With more than vulgar grief he stood oppress'd; Unfit for public rule, or private care ;
Words, mix'd with sighs, thus bursting from his breast: That wretch, that monster, who delights in war: 90

Ye sons of Greece! partake your leaders care; Whose lust is murder, and whose horrid joy
Fellows in arms, and princes of the war !

To tear his country, and his kind destroy! Of partial Jove too justly we complain,

This night, refresh and fortify thy train ; And heavenly oracles believed in vain.

Between the trench and wall let gnards remain : A safe return was promised to our toils,

Be that the duty of the young and bold;
With conquest honour'd, and enrich'd with spoils : But thou, O king, to council call the old.
Now shameful light alone can save the host; Great is thy sway, and weighty are thy cares;
Our wealth, our people, and our glory lost. 30 Thy high commands must spirit all our wars.
So Jove decrees, almighty lord of all!

With Thracian wine recruit thy honour'd guests,
Jove, at whose nod whole empires rise or fall, For happy counsels flow from sober feasts. 100
Who shakes the feeble props of human trust, Wise, weighty counsels aid a state distress'd,
And towers and armies humbles to the dust. And such a monarch as can choose the best.
Haste then, for ever quit these fatal fields,

See! what a blaze from hostile tents aspires, Haste to the joys our native country yields; How near our fleet approach the Trojan fires! Spread all your canvass, all your oars employ, Who can, ünmoved, behold the dreadful light? Nor hope the fall of beaven-defended Troy. What eye beholds them, and can close to-night?

He said ; deep silence held the Grecian band; This dreadful interval determines all;
Silent, unmoved, in dire dismay they stand, 40 To-morrow Troy must flame, or Greece must fall
A pensive scene! till Tydeus' warlike son

Thus spoke the hoary sage: the rest obey :
Rolld on the king his eyes, and thus begun: Swift through the gates the guards direct their way.

When kings advise us to renounce our fame, His son was first to pass the lofty mound, 111
First let him speak, who first has suffer'd shame. The generous Thrasymed, in arms renown'd:
If I oppose thee, prince, thy wrath withhold, Next him, Ascalaphus, lälmen stood,
The laws of council bid my tongue be bold. The double offspring of the warrior-god.
Thou first, and thou alone, in fields of fight, Despyrus, Aphareus, Merion join,
Durst brand my courage, and defame my might : And Lycomed, of Creon's noble line.
Nor from a friend the unkind reproach appear'd, Seven were the leaders of the nightly bands,
The Greeks stood witness, all our army heard. 50 And each bold chief a hundred spears commands.
The gods, O chief! from whom our honours spring, The fires they light, to short repasts they fall,
The gods have made thee but by halves a king: Some line the trench, and others man the wall. 120
They gave thee sceptres, and a wide command; The king of men, on public counsels bent,
They gave dominion o'er the seas and land; Convened the princes in his ample tent;
The noblest power that might the world controul Each seized a portion of the kingly feast,
They gave thee not-a brave and virtuous soul. But staid his hand when thirst and hunger ceased.
Is this a general's voice, that would suggest Then Nestor spoke, for wisdom long approved,
Fears like his own to every Grecian breast ? And, slowly rising, thus the council moved:
Confiding in our want of worth, he stands;

Monarch of nations ! whose superior sway
And if we fly, 'tis what our king commands. 60 Assembled states and lords of earth obey,
Go thou, inglorious ! from the embattled plain; The laws and sceptres to thy hand are given,
Ships thou hast store, and nearest to the main; And millions own the care of thee and heaven. 130
A nobler care the Grecians shall employ,

O king! the counsels of my age attend; To combat, conquer, and extirpate Troy.

With thee my cares begin, in thee must end; Here Greece shall stay; or if all Greece retire, Thee, prince! it fits alike to speak and hear, Myself will stay, till Troy or I expire;

Pronounce with judgment, with regard give ear, Myself and Sthenelus will fight for fame;

To see no wholesome motion be withstood,
God bade us fight, and 'twas with God we came. And ratify the best for public good.

