The Hymns of Callimachus, Translated from the Greek into English Verse, With Explanatory Notes To which are added, Select Epigrams, and the Coma Berenices of the same Author, Six Hymns of Orpheus, and The Encomium of Ptolemy by Theocritus. By William Dodd |
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 | SELECT EPIGRAMS AND THE COMA BERENICES OF CALLIMACHUS.
THE Encomium of Ptolemy by Theocritus,
AND Six HYMNS of Orpheus TO JUPITER, JUNO, APOLLO, DIANA, PALLAS, CERES. |
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 | The Hymns of Callimachus, Translated from the Greek into English Verse, With Explanatory Notes |  |
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SELECT EPIGRAMS AND THE COMA BERENICES OF CALLIMACHUS. THE Encomium of Ptolemy by Theocritus, AND Six HYMNS of Orpheus TO JUPITER, JUNO, APOLLO, DIANA, PALLAS, CERES.
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SELECT EPIGRAMS.
I.
[For counsel sage to Pittacus the wise]
For counsel sage to Pittacus the wiseWith doubts perplext an am'rous youth applies:
“Dread sire, two virgins covet my embrace,
“The first my equal both in wealth and race:
“In each superior shines the second fair:
“Which shall I wed—where fix, oh tell me, where?”
He spoke; the sage, his footsteps faithful friend
Uprearing, cry'd, “Lo those thy doubts will end,
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That urg'd the spinning top with smacking thong:
Attentive to their words the youth drew nigh
And oft, “Take one, one equal,” heard them cry:
Whence warn'd he fled the loftier beauty's charms,
And took the equal maiden to his arms.
A choice like his in wisdom wou'd you make,
So you, my friend, to wife an equal take.
II.
[Say, honest Timon, now escap'd from light]
Say, honest Timon, now escap'd from light,Which do you most abhor, or that or night?
“Man, I most hate these gloomy shades below,
“And that because in them are more of you.”
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III.
[A shell, bright Venus, wonder of the sea]
A shell, bright Venus, wonder of the sea,Fair Selenæa dedicates to thee:
And the first tribute, which the maid cou'd give,
Me, little Nautilus, dread queen, receive:
Who o'er the waves, when blew propitious gales,
With my own cable stretch'd my proper sails:
“My legs as oars extending on each side,
“Hence call'd a Polyp in my pearly pride:”
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I to the Coan coast at length was borne.
No more for me to skim the silent flood,
O'er thy calm offspring, gentle Halcyon, brood:
But be that grace for Clinias' daughter found;
The maid is worthy, and from Smyrna bound.
IV.
[A youth, who thought his father's wife]
A youth, who thought his father's wifeHad lost her malice with her life,
Officious with a chaplet grac'd
The statue on her tomb-stone plac'd:
When, sudden falling on his head,
With the dire blow it struck him dead:
Be warn'd from hence, each foster-son,
Your step-dame's sepulchre to shun.
V.
[In sacred sleep here virtuous Saon lies]
In sacred sleep here virtuous Saon lies;'Tis ever wrong to say a good man dies.
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VI.
[What mortal of the morrow can be sure]
What mortal of the morrow can be sure,So frail is man, and life so insecure?
But yesterday we saw our living friend;
And on the morrow to the grave attend:
A heavier loss hath never parent known,
For never parent had a better son.
VII.
[Wou'd God, no ships had ever crost the sea]
Wou'd God, no ships had ever crost the sea,Then, Sopolis, we had not wept for thee:
Then no wild waves had tost thy breathless frame,
Nor we on empty tombs engrav'd thy name.
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VIII.
[Whoe'er thou art, that to this tomb draw nigh]
Whoe'er thou art, that to this tomb draw nigh,Know, here interr'd the son and sire I lie
Of a Callimachus: illustrious name,
By each ennobled, and renown'd in fame:
The sire was glorious 'midst the warlike throng,
The son superior to all envy sung:
Nor is it strange, for whom the Nine behold,
When young with favour, they regard when old.
IX.
[Oh Sun, said fam'd Cleombrotus, adieu]
Oh Sun, said fam'd Cleombrotus, adieu,And from the rock himself triumphant threw:
Not courting death, by burd'ning ills opprest,
But reading Plato, his enlarged breast
Long'd to partake his soul's immortal rest.
X.
[To Violanta constant love]
To Violanta constant loveFond Callignotus sighing swore:
He vow'd that none his heart shou'd move,
His heart, that ne'er shou'd vary more.
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Which languishing young lovers swear,
To heav'n did never make their way,
Cou'd never reach immortal ear!
For now he burns with other fires,
And wretched Violanta scorns,
Who, while new love his heart inspires,
Unnoted quite complains and mourns.
XI.
[Short was the time on thee, O earth, I spent]
Short was the time on thee, O earth, I spent,With little blest, and yet with that content:
Friend to no crimes, to no good man a foe,
I come: nor you, ye pow'rs, that rule below,
If sanction ever to a crime I gave,
Be just; nor, earth, lie light upon my grave.
XII.
[Epicedes, defying frosts and snows]
Epicedes, defying frosts and snows,Hunts o'er the mountains and his game pursues:
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The game he scorns, and sends it back again:
Such is my love: I court the fair that flies,
But easy conquests with proud scorn despise.
XIII.
[Callimachus takes up this part of earth]
Callimachus takes up this part of earth,A man, much fam'd for poesy and mirth.
XIV.
[The Lyctian warriour, Goddess, gives to you]
The Lyctian warriour, Goddess, gives to youHis empty quiver and his useless bow;
His arrows he hath given to the foe!
XV.
[Half of my life I yet possess]
Half of my life I yet possess,The other half is flown:
To love or death—I cannot guess,
But certainly, it's gone.
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The fugitive draws nigh,
From whom so frequently I bade
The flutt'ring fool to fly:
For well alas—too well I know,
What usage there 'twill prove:
In scorn return'd, beset with woe,
And murder'd half with love!
XVI.
[When Archestrata, beauteous fair]
When Archestrata, beauteous fair,First rose upon my sight;
I saw no mighty charms in her,
And thought her beauty light:
I said—(and troth I thought it true,
When Nemesis, quite raging,
Observ'd my words, and book'd them too)
“She was not so engaging.”
But quick in vengeance of my scorn,
A sudden change I prove:
And as again I gaze, I burn,
And all my soul is love!
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The maid or Deity?
Ah, fair one, thee cou'd I but please,
What's Nemesis to me?
XVII. On Berenice the wife of Ptolemy.
Four are the Graces, with the former threeAnother lately has obtain'd a place:
In all things blest, bright Berenice, thee,
Without whose charms the Graces have no grace.
XVIII.
[Whoe'er thou art that on the desart shores]
Whoe'er thou art that on the desart shores,Leontichus has found, he lays to rest;
While his own life of peril he deplores,
With sweet repose, oh never, never blest:
Condemn'd to travel o'er the watry plain,
And, like the corm'rant, rove about the main.
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COMA BERENICES:
OR, The Lock of Berenice.
------ The tresses Ægypt's princess wore,
Which sweet Callimachus so sung before.
Parnell.
Which sweet Callimachus so sung before.
Parnell.
He, who with curious and enlarged eye
Survey'd the splendid glories of the sky;
Who found how stars to rise and setting run,
How shades obscure the brightness of the Sun:
At certain times how certain stars decay;
And how soft love from her aërial way
Wheels gentle Trivia, in her nightly charms,
To stolen pleasures and Endymion's arms:
ME, that same Conon, in the skies survey'd
The shining Lock from Berenice's head:
Which fond she promis'd to the pow'rs above,
What time, her hands uprais'd, with heav'n she strove,
For her dear king, just happy in her love,
To battles hurried, and severer fights,
From softer wars, and hymeneal rites.
Survey'd the splendid glories of the sky;
Who found how stars to rise and setting run,
How shades obscure the brightness of the Sun:
At certain times how certain stars decay;
And how soft love from her aërial way
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To stolen pleasures and Endymion's arms:
ME, that same Conon, in the skies survey'd
The shining Lock from Berenice's head:
Which fond she promis'd to the pow'rs above,
What time, her hands uprais'd, with heav'n she strove,
For her dear king, just happy in her love,
To battles hurried, and severer fights,
From softer wars, and hymeneal rites.
Is Venus, then, to other loves so true,
To virgins only, and to bride a foe:
And feign'd or real are those sighs and tears,
Which damp the parent's bliss with tender fears?
Which, when approaching to the nuptial bed,
The blushing virgins in abundance shed?
In troth those tears by no means are sincere:
And those soft sighs, the sighs of hope, not fear:
So taught experience, when I heard my queen,
True virgin-like, in tim'rous sort complain:
When furious rush'd the bridegroom to her arms,
Love's war to wage, and spoil her virgin charms.
To virgins only, and to bride a foe:
And feign'd or real are those sighs and tears,
Which damp the parent's bliss with tender fears?
Which, when approaching to the nuptial bed,
The blushing virgins in abundance shed?
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And those soft sighs, the sighs of hope, not fear:
So taught experience, when I heard my queen,
True virgin-like, in tim'rous sort complain:
When furious rush'd the bridegroom to her arms,
Love's war to wage, and spoil her virgin charms.
But you, whate'er your maiden sighs might say,
Sincerely wept your husband torn away:
And on your lonely pillow truly shed
A flood of sorrow for your lover fled:
What anxious fondness then your bosom prov'd,
How much you languish'd, and how much you lov'd!
Where then, my queen, was all that courage flown,
Which Berenice from a child had shown?
And quite forgot was that illustrious deed,
By which you mounted the imperial bed:
Greater than which no female ever dar'd,
As meed more happy never female shar'd?
Sincerely wept your husband torn away:
And on your lonely pillow truly shed
A flood of sorrow for your lover fled:
What anxious fondness then your bosom prov'd,
How much you languish'd, and how much you lov'd!
Where then, my queen, was all that courage flown,
Which Berenice from a child had shown?
And quite forgot was that illustrious deed,
By which you mounted the imperial bed:
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As meed more happy never female shar'd?
But when about to part, what words you spoke,
From your soft lips what love enamour'd broke?
How oft you sighing told your doubts and fears,
And dew'd his hands with kisses and with tears?
What God cou'd change you thus? or was it hence,
That with each other lovers ill dispense?
'Twas then you made a solemn vow to heav'n,
“Shou'd to your arms your prince again be giv'n,
“That I lov'd Lock, with blood of goats, shou'd prove
“A willing present to the pow'rs above.”
They heard your vow, and quickly to your arms
Restor'd your hero with encrease of charms,
His cheeks fresh flush'd with victory's bright glow,
And Asia's laurels verdant on his brow!
For this your vow discharging, 'midst the host
Of heav'n, I gain'd an honourable post!
From your soft lips what love enamour'd broke?
How oft you sighing told your doubts and fears,
And dew'd his hands with kisses and with tears?
