Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Fate of Periclymenos
12:706 This tale, by Nestor told, did much displease
12:707 Tlepolemus, the seed of Hercules:
12:708 For, often he had heard his father say,
12:709 That he himself was present at the fray;
12:710 And more than shar'd the glories of the day.
12:711 Old Chronicle, he said, among the rest,
12:712 You might have nam'd Alcides at the least:
12:713 Is he not worth your praise? The Pylian prince
12:714 Sigh'd ere he spoke; then made this proud defence.
12:715 My former woes in long oblivion drown'd,
12:716 I wou'd have lost; but you renew the wound:
12:717 Better to pass him o'er, than to relate
12:718 The cause I have your mighty sire to hate.
12:719 His fame has fill'd the world, and reach'd the sky
12:720 (Which, oh, I wish, with truth, I cou'd deny!);
12:721 We praise not Hector; though his name, we know,
12:722 Is great in arms; 'tis hard to praise a foe.
12:723 He, your great father, levell'd to the ground
12:724 Messenia's tow'rs: nor better fortune found
12:725 Elis, and Pylos; that a neighb'ring state,
12:726 And this my own: both guiltless of their fate.
12:727 To pass the rest, twelve, wanting one, he slew;
12:728 My brethren, who their birth from Neleus drew,
12:729 All youths of early promise, had they liv'd;
12:730 By him they perish'd: I alone surviv'd.
12:731 The rest were easie conquest: but the fate
12:732 Of Periclymenos, is wondrous to relate.
12:733 To him, our common grandsire of the main
12:734 Had giv'n to change his form, and chang'd, resume again.
12:735 Vary'd at pleasure, every shape he try'd;
12:736 And in all beasts, Alcides still defy'd:
12:737 Vanquish'd on Earth, at length he soar'd above;
12:738 Chang'd to the bird, that bears the bolt of Jove:
12:739 The new-dissembled eagle, now endu'd
12:740 With beak, and pounces, Hercules pursu'd,
12:741 And cuff'd his manly cheeks, and tore his face;
12:742 Then, safe retir'd, and tour'd in empty space.
12:743 Alcides bore not long his flying foe;
12:744 But bending his inevitable bow,
12:745 Reach'd him in air, suspended as he stood;
12:746 And in his pinion fix'd the feather'd wood.
12:747 Light was the wound; but in the sinew hung
12:748 The point, and his disabled wing unstrung.
12:749 He wheel'd in air, and stretch'd his vans in vain;
12:750 His vans no longer cou'd his flight sustain:
12:751 For while one gather'd wind, one unsupply'd
12:752 Hung drooping down, nor pois'd his other side.
12:753 He fell: the shaft that slightly was impress'd,
12:754 Now from his heavy fall with weight increas'd,
12:755 Drove through his neck, aslant, he spurns the ground,
12:756 And the soul issues through the weazon's wound.
12:757 Now, brave commander of the Rhodian seas,
12:758 What praise is due from me, to Hercules?
12:759 Silence is all the vengeance I decree
12:760 For my slain brothers; but 'tis peace with thee.
12:761 Thus with a flowing tongue old Nestor spoke:
12:762 Then, to full bowls each other they provoke:
12:763 At length, with weariness, and wine oppress'd,
12:764 They rise from table; and withdraw to rest.
Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
The Fate of Periclymenos
12:706 This tale, by Nestor told, did much displease
12:707 Tlepolemus, the seed of Hercules:
12:708 For, often he had heard his father say,
12:709 That he himself was present at the fray;
12:710 And more than shar'd the glories of the day.
12:711 Old Chronicle, he said, among the rest,
12:712 You might have nam'd Alcides at the least:
12:713 Is he not worth your praise? The Pylian prince
12:714 Sigh'd ere he spoke; then made this proud defence.
12:715 My former woes in long oblivion drown'd,
12:716 I wou'd have lost; but you renew the wound:
12:717 Better to pass him o'er, than to relate
12:718 The cause I have your mighty sire to hate.
12:719 His fame has fill'd the world, and reach'd the sky
12:720 (Which, oh, I wish, with truth, I cou'd deny!);
12:721 We praise not Hector; though his name, we know,
12:722 Is great in arms; 'tis hard to praise a foe.
12:723 He, your great father, levell'd to the ground
12:724 Messenia's tow'rs: nor better fortune found
12:725 Elis, and Pylos; that a neighb'ring state,
12:726 And this my own: both guiltless of their fate.
12:727 To pass the rest, twelve, wanting one, he slew;
12:728 My brethren, who their birth from Neleus drew,
12:729 All youths of early promise, had they liv'd;
12:730 By him they perish'd: I alone surviv'd.
12:731 The rest were easie conquest: but the fate
12:732 Of Periclymenos, is wondrous to relate.
12:733 To him, our common grandsire of the main
12:734 Had giv'n to change his form, and chang'd, resume again.
12:735 Vary'd at pleasure, every shape he try'd;
12:736 And in all beasts, Alcides still defy'd:
12:737 Vanquish'd on Earth, at length he soar'd above;
12:738 Chang'd to the bird, that bears the bolt of Jove:
12:739 The new-dissembled eagle, now endu'd
12:740 With beak, and pounces, Hercules pursu'd,
12:741 And cuff'd his manly cheeks, and tore his face;
12:742 Then, safe retir'd, and tour'd in empty space.
12:743 Alcides bore not long his flying foe;
12:744 But bending his inevitable bow,
12:745 Reach'd him in air, suspended as he stood;
12:746 And in his pinion fix'd the feather'd wood.
12:747 Light was the wound; but in the sinew hung
12:748 The point, and his disabled wing unstrung.
12:749 He wheel'd in air, and stretch'd his vans in vain;
12:750 His vans no longer cou'd his flight sustain:
12:751 For while one gather'd wind, one unsupply'd
12:752 Hung drooping down, nor pois'd his other side.
12:753 He fell: the shaft that slightly was impress'd,
12:754 Now from his heavy fall with weight increas'd,
12:755 Drove through his neck, aslant, he spurns the ground,
12:756 And the soul issues through the weazon's wound.
12:757 Now, brave commander of the Rhodian seas,
12:758 What praise is due from me, to Hercules?
12:759 Silence is all the vengeance I decree
12:760 For my slain brothers; but 'tis peace with thee.
12:761 Thus with a flowing tongue old Nestor spoke:
12:762 Then, to full bowls each other they provoke:
12:763 At length, with weariness, and wine oppress'd,
12:764 They rise from table; and withdraw to rest.