Odes of Pindar With several other Pieces in Prose and Verse, Translated from the Greek. To which is added a dissertation on the Olympick games. By Gilbert West |
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 | Odes of Pindar |  |
[OLYMPICK ODES]
THE FIRST OLYMPICK ODE.
ARGUMENT.
The Subject of this Ode being a Victory obtained by Hiero in
the Olympick Games, Pindar sets out with shewing the
Superiority and Pre-eminence of those Games over all others;
among which, he says, they hold the same Rank, as Water
(which, according to the Opinion of Thales and other Philosophers,
was the Original of all Things) among the Elements,
and Gold among the Gifts of Fortune. Wherefore,
continues he, O my Heart, if thou art inclined to sing of
Games, it would be as absurd to think of any other but the
Olympick Games, as to look for Stars in the Sky, when
the Sun is shining in his meridian Glory; especially as all the
Guests at Hiero's Table (among which Number it is not
improbable that Pindar was one at this Time) are singing
Odes upon that Subject. From the mention of Hiero, he
falls into a short Panegyrick upon his Virtues, and then passes
to what gave Occasion to this Ode, viz. his Olympick
STROPHE I.
Chief of Nature's Works divine,Water claims the highest Praise:
Richest Offspring of the Mine,
Gold, like Fire, whose flashing Rays
Through the Night's involving Cloud,
First in Lustre and Esteem,
Decks the Treasures of the Proud:
So among the Lists of Fame
Pisa's honour'd Games excell;
Then to Pisa's glorious Name
Tune, O Muse, thy sounding Shell.
ANTISTROPHE I.
Who along the desert AirSeeks the faded starry Train,
When the Sun's meridian Carr
Round illumes th'Ætherial Plain?
Who a nobler Theme can chuse
Than Olympia's sacred Games?
What more apt to fire the Muse,
When her various Songs she frames?
Songs in Strains of Wisdom drest
Great Saturnius to record,
And by each rejoicing Guest
Sung at Hiero's feastful Board.
EPODE I.
In pastoral Sicilia's fruitful SoilThe righteous Sceptre of Imperial Pow'r
Great Hiero wielding, with illustrious Toil
Plucks ev'ry blooming Virtue's fairest Flow'r,
Nor doth his skilful Hand refuse
Acquaintance with the tunefull Muse,
When round the mirthfull Board the Harp is borne.
STROPHE II.
Down then from the glitt'ring NailTake, O Muse, thy Dorian Lyre;
If the Love of Pisa's Vale
Pleasing Transports can inspire;
Or the rapid-footed Steed
Could with Joy thy Bosom move,
When, unwhip'd, with native Speed
O'er the dusty Course he drove;
Alpheus, thy immortal Flood,
On his Lord's triumphant Brows
The Olympick Wreath bestow'd:
ANTISTROPHE II.
Hiero's Royal Brows, whose CareTends the Courser's noble Breed;
Pleas'd to nurse the pregnant Mare,
Pleas'd to train the youthful Steed.
Now on that Heroick Land
His far beaming Glories beat,
Where with all his Lydian Band
Pelops fix'd his honour'd Seat:
Pelops, by the God belov'd,
Whose strong Arms the Globe embrace;
When by Jove's high Orders mov'd
Clotho bless'd the healing Vase.
EPODE II.
Forth from the Cauldron to new Life restor'd,Pleas'd with the Lustre of his Iv'ry Arm
Young Pelops rose; so ancient Tales record,
And oft these Tales unheeding Mortals charm;
While gaudy Fiction deck'd with Art,
And dress'd in ev'ry winning Grace,
To Truth's unornamented Face
Preferr'd, seduces oft the human Heart.
STROPHE III.
Add to these sweet Poesy,Smooth Inchantress of Mankind,
Clad in whose false Majesty
Fables easy Credit find.
But e'er long the rolling Year
The deceitful Tale explodes:
Then, O Man, with holy Fear
Touch the Characters of Gods.
Of their Heav'nly Natures say
Nought unseemly, nought profane,
So shalt thou due Honour pay,
So be free from guilty Stain.
ANTISTROPHE III.
Diff'ring then from ancient FameI thy Story will record:
How the Gods invited came
To thy Father's genial Board;
In his Turn the holy Feast
When on Sipylus he spread;
To the Tables of the Blest
In his Turn with Honour led.
Neptune then thy lovely Face,
Son of Tantalus, survey'd,
And with amorous Embrace
Far away the Prize convey'd.
EPODE III.
To the high Palace of all-honour'd JoveWith Pelops swift the golden Chariot rolls.
There, like more ancient Ganymede, above
For Neptune he prepares the nectar'd Bowls.
But for her vanish'd Son in vain
When long his tender Mother sought,
And Tidings of his Fate were brought
By none of all her much-inquiring Train;
STROPHE IV.
O'er the envious Realm with SpeedA malicious Rumour flew,
That, his heav'nly Guests to feed,
Thee thy impious Father slew:
In a Cauldron's seething Flood
That thy mangled Limbs were cast,
Thence by each voracious God
On the Board in Messes plac'd.
But shall I the Blest abuse?
With such Tales to stain her Song
Far, far be it from my Muse!
Vengeance waits th'unhallow'd Tongue.
ANTISTROPHE IV.
Sure, if e'er to Man befelHonour from the Pow'rs divine,
Who on high Olympus dwell,
Tantalus, the Lot was thine.
But alas! his mortal Sense
All too feeble to digest
The Delights of Bliss immense,
Sicken'd at the heav'nly Feast.
Whence, his Folly to chastise,
O'er his Head with Pride elate,
Jove, great Father of the Skies,
Hung a Rock's enormous Weight.
EPODE IV.
Now vainly lab'ring with incessant PainsTh'impending Rock's expected Fall to shun,
The fourth distressful Instance he remains
Of wretched Man by impious Pride undone;
Who to his mortal Guests convey'd
Th'incorruptible Food of Gods,
On which in their divine Abodes
Himself erst feasting was immortal made.
STROPHE V.
Vain is he, who hopes to cheatThe all-seeing Eyes of Heaven:
From Olympus' blissfull Seat,
For his Father's Theft, was driven,
Pelops, to reside once more
With frail Man's swift-passing Race.
Where (for now Youth's blowing Flow'r
Deck'd with op'ning Pride his Face;
And with manly Beauty sprung
On each Cheek the downy Shade)
Ever burning for the Young,
Hymen's Fires his Heart invade.
ANTISTROPHE V.
Anxious then th'Elean BrideFrom her Royal Sire to gain,
Near the Billow-beaten Side
Of the foam besilver'd Main,
Darkling and alone he stood,
Invocating oft the Name
Of the Trident-bearing God
Strait the Trident-bearer came:
“If the sweet Delights of Love,
“Which from Beauty's Queen descend,
“Can thy yielding Bosom move,
“Mighty God, my Cause befriend.
EPODE V.
“With strong Prevention let thy Hand controll“The brazen Lance of Pisas's furious King;
“And to the Honours of th'Elean Goal
“Me with unrival'd Speed in Triumph bring.
“Transfix'd by his unerring Spear,
“Already thirteen Youths have dy'd,
“Yet he persists with cruel Pride,
“Hippodamîa's Nuptials to deferr.
STROPHE VI.
“In the Paths of dang'rous Fame“Trembling Cowards never tread:
“Yet since all of mortal Frame
“Must be number'd with the Dead,
“Who in dark inglorious Shade
“Would his useless Life consume,
“And with deedless Years decay'd,
“Sink unhonour'd to the Tomb?
“I that shamefull Lot disdain;
“I this doubtfull List will prove;
“May my Vows from thee obtain
“Conquest, and the Prize of Love.”
ANTISTROPHE VI.
Thus he pray'd, and mov'd the God;Who, his bold Attempt to grace,
On the favour'd Youth bestow'd
Steeds unwearied in the Race;
Harness'd to a Golden Carr.
So was Pisa's King subdu'd;
Pelops so obtain'd the Fair;
From whose Womb a noble Brood,
Six illustrious Brothers came,
All with virtuous Minds endow'd,
Leaders all of mighty Fame.
EPODE VI.
Now in the solemn Service of the Dead,Rank'd with immortal Gods, great Pelops shares;
While to his Altar, on the wat'ry Bed
Of Alpheus rais'd, from every Clime repairs
The wond'ring Stranger, to behold
The Glories of th'Olympick Plain;
Where, the resplendent Wreath to gain,
Contend the Swift, the Active, and the Bold.
STROPHE VII.
Happy He, whose glorious BrowPisa's honour'd Chaplets crown!
Calm his Stream of Life shall flow,
Shelter'd by his high Renown.
That alone is Bliss supreme,
Which, unknowing to decay,
Still with ever-shining Beam
Gladdens each succeeding Day.
Then for happy Hiero weave
Garlands of Æolian Strains;
Him these Honours to receive
The Olympick Law ordains.
ANTISTROPHE VII.
Nor more worthy of her LayCan the Muse a Mortal find;
Greater in Imperial Sway,
Richer in a virtuous Mind;
Waits thy Wishes to fulfil.
Then e'er long will I prepare,
Plac'd on Chronium's sunny Hill,
Thee in sweeter Verse to praise,
Following thy victorious Steeds;
If to prosper all thy Ways
Still thy Guardian God proceeds.
EPODE VII.
Fate hath in various Stations rank'd Mankind:In Royal Pow'r the long Gradations end.
By that Horizon prudently confin'd,
Let not thy Hopes to farther Views extend.
Long may'st thou wear the Regal Crown,
And may thy Bard his Wish receive,
With thee, and such as thee to live,
Around his native Greece for Wisdom known.
THE SECOND OLYMPICK ODE.
ARGUMENT
The Poet, in answer to the Question, What God, what Here,
and what Mortal he should sing (with which Words this
Ode immediately begins) having named Jupiter and Hercules,
not only as the first of Gods and Heroes, but as they
were peculiarly related to his Subject; the one being the Protector,
and the other the Founder of the Olympick Games;
falls directly into the Praises of Theron: by this Method
artfully insinuating, that Theron held the same Rank
among all Mortals, as the Two former did among the Gods
and Heroes. In enumerating the many Excellencies of
Theron, the Poet, having made mention of the Nobility of
his Family (a Topick seldom or never omitted by Pindar)
takes occasion to lay before him the various Accidents and
Vicissitudes of human Life, by Instances drawn from the
History of his own Ancestors, the Founders of Agrigentum;
who, it seems, underwent many Difficulties, before they could
STROPHE I.
Ye choral Hymns, harmonious Lays,Sweet Rulers of the Lyrick String,
What God? what Hero's godlike Praise?
What Mortal shall we sing?
With Jove, with Pisa's Guardian God,
Begin, O Muse, th'Olympick Ode.
Alcides, Jove's Heroick Son,
The second Honours claims;
Who, off'ring up the Spoils from Augeas won,
Establish'd to his Sire th'Olympick Games;
Where bright in Wreaths of Conquest Theron shone.
Of Theron hospitable, just, and great!
Fam'd Agrigentum's honour'd King,
The Prop and Bulwark of her tow'ring State;
A righteous Prince! whose flow'ring Virtues grace
The venerable Stem of his illustrious Race:
ANTISTROPHE I.
A Race, long exercis'd in Woes,Ere, smiling o'er her kindred Flood,
The Mansion of their wish'd Repose,
Their sacred City stood;
And through amaz'd Sicilia shone
The Lustre of their fair Renown.
Thence, as the milder Fates decreed,
In destin'd Order born,
Auspicious Hours with smoother Pace succeed;
While Pow'r and Wealth the noble Line adorn,
And Public Favour, Virtue's richest Meed.
Whose kingly Hands th'Olympian Sceptre wield!
Rever'd on Alpheus' sacred Stream!
And honour'd most in Pisa's listed Field!
Propitious listen to my soothing Strain!
And to the worthy Sons their Father's Rights maintain!
EPODE I.
Peace on their future Life, and Wealth bestow;And bid their present Moments calmly flow.
The Deed once done no Pow'r can abrogate,
Not the great Sire of all Things, Time, nor Fate.
But sweet Oblivion of disastrous Care,
And Good succeeding, may the Wrong repair,
Lost in the Brightness of returning Day,
The gloomy Terrors of the Night decay;
When Jove commands the Sun of Joy to rise,
And opens into Smiles the Cloud-invelop'd Skies.
STROPHE II.
Thy hapless Daughters' various FateThis moral Truth, O Cadmus, shows;
Who vested now with Godlike State
On heav'nly Thrones repose;
In bitter Anguish once they trod.
But Bliss superior hath eras'd
The Mem'ry of their Woe;
While Semele, on high Olympus plac'd,
To heav'nly Zephyrs bids her Tresses flow,
Once by devouring Lightnings all defac'd.
