THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY
EDITED BY
T. E. PAGE, LiTT.D. E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D. W. H. D. ROUSE, litt.d.
STATIUS II
^cfi
f
STATIUS
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY
J. H. MOZLEY, M.A.
SOMETIME SCHOLAR OF KING S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
USCTDEER IN CLASSICS AT EAST LONDON COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY
OF LONDON
J.
IN TWO VOLUMES ^
II THEBAID V-XII • ACHILLEID
LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
MCMXXVIII
;
Printed in Great Britain
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
|
THEBAID |
PAGE |
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Book V. |
2 |
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Book VI. |
60 |
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Book VII. |
132 |
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Book VIII. |
•, V- >c . |
194 |
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Book IX. |
252 |
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Book X. |
320 |
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Book XI. |
390 |
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Book XII. |
ACHILLEID |
446 |
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Book I. . |
. 508 |
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Book II. |
582 |
THEBAID
BOOKS V-XII
VOL. 11
THEBAIDOS
LIBER V
Pulsa sitis fluvio, populataque gurgitis altum^ agmina linquebant ripas amnemque minorem ; acrior et campum sonipes rapit et pedes arva implet ovans, rediere viris animique minaeque votaque, sanguineis mixtum ceu fontibus ignem 5 hausissent belli magnasque in proelia mentes. dispositi in turmas rursus legemque severi ordinis, ut cuique ante locus ductorque, monentur instaurare vias. tellus iam pulvere primo crescit, et armorum transmittunt fulgura silvae. 10 qualia trans pontum Phariis depvensa serenis rauca Paraetonio deeedunt agmina Nilo, quo^ fera cogit hiemps : illae clangore fugaei, umbra fretis arvisque, volant, sonat avius aether, iam Borean imbresque pati, iam nare solutis 15
amnibus et nudo iuvat aestivare sub Haemo.
Hie rursus simili procerum vallante corona dux Talaionides, antiqua ut forte sub orno
^ altum P : alvum w (Z) mith alveum written over). ^ quo Vollmer : cum Pa,-.
" i.e., cranes, cf. Virg. Aen. x. 264..
* The epithet is taken from a town named Paraetonium, on the Libyan coast west of the Delta. 2
THEBAID
BOOK V
Their thirst was quenched by the river, and the army haWng ravaged the water's depths was lea\"ing the banks and the diminished stream ; more briskly now the galloping steed scours the plain, and the infantrj' swarm exultant over the fields, inspired once more by courage and hope and warlike temper, as though from the blood-stained springs they had drunk the fire of battle and high resolution for the fray. Marshalled again in squadrons and the stern disciphne of rank, they are bidden renew the march, each in his former place and under the same leader as before. Already the first dust is rising from the earth, and arms are flashing through the trees. Just so do flocks of screaming birds," caught by the Pharian summer, wing their way across the sea from Paraetonian '' Nile, whither the fierce ^vinter drove them ; they fly, a shadow upon the sea and land, and their cry follows them, filling the pathless heaven. Soon will it be their delight to breast the north \^ind and the rain, soon to swim on the melted rivers, and to spend the summer days on naked Haemus.
Then the son of Talaus, ringed round once more by a band of chieftain peers, as he stood by chance
3
STATIUS
stabat et admoti nixus Polynicis in hastam : " at tamen,oquaecumque es "ait," cui — gloria tanta — venimus innumerae fato^ debere cohortes, 21
quern non ipse deum sator asp'ernetur honorem, die age, quando tuis alacres absistimus undis, quae domus aut tellus, animam quibus hauseris astris? die, quis et ille pater ? neque enim tibi numina longe, transierit fortuna licet, maiorque per ora 26
sanguis, et adflicto spirat reverentia vultu."
Ingemit, et paulum fletu cunctata modesto Lemnias orsa refert : " immania vulnera, rector, integrare iubes, Furias et Lemnon et artis 30
arma inserta toris debellatosque pudendo ense mares ; redit ecce nefas et frigida cordi Eumenis. o miserae, quibus hie furor additus ! o nox 1 o pater ! ilia ego nam, pudeat ne forte benignae hospitis, ilia, duces, raptum quae sola parentem 35 occului. quid longa malis exordia necto ? et vos arma vocant magnique in corde paratus. hoc memorasse sat est : claro generata Thoante servitum Hypsipyle vestri fero capta Lycurgi."
Advertere animos, maiorque et honora videri 40 parque operi tanto ; cunctis tunc noscere casus ortus amor, pater ante alios hortatur Adrastus :
^ fato MS. at Peterhouse, Camb. : fatum Poj.
" If "fatum" of most mss. is kept =" our lives," then " honorem," etc., must be in a kind of apposition to the preceding sentence, e.g., " to owe our lives, an honour which . . ." In any case " venimus debere " is doubtful Latin, and the line has been variously emended.
* i.e., where were you born ?
4.
THEBAID, V. 19-42
beneath an aged ash-tree, and leaned on Polynices' spear hard by him, thus spoke : " Nay, tell us, thou, whoe'er thou art. to whom — such is thy glory — fate " has brought our countless cohorts owing thee such high honour as the Sire of the gods himself would not despise — tell us, now that we are departing in all speed from thy waters, what is thy home or native land, from what stars didst thou draw thy life ? ^ And who was that sire thou spakest of ? For heaven is not far to seek in thy descent, though fortune may have been traitorous ; a nobler birth is in thy looks, and even in affliction thy countenance breathes majesty."
The Lemnian sighed, and, stayed by shamefast tears awhile, then makes reply : " Deep are the wounds, O prince, thou biddest me revive, the tale of Lemnos and its Furies and of murder done even in the bed's embrace, and of the shameful sword whereby our manhood perished ; ah I the ^Wcked- ness comes back upon me, the freezing Horror grips my heart ! Ah ! miserable they, upon whom this frenzy came ! alas, that night ! alas, my father I for I am she — lest haply ye feel shame for your kindly host — I am she, O chieftains, who alone did steal away and hide her father. But why do I weave the long prelude to my woes ? Moreover battle summons you and your hearts' high enterprise. Thus much doth it suffice to tell : I am Hypsipyle, born of renowned Thoas, and captive thrall to your Lycurgus."
Close heed they gave her then, and nobler she seemed and worthy of honour, and equal to such a deed ; then all craved to learn her story, and father Adrastus foremost urged her : "Ay, verily, while
STATIUS
" immo age, dum primi longe damus agmina vulgi — nee facilis Nemee latas evolvere vires, quippe obtenta comis et ineluctabilis umbra — 45 pande nefas laudesque tuas gemitusque tuorum, unde lios advenias regno deiecta labores."
Dulce loqui niiseris veteresque reducere questus. incipit : " Aegaeo premitur circumflua Nereo I^emnos, ubi ignifera fessus respirat ab Aetna 50
Mulciber ; ingenti tellurem proximus umbra vestit Athos nemorumque obscurat imagine pontum ; Thraces arant contra, Thracum fatalia nobis litora, et inde nefas. florebat dives alunmis terra, nee ilia Samo fama Delove sonanti 55
peior et innumeris quas spumifer adsilit Aegon. dis visum turbare domos, nee pectora culpa nostra vacant : nullos Veneri sacravimus ignis, nulla deae sedes ; movet et caelestia quondam corda dolor lentoque inrepunt agmine Poenae, 60 ilia Paphon veterem centumque altaria linquens nee vultu nee crine prior solvisse iugalem ceston et Idalias procul ablegasse volucres fertur. erant certe, media quae noctis in umbra divam alios ignes maioraque tela gerentem 05
Tartareas inter thalamis volitasse sorores vulgarent, utque implicitis arcana domorum anguibus et saeva formidine nupta replesset^ limina nee fidi populum miserata mariti.
^ nupta replesset P : cuncta replevit w.
" Some explain " with oracles," but the more likely mean- ing is "with dashing waves," as in the next line.
* i.e., the Aegean Sea.
' lit., " not as she previously was in respect of ... " Cf. xi. 459, " non habitu, quo nota prius, non ore sereno."
6
THEBAID, V. 43-69
we set in long array the columns of our van — nor does Nemea readily allow a broad host to draw clear, so closely hemmed is she by woodland and entanghng shade — tell us of the crime, and of thy praiseworthy deed and the sufferings of thy people, and how cast out from thy realm thou art come to this toil of thine."
Pleasant is it to the unhappy to speak, and to recall the sorrows of old time. Thus she begins : " Set amid the encircUng tides of Aegean Nereus lies Lemnos, where Mulciber draws breath again from his labours in fiery Aetna ; Athos hard by clothes the land with his mighty shadow, and darkens the sea with the image of his forests ; opposite the Thracians plough, the Thracians, from whose shores came our sin and doom. Rich and populous was our land, no less renowned than Samos or echoing " Delos or the other countless isles against which Aegon * dashes in foam. It was the will of the gods to confound our homes, but our own hearts are not free from guilt ; no sacred fires did we kindle to Venus, the goddess had no slirine. Even celestial minds are moved at last to resentment, and slow but sure the Avenging Powers creep on. She, leaving ancient Paphos and her hundred shrines, with altered looks and tresses,*^ loosed, so they say, her love-alluring girdle and banished her Idalian doves afar. Some, 'tis certain, of the women told it abroad that the goddess, armed with other torches and deadlier weapons, had flitted through the marriage chambers in the darkness of midnight with the sisterhood of Tartarus about her, and how she had filled every secret place with twining serpents and our bridal thresh- olds with dire terror, pitying not the people of her
7
STATIUS
protinus a Lemno teneri fugistis Amores, 70
mutus Hymen versaeque faces et frigida iusti cura tori ! nullae redeunt in gaudia noetes, nullus in amplexu sopor est, Odia aspera ubique et Furor et medio recubat Discordia lecto. cura viris tumidos adversa Thracas in ora 75
eruere et saevam bellando frangere gentem. cumque domus contra stantesque in litore nati, dulcius Edonas^ hiemes Arctonque prementem excipere, aut tandem tacita post proelia nocte fractorum subitas torrentum audire ruinas. 80
illae autem tristes — nam me tunc libera curis virginitas annique tegunt — sub nocte dieque adsiduis aegrae in lacrimis solantia miscent conloquia, aut saevam spectant trans aequoraThracen. Sol operum medius summo librabat Olympo 85 lucentes, ceu staret, equos ; quater axe serene intonuit, quater antra dei fumantis anhelos exseruere apices, ventisque absentibus Aegon motus et ingenti percussit litora ponto : cum subito horrendas aevi matura Polyxo 90
tollitur in furias thalamisque insueta relictis evolat. insano veluti Teumesia thyias rapta deo, cum sacra vocant Idaeaque suadet buxus et a summis auditus montibus Euhan : sic erecta genas aciemque ofFusa^ trementi 95
sanguine desertam rabidis clamoribus urbem exagitat, clausasque domos et limina pulsans
^ Edonas Servius, Schol. on Lucan, edd. : edonias Poj. * oflFusa Barth, Heinsius : effusa Pw.
" i.e., Vulcan, who dwelt in Lemnos. * i.e., Theban> from Teumesus, a mountain of Boeotia.
8
THEBAID, V. 70-97
faithful spouse. Straightway fled ye from Lemnos, ye tender Loves : Hymen fell mute and turned iiis torch to earth ; chill neglect came o'er the la\\-ful couch, no nightly return of joy was there, no slumber in the beloved embrace, everywhere reigned bitter Hatred and Frenzy and Discord sundering the partners of the bed. For the men were bent on overthrowing the boastful Thracians across the strait, and warring down the savage tribe. And in despite of home and their children standing on the shore, sweeter it was to them to bear Edonian winters and the brunt of the cold North, or, when at last still night followed a day of battle, to hear the sudden outburst of the crashing mountain torrent. But the women — for I at that time was sheltered by care-free maidenhood and tender years — sad and sick at heart sought tearful solace in converse day and night, or gazed out across the sea to cruel Thrace.
" The sun in the midst of his labours was poising his shining chariot on Olympus' height, as though at halt ; four times came thunder from a serene sky, four times did the smoky caverns of the god " open their panting summits, and Aegon, though the winds were hushed, was stirred and flung a mighty sea against the shores : when suddenly the crone Polyxo is caught up in a dire frenzy, and deserting un- wontedly her chamber flies abroad. Like a Teume- sian * Thyiad rapt to madness by the god, when the sacred rites are calling and the boxwood pipe of Ida '^ stirs her blood, and the voice of Euhan is heard upon the high hills : even so with head erect and quivering bloodshot eyes she ranges up and down the lonely city wildly clamouring, and beating at closed doors ' The Phrygian mountain, where Cybele was worshipped.
9
STATIUS
concilium vocat ; infelix comitatus eunti
haerebant nati. atque illae non segnius omnes
erumpunt tectis, summasque ad Pallados arces 100
impetus : hue propere stipamur et ordine nullo
congestae ; stricto mox ense silentia iussit
hortatrix scelerum et medio sic ausa profari :
' rem summam instinctu superum meritique doloris,
o viduae — firmate animos et pellite sexum ! — 105
Lemniades, sancire paro ; si taedet inanes
aeternum servare domos turpemque iuventae
flore situm et longis steriles in luctibus annos,
inveni, promitto, viam — nee numina desunt —
qua renovanda Venus : modo par insumite robur 1 10
luctibus, atque adeo primum hoc mihi noscere detur.
tertia canet hiemps ; cui conubialia vincla
aut thalami secretus honos ? cui coniuge pectus
intepuit ? cuius vidit Lucina labores,
dicite, vel iustos cuius pulsantia menses 115
vota tument ? qua pace feras volucresque iugari
mos datus. heu segnes ! potuitne ultricia Graius
virginibus dare tela pater laetusque dolorum
sanguine securos iuvenum perfundere somnos :
at nos volgus iners ? quodsi propioribus actis 120
est opus, ecce animos doceat Rhodopeia coniunx,
ulta manu thalamos pariterque epulata marito.
nee vos immunis scelerum securave cogo :
plena mihi domus atque ingens, en cernite, sudor.
" Danaus, c/, iv. 133 n.
* Procne, wife of Tereus, kinj^ of Tlirace ; she set before him the flesh of his son Itys. Khodope, a mountain in Thrace. 10 •
THEBAID, V. 98-124
and thresholds suxnmons us to council ; her children clinging to her bear her woeful company. No less eagerly do all the women burst from their houses and rush to the citadel of Pallas on the hill-top : hither in feverish haste we press and crowd dis- orderly. Then with drawn sword she commands silence, and prompting us to crime dares thus to speak among us : ' Inspired by heaven and our just anger,
0 widowed Lemnians — steel now your courage and banish thought of sex ! — I make bold to justify a desperate deed. If ye are weary of watching homes for ever desolate, of watching your beauty's flower blight and wither in long barren years of weeping,
1 have found a way, I promise you — and the Powers are with us I — a way to renew the charm of Love ; only take courage equal to your griefs, yea, and of that assure me first. Three winters now have whitened — which of us has known the bonds of wed- lock, or the secret honours of the marriage chamber ? Whose bosom has glowed with conj ugal love ? Whom has Lucina beheld in travail : Whose ripening hope throbs in the wom.b as the due months draw on r Yet such permission is granted to beasts and birds to unite after their manner. Alas ! sluggards that we are ! could a Grecian sire " give avenging weapons to his daughters, and with treacherous joy drench in blood the bridegroom's careless slumber ? And are we then to be but a spiritless mob } Or if ye would have deeds nearer home, lo I let the Thracian wife * teach us courage, who with her own hand avenged her union and set the feast before her spouse. Nor do I urge you on, guiltless myself or -without care : full is my OMTi house, and huge — ay, look '^ — the struggle.
' She points to her four children, whom it is hard to slay.
11
STATIUS
quattuor hos una, decus et solacia patris, 125
in gremio, licet amplexu lacrimisque morentur, transadigam ferro saniemque et vulnera fratrum miscebo patremque simul spirantibus addam. ecqua tot in caedes animum promittit ? '
Agebat pluribus ; adverse nituerunt vela profundo : 130
Lemnia elassis erat. rapuit gavisa Polyxo fortunam atque iterat : ' superisne vocantibus ultro desumus ? ecce rates ! deus hos, deus ultor in iras adportat coeptisque favet. nee imago quietis vana meae ; nudo stabat Venus ense, videri 135
clara mihi somnosque super " quid perditis aevum ? " inquit " age aversis thalamos purgate maritis. ipsa faces alias melioraque foedera iungam." dixit, et hoc ferrum stratis, hoc, credite, ferrum imposuit. quin o miserae, dum temp us agi^ rem, 140 consulite ; en validis spumant eversa lacertis aequora, Bistonides veniunt fortasse maritae.' hinc stimuli ingentes, magnusque advolvitur astris clamor. Aniazonio Scythiam fervere tumultu lunatumque putes agmen descendere, ubi arma 145 indulget pater et saevi movet ostia Belli, nee varius fremor aut studia in contraria rapti dissensus, ut plebe solet : furor omnibus idem, idem animus solare domos iuvenumque senumque
^ agi Heinsius : agit Poi, prob. from Aen. v. 638. 12
THEBAID, V. 125-149
Behold these four together, the pride and comfort of their sire ; though they should stay me ^ith embraces and tears, even here in my bosom I will pierce them with the sword, and unite the brothers in one heap of wounds and blood, and set their father's corpse on their yet breathing bodies I Who of you can promise me a spirit for slaughter so great ? ' "Yet more was she urging, when yonder out at sea white sails shone — the Lemnian fleet ! Exultant, Polyxo seizes the moment's chance and cries again : ' The gods themselves in\"ite us — do we fail them : See, there are the ships ! Heaven, avenging heaven, brings them to meet our wrath, and favours our resolve. Not vain was the vision of my sleep : Avith naked sword Venus stood over me as I slumbered, plain to my sight, and cried : " Why do ye waste your hves ? Go, purge your chambers of the husbands who have lost their love ! I myself will light you other torches and join you in worthier unions." She spoke, and laid this sword, this very sword, beheve it, on my couch. Take heed then, unhappy ones, whilst there is time to act. Lo I the waters churn and foam beneath the strong arms of the rowers — perchance Thracian brides come vvith them ! ' At this all are vvTought to highest pitch, and a loud clamour rolls upward to the skies. One would think it was Scythia swarming vvith tumultuous bands of Amazons, trooping to the fight yyith crescent bucklers, when the Father gives rein to armed conflict and flings wide the gates of savage War. Their uproar held no varying voices, nor did dissension cleave into opposing factions, as is the wont of a crowd ; one frenzy, one purpose inspires all ahke, to lay desolate our homes, to break life's thread for
13
ST ATI us
praecipitare colos plenisque adfr anger e parvos 150 uberibus ferroque omnes exire per annos. tunc viridi luco^ — lucus iuga celsa Minervae propter opacat humum niger ipse, sed insuper ingens mons premit et gemina pereunt caligne soles — hie sanxere fidem, tu Martia testis Enyo 155
atque inferna Ceres, Stygiaeque Acheronte recluso ante preces venere deae ; sed fallit ubique mixta Venus, Venus arma tenet, Venus admovet iras. nee de more cruor : natum Charopeia coniunx obtulit, accingunt sese et mirantia ferro 160
pectora congestisque avidae simul undique dextris perfringunt, ac dulce nefas in sanguine vivo coniurant, matremque recens circumvolat umbra, talia cernenti mihi quantus in ossibus horror, quisve per ora color ! qualis cum cerva cruentis 165 circumventa lupis, nullum cui pectore molli robur et in volucri tenuis fiducia cursu, praecipitat suspensa fugam, iamiamque teneri credit et elusos audit concurrere morsus.
Illi aderant, primis iamque ofFendere carinae 170 litoribus, certant saltu contingere terram praecipites, miseri, quos non aut horrida virtus Marte sub Odrysio, aut medii inclementia ponti hauserit ! alta etiam superum delubra vaporant promissasque trahunt pecudes : niger omnibus aris 175 ignis, et in nuUis spirat deus integer extis.
^ viridi luco P : vlridis late w. 14
THEBAID, V. 150-176
young and old, to crush babes against the teeming breasts, and with the sword to make havoc through every age. Then in a green grove — a grove that darkens the ground hard by the lofty hill of Minerva, black itself, but above it the mountain looms huge, and the sunlight perishes in a twofold night — they pledged their solemn word, and thou wast witness, Martian Enyo, and thou, Ceres of the underworld," and the Stygian goddesses came in answer to their prayers ; but unseen among them everywhere was Venus, Venus armed, Venus kindling 'vvrath. Un- wonted was the blood, for the wife of Charops made offering of her son, and they girded themselves, and at once all greedily stretched forth their right hands and mangled with the sword his marvelling breast, and made common oath in impious joy upon the living blood, while the new ghost hovers about his mother. What horror struck my limbs when I beheld so dire a sight ! What colour came upon my cheeks ! As when a deer is surrounded by savage wolves, and no strength is left in her tender breast and scanty confidence in speed of foot, she darts away in fearful flight, and each moment believes that she is taken, and hears behind her the snap of baffled jaws.
" They were come, and already the keels grated on the edge of the strand, and they leap ashore in emulous haste. Unhappy they, whom their stark valour 'neath Odrysian Mars'' destroyed not, nor the rage of the intervening sea ! And now they fill with smoke of incense the high shrines of the gods, and drag their promised victims ; but murky is the fire on every altar, and in no entrails breathes
' i.e., Proserpine. ' i.e., in Thracian warfare.
15
STATIUS
tardius umenti noctem deiecit Olympo luppiter et versum miti, reor, aethera cura sustinuit, dum fata vetat, nee longius umquam cessavere novae perfecto sole tenebrae. 180
sera tamen mundo venerunt astra, sed illis et Paros et nemorosa Thasos crebraeque relucent Cyclades ; una gravi penitus latet obruta caelo LemnoSjin hanc tristes nebulae, etplaga caeca superne texitur, una vagis Lemnos non agnita nautis. 185
iam domibus fusi et nemorum per opaca sacrorum ditibus indulgent epulis vacuantque profundo aurum immane mero, dum quae per Strymona pugnae, quis Rhodope gelidove labor sudatus in Haemo, enumerare vacat. nee non, manus impia, nuptae 190 serta inter festasque dapes quo maxima cultu quaeque iacent ; dederat mites Cytherea suprema nocte viros longoque brevem post tempore pacem nequiquam et miseros perituro adflaverat igni. conticuere chori, dapibus ludoque licenti 195
fit modus et primae decrescunt murmura noctis, cum consanguinei mixtus caligine Leti rore madens Stygio morituram amplectitur urbem Somnus et implacido^ fundit gravia otia cornu secernitque viros. vigilant nuptaeque nurusque 200 in scelus, atque hilares acuunt fera tela Sorores. invasere nefas, cuncto sua regnat Erinys pectore. non aliter Scythicos armenta per agros Hyrcanae clausere leae, quas exigit ortu ^ implacido Pco : implicito iV.
" The god shows his will in the yet living ("spirat") entrails, just as he speaks in the cry of birds; to be favour- able the entrails must be perfect ("integer"), and every slight imperfection was given some meaning by the " harus- pices."
16
THEBAID, V. 177-204
the god unimpaired." Slowly did Jupiter bring down the night from moist Olympus, and with kindly care held back, I ween, the turning sky, and stayed the fates, nor ever, the sun's course finished, did the new shadows longer delay their coming. Yet at last the late stars shone in heaven, but their light fell on Paros and woody Thasos and the myriad Cyclades : Lemnos alone lies under a heavy sky's thick pall of darkness, gloomv fogs descend upon it and above is a woven belt of night, alone is Lemnos unmarked of wandering mariners. And now, stream- ing forth from their homes and through the shade of sacred groves, they sate themselves in sumptuous feasting and drain vast golden goblets of the brimming wine, and tell at their leisure of battles on the Stry- mon, of sweat of war on Rhodope or frozen Haemus. Nay more, their wives, unnatural consorts, recline among the garlands and by the festal tables, each in her choicest raiment ; on that last night Cytherea had made their husbands gracious toward them, and given a brief moment of vain bliss after so long a time, and breathed into the doomed ones a passion soon to perish.
" The choirs fell silent, a term is set to banqueting and amorous sport, and as night deepens the noises die away, when Sleep, shrouded in the gloom of his brother Death and dripping with Stygian dew, enfolds the doomed city, and from his relentless horn pours hea\y drowse, and marks out the men. Wives and daughters are awake for murder, and joyously do the Sisters sharpen their savage weapons. They fall to their horrid work : in the breast of each her Fury reigns. Not otherwise on Scythian plains are cattle surrounded by Hyrcanian lionesses, whom
VOL. n c 17
STATIUS
prima fames, avidique implorant ubera nati. 205
quos tibi nam, dubito, scelerum de mille figuris expediam casus. ^ Elymum temeraria Gorge evinctum ramis altaque in mole tapetum efflantem somno crescentia vina superstans vulnera disiecta rimatur veste, sed ilium 210
infelix sopor admota sub morte refugit. turbidus incertumque oculis vigilantibus hostem occupat amplexu, nee segnius ilia tenentis pone adigit costas, donee sua pectora ferro tangeret. is demum sceleri modus ; ora supinat 215 blandus adhuc oculisque tremens et murmure Gorgen quaerit et indigno non solvit* bracchia collo. non ego nunc volgi quamquam crudelia pandam funera, sed propria luctus de stirpe recordor : quod te, flave Cydon, quod te per colla refusis 220 intactum, Crenaee, comis, quibus ubera mecum obliquumque a patre genus, fortemque, timebam quem desponsa, Gyan vidi lapsare cruentae vulnere Myrmidones, quodque inter serta torosque barbara ludentem fodiebat Epopea mater. 225
flet super aequaevum soror exarmata Lycaste Cydimon, heu similes perituro in corpore vultus aspiciens floremque genae et quas finxerat auro ipsa comas, cum saeva parens iam coniuge fuso adstitit impellitque minis atque ingerit* ensem. 230 ut fera, quae rabiem placido desueta magistro
^ Other edd. read (nam dubito) . . . casus ?
^ non solvit Pw : solvit sua ^V.
* ingerit P (in margin) : inserit Pw.
" For similar scenes see x. 273 sq. 18
THEBAID, v. 205-231
hunger drives forth at sunrise and greedy cubs implore for their udders' milk. Of a thousand shapes of guilt I hesitate what to tell thee that befell." Bold Gorge stands over chaplet-crowned Elymus. who on high-piled cushions pants out in his sleep the rising fumes of wine, and probes in his disordered garments for a vital blow, but his ill-omened slumber flees from him at the near approach of death. Confused and half- awake he seizes his foe in his embrace, and she, as he holds her, straightway stabs through his side from, behind, till the point touches her own breast. There at last the crime had ending : his head falls back, but still with quivering eyes and murmur of endearing words he seeks for Gorge, nor looses his arms from her unworthy neck. I ^\^ll not now tell of the slaughter of the multitude, cruel as it was, but I will recall the woes of my own family : how I beheld thee, fair-haired Cydon, and thee, Crenaeus, with thy unshorn locks streaming o'er thy shoulders— my foster-brothers these, born of another sire — and brave Gyas, my betrothed, of whom I stood in awe, all fallen beneath the blow of bloodthirstv Myrmidone ; and how his savage mother pierced Epopeus as he played among the garlands and the couches, Lycaste, her weapon flung away, is weeping over Cydimus, her brother of equal years, gazing alas ! upon his doomed body, his face so like her own, the bloom upon his cheeks and that hair which she herself had decked in gold, when her cruel mother, her spouse already slain, stands over her, and threatening drives her to the deed, and thrusts the sword upon her. Like a wild beast, that under a soothing master has unlearnt its madness
19
STATIUS
tardius arma movet stimulisque et verbere crebro in mores negat ire suos, sic ilia iacenti incidit undantemque sinu conlapsa cruorem excipit et laceros premit in nova vulnera crines. 235 ut vero Alcimeden etiamnum in murmure truncos ferre patris vultus et egentem sanguinis ensem conspexi, riguere comae atque in viscera saevus horror iit : meus ille Thoas, mea dira videri dextra mihi ! extemplo thalamis turbata paternis 240 inferor, ille quidem dudum — quis magna tuenti somnus ? — agit versans secum, etsi lata recessit urbe domus, quinam strepitus, quae murmura nocti'^, cur fremibunda quies ? trepido scelus ordine pando, quis dolor, unde animi : ' vis nulla arcere furentes ; 245 hac sequere, o miserande ; premunt aderuntque mo-
ranti, et mecum fortasse cades.' his motus et artus erexit stratis. ferimur per devia vastae urbis et ingentem nocturnae caedis acervum passim, ut quosque sacris crudelis vespera lucis 250 straverat, occulta speculamur nube latentes. hie impressa toris ora exstantesque reclusis pectoribus capulos magnarum et fragmina trunca hastarum et ferro laceras per corpora vestes, crateras pronos epulasque in caede natantes 255
cernere erat, iugulisque modo torrentis apertis sanguine permixto redeuntem in pocula Bacchum. hie iuvenum manus et nullis violabilis armis 20
THEBAID, V. 232-258
and is slow to make attack, and in spite of goadings and many a blow refuses to assume its native temper, so she falls upon him as he lies, and sinking down gatliers the welling blood in her bosom, and staunclies the fresh wounds with her torn tresses. But when I beheld Alcimede carry her father's head still murmuring and his bloodless sword, my hair stood erect and fierce shuddering horror swept through my frame ; that was my Thoas, methought, and that my own dread hand ! Straightway in agony I rush to my father's chamber. He indeed long while had pondered — what sleep for him whose charge is great } — although our spacious home lay apart from the city, what was the uproar, what the noises of the night, why the hours of rest were clamorous. I tell a confused story of the crime, what was their grievance, whence their passionate wrath. ' No force can stop their frenzy ; follow this way, unhappy one ; they are pursuing, and ^^ill be on us if we linger, and perchance we shall fall together.' Alarmed by my words he sprang up from the couch. We hurry through devious paths of the vast city, and, shrouded in a covering of mist, everywhere behold great heaps of nocturnal carnage, wheresoe'er throughout the sacred groves the cruel darkness had laid them low. Here could one see faces pressed down upon the couches, and sword- hilts projecting from breasts laid open, broken fragments of great spears and bodies with raiment gashed and torn, mixing-bowls upset and banquets floating in gore, and mingled wine and blood stream- ing back like a torrent to the goblets from gaping throats. Here are a band of youths, and there old men whom no violence should profane, and children
21
STATIUS
turba senes, positique patrum super ora gementum semincccs pueri trepidas in limitie vitae 260
singultant animas. gelida non saevius Ossa luxuriant Lapitharuni epulae, si quando profundo Nubigenae caluere mero ; vix primus ab ira pallor, et impulsis surgunt ad proelia mensis.
Tunc primum sese trepidis sub nocte Thyoneus 265 detexit, nato portans extrema Thoanti subsidia, et multa subitus cum luce refulsit. adgnovi : non ille quidem turgentia sertis tempora nee flava crinem destrinxerat uva : nubilus indignumque oculis liquentibus imbrem 270 adloquitur : " dum fata dabant tibi, nate, potentem Lemnon et externis etiam servare timendam gentibus, baud umquam iusto mea cura labori destitit : absciderunt tristes crudelia Parcae stamina, nee dictis, supplex quae plurima fudi 275 ante lovem frustra, lacrimisque avertere luctus contigit ; infandum natae concessit honorem. adcelerate fugam, tuque, o mea digna propago, hac rege, virgo, patrem, gemini qua bracchia muri litus eunt : ilia, qua rere^ silentia, porta 280
stat funesta Venus ferroque accincta furentes adiuvat — unde manus, unde haec Mavortia divae pectora ? — : tu lato patrem committe profundo. succedam curis." ita fatus in aera rursus solvitur et nostrum, visus arcentibus umbris, 285
mitis iter longae claravit limite flammae. ^ rere P : rara w.
