821

830

Returning, finds her clam'rous infants gone,
And blood and scatter'd feathers left alone,
She drops the meat, and spurns the nest away;
The grove responsive echoes to her lay.
Soon as the wretch had in her lap with care
Repos'd his limbs, and dry'd them with her hair,
Her voice, releas'd from sad excess of grief, 861
A passage found, and thus she sought relief.
"O thou, whose form and features oft have brought
My own dear offspring's image to my thought,
Whose soft caresses could alone abate
The pangs of exile and a servile state:
Say, whence these wounds? what god could thus
disgrace

Thy faultless figure, and thy charms efface?
I left thee fresh in life, in beauty gay,
Engag'd in pleasure, and amus'd with play. 870
Where now are all those sweet attempts to speak,
The sparkling eye and rose-resembling check?
Where are those artful smiles, that lisping tone
To me address'd, and known to me alone?
How to procure thee slumbers did I toil,
And talk of Argo, and thy native soil!
How have I press'd thee in my folding arms,
And gaz'd and doated on thy budding charms?
Thus sooth'd, I could forget I was a slave;
To thee my breast, another's right, I gave:
840 Now ready to thy mouth descends again

Whether thou art the guardian of the grove,
Or, what I wish, the property of Jove,"
The vaunting Capaneus exclaims aloud,
And rushes foremost of the warrior-crowd.
Swift thro' his gaping jaws the jav'lin glides,
And the rough texture of his tongue divides;
The point was seen above his crested head,
Then stains the ground with goary filth dispread.
The furious monster, unappall'd with pain,
In rapid mazes bounds along the plain,
Then, wrench'd the jav'lin from his bleeding head,
Swift to the temple of his patron fled:
Here long he struggles in the pangs of death,
In hissing threats at length resigns his breath.
Him Lerna's lakes in gentle murmurs mourn,
And Nemea, by his frequent windings worn:
Him ev'ry nymph, that late was wont to bring
Her early tribute from the rifled spring:
For him the fauns were seen to break their reeds,
And tear the leafy honours from their heads.
E'en Jove himself the fashion'd bolt demands,
And scarce withholds his all-avenging hands,
Till the blasphemer in process of time
Should merit vengeance for a greater crime:
Yet then a flashing ray was seen to graze
His beaming helmet, and augment the blaze.
As now Hypsipyle, the serpent slain,
Seeks her lost infant on the spacious plain,
Upon a distant eminence she spy'd
The with'ring grass with drops of slaughter
Hither in haste the beauteous mourner flies,
And soon, too soon the killing object eyes.
In vain from words she seeks a short relief,
In vain in tears to vent her swelling grief;
Short of its course the pearly current hung,
And to the roof inactive cleaves the tongue.
One while she kisses his discolour'd cheeks, 849
Then thro' his limbs life's luke-warm passage seeks
In vain, his face and breast misplac'd, are drown'd
In blood, and the whole body seems one wound.
As when the bird, whose nest in search of food
Some serpent climb'd, and crush'd the tender brood,

880

The middle current, but descends in vain.
dy'd:Nor were there omens wanting to disclose
His fate, and warn me of impending woes:
Amidst the dusky horrours of the night
The Cyprian goddess stood confest to sight.
But why should I the fatal act disclaim,
And to the guiltless gods transfer the blame?
My speedy death shall for the crime atone,
'Tis thus decreed, nor seek I death to shun. 899
Say, could I thus forget my precious care,
While, urg'd by vain ambition, I declare
My daring country's fortune and my own,
And court the transient blazes of renown?
Lemnos, no more against thy queen exclaim,
Our guilt is equal, our disgrace the same.
Come Usignuol, cui'l villan duro invole

of it, which consists in the sudden and abrupt turn of the address, had been entirely lost, if the poet had followed the usual forms and said, "Then Capaneus rushes with his spear, and begins as follows."-There are more instances of this elegancy in Statius, than any author we know of, as indeed he has a greater share of vivacity.

824. To the temple] Virgil has observed the same of the serpents that slew Laocoon in his second Æneid.

At gemini lapsu delubra ad summa dracones
Effugiunt, sævæque petunt Tritonidis arces:
Sub pedibusque deæ, clypeique sub orbe teguntur.
Ver. 225.

.

