 | Poems (1806) |  |
113
HEROIC PIECES.
115
CLAUDIAN's RAPE of PROSERPINE.
BOOK THE FIRST.
The Ravisher's fell steeds and blasting car,
That dimm'd the twinkling orb of many a star;
And Stygian Juno's chambers, where, o'erspread
With gloom mysterious, lies the bridal bed—
Scenes full of terror (hence, profane, away!)
My throbbing heart impels me to display!
Each earth-born feeling dies; the god inspires,
And more than mortal rage my bosom fires!
Lo, trembling from their base, the temples nod,
And floods of radiance speak the approaching God:
Earth roars; and Cecrops' fane returns the sound,
Whilst her bright torch Eleusis waves around.
See too, Triptolemus, thy hissing snakes,
Worn by the yoke, relieve their scaly necks;
Erect with easy lapses glide along,
And bend their crests purpureal to the song!
Lo! yonder Hecate's three forms arise;
And he, whose robe a tiger's skin supplies,
(Its richly-gilded claws together bound)
Mild Bacchus comes, with wanton ivy crown'd,
Tottering his footsteps! a Mæonian rod
Supports the drunken figure of the god.
That dimm'd the twinkling orb of many a star;
And Stygian Juno's chambers, where, o'erspread
With gloom mysterious, lies the bridal bed—
Scenes full of terror (hence, profane, away!)
My throbbing heart impels me to display!
Each earth-born feeling dies; the god inspires,
And more than mortal rage my bosom fires!
Lo, trembling from their base, the temples nod,
And floods of radiance speak the approaching God:
116
Whilst her bright torch Eleusis waves around.
See too, Triptolemus, thy hissing snakes,
Worn by the yoke, relieve their scaly necks;
Erect with easy lapses glide along,
And bend their crests purpureal to the song!
Lo! yonder Hecate's three forms arise;
And he, whose robe a tiger's skin supplies,
(Its richly-gilded claws together bound)
Mild Bacchus comes, with wanton ivy crown'd,
Tottering his footsteps! a Mæonian rod
Supports the drunken figure of the god.
Gods! whom Avernus' shadowy tribes obey,
Who grasp whatever fleets from earth away;
Ye, whom the livid lakes of Styx surround,
And Phlegethon's sulphureous flood profound;
Give me to know the secrets of your pole,
And let your mysteries burst upon my soul!
Oh tell, how Dis was fir'd with love, and bade
The dower of Chaos bless the ravish'd maid.
Who grasp whatever fleets from earth away;
Ye, whom the livid lakes of Styx surround,
And Phlegethon's sulphureous flood profound;
Give me to know the secrets of your pole,
And let your mysteries burst upon my soul!
Oh tell, how Dis was fir'd with love, and bade
The dower of Chaos bless the ravish'd maid.
The king of Erebus, long doom'd to live
Cheerless, with not one joy that love can give;
To him unknown a father's tender name,
His lonely bed unblest by Hymen's flame;
Now pour'd from sullenness Resentment's fire,
And brav'd Heaven's Sovereign in a storm of ire.
Cheerless, with not one joy that love can give;
To him unknown a father's tender name,
His lonely bed unblest by Hymen's flame;
Now pour'd from sullenness Resentment's fire,
And brav'd Heaven's Sovereign in a storm of ire.
117
See monsters from their flaming gulphs repair
To Hell's dire standard, and announce the war:
The furies menacing, their snake-crown'd queen
Waves her accursed torch, and rears the embattled scene.
The elements had now resum'd the fight,
In horror struggling for their ancient night;
The Titan race, their chains relax'd, had seen
Full soon the splendour of the blue serene;
Ægeon's self, his dungeon rent around,
His hundred hands had lifted at the sound,
And (the red thunders bursting from above)
Had mov'd, besmear'd with blood, the throne of Jove:
But for the world alarm'd, the Parcæ bade
The tumult cease, and instant sought the shade
Where Pluto sat; embrac'd with suppliant air
His feet, and at his throne diffus'd their hair.
(Sisters! in all her forms who nature lead,
And bid the series of the fates proceed;
Evolve all ages in their iron loom,
And sternly fix the universal doom!)
When thus (her scatter'd tresses wildly flow'd)
Thus Lachesis address'd the grimly god:
To Hell's dire standard, and announce the war:
The furies menacing, their snake-crown'd queen
Waves her accursed torch, and rears the embattled scene.
The elements had now resum'd the fight,
In horror struggling for their ancient night;
The Titan race, their chains relax'd, had seen
Full soon the splendour of the blue serene;
Ægeon's self, his dungeon rent around,
His hundred hands had lifted at the sound,
And (the red thunders bursting from above)
Had mov'd, besmear'd with blood, the throne of Jove:
But for the world alarm'd, the Parcæ bade
The tumult cease, and instant sought the shade
Where Pluto sat; embrac'd with suppliant air
His feet, and at his throne diffus'd their hair.
(Sisters! in all her forms who nature lead,
And bid the series of the fates proceed;
Evolve all ages in their iron loom,
And sternly fix the universal doom!)
When thus (her scatter'd tresses wildly flow'd)
Thus Lachesis address'd the grimly god:
“Hail, arbiter of night, whose high controul
“The shades obey, for whom our spindles roll;
“Whose hands all Nature's embryo seeds supply,
“By whom all rise to live, or droop to die.
“Since spirits range, by thee prepar'd for birth,
“At circling periods, o'er the realms of earth;
“And in corporeal forms, by thy decree,
“Breathe a short space, and then return to thee;
“O seek not to dissolve the laws we gave,
“Those bonds we bade the according spindles weave:
“Why rear yon impious standard, and display
“To Titan's monster-brood, the light of day?
“Break not fraternal leagues by civil strife;
“Ask of high Jove, and Jove will grant a wife.”
She spake: and (rarely though the Suppliant's cries
Move his stern features) lo, his anger dies.
Thus, midst the regions of the Northern star,
When, heavy Boreas rages for the war,
Prepar'd to rush o'er all the dreary waste,
(His ice-clad pinions sounding in the blast)
And, arm'd with the pale whirlwind, spread dismay
O'er foaming seas, and sweep vast woods away—
Lo, if the monarch of the winds arise,
Fast clos'd his gates of brass, the discord flies;
Sudden the vainly-vaunted echoes cease,
And broken murmurs languish into peace.
Then Pluto summon'd the swift son of May
To wing, with words that burn, to heaven his way:
Obedient to the summons of the god
Stood the plum'd youth, and wav'd his drowsy rod.
In all the majesty of dreary state,
On his rude throne, the death-like monarch sate:
From his huge sceptre dropp'd a noisome dew,
And his pale form rose dreadful to the view.
A cloud, whose horrors deepen'd all the shade,
Involv'd in heavy gloom his towering head:
In rage new terrors o'er his visage ran,
And as the thunder rolls, he thus began:
(Strait at his voice a sacred silence spread
O'er all the wide dominions of the dead;
Mute in appal the three-mouth'd monster stood;
Fierce Acheron still'd the murmur of his flood;
No more Cocytos' fountain tears arose,
And Phlegethon lay hush'd in deep repose.)
“The shades obey, for whom our spindles roll;
“Whose hands all Nature's embryo seeds supply,
“By whom all rise to live, or droop to die.
118
“At circling periods, o'er the realms of earth;
“And in corporeal forms, by thy decree,
“Breathe a short space, and then return to thee;
“O seek not to dissolve the laws we gave,
“Those bonds we bade the according spindles weave:
“Why rear yon impious standard, and display
“To Titan's monster-brood, the light of day?
“Break not fraternal leagues by civil strife;
“Ask of high Jove, and Jove will grant a wife.”
She spake: and (rarely though the Suppliant's cries
Move his stern features) lo, his anger dies.
Thus, midst the regions of the Northern star,
When, heavy Boreas rages for the war,
Prepar'd to rush o'er all the dreary waste,
(His ice-clad pinions sounding in the blast)
And, arm'd with the pale whirlwind, spread dismay
O'er foaming seas, and sweep vast woods away—
Lo, if the monarch of the winds arise,
Fast clos'd his gates of brass, the discord flies;
Sudden the vainly-vaunted echoes cease,
And broken murmurs languish into peace.
Then Pluto summon'd the swift son of May
To wing, with words that burn, to heaven his way:
Obedient to the summons of the god
Stood the plum'd youth, and wav'd his drowsy rod.
In all the majesty of dreary state,
On his rude throne, the death-like monarch sate:
119
And his pale form rose dreadful to the view.
A cloud, whose horrors deepen'd all the shade,
Involv'd in heavy gloom his towering head:
In rage new terrors o'er his visage ran,
And as the thunder rolls, he thus began:
(Strait at his voice a sacred silence spread
O'er all the wide dominions of the dead;
Mute in appal the three-mouth'd monster stood;
Fierce Acheron still'd the murmur of his flood;
No more Cocytos' fountain tears arose,
And Phlegethon lay hush'd in deep repose.)
“Thou common power to all the gods, who dwell
“Amidst Heaven's regions, and the abodes of hell;
“Thou, who alone canst range o'er each domain,
“And the high commerce of those worlds maintain;
“Go, mount the winds and rapid storms above,
“And bear these tidings to the pride of Jove.
“Stern brother, though thy heavens confess the god,
“Say, tyrant, shall I tremble at thy nod?
“What though, by impious chance, the day was lost,
“Cannot we still our arms and prowess boast?
