Junct?que Nymphis Grati? decentes=--The beauteous Graces linked hand in hand with the nymphs.
Painters draw their nymphs in thin and airy habits, but the weight of gold and of embroideries is reserved for queens and goddesses.
The river Rhine, it is well known, Doth wash your city of Cologne; But tell me, nymphs! what power divine Shall henceforth wash the river Rhine?
'T is said that, when the chief prepar'd his flight, And fell'd his timber from Mount Ida's height, The grandam goddess then approach'd her son, And with a mother's majesty begun: "Grant me," she said, "the sole request I bring, Since conquer'd heav'n has own'd you for its king. On Ida's brows, for ages past, there stood, With firs and maples fill'd, a shady wood; And on the summit rose a sacred grove, Where I was worship'd with religious love. Those woods, that holy grove, my long delight, I gave the Trojan prince, to speed his flight. Now, fill'd with fear, on their behalf I come; Let neither winds o'erset, nor waves intomb The floating forests of the sacred pine; But let it be their safety to be mine." Then thus replied her awful son, who rolls The radiant stars, and heav'n and earth controls: "How dare you, mother, endless date demand For vessels molded by a mortal hand? What then is fate? Shall bold Aeneas ride, Of safety certain, on th' uncertain tide? Yet, what I can, I grant; when, wafted o'er, The chief is landed on the Latian shore, Whatever ships escape the raging storms, At my command shall change their fading forms To nymphs divine, and plow the wat'ry way, Like Dotis and the daughters of the sea." To seal his sacred vow, by Styx he swore, The lake of liquid pitch, the dreary shore, And Phlegethon's innavigable flood, And the black regions of his brother god. He said; and shook the skies with his imperial nod.
The Grecians, thus, before their lofty ships Stood arm'd around Achilles, glorious Chief Insatiable with war, and opposite The Trojans on the rising-ground appear'd. Meantime, Jove order'd Themis, from the head Of the deep-fork'd Olympian to convene The Gods in council. She to every part Proceeding, bade them to the courts of Jove. Nor of the Floods was any absent thence Oceanus except, or of the Nymphs Who haunt the pleasant groves, or dwell beside Stream-feeding fountains, or in meadows green. Within the courts of cloud-assembler Jove Arrived, on pillar'd thrones radiant they sat, With ingenuity divine contrived By Vulcan for the mighty Sire of all. Thus they within the Thunderer's palace sat Assembled; nor was Neptune slow to hear The voice of Themis, but (the billows left) Came also; in the midst his seat he took, And ask'd, incontinent, the mind of Jove.
All at once, a gust of wind, more merry than the rest, and probably charged with performing the affairs of Springtime, swept down from the nursery, flung itself on the alley, enveloped the young girl in a delicious shiver, worthy of Virgil's nymphs, and the fawns of Theocritus, and lifted her dress, the robe more sacred than that of Isis, almost to the height of her garter. A leg of exquisite shape appeared. Marius saw it. He was exasperated and furious.
So saying, his wood for fuel he prepared, And dragging thither a well-fatted brawn Of the fifth year his servants held him fast At the hearth-side. Nor failed the master swain T' adore the Gods, (for wise and good was he) But consecration of the victim, first, Himself performing, cast into the fire The forehead bristles of the tusky boar, Then pray'd to all above, that, safe, at length, Ulysses might regain his native home. Then lifting an huge shive that lay beside The fire, he smote the boar, and dead he fell, Next, piercing him, and scorching close his hair, They carv'd him quickly, and Eumæus spread Thin slices crude taken from ev'ry limb O'er all his fat, then other slices cast, Sprinkling them first with meal, into the fire. The rest they slash'd and scored, and roasted well, And placed it, heap'd together, on the board. Then rose the good Eumæus to his task Of distribution, for he understood The hospitable entertainer's part. Sev'n-fold partition of the banquet made, He gave, with previous pray'r, to Maia's son And to the nymphs one portion of the whole, Then served his present guests, honouring first Ulysses with the boar's perpetual chine; By that distinction just his master's heart He gratified, and thus the Hero spake.
Sons of Achaia; fly not; stay, ye Greeks! Thetis arrives with her immortal nymphs From the abyss, to visit her dead son.