" The Centaurs ; the epithet is sometimes explained by regarding them as a personification of mountain-torrents ; cf. Theb. i. 365.
22
THEBAID, V. 259-286
half-slain flung o'er the faces of their moaning parents and gasping out their trembling souls on the threshold of life. No fiercer are the banquet- revellings of the Lapithae on frozen Ossa, when the cloud-born ones " grow hot with wine deep-drained ; scarce has wrath's first pallor seized them, when overthrowing their tables they start up to the affray. " Then first Thyoneus ^ beneath night's cover revealed himself to us in our distress, succouring his son Thoas in his hour of need, and shone in a sudden blaze of light. I knew him : yet he had bound no chaplets round his swelling temples, nor yellow grapes about his hair : but a cloud was upon him, and his eyes streamed angry rain as he addressed us : ' While the fates granted thee, my son, to keep Lemnos mighty and feared still by foreign peoples, never failed I to aid thy righteous labours ; the stern Parcae have cut short the relentless threads, nor have my prayers and tears, poured forth in vain supplication before Jove, availed to turn away this woe ; to his daughter hath he granted honour unspeakable.'^ Hasten ye then your flight, and thou,
0 maiden, worthy offspring of my race, guide thy sire this way where the wall's twin arms approach the sea ; at yonder gate, where thou thinkest all is quiet, stands Venus in fell mood and aids the furious ones ; — whence hath the goddess this violence, this heart of Mars ? Trust thou thy father to the broad deep :
1 will take thy cares upon me.' So speaking he faded into air again, and since the shadows barred our vision lit up our road with a long stream of fire,
" Bacchus.
* i.e., to Venus, to whom he has granted the awful privi- lege of destroying the Lemnians.
23
STATIUS
qua data signa, sequor ; dein curvo robore clausum dis pelagi Ventisque et Cycladas Aegaeoni amplexo commendo patrem, ncc fletibus umquam fit^ modus alternis, ni iam dimittat Eoo 290
Lucifer astra polo, tunc demum litore rauco multa metu reputans et vix confisa Lyaeo dividor, ipsa gradu nitente, sed anxia retro pectora, nee requies, quin et surgentia caelo flamina et e cunctis prospectem collibus undas. 295 exoritur pudibunda dies, caelumque retexens aversum Lemno iubar et declinia Titan opposita iuga nube refert. patuere furores nocturni, lucisque novae formidine cunctis, quamquam inter similes, subitus^ pudor ; impia terrae infodiunt scelera aut festinis ignibus urunt. 301
iam manus Eumenidum captasque refugerat arces exsaturata Venus ; licuit sentire, quid ausae, et turbare comas et lumina tingere fletu. insula dives agris opibusque armisque virisque, 305 nota situ et Getico nuper ditata triumpho, non maris incursu, non hoste, nee aethere laevo perdidit una omnes orbata excisaque fundo^ indigenas : non arva viri, non aequora vertunt, conticuere domus, cruor altus et oblita crasso 310 cuncta rubent tabo, magnaeque in moenibus urbis nos tantum et saevi spirant per culmina manes, ipsa quoque arcanis tecti in penetralibus alto molior igne pyram, sceptrum super armaque patris inicio et notas regum velamina vestes, 315
^ fit Pa; : sit Gronovius.
^ subitus Bentley : habitus Pw.
' fundo Bentley ( from a ms.) : mundo Pw.
24
THEBAID, V. 287-315
in kindly succour. I follow where the signal leads,
and anon entrust my sire, hidden in a vessel's
curving beams, to the gods of the sen and the winds
and Aegaeon who holds the Cyclades in his embrace ;
nor set we any limit to our mutual grief, were it not
that Lucifer is already chasing the stars from the
eastern pole. Then at last I leave the sounding
shore, in brooding fear and scarce trusting Lvaeus'
word, resolute in step but casting anxious thoughts
behind me ; nor rest I but must fain watch from
ever\' hill the breezes rising in heaven and the ocean
waves. Day rises shamefast, and Titan opening
heaven to view turns aside his beams from Lemnos
and hides his averted chariot behind the barrier of
a cloud. Night's frenzied deeds lay manifest, and
to all the new terrors of the day brought sudden
shame, though all had share therein ; thev bury in
the earth their impious crimes or burn with hurried
fires. And now the Fury band and ^'enus sated to
the full had fled the stricken city ; now could the
women know what they had dared, now rend their
hair and bedew their eyes with tears. This island,
blest in lands and wealth, in arms and heroes,
famed for its site and enriched of late by a Getic
triumph, has lost, not by onslaught of the sea or of
the foe or by stroke of heaven, all her folk together,
bereft and ravaged to the uttermost. No men are
left to plough the fields or cleave the waves, silent
are the homes, swimming deep in blood and stained
red v\ith clotted gore : we alone remain in that
great city, we and the ghosts that fiercely hiss about
our rooftops. I, too, in the inner courtyard of my
house build high a flaming pile and cast thereon my
father's sceptre and arms and well-known royal
25
STATIUS
ac prope macsta rogum confusis ignibus adsto ense cruentato, fraudenique et inania busta plango metu, si forte premant, cassumque parent! omen et hac dubios Icti precor ire timores. his niihi pro nieritis, ut falsi criminis astu 320
parta fides, regna^ et solio considere patris — supplicium ! — datur. anne illis obsessa negarem ? accessi, saepe ante decs testata fidemque immeritasque manus ; subeo — pro dira potestas ! — exsangue imperium et maestam sine culmine Lemnon. iam magis atque magis vigiles dolor angere sensus, et gemitus clari, et paulatim invisa Polyxo, 327
iam meminisse nefas, iam ponere manibus aras concessum et multum cineres iurare sepultos. sic ubi ductorem trepidae stabulique maritum, 330 quem penes et saltus et adultae gloria gentis, Massylo frangi stupuere sub hoste iuvencae, it truncum sine honore pecus, regemque peremptuni ipse ager, ipsi amnes et muta armenta queruntur,
Ecce autem aerata dispellens aequora prora 335 Pelias intacti late subit hospita ponti pinus ; agunt Minyae, geminus fragor ardua canet per latera, abruptam credas radicibus ire Ortygiam aut fraetum pelago decurrere montem. ast ubi suspensis siluerunt aequora tonsis, 340
mitior et senibus cygnis et pectine Phoebi
^ regna P : regno a;.
« She weeps from fear lest they suspect the fraud, and prays that it may not be an evil omen to her father, and that she may escape death.
'' i.e., a lion, often called Massylian, i.e., African.
^26
THEBAID, V. 316-341
raiment, and sadly do I stand by the blazing welter of the pyre with blood-stained sword, and lament the feigned deed and empty funeral in fear, should they perehanee accuse me, and pray that the omen may be void of harm towards my sire and that so my doubting fears of death may come to nought." For these deserts — since the ruse of my pretended crime wins credence — the throne and kingdom of my father are given me — punishment indeed I Was I to deny their urgent pressure ? I submitted, having oft called heaven to ■v^^itness my innocence and to give protection ; I succeed — ah I ghastly sovereignty — to power's pale image and to a Lemnos sad without its chief. And now ever more and more do they writhe in wakeful anguish, now openly lament, and little by little grow to hate Polyxo ; now is it permitted to remember the crime, and to set altars to the dead and adjure with many prayers their buried ashes. Even so when the frightened heifers behold in horror their leader and sire of the stall, to whom belonged the pastures and the glory of the grown herd, lying mangled beneath the Massylian foe,* leaderless and dejected goes the herd, and the ver}' fields and rivers with the mute cattle mourn the monarch slain.
'• But lo ! dividing the waters with brazen prow the Pelian pinewood bark draws nigh, stranger to that wide unadventured sea : the Minyae are her crew ; the twofold splashing wave runs white along her towering sides : one would think Ortygia moved uprooted or a sundered mountain sailed upon the deep. But when the oars stayed poised in air and the waters fell silent, there came from the vessel's midst a voice sweeter than dying swans or quill of
27
STATIUS
vox media de puppe venit, maria ipsa carinae accedunt. post nosse datum est : Oeagrius illic acclinis malo mediis intersonat Orpheus remigiis tantosque iubet nescire labores. 345
illis in Scytliicum Borean iter oraque primi Cyaneis artata maris, nos Thracia visu bella ratae vario tecta incursare tumultu, densarum pecudum aut fugientum more volucrum. heu ubi nunc furiae ? portus amplexaque litus 350 moenia, qua longe pelago despectus aperto, scandimus et celsas turres ; hue saxa sudesque armaque maesta virum atque infectos caedibus enses subvectant trepidae ; quin et squalentia texta thoracum et voltu galeas intrare soluto 355
non pudet ; audaces rubuit mirata catervas Pallas, et averso risit Gradivus in Haemo. tunc primum ex animis praeceps amentia cessit, nee ratis ilia salo, sed divum sera per aequor iustitia et poenae scelerum adventare videntur. 360 iamque aberant terris, quantum Cortynia currunt spicula, caeruleo gravidam cum luppiter imbri ipsa super nubem ratis arm amenta Pelasgae sistit agens ; inde horror aquis, et raptus ab omni sole dies miscet tenebras, quis protinus unda 30.1
concolor ; obnixi lacerant cava nubila venti diripiuntque fretum, nigris redit umida tellus verticibus, totumque notis certantibus^ aequor pendet et arquato iamiam prope sidera dorso frangitur, incertae nee iam prior impetus alno, 370
^ certantibus P : portantibus w, v. i. 293.
" Cretan, i.e., arrows, for which Crete was famous.
^ This phrase can be explained by inversion, " all the sunlight taken from the day," or by translating " dies " as " light " (c/. 421), with hypallage of " omni."
28
37# THEBAID, V. 342-270
Phoebus, and the seas themselves drew nigh the ship. Thereafter did we learn 'twas Orpheus, son of Oeagrus, who leaning against the mast sang thus amid the rowers and bade them know such toils no more. Towards Scythian Boreas were they voyaging and the mouth of the unattempted sea that the Cyanean rocks hold fast. We at the sight of them deemed them Thracian foes, and ran to our homes in wild confusion like crowding cattle or fluttering birds. Alas ! where now is our frenzied rage .' We man the harbour and the shore-embracing walls, which give a far \iew over the open sea, and the lofty towers ; hither in excited haste they bring stones and stakes and the arms that mourn their lords, and swords stained with slaughter ; nay, it shames them not to don stiff woven corselets and to fit helms about their wanton faces ; Pallas blushed and marvelled at their bold array, and Gradivus laughed on the far slopes of Haemus. Then first did our headlong madness leave our minds, nor seemed it a mere ship on the salt sea, but the gods' late-coming justice and vengeance for our crimes that drew nigh o'er the deep. And already were they distant from the land the range of a Gortynian" shaft, when Jupiter brought a cloud laden with dark rain and set it over the very^ rigging of the Pelasgian ship ; then the waters shudder, all its light is stolen from the sun ^ and the gloom thickens, and the wave straightway takes the colour of the gloom ; warring winds tear the hollow clouds and rend the deep, the wet sand surges up in the black eddies, and the whole sea hangs poised between the conflict of the winds, and with arching ridge now all but touching the stars falls shattered ; nor has the bewildered
29
STATIUS
sed labat exstantem rostris modo gurgite in imo, nunc caelo Tritona ferens. nee roboi-a prosunt semideiim heroum, puppemque insana flagellat arbor et instabili procumbens pondere eurvas raptat aquas, remique cadunt in pectus inanes. 375 nos quoque per rupes murorumque aggere ab omni, dum labor ille wis fretaque indignantur et austros, desuper invalidis fluitantia tela lacertis — - quid non ausa manus ? — Telamona et Pelea contra spargimus, et nostro petitur Tirynthius arcu. 380
illi — quippe simul bello pelagoque laborant — pai-s clipeis munire ratem, pars aequora fundo egerere ; asfc alii pugnant, sed inertia motu corpora, suspensaeque carent conamine vires, instamus iactu telorum, et ferrea nimbis 385
certat hiemps, vastaeque sudes fractique molares spiculaque et multa crinitum missile flamma nunc pelago, nunc puppe cadunt, dat operta fragorem pinus, et abiunctis regemunt tabulata cavernis. talis Hyperborea viridis nive verberat agros 390
luppiter ; obruitur campis genus omne ferarum, deprensaeque cadunt volucres, et messis amaro strata gelu, fragor inde iugis, inde amnibus irae. ut vero elisit nubes love tortus ab alto ignis et ingentes patuere in fulmine nautae, 395
deriguere animi, manibusque horrore remissis arma aliena cadunt, rediit in pectora sexus.
" For this meaning of " flagello " cf. ill. 36, x. 169. * i.e., so that they act as a sort of bulwark.
30
THEBAID, V. 371-397
vessel its former motion, but pitches to and fro, with the Triton on its bows now projecting from the waters' depths, now borne aloft in air. Nor aught avails the might of the heroes half-divine, but the demented mast makes the vessel rock and sway," and falling forward ^vith overbalancing weight smites upon the arching waves, and the oars drop fruitlessly on the rowers' chests. We, too, from rocks and every walled rampart, while they thus toil and rage against the seas and the southern blasts, with weak arms shower down wavering missiles — what deed did we not dare ? — on Telamon and Peleus, and even on the Tirynthian we bend our bow. But they, hard pressed both by storm and foe, fortify, some of them, the ship with shields,'' others bale water from the hold ; others fight, but the motion makes their bodies helpless, and there is no force behind their reehng blows. We hurl our darts more fiercely, and the iron rain \ies -vsith the tempest, and enormous stakes and fragments of millstones and javehns and missiles trailing tresses of flame fall now into the sea, now on the vessel : the decking of the bark resounds and the beams groan as the gaping holes are torn. Even so does Jupiter lash the green fields ^^ith Hj'perborean snow ; beasts of all kinds perish on the plains, and birds are overtaken and fall dead, and the harvest is blasted with untimely frost ; then is there thundering on the heights, and fury in the rivers. But when from on high Jove flung his brand with shock of cloud on cloud, and the flash revealed the mariners' mighty forms, our hearts were frozen fast, our arms dropped shuddering and let fall the unnatural weapons, and our true sex once more held sway. We behold the
31
STATIUS
cernimus Aeacidas murisque immane minantem Ancaeum et longa pellentem cuspide rupes Iphiton ; attonito manifestus in agmine supra est 400 Amphitryoniades puppemque alternus utrimque ingravat et medias ardet descendere in undas. at levis et miserae nondum mihi notus lason transtra per et remos impressaque terga vironim nunc magnum Oeniden, nunc ille hortatibus Idan 405 et Talaum et cana rorantem aspargine ponti Tyndariden iterans gelidique in nube parentis vela laborantem^ Calain subnectere malo voce manuque rogat ; quatiunt impulsibus illi nunc freta, nunc muros, sed nee spumantia cedunt 410 aequora, et incussae redeunt a turribus hastae. ipse graves fluctus clavumque audire negantem lassat agens Tiphys palletque et plurima mutat imperia ac laevas dextrasque obtorquet in undas proram navifragis avidam concurrere saxis, 415
donee ab extremae cuneo ratis Aesone natus Palladios oleae, Mopsi gestamina, ramos extulit et socium turba prohibente poposcit foedera ; praecipites vocem involvere procellae. tunc modus armorum, pariterque exhausta quierunt flamina, confusoque dies respexit Olympo. 421
quinquaginta illi, trabibus de more revinctis, eminus abrupto quatiunt nova litora saltu, magnorum decora alta patrum, iam fronte sereni noscendique habitUjpostquamtumor^iraquecessit 425
^ laborantem Pw : laboranti Bentley. ^ tumor Bentley : timor Pu.
" i.e.. Castor or Pollux. * i.e., Boreas.
" Apparently a reminiscence of Aen. vi. init.