“Think'st thou we sleep, because no Cyclops' art
“Frames for our sport the vainly-blazing dart?
“Say, is it not enough, that here, by light
“Uncheer'd,—that here, where broods eternal night,
“We rule o'er regions in confusion hurl'd—
“This poor third portion of the vasty world;
“While round thy head the Signs in triumph roll,
“And various splendours paint thy Northern Pole?
“And shall I live, by Hymen's joys unblest?
“See Neptune languish on his fair one's breast.
“Thee too, when wearied with thy bolts of fire,
“Thee with fierce joy thy Juno's charms inspire:
“And why repeat Latona's glowing shame,
“Or Ceres' secret Loves, or Themis' name?
“Behold! full well a numerous offspring prove
“Thy range unbounded through the wilds of love!
“But I, in these lone vaults condemn'd to pine,
“What blisses, to alleviate care, are mine?
“Here by no loves, no tender pledges, blest,
“No longer can I brook the inglorious rest.
“I swear by Chaos, and the Stygian floods,
“Whose dreadful sanction ever binds the gods;
“If thou my orders scorn, in black array
“Hell shall disclose her entrails to the day;
“In all its horrors clad, shall darkness rise,
“And blot the golden glories of the skies;
“And, burst the chains which ancient Saturn made,
“The Poles shall mingle with Tartarean shade.”
“Amidst Heaven's regions, and the abodes of hell;
“Thou, who alone canst range o'er each domain,
“And the high commerce of those worlds maintain;
“Go, mount the winds and rapid storms above,
“And bear these tidings to the pride of Jove.
“Stern brother, though thy heavens confess the god,
“Say, tyrant, shall I tremble at thy nod?
“What though, by impious chance, the day was lost,
“Cannot we still our arms and prowess boast?
“Think'st thou we sleep, because no Cyclops' art
“Frames for our sport the vainly-blazing dart?
“Say, is it not enough, that here, by light
“Uncheer'd,—that here, where broods eternal night,
120
“This poor third portion of the vasty world;
“While round thy head the Signs in triumph roll,
“And various splendours paint thy Northern Pole?
“And shall I live, by Hymen's joys unblest?
“See Neptune languish on his fair one's breast.
“Thee too, when wearied with thy bolts of fire,
“Thee with fierce joy thy Juno's charms inspire:
“And why repeat Latona's glowing shame,
“Or Ceres' secret Loves, or Themis' name?
“Behold! full well a numerous offspring prove
“Thy range unbounded through the wilds of love!
“But I, in these lone vaults condemn'd to pine,
“What blisses, to alleviate care, are mine?
“Here by no loves, no tender pledges, blest,
“No longer can I brook the inglorious rest.
“I swear by Chaos, and the Stygian floods,
“Whose dreadful sanction ever binds the gods;
“If thou my orders scorn, in black array
“Hell shall disclose her entrails to the day;
“In all its horrors clad, shall darkness rise,
“And blot the golden glories of the skies;
“And, burst the chains which ancient Saturn made,
“The Poles shall mingle with Tartarean shade.”
Scarce had he ceas'd, when swift the herald flew
To the bright districts of ethereal blue.
The Sire the mandate heard, and strait inclin'd,
To various councils, his revolving mind.
What nymph, endued with charms, might Pluto love,
Or quit for Stygian gloom the realms above;
For Jove himself 'twas arduous to decide:
At length he fixes on the fated bride.
To the bright districts of ethereal blue.
121
To various councils, his revolving mind.
What nymph, endued with charms, might Pluto love,
Or quit for Stygian gloom the realms above;
For Jove himself 'twas arduous to decide:
At length he fixes on the fated bride.
In Henna's vale, fair Proserpine, the child
Of Ceres, as the rose of beauty smil'd:
Ungifted by Lucina's second aid,
She, happiest parent, rear'd the blooming maid;
And wish'd no other her regard might share,
While in one daughter center'd all her care.
Not more the heifer's fond endearments prove
The growing ardor of maternal love;
Ere yet her offspring's feeble feet can tread
The field, or crescent sprouts adorn its head.
Now flourish'd ripe for love the virgin's charms,
The conscious blushes, and the soft alarms;
The quick-glanc'd smile of half-represt desire,
And the short sigh, that spoke the rising fire.
Full many a suitor to the beauteous maid,
With trembling hopes their various worth display'd:
Mars boasts his shield, to ward the deathful blow,
And youthful Phoebus, glorying in his bow,
Offers in dower (while hopes the god of war
That Rhodope's high hills may gain the fair)
As dazzling lures, to win the virgin's smile,
Amyclæ, Claros, and the Delian isle.
Hence for the charming maid, Latona's claim;
Hence rival Juno's:—yet each lover's flame
Was vain—whilst Ceres her lov'd charge consign'd
To Sicily's sequester'd bowers, (too blind
To fate) whilst, fearful of her child's disgrace,
She trusts the faithless genius of the place.
Of Ceres, as the rose of beauty smil'd:
Ungifted by Lucina's second aid,
She, happiest parent, rear'd the blooming maid;
And wish'd no other her regard might share,
While in one daughter center'd all her care.
Not more the heifer's fond endearments prove
The growing ardor of maternal love;
Ere yet her offspring's feeble feet can tread
The field, or crescent sprouts adorn its head.
Now flourish'd ripe for love the virgin's charms,
The conscious blushes, and the soft alarms;
The quick-glanc'd smile of half-represt desire,
And the short sigh, that spoke the rising fire.
Full many a suitor to the beauteous maid,
With trembling hopes their various worth display'd:
Mars boasts his shield, to ward the deathful blow,
And youthful Phoebus, glorying in his bow,
Offers in dower (while hopes the god of war
That Rhodope's high hills may gain the fair)
122
Amyclæ, Claros, and the Delian isle.
Hence for the charming maid, Latona's claim;
Hence rival Juno's:—yet each lover's flame
Was vain—whilst Ceres her lov'd charge consign'd
To Sicily's sequester'd bowers, (too blind
To fate) whilst, fearful of her child's disgrace,
She trusts the faithless genius of the place.
Of old, Trinacria join'd the Italian shores,
Where now, with whirling wave, Charybdis roars;
But Nereus “push'd the pillar'd earth aside,”
And gave each rending mountain to the tide.
Torn from her kindred clime, a broken scene,
While struggling dash'd the impetuous surge between,
Trinacria lay; yet, stedfast from the storm,
Rais'd o'er the billows her three-forked form.
There, with his jetting rocks, Pachynum braves,
Unmov'd, the fury of the Ionian waves.
Gætulian Thetis, here, with hideous bray,
O'er Lilybæum darts the foaming spray;
While boundless the Tyrrhenian billows rise,
And shake Pelorum, as outstretch'd it lies.
Full in the midst, with heaven-assailing height,
The rocks of Ætna break upon the sight:
Rocks, that shall never cease, inwrapt with flame,
Her giant wars, and triumphs to proclaim.—
Bust of Enceladus, who pours afloat
Sulphureous torrents from his burning throat!
Full oft the monster, as he lies opprest,
Essays to move the mountain from his breast;
And, while with rebel neck the weight he heaves,
The island trembles to her deepest caves;
Her tower-crown'd cities totter to their fall,
And ruin stares aghast, ingulphing all.
Ætna's huge top, survey'd by distant ken,
Blackens, impervious to the steps of men;
No culture there—in other parts arise
Thick trees, that wave their foliage to the skies.
And now, the green luxuriance fades away;
And clouds of sulphur dim the sickly day:
Lo, bolts terrific blast each trembling star,
And with her entrails Ætna feeds the war.
But, though the fury of the mountain glows,
It lies still cover'd with eternal snows:
There molten rocks, and floods of lava, tost
Within the chilling influence of the frost,
Congeal: there lightnings flash with powerless blaze,
And o'er deep hills of ice the lambent vapour plays.
O say, what engines whirl the rocks around,
And rend the caverns with rebellow'd sound;
Say, from what fount the stream of Vulcan flows,
As down the redd'ning steep its deluge glows?
Perhaps the air, condens'd in Ætna's caves,
Amid their rifted sides, in fury raves;
And forcing through the yawning chasm its way,
Bursts on the blasted regions of the day:
Or, in the bowels of the mountain pent,
The boiling sea-wave rages for a vent;
Sulphureous brews an elemental war,
And many a flaming fragment hurls in air.
Ceres, while here embower'd her offspring lay,
Bends from this isle to Phrygian realms her way:
Lo! to the tower-crown'd mother of the gods,
Her dragons whirl her through the breaking clouds;
And, as they raise their crimson crests, the reins
Flowing in air, a dewy poison stains:
Green vivid spots their burnish'd backs unfold,
And glow their various scales with flames of gold.
Here swift they move, where loftier zephyrs blow,
There skim with curling flight the plains below.
As glides her chariot o'er the furrow'd land,
Lo, sudden Plenty wakes at her command;
From every track the golden blades arise,
And harvests wave around her, as she flies.
Now dimly seen, decreasing Ætna grew,
And all Trinacria vanish'd from the view.
Alas! what omens fill'd her troubled mind!
How oft she cast a lingering look behind!
Whilst, as they glisten'd on her cheek, her tears
A mother's fondness shew'd, a mother's fears!
“Hail, favour'd earth! in faultering strain she cries;
“Hail, favour'd earth! superior to the skies;
“My womb's dear offspring to thy charge I give,
“That favourite offspring, by whose life I live!
“And soon shall high rewards await thy care,
“No rake shall vex thy fields, or sharpen'd share;
“Thy laughing herds shall graze unyok'd from toil,
“And fruits spontaneous flourish o'er thy soil;
“While all who till thy plains, in wonder lost,
“The unusual products of the year shall boast.”
She ceas'd, and strait to Ida's ancient fane
Her dragons bore her through the aërial plain.
Here a tall pine, whose reverential gloom
Rests on the rock-stone of the sacred dome;
While not a breeze disturbs the grove around,
Flings through the singing boughs a shrilly sound.
Within, the furious dance—the mingled cries
Of madness, echo dreadful to the skies:
Dire howls the mountain's deepest haunts assail,
And Gargara's words bend trembling o'er the vale.
As the fierce dragons to the fane advance,
The pipes and timbrels cease, and all the dance.
No more the raving priests their cymbals beat,
And the pleas'd lions fawn at Ceres' feet.
From the mysterious shade Cybelle sped,
And bent, to hail her guest, the turrets of her head.
Now Jove, who every motion had survey'd,
Disclos'd his councils to the Cyprian maid:
“Hear, while I ope my secret cares to thee,
“(So Themis sings, and so the Fates decree)
“And know that Proserpine, with all her charms,
“Blooms yet reserv'd for grimly Pluto's arms.
“Now, (for the crisis calls—since midst the bowers
“Of distant Phrygia, Ceres wastes the hours)
“To Ætna's flowery plains direct thy flight,
“And there, when glow the skies with morning light,
“The thoughtless girl let sweet illusions fire,
“And stir in wanton sports the young desire.
“There, while she wanders o'er her meads of gold,
“In gentle chains the unweeting virgin hold—
“Thou, by whose touch I burn in amorous play,
“And all that live, in love dissolve away!
“Shall not thy power the dreary kingdoms prove?
“Not hell's dread legions shall be cold to love.
“On sad Erinnys all thy ardours breathe,
“Fire every bosom in the realms beneath;
“Through Acheron's deepest darkness speed thy dart,
“And ev'n subdue with beauty, Pluto's heart.”
Where now, with whirling wave, Charybdis roars;
But Nereus “push'd the pillar'd earth aside,”
And gave each rending mountain to the tide.
Torn from her kindred clime, a broken scene,
While struggling dash'd the impetuous surge between,
Trinacria lay; yet, stedfast from the storm,
Rais'd o'er the billows her three-forked form.
There, with his jetting rocks, Pachynum braves,
Unmov'd, the fury of the Ionian waves.
Gætulian Thetis, here, with hideous bray,
O'er Lilybæum darts the foaming spray;
While boundless the Tyrrhenian billows rise,
And shake Pelorum, as outstretch'd it lies.
Full in the midst, with heaven-assailing height,
The rocks of Ætna break upon the sight:
Rocks, that shall never cease, inwrapt with flame,
Her giant wars, and triumphs to proclaim.—
123
Sulphureous torrents from his burning throat!
Full oft the monster, as he lies opprest,
Essays to move the mountain from his breast;
And, while with rebel neck the weight he heaves,
The island trembles to her deepest caves;
Her tower-crown'd cities totter to their fall,
And ruin stares aghast, ingulphing all.
Ætna's huge top, survey'd by distant ken,
Blackens, impervious to the steps of men;
No culture there—in other parts arise
Thick trees, that wave their foliage to the skies.
And now, the green luxuriance fades away;
And clouds of sulphur dim the sickly day:
Lo, bolts terrific blast each trembling star,
And with her entrails Ætna feeds the war.
But, though the fury of the mountain glows,
It lies still cover'd with eternal snows:
There molten rocks, and floods of lava, tost
Within the chilling influence of the frost,
Congeal: there lightnings flash with powerless blaze,
And o'er deep hills of ice the lambent vapour plays.
O say, what engines whirl the rocks around,
And rend the caverns with rebellow'd sound;
Say, from what fount the stream of Vulcan flows,
As down the redd'ning steep its deluge glows?
Perhaps the air, condens'd in Ætna's caves,
Amid their rifted sides, in fury raves;
124
Bursts on the blasted regions of the day:
Or, in the bowels of the mountain pent,
The boiling sea-wave rages for a vent;
Sulphureous brews an elemental war,
And many a flaming fragment hurls in air.
Ceres, while here embower'd her offspring lay,
Bends from this isle to Phrygian realms her way:
Lo! to the tower-crown'd mother of the gods,
Her dragons whirl her through the breaking clouds;
And, as they raise their crimson crests, the reins
Flowing in air, a dewy poison stains:
Green vivid spots their burnish'd backs unfold,
And glow their various scales with flames of gold.
Here swift they move, where loftier zephyrs blow,
There skim with curling flight the plains below.
As glides her chariot o'er the furrow'd land,
Lo, sudden Plenty wakes at her command;
From every track the golden blades arise,
And harvests wave around her, as she flies.
Now dimly seen, decreasing Ætna grew,
And all Trinacria vanish'd from the view.
Alas! what omens fill'd her troubled mind!
How oft she cast a lingering look behind!
Whilst, as they glisten'd on her cheek, her tears
A mother's fondness shew'd, a mother's fears!
“Hail, favour'd earth! in faultering strain she cries;
“Hail, favour'd earth! superior to the skies;
125
“That favourite offspring, by whose life I live!
“And soon shall high rewards await thy care,
“No rake shall vex thy fields, or sharpen'd share;
“Thy laughing herds shall graze unyok'd from toil,
“And fruits spontaneous flourish o'er thy soil;
“While all who till thy plains, in wonder lost,
“The unusual products of the year shall boast.”
She ceas'd, and strait to Ida's ancient fane
Her dragons bore her through the aërial plain.
Here a tall pine, whose reverential gloom
Rests on the rock-stone of the sacred dome;
While not a breeze disturbs the grove around,
Flings through the singing boughs a shrilly sound.
Within, the furious dance—the mingled cries
Of madness, echo dreadful to the skies:
Dire howls the mountain's deepest haunts assail,
And Gargara's words bend trembling o'er the vale.
As the fierce dragons to the fane advance,
The pipes and timbrels cease, and all the dance.
No more the raving priests their cymbals beat,
And the pleas'd lions fawn at Ceres' feet.
From the mysterious shade Cybelle sped,
And bent, to hail her guest, the turrets of her head.
Now Jove, who every motion had survey'd,
Disclos'd his councils to the Cyprian maid:
“Hear, while I ope my secret cares to thee,
“(So Themis sings, and so the Fates decree)
126
“Blooms yet reserv'd for grimly Pluto's arms.
“Now, (for the crisis calls—since midst the bowers
“Of distant Phrygia, Ceres wastes the hours)
“To Ætna's flowery plains direct thy flight,
“And there, when glow the skies with morning light,
“The thoughtless girl let sweet illusions fire,
“And stir in wanton sports the young desire.
“There, while she wanders o'er her meads of gold,
“In gentle chains the unweeting virgin hold—
“Thou, by whose touch I burn in amorous play,
“And all that live, in love dissolve away!
“Shall not thy power the dreary kingdoms prove?
“Not hell's dread legions shall be cold to love.
“On sad Erinnys all thy ardours breathe,
“Fire every bosom in the realms beneath;
“Through Acheron's deepest darkness speed thy dart,
“And ev'n subdue with beauty, Pluto's heart.”
She flies—and with her flew the blue-ey'd maid;
And she, whose arrows fright the howling shade:
And as they travell'd from the æthereal height,
Shone o'er their rapid path a stream of light.
Thus as the comet, charg'd with horror, flies,
In sanguine flame it sweeps the kindling skies;
The seaman views its trail in wild amaze,
And the pale nations tremble at the blaze:
With dire portent it shakes its threat'ning hair,
To fleets announcing storms, to cities war.
Now had they come where Ceres' palace blaz'd
By the strong prowess of the Cyclops rais'd:
There, iron walls the admiring eye survey'd,
There, iron posts and locks of chalybs made.
Ne'er with such glowing toil, a mass so great,
The forming anvil of Pyracmon beat;
Nor Steropes such mighty labour knew,
His light'ning furnace as the bellows blew;
Nor ever, when he snatch'd it from the flame,
Hiss'd the red metal in so vast a stream.
On brazen beams the roofs supported rise,
While amber pillars of transparent dyes
Tinge, as they prop the ivory-ceiled halls,
With rich reflected light their lofty walls.
There Proserpine, with sweetest songs, the dome
Delighting, ply'd the labours of her loom;
But ah, in vain the various woof she wove,
Design'd a tribute of her filial love!
Here, in rich tapestry, the beauteous maid
The series of the Elements display'd.
Lo! through old Chaos parent nature streams
Her light, and foster'd in her genial beams
To its own place each seedling atom flies;
And sudden, as the lighter forms arise,
The heavier bodies to the centre fall,
While powers unknown suspend the illumin'd ball.
Mild æther shines, the polar regions glow,
And with free wave the rising waters flow.
The stars she lights in gold, in purple pours
The sea, and lifts in various gems the shores.
Now the well-imitated billows curl
Around, and in their dashing eddies hurl
(While murmurs seem to creep o'er all the sand)
The sea-weeds high against the rocky strand.
Five zones she adds, and marks with nice design
In red, the fervour of the flaming line;
And o'er its squalid limits as she runs,
She paints them glowing in continual suns.
Then, the full-populated zones she rears,
Where verdure, fann'd by zephyr's breath, appears;
And next, the climes, where winter's dreary host
Break their vast thunders o'er the boundless frost,
Arrest the foaming billow as it rolls,
And with eternal mountains block the poles!
