The Metamorphoses of Publius Ovidus Naso in English blank verse Part 6

Th' adventure spread through all the Achaian towns, And much repute th' unerring augur gain'd.

Great now his prophesying fame. Alone, Pentheus despis'd him;--(he the G.o.ds despis'd) And only he;--he mock'd each holy word Sagely prophetic:--with his rayless eyes Reproach'd him. Angrily, his temples h.o.a.r With reverend locks, the prophet shook, and said;-- "Happy for thee, if thus of light bereft, "The Baccha.n.a.lian orgies ne'er to see!

"The day approaches, nor far distant now; "My sight prophetic tells,--when here will come "Bacchus new-born, of Semele the son, "Whose rites, if thou with honor due, not tend'st "In temples worthy,--scatter'd far and wide, "Thy limbs dismember'd shall the ground bestrew: "Thy blood the forests shall distain;--thy gore "Thy aunts,--nay e'en thy mother, shall pollute: "For thou such honors, as immortals claim, "Shalt to the G.o.d deny; then wilt thou find "Beneath this darkness I but see too well."

Thus speaking, Echion's son the prophet push'd Harshly away; but his too faithful words Time prov'd;--the threaten'd deeds accomplish'd all.

Lo! Bacchus comes, and all the country rings With joyous outcries; crowds on crowds thick swarm;-- Matrons, and wives new-wedded, mixt with men; n.o.bles, and commons; all the impulse bears, To join the stranger's rites. But Pentheus thus;-- "Offspring of Mars! O nation, serpent born!

"What madness fills your minds? Can piercing sounds "Of bra.s.s from bra.s.s rebounding; winding horns, "And magic cheatings, then possess such power?

"You whom the warlike sword, the trumpet's clang, "And battle's edge, dread bristling close with arms, "Appal not; yield ye thus to female howls; "Wine's maddening fumes; a filthy shameless crowd; "And empty cymbals? In amaze, I see, "You venerable men who plough'd the seas, "And here, a refuge for your exil'd G.o.ds, "This second Tyre have built,--without a blow, "Yield it a spoil! Ye too, robuster youths, "Of hardier age, and years more near my own;-- "Whom warlike arms, than Thyrsi more become; "And brows with helmets than with leaves comprest: "Think whence you sprang, and let the thought inspire "Your souls with all the dragon's fierceness: he Singly slew hosts: he for his fountain fell; You for your honor vanquish. He destroy'd The valiant; you th' effeminate expel; And all the glory of your sire regain.

"If fate to Thebes a speedy fall decrees, "May heroes, O, ye G.o.ds! with battering force "O'erturn her walls;--may the sword rage, and flames "Crackling, devour her. Wretched though our lot; "Not criminal: our fate, though much bemoan'd, "Would need concealment not: tears then might flow, "But not from shame. Now unresisting Thebes, "Yields to a boy unarm'd; who never joys "In armies, steeds, nor swords;--but more in locks "With myrrh moist-dropping, garlands soft, and robes "Of various teints, with gold and purple gay.

"Rest ye but tranquil, and without delay, "Him will I force to own his boasted sire "Untrue; and forg'd those new invented rites.

"Had not Acrisius bravery to despise "The counterfeited deity, and close "The gates of Argos on him? And must now "This wanderer come, and Pentheus terrify, "With all the power of Thebes! Haste, quickly haste,"-- He bade his servants,--"hither drag, firm chain'd, "This leader. Quick, nor brook my words delay!"

His grandsire, Athamas, and all the crowd Reprove;--while thus he rails, with fruitless toil Labor to stop him. Obstinate he stands, More raging at remonstrance; and his ire Restrain'd, increases; goading more and more; Restraint itself enkindling more his rage.

So may be seen a river rolling smooth, With murmuring nearly silent, while unchecked; But when by rocks, or bulky trees oppos'd, Foaming and boiling furious, on it sweeps Impetuous raging; fiercer, more withstood.

With blood besmear'd, his men return;--their lord For Bacchus anxious asks;--but Bacchus they, To find, arriv'd too late;--"but here," they cry,-- "Here have we seiz'd his comrade;--one who joins "His train, and joins his rites." (The Tuscans once The Baccha.n.a.lian orgies follow'd.) Bound Behind, his hands, their prisoner they present.

Pentheus survey'd the stranger, while his eyes Sparkled with rage terrific: with constraint His torture so deferring, thus he spoke;-- "Wretch! ere thou sufferest,--ere thy death shall give "A public warning,--tell thy name;--confess "Thy sire; declare thy country; and the cause "Those rites thou celebratest in a mode "Diverse from others." Fearless, he reply'd;-- "Actes is my name: my natal land, "Tyrrhenia: from an humble stock I spring.

"Lands by strong oxen plough'd, or wool-clad flocks, "Or lowing herds my father left me none: "For poor was he;--his daily toil to catch "With nets and lines the fish, and as they leap'd, "Draw with his bending rod the prey to land: "His skill his sole estate. When unto me "This art he taught,--receive, said he, my wealth; "Such wealth as I possess; heir to my toil, "And to my toil successor: dying, he "To me bequeath'd the waters;--nothing more: "These only as paternal wealth I claim.

"But soon, disliking on the self-same rock "To dwell, I learn'd the art to rule the track "Plough'd by the keel, with skilful guiding hand; "And learn'd th' Olenian sign, the showery goat; "Taygete; and the Hyades; the Bear; "The dwellings of the winds; and every port "Where s.h.i.+ps could shelter. Once for Delos bound, "By chance, the sh.o.r.e of Chios' isle we near'd; "And when our starboard oars the beach had touch'd, "Lightly I leap'd, and rested on the land.

"Now, night expir'd, Aurora warmly glow'd, "And rousing up from sleep, my men I bade "Supplies of living waters bring; and shew'd "What path the fountain led to. I meanwhile, "A lofty hill ascending, careful mark'd "The wish'd-for wind approaching;--loud I call'd "My fellows, and with haste the vessel gain'd.

"Lo! cry'd Opheltes, chief of all my crew,-- "Lo! here we come;--and from the desart fields, "(A prize obtain'd, he thought),--he dragg'd along "A boy of virgin beauty tow'rd the sands: "Staggering, the youth, with wine and sleep opprest, "With difficulty follow'd. Closely I "His dress, his countenance, and his gait remark; "And all I see, displays no mortal man.

"Conscious, I speak my comrades thus:--Unknown "To me, what deity before us stands, "But sure I am, that form conceals a G.o.d.

"O thou! whoe'er thou art, a.s.sist us;--aid "Our undertakings;--who have seiz'd thee, spare, "Unknowing what they did. Bold Dictys cries,-- "Than whom none swifter gain'd the topmost yards, "Nor on the cordage slid more agile down;-- "Prayers offer not for us. Him Lybis joins; "And brown Melanthus, ruler of the helm; "Alcimedon unites; Epopeus too, "Who rul'd the rowers, and their restings mark'd; "(Arduous they urg'd their sinews by his voice)-- "Nay all Opheltes join,--the l.u.s.t of gain, "So blinded all their judgments. Still I cry;-- "Ne'er will I yield my vessel to behold "Burthen'd with such a sacrilegious load: "Pre-eminent is here my right. I stand "To those who strive to hoist him in, oppos'd.

"Bold and outrageous, far beyond the rest, "Was Lycabas; from Tuscan sh.o.r.e exil'd "For deeds of murderous violence: he grasp'd "My throat with force athletic, as I stood, "And in the waves had flung me; but sore stunn'd, "A cable caught, and sav'd me. Loud the crew "The impious deed applauded. Bacchus rose, "(The boy was Bacchus!) with the tumult loud "Rous'd from his sleep;--the fumes of wine dispell'd, "His senses seem'd restor'd. What is't you do?

"What noise is this? he cry'd;--What brought me here?

"O, mariners! inform me;--tell me where "You carry me! Fear not,--the pilot said,-- "Say but the port, where most thou'dst chuse to land;-- "Thither we straight will steer. The G.o.d reply'd;-- "To Naxos then your course direct; that isle "My native soil I call:--to you that isle "A friendly sh.o.r.e shall prove. False men, they swear, "By ocean, and by all the sacred G.o.ds, "This to perform; and order me to loose, "The painted vessel's sails. Full on the right "Stood Naxos. Loudly one to me exclaims; "As tow'rd the right I trim the sails to steer;-- "What now, Actes? madman! fool! what now?

"Art thou distracted? to the left we sail.-- "Most nod significant their wishes: some "Soft whisper in my ear. Astounded, I "Let others guide!--exclaim,--and quit the helm; "Guiltless of aiding in their treacherous guile.

"Loud murmurings sound from all; and loudly one, "Ethalion, cries;--in thee alone is plac'd "Our safety, doubtless!--forward steps himself;-- "My station seizes; and a different course "Directs the vessel, Naxos left behind.

"The feigning G.o.d, as though but then, the fraud "To him perceptible, the waves beholds "From the curv'd p.o.o.p, and tears pretending, cries;-- "Not this, O, seamen! is the promis'd sh.o.r.e: "Not this the wish'd-for land! What deed of mine "This cruel treatment merits? Where the fame "Of men, a child deceiving; numbers leagu'd "Misleading one? Fast flow'd my tears with his; "Our tears the impious mob deride, and press "The ocean with their strong-propelling oars.

"Now by the G.o.d himself, I swear, (and none "To vows more ready listens) that the tale, "Though in appearance credence far beyond, "Is strictly true. Firm fixt amid the waves "The vessel stands, as in a harbour laid "Dry from the ocean! Wondering, they their oars, "With strokes redoubled ply; loose to the wind "More sails; and with this double aid essay "Onward to urge. Their oars with ivy twin'd, "Are clogg'd; the curving tendrils crooked spread; "The sails with cl.u.s.tering berries loaded hang.

"His temples girded with a branchy crown, "Whence grapes hang dangling, stands the G.o.d, and shakes "A spear entwisted with the curling vine.

"Round seem to prowl the tiger, and the lynx, "And savage forms of panthers, various mark'd.

"Up leap'd the men, by sudden madness mov'd; "Or terror only: Medon first appear'd "Blackening to grow, with shooting fins; his form "Flatten'd; and in a curve was bent his spine.

"Him Lycabas address'd;--what wonderous shape "Art thou receiving?--speaking, wide his jaws "Expanded; flatten'd down, his nose appear'd; "A scaly covering cloth'd his harden'd skin.

"Lybis to turn the firm fixt oars attempts, "But while he tries, perceives his fingers shrink; "And hands, now hands no longer, fins he sees.

"Another round the cordage strives his arms "To clasp,--but arms he has not,--down he leaps "Broad on his crooked back, and seeks the waves.

"Forkt is their new-made tail; like Luna's form "Bent in the skies, ere half her orb is fill'd.

"Bounding all round they leap;--now down they dash, "Besprinkling wide the foamy drops; now 'merge; "And now re-diving, plunge in playful sport: "As chorus regular they act, and move "Their forms in shapes lascivious; spouting high, "The briny waters through their nostrils wide.

"Of twenty now, (our s.h.i.+p so many bore) "I only stand unchang'd; with trembling limbs, "And petrify'd with fear. The G.o.d himself, "Scarce courage in my mind inspires; when thus,-- "Pale terror from thy bosom drive, and seek "The isle of Naxos.--Thither come, I tend "On smoking altars, Bacchus' sacred rites."

Him Pentheus angry stopp'd. "Thy tedious tale, "Form'd to divert my rage, in vain is told.

"Here, men, swift drag him hence!--dispatch his soul, "Driven from his body, down to Stygian night; "By pangs excruciating." Straight close pent, In solid dungeon is Actes thrown, While they the instruments of death prepare; The cruel steel; the flames;--spontaneous fly Wide ope the dungeon doors; spontaneous fall The fetters from his arms, and freed he goes.

Stubborn, the son of Echion still persists; But sends no messenger: himself proceeds, To where Cythaeron, for the sacred rites Selected, rings with Baccha.n.a.lian songs, And outcries shrill. As foams an high-bred steed, When through the speaking bra.s.s the warlike trump, Sounds the glad signal; and with ardor burns For battle: so the air, with howlings loud Re-echoing, Pentheus moves, and doubly flames His rage, to hear the clangor. Clear'd from trees, A plain extends, from every part fair seen, And near the mountain's centre: round its skirt, Thick groves grow shady. Here his mother saw His eye unhallow'd view the sacred rites; And first,--by frantic madness urg'd,--she first Furious the Thyrsus at her Pentheus flung: Exclaiming loud;--"Ho, sisters! hither haste!

"Here stands the furious boar that wastes our grounds: "My hand has smote him." Raging rush the crowd, In one united body. All close join, And all pursue the now pale trembling wretch.

No longer fierce he storms; but grieving blames His rashness, and his obstinacy owns.

Wounded,--"dear aunt, Autonoe!"--he cries, "Help me!--O, let your own Actaeon's ghost "Move you to pity!" She, Actaeon's name Nought heeding, tears his outstretcht arm away; The other, Ino from his body drags!

And when his arms, unhappy wretch, he tries To lift unto his mother, arms to lift Were none;--but stretching forth his mangled trunk Of limbs bereft;--"look, mother!"--he exclaims.

Loud howl'd Agave at the sight; his neck Fierce grasping,--toss'd on high his streaming locks, Her b.l.o.o.d.y fingers twisted in his hair.

Then clamor'd loudly;--"joy, my comrades, joy!

"The victory is mine!" Not swifter sweep The winds those leaves which early frosts have nipp'd, And lightly to the boughs attach'd remain, Than scatter'd flew his limbs by furious hands.

*The Fourth Book.*

Feast of Bacchus. Impiety and infidelity of Alcithoe and her sisters. Story of Pyramus and Thisbe. Amour of Mars and Venus.

The lovers caught by Vulcan in a net. Sol's love for Leucothoe, and her change to a tree of frankincense. Clytie transformed to a sunflower. Tale of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus. Transformation of Alcithoe and her sisters to bats. Juno's fury. Madness of Athamas; and deification of Ino and Melicertes. Change of the Theban women to rocks and birds. Cadmus and Hermione changed to serpents. Perseus. Transformation of Atlas to a mountain.

Andromeda saved from the sea monster. Story of Medusa.

THE *Fourth Book* OF THE METAMORPHOSES OF OVID.

Warn'd by the dreadful admonition, all Of Thebes the new solemnities approve; Bring incense, and to Bacchus' altars bend.

Alcithoe only, Minyas' daughter, views His orgies still with unbelieving eyes.

Boldly, herself and sisters, partners all In impious guilt, refuse the G.o.d to own, The progeny of Jove. The prophet bids Each mistress with her maids, to join the feast: (Sacred the day from toil). Their b.r.e.a.s.t.s to clothe In skins; the fillets from their heads to loose; With ivy wreathe their brows; and in their hands The leafy Thyrsus grasp. Threatening, he spoke, In words prophetic, how th' affronted G.o.d Would wreak his ire. Matrons and virgins haste; Throw by their baskets; quit the loom, and leave Th' unfinish'd threads: sweet incense they supply Invoking Bacchus by his various names.

Bromius! Lyaeus! power in flames produc'd!-- Produc'd a second time! G.o.d doubly born!

Born of two mothers! Nyseus! they exclaim; Long-hair'd Thyoneus!--and the planter fam'd Of genial grapes! Lenaeus! too, they sing; Nyctelius! Elelcus! and aloud Iacchus! Evan! with the numerous names, O Liber! in the Grecian land thou hold'st.

Unwaning youth is thine, eternal boy!

Most beauteous form in heaven! a virgin's face Thou seem'st to bear, when seen without thy horns.

Stoops to thy arms the East, where Ganges bounds The dusky India:--Deity rever'd!

Thou impious Pentheus sacrific'd; and thou, The mad Lycurgus punish'd with his axe: By thee the Tyrrhene traitors, in the main Were flung: Adorn'd with painted reins, thou curb'st The lynxes in thy chariot yok'd abreast: Thy steps the Satyrs and Bacchantes tread; And old Silenus; who with wine o'ercharg'd, With a long staff his tottering steps sustains: Or on a crooked a.s.s, unsteady sits: Where'er thou enterest shout the joyous youth, Females and males immingled: loud the drums Struck by their hands resound;--and loudly clash The brazen cymbals: soft the boxen flutes Deep and melodious sound!

Now prays all Thebes The G.o.d's approach in mildness; and perform His sacred rites as bidden. Sole remain At home secluded, Minyas' daughters,--they With ill-tim'd industry the feast prophane.

Busy, they form the wool, and twirl the thread; Or to the loom stick close, and all their maids Urge to strict labor. One with dexterous thumb The slender thread extending, cries;--"while all, "Idly, those rites imaginary tend, "Let us, whom Pallas, deity more great, "Detains, our useful labors lighter make "By vary'd converse. Each in turn relate "Her tale, while others listen; thus the time "Less tedious shall appear." All pleas'd applaud The proposition; and her sisters beg That she the tales commence. Long she demurs, What story first, of those she knew, to tell; For numerous was her store. In doubt, thy tale, Dercetis Babylonian, to relate, Whose form, the Syrians think, with scales is cloth'd; The stagnant pools frequenting: or describe Thy daughter's change, on waving pinions borne; Who lengthen'd age obtain'd, on lofty towers Safe dwelling: or of Nas, who the youths With magic works, and potent witching words To silent fishes turn'd; till she the same Vile transformation suffer'd: or the tree, Which once in cl.u.s.ters white its berries bore, Now blood besprinkled, growing black. This tale Most novel, pleas'd the most: and as she spun Her slender thread, the nymph the tale began.

"Thisbe, the brightest of the eastern maids; "And Pyramus, the pride of all the youths, "Contiguous dwellings held, in that fam'd town, "Where lofty walls of stone, we learn were rais'd, "By bold Semiramis. Their neighbouring scite, "Acquaintance first encourag'd,--primal step "To further intimacy: love, in time, "Grew from this chance connection; and they long'd "To join by lawful rites: but harsh forbade, "Their rigid sires the union fate had doom'd.

"With equal ardor both their minds inflam'd, "Burnt fierce; and absent every watchful spy "By nods and signs they spoke; for close their love "Conceal'd they kept;--conceal'd it burn'd more fierce.

"The severing wall a narrow c.h.i.n.k contain'd, "Form'd when first rear'd;--what will not love espy?

"This c.h.i.n.k, by all for ages past unseen, "The lovers first espy'd.--This opening gave "A pa.s.sage for their voices; safely through, "Their tender words were breath'd in whisperings soft.

"Oft punctual at their posts,--on this side she, "And Pyramus on that;--each breathing sighs,-- "By turns inhaling, have they mutual cry'd;-- "Invidious wall! why lovers thus divide?

"Much were it, did thy parts more wide recede, "And suffer us to join? were that too much "A little opening more, and we might meet "With lips at least. Yet grateful still we own "Thy kind indulgence, which a pa.s.sage gives, "And amorous words conveys to loving ears.

"Thus they loquacious, though on sides diverse, "Till night their converse stay'd;--then cry'd, adieu!

"And each imprinted kisses, which the stones "Forbade to taste. Soon as Aurora's fires "Remov'd the shades of night, and Phbus' rays "From the moist earth the dew exhal'd, they meet "As 'custom'd at the wall: lamenting deep, "As wont in murmuring whispers: bold they plan, "Their guards evading in the silent night, "To pa.s.s the outer gates. Then, when escap'd "From home, to leave the city's dangerous shade; "But lest, in wandering o'er the s.p.a.cious plains "They miss to meet, at Ninus' sacred tomb "They fix their a.s.signation,--hid conceal'd "Beneath th' umbrageous leaves. There grew a tree, "Close bordering on a cooling fountain's brink; "A stately mulberry;--snow-white fruit hung thick "On every branch. The plot pleas'd well the pair.

"And now slow seems the car of Sol to sink; "Slow from the ocean seems the night to rise; "Till Thisbe, cautious, by the darkness veil'd, "Soft turns the hinges, and her guards beguiles.

"Her features veil'd, the tomb she reaches,--sits "Beneath th' appointed tree: love makes her bold.

"Lo! comes a lioness,--her jaws besmear'd "With gory foam, fresh from the slaughter'd herd, "Deep in th' adjoining fount her thirst to slake.

"Far off the Babylonian maid beheld "By Luna's rays the horrid foe,--quick fled "With trembling feet, and gain'd a darksome cave: "Flying, she dropp'd, and left her robe behind.

"Now had the savage beast her drought allay'd, "And backward to the forest roaming, found "The veiling robe;--its tender texture rent, "And smear'd the spoil with b.l.o.o.d.y jaws. The youth "(With later fortune his strict watch escap'd) "Spy'd the plain footsteps of a monster huge "Deep in the sand indented!--O'er his face "Pale terror spread: but when the robe he saw, "With blood besmear'd, and mangled; loud he cry'd,-- "One night shall close two lovers' eyes in death!

"She most deserving of a longer date.

"Mine is the fault alone. Dear luckless maid!

"I have destroy'd thee;--I, who bade thee keep "Nocturnal meetings in this dangerous place, "And came not first to s.h.i.+eld thy steps from harm.

"Ye lions, wheresoe'er within those caves "Ye lurk! haste hither,--tear me limb from limb!

"Fierce ravaging devour, and make my tomb "Your horrid entrails. But for death to wish "A coward's turn may serve. The robe he takes, "Once Thisbe's, and beneath th' appointed tree "Bearing it, bath'd in tears; with ardent lips "Oft fondly kissing, thus he desperate cries;-- "Now with my blood be also bath'd!--drink deep!

"And in his body plung'd the sword, that round "His loins hung ready girt: then as he dy'd, "Hasty withdrew, hot reeking from the wound, "The steel; and backwards falling, press'd the earth.