What God cou'd change you thus? or was it hence,
That with each other lovers ill dispense?
'Twas then you made a solemn vow to heav'n,
“Shou'd to your arms your prince again be giv'n,
“That I lov'd Lock, with blood of goats, shou'd prove
“A willing present to the pow'rs above.”
They heard your vow, and quickly to your arms
Restor'd your hero with encrease of charms,
His cheeks fresh flush'd with victory's bright glow,
And Asia's laurels verdant on his brow!
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Of heav'n, I gain'd an honourable post!
From your dear head unwilling I withdrew,
Unwilling—swear I by that head and you:
Who swears in vain shall dreadful vengeance feel;—
But what, what's equal to all-conqu'ring steel!
By that o'erthrown, the mightiest mountain lay,
O'er which bright Sol directs his fiery way:
By that great Athos felt the rushing flood
Bear thro' its parted sides the Persian crowd:
And when sharp steel can such dread force subdue,
Ah, what can Lady's Locks defenceless do?
Perish, good God, dire steel's destructive race;
And him, who first dare earth's dark bowels trace,
So fell a mischief from its seat to bring,
And handle such a hard death-doing thing!
Unwilling—swear I by that head and you:
Who swears in vain shall dreadful vengeance feel;—
But what, what's equal to all-conqu'ring steel!
By that o'erthrown, the mightiest mountain lay,
O'er which bright Sol directs his fiery way:
By that great Athos felt the rushing flood
Bear thro' its parted sides the Persian crowd:
And when sharp steel can such dread force subdue,
Ah, what can Lady's Locks defenceless do?
Perish, good God, dire steel's destructive race;
And him, who first dare earth's dark bowels trace,
So fell a mischief from its seat to bring,
And handle such a hard death-doing thing!
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As my hard hap, from my companions torn,
My sister Locks in friendly sorrow mourn,
Flutt'ring his airy pinions thro' the skies,
Adown the gently-breathing Zephyr flies:
(The gentle Zephyr from great Memnon springs,
And bears Arsinoë's mandates on his wings:
He took and bore me thro' the realms of air,
To the chaste bosom of that virtuous fair,
Whom Venus licens'd her own name to bear.
For such was Zephyritis' kind intent,
When thus her winged messenger she sent,
To those sweet shores, where once delighted rov'd
Her beauteous daughter with the nymphs she lov'd:
That not amidst the starry track alone
Shou'd brightly glitter Ariadne's crown:
But that we too, the heav'n-devoted hair,
With golden lustre might adorn the air.
From ocean wet, by her kind aid I rise
To the great temple of the Gods, the skies,
And by her guidance to my place repair,
Amidst the stars to shine a fellow star.
Just by the Virgin and the Lion plac'd
I lead the slow Bootes to the west,
Who tardy rolls along his lab'ring wain,
And scarce, tho' late, slow sinks into the main.
My sister Locks in friendly sorrow mourn,
Flutt'ring his airy pinions thro' the skies,
Adown the gently-breathing Zephyr flies:
(The gentle Zephyr from great Memnon springs,
And bears Arsinoë's mandates on his wings:
He took and bore me thro' the realms of air,
To the chaste bosom of that virtuous fair,
Whom Venus licens'd her own name to bear.
For such was Zephyritis' kind intent,
When thus her winged messenger she sent,
To those sweet shores, where once delighted rov'd
Her beauteous daughter with the nymphs she lov'd:
That not amidst the starry track alone
Shou'd brightly glitter Ariadne's crown:
But that we too, the heav'n-devoted hair,
With golden lustre might adorn the air.
From ocean wet, by her kind aid I rise
To the great temple of the Gods, the skies,
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Amidst the stars to shine a fellow star.
Just by the Virgin and the Lion plac'd
I lead the slow Bootes to the west,
Who tardy rolls along his lab'ring wain,
And scarce, tho' late, slow sinks into the main.
But tho' such honour and such place is mine,
Tho' nightly prest by Gods and feet divine:
To hoary Tethys tho' with light restor'd,
These—let me speak,—and truth defend the word:
Thou too, Rhamnusian virgin, pard'ning hear,
For I must speak; since neither force nor fear
Can make me cover what I so revere:
Not tho' enrag'd the pow'rs on high shou'd rise,
Revenging tear and hurl me from the skies!
All these—bear no proportion to the pain
Of fatal final absence from my queen.
With whom while yet an unexperienc'd maid,
I shar'd such unguents, on her lovely head!
Tho' nightly prest by Gods and feet divine:
To hoary Tethys tho' with light restor'd,
These—let me speak,—and truth defend the word:
Thou too, Rhamnusian virgin, pard'ning hear,
For I must speak; since neither force nor fear
Can make me cover what I so revere:
Not tho' enrag'd the pow'rs on high shou'd rise,
Revenging tear and hurl me from the skies!
All these—bear no proportion to the pain
Of fatal final absence from my queen.
With whom while yet an unexperienc'd maid,
I shar'd such unguents, on her lovely head!
Haste, happy maids, whom Hymen's bonds have join'd,
To the dear choice and partner of your mind,
In box of alabaster grateful bear
The pleasing gifts to Berenice's hair:
Before your trembling hands withdraw the vest
From the soft beauties of your throbbing breast,
Such gifts alone let chaster matrons pay;
But be th'adultress and impure away:
Their impious presents let the dust receive,
I scorn the wretches, and each boon they give!
But you, ye virtuous, as with duteous care
Your queen you honour, and her Lock revere,
Concord and peace shall ever smile around,
And all your days with faithful love be crown'd!
To the dear choice and partner of your mind,
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The pleasing gifts to Berenice's hair:
Before your trembling hands withdraw the vest
From the soft beauties of your throbbing breast,
Such gifts alone let chaster matrons pay;
But be th'adultress and impure away:
Their impious presents let the dust receive,
I scorn the wretches, and each boon they give!
But you, ye virtuous, as with duteous care
Your queen you honour, and her Lock revere,
Concord and peace shall ever smile around,
And all your days with faithful love be crown'd!
You too, my queen, when Venus shall demand,
On solemn feasts due off'rings from your hand;
When, lifting up to heav'n your pious eyes,
Bright on your view your once lov'd Lock shall rise;
Then let sweet unguents your regard express,
And with large gifts, as you esteem me, bless!
Ah, why, amidst the stars must I remain?
Wou'd God, I grew on thy dear head again!
Take heav'n who wou'd, were that wish'd pleasure mine,
Orion's self might next Hydrochous shine!
On solemn feasts due off'rings from your hand;
When, lifting up to heav'n your pious eyes,
Bright on your view your once lov'd Lock shall rise;
Then let sweet unguents your regard express,
And with large gifts, as you esteem me, bless!
Ah, why, amidst the stars must I remain?
Wou'd God, I grew on thy dear head again!
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Orion's self might next Hydrochous shine!
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THE ENCOMIUM of Ptolemy,
BEING THE XVII Idyllium of Theocritus.
With Jove begin, and end the song with Jove,
Ye Muses, wou'd ye of immortals sing
The best, the greatest: if of mortals, first,
And midst, and last, let Ptolemy adorn
The sacred song; for he of men is noblest.
Heroes, of race immortal, erst obtain'd
Wise bards, their glorious actions to record:
But thou, my Muse, for well thou know'st to sing,
Shalt hymn illustrious Ptolemy: and hymns
Are of the Gods themselves the honour'd meed.
To Ida's top approach'd with forests clad,
Amidst such plenty hesitating looks
The woodman round, where first to fix the blow:
So, where shall I begin? Ten thousand themes
Of praise at hand to crowd th'applauding verse,
Wherewith the Gods have crown'd the best of kings,
Ev'n from his ancestors! Like Lagides,
Those mighty plans, which other mind than his
Cou'd ne'er have form'd, where other cou'd be found
Nobly to execute? Him the sire of Gods
Hath equal'd with th'immortals, and in heav'n
A golden dome bestow'd: near which the wise
And dread destroyer of the Persian race
Holds social habitation: opposite
Of firmest adamant compact, the dome
Of fam'd Alcides stands: he, as he shares
With heav'n's blest habitants the joyous banquet,
Triumphs his great descendants to behold
From mortal coil set free, by Jove's high gift
Drawing ætherial air, and Gods like him:
For from Alcides both descend: and hence
When satiated with nectar's od'rous juice,
Their father to fair Hebe's bed retires,
This takes his bow and quiver; that, his club,
Rugged with pointed knots; and these they bear
Before their sire, conducting Jove's great son
To his immortal wife's ambrosial bed.
Ye Muses, wou'd ye of immortals sing
The best, the greatest: if of mortals, first,
And midst, and last, let Ptolemy adorn
The sacred song; for he of men is noblest.
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Wise bards, their glorious actions to record:
But thou, my Muse, for well thou know'st to sing,
Shalt hymn illustrious Ptolemy: and hymns
Are of the Gods themselves the honour'd meed.
To Ida's top approach'd with forests clad,
Amidst such plenty hesitating looks
The woodman round, where first to fix the blow:
So, where shall I begin? Ten thousand themes
Of praise at hand to crowd th'applauding verse,
Wherewith the Gods have crown'd the best of kings,
Ev'n from his ancestors! Like Lagides,
Those mighty plans, which other mind than his
Cou'd ne'er have form'd, where other cou'd be found
Nobly to execute? Him the sire of Gods
Hath equal'd with th'immortals, and in heav'n
A golden dome bestow'd: near which the wise
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Holds social habitation: opposite
Of firmest adamant compact, the dome
Of fam'd Alcides stands: he, as he shares
With heav'n's blest habitants the joyous banquet,
Triumphs his great descendants to behold
From mortal coil set free, by Jove's high gift
Drawing ætherial air, and Gods like him:
For from Alcides both descend: and hence
When satiated with nectar's od'rous juice,
Their father to fair Hebe's bed retires,
This takes his bow and quiver; that, his club,
Rugged with pointed knots; and these they bear
Before their sire, conducting Jove's great son
To his immortal wife's ambrosial bed.
How bright above the wisest of her sex
Illustrious Berenice shone: the pride
And glory of her parents! Venus' self,
With her own soft and rosy fingers fill'd
Her odorif'rous snowy breast with love!
And hence 'tis said, no woman ever pleas'd,
Her raptur'd husband, as this beauteous bride
Her royal Ptolemy: and, blest in love,
With more than equal fondness she returns
His tenderest affection: to his sons
Hence in full confidence the prince resigns
The weight of cares and kingdoms, and retires
With love transported to her arms of love.
Ere on forbidden joys rove the wild thoughts
Of faithless wives, by no affection bound:
Num'rous their progeny, but none can shew
The face and features of the hapless sire!
Fair Venus, all-excelling, beauty's queen,
She was thy care: and 'twas from thee alone,
That Berenice pass'd not o'er the flood
Of baneful Acheron: her the Goddess caught,
Or ere sh' approach'd the stream, where gloomy stands
The melancholy porter of the dead:
And in her temple placing, to partake
Her own high honours gave: to mortals kind,
Hence breathes she gentle loves, and pleasing cares
Thro' each glad votary's enamour'd breast.
Illustrious Berenice shone: the pride
And glory of her parents! Venus' self,
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Her odorif'rous snowy breast with love!
And hence 'tis said, no woman ever pleas'd,
Her raptur'd husband, as this beauteous bride
Her royal Ptolemy: and, blest in love,
With more than equal fondness she returns
His tenderest affection: to his sons
Hence in full confidence the prince resigns
The weight of cares and kingdoms, and retires
With love transported to her arms of love.
Ere on forbidden joys rove the wild thoughts
Of faithless wives, by no affection bound:
Num'rous their progeny, but none can shew
The face and features of the hapless sire!
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She was thy care: and 'twas from thee alone,
That Berenice pass'd not o'er the flood
Of baneful Acheron: her the Goddess caught,
Or ere sh' approach'd the stream, where gloomy stands
The melancholy porter of the dead:
And in her temple placing, to partake
Her own high honours gave: to mortals kind,
Hence breathes she gentle loves, and pleasing cares
Thro' each glad votary's enamour'd breast.
To mighty Tydeus fair Deipale
Great Diomed, dread thunderbolt of war,
Brought forth: to Peleus beauteous Thetis gave
Warlike Achilles: but to Ptolemy
A Ptolemy, illustrious as his sire,
Fair Berenice bore: the new-born babe
From his glad mother favour'd Cos receiv'd:
For there the queen Lucina's aid invok'd:
Benign the Goddess came, and o'er her limbs
Diffus'd a soft insensibility:
And thus the son was born, so like the sire.
Cos saw, and all her cliffs with songs of joy
Resounded: in her arms she held the babe,
“Be born, blest infant, she began, be born:
“Nor with less honour dignify my isle,
“Than her Apollo, Delos; let the mount
“Of Triopus, and neighb'ring Dorians, share
“No less renown from thee, than from the God
“Rhenæa, neigh'bring to his native isle.”
She spoke: on high the eagle, bird of Jove,
Thrice from the clouds resounding clapp'd his wings,
Auspicious omen of the thund'ring God:
Kings are the care of Jove: and whom first-born
His eye indulgent views, pre-eminence
Attends, with copious bliss: wide o'er the sea,
And wide o'er earth unbounded roams his power!
Great Diomed, dread thunderbolt of war,
Brought forth: to Peleus beauteous Thetis gave
Warlike Achilles: but to Ptolemy
A Ptolemy, illustrious as his sire,
Fair Berenice bore: the new-born babe
From his glad mother favour'd Cos receiv'd:
For there the queen Lucina's aid invok'd:
Benign the Goddess came, and o'er her limbs
Diffus'd a soft insensibility:
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Cos saw, and all her cliffs with songs of joy
Resounded: in her arms she held the babe,
“Be born, blest infant, she began, be born:
“Nor with less honour dignify my isle,
“Than her Apollo, Delos; let the mount
“Of Triopus, and neighb'ring Dorians, share
“No less renown from thee, than from the God
“Rhenæa, neigh'bring to his native isle.”
She spoke: on high the eagle, bird of Jove,
Thrice from the clouds resounding clapp'd his wings,
Auspicious omen of the thund'ring God:
Kings are the care of Jove: and whom first-born
His eye indulgent views, pre-eminence
Attends, with copious bliss: wide o'er the sea,
And wide o'er earth unbounded roams his power!
On nations numberless great Jove pours down
His fertile show'rs and full increase: but none,
Ægypt, can vie in plenteousness with thee;
Thy rich glebe mellow'd by th'o'erflowing Nile;
None boasts such num'rous cities: and o'er all
Sole monarch reigns great Ptolemy: his sway
O'er the Phœnicians, Syria's, Lybia's sons,
Arabia and the tawny Æthiop,
Extends: Cilicia's war-delighting race,
Pamphylians, Lydians, and the Carians own
His universal pow'r: the Cyclades
Confess the monarch: for the spacious sea
His warlike fleet commands; the best that sails
Old Neptune's wide domain: to Ptolemy
Sea, land, and barrier floods submissive bow!
Around him troops of horse and spearmen crowd
Clanging their arms, a terror to the foe.
In opulence all monarchs he exceeds,
Such tributes daily to his heap immense,
A boundless Ocean, flow: his people ply
Secure their occupations: Nilus' banks
No hostile footsteps tread; nor warlike din
Disturbs the peaceful village: on the shore
Ne'er from their vessels leap invading foes
The flocks to plunder, and lay waste the plains.
Such is the influence of a prince like thee,
Such is the terror of thy warlike name,
Oh Ptolemy! Thou all thy father's rights
Art strenuous to assert: (as well beseems
Good kings:) and not less zealous to acquire
New glories of thy own. Not unemploy'd
Lies in his splendid dome the glitt'ring ore,
Like that on India's plain by lab'ring ants
Fruitless amass'd: full royally he gives
To the bright temples of the Gods, first fruits,
And noblest presents numberless: to kings
Less pow'rful and less opulent than he
Much he bestows, and much to friendly states;
And much, much more to his illustrious friends.
His fertile show'rs and full increase: but none,
Ægypt, can vie in plenteousness with thee;
Thy rich glebe mellow'd by th'o'erflowing Nile;
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Sole monarch reigns great Ptolemy: his sway
O'er the Phœnicians, Syria's, Lybia's sons,
Arabia and the tawny Æthiop,
Extends: Cilicia's war-delighting race,
Pamphylians, Lydians, and the Carians own
His universal pow'r: the Cyclades
Confess the monarch: for the spacious sea
His warlike fleet commands; the best that sails
Old Neptune's wide domain: to Ptolemy
Sea, land, and barrier floods submissive bow!
Around him troops of horse and spearmen crowd
Clanging their arms, a terror to the foe.
In opulence all monarchs he exceeds,
Such tributes daily to his heap immense,
A boundless Ocean, flow: his people ply
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No hostile footsteps tread; nor warlike din
Disturbs the peaceful village: on the shore
Ne'er from their vessels leap invading foes
The flocks to plunder, and lay waste the plains.
Such is the influence of a prince like thee,
Such is the terror of thy warlike name,
Oh Ptolemy! Thou all thy father's rights
Art strenuous to assert: (as well beseems
Good kings:) and not less zealous to acquire
New glories of thy own. Not unemploy'd
Lies in his splendid dome the glitt'ring ore,
Like that on India's plain by lab'ring ants
Fruitless amass'd: full royally he gives
To the bright temples of the Gods, first fruits,
And noblest presents numberless: to kings
Less pow'rful and less opulent than he
Much he bestows, and much to friendly states;
And much, much more to his illustrious friends.
Is there a bard, well skill'd in sacred song,
Who unrewarded from our prince descends,
And meets not favours equal to his worth?
Munificence like this, great Ptolemy,
Hath charm'd the Muses prophets to resound
Thy fame in song immortal: what reward
Than this more excellent, for pow'r and wealth
To gain the stamp of worth, and honest fame
Midst all mankind? This, this th'Atridæ have:
When all the plunder of old Priam's house
And all their mighty wealth is lost in night,
And buried in oblivion's greedy grave!
Who unrewarded from our prince descends,
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Munificence like this, great Ptolemy,
Hath charm'd the Muses prophets to resound
Thy fame in song immortal: what reward
Than this more excellent, for pow'r and wealth
To gain the stamp of worth, and honest fame
Midst all mankind? This, this th'Atridæ have:
When all the plunder of old Priam's house
And all their mighty wealth is lost in night,
And buried in oblivion's greedy grave!
Of Ptolemy's fam'd ancestors, like him
None in their father's footsteps trod so close,
And o'er them rose so nobly: high he rear'd
The fragrant temples to his parents honour:
Where form'd of gold and ivory he plac'd
The new divinities: henceforth invok'd
The guardians and protectors of mankind.
There on the hallow'd altars, red with blood
Of victims, as the mighty months roll round,
The fatted sacrifice the monarch burns,
He and his lov'd Arsinoë: than whom
No fairer woman in a happier bed
A greater spouse embraces: there improv'd
The nat'ral tye, with double warmth she loves
The brother and the husband: so the race
Immortal of great Rhea hold above
Their sacred nuptials: where the blushing maid,
From whose bright hands perfumes distil their sweets,
Ambrosial Iris decks one od'rous bed
For Jove, and Jove's lov'd sister and his wife!
None in their father's footsteps trod so close,
And o'er them rose so nobly: high he rear'd
The fragrant temples to his parents honour:
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The new divinities: henceforth invok'd
The guardians and protectors of mankind.
There on the hallow'd altars, red with blood
Of victims, as the mighty months roll round,
The fatted sacrifice the monarch burns,
He and his lov'd Arsinoë: than whom
No fairer woman in a happier bed
A greater spouse embraces: there improv'd
The nat'ral tye, with double warmth she loves
The brother and the husband: so the race
Immortal of great Rhea hold above
Their sacred nuptials: where the blushing maid,
From whose bright hands perfumes distil their sweets,
Ambrosial Iris decks one od'rous bed
For Jove, and Jove's lov'd sister and his wife!
Hail royal Ptolemy! equal to the race
Of god-born heroes, thee the Muse extols:
And what she sings, if prescient ought, shall prove
Not unacceptable to future times.
Hail, and increase of virtue ask of Jove!
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And what she sings, if prescient ought, shall prove
Not unacceptable to future times.
Hail, and increase of virtue ask of Jove!
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Six HYMNS of Orpheus To JUPITER, JUNO, APOLLO, DIANA, PALLAS, CERES.
200
I. The 14th HYMN of Orpheus.
To Jupiter.
Jove, ever honour'd, everlasting king,
Accept this witness of thy servant's love,
Due sacrifice and praise. Great pow'r, thro' thee
All things, that are, exist: earth, mountains, sea,
And all within the mighty sphere of heav'n.
Saturnian Jove, dread monarch of the sky,
In thunders loud and terrible descending:
All things producing, as of all the end
So the beginning, author of encrease,
Omnipotent, pow'r creative, purifier,
Whose arm rolls thunder, and the forky blaze
Of lightning darts! whose glorious word can shake
Earth's deep foundation! Oh accept my prayer,
Multiform deity, and give us health,
Fair peace, and riches with pure virtue crown'd.
Accept this witness of thy servant's love,
Due sacrifice and praise. Great pow'r, thro' thee
All things, that are, exist: earth, mountains, sea,
And all within the mighty sphere of heav'n.