He ceased; the Greeks loud acclamations raise, Nor, though a meaner give advice, repine,
And voice to voice resounds Tydides' praise. 70 But follow it, and make the wisdom thine.
Wise Nestor then his reverend figure rear'd; Hear then a thought, not now conceived in haste,
He spoke; the host in still attention heard : At once my present judgment, and my past. 140

O truly great! in whom the gods have join'd When from Pelides' tent you forced the maid,
Such strength of body with such force of mind. I first opposed, and faithful durst dissuade;
In conduct, as in courage, you excel,

But bold of soul, when headlong fury fired,
Still first to act what you advise so well.

You wrong'd the man, by men and gods admired: Those wholesome counsels which thy wisdom moves, Now seek some means his fatal wrath to end, Applauding Greece with common voice approves. With prayers to move him, or with gifts to bend. Kings thou canst blame; a bold but prudent youth ; To whom the king: With justice hast thou shown And blame e'en kings with praise, because with truth. A princes faults, and I with reason own. And yet those years that since thy birth have run, 81 That happy man, whom Jove still honours most, Would hardly style thee Nestor's youngest son. Is more than armies, and himself a host.

150 Then let me add what yet remains behind, Blest in his love, this wondrous hero stands, A thought unfinish'd in that generous mind; Heaven fights his war, and humbles all our bands. Age bids me speak; nor shall the advice I bring Fain would my heart, which err'd through frantie rage, Distaste the people, or offend the king:

The wrathful chief and angry gods assuage. Cursed is the man, and void of law and right, If gifts immense his mighty soul can bow, Unworthy property, unworthy light,

Hear, all ye Greeks, and witness what I vow:

Ten weighty talents of the purest gold,

Now pray to Jove to grant what Greece demands; And twice ten vases of refulgent mould ;

Pray in deep silence, and with purest hands. Seven sacred tripods, whose unsullied frame

He said, and all approved. The heralds bring Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame: 160 The cleansing water from the living spring. Twelve steeds unmatch'd in tleetness and in force, The youth with wine the sacred goblets crown'd, And still victorious in the dusty course,

And large libations drench'd the sands around. (Rich were the man whose ample stores exceed The rite perform’d, the chiefs their thirst allay, The prizes purchased by their winged speed :) Then from the royal tent they take their way ; Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,

Wise Nestor turns on each his careful eye, Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd in form divine; Forbids to offend, instructs them to apply; The same I chose for more than vulgar charms, Much he advised them all, Clysses most, When Lesbos sunk beneath the hero's arms: To deprecate the chief, and save the host. All these, to buy his friendship, shall be paid, Through the still night they march, and hear the roar And join'd with these, the long-contested maid; 170 Of murmuring billows on the sounding shore. With all her charms, Briseïs I resign,

To Neptune, ruler of the seas profound, And solemn swear those charms were never mine; Whose liquid arms the mighty globe surround, 240 Untouch'd she stay'd, uninjured she removes, They pour forth vows, their embassy to bless, Pure from my arms, and guiltless of my loves. And calm the rage of stern acides. These instant shall be his; and if the powers And now, arrived, where, on the sandy bay, Give to our arms proud Ilion's hostile towers, The Myrmidonian tents and vessels lay, Then shall he store (when Greece the spoil divides) Amused at ease, the godlike man they found, With gold and brass his loaded navy's sides. Pleased with the solemn harp's harmonious sound: Besides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race (The well-wrought harp from conquer'd Thebæ came, With copious love shall crown his warm embrace; 180 of polish'd silver was its costly frame:) Such as himself will choose ; who yield to none, With this he soothes his angry soul, and sings Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone. The immortal deeds of heroes and of kings. 250 Yet hear me farther: when our wars are o'er, Patroclus only of the royal train, If safe we land on Argos' fruitful shore,

Placed in his tent, attends the lofty strain : There shall he live my son, our honours share, Full opposite he sat, and listen'd long, And with Orestes' self divide my care.