Last as she figur'd Dis, the infernal god,
The gloomy Manes, and their dread abode;
Sudden, as prescient of her fate, appears
Her cheek bedew'd with inauspicious tears!
Now, at the limits of the web, she gave
The glassy folds to ocean's winding wave—
But lo! three female forms—abrupt she leaves
Her labours, and the heavenly guests receives;
While the soft girl disorder'd, blushes warm,
Tinge her fair cheeks, and light up every charm:
Blushes—no ivory's Tyrian hues outvie,
Though Lydian maids infuse the glowing dye.
Beneath the still wave sunk the day. To calm
Each sense, while Sleep diffus'd the oblivious balm;
In her cerulean car pale Night arose
Dew-sprent, and o'er all nature breath'd repose.
And now the infernal monarch, warn'd by Jove,
Prepar'd, in rapture, for the realms above.
Alecto strait, the vengeful fury, speeds
To harness to the car his grimly steeds,
That graze Cocytus' pasture-banks, and roam
Where Erebus extends his waste of gloom;
That drink, where Lethe's drowsy waters gleam,
And froth the sick oblivion of the stream.—
Orphnæus flaming to the affrighted eye,
And Æthon, fleet as arrowy lightnings fly;
High Nycteus, that the stygian herd outshone,
And wing'd Alastor, mark'd for Pluto's own;
These join the dark car, panting for their prey,
Gnash wild applause, and snuff the dawn of day.
And she, whose arrows fright the howling shade:
And as they travell'd from the æthereal height,
Shone o'er their rapid path a stream of light.
Thus as the comet, charg'd with horror, flies,
In sanguine flame it sweeps the kindling skies;
The seaman views its trail in wild amaze,
And the pale nations tremble at the blaze:
127
To fleets announcing storms, to cities war.
Now had they come where Ceres' palace blaz'd
By the strong prowess of the Cyclops rais'd:
There, iron walls the admiring eye survey'd,
There, iron posts and locks of chalybs made.
Ne'er with such glowing toil, a mass so great,
The forming anvil of Pyracmon beat;
Nor Steropes such mighty labour knew,
His light'ning furnace as the bellows blew;
Nor ever, when he snatch'd it from the flame,
Hiss'd the red metal in so vast a stream.
On brazen beams the roofs supported rise,
While amber pillars of transparent dyes
Tinge, as they prop the ivory-ceiled halls,
With rich reflected light their lofty walls.
There Proserpine, with sweetest songs, the dome
Delighting, ply'd the labours of her loom;
But ah, in vain the various woof she wove,
Design'd a tribute of her filial love!
Here, in rich tapestry, the beauteous maid
The series of the Elements display'd.
Lo! through old Chaos parent nature streams
Her light, and foster'd in her genial beams
To its own place each seedling atom flies;
And sudden, as the lighter forms arise,
The heavier bodies to the centre fall,
While powers unknown suspend the illumin'd ball.
128
And with free wave the rising waters flow.
The stars she lights in gold, in purple pours
The sea, and lifts in various gems the shores.
Now the well-imitated billows curl
Around, and in their dashing eddies hurl
(While murmurs seem to creep o'er all the sand)
The sea-weeds high against the rocky strand.
Five zones she adds, and marks with nice design
In red, the fervour of the flaming line;
And o'er its squalid limits as she runs,
She paints them glowing in continual suns.
Then, the full-populated zones she rears,
Where verdure, fann'd by zephyr's breath, appears;
And next, the climes, where winter's dreary host
Break their vast thunders o'er the boundless frost,
Arrest the foaming billow as it rolls,
And with eternal mountains block the poles!
Last as she figur'd Dis, the infernal god,
The gloomy Manes, and their dread abode;
Sudden, as prescient of her fate, appears
Her cheek bedew'd with inauspicious tears!
Now, at the limits of the web, she gave
The glassy folds to ocean's winding wave—
But lo! three female forms—abrupt she leaves
Her labours, and the heavenly guests receives;
While the soft girl disorder'd, blushes warm,
Tinge her fair cheeks, and light up every charm:
129
Though Lydian maids infuse the glowing dye.
Beneath the still wave sunk the day. To calm
Each sense, while Sleep diffus'd the oblivious balm;
In her cerulean car pale Night arose
Dew-sprent, and o'er all nature breath'd repose.
And now the infernal monarch, warn'd by Jove,
Prepar'd, in rapture, for the realms above.
Alecto strait, the vengeful fury, speeds
To harness to the car his grimly steeds,
That graze Cocytus' pasture-banks, and roam
Where Erebus extends his waste of gloom;
That drink, where Lethe's drowsy waters gleam,
And froth the sick oblivion of the stream.—
Orphnæus flaming to the affrighted eye,
And Æthon, fleet as arrowy lightnings fly;
High Nycteus, that the stygian herd outshone,
And wing'd Alastor, mark'd for Pluto's own;
These join the dark car, panting for their prey,
Gnash wild applause, and snuff the dawn of day.
END OF THE FIRST BOOK.
130
BOOK THE SECOND.
Not yet the morn, in broad effulgence bright,
The Ionian waters dash'd with dazzling light:
The calm wave trembles with a rosy ray,
And through blue skies the transient ardors play.
Now, mindless of a tender mother's care,
(So will'd the Destinies) the incautious fair
Seeks the fresh beauties of the roscid lawn,
Alas! by Dionæan treachery drawn!
Thrice on their ominous hinges grate the doors
Harsh thunder; and presaging Ætna roars,
Conscious of fate, as, thrice, in rueful wail,
Its echoes burst terrific on the gale.
And while, companions of her flowery way,
Rov'd her fair guests, to meet the rising day;
Deaf to all signs the prescient powers bestow,
Too vent'rous maid, she wanders into woe.
Replete with wiles the conscious Venus glows,
And plans ideal conquests as she goes;
Sees Dis and Chaos her proud triumphs prove,
And all the world of Manes melt with love.
The Ionian waters dash'd with dazzling light:
The calm wave trembles with a rosy ray,
And through blue skies the transient ardors play.
Now, mindless of a tender mother's care,
(So will'd the Destinies) the incautious fair
Seeks the fresh beauties of the roscid lawn,
Alas! by Dionæan treachery drawn!
Thrice on their ominous hinges grate the doors
Harsh thunder; and presaging Ætna roars,
Conscious of fate, as, thrice, in rueful wail,
Its echoes burst terrific on the gale.
And while, companions of her flowery way,
Rov'd her fair guests, to meet the rising day;
Deaf to all signs the prescient powers bestow,
Too vent'rous maid, she wanders into woe.
Replete with wiles the conscious Venus glows,
And plans ideal conquests as she goes;
131
And all the world of Manes melt with love.
Within Idalian clasps her starry hair
Steals in soft ringlets on the charmed air,
While, Vulcan's gift, a glittering gem upholds
Her beauteous robe, that floats in purple folds.
Next comes the regent of Lycæum's bowers,
And she, whose spear protects the Athenian towers;
The huntress, who with terror strikes the wood,
And she, who dyes the plain with warlike blood.
Steals in soft ringlets on the charmed air,
While, Vulcan's gift, a glittering gem upholds
Her beauteous robe, that floats in purple folds.
Next comes the regent of Lycæum's bowers,
And she, whose spear protects the Athenian towers;
The huntress, who with terror strikes the wood,
And she, who dyes the plain with warlike blood.
'Grav'd on her golden helm Tritonia wears
Typhon's dire form half motionless, who rears,
While ever through the gloom of death he swims,
The living portion of his monster-limbs.
Thick as a grove of arrows seems to rise,
Rang'd in a dreadful circuit to the skies;
Her bright pall trembles o'er the Gorgon's head,
And veils the hissing horrors with its shade.
Typhon's dire form half motionless, who rears,
While ever through the gloom of death he swims,
The living portion of his monster-limbs.
Thick as a grove of arrows seems to rise,
Rang'd in a dreadful circuit to the skies;
Her bright pall trembles o'er the Gorgon's head,
And veils the hissing horrors with its shade.
Not Trivia thus: her brother's ev'ry grace
Lighten'd in milder glories from her face:
With Phoebus' cheeks and sparkling eyes she shone,
Distinguish'd by her softer sex alone.
Her tresses down her silver shoulders flow,
And lightly wanton, as the breezes blow;
With double cincture brac'd (while sleeps unstrung
Her bow, and quiver'd arrows idly hung)
Curls her Gortynian garment to the knee,
Where her own Delos, and the Pontic sea,
Wander in many a variegated fold
Through fleeting shades and lights, enrich'd with gold.
Lighten'd in milder glories from her face:
With Phoebus' cheeks and sparkling eyes she shone,
Distinguish'd by her softer sex alone.
Her tresses down her silver shoulders flow,
And lightly wanton, as the breezes blow;
132
Her bow, and quiver'd arrows idly hung)
Curls her Gortynian garment to the knee,
Where her own Delos, and the Pontic sea,
Wander in many a variegated fold
Through fleeting shades and lights, enrich'd with gold.
Last, Ceres' child, her mother's pride and joy,
(Yet doom'd the parent's triumph to destroy)
Swims with an easy gesture o'er the green;
And (with no less attraction in her mien)
Minerva's self, or Phoebe, might appear,
If arm'd with Pallas' shield, or Phoebe's spear.
Gather'd within a polish'd jasper, float
Her robe's rich figures, beautifully wrought;
And never, at her woof, industrious maid
A happier sample of her art display'd;
Or with soft-shading threads more justly drew
Each glowing figure's imitative hue.
Here, from the seeds of Hyperion born,
Springs infant Sol, to wake the kindling morn.
Here Luna too, fair leader of the night,
With form imperfect, and a paler light.
And lo, while fostering Tethys lulls to rest
The panting infants on her genial breast,
Round her young charge the new-sprung lustre plays,
And her blue bosom feels the roseate rays.
Behold her better arm weak Titan bear,
Uncrested with full beams, her elder care;
Who, as his milder light illumes the skies,
Shrinks from the rising fires with timid cries:
And there, as Luna sucks cerulean streams,
Her little crescent shines with feeble beams.
(Yet doom'd the parent's triumph to destroy)
Swims with an easy gesture o'er the green;
And (with no less attraction in her mien)
Minerva's self, or Phoebe, might appear,
If arm'd with Pallas' shield, or Phoebe's spear.
Gather'd within a polish'd jasper, float
Her robe's rich figures, beautifully wrought;
And never, at her woof, industrious maid
A happier sample of her art display'd;
Or with soft-shading threads more justly drew
Each glowing figure's imitative hue.
Here, from the seeds of Hyperion born,
Springs infant Sol, to wake the kindling morn.
Here Luna too, fair leader of the night,
With form imperfect, and a paler light.
And lo, while fostering Tethys lulls to rest
The panting infants on her genial breast,
Round her young charge the new-sprung lustre plays,
And her blue bosom feels the roseate rays.
133
Uncrested with full beams, her elder care;
Who, as his milder light illumes the skies,
Shrinks from the rising fires with timid cries:
And there, as Luna sucks cerulean streams,
Her little crescent shines with feeble beams.
Such dress o'er Proserpine luxuriant flows,
While circled by the Naïds' choir she goes;
And by the Nymphs, who celebrate in song
Crimnisus, as they rove his founts among;
Or Gelas, that its name a city gave,
Or whirling the rough rock, Pantagia's wave:
Nymphs, whom slow Camarina oft had seen
With joy disporting on its margent green;
Or Arethusa's, or Alpheus' banks,
While Cyane o'ertops the radiant ranks.
Thus joy the embattled Amazons, that raise
Wild shoutings, where their half-moon'd targets blaze,
Oft as their Sovereign leads victorious forth
Her fair battalions from the wasted North;
Whether their axe the frozen Tanais broke,
Or the strong Getæ bow'd beneath their yoke.
Thus, too, the Nymphs his rites to Bacchus pay,
As o'er their Hæmus' golden sands they stray:
The river triumphs, in his sparkling cave,
And bends his urn, profusive of the wave.
While circled by the Naïds' choir she goes;
And by the Nymphs, who celebrate in song
Crimnisus, as they rove his founts among;
Or Gelas, that its name a city gave,
Or whirling the rough rock, Pantagia's wave:
Nymphs, whom slow Camarina oft had seen
With joy disporting on its margent green;
Or Arethusa's, or Alpheus' banks,
While Cyane o'ertops the radiant ranks.
Thus joy the embattled Amazons, that raise
Wild shoutings, where their half-moon'd targets blaze,
Oft as their Sovereign leads victorious forth
Her fair battalions from the wasted North;
Whether their axe the frozen Tanais broke,
Or the strong Getæ bow'd beneath their yoke.
Thus, too, the Nymphs his rites to Bacchus pay,
As o'er their Hæmus' golden sands they stray:
The river triumphs, in his sparkling cave,
And bends his urn, profusive of the wave.
134
From her fair hill, o'erspread with living green,
Her heavenly visitants had Henna seen—
Parent of flowers—when thus her accents flow,
Addrest to Zephyr in the vale below:
Her heavenly visitants had Henna seen—
Parent of flowers—when thus her accents flow,
Addrest to Zephyr in the vale below:
“O thou, the grateful father of the spring,
“By whom these vallies bloom, whose wanton wing
“Fans each soft season with a dewy gale;
“See where yon' forms with portly grandeur sail—
“Majestic Nymphs, descended from above—
“See o'er my plains disport the race of Jove.
“Fly; let each shrub in genial breezes glow,
“And brightening flowers breathe incense as they blow.
“Rob'd in inferior blooms, inferior shade,
“Pale at my glories, ev'n let Hybla fade.
“Whate'er Panchaia's happy groves dispense,
“To thrill with fragrance the delighted sense;
“Whatever perfumes are diffus'd around,
“Where through deep woods Hydaspes' streams resound;
“Whatever sweets, to build the spicy nest,
“Brought from the farthest regions of the East,
“(While for new life in flames the Phœnix dies)
“Shed their selectest influence to the skies—
“All to this spot on ready pinions bear,
“Scatter those odours through circumfluous air;
“To form the wreath, that ev'n cœlestial powers
“May wander here, and pluck the balmiest flowers.”
“By whom these vallies bloom, whose wanton wing
“Fans each soft season with a dewy gale;
“See where yon' forms with portly grandeur sail—
“Majestic Nymphs, descended from above—
“See o'er my plains disport the race of Jove.
“Fly; let each shrub in genial breezes glow,
“And brightening flowers breathe incense as they blow.
“Rob'd in inferior blooms, inferior shade,
“Pale at my glories, ev'n let Hybla fade.
“Whate'er Panchaia's happy groves dispense,
“To thrill with fragrance the delighted sense;
“Whatever perfumes are diffus'd around,
“Where through deep woods Hydaspes' streams resound;
“Whatever sweets, to build the spicy nest,
“Brought from the farthest regions of the East,
“(While for new life in flames the Phœnix dies)
“Shed their selectest influence to the skies—
“All to this spot on ready pinions bear,
“Scatter those odours through circumfluous air;
“To form the wreath, that ev'n cœlestial powers
“May wander here, and pluck the balmiest flowers.”
135
She ceas'd—and Zephyr o'er the blooms of spring
Shook the rich nectar from his streaming wing:
Where'er he flutter'd, 'midst the glistening dew,
On all the ground a vernal brightness flew;
Swell'd with rich verdure the luxuriant soil,
And with a wider arch the heavens serenely smile.
The rose's blush, the berry's ebon hue,
And violet painted with a deeper blue,
Rise sweetly blent! though gems emit the blaze,
Can Parthian girdles glance more varied rays?
Can fleeces with Assyrian colours gay,
The richness of superior tints display?
Not thus her pictur'd plumes the peacock spreads;
Not thus the rainbow's braided lustre sheds
The mingling dyes, where clouds of winter lour,
And its green drops hang glittering in the shower.
Yet could the lawn with lovelier charms delight,
Whose swelling hillocks stole upon the sight.
There fountains from the living pumice flow,
And softly murmur through the grass below.
There a dark wood, that cools the noontide ray,
Guards its own winter from the darts of day:
The corneil form'd for battle—for the sea
The stately fir—the oak, Jove's favourite tree—
The verdurous ilex, whose rich honeycombs
Drop nectar, and the cypress of the tombs,
There with the prescient laurel blend their glooms.
There thick box fluctuates—wanton ivy twines—
And round the tall elm flaunt the clasping vines.
Near, through dim shades with trembling surface gleams
A lake (which Pergus the Sicilian names)
Each eye, that wanders o'er the wide serene,
Views all the secrets of the watery scene;
And to its deep recess, illum'd by light,
Through the clear mirror darts the unstraining sight.
Here, through the beauties of the garden, rove
The Female Chorus—here the Queen of Love.
Shook the rich nectar from his streaming wing:
Where'er he flutter'd, 'midst the glistening dew,
On all the ground a vernal brightness flew;
Swell'd with rich verdure the luxuriant soil,
And with a wider arch the heavens serenely smile.
The rose's blush, the berry's ebon hue,
And violet painted with a deeper blue,
Rise sweetly blent! though gems emit the blaze,
Can Parthian girdles glance more varied rays?
Can fleeces with Assyrian colours gay,
The richness of superior tints display?
Not thus her pictur'd plumes the peacock spreads;
Not thus the rainbow's braided lustre sheds
The mingling dyes, where clouds of winter lour,
And its green drops hang glittering in the shower.
Yet could the lawn with lovelier charms delight,
Whose swelling hillocks stole upon the sight.
There fountains from the living pumice flow,
And softly murmur through the grass below.
There a dark wood, that cools the noontide ray,
Guards its own winter from the darts of day:
The corneil form'd for battle—for the sea
The stately fir—the oak, Jove's favourite tree—
The verdurous ilex, whose rich honeycombs
Drop nectar, and the cypress of the tombs,
There with the prescient laurel blend their glooms.
136
And round the tall elm flaunt the clasping vines.
Near, through dim shades with trembling surface gleams
A lake (which Pergus the Sicilian names)
Each eye, that wanders o'er the wide serene,
Views all the secrets of the watery scene;
And to its deep recess, illum'd by light,
Through the clear mirror darts the unstraining sight.
Here, through the beauties of the garden, rove
The Female Chorus—here the Queen of Love.
“These sweets,” she cries, “come, sisters, come away,
“Gather, amidst the kindling smiles of day;
“While morning suns their gentler heat diffuse,
“And these purpureal plains my Lucifer bedews.”
“Gather, amidst the kindling smiles of day;
“While morning suns their gentler heat diffuse,
“And these purpureal plains my Lucifer bedews.”
Ceasing, she culls the signs of woe—and stoop,
To spoil the various lawn, the sister-groupe.
Thus, when their kings the waxen camp remove
Amid the bloom of Hybla's thymy grove,
From hollow beeches buzzing armies pour,
And rifle the green herb—the tinted flower.
Each nymph with various taste the wreath designs,
Lo! this the lily with the violet joins:
See, fancy-led, they pluck the flower-blooms bright,
This starr'd with roses, that with privets white;
And this the amaracus' soft leaves adorn:
Thee too, pale Hyacinth, whose flower hath borne
Long thy mark'd woe—and thee, Narcissus fair,
The æthereal visitants are proud to wear—
Once peerless youths—(but youthful beauty dies)
Now flowers, the fairest of the spring, ye rise.
Youth of Amyclæ! 'midst thy frolic play,
Thee, envious Zephyr, hurried from the day!
And thou, Pierian boy, wert doom'd to fade
O'er thy lov'd stream, in pining anguish laid—
As Phoebus' bosom for his favourite bleeds,
Thee, thee Cephissus mourns with broken reeds!
To spoil the various lawn, the sister-groupe.
Thus, when their kings the waxen camp remove
Amid the bloom of Hybla's thymy grove,
From hollow beeches buzzing armies pour,
And rifle the green herb—the tinted flower.
Each nymph with various taste the wreath designs,
Lo! this the lily with the violet joins:
See, fancy-led, they pluck the flower-blooms bright,
This starr'd with roses, that with privets white;
137
Thee too, pale Hyacinth, whose flower hath borne
Long thy mark'd woe—and thee, Narcissus fair,
The æthereal visitants are proud to wear—
Once peerless youths—(but youthful beauty dies)
Now flowers, the fairest of the spring, ye rise.
Youth of Amyclæ! 'midst thy frolic play,
Thee, envious Zephyr, hurried from the day!
And thou, Pierian boy, wert doom'd to fade
O'er thy lov'd stream, in pining anguish laid—
As Phoebus' bosom for his favourite bleeds,
Thee, thee Cephissus mourns with broken reeds!
But she, whose parent gives the golden grain,
Culls, thoughtless maid, the treasures of the plain
With keener joy. Her osier-basket smiles,
Fill'd with the simple store of rural spoils.
Now flowers she twines—and crowns with wreaths her head;
Ah, luckless omen of the nuptial bed!
Ignorance her bliss! and lo! the Maid of War,
Whose trump's deep blast and armour sounds afar;
Whose hands the city-gates and walls o'erthrow,
And dash destruction on the flying foe—
Now, as by light pursuits amus'd she strays,
Softens with twisted flowers her helmet's blaze.
Fresh-braided with unwonted verdure gleams
The crest, where horror flash'd effulgent beams;
And she, whose deep-flew'd hounds with music fill,
Led by strong scent, Parthenian vale or hill—
Lingers at ease, while now inwreath'd her hair
Flows less licentious to the breezing air.
Culls, thoughtless maid, the treasures of the plain
With keener joy. Her osier-basket smiles,
Fill'd with the simple store of rural spoils.
Now flowers she twines—and crowns with wreaths her head;
Ah, luckless omen of the nuptial bed!
Ignorance her bliss! and lo! the Maid of War,
Whose trump's deep blast and armour sounds afar;
Whose hands the city-gates and walls o'erthrow,
And dash destruction on the flying foe—
Now, as by light pursuits amus'd she strays,
Softens with twisted flowers her helmet's blaze.
Fresh-braided with unwonted verdure gleams
The crest, where horror flash'd effulgent beams;
138
Led by strong scent, Parthenian vale or hill—
Lingers at ease, while now inwreath'd her hair
Flows less licentious to the breezing air.
Thus, while they rov'd in careless sport, a sound
Sudden creeps muttering on, and trembling rocks the ground:
On darken'd towns the o'erwhelming ruin lours,
And in a thousand fragments rush the towers.
Venus alone, appriz'd of Jove's decrees,
With mingled joy and fear the conflict sees.
Sudden creeps muttering on, and trembling rocks the ground:
On darken'd towns the o'erwhelming ruin lours,
And in a thousand fragments rush the towers.
Venus alone, appriz'd of Jove's decrees,
With mingled joy and fear the conflict sees.
The shadowy king, now panting for the day,
Press'd on thro' gloomy chasms, where groaning lay
Enceladus; and urg'd each furious horse
O'er the huge members of the living corse.
The gasping giant, as the weight he feels,
Wriths his weak serpents round the flaming wheels,
Labours to move him from his dark abode—
How vain! and shakes Sicania with the god.
Fervent the rapid axles spurn controul,
And cleave his back sulphureous as they roll.
Ev'n as the soldier works with bold essay,
To oppress the unweeting foe, his secret way,
Deep penetrates beneath the cavern'd plain
And walls that rear their parapets in vain—
'Till sudden the resistless fury pours,
Breaks o'er the fort, and wins the unguarded towers:
Thus Pluto, journeying to the realms of light,
Trac'd many a maze, and pierc'd the pitchy night.
Behold the frowning rocks around oppose,
And in a dread embrace the god inclose.
But Dis indignant hurls his sceptre wide,
And at the stroke the obedient rocks divide.
Strait the Sicilian caverns groan'd around,
And Lipare trembled at the thundering sound:
Vulcan (his furnace left) astonish'd lay;
The Cyclops threw appall'd his bolts away.
And he, O Tyber, heard the unwonted roar,
Who swam thy streams that yet no trophies bore;
And he, who bent his way through Alpine snow,
Or row'd his bark of alder down the Po.
Press'd on thro' gloomy chasms, where groaning lay
Enceladus; and urg'd each furious horse
O'er the huge members of the living corse.
The gasping giant, as the weight he feels,
Wriths his weak serpents round the flaming wheels,
Labours to move him from his dark abode—
How vain! and shakes Sicania with the god.
Fervent the rapid axles spurn controul,
And cleave his back sulphureous as they roll.
Ev'n as the soldier works with bold essay,
To oppress the unweeting foe, his secret way,
Deep penetrates beneath the cavern'd plain
And walls that rear their parapets in vain—
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Breaks o'er the fort, and wins the unguarded towers:
Thus Pluto, journeying to the realms of light,
Trac'd many a maze, and pierc'd the pitchy night.
Behold the frowning rocks around oppose,
And in a dread embrace the god inclose.
But Dis indignant hurls his sceptre wide,
And at the stroke the obedient rocks divide.
Strait the Sicilian caverns groan'd around,
And Lipare trembled at the thundering sound:
Vulcan (his furnace left) astonish'd lay;
The Cyclops threw appall'd his bolts away.
And he, O Tyber, heard the unwonted roar,
Who swam thy streams that yet no trophies bore;
And he, who bent his way through Alpine snow,
Or row'd his bark of alder down the Po.
Thus, when o'er Thessaly Peneus' flood,
Inclos'd by rocks, a stagnant water stood,
And yet uncultur'd lay the delug'd plain,
Neptune his trident at the mountain-chain
In fury flung—and, shiver'd by the stroke,
Asunder from Olympus, Ossa broke:
The loosen'd waves retire, while brighter blooms
Each spot of renovated earth resumes.
Inclos'd by rocks, a stagnant water stood,
And yet uncultur'd lay the delug'd plain,
Neptune his trident at the mountain-chain
In fury flung—and, shiver'd by the stroke,
Asunder from Olympus, Ossa broke:
The loosen'd waves retire, while brighter blooms
Each spot of renovated earth resumes.
Soon as Trinacria's rocks the god obey'd,
And wide their entrails to the heaven display'd;
Sunk the dim stars, and marks of wild surprize
Appear'd o'er all the concave of the skies.
Ev'n Arctos hasten'd to the foaming spray,
And slow Böotes sped his hurried way.
Orion shook—and Atlas' spirit fell
Pale at the neighing of the steeds of hell—
Steeds, whose thick breath obscur'd the venom'd air,
That, bred in glooms, shrunk backward from the glare
Of day, and strove their dashing car to roll
Through Chaos, dazzled by a brighter pole.
But when they felt the lash, and learnt to bear
The fervour of the sun-illumin'd air,
Wild as the winter's torrent stream they flew;
Swift as the fleetest dart that Parthian threw,
Impetuous as the rushing of the wind,
Quick as keen thought that glances o'er the mind.
Their reins drop blood, and tinge the sands beneath,
And through mid air a dread contagion breathe.
And wide their entrails to the heaven display'd;
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Appear'd o'er all the concave of the skies.
Ev'n Arctos hasten'd to the foaming spray,
And slow Böotes sped his hurried way.
Orion shook—and Atlas' spirit fell
Pale at the neighing of the steeds of hell—
Steeds, whose thick breath obscur'd the venom'd air,
That, bred in glooms, shrunk backward from the glare
Of day, and strove their dashing car to roll
Through Chaos, dazzled by a brighter pole.
But when they felt the lash, and learnt to bear
The fervour of the sun-illumin'd air,
Wild as the winter's torrent stream they flew;
Swift as the fleetest dart that Parthian threw,
Impetuous as the rushing of the wind,
Quick as keen thought that glances o'er the mind.
Their reins drop blood, and tinge the sands beneath,
And through mid air a dread contagion breathe.
The nymphs affrighted fly—while Ætna's Fair,
Snatch'd in that fatal moment to the car,
Pours to the gods her supplicating tears;
And Pallas strait her Gorgon terrors rears,
And chaste Diana hastens undismay'd,
Both fir'd with virgin feelings, to her aid;
Both rushing to prevent so dire a rape,
And bar the infernal ravisher's escape!
