Almighty sire! if yet you deign to own
A'cmena's wretched offspring as your son;
Some comfort in my agony impart,

And bid thy forked thunder rend this heart:
Round my devoted head it idly plays;

And aids the fire, which wastes me, with its rays:
By heat inflam'd, this robe exerts its pow'r,

My scorched limbs to shrivel and devour;

Upon my shoulders, like a dragon, clings,

And fixes in my flesh a thousand stings.

Great sire! in pity to my suit attend,

And with a sudden stroke my being end.'
"As thus the hero pray'd, the lightning ceas'd,
And thicker darkness all the hill embrac'd.
He saw his suit deny'd: in fierce despair,
The rooted pines he tore, and cedars fair;
And from the crannies of the rifted rocks,
Twisted with force immense the stubborn oaks.
Of these upon the cliff a heap he laid,

And thus address'd me, as I stood dismay'd:
Behold, my friend! the ruler of the skies,
In agony invok'd, my suit denies :

Put sure the cracle inspir'd from Heaven,
Which in Dodona's sacred grove was given,
The truth declar'd: that now my toils shall
And all my painful labours end in peace: [cease,
Peace, death can only bring: the raging smart,
Wrant with my vitals, mocks cach healing art.
Not all the plants that clothe the verdant field,
Not all the health a thousand mountains yield,
Which their tops the sage physician finds,
Or digging from the veins of flint unbinds,
This are can quench. And therefore, to obey
My last commands, prepare without delay.
When on this pile you see my limbs compos'd,
Shrink not, but hear what must not be oppos'd;
Approach, and, with an unrelenting band,
Ex, in the boughs beneath, a flaming brand.
I must not longer trust this madding pain,
Lest some rash deed should all my glory stain.
Lvchas I slew upon the Cœnian shore,
Who knew not, sure, the fatal gift he bore:
His guilt had taught him else to fly, nor wait,
Till from my rage he found a sudden fate.
I will not Deianira's action blame;
Let Heav'n decide, which only knows her aim:
Whether from hate, with treacherous intent,
This fatal garment to her lord she sent ;
Or, by the cunning of a foe betray'd,
His vengeance, thus imprudently convey'd.
If this, or that, I urge not my command,
Nor claim her fate from thy avenging hand :
To lodge my lifeless bones, is all I crave,
Safe and uninjur'd in the peaceful grave.'
"This with a hollow voice and alter'd look,
la agony extreme, the hero spoke.

I pour'd a flood of sorrow, and withdrew,
Amid the kindled groves, to pluck a bough;
With which the structure at the base I fir'd:
On ev'ry side the pointed flames aspir'd.
But ere involving smoke the pile enclos'd,
I saw the hero on the top repos'd;
Serene as one who, near the fountain laid,
At noon enjoys the cool refreshing shade.
The venom'd garment hiss'd; its touch the fires
Avoiding, slop'd oblique their pointed spires:
On ev'ry side the parted flame withdrew,
And level'd, round the burning structure flew.
At last victorious to the top they rose;
Firm and unmov'd the hero saw them close.

His soul unfetter'd, sought the biest abodes,
By virtue rais'd to mingle with the gods.
His bones in earth, with pious hands, I laid;
The place to publish nothing shall persuade;
Lest tyrants now unaw'd, and men unjust,
With insults, should profane his sacred dust.
E'er since, 1 haunt this solitary den,
Retir'd from all the busy paths of men ;

or these wild mountains only suit my state,
And sooth, with kindred gloom, my deep regret.'
"He ended thus: amazement long suppress'd
My voice; but Cleon answ'ring thus address'd :
Brave youth! you offer, to our wond'ring ears,
Events more awful than tradition bears.
Fix'd in my mind the hero's fate remains,
I see his agonies, and feel his pains.
Yet suffer, that for hapless Thebes I mourn,
Whose fairest hopes the envious fates o'erturn.
If great Alcides liv'd, her tow'rs should stand
Safe and protected by his mighty hand:
On you, brave youth! our second hopes depend;
To you the arms of Hercules descend.
He did not, sure, those glorious gifts bestow,
The shafts invincible, the mighty bow;
From which the innocent protection claim,
To dye the hills with blood of savage game.
Such toils as these your glory ne'er can raise,
Nor crown your merit with immortal praise;
And with the great Alcides place your name,
To stand distinguish'd in the rolls of fame.'
"The hero thus.