There with immortal Charms improv'd,
Inhabitant of Heav'n's serene Abodes
She dwells, by Virgin Pallas lov'd,
Lov'd by Saturnius, Father of the Gods;
Lov'd by her youthful Son, whose Brows divine,
In twisting Ivy bound, with Joy eternal shine.
ANTISTROPHE II.
To Ino, Goddess of the Main,The Fates an equal Lot decree,
Rank'd with old Ocean's Nereid Train,
Bright Daughters of the Sea.
Deep in the pearly Realms below,
Immortal Happiness to know.
But here our Day's appointed End
To Mortals is unknown;
Whether Distress our Period shall attend,
And in tumultuous Storms our Sun go down,
Or to the Shades in peaceful Calms descend.
Obnoxious still to Fortune's veering Gale;
Now rough with Anguish, Care, and Strife,
O'erwhelming Waves the shatter'd Bark assail:
Now glide serene and smooth the limpid Streams;
And on the Surface play Apollo's golden Beams.
EPODE II.
Thus, Fate, O Theron, that with Bliss divineAnd Glory once enrich'd thy ancient Line,
Again reversing ev'ry gracious Deed,
Woe to thy wretched Sires and Shame decreed;
What Time, encount'ring on the Phocian Plain,
By luckless Oedipus was Laius slain.
To Parricide by Fortune blindly led,
His Father's precious Life the Hero shed;
Doom'd to fulfill the Oracles of Heav'n,
To Thebes' ill destin'd King by Pythian Phœbus giv'n.
STROPHE III.
But with a fierce avenging EyeErinnys the foul Murder view'd,
And bade his warring Offspring die,
By mutual Rage subdu'd.
Pierc'd by his Brother's hateful Steel
Thus haughty Polynices fell.
Thersander, born to calmer Days,
Surviv'd his falling Sire,
In youthful Games to win immortal Praise;
Renown in martial Combats to acquire,
And high in Pow'r th'Adrastian House to raise.
Forth from this venerable Root
Ænesidamus and his Theron spring;
For whom I touch my Dorian Flute,
For whom triumphant strike my sounding String.
Due to his Glory is th'Aonian Strain,
Whose Virtue gain'd the Prize in fam'd Olympia's Plain.
ANTISTROPHE III.
Alone in fam'd Olympia's SandThe Victor's Chaplet Theron wore;
But with him on the Isthmian Strand,
On sweet Castalia's Shore,
The verdant Crowns, the proud Reward
Of Victory his Brother shar'd,
Copartner in immortal Praise,
As warm'd with equal Zeal
The light-foot Courser's gen'rous Breed to raise,
And whirl around the Goal the fervid Wheel.
The painful Strife Olympia's Wreath repays:
But Wealth with nobler Virtue join'd
The Means and fair Occasions must procure;
In Glory's Chace must aid the Mind,
Expence, and Toil, and Danger to endure;
With mingling Rays they feed each other's Flame,
And shine the brightest Lamp in all the Sphere of Fame.
EPODE III.
The happy Mortal, who these Treasures shares,Well knows what Fate attends his gen'rous Cares;
Knows, that beyond the Verge of Life and Light,
In the sad Regions of infernal Night,
Avenging Gods and penal Woes shall find;
Where strict inquiring Justice shall bewray
The Crimes committed in the Realms of Day.
The impartial Judge the rigid Law declares,
No more to be revers'd by Penitence or Pray'rs.
STROPHE IV.
But in the happy Fields of Light,Where Phœbus with an equal Ray
Illuminates the balmy Night,
And gilds the cloudless Day,
In peaceful, unmolested Joy,
The Good their smiling Hours employ.
Them no uneasy Wants constrain
To vex th'ungrateful Soil,
To tempt the Dangers of the billowy Main,
And break their Strength with unabating Toil,
A frail disastrous Being to maintain.
But in their joyous calm Abodes,
The Recompence of Justice they receive;
And in the Fellowship of Gods
Without a Tear eternal Ages live.
While banish'd by the Fates from Joy and Rest,
Intolerable Woes the impious Soul infest.
ANTISTROPHE IV.
But they who, in true Virtue strong,The third Purgation can endure;
And keep their Minds from fraudful Wrong,
And Guilt's Contagion pure;
They through the starry Paths of Jove
To Saturn's blissful Seat remove;
Where fragrant Breezes, vernal Airs,
Sweet Children of the Main,
Purge the blest Island from corroding Cares,
And fan the Bosom of each verdant Plain:
Whose fertile Soil immortal Fruitage bears;
Trees, from whose flaming Branches flow
Array'd in golden Bloom refulgent Beams;
And Flow'rs of golden Hue, that blow
On the fresh Borders of their Parent Streams.
These by the Blest in solemn Triumph worn,
Their unpolluted Hands and clust'ring Locks adorn.
EPODE IV.
Such is the righteous Will, the high BehestOf Rhadamanthus, Ruler of the Blest;
The just Assessor of the Throne divine,
On which, high rais'd above all Gods, recline,
Link'd in the Golden Bands of wedded Love,
The great Progenitors of Thund'ring Jove.
There, in the Number of the Blest enroll'd,
Live Cadmus, Peleus, Heroes fam'd of old;
And young Achilles, to those Isles remov'd,
Soon as, by Thetis won, relenting Jove approv'd:
STROPHE V.
Achilles, whose resistless MightTroy's stable Pillar overthrew,
The valiant Hector, firm in Fight,
And hardy Cygnus slew,
And Memnon, Offspring of the Morn,
In torrid Æthiopia born—
Yet in my well-stor'd Breast remain
Materials to supply
With copious Argument my Moral Strain,
Whose mystick Sense the Wise alone descry,
Still to the Vulgar sounding harsh and vain.
Nature hath true inherent Genius pour'd,
The Praise of Wisdom may contest;
Not they who, with loquacious Learning stor'd,
Like Crows and chatt'ring Jays, with clam'rous Cries
Pursue the Bird of Jove, that sails along the Skies.
ANTISTROPHE V.
Come on! thy brightest Shafts prepare,And bend, O Muse, thy sounding Bow;
Say, through what Paths of liquid Air
Our Arrows shall we throw?
Thither let all thy Quiver fly.
