Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Death of Orpheus
11:1 Here, while the Thracian bard's enchanting strain
11:2 Sooths beasts, and woods, and all the listn'ing plain,
11:3 The female Bacchanals, devoutly mad,
11:4 In shaggy skins, like savage creatures, clad,
11:5 Warbling in air perceiv'd his lovely lay,
11:6 And from a rising ground beheld him play.
11:7 When one, the wildest, with dishevel'd hair,
11:8 That loosely stream'd, and ruffled in the air;
11:9 Soon as her frantick eye the lyrist spy'd,
11:10 See, see! the hater of our sex, she cry'd.
11:11 Then at his face her missive javelin sent,
11:12 Which whiz'd along, and brusht him as it went;
11:13 But the soft wreathes of ivy twisted round,
11:14 Prevent a deep impression of the wound.
11:15 Another, for a weapon, hurls a stone,
11:16 Which, by the sound subdu'd as soon as thrown,
11:17 Falls at his feet, and with a seeming sense
11:18 Implores his pardon for its late offence.
11:19 But now their frantick rage unbounded grows,
11:20 Turns all to madness, and no measure knows:
11:21 Yet this the charms of musick might subdue,
11:22 But that, with all its charms, is conquer'd too;
11:23 In louder strains their hideous yellings rise,
11:24 And squeaking horn-pipes eccho thro' the skies,
11:25 Which, in hoarse consort with the drum, confound
11:26 The moving lyre, and ev'ry gentle sound:
11:27 Then 'twas the deafen'd stones flew on with speed,
11:28 And saw, unsooth'd, their tuneful poet bleed.
11:29 The birds, the beasts, and all the savage crew
11:30 Which the sweet lyrist to attention drew,
11:31 Now, by the female mob's more furious rage,
11:32 Are driv'n, and forc'd to quit the shady stage.
11:33 Next their fierce hands the bard himself assail,
11:34 Nor can his song against their wrath prevail:
11:35 They flock, like birds, when in a clustring flight,
11:36 By day they chase the boding fowl of night.
11:37 So crowded amphitheatres survey
11:38 The stag, to greedy dogs a future prey.
11:39 Their steely javelins, which soft curls entwine
11:40 Of budding tendrils from the leafy vine,
11:41 For sacred rites of mild religion made,
11:42 Are flung promiscuous at the poet's head.
11:43 Those clods of earth or flints discharge, and these
11:44 Hurl prickly branches sliver'd from the trees.
11:45 And, lest their passion shou'd be unsupply'd,
11:46 The rabble crew, by chance, at distance spy'd
11:47 Where oxen, straining at the heavy yoke,
11:48 The fallow'd field with slow advances broke;
11:49 Nigh which the brawny peasants dug the soil,
11:50 Procuring food with long laborious toil.
11:51 These, when they saw the ranting throng draw near,
11:52 Quitted their tools, and fled, possest with fear.
11:53 Long spades, and rakes of mighty size were found,
11:54 Carelesly left upon the broken ground.
11:55 With these the furious lunaticks engage,
11:56 And first the lab'ring oxen feel their rage;
11:57 Then to the poet they return with speed,
11:58 Whose fate was, past prevention, now decreed:
11:59 In vain he lifts his suppliant hands, in vain
11:60 He tries, before, his never-failing strain.
11:61 And, from those sacred lips, whose thrilling sound
11:62 Fierce tygers, and insensate rocks cou'd wound,
11:63 Ah Gods! how moving was the mournful sight!
11:64 To see the fleeting soul now take its flight.
11:65 Thee the soft warblers of the feather'd kind
11:66 Bewail'd; for thee thy savage audience pin'd;
11:67 Those rocks and woods that oft thy strain had led,
11:68 Mourn for their charmer, and lament him dead;
11:69 And drooping trees their leafy glories shed.
11:70 Naids and Dryads with dishevel'd hair
11:71 Promiscuous weep, and scarfs of sable wear;
11:72 Nor cou'd the river-Gods conceal their moan,
11:73 But with new floods of tears augment their own.
11:74 His mangled limbs lay scatter'd all around,
11:75 His head, and harp a better fortune found;
11:76 In Hebrus' streams they gently roul'd along,
11:77 And sooth'd the waters with a mournful song.
11:78 Soft deadly notes the lifeless tongue inspire,
11:79 A doleful tune sounds from the floating lyre;
11:80 The hollows banks in solemn consort mourn,
11:81 And the sad strain in ecchoing groans return.
11:82 Now with the current to the sea they glide,
11:83 Born by the billows of the briny tide;
11:84 And driv'n where waves round rocky Lesbos roar,
11:85 They strand, and lodge upon Methymna's shore.
11:86 But here, when landed on the foreign soil,
11:87 A venom'd snake, the product of the isle
11:88 Attempts the head, and sacred locks embru'd
11:89 With clotted gore, and still fresh-dropping blood.
11:90 Phoebus, at last, his kind protection gives,
11:91 And from the fact the greedy monster drives:
11:92 Whose marbled jaws his impious crime atone,
11:93 Still grinning ghastly, tho' transform'd to stone.
11:94 His ghost flies downward to the Stygian shore,
11:95 And knows the places it had seen before:
11:96 Among the shadows of the pious train
11:97 He finds Eurydice, and loves again;
11:98 With pleasure views the beauteous phantom's charms,
11:99 And clasps her in his unsubstantial arms.
11:100 There side by side they unmolested walk,
11:101 Or pass their blissful hours in pleasing talk;
11:102 Aft or before the bard securely goes,
11:103 And, without danger, can review his spouse.
Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Death of Orpheus
11:1 Here, while the Thracian bard's enchanting strain
11:2 Sooths beasts, and woods, and all the listn'ing plain,
11:3 The female Bacchanals, devoutly mad,
11:4 In shaggy skins, like savage creatures, clad,
11:5 Warbling in air perceiv'd his lovely lay,
11:6 And from a rising ground beheld him play.
11:7 When one, the wildest, with dishevel'd hair,
11:8 That loosely stream'd, and ruffled in the air;
11:9 Soon as her frantick eye the lyrist spy'd,
11:10 See, see! the hater of our sex, she cry'd.
11:11 Then at his face her missive javelin sent,
11:12 Which whiz'd along, and brusht him as it went;
11:13 But the soft wreathes of ivy twisted round,
11:14 Prevent a deep impression of the wound.
11:15 Another, for a weapon, hurls a stone,
11:16 Which, by the sound subdu'd as soon as thrown,
11:17 Falls at his feet, and with a seeming sense
11:18 Implores his pardon for its late offence.
11:19 But now their frantick rage unbounded grows,
11:20 Turns all to madness, and no measure knows:
11:21 Yet this the charms of musick might subdue,
11:22 But that, with all its charms, is conquer'd too;
11:23 In louder strains their hideous yellings rise,
11:24 And squeaking horn-pipes eccho thro' the skies,
11:25 Which, in hoarse consort with the drum, confound
11:26 The moving lyre, and ev'ry gentle sound:
11:27 Then 'twas the deafen'd stones flew on with speed,
11:28 And saw, unsooth'd, their tuneful poet bleed.
11:29 The birds, the beasts, and all the savage crew
11:30 Which the sweet lyrist to attention drew,
11:31 Now, by the female mob's more furious rage,
11:32 Are driv'n, and forc'd to quit the shady stage.
11:33 Next their fierce hands the bard himself assail,
11:34 Nor can his song against their wrath prevail:
11:35 They flock, like birds, when in a clustring flight,
11:36 By day they chase the boding fowl of night.
11:37 So crowded amphitheatres survey
11:38 The stag, to greedy dogs a future prey.
11:39 Their steely javelins, which soft curls entwine
11:40 Of budding tendrils from the leafy vine,
11:41 For sacred rites of mild religion made,
11:42 Are flung promiscuous at the poet's head.
11:43 Those clods of earth or flints discharge, and these
11:44 Hurl prickly branches sliver'd from the trees.
11:45 And, lest their passion shou'd be unsupply'd,
11:46 The rabble crew, by chance, at distance spy'd
11:47 Where oxen, straining at the heavy yoke,
11:48 The fallow'd field with slow advances broke;
11:49 Nigh which the brawny peasants dug the soil,
11:50 Procuring food with long laborious toil.
11:51 These, when they saw the ranting throng draw near,
11:52 Quitted their tools, and fled, possest with fear.
11:53 Long spades, and rakes of mighty size were found,
11:54 Carelesly left upon the broken ground.
11:55 With these the furious lunaticks engage,
11:56 And first the lab'ring oxen feel their rage;
11:57 Then to the poet they return with speed,
11:58 Whose fate was, past prevention, now decreed:
11:59 In vain he lifts his suppliant hands, in vain
11:60 He tries, before, his never-failing strain.
11:61 And, from those sacred lips, whose thrilling sound
11:62 Fierce tygers, and insensate rocks cou'd wound,
11:63 Ah Gods! how moving was the mournful sight!
11:64 To see the fleeting soul now take its flight.
11:65 Thee the soft warblers of the feather'd kind
11:66 Bewail'd; for thee thy savage audience pin'd;
11:67 Those rocks and woods that oft thy strain had led,
11:68 Mourn for their charmer, and lament him dead;
11:69 And drooping trees their leafy glories shed.
11:70 Naids and Dryads with dishevel'd hair
11:71 Promiscuous weep, and scarfs of sable wear;
11:72 Nor cou'd the river-Gods conceal their moan,
11:73 But with new floods of tears augment their own.
11:74 His mangled limbs lay scatter'd all around,
11:75 His head, and harp a better fortune found;
11:76 In Hebrus' streams they gently roul'd along,
11:77 And sooth'd the waters with a mournful song.
11:78 Soft deadly notes the lifeless tongue inspire,
11:79 A doleful tune sounds from the floating lyre;
11:80 The hollows banks in solemn consort mourn,
11:81 And the sad strain in ecchoing groans return.
11:82 Now with the current to the sea they glide,
11:83 Born by the billows of the briny tide;
11:84 And driv'n where waves round rocky Lesbos roar,
11:85 They strand, and lodge upon Methymna's shore.
11:86 But here, when landed on the foreign soil,
11:87 A venom'd snake, the product of the isle
11:88 Attempts the head, and sacred locks embru'd
11:89 With clotted gore, and still fresh-dropping blood.
11:90 Phoebus, at last, his kind protection gives,
11:91 And from the fact the greedy monster drives:
11:92 Whose marbled jaws his impious crime atone,
11:93 Still grinning ghastly, tho' transform'd to stone.
11:94 His ghost flies downward to the Stygian shore,
11:95 And knows the places it had seen before:
11:96 Among the shadows of the pious train
11:97 He finds Eurydice, and loves again;
11:98 With pleasure views the beauteous phantom's charms,
11:99 And clasps her in his unsubstantial arms.
11:100 There side by side they unmolested walk,
11:101 Or pass their blissful hours in pleasing talk;
11:102 Aft or before the bard securely goes,
11:103 And, without danger, can review his spouse.