Saturnian Jove, dread monarch of the sky,
In thunders loud and terrible descending:
All things producing, as of all the end
So the beginning, author of encrease,
Omnipotent, pow'r creative, purifier,
Whose arm rolls thunder, and the forky blaze
Of lightning darts! whose glorious word can shake
Earth's deep foundation! Oh accept my prayer,
Multiform deity, and give us health,
Fair peace, and riches with pure virtue crown'd.
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II. The 15th HYMN.
To Juno.
Plac'd in the azure bosom of the sky,
Airy-form Juno, of Jove's heav'nly bed
Happy partaker, thou with gentle gales
Life-giving, quicken'st all terrestrial things.
Of clouds, of rain and winds the nourisher;
All things producing, for the breath of life
Without thee nothing knows: since thou, with all
Thyself in wond'rous sort communicating,
Art mix'd with all. Thou, sov'reign, too obtain'st
An universal empire, borne along
In airy torrents with resounding murmurs.
Goddess, whose names are num'rous, all-ador'd,
Propitious come with lovely smiling face.
Airy-form Juno, of Jove's heav'nly bed
Happy partaker, thou with gentle gales
Life-giving, quicken'st all terrestrial things.
Of clouds, of rain and winds the nourisher;
All things producing, for the breath of life
Without thee nothing knows: since thou, with all
Thyself in wond'rous sort communicating,
Art mix'd with all. Thou, sov'reign, too obtain'st
An universal empire, borne along
In airy torrents with resounding murmurs.
Goddess, whose names are num'rous, all-ador'd,
Propitious come with lovely smiling face.
202
III. The 33d HYMN.
To Apollo.
Blest Pæan come, Lycorian Phoebus, foe
Of daring Tityus, honour'd Memphian God,
Giver of health, of riches: golden-lyr'd;
From thee the seed, the field its rich encrease
Receives prolific, Grunian, Smynthian, bane
Of deadly Python, hallow'd Delphian prophet,
Rural, light-bearer, lovely noble youth:
Head of the Muses, leader of the choir,
Far-darting God, with bow and quiver arm'd,
Bacchian and twofold, whose dread pow'r extends
Afar, diffused wide; whose course oblique
Is shap'd; pure; Delian king, whose lucid eye
Light-giving all things views: whose locks are gold,
Who oracles and words of omen good
Revealest. Hear me with benignant mind
Entreating for the people: for thou view'st
This boundless æther all, this plenteous earth,
And ev'n beneath thro' the dark womb of things,
In night's still, gloomy regions, and beyond
Th'impenetrable darkness set with stars.
The fix'd foundations thou hast lay'd beneath,
And the whole world's extremities are thine.
Thyself for ever flourishing, to thee
Of things the rise and the decay belong,
The end and the beginning. With thy harp
Of various modulation thou the whole
Of nature harmonisest: the lowest string
Now sweetly touching, now in Dorian measure
Ascending to the highest: nature's tribes,
No less than nature, to thy harmony
Owe the variety and pleasing change
Of seasons; mix'd by thee in equal parts,
Summer and winter; on the highest string
This modulated, that the lowest claims,
While to a Dorian measure the sweet prime
Of lovely spring advances: mortals hence
Have call'd thee royal Pan, two-horned God,
The vivifying gales, thro' syrinx fam'd
Emitting: wherefore thou the marking seal
Of the whole world possessest. Hear blest pow'r,
And with propitious voice thy mystics save.
Of daring Tityus, honour'd Memphian God,
Giver of health, of riches: golden-lyr'd;
From thee the seed, the field its rich encrease
Receives prolific, Grunian, Smynthian, bane
Of deadly Python, hallow'd Delphian prophet,
Rural, light-bearer, lovely noble youth:
Head of the Muses, leader of the choir,
Far-darting God, with bow and quiver arm'd,
Bacchian and twofold, whose dread pow'r extends
Afar, diffused wide; whose course oblique
Is shap'd; pure; Delian king, whose lucid eye
Light-giving all things views: whose locks are gold,
Who oracles and words of omen good
Revealest. Hear me with benignant mind
Entreating for the people: for thou view'st
This boundless æther all, this plenteous earth,
And ev'n beneath thro' the dark womb of things,
In night's still, gloomy regions, and beyond
203
The fix'd foundations thou hast lay'd beneath,
And the whole world's extremities are thine.
Thyself for ever flourishing, to thee
Of things the rise and the decay belong,
The end and the beginning. With thy harp
Of various modulation thou the whole
Of nature harmonisest: the lowest string
Now sweetly touching, now in Dorian measure
Ascending to the highest: nature's tribes,
No less than nature, to thy harmony
Owe the variety and pleasing change
Of seasons; mix'd by thee in equal parts,
Summer and winter; on the highest string
This modulated, that the lowest claims,
While to a Dorian measure the sweet prime
Of lovely spring advances: mortals hence
Have call'd thee royal Pan, two-horned God,
The vivifying gales, thro' syrinx fam'd
Emitting: wherefore thou the marking seal
Of the whole world possessest. Hear blest pow'r,
And with propitious voice thy mystics save.
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IV. The 35th HYMN.
To Diana.
Hear me, oh queen, Jove's daughter, various-nam'd,
Bacchian and Titan, noble huntress queen,
Shining on all, torch-bearer, bright Dictynna,
O'er births presiding, and thy ready aid
To all imparting in the pangs of birth,
Tho' unexperienc'd of those pangs thyself;
Dissolver of the zone, soother of care,
Fierce huntress in the course unweary'd still,
Delighting in the bow and sylvan sports,
Trav'ling by night, auspicious and renown'd,
Of manly form, erect and tow'ring, swift
T'assist, pure expiating pow'r, great nurse
Of mortals, earthly and celestial, blest
And rich, the woody hills possessing, bane
Of beasts, pursuer of the nimble stag.
Dread universal queen, who flourish fair
In youth perpetual, woods and dogs delight
Thy soul, Cydonian, multiform. Oh come
Benignant to thy mystics, saving pow'r,
Auspicious, send from earth the beauteous fruits,
Give us fair peace, and health with lovely locks,
And to the mountains drive disease and pain.
Bacchian and Titan, noble huntress queen,
Shining on all, torch-bearer, bright Dictynna,
O'er births presiding, and thy ready aid
To all imparting in the pangs of birth,
Tho' unexperienc'd of those pangs thyself;
Dissolver of the zone, soother of care,
Fierce huntress in the course unweary'd still,
Delighting in the bow and sylvan sports,
Trav'ling by night, auspicious and renown'd,
Of manly form, erect and tow'ring, swift
T'assist, pure expiating pow'r, great nurse
Of mortals, earthly and celestial, blest
And rich, the woody hills possessing, bane
Of beasts, pursuer of the nimble stag.
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In youth perpetual, woods and dogs delight
Thy soul, Cydonian, multiform. Oh come
Benignant to thy mystics, saving pow'r,
Auspicious, send from earth the beauteous fruits,
Give us fair peace, and health with lovely locks,
And to the mountains drive disease and pain.
V. The 31st HYMN.
To Pallas.
Only-begotten, noble race of Jove,
Pallas, blest Goddess, warlike martial maid,
Thou word ineffable, of mighty name,
Inhabiting the stars, o'er craggy rocks
And shady mountains passing; thou in groves
Thy soul delightest: with wild fury fixing
The minds of mortals, joying in bright armour.
Gymnastic maid, with fierce and furious soul:
Virgin, dire Gorgon's bane, mother of arts,
Impetuous, violent: wisdom to the good,
And to the evil, madness: parent of war,
And counsel: thou art male and female too:
Multiform dragoness, fam'd enthusiastic,
O'er the Phlegræan giants with destruction
Thy coursers driving: sprung from head of Jove.
Purger of evils, all-victorious queen;
Hear me, with supplicating vows approaching
Both nights and days, and ev'n in my last hours:
Give us rich peace, saturity and health,
With prosp'rous seasons, O thou blue-ey'd maid,
Of arts inventress, much implored queen.
Pallas, blest Goddess, warlike martial maid,
Thou word ineffable, of mighty name,
Inhabiting the stars, o'er craggy rocks
And shady mountains passing; thou in groves
Thy soul delightest: with wild fury fixing
The minds of mortals, joying in bright armour.
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Virgin, dire Gorgon's bane, mother of arts,
Impetuous, violent: wisdom to the good,
And to the evil, madness: parent of war,
And counsel: thou art male and female too:
Multiform dragoness, fam'd enthusiastic,
O'er the Phlegræan giants with destruction
Thy coursers driving: sprung from head of Jove.
Purger of evils, all-victorious queen;
Hear me, with supplicating vows approaching
Both nights and days, and ev'n in my last hours:
Give us rich peace, saturity and health,
With prosp'rous seasons, O thou blue-ey'd maid,
Of arts inventress, much implored queen.
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VI. The 39th HYMN.
To Ceres.
Dio, fam'd Goddess, universal mother,
Giver of wealth, thou holy nursing Ceres,
Giver of riches, nourisher of corn,
Giver of all things, in the works of peace
Joying: of seed, of harvest, threshing, fruits
Goddess, inhabiting Eleusis' seats
Holy, retir'd: delightful, lovely queen,
Supporter of all mortals; who first join'd
The ploughing oxen to the yoke, and blest
Man with the plenteous means of happy life;
In verdure still encreasing, high in honour,
Assessor of great Bacchus: bearer of light
Pure, bright: rejoicing in the reaper's sickles,
Celestial and terrestrial, kind to all,
Fertile, thy daughter loving, holy nurse;
Thy pair of dragons yoking to thy car
Around thy throne in circling course thou'rt driven,
Singing the sacred orgies: only-begotten,
Yet thou'rt of many mother, much rever'd.
Thine are the various forms of sacred flow'rs,
And fruits all beauteous in their native green.
Bright Goddess come, with summer's rich encrease
Swelling and pregnant: bring with thee smiling peace,
Fair concord, riches, and imperial health.
Giver of wealth, thou holy nursing Ceres,
Giver of riches, nourisher of corn,
Giver of all things, in the works of peace
Joying: of seed, of harvest, threshing, fruits
Goddess, inhabiting Eleusis' seats
Holy, retir'd: delightful, lovely queen,
Supporter of all mortals; who first join'd
The ploughing oxen to the yoke, and blest
Man with the plenteous means of happy life;
In verdure still encreasing, high in honour,
Assessor of great Bacchus: bearer of light
Pure, bright: rejoicing in the reaper's sickles,
Celestial and terrestrial, kind to all,
Fertile, thy daughter loving, holy nurse;
Thy pair of dragons yoking to thy car
Around thy throne in circling course thou'rt driven,
Singing the sacred orgies: only-begotten,
Yet thou'rt of many mother, much rever'd.
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And fruits all beauteous in their native green.
Bright Goddess come, with summer's rich encrease
Swelling and pregnant: bring with thee smiling peace,
Fair concord, riches, and imperial health.
| The Hymns of Callimachus, Translated from the Greek into English Verse, With Explanatory Notes | |