And thou, O Agrigentum, hear,
While with religious Dread,
And taught the Laws of Justice to revere,
To heav'nly Vengeance I devote my Head,
If aught to Truth repugnant now I swear,
Swear, that no State, revolving o'er
The long Memorials of recorded Days,
Can shew in all her boasted Store
A Name to parallel thy Theron's Praise;
One to the Acts of Friendship so inclin'd,
So fam'd for bounteous Deeds, and Love of Human Kind.
EPODE V.
Yet hath obstrep'rous Envy sought to drownThe goodly Musick of his sweet Renown;
While by some frantick Spirits borne along
To mad Attempts of Violence and Wrong,
She turn'd against him Faction's raging Flood,
And strove with evil Deeds to conquer Good.
Wash'd by Sicilia's hoarse-resounding Main?
Or who can Theron's gen'rous Works express,
And tell how many Hearts his bounteous Virtues bless!
THE THIRD OLYMPICK ODE.
ARGUMENT
The Scholiast acquaints us, that as Theron was celebrating the
Theoxenia, (a Festival instituted by Castor and Pollux
in Honour of all the Gods) he received the News of a
Victory obtained by his Chariot in the Olympick Games:
From this Circumstance the Poet takes Occasion to address
this Ode to those two Deities and their Sister Helena, in
whose Temple, the same Scholiast informs us, some People
with greatest Probability conjectured, it was sung, at a solemn
Sacrifice there offered by Theron to those Deities, and
to Hercules also, as may be inferred from a Passage in the
third Strophe of the Translation. But there is another,
and a more poetical Propriety in Pindar's invoking these
Divinities, that is suggested in the Ode itself: for, after
mentioning the Occasion of his composing it, namely, the
Olympick Victory of Theron, and saying that a triumphal
STROPHE I.
While to the Fame of Agragas I sing,For Theron wake th'Olympick String,
And with Aonian Garlands grace
His Steeds unweary'd in the Race,
O may the hospitable Twins of Jove,
And bright-hair'd Helena the Song approve!
For this the Muse bestow'd her Aid,
As in new Measures I essay'd
To harmonize the tuneful Words,
And set to Dorian Airs my sounding Chords.
ANTISTROPHE I.
And lo! the conqu'ring Steeds, whose tossing HeadsOlympia's verdant Wreath bespreads,
The Muse-imparted Tribute claim,
Due, Theron, to thy glorious Name;
The Flute, the warbling Lyre, and melting Lays,
Lo! Pisa too the Song requires!
Elean Pisa, that inspires
The glowing Bard with eager Care
His Heav'n-directed Present to prepare:
EPODE I.
The Present offer'd to his virtuous Fame,On whose ennobled Brows,
The righteous Umpire of the sacred Game,
Th'Ætolian Judge bestows
The darksome Olive, studious to fulfill
The mighty Founder's Will.
From distant Scythia's fruitful Soil,
And Hyperborean Ister's woody Shore,
With fair Entreaties gain'd, to Grecian Elis bore.
STROPHE II.
The blameless Servants of the Delphick GodWith Joy the valued Gift bestow'd;
Mov'd by the friendly Chief to grant,
On Terms of Peace, the sacred Plant;
And crown Heroick Worth with Wreaths Divine.
For now full-orb'd the wand'ring Moon
In plenitude of Brightness shone,
And on the spacious Eye of Night
Pour'd all the Radiance of her golden Light:
ANTISTROPHE II.
Now on Jove's Altars blaz'd the hallow'd Flames,And now were fix'd the mighty Games,
Again, when e'er the circling Sun
Four times his annual Course had run,
Their Period to renew, and shine again
On Alpheus' craggy Shores and Pisa's Plain:
But subject all the Region lay
To the fierce Sun's insulting Ray,
While upon Pelops' burning Vale
No Shade arose his Fury to repell.
EPODE II.
Then traversing the Hills, whose jutting BaseIndents Arcadia's Meads,
To where the Virgin Goddess of the Chace
Impells her foaming Steeds,
To Scythian Ister he directs his Way,
Doom'd by his Father to obey
The rigid Pleasures of Mycenæ's King,
And thence the rapid Hind to bring,
With Horns of branching Gold, Taÿgeta array'd.
STROPHE III.
There as the longsome Chace the Chief pursu'd,The spacious Scythian I lains he view'd;
A Land beyond the chilling Blast,
And Northern Caves of Boreas cast:
There too the Groves of Olive he survey'd,
And gaz'd with Rapture on the pleasing Shade,
Thence by the wond'ring Hero borne
The Goals of Elis to adorn.
And now to Theron's sacred Feast
With Leda's Twins he comes, propitious Guest!
ANTISTROPHE III.
To Leda's Twins (when Heav'n's divine AbodesHe fought, and mingled with the Gods)
He gave th'illustrious Games to hold,
And crown the Swife, the Strong, and Bold.
Then, Muse, to Theron and his House proclaim
The joyous Tidings of Success and Fame,
By Leda's Twins bestow'd to grace,
Emmenides, thy pious Race,
Who mindful of Heav'n's high Behests
With strictest Zeal observe their Holy Feasts.
EPODE III.
As Water's vital Streams all Things surpass,As Gold's all-worship'd Ore
Holds amid Fortune's Stores the highest Class;
So to that distant Shore,
To where the Pillars of Alcides rise,
Fame's utmost Boundaries,
Theron pursuing his successful Way,
Hath deck'd with Glory's brightest Ray
His Lineal Virtues.—Farther to attain,
Wise, and Unwise, with me despair: th'Attempt werevain.
THE FIFTH OLYMPICK ODE.
[_]
This Ode is inscribed to Psaumis of Camarina (a
Town in Sicily) who, in the Eighty second Olympiad,
obtained Three Victories; one in the Race
of Chariots drawn by Four Horses; a second in
the Race of the Apené, or Chariot drawn by Mules,
and a third in the Race of Single Horses.
Some People (it seems) have doubted, whether this
Ode be Pindar's, for certain Reasons, which together
with the Arguments on the other Side, the
learned Reader may find in the Oxford Edition
and others of this Author; where it is clearly
proved to be genuine. But besides the Reasons
there given for doubting if this Ode be Pindar's,
there is another (though not mentioned, as I know
of, by any one) which may have helped to biass
People in their Judgment upon this Question. I
shall therefore beg leave to consider it a little, because
what I shall say upon that Head, will tend
to illustrate both the Meaning and the Method of
Pindar in this Ode. In the Greek Editions of this
Author there are Two Odes (of which this is the
second) inscribed to the same Psaumis, and dated
both in the same Olympiad. But they differ from
43
each other in several Particulars, as well in the
Matter as the Manner. In the Second Ode, Notice
is taken of Three Victories obtained by
Psaumis; in the First, of only One, viz. that obtained
by him in the Race of Chariots drawn by
Four Horses: In the Second, not only the City of
Camarina, but the Lake of the same Name, many
Rivers adjoining to it, and some Circumstances relating
to the present State, and the rebuilding of
that City (which had been destroyed by the
Syracusians some Years before) are mentioned;
whereas in the First, Camarina is barely named,
as the Country of the Conqueror, and as it were
out of Form: From all which I conclude, that
these two Odes were composed to be sung at different
Times, and in different Places. The First
at Olympia, immediately upon Psaumis's being proclaimed
Conqueror in the Chariot-Race, and before
he obtained his other two Victories. This
may with great Probability be inferred as well from
no mention being there made of those two Victories,
as from the Prayer which the Poet subjoins
immediately to his Account of the First, viz. that
Heaven would in like Manner be favourable to
the rest of the Victor's Wishes; which Prayer,
though it be in general Words, and one frequently
used by Pindar in other of his Odes, yet has a peculiar
Beauty and Propriety, if taken to relate to
the other Two Exercises, in which Psaumis was
44
still to contend; and in which he afterwards came
off victorious. That it was the Custom for a
Conqueror, at the Time of his being proclaimed,
to be attended by a Chorus, who sung a Song of
Triumph in Honour of his Victory, I have observed
in the Dissertation prefixed to these Odes.
In the Second, there are so many Marks of its
having been made to be sung at the triumphal Entry
of Psaumis into his own Country, and those so
evident, that, after this Hint given, the Reader
cannot help observing them, as he goes through
the Ode. I shall therefore say nothing more of
them in this Place; but that they tend, by shewing
for what Occasion this Ode was calculated, to
confirm what I said relating to the other; and
jointly with that to prove, that there is no reason
to conclude from there being two Odes inscribed
to the same Person, and dated in the same Olympiad,
that the latter is not Pindar's, especially as it
appears, both in the Style and Spirit, altogether worthy of him.
This Ode is inscribed to Psaumis of Camarina (a Town in Sicily) who, in the Eighty second Olympiad, obtained Three Victories; one in the Race of Chariots drawn by Four Horses; a second in the Race of the Apené, or Chariot drawn by Mules, and a third in the Race of Single Horses.
Some People (it seems) have doubted, whether this Ode be Pindar's, for certain Reasons, which together with the Arguments on the other Side, the learned Reader may find in the Oxford Edition and others of this Author; where it is clearly proved to be genuine. But besides the Reasons there given for doubting if this Ode be Pindar's, there is another (though not mentioned, as I know of, by any one) which may have helped to biass People in their Judgment upon this Question. I shall therefore beg leave to consider it a little, because what I shall say upon that Head, will tend to illustrate both the Meaning and the Method of Pindar in this Ode. In the Greek Editions of this Author there are Two Odes (of which this is the second) inscribed to the same Psaumis, and dated both in the same Olympiad. But they differ from
ARGUMENT.
The Poet begins with addressing himself to Camarina, a Sea
Nymph, from whom the City and Lake were both named, to
bespeak a favourable Reception of his Ode, a Present which
he tells her was made to her by Psaumis, who rendered her
City illustrious at the Olympick Games; where having obtained
STROPHE.
Fair Camarina, Daughter of the Main,With gracious Smiles this Choral Song receive,
Sweet Fruit of virtuous Toils; whose noble Strain
Shall to th'Olympick Wreath new Lustre give:
With unabating Speed
The harness'd Mules to Conquest bore,
This Gift to Thee decreed;
Thee, Camarina, whose well-peopled Tow'rs
Thy Psaumis render'd great in Fame,
When to the Twelve Olympian Pow'rs
He fed with Victims the triumphal Flame.
When, the double Altars round,
Slaughter'd Bulls bestrew'd the Ground;
When, on Five selected Days,
Jove survey'd the Lists of Praise;
While along the dusty Course
Psaumis urg'd his straining Horse,
Or beneath the social Yoke
Made the well-match'd Coursers smoke;
Or around th'Elean Goal
Taught his Mule-drawn Carr to roll.
Then did the Victor dedicate his Fame
To Thee, and bade the Herald's Voice proclaim
Thy new-establish'd Walls, and Acron's honour'd Name.
ANTISTROPHE.
But now return'd from where the pleasant SeatOnce of Oenomaus and Pelops stood,
Thee, Civick Pallas, and thy chaste Retreat,
He bids me sing, and fair Oanus' Flood,
And Camarina's sleeping Wave,
And those sequestred Shores,
Through which the thirsty Town to lave
Smooth flow the watry Stores
Of fishy Hipparis, profoundest Stream,
Adown whose Wood-envelop'd Tide
The solid Pile, and lofty Beam,
Materials for the future Palace, glide.
Thus by War's rude Tempests torn,
Plung'd in Misery and Scorn,
Once again, with Pow'r array'd,
Camarina lifts her Head,
Gayly bright'ning in the Blaze,
Psaumis, of thy hard-earn'd Praise.
Him, who labours to ascend
Where, approaching to the Skies,
Virtue holds the sacred Prize,
That tempts him to atchieve the dangerous Deed:
But, if his well-concerted Toils succeed,
His Country's just Applause shall be his glorious Meed.
EPODE
O Jove! Protector of Mankind!O Cloud-enthroned King of Gods!
Who on the Cronian Mount reclin'd,
With Honour crown'st the wide-stream'd Floods
Of Alpheus, and the solemn Gloom
Of Ida's Cave! to thee I come
Thy Suppliant, to soft Lydian Reeds,
Sweet breathing forth my tuneful Pray'r,
That, grac'd with noble, valiant Deeds,
This State may prove thy Guardian Care;
And Thou, on whose victorious Brow
Olympia bound the sacred Bough,
Thou whom Neptunian Steeds delight,
With Age, Content, and Quiet crown'd,
Calm may'st thou sink to endless Night,
Thy Children, Psaumis, weeping round.
Join'd with that Prime of Earthly Treasures, Health,
Enjoy the Blessings they to Man assign,
Nor fondly sigh for Happiness divine.
THE SEVENTH OLYMPICK ODE.
ARGUMENT.
The Poet begins this noble Song of Triumph with a Simile, by
which he endeavours to shew his great Esteem for those who
obtain the Victory in the Olympick and other Games; as
also the Value of the Present, that he makes them upon that
Occasion; a Present always acceptable, because Fame and
Praise is that which delights all Mortals; wherefore the
Muse, says he, is perpetually looking about for proper Objects
to bestow it upon; and seeing the great Actions of Diagoras,
takes up a Resolution of celebrating Him, the Isle of Rhodes
his Country, and his Father Damagetus (according to the
Form observed by the Herald in proclaiming the Conquerors;
which I mentioned in the Notes upon the last Ode) Damagetus,
and consequently Diagoras, being descended from
Tlepolemus, who led over a Colony of Grecians from
I
As when a Father in the golden Vase,The Pride and Glory of his wealthy Stores,
Bent his lov'd Daughter's nuptial Torch to grace,
The Vineyard's purple Dews profusely pours;
II
Then to his Lips the foaming Chalice rears,With Blessings hallow'd and auspicious Vows,
And mingling with the Draught transporting Tears,
On the young Bridegroom the rich Gift bestows;
III
The precious Earnest of Esteem sincere,Of friendly Union and connubial Love:
The bridal Train the sacred Pledge revere,
And round the Youth in sprightly Measures move.
IV
He to his Home the valu'd Present bears,The Grace and Ornament of future Feasts;
Where, as his Father's Bounty he declares,
Wonder shall seize the gratulating Guests.
V
Thus on the Valiant, on the Swift, and Strong,Castalia's genuine Nectar I bestow;
And pouring forth the Muse-descended Song,
Bid to their Praises the rich Numbers flow.
VI
Grateful to them resounds th'harmonick Ode,The Gift of Friendship and the Pledge of Fame.
Happy the Mortal, whom th'Aonian God
Chears with the Musick of a glorious Name!
VII
The Muse her piercing Glances throws around,And quick discovers ev'ry worthy Deed:
And now she wakes the Lyre's inchanting Sound,
Now fills with various Strains the vocal Reed:
VIII
But here each Instrument of Song divine,The vocal Reed and Lyre's enchanting String
She tunes, and bids their Harmony combine
Thee, and thy Rhodes, Diagoras, to sing;
IX
Thee and thy Country native of the Flood,Which from bright Rhodos draws her honour'd Name,
Fair Nymph, whose Charms subdu'd the Delphick God,
Fair blooming Daughter of the Cyprian Dame:
X
To sing thy Triumphs in th'Olympick Sand,Where Alpheus saw thy Giant-Temples crown'd;
Fam'd Pythia too proclaim'd thy conqu'ring Hand,
Where sweet Castalia's mystick Currents sound.
XI
Nor Damagetus will I pass unsung,Thy Sire, the Friend of Justice and of Truth;
From noble Ancestors whose Lineage sprung,
The Chiefs who led to Rhodes the Argive Youth.
XII
There near to Asia's wide-extended Strand,Where jutting Embolus the Waves divides,
In three Divisions they possess'd the Land,
Enthron'd amid the hoarse-resounding Tides.
XIII
To their Descendants will I tune my Lyre,The Offspring of Alcides bold and strong,
And from Tlepolemus, their common Sire,
Deduce the national historick Song.
XIV
Tlepolemus of great Alcides came,The Fruits of fair Astydameîa's Love,
Jove-born Amyntor got the Argive Dame:
So either Lineage is deriv'd from Jove.
XV
But wrapt in Error is the human Mind,And human Bliss is ever insecure:
Know we what Fortune yet remains behind?
Know we how long the present shall endure?
XVI
For lo! the Founder of the Rhodian State,Who from Saturnian Jove his Being drew,
While his fell Bosom swell'd with vengeful Hate,
The Bastard-brother of Alcmena slew.
XVII
With his rude Mace, in fair Tiryntha's Walls,Tlepolemus inflicts the horrid Wound:
Ev'n at his Mother's Door Licymnius falls,
Yet warm from her Embrace, and bites the Ground.
XVIII
Passion may oft the wisest Heart surprize:Conscious and trembling for the murd'rous Deed,
To Delphi's Oracle the Hero flies,
Sollicitous to learn what Heav'n decreed.
XIX
Him bright-hair'd Phœbus, from his od'rous Fane,Bade set his flying Sails from Lerna's Shore,
And, in the Bosom of the Eastern Main,
That Sea-girt Region hasten to explore;
XX
That blissful Island, where a wond'rous CloudOnce rain'd, at Jove's Command, a Golden Show'r;
What Time, assisted by the Lemnian God,
The King of Heav'n brought forth the Virgin Pow'r.
XXI
By Vulcan's Art the Father's teeming HeadWas open'd wide, and forth impetuous sprung,
And shouted fierce and loud, the Warrior Maid:
Old Mother Earth and Heav'n affrighted rung.
XXII
Then Hyperion's Son, pure Fount of Day,Did to his Children the strange Tale reveal:
He warn'd them strait the Sacrifice to slay,
And worship the young Pow'r with earliest Zeal.
XXIII
So would they sooth the mighty Father's Mind,Pleas'd with the Honours to his Daughter paid;
And so propitious ever would they find
Minerva, warlike, formidable Maid,
XXIV
On staid Precaution, vigilant and wise,True Virtue, and true Happiness depend;
But oft Oblivion's dark'ning Clouds arise,
And from the destin'd Scope our Purpose bend.
XXV
The Rhodians, mindful of their Sire's Behest,Strait in the Citadel an Altar rear'd;
But with imperfect Rites the Pow'r address'd,
And without Fire their Sacrifice prepar'd.
XXVI
Yet Jove approving o'er th'Assembly spreadA yellow Cloud, that drop'd with golden Dews;
While in their op'ning Hearts the blue-ey'd Maid
Deign'd her Celestial Science to infuse.
XXVII
Thence in all Arts the Sons of Rhodes excel,Tho' best their forming Hands the Chissel guide;
This in each Street the breathing Marbles tell,
The Stranger's Wonder, and the City's Pride.
XXVIII
Great Praise the Works of Rhodian Artists find,Yet to their heav'nly Mistress much they owe;
Since Art and Learning cultivate the Mind,
And make the Seeds of Genius quicker grow.
XXIX
Some say, that when by Lot th'immortal GodsWith Jove these earthly Regions did divide,
All undiscover'd lay Phœbean Rhodes,
Whelm'd deep beneath the salt Carpathian Tide;
XXX
That, absent on his Course, the God of DayBy all the heav'nly Synod was forgot,
Who, his incessant Labours to repay,
Nor Land nor Sea to Phœbus did allot;
XXXI
That Jove reminded would again renewTh'unjust Partition, but the God deny'd;
And said, Beneath yon hoary Surge I view
An Isle emerging thro' the briny Tide:
XXXII
A Region pregnant with the fertile SeedOf Plants, and Herbs, and Fruits, and foodful Grain;
Each verdant Hill unnumber'd Flocks shall feed;
Unnumber'd Men possess each flow'ry Plain.
XXXIII
Then strait to Lachesis he gave Command,Who binds in Golden Cauls her Jetty Hair;
He bade the fatal Sister stretch her Hand,
And by the Stygian Rivers bade her swear;
XXXIV
Swear to confirm the Thunderer's Decree,Which to his Rule that fruitful Island gave,
When from the ouzy Bottom of the Sea
Her Head she rear'd above the Lycian Wave.
XXXV
The fatal Sister swore, nor swore in vain;Nor did the Tongue of Delphi's Prophet err;
Up-sprung the blooming Island through the Main;
And Jove on Phœbus did the Boon confer.
XXXVI
In this fam'd Isle, the radiant Sire of Light,The God whose Reins the fiery Steeds obey,
Fair Rhodos saw, and, kindling at the Sight,
Seiz'd, and by Force enjoy'd the beauteous Prey:
XXXVII
From whose divine Embraces sprung a RaceOf Mortals, wisest of all Human-kind;
Seven Sons, endow'd with ev'ry noble Grace;
The noble Graces of a sapient Mind.
XXXVIII
Of these Ialysus and Lindus came,Who with Camirus shar'd the Rhodian Lands;
Apart they reign'd, and sacred to his Name
Apart each Brother's Royal City stands.
XXXIX
Here a secure Retreat from all his WoesAstydameia's hapless Offspring found;
Here, like a God in undisturb'd Repose,
And like a God with heav'nly Honours crown'd,
XL
His Priests and blazing Altars he surveys,And Hecatombs, that feed the od'rous Flame;
With Games, Memorial of his deathless Praise;
Where twice, Diagoras, unmatch'd in Fame,
XLI
Twice on thy Head the livid Poplar shone,Mix'd with the darksome Pine, that binds the Brows
Of Isthmian Victors, and the Nemean Crown,
And ev'ry Palm that Attica bestows.
XLII
Diagoras th'Arcadian Vase obtain'd;Argos to him adjudg'd her Brazen Shield;
His mighty Hands the Theban Tripod gain'd,
And bore the Prize from each Bœotian Field.
XLIII
Six Times in rough Ægina he prevail'd;As oft Pellene's Robe of Honour won;
And still at Megara in vain assail'd,
He with his Name hath fill'd the Victor's Stone.
XLIV
O Thou, who, high on Atabyrius thron'd,Seest from his Summits all this happy Isle,
By thy Protection be my Labours crown'd;
Vouchsase, Saturnius, on my Verse to smile!
XLV
And grant to him, whose Virtue is my Theme,Whose valiant Heart th'Olympick Wreaths proclaim,
At Home his Country's Favour and Esteem,
Abroad, eternal, universal Fame.
XLVI
For well to thee Diagoras is known;Ne'er to Injustice have his Paths declin'd;
Nor from his Sires degenerates the Son;
Whose Precepts and Examples fire his Mind.
XLVII
Then from Obscurity preserve a Race,Who to their Country Joy and Glory give;
Their Country, that in them views ev'ry Grace,
Which from their great Forefathers they receive.
XLVIII
Yet as the Gales of Fortune various blow,To-day tempestuous, and To-morrow fair,
Due Bounds, ye Rhodians, let your Transports know;
Perhaps To-morrow comes a Storm of Care.
THE ELEVENTH OLYMPICK ODE.
[_]
This Ode is inscribed to Agesidamus of Locris, who,
in the Seventy fourth Olympiad, obtained the
Victory in the Exercise of the Cæstus, and in the Class of Boys.
The preceding Ode in the Original is inscribed to the
same Person; and in that we learn, that Pindar
had for a long time promised Agesidamus an Ode
upon his Victory; which he at length paid him,
acknowledging himself to blame for having been
so long in his Debt. To make him some amends
for having delayed Payment so long, he sent him
by way of Interest together with the preceding Ode,
which is of some length, the short one that is here
translated, and which in the Greek Title is for
that reason styled τοκος or Interest.
This Ode is inscribed to Agesidamus of Locris, who, in the Seventy fourth Olympiad, obtained the Victory in the Exercise of the Cæstus, and in the Class of Boys.
The preceding Ode in the Original is inscribed to the same Person; and in that we learn, that Pindar had for a long time promised Agesidamus an Ode upon his Victory; which he at length paid him, acknowledging himself to blame for having been so long in his Debt. To make him some amends for having delayed Payment so long, he sent him by way of Interest together with the preceding Ode, which is of some length, the short one that is here translated, and which in the Greek Title is for that reason styled τοκος or Interest.
ARGUMENT.
The Poet, by two Comparisons, with which he begins his Ode,
insinuates how acceptable to successful Merit those Songs of
Triumph are, which give Stability and Duration to their
Fame: then declaring that these Songs are due to the Olympick
Conquerors, he proceeds to celebrate the Victory of Agesidamus,
and the Praises of the Locrians, his Countrymen,
whom he commends for their having been always reputed a
STROPHE.
To wind-bound Mariners most welcome blowThe breezy Zephyrs thro' the whistling Shrouds:
Most welcome to the thirsty Mountains flow
Soft Show'rs, the pearly Daughters of the Clouds;
And when on virtuous Toils the Gods bestow
Success, most welcome sound mellifluous Odes,
Whose Numbers ratify the Voice of Fame,
And to illustrious Worth insure a lasting Name.
ANTISTROPHE.
Such Fame, superior to the hostile DartOf canker'd Envy, Pisa's Chiefs attends.
Fain would my Muse th'immortal Boon impart,
Th'immortal Boon which from high Heav'n descends.
And now inspir'd by Heav'n thy valiant Heart,
Agesidamus, she to Fame commends:
Now adds the Ornament of tuneful Praise,
And decks thy Olive-Crown with sweetly-sounding Lays.
EPODE.
But while thy bold Atchievements I rehearse,Thy youthful Victory in Pisa's Sand,
With thee partaking in the friendly Verse
Not unregarded shall thy Locris stand.
Of festive Youths upon the Locrian Plain;
To an unciviliz'd and savage Land
Think not I now invite your Virgin Train,
Where barb'rous Ignorance and foul Disdain
Of social Virtue's hospitable Lore
Prompts the unmanner'd and inhuman Swain
To drive the Stranger from his churlish Door.
A Nation shall ye find, renown'd of yore
For martial Valour and for worthy Deeds;
Rich in a vast and unexhausted Store
Of innate Wisdom, whose prolifick Seeds
Spring in each Age. So Nature's Laws require:
And the great Laws of Nature ne'er expire.
Unchang'd the Lion's valiant Race remains,
And all his Father's Wiles the youthful Fox retains.
THE TWELFTH. OLYMPICK ODE.
ARGUMENT.
Ergoteles was originally of Crete, but being driven from thence by the Fury of a prevailing Faction, he retired to Himera, a Town of Sicily, where he was honourably received, and admitted to the Freedom of the City; after which he had the Happiness to obtain, what the Greeks esteemed the highest Pitch of Glory, the Olympick Crown. Pausanias says he gained two Olympick Crowns; and the same Number in each of the other three Sacred Games, the Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean. From these remarkable Vicissitudes of Fortune in the Life of Ergoteles, Pindar takes Occasion to address himself to that powerful Directress of all human Affairs, imploring her Protection for Himera, the adopted Country of Ergoteles. Then, after describing in general Terms the universal Influence of that Deity upon all the Actions of Mankind, the Uncertainty of Events, and the Vanity of Hope, ever fluctuating in Ignorance and Error, he assigns a Reason for that Vanity, viz. That the Gods have
This Ode, one of the shortest, is, at the same time, in its Order and Connection, the clearest and most compact of any to be met with in Pindar.
STROPHE.
Daughter of Eleutherian Jove,To thee my Supplications I prefer!
For potent Himera my Suit I move;
Protectress Fortune, hear!
In her wild Course the rapid Vessel guides;
Rules the fierce Conflict on th'embattled Plain,
And in deliberating States presides.
On the Seas of Error sail
Human Hopes, now mounting high
On the swelling Surge of Joy;
Now with unexpected Woe
Sinking to the Depths below.
ANTISTROPHE.
For sure Presage of Things to comeNone yet on Mortals have the Gods bestow'd;
Nor of Futurity's impervious Gloom
Can Wisdom pierce the Cloud.
Oft our most sanguine Views th'Event deceives,
And veils in sudden Grief the smiling Ray:
Oft, when with Woe the mournful Bosom heaves,
Caught in a Storm of Anguish and Dismay,
Pass some fleeting Moments by,
All at once the Tempests fly:
Instant shifts the clouded Scene;
Heav'n renews its Smiles serene;
And on Joy's untroubled Tides
Smooth to Port the Vessel glides.
EPODE.
Son of Philanor! in the secret ShadeThus had thy Speed unknown to Fame decay'd;
Engag'd in foul domestick Jars,
And wasted with intestine Wars,
Inglorious hadst thou spent thy vig'rous Bloom;
Had not Sedition's Civil Broils
Expell'd thee from thy native Crete,
And driv'n thee with more glorious Toils
Th'Olympick Crown in Pisa's Plain to meet.
With Olive now, with Pythian Laurels grac'd,
And the dark Chaplets of the Isthmian Pine,
In Himera's adopted City plac'd,
To all, Ergoteles, thy Honours shine,
And raise her Lustre by imparting Thine.
THE FOURTEENTH OLYMPICK ODE. MONOSTROPHAICK.
ARGUMENT.
Orchomenus, a City of Bœotia, and the Country of the
Victor Asopichus, being under the Protection of the Graces,
her Tutelary Deities, to them Pindar addresses this Ode;
which was probably sung in the very Temple of those Goddesses,
at a Sacrifice offered by Asopichus on occasion of his
Victory. The Poet begins this Invocation with styling the
Graces Queens of Orchomenus, and Guardians of the Children
of Minyas, the first King of that City; whose fertile
Territories, he says, were by Lot assigned to their Protection.
Then, after describing in general the Properties and Operations
of these Deities, both in Earth and Heaven, he proceeds to
call upon each of them by Name to assist at the singing of this
Ode; which was made, he tells them, to celebrate the Victory
of Asopichus, in the Glory of which Orchomenus had her
Share. Then addressing himself to Echo, a Nymph that
formerly resided on the Banks of Cephisus, a River of that
Country, he charges her to repair to the Mansion of Proserpine,
STROPHE I.
Ye Pow'rs, o'er all the flow'ry Meads,Where deep Cephisus rolls his lucid Tide,
Allotted to preside,
And haunt the Plains renown'd for beauteous Steeds,
Queens of Orchomenus the fair,
And sacred Guardians of the ancient Line
Of Minyas divine,
Hear, O ye Graces, and regard my Pray'r!
All that's sweet and pleasing here
Mortals from your Hands receive:
Splendor ye and Fame confer,
Genius, Wit, and Beauty give.
Nor, without your shining Train,
Ever on th'Ætherial Plain
In harmonious Measures move
The Celestial Choirs above;
When the figur'd Dance they lead,
Or the Nectar'd Banquet spread.
And by Pythian Phœbus plac'd,
Ord'ring thro' the blest Abodes
All the splendid Works of Gods,
Sit the Sisters in a Ring,
Round the golden-shafted King:
And with reverential Love
Worshipping th'Olympian Throne,
The Majestick Brow of Jove
With unfading Honours crown.
STROPHE II.
Aglaia, graceful Virgin, hear!And thou, Euphrosyna, whose Ear
Delighted listens to the warbled Strain!
Bright Daughters of Olympian Jove,
The Best, the Greatest Pow'r above;
With your illustrious Presence deign
Whose Notes to Victory's glad Sound
In wanton Measures lightly bound.
Thalia, come along!
Come, tuneful Maid! for lo! my String
With meditated Skill prepares
In softly soothing Lydian Airs
Asopichus to sing;
Asopichus, whose Speed by thee sustain'd
The Wreath for his Orchomenus obtain'd.
Go then, sportive Echo, go
To the sable Dome below,
Proserpine's black Dome, repair,
There to Cleodemus bear
Tidings of immortal Fame:
Tell, how in the rapid Game
Tell, for thou saw'st him bear away
The winged Honours of the Day;
And deck with Wreaths of Fame his youthful Head.
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