boreas blown,
When by her Pilot (now of help bereft)
To Providence and Pray'r entirely left.
Breathe sultry flame, and neighing spurn the bar,
Which Tethys open'd to the boundless sky,
Unconscious of her Grandson's destiny.
Releas'd, the clouds they scatter; and the wind,
From the same quarter issuing, leave behind.
The burden lighter than it was before
They scarce can feel; and hear the reins no more.
And as a ship, for want of ballast lost,
On swelling seas unsteadily is tost,
The chariot so was rock'd and leap'd in air,
As if no driver had been seated there.
This when the horses once perceiv'd, they took
Their flight at random, and the road forsook.
The Youth is struck with dread, nor knows the way;
Nor, if he knew it, would the steeds obey.
Then first the Bear perceiv'd the burning rays,
And vainly sought to plunge into the seas;
The Serpent (that beneath the northern pole
Congeal'd in volumes, ne'er was seen to roll,
Nor shoot his venom, nor his head to rear
Thro' the wide compass of the frozen year)
Now felt the parching heats, and rouz'd his train,
And glowing poison shot thro' ev'ry vein,
And slow Boötes fled, and dragg'd his pond'rous wain.
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The globe immense beneath him to survey:
His trembling knees a sudden dread confess,
And darkness veils his eyes with light's excess.
He wishes void of proof his high descent,
His pray'r not granted, nor the chariot lent;
E'en Merops for his fire he now would own;
And like a vessel fares, by Boreas blown,
When by her Pilot (now of help bereft)
To Providence and Pray'r entirely left.
Aghast he views a mighty space behind;
A mightier still before; and measures both in mind.
He now (which he must never reach!) the west
Beholds; and now looks back upon the east:
Nor can he hold, nor yet will loose the rein;
Nor longer does the Coursers names retain.
A mightier still before; and measures both in mind.
He now (which he must never reach!) the west
Beholds; and now looks back upon the east:
Nor can he hold, nor yet will loose the rein;
Nor longer does the Coursers names retain.
He sees the various wonders of the sky,
Where forms of savage beasts and monsters lie:
Mark'd by a double bow, there is a place
Where Scorpio's crooked claws and tail embrace,
Of two celestial signs the dreadful space.
Him with his angry sting prepar'd to wound,
And sweating poison, when the Youth had found,
Amaz'd, and chill'd by fear, he dropt the reins:
Soon at they felt them loose upon their manes,
The horses, now uncheck'd, at random fly,
And range without controul the sultry sky:
Thro' climes unknown they pass, and wildly stray
Near the fixt stars, and thro' a pathless way;
Now mount aloft, impetuous now descend,
And nearer to the earth their fury bend;
Smoulder the clouds; amazement seiz'd the Moon,
To see her Brother's steeds beneath her own.
Where forms of savage beasts and monsters lie:
Mark'd by a double bow, there is a place
Where Scorpio's crooked claws and tail embrace,
Of two celestial signs the dreadful space.
Him with his angry sting prepar'd to wound,
And sweating poison, when the Youth had found,
Amaz'd, and chill'd by fear, he dropt the reins:
Soon at they felt them loose upon their manes,
The horses, now uncheck'd, at random fly,
And range without controul the sultry sky:
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Near the fixt stars, and thro' a pathless way;
Now mount aloft, impetuous now descend,
And nearer to the earth their fury bend;
Smoulder the clouds; amazement seiz'd the Moon,
To see her Brother's steeds beneath her own.
The Burnings spread, and catch the higher ground;
Parch'd is the soil, and cleaves in chinks around:
Now Forests blaze in the devouring flame,
And the dry Corn its easy prey became.
Parch'd is the soil, and cleaves in chinks around:
Now Forests blaze in the devouring flame,
And the dry Corn its easy prey became.
This is but small. Towns, cities, nations, burn;
Whole kingdoms perish, and to ashes turn.
Athos and Ida, once for Fountains fam'd,
Cilician Taurus, Tmolus, Oetè flam'd;
And Virgin Helicon, the Muse's boast,
And Hæmus, where her Son was after lost.
Flames with redoubled rage from Ætna flow;
Parnassus, Eryx, Othrys, Cynthus, glow,
And Rhodopè, no longer cloath'd in snow:
E'en frozen Scythia the wild waste bewails;
The fiery deluge o'er its ice prevails.
Pindus, and Caucasus, and Ossa, burn;
Cithæron, Dindymè, in ashes mourn;
And Mycalè, and proud Olympus, shine;
Th' aërial Alps, and cloud-capp'd Apennine.
Whole kingdoms perish, and to ashes turn.
Athos and Ida, once for Fountains fam'd,
Cilician Taurus, Tmolus, Oetè flam'd;
And Virgin Helicon, the Muse's boast,
And Hæmus, where her Son was after lost.
Flames with redoubled rage from Ætna flow;
Parnassus, Eryx, Othrys, Cynthus, glow,
And Rhodopè, no longer cloath'd in snow:
E'en frozen Scythia the wild waste bewails;
The fiery deluge o'er its ice prevails.