32
THEBAID, V. 398-425
sons of Aeacus, and Ancaeus threatening mightily our walls, and Iphitus with long spear warding off the rocks ; clear to \'iew among the desperate band the son of Amphitryon outtops them all, and alternately on either hand weighs down the ship and burns to leap into the midst of the waves. But Jason — not yet did I know him to my cost — leaping nimbly over benches and oars and treading the backs of heroes, calls now on great Oenides, now on Idas and Talaus, now on the son of Tyndareus" dripping with the white spume of the sea, and Calais stri\ing aloft in the clouds of his frosty sire ^ to fasten the sails to the mast, and with voice and gesture again and again encourages them. With vigorous strokes they lash the sea and shake the walls, but none the more do the foaming waters yield, and the flung spears rebound from our towers. Tiphys himself wearies by his labours the hea\y billows and the tiller that will not hear him, and pale with anxiety oft changes his commands, and turns right- and leftward from the land the prow that would fain dash itself to shipwreck on the rocks, until from the vessel's tapering bows the son of Aeson holds forth the ohve-branch of Pallas that Mopsus bore, and though the tumult of his comrades would prevent him, asks for peace ; his words were swept away by the headlong gale. Then came there a truce to arms, and the tempest hkewise sank to rest, and day looked forth once more from the turbid heaven. Then those fifty heroes, their vessels duly moored," as they leap from the sheer height shake the stranger shores, tall comely sons of glorious sires, serene of brow and known by their bearings, now that the swelhng rage has left their countenances. Even so
VOL. II D 33
STATIUS
vultibus. arcana sic fama erumpere porta caelicolas, si quando domos litusque rubentum Aethiopum et mensas amor est intrare^ minores ; dant Fluvii Montesque locum, turn Terra superbit gressibus et paulum respirat caelifer Atlans. 430
Hie et ab adserto nuper Marathone superbum Thesea et Ismarios, Aquilonia pignora, fratres, utraque quis rutila stridebant tempora pinna, cernimus, hie Phoebo non indignante priorem Admetum et durae similem nihil Orphea Thracae, 435 tunc prolem Calydone satam generumque profundi Nereos. ambiguo visus errore lacessunt Oebalidae gemini ; chlamys huic, chlamys ardet et illi, ambo hastile gerunt, umeros exsertus uterque, nudus uterque genas, simili coma fulgurat astro. 440 audet iter magnique sequens vestigia mutat Herculis et tarda quamvis se mole ferentem vix cursu tener aequat Hylas Lernaeaque tollens arma sub ingenti gaudet sudare pharetra.
Ergo iterum Venus et tacitis corda aspera flammis Lemniadum pertemptat Amor, tunc regia luno 446 arma habitusque virum pulchraeque insignia gentis mentibus insinuat, certatimque ordine cunctae hospitibus patuere fores ; tunc primus in aris ignis, et infandis venere oblivia curis ; 450
tunc epulae felixque sopor noctesque quietae,
^ intrare Pw : iterare Schroder, cf. Lactantius frequenter epulatur Jupiter . . . frequenter eos revisunt.
" Homer describes the gods as visiting the Aethiopians and banqueting with them (//. i. 423).
* One of the exploits of Tlieseus was to slay a wild bull that ravaged the fields of Marathon.
' i.e., Thracian, Northern, sons of the north wind.
34
THEBAID, V. 426^51
the denizens of heaven are said to burst forth from their mystic portals, when they desire to lasit the homes and the coast and the lesser banquet of the red Aethiopians " : rivers and mountains yield them passage, Earth exults beneath their footsteps and Atlas knows a brief respite from the burden of the sky.
" Here we behold Theseus, lately come in triumph from setting Marathon free,* and the Ismarian " brethren, pledges of the North Wind's love, with red >A-ing-feathers whirring loud on either temple ; here, too, Admetus, whom Phoebus was content to serve, and Orpheus, in nought resembling barbarous Thrace ; then Calydon's offspring and the son-in-law of watery Nereus. The twin Oebalidae ^ bewilder our vision ^vith puzzling error : each wears a bright red mantle and wields a spear, bare are the shoulders of each and their faces yet unbearded, their locks are aglow with the same starry radiance. Young Hylas bravely marching follows great Hercules stride for stride, scarce equalling his pace, slow- though he bear his mighty bulk, and rejoices to carry the Lemaean arms and to sweat beneath the huge quiver.
"So once more \'enus and Love try with their secret fires the fierce hearts of the Lemnian women. Then royal Juno instils into their minds the image of the heroes' arms and raiment, and their signs of noble race, and all fling open their doors in emulous welcome to the strangers. Then first were fires lit on the altars, and unspeakable cares were forgotten, then came feasting and happy sleep and tranquil
'' Castor and Pollux ; Oebalus was their grandfather, a king of Sparta.
35
STATIUS
nee superum sine mente, reor, placuere fatentes. forsitan et nostrae fatum excusabile culpae noscere cura, duces, cineres furiasque meorum testor : ut externas non sponte aut crimine taedas 455 attigerim — scit cura deum — etsi blandus lason virginibus dare vincla novis : sua iura cruentum Phasin habent ; alios, Colchi, generatis amores. iamque exuta gelu tepuerunt sidera longis solibus, et velox in terga revolvitur annus. 460
iam nova progenies partusque in vota soluti, et non speratis clamatur Lemnos alumnis. nee non ipsa tamen thalami monimenta coacti enitor geminos, duroque sub hospite mater nomen avi renovo ; nee quae fortuna relictis 465
nosse datur, iam plena quater quinquennia pergunt, si modo fata sinunt aluitque rogata Lycaste.
Detumuere animi- maris, et clementior Auster vela vocat : ratis ipsa moram portusque quietos odit et adversi^ tendit retinacula saxi. 470
inde fugam Minyae, sociosque appellat lason efFerus, o utinam iam tunc mea litora rectis praetervectus aquis, cui non sua pignora cordi, non promissa fides ; certe stat fama remotis gentibus : aequorei redierunt vellera Phrixi. 475
ut stata lux pelago venturumque aethera sensit Tiphys et occidui rubuere cubilia Phoebi,
^ adversi P : adsueti w : asserti D. 36
THEBAID, V. 452-477
nights, nor without heaven's will, I ween, did they find favour, when they confessed their crime. My fault, too, my fated pardonable fault, perchance ye would hear, O chieftains : by the ashes and avenging furies of my people I swear, innocent and unwilling did I hght the torch of alien wedlock — as Heaven's Providence doth know — though Jason be wily to ensnare young maidens' hearts : laws of its own bind blood-stained Phasis, and you, ye Colchians, breed far different passions. And now the skies have broken through the bonds of frost and grow warm in the long sunlit days, and the swift year has wheeled round to the opposite pole. A new- progeny is brought to birth in answer to our prayers, and Lemnos is filled with the cries of babes un- hoped-for. I myself also bear twin sons, memorial of a ra\ished couch, and, made a mother by my rough guest, renew in the babe his grandsire's name ; nor may I know what fortune hath befallen since I left them, for now full twenty years are past, if the fates but suffer them to live and Lycaste reared them as I prayed her.
"The boisterous seas fell tranquil and a milder southern breeze invites the sails : the ship herself, hating to tarry in the quiet haven, strains with her hawsers at the resisting rock. Then would the Minyae fain begone, and cruel Jason summons his comrades — would he had ere that sailed past my shores, who recked not of his own children, nor of his sworn word ; truly his fame is known in distant lands : the fleece of seafaring Phrixus hath returned. When the destined sun had sunk beneath the sea and Tiphys felt the coming breeze and Phoebus' western couch blushed red, once more alas ! there
37
STATIUS
heu iterum gemitus, iterumque novissima nox est.
vix reserata dies, et iam rate celsus lason
ire iubet, primoque ferit dux verbere pontum. 480
illos e scopulis et sunimo vertice montis
spumea porrecti dirimentes terga profundi
prosequimur visu, donee lassavit euntes
lux oculos longumque polo contexere visa est
aequor et extremi pressit freta margine caeli. 485
Fama subit portus, vectum trans alta Thoanta fraterna regnare Chic, mihi crimina nulla, et vacuos arsisse rogos ; freniit impia plebes, sontibus accensae stimulis facinusque reposcunt. quin etiam occultae vulgo increbrescere voces : 490 " solane fida suis, nos autem in funera laetae^ ? non deus haec fatumque ? quid imperat urbe ne-
fanda ? " talibus exanimis dictis — et triste propinquat supplicium, nee regna iuvant — vaga litora furtim incomitata sequor funestaque moenia linquo, 495
qua fuga nota patris ; sed non iterum obvius Euhan, nam me praedonum manus hue adpulsa tacentem^ abripit et vestras famulam transmittit in oras."
Talia Lernaeis iterat dum regibus exsul Lemnias et longa solatur damna querella, 500
immemor absentis — ^sic di suasistis ! — alumni, ille graves oculos languentiaque ora comanti
^ laetae Pw : Garrod conj. nostra autem in funera laeta est ? " tacentem Pw : iacentem latentem edd. : licentum Oarrod.
" "euntes" expresses the "travelling" of the sight as it follows the ships out to sea.
" i.e., our deed was ordained by heaven and fate ; in dis- obeying them she is " nefanda."
88
THEBAID, V. 478-502
was lamentation, once more the last night of all. Scarce is the day begun, and already Jason high upon the poop gives the word for saiUng, and strikes as chieftain the first oar-stroke on the sea. From rocks and mountain height we follow them with our gaze as they cleave the foamy space of outspread ocean, until the hght wearied our roaming ** \'ision and seemed to interweave the distant waters with the sky, and made the sea one with heaven's extremest marge.
"A rumour goes about the harbour that Thoas has been carried o'er the deep and is reigning in his brother's isle of Chios, that I am innocent and the funeral pyre a mockery ; the impious mob clamours loud, maddened by the stings of guilt, and demands the crime I owe them. Moreover, secret murmurings arise and increase among the folk : ' Is she alone faithful to her kindred, while we rejoiced to slay ? Did not heaven and fate ordain the deed ? why then bears she rule in the city, the accursed one ? ' ^ Aghast at such words — for a cruel retribution draws nigh, nor does queenly pomp delight me — I wander alone in secret on the winding shore and leave the deadly walls by the road of my father's flight, well known to me ; but not a second time did Euhan meet me, for a band of pirates putting in to shore carried me speechless away and brought me to your land a slave."
While thus the Lenmian exile recounts her tale to the Lemaean princes and by a long plaint consoles her loss, forgetful — so ye gods constrained her ! — of her absent charge,*^ he, with hea\-y eyes and
' Le., Opheltes, the infant, cf. iv. 742, 787,
39
STATIUS
mergit humo, fessusque diu puerilibus actis labitur in somnos, prensa manus haeret in herba.
Interea campis, nemoris sacer horror Achaei, 505 terrigena exoritur serpens, tractuque soluto immanem sese vehit ac post terga relinquit. livida fax oculis, tumidi stat in ore veneni spuma virens, ter lingua vibrat, terna agmina adunci dentis, et auratae crudelis gloria fronti 510
prominet. Inachii^ sanctum dixere Tonanti agrieolae, cui cura loci et silvestribus aris pauper honos ; nunc ille dei circumdare templa orbe vago labens, miserae nunc robora silvae atterit et vastas tenuat complexibus ornos ; 515
saepe super fluvios geminae iacet aggere ripae continuus, squamisque incisus adaestuat amnis. sed nunc, Ogygii iussis quando omnis anhelat terra dei trepidaeque latent in pulvere Nymphae, saevior anfractu laterum sinuosa retorquens 520
terga solo siccique nocens furit igne veneni. stagna per arentesque lacus fontesque repressos volvitur et vacuis fluviorum in vallibus errat, incensusque siti^ liquiduni nunc aera lambit ore supinato, nunc arva gementia radens 525
pronus adhaeret humo, si quid viridantia sudent gramina ; percussae calidis adflatibus herbae, qua tulit ora, cadunt, moriturque ad sibila campus : quantus ab Arctois discriminat aethera plaustris Anguis et usque Notos alienumque exit in orbem ; 530
^ Inachii Mueller : Inachio Poj. ^ incensusque siti Schroder : incertusque sui Poj.
" i.e., Bacchus, patron deity of Thebes.
* I have adopted Schrader's emendation ; " incertusque sui " seems hardly to justify Klotz's explanation " mentis non compos," i.e., " in a fury."
40
THEBAID, V. 503-530
drooping head and wearied by his long childish play, sinks to slumber, deep buried in the luxuriant earth, while one hand holds the grass tight-clutched.
Meanwhile an earth-born serpent, the accursed terror of the Achaean grove, arises on the mead, and loosely dragging his huge bulk now bears it forward, now leaves it behind him. A li\id gleam is in his eyes, the green spume of foaming poison in his fangs, and a threefold quivering tongue, with three rows of hooked teeth, and a cruel blazonry rises high upon his gilded forehead. The Inachian countrymen held him sacred to the Thunderer, who has the guardian- ship of the place and the scant worship of the wood- land altars ; and now he glides with trailing coils about the shrines, now grinds the hapless forest oaks and crushes huge ash-trees in his embrace ; oft lies he in continuous length from bank to bank across the streams, and the river sundered by his scales swells high. But fiercer now, when all the land is panting at the command of the Ogygian god " and the Nymphs are hurrying to the hiding of their dusty beds, he twists his tortuous writhing frame upon the ground, and the fire of his parched venom fills him with a baneful rage. Over pools and arid lakes and stifled springs he winds his way, and wanders in the riverless valleys, and consumed by burning thirst * now flings back his head and laps the liquid air, now brushing o'er the groaning fields cleaves downward to the earth, should there be any sap or moisture in the grasses ; but the herbage falls stricken by his hot breath, whereso'er he turns his head, and the mead shrivels at the hissing of his jaws ; vast is he as the Snake that divides the pole from the Northern Wain and passes even unto the Southern winds and an
41
STATIUS
quantus et ille sacri spiris intorta movebat cornua Parnassi, donee tibi, Delie, fixus vexit harundineam centeno volnere silvam.
Quis tibi, parve, deus tarn magni pondera fati sorte dedit ? tune hoe vix prima ad limina vitae 535 lioste iaees ? an ut inde sacer per saeeula Grais gentibus et tanto dignus morerere sepulcro ? oeeidis extremae destrietiis verbere eaudae ignaro serpente puer, fugit ilicet artus somnus, et in solam patuerunt lumina mortem. 540 cum tamen attonito moriens vagitus in auras exeidit et ruptis immutuit ore querellis, qualia non totas peragunt insomnia voces, audiit Hypsipyle, facilemque negantia eursum exanimis genua aegra rapit ; iam certa malorum 545 mentis ab augurio sparsoque per omnia visu lustrat humum quaerens et nota vocabula parvo nequiquam ingeminans : nusquam ille, et prata re-
centes amisere notas. viridi piger aeeubat hostis coUectus gyro spatiosaque iugera complet, 550
sic etiam obliqua cervicem expostus in alvo. horruit infelix visu longoque profundum ineendit elamore nemus ; nee territus ille, sed iaeet. Argolicas ululatus flebilis aures impulit ; extemplo monitu ducis advolat ardens 555 Areas eques causamque refert. tunc squamea demum torvus ad armorum radios fremitumque virorum eolla movet : rapit ingenti conamine saxum,
" He means the snake (Draco) that winds between the two Bears {cf. Virg. G. i. 244), but his expression is difficult ; nor does Draco go anywhere near the southern hemisjiherc-
42
I
THEBAID, V. 531-558
alien sky," or as he that shook the horns of sacred Parnassus, twining his coils among them, until pierced by a hundred wounds he bore, O Delian, a forest of thy arrows.*
What god appointed for thee, little one, the burden of so dire a fate ? Scarce on thy life's earliest tlireshold, art thou slain by such a foe ? Was it that thus thou mightest be sacred for ever to the peoples of Greece and dying merit so glorious a burial ? Thou diest, O babe, struck by the end of the un- witting serpent's tail, and straightway the sleep left thy limbs and thine eyes opened but to death alone. But when thy frightened dying wail rose upon the air and the broken cry fell silent on thy lips, like the half-finished accents of a dream, Hypsipyle heard it and sped with faint and failing limbs and stumbling gait ; her mind forebodes sure disaster, and with gaze turned to every quarter she scans the ground in search, vainly repeating words the babe would know ; but he is nowhere, and the recent tracks are vanished from the meadows. Gathered in a green circle lies the sluggish foe and fills many an acre round, so lies he with his head slantwise on his bellv. Struck with horror at the sight the unhappy woman roused the forest's depths with shriek on shriek; yet still he lies unmoved. Her sorrowful wail reached the Argives' ears : forthwith the Arcadian knight " at his chief's word flies thither in eager haste and reports the cause. Then at last, at the glint of armour and the shouting of the men he rears his scaly neck in wTath : with a vast effort tall Hippo-
though Statius may have been thinking of either Hydra or
Serpens, which do, and confused them somehow with Draco.
