 | Silenus |  |
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2. PART SECOND
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BOOK I.
Ages had passed. Now was Silenus old,
And fallen from his glory. Bald his head;
Its few gray locks lay loose and scantily;
And gross, uncomely, his dishonoured form.
Those mighty limbs that bore him bound for bound
Alongside fleetest stag, now scarce endured
His shiftless ponderous weight without support
Of docile faun, or cymbal-clashing nymph;
But in the thews that bound his slackened arms
Yet lingered force beyond the force of men;
As Phormis, one hard shepherd of the hills,
Learned to his lifelong cost. For on a feast,
After the shearing, he, the clown, enraged
Silenus would not own his flock surpassed
Lycaon's flock, in brute audacity
Spurned with his foot the fallen Demigod,
Who, gentle as milch kine, or bleating lamb,
Flamed in red wrath at such despite against
His sunken state; the cruel foot straight seized,
And, for a deadly moment, in his arms
Pulsed their primeval strength. Lifting his hand,
Hard-clenched, he smote the caitiff on his knee,
Crushing both bone and sinew into pulp;
And ever after on a crutch the churl
Limped out his days; his withered limb a sight
Shepherd and maiden loathed. Vexatious boys
Threw stone or clod, inviting him to run
And chase them, crying, “Catch me if you can!”
And fallen from his glory. Bald his head;
Its few gray locks lay loose and scantily;
And gross, uncomely, his dishonoured form.
Those mighty limbs that bore him bound for bound
Alongside fleetest stag, now scarce endured
His shiftless ponderous weight without support
Of docile faun, or cymbal-clashing nymph;
But in the thews that bound his slackened arms
Yet lingered force beyond the force of men;
As Phormis, one hard shepherd of the hills,
Learned to his lifelong cost. For on a feast,
After the shearing, he, the clown, enraged
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Lycaon's flock, in brute audacity
Spurned with his foot the fallen Demigod,
Who, gentle as milch kine, or bleating lamb,
Flamed in red wrath at such despite against
His sunken state; the cruel foot straight seized,
And, for a deadly moment, in his arms
Pulsed their primeval strength. Lifting his hand,
Hard-clenched, he smote the caitiff on his knee,
Crushing both bone and sinew into pulp;
And ever after on a crutch the churl
Limped out his days; his withered limb a sight
Shepherd and maiden loathed. Vexatious boys
Threw stone or clod, inviting him to run
And chase them, crying, “Catch me if you can!”
Silenus had obeyed the God of Wine.
Too aptly had he in his dolorous mood
Worshipped the fragrant drops of Lethe calm;
And succour, used beyond necessity,
Changed to an enemy within the wall
That unsuspected wrought his overthrow.
Too aptly had he in his dolorous mood
Worshipped the fragrant drops of Lethe calm;
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Changed to an enemy within the wall
That unsuspected wrought his overthrow.
Tho' ofttimes he with Dionysus ranged
Countries where demons of outrageous shape,
Enshrined in sullen richness, ruled as Gods,
His ringing exhortation no more flew
Winging the God's intent, and winningly
Soothing ferocious gaze to droop-eyed peace;
Inspiring men by fervid influence
To shun accustomed evil and reproach.
Countries where demons of outrageous shape,
Enshrined in sullen richness, ruled as Gods,
His ringing exhortation no more flew
Winging the God's intent, and winningly
Soothing ferocious gaze to droop-eyed peace;
Inspiring men by fervid influence
To shun accustomed evil and reproach.
Now, as an aged hound, he hung upon
His well-loved master's footsteps, and had died
Were he forbidden this old privilege.
His well-loved master's footsteps, and had died
Were he forbidden this old privilege.
Tho' now no more he shook uncultured wilds
With great pulsations like a thunderous dawn
Of sunflame woven in tempestuous glare,
That frets with fire the rim of drifting gloom;
Still, from the charm of constant wont was he
A presence so familiar there had clung
Some haunting sense of need unsatisfied
Had the march lacked his towering merriment.
Moon following moon beheld Silenus lost
With great pulsations like a thunderous dawn
Of sunflame woven in tempestuous glare,
That frets with fire the rim of drifting gloom;
Still, from the charm of constant wont was he
A presence so familiar there had clung
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Had the march lacked his towering merriment.
In torpor, steadfast, like a willow trunk
Casting its image in the shimmering stream.
But, when again with living things awake,
His spirit gazed as from a lonely star.
When, stored the vintages, the mirth leaped free;
At rites of death, or feasts of marriages;
When troubles fled the charging revelry,
And bowls were filled until the world flew round,
Smiling he shone the guest predominant.
Rough rivals plied the frequent bowl he drained,
Until from his unsteady hold the wine
Erringly soaked his beard, and crimsoned down
His spacious body wasteful to the ground:
Then he would sing, and shout, and prophesy.
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Eyeballs wide-showing, pressed an eager crowd,
Noisily claiming he should tell their fates.
“Your fates ye seek, ye knaves and coarseskinned clowns!
Ha! ha! This Zeus Himself was hot to learn
Of great Prometheus, hating whom He fixed
In chains on Caucasus, with bird of hell
To tear him in eternal agony.
What for long ages Zeus so vainly sought
Ye would, O modest ones of crook and goad,
Have at a word, ha! ha!
Ha! ha! This Zeus Himself was hot to learn
Of great Prometheus, hating whom He fixed
In chains on Caucasus, with bird of hell
To tear him in eternal agony.
What for long ages Zeus so vainly sought
Ye would, O modest ones of crook and goad,
Have at a word, ha! ha!
“Ply the cup, ply!
Slack not the pouring, ye shall have reward
Fate flashing madly off at every point,
Like doves, when feeding they behold a hawk!
Fate running from my lips; tears from mine eyes
Tight-squeezed from lengthened laughter ceasing not
Will fluster you to such bewilderment
Ye shall not know if flowering mead ye tread
Where airs immortal breathe, or if ye pace
A pathway downward to the hideous gate
Of Hades beyond Styx.
Slack not the pouring, ye shall have reward
Fate flashing madly off at every point,
Like doves, when feeding they behold a hawk!
Fate running from my lips; tears from mine eyes
Tight-squeezed from lengthened laughter ceasing not
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Ye shall not know if flowering mead ye tread
Where airs immortal breathe, or if ye pace
A pathway downward to the hideous gate
Of Hades beyond Styx.
“Ye are unversed
In oracles, O ye of herds and sheep,
And likewise swine; each moving patiently
To taste the shambles as his lord directs.
In oracles, O ye of herds and sheep,
And likewise swine; each moving patiently
To taste the shambles as his lord directs.
“When first ye feel the axe, or entering knife,
Dread no frustration; knowledge surely comes
When life's dark mystery is thus resolved!
Dread no frustration; knowledge surely comes
When life's dark mystery is thus resolved!
“Storms hurt you not so thick your hairy hides!
Dull, disregardful; eating steadily
Throughout your placid lives, what moves you now
Keen to unriddle Fate, forecasting doom?
Dull, disregardful; eating steadily
Throughout your placid lives, what moves you now
Keen to unriddle Fate, forecasting doom?
“That doom is ye shall love with love profound
Your own dear selves and all you call your own;
And from that worship never shall ye swerve
Toward deed of grace, or any kindly thought,
Unless advantage largely sanctify.
Your own dear selves and all you call your own;
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Toward deed of grace, or any kindly thought,
Unless advantage largely sanctify.
“When Bion would with sweet Idyia toy,
No scruple shall corrupt his bliss. Tho' scorn
May hunt her shame to solitary haunts;
What matters! Snapped its stem the flower will fade,
And other flowers smile welcome on the way;
They have no voice in their own choosing, yet
Breathe sweetness blushing when their sweets are plucked,
And breathing sweets blush when we pass them by.
No scruple shall corrupt his bliss. Tho' scorn
May hunt her shame to solitary haunts;
What matters! Snapped its stem the flower will fade,
And other flowers smile welcome on the way;
They have no voice in their own choosing, yet
Breathe sweetness blushing when their sweets are plucked,
And breathing sweets blush when we pass them by.
“Staunchly wilt thou uphold thy friend while he
Toils faithfully to shape thy purposes;
But if of thee unmindful, his desires
Wing him to interest apart from thine,
Straightway he falls an outcast from thy love,
A useless alien or an enemy!
Toils faithfully to shape thy purposes;
But if of thee unmindful, his desires
Wing him to interest apart from thine,
Straightway he falls an outcast from thy love,
A useless alien or an enemy!
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“When multiplied your fathers' flocks and herds;
Corn, oil, and wine in vast abundancy;
Tho' every cup be filled to overflow,
Insatiate ye shall hanker for the whole;
Wondering what age, with aches and shrivelled stoop,
Enjoys to make it obstinately cling
To government, prerogative of strength!
Corn, oil, and wine in vast abundancy;
Tho' every cup be filled to overflow,
Insatiate ye shall hanker for the whole;
Wondering what age, with aches and shrivelled stoop,
Enjoys to make it obstinately cling
To government, prerogative of strength!
“The laws forbid. Else in old bygone time,
Dim stories run, the worn were helped away;
And Nature aided in the going out,
As she is aided in the coming in.
The earth hates cumber. Ah, those ancient days
When our forefathers by rude wisdom led
Measured their usage by necessity;
Direct in every movement, unperplexed!
Dim stories run, the worn were helped away;
And Nature aided in the going out,
As she is aided in the coming in.
The earth hates cumber. Ah, those ancient days
When our forefathers by rude wisdom led
Measured their usage by necessity;
Direct in every movement, unperplexed!
“As ye your fathers your own sons, fullgrown,
Cresting the heights will proudly stand and watch
Your feeble footsteps totter on the slope.
Memory then flaunts bright visions of your prime,
What time you watched your fathers' faltering pace,
And these cheer not the dangerous passages,
As on ye plod in grisly darkness down.
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Your feeble footsteps totter on the slope.
Memory then flaunts bright visions of your prime,
What time you watched your fathers' faltering pace,
And these cheer not the dangerous passages,
As on ye plod in grisly darkness down.
“Beyond, your immortality shall munch
Immeasurable husks; or bleating shall
Wandering on dim illimitable plains
Appeal to emptiness with plaintive cry.
Immeasurable husks; or bleating shall
Wandering on dim illimitable plains
Appeal to emptiness with plaintive cry.
“From boundless herds such bellowing shall scare
The shivering spectres, they shall dread return
To fret and anguish of mortality,
While ye, the weak ones, hover timidly
For ever round impenetrable fruit;
Watching the baser strive in vain to seize
Bright creatures winged with beauty and surprise!
The shivering spectres, they shall dread return
To fret and anguish of mortality,
While ye, the weak ones, hover timidly
For ever round impenetrable fruit;
Watching the baser strive in vain to seize
Bright creatures winged with beauty and surprise!
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“But why foreshadow thus? These darkling jests
Make the Olympians laugh; that sheep and swine,
And horned oxen mimic freakish man,
Who does himself grotesquely imitate
The stately pace of Gods!
Make the Olympians laugh; that sheep and swine,
And horned oxen mimic freakish man,
Who does himself grotesquely imitate
The stately pace of Gods!
“I would delight
My jolly shepherds with a dance of joy,
But these old bones now fail me: once I could
From rock to rock leap and not fear a fall.
Now I can only drink and prophesy!
My jolly shepherds with a dance of joy,
But these old bones now fail me: once I could
From rock to rock leap and not fear a fall.
Now I can only drink and prophesy!
“But gather round me; for I yet can sing
How liberal wine amends the bitter wrong
Closed in with life, and unescapeable.”
“How dark and strange the uttered words of Fate!”
How liberal wine amends the bitter wrong
Closed in with life, and unescapeable.”
Whispered the herds. “We are we know not what;
And wend we know not where. Maybe unmeet
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Therefore he utters mysteries for fear
We might be mazed, and, into madness driven,
Work fell destruction. He would save from ruin,
As Zeus for love had fain withheld the fire
Of living glory when for love He went
To Semele. Then let us all affect
To track and catch his drift, lest telling more
He stagger us with more than we can bear.
He told of jests that wake Olympian mirth;
Join then in laughter; marry with his mood.”
The Satyrs, shepherds, clowns, a motley herd
Crowding Silenus round, in one huge roar
Joined laughter, shock on shock, peal after peal,
Till the mad air was frantically rent.
With laughter loud his glowing body heaved
Incessant. High his voice above the rest,
As 'mid the thrilling chatter starlings make
Pierces a falcon's scream.
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Tore their wild hair; plucked their loose raiment free,
Casting the coloured cloudlets in the air,
And seizing each a partner, whirling round,
Threw out their limbs in random unison
At poise on tightened toes. While bending low,
Pairs sprang together mimicking wild beasts
Catching their prey; or, stooping heads to butt
Each others' breasts, the nymphs fell sadly mauled;
Their bosoms, tenderer than satyr horn
Or the hard brow of lout, ached from the blows;
Well pleased to rest they round Silenus closed,
Awaiting till his song came rolling forth.
“Ye red-faced satyrs, all come drink to me;
Your wine-skins shoulder, fill the bowls.
Take one deep draught to warm your souls;
Squat snug on your haunches or on bended knee:
Raise your arms; shout a song: praise wine the divine!
“Praise wine. Tho' we gasp when we first draw breath,
We suck life anew from the breast;
And milk is good, red wine is best;
For red wine wrests a breathing time from death.
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“Sad for woman when her own lord is slain;
For hopeless the loss she bewails.
Tho' hopeless, when all comfort fails
Red wine takes the place where her lord has lain.
Raise your arms; shout a song: praise wine the divine!
“Lowly wine whispers soft words of delight,
Innocently fondling her charms.
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Lo, holding a new hero strong and bright!
Raise your arms; shout a song: praise wine the divine!
“Lover, so wretched for his faithless Bliss,
He would lie in the grave at peace.
Wine brings a cup and sorrows cease
As true Love clasping gives delicious kiss.
Raise your arms; shout a song: praise wine the divine!
“Weak and strong wine cheers; the young and the old;
Makes valour do all valour can;
Transforms the coward to a man,
Who then draws his sword like a warrior bold.
Raise your arms; shout a song: praise wine the divine!”
To his full lips the rich Hephaestion cup
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A deed so noble fired with zeal the rest,
Who emptied theirs in glorious sympathy;
When cheerily again Silenus sang.
“Who would his flocks and people save,
And stands to fight in battle brave;
What should he meet
If he retreat
Beat back by overwhelming foes?
A crown of myrtle mixed with rose,
And cup of the reddest grape that grows!
And stands to fight in battle brave;
What should he meet
If he retreat
Beat back by overwhelming foes?
A crown of myrtle mixed with rose,
And cup of the reddest grape that grows!
“One who by words and shifty wiles
His true friend's love for him beguiles;
Our scorn to show
What best to throw
Over the head that brings disgrace?
The due of cheater false and base,
A cup of sour wine dashed in his face!
His true friend's love for him beguiles;
Our scorn to show
What best to throw
Over the head that brings disgrace?
The due of cheater false and base,
A cup of sour wine dashed in his face!
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“Then rash and foolish wine's abuse;
For good and bad wine has its use.
This cheers the brave;
That slights the knave.
And merit more who can desire
Than raising hero's glory higher,
And giving the cheat a bed of fire?”
Again the shepherds muttering,
For good and bad wine has its use.
This cheers the brave;
That slights the knave.
And merit more who can desire
Than raising hero's glory higher,
And giving the cheat a bed of fire?”
“What know we
Of cheat or hero? If we can we steal
Our neighbour's sheep, and swear it was the wolves;
Which is fair honest stealing. But to clip
A wolf, and clothe a wolf, and pass it off
A sheep, is downright cheating, and denounced
Of every shepherd lad. Well, heroes, they
Are well enough in stories women tell
To tickle gaping babies after dusk;
But fighting, save in anger, we despise:—
Hush! for Silenus tones in lower strain.”
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“How sweet, when memory fades with closing eyes
And wings of blessed Sleep
Fan into slumber deep,
When, hand in hand, happy and loverwise
We roam at will the vales of paradise.
And wings of blessed Sleep
Fan into slumber deep,
When, hand in hand, happy and loverwise
We roam at will the vales of paradise.
“Then Sleep puts her soft cheek against mine own;
Or, eyes to eyes content
In peaceful wonderment,
We list the flowers by whispering zephyr blown
Trembling in music hitherto unknown:
Or, eyes to eyes content
In peaceful wonderment,
We list the flowers by whispering zephyr blown
Trembling in music hitherto unknown:
“Or from the margin of deep water gaze
As rising Naiad there
Wimples her yellow hair
To hide faint blushes when her hand she lays
In mine, while kissing me in calm amaze.
As rising Naiad there
Wimples her yellow hair
To hide faint blushes when her hand she lays
In mine, while kissing me in calm amaze.
“In calm amaze I should have truant played,
So lonely long while she,
Perplexed awaiting me,
Questioned the rill for tidings, sore afraid
I might await her lonely in the shade.
So lonely long while she,
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Questioned the rill for tidings, sore afraid
I might await her lonely in the shade.
“But ere my tale of absence I narrate
She throws the moonbeam charms
Of her long loving arms
About me, murmuring, Tho' thou comest late
I own myself Sleep, Naiad, Love, and Fate!”
She throws the moonbeam charms
Of her long loving arms
About me, murmuring, Tho' thou comest late
I own myself Sleep, Naiad, Love, and Fate!”
“Silenus maunders,” growled the listeners;
“Singing of sleep foreshadows weariness.
Let us now lead him to his sleeping-place,
That he may rest.
“Singing of sleep foreshadows weariness.
Let us now lead him to his sleeping-place,
That he may rest.
“Ah! Look! The water runs
From his old eyes; but not in laughter now.
His face down 'twixt his knees; both hands upon
His head as tho' it ached!
From his old eyes; but not in laughter now.
His face down 'twixt his knees; both hands upon
His head as tho' it ached!
“These Demigods
Are mysteries. With half the wine he drank
A mortal had been merry; not so he.
Despairing, dolorous he looks; and shakes
With sobs, as children sob when harshly chid.
Mayhap his second childhood comes apace,
And stress of singing songs o'ermasters him!”
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A mortal had been merry; not so he.
Despairing, dolorous he looks; and shakes
With sobs, as children sob when harshly chid.
Mayhap his second childhood comes apace,
And stress of singing songs o'ermasters him!”
As chilled the waning riot with its King,
His mirth in some dark sorrow quenched, the throng,
Then dwindling fast away, soon vanished, save
Unswerving nymphs and shepherds who upheld
His listless heavy bulk and lumbering feet
To his soft bed of fern, laid dry, compact,
By tending maidens; whereon, overthrown
With skins that once clad savage beasts of prey,
Silenus sank; but, struggling against sleep,
He turned uneasily; then pausing glared
At unseen foe; unaided, sprang upright!
Then, stretching back his right arm suddenly,
Amid loose straw there dangling from the thatch,
As tho' about to hurl some mighty spear,
He shouted,
His mirth in some dark sorrow quenched, the throng,
Then dwindling fast away, soon vanished, save
Unswerving nymphs and shepherds who upheld
His listless heavy bulk and lumbering feet
To his soft bed of fern, laid dry, compact,
By tending maidens; whereon, overthrown
With skins that once clad savage beasts of prey,
Silenus sank; but, struggling against sleep,
He turned uneasily; then pausing glared
At unseen foe; unaided, sprang upright!
Then, stretching back his right arm suddenly,
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As tho' about to hurl some mighty spear,
He shouted,
“Demon, not the thunderbolts
Of all Olympus shall protect thee now!
To carrion will I slaughter thee and glut
Wild wolves when maddened with mandragora!
As nothing else, not vulture's stenchy maw,
Could gorge such foulness as thine evil flesh.
Of all Olympus shall protect thee now!
To carrion will I slaughter thee and glut
Wild wolves when maddened with mandragora!
As nothing else, not vulture's stenchy maw,
Could gorge such foulness as thine evil flesh.
“But no! For death might be a restingplace;
And I would have on thee the deadliest curse!
Therefore live on. Live to feel what thou art;
Then live thou on for ever! This thy doom.”
And I would have on thee the deadliest curse!
Therefore live on. Live to feel what thou art;
Then live thou on for ever! This thy doom.”
The maids and shepherds huddling crouched aghast,
Beholding him distraught; great eyes aflame;
And his whole stature red in furnace-glow;
With voice of lion hungry and enraged
Stifling the air grown heated like a den.
They knew not what would save themselves, or aid
Their Lord; but while they cowered, hesitating,
He on his bed fell down and spake no more.
Beholding him distraught; great eyes aflame;
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With voice of lion hungry and enraged
Stifling the air grown heated like a den.
They knew not what would save themselves, or aid
Their Lord; but while they cowered, hesitating,
He on his bed fell down and spake no more.
Timidly then they prop his wreathless head
And languid arms. They watch him till he sleeps
Making hoarse thunder with an even breath.
And languid arms. They watch him till he sleeps
Making hoarse thunder with an even breath.
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BOOK II.
“Having beheld thy lustrous countenance
How have I, great Athena, fallen and sinned!
Once to have felt Thy smile; calm, less severe
Than so divinely true, that Cytherea's
Before it pales as starlight in the morn;
And shameless afterward breathe like a beast
Knowing no purpose but his mate and food!
How have I, great Athena, fallen and sinned!
Once to have felt Thy smile; calm, less severe
Than so divinely true, that Cytherea's
Before it pales as starlight in the morn;
And shameless afterward breathe like a beast
Knowing no purpose but his mate and food!
“Beneath Thine azure gaze all troubles cease;
And hopelessly confused entanglement
Opens to clearness like a simple flower.
And hopelessly confused entanglement
Opens to clearness like a simple flower.
“My face withdrawn from Wisdom's smile, I lay
Befooled by sorrow, useless as a bow
Drawn by some hasty hand and overstrained.
Befooled by sorrow, useless as a bow
Drawn by some hasty hand and overstrained.
“By Thy resplendency in olden time
I wrought with Dionysus in wild lands
To give men safety by well-ordered ways;
Enriching to content with fruit and corn
Strange peoples, rough and turbulent, who knew
No law but will, no pity more than fire
From tempest hurled at random throughout space.
Then toiling dawn as restful eve was sweet;
Then sang the whole great dome of day for joy;
From darkness shone the glory of the stars.
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To give men safety by well-ordered ways;
Enriching to content with fruit and corn
Strange peoples, rough and turbulent, who knew
No law but will, no pity more than fire
From tempest hurled at random throughout space.
Then toiling dawn as restful eve was sweet;
Then sang the whole great dome of day for joy;
From darkness shone the glory of the stars.
“Athwart my glory swept a blighting wind,
That fouled the air with murky hate and death
And evil-doing; and dismayed I fell
Adown the deep inevitable past;
When, bracing up my being, unto Thee
I should have turned for succour and for strength.
That fouled the air with murky hate and death
And evil-doing; and dismayed I fell
Adown the deep inevitable past;
When, bracing up my being, unto Thee
I should have turned for succour and for strength.
“As Dionysus taught, so mixed was mine
With fleeting life, the mortal weighed me down:
Lacking meanwhile Thy presence and Thine aid,
I never rose again to God-like state.
Now feeding lowly wants, I dwell amid
Coarse satyrs, coarser clowns of sheep and herds;
Drinking the grape for comfort and a cloud
To cover horrors past. Thus, having grown,
Wasteful and aimless, to unwieldy shape;
With scarce the power of motion save to hold
The well-filled cup that swells but keeps me down,
The grossest churls grin, urging me to sing
Ribald and wanton tunes for their disport.
And they would make me dance, but well they know
Unknitted my frail joints; I shout instead,
And chant them prophecies about themselves
They do not understand. For while the heat
Burns in me, they all change to sudden sheep,
And kine, and snarling beasts; or things that pierce
To suck the juice of fruit.
With fleeting life, the mortal weighed me down:
Lacking meanwhile Thy presence and Thine aid,
I never rose again to God-like state.
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Coarse satyrs, coarser clowns of sheep and herds;
Drinking the grape for comfort and a cloud
To cover horrors past. Thus, having grown,
Wasteful and aimless, to unwieldy shape;
With scarce the power of motion save to hold
The well-filled cup that swells but keeps me down,
The grossest churls grin, urging me to sing
Ribald and wanton tunes for their disport.
And they would make me dance, but well they know
Unknitted my frail joints; I shout instead,
And chant them prophecies about themselves
They do not understand. For while the heat
Burns in me, they all change to sudden sheep,
And kine, and snarling beasts; or things that pierce
To suck the juice of fruit.
“How changed, alas!
From that Silenus whose long spear in weight
Equalled the spear of Ares; who could wrench
A rooted ash out from the solid ground,
And slay a monster at a single blow.
Who half a summer day could hold enthralled,
By exhortation unto deeds of worth,
A fierce innumerable multitude!
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Equalled the spear of Ares; who could wrench
A rooted ash out from the solid ground,
And slay a monster at a single blow.
Who half a summer day could hold enthralled,
By exhortation unto deeds of worth,
A fierce innumerable multitude!
“Now, tarnished, bloat Silenus will be borne
In tales, thro' lapses of far time to come,
As a great wine-skin gurgling laughter-noise
That made dull shepherds dance. For shallow gaze
On some poor failing dwells and sees the whole,
Tho' but a halt upon his lengthened march
Whose movements were of God-like stateliness,
Abundant in fair issues of delight.
Let man once stumble, or forget; once err
From weakness, or fierce passion's goad, the fault,
Alone remembered, wings his cruel fame;
His worth all cancelled, or uncredited!
The splendour of Hephaestion's skill forgot,
Each scornful tattler gossips of his hurt.
The God who makes the thunderbolts of Zeus
Is known to mortals as the God that limps!
In tales, thro' lapses of far time to come,
As a great wine-skin gurgling laughter-noise
That made dull shepherds dance. For shallow gaze
On some poor failing dwells and sees the whole,
Tho' but a halt upon his lengthened march
Whose movements were of God-like stateliness,
Abundant in fair issues of delight.
Let man once stumble, or forget; once err
From weakness, or fierce passion's goad, the fault,
Alone remembered, wings his cruel fame;
His worth all cancelled, or uncredited!
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Each scornful tattler gossips of his hurt.
The God who makes the thunderbolts of Zeus
Is known to mortals as the God that limps!
“As I by mortal thraldom am debased
Below the brute, ah! never more to rise,
I would with mine own degradation cease.
No longer shaming the Divinity
From whom I sprang; or as a shameless lure
To mimicry, when rightly I should flame
A fiery signal warding dangerous steeps
About whose feet wreck and wild billows play.
Below the brute, ah! never more to rise,
I would with mine own degradation cease.
No longer shaming the Divinity
From whom I sprang; or as a shameless lure
To mimicry, when rightly I should flame
A fiery signal warding dangerous steeps
About whose feet wreck and wild billows play.
“O Pallas! Great Athena! Wisdom's self!
We know Thy sure unswerving course, unchecked,
Speeds to an aim Thyself alone canst see;
Unheeding mortals, save a gracious glance
Occasionally cast, which they perverse
Strain utmost wilfulness to blink; and hate
Even to slaughter and dark dungeon walls,
Thy worshipper who lauds the light divine.
We know Thy sure unswerving course, unchecked,
Speeds to an aim Thyself alone canst see;
Unheeding mortals, save a gracious glance
Occasionally cast, which they perverse
Strain utmost wilfulness to blink; and hate
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Thy worshipper who lauds the light divine.
“What comes so sadly and so dear to most
Disquiets not the passionless repose,
Marking Thy mien all other Gods above.
Canst Thou look downward from that lofty height
Regarding me with other than cold scorn?
If tenderness of perfectness is part,
Thine eyes may pityingly upon me fall,
And in their radiance I may cease to be!”
Disquiets not the passionless repose,
Marking Thy mien all other Gods above.
Canst Thou look downward from that lofty height
Regarding me with other than cold scorn?
If tenderness of perfectness is part,
Thine eyes may pityingly upon me fall,
And in their radiance I may cease to be!”
“A babe,” spake Pallas, “beauty in thee moved
Immeasurable joy; the idlest note
Enticed thee, as a gaudy Western sky
At eventide some careless shepherd boy,
Lost and enraptured in its golden light,
His flock neglected wandering wide astray.
Immeasurable joy; the idlest note
Enticed thee, as a gaudy Western sky
At eventide some careless shepherd boy,
Lost and enraptured in its golden light,
His flock neglected wandering wide astray.
“Thou didst, while drifting into sidelong ways,
Pursue delusive splendour that delayed
And frittered thy advance; and courage failed
When halting thou beheldst the scanty space
Trod by thy footsteps in the vanished time.
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And frittered thy advance; and courage failed
When halting thou beheldst the scanty space
Trod by thy footsteps in the vanished time.
“Ill portioned and ill mixed thy nature held
Too much of heaven's fire to herd with men;
Too little for the Gods. Hopeless to find
An equal, and thence loving, as thou didst,
A forest nymph, to make the balance true,
More than was fitting gavest her of thyself,
And losing her wast dragged so nigh to death
Thou couldst not spring to healthy poise again.
Too much of heaven's fire to herd with men;
Too little for the Gods. Hopeless to find
An equal, and thence loving, as thou didst,
A forest nymph, to make the balance true,
More than was fitting gavest her of thyself,
And losing her wast dragged so nigh to death
Thou couldst not spring to healthy poise again.
“Instead of nymph hadst thou a Goddess loved
She might have scorned thee; and in fierce despair
Thou hadst, as conqueror, destroyed with fire,
As now with revelry and crimson wine.
She might have scorned thee; and in fierce despair
Thou hadst, as conqueror, destroyed with fire,
As now with revelry and crimson wine.
“Save Zeus my Father and loved Hebe, none
Of Gods divine have ever touched my hand;
Nor great Prometheus whom I loved and took
Within my shield and guarded him against
The Horrors vigilant, that, hid or seen,
Beset Olympian fire, when bent on theft
He dared encounter them for love of man.
Of Gods divine have ever touched my hand;
Nor great Prometheus whom I loved and took
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The Horrors vigilant, that, hid or seen,
Beset Olympian fire, when bent on theft
He dared encounter them for love of man.
“But thou in thy intent hast guileless been;
Whose fair young love was torn and crushed as life
Unfolded in her to the perfect flower;
Thou in thine innocence a helpless babe
Shalt clasp my hand; and, as I lead thee hence,
Thou shalt, tho' late, enjoy the blessed peace
Found but within my guard.
Whose fair young love was torn and crushed as life
Unfolded in her to the perfect flower;
Thou in thine innocence a helpless babe
Shalt clasp my hand; and, as I lead thee hence,
Thou shalt, tho' late, enjoy the blessed peace
Found but within my guard.
“Strange is thy Fate!
As one great star, beyond thy sight remote,
Ringed by lone splendour in the space of worlds,
Encircled has thy being been with love!
And, as that splendour to the central orb,
It never nears but moves for ever round,
Thy passion is to thee!”
As one great star, beyond thy sight remote,
Ringed by lone splendour in the space of worlds,
Encircled has thy being been with love!
And, as that splendour to the central orb,
It never nears but moves for ever round,
Thy passion is to thee!”
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“O Goddess dread!
And yet I dread Thee not. My hand in Thine,
I seem an infant led. That haunting fear
Of dire and unimaginable wrong,
Hovering malign for the appointed swoop,
Is past. Around is calm, and hope beyond.”
And yet I dread Thee not. My hand in Thine,
I seem an infant led. That haunting fear
Of dire and unimaginable wrong,
Hovering malign for the appointed swoop,
Is past. Around is calm, and hope beyond.”
“Thou art, Silenus, now within the light
Of life. In joyful ease they dwell who tread
The ground that bears thee now; and spirits here,
Unmixed with transient offspring of decay,
Presenting aspects perfect to themselves,
Are pure in sympathy with all around.
Of life. In joyful ease they dwell who tread
The ground that bears thee now; and spirits here,
Unmixed with transient offspring of decay,
Presenting aspects perfect to themselves,
Are pure in sympathy with all around.
“Behold these graceful reeds that waving turn
Their edges to the breeze. Thy Syrinx dwells
Within them, they are she. The water-flags,
With purple candour gazing to thy gaze,
Asking thy love, are Leto. Loving thee
She pined to death; and dying hoped to grow
In stately water-flags anear her friend,
The graceful Syrinx whom on earth she loved.
Their edges to the breeze. Thy Syrinx dwells
Within them, they are she. The water-flags,
With purple candour gazing to thy gaze,
Asking thy love, are Leto. Loving thee
She pined to death; and dying hoped to grow
In stately water-flags anear her friend,
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“Will but to see them in their mortal guise,
Lo, they appear! Behold them bending low
To thee, as thou art bending low to them!
Lo, they appear! Behold them bending low
To thee, as thou art bending low to them!
“Tall Eriphia whom thou loved'st to watch
Because her movements had the measured charm
Of music when innumerable leaves
Sing their thanksgiving with the wind of heaven,
Loftily now she droops in yonder birch,
Fingering delightedly released perfumes
That pause in lingering eddies on their way.
Because her movements had the measured charm
Of music when innumerable leaves
Sing their thanksgiving with the wind of heaven,
Loftily now she droops in yonder birch,
Fingering delightedly released perfumes
That pause in lingering eddies on their way.
“Here are no wooings as on earth are known;
Each spirit here loves all, and all love each;
Those who fulfil their lives are here and blessed;
The base as base remain resolved to earth,
Becoming food and mansion of the worm.
Each spirit here loves all, and all love each;
Those who fulfil their lives are here and blessed;
The base as base remain resolved to earth,
Becoming food and mansion of the worm.
“When here perfection ripens, new desire,
Breaking its bounds, attains sublimer worlds
And rarer fineness in the living air,
And inspiration, throbbing passionately,
Joins in the music of the sounding spheres!
Breaking its bounds, attains sublimer worlds
And rarer fineness in the living air,
And inspiration, throbbing passionately,
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“That spheral region is remote from this
Far as thou now art from thy slumbering form
Breathing hoarse thunder in the midnight gloom
That shudders at the sound. Thou wilt awake
Believing this to be a sleep of dreams.
Ere entering again that house of flesh,
First learn thy fate from me:
Far as thou now art from thy slumbering form
Breathing hoarse thunder in the midnight gloom
That shudders at the sound. Thou wilt awake
Believing this to be a sleep of dreams.
Ere entering again that house of flesh,
First learn thy fate from me:
“No evil aim
Has stained thy soul that weakness has debased,
And, tho' to others thou hast been a bane,
It was by ways unmeant. Therefore dread not
Fire of exasperate wrath; nor Furies' scourge
Of serpents, poison-fanged, more than thou fear'st
An azure noon, or love-sick nightingale
Warbling his ardour to the evening breeze.
Has stained thy soul that weakness has debased,
And, tho' to others thou hast been a bane,
It was by ways unmeant. Therefore dread not
Fire of exasperate wrath; nor Furies' scourge
Of serpents, poison-fanged, more than thou fear'st
An azure noon, or love-sick nightingale
Warbling his ardour to the evening breeze.
“Piercing the dimmest future thou canst reach,
Thou seest thyself a wine-skin gurgling mirth,
Jeered and bemocked by unborn multitudes.
Comfort thyself in weakness. Thou canst see
Into the cycles of immensity,
Compared with vision of Olympian Gods,
About so far as might a sparrow hop
Against my Father's eagle at his speed.
Thou seest thyself a wine-skin gurgling mirth,
Jeered and bemocked by unborn multitudes.
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Into the cycles of immensity,
Compared with vision of Olympian Gods,
About so far as might a sparrow hop
Against my Father's eagle at his speed.
“In punishment thy name will bear the weight
Of well-deserved reproach thro' countless years.
But years will end: bright wilt thou reappear
Purged of thy grossness; splendid, as when she,
Syrinx, beheld thee hurl thy mighty spear.
For truth is strong, and, when unclouded, rules
Omnipotent. Men's ignorance and guile
Are ofttimes clad in adamantine scales,
Impenetrable as this golden mail
Guarding my breast; dashed from the arc of which
A God-hurled thunderbolt would fly in dust
Leaving assault no hope. Impregnable
May error be against attack without;
Corrupt within it loosens into ruin.
Of well-deserved reproach thro' countless years.
But years will end: bright wilt thou reappear
Purged of thy grossness; splendid, as when she,
Syrinx, beheld thee hurl thy mighty spear.
For truth is strong, and, when unclouded, rules
Omnipotent. Men's ignorance and guile
Are ofttimes clad in adamantine scales,
Impenetrable as this golden mail
Guarding my breast; dashed from the arc of which
A God-hurled thunderbolt would fly in dust
Leaving assault no hope. Impregnable
May error be against attack without;
Corrupt within it loosens into ruin.
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“Doubt not thy gentle life and storied woe
Will soften harsh decree and conquer love.
Then courage! Dread no more! Pursue thy Fate!
I shall be nigh thee in thine hour of need!”
Will soften harsh decree and conquer love.
Then courage! Dread no more! Pursue thy Fate!
I shall be nigh thee in thine hour of need!”
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BOOK III.
Come hoofs, come heels, and wine-skins; cow-horns come!
Your spry goats leave to browse the vine, or leap
In airy arches over clefted rocks;
But come you hither, hoist the fir-cone high!
Your spry goats leave to browse the vine, or leap
In airy arches over clefted rocks;
But come you hither, hoist the fir-cone high!
On thymy hills, O shepherds, leave your flocks,
Of mellow-fleece, and bleating let them feed
The breezy down; or, if on roving bent,
Let them seek humid nooks of greenest growth.
Doubt not of increase; their own crook-horned lords
Have keen espial for the ewes' retreat!
Of mellow-fleece, and bleating let them feed
The breezy down; or, if on roving bent,
Let them seek humid nooks of greenest growth.
Doubt not of increase; their own crook-horned lords
Have keen espial for the ewes' retreat!
Your spears becrimsoned by the sneaking wolf,
Array in ivy or the looser vine;
With fir-cone guard their whetted perilous blades;
Commanding victory, we with juicy grape
Offer the cup but hide the pointed steel!
Array in ivy or the looser vine;
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Commanding victory, we with juicy grape
Offer the cup but hide the pointed steel!
Blare horns, crash cymbals, shrill the double pipe:
Yell satyrs; bellow fauns; and shriek ye nymphs!
Leaving the swollen udders to their chance
Of wasteful galaxy-besprinkled grass,
As homeward kine low for the milker's hands.
Yell satyrs; bellow fauns; and shriek ye nymphs!
Leaving the swollen udders to their chance
Of wasteful galaxy-besprinkled grass,
As homeward kine low for the milker's hands.
Tarry no longer by the rills to braid,
Devices freaking your inwoven mats,
With clustered seeds that crest the pointed rush,
O clear-eyed Naiads cool! Haste, come with us,
And show wild people how divinely pure
The shapeliness of those who tend the vine!
Now wends great Dionysus North away
Thro' regions where loud torrents round the rock,
Grinding with thunderous roar its rapid sides,
And, shattering down in cataracts of foam,
Shine forth in wonder, dazzling, iris-spanned,
Of every hue the flowers of summer yield.
Devices freaking your inwoven mats,
With clustered seeds that crest the pointed rush,
O clear-eyed Naiads cool! Haste, come with us,
And show wild people how divinely pure
The shapeliness of those who tend the vine!
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Thro' regions where loud torrents round the rock,
Grinding with thunderous roar its rapid sides,
And, shattering down in cataracts of foam,
Shine forth in wonder, dazzling, iris-spanned,
Of every hue the flowers of summer yield.
He the gay God will lead adventuring feet
And overcome whatever dangers lurk
Of hunger, crouching beast, and raging storm,
Or fury of surprised revengeful man!
And overcome whatever dangers lurk
Of hunger, crouching beast, and raging storm,
Or fury of surprised revengeful man!
Then leave, ye loveliest, your tended bees
To revel on their honey for a while.
Sweetest of sweets new honey from the comb;
But sweeter yet the sweet of hoarded toil,
Gathered unceasingly through burdened hours
Eyed by keen hunger armed with threatening beak.
Then let the little toilers feast their fill!
To revel on their honey for a while.
Sweetest of sweets new honey from the comb;
But sweeter yet the sweet of hoarded toil,
Gathered unceasingly through burdened hours
Eyed by keen hunger armed with threatening beak.
Then let the little toilers feast their fill!
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Athena gave the olive. Wisely ye
The oil expressed pour into slender jars
With lengthened ears that they may hear the rat,
Or any two-legged robber coming nigh.
But if your oil they rob then let them rob:
Better oil wasted than yourselves should lose
The show of thronging people mad for joy,
Falling adown in worship of the vine!
Then hasten forth to join the fir-coned spears!
The oil expressed pour into slender jars
With lengthened ears that they may hear the rat,
Or any two-legged robber coming nigh.
But if your oil they rob then let them rob:
Better oil wasted than yourselves should lose
The show of thronging people mad for joy,
Falling adown in worship of the vine!
Then hasten forth to join the fir-coned spears!
Be tempted, O ye Dryades, a while.
Quit the gnarled safety of your shadowy homes,
They were but acorns in the ancient days,
What time Zeus, nurtured in the mountain cave,
Lay hid from Cronos, child-devouring Sire.
Leave beech and birch, cold ash, and broad-leaved plane,
Ye who can battle with the wintry storm,
And dropping summer garments, lithe and bare,
Resist the strength and teeth of Boreas!
Quit the gnarled safety of your shadowy homes,
They were but acorns in the ancient days,
What time Zeus, nurtured in the mountain cave,
Lay hid from Cronos, child-devouring Sire.
Leave beech and birch, cold ash, and broad-leaved plane,
Ye who can battle with the wintry storm,
And dropping summer garments, lithe and bare,
Resist the strength and teeth of Boreas!
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In vain we hail the Hamadryades;
For each, where her twin leaflets broke the soil,
Lingers contented on the self-same spot.
For each, where her twin leaflets broke the soil,
Lingers contented on the self-same spot.
Placid Limniades persuade to move,
And for a while forego their heavenward gaze.
Assure them heaven is more benign than vast,
And will again their steadfastness requite
When they returning reassume the watch
Of changing glories thro' the day and night.
And for a while forego their heavenward gaze.
Assure them heaven is more benign than vast,
And will again their steadfastness requite
When they returning reassume the watch
Of changing glories thro' the day and night.
For Dionysus plans his march to glow
And gleam with nymphs of river, lake, and wood,
In beauty unconfused.
And gleam with nymphs of river, lake, and wood,
In beauty unconfused.
Come Oreads,
From mountain heights descending: primrose hair
Borne out from rosy features either side,
Quivering like wings that tremble with a song!
Sing to us of great chasms, thunder-split;
Of tempest warfare making noontide black,
Till spent it bursts in sudden torrents down
Sweeping hillsides with all their pines away!
Ye bright ones, tell of lofty things afar,
Stern eagles in their solitary haunts;
Why they on splintered points a livelong day
Blink satisfied and silent in the sun?
And tell us why they ring the mountain-world
Ere swooping downward on a destined aim.
From mountain heights descending: primrose hair
Borne out from rosy features either side,
Quivering like wings that tremble with a song!
Sing to us of great chasms, thunder-split;
110
Till spent it bursts in sudden torrents down
Sweeping hillsides with all their pines away!
Ye bright ones, tell of lofty things afar,
Stern eagles in their solitary haunts;
Why they on splintered points a livelong day
Blink satisfied and silent in the sun?
And tell us why they ring the mountain-world
Ere swooping downward on a destined aim.
Tho' coy the Nereids, in beauty proud,
No garments vex the movement of their charms,
Whereon the favoured eyes would love to dwell,
But, ever baffled by the waves and flash
Of sparkling foam, brief glimpses only catch;
And only mortal high, heroical,
Was ever blessed by Nereid's embrace;
As Peleus, who, by Thetis loved, became
Father of great Achilles whose renown
Went level with the Gods'. Ah! they could tell
Of wonders in the blue Aegean sea;
Of caverns where green monsters ruby-eyed,
Guard jewels heaped and sprinkled on the floor,
Crushed gems compounded into glittering sand
In times of Chaos ere the Gods were born.
But they forsake not their own watery world,
Or make brief pauses by the shelving shore
To snood their brine-drenched locks, or watch the sails
Buoyant on dancing laughter-loving waves.
No garments vex the movement of their charms,
Whereon the favoured eyes would love to dwell,
But, ever baffled by the waves and flash
Of sparkling foam, brief glimpses only catch;
And only mortal high, heroical,
Was ever blessed by Nereid's embrace;
As Peleus, who, by Thetis loved, became
Father of great Achilles whose renown
Went level with the Gods'. Ah! they could tell
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Of caverns where green monsters ruby-eyed,
Guard jewels heaped and sprinkled on the floor,
Crushed gems compounded into glittering sand
In times of Chaos ere the Gods were born.
But they forsake not their own watery world,
Or make brief pauses by the shelving shore
To snood their brine-drenched locks, or watch the sails
Buoyant on dancing laughter-loving waves.
Great daughters of the ancient Power that clasps
The rounded earth, the Oceanides;
Beyond the flight of hope to waken them!
In vast Atlantic water leave them still
And undisturbed, awaiting Fate when hence;
In some dim future yet inscrutable,
They shall behold their billows thronged with fleets
Innumerable, as wild-fowl in their haunt
At breeding time on lonely island mere.
The rounded earth, the Oceanides;
Beyond the flight of hope to waken them!
In vast Atlantic water leave them still
And undisturbed, awaiting Fate when hence;
In some dim future yet inscrutable,
They shall behold their billows thronged with fleets
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At breeding time on lonely island mere.
Who would be laggard in a God's advance,
Remaining fixed as flowers however fair?
When she might wander with the nightingales,
Who fly from land to land and loudly sing
Of fairest bloom and all the woodland joy
Their tender gaze collects in passing by.
Remaining fixed as flowers however fair?
When she might wander with the nightingales,
Who fly from land to land and loudly sing
Of fairest bloom and all the woodland joy
Their tender gaze collects in passing by.
What can smile lovelier than a Naiad's lot,
Whose springs well rippling from the coolest depth!
Thro' creviced rock she sees them ever drip
And run atwixt moist stones beneath the grass.
The grasses spreading finger-tips to feel
Unceasing motion thrill them, while the flow
Quiveringly carries on the lustrous day
Thro' sweeps of open space, to wind along
Rich tillage patched with store by homes of men;
And widening out, far-spreading, reach on reach,
Commingles lastly with the sounding sea!
Whose springs well rippling from the coolest depth!
Thro' creviced rock she sees them ever drip
And run atwixt moist stones beneath the grass.
The grasses spreading finger-tips to feel
Unceasing motion thrill them, while the flow
Quiveringly carries on the lustrous day
Thro' sweeps of open space, to wind along
Rich tillage patched with store by homes of men;
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Commingles lastly with the sounding sea!
If she, the dainty and the pure, forego
Fixed contemplation of her sacred charge,
To follow Dionysus' crowded march;
Who will regardless of triumphant chance,
Here linger, conquered by the cark and fret
Of little earthly cares?
Fixed contemplation of her sacred charge,
To follow Dionysus' crowded march;
Who will regardless of triumphant chance,
Here linger, conquered by the cark and fret
Of little earthly cares?
Sound high the shell!
Raise voice and spear; move forward foot and hoof:
Astound the silence of the sleeping hills,
And make the forest shiver with your shouts!
Raise voice and spear; move forward foot and hoof:
Astound the silence of the sleeping hills,
And make the forest shiver with your shouts!
114
BOOK IV.
Forecasting victory lolled the vintage God,
The languid-eyed and smooth-limbed son of Zeus,
Great Dionysus on his tiger huge;
Whose silent glide of pliant-pacing feet
Seemed rather drift of undulating flame
Than crafty brute compact of bone and thews.
The languid-eyed and smooth-limbed son of Zeus,
Great Dionysus on his tiger huge;
Whose silent glide of pliant-pacing feet
Seemed rather drift of undulating flame
Than crafty brute compact of bone and thews.
By fierceness fiercer than the tiger's own,
Artaxeres, an orient Prince, had tamed
Its savage temper to obedience.
Grateful for fellowship and wisdom learned
Of Dionysus, for the priceless vine
Imparted to his people, he had given
As boon his fondled treasure, now subdued;
Soothed to such gentle gait the God could sit
The dreaded back holding his cup so brimmed
A bubble setting threatened overflow,
And bring to lip without a wasted drop!
Artaxeres, an orient Prince, had tamed
Its savage temper to obedience.
Grateful for fellowship and wisdom learned
Of Dionysus, for the priceless vine
Imparted to his people, he had given
As boon his fondled treasure, now subdued;
Soothed to such gentle gait the God could sit
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A bubble setting threatened overflow,
And bring to lip without a wasted drop!
Now marched he in the rude Edone's land,
Ruled by Lycurgus, grim flesh-loving King,
Who, hating grain and oil and every fruit,
Loathed most the tempting clusters of the vine,
Whence oozed the red abominable juice
That fires man's brain to waste, and taints his blood
So thick with foulness, dimmed, his eyesight fails
To wing an easy arrow to its aim.
Ruled by Lycurgus, grim flesh-loving King,
Who, hating grain and oil and every fruit,
Loathed most the tempting clusters of the vine,
Whence oozed the red abominable juice
That fires man's brain to waste, and taints his blood
So thick with foulness, dimmed, his eyesight fails
To wing an easy arrow to its aim.
The King bound every man to bow and spear;
Flouting the texture of the tedious loom,
For clothing of the beasts; man's pride to seize
And privilege to wear! Girt by his throng
Of worshippers, all guardians of the grape,
Divinely tranquil Dionysus passed,
Trampling thro' open plot of dazzling flowers
His multitude left crushed; athwart broad shade
Mottled by winks of sun, and hovering glints;
Across clear streams their crowding footsteps left
Puddled to muddy swamp. On one side hung
Pale purple mountains ranged along the North,
And, sounding near, glittered the azure sea.
Flouting the texture of the tedious loom,
For clothing of the beasts; man's pride to seize
And privilege to wear! Girt by his throng
Of worshippers, all guardians of the grape,
Divinely tranquil Dionysus passed,
Trampling thro' open plot of dazzling flowers
His multitude left crushed; athwart broad shade
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Across clear streams their crowding footsteps left
Puddled to muddy swamp. On one side hung
Pale purple mountains ranged along the North,
And, sounding near, glittered the azure sea.
The rolic followers, shouting on their march,
Roused to its secret dells the forest depth,
Where panthers slunk close listening in their lairs;
While fast the rabbit lay, and murderous stoat
About to spring, curled smit with sudden fright;
Small songsters diving sank among the leaves,
And eagles screaming winged inland afar.
The God's intent, gift of the precious vinc,
Roused to its secret dells the forest depth,
Where panthers slunk close listening in their lairs;
While fast the rabbit lay, and murderous stoat
About to spring, curled smit with sudden fright;
Small songsters diving sank among the leaves,
And eagles screaming winged inland afar.
And needful revelation with his boon,
Time, soil, and season; how to train the shoots,
Nip wasteful buds, and note the ripening prime;
How best make ready for the vintaging
The jars befitting wine; or, stored in skins
117
All wanted for its use; the God's intent
Suffered an overwhelming swift defeat
In slaughter, horror, and a field of blood!
The Gods themselves, scanning events to come,
May see with vision blurred; or make a lapse
In sequence and mistake the drift. The stars
May not in orbits self-determined roll,
But swayed by other stars perform their parts.
And Dionysus, late triumphantly
Returning victor from the teeming East,
There having cast the tendrilled witchery,
Enthralling peoples with the conquering vine,
Assured and satisfied beheld success
Upon the people of Lycurgus, King,
As he would meditate a cup inwrought
With forms by great Hephaestion, for the play
And action of their shapes divine.
May see with vision blurred; or make a lapse
In sequence and mistake the drift. The stars
May not in orbits self-determined roll,
But swayed by other stars perform their parts.
And Dionysus, late triumphantly
Returning victor from the teeming East,
There having cast the tendrilled witchery,
Enthralling peoples with the conquering vine,
Assured and satisfied beheld success
Upon the people of Lycurgus, King,
As he would meditate a cup inwrought
With forms by great Hephaestion, for the play
And action of their shapes divine.
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As soon
Had he imagined those bright forms could turn
Storming upon him in an ash-faced rage,
Ferocious, uncontrollable, as gift
So rich in promise scornfully refused!
While meditating fondly his great boon,
A sharp and distant din he heard; and cries
From many quarters, lengthened shouts that swelled
And gathered, like the tempest from the hills
Sucked down the valley round the log-built town,
That threw blank chill and silence on his host.
Now, flashing thro' the stormy darkness, bursts
Had he imagined those bright forms could turn
Storming upon him in an ash-faced rage,
Ferocious, uncontrollable, as gift
So rich in promise scornfully refused!
While meditating fondly his great boon,
A sharp and distant din he heard; and cries
From many quarters, lengthened shouts that swelled
And gathered, like the tempest from the hills
Sucked down the valley round the log-built town,
That threw blank chill and silence on his host.
A glittering stream of spears, guided by him,
Swiftly in measured paces step for step,
The grim Edonean King, whose head unhelmed
In his wild haste discloses burning hate
At deadly heat blanching his countenance.
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Holding his spears, that shivered in their haste
For sharp assault, made fell assail by fierce
Impoisoned words barbed with disdain, the God
Saw a great beast aroused too strong to slay,
And strove by promises of sweet account,
In brief recital of his purposes,
To win acceptance for the precious grape.
But the king's hate had rooted into life,
And grown throughout his being, as the veins
That pulsed a net of movement thro' his frame;
And wasteful as to woo a hurricane
Laden with blight to spare the buds of spring,
Is strife with enmity at highest tide.
If in fulfilment even Gods may fail,
Thwarted by force unknown or unforeseen,
Malign, and not regarded; how shall man
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Checked before sheer unfathomable chasms
Across the followed pathway to his hope?
Quivering, teeth-set, Lycurgus, in his hate
Of Dionysus, terror-stricken lest
The God on his stern people breathe the taint
He dreaded mostly, worship of the vine,
Scarce deigned him breathing-time, ere shrieking loud
He charged with every spear the helpless host,
And baulked escape by sending nimble bows
To hold the seaward road.
Arose a scream
Of piteous, shrill, unutterable woe,
As struck their entered flesh the shock of spears!
Yells, arrows, blows, spear-thrusts, derisive taunts
Mixed to a storm of rage, beating in waves
Successive, fiercer each, urged by the King,
Whose wrath was lighted into lurid smile,
Beholding where the baffled God withdrawn
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Of doom.
But exultation changed anon,
When ceasing Dionysus hurled his spear,
Fluttering in vine-leaves, thro' the metal shield,
Firm breast and sinewy shoulder, crushing thro'
The strong bladebone beyond, leaving the King
Becrippled in his savage power, reserved
For deadlier fate than death from wound of spear!
Then from the lofty crag the God adown
Plunged headlong in the sea.
Lycurgus now,
Maddened by anguish into fury, blared
For slaughter, while he urged them not to spare
One that might wag a future tongue and say
He saw a King in Thrace smitten by spear
Tricked in the juggling leafage of the vine!
While faster flowed the victims' blood, their shrieks
More loudly filled the vacancy of heaven
Appealing to the Gods.
Maddened by anguish into fury, blared
For slaughter, while he urged them not to spare
One that might wag a future tongue and say
He saw a King in Thrace smitten by spear
Tricked in the juggling leafage of the vine!
While faster flowed the victims' blood, their shrieks
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Appealing to the Gods.
Silenus heard,
And, roused from heavy dreams that held him bound
And stupefied in some oblivious world
Throughout the fearful fortune of the day,
Rose like a lion with a rolling roar,
Thundering above the havoc, and appalled
The slaughterers to wondering pause, while hung
Trembling the reddened blades spell-bound in air.
And, roused from heavy dreams that held him bound
And stupefied in some oblivious world
Throughout the fearful fortune of the day,
Rose like a lion with a rolling roar,
Thundering above the havoc, and appalled
The slaughterers to wondering pause, while hung
Trembling the reddened blades spell-bound in air.
“Ye murderers,” cried he, “degraded slaves,
Doing the bidding of a brutish King
Who knows nor cares for either right or wrong;
Forbidding you the treasure we had brought
Of riches, peace, and laws to govern you!
We offer you the wisdom and the fruit
Thousands have bent their toiling lives to find
Thro' generations aided by the Gods,
Which ye refuse, and welcome us with death!
Doing the bidding of a brutish King
Who knows nor cares for either right or wrong;
Forbidding you the treasure we had brought
Of riches, peace, and laws to govern you!
We offer you the wisdom and the fruit
Thousands have bent their toiling lives to find
Thro' generations aided by the Gods,
Which ye refuse, and welcome us with death!
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“Oh Dryantiades, what a fate is thine!
Fell, grisly son of wrath and vengeance thou!
Flesh-tearing wolf in human form! The wolves,
Thy kin, await the feast of mangled limbs
Wild horses on Pangaeum's mount shall wrench
Asunder from thy carcase shuddering,
When they, these murderers, know thy crime has lain
Stark barrenness accursed upon their land!
Fell, grisly son of wrath and vengeance thou!
Flesh-tearing wolf in human form! The wolves,
Thy kin, await the feast of mangled limbs
Wild horses on Pangaeum's mount shall wrench
Asunder from thy carcase shuddering,
When they, these murderers, know thy crime has lain
Stark barrenness accursed upon their land!
“That day thy fetters, forged of brightest gold
And silver melted from the mountain-side,
Shall mock the trailing glories of the rose
Blossoming there on thy death-spot, O King!
And silver melted from the mountain-side,
Shall mock the trailing glories of the rose
Blossoming there on thy death-spot, O King!
“Thine is a fate so horrible that death
In ghastliest imaginable shape
Shall seem a blessed boon beyond thy hope!
Mad shalt thou be! And maddened by the vine!
Thy lifelong horror shall around thee cling
So close its leaves shall taint thine every meal,
And canopy thy dreams; until the world
Shall seem to thee but one grape-bearing stem,
Which 'tis thy burdened duty evermore
To hack at and to hew. And thou shalt find
That, fast as thou mayst cut, the dream-vine grows
Yet faster. Thou unable to descry
Man's form from that of trees, shalt hack and hew
The limbs of Dryas, thine own son, and slay
Him who by thee of all was best beloved!
In ghastliest imaginable shape
Shall seem a blessed boon beyond thy hope!
Mad shalt thou be! And maddened by the vine!
Thy lifelong horror shall around thee cling
So close its leaves shall taint thine every meal,
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Shall seem to thee but one grape-bearing stem,
Which 'tis thy burdened duty evermore
To hack at and to hew. And thou shalt find
That, fast as thou mayst cut, the dream-vine grows
Yet faster. Thou unable to descry
Man's form from that of trees, shalt hack and hew
The limbs of Dryas, thine own son, and slay
Him who by thee of all was best beloved!
“But hark; the thunder! Speaks the voice of Zeus!”
Then harshly yelled the King, “Enough! Enough!
A foolish spear driven thro' me should suffice
Without the plague of hearing evil things
Prophesied on myself! The voice of Zeus;
Ha! Ha! Among our hills the thunders dwell
Wanting no Zeus to aid in utterance.
Of these parts I am Zeus! Thou callest me wolf!
What I call thee soon shalt thou hear, ha! ha!
And mayhap feel the truth.
A foolish spear driven thro' me should suffice
Without the plague of hearing evil things
Prophesied on myself! The voice of Zeus;
Ha! Ha! Among our hills the thunders dwell
Wanting no Zeus to aid in utterance.
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What I call thee soon shalt thou hear, ha! ha!
And mayhap feel the truth.
“Stand forth there bows!
In that huge wine-bag plant me fifty shafts
That I may fairly name him porcupine
Bristling in fear to hold us all aloof.”
The bowmen notched the arrows on the strings
In that huge wine-bag plant me fifty shafts
That I may fairly name him porcupine
Bristling in fear to hold us all aloof.”
And raised their bows to aim; but, ere they drew
Their shafts back to the head, Silenus cried,
“Stay, murderers, and blood-stained savage wolf!
It were but trifling sport to rend thine arm
From out its socket and to splash thy brains
Scattering upon the earth. Thy bows and spears
But merest straw to fence thee from my rage
Were I so willed to slay. But thou art doomed
To darker fate than any death from me!
For when thou hast thine only son destroyed
Thy reason will return. Then shalt thou know
Thy loss! The curse stern Gods have laid on thee,
Thy country's barrenness, thy people's wrath,
The fierce wild horses, and the golden chains!
It were but trifling sport to rend thine arm
From out its socket and to splash thy brains
Scattering upon the earth. Thy bows and spears
But merest straw to fence thee from my rage
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To darker fate than any death from me!
For when thou hast thine only son destroyed
Thy reason will return. Then shalt thou know
Thy loss! The curse stern Gods have laid on thee,
Thy country's barrenness, thy people's wrath,
The fierce wild horses, and the golden chains!
“Thy Father's voice, O great Athena! Hear
Thy worshipper. This is his hour of need!”
While spoke the Demigod crashed thunder burst,
Thy worshipper. This is his hour of need!”
Blazing one instant in stupendous glare,
With sound, as water singing in descent;
With smell of burning hides; and all was dark.
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BOOK V.
No lowly offered roses at the shrineOf Aphrodite can more richly bloom
Than these, Silenus, we have brought to grace
The rock that guards thine honoured bones.
Long years
Our vines have blossomed, set, and grown to fruit;
The vintages been gathered, drunk the wine;
But thou art still the loss we must bemoan
As on that fearful day of blood and fire,
When, Dionysus driven into the sea,
And thou alone didst face the evil King.
Our life-blood ran in streams, till thou wert roused,
And thy voice rang like thunder from the hills
And stayed the slaughter; when the slaughterers
Paused in their pastime, like affrighted ghosts,
As thou didst tell the King his dreadful doom
Of madness, fury, murder of his child;
And reason waking on the deed of blood.
Well couldst thou read the future; pace by pace
The Furies have fulfilled thy prophecy;
The barren country; and the people's wrath
Bursting in vengeance on the King accursed.
And when upon thee fifty points were bent,
Thy voice again in thunder stayed their hands;
Shook the black vault of heaven, brought thunders down,
Where wonderstruck, in blinding fire, we saw
Pallas Athena, spear and shield outspread,
And heard Her mighty voice.
Our vines have blossomed, set, and grown to fruit;
The vintages been gathered, drunk the wine;
But thou art still the loss we must bemoan
As on that fearful day of blood and fire,
When, Dionysus driven into the sea,
And thou alone didst face the evil King.
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And thy voice rang like thunder from the hills
And stayed the slaughter; when the slaughterers
Paused in their pastime, like affrighted ghosts,
As thou didst tell the King his dreadful doom
Of madness, fury, murder of his child;
And reason waking on the deed of blood.
Well couldst thou read the future; pace by pace
The Furies have fulfilled thy prophecy;
The barren country; and the people's wrath
Bursting in vengeance on the King accursed.
And when upon thee fifty points were bent,
Thy voice again in thunder stayed their hands;
Shook the black vault of heaven, brought thunders down,
Where wonderstruck, in blinding fire, we saw
Pallas Athena, spear and shield outspread,
And heard Her mighty voice.
And when the gloom
Had passed away, with horror we beheld
The fifty bowmen fifty blackened heaps;
While thou wert lying as a babe asleep
Smiling on mother's lap, without a wound
From shaft or spear, or stain of thunder-fire.
But they had seen the Gorgon shield and turned
To hard black stones and sunk into the soil;
For no one could be found to bury them;
And some say vaguely nothing now remains;
Tho' no one knows for no one goeth nigh.
Had passed away, with horror we beheld
129
While thou wert lying as a babe asleep
Smiling on mother's lap, without a wound
From shaft or spear, or stain of thunder-fire.
But they had seen the Gorgon shield and turned
To hard black stones and sunk into the soil;
For no one could be found to bury them;
And some say vaguely nothing now remains;
Tho' no one knows for no one goeth nigh.
The flash that slew the fifty felled the King,
Who sidewise lay outstretched like slaughtered wolf.
Then ceased the carnage; all male folk were slain;
We women taken prisoners and spared,
Because they thought us shapely, strong, and fair,
And, scorning war-slaves for their wedded wives,
They gave us freedom, and they married us.
We nurse and rear the children of our lords;
And every day make ready every meal;
Fashion their garments, and keep bright the hearth.
We do all women have to do for men.
These are not worse than men of other lands:
Men are much like each other everywhere;
Unfeeling, hard, and coarse throughout the grain.
Their thews are stouter, and our own must give;
Their wills are sterner, and we must obey.
This is not what we thought our lives would be,
Who sidewise lay outstretched like slaughtered wolf.
Then ceased the carnage; all male folk were slain;
We women taken prisoners and spared,
Because they thought us shapely, strong, and fair,
And, scorning war-slaves for their wedded wives,
They gave us freedom, and they married us.
We nurse and rear the children of our lords;
130
Fashion their garments, and keep bright the hearth.
We do all women have to do for men.
These are not worse than men of other lands:
Men are much like each other everywhere;
Unfeeling, hard, and coarse throughout the grain.
Their thews are stouter, and our own must give;
Their wills are sterner, and we must obey.
Adored Silenus, in the times agone;
When, hallowed by the forest shadowing,
We heard thy stories of heroic men
Who loved their loving maidens tenderly.
We thought the common course of woman's life
Gently united with the man's she loved;
That every meeting of their eyes bred smiles
131
Contentment in each other winged with hope,
Sole blessing left us, our forefathers taught.
A word of doubtful meaning, never clear.
Hope now has left us in another sense:
We are but as we are, and must remain.
It gladdens us to know we had the care
Thy memory should receive a warrior's due
In this great rock placed where thine honoured bones
Were laid deep in the grave we filled with flowers.
For, while the curse clung withering on the land,
And nothing quickened in its barren soil,
We told the people our offended Gods
Must be appeased by sacrifice and prayer.
Thy memory should receive a warrior's due
In this great rock placed where thine honoured bones
Were laid deep in the grave we filled with flowers.
For, while the curse clung withering on the land,
And nothing quickened in its barren soil,
We told the people our offended Gods
Must be appeased by sacrifice and prayer.
Five hundred strong men came with rolls and cords;
Long wooden levers, picks, and spades to dig
An even roadway and an casy slope
Whereon they urged the great rock inch by inch.
It gave us joy to watch their sunburnt limbs
Brighten with sinewy effort, as the words
To move were cried. With simultaneous shout,
They clenched, and put together all their strength
In one great impulse at the close and set
The rock where now it rests.
Long wooden levers, picks, and spades to dig
An even roadway and an casy slope
132
It gave us joy to watch their sunburnt limbs
Brighten with sinewy effort, as the words
To move were cried. With simultaneous shout,
They clenched, and put together all their strength
In one great impulse at the close and set
The rock where now it rests.
The toilers all
Fell back, and gazing on the feat awestruck,
Knelt, holding forth their arms and praised the Gods!
Fell back, and gazing on the feat awestruck,
Knelt, holding forth their arms and praised the Gods!
We do not chatter idle words of thee,
Silenus; knowing thou wert huge and bald;
Thy lingering locks but loose, and scanty gray;
Thy smiling eyes were moist, and vague thy lips;
And thy limbs creased with fatness like a babe's.
These plain defects, an easy gibe for churls,
Awoke within our hearts no pleasantry.
Whatever fair reproach might cleave to thee
We ever loved thee and thy gentle voice;
Thy gentle voice that patiently disclosed
What heretofore our eyes had never seen
Our ears had never heard:
Silenus; knowing thou wert huge and bald;
Thy lingering locks but loose, and scanty gray;
Thy smiling eyes were moist, and vague thy lips;
And thy limbs creased with fatness like a babe's.
These plain defects, an easy gibe for churls,
Awoke within our hearts no pleasantry.
Whatever fair reproach might cleave to thee
133
Thy gentle voice that patiently disclosed
What heretofore our eyes had never seen
Our ears had never heard:
Why sharply edged
The driven scud of heaven against the wind,
And birds their spring notes sang so lustily;
How the bees, seeking honey for themselves,
Ministered singing to the loves of flowers;
How flowers, when in their fullest beauty bright
Could lure winged riflers to the fruits' increase;
And why on one cheek alway blushes fruit.
Thou wouldst unweariedly narrate to us
The stories of the trees; and why they turned
To this incline or that; why at a slope
Whole forest flanks swerved inland from the shore
Thrifty of leaf; and why some drooping sought
Shelter from light, to root in earth again;
While others proudly, with exalted points
Trembling in sapphire, whispered to the wind.
The driven scud of heaven against the wind,
And birds their spring notes sang so lustily;
How the bees, seeking honey for themselves,
Ministered singing to the loves of flowers;
How flowers, when in their fullest beauty bright
Could lure winged riflers to the fruits' increase;
And why on one cheek alway blushes fruit.
Thou wouldst unweariedly narrate to us
The stories of the trees; and why they turned
To this incline or that; why at a slope
Whole forest flanks swerved inland from the shore
Thrifty of leaf; and why some drooping sought
Shelter from light, to root in earth again;
While others proudly, with exalted points
Trembling in sapphire, whispered to the wind.
134
It did not, loved Silenus, make us love
These tales the less because male creatures scoffed,
Calling them little and of little worth.
We loved them with thee; now we love them more,
Having lost both the Teacher and his tunes.
These tales the less because male creatures scoffed,
Calling them little and of little worth.
We loved them with thee; now we love them more,
Having lost both the Teacher and his tunes.
Our lords have arms of strength, and hold their spears
As weapons well in use; and with them we
Dread neither panther's teeth nor tusk of boar;
For deft are they with bow and arrows winged
To fell or check the hare and stag at speed;
But all their talk is ambush, capture, spoil;
Food, drink, and clothing; and the store for fires.
Our lords so little heed the joy around,
The sweetest flower asks vainly for a smile;
Unnoticed ring the woodland melodies,
And march the clouds of noon without regard.
Therefore do we on our permitted days
Heap the red roses on thy sacred rock.
Our lords believe the sacrifice we bring
Will add fresh clusters and protect their vines,
And they, remembering Dryantiades' fate,
Are gruffly lenient toward the rites we pay.
As weapons well in use; and with them we
Dread neither panther's teeth nor tusk of boar;
For deft are they with bow and arrows winged
To fell or check the hare and stag at speed;
But all their talk is ambush, capture, spoil;
Food, drink, and clothing; and the store for fires.
Our lords so little heed the joy around,
The sweetest flower asks vainly for a smile;
Unnoticed ring the woodland melodies,
And march the clouds of noon without regard.
135
Heap the red roses on thy sacred rock.
Our lords believe the sacrifice we bring
Will add fresh clusters and protect their vines,
And they, remembering Dryantiades' fate,
Are gruffly lenient toward the rites we pay.
Our sweetest dreams are dreams of memory,
During the toilsome day, when lacking hope,
We wander backward in the olden time
And gather round thy feet to hear thy tales
Of Gods and Demigods, and favoured maids;
Of Goddesses who deigned to mortal love;
And dreadful monsters slain by strength divine.
Children of duty and obedience,
As these of ours, brought forth in nature's course,
Babble a duller music than the babes
Of love. Kindly we use our helpless ones;
All things are kindly to their tender young;
But children they of our lords' will, not ours,
We seem not nursing our own kith and kin.
During the toilsome day, when lacking hope,
We wander backward in the olden time
And gather round thy feet to hear thy tales
Of Gods and Demigods, and favoured maids;
Of Goddesses who deigned to mortal love;
And dreadful monsters slain by strength divine.
Children of duty and obedience,
As these of ours, brought forth in nature's course,
Babble a duller music than the babes
Of love. Kindly we use our helpless ones;
All things are kindly to their tender young;
But children they of our lords' will, not ours,
We seem not nursing our own kith and kin.
136
Our fathers said the ruling Gods were just;
And haply, when our bones are laid at rest,
In the Elysian Fields our shades may meet
The lovers of our souls we never found;
When looking back, this loveless life of ours
Will be remembered as a feverish dream,
Where thine own hand was guide and comforter,
Saving us from the pitfalls of despair.
Our tears, affection, memory, all are thine.
Our solace thou art now. Our sweetest hopes,
That ever beck with smiles of welcoming,
Are in some way we know not mixed with thee.
And haply, when our bones are laid at rest,
In the Elysian Fields our shades may meet
The lovers of our souls we never found;
When looking back, this loveless life of ours
Will be remembered as a feverish dream,
Where thine own hand was guide and comforter,
Saving us from the pitfalls of despair.
Our tears, affection, memory, all are thine.
Our solace thou art now. Our sweetest hopes,
That ever beck with smiles of welcoming,
Are in some way we know not mixed with thee.
| Silenus | |