The son of Pœan said:

Myself, my arms, I offer for your aid;
If fav'ring from the skies, the signs of Jove
Confirm what thus I purpose and approve.
For when Alcides, with his last commands,
His bow and shafts committed to my hands;
In all attempts be charg'd me to proceed
As Jove by signs and auguries should lead.
But these the rising Sun will best disclose;
The season now invites to soft repose.'

"He said; and, from the hearth a flaming bough,
To light us through the shady cavern, drew.
Far in the deep recess, a rocky bed
We found, with skins of mountain monsters spread.
There we compos'd our weary limbs, and lay,
Till darkness fled before the morning ray.
Then rose, and climb'd a promontory steep,
Whose rocky brow, impending o'er the deep,
Shoots high into the air, and lifts the eye,
In boundless stretch, to take a length of sky.
With hands extended to th' ethereal height,
The pow'r we call'd, ho rules the realms of light;
That symbols sure his purpose might explain,
Whether the youth should aid us, or refrain:
We pray'd; and on the left along the vales,
With pinions broad display'd, an eagle sails.
As near the ground his level flight he drew,
He stoop'd, and brush'd the thickets as he flew;
When starting from the centre of a brake,
With horrid hiss appear'd a crested snake:
Her young to guard, her ven m'd fangs she rear'd;
Above the shrubs her wavy length appear'd;
Against his swift approaches, as he flew,
On ev'ry side her forked tongue she threw,
And armed jaws; but wheeling from the snare
The swift assailant still escap'd in air ;
But, stooping from his pitch, at last he tore
Her purple crest, and drew a stream of gore.
She writh'd; and, in the fierceness of her pain,
Shook the long thickets with her twisted train :

Relax'd at last, its spires forgot to roll,
And, in a hiss, she breath'd her fiery soul :
In haste to gorge his prey, the bird of Jove
Down to the bottom of the thicket drove ;
The young defenceless from the covert drew;
Devour'd them straight, and to the mountains
This omen seen, another worse we hear: [flew.
The subterraneous thunder greets our ear:
The worst of all the signs which augurs know;
A dire prognostic of impending woe.

"Amaz'd we stood, till Philoctetes broke
Our long dejected silence thus, and spoke:
Warriors of Thebes! the auguries dissuade
My purpose, and withhold me from your aid;
Though pity moves me, and ambition draws,
To share your labours and assert your cause;
In fight the arms of Hercules to show,
And from his native ramparts drive the foe.
But vain it is against the gods to strive;
Whose counsels ruin nations or retrieve;
Without their favour, valour nought avails,
And human prudence self-subverted fails;
For irresistibly their pow'r presides
In all events, and good and ill divides.
Let Thebes assembled at the altars wait,
And long processions crowd each sacred gate:
With sacrifice appeas'd, and humble pray'r,
Their omens frustrated, the gods may spare.
To day, my guests, repose; to morrow sail,
If Heav'n propitious sends a prosp'rous gale:
For, shifting to the south, the western breeze
Forbids you now to trust the faithless seas.'

"The hero thus; in silence sad, we mourn'd;
And to the solitary cave return'd,
Despairing of success; our grief he shar'd,
And for relief a cheering bowl prepar'd;
The vintage which the grape spontaneous yields,
By art untutor'd, on the woodland fields,
He sought with care, and mingled in the bowl
A plant, of pow'r to calm the troubled soul;
Its name nepenthe; swains, on desert ground,
Do often glean it, else but rarely found;
This in the bowl he mix'd; and soon we found,
In soft oblivion, all our sorrows drown'd:
We felt no more the agonies of care,
And hope, succeeding, dawn'd upon despair.
From morn we feasted, till the setting ray
Retir'd, and ev'ning shades expell'd the day;
Then in the dark recesses of the cave,
To slumbers soft, our willing limbs we gave:
But ere the morning, from the east, appear'd,
And sooner than the early lark is heard,
Cleon awak'd, my careless slumber broke,
And bending to my ear, in whispers spoke:
• Dienices! while slumbering thus secure,
We think not what our citizens endure. [pears
The worst the signs have threaten'd, nought ap-
With happier aspect to dispel our fears;
Alcides lives not, and his friend in vain
To arms we call, while augurics restrain:
Returning thus, we bring the Theban state
But hopes deceiv'd, and omens of her fate:
Better success our labours shall attend,
Nor all our aims in disappointment end;
If you approve my purpose, nor dissuade
What now I counsel for your country's aid.
Soon as the Sun displays his early beam,
The arms of great Alcides let us claim;
Then for Bootia's shores direct our sails;
And force must second if persuasion fails: ·

Against reproach necessity shall plead;
Censure confute, and justify the deed.'

"The hero thus, and ceas'd: with pity mov'd,
And zeal for Thebes, I rashly thus approv'd.
'You counsel well; but prudence would advise
To work by cunning rather, and surprise,
Than force declar'd; his venom'd shafts you know,
Which fly resistless from th' Herculean bow;
A safe occasion now the silent hour
Of midnight yields; when, by the gentle pow'r
Of careless slumber bound, the hero lies,
Our necessary fraud will 'scape his eyes;
Without the aid of force shall reach its aim,
With danger less incurr'd, and less of blame.'

"I counsel'd thus; and Cleon straight ap-
In silence from the dark recess we mov'd; [prov'd.
Towards the hearth, with wary steps, we came,
The ashes stirr'd,and rous'd the slumb’ring flame.
On ev'ry side in vain we turn'd our eyes,
Nor, as our hopes had promis'd, found the prize:
Till to the couch, where Philoctetes lay,
The quiver led us by its silver ray;
For in a panther's fur together ty'd,
His bow and shafts, the pillow's place supply'ds
Thither I went with careful steps and slow;
And by degrees obtain'd th' Herculean bow:
The quiver next to disengage essay'd;
It stuck entangled, but at last obey'd.
The prize obtain'd, we hasten to the strand,
And rouse the mariners, and straight command
The canvass to unfurl: a gentle gale
Favour'd our course, and fill'd the swelling sail:
The shores retir'd; and when the morning ray
Ascended, from the deep, th' ethereal way;
Upon the right Cenæum's beach appear'd,
And Pelion on the left his summit rear'd.
All day we sail'd; but when the setting light
Approach'd the ocean, from th' Olympian height,
The breeze was hush'd; and, stretch'd across

the main,

Like mountains rising on the wat'ry plain,
The clouds collected on the billows stood,
And, with incumbent shade, obscur'd the flood.
Thither a current bore us; soon we found
A night of vapour closing fast around.
Loose hung the empty sail: we ply'd our oars,
And strove to reach Euboea's friendly shores;
But strove in vain; for erring from the course,
In mazes wide, the rower spent his force.
Seven days and nights we try'd some port to gain,
Where Greek or barb'rous shores exclude the
main;

But knew not, whether backwards, or before,
Or on the right, or left, to seek the shore:
Till, rising on the eighth, a gentle breeze
Drove the light fog, and brush'd the curling seas,
Our canvass to its gentle pow'r we spread;
And fix'd our oars, and follow'd as it led.
Before us soon, impending from above,
Through parting clouds, we saw a lofty grove.
Alarm'd, the sail we slacken, and explore
The deeps and shallows of the unknown shore.
Near on the right a winding creek appear'd,
Thither directed by the pole, we steer'd;
And landed on the beach, by fate misled,
Nor knew again the port from which we fled.
The gods themselves deceiv'd us: to our eyes
New caverns open, airy cliffs arise;
That Philoctetes might again possess
His arms, and Heav'n our injury redress.

प

A

1

“The unknown region purpos'd to explore,
Cleon, with me alone, forsakes the shore;
Back to the cave we left, by angry fate
Implicitly conducted, at the gate

The injur'd youth we found; a thick disguise
His native form conceal'd, and mock'd our eyes;
For the black locks in waving ringlets spread,
A wreath of hoary white involv'd his head,
Beneath a load of years, he seem'd to bend,
His breast to sink, his shoulders to ascend.
He saw us straight, and, rising from his seat,
Began with sharp reproaches to repeat
Our crime; but could not thus suspicion give;
So strong is errour when the gods deceive!
We question'd of the country as we came,
By whom inhabited, and what its name;
How far from Thebes: that thither we were bound;
And thus the wary youth our errour found.
Smooth'd to deceive, his accent straight he
turn'd,

While in his breast the thirst of vengeance burn'd;
And thinking now his bow and shafts regain'd,
Reply'd with hospitable kindness feign'd:
'On Ida's sacred height, my guests! you stand;
Here Priam rules, in peace, a happy land.
Twelve cities own him, on the Phrygian plain,
Their lord, and twelve fair islands on the main.
From hence to Thebes in seven days space you'll
If Jove propitious sends a prosp'rous gale. [sail,
But now accept a homely meal, and deign

To share, what Heav'n affords a humble swain.'
“He said; and brought a bowl with vintage
fill'd,

From berries wild, and mountain grapes distill'd,
Of largest size; and plac'd it on a rock,
Under the covert of a spreading oak;
Around it autumn's mellow stores he laid,
Which the Sun ripens, in the woodland shade.
Our thirst and hunger thus at once allay'd,
To Cleon turning, Philoctetes said:
'The bow you wear of such unusual size,
With wonder still I view and curious eyes; [art,
For length, for thickness, and the workman's
Surpassing all I've seen in ev'ry part.'
"Dissembling, thus inquir'd the wary youth,
And thus your valiant son declar'd the truth:
'Father! the weapɔn, which you thus commend,
The force of great Alcides once did bend; [du'd,
These shafts the same which monsters fierce sub-
And lawless men with vengeance just pursu'd.'

"The hero thus; and Pœan's son again:
'What now I ask, refuse not to explain:
Whether the hero still exerts his might,
For innocence oppress'd: and injur'd right?
Or yields to fate; and with the mighty dead,
From toil reposes in the Elysian shade!
Sure, if he liv'd, he would not thus forego
His shafts invincible and mighty bow,
By which he oft immortal honour gain'd
For wrongs redress'd and lawless force re-
strain'd.'

"The rage suppress'd, which in his bosom
burn'd,

He question'd, thus; and Cleon thus return'd :
'What we have heard of Hercules, I'll show;
What by report we learn'd, and what we know.
From Thebes to Oeta's wilderness we went,
With supplications, to the hero, sent
From all our princes; that he would exert
His matchless valour on his country's part,

Against whose state united foes conspire,
And waste her wide domain with sword and fire.
There on the cliffs, which bound the neighb'ring
We found the mansion of a lonely swain; [main,
Much like to this, but that its rocky mouth,
The cooling north respects, as this the south;
And, in a corner of the cave conceal'd,
The club which great Alcides us'd to wield.
Wrapt in his shaggy robe, the lion's spoils,
The mantle which he wore in all his toils.
At ev'na hunter in the cave appear'd;
From whom the fate of Hercules we heard.
He told us that he saw the chief expire,
That he himself did light his fun'ral fire;
And boasted, that the hero had resign'd,
To him, this bow and quiver, as his friend:
Oft seen before, these deadly shafts we know,
And tipp'd with stars of gold th' Herculean bow:
But of the hero's fate, the tale he told,
Whether 'tis true, I cannot now unfold.'

"He spoke. The youth with indignation burn'd,
Yet calm in outward semblance, thus return'd:
'I must admire the man who could resign
To you, these arms so precious and divine,
Which, to the love of such a friend, he ow'd;
Great was the gift if willingly bestow'd:
By force they could not easily be gain'd,
And fraud, I know, your gen'rous souls disdain'd.'
"Severely smiling, thus the hero spoke ;
With conscious shame we heard, nor silence
broke :

And thus again: The only boon I claim,
Which, to your host deny'd, would merit blame;
Is, that my hands that weapon may embrace,
And on the flaxen cord an arrow place;
An honour which I covet; though we mourn'd,
By great Alcides, once our state o'erturn'd:
When proud Laomedon the hero brav'd,
Nor paid the ransom for his daughter sav'd,'

"Dissembling thus did Philoctetes strive
His instruments of vengeance to retrieve:
And, by the Fates deceiv'd, in evil hour,
The bow and shafts we yielded to his pow'r,
In mirthful mood, provoking him to try
Whether the weapon would his force obey;
For weak he seem'd, like those whose nerves have
lost,
[boast.
Through age, the vigour which in youth they
The belt around his shoulders first he flung,
And, glitt'ring by his side the quiver hung:
Compress'd with all his force the stubborn yew
He bent, and from the case an arrow drew:
And yielding to his rage in furious mood,
With aim direct against us full be stood, [guise,
For vengeance arm'd; and now the thick dis-
Which veil'd his form before, and mock'd our
Vanish'd in air; our errour then appear'd; [eyes,
I saw the vengeance of the gods, and fear'd.
Before him on the ground my knees I bow'd,
And, with extended hands, for mercy su'd.
But Cleon, fierce and scorning to entreat,
His weapon drew, and rush'd upon his fate:
For as he came, the fatal arrow flew,
And from his heart the vital current drew:
Supine he fell and, welling from the wound,
A tide of gore impurpled all the ground.
The son of Pœan stooping drew the dart,
Yet warm with slaughter, from the hero's heart;
And turn'd it full on me: with humble pray'r
And lifted hands, I mov'd him still to spare.