" Python, slain by Apollo at Delphi. ' Parthenopaeus.
43
STATIUS
quo discretus ager, vacuasque impellit in auras arduus Hippomedon, quo turbine bellica quondam 560 librati saliunt portarum in claustra molares. cassa ducis virtus : iam mollia colla refusus in tergum serpens venientem evaserat'^ ictum. dat sonitum tellus, nemorumque per avia densi dissultant nexus. " at non mea vulnera " clamat 565 et trabe fraxinea Capaneus subit obvius " umquam effugies, seu tu pavidi ferus incola luci, sive deis, utinamque deis, concessa voluptas, non, si consertum super haec mihi membra Giganta subveheres." volat hasta tremens et hiantia monstri ora subit linguaeque seeat fera vincla trisulcae, 571 perque iubas stantes capitisque insigne corusci emicat, et nigri sanie perfusa cerebri figitur alta^ solo, longus vix tota peregit^ membra dolor, rapido celer ille volumine telum 575 circuit avulsumque ferens in opaca refugit templa dei ; hie magno tellurem pondere mensus implorantem animam dominis adsibilat aris. ilium et cognatae stagna indignantia Lernae, floribus et vernis adsuetae spargere Nymphae, 580 et Nemees reptatus ager, lucosque per omnis silvicolae fracta gemuistis harundine, Fauni. ipse etiam e summa iam tela poposcerat aethra luppiter, et dudum nimbique hiemesque coibant,
^ evaserat Barth {from a ifs.), Baehrens : exhauserat Pu. ^ alta w : hasta P : acta Heinsius. ' peregit Pw : peredit Lachmann.
" Statius loses no opportunity of emphasizing Capaneus's hostlHtj' to the gods.
* The Giants were said to have snakes for legs, cf. Ov. F. 44
THEBAID, V. 559-684
medon seizes a stone, the boundary mark of a field, and hurls it through the empty air ; ^^ith such a whirlwind do the poised boulders fly forth against the barred gates in time of war. \'ain was the chief- tain's might, in a moment had the snake bent back his supple neck and foiled the coming blow. The earth re-echoes and in the pathless woods the close- knit boughs are rent and torn. " But never shalt thou escape my stroke," cries Capaneus, and makes for him with an ashen spear, "whether thou be the savage inmate of the trembling grove, or a delight granted to the gods — ay, would it were to the gods ! " — never even if thou broughtest a Giant to battle with me upon those limbs.^ " The quiver- ing spear flies, and enters the monster's gaping mouth and cleaves the rough fastenings of the triple tongue, then through the upright crest and the adornment of his darting head it issues forth, and fouled with the brain's black gore sinks deep into the soil. Scarce has the pain run the length of his whole frame, with lightning speed he twines his coils around the weapon, and tears it out and carries it to his lair in the dark temple of the god ; there measur- ing his mighty bulk along the ground he gasps and hisses out his life at his patron's shrine. Him did the sorrowing marsh of kindred Lerna mourn, and the N}'mphs who were wont to strew him with vernal flowers, and Nemea's fields whereon he crawled ; ye too, ye woodland Fauns, bewailed him in every grove with broken reeds. Jupiter himself had already called for his weapons from the height of air, and long had clouds and storms been gathering, had not
V. 37 " mille manus illis dedit et pro cruribus angues." Or •' super haec membra " may be " over these (slain) limbs."
45
STATIUS
ni minor ira deo gravioraque tela mereri 585
servatus Capaneus ; moti tamen aura cucurrit fulminis et summas libavit vertice cristas.
lamque pererratis infelix Lemnia campis, liber ut angue locus, modico super aggere longe pallida sanguineis infectas roribus herbas 590
prospicit. hue magno cursum rapit efFera luctu agnoscitque nefas, terraeque inlisa nocenti fulminis in morem non verba in funere primo, non lacrimas habet : ingeminat misera oscula tantum incumbens animaeque fugam per membra tepentem quaerit hians. non ora loco, non pectora restant, 596 rapta cutis, tenuia ossa patent nexusque madentes sanguinis imbre novi, totumque in vulnere corpus, ac velut aligerae sedem fetusque parentis cum piger umbrosa populatus in ilice serpens, 600 ilia redit querulaeque domus mirata quietem iam stupet^ impendens advectosque horrida maesto excutit ore cibos, cum solus in arbore paret sanguis et errantes per capta cubilia plumae.
Ut laceros artus gremio miseranda recepit 605
intexitque comis, tandem laxata dolori^ vox invenit iter, gemitusque in verba soluti : " o mihi desertae natorum dulcis imago, Archemore, o rerum et patriae solamen ademptae servitiique decus, qui te, mea gaudia, sontes 610
exstinxere dei, modo quern digressa reliqui lascivum et prono vexantem gramina cursu ? heu ubi siderei vultus ? ubi verba ligatis
^ iam stupet P : stat super w. ^ dolori Bentley, Heinsius : dolore Pw. 46
THEBAID, V. 585-613
the god allayed his wrath and Capaneus been pre- served to merit a direr punishment ; yet the wind of the stirred thunderbolt sped and swayed the summit of his crested helm.
And now the unhappy Lemnian, wandering o'er the fields when the place was rid of the serpent, grows pale to behold on a low mound afar the herbage stained with streams of blood. Thither frantic in her grief she hastens, and recognizing the horror falls as though lightning-struck on the offend- ing earth, nor in the first shock of ruin can find speech or tears to shed ; she only bends and showers despairing kisses, and breathlessly searches the yet warm limbs for traces of the vanished life. Nor face nor breast remain, the skin is torn away and the frail bones are exposed to view, and the sinews are drenched in fresh streams of blood : the whole body is one wound. Even as when in a shady ilex-tree a lazy serpent has ravaged the home and brood of a mother bird, she, returning, marvels at the quiet of her clamorous abode, and hovers aghast, and in wild dismay drops from her mouth the food she brings, for there is nought but blood on the tree and feathers shed about the plundered nest.
When, poor woman, she had gathered the mangled limbs to her bosom and covered them in her tresses, at length her voice released gave passage to her grief and her moans melted into words : " Archemorus, sweet image of my babes in my lonely plight, solace of my woes and exile, and pride of my thraldom, what guilty gods have slain thee, O my joy, whom, when I lately parted from thee, I left froUcking and crushing the grasses in thy crawl ? Alas, where is that star-bright face } Where are thy half-formed
4.7
STATIUS
imperfecta sonis risusque et murmura soli intellecta mihi ? quotiens tibi Lemnon et Argo^ 615 sueta loqui et longa somnum suadere querella ! sic equidem luctus solabar et ubera parvo iam materna dabam, cui nunc venit inritus orbae lactis et infelix in vulnera liquitur imber. nosco deos : o dura mei praesagia somni 620
nocturnique metus, et numquam impune per umbras attonitae mihi visa Venus ! quos arguo divos ? ipsa ego te — quid enim timeam moritura fateri ? — exposui fatis. quae mentem insania traxit ? tantane me tantae tenuere oblivia curae ? 625
dum patrios casus famaeque exorsa retracto ambitiosa meae — pietas haec magna fidesque ! — exsolvi tibi, Lemne, nefas ; ubi letifer anguis, ferte, duces, meriti si qua est mihi gratia duri, si quis honos dictis, aut vos exstinguite ferro, 630 ne tristes dominos orbamque inimica revisam Eurydicen, quamquam baud ilU mea cura dolendo cesserit. hocne ferens onus inlaetabile matris transfundam gremio ? quae me prius ima sub umbras mergat humus ? " simul haec terraque et sanguine voltum 635
sordida magnorum circa vestigia regum vertitur, et tacite maerentibus imputat undas.
Et iam sacrifici subitus per tecta Lycurgi nuntius implerat lacrimis ipsumque domumque, ipsum adventantem Persei vertice sancto 640
^ Argo Gronovius : Argos Pw.
" Eurydice, wife of Lycurgus, was the mother of the babe Opheltes, whom Hypsipyle had been nursing.
* i.e., blames them for the disaster, of which the stream was the cause, by separating her from the babe.
48
THEBAID, V. 614-640
words and tongue-tied utterance, those smiles, and mutterings that I alone could understand ? How often used I to talk to thee of Lemnos and the Argo, and with my long sad tale soothe thee to sleeping ! For so indeed did I console my griefs, and gave the babe a mother's breasts, where now in my bereavement the milk flows in vain and falls in barren drops upon thy wounds. 'Tis the gods' work, I see : O cruel presage of my dreams and nightly terrors ! ah ! Venus, who never appeared in the darkness to my startled vision but ill befell ! But why do I blame the gods ? Myself I exposed thee to thy fate — for why should I fear to confess, so soon to die ? What madness carried me away ? Could I so utterly forget a charge so dear ? While I recount the fortunes of my country and the boastful prelude of my own renown — what true devotion, what loyalty ! — I have paid thee, Lemnos, the crime I owed. Take me then, ye princes, to the deadly snake, if ye have any gratitude for the service that has cost so dear, or any respect to my words ; or slay me yourselves with the sword, lest I see again my sorrowing masters and bereaved Eurydice,now made my foe" — although my grief comes not short of hers. Am I to carry this hapless burden and cast it on a mother's lap ? nay, what earth may sooner engulf me in its deepest shades ? " Thereupon, her face befouled with dust and gore, she turns to follow the mighty chieftains, and secretly as they grieve lays the waters to their charge.*
And now the news, sweeping sudden through the palace of devout Lycurgus, had brought full measure of tears to himself and all his house— himself, as he drew nigh from the sacred summit of Perseus' moun-
voL. II E 49
STATIUS
montis, ubi averse dederat prosecta Tonanti, et caput iratis rediens quassabat ab extis. hie sese Argolicis immunem servat ab armis baud animi vaeuus, sed templa araeque tenebant. needum etiam responsa deum monitusque vetusti 645 exciderant voxque ex adytis accepta profundis : " prima, Lycurge, dabis Dircaeo funera bello." id cavet, et maestus vicini pulvere Martis angitur ad lituos periturisque invidet armis.
Ecce — fides superum ! — laceras comitata Thoantis advehit exsequias, contra subit obvia mater, 651
femineos coetus plangentiaque agmina ducens. at non magnanimo pietas ignava Lycurgo : fortior ille malis, laerimasque insana resorbet ira patris, longo rapit arva morantia passu 655
vociferans : " ilia autem ubinam, cui parva cruoris laetave damna mei ? vivitne ? impellite raptam, ferte citi comites ; faxo omnis fabula Lemni et pater et tumidae generis mendacia sacri exciderint." ibat letumque inferre parabat 660
ense furens rapto ; venienti Oeneius heros impiger obiecta proturbat pectora parma, ac simul infrendens : " siste hunc, vesane, furor em, quisquis es ! " et pariter Capaneus acerque reducto adfuit Hippomedon rectoque Erymanthius ense, 665 ac iuvenem multo praestringunt lumine ; at inde
° Cf. iii. 460 ; apparently the same mountain is meant.
"> "prosecta," lit. that which is cut out for ofi'ering, i.e., the entrails.
" Tydeus. " Erymanthian," below = Arcadian, i.e., Par- thenopaeus. 50
THEBAID, V. 641-666
tain,** where he had offered sacrifice * to the angry Thunderer, and was shaking his head as he returned from the ill-omened entrails. Here he abides with- out share in the Argolic war, not lacking in courage, but the temples and the altars kept him back ; nor had the gods' response and ancient warning yet faded from his mind, nor the words received from the innermost shrine : " In the Dircaean war, Lycurgus, the first death shall be thine to give." Of that he is afraid, and, saddened by the dust of neighbouring armies, he is tortured at the trumpets' sound, and envies the doomed hosts.
But lo ! — so the gods keep faith I — the daughter of Thoas accompanies the mangled infant's funeral train, and his mother comes to meet her, leading a band of women and troops of mourners. But not sluggish was the devotion of great-souled Lycurgus : grief emboldened him, the father's mad rage thrust back the tears, and with long strides he covers the fields that stay his wTath, and cries aloud : " Where now is she, who recks little or is glad of the shedding of my blood ? Lives she ? Then seize her, comrades, and bring her speedily ! I will make her insolence forget all her tale of Lemnos and her father and her lies about a race di\ine ! " He advanced and pre- pared to deal the death-blow, his sword dra\vn in rage ; but as he came, the Oeneian hero," quick to act, thrust his shield against his breast and barred the way, with stem rebuke : " Abate thy fury, madman, whoe'er thou art ! " and Capaneus likewise and brave Hippomedon, with sword drawn back, and the Erymanthian, with levelled blade, were there to succour, and the prince is dazzled by their flashing swords : but on the other side the rustic bands
51
STATIUS
agrestum pro rege manus. quos inter Adrastus mitius et sociae veritus commercia vittae^ Amphiaraus ait : " ne, quaeso ! absistite ferro, unus avum sanguis, neve indulgete furori, 670
tuque prior." sed non sedato pectore Tydeus subicit : " anne dueem servatricemque cohortis Inachiae ingratis coram tot milibus ausus^ mactare in tumulos — quanti pro funeris ultor !— cui regnum genitorque Thoas et lucidus Euhan 675 stirpis avus ? timidone parum, quod gentibus actis undique in arma tuis inter rapida agmina pacem solus habes ? habeasque, et te victoria Graium inveniat tumulis etiamnum haec fata gementem."
Dixerat, et tandem cunctante modestior ira 680 ille refert : " equidem non vos ad moenia Thebes rebar, at^ hostiles hue advenisse catervas. pergite in exscidium, socii si tanta voluptas sanguinis, imbuite arma domi, atque haec inrita
dudum templa lovis — quid enim haud hcitum ? — ferat impius ignis, 685
si vilem, tanti premerent cum pectora luctus, in famulam ius esse ratus dominoque ducique. sed videt haec, videt ille deum regnator, et ausis sera quidem, manet ira tamen." sic fatus, et arces respicit. atque illic alio certamine belli 690
tecta fremunt ; volucres equitum praeverterat alas
1 vittae BQ2 : vitae PDNQ.
• ausus P : audes w : ausis Kohlmann.
» at Barth : et Pw.
■ Lycurgus had just been sacrificing, and would be wearing the fillets ; Amphiaraus as a soothsayer wore them habitually.
52
THEBAID, V. 667-691
protect their king. Between them Adrastus in gentler mood and Amphiaraus, fearing the strife of kindred fillets," cry : " Not so, I pray you, unhand the sword I Our sires are of one blood, give not vent to rage ! Thou first disarm I " But Tydeus, his spirit not assuaged, rejoins : " Daredst thou then slay upon the grave — and in revenge for what a death ! — * and before so many thankless thousands the guide and preserver of the Inachian host, who was once a queen, and has Thoas for her sire and shining Euhan for her ancestor ? Is it too little for thy cowardice that, when on all sides thy folk are speeding to war, thou alone keepest peace among the hurrying caval- cades ? Keep it then, and let the Grecian triumph find thee still groaning at this tomb."