Pindus, and Caucasus, and Ossa, burn;
Cithæron, Dindymè, in ashes mourn;
And Mycalè, and proud Olympus, shine;
Th' aërial Alps, and cloud-capp'd Apennine.
Diffus'd thro' all the globe, at length the flame
The strength and spirits of the Boy o'ercame.
The breath he drew was scorching as the fire,
Or steams that boiling furnaces expire:
He felt the chariot kindle in its way,
And drifts of coals and ashes choak'd the day.
Involv'd in pitchy clouds, he hurries on,
Drawn, as the coursers fly, thro' ways unknown.
The strength and spirits of the Boy o'ercame.
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Or steams that boiling furnaces expire:
He felt the chariot kindle in its way,
And drifts of coals and ashes choak'd the day.
Involv'd in pitchy clouds, he hurries on,
Drawn, as the coursers fly, thro' ways unknown.
Then boil'd the blood of Moors, if fame is true;
And thence their skins deriv'd the Negro hue.
Then Libya first, her moisture drain'd away,
A barren, dry, and sultry Desart lay.
The Nymphs of their exhausted urns complain;
Bæotia for her Dircè seeks in vain:
Argos her Amymonè's loss bewails,
And Corinth her Pyrenè's fountain fails.
And thence their skins deriv'd the Negro hue.
Then Libya first, her moisture drain'd away,
A barren, dry, and sultry Desart lay.
The Nymphs of their exhausted urns complain;
Bæotia for her Dircè seeks in vain:
Argos her Amymonè's loss bewails,
And Corinth her Pyrenè's fountain fails.
The Rivers, that in distant regions glide,
In fumes exhale, and sink their wasted tide:
The Tanaïs smokes amid his boiling wave,
Nor can Ismenos his swift motion save:
Wand'ring Mæander feels the spreading blaze
Pursue his stream thro' ev'ry winding maze;
Xanthus, decreed a second time to burn,
Yellow Lycormas and Orontes mourn.
Armenia does Euphrates' loss deplore;
The Ganges, Phasis, and the Danube, roar.
In flames Caïcus, Peneus, Alpheus, roll'd,
And wealthy Tagus with his molten gold.
The Swans, that in Cäyster's waters burn,
With dying notes the common ruin mourn.
To the world's bounds the Nile affrighted flies,
And hides his head, where still conceal'd it lies;
From his sev'n mouths th' impetuous torrent sails,
And, where they flow'd, appear sev'n dusty vales.
Th' Hesperian streams, the Rhine, the Rhone, and Po,
And Tyber, promis'd future empire, glow.
In fumes exhale, and sink their wasted tide:
The Tanaïs smokes amid his boiling wave,
Nor can Ismenos his swift motion save:
Wand'ring Mæander feels the spreading blaze
Pursue his stream thro' ev'ry winding maze;
Xanthus, decreed a second time to burn,
Yellow Lycormas and Orontes mourn.
Armenia does Euphrates' loss deplore;
The Ganges, Phasis, and the Danube, roar.
In flames Caïcus, Peneus, Alpheus, roll'd,
And wealthy Tagus with his molten gold.
The Swans, that in Cäyster's waters burn,
With dying notes the common ruin mourn.
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And hides his head, where still conceal'd it lies;
From his sev'n mouths th' impetuous torrent sails,
And, where they flow'd, appear sev'n dusty vales.
Th' Hesperian streams, the Rhine, the Rhone, and Po,
And Tyber, promis'd future empire, glow.
The Soil was deeply cleft; and piercing day
Struck Pluto and his Queen with dire dismay.
The Ocean sinks; and, ebbing from the land,
For rolling waves, presents a Waste of sand,
And mountains new discover'd, that increase
The number of the scatter'd Cyclades.
The Fishes dive; nor sportful Dolphins dare
To play upon the flood in open air:
With bellies upward turn'd the Phocæ lay,
Extended on the surface of the sea.
Ev'n Nereus, Doris, and her Daughters, hide
In caverns heated by the boiling tide.
Stern Neptune thrice his arms and face upheld
Above the waves, as oft by flames repell'd.
Struck Pluto and his Queen with dire dismay.
The Ocean sinks; and, ebbing from the land,
For rolling waves, presents a Waste of sand,
And mountains new discover'd, that increase
The number of the scatter'd Cyclades.
The Fishes dive; nor sportful Dolphins dare
To play upon the flood in open air:
With bellies upward turn'd the Phocæ lay,
Extended on the surface of the sea.
Ev'n Nereus, Doris, and her Daughters, hide
In caverns heated by the boiling tide.
Stern Neptune thrice his arms and face upheld
Above the waves, as oft by flames repell'd.