In silence waiting till he ceased the song. Yet more-three daughters in my court are bred, Unseen the Grecian embassy proceeds And each well worthy of a royal bed;

To his high tent; the great Ulysses leads.
Laodicè and Iphigenia fair,

Achilles starting, as the chiefs he spied,
And bright Chrysothemis with golden hair; 190 Leap'd from his seat, and laid the harp aside.
ller let him choose, whom most his eyes approve, With like surprise arose Menetius' son :
I ask no presents, no reward for love:

Pelides grasp'd their hands, and thus begun : 260 Myselt will give the dower; so vast a store,

Princes, all hail! whatever brought you here, As never father gave a child before.

Or strong necessity, or urgent fear : Seven ample cities shall confess his sway,

Welcome, though Greeks! for not as foes ye came; Him Enopè, and Pheræ him obey,

To me more dear than all that bear the name. Cardamylè with ample turrets crown'd,

With that, the chiefs beneath his roof he led, And sacred Pedasus for vines renown'd;

And placed in seats with purple carpets spread. Æpea fair, the pastures Ilira yields,

Then thus-Patroclus, crown a larger bowl,
And rich Antheia with her flowery fields : 200 Mix purer wine, and open every soul.
The whole extent of Pylos sandy plain,

Of all the warriors yonder host can send,
Along the verdant margin of the main :

Thy friend most honours these, and these thy friend. There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil;

He said ; Patroclus o'er the blazing fire, 271 Bold are the men, and generous is the soil; Heaps in a brazen vase three chines entire: There shall he reign with power and justice crown'd, The brazen vase Automedon sustains, And rule the tributary realms around.

Which Hesh of porket, sheep, and goat contains: All this I give, his vengeance to controul,

Achilles at the genial feast presides,
And sure all this may move his mighty soul. The parts transfixes, and with skill divides.
I'luto, the grisly god, who never spares,

Meanwhile Patroclus sweats the fire to raise;
Who feels no mercy, and who hears no prayers, 210 The tent is brighten'd with the rising blaze:
Lives dark and dreadful in deep hell's abodes, Then, when the languid fames at length subside,
And mortals hate him as the worst of gods. He strews a bed of glowing embers wide, 280
Great though he be, it fits him to obey ;

Above the coals the smoking fragment turns, Since more than his my years, and more my sway. And sprinkles sacred salt from lifted urns ;

The monarch thus. The reverend Nestor then: With bread the glittering canisters they load, Great Agamemnon! glorious king of men! Which round the board Menætius' son bestow'd: Such are thy offers as a prince may take,

Himself, opposed to Ulysses, full in sight, And such as fits a generous king to make.

Each portion parts, and orders every rite. Let chosen delegates this hour be sent

The first fat offerings, to the immortals due, (Myself will name them) to Pelides' tent: 220 Amidst the greedy flames Patroclus threw; Let Phænix lead, revered for hoary age,

Then each, indulging in the social feast, Great Ajax next, and Ithacus the sage.

His thirst and hunger soberly repress'd. 290 Yet more to sanctify the word you send,

That done, to Phænix Ajax guve the sign; Let Hodius and Eury bates attend.

Not unperceived ; Ulysses crown'd with wine

The foaming bowl, and instant thus began, Untouch'd she stay'd, uninjured she removes, 360 His speech addressing to the godlike man:

Pure from his arms, and guiltless of his loves. Health to Achilles ! happy are thy guests! These instant shall be thine : and if the

powers Not those more honour'd whom Atrides feasts : Give to our arms proud Ilion's hostile towers, Though generous plenty crown thy loaded boards, Then shalt thou store -(when Greece the spoil That Agamemnon's regal tent affords :

divides) But greater cares sit heavy on our souls,

With gold and brass thy loaded navy's sides.
Not eased by banquets or by flowing bowls. 300 Besides, full twenty nymphs of Trojan race
What scenes of slaughter in yon fields appear! With copious love shall crown thy warın embrace ;
The dead we mourn, and for the living fear; Such as thyself shall choose ; who yield to none,
Greece on the brink of fate all doubtful stands, Or yield to Helen's heavenly charms alone.
And owns no help but from thy saving hands : Yet hear me fanther: when our wars are o'er, 370
'Troy and her aids for ready vengeance call : If safe we land on Argos' fruitful shore.
Their threatening tents already shade our wall: There shalt thou live his son, his honours share,
llear how with shouts their conquest they proclaim, And with Orestes' self divide his care.
And point at every ship their vengeful fame! Yet more-three daughters in his court are bred,
For them the father of the gods declares,