He spoke, and the other, now more controlled as anger ebbed, replied : " Indeed I thought your troops were bound, not for the walls of Thebes, but hither with hostile intent. March on then to destroy, if kindred murder so delights you, flesh first your arms at home, ay, and let impious fire — what indeed is not la\\-ful ? — devour Jove's temple that but now I sought in vain, if I thought, oppressed by bitter grief, that I had power upon a worthless slave, who am her king and lord I '^ But the ruler of the gods beholds it, yea he beholds it, and his wrath, though late it fall, awaits your daring deeds." So speaking he looks back toward the city. And lo ! there another armed affray is raging from house to house ; recent Fame had outstripped the horsemen's
* Ironically spoken : it was only a babe's death.
' This too is ironical : let Jove's temple be destroyed, if he was so impious as to. think he had power over his own slave !
5S
STATIUS
Fama recens, geminos alis amplexa^ tumultus : illi ad fata rapi atque illi iani occumbere leto, sic meritam Hypsipylen iterant, creduntque, nee irae fit mora, iamque faces et tela penatibus instant, 695 vertere regna fremunt raptumque auferre Lycurgum cum love cumque aris ; resonant ululatibus aedes femineis, versusque dolor dat terga timori.
Alipedmn curru sed enim sublimis Adrastus secum ante ora virum fremibunda Thoantida portans it medius turmis, et " parcite, parcite ! " clamat, 701 " nil actum saeve, meritus nee tale Lycurgus excidium, gratique inventrix fluminis ecce ^ ! " sic ubi diversis maria evertere procellis hinc Boreas Eurusque, illinc niger imbribus Auster, pulsa dies regnantque hiemes, venit aequoris alti 706 rex sublimis equis, geminusque ad spumea Triton frena natans late pelago dat signa cadenti, et iam plana Thetis, montesque et litora crescunt.
Quis super um tanto solatus funera voto 710
pensavit lacrimas inopinaque gaudia maestae rettulit Hypsipylae ? tu gentis conditor, Euhan, qui geminos iuvenes Lemni de litore vectos intuleras Nemeae mirandaque fata parabas. causa viae genetrix, nee inhospita tecta Lycurgi 715 praebuerant aditus, et protinus ille tyranno nuntius exstinctae miserando vulnere prolis.
^ alis amplexa Pw : agilis complexa Lachmann : aulis Garrod, who brackets volucres . . . recens as a parenthesis. Certainly the repetition of alas . . . alis is odd, but a char- acteristic of Statins.
* ecce Pw : haec est Phillimore.
54
THEBAID, V. 692-717
flying squadrons, with twofold tumults gathered beneath her wings ; some repeat that Hypsipyle is being dragged to death, some that she is even now meeting her fate, and is deserving of it : they be- lieve, nor stay their anger, and already brands and javelins fly against the palace, cries are raised to overturn the kingdom, and to seize and carry away Lycurgus with Jove and all his shrines ; the houses re-echo with female shrieks, and routed grief flees before panic ten'or.
But Adrastus, aloft upon his car of wing-footed steeds and bearing with him the daughter of Thoas in the sight of the raging warriors, di'ives in amongst the ranks and cries : " Give o'er, give o'er ; no cruel deed has been done, nor has Lycurgus deserved to perish thus, and lo ! here is the discoverer of the welcome stream ! " So when yriih opposing blasts Boreas and Eurus from one quarter, and from another Auster black with rain has upheaved the sea, when day is banished and the hurricanes hold sway, high on his chariot comes the ruler of the deep, and twy- formed Triton s>vimming by the foaming bridles gives signal far and wide to the subsiding main ; Thetis is smooth again, and hills and shores emerge.
Which of the gods consoled her loss, and by grant- ing her heart's desire brought joys unhoped-for to sad Hypsipyle and recompense for tears ? Thou, Euhan, author of her race, who didst convey the tvrin youths " from Lemnos' shore to Nemea, and wert preparing a wondrous destiny. In search of their mother they came, and not inhospitably had the palace of Lycurgus given them entry, when forthwith came that message to the monarch of his offspring's piteous " Their names were Thoas and Euneus.
55
STATIUS
ergo adsunt comites — pro fors et caeca futuri
mens hominum ! — regique favent ; sed Lemnos ad
aures ut primum dictusque Thoas, per tela manusque 720 inruerant, matremque avidis complexibus ambo diripiunt flentes alternaque pectora mutant, ilia velut rupes immoto saxea visu haeret et expertis non audet credere divis. ut vero et vultus et signa Argoa relictis 725
ensibus atque umeris amborum intextus lason, cesserunt luctus, turbataque munere tanto conruit, atque alio maduerunt lumina fletu. addita signa polo, laetoque ululante tumultu tergaque et aera dei motas crepuere per auras. 730
Tunc pius Oeclides, ut prima silentia volgi mollior ira dedit placidasque accessus ad aures : " audite, o ductor Nemeae lectique potentes Inachidae, quae certus agi manifestat Apollo, iste quidem Argolicis haud olim indebitus armis 735 luctus adest, recto descendunt limite Parcae : et sitis interitu fluviorum et letifer anguis, et puer, heu nostri signatus nomine fati, Archemorus, cuncta haec superum demissa suprema mente fluunt. differte animos festinaque tela 740 ponite ; mansuris donandus honoribus infans. et meruit ; det pulchra suis libamina virtus manibus, atque utinam plures innectere pergas,
" Amphiaraus.
* The metaphor is probably of a river-channel ; cf. " fluunt," 1. 740.
" "Archemorus" means "the beginning of doom." 56
THEBAID, V. 718-743
death. Therefore hasten they to his support — so strange is Chance, so blind the purposes of men I — and favour the king's cause ; but when " Lemnos " and " Thoas " reached their ears, straight had they rushed through weapons and troops of men, and both with tears snatch their mother to their greedy embrace and in turn press her to their bosoms. But she, like a stony rock, with countenance un- moved stirs not nor dares believe the gods she knows so well. But when she recognized their faces and the marks of Argo on the swords the mariners had left and Jason's name inwoven on their shoulders, her grief was stayed, and overcome by so great a blessing she swooned, and her eyes were moist ^vith other tears. Signs too were shown in heaven, and the drums and cymbals of the god and the glad huzzas of his wild train resounded through the echoing air.
Then the devout Oeclides," so soon as WTath ap- peased made the crowd fall silent, and there was approach to tranquil ears : " Hearken, O ruler of Nemea and ye flower of Argive princes, what Apollo surely reveals for us to do. Long hath this woe been ordained for you at Argive hands, unwavering runs the line of Destiny.^ The drought of perished streams, the deadly serpent, and the child Arche- morus, whose name, alas, bears the seal of our fate," all these events flow down and issue from the high purpose of the gods. A truce now to your passions, lay down your hasty arms ! To this infant enduring honours must be paid. Truly he hath deserved them ; let virtue make fair libation to a virtuous soul, and would that thou mightest continue, O Phoebus, to weave even more delays, would that new chances
37
STATIUS
Phoebe, moras, semperque novis bellare vetemur casibus, et semper Thebe funesta recedas ! 745
at vos magnorum transgressi fata parentum felices, longum quibus hinc per saecula nomen, dum Lernaea palus et dum pater Inachus ibit, dum Nemea tremulas campis iaculabitur umbras, ne fletu violate sacrum, ne plangite divos : 750
nam deus iste, deus, Pyliae nee fata senectae maluerit, Phrygiis aut degere longius annis." finierat, caeloque cavam nox induit umbram.
58
THEBAID, V. 744^753
might ever bar us from the fray, and thou, O deadly Thebes, fade from our sight for ever ! And O ye happy ones, who have surpassed the common fate of noble parents, whose name will long endure through the ages, while Lerna's lake remains and father Inachus flows on, while Nemea throws the flickering shadows across her fields — profane not this holy rite by weeping, mourn not for the gods : for a god is he, yea a god, nor would he prefer to enjoy a Pylian age, nor a life that outlived the Phrygian span." " He finished, and night wrapt the heaven in her enfolding shade.
" i.e., longer than Nestor or Priam,
i
59
LIBER VI
Nuntia multivago Danaas pei'labitur urbes Fama gradu, sancire novo sollemnia busto Inachidas ludumque super, quo Martia bellis praesudare paret seseque accendere virtus. Graium ex more decus : primus Pisaea per arva 5 hune pius Alcides Pelopi certavit honorem pulvereumque fera crinem detersit oliva ; proxima vipereo celebratur^ libera nexu Phocis, Apollineae bellum puerile pharetrae ; mox circum tristes servata Palaemonis aras 10
nigra superstitio, quotiens animosa resumit Leueothea gemitus et arnica ad litora festa tempestate venit : planctu conclamat uterque Isthmos. Echioniae responsant flebile Thebae. et nunc eximii regum, quibus Argos alumnis 15
conexum caelo, quorumque ingentia tellus Aonis et Tyriae suspirant nomina matres, concurrunt nudasque movent in proelia vires : ceu primum ausurae trans alta ignota biremes, seu Tyrrhenam hiemem, seu stagna Aegaea lacessant, tranquillo prius arma lacu clavumque levesque 21 explorant remos atque ipsa pericula discunt ; ^ celebratur P : celebravit w.
" The festivals alluded to are those at Olympia, Delphi, and Isthmus of Corinth.
* Boeotian. "Tyrian " =Theban.
60
BOOK VI
Far-travelling Rumour glides through the Danaan cities, and tells that the Inachidae are ordaining sacred rites for the new tomb, and games thereto, whereby their martial valour may be kindled and have foretaste of the sweat of war. Customary among the Greeks is such a festival : first " did the dutiful Alcides contest this honour with Pelops in the fields of Pisa, and brush the dust of combat from his hair with the wild-olive spray ; next is celebrated the freeing of Phocis from the serpent's coils, the battle of the boy Apollo's quiver ; then the dark cult of Palaemon is solemnized about the gloomy altars, so oft as undaunted Leucothea renews her grief, and in the time of festival comes to the wel- coming shores : from end to end Isthmos resounds with lamentation and Echionian Thebes makes an- swering wail. And now the peerless princes whose rearing links Argos with heaven, princes whose mighty names the Aonian * land and Tyrian mothers utter with sighs, meet in rivalry and arouse their naked vigour to the fray : just as the two-banked galleys that must venture the unknown deep, whether they provoke the stormy Tyrrhenian or the calm Aegean sea, first prove on a smooth lake their tackling and rudder and nimble oars, and learn to face the real perils ; but when their crews are
61
STATIUS
at cum experta cohors, tunc pontum inrunipere fretae longius ereptasque oculis non quaerere terras.
Clara laboriferos caelo Tithonia currus 25
extulerat vigilesque deae pallentis habenas ct Nox et cornu fugiebat Somnus inani ; iam plangore viae, gemitu iam regia mugit flebilis, acceptos longe nemora avia frangunt multiplicantque sonos. sedet ipse exutus honoro 30 vittarum nexu genitor squalentiaque ora sparsus et incultam ferali pulvere barbam. asperior contra planctusque egressa viriles exemplo famulas premit hortaturque volentes orba parens, lacerasque super prorumpere^ nati 35 relliquias ardet totiensque avolsa refertur. arcet et ipse pater, mox ut maerentia dignis vultibus Inachii penetrarunt limina reges, ceu nova tunc clades et primo saucius infans vulnere letalisve inrumperet atria serpens, 40
sic alium ex alio quamquam lassata fragorem pectora congenxinant, integratoque resultant accensae clamore fores ; sensere Pelasgi invidiam et lacrimis excusant crimen obortis.
Ipse, datum quotiens intercisoque tumultu 45
conticuit stupefacta domus, solatur Adrastus adloquiis genitorem ultro, nunc fata recensens resque hominum duras et inexorabile pensum, nunc aliam prolem mansuraque numine dextro pignora. nondum orsis modus, et lamenta redibant.
^ prorumpere P : procumbere w.
" Sleep is thought of as pouring slumber from a horn upon the earth, cf.x. 111.
* Much of the following can be paralleled from the Consolatory poems of the Silvae.
62
THEBAID, VI. 23-50
trained, then confidently do they push further out into the main nor seek the vanished coast.
The bright consort of Tithonus had shown in heaven her toil-bringing car, and Night and Sleep ^ith empty horn" were fleeing from the pale goddess' wakeful reins ; already the ways are loud >Wth wailing, and the palace with tearful lamentation ; from afar the wild forests catch the sounds, and scatter them in a thousand echoes. The father himself* sits stripped of the honour of the twined fillet, his unkempt head and neglected beard sprinkled with the dust of mourning. More Wolent than he and passionate with more than a man's grief, the bereaved mother urges on her handmaidens by example and by speech, Milling though they be, and yearns to cast herself upon the mangled remains of her child, and as oft they tear her from them and bring her back. Even the father too restrains her. Soon when the Inachian princes ^^ith royal bearing entered the sorrowing portals, then, as though the stroke were fresh and the babe but newly hurt, or the deadly serpent had burst into the palace, they smite their breasts though wearied and raise clamour upon clamour, and the doors re-echo vith the new-kindled wailing ; the Pelasgians feel their ill-will and plead their innocence with streaming tears.
Adrastus himself, whenso'er the tumult was quelled and the distracted house fell silent, and opportunity was given, addressed the sire unbidden with consoling words, re\iewng now the cruel destiny of mankind and the inexorable thread of doom, now gi\ing hope of other offspring and pledges that by heaven's favour would endure. But he had not ended, when mourn- ing broke forth anew. Nor does the king more gently
63
STATIUS
ille quoque adfatus non moUius audit amicos, 51
quam trucis lonii rabies clamantia ponto
vota virum aut tenues curant vaga fulmina nimbos.
Tristibus interea raniis teneraque cupresso damnatus flammae torus et puerile feretrum 55
texitur : ima virent agresti stramina cultu ; proxima graniineis operosior area sertis, et pieturatus morituris floribus agger ; tertius adsurgens Arabum strue tollitur ordo Eoas complexus opes incanaque glebis 60
tura et ab antiquo durantia cinnama Belo. summa crepant auro, Tyrioque attollitur ostro molle supercilium, teretes hoc undique gemmae inradiant, medio Linus intertextus acantho letiferique canes : opus admirabile semper 65
oderat atque oculos flectebat ab omine mater, arma etiam et veterum exuvias circumdat avorum gloria mixta malis adflictaeque ambitus aulae, ceu grande exsequiis onus atque immensa ferantur membra rogo, sed cassa tamen sterilisque dolentes 70 fama iuvat, parvique augescunt funere manes, inde ingens lacrimis honor et miseranda voluptas, muneraque in cineres annis graviora feruntur — namque illi et pharetras brevioraque tela dicarat festinus voti pater insontesque sagittas ; 75
iam tunc et nota stabuli de gente probatos in nomen pascebat equos — cinctusque sonantes
<• A legendary king of Egypt, father of Danaus : also an Asiatic monarch, as in Virg. Aen. i. 621 and Ov. M. iv. 213. Statins only means "cinnamon from the East," cf. Silv. iv. 5. 32.
*" Linus, according to one story, was the name of the babe whose fate is told in i. 557 sqq., the son of Apollo and Psamathe, daughter of Crotopus.
64.
THEBAID, VI. 51-77
hear his friendly speech than the madness of the fierce Ionian hears the sailors shouting prayers upon the deep, or the wayward lightnings heed the frail clouds. Meanwhile the flame-appointed pyre and the infant bier are intertwined with gloomy boughs and shoots of cypress ; lowest of all is laid the green produce of the country-side, then a space is more laboriously WTought with grassy chaplets and the mound is decked with flowers that soon must perish ; third in order rises a heap of Arabian spices and the rich profusion of the East, mth limips of hoary incense and cinnamon that has come do^vn from Belus of old." On the summit is set tinkling gold, and a soft coverlet of Tvrian purple is raised high, gleaming everywhere with polished gems, and within a border of acanthus is Linus woven and the hounds that caused his death * : hateful ever to his mother was this mar- vellous work, and ever did she turn her eyes from the omen. Arms, too, and spoils of ancestors of old are cast about the pyre, the pride and chequered glory of the afilicted house, as though the funeral train bore thither the burden of some great warrior's limbs ; yet even empty and barren fame delights the mourners, and the pomp magnifies the infant shade. Wherefore tears are held in high reverence and afford a mournful joy, and gifts greater than his years are brought to feed the flames. For his father," in haste for the fulfilment of his prayers, had set apart for him quivers and tiny javelins and innocent arrows, and even already in his name was rearing proved horses of his stable's famous breed ;
« The long parenthesis is awkward, but the only alter- native is to construe " pascebat " by zeugma with " cinctusque . . . lacertos."
