Thus ftrove the chief on ev'ry fide distress'd,
Thus ftill his courage, with his toils encreas'd;
With his broad fhield oppos'd, he forc'd his way
Thro' thickest woods, and rouz'd the beafts of prey.
Till he beheld, where from Lariffa's height
The shelving walls reflect a glancing light:
Thither with hafte the Theban hero flies ;
On this fide Lerna's pois'nous water lies,
On that, Profymna's grove and temple rife:
He pass'd the gates which then unguarded lay,
And to the regal palace bent his way;
On the cold marble spent with toil he lies,
And waits till pleasing flumbers feal his eyes.
Adraftus here his happy people sways,
Blefs'd with calm peace in his declining days,
Talis opaca legens nemorum Cadmeius heros
Accelerat, vafto metuenda umbone ferarum
Excutiens ftabula, & prono virgulta refringit
Pectore: dat ftimulos animo vis mæfta timoris.
Donec ab Inachiis vilta caligine tectis
Emicuit lucem devexa in mania fundens
Lariffaus apex: illo fpe concitus omni
Evolat. Hinc celfe Junonia templa Profymna
Levus habens, hinc Herculeo fignata vapore
Lernai ftagna atra vadi: tandemque reclufis
Infertur portis: acturum regia cernit
Veftibula: hic artus imbri, ventoque rigentes
Projicit, ignotaque acclinis poftibus aula
Invitat tenues ad dura cubilia fomnos.
Rex ibi tranquille medio de limite vitæ
In fenium vergens populos Adraftus habebat,
By both his parents of descent divine,
Great Jove and Phabus grac'd his noble line;
Heav'n had not crown'd his wishes with a son,
But two fair daughters heir'd his state and throne.
To him Apollo (wondrous to relate!
But who can pierce into the depths of fate?)
Had fung" Expect thy fons on Argos' fhore,
"A yellow lion and a briftly boar.
This, long revolv'd in his paternal breast,
Sate heavy on his heart, and broke his reft;
This, great Amphiaraus, lay hid from thee,
Tho' skill'd in fate, and dark futurity.
The father's care and prophet's art were vain,
For thus did the predicting God ordain.
Lo hapless Tydeus, whofe ill-fated hand Had flain his brother, leaves his native land,
Dives avis, & utroque Jovem de fanguine ducens.
Hic fexus melioris inops, fed prole virebat
Faminea, gemino natarum pignore fultus.
Cui Phabus generos (monftrum exitiabile dictu!
Mox adaperta fides) avo ducente canebat
Setigerumque fuem, & fulvum adventare leonem.
Hac volvens, non tu ipfe pater, non docte futuri
Amphiarae vides, etenim vetat autor Apollo.
Tantum in corde fedens ægrefcit cura parentis.
Ecce autem antiquam fato Calydona relinquens 555 Olenius Tydeus (fraterni fanguinis illum
And feiz'd with horror, in the fhades of night,
Thro' the thick defarts headlong urg'd his flight:
Now by the fury of the tempefts driv❜n,
He seeks a fhelter from th' inclement heav'n,
Till led by fate, the Theban's steps he treads,
And to fair Argos' open court fucceeds.
When thus the chiefs from diff'rent lands refort
T Adraftus' realms, and hofpitable court;
The King furveys his guests with curious eyes,
And views their arms and habit with furprize.
A lion's yellow fkin the Theban wears,
Horrid his mane, and rough with curling hairs;
Such once employ'd Alcides' youthfu! toils,
E'er yet adorn'd with Nemea's dreadful spoils.
A boar's ftiff hide, of Calydonian breed,
Oenides' manly fhoulders overspread,
Gonfcius horror agit) eadem fub nocte fopora
Luftra terit, fimilefque Notos dequeftus & imbres,
Infufam tergo glaciem, & liquentia nimbis
Ora, comafque gerens, fubit uno tegmine, cujus
Fufus bumo gelida, partem prior hofpes habebat.-
-Hic primum luftrare oculis, cultufque virorum
Telaque magna vacat, tergo videt hujus inanem
Impexis utrinque jubis horrere leonem,
Illius in fpeciem quem per Theumefia Tempe
Amphitryoniades fractum juvenilibus armis
Ante Cleonai veftitur prælia monftri.
Terribiles contra fetis, ac dente recurvo
Oblique his turks, erect his briftles stood,
Alive, the pride and terror of the wood.
Struck with the fight, and fix'd in deep amaze,
The King th' accomplish'd Oracle furveys,
Reveres Apollo's vocal caves, and owns
The guiding Godhead, and his future fons.
O'er all his bofom fecret transports reign,
And a glad horror fhoots thro' ev'ry vein.
To heav'n he lifts his hands, erects his fight,
And thus invokes the filent Queen of night.
Goddess of fhades, beneath whofe gloomy reign
Yon' fpangled arch glows with the starry train:
You who the cares of heav'n and earth allay,
Till nature quickned by th' infpiring ray
Wakes to new vigour with the rifing day.
Tydea per latos humeros ambire laborant
Exuvia Calydonis honos. Stupet omine tanto
Defixus fenior, divina oracula Phœbi
Agnofcens, monitufque datos vocalibus antris.
Obtutu gelida ora premit, lætufque per artus
Horror iit. Senfit manifefto numine ductos
Affore, quos nexis ambagibus augur Apollo
Portendi generos, vultu fallente ferarum,
Ediderat. Tunc fic tendens ad fidera palmas.
Nox, que terrarum cælique amplexa labores ·
Ignea multi-vago tranfmittis fidera lapfu,
Indulgens reparare animum, dum proximus ægris
Infundat Titan agiles animantibus ortus,
Oh thou who freeft me from my doubtful state,
Long loft and wilder'd in the maze of Fate!
Be prefent ftill, oh Goddefs! in our aid;
Proceed, and firm thofe omens thou haft made.
We to thy name our annual rites will pay,
And on thy altars facrifices lay;
The fable flock fhall fall beneath the stroke,
And fill thy temples with a grateful smoke.
Hail, faithful Tripos! hail, ye dark abodes
Of awful Phoebus: I confefs the Gods!
Thus, feiz'd with facred fear, the Monarch pray'd;
'Then to his inner court the guests convey'd ;
Where yet thin fumes from dying fparks arise,
And duft yet white upon each altar lies,
The relicks of a former facrifice.
The King once more the folemn rites requires,
And bids renew the feafts, and wake the fires.
Tu mibi perplexis quæfitam erroribus ultro
Advebis alma fidem, veterifque exordia fati
Detegis afiftas operi, tuaque omina firmes.
Semper honoratam dimenfis orbibus anni
Te domus ifta colet: nigri tibi diva litabunt
Electa cervice greges, luftraliaque.exta
Lacte novo perfufus edet Vulcanius ignis.
Salve prifca fides tripodum, obfcurique receffus,
Deprendi Fortuna, deos. Sic fatus; & ambos
Inne&tens manibus, tecta ulterioris ad aulæ
Progreditur. Canis etiamnum altaribus ignes,
Sopitum cinerem,& tepidi libamina facri
Servabunt; adolere focos, epulafque recentes
I 2
|