Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Story of Phaeton
2:1 The Sun's bright palace, on high columns rais'd,
2:2 With burnish'd gold and flaming jewels
blaz'd;
2:3 The folding gates diffus'd a silver
light,
2:4 And with a milder gleam refresh'd
the sight;
2:5 Of polish'd iv'ry was the cov'ring
wrought:
2:6 The matter vied not with the sculptor's
thought,
2:7 For in the portal was display'd on
high
2:8 (The work of Vulcan) a fictitious
sky;
2:9 A waving sea th' inferiour Earth
embrac'd,
2:10 And Gods and Goddesses the waters
grac'd.
2:11 Aegeon here a mighty whale bestrode;
2:12 Triton, and Proteus (the deceiving
God)
2:13 With Doris here were carv'd, and
all her train,
2:14 Some loosely swimming in the figur'd
main,
2:15 While some on rocks their dropping
hair divide,
2:16 And some on fishes through the
waters glide:
2:17 Tho' various features did the sisters
grace,
2:18 A sister's likeness was in ev'ry
face.
2:19 On Earth a diff'rent landskip courts
the eyes,
2:20 Men, towns, and beasts in distant
prospects rise,
2:21 And nymphs, and streams, and woods,
and rural deities.
2:22 O'er all, the Heav'n's refulgent
image shines;
2:23 On either gate were six engraven
signs.
2:24 Here Phaeton still gaining on th' ascent,
2:25 To his suspected father's palace
went,
2:26 'Till pressing forward through
the bright abode,
2:27 He saw at distance the illustrious
God:
2:28 He saw at distance, or the dazling
light
2:29 Had flash'd too strongly on his
aking sight.
2:30 The God sits high, exalted on a throne
2:31 Of blazing gems, with purple garments
on;
2:32 The Hours, in order rang'd on either
hand,
2:33 And Days, and Months, and Years,
and Ages stand.
2:34 Here Spring appears with flow'ry
chaplets bound;
2:35 Here Summer in her wheaten garland
crown'd;
2:36 Here Autumn the rich trodden grapes
besmear;
2:37 And hoary Winter shivers in the
reer.
2:38 Phoebus beheld the youth from off his throne;
2:39 That eye, which looks on all, was
fix'd in one.
2:40 He saw the boy's confusion in his
face,
2:41 Surpriz'd at all the wonders of
the place;
2:42 And cries aloud, "What wants
my son? for know
2:43 My son thou art, and I must call
thee so."
2:44 "Light of the world,"
the trembling youth replies,
2:45 "Illustrious parent! since
you don't despise
2:46 The parent's name, some certain
token give,
2:47 That I may Clymene's proud boast
believe,
2:48 Nor longer under false reproaches
grieve."
2:49 The tender sire was touch'd with what he said,
2:50 And flung the blaze of glories
from his head,
2:51 And bid the youth advance: "My
son," said he,
2:52 "Come to thy father's arms!
for Clymene
2:53 Has told thee true; a parent's
name I own,
2:54 And deem thee worthy to be called
my son.
2:55 As a sure proof, make some request,
and I,
2:56 Whate'er it be, with that request
comply;
2:57 By Styx I swear, whose waves are
hid in night,
2:58 And roul impervious to my piercing
sight."
2:59 The youth transported, asks, without
delay,
2:60 To guide the sun's bright chariot
for a day.
2:61 The God repented of the oath he took,
2:62 For anguish thrice his radiant
head he shook;
2:63 "My son," says he, "some
other proof require,
2:64 Rash was my promise, rash is thy
desire.
2:65 I'd fain deny this wish, which
thou hast made,
2:66 Or, what I can't deny, wou'd fain
disswade.
2:67 Too vast and hazardous the task
appears,
2:68 Nor suited to thy strength, nor
to thy years.
2:69 Thy lot is mortal, but thy wishes
fly
2:70 Beyond the province of mortality:
2:71 There is not one of all the Gods
that dares
2:72 (However skill'd in other great
affairs)
2:73 To mount the burning axle-tree,
but I;
2:74 Not Jove himself, the ruler of
the sky,
2:75 That hurles the three-fork'd thunder
from above,
2:76 Dares try his strength: yet who
so strong as Jove?
2:77 The steeds climb up the first ascent
with pain,
2:78 And when the middle firmament they
gain,
2:79 If downward from the Heav'ns my
head I bow,
2:80 And see the Earth and Ocean hang
below,
2:81 Ev'n I am seiz'd with horror and
affright,
2:82 And my own heart misgives me at
the sight.
2:83 A mighty downfal steeps the ev'ning
stage,
2:84 And steddy reins must curb the
horses' rage.
2:85 Tethys herself has fear'd to see
me driv'n
2:86 Down headlong from the precipice
of Heav'n.
2:87 Besides, consider what impetuous
force
2:88 Turns stars and planets in a diff'rent
course.
2:89 I steer against their motions;
nor am I
2:90 Born back by all the current of
the sky.
2:91 But how cou'd you resist the orbs
that roul
2:92 In adverse whirls, and stem the
rapid pole?
2:93 But you perhaps may hope for pleasing
woods,
2:94 And stately dooms, and cities fill'd
with Gods;
2:95 While through a thousand snares
your progress lies,
2:96 Where forms of starry monsters
stock the skies:
2:97 For, shou'd you hit the doubtful
way aright,
2:98 The bull with stooping horns stands
opposite;
2:99 Next him the bright Haemonian bow
is strung,
2:100 And next, the lion's grinning
visage hung:
2:101 The scorpion's claws, here clasp
a wide extent;
2:102 And here the crab's in lesser
clasps are bent.
2:103 Nor wou'd you find it easie to
compose
2:104 The mettled steeds, when from
their nostrils flows
2:105 The scorching fire, that in their
entrails glows.
2:106 Ev'n I their head-strong fury
scarce restrain,
2:107 When they grow warm and restif
to the rein.
2:108 Let not my son a fatal gift require,
2:109 But, O! in time, recall your
rash desire;
2:110 You ask a gift that may your
parent tell,
2:111 Let these my fears your parentage
reveal;
2:112 And learn a father from a father's
care:
2:113 Look on my face; or if my heart
lay bare,
2:114 Cou'd you but look, you'd read
the father there.
2:115 Chuse out a gift from seas, or
Earth, or skies,
2:116 For open to your wish all Nature
lies,
2:117 Only decline this one unequal
task,
2:118 For 'tis a mischief, not a gift,
you ask.
2:119 You ask a real mischief, Phaeton:
2:120 Nay hang not thus about my neck,
my son:
2:121 I grant your wish, and Styx has
heard my voice,
2:122 Chuse what you will, but make
a wiser choice."
2:123 Thus did the God th' unwary youth advise;
2:124 But he still longs to travel
through the skies.
2:125 When the fond father (for in
vain he pleads)
2:126 At length to the Vulcanian Chariot
leads.
2:127 A golden axle did the work uphold,
2:128 Gold was the beam, the wheels
were orb'd with gold.
2:129 The spokes in rows of silver
pleas'd the sight,
2:130 The seat with party-colour'd
gems was bright;
2:131 Apollo shin'd amid the glare
of light.
2:132 The youth with secret joy the work surveys,
2:133 When now the moon disclos'd her
purple rays;
2:134 The stars were fled, for Lucifer
had chased
2:135 The stars away, and fled himself
at last.
2:136 Soon as the father saw the rosy morn,
2:137 And the moon shining with a blunter
horn,
2:138 He bid the nimble Hours, without
delay,
2:139 Bring forth the steeds; the nimble
Hours obey:
2:140 From their full racks the gen'rous
steeds retire,
2:141 Dropping ambrosial foams, and
snorting fire.
2:142 Still anxious for his son, the
God of day,
2:143 To make him proof against the
burning ray,
2:144 His temples with celestial ointment
wet,
2:145 Of sov'reign virtue to repel
the heat;
2:146 Then fix'd the beamy circle on
his head,
2:147 And fetch'd a deep foreboding
sigh, and said,
2:148 "Take this at least, this
last advice, my son,
2:149 Keep a stiff rein, and move but
gently on:
2:150 The coursers of themselves will
run too fast,
2:151 Your art must be to moderate
their haste.
2:152 Drive 'em not on directly through
the skies,
2:153 But where the Zodiac's winding
circle lies,
2:154 Along the midmost Zone; but sally
forth
2:155 Nor to the distant south, nor
stormy north.
2:156 The horses' hoofs a beaten track
will show,
2:157 But neither mount too high, nor
sink too low.
2:158 That no new fires, or Heav'n
or Earth infest;
2:159 Keep the mid way, the middle
way is best.
2:160 Nor, where in radiant folds the
serpent twines,
2:161 Direct your course, nor where
the altar shines.
2:162 Shun both extreams; the rest
let Fortune guide,
2:163 And better for thee than thy
self provide!
2:164 See, while I speak, the shades
disperse away,
2:165 Aurora gives the promise of a
day;
2:166 I'm call'd, nor can I make a
longer stay.
2:167 Snatch up the reins; or still
th' attempt forsake,
2:168 And not my chariot, but my counsel,
take,
2:169 While yet securely on the Earth
you stand;
2:170 Nor touch the horses with too
rash a hand.
2:171 Let me alone to light the world,
while you
2:172 Enjoy those beams which you may
safely view."
2:173 He spoke in vain; the youth with active heat
2:174 And sprightly vigour vaults into
the seat;
2:175 And joys to hold the reins, and
fondly gives
2:176 Those thanks his father with
remorse receives.
2:177 Mean-while the restless horses neigh'd aloud,
2:178 Breathing out fire, and pawing
where they stood.
2:179 Tethys, not knowing what had
past, gave way,
2:180 And all the waste of Heav'n before
'em lay.
2:181 They spring together out, and
swiftly bear
2:182 The flying youth thro' clouds
and yielding air;
2:183 With wingy speed outstrip the
eastern wind,
2:184 And leave the breezes of the
morn behind.
2:185 The youth was light, nor cou'd
he fill the seat,
2:186 Or poise the chariot with its
wonted weight:
2:187 But as at sea th' unballass'd
vessel rides,
2:188 Cast to and fro, the sport of
winds and tides;
2:189 So in the bounding chariot toss'd
on high,
2:190 The youth is hurry'd headlong
through the sky.
2:191 Soon as the steeds perceive it, they forsake
2:192 Their stated course, and leave
the beaten track.
2:193 The youth was in a maze, nor
did he know
2:194 Which way to turn the reins,
or where to go;
2:195 Nor wou'd the horses, had he
known, obey.
2:196 Then the sev'n stars first felt
Apollo's ray,
2:197 And wish'd to dip in the forbidden
sea.
2:198 The folded serpent next the frozen
pole,
2:199 Stiff and benum'd before, began
to rowle,
2:200 And raged with inward heat, and
threaten'd war,
2:201 And shot a redder light from
ev'ry star;
2:202 Nay, and 'tis said Bootes too,
that fain
2:203 Thou woud'st have fled, tho'
cumber'd with thy wane.
2:204 Th' unhappy youth then, bending down his
head,
2:205 Saw Earth and Ocean far beneath
him spread.
2:206 His colour chang'd, he startled
at the sight,
2:207 And his eyes darken'd by too
great a light.
2:208 Now cou'd he wish the fiery steeds
untry'd,
2:209 His birth obscure, and his request
deny'd:
2:210 Now wou'd he Merops for his father
own,
2:211 And quit his boasted kindred
to the sun.
2:212 So fares the pilot, when his ship is tost
2:213 In troubled seas, and all its
steerage lost,
2:214 He gives her to the winds, and
in despair
2:215 Seeks his last refuge in the
Gods and pray'r.
2:216 What cou'd he do? his eyes, if backward cast,
2:217 Find a long path he had already
past;
2:218 If forward, still a longer path
they find:
2:219 Both he compares, and measures
in his mind;
2:220 And sometimes casts an eye upon
the east,
2:221 And sometimes looks on the forbidden
west,
2:222 The horses' names he knew not
in the fright,
2:223 Nor wou'd he loose the reins,
nor cou'd he hold 'em right.
2:224 Now all the horrors of the Heav'ns he spies,
2:225 And monstrous shadows of prodigious
size,
2:226 That, deck'd with stars, lye
scatter'd o'er the skies.
2:227 There is a place above, where
Scorpio bent
2:228 In tail and arms surrounds a
vast extent;
2:229 In a wide circuit of the Heav'ns
he shines,
2:230 And fills the space of two coelestial
signs.
2:231 Soon as the youth beheld him
vex'd with heat
2:232 Brandish his sting, and in his
poison sweat,
2:233 Half dead with sudden fear he
dropt the reins;
2:234 The horses felt 'em loose upon
their mains,
2:235 And, flying out through all the
plains above,
2:236 Ran uncontroul'd where-e're their
fury drove;
2:237 Rush'd on the stars, and through
a pathless way
2:238 Of unknown regions hurry'd on
the day.
2:239 And now above, and now below
they flew,
2:240 And near the Earth the burning
chariot drew.
2:241 The clouds disperse in fumes, the wond'ring
Moon
2:242 Beholds her brother's steeds
beneath her own;
2:243 The highlands smoak, cleft by
the piercing rays,
2:244 Or, clad with woods, in their
own fewel blaze.
2:245 Next o'er the plains, where ripen'd
harvests grow,
2:246 The running conflagration spreads
below.
2:247 But these are trivial ills: whole
cities burn,
2:248 And peopled kingdoms into ashes
turn.
2:249 The mountains
kindle as the car draws near,
2:250 Athos and Tmolus red with fires
appear;
2:251 Oeagrian Haemus (then a single
name)
2:252 And virgin Helicon increase the
flame;
2:253 Taurus and Oete glare amid the
sky,
2:254 And Ida, spight of all her fountains,
dry.
2:255 Eryx and Othrys, and Cithaeron,
glow,
2:256 And Rhodope, no longer cloath'd
in snow;
2:257 High Pindus, Mimas, and Parnassus,
sweat,
2:258 And Aetna rages with redoubled
heat.
2:259 Ev'n Scythia, through her hoary
regions warm'd,
2:260 In vain with all her native frost
was arm'd.
2:261 Cover'd with flames the tow'ring
Appennine,
2:262 And Caucasus, and proud Olympus,
shine;
2:263 And, where the long-extended
Alpes aspire,
2:264 Now stands a huge continu'd range
of fire.
2:265 Th' astonisht youth, where-e'er his eyes
cou'd turn,
2:266 Beheld the universe around him
burn:
2:267 The world was in a blaze; nor
cou'd he bear
2:268 The sultry vapours and the scorching
air,
2:269 Which from below, as from a furnace,
flow'd;
2:270 And now the axle-tree beneath
him glow'd:
2:271 Lost in the whirling clouds that
round him broke,
2:272 And white with ashes, hov'ring
in the smoke.
2:273 He flew where-e'er the horses
drove, nor knew
2:274 Whither the horses drove, or
where he flew.
2:275 'Twas then, they say, the swarthy Moor begun
2:276 To change his hue, and blacken
in the sun.
2:277 Then Libya first, of all her
moisture drain'd,
2:278 Became a barren waste, a wild
of sand.
2:279 The water-nymphs lament their
empty urns,
2:280 Boeotia, robb's of silve Dirce,
mourns,
2:281 Corinth Pyrene's wasted spring
bewails,
2:282 And Argos grieves whilst Amymone
fails.
2:283 The floods are drain'd from ev'ry distant
coast,
2:284 Ev'n Tanais, tho' fix'd in ice,
was lost.
2:285 Enrag'd Caicus and Lycormas roar,
2:286 And Xanthus, fated to be burnt
once more.
2:287 The fam'd Maeander, that unweary'd
strays
2:288 Through mazy windings, smoaks
in ev'ry maze.
2:289 From his lov'd Babylon Euphrates
flies;
2:290 The big-swoln Ganges and the
Danube rise
2:291 In thick'ning fumes, and darken
half the skies.
2:292 In flames Ismenos and the Phasis
roul'd,
2:293 And Tagus floating in his melted
gold.
2:294 The swans, that on Cayster often
try'd
2:295 Their tuneful songs, now sung
their last and dy'd.
2:296 The frighted Nile ran off, and
under ground
2:297 Conceal'd his head, nor can it
yet be found:
2:298 His sev'n divided currents all
are dry,
2:299 And where they row'ld, sev'n
gaping trenches lye:
2:300 No more the Rhine or Rhone their
course maintain,
2:301 Nor Tiber, of his promis'd empire
vain.
2:302 The ground, deep-cleft, admits the dazling
ray,
2:303 And startles Pluto with the flash
of day.
2:304 The seas shrink in, and to the
sight disclose
2:305 Wide naked plains, where once
their billows rose;
2:306 Their rocks are all discover'd,
and increase
2:307 The number of the scatter'd Cyclades.
2:308 The fish in sholes about the
bottom creep,
2:309 Nor longer dares the crooked
dolphin leap
2:310 Gasping for breath, th' unshapen
Phocae die,
2:311 And on the boiling wave extended
lye.
2:312 Nereus, and Doris with her virgin
train,
2:313 Seek out the last recesses of
the main;
2:314 Beneath unfathomable depths they
faint,
2:315 And secret in their gloomy caverns
pant.
2:316 Stern Neptune thrice above the
waves upheld
2:317 His face, and thrice was by the
flames repell'd.
2:318 The Earth at length, on ev'ry side embrac'd
2:319 With scalding seas that floated
round her waste,
2:320 When now she felt the springs
and rivers come,
2:321 And crowd within the hollow of
her womb,
2:322 Up-lifted to the Heav'ns her
blasted head,
2:323 And clapt her hand upon her brows,
and said
2:324 (But first, impatient of the
sultry heat,
2:325 Sunk deeper down, and sought
a cooler seat):
2:326 "If you, great king of Gods,
my death approve,
2:327 And I deserve it, let me die
by Jove;
2:328 If I must perish by the force
of fire,
2:329 Let me transfix'd with thunder-bolts
expire.
2:330 See, whilst I speak, my breath
the vapours choak
2:331 (For now her face lay wrapt in
clouds of smoak),
2:332 See my singe'd hair, behold my
faded eye,
2:333 And wither'd face, where heaps
of cinders lye!
2:334 And does the plow for this my
body tear?
2:335 This the reward for all the fruits
I bear,
2:336 Tortur'd with rakes, and harrass'd
all the year?
2:337 That herbs for cattle daily I
renew,
2:338 And food for Man, and frankincense
for you?
2:339 But grant me guilty; what has
Neptune done?
2:340 Why are his waters boiling in
the sun?
2:341 The wavy empire, which by lot
was giv'n,
2:342 Why does it waste, and further
shrink from Heav'n?
2:343 If I nor he your pity can provoke,
2:344 See your own Heav'ns, the Heav'ns
begin to smoke!
2:345 Shou'd once the sparkles catch
those bright abodes,
2:346 Destruction seizes on the Heav'ns
and Gods;
2:347 Atlas becomes unequal to his
freight,
2:348 And almost faints beneath the
glowing weight.
2:349 If Heav'n, and Earth, and sea,
together burn,
2:350 All must again into their chaos
turn.
2:351 Apply some speedy cure, prevent
our fate,
2:352 And succour Nature, ere it be
too late."
2:353 She cea'sd, for choak'd with vapours round
her spread,
2:354 Down to the deepest shades she
sunk her head.
2:355 Jove call'd to witness ev'ry Pow'r above,
2:356 And ev'n the God, whose son the
chariot drove,
2:357 That what he acts he is compell'd
to do,
2:358 Or universal ruin must ensue.
2:359 Strait he ascends the high aetherial
throne,
2:360 From whence he us'd to dart his
thunder down,
2:361 From whence his show'rs and storms
he us'd to pour,
2:362 But now cou'd meet with neither
storm nor show'r.
2:363 Then, aiming at the youth, with
lifted hand,
2:364 Full at his head he hurl'd the
forky brand,
2:365 In dreadful thund'rings. Thus
th' almighty sire
2:366 Suppress'd the raging of the
fires with fire.
2:367 At once from life and from the
chariot driv'n,
2:368 Th' ambitious boy fell thunder-struck
from Heav'n.
2:369 The horses started with a sudden
bound,
2:370 And flung the reins and chariot
to the ground:
2:371 The studded harness from their
necks they broke,
2:372 Here fell a wheel, and here a
silver spoke,
2:373 Here were the beam and axle torn
away;
2:374 And, scatter'd o'er the Earth,
the shining fragments lay.
2:375 The breathless Phaeton, with
flaming hair,
2:376 Shot from the chariot, like a
falling star,
2:377 That in a summer's ev'ning from
the top
2:378 Of Heav'n drops down, or seems
at least to drop;
2:379 'Till on the Po his blasted corps
was hurl'd,
2:380 Far from his country, in the
western world.
Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Story of Phaeton
2:1 The Sun's bright palace, on high columns rais'd,
2:2 With burnish'd gold and flaming jewels
blaz'd;
2:3 The folding gates diffus'd a silver
light,
2:4 And with a milder gleam refresh'd
the sight;
2:5 Of polish'd iv'ry was the cov'ring
wrought:
2:6 The matter vied not with the sculptor's
thought,
2:7 For in the portal was display'd on
high
2:8 (The work of Vulcan) a fictitious
sky;
2:9 A waving sea th' inferiour Earth
embrac'd,
2:10 And Gods and Goddesses the waters
grac'd.
2:11 Aegeon here a mighty whale bestrode;
2:12 Triton, and Proteus (the deceiving
God)
2:13 With Doris here were carv'd, and
all her train,
2:14 Some loosely swimming in the figur'd
main,
2:15 While some on rocks their dropping
hair divide,
2:16 And some on fishes through the
waters glide:
2:17 Tho' various features did the sisters
grace,
2:18 A sister's likeness was in ev'ry
face.
2:19 On Earth a diff'rent landskip courts
the eyes,
2:20 Men, towns, and beasts in distant
prospects rise,
2:21 And nymphs, and streams, and woods,
and rural deities.
2:22 O'er all, the Heav'n's refulgent
image shines;
2:23 On either gate were six engraven
signs.
2:24 Here Phaeton still gaining on th' ascent,
2:25 To his suspected father's palace
went,
2:26 'Till pressing forward through
the bright abode,
2:27 He saw at distance the illustrious
God:
2:28 He saw at distance, or the dazling
light
2:29 Had flash'd too strongly on his
aking sight.
2:30 The God sits high, exalted on a throne
2:31 Of blazing gems, with purple garments
on;
2:32 The Hours, in order rang'd on either
hand,
2:33 And Days, and Months, and Years,
and Ages stand.
2:34 Here Spring appears with flow'ry
chaplets bound;
2:35 Here Summer in her wheaten garland
crown'd;
2:36 Here Autumn the rich trodden grapes
besmear;
2:37 And hoary Winter shivers in the
reer.
2:38 Phoebus beheld the youth from off his throne;
2:39 That eye, which looks on all, was
fix'd in one.
2:40 He saw the boy's confusion in his
face,
2:41 Surpriz'd at all the wonders of
the place;
2:42 And cries aloud, "What wants
my son? for know
2:43 My son thou art, and I must call
thee so."
2:44 "Light of the world,"
the trembling youth replies,
2:45 "Illustrious parent! since
you don't despise
2:46 The parent's name, some certain
token give,
2:47 That I may Clymene's proud boast
believe,
2:48 Nor longer under false reproaches
grieve."
2:49 The tender sire was touch'd with what he said,
2:50 And flung the blaze of glories
from his head,
2:51 And bid the youth advance: "My
son," said he,
2:52 "Come to thy father's arms!
for Clymene
2:53 Has told thee true; a parent's
name I own,
2:54 And deem thee worthy to be called
my son.
2:55 As a sure proof, make some request,
and I,
2:56 Whate'er it be, with that request
comply;
2:57 By Styx I swear, whose waves are
hid in night,
2:58 And roul impervious to my piercing
sight."
2:59 The youth transported, asks, without
delay,
2:60 To guide the sun's bright chariot
for a day.
2:61 The God repented of the oath he took,
2:62 For anguish thrice his radiant
head he shook;
2:63 "My son," says he, "some
other proof require,
2:64 Rash was my promise, rash is thy
desire.
2:65 I'd fain deny this wish, which
thou hast made,
2:66 Or, what I can't deny, wou'd fain
disswade.
2:67 Too vast and hazardous the task
appears,
2:68 Nor suited to thy strength, nor
to thy years.
2:69 Thy lot is mortal, but thy wishes
fly
2:70 Beyond the province of mortality:
2:71 There is not one of all the Gods
that dares
2:72 (However skill'd in other great
affairs)
2:73 To mount the burning axle-tree,
but I;
2:74 Not Jove himself, the ruler of
the sky,
2:75 That hurles the three-fork'd thunder
from above,
2:76 Dares try his strength: yet who
so strong as Jove?
2:77 The steeds climb up the first ascent
with pain,
2:78 And when the middle firmament they
gain,
2:79 If downward from the Heav'ns my
head I bow,
2:80 And see the Earth and Ocean hang
below,
2:81 Ev'n I am seiz'd with horror and
affright,
2:82 And my own heart misgives me at
the sight.
2:83 A mighty downfal steeps the ev'ning
stage,
2:84 And steddy reins must curb the
horses' rage.
2:85 Tethys herself has fear'd to see
me driv'n
2:86 Down headlong from the precipice
of Heav'n.
2:87 Besides, consider what impetuous
force
2:88 Turns stars and planets in a diff'rent
course.
2:89 I steer against their motions;
nor am I
2:90 Born back by all the current of
the sky.
2:91 But how cou'd you resist the orbs
that roul
2:92 In adverse whirls, and stem the
rapid pole?
2:93 But you perhaps may hope for pleasing
woods,
2:94 And stately dooms, and cities fill'd
with Gods;
2:95 While through a thousand snares
your progress lies,
2:96 Where forms of starry monsters
stock the skies:
2:97 For, shou'd you hit the doubtful
way aright,
2:98 The bull with stooping horns stands
opposite;
2:99 Next him the bright Haemonian bow
is strung,
2:100 And next, the lion's grinning
visage hung:
2:101 The scorpion's claws, here clasp
a wide extent;
2:102 And here the crab's in lesser
clasps are bent.
2:103 Nor wou'd you find it easie to
compose
2:104 The mettled steeds, when from
their nostrils flows
2:105 The scorching fire, that in their
entrails glows.
2:106 Ev'n I their head-strong fury
scarce restrain,
2:107 When they grow warm and restif
to the rein.
2:108 Let not my son a fatal gift require,
2:109 But, O! in time, recall your
rash desire;
2:110 You ask a gift that may your
parent tell,
2:111 Let these my fears your parentage
reveal;
2:112 And learn a father from a father's
care:
2:113 Look on my face; or if my heart
lay bare,
2:114 Cou'd you but look, you'd read
the father there.
2:115 Chuse out a gift from seas, or
Earth, or skies,
2:116 For open to your wish all Nature
lies,
2:117 Only decline this one unequal
task,
2:118 For 'tis a mischief, not a gift,
you ask.
2:119 You ask a real mischief, Phaeton:
2:120 Nay hang not thus about my neck,
my son:
2:121 I grant your wish, and Styx has
heard my voice,
2:122 Chuse what you will, but make
a wiser choice."
2:123 Thus did the God th' unwary youth advise;
2:124 But he still longs to travel
through the skies.
2:125 When the fond father (for in
vain he pleads)
2:126 At length to the Vulcanian Chariot
leads.
2:127 A golden axle did the work uphold,
2:128 Gold was the beam, the wheels
were orb'd with gold.
2:129 The spokes in rows of silver
pleas'd the sight,
2:130 The seat with party-colour'd
gems was bright;
2:131 Apollo shin'd amid the glare
of light.
2:132 The youth with secret joy the work surveys,
2:133 When now the moon disclos'd her
purple rays;
2:134 The stars were fled, for Lucifer
had chased
2:135 The stars away, and fled himself
at last.
2:136 Soon as the father saw the rosy morn,
2:137 And the moon shining with a blunter
horn,
2:138 He bid the nimble Hours, without
delay,
2:139 Bring forth the steeds; the nimble
Hours obey:
2:140 From their full racks the gen'rous
steeds retire,
2:141 Dropping ambrosial foams, and
snorting fire.
2:142 Still anxious for his son, the
God of day,
2:143 To make him proof against the
burning ray,
2:144 His temples with celestial ointment
wet,
2:145 Of sov'reign virtue to repel
the heat;
2:146 Then fix'd the beamy circle on
his head,
2:147 And fetch'd a deep foreboding
sigh, and said,
2:148 "Take this at least, this
last advice, my son,
2:149 Keep a stiff rein, and move but
gently on:
2:150 The coursers of themselves will
run too fast,
2:151 Your art must be to moderate
their haste.
2:152 Drive 'em not on directly through
the skies,
2:153 But where the Zodiac's winding
circle lies,
2:154 Along the midmost Zone; but sally
forth
2:155 Nor to the distant south, nor
stormy north.
2:156 The horses' hoofs a beaten track
will show,
2:157 But neither mount too high, nor
sink too low.
2:158 That no new fires, or Heav'n
or Earth infest;
2:159 Keep the mid way, the middle
way is best.
2:160 Nor, where in radiant folds the
serpent twines,
2:161 Direct your course, nor where
the altar shines.
2:162 Shun both extreams; the rest
let Fortune guide,
2:163 And better for thee than thy
self provide!
2:164 See, while I speak, the shades
disperse away,
2:165 Aurora gives the promise of a
day;
2:166 I'm call'd, nor can I make a
longer stay.
2:167 Snatch up the reins; or still
th' attempt forsake,
2:168 And not my chariot, but my counsel,
take,
2:169 While yet securely on the Earth
you stand;
2:170 Nor touch the horses with too
rash a hand.
2:171 Let me alone to light the world,
while you
2:172 Enjoy those beams which you may
safely view."
2:173 He spoke in vain; the youth with active heat
2:174 And sprightly vigour vaults into
the seat;
2:175 And joys to hold the reins, and
fondly gives
2:176 Those thanks his father with
remorse receives.
2:177 Mean-while the restless horses neigh'd aloud,
2:178 Breathing out fire, and pawing
where they stood.
2:179 Tethys, not knowing what had
past, gave way,
2:180 And all the waste of Heav'n before
'em lay.
2:181 They spring together out, and
swiftly bear
2:182 The flying youth thro' clouds
and yielding air;
2:183 With wingy speed outstrip the
eastern wind,
2:184 And leave the breezes of the
morn behind.
2:185 The youth was light, nor cou'd
he fill the seat,
2:186 Or poise the chariot with its
wonted weight:
2:187 But as at sea th' unballass'd
vessel rides,
2:188 Cast to and fro, the sport of
winds and tides;
2:189 So in the bounding chariot toss'd
on high,
2:190 The youth is hurry'd headlong
through the sky.
2:191 Soon as the steeds perceive it, they forsake
2:192 Their stated course, and leave
the beaten track.
2:193 The youth was in a maze, nor
did he know
2:194 Which way to turn the reins,
or where to go;
2:195 Nor wou'd the horses, had he
known, obey.
2:196 Then the sev'n stars first felt
Apollo's ray,
2:197 And wish'd to dip in the forbidden
sea.
2:198 The folded serpent next the frozen
pole,
2:199 Stiff and benum'd before, began
to rowle,
2:200 And raged with inward heat, and
threaten'd war,
2:201 And shot a redder light from
ev'ry star;
2:202 Nay, and 'tis said Bootes too,
that fain
2:203 Thou woud'st have fled, tho'
cumber'd with thy wane.
2:204 Th' unhappy youth then, bending down his
head,
2:205 Saw Earth and Ocean far beneath
him spread.
2:206 His colour chang'd, he startled
at the sight,
2:207 And his eyes darken'd by too
great a light.
2:208 Now cou'd he wish the fiery steeds
untry'd,
2:209 His birth obscure, and his request
deny'd:
2:210 Now wou'd he Merops for his father
own,
2:211 And quit his boasted kindred
to the sun.
2:212 So fares the pilot, when his ship is tost
2:213 In troubled seas, and all its
steerage lost,
2:214 He gives her to the winds, and
in despair
2:215 Seeks his last refuge in the
Gods and pray'r.
2:216 What cou'd he do? his eyes, if backward cast,
2:217 Find a long path he had already
past;
2:218 If forward, still a longer path
they find:
2:219 Both he compares, and measures
in his mind;
2:220 And sometimes casts an eye upon
the east,
2:221 And sometimes looks on the forbidden
west,
2:222 The horses' names he knew not
in the fright,
2:223 Nor wou'd he loose the reins,
nor cou'd he hold 'em right.
2:224 Now all the horrors of the Heav'ns he spies,
2:225 And monstrous shadows of prodigious
size,
2:226 That, deck'd with stars, lye
scatter'd o'er the skies.
2:227 There is a place above, where
Scorpio bent
2:228 In tail and arms surrounds a
vast extent;
2:229 In a wide circuit of the Heav'ns
he shines,
2:230 And fills the space of two coelestial
signs.
2:231 Soon as the youth beheld him
vex'd with heat
2:232 Brandish his sting, and in his
poison sweat,
2:233 Half dead with sudden fear he
dropt the reins;
2:234 The horses felt 'em loose upon
their mains,
2:235 And, flying out through all the
plains above,
2:236 Ran uncontroul'd where-e're their
fury drove;
2:237 Rush'd on the stars, and through
a pathless way
2:238 Of unknown regions hurry'd on
the day.
2:239 And now above, and now below
they flew,
2:240 And near the Earth the burning
chariot drew.
2:241 The clouds disperse in fumes, the wond'ring
Moon
2:242 Beholds her brother's steeds
beneath her own;
2:243 The highlands smoak, cleft by
the piercing rays,
2:244 Or, clad with woods, in their
own fewel blaze.
2:245 Next o'er the plains, where ripen'd
harvests grow,
2:246 The running conflagration spreads
below.
2:247 But these are trivial ills: whole
cities burn,
2:248 And peopled kingdoms into ashes
turn.
2:249 The mountains
kindle as the car draws near,
2:250 Athos and Tmolus red with fires
appear;
2:251 Oeagrian Haemus (then a single
name)
2:252 And virgin Helicon increase the
flame;
2:253 Taurus and Oete glare amid the
sky,
2:254 And Ida, spight of all her fountains,
dry.
2:255 Eryx and Othrys, and Cithaeron,
glow,
2:256 And Rhodope, no longer cloath'd
in snow;
2:257 High Pindus, Mimas, and Parnassus,
sweat,
2:258 And Aetna rages with redoubled
heat.
2:259 Ev'n Scythia, through her hoary
regions warm'd,
2:260 In vain with all her native frost
was arm'd.
2:261 Cover'd with flames the tow'ring
Appennine,
2:262 And Caucasus, and proud Olympus,
shine;
2:263 And, where the long-extended
Alpes aspire,
2:264 Now stands a huge continu'd range
of fire.
2:265 Th' astonisht youth, where-e'er his eyes
cou'd turn,
2:266 Beheld the universe around him
burn:
2:267 The world was in a blaze; nor
cou'd he bear
2:268 The sultry vapours and the scorching
air,
2:269 Which from below, as from a furnace,
flow'd;
2:270 And now the axle-tree beneath
him glow'd:
2:271 Lost in the whirling clouds that
round him broke,
2:272 And white with ashes, hov'ring
in the smoke.
2:273 He flew where-e'er the horses
drove, nor knew
2:274 Whither the horses drove, or
where he flew.
2:275 'Twas then, they say, the swarthy Moor begun
2:276 To change his hue, and blacken
in the sun.
2:277 Then Libya first, of all her
moisture drain'd,
2:278 Became a barren waste, a wild
of sand.
2:279 The water-nymphs lament their
empty urns,
2:280 Boeotia, robb's of silve Dirce,
mourns,
2:281 Corinth Pyrene's wasted spring
bewails,
2:282 And Argos grieves whilst Amymone
fails.
2:283 The floods are drain'd from ev'ry distant
coast,
2:284 Ev'n Tanais, tho' fix'd in ice,
was lost.
2:285 Enrag'd Caicus and Lycormas roar,
2:286 And Xanthus, fated to be burnt
once more.
2:287 The fam'd Maeander, that unweary'd
strays
2:288 Through mazy windings, smoaks
in ev'ry maze.
2:289 From his lov'd Babylon Euphrates
flies;
2:290 The big-swoln Ganges and the
Danube rise
2:291 In thick'ning fumes, and darken
half the skies.
2:292 In flames Ismenos and the Phasis
roul'd,
2:293 And Tagus floating in his melted
gold.
2:294 The swans, that on Cayster often
try'd
2:295 Their tuneful songs, now sung
their last and dy'd.
2:296 The frighted Nile ran off, and
under ground
2:297 Conceal'd his head, nor can it
yet be found:
2:298 His sev'n divided currents all
are dry,
2:299 And where they row'ld, sev'n
gaping trenches lye:
2:300 No more the Rhine or Rhone their
course maintain,
2:301 Nor Tiber, of his promis'd empire
vain.
2:302 The ground, deep-cleft, admits the dazling
ray,
2:303 And startles Pluto with the flash
of day.
2:304 The seas shrink in, and to the
sight disclose
2:305 Wide naked plains, where once
their billows rose;
2:306 Their rocks are all discover'd,
and increase
2:307 The number of the scatter'd Cyclades.
2:308 The fish in sholes about the
bottom creep,
2:309 Nor longer dares the crooked
dolphin leap
2:310 Gasping for breath, th' unshapen
Phocae die,
2:311 And on the boiling wave extended
lye.
2:312 Nereus, and Doris with her virgin
train,
2:313 Seek out the last recesses of
the main;
2:314 Beneath unfathomable depths they
faint,
2:315 And secret in their gloomy caverns
pant.
2:316 Stern Neptune thrice above the
waves upheld
2:317 His face, and thrice was by the
flames repell'd.
2:318 The Earth at length, on ev'ry side embrac'd
2:319 With scalding seas that floated
round her waste,
2:320 When now she felt the springs
and rivers come,
2:321 And crowd within the hollow of
her womb,
2:322 Up-lifted to the Heav'ns her
blasted head,
2:323 And clapt her hand upon her brows,
and said
2:324 (But first, impatient of the
sultry heat,
2:325 Sunk deeper down, and sought
a cooler seat):
2:326 "If you, great king of Gods,
my death approve,
2:327 And I deserve it, let me die
by Jove;
2:328 If I must perish by the force
of fire,
2:329 Let me transfix'd with thunder-bolts
expire.
2:330 See, whilst I speak, my breath
the vapours choak
2:331 (For now her face lay wrapt in
clouds of smoak),
2:332 See my singe'd hair, behold my
faded eye,
2:333 And wither'd face, where heaps
of cinders lye!
2:334 And does the plow for this my
body tear?
2:335 This the reward for all the fruits
I bear,
2:336 Tortur'd with rakes, and harrass'd
all the year?
2:337 That herbs for cattle daily I
renew,
2:338 And food for Man, and frankincense
for you?
2:339 But grant me guilty; what has
Neptune done?
2:340 Why are his waters boiling in
the sun?
2:341 The wavy empire, which by lot
was giv'n,
2:342 Why does it waste, and further
shrink from Heav'n?
2:343 If I nor he your pity can provoke,
2:344 See your own Heav'ns, the Heav'ns
begin to smoke!
2:345 Shou'd once the sparkles catch
those bright abodes,
2:346 Destruction seizes on the Heav'ns
and Gods;
2:347 Atlas becomes unequal to his
freight,
2:348 And almost faints beneath the
glowing weight.
2:349 If Heav'n, and Earth, and sea,
together burn,
2:350 All must again into their chaos
turn.
2:351 Apply some speedy cure, prevent
our fate,
2:352 And succour Nature, ere it be
too late."
2:353 She cea'sd, for choak'd with vapours round
her spread,
2:354 Down to the deepest shades she
sunk her head.
2:355 Jove call'd to witness ev'ry Pow'r above,
2:356 And ev'n the God, whose son the
chariot drove,
2:357 That what he acts he is compell'd
to do,
2:358 Or universal ruin must ensue.
2:359 Strait he ascends the high aetherial
throne,
2:360 From whence he us'd to dart his
thunder down,
2:361 From whence his show'rs and storms
he us'd to pour,
2:362 But now cou'd meet with neither
storm nor show'r.
2:363 Then, aiming at the youth, with
lifted hand,
2:364 Full at his head he hurl'd the
forky brand,
2:365 In dreadful thund'rings. Thus
th' almighty sire
2:366 Suppress'd the raging of the
fires with fire.
2:367 At once from life and from the
chariot driv'n,
2:368 Th' ambitious boy fell thunder-struck
from Heav'n.
2:369 The horses started with a sudden
bound,
2:370 And flung the reins and chariot
to the ground:
2:371 The studded harness from their
necks they broke,
2:372 Here fell a wheel, and here a
silver spoke,
2:373 Here were the beam and axle torn
away;
2:374 And, scatter'd o'er the Earth,
the shining fragments lay.
2:375 The breathless Phaeton, with
flaming hair,
2:376 Shot from the chariot, like a
falling star,
2:377 That in a summer's ev'ning from
the top
2:378 Of Heav'n drops down, or seems
at least to drop;
2:379 'Till on the Po his blasted corps
was hurl'd,
2:380 Far from his country, in the
western world.