He said, and plung'd below. While yet he spoke, His dream Aeneas and his sleep forsook. He rose, and looking up, beheld the skies With purple blushing, and the day arise. Then water in his hollow palm he took From Tiber's flood, and thus the pow'rs bespoke: "Laurentian nymphs, by whom the streams are fed, And Father Tiber, in thy sacred bed Receive Aeneas, and from danger keep. Whatever fount, whatever holy deep, Conceals thy wat'ry stores; where'er they rise, And, bubbling from below, salute the skies; Thou, king of horned floods, whose plenteous urn Suffices fatness to the fruitful corn, For this thy kind compassion of our woes, Shalt share my morning song and ev'ning vows. But, O be present to thy people's aid, And firm the gracious promise thou hast made!" Thus having said, two galleys from his stores, With care he chooses, mans, and fits with oars. Now on the shore the fatal swine is found. Wondrous to tell!- She lay along the ground: Her well-fed offspring at her udders hung; She white herself, and white her thirty young. Aeneas takes the mother and her brood, And all on Juno's altar are bestow'd.
So saying, he issued his command, whom quick His grooms obey'd. They in the court prepared The sumpter-carriage, and adjoin'd the mules. And now the virgin from her chamber, charged With raiment, came, which on the car she placed, And in the carriage-chest, meantime, the Queen, Her mother, viands of all kinds disposed, And fill'd a skin with wine. Nausicaa rose Into her seat; but, ere she went, received A golden cruse of oil from the Queen's hand For unction of herself, and of her maids. Then, seizing scourge and reins, she lash'd the mules. They trampled loud the soil, straining to draw Herself with all her vesture; nor alone She went, but follow'd by her virgin train. At the delightful rivulet arrived Where those perennial cisterns were prepared With purest crystal of the fountain fed Profuse, sufficient for the deepest stains, Loosing the mules, they drove them forth to browze On the sweet herb beside the dimpled flood. The carriage, next, light'ning, they bore in hand The garments down to the unsullied wave, And thrust them heap'd into the pools, their task Dispatching brisk, and with an emulous haste. When they had all purified, and no spot Could now be seen, or blemish more, they spread The raiment orderly along the beach Where dashing tides had cleansed the pebbles most, And laving, next, and smoothing o'er with oil Their limbs, all seated on the river's bank, They took repast, leaving the garments, stretch'd In noon-day fervour of the sun, to dry. Their hunger satisfied, at once arose The mistress and her train, and putting off Their head-attire, play'd wanton with the ball, The princess singing to her maids the while. Such as shaft-arm'd Diana roams the hills, Täygetus sky-capt, or Erymanth, The wild boar chasing, or fleet-footed hind, All joy; the rural nymphs, daughters of Jove, Sport with her, and Latona's heart exults; She high her graceful head above the rest And features lifts divine, though all be fair, With ease distinguishable from them all; So, all her train, she, virgin pure, surpass'd.
To whom Achilles, groaning deep, replied. My mother! it is true; Olympian Jove That prayer fulfils; but thence, what joy to me, Patroclus slain? the friend of all my friends Whom most I loved, dear to me as my life-- Him I have lost. Slain and despoil'd he lies By Hector of his glorious armor bright, The wonder of all eyes, a matchless gift Given by the Gods to Peleus on that day When thee they doom'd into a mortal's arms. Oh that with these thy deathless ocean-nymphs Dwelling content, thou hadst my father left To espouse a mortal bride, so hadst thou 'scaped Pangs numberless which thou must now endure For thy son's death, whom thou shalt never meet From Troy return'd, in Peleus' mansion more! For life I covet not, nor longer wish To mix with human kind, unless my spear May find out Hector, and atonement take By slaying him, for my Patroclus slain.
This is the port of Phorcys, sea-born sage; That, the huge olive at the haven's head; Fast by it, thou behold'st the pleasant cove Umbrageous, to the nymphs devoted named The Naiads; this the broad-arch'd cavern is Where thou wast wont to offer to the nymphs Many a whole hecatomb; and yonder stands The mountain Neritus with forests cloath'd.
Ye sister Nereids, hear! that ye may all From my own lips my boundless sorrow learn. Ah me forlorn! ah me, parent in vain Of an illustrious birth! who, having borne A noble son magnanimous, the chief Of heroes, saw him like a thriving plant Shoot vigorous under my maternal care, And sent him early in his gallant fleet Embark'd, to combat with the sons of Troy. But him from fight return'd I shall receive Beneath the roof of Peleus, never more; And while he lives, and on the sun his eyes Opens, he mourns, nor, going, can I aught Assist him; yet I go, that I may see My darling son, and from his lips be taught What grief hath now befallen him, who close Abiding in his tent shares not the war. So saying she left the cave, whom all her nymphs Attended weeping, and where'er they pass'd The breaking billows open'd wide a way. At fruitful Troy arrived, in order fair They climb'd the beach, where by his numerous barks Encompass'd, swift Achilles sighing lay. Then, drawing nigh to her afflicted son, The Goddess-mother press'd between her palms His temples, and in accents wing'd inquired.
