Darken'd with trees thick-growing, rose a wood;
From earliest ages there the biting axe
Had never sounded; in the plain it rear'd
Facing the sloping fields. The youths arriv'd;
Some spread the knotted toils; some loose the hounds;
Some strive the foot-prints of the boar to trace,
Their danger anxious seeking. Low beneath
A hollow vale extended, where the floods
Fresh showery torrents gather'd, lazy laid.
The flexile willow, and the waving reed;
The fenny bulrush, osier, and the cane
Diminutive, the stagnant depth conceal'd.
Arous'd from hence, the boar impetuous rush'd
Amidst his host of foes; so lightenings dart
When clouds concussive clash. His rapid force
Levels the grove, the crackling trees resound
Where'er he pushes: loud the joyful youth
Exclaim, each grasping with a nervous hand
His weapon brandish'd, while its broad head shakes.
Forward he darts, the dogs he scatters wide,
And each opposing power; his strokes oblique
Their baying drives to distance. Echion's arm
Hurl'd the first dart, but hurl'd the dart in vain;
Lightly a maple's trunk the weapon graz'd.
The next, but over-urg'd the force that sent,
Had pierc'd the rough back of the wish'd-for prey;
Jason's the steel,—it whizz'd beyond him far.
Then Mopsus pray'd,—“O Phœbus! if thy rites
“I e'er perform'd, if still I thee adore,
“Grant my sure weapon what I wish to touch.”
The god consented, what he could he gave,—
The boar was struck, but struck without a wound:
Diana from the flying weapon snatch'd
The steely head, and pointless fell the wood.
More chafes the beast, like lightening fierce he burns,
Fire from his eyeballs flashes, from his chest
Clouds of hot smoke through his wide nostrils roll.
Forc'd from the close-drawn string as flies a stone,
Hurl'd at embattl'd walls, or hostile towers
With foes thick crowded: so the deadly beast
Rush'd on the heroes with unerring shock.
Eupalamus and Pelagon, who stood
The right wing guarding, on the earth he threw:
Their fellows snatch'd them from impending fate.
Not so Onesimus, of Hippocoön
The offspring, 'scap'd the death-inflicting blow;
Torn through the ham, just as for flight he turn'd;
His slacken'd nerves could bear his weight no more.
Then Nestor too, long e'er the Trojan times,
Perchance had perish'd, but beside him stood
A tree, whose branches nimbly he attain'd;
A mighty effort, aided by his spear:
Safe in his seat, he view'd the foe he fled,
Beneath him. Fiercely threatening death below,
He whets his tushes on a stumpy oak,
And bold in sharpen'd arms, ranches the thigh,
With crooked fangs, of Othrys' mighty son.
Now the twin-brothers, ere in heaven display'd
Bright constellations, both fair dazzling shone,
Mounted on steeds, whose lily'd hue surpass'd
Th' unsully'd snow; both shook their brandish'd spears,
The trembling motion sounded high in air;
Deep both had pierc'd, but 'mid the darkening trees,
Their bristly foe sought refuge, where nor steed,
Nor dart could reach him. Telamon pursues;
Ardent, and heedless of his steps, a root
Checks his quick feet, and prone the hero falls.
While Peleus aids his brother chief to rise,
The beauteous Atalanta to the string
Fits the swift dart, and from the bended bow
Speeds it; the arrow, fixt beneath his ear,
Razes the monster's skin, and drops of blood
His bristly neck ensanguine. Joys the maid
To see the blow;—but Meleager far
In joy surpass'd her. He the first beheld
The trickling blood; he to his comrades first
The wound display'd, exclaiming,—“Yon fair nymph
“The honors so deserv'dly won shall bear.”—
The warriors blush with shame, and each exhorts
His fellow; shouts their souls more valiant swell;
In heaps confus'd their numerous javelins fly;
Clashing in crowds, each javelin fails to wound.
Lo! now Ancæus furious, to his fate
Blind rushing, rears his double axe, and cries,—
“Behold, O youths! how much a manly arm
“Outstrikes a female's, to my prowess yield
“The palm of conquest. Let Latona's maid
“With all her power protect him, yet my force,
“Spite of Diana, shall the monster slay.”—
Proud his big-boasting tongue thus speaks, then grasps
His two-edg'd weapon firmly in his hands,
And rais'd on tiptoe meditates the blow.
The watchful beast prevents him, through his groin,
To death sure passage, drives his double tusks:
Ancæus drops; his bowels gushing fall,
Roll on the earth, and soak the ground in gore.
Ixion's son, Pirithous, on the foe
Rush'd, in his nervous hand a powerful spear
Brandishing; Theseus loudly to his friend
Exclaim'd,—“O, dearer far than is myself,—
“Half of my soul, at distance wait; the brave
“At distance may engage; valor too rash
“Destroy'd Ancæus.”—As he spoke he hurl'd
His massive cornel spear; its brazen head
Well pois'd, its sender's anxious wish appear'd
Fair to accomplish, when a leafy arm
Branch'd from a beech, oppos'd it in its flight.
Next Æson's son, his javelin threw, but chance
Glanc'd from its mark the weapon, and transpierc'd
An undeserving hound; the dart was drove
Through all his belly, and deep fixt in earth.
But different fortune on the arms awaits
Of Meleager, javelins two he sent;
Deep in the ground the foremost pierc'd, the next
Firm in the monster's back quivering stood fixt.
Nor stays he, whilst he raging furious whirl'd
In giddy circles round, and pour'd his foam,
Mad with the new-felt torture, close at hand
The hero plies his work, provokes his foe
To fiercer ire, and in his furious breast
Buries the glittering spear. A second shout
Loudly proclaims his thronging comrades' joy;
Each to the victor crowding, hand in hand
Congratulating grasps him; each amaz'd
Views the dire savage, as his mighty bulk
O'erspreads a space of land. Scarce think they yet
Their safety sure, him touching; each his spear
Extends, and dips it in the flowing gore.
His foot upon the head destructive fixt,
The conquering youth thus speaks:—“Nonacria fair!
“Receive the spoil my fortune well might claim:
“Fresh glory shall I gain, with thee to share
“The honors of the day.”—Then gives the spoils;—
The chine with horrid bristles rising stiff,
And head, fierce threatening still with mighty tusks.
She takes the welcome gift, for much she joys
From him to take it. Envy seiz'd the rest,
And sullen murmurs through the comrades ran:
Above the rest, were Thestius' sons,—their arms
Out-stretching, clamor'd thus with a mighty noise;—
“Let not thy beauteous form thy mind deceive,
“When from thy eyes the donor of the spoil,
“Besotted with thy love, shall far be mov'd.
“Woman! restore the prize, nor hope to hold
“Our intercepted claims.”—Speaking they rob
Her of the gift, him of the right to give.
Nor passive stood the warlike youth, his teeth
He gnash'd with swelling rage, as fierce he cry'd;—
“Learn, ye base robbers of another's rights,
“What difference threats and valiant actions shew.—”
Then in Plexippus' unsuspecting breast
He plung'd his impious sword: nor suffer'd long
Toxeus to doubt, who hesitating stood,
Now vengeance brooding for his brother's fate,
Now dreading for himself a like swift blow;
Again he warms the weapon, reeking still
Hot from Plexippus' bosom, in his blood.
To every temple of the favoring gods
Althæa bore donations for her son,
Victorious: When the breathless bodies came
Of both her brethren, loud the sounding blows
Of grief were heard, and all the city rung
With lamentable cries: her golden robes
Were straight to sable chang'd. But when the hand
Which struck the blow was known, her every tear
Was dry'd, and vengeance only fill'd her soul.
A log there lay when Thestius' daughter groan'd
In child-bed pangs; which on the greedy flames
The triple sisters flung; and while their thumbs
Twirl'd round the fatal thread, this was their song;—
“O newly born! to thee and to this bough
“Like date of life we give.”—Then ceas'd their words,
And from her presence vanish'd: sudden snatch'd
The mother from the fire the burning brand,
And quench'd it instant in unsparing streams.
Long in most secret darkness had she hid
This fatal wood; and, thus preserv'd, her son
Had safely years mature attain'd; but now
Forth she produc'd it from its close recess.
Fragments of torches on the hearth she heap'd,
And blew the sparklings into deadly flames;
And thrice she rais'd her hands the branch to heave
On the fierce fire; and thrice her hands withdrew.
Sister and mother in one bosom fought,
To adverse acts impelling. Oft her face,
Dread of her meditated crime, bleach'd pale;
Oft to her eyes her furious rage supply'd
A fiery redness; now her countenance glow'd
With threatenings cruel; now her softening looks
To pity seemed to melt; and when fierce ire
Had fill'd her soul, and parch'd up every tear,
Fresh tears would gush. Thus rocks a vessel, driven
By winds and adverse currents, both their force
At once obeys, and can to neither yield.
Thus waver'd Thestius' daughter, dubious thus
Affection sway'd her; now her rage is calm,
Now her calm'd rage with fourfold fury burns.
At length the sister's o'er the parent's tie
The prevalence obtains; impiously good,
With blood her own, she soothes the brethren's shades.
Now, when the fires destructive fiercely glar'd,
She cry'd:—“Here, funeral pile, my bowels burn!—”
And as the fatal wood her direful hand
Held forth, the hapless mother, at the pyre
Sepulchral, stood, exclaiming;—“Furies three!
“Avenging sisters! hither turn your eyes;
“Behold the furious sacred rites I pay:
“For retribution I commit this crime.
“By death their death must be aveng'd; his fault
“By mine be punish'd; on their funeral biers
“His must be laid; one sinning house must fall,
“In woes accumulated. Blest shall still
“Œneus enjoy his proud victorious son,
“And Thestius childless mourn? Better that both
“Should weep in concert. Dear fraternal ghosts,
“Recent from upper air, my work behold!
“Take to th' infernal realms my offering bought
“So dear! the hapless pledge my womb produc'd.
“Ah! whither am I swept? Brothers forgive
“The parent. Lo! my faltering hands refuse
“To second my intents. Well he deserves
“To perish; yet by other hands than mine.
“Unpunish'd shall he 'scape then? Victor live,
“Proud of his high success, and rule the realm
“Of Calydon, while ye are prostrate thrown
“A trivial heap of ashes, and cold shades?
“Patience no more will bear. Perish the wretch!
“Perish his father's hopes! perish the realm!
“And all the country perish! Where? O, where?
“Is then the mother's soul, the pious prayers
“A parent should prefer? Where the strong pains
“Which twice five moons I bore? O, that the flames
“First kindled, had thy infant limbs consum'd!
“Would I had not then snatch'd thee from thy fate!
“Thy gift of life is mine; now that thou dy'st
“Thy own demerits ask: take the reward
“Thy deeds deserve: yield up thy twice-given life,
“First in thy birth, then by the brand I sav'd;
“Or lay me with my brethren in their tomb.
“I wish, yet what I would my hands refuse.
“What will my soul determine? Now mine eyes
“The mangled corses of my brethren fill:
“Now filial fondness, and a mother's name
“Distract my soul. O, wretched, wretched me!
“Brothers you gain the conquest, yet you gain
“Dearly for me; but on your shades I'll wait,
“Blest in what gives you once to me again.”
She said; with face averse and trembling hand,
The fateful brand amid the fires was dropt.
The brand a groan deep utter'd, or a groan
To utter seem'd: the flames half backward caught
At length their prey, which gradually consum'd.
Witless of this sad deed, and absent far,
Fierce Meleager, with the self-same fire
Burn'd inward; all his vitals felt the flame
Scorching conceal'd: th' excruciating pangs
Magnanimous he bore. Yet deep he mourn'd
By such a slothful bloodless fate to fall;
And happy call'd Ancæus in his wounds.
With deep-drawn groans he calls his aged sire,
His brother, sisters, and the nymph belov'd,
Who shar'd his nuptial couch; with final breath,
His mother too perchance. Now glows the fire,
And now the pains increase; now both are faint;
Now both together die. The soul flies forth,
And gently dissipates in empty air.
Low now lies lofty Calydon,—the youths,
And aged seniors weep; the vulgar crowd
And nobles mourn alike; the matrons rend
Their garments, beat their breasts, and tear their hair.
