 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
Part of Pindar's first Pythian Ode paraphrased.
Argument.
This ode is address'd to Hieron king of Sicily, as is also the first of the Olympics. Pindar takes occasion to begin with an encomium on Music, finely describing its effects upon the passions. We must suppose this art to be one of his hero's more distinguishable excellencies; as it appears from several passages in the ode above. From thence he expatiates in the praise of Poetry; and inveighs very severely upon those who either contemn, or have no taste for that divine science. Their misfortunes and punishments are instanc'd
Strophe I.
Gentle lyre, begin the strain;Wake the string to voice again.
Music rules the world above;
Music is the food of love.
Soft'ned by the pow'r of sound,
Human passions melt away:
Melancholy feels no wound,
Envy sleeps, and fears decay.
Entranc'd in pleasure Jove's dread eagle lies,
Nor grasps the bolt, nor darts his fiery eyes.
Antistrophe I.
See, Mars awak'd by loud alarmsRouls o'er the field his sanguine eyes,
His heart tumultuous beats to arms,
And terrours glare, and furies rise!
Hark the pleasing lutes complain,
In a softly-breathing strain;
Love, and slumber seal his eye
By the gentle charms opprest:
From his rage he steals a sigh,
Sinking on Dione's breast.
Epode I.
Verse, gentle verse from heav'n descending came,Curst by the wicked, hateful to the vain:
Tyrants and slaves profane its sacred name,
Deaf to the tender lay, or vocal strain. . . .
Imprison'd by the wrath of Jove;
No ease his restless fury knows,
Nor sounds of joy, nor pleasing love.
Where, glitt'ring faintly on the eye,
Sicilian Ætna props the sky
With mountains of eternal snow;
He darts his fiery eyes in vain,
And heaves, and roars, and bites his chain
In impotence of woe.
Strophe II.
Angry flames like scarlet glowingFiery torrents ever flowing,
Smoak along the with'ring plain
E'er they rush into the main.
When the sable veil of night
Stretches o'er the shaded sky.
Burning rocks disparted fly.
Sudden, by turns the flashing flames arise,
Pour down the winds, or tremble up the skies.
Antistrophe II.
In fair Sicilia's rich domain,Where flow'rs and fruits eternal blow,
Where plenty spreads her peaceful reign,
And seas surround, and fountains flow,
Bright religion lifts her eye,
Wand'ring thro' the kindred-sky.
Hail thou, everlasting Jove,
Parent of th' Aonian quire;
Touch my raptur'd soul with love,
Warm me with celestial fire!
Epode II.
The pious mariner when first he sweepsThe foaming billows, and exalts his sails,
Propitiates ev'ry pow'r that rules the deeps,
Led by new hopes, and born by gentle gales.
So e'er the muse disus'd to sing,
Emblazons her fair Hero's praise:
(What time she wakes the trembling string,
Attemper'd to the vocal lays)
Prostrate in humble guise she bends,
While some celestial pow'r descends
To guide her airy flights along;
God of the silver bow, give ear;
(Whom Tenedos, and Chrysa fear)
Observant of the Song!
Strophe III.
Gentle wishes, chaste desires,Holy Hymen's purer fires:
Lives of innocence and pleasure,
Moral virtue's mystic treasure;
Wisdom, eloquence, and love,
All are blessings from above.
Hence regret, distaste, dispraise,
Guilty nights, uneasy days:
Repining jealousies, calm friendly wrongs,
And fiercer envy, and the strife of tongues.
Antistrophe III.
Or ardent nations rise in arms,
Thy mercies judge the doubtful cause,
Thy courage ev'ry breast alarms.
Once again I sweep the lyre.
Ends thy life serene, and glorious;
Happy hero, great and wise,
Oe'r thy foes, and self victorious.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |