Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
Andromeda rescu'd from the Sea Monster
4:959 Now Aeolus had with strong chains confin'd,
4:960 And deep imprison'd e'vry blust'ring
wind,
4:961 The rising Phospher with a purple
light
4:962 Did sluggish mortals to new toils
invite.
4:963 His feet again the valiant Perseus
plumes,
4:964 And his keen sabre in his hand
resumes:
4:965 Then nobly spurns the ground,
and upwards springs,
4:966 And cuts the liquid air with
sounding wings.
4:967 O'er various seas, and various
lands he past,
4:968 'Till Aethiopia's shore appear'd
at last.
4:969 Andromeda was there, doom'd to
attone
4:970 By her own ruin follies not her
own:
4:971 And if injustice in a God can
be,
4:972 Such was the Libyan God's unjust
decree.
4:973 Chain'd to a rock she stood;
young Perseus stay'd
4:974 His rapid flight, to view the
beauteous maid.
4:975 So sweet her frame, so exquisitely
fine,
4:976 She seem'd a statue by a hand
divine,
4:977 Had not the wind her waving tresses
show'd,
4:978 And down her cheeks the melting
sorrows flow'd.
4:979 Her faultless form the heroe's
bosom fires;
4:980 The more he looks, the more he
still admires.
4:981 Th' admirer almost had forgot
to fly,
4:982 And swift descended, flutt'ring
from on high.
4:983 O! Virgin, worthy no such chains
to prove,
4:984 But pleasing chains in the soft
folds of love;
4:985 Thy country, and thy name (he
said) disclose,
4:986 And give a true rehearsal of
thy woes.
4:987 A quick reply her bashfulness refus'd,
4:988 To the free converse of a man
unus'd.
4:989 Her rising blushes had concealment
found
4:990 From her spread hands, but that
her hands were bound.
4:991 She acted to her full extent
of pow'r,
4:992 And bath'd her face with a fresh,
silent show'r.
4:993 But by degrees in innocence grown
bold,
4:994 Her name, her country, and her
birth she told:
4:995 And how she suffer'd for her
mother's pride,
4:996 Who with the Nereids once in
beauty vy'd.
4:997 Part yet untold, the seas began
to roar,
4:998 And mounting billows tumbled
to the shore.
4:999 Above the waves a monster rais'd
his head,
4:1000 His body o'er the deep was
widely spread:
4:1001 Onward he flounc'd; aloud the
virgin cries;
4:1002 Each parent to her shrieks
in shrieks replies:
4:1003 But she had deepest cause to
rend the skies.
4:1004 Weeping, to her they cling;
no sign appears
4:1005 Of help, they only lend their
helpless tears.
4:1006 Too long you vent your sorrows,
Perseus said,
4:1007 Short is the hour, and swift
the time of aid,
4:1008 In me the son of thund'ring
Jove behold,
4:1009 Got in a kindly show'r of fruitful
gold.
4:1010 Medusa's snaky head is now
my prey,
4:1011 And thro' the clouds I boldly
wing my way.
4:1012 If such desert be worthy of
esteem,
4:1013 And, if your daughter I from
death redeem,
4:1014 Shall she be mine? Shall it
not then be thought,
4:1015 A bride, so lovely, was too
cheaply bought?
4:1016 For her my arms I willingly
employ,
4:1017 If I may beauties, which I
save, enjoy.
4:1018 The parents eagerly the terms
embrace:
4:1019 For who would slight such terms
in such a case?
4:1020 Nor her alone they promise,
but beside,
4:1021 The dowry of a kingdom with
the bride.
4:1022 As well-rigg'd gallies, which slaves, sweating,
row,
4:1023 With their sharp beaks the
whiten'd ocean plough;
4:1024 So when the monster mov'd,
still at his back
4:1025 The furrow'd waters left a
foamy track.
4:1026 Now to the rock he was advanc'd
so nigh,
4:1027 Whirl'd from a sling a stone
the space would fly.
4:1028 Then bounding, upwards the
brave Perseus sprung,
4:1029 And in mid air on hov'ring
pinions hung.
4:1030 His shadow quickly floated
on the main;
4:1031 The monster could not his wild
rage restrain,
4:1032 But at the floating shadow
leap'd in vain.
4:1033 As when Jove's bird, a speckl'd
serpent spies,
4:1034 Which in the shine of Phoebus
basking lies,
4:1035 Unseen, he souses down, and
bears away,
4:1036 Truss'd from behind, the vainly-hissing
prey.
4:1037 To writh his neck the labour
nought avails,
4:1038 Too deep th' imperial talons
pierce his scales.