To whom Atrides' spirit thus replied. Blest son of Peleus, semblance of the Gods, At Ilium, far from Argos, fall'n! for whom Contending, many a Trojan, many a Chief Of Greece died also, while in eddies whelm'd Of dust thy vastness spread the plain, nor thee The chariot aught or steed could int'rest more! All day we waged the battle, nor at last Desisted, but for tempests sent from Jove. At length we bore into the Greecian fleet Thy body from the field; there, first, we cleansed With tepid baths and oil'd thy shapely corse, Then placed thee on thy bier, while many a Greek Around thee wept, and shore his locks for thee. Thy mother, also, hearing of thy death With her immortal nymphs from the abyss Arose and came; terrible was the sound On the salt flood; a panic seized the Greeks, And ev'ry warrior had return'd on board That moment, had not Nestor, ancient Chief, Illumed by long experience, interposed, His counsels, ever wisest, wisest proved Then also, and he thus address'd the host.
So saying, the Goddess scatter'd from before His eyes all darkness, and he knew the land. Then felt Ulysses, Hero toil-inured, Transport unutterable, seeing plain Once more his native isle. He kiss'd the glebe, And with uplifted hands the nymphs ador'd.
"No, for that very resemblance affrights me; I should have liked something more in the manner of the Venus of Milo or Capua; but this chase-loving Diana continually surrounded by her nymphs gives me a sort of alarm lest she should some day bring on me the fate of Actaeon."
Meantime Latonian Phoebe, from the skies, Beheld th' approaching war with hateful eyes, And call'd the light-foot Opis to her aid, Her most belov'd and ever-trusty maid; Then with a sigh began: "Camilla goes To meet her death amidst her fatal foes: The nymphs I lov'd of all my mortal train, Invested with Diana's arms, in vain. Nor is my kindness for the virgin new: 'T was born with her; and with her years it grew. Her father Metabus, when forc'd away From old Privernum, for tyrannic sway, Snatch'd up, and sav'd from his prevailing foes, This tender babe, companion of his woes. Casmilla was her mother; but he drown'd One hissing letter in a softer sound, And call'd Camilla. Thro' the woods he flies; Wrapp'd in his robe the royal infant lies. His foes in sight, he mends his weary pace; With shout and clamors they pursue the chase. The banks of Amasene at length he gains:
Meantime, the gath'ring clouds obscure the skies: From pole to pole the forky lightning flies; The rattling thunders roll; and Juno pours A wintry deluge down, and sounding show'rs. The company, dispers'd, to converts ride, And seek the homely cots, or mountain's hollow side. The rapid rains, descending from the hills, To rolling torrents raise the creeping rills. The queen and prince, as love or fortune guides, One common cavern in her bosom hides. Then first the trembling earth the signal gave, And flashing fires enlighten all the cave; Hell from below, and Juno from above, And howling nymphs, were conscious of their love. From this ill-omen'd hour in time arose Debate and death, and all succeeding woes.
There is a port sacred in Ithaca To Phorcys, hoary ancient of the Deep, Form'd by converging shores, prominent both And both abrupt, which from the spacious bay Exclude all boist'rous winds; within it, ships (The port once gain'd) uncabled ride secure. An olive, at the haven's head, expands Her branches wide, near to a pleasant cave Umbrageous, to the nymphs devoted named The Naiads. In that cave beakers of stone And jars are seen; bees lodge their honey there; And there, on slender spindles of the rock The nymphs of rivers weave their wond'rous robes. Perennial springs water it, and it shows A twofold entrance; ingress one affords To mortal man, which Northward looks direct, But holier is the Southern far; by that No mortal enters, but the Gods alone. Familiar with that port before, they push'd The vessel in; she, rapid, plow'd the sands With half her keel, such rowers urged her on. Descending from the well-bench'd bark ashore, They lifted forth Ulysses first, with all His splendid couch complete, then, lay'd him down Still wrapt in balmy slumber on the sands. His treasures, next, by the Phæacian Chiefs At his departure given him as the meed Due to his wisdom, at the olive's foot They heap'd, without the road, lest, while he slept Some passing traveller should rifle them. Then homeward thence they sped. Nor Ocean's God His threats forgot denounced against divine Ulysses, but with Jove thus first advised.