Stretch'd on the earth the wretched sire defiles
His hoary locks, and aged face with dust,
Cursing his lengthen'd years: the conscious hand
Which caus'd the direful end, the mother's fate
Accomplish'd; through her vitals pierc'd the steel.
Had heaven on me an hundred tongues bestow'd,
With sounding voice, and such capacious wit
As all might fill; and all the Muses' power,
Still should I fail the grieving sisters' woe
Justly to paint. Heedless of beauteous forms
They beat their bosoms livid; while the corse
Remains, they clasp and cherish in their arms
The senseless mass; the corse they kiss, and kiss
The couch on which it rests: to ashes burn'd,
Careful collected in the urn, they hug
Those ashes to their breasts; and prostrate thrown
His tomb they cover; on the graven stone
Embrace his name; and on the letters pour
Their tears in torrents. Dian' satiate now
The house of Œneus levell'd with the dust,
Rais'd them by wings in air, which sudden shot
From each their bodies. Gorgé sole, and she
The spouse of valiant Hercules, unchang'd
Were left. Long pinions for their arms were seen;
Their mouths to horny bills were turn'd; through air
Thus alter'd, ample range the goddess gives.
Theseus meantime, the toil confederate done,
Homeward to Pallas' towers his journey bent;
But Acheloüs, swol'n by showery floods,
Delay'd his progress. “Fam'd Cecropia's chief,”—
He cry'd,—“here shelter, enter 'neath my roof,
“Nor through the furious torrents trust thy steps.
“Whole forests oft they root, and whirl along
“Vast rocks with thundering sound. High stalls I've seen,
“Near to the banks erected, swept away:
“Nor aught avail'd the lusty bull's strong limbs,
“Nor aught the courser's speed: the torrents oft
“Of melted snows, which from the mountains rush,
“Whelm the strong youths beneath the whirling pool.
“To rest is safer, till their wonted banks
“Again the streams confine; the lessen'd waves
“Within their channels pent.”—Theseus complies,
And answers:—“Acheloüs, we approve
“Thy prudent counsel, and thy cave will use,”
The grot they enter; hollow pumice, mixt
With rugged tophus, form'd it; tender moss
The moist floor cover'd; fretwork on the roof
The purple murex and the scallop white
Alternate form'd. Now Phœbus' steeds had run
Two thirds their race, when Theseus on his couch
Reclin'd, the comrades of his toil close by;
Pirithous here, Trœzenian Lelex there,
Whose temples now some silvery hairs display'd.
With these were such as Acheloüs, joy'd
At such a noble guest, the honor deem'd
Worthy to share. The barefoot Naiäd nymphs
Heap'd on the board the banquet: food remov'd,
They brought the wine, in cups with jewels deck'd.
The mighty hero then, the distant main
Surveying, asks:—“What land is that I see?—”
And shews the spot,—“tell me what name denotes
“That isle? and yet methinks not one it seems.”
The river-god replies:—“What we behold
“A single isle is not, but five; the eye
“Is mock'd by distance. That Diana's wrath
“May less your wonder move, these once were nymphs.
“Ten bullocks had they sacrific'd, and call'd
“Each rural god to taste the sacred feast,
“And join the festal chorus, me alone,
“Forgetful, they invited not. Sore vext,
“I swell'd with rage, and as my anger rose,
“My flood increas'd; till at my greatest height,
“Woods I divorc'd from woods; from meadows tore
“The neighbouring meadows; and the Naiäds roll'd,
“Now well-remembering what my godhead claim'd,
“Down with their habitations to the main.
“My waves then, with the ocean's waters join'd,
“The land divided, and those isles you view,
“Echinades, amid the sea were form'd.
“More distant may your vision reach;—behold
“An isle beyond them to my soul most dear;
“By sailors nam'd Perimelé. I snatch'd
“Her virgin-treasure from the much-lov'd maid.
