His prayer in song—so pithy and so sweet,
Ne’er fail’d t’imprint its influence on the great
Celestial magnates, nobles of the air.
But Bacchus’ death nigh drove them to despair!
They knew not that the god was lying dead,
Until Apollo (not in vain) had pray’d
For them to come and join the ritual:
Nor for a moment did they deign t’recall
The disappointment when they all went down,
To Bacchus’ cry, and found the god was gone: