The Idyllia, Epigrams, and Fragments, of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus with the Elegies of Tyrtaeus, Translated from the Greek into English Verse. To which are Added, Dissertations and Notes. By the Rev. Richard Polwhele |
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| XIII. | IDYLLIUM the THIRTEENTH. HYLAS. |
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 | The Idyllia, Epigrams, and Fragments, of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus |  |
102
IDYLLIUM the THIRTEENTH. HYLAS.
Addressed to NICIAS.
How vain the Opinion (argue all we can)
That Love, dear Nicias, is confin'd to Man!
How vain, that Beauty blooms for us alone!
Mortals, who idly deem one Day our own!
That Love, dear Nicias, is confin'd to Man!
How vain, that Beauty blooms for us alone!
Mortals, who idly deem one Day our own!
With Iron Bosom, tho' the Beast he slew,
The Charms of melting Love Alcides knew!
He cherish'd Hylas, with his golden Hair;
Felt all the Fondness of parental Care;
And taught him, as a Sire instructs his Son,
By manly Virtues how Renown is won!
Himself alike the Model and the Guide
He watch'd assiduous at his Hylas' Side;
Whether their Course Aurora's white Steeds run
From Jove's high Dome; or blaz'd the noon-day Sun;
Or the Hen shook her Wings, by Twilight's Gleam,
Gathering her Chicken to the smoky Beam—
That, tutor'd on Instruction's steady Plan,
The Boy, in Wisdom's Way, might rise to Man.
The Charms of melting Love Alcides knew!
He cherish'd Hylas, with his golden Hair;
Felt all the Fondness of parental Care;
And taught him, as a Sire instructs his Son,
By manly Virtues how Renown is won!
Himself alike the Model and the Guide
He watch'd assiduous at his Hylas' Side;
Whether their Course Aurora's white Steeds run
From Jove's high Dome; or blaz'd the noon-day Sun;
103
Gathering her Chicken to the smoky Beam—
That, tutor'd on Instruction's steady Plan,
The Boy, in Wisdom's Way, might rise to Man.
But when bold Jason, for the golden Fleece,
Brav'd the rough Billows, with the Sons of Greece,
Who, duly chosen from the Cities, came,
(Princes of high hereditary Name)
'Twas then, at rich Iolcos' crouded Strand,
Alcmena's toiling Offspring met the Band:
And Hylas, with a filial Friendship fraught,
Close at his Side, the firm-deck'd Argo sought.
'Midst Cyane's dread Rocks the Vessel past,
And with an Eagle's Swiftness cleft the Waste;
But, 'till the vernal Breeze in Safety curl'd
The heaving Wave, her Sails in Phasis furl'd.
Brav'd the rough Billows, with the Sons of Greece,
Who, duly chosen from the Cities, came,
(Princes of high hereditary Name)
'Twas then, at rich Iolcos' crouded Strand,
Alcmena's toiling Offspring met the Band:
And Hylas, with a filial Friendship fraught,
Close at his Side, the firm-deck'd Argo sought.
'Midst Cyane's dread Rocks the Vessel past,
And with an Eagle's Swiftness cleft the Waste;
But, 'till the vernal Breeze in Safety curl'd
The heaving Wave, her Sails in Phasis furl'd.
Soon as the Pleiads shone, and milder May
Bade the light Lambs o'er springing Verdure play;
The Flower of Heroes, with a Southern Gale,
Spread on the Hellespont, their rapid Sail;
And thro' the smooth Propontis bent their Prows,
Where rich Cyanean Fields in Furrows rose.
There landing on the Beach, in Pairs they spread
Quick for their Evening-Viands, many a Bed;
Tho' some for ampler Cates their Couch provide
More spacious, where a shadowy Mead supplied
Sharp Ox-tongue's flowering Plant, and Rushes broad,
That on the tufted Ground the Chieftains strow'd.
Swift Hylas o'er the Meadow runs, to bring,
In brazen Vase, fresh Water from the Spring,
For Hercules and Telamon, who stor'd
(Sworn Comrades at the Feast) one common Board.
Strait, in the Bosom of a lowly Dell,
He found beset with Plants, a shaded Well:
On its cool Marge the fringing Herbage grew;
The mingling Dyes of Celandine so blue,
With verdurous Parsley, Maidenhair's bright Green,
And Vervain: While amid the watery Scene,
Naids, the Dread of ev'ry rustic Wight,
Led the gay Dance, and revel'd thro' the Night:
Young Malis and Eunica form'd the Ring,
And sweet Nychea, like the blooming Spring.
His Vase now dipping in the sable Lymph,
Fair Hylas struck each fond enamour'd Nymph!
They seiz'd! Down—down he dropp'd, as from Heaven's Height
Shoots glittering to the Main a starry Light.
—‘Unfurl your Sails’—(aloud the Boatswain cries)
‘Speed my brave Boys! Propitious Gales arise!’
With soft Address the Nymphs soothe Hylas' Fears,
And lull him on their Laps, and kiss his Tears.
Meantime, Alcides, clouded o'er by Grief,
Grasp'd (the dread Image of a Scythian Chief)
His long-bent Bow; and, Wildness in his Look,
The Club familiar to his Right Hand shook.
And thrice (the Clamor rent the trembling Air)
On Hylas call'd, in Accents of Despair!
From the deep Waters Hylas thrice replied—
Tho' near, each feeble Murmur, as at Distance, died!
Ev'n as the Lion, if far off a Fawn
Cry with sad Plaint along the dusky Lawn,
Starts from the Covert of his Mountain-Wood,
And rushes on his ready Feast of Blood;
Thus Hercules, in dire Disorder, takes
His Way thro' Thickets and thro' devious Brakes;
And strides (how wretched is the Lover's Lot)
O'er Hills and dreary Glens—the Fleece forgot.
Now fitted for the Deep the Vessel lay;
(Amphitryon's Son expected with the Day)
For all at Night unfolded to the Breeze
Her Pendants stream'd across the shadowy Seas.
He, in dark Frenzy, rush'd thro' Ways untrod!
For Love had pierc'd his Heart—a cruel God!
In vain—his Hylas, number'd with the Blest,
The starry Seats, in blooming Youth, possest.
In vain—Immortal Hylas heard no more—
And Argo saw the quick-retiring Shore:
Her Chiefs aspersing his unspotted Fame,
Affix Deserter—to Alcides' Name;
Yet soon, on Foot, with Hero-soul sublime,
He reach'd rude Phasis' Haunts, and Cholcos' Clime.
Bade the light Lambs o'er springing Verdure play;
The Flower of Heroes, with a Southern Gale,
Spread on the Hellespont, their rapid Sail;
104
Where rich Cyanean Fields in Furrows rose.
There landing on the Beach, in Pairs they spread
Quick for their Evening-Viands, many a Bed;
Tho' some for ampler Cates their Couch provide
More spacious, where a shadowy Mead supplied
Sharp Ox-tongue's flowering Plant, and Rushes broad,
That on the tufted Ground the Chieftains strow'd.
Swift Hylas o'er the Meadow runs, to bring,
In brazen Vase, fresh Water from the Spring,
For Hercules and Telamon, who stor'd
(Sworn Comrades at the Feast) one common Board.
Strait, in the Bosom of a lowly Dell,
He found beset with Plants, a shaded Well:
On its cool Marge the fringing Herbage grew;
The mingling Dyes of Celandine so blue,
With verdurous Parsley, Maidenhair's bright Green,
And Vervain: While amid the watery Scene,
Naids, the Dread of ev'ry rustic Wight,
Led the gay Dance, and revel'd thro' the Night:
105
And sweet Nychea, like the blooming Spring.
His Vase now dipping in the sable Lymph,
Fair Hylas struck each fond enamour'd Nymph!
They seiz'd! Down—down he dropp'd, as from Heaven's Height
Shoots glittering to the Main a starry Light.
—‘Unfurl your Sails’—(aloud the Boatswain cries)
‘Speed my brave Boys! Propitious Gales arise!’
With soft Address the Nymphs soothe Hylas' Fears,
And lull him on their Laps, and kiss his Tears.
Meantime, Alcides, clouded o'er by Grief,
Grasp'd (the dread Image of a Scythian Chief)
His long-bent Bow; and, Wildness in his Look,
The Club familiar to his Right Hand shook.
And thrice (the Clamor rent the trembling Air)
On Hylas call'd, in Accents of Despair!
From the deep Waters Hylas thrice replied—
Tho' near, each feeble Murmur, as at Distance, died!
Ev'n as the Lion, if far off a Fawn
Cry with sad Plaint along the dusky Lawn,
106
And rushes on his ready Feast of Blood;
Thus Hercules, in dire Disorder, takes
His Way thro' Thickets and thro' devious Brakes;
And strides (how wretched is the Lover's Lot)
O'er Hills and dreary Glens—the Fleece forgot.
Now fitted for the Deep the Vessel lay;
(Amphitryon's Son expected with the Day)
For all at Night unfolded to the Breeze
Her Pendants stream'd across the shadowy Seas.
He, in dark Frenzy, rush'd thro' Ways untrod!
For Love had pierc'd his Heart—a cruel God!
In vain—his Hylas, number'd with the Blest,
The starry Seats, in blooming Youth, possest.
In vain—Immortal Hylas heard no more—
And Argo saw the quick-retiring Shore:
Her Chiefs aspersing his unspotted Fame,
Affix Deserter—to Alcides' Name;
Yet soon, on Foot, with Hero-soul sublime,
He reach'd rude Phasis' Haunts, and Cholcos' Clime.
| The Idyllia, Epigrams, and Fragments, of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus | |