Then, then, remember what I now fortel,

And own the blind Tiresias saw too well."

Still Pentheus scorns him, and derides his skill,
But time did all the promis'd threats fulfil.

For now thro' prostrate Greece young Bacchus rode,
Whilst howling matrons celebrate the god.

All ranks and sexes to his orgies ran,

To mingle in the pomps, and fill the train.
When Pentheus thus his wicked rage express'd;
"What madness, Thebans, has your souls possess'd?
Can hollow timbrels, can a drunken shout,
And the lewd clamours of a beastly rout,

Thus quell your courage? can the weak alarm
Of women's yells, those stubborn souls disarm,
Whom nor the sword nor trumpet e'er could fright,
Nor the loud din and horror of a fight?

And you, our sires, who left your old abodes,
And fix'd in foreign earth your country gods;

Will you without a stroke your city yield,
And poorly quit an undisputed field?

But you, whose youth and vigour should inspire

Heroic warmth, and kindle martial fire,

Whom burnish'd arms and crested helmets grace,
Not flowery garlands and a painted face;
Remember him to whom you stand ally'd:

The serpent for his well of waters dy'd.
He fought the strong; do you his courage show,
And gain a conquest o'er a feeble foe.

If Thebes must fall, oh might the fates afford
A nobler doom from famine, fire, or sword!
Then might the Thebans perish with renown:
But now a beardless victor sacks the town;

Whom nor the prancing steed, nor pond'rous shield,
Nor the hack'd helmet, nor the dusty field,
But the soft joys of luxury and ease,

The purple vests, and flowery garlands please.
Stand then aside, I'll make the counterfeit
Renounce his godhead, and confess the cheat.
Acrisius from the Grecian walls repell'd

This boasted power; why then should Pentheus yield?
Go quickly, drag th' audacious boy to me;
I'll try the force of his divinity."

Thus did th' audacious wretch those rites profane,
His friends dissuade th' audacious wretch in vain;

In vain his grandsire urg'd him to give o'er
His impious threats; the wretch but raves the more.
So have I seen a river gently glide,

In a smooth course and inoffensive tide;
But if with dams its current we restrain,
It bears down all, and foams along the plain.

But now his servants came besmear'd with blood,
Sent by their haughty prince to seize the god;
The god they found not in the frantic throng,
But dragg'd a zealous votary along.

THE MARINERS TRANSFORMED TO DOLPHINS.

Him Pentheus view'd with fury in his look, And scarce withheld his hands while thus he spoke : "Vile slave! whom speedy vengeance shall pursue, And terrify thy base seditious crew:

Thy country and thy parentage reveal,

And why thou join'st in these mad orgies tell."
The captive views him with undaunted eyes,
And, arm'd with inward innocence, replies.

"From high Meonia's rocky shores I came,

Of poor descent, Acotes is my name :

My sire was meanly born; no oxen plow'd
His fruitful fields, nor in his pastures low'd.
His whole estate within the waters lay;
With lines and hooks he caught the finny prey.
His art was all his livelihood; which he
Thus with his dying lips bequeath'd to me:
In streams, my boy, and rivers, take thy chance;
There swims," said he, "thy whole inheritance.
"Long did I live on this poor legacy;
Till tir'd with rocks, and my own native sky,
To arts of navigation I inclin'd;

Observ'd the turns and changes of the wind:
Learn'd the fit havens, and began to note
The stormy Hyades, the rainy Goat,
The bright Täygete, and the shining bears,
With all the sailor's catalogue of stars.

"Once, as by chance for Delos I design'd,
My vessel, driv'n by a strong gust of wind,
Moor'd in a Chian creek; ashore I went,
And all the following night in Chios spent.
When morning rose, I sent my mates to bring
Supplies of water from a neighb'ring spring,
Whilst I the motion of the winds explor'd;
Then summon'd in my crew, and went aboard.
Opheltes heard my summons, and with joy
Brought to the shore a soft and lovely boy,
With more than female sweetness in his look,
Whom straggling in the neighb'ring fields he took.
With fumes of wine the little captive glows,
And nods with sleep, and staggers as he goes

"I view'd him nicely, and began to trace Each heavenly feature, each immortal grace, And saw divinity in all his face.

'I know not who,' said I, 'this god should be; But that he is a god I plainly see:

And thou, whoe'er thou art, excuse the force

These men have us'd; and, oh! befriend our course'
'Pray not for us,' the nimble Dictys cry'd,
Dictys, that could the main-top-mast bestride,
And down the rope with active vigour slide.
To the same purpose old Epopeus spoke,
Who overlook'd the oars, and tim'd the stroke;
The same the pilot, and the same the rest;
Such impious avarice their souls possest.
'Nay, heaven forbid that I should bear away
Within my vessel so divine a prey,'

Said I; and stood to hinder their intent:
When Lycabas, a wretch for murder sent
From Tuscany, to suffer banishment,

With his clench'd fist had struck me overboard,
Had not my hands, in falling, grasp'd a cord.

"His base confederates the fact approve; When Bacchus, (for 'twas he) began to move, Wak'd by the noise and clamours which they rais'd; And shook his drowsy limbs, and round him gaz'd: 'What means this noise?' he cries; am I betray'd? Ah! whither, whither must I be convey'd?' 'Fear not,' said Proreus, child, but tell us where You wish to land, and trust our friendly care.' 'To Naxos then direct your course,' said he; 'Naxos a hospitable port shall be

To each of you, a joyful home to me.'

By every god that rules the sea or sky,
The perjur'd villains promise to comply,
And bid me hasten to unmoor the ship.
With eager joy I launch into the deep;
And, heedless of the fraud, for Naxos stand:
They whisper oft, and beckon with the hand,
And give me signs, all anxious for their prey,
To tack about, and steer another way.

Then let some other to my post succeed,'
Said I, 'I'm guiltless of so foul a deed.'

'What,' says Ethalion, 'must the ship's whole crew
Follow your humour, and depend on you?'
And straight himself he seated at the prore,
And tack'd about and sought another shore.

"The beauteous youth now found himself betray'd, And from the deck the rising waves survey'd,

And seem'd to weep, and as he wept he said;

And do you thus my easy faith beguile?

Thus do you bear me to my native isle ?

Will such a multitude of men employ
Their strength against a weak defenceless boy?"
"In vain did I the god-like youth deplore,
The more I begg'd, they thwarted me the more.
And now by all the gods in heaven that hear
This solemn oath, by Bacchus' self, I swear,
The mighty miracle that did ensue,
Although it seems beyond belief, is true.
The vessel, fix'd and rooted in the flood,
Unmov'd by all the beating billows stood.
In vain the mariners would plow the main
With sails unfurl'd, and strike their oars in vain :