Now brave Pirithous, bold Ixion's fon,
The love of fair Hippodame had won.

The cloud-begotten race, half men, half beaft,
Invited, came to grace the nuptial feast :

In a cool cave's recefs the treat was made,

:

Whose entrance trees with spreading boughs o'er-shade.
They fat and fammon'd by the bridegroom, came,
To mix with thofe, the Lapithean name :

Nor wanted I: the roofs with joy refound :
And Hymen, Iö Hymen, rung around.
Rais'd altars fhone with holy fires; the bride,
Lovely herself (and lovely by her fide

A bevy of bright nymphs, with fober grace,)
Came glitt'ring like a star, and took her place:
Her heav'nly form beheld, all wish'd her joy;
And little wanted, but in vain, their wishes all employ.
For one, most brutal of the brutal blood,
Or whether wine or beauty fir'd his blood,
Or both at once, beheld with luftful eyes
The bride; at once refolv❜d to make his prize.
Down went the board; and fast'ning on her hair,
He feiz'd with fudden force the frighted fair.
'Twas Eurytus began: his beftial kind
His crime purfu'd; and each as pleas'd his mind,
Or her, whom chance presented, took: the feast
An image of a taken town exprefs'd.

The cave refounds with female fhrieks; we rife,
Mad with revenge, to make a swift reprise :
And Thefeus firft; What frenzy has poffefs'd,
O Eurytus, he cry'd, thy brutal breast,
To wrong Pirithous, and not him alone,
But, while I live, two friends conjoin'd in one?
To justify his threat, he thrufts afide
The crowd of Centaurs, and redeems the bride;
The monfter nought reply'd: for words were vain;
And deeds could only deeds unjust maintain :

But

But answers with his hand; and forward prefs'd,
With blows redoubled, on his face and breast.
An ample goblet flood, of antique mold,
And rough with figures of the rifing gold;
The hero fnatch'd it up, and tofs'd in air,
Full at the front of the foul ravisher:

He falls; and falling vomits forth a flood
Of wine, and foam and brains, and mingled blood.
Half roaring, and half neighing thro' the hall,
Arms, arms, the double-form'd with fury call;
To wreak their brother's death: a medley flight
Of bowls and jars, at firft, fupply the fight,
Once inftruments of feafts, but now of fate;
Wine animates their rage, and arms their hate,
Bold Amycus, from the robb'd veftry brings
The chalices of heav'n, and holy things

Of precious weight: a fconce, that hung on high,
With tapers fill'd, to light the facrifty,

Torn from the cord, with his unhallow'd hand
He threw amid the Lapithaan band.

On Celadon the ruin fell; and left

His face of feature and of form bereft :

So, when fome brawny facrificer knocks,
Before an altar led, an offer'd ox,

His eye-balls rooted out are thrown to ground;

His nofe dimantled in his mouth is found, wound. }

This, Belates, th' avenge", could not brook;
But, by the foot, a maple-board he took;
And hurl'd at Amycus; his chin is bent
Against his cheft, and down the Centaur fent ;
Whom fputt'ring bloody teeth, the second blow
Of his drawn fword dispatch'd to fhades below.
Grineus was near; and caft a furious look
On the fide-altar, cens'd with facred fmoke,

52

And bright with flaming fires; The Gods, he cry'd,
Have with their holy trade our hands fupply'd :
Why use we not their gifts? Then from the floor
An altar-ftone he heav'd, with all the load it bore :
Altar and altar's freight together flew

Where thickest throng'd the Lapithean crew;
And, at once, Broteas and Oryus flew :
Oryus' mother, Mycale, was known

