That Psyche should be wed, and to what man,

The tripod shook, and o’er the vaporous well

The chanting Pythoness gave oracle,

And thus in priestly verse the sentence ran:

11

High on the topmost rock with funeral feast

Convey and leave the maid, nor look to find

A mortal husband, but a savage beast,

The viperous scourge of gods and humankind;

Who shames and vexes all, and as he flies