“Hippodamas her sire in fury rav'd;
“And, from a precipice, the pregnant nymph
“Plung'd in the deep. My waves receiv'd the load;
“And whilst I bore her floating, thus I said;—
“O, trident-bearer, thou whom lot decreed
“Lord, next to heaven, o'er all the wandering waves,
“Where all the sacred rivers end their course;
“To which all rivers tend, O, Neptune, aid!
“Propitious, hear my prayer! Much have I wrong'd
“The nymph I now support: if lenient he,
“And equitable, sure Hippodamas,
“Her sire, had pity granted, and myself
“Had pardon'd. Gracious Neptune, grant thy help
“To her a parent's fury from the earth
“Wide banishes. O, I beseech thee! grant
“A place to her, paternal rage would drown:
“Or to a place transform her, where my waves
“May clasp her still. The ocean-god consents,
“And all his waters shake as nods his head.
“Still floats th' affrighted nymph; and as she swims,
“I feel her heart with trepid motion beat:
“While pressing fond her bosom, all her form
“Rigidly firm becomes, and round her chest
“Rough earth heaps high; and, whilst I wondring speak,
“A new-form'd land her floating limbs enclasps:
“Her shape transform'd, a solid isle becomes.”
Thus far the watery deity, and ceas'd.
The wondrous tale all mov'd, save one, the son
Of bold Ixion; fierce of soul, he laugh'd
To scorn their minds so credulous, the gods
Impious contemning, as he thus exclaim'd;—
“What tales, O, Acheloüs, you relate!
“Too much of potence to the gods you grant,
“To give and change our figures.”—All struck dumb,
Discourage this bold speech, and Lelex first,
Mature in age, and in experience old
Beyond the rest, thus spoke:—“Celestial power,
“In range is infinite, in sway immense;
“What the gods will, completion instant finds.
“To clear your doubts, upon the Phrygian hills
“An ancient oak, and neighbouring linden stand,
“Girt by a low inclosure; I the spot
“Survey'd, when into Phrygia's realms dispatch'd
“By Pittheus, when those realms his father rul'd.
“Not far a lake extends, a space once fill'd
“With human 'habitants, whose waves now swarm
“With fenny coots, and cormorants alone.
“Here Jove in human shape, and with his sire,
“The son of Maiä, came; the last his rod
“Shorn of its wings, still bore. A thousand doors,
“Seeking repose, they knock'd at; every door
“Firm barr'd repuls'd them: one at length flew wide;
“A lowly cot, whose humble roof long reeds,
“And straw firm-matted, cover'd. Baucis there,
“A pious dame, and old Philemon match'd
“In age, had dwelt, since join'd in springtide youth;
“And there grew old together: Full content,
“Their poverty they hid not, and more light
“Their poverty on souls unmurmuring weigh'd.
“Here nor for lord, nor servant, was there need
“To seek; beneath the roof these only dwelt;
“Each order'd, each obey'd. The heaven-born guests
“The humble threshold crossing, lowly stoop'd,
“And entrance gain'd: the ancient host bade sit
“And rest their weary'd limbs: the bench was plac'd,
“Which Baucis anxious for their comfort, spread
“With home-made coverings: then with careful hand
“The scarce warm embers on the hearth upturn'd;
“And rous'd the sleeping fires of yestern's eve,
“With food of leaves and bark dry-parch'd, and fann'd
“To flame the fuel with her aged breath:
“Then threw the small-slit faggots, and the boughs
“Long-wither'd, on the top, divided small:
“And plac'd her brazen vase of scanty size,
“O'er all. Last stripp'd the coleworts' outer leaves,
“Cull'd by her husband from the water'd ground,
“Which serv'd as garden. He meantime reach'd down,
“With two-fork'd prong, where high on blacken'd beam
“It hung, a paltry portion of an hog,
“Long harden'd there; and from the back he slic'd
“A morsel thin, which soon he soften'd down
“In boiling steam. The intermediate hours
“With pleasing chat they cheat; the short delay
“To feel avoiding. On a nail high hung
“A beechen pail for bathing, by its hand
“Deep-curv'd: with tepid water this he fill'd,
“And plac'd before his guests their feet to lave.
“A couch there stood, whose feet and frame were form'd
“Of willow; tender reeds the centre fill'd,
“With coverings this they spread, coverings which saw
“The light not, but when festal days them claim'd:
“Yet coarse and old were these, and such as well
“With willow couch agreed. The gods laid down.