853. As when the bird] Virgil has a beautiful simile of the same kind with this in Statius, thus

Dal nido i figli non pennuti ancora;
Che in miserabil canto afflitte, e sole
Pinge le notti, e n' empie i boschi, e l'ora.
Al fin col novo dì rinchiude alquanto
lumi, e'l sonno in lor serpe fra'l pianto.

I

Gierusal. Lib. canto 12. st. 90.

871. Where now are] This is something like that beautiful exclamation in Horace.

Quo fugit Venus heu? quove color? decens
Quo motus? quid habes illius, illius,
Quæ spirabat amores,

Quæ me surpuerat mihi? Lib. 4. Ode 12. 883. Nor were there omens] As far as we can infer from the writings of Statius, he was very superstitious. All the personages, who have a place

excellently translated by the duke of Bucking-in his poem, lay a great stress ou omens, and, after

ham.

So the sad nightingale, when childless made
By some rough swain, who stole her young away,
Bewails her loss beneath a poplar shade,
Mourns all the night, in murmurs wastes the day.
Her melting songs a doleful pleasure yield,
And melancholy music fills the field.

Tasso has likewise copied it.

any calamity has happened to them, always recollect some vision that portended it. The correction that follows has a very beautiful effect. Upon the whole, we may conclude this oration to be a master-piece in the pathetic way. That of Euryalus's mother in the 9th book of the Eneid, and of Andromache in the 22d of the Iliad, are the only ones that can stand in competition with it.

If this entreaty merits your regard,
If my past service claims this small reward,
Lead me, O quickly to the serpent lead,

940

But soon the doubtful oracle is clear'd,
As the sad exequies in sight appear'd.
Hypsipyle the slow procession leads,
Met by the queen, array'd in sable weeds.
But pious cares no longer now withhold
The father, from his new misfortunes bold.
An angry, not a sorrowing look he wears,
And rage denies a passage to his tears.
Swift as a tiger, o'er the fields he flies,
And thus aloud to his domestics cries.
"Where is this faithless wretch, this female foe,
That spills my blood, and triomphs in my woe?
Say, lives she? breathes she yet the vital air?
Seize her, and quick, my friends, tovengeance bear;
No longer let her well-invented tale
And vain impostures o'er your faith prevail"
The monarch spoke, and from the sheath display'd
The dreadful splendours of his s!aught'ring blade;
But interposing Tydeus rush'd between,
And with his shield protects the Lemnian queen;
Then shouts aloud: "Whoe'er thou art, forbear,
Nor tempt the fury of my thirsting spear."
Him stern Hippomedon, in arms renown'd,
920 Th' Arcadian youth, and Capaneus surround.
Their swords, impatient for the promis'd war,
With dazzling lustre glitter from afar.
To aid their king the gath'ring swains oppose,
And menace their inhospitable foes.
Then mild Adrastus, mingling with the crowd,
And good Oeclides thus exclaims aloud.

Or with your swords absolve my impious deed. 900
Oh! never may these eyes behold again
The sire, or injur'd partner of his reign:
Tho' (what can scarcely merit your belief)
My own would equal her severest grief.
Ere from these hands she take th' ungrateful load,
Th' ungrateful load, unhappily bestow'd,
May yawning earth a sudden passage rend,
And let me thro' the dark abyss descend."
The princess spoke, and, frantic with despair, 909
Deforms with blood her face, with dust her hair;
Then blames the grieving warriors, in whose cause
She left the babe, too studious of applause.
And now the news had reach'd the monarch's ears,
And fill'd the royal dome with sudden tears.
Lycurgus, on that inauspicious day,
From the Persean mountain bent his way;
Where angry entrails burnt beneath the shade
To th' unregarding thunderer were paid.
All commerce with Adrastus he declin'd,
Nor in the council, or the battle join'd.
Not void of martial courage was his breast,
But piety the love of war suppress'd.
Besides the god's response, with counsel fraught,
Long lay revolving in his anxious thought.
"Lycurgus first" (the sacred voice reveal'd)
"A burial in the Thebau war shall yield."
On this he dwelt, and, erring in his fate,
Preferr'd a peaceful life, and neutral state;
Yet, when he beard the clarion's loud alarms,
Wishes to sheathe his limbs in fatal arms..

930

910. Deforms with blood her face] This method of expressing sorrow was very customary among the orientals. We have frequent mention of it in the sacred and profane writers. Homer, in the 18th book of his Iliad, says,

Αμφοτέρησι δε χεςσιν έλει κόνιν αιθαλόεσσαν,
Χένατο κακκεφαλης.

And again in the 22d,

Πάντας δ' ελλιτανευε κυλινδόμενο κατά κόπρον. 917. Entrails burnt] These pieces of meat were called prosecta by the Romans, and divided into three portions. The first was burnt; the second, consecrated and given to the priests; and the third, eaten by the person who made the sacrifice and his family. Suetonius, in the life of Augustus, says, "Cum fortè Marti rem divinam faceret, nunciatâ repente hostis incursione, semicruda exta rapta foco prosecuit, atque ita prælium ingressus victor rediit." See Arnobius, Lib. 2. Adversus -Gent.et Adrian Turnebus, Adversariorum, Lib. 15. Cap. 7. Bernartins.

925. Lycurgus first] It is very remarkable in favour of Christianity, that all the oracles of the heathens were delivered in so ambiguous a manner as to admit of a double meaning. Such was the answer from the Delphic to Croesus king of Lydia and Appius the prætor of Achaia, who thinking the oracle had warned him only to refrain from the war between Cæsar and Pompey, retired into the Country called Cæla Euboea, where, before the battle of Pharsalia, he died of a disease, and was there buried, and so possessed quietly the place which the oracle had promised him.

949

960

"O sheathe your swords, my friends, contend no

more,

Nor stain your impious arms in kindred gore."
To this Oenides, unappeas'd, replies,
(The spark of anger beaming from his eyes)
Against the saviour of the Grecian band?
"Dar'st thou, O tyrant, lift that guilty hand
Will they, who this their present ardour owe
To her alone, resign her to the fue?
Know, that from Bacchus by descent she springs,
And claims alliance with the race of kings. 9T0
Is peace so slight a favour, whilst in arms
Thy subjects rise, impell'd with false alarms?
Yet still may'st thou enjoy it, and again
These troops behold thee weeping for the slain."
He paus'd: when, now his wrath in part supprest,
Lycurgus thus the list'ning kings addrest.
"Little I deem'd, that when you bent your course
To Thebes, we too should prove your hostile force.
But come, if social blood alone can please,
On us, our wives and harmless children seize, 999
From these to deeds of deeper guilt aspire,
And wrap our unavailing fanes in fire.
Still for itself will pow'r superior plead,
And sanctify the most illegal deed.

have puzzled themselves to find out a supplement
950. And with his shield] The commentator

to the line

1009. Thus, when the stormy south] This simile is taken from Virgil, though the comparison of the Thebaid is the thing compared in the Æncid. Jas. to Hyps. Ver. 119. Ac veluti magno in populo cum sæpe coorta est 1045. To cheer his issue] This fiction seems Seditio, sævitque animis ignobile vulgus; Jamque faces et saxa volant; furor arına ministrat: borrowed from Virgil, who introduces Venns givTum, pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum queming her son Æneas the same assurances of pro

Whose honour'd name shall with oblivion strive,
And thro' each future age distinguish'd live,
While Inachus and noxious Lerna flow,
And Nemea's boughs o'ershade the fields below,
Let not your tears a deity disgrace;
A deity, tho' of terrestrial race:
Far better his untimely death appears
Than Nestor's age, and Tithon's length of years."
While thus he spoke, encircling shades arise,
And night assumes the sceptre of the skies. 1080

BOOK VI.

ARGUMENT.

To honour Pelops; and with conquest erown'd,
His dusty locks with wreaths of olive bound: 10
Next Phocis, from the serpent's windings freed,
To youths the prize of archery decreed:
Then round Palamon's altars much bewept
The time-firm'd rites were scrupulously kept,
Oft as Leucothea her groans renews,

And at their feasts her friendly visage shews;
Her woes with wailings either isthmus means;
Thebes echoes back her shrieks and mimick'd
groans.