Down from her sphere to draw the lab'ring moon.
Exadius cry'd, Unpunish'd shall not go
This fact, if arms are found against the foe.
He look'd about, where on a pine were spread
The votive horns of a stag's branching head :
At Grineus these he throws; fo juft they fly,
That the sharp antlers stuck in either eye :
Breathlefs and blind he fell; with blood befmear'd,
His eye-balls beaten out hung dangling on his beard.
Fierce Rhætus, from the hearth, a burning brand
Selects, and whirling waves; 'till, from his hand
The fire took flame; then dash'd it from the right,
On fair Charaxus' temples, near the fight:
The whiftling peft came on, and pierc'd the bone,
And caught the yellow hair, that fhrivel'd while it fhone.
Caught, like dry ftubble fir'd, or like feerwood;
Yet from the wound enfu'd no purple flood;
But look'd a bubbling mass of frying blood.
His blazing locks fent forth a crackling found,
And hifs'd, like red-hot iron within the fmithy drown'd.
The wounded warrior fhook his flaming hair,
Then (what a team of horse could hardly rear)
He heaves the threshold-ftone; but could not throw;
The weight itself forbad the threaten'd blow;
Which, dropping from his lifted arms, came down
Full on Cometes' head, and crush'd his crown.
Nor Rhætus then retain'd his joy; but faid,
So by their fellows may our foes be sped ;
Then with redoubled ftrokes he plies his head:

}

The burning lever not deludes his pains;

But drives the batter'd skull within the brains.

Thus flush'd, the conqueror, with force renew'd,
Evagrus, Dryas, Corythus, purfu'd :
Firft, Corythus, with downy cheeks, he flew ;
Whofe fall when fierce Evagrus had in view,
He cry'd, What palm is from a beardless prey
Rhætus prevents what more he had to say;
And drove within his mouth the fiery death,
Which enter'd hiffing in, and chok'd his breath.
At Dryas next he flew; but weary chance
No longer would the fame fuccefs advance.
But while he whirl'd in fiery circles round
The brand, a fharpen'd stake strong Dryas found;
And in the shoulder's joint inflicts the wound.
The weapon ftruck: which roaring out with pain
He drew; nor longer durft the fight maintain,
But turn'd his back, for fear; and fled amain.
With him fled Orneus, with like dread poffefs'd;
Thaumas and Medon wounded in the breaft,
And Mermeros, in the late race renown'd,
Now limping ran, and tardy with his wound.
Pholus and Melaneus from fight withdrew,
And Abas maim'd, who boars encount'ring flew:
And Augur Aftylos, whofe art in vain.
From fight diffuaded the four-footed train,
Now beat the hoof with Neffus on the plain;
But to his fellow cry'd, Be fafely flow,

}

Thy death deferr'd is due to great Alcides' bow.
Mean time strong Dryas urg'd his chance fo well,
That Lycidas, Areos, Imbreus fell;

All, one by one, and fighting face to face:
Crenæus fled, to fall with more difgrace :
For, fearful while he look'd behind, he bore,
Betwixt his nofe and front, the blow before
E 3

}

Amid

Amid the noife and tumult of the fray,
Snoring and drunk with wine, Aphidas lay.
Ev'n then the bowl within his hand he kept,
And on a bear's rough hide fecurely flept.
Him Phorbas with his flying dart transfix'd;
Take thy next draught with Stygian water's mix'd,
And fleep thy fill, th' infulting victor cry'd ;
Surpris'd with death unfelt, the Centaur dy'd :
The ruddy vomit, as he breath'd his foul,
Repafs'd his throat, and fill'd his empty bowl.
I faw Petræus' arms employ'd around
A well-grown oak, to root it from the ground.
This way,
and that, he wrench'd the fibrous bands,
The trunk was like a fapling in his hands,

And still obey'd the bent; while thus he stood,
Perithous' dart drove on, and nail'd him to the wood,
Lycus and Chromys fell, by him opprefs'd
Helops and Dictys added to the reft

A nobler palm: Helops, through either ear
Transfix'd, receiv'd the penetrating spear.
This Dictys faw; and feiz'd with fudden fright,
Leapt headlong from the hill of fteepy height;
And crush'd an afh beneath, that could not bear his
weight.

}

The fhatter'd tree receives his fall, and ftrikes,
Within his full-blown paunch, the fharpen'd fpikes.
Strong Aphareus had heav'd a mighty stone,
The fragment of a rock, and would have thrown;
But Thefeus, with a club of harden'd oak,
The cubit-bone of the bold Centaur broke;
And left him maim'd: nor feconded the ftroke.
Then leapt on tall Bianor's back: (who bore
No mortal burden but his own, before.)
Prefs'd with his knees his fides; the double man,
His fpeed with fpurs increas'd, unwilling ran.
One hand the hero fasten'd on his locks;
His other ply'd him with repeated strokes.