VOL. II F "^
STATIUS
armaque maiores exspectatura lacertos. spes avidae ! quas non in nomen credula vestes urgebat studio cultusque insignia regni 80
purpureos sceptrumque minus ? cuncta ignibus atris damnat atrox suaque ipse parens gestamina ferri, si damnis rabidum queat exsaturare dolorem.^
Parte alia gnari monitis exercitus instat auguris aeriam truncis nemorumque ruina, 85
montis opus,^ euniulare pyram, quae crimina caesi anguis et infausti cremet atra piacula belli, his labor accisam Nemeen umbrosaque tempe praecipitare solo lucosque ostendere Phoebo. stemitur extemplo veteres incaedua ferro 90
silva comas, largae qua non opulentior umbrae Argolicos inter saltusque educta Lycaeos extulerat super astra caput : stat sacra senectae numine, nee solos honiinum transgressa veterno fertur avos, Nymphas etiam mutasse superstes 95 Faunorumque greges. aderat miserabile luco exscidium : fugere ferae, nidosque tepentes absiliunt — metus urget — aves ; cadit ardua fagus, Chaoniumque nemus brumaeque inlaesa cupressus, procumbunt piceae, flammis alimenta supremis, 100 ornique iliceaeque trabes metuendaque suco taxus et infandos belli potura cruores
^ Lines 79-83 are missing in PBL {added in margin of B), but are found in DKNS. They are usually bracketed by edd. as spurious. * opus Weber : onus Pco,
" Perhaps because belts were commonly adorned with gold and silver and precious stones, and would therefore ring against the armour; cf. Aen. v. 312.
* There appears to be no parallel for this use of " muto," " to take one for another," i.e., " to see one (generation of
66
THEBAID, VI. 78-102
loud-ringing belts " too are brought, and armour wait- ing for a mightier frame. Insatiable hopes ! what garments did she not make for him in eager haste, credulous woman, and robes of purple, emblems of royalty, and childish sceptre ? Yet all does the sire himself ruthlessly condemn to the murky flames, and bid his own signs of rank be borne withal, if by their loss he may sate his devouring grief.
In another region the army hastens at the bidding of the wise augur to raise an airy pile, high as a mountain, of tree-trunks and shattered forests, to expiate the crime of the serpent's slaying and make dark burnt-offering for the ill-omened war. These labour to cut down Nemea and its shady glens and hurl them to the ground, and to lay the forests open to the sunlight. Straightway a wood that axe has never shorn of its ancient boughs is felled, a wood than which none more rich in abundant shade be- tween the vales of Argolis and Mount Lycaeus ever raised aloft its head above the stars ; in reverend sanctity of eld it stands, and is said not only to reach back in years beyond the grandsires of men, but to have seen Nymphs pass ^ and flocking Fauns and yet be living. Upon the wood came pitiful destruction : the beasts are fled, and the birds, terror-driven, flutter forth from their warm nests ; the towering beeches fall and the Chaonian " groves and the cypress that the winter harms not, spruces are flung prostrate that feed the funeral flames, ash-trees and trunks of holm-oak and yews vrith poisonous sap, and mountain ashes destined to drink the gore Nymphs) succeed another " ; but Statius is very free in his use of the word, cf. ii. 672, vii. 71.
* i.e., of oaks, from Chaonia in Epirus, where was the oak-grove of Dodona.
67
STATIUS
fraxinus atque situ non expugnabile robur.
hinc audax abies et odoro vulnere pinus
scinditur, adclinant intonsa cacumina terrae 105
alnus arnica fretis nee inhospita vitibus ulmus.
dat gemitum tellus : non sie eversa feruntur
Ismara, eum fracto Boreas caput extulit antro,
non grassante noto citius nocturna peregit
flamnia nemus ; linquunt flentes dilecta locorum 1 10
otia cana Pales Silvanusque arbiter umbrae
semideumque pecus, migrantibus adgemit illis
silva, nee amplexae dimittunt robora Nymphae.
ut cum possessas avidis victoribus arces
dux raptare dedit, vix signa audita, nee urbem 115
invenias ; ducunt sternuntque abiguntque feruntque
immodici, minor ille fragor, quo bella gerebant.
lamque pari cumulo geminas hanc tristibus umbris, ast illam supei'is aequus labor auxerat aras, cum sign urn luctus cornu grave mugit adunco 120 tibia, cui teneros suetum producere^ manes lege Phrygum maesta, Pelopem monstrasse ferebant exsequiale sacrum carmenque minoribus umbris utile, quo geminis Niobe consumpta pharetris squalida bissenas Sipylon deduxerat urnas. 125
Portant inferias arsuraque fercula primi Graiorum, titulisque pios testantur honores gentis quisque suae ; longo post tempore surgit colla super iuvenum — numero dux legerat omni —
^ Servius on Aen. v. 138 quotes solitum deducere.
" i.e., when turned into spear-shafts.
^ i.e., because it "dares" the deep, when turned into ships. " Italian rustic deities.
^ The Nymphs are often thought of as the living spirits of the trees, cf. Silv. i. 3. 63. The passage reminds one of Milton's Ode on the Morning of Christ's Nativity, st. 20.
68
THEBAID, VI. 103-129
of cursed battle," and oaks unconquerable by age. Then the daring^ fir is cloven, and the pine with fragrant wound, alders that love the sea bow to the ground their unshorn summits, and elms that give friendly shelter to the vines. The earth groans : not so are the woods of Ismarus swept away uprooted, when Boreas breaks his prison cave and rears his head, no s^\ifter does the nightly flame tear through the forest before the south wind's onset ; hoar Pales and Silvanus," lord of the shady glen, and the folk, half-godj half-animal, go forth weeping from the leisure haunts they loved, and as they go the wood- land groans in sympathy, nor can the Nymphs loose the trees from their embrace.** As when a leader gives over to the greedy conquerors the captured towers to plunder, scarce is the signal lieard, and the city is nowhere to be found ; they drive and carry, take captive and strike down in fury um-estrained ; the din of battle was less loud.
Two altars now of equal height had they with hke toil erected, one to the doleful shades, the other to the gods above, when the low braying of the pipe with curved horn gave signal for lament, the pipe that by Phrjgia's mournful use was wont to escort the youthful dead. They say that Pelops ordained for infant shades this funeral rite and chant, to which Niobe, undone by the quivers twain, and dressed in mourning garb, brought the twelve urns to Sipylus.*
The Grecian leaders bear the funeral gifts and offerings for the flame, each by his titles witnessing to his race's honourable renown ; long after, high upon the necks of youths chosen by the prince from
* The mountain on which her children were slain by Apollo and Artemis.
69
STATIUS
ipse fero clamore torus, cinxere Lycurgum 130
Lernaei proceres, genetricem mollior ambit turba, nee Hypsipyle raro subit agmine ; valiant Inachidae memores, sustentant livida nati bracchia et inventae concedunt plangere matri.
Illic infaustos ut primum egressa penates 135
Eurydice, nudo vocem de pectore rumpit planctuque et longis praefata ululatibus infit : " non hoc Argolidum coetu circumdata matrum speravi te, nate, sequi, nee talia demens fingebam votis annorum elementa tuorum, 140
nil saevum reputans ; etenim his in finibus aevi unde ego bella tibi Thebasque ignara timerem ? cui superum nostro committere sanguine pugnas dulce ? quis hoc armis vovit scelus ? at tua nondum, Cadme, domus, nuUus Tyrio grege plangitur infans. primitias egomet lacrimarum et caedis acerbae 146 ante tubas ferrumque tuli, dum deside cura credo sinus fidos altricis et ubera mando. quidni ego ? narrabat servatum fraude parentem insontesque manus. en ! quam ferale putemus 150 abiurasse sacrum et Lemni gentilibus unam inmunem furiis, haec ilia— et creditis ausae'^ ! — haec pietate potens solis abiecit in arvis non regem doniinumve, alienos impia partus, hoc tantum, silvaeque infamis tramite liquit, 155
quem non anguis atrox — quid enim hac opus, ei mihi,
leti mole fuit ? — tantum caeli violentior aura
^ haec ilia et . . . ausae Pw : ilia est . . . ausa L, ausae {with ausa est written over) Q, various conj. by edd., hut the reading of mss. seems satisfactory.
" i.e., the Argives, descended from Inachus. 70
THEBAID, VI. 130-157
1 his host, aniid wild clamour comes the bier. The Lernean cliieftains encircle Lycurgus, a female com- pany are gathered about the queen, nor does H}-psi- pyle go unattended : the Inachidae," not unmindJful, surround her close, her sons support her bruised arms, and suffer their new-found mother to lament.
There, as soon as Eurydice came forth from her ill-starred palace, she bared her breast and cried aloud, and ^^■ith beating of her bosom and prelude of long wailings thus began : " I never thought, my son, to follow thee \Wth this encompassing train of Argive matrons, nor thus did I picture in my fooUsh prayers thy infant years, nought cruel did I expect ; whence at my hfe's end should I have fear for thee from a Theban war, whereof I knew not ? WTiat god has taken dehght in joining battle with our race ? Who vowed this crime against our arms ? But thy house, O Cadmus, has not suffered yet, no infant do TATian crowds lament. 'Tis I that have borne the first-fruits of grief and untimely death, before even trumpets brayed or sword was drawn, while in indolent neglect I put faith in his nurse's bosom and entrusted to her my babe to suckle. \Miy should I not ? She told a tale of the cunning rescue of her sire and her innocence. But look ! this woman, who alone, we must think, abjured the deadly deed she vowed, and alone of her race was free from the Lemnian mad- ness, this woman here — and ye believe her, after her daring deed I — so strong in her devotion, cast away in desolate fields, no king or lord, but, impious one ! another's child, that is all ! and left him on a path in an ill-famed wood, where not merely poisonous snake — what need, alas, of so huge a slayer ? — but a strong tempest only, or a bough broken by the
71
STATIUS
impulsaeque noto frondes cassusque valeret exanimare timor. nee vos ineessere luctu orba aveo,^ fixum matri immotiimque manebat 160 hac altrice nefas ; atquin et blandus ad illam, nate, magis, solam nosse atque audire vocantem, ignarusque mei : nulla ex te gaudia matri. ilia tuos questus lacrimososque impia risus audiit et vocis decerpsit murmura primae. 165
ilia tibi genetrix semper, dum vita manebat, nunc ego. sed miserae mihi nee punire potestas sie meritam ! quid dona, duces, quid inania fertis iusta regis ? illam — nil poscunt amplius umbrae, — illam, ore, cineri simul excisaeque parenti 170
reddite, quaeso, duces, per ego haec primordia belli, cui peperi ; sic aequa gemant mihi funera matres Oxygiae." sternit crines iteratque precando : " reddite, nee vero crudelem avidamque vocate sanguinis : occumbam pariter, dum vulnere iusto 175 exsaturata oculos, unum impellamur in ignem." talia vociferans alia de parte gementem Hypsipylen — neque enim ilia comas nee pectora
servat — agnovit longe, et socium indignata dolorem : " hoc saltem, o proceres, tuque o, cui pignora nostri proturbata tori, pi'ohibete, auferte supremis 181
invisam exsequiis. quid se funesta parenti miscet et in nostris spectatur et ipsa minis ? ^ 183
^ aveo Mueller : habeo P {with h erased) ; habeo w, which Klotz would defend hy parallel of Varro, R. R. i. 1. 2, ut id mihi habeam curare roges.
^ There is some confusion in the Mss. here ; the reading in the text is that of P, except that P omits auferte {I. 181) and reads invitam (/. 183). The other mss. read pignore nostro partus honos prohibete nefas auferte (nefas om. in QN), cf. ii. 172, xii. 84. Also, I. 182 quid w : quia P. funesta w :
72
THEBAID, VI. 158-183
wind, or groundless fright could have availed to cause his death ! Nor you would I accuse in my stricken grief ; unalterable and sure came this curse upon the mother, at this nurse's hands. Yet her didst thou favour more, my son, her only didst thou know and heard when she called thee ; me thou knewest not, no joy had thy mother of thee. But she, the fiend ! she heard thy cries and thy laughter mixt with tears, and caught the accents of thy earliest speech. She was ever thy mother, while life remained to thee, I only now. But woe is me ! that I cannot punish her for her crime ! Why bring ye these gifts, ye chieftains, to the pyre, why these empty rites ? Herself, I beg — no more does his shade demand — herself, I pray you, offer, both to the dead and to the ruined parent, I beseech you by this first bloodshed of the war, for which I bore him ; so may the Ogpan mothers have deaths to mourn as sad as mine ! " She tears her hair and repeats her supplication : " Ay, give her up, nor call me cruel or greedy of blood ; I ^nll die likewise, so be it that, my eyes full-sated by her just death, we fall upon the selfsame fire." Thus loudly crying she beheld elsewhere afar H}^sipyle lamenting — for she too spares nor hair nor bosom — and ill brooking a partner in her woe : " Tliis at least prevent, O princes, and thou for whom the child of our own bed has been flung to ruin ; remove that hated woman from the funeral rites ! Why does she offend his mother with her accursed presence, and show herself
fecisse P. L. 183 P omits et. After I. 183 come the lines : cui luget complexa suos ? dixitque repente concidit, abruptisque obmutuit ore querelis.
but only in DQNS (ait atque D, dixitque also in B marg.).
73
STATIUS
sic ait abruptisque immutuit ore querellis : 185
non secus ac primo fraudatum lacte iuvencum, cui trepidae vires et solus ab ubere sanguis, seu fera seu duras avexit pastor ad aras ; nunc vallem spoliata parens, nunc flumina questu, nunc armenta movet vacuosque interrogat agros ; 190 tunc piget ire domum, maestoque novissima campo exit et oppositas impasta avertitur herbas.
At genitor sceptrique decus cultusque Tonantis inicit ipse rogis, tergoque et pectore fusam caesariem ferro minuit sectisque iacentis 195
obnubit tenuia ora comis, ac talia fletu verba pio miscens : "alio tibi, perfide, pacto, luppiter, hunc crinem voti reus ante dicaram, si pariter virides nati libare dedisses ad tua templa genas, sed non ratus ore sacerdos, 200 damnataeque preces : ferat haec, quae dignior,
umbra." iam face subiecta primis in frondibus ignis exclamat,^ labor insanos arcere parentes.
Stant iussi Danaum atque obtentis eminus armis prospectu visus interclusere nefasto. 205
ditantur flammae ; non umquam opulentior illic ante cinis : crepitant gemmae, atque immane liquescit argentum, et pictis exsudat vestibus aurum ;
^ exclamat Pw : exclamant Baehrens, i.e. parentes.
" "genas," here "cheeks," that would be in the flush of manhood; " viridis " of ten = " in the prime of age." The clause " si dedisses " is not the protasis to " dicaram," but expresses the content of the vow, i.e. implies an ellipse ;
74
THEBAID, VI. 185-208
thus in my day of ruin ? " Thus spake she and fell silent, and her complainings ceased. Even so when a Mild beast has seized or shepherd borne away to the cruel shrine a bullock cheated of its first milk, whose strength is yet but frail and whose \igour is drawn but from the udder, the despoiled mother stirs now the valley, now the streams, now the herds with her meanings, and questions the empty meads ; then it irks her to go home, and she leaves the desolate fields the last of all, and turns imfed from the herbage spread before her.