90

And now the mighty kings, whose royal birth
Exalts fair Argos o'er the foodful earth,
And whose illustrious feats the Tyrian dames,
Deep-sighing, hear, and glow with various flames;
Those mighty kings with ein❜lous rage contend,
And to the fight their native vigour bend.
So gallies, ere with lab'ring oars they sweep
The stormy Tyrrhene, or gean deep,

And learn their art, preluding near the shore;
But, well-experienc'd, tempt remoter seas,
Nor miss the land, they lose by swift degrees.
Aurora now, in early chariot drawn,
Beam'd forth her radiance on the dewy lawn,
Whilst Sleep with grief beheld his empty'd horn,
And paler Phoebe fled th' approach of morn.
With yells the streets, with groans the mournful

Adrastus and the Grecian princes, together with Lycurgus, Eurydice, and Hypsipyle celebrate the obsequies of Archemorus, in which is included a particular description of their felling wood, of the funeral procession, and the lament-In some calm stream their oars and helm explore, ation of Eurydice. Lycurgus and his consort are with difficulty restrained from leaping upon the funeral pyre. They throw in jewels, gold, live animals, spices, and many other things of great value. A select company of horse and foot are ordered to march round the pile. They afterwards erect a monument to the infant, on which his whole history is engraved. Adrastus institutes funeral games, and appoints prizes to those who shall conquer in them. The statues of their ancestors are carried along in procession, and exposed to public view. Then follow the chariot-race, the foot-race, the throwing the discus or quoit, the combat of the cæstus, the wrestling, and the shooting with arrows, which is attended with an omen, and concludes this book,

Now Fame from town to town, wide-wand'ring fled,
And thro' th' Argolic towns a rumour spread,
That grateful Greece prepar'd funereal games,
And various meeds, as various merit claims,
Games, in which nature might be crown'd with art,
And skill to inbred strength a grace impart,
Achaia's wonted rite. Alcmena's son
On Pisa's plain the pious strife begun,

1073. While Inachus] Virgil expresses himself in the same periphrastical manner.

In freta dum fluvii current, dum montibus umbræ
Lustrabunt convexa, polus dum sidera pascet,
Semper honos, nomenque tuum, laudesque mane-
bunt.
Eneid, b. 1. v. 607.

1078. Tithon's length of years] Tithon was the son of Laomedon, and ravished by Aurora for his beauty in Ethiopia, who restored his youth and beauty when he was grown old; he was at last turned into a grasshopper.

1. Now Fame] This book, which is entirely taken up in describing the games exhibited at the funeral of Archemorus, answers to the 24th of the Iliad and the 5th of the Eneid. I have given my opinion of it in the dissertation prefixed to this work, and shall therefore say nothing farther upon its general merit.

courts

Rebellow. Echo with their sorrow sports;
From hill to hill, from grove to grove she bounds,
And catches, breaks, and multiplies the sounds
The badge of honour from his forehead torn,
The father sits all cheerless and forlorn,
In weeds of woe array'd, and o'er his head
And length of beard a show'r of ashes spread.
Oppos'd to him, the childless mother raves,
And far out-weeps her lord. The female slaves,
Inspir'd by her example and command,
With brimful eyes around their mistress stand:
Fain would she fall upon her son's remains,
While each with friendly words her rage restrains:
Rous'd by her clamours too, the father springs
To sooth her anguish.-Soon as th' Argive kings,
West's essay on the olympic games, in the first

volume of his Pindar.

22. Deep-sighing] The expression in the origi nal is suspirant, which, in all probability, was taken from Horace's ode, the 2d of the 3d book. Illum ex mœnibus hosticis Matrona bellantis tyranni

Prospiciens, et adulta virgo Suspiret, eheu! ne rudis agminum, &c. Upon which Mr. Francis seems to think, that the image is drawn from the 3d book of Homer's Iliad, where Helen and the Trojan dames appear upos the walls to view the camp of the Greeks.

50. Soon as th' Argive kings] The editor of Pitt's Virgil observes, that this circumstance is imitated from the 11th book of the Æneid, verse

36.

Ut vero Æneas foribus sese intulit altis, Ingentem gemitum tunsis ad sidera tollunt Pectoribus, mœstoque immugit regia luctu. 7. Achaia's wonted rite] This short sketch of Catrou remarks on this passage, that it was a es the history of these institutions is a pretty open-remony among the ancients, to renew their laing if the reader has a desire of being acquainted mentations at the approach of a king or person farther with their origin, be may see it at large in distinction.