He, as the lion wild with rage, appear'd,
That bears a trembling heifer from the herd,
Her fair breast mangles with infuriate claws,
And each hot reeking limb asunder draws—
Clotted with blood he shakes his grisly mane,
And scorns the feeble efforts of the swain.
Snatch'd in that fatal moment to the car,
Pours to the gods her supplicating tears;
And Pallas strait her Gorgon terrors rears,
And chaste Diana hastens undismay'd,
Both fir'd with virgin feelings, to her aid;
Both rushing to prevent so dire a rape,
And bar the infernal ravisher's escape!
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That bears a trembling heifer from the herd,
Her fair breast mangles with infuriate claws,
And each hot reeking limb asunder draws—
Clotted with blood he shakes his grisly mane,
And scorns the feeble efforts of the swain.
“Thou monster-brother (Pallas to the god
“Exclaims indignant) from thy drear abode—
“Thy world, where ever drowsy darkness lies,
“What furies lash'd thee to these purer skies?
“Who bade thee from Tartarian regions roll,
“And with thy gloomy chariot taint the pole?
“Thine be the nymphs of hell—the Diræ wed—
“Or take the Fury Sisters to thy bed!
“Hence, and enjoy the darkness of thy night;
“Fly, fly the regions of æthereal light—
“The dead, the living in confusion hurl'd—
“Break not the harmony that binds the world.”
“Exclaims indignant) from thy drear abode—
“Thy world, where ever drowsy darkness lies,
“What furies lash'd thee to these purer skies?
“Who bade thee from Tartarian regions roll,
“And with thy gloomy chariot taint the pole?
“Thine be the nymphs of hell—the Diræ wed—
“Or take the Fury Sisters to thy bed!
“Hence, and enjoy the darkness of thy night;
“Fly, fly the regions of æthereal light—
“The dead, the living in confusion hurl'd—
“Break not the harmony that binds the world.”
She spoke, and hurried as they paw'd the plain,
On the grim coursers dash'd her shield amain;
And, while her gorgon Hydras hiss'd, display'd
Her crest, and whelm'd them in a dreadful shade.
And strait Latonia's arrow, pois'd in air,
Illumining the blackness of the car,
For vengeance burns; when Jove his thunder flings,
And speeds the reddening bolt's pacific wings:
From clouds fair-opening Hymen shouts for joy,
Waves the connubial torch, and sanctifies the tye.
The heavenly powers retire; and, check'd with sighs
Her bow, thus mournfully, Latonia cries:
On the grim coursers dash'd her shield amain;
And, while her gorgon Hydras hiss'd, display'd
Her crest, and whelm'd them in a dreadful shade.
And strait Latonia's arrow, pois'd in air,
Illumining the blackness of the car,
For vengeance burns; when Jove his thunder flings,
And speeds the reddening bolt's pacific wings:
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Waves the connubial torch, and sanctifies the tye.
The heavenly powers retire; and, check'd with sighs
Her bow, thus mournfully, Latonia cries:
“Think on these sighs; and farewell, hapless maid!
“A sire opposes, and we dare not aid—
“While Jove consigns thee to the silent gloom,
“Vain were each effort to avert thy doom.
“Snatch'd from these eyes (thy tribe for ever left—
“And all the social plain of joy bereft)
“Destin'd to rove with flitting forms below,
“What stars could work thee such unwonted woe!
“No more be mine, when scented morning dawns,
“With shafts to traverse the Parthenian lawns:
“Secure amidst his wilds the boar shall foam,
“And with full range the lorldly lion roam;
“Taygeta's mountains shall be wrapt in woe,
“Nor soon o'er Mænala the chace shall glow.
“For thee shall all the groves of Cynthus sigh,
“Groves, where re-echoed erst the hunter's cry;
“And, while a lover mourns thy loss in vain,
“Silence shall hover o'er the Delphic fane.”
“A sire opposes, and we dare not aid—
“While Jove consigns thee to the silent gloom,
“Vain were each effort to avert thy doom.
“Snatch'd from these eyes (thy tribe for ever left—
“And all the social plain of joy bereft)
“Destin'd to rove with flitting forms below,
“What stars could work thee such unwonted woe!
“No more be mine, when scented morning dawns,
“With shafts to traverse the Parthenian lawns:
“Secure amidst his wilds the boar shall foam,
“And with full range the lorldly lion roam;
“Taygeta's mountains shall be wrapt in woe,
“Nor soon o'er Mænala the chace shall glow.
“For thee shall all the groves of Cynthus sigh,
“Groves, where re-echoed erst the hunter's cry;
“And, while a lover mourns thy loss in vain,
“Silence shall hover o'er the Delphic fane.”
Meanwhile, whirl'd swift along, the frantic fair,
Beat her tumultuous bosom in despair;
And pour'd in broken notes her rueful wail,
While stream'd her bursting tresses on the gale:
Beat her tumultuous bosom in despair;
And pour'd in broken notes her rueful wail,
While stream'd her bursting tresses on the gale:
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“Oh! strike me with thy blasts of lightning dead,
“Thus give my spirit to Avernus' shade—
“If ev'n a father's pity will not spare,
“O let me glide a bloodless spectre there!
“Ah! by what actions have I mov'd thy heart,
“Thus for a sire's to act a tyrant's part?
“I never warr'd against their bright abodes,
“When Phlegra's rebel hosts assail'd the gods!
“I never cherish'd the vain hope, to rise,
“By Pelion pil'd on Ossa, to the skies!
“Behold, unconscious of a crime, I go
“A living exile to the shades below.
“Happy the ravish'd fair-ones, who enjoy
“At least the common sun, the common sky!
“But I, to view these vernal skies no more,
“Yield, a lorn captive, to the tyrant's power;
“Snatch'd from the world, my fondest wishes crost,
“And with the day my virgin honours lost!
“Why, spite of all a mother could advise,
“(How Fate beneath a smile in ambush lies)
“Rov'd o'er luxuriant lawns my heedless feet
“Where Venus led, so languishingly sweet?
“O Ceres, hear a daughter's cries, that flow
“In all the energy of wildest woe—
“Whether the timbrel's note, that palls with fear
“In Ida's vale, comes bursting on thine ear;
“Or whether Dindyma (whose howling wood
“The frenzied Galli sprinkle with their blood)
“Thou lov'st—or, with their drawn swords maddening by,
“Whether the fierce Curetes catch thine eye;
“Haste, haste—ev'n now the day's last gleams are fled—
“He hurries to the regions of the dead!”
“Thus give my spirit to Avernus' shade—
“If ev'n a father's pity will not spare,
“O let me glide a bloodless spectre there!
“Ah! by what actions have I mov'd thy heart,
“Thus for a sire's to act a tyrant's part?
“I never warr'd against their bright abodes,
“When Phlegra's rebel hosts assail'd the gods!
“I never cherish'd the vain hope, to rise,
“By Pelion pil'd on Ossa, to the skies!
“Behold, unconscious of a crime, I go
“A living exile to the shades below.
“Happy the ravish'd fair-ones, who enjoy
“At least the common sun, the common sky!
“But I, to view these vernal skies no more,
“Yield, a lorn captive, to the tyrant's power;
“Snatch'd from the world, my fondest wishes crost,
“And with the day my virgin honours lost!
“Why, spite of all a mother could advise,
“(How Fate beneath a smile in ambush lies)
“Rov'd o'er luxuriant lawns my heedless feet
“Where Venus led, so languishingly sweet?
“O Ceres, hear a daughter's cries, that flow
“In all the energy of wildest woe—
“Whether the timbrel's note, that palls with fear
“In Ida's vale, comes bursting on thine ear;
“Or whether Dindyma (whose howling wood
“The frenzied Galli sprinkle with their blood)
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“Whether the fierce Curetes catch thine eye;
“Haste, haste—ev'n now the day's last gleams are fled—
“He hurries to the regions of the dead!”
Charm'd by the beauteous tears of virgin woe,
Pluto's grim heart with love began to glow;
He wip'd the drops that trickled from her eye,
And thus address'd her with a soothing sigh:
Pluto's grim heart with love began to glow;
He wip'd the drops that trickled from her eye,
And thus address'd her with a soothing sigh:
“Cease, gentle maid, to cherish airy fears,
“Nor waste the softness of thy soul in tears:
“What are Sicilia's courts compar'd with mine!
“To wield a nobler sceptre shall be thine!
“No cruel bridegroom shall thy beauties prove,
“No spouse unworthy of the rites of love!
“Lo! I am Saturn's son—my boundless sway
“Ev'n the vast void and all the worlds obey.
“Fear not the loss of light: For stars shall rise,
“Brighter than ever deck supernal skies!
“Where heavens more blue their glowing arch display,
“Elysian suns shall beam with purer ray!
“There chaste adorers at the shrine appear,
“There bloom the glories of the eternal year!
“The Golden Age (full soon from earth it flew)
“Still loves to flourish there, for ever new!
“There through soft meads immortal zephyrs play,
“Sigh o'er each flower, and bear its sweets away.
“Not with such tints whose freshness never dies,
“Could thy own Enna please thy partial eyes.
“There a tall tree, the monarch of the glade,
“From its rich branches darts a light and shade;
“And ever shall the bending boughs unfold
“For thee their fruit of vegetable gold.
“Go, trifling themes! whatever lives in air,
“Or stagnant lakes and rolling rivers bear;
“Whatever moves on earth, or skims the sea,
“Shall own thy power, and yield at last to thee!