“The dame close-girt, with tremulous hand prepar'd
“The board; two feet were perfect, 'neath the third
“She thrust a broken sherd, and all stood firm.
“This sloping mended, all the surface clean
“With fragrant mint she rubb'd: and plac'd in heaps
“The double-teinted fruit of Pallas, maid
“Of unsoil'd purity; autumnal fruits,
“Cornels, in liquid lees of wine preserv'd;
“Endive, and radish, and the milky curd;
“With eggs turn'd lightly o'er a gentle heat:
“All serv'd in earthen dishes. After these
“A clay-carv'd jug was set, and beechen cups,
“Varnish'd all bright with yellow wax within.
“Short the delay, when from the ready fire
“The steaming dish is brought; and wine not long
“Press'd from the grape, again went round, again
“Gave place to see the third remove produc'd.
“Now comes the nut, the fig, the wrinkled date,
“The plumb, the fragrant apple, and the grape
“Pluck'd from the purple vine; all plac'd around
“In spreading baskets: snow-white honey fill'd
“The central space. The prime of all the feast,
“Was looks that hearty welcome gave, and prov'd
“No indigence nor poverty of soul.
“Meantime the empty'd bowls full oft they see
“Spontaneously replenish'd; still the wine
“Springs to the brim. Astonish'd, struck with dread,
“To view the novel scene, the timid pair
“Their hands upraise devoutly, and with prayers
“Excuses utter for their homely treat,
“At unawares requir'd. A lonely goose
“They own'd, the watchman of their puny farm;
“Him would the hosts, to their celestial guests
“A sacred offering make, but swift of wing,
“Their toiling chace with age retarded, long
“He mock'd; at length the gods themselves he seeks
“For sheltering care. The gods his death forbid,
“And speak:—Celestials are we both; a fate
“Well-earn'd, your impious neighbouring roofs shall feel.
“To you, and unto you alone is given
“Exemption from their lot. Your cottage leave
“And tread our footsteps, while of yonder mount
“We seek the loftiest summit. Each obeys;
“The gods precede them, while their tottering limbs
“A trusty staff supports; tardy from years,
“Slowly they labor up the long ascent.
“Now from the summit wanted they not more
“Than what an arrow, shot with strenuous arm,
“At once could gain; when back their view they bent:
“Their house alone they saw,—that singly stood:
“All else were buried in a wide-spread lake.
“Wondring at this, and weeping at the doom
“Their hapless neighbours suffer'd; lo! they see
“Their mouldering cot, e'en for the pair too small,
“Change to a temple; pillars rear on high,
“In place of crotchets; yellow turns the straw,
“The roof seems gilded; sculptur'd shine the gates;
“And marble pavement covers all the floor.
“Then Saturn's son, in these benignant words
“The pair address'd;—O, ancient man, most just!
“And thou, O woman! worthy of thy spouse,
“Declare your wishes.—Baucis spoke awhile
“With old Philemon; then their joint desire
“The latter to the deities declar'd.—
“To be your ministers, your sacred fane
“To keep we ask: and as our equal years
“In concord we have pass'd, let the same hour
“Remove us hence: may I her tomb not see,
“Nor be by her interr'd.—The gods comply;
“These guard the temple through succeeding life.
“Fill'd now with years, as on the temple's steps
“They stood, conversing on the wondrous change,
“Baucis beheld Philemon shoot in leaves,
“And leaves Philemon saw from Baucis sprout;
“And from their heads o'er either's face they grew.
“Still while they could with mutual words they spoke;
“At once exclaim'd,—O, dearest spouse, farewell!—
“At once the bark, their lips thus speaking, clos'd.
“Ev'n yet a Tyanæan shews two trees
“Of neighbouring growth, form'd from the alter'd pair.
“Nor dotard credulous, nor lying tongue
“The fact to me related. On the boughs
“Myself have seen the votive garlands hung;
“And whilst I offered fresher, have I said—
“Heaven guards the good with care; and those who give
“The gods due honors, honors claim themselves.”