Alcmena's son would no delay endure,

But with the pole itself the boatman tamed,

And climbed aboard the boat. The roomy craft,775

For nations ample, groaned beneath his weight;

And as he sat, the heavy-weighted skiff

With rocking sides drank in the Lethe stream.

Then quaked the conquered monsters at the sight:

The Centaurs, fierce and wild, the Lapithae,

Inflamed to strife by copious draughts of wine;

And, seeking out the farthest pools of Styx,780