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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XXX. | IDYLLIUM the THIRTIETH. The DEATH of ADONIS. |
The Idyllia, Epigrams, and Fragments, of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus | ||
214
IDYLLIUM the THIRTIETH. The DEATH of ADONIS.
When, his rosy Color fled,
Venus saw her Lover dead,
Stiff his Hair, and clos'd his Eyes—
‘Cupids, go, (she frantic cries)
‘Trace the Boar, thro' all the Wood,
‘Stain'd with my Adonis' Blood!’
Venus saw her Lover dead,
Stiff his Hair, and clos'd his Eyes—
‘Cupids, go, (she frantic cries)
‘Trace the Boar, thro' all the Wood,
‘Stain'd with my Adonis' Blood!’
Swift as Birds, each fluttering Love
Hastens thro' the mazy Grove:
Soon the guilty Boar they find,
Fearless run, and seize, and bind.
This, to guide the Beast along,
Panting, pulls his Cord of Thong;
That, to make the Felon go,
Beats him with his little Bow.
He, an easy Captive led,
Aw'd by Venus, hung his Head.
Venus thus, in angry Strain:
‘Fellest of the prowling Train!
‘Didst thou wound Adonis' Thigh?
‘Did'st thou cause my Love to die?’
Hastens thro' the mazy Grove:
Soon the guilty Boar they find,
Fearless run, and seize, and bind.
This, to guide the Beast along,
Panting, pulls his Cord of Thong;
That, to make the Felon go,
Beats him with his little Bow.
215
Aw'd by Venus, hung his Head.
Venus thus, in angry Strain:
‘Fellest of the prowling Train!
‘Didst thou wound Adonis' Thigh?
‘Did'st thou cause my Love to die?’
He replied: ‘O Venus, hear!
‘By Thyself, and Lover dear;
‘By the Chains with which I'm bound;
‘By the Hunters standing round;
‘Never did my erring Tooth
‘Mean to pierce so fair a Youth!
‘But when he surpriz'd my Sight,
‘As a polish'd Statue bright;
‘And, my Rapture rising high,
‘I survey'd his naked Thigh;
‘Ah! not able to resist,
‘Furiously I ran and kist!
‘To a fatal Frenzy wrought—
‘Too much Passion was my Fault!
‘Now, for thy Adonis' Sake,
‘Take my Tusks, all bloody, take!
‘Take my Lips beside, if these
‘Prove too trivial to appease!’
‘By Thyself, and Lover dear;
‘By the Chains with which I'm bound;
‘By the Hunters standing round;
‘Never did my erring Tooth
‘Mean to pierce so fair a Youth!
‘But when he surpriz'd my Sight,
‘As a polish'd Statue bright;
‘And, my Rapture rising high,
‘I survey'd his naked Thigh;
‘Ah! not able to resist,
‘Furiously I ran and kist!
‘To a fatal Frenzy wrought—
‘Too much Passion was my Fault!
216
‘Take my Tusks, all bloody, take!
‘Take my Lips beside, if these
‘Prove too trivial to appease!’
She, in Pity to his Pain,
Bade her Cupids loose his Chain.
But, tho' free, the grateful Boar
Ranging in the Woods no more,
Follow'd close Cythera's Queen;
And his cruel Tusks so keen
(That had glow'd with amorous Fire)
Burnt amid the blazing Pyre!
Bade her Cupids loose his Chain.
But, tho' free, the grateful Boar
Ranging in the Woods no more,
Follow'd close Cythera's Queen;
And his cruel Tusks so keen
(That had glow'd with amorous Fire)
Burnt amid the blazing Pyre!
The Idyllia, Epigrams, and Fragments, of Theocritus, Bion, and Moschus | ||