4:1039 Thus the wing'd heroe now descends,
now soars,
4:1040 And at his pleasure the vast
monster gores.
4:1041 Full in his back, swift stooping
from above,
4:1042 The crooked sabre to its hilt
he drove.
4:1043 The monster rag'd, impatient
of the pain,
4:1044 First bounded high, and then
sunk low again.
4:1045 Now, like a savage boar, when
chaf'd with wounds,
4:1046 And bay'd with opening mouths
of hungry hounds,
4:1047 He on the foe turns with collected
might,
4:1048 Who still eludes him with an
airy flight;
4:1049 And wheeling round, the scaly
armour tries
4:1050 Of his thick sides; his thinner
tall now plies:
4:1051 'Till from repeated strokes
out gush'd a flood,
4:1052 And the waves redden'd with
the streaming blood.
4:1053 At last the dropping wings,
befoam'd all o'er,
4:1054 With flaggy heaviness their
master bore:
4:1055 A rock he spy'd, whose humble
head was low,
4:1056 Bare at an ebb, but cover'd
at a flow.
4:1057 A ridgy hold, he, thither flying,
gain'd,
4:1058 And with one hand his bending
weight sustain'd;
4:1059 With th' other, vig'rous blows
he dealt around,
4:1060 And the home-thrusts the expiring
monster own'd.
4:1061 In deaf'ning shouts the glad
applauses rise,
4:1062 And peal on peal runs ratling
thro' the skies.
4:1063 The saviour-youth the royal
pair confess,
4:1064 And with heav'd hands their
daughter's bridegroom bless.
4:1065 The beauteous bride moves on,
now loos'd from chains,
4:1066 The cause, and sweet reward
of all the heroe's pains,
4:1067 Mean-time, on shore triumphant Perseus stood,
4:1068 And purg'd his hands, smear'd
with the monster's blood:
4:1069 Then in the windings of a sandy
bed
4:1070 Compos'd Medusa's execrable
head.
4:1071 But to prevent the roughness,
leafs he threw,
4:1072 And young, green twigs, which
soft in waters grew,
4:1073 There soft, and full of sap;
but here, when lay'd,
4:1074 Touch'd by the head, that softness
soon decay'd.
4:1075 The wonted flexibility quite
gone,
4:1076 The tender scyons harden'd
into stone.
4:1077 Fresh, juicy twigs, surpriz'd,
the Nereids brought,
4:1078 Fresh, juicy twigs the same
contagion caught.
4:1079 The nymphs the petrifying seeds
still keep,
4:1080 And propagate the wonder thro'
the deep.
4:1081 The pliant sprays of coral
yet declare
4:1082 Their stiff'ning Nature, when
expos'd to air.
4:1083 Those sprays, which did, like
bending osiers, move,
4:1084 Snatch'd from their element,
obdurate prove,
4:1085 And shrubs beneath the waves,
grow stones above.
4:1086 The great immortals grateful Perseus prais'd,
4:1087 And to three Pow'rs three turfy
altars rais'd.
4:1088 To Hermes this; and that he
did assign
4:1089 To Pallas: the mid honours,
Jove, were thine,
4:1090 He hastes for Pallas a white
cow to cull,
4:1091 A calf for Hermes, but for
Jove a bull.
4:1092 Then seiz'd the prize of his
victorious fight,
4:1093 Andromeda, and claim'd the
nuptial rite.
4:1094 Andromeda alone he greatly
sought,
4:1095 The dowry kingdom was not worth
his thought.
4:1096 Pleas'd Hymen now his golden torch displays;
4:1097 With rich oblations fragrant
altars blaze,
4:1098 Sweet wreaths of choicest flow'rs
are hung on high,
4:1099 And cloudless pleasure smiles
in ev'ry eye.
4:1100 The melting musick melting
thoughts inspires,
4:1101 And warbling songsters aid
the warbling lyres.
4:1102 The palace opens wide in pompous
state,
4:1103 And by his peers surrounded,
Cepheus sate.
4:1104 A feast was serv'd, fit for
a king to give,
4:1105 And fit for God-like heroes
to receive.
4:1106 The banquet ended, the gay, chearful bowl
4:1107 Mov'd round, and brighten'd,
and enlarg'd each soul.
4:1108 Then Perseus ask'd, what customs
there obtain'd,
4:1109 And by what laws the people
were restrain'd.
4:1110 Which told; the teller a like
freedom takes,
4:1111 And to the warrior his petition
makes,
4:1112 To know, what arts had won
Medusa's snakes.
Metamorphoses (Books I-XIV)
Andromeda rescu'd from the Sea Monster
4:959 Now Aeolus had with strong chains confin'd,
4:960 And deep imprison'd e'vry blust'ring
wind,
4:961 The rising Phospher with a purple
light
4:962 Did sluggish mortals to new toils
invite.
4:963 His feet again the valiant Perseus
plumes,
4:964 And his keen sabre in his hand
resumes:
4:965 Then nobly spurns the ground,
and upwards springs,
4:966 And cuts the liquid air with
sounding wings.
4:967 O'er various seas, and various
lands he past,
4:968 'Till Aethiopia's shore appear'd
at last.
4:969 Andromeda was there, doom'd to
attone
4:970 By her own ruin follies not her
own:
4:971 And if injustice in a God can
be,
4:972 Such was the Libyan God's unjust
decree.
4:973 Chain'd to a rock she stood;
young Perseus stay'd
4:974 His rapid flight, to view the
beauteous maid.
4:975 So sweet her frame, so exquisitely
fine,
4:976 She seem'd a statue by a hand
divine,
4:977 Had not the wind her waving tresses
show'd,
4:978 And down her cheeks the melting
sorrows flow'd.
4:979 Her faultless form the heroe's
bosom fires;
4:980 The more he looks, the more he
still admires.
4:981 Th' admirer almost had forgot
to fly,
4:982 And swift descended, flutt'ring
from on high.
4:983 O! Virgin, worthy no such chains
to prove,
4:984 But pleasing chains in the soft
folds of love;
4:985 Thy country, and thy name (he
said) disclose,
4:986 And give a true rehearsal of
thy woes.
4:987 A quick reply her bashfulness refus'd,
4:988 To the free converse of a man
unus'd.
4:989 Her rising blushes had concealment
found
4:990 From her spread hands, but that
her hands were bound.
4:991 She acted to her full extent
of pow'r,
4:992 And bath'd her face with a fresh,
silent show'r.
4:993 But by degrees in innocence grown
bold,
4:994 Her name, her country, and her
birth she told:
4:995 And how she suffer'd for her
mother's pride,
4:996 Who with the Nereids once in
beauty vy'd.
4:997 Part yet untold, the seas began
to roar,
4:998 And mounting billows tumbled
to the shore.
4:999 Above the waves a monster rais'd
his head,
4:1000 His body o'er the deep was
widely spread:
4:1001 Onward he flounc'd; aloud the
virgin cries;
4:1002 Each parent to her shrieks
in shrieks replies:
4:1003 But she had deepest cause to
rend the skies.
4:1004 Weeping, to her they cling;
no sign appears
4:1005 Of help, they only lend their
helpless tears.
4:1006 Too long you vent your sorrows,
Perseus said,
4:1007 Short is the hour, and swift
the time of aid,
4:1008 In me the son of thund'ring
Jove behold,
4:1009 Got in a kindly show'r of fruitful
gold.
4:1010 Medusa's snaky head is now
my prey,
4:1011 And thro' the clouds I boldly
wing my way.
4:1012 If such desert be worthy of
esteem,
4:1013 And, if your daughter I from
death redeem,
4:1014 Shall she be mine? Shall it
not then be thought,
4:1015 A bride, so lovely, was too
cheaply bought?
4:1016 For her my arms I willingly
employ,
4:1017 If I may beauties, which I
save, enjoy.
4:1018 The parents eagerly the terms
embrace:
4:1019 For who would slight such terms
in such a case?
4:1020 Nor her alone they promise,
but beside,
4:1021 The dowry of a kingdom with
the bride.
4:1022 As well-rigg'd gallies, which slaves, sweating,
row,
4:1023 With their sharp beaks the
whiten'd ocean plough;
4:1024 So when the monster mov'd,
still at his back
4:1025 The furrow'd waters left a
foamy track.
4:1026 Now to the rock he was advanc'd
so nigh,
4:1027 Whirl'd from a sling a stone
the space would fly.
4:1028 Then bounding, upwards the
brave Perseus sprung,
4:1029 And in mid air on hov'ring
pinions hung.
4:1030 His shadow quickly floated
on the main;
4:1031 The monster could not his wild
rage restrain,
4:1032 But at the floating shadow
leap'd in vain.
4:1033 As when Jove's bird, a speckl'd
serpent spies,
4:1034 Which in the shine of Phoebus
basking lies,
4:1035 Unseen, he souses down, and
bears away,
4:1036 Truss'd from behind, the vainly-hissing
prey.
4:1037 To writh his neck the labour
nought avails,
4:1038 Too deep th' imperial talons
pierce his scales.
4:1039 Thus the wing'd heroe now descends,
now soars,
4:1040 And at his pleasure the vast
monster gores.
4:1041 Full in his back, swift stooping
from above,
4:1042 The crooked sabre to its hilt
he drove.
4:1043 The monster rag'd, impatient
of the pain,
4:1044 First bounded high, and then
sunk low again.
4:1045 Now, like a savage boar, when
chaf'd with wounds,
4:1046 And bay'd with opening mouths
of hungry hounds,
4:1047 He on the foe turns with collected
might,
4:1048 Who still eludes him with an
airy flight;
4:1049 And wheeling round, the scaly
armour tries
4:1050 Of his thick sides; his thinner
tall now plies:
4:1051 'Till from repeated strokes
out gush'd a flood,
4:1052 And the waves redden'd with
the streaming blood.
4:1053 At last the dropping wings,
befoam'd all o'er,
4:1054 With flaggy heaviness their
master bore:
4:1055 A rock he spy'd, whose humble
head was low,
4:1056 Bare at an ebb, but cover'd
at a flow.
4:1057 A ridgy hold, he, thither flying,
gain'd,
4:1058 And with one hand his bending
weight sustain'd;
4:1059 With th' other, vig'rous blows
he dealt around,
4:1060 And the home-thrusts the expiring
monster own'd.
4:1061 In deaf'ning shouts the glad
applauses rise,
4:1062 And peal on peal runs ratling
thro' the skies.
4:1063 The saviour-youth the royal
pair confess,
4:1064 And with heav'd hands their
daughter's bridegroom bless.
4:1065 The beauteous bride moves on,
now loos'd from chains,
4:1066 The cause, and sweet reward
of all the heroe's pains,
4:1067 Mean-time, on shore triumphant Perseus stood,
4:1068 And purg'd his hands, smear'd
with the monster's blood:
4:1069 Then in the windings of a sandy
bed
4:1070 Compos'd Medusa's execrable
head.
4:1071 But to prevent the roughness,
leafs he threw,
4:1072 And young, green twigs, which
soft in waters grew,
4:1073 There soft, and full of sap;
but here, when lay'd,
4:1074 Touch'd by the head, that softness
soon decay'd.
4:1075 The wonted flexibility quite
gone,
4:1076 The tender scyons harden'd
into stone.
4:1077 Fresh, juicy twigs, surpriz'd,
the Nereids brought,
4:1078 Fresh, juicy twigs the same
contagion caught.
4:1079 The nymphs the petrifying seeds
still keep,
4:1080 And propagate the wonder thro'
the deep.
4:1081 The pliant sprays of coral
yet declare
4:1082 Their stiff'ning Nature, when
expos'd to air.
4:1083 Those sprays, which did, like
bending osiers, move,
4:1084 Snatch'd from their element,
obdurate prove,
4:1085 And shrubs beneath the waves,
grow stones above.
4:1086 The great immortals grateful Perseus prais'd,
4:1087 And to three Pow'rs three turfy
altars rais'd.
4:1088 To Hermes this; and that he
did assign
4:1089 To Pallas: the mid honours,
Jove, were thine,
4:1090 He hastes for Pallas a white
cow to cull,
4:1091 A calf for Hermes, but for
Jove a bull.
4:1092 Then seiz'd the prize of his
victorious fight,
4:1093 Andromeda, and claim'd the
nuptial rite.
4:1094 Andromeda alone he greatly
sought,
4:1095 The dowry kingdom was not worth
his thought.
4:1096 Pleas'd Hymen now his golden torch displays;
4:1097 With rich oblations fragrant
altars blaze,
4:1098 Sweet wreaths of choicest flow'rs
are hung on high,
4:1099 And cloudless pleasure smiles
in ev'ry eye.
4:1100 The melting musick melting
thoughts inspires,
4:1101 And warbling songsters aid
the warbling lyres.
4:1102 The palace opens wide in pompous
state,
4:1103 And by his peers surrounded,
Cepheus sate.
4:1104 A feast was serv'd, fit for
a king to give,
4:1105 And fit for God-like heroes
to receive.
4:1106 The banquet ended, the gay, chearful bowl
4:1107 Mov'd round, and brighten'd,
and enlarg'd each soul.
4:1108 Then Perseus ask'd, what customs
there obtain'd,
4:1109 And by what laws the people
were restrain'd.
4:1110 Which told; the teller a like
freedom takes,
4:1111 And to the warrior his petition
makes,
4:1112 To know, what arts had won
Medusa's snakes.