“E'en kings shall lay their purple vestments down,
“Kneel at thy feet, and tremble at thy frown!”
“‘The rich—the poor—the monarch and the slave,
“‘Know no superior honours in the grave.’
“Fled from thy judgments, self-accus'd and pale,
“In the dark region shall the guilty wail;
“And at the sweetness of thy plauding voice,
“In realms of living joy the just rejoice!
“To Lethe's lakes shall gliding ghosts repair,
“And at thy summons quaff oblivion there;
“Thy nod the willing destinies await;
“And all the wishes thou can'st form, be fate!”
“Nor waste the softness of thy soul in tears:
“What are Sicilia's courts compar'd with mine!
“To wield a nobler sceptre shall be thine!
“No cruel bridegroom shall thy beauties prove,
“No spouse unworthy of the rites of love!
“Lo! I am Saturn's son—my boundless sway
“Ev'n the vast void and all the worlds obey.
“Fear not the loss of light: For stars shall rise,
“Brighter than ever deck supernal skies!
“Where heavens more blue their glowing arch display,
“Elysian suns shall beam with purer ray!
“There chaste adorers at the shrine appear,
“There bloom the glories of the eternal year!
“The Golden Age (full soon from earth it flew)
“Still loves to flourish there, for ever new!
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“Sigh o'er each flower, and bear its sweets away.
“Not with such tints whose freshness never dies,
“Could thy own Enna please thy partial eyes.
“There a tall tree, the monarch of the glade,
“From its rich branches darts a light and shade;
“And ever shall the bending boughs unfold
“For thee their fruit of vegetable gold.
“Go, trifling themes! whatever lives in air,
“Or stagnant lakes and rolling rivers bear;
“Whatever moves on earth, or skims the sea,
“Shall own thy power, and yield at last to thee!
“E'en kings shall lay their purple vestments down,
“Kneel at thy feet, and tremble at thy frown!”
“‘The rich—the poor—the monarch and the slave,
“‘Know no superior honours in the grave.’
“Fled from thy judgments, self-accus'd and pale,
“In the dark region shall the guilty wail;
“And at the sweetness of thy plauding voice,
“In realms of living joy the just rejoice!
“To Lethe's lakes shall gliding ghosts repair,
“And at thy summons quaff oblivion there;
“Thy nod the willing destinies await;
“And all the wishes thou can'st form, be fate!”
This said—enamour'd of the sighing maid,
He press'd his steeds, and plung'd into the shade.
Sudden light images around them rove,
As leaves come fluttering from the blasted grove;
Thick as the billows break, or sands arise;
Thick as the showers that fall from wint'ry skies.
Swift, to survey the beauties of the bride,
In crowds the Shadows of all ages glide.
Attendants, chosen from the crowd, prepare
To roll beneath its shed the lofty car;
And bid the steeds, now loosen'd from the reins,
Graze the dark pasture of Cocytus' plains.
Some at the canopy their care divide,
Or hang with verd'rous boughs the portals wide;
Or lift the richest tap'stries of the loom
To grace with graphic forms the bridal room.
And, as such triumphs crown the Lover's toils,
Softens his grimly face, relax'd in smiles.
Huge Phlegethon from waves of torrent flame
Arose, while down his features flash'd the stream.
He press'd his steeds, and plung'd into the shade.
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As leaves come fluttering from the blasted grove;
Thick as the billows break, or sands arise;
Thick as the showers that fall from wint'ry skies.
Swift, to survey the beauties of the bride,
In crowds the Shadows of all ages glide.
Attendants, chosen from the crowd, prepare
To roll beneath its shed the lofty car;
And bid the steeds, now loosen'd from the reins,
Graze the dark pasture of Cocytus' plains.
Some at the canopy their care divide,
Or hang with verd'rous boughs the portals wide;
Or lift the richest tap'stries of the loom
To grace with graphic forms the bridal room.
And, as such triumphs crown the Lover's toils,
Softens his grimly face, relax'd in smiles.
Huge Phlegethon from waves of torrent flame
Arose, while down his features flash'd the stream.
A train came next, to soothe the mourning queen—
’Meek were their looks, and modest was their mien:’
From the fair gardens of Elysian day,
They charm with cheerful talk her woes away;
And bind her scatter'd tresses; and conceal
Her mantling blushes in a golden veil.
’Meek were their looks, and modest was their mien:’
From the fair gardens of Elysian day,
They charm with cheerful talk her woes away;
And bind her scatter'd tresses; and conceal
Her mantling blushes in a golden veil.
Bursting in wild and animated notes,
Through the dead gloom unusual music floats:
Lo, the pale regions triumph at the sound,
And all the buried nations dance around!
The Manes, grac'd with wreaths, protract the feast,
And fill'd with genial cheer, the Shadows rest.
Hell stills her groans, and rarifies her breath
That charg'd the eternal night with blasts of death:
Minos suspends the terrors of his urn:
Echoes no scourge, no dying sorrows mourn!
The gloom no tortur'd ghosts with horror fill,
And writh'd Ixion rests upon his wheel!
See Tantalus, the stream with rapture caught,
Allays the thirsty fever of his throat;
And Tityus lifts his monster-limbs away
From the nine acres, where outstretch'd he lay;
While the fierce vulture feels her power represt
To scoop the living banquet of his breast;
And, where no renovated fibres rise,
To catch the bloody morsel, vainly tries.
Through the dead gloom unusual music floats:
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And all the buried nations dance around!
The Manes, grac'd with wreaths, protract the feast,
And fill'd with genial cheer, the Shadows rest.
Hell stills her groans, and rarifies her breath
That charg'd the eternal night with blasts of death:
Minos suspends the terrors of his urn:
Echoes no scourge, no dying sorrows mourn!
The gloom no tortur'd ghosts with horror fill,
And writh'd Ixion rests upon his wheel!
See Tantalus, the stream with rapture caught,
Allays the thirsty fever of his throat;
And Tityus lifts his monster-limbs away
From the nine acres, where outstretch'd he lay;
While the fierce vulture feels her power represt
To scoop the living banquet of his breast;
And, where no renovated fibres rise,
To catch the bloody morsel, vainly tries.
Convivial revels e'en the Furies hold;
(Their listening snakes relax each placid fold)
No more their flashing eyes in madness roll,
But sparkle with the spirit of the bowl!
From those fell lips, that pour'd the threats of woe,
The melodies of melting music flow!
And, while no sanguine torch betrays the gloom,
Lights of pure flame the canopies illume!
No baleful vapours from Avernus rise,
Where the fleet bird on easy pinion flies:
The floods, that fence his sable jaws around,
No more, to fright the ear of horror, sound.
Where roar'd rough Acheron, see a milky wave
Sudden his banks in gentle murmurs lave;
And flaunting o'er his purpling lake of wine,
See verdant ivy round Cocytus twine!
Each faultering thread of life the Fates renew;
No sacred chorus mourns the broken clue!
With sighs no parents, o'er the breathing urn,
Pay the last honours to the shade they mourn:
No black procession breaks the city's ease;
No battles rage; no tempests sweep the seas.
With reeds old Charon veil'd his tresses frore,
Singing in concert with each dashing oar.
Now Hesper, mildly rising through the shade,
Illum'd the chambers of the fluttering maid:
There Night with starry bosom stood confest,
Sanction'd the genial bed, the auspicious omens blest.
And while the good with generous triumph glow'd,
Thus through the hall the plausive numbers flow'd:
“Hail, Juno!—and thou, Brother, hail, and Son
“Of him, who thunders from the æthereal throne!
“Sleep, happy Lovers! may a vigorous race
“Rise from the transports of the warm embrace!
“Lo, Ceres smiles upon these charm'd abodes,
“As joyful Nature waits for future gods.
“Sleep, happy pair!—in fond embraces curl'd,
“Create new deities to bless the world.”
(Their listening snakes relax each placid fold)
No more their flashing eyes in madness roll,
But sparkle with the spirit of the bowl!
From those fell lips, that pour'd the threats of woe,
The melodies of melting music flow!
And, while no sanguine torch betrays the gloom,
Lights of pure flame the canopies illume!
No baleful vapours from Avernus rise,
Where the fleet bird on easy pinion flies:
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No more, to fright the ear of horror, sound.
Where roar'd rough Acheron, see a milky wave
Sudden his banks in gentle murmurs lave;
And flaunting o'er his purpling lake of wine,
See verdant ivy round Cocytus twine!
Each faultering thread of life the Fates renew;
No sacred chorus mourns the broken clue!
With sighs no parents, o'er the breathing urn,
Pay the last honours to the shade they mourn:
No black procession breaks the city's ease;
No battles rage; no tempests sweep the seas.
With reeds old Charon veil'd his tresses frore,
Singing in concert with each dashing oar.
Now Hesper, mildly rising through the shade,
Illum'd the chambers of the fluttering maid:
There Night with starry bosom stood confest,
Sanction'd the genial bed, the auspicious omens blest.
And while the good with generous triumph glow'd,
Thus through the hall the plausive numbers flow'd:
“Hail, Juno!—and thou, Brother, hail, and Son
“Of him, who thunders from the æthereal throne!
“Sleep, happy Lovers! may a vigorous race
“Rise from the transports of the warm embrace!
“Lo, Ceres smiles upon these charm'd abodes,
“As joyful Nature waits for future gods.
“Sleep, happy pair!—in fond embraces curl'd,
“Create new deities to bless the world.”
P.
| Poems (1806) | |