Thence, o'er the Deep proceeding sad, we reach'd The land at length, where, giant-sized and free From all constraint of law, the Cyclops dwell. They, trusting to the Gods, plant not, or plough, But earth unsow'd, untill'd, brings forth for them All fruits, wheat, barley, and the vinous grape Large cluster'd, nourish'd by the show'rs of Jove. No councils they convene, no laws contrive, But in deep caverns dwell, found on the heads Of lofty mountains, judging each supreme His wife and children, heedless of the rest. In front of the Cyclopean haven lies A level island, not adjoining close Their land, nor yet remote, woody and rude. There, wild goats breed numberless, by no foot Of man molested; never huntsman there, Inured to winter's cold and hunger, roams The dreary woods, or mountain-tops sublime; No fleecy flocks dwell there, nor plough is known, But the unseeded and unfurrow'd soil, Year after year a wilderness by man Untrodden, food for blatant goats supplies. For no ships crimson-prow'd the Cyclops own, Nor naval artizan is there, whose toil Might furnish them with oary barks, by which Subsists all distant commerce, and which bear Man o'er the Deep to cities far remote Who might improve the peopled isle, that seems Not steril in itself, but apt to yield, In their due season, fruits of ev'ry kind. For stretch'd beside the hoary ocean lie Green meadows moist, where vines would never fail; Light is the land, and they might yearly reap The tallest crops, so unctuous is the glebe. Safe is its haven also, where no need Of cable is or anchor, or to lash The hawser fast ashore, but pushing in His bark, the mariner might there abide Till rising gales should tempt him forth again. At bottom of the bay runs a clear stream Issuing from a cove hemm'd all around With poplars; down into that bay we steer'd Amid the darkness of the night, some God Conducting us; for all unseen it lay, Such gloom involved the fleet, nor shone the moon From heav'n to light us, veil'd by pitchy clouds. Hence, none the isle descried, nor any saw The lofty surge roll'd on the strand, or ere Our vessels struck the ground; but when they struck, Then, low'ring all our sails, we disembark'd, And on the sea-beach slept till dawn appear'd. Soon as Aurora, daughter of the dawn, Look'd rosy forth, we with admiring eyes The isle survey'd, roaming it wide around. Meantime, the nymphs, Jove's daughters, roused the goats Bred on the mountains, to supply with food The partners of my toils; then, bringing forth Bows and long-pointed javelins from the ships, Divided all into three sep'rate bands We struck them, and the Gods gave us much prey. Twelve ships attended me, and ev'ry ship Nine goats received by lot; myself alone Selected ten. All day, till set of sun, We eating sat goat's flesh, and drinking wine Delicious, without stint; for dearth was none Of ruddy wine on board, but much remain'd, With which my people had their jars supplied What time we sack'd Ciconian Ismarus. Thence looking forth toward the neighbour-land Where dwell the Cyclops, rising smoke we saw, And voices heard, their own, and of their flocks. Now sank the sun, and (night o'ershadowing all) We slept along the shore; but when again The rosy-finger'd daughter of the dawn Look'd forth, my crews convened, I thus began.
Then thus the mighty Ruler of the Main: "What may not Venus hope from Neptune's reign? My kingdom claims your birth; my late defense Of your indanger'd fleet may claim your confidence. Nor less by land than sea my deeds declare How much your lov'd Aeneas is my care. Thee, Xanthus, and thee, Simois, I attest. Your Trojan troops when proud Achilles press'd, And drove before him headlong on the plain, And dash'd against the walls the trembling train; When floods were fill'd with bodies of the slain; When crimson Xanthus, doubtful of his way, Stood up on ridges to behold the sea; (New heaps came tumbling in, and chok'd his way;) When your Aeneas fought, but fought with odds Of force unequal, and unequal gods; I spread a cloud before the victor's sight, Sustain'd the vanquish'd, and secur'd his flight; Ev'n then secur'd him, when I sought with joy The vow'd destruction of ungrateful Troy. My will's the same: fair goddess, fear no more, Your fleet shall safely gain the Latian shore; Their lives are giv'n; one destin'd head alone Shall perish, and for multitudes atone." Thus having arm'd with hopes her anxious mind, His finny team Saturnian Neptune join'd, Then adds the foamy bridle to their jaws, And to the loosen'd reins permits the laws. High on the waves his azure car he guides; Its axles thunder, and the sea subsides, And the smooth ocean rolls her silent tides. The tempests fly before their father's face, Trains of inferior gods his triumph grace, And monster whales before their master play, And choirs of Tritons crowd the wat'ry way. The marshal'd pow'rs in equal troops divide To right and left; the gods his better side Inclose, and on the worse the Nymphs and Nereids ride.
Thus while the Trojan prince employs his eyes, Fix'd on the walls with wonder and surprise, The beauteous Dido, with a num'rous train And pomp of guards, ascends the sacred fane. Such on Eurotas' banks, or Cynthus' height, Diana seems; and so she charms the sight, When in the dance the graceful goddess leads The choir of nymphs, and overtops their heads: Known by her quiver, and her lofty mien, She walks majestic, and she looks their queen; Latona sees her shine above the rest, And feeds with secret joy her silent breast. Such Dido was; with such becoming state, Amidst the crowd, she walks serenely great. Their labor to her future sway she speeds, And passing with a gracious glance proceeds; Then mounts the throne, high plac'd before the shrine: In crowds around, the swarming people join. She takes petitions, and dispenses laws, Hears and determines ev'ry private cause; Their tasks in equal portions she divides, And, where unequal, there by lots decides. Another way by chance Aeneas bends His eyes, and unexpected sees his friends, Antheus, Sergestus grave, Cloanthus strong, And at their backs a mighty Trojan throng, Whom late the tempest on the billows toss'd, And widely scatter'd on another coast. The prince, unseen, surpris'd with wonder stands, And longs, with joyful haste, to join their hands; But, doubtful of the wish'd event, he stays, And from the hollow cloud his friends surveys, Impatient till they told their present state, And where they left their ships, and what their fate, And why they came, and what was their request; For these were sent, commission'd by the rest, To sue for leave to land their sickly men, And gain admission to the gracious queen. Ent'ring, with cries they fill'd the holy fane; Then thus, with lowly voice, Ilioneus began:
I spake. She swearing as I bade, renounced All evil purpose, and (her solemn oath Concluded) I ascended, next, her bed Magnificent. Meantime, four graceful nymphs Attended on the service of the house, Her menials, from the fountains sprung and groves, And from the sacred streams that seek the sea. Of these, one cast fine linen on the thrones, Which, next, with purple arras rich she spread; Another placed before the gorgeous seats Bright tables, and set on baskets of gold. The third, an argent beaker fill'd with wine Delicious, which in golden cups she served; The fourth brought water, which she warm'd within An ample vase, and when the simm'ring flood Sang in the tripod, led me to a bath, And laved me with the pleasant stream profuse Pour'd o'er my neck and body, till my limbs Refresh'd, all sense of lassitude resign'd. When she had bathed me, and with limpid oil Anointed me, and cloathed me in a vest And mantle, next, she led me to a throne Of royal state, with silver studs emboss'd, And footstool'd soft beneath; then came a nymph With golden ewer charged and silver bowl, Who pour'd pure water on my hands, and placed The polish'd board before me, which with food Various, selected from her present stores, The cat'ress spread, then, courteous, bade me eat. But me it pleas'd not; with far other thoughts My spirit teem'd, on vengeance more intent. Soon, then, as Circe mark'd me on my seat Fast-rooted, sullen, nor with outstretch'd hands Deigning to touch the banquet, she approach'd, And in wing'd accents suasive thus began.
I spake; they readily a solemn oath Sware all, and when their oath was fully sworn, Within a creek where a fresh fountain rose They moor'd the bark, and, issuing, began Brisk preparation of their evening cheer. But when nor hunger now nor thirst remain'd Unsated, recollecting, then, their friends By Scylla seized and at her cave devour'd, They mourn'd, nor ceased to mourn them, till they slept. The night's third portion come, when now the stars Had travers'd the mid-sky, cloud-gath'rer Jove Call'd forth a vehement wind with tempest charged, Menacing earth and sea with pitchy clouds Tremendous, and the night fell dark from heav'n. But when Aurora, daughter of the day, Look'd rosy forth, we haled, drawn inland more, Our bark into a grot, where nymphs were wont Graceful to tread the dance, or to repose. Convening there my friends, I thus began.
Thus having said, the hero bound his brows With leafy branches, then perform'd his vows; Adoring first the genius of the place, Then Earth, the mother of the heav'nly race, The nymphs, and native godheads yet unknown, And Night, and all the stars that gild her sable throne, And ancient Cybel, and Idaean Jove, And last his sire below, and mother queen above. Then heav'n's high monarch thunder'd thrice aloud, And thrice he shook aloft a golden cloud. Soon thro' the joyful camp a rumor flew, The time was come their city to renew. Then ev'ry brow with cheerful green is crown'd, The feasts are doubled, and the bowls go round.