By him the torturer Sinis was destroy'd, [ploy'd)
Of strength (but strength to barbarous use em-
That tops of tallest pines to earth could bend,
And thus in pieces wretched captives rend.
Inhuman Scyron now has breath'd his last,
And now Alcathoe's road's securely pass'd;
By Theseus slain and thrown into the deep:
But earth nor sea his scatter'd bones would keep,
Which, after floating long, a rock became,
Still infamous with Scyron's hated name.
When fame to count thy acts and years proceeds,
Thy years appear but ciphers to thy deeds.
For thee, brave youth, as for our commonwealth,
We pray; and drink, in yours, the public health.
Your praise the senate and plebeians sing,
With your lov'd name the court and cottage ring.
You make our shepherds and our sailors glad,
And not a house in this vast city's sad.'
But mortal bliss will never come sincere,
Pleasure may lead, but grief brings up the rear;
While for his son's arrival, rev'ling joy
Ægeus and all his subjects does employ ;
While they for only costly feasts prepare,
His neighbouring monarch, Minos, threatens war,
Weak in land-forces, nor by sea more strong,
But powerful in a deep-resented wrong
For a son's murder, arm'd with pious rage;
Yet prudently before he would engage,
To raise auxiliaries resolv'd to sail,
And with the powerful princes to prevail.
First Anaphè, then proud Astypalæa gains,
By presents that, and this by threats obtains;
Low Mycone, Cymolus, chalky soil,
Tall Cythnos, Scyros, flat Seriphos' isle;
Paros, with marble cliffs afar display'd;
Impregnable Sithonia; yet betray'd,
To a weak foe by a gold-admiring maid,
Who, chang'd into a daw of sable hue,
Still hoards up gold, and hides it from the view.
But as these islands cheerfully combine,
Others refuse to' embark in his design.
Now leftward with an easy sail he bore,
And prosperous passage to Enopia's shore;
Enopia once, but now Ægina call'd,
And with his royal mother's name install'd
By Eacus, under whose reign did spring
The Myrmidons, and now their reigning king.
Down to the port, amidst the rabble, run
The princes of the blood; with Telamon,
Peleus the next, and Phocus the third son:
Then Eacus, although oppress'd with years,
To ask the cause of their approach appears.
That question does the Gnossian's grief renew,
And sighs from his afflicted bosom drew;
Yet after a short solemn respite made,
The ruler of the hundred cities said:
'Assist our arms, rais'd for a murder'd son,
In this religious war no risk you'll run :
Revenge the dead—for who refuse to give
Rest to their urns, unworthy are to live.'
'What you request,' thus Æacus replies, 'Not I, but truth and common faith denies ; Athens and we have long been sworn allies; Our leagues are fix'd, confederate are our pow'rs, And who declare themselves their foes, are ours.'
Minos rejoins, Your league shall dearly cost!! (Yet, mindful how much safer 'twas to boast,
Than there to waste his forces and his fame,
Before in field with his grand foe he came)
Parts without blows-nor long had left the shore,
Ere into port another navy bore,
With Cephalus and all his jolly crew;
The' Æacides their old acquaintance knew:
The princes bid him welcome, and in state
Conduct the hero to their palace gate;
Who, entering, seem'd the charming mien to wear,
As when in youth he paid his visit there.
In his right hand an olive-branch he holds,
And, salutation pass'd, the chief unfolds
His embassy from the Athenian state,
Their mutual friendship, leagues of ancient date;
Their common danger, every thing could wake
Concern, and his address successful make:
Strengthening his plea with all the charms of sense,
And those with all the charms of eloquence.
Then thus the king: Like suitors do you stand, For that assistance which you may command? Athenians, all our listed forces use,
(They're such as no bold service will refuse);
And when you've drawn them off, the gods be prais'd,
Fresh legions can within our isle be rais'd:
So stock'd with people, that we can prepare
Both for domestic and for distant war;
Ours, or our friends' insulters to chastise.'
Long may ye flourish thus!' the prince replies,
Strange transport seiz'd me as I pass'd along,
To meet so many troops and all so young,
As if your army did of twins consist;
Yet amongst them my late acquaintance miss'd;
Ev'n all that to your palace did resort,
When first you entertain'd me at your court,
And cannot guess the cause from whence could
So vast a change.' Then thus the sighing king:
'Illustrious guests! to my strange tale attend,
Of sad beginning, but a joyful end;
The whole to a vast history would swell,
I shall but half, and that confus'dly, tell.
That race, who so deservedly you admir'd,
Are all into their silent tombs retir'd;
They fell; and, falling, how they shook my state,
Thought may conceive, but words can ne'er relate.'
THE STORY OF ANTS CHANGED TO MEN.
A dreadful plague from angry Juno came,
To scourge the land that bore her rival's name;
Before her fatal anger was reveal'd,
And teeming malice lay as yet conceal'd,
All remedies we try, all med'cines use,
Which nature could supply, or art produce;
The' unconquer'd foe derides the vain design,
And art and nature, foil'd, declare the cause divine.
At first we only felt the' oppressive weight
Of gloomy clouds, then teeming with our fate,
And labouring to discharge unactive heat;
But ere four moons alternate changes knew,
With deadly blasts the fatal south-wind blew,
Infected all the air, and poison'd as it flew.
Our fountains too a dire infection yield,
For crowds of vipers creep along the field,
And with polluted gore, and baneful steams,
Taint all the lakes, and venom all the streams,
The young disease with milder force began,
And rag'd on birds and beasts, excusing man,
The labouring oxen fall before the plough,
The' unhappy ploughmen stare, and wonder how:
The tabid sheep, with sickly bleatings, pines;
Its wool decreasing, as its strength declines;
The warlike steed, by inward foes compell'd,
Neglects his honours, and deserts the field;
Unnerv'd, and languid, seeks a base retreat,
And at the manger groans, but wish'd a nobler fate:
The stags forget their speed, the boars their rage,
Nor can the bears the stronger herds engage;
A general faintness does invade 'em all,
And in the woods and fields promiscuously they fall.
The air receives the stench, and (strange to say)
The ravenous birds and beasts avoid the prey:
The' offensive bodies rot upon the ground,
And spread the dire contagion all around.
But now the plague, grown to a larger size,
Riots on man, and scorns a meaner prize.
Intestine heats begin the civil war,
And flushings first the latent flame declare,
And breath inspir'd, which seem'd like fiery air.
Their black dry tongues are swell'd, and scarce
And short thick sighs from panting lungs are drove.
They gape for air, with flattering hopes t'abate
Their raging flames, but that augments their heat.
No bed, no covering can the wretches bear,
But on the ground, expos'd to open air,
They lie,and hope to find a pleasing coolness there.
The suffering earth, with that oppression curs'd,
Returns the heat which they imparted first.
In vain physicians would bestow their aid,
Vain all their art, and useless all their trade;
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