When Earth survey'd the blazing sea around,
And fountains shrunk within her entrails found,
To lift her all-sustaining face she try'd,
And to her glowing front her hand apply'd,
And with an universal trembling cry'd;
But deeper first within herself retires,
Unequal to the still increasing fires;
And fountains shrunk within her entrails found,
To lift her all-sustaining face she try'd,
And to her glowing front her hand apply'd,
And with an universal trembling cry'd;
But deeper first within herself retires,
Unequal to the still increasing fires;
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If such be my offence, and thy decree,
Supreme of Beings, let me fall by thee;
If flames must end me, be thy bolts my doom,
Ennobled by the hand which drives them home:
Scarce can my drought by jaws these accents yield;
(For now the stifling fumes her mouth had fill'd)
Behold my flaming hair, my faded eye,
And my burnt face, where heaps of ruins lie.
Is it for this the crooked plough I bear,
And am with harrows tortur'd all the year?
That grass for cattle daily I produce,
And corn for man, and gums for sacred use?
But, grant me guilty, What is Neptune's fault,
With fires to boil in scanty channels taught?
Why shrinks the Sea, by lot his kingdom, driven
To greater distance from his kindred Heaven?
If not your Brother's, nor my pray'rs are heard,
At least your own celestial orbs regard;
The Poles already smoke; and, if the flame
Should catch them once, down sinks the starry frame.
See, Atlas labours with th' unequal freight,
Scarce able to uphold the glowing weight:
If earth, and sea, and heav'n's high palace fall,
Then ancient Chaos will o'erpow'r us all.
O! quench these flames, ere they too near you come,
And of all nature now avert the doom.
She ends, nor longer can the fumes sustain,
But to th' infernal regions sinks again.
Supreme of Beings, let me fall by thee;
If flames must end me, be thy bolts my doom,
Ennobled by the hand which drives them home:
Scarce can my drought by jaws these accents yield;
(For now the stifling fumes her mouth had fill'd)
Behold my flaming hair, my faded eye,
And my burnt face, where heaps of ruins lie.
Is it for this the crooked plough I bear,
And am with harrows tortur'd all the year?
That grass for cattle daily I produce,
And corn for man, and gums for sacred use?
But, grant me guilty, What is Neptune's fault,
With fires to boil in scanty channels taught?
Why shrinks the Sea, by lot his kingdom, driven
To greater distance from his kindred Heaven?
If not your Brother's, nor my pray'rs are heard,
At least your own celestial orbs regard;
The Poles already smoke; and, if the flame
Should catch them once, down sinks the starry frame.
See, Atlas labours with th' unequal freight,
Scarce able to uphold the glowing weight:
If earth, and sea, and heav'n's high palace fall,
Then ancient Chaos will o'erpow'r us all.
O! quench these flames, ere they too near you come,
And of all nature now avert the doom.
She ends, nor longer can the fumes sustain,
But to th' infernal regions sinks again.
118
Jove then appeals to ev'ry Pow'r above,
And ev'n to him whose Son the chariot drove,
That should he not in time prevent it, all
The frame of nature would to ruin fall.
He mounts the summit of th' ætherial tow'r,
From whence his clouds he draws, the ground to show'r,
And darts his bolts; but show'rs to chear the ground,
And clouds to yield them, could no more be found.
The lightning, pois'd from his right ear, he aims
Full at the Youth, and flames subdues by flames.
The car was shatter'd by th' impetuous stroke;
Back from the reins the frighted horses broke.
The beam, the wheels, the spokes, and axle, lay
At random scatter'd o'er the shining way.
And ev'n to him whose Son the chariot drove,
That should he not in time prevent it, all
The frame of nature would to ruin fall.
He mounts the summit of th' ætherial tow'r,
From whence his clouds he draws, the ground to show'r,
And darts his bolts; but show'rs to chear the ground,
And clouds to yield them, could no more be found.
The lightning, pois'd from his right ear, he aims
Full at the Youth, and flames subdues by flames.
The car was shatter'd by th' impetuous stroke;
Back from the reins the frighted horses broke.
The beam, the wheels, the spokes, and axle, lay
At random scatter'd o'er the shining way.
At once from life and from the chariot driven,
Th' ambitious Youth shot headlong down from heaven.
Like some bright star, that glides thro' cloudless air,
Or seems to glide, appears his blazing hair.
Him from his country far the Po receiv'd,
Cleans'd from the gore that to his visage cleav'd.
His Sisters bury'd his Remains, and plac'd
Beneath a stone, with this inscription grac'd,
“Here Phaeton is laid, Apollo's seat
“Who fail'd to keep; but his attempt was great!”
Th' ambitious Youth shot headlong down from heaven.
Like some bright star, that glides thro' cloudless air,
Or seems to glide, appears his blazing hair.
Him from his country far the Po receiv'd,
Cleans'd from the gore that to his visage cleav'd.
His Sisters bury'd his Remains, and plac'd
Beneath a stone, with this inscription grac'd,
“Here Phaeton is laid, Apollo's seat
“Who fail'd to keep; but his attempt was great!”
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