And each well worthy of a royal bed ;
Theirs are his omens, and his thunder theirs. 310 Laodice and Iphigenia fair,
See, full of Jove, avenging Hector rise !

And bright Chrysothemis with golden hair;
See! heaven and earth the raging chief defies : Her shalt thou wed whom most thy eyes approve,
What fury in his breast, what lightning in his eyes! He asks no presents, no reward for love ;
He waits but for the morn, to sink in tlame

Himself will give the dower: so vast a store, 380 The ships, the Greeks, and all the Grecian name. As never father gave a child before. Heavens! how my country's woes distract my Seven ample cities shall confess thy sway, mind,

Thee Ænopé and Pheræ thee obey, Lest fate accomplish all his rage design'd!

Cardamylè with ample turrets crown'd, And must we, gods! our heads inglorious lay And sacred Pedasus for vines renown'd; in Trojan dust, and this the fatal day?

Æpea fair, the pastures Hira yields,
Return, Achilles ! oh return, though late, 320 And rich Antheia with her flowery fields.
To save thy Greeks, and stop the course of fate; The whole extent to Pylos' sandy plain,
If in that heart or grief or courage lies,

Along the verdant margin of the main :
Rise to redeem ; ah yet, to conquer, rise!

There heifers graze, and labouring oxen toil; 390 The day may come, when all our warriors slain, Bold are the men, and generous is the soil : That heart shall melt, that courage rise in vain. There shalt thou reign, with power and justice Regard in time, O prince divinely brave !

crown'd,
Those wholesome counsels which thy father gave. And rule the tributary realms around.
When Peleus in his aged arms embraced

Such are the proffers which this day we bring,
His parting son, these accents were his last : Such the repentance of a suppliant king.
My child! with strength, with glory, and success, 330 But if all this relentless thou disdain,
Thy arms may Juno and Minerva bless!

If honour, and if interest plead in vain,
Trust that to heaven; but thou, thy cares engage Yet some redress to suppliant Greece afford,
To calm thy passions and subdue thy rage :

And be among her guardian gods adored
From gentler manners let thy glory grow,

400

If no regard thy suffering country claim
And shun contention, the sure source of woe; Hear thy own glory, and the voice of fame:
That young and old may in thy praise combine, For now that chief, whose unresisted ire
The virtues of humanity be thine.

Made nations tremble, and whole hosts retire, This, now despised, advice thy father gave; Proud Hector, now, the unequal fight demands, Ah! check thy anger, and be truly brave.

And only triumphs to deserve thy hands. If thou wilt yield to great Atrides' prayers,

340 Then thus the goddess-born : Ulysses, hear Gifts worthy thee his royal hand prepares ;

A faithful speech, that knows nor art, nor fear; If not-but hear me, while I number o'er

What in my secret soul is understood, The proffer'd presents, an exhaustless store. My tongue shall utter, and my deeds make good. Ten weighty talents of the purest gold,

Let Greece then know, my purpose I retain : 410 And twice ten vases of refulgent mould;

Nor with new treaties vex iny peace in vain. Seven sacred tripods, whose unsullied frame Who dares think one thing, and another tell, Yet knows no office, nor has felt the flame; My heart detests him as the gates of hell. Twelve steeds unmatch'd in fleetness and in force,

Then thus in short my fix'd resolves attend, od still victorious in the dusty course;

Which nor Atrides nor his Greeks can bend ;
(Ries were the man whose ample stores exceed 350 Long toils, long perils, in their cause I bore,
The prizes purchased by their winged speed :) But now the unfruitful glories charm no more.
Seven lovely captives of the Lesbian line,

Fight or not fight, a like reward we claim,
Skill'd in each art, unmatch'd in form divine : The wretch and hero find their prize the same;
The same he chose for more than vulgar charms, Alike regretted in the dust he lies,
When Lesbos sunk beneath thy conquering arms, Who yields ignobly, or who bravely dies.
All these, to buy thy friendship, shall be paid, of all my dangers, all my glorious pains,
And join'd with these, the long-contested maid ; A life of labours, lo! what fruit remains ?
With all her charms, Briseis he'll resign,

As the bold bird her helpless young attends,
And solemn swear those charms were only thine ; | From danger guards them, and from want defends;

In search of prey she wings the spacious air, His gifts are hateful : kings of such a kind
And with the untasted food supplies her care: Stand but as slaves before a noble mind.
For thankless Greece such hardships have I braved, Not though he proffer'd all himself possessid,
Her wives, her infants, by my labours saved; And all his rapine could from others wrest;
Long sleepless nights in heavy arms I stood, 430 Not all the golden tides of wealth that crown
And sweat laborious days in dust and blood. The many peopled Orchomenian town;
I sack'd twelve ample cities on the main,

Not all proud Thebes' unrivalled walls contain, 50 And twelve lay smoking on the Trojan plain : The world's great empress on the Egyptian plain, Then at Atrides' haughty feet were laid

(That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states, The wealth I gather'd, and the spoils I made. And pours her heroes through a hundred gates, Your mighty monarch these in peace possess'd; Two hundred horsemen, and two hundred cars Some few my soldiers had, himself the rest. From each wide portal issuing to the wars;) Some present too to every prince was paid ; Though bribes were heap'd on bribes, in number more And every prince enjoys the gift he made; Than dust in fields, or sands along the shore ; I only must refund, of all his train;

440 Should all these offers for my friendship call, See what pre-eminence our merits gain!

'Tis he that offers, and I scorn them all. My spoil alone his greedy soul delights ;

Atrides' daughter never shall be led

510 My spouse alone must bless his lustful nights : (An ill-match'd consort) to Achilles' bed; The woman, let him (as he may) enjoy ;

Like golden Venus though she charm'd the heart, But what's the quarrel then of Greece to Troy ? And vied with Pallas in the works of art, What to these shores the assembled nations draws ? Some greater Greek let those high nuptials grace, What calls for vengeance, but a woman's cause? I hate alliance with a tyrant's race. Are fair endowments and a beauteous face

If heaven restore me to my realms with life, Beloved by none but those of Atreus' race? The reverend Pelus shall elect my wife. The wife whom choice and passion both approve, 450 Thessalian nymphs there are, of form divine, Sure every wise and worthy man will love. And kings that sue to mix their blood with mine. Nor did my fair-one less distinction claim; Blest in kind love, my years shall glide away, 5.20 Slave as she was, my soul adored the dame. Content with just hereditary sway; Wrong’d in my love, all proffers I disdain ; There, deaf for ever to the martial strife, Deceived for once, I trust not kings again.

Enjoy the dear prerogative of lite. Ye have my answer—what remains to do,

Life is not to be bought with heaps of gold; Your king, Ulysses, may consult with you. Not all Apollo's Pythian treasures hold, What needs he the defence this arm can make ? Or Troy once held, in peace and pride of sway, Hlas he not walls no human force can shake? Can bribe the poor possession of a day! Ilas he not fenced his guarded navy round,

460 Lost herds and treasures we by arms regain, With piles, with ramparts, and a trench profound ? And steeds unrivallid on the dusty plain : Aud will not these (the wonders he has done!) But from our lips the vital spirit fied,

530 Repel the rage of Priain's single son ?

Returns no more to wake the silent dead.
There was a time ('twas when for Greece I fought) My fates long since by Thetis were disclosed,
When Hector's prowess no such wonders wrought; And each alternate, life or fame, proposed;
He kept the verge of Troy, nor dared to wait Here if I stay, before the Trojan town,
Achilles' fury at the Scæan gate;

