Works of the Hon. and Very Rev. William Herbert ... Excepting those on botany and natural history. With additions and corrections by the author |
 | I. |
 |
|
|
SECOND OLYMPIC ODE OF PINDAR. |
 | Works of the Hon. and Very Rev. William Herbert |  |
SECOND OLYMPIC ODE OF PINDAR.
1834.
Strophe 1.
Hymns that rule the lyre symphonious,To what Power divine,
To what hero, to what lord,
Shall the stream of song be pour'd?
Pisa is the land of Jove;
Hercules, for battle gain'd,
The Olympiad first ordain'd;
Now in the four-yoked car victorious
Theron demands the strain of praise,
214
Sprung from sires of high renown,
Flower and bulwark of his town.
Antistrophe 1.
Laboring long beside the riverThey at last uprear'd
Holy walls, and were the eye
Of illustrious Sicily.
Years of prosperous fate ensued,
Bringing grace and wealth to crown
Native worth and old renown.
Jove, Rhea's son, who hold'st Olympus,
And, soothed with song, the glorious games
By the ford of Alpheus lovest,
Shield their fatherland benign,
And for ever guard their line!
Epode 1.
The things which are atchieved and wrought,Whether they have been just or not,
Time, the sire of all,
Cannot render now undone;
But of evils overpast
With milder fate oblivion comes at last;
And, when goodly joys arise,
Calamity beat down
Shrinks back again and dies;
Strophe 2.
While the lot from God proceedingHonor'd wealth bestows.
215
Of the maids, in high estate
Throned, from loins of Cadmus sprung;
Much they bore, but grief subdued
Sinks before superior good.
Amongst the Gods with long locks flowing
Lives thunder-smitten Semele;
Love she hath from Pallas ever,
Much from mighty Jove hath won,
And his ivy-bearing son.
Antistrophe 2.
Story saith, in deeps abiding,With the sea-born maids
Of old Nereus, Ino hath
Changeless years untouch'd by death.
Mortals never can foreknow
When the hour of death is doom'd,
And the thread of life consumed;
Nor when the day, serenely beaming,
Child of the sun, for them shall cease,
With prosperity unbroken.
Streams, that changeful ebb and flow,
Come to man with joy and wo.
Epode 2.
Thus destiny, which made the fateOf thy forefathers blithe and great,
Showering on their house
Wealth and honor from the Gods,
Evil brought upon their race,
Which should in time to joy again give place;
216
Laïus, and made the voice
From ancient Pytho true.
Strophe 3.
Him the keen-eyed Fury viewingWith domestic strife
Smote his martial progeny
By each other doom'd to die.
Famed in games of youth and war,
After Polynices slain,
Did his honor'd son remain,
Thersander, to thine house, Adrastus,
A scyon of auxiliar strength
From that root, Ænesidamus,
Sprung, thy son should not in vain
Ask for song and lyric strain,
Antistrophe 3.
Who victorious at OlympiaHath received the prize.
Isthmus too and Pytho's game
Saw him to his brother's fame
Link'd; the Graces, favouring both,
Twelve times round the holy course
Led their fourfold strength of horse.
The honor won in trials glorious
Looses the heart from gloomy thoughts;
Wealth, adorn'd with noble virtues,
217
Opportunities, and cares,
Epode 3.
A star to man exceeding bright,Shining with true and splendid light.
He, who hath it, knows
What to all hereafter comes.
Dying, evil men straightway
Reap punishment; crimes, here beneath Jove's sway
Done, are judged by one below,
Whom hateful need constrains
To speak the doom of wo.
Strophe 4.
But alike by night for ever,And alike by day,
Righteous men with sunlight blest
Have a life of tranquil rest;
Nor the earth with strength of hands
Harass, nor the ocean's flood,
Laboring for scanty food.
Those, who in faithful vows delighted,
Now with the honor'd Gods enjoy
Tearless years untouch'd by sorrow;
The foresworn have lengthen'd toil,
From which mortal eyes recoil.
Antistrophe 4.
They who have the strength, unsulliedOn each side the grave,
Thrice, the spirit to restrain
Pure from all unrighteous stain,
218
Shall atchieve Jove's arduous way.
Soft airs, born of ocean's spray,
There round the blessed isles are breathing,
And golden blossoms gleam; some deck
Beauteous trees, and some the water
Nourishes; blithe hands entwine
Flowery chains and wreaths that shine;
Epode 4.
As Rhadamanth's unerring wordHath doom'd, who sits by Saturn, lord
Of great Rhea, throned
High above all powers that be.
Amid those removed from care
Cadmus and Peleus dwell in glory there.
Thither joyful Thetis brought
Her son, (when moved by prayer
Jove granted what she sought,)
Strophe 5.
Who o'erthrew undaunted Hector,Pillar stout of Troy,
Cycnus slew, and Æthiop born
From the womb of rosy Morn.
Still beneath mine elbow stored
Many a fleet arrow lies
In the quiver, to the wise
Plain sounding; but unto the many
Interpretation they require.
Wise are those, with Nature's learning
Largely gifted; but the taught,
With imperfect jargon fraught,
219
Antistrophe 5.
Like obstreperous daws, clamorRound Jove's bird divine.
Aim the bow with skilful eye!
Mind, bestir thee! whom shall I
With benignant spirit reach,
Speeding the famed arrow's flight?
Agrigentum, I will smite
Thy city, with an oath confirming,
What I with heart sincere avouch,
Thou, an hundred years enduring,
Hast not borne a heart more kind,
Liberal hand, and friendly mind,
Epode 5.
Than Theron's; but his well-earn'd praiseDid hostile insolence upraise,
Men unjust, insane,
Wishing o'er the good he wrought
By false speech to throw a veil,
And add ill deeds to many an evil tale.
None can count the ocean's sand,
None tell the joys diffused
O'er others by his hand.
| Works of the Hon. and Very Rev. William Herbert | |