Short is my date, but deathless my renown:
He tried it once, and scarce was saved by fate. If I return, I quit immortal praise
But now those ancient entities are o'er;

For years on years, and long-extended days.
To-morrow we the favouring gods implore; 470 Convinced, though late, I find my fond mistake,
Then shall you see our parting vessels crown'd And warn the Greeks the wiser choice to make:
And hear with oars the Hellespont resound. To quit these shores, their native seats enjoy, 510
The third day hence, shall Pthia greet our sails, Nor hope the fall of heaven-defended Troy.
If mighty Neptune send propitious gales;

Jove's arm display'd asserts her from the skies ; Pthia to her Achilles shall restore

Her hearts are strengthened, and her glories rise. The wealth he left for this detested shore;

Go then, to Greece report our fix'd design; Thither the spoils of this long war shall pass, Bid all your councils, all your armies join, The ruddy gold, the steel, and shining brass Let all your forces, all your arts conspire My beauteous captives thither l'll convey,

To save the ships, the troops, the chiets from fire. And all that rests of my unravish'd prey. 480 One stratagem has fail'd, and others will: One only valued gift your tyrant gave,

Ye find Achilles is unconquer'd still. And that resumed, the fair Lyrnessian slave. Go then--digest my message as ye may

550 Then tell him, loud, that all the Greeks may hear, But here this night let reverend Phænix stay: And learn to scorn the wretch they basely tear; His tedious toils and boary hairs demand (For, arm'd in impudence, mankind he braves, A peaceful death in Pthia's friendly land. And meditates new cheats on all his slaves; But whether he remain or sail with me, Though shameless as he is, to face these eyes His age be sacred, and his will be free. Is what he dares not : if he dares, he dies ;)

The son of Peleus ceased : the chiefs around Tell him, all terms, all commerce I decline, In silence wrapp'd, in consternation drown'd, Nor share his council nor his battle join ; 490 Attend the stern reply. Then Phænis rose : For once deceived, was his ; but twice, were mine. (Down his white beard a stream of sorrow flows.) No-let the stupid prince, whom Jove deprives And while the fate of suttering Greece he mourn'd, Of sense and justice, run where frenzy drives; With accent weak these tender words return'd: 561

:

Divine Achilles ! wilt thou then retire,

Injustice, swift, erect, and unconfined, And leave our hosts in blood, our fleets on fire ? Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o'er mankind, fwrath so dreadful fill thy ruthless mind,

While prayers, to heal her wrongs, move slow beHow shall thy friend, thy Phenix stay behind ?

hind. The royal Peleus, when frorn Pthia's coast Who hears these daughters of almighty Jove, 631 lle sent thee early to the Achaian host ;

For him they mediate to the throne above:
Thy youth as then in sage debates unskill'd, When man rejects the humble suit they make,
And new to perils of the direful field;

The sire revenges for the daughters' sake;
He bade me teach thee all the ways of war; 470 From Jove commission'd, fierce Injustice then
To shine in councils, and in camps to dare. Descends, to punish unrelenting men.
Never, ah never let me leave thy side!

Oh let not headlong passion bear the sway;
No time shall part us, and no fate divide.

These reconciling goddesses obey :
Not though the god, that breathed my life, restore Due honours to the seed of Jove belong :
The bloom I boasted, and the port I bore,

Due honours calm the fierce, and bend the strong When Grecce of old beheld my youthful flames,

Were these not paid thee by the terms we bring, 641 (Delighted Greece, the land of lovely dames !) Were rage still harbour'd in the haughty king, My father, faithless to my mother's arms,

Nor Greece, nor all her fortunes, should engage Old as he was, ador'd a stranger's charms. Thy friend to plead against so just a rage. I tried what youth could do (at her desire) 580 But since what honour asks, the general sends, To win the damsel, and prevent my sire.

And sends by those whom most thy heart commends, Vy sire with curses loads my hated head,

The best and noblest of the Grecian training And cries, 'Ye furies ! barren be his bed.

Permit not these to sue, and sue in vain ! Infernal Jove, the vengeful fiends below,

Let me, my son, an ancient fact unfold, And ruthless Proserpine confirm'd his vow. A great example drawn from times of old; Despair and grief distract my labouriug mind! Hear what our fathers were, and what their praise Gods! what a crime my impious heart designed ! Who conquer'd their revenge in former days. 651 I thought (but some kind god that thought sup Where Calydon on rocky mountains stands, press'd)

Once fought the Ætolian and Curetian bands; To plunge the poinard in my father's breast: To guard it those, to conquer these advance; Then meditate my flight; my friends in vain 590 And mutual deaths were dealt with mutual chance. With prayers entreat me, and with force detain. The silver Cynthia bade Contention rise, On fat of rams, black bulls, and brawny swine, In vengeance of neglected sacrifice: They daily feasi, with draughts of fragrant wine:

On neus' fields she sent a monstrous boar,

660 Strong guards they placed, and watch'd nine nights That levell'd harvests, and whole forests tore : entire:

This beast (when many a chief his tusks had slain) The roofs and porches flamed with constant fire : Great Meleager stretch'd along the plain. The tenth I forced the gates, unseen of all, Then, for his spoils a new debate arose, And favour'd by the night, o'erleap'd the wall. The neighbour nations thence commencing foes. My travels thence through spacious Greece extend; Strong as they were, the bold Curetes fail'd, In Pthia's court at last my labours end.

While Meleager's thundering arm prevailid: Your sire received me, as his son caress'd, 600 Till rage at length inflamed his lofty breast, With gifts enrich'd, and with possessions bless'd. (For rage invades the wisest and the best.) The strong Dolopians thenceforth own'd my reign, Cursed by Althæa, to his wrath he yields, And all the coast that runs along the main.

And in his wife's embrace forgets the fields. 670 By love to thee his bounties I repaid,

(She from Marpessa sprung, divinely fair, And early wisdom to thy soul convey'd :

And matchless Idas, more than man in war; Great as thou art, my lessons made thee brave The god of day adored the mother's charms. A child I took thee, but a hero gave.

Against the god the father bent his arms: Thy infant breast a like affection show'd;

The afflicted pair, their sorrows to proclaim, Still in my arms (an ever pleasing load,)

From Cleopatra changed his daughter's name, Or at my knee, by Phænix wouldst thou stand ; 610 And call’d Alcyone; a name to show No food was grateful but from Phænix' hand. The father's grief, the mourning mother's woe.) 1 pass my watchings o'er thy helpless years,

To her the chief retired from stern debate, The tender labours, the compliant cares;

But found no peace from fierce Althæa's hate: 680 The gods (I thought) reversed their hard decree, Althæa's hate the unhappy warrior drew, And Phænix felt a father's joys in thee:

Whose luckless hand his royal uncle slew : Thy growing virtues justified my cares,

She beat the ground, and callid the powers beneath And promised comfort to my silver hairs.

On her own son to wreak her brother's death ; Now be thy rage, thy fatal rage, resign'd;

Hell heard her curses from the realms profound,
A cruel heart ill suits a manly mind :

And the red fiends that walk the nightly round.
The gods (the only great, and only wise) 620 In vain Ætolia her deliverer waits,
Are moved by offerings, vows, and sacrifice;

War shakes her walls, and thunders at her gates. man their high compassion wins, She sent ambassadors, a chosen band, And daily prayers atone for daily sins.

Priests of the gods, and elders of the land; 690 Prayers are Jove's daughters, of celestial race, Besought the chief to save the sinking state : Lame are their feet, and wrinkled is their face; Their prayers were urgent, and their proffers great ; With humble mien and with dejected eyes,

(Full fifty acres of the richest ground, Constant they follow where injustice flies :

Half pasture green, and half with vineyards crown'd.

Offending