But the father hurls with his own hand upon the pyre his glorious sceptre and the emblems of the Thunderer, and vrith the sword cuts short the hair that fell o'er back and breast, and with the shorn tresses covers the frail features of the infant where he hes, and mingles with tender tears such words as these : " Far otherwise, treacherous Jupiter, did I once consecrate these locks to thee, and held me to my vow, shouldst thou have granted me to offer therewith my son's ripe manhood at thy shrine ; " but the priest confirmed it not, and my prayer was lost ; let his shade, then, who is worthier, receive them I " Already the torch is set to the pjTe, and the flame crackles in the lowest branches ; hard is it to restrain the frenzied parents. Danaans are bidden stand and with barrier raised of weapons shut out afar from their vision the awful scene. The fire is richly fed : never before was so sumptuous a blaze ; precious stones crack, huge streams of molten silver run, and gold oozes from out the embroidered
I had, previously, promised (that I would give you the lock) if you should have, etc." " dicaram " is not " vivid " for " dicassem " ; cf. vi. 609-610.
75
STATIUS
nee non Assyriis pinguescunt robora sucis, pallentique croco strident ardentia^ mella, 210
spumantesque mero paterae verguntur et atri sanguinis et rapti gratissima cymbia lactis. tunc septem numero turmas — centenus ubique surgit eques — versis ducunt insignibus ipsi Graiugenae reges, lustrantque ex more sinistro 215 orbe rogum et stantes inclinant pulvere flammas. ter curves egere sinus, inlisaque telis tela sonant, quater horrendum pepulere fragorem amia, quater moll em famularum bracchia planctum. semianimas alter pecudes spirantiaque ignis 220
accipit armenta ; hie luctus abolere novique funeris auspicium vates, quamquam omina sentit vera, iubet : dextri gyro et vibrantibus hastis hae redeunt, raptumque suis libamen ab armis quisque iacit, seu frena libet seu cingula flammis 225 mergere seu iaculum summae seu cassidis umbram. [multa gemunt extra raucis concentibus agri, et lituis aures circum pulsantur acutis. terretur clamore nemus : sic Martia vellunt signa tubae, nondum ira ealet, nee sanguine ferrum inrubuit, primus bellorum comitur ille 231
vultus, honoris opus^ : stat adhuc ineertus in alta nube, quibus sese Mavors indulgeat armis.^]
^ ardentia Pw : armentia Nl, tymetia iV^ marg., whence Garrod conj. hymetia {with ard written over) as reading of archetype.
" honoris opus B3Q : horrisono K {not scanning).
' Lines 227-233 are only found in Q, the margin of B by a late hand, and K, and are probably spurious. 76
THEBAID, VI. 209-233
raiment ; the boughs are fattened ^vith Assyrian juices, pale saffron drops hissing in the burning honev ; foaming bowls of ^^^ne are outpoured, and beakers of black blood and pleasant milk yet warm from the udder." Then squadrons seven in number — a hundred tall knights in each — led by the Greek- born kings themselves with arms reversed, circling leftward in due manner purify the p\Te, and quell with their dust the shooting flames. Thrice accom- plished they their wheeling course, then with re- sounding clash of arms on arms four times ^ their weapons gave forth a terrible din, four times the handmaids beat their breasts in womanly lament. The other fire receives half-dead animals and beasts yet li\ing : here the prophet bids them cease their wailing, ominous of fresh disaster, although he knows the signs are true ; rightward they wheel and so return with quivering spears, and each throws some offering snatched from his own armour, be it rein or belt he is pleased to plunge into the flames, or javelin or helmet's shady crest. [Around, the country- side is filled with the hoarse cries of w^ailing, and piercing trumpets rend the ear. Loud shouts affright the groves ; even so do the bugles tear the Martian standards from the ground, while anger still is cool, and the sword unreddened with blood, and the first face of battle is made fair and glorious : high on a cloud stands Mavors, uncertain yet which host to favour.]
" " rapto," suggested by PhUlimore and E. H. Alton, is perhaps to be preferred here : " most pleasing to the lost one," cf. Silv. ii. 1. 208.
'' It is not clear whether " quater " is meant to apply to " sonant " as well as " pepulere," or why, if they clashed arms thrice, the noise was heard four times.
STATIUS
Finis erat, lassusque putres iam Mulciber ibat in cineres ; instant flammis multoque soporant 235 imbre rogum, posito donee cum sole labores exhausti ; seris vix cessit cura tenebris. roscida iam novies caelo dimiserat astra Lucifer et totidem Lunae praevenerat ignes mutato nocturnus equo, nee conscia fallit 240
sidera et altemo deprenditur unus in ortu ; mirum, opus adcelerasse manus^ : stat saxea moles, templum ingens cineri, rerumque effictus in ilia ordo docet casus : fessis hie flumina monstrat Hypsipyle Danais, hie reptat flebilis infans, 245
hie iaeet, extremum tumuli circum asperat orbem squameus ; exspeetes morientis ab ore cruenta sibila, marmorea sic volvitur anguis in hasta.
lamque avidum pugnas visendi vulgus inermes fama vocat ; cunctis arvis ac moenibus adsunt 250 exciti ; illi etiam, quis belli incognitus horror, quos efFeta domi, quos prima reliquerat aetas, conveniunt : non aut Ephyraeo in litore tanta umquam aut Oenomai fremuerunt agmina circo.
Collibus incurvis viridique obsessa corona 255
vallis in amplexu nemorum sedet ; hispida circum stant iuga, et obiectus geminis umbonibus agger campum exire vetat, longo quem tramite planum gramineae frontes^ sinuataque caespite vivo mollia non subitis augent fastigia clivis. 260
^ adcelerasse manus Pw : adcelerante manii JD. ^ frontes P : frondes w.
" i.e., they are quite aware that the morning and evening stars are really the same.
78
THEBAID, VI. 234-260
The end was come, and weary Mulciber was sink- ing now to crumbling ash ; they attack the flames and drowse the pyre with plenteous water, till with the setting sun their toils were finished ; scarce did their labour jield to the late-coming shadows. And now nine times had Lucifer chased the dewy stars from heaven, and as often changed his steed and nightly heralded the lunar fires — yet he deceives not the conscious stars, but is found the same in his alternate risings ; " 'tis marvellous how the work has sped ! there stands a marble pile, a mighty temple to the departed shade, where a row of sculptured scenes tells all his story : here Hj'psipyle shows the river to the weary Danai, here crawls the unhappy babe, here hes he, while the scaly snake wTithes angry coils around the hillock's end ; one would think to hear the dying hisses of his blood- stained mouth, so twines the serpent about the marble spear.
And now Rumour is summoning a multitude eager to behold the unarmed battles ; called forth from every field and city they come ; they also gather together, to whom the horror of war is yet unknowTi, and they who through weary age or infant years had stayed behind ; never were such clamouring throngs on the strand of Ephyre or in the circus of Oenomaus.^
Set in a green ring of curving hills and embraced by woodland hes a vale ; rough ridges stand about it, and the twin summits of a mound make a barrier and forbid issue from the plain, which running long and level rises with gentle slope to grassy brows and winding heights soft with hving turf. There in dense * i.e., at the Isthmian or Olympian games.
79
STATIUS
illic conferti, iam sole rubentibus arvis,
bellatrix sedere cohors ; ibi corpore mixto
metiri numerum vultusque habitusque suorum
dulce viris, tantique iuvat fiducia belli.
centum ibi nigrantes, armenti robora, tauros 265
lenta mole trahunt ; idem numerusque colorque
matribus et nondum lunatis fronte iuvencis.
Exin magnanimum series antiqua parentum invehitur, miris in vultum animata figuris. primus anhelantem duro Tirynthius angens 270
pectoris attritu sua frangit in ossa leonem, baud ilium impavidi, quamvis et in acre suumque Inachidae videre decus. pater ordine iuncto laevus harundinae recubans super aggere ripae cernitur emissaeque indulgens Inachus urnae. 275 lo post tergum, iam prona dolorque parentis, spectat inocciduis stellatum visibus Argum. ast illam melior Phariis erexerat arvis luppiter atque hospes iam tunc Aurora colebat. Tantalus inde parens, non qui fallentibus undis 280 imminet aut refugae sterilem rapit aera silvae, sed pius et magni vehitur conviva Tonantis. parte alia victor curru Neptunia tendit lora Pelops, prensatque rotas auriga natantes Myrtilos et volucri iam iamque relinquitur axe. 285 et gravis Acrisius speciesque horrenda Coroebi et Danae culpata sinus, et in amne reperto
" i.e., with horns.
* i.e., on all fours. Statins appears to mean that there were two representations of lo, one of her as a heifer, and one of her in Egypt, when Jupiter " had raised her erect again."
« i.e., the East.
"* Pelops was a favourite of Poseidon, cf. Pindar, 01. i. 39.
80
THEBAID, VI. 261-287
crowds, while the fields were still rosy in the dawn, the warrior company took their seats ; there the heroes delight to reckon the number of the motley multitude, and scan the faces and the dress of their fellows, and they feel the glad confidence of a mighty host. Thither they drag a hundred black bulls, the strength of the herd, slow-paced and straining ; as many cows of similar hue, and bullocks with fore- heads not yet crescent-crowned."
Then the ancient hne of great-hearted sires is borne along, in images marvellously fashioned to a living likeness. First the Tirynthian crushes the gasping lion against the strong pressure of his breast and breaks it upon his own bones ; him the Inachidae behold not without terror, though he be in bronze and their own famous hero. Next in order is seen father Inachus reclining leftward on the mound of a reedy bank and letting the streaming urn flow free. lo, already prone ^ and the sorrow of her sire, sees behind her back Argus starred Avith eyes that know no setting. But kindlier Jupiter had raised her erect in the Pharian fields, and already was Aurora'' giving her gracious welcome. Then father Tantalus, not he who hangs above the decei\ing waters and snatches the empty vind of the elusive branch, but the great Thunderer's god-fearing guest is borne along. Elsewhere triumphant in his car Pelops handles the reins of Neptune,** and Myrtilos the charioteer grasps at the bounding wheels, as the swift axle leaves him far and farther behind. Grave Acrisius too and the dread likeness of Coroebus and Danae's guilty bosom, and Amymone * in sadness
* A daughter of Danaus, to whom Poseidon showed a spring at Lerna in time of drought, aod ravished her there.
VOL. IT G 81
STATIUS
tristis Amymone, parvoque Alcmena superbit Hercule, tergemina crinem circumdata luna. iungunt discordes inimica in foedera dextras 290
Belidae fratres ; sed vultu mitior adstat Aegyptus, Danai manifestum adgnoscere ficto ore notas pacisque malae noctisque futurae. mille dehinc species, tandem satiata voluptas praestantesque viros vocat ad «;ua praemia virtus. 295
Primus sudor equis. die inclyta, Phoebe, regentura nomina, die ipsos ; neque enim generosior umquam alipedum conlata acies, ceu praepete cursu confligant densae volucres aut litore in uno Aeolus insanis statuat certamina ventis. 300
Ducitur ante omnis rutilae manifestus Arion igne iubae. Neptunus equo, si certa priorum fama, pater ; primus teneri^ laesisse lupatis ora et litoreo domitasse in pulvere fertur, verberibus parcens ; etenim insatiatus eundi 305
ardor et hiberno par inconstantia ponto. saepe per Ionium Libycumque natantibus ire interiunctus equis omnesque adsuerat in oras caeruleum deferre patrem ; stupuere relicta Nubila, certantes Eurique Notique sequuntur. 310 nee minor in terris bella Eurysthea gerentem Amphitryoniaden alto per gramina sulco duxerat, illi etiam ferus indocilisque teneri. mox divum dono regis dignatus Adrasti imperia et multum mediis mansueverat annis. 315 tunc rector genero Polynici indulget agendum ^ teneri Qarrod : teneris Pco.
" Because of the night of threefold length in which Hercules was begotten.
* The suitors of the Danafds, sons of Aegyptus, who was son of Belus, as was also Danaus ; cf. iv. 133.
82
THEBAID, VI. 288-316
by the stream she found, and Alcmena proud of the infant Hercules, a threefold moon*' about her hair. The sons of Belus * join their discordant right hands in a pledge of enmity, but Aeg}7)tus %\'ith milder look stands near ; easy is it to mark on the feigned countenance of Danaus the signs of a treacherous peace and of the coming night. Then follow shapes innumerable. At length pleasure is sated, and prowess summons the foremost heroes to its own rewards.
First came the sweat of steeds. Tell, O Phoebus, - the drivers' famous names, tell of the steeds them- selves ; for never did nobler array of ^^ing-footed coursers meet in conflict : even as serried ranks of birds compete in s\\ift course or on a single shore Aeolus appoints a contest for the wild winds.
Before the rest Arion, marked by his mane of fiery red, is led forth. Neptune, if the fame of olden time be true, was his sire ; he first is said to have hurt his young mouth \vith the bit and tamed him on the sand of the sea-shore, sparing the lash ; for insatiable was his eagerness to run, and he was capricious as a winter sea. Oft was he wont to go in harness with the steeds of ocean through the Libyan or Ionian deep, and bring his dark-blue sire safe home to every shore ; the storm-clouds marvelled to be outstripped, and East and South winds strive and are left behind. Nor less s^^•iftly on land had he borne Amphitryon's son, when he waged Eurystheus' wars, in deep-pressed furrows o'er the mead, fierce to him also and impatient of control. Soon by the gods' bounty he was deemed worthy to have Adrastus for his lord, and meanwhile had grown far gentler. On that day the chieftain allows him to be driven
83
STATIUS
multa monens, ubi fervor equo, qua suetus ab arte mulceri, ne saeva manus, ne liber habenis impetus, "urge alios" inquit " stimulisque minisque; ille ibit, minus ipse voles." sic ignea lora 320
cum daret et rapido Sol natum imponeret axi, gaudentem lacrimans astra insidiosa docebat nolentesque teri zonas mediamque polorum temperiem : pius ille quidem et formidine cauta, sed iuvenem durae prohibebant discere Parcae. 325 Oebalios sublimis agit, spes proxima palmae, Amphiaraus equos ; tua furto lapsa propago, Cyllare, dum Scythici diversus ad ostia Ponti Castor Amyclaeas remo permutat liabenas. ipse habitu niveus, nivei dant colla iugales, 330
concolor est albis et cassis et infula cristis. quin et Thessalicis felix Admetus ab oris vix steriles compescit equas ; Centaurica dicunt semina (credo, adeo sexum indignantur, et omnis in vires adducta Venus) ; noctemque diemque 335 adsimulant, maculis internigrantibus albae : tantus uterque color, credi nee degener illo de grege, Castaliae stupuit qui sibila cannae laetus et audito contempsit Apolline pasci. ecce et lasonidae iuvenes, nova gloria matris 340
Hypsipyles, subiere iugo, quo vectus uterque, nomen avo gentile Thoas atque omine dictus Euneos Argoo. geminis eadem omnia : vultus,
° For other references to horse-breeding see x. 228, Silv. V. 2. 21. It is not clear why being of Centaur's seed should make them scornful of their sex.
* i.e., the horses of Admetus, whom Apollo served as a shepherd.
" The word Eweos = happy voyaging.
84
THEBAID, VI. 317-343
by his son-in-law Polynices, and much did he counsel him, what arts would soothe the horse when enraged, not to use too fierce a hand, nor to let him gallop free of the rein ; " urge other steeds," said he, " with voice and goad ; but he ■vvill go, ay, faster than you wish." Even so, when the sun granted the fiery reins and set his son upon the whirhng chariot, with tears did he warn the rejoicing youth of treacherous stars and zones that would fain not be o'errun and the temperate heat that lies midway between the poles ; obedient was he and cautious, but the cruel Fates would not suffer him to learn. Amphiaraus, next favourite for the prize, aloft in his chariot drives Oebalian steeds ; thy progeny, Cyllarus, stealthily begotten while far away by the mouth of Scythian Pontus Castor was exchanging for the oar the Amy clean rein. Snow-white his own raiment, snow-white are the coursers that lend their necks to the yoke, his helm and fillet match the whiteness of his crested plume. Admetus, too, the fortunate, from Thessalian shores, can scarce restrain his barren mares, of Centaur's seed, as they tell (so scornful, methinks, are they of their sex, and their natural heat turns all to body's vigour)." White with dark flecks, they resemble day and night : so strongly marked was each colour, nor unfit were they to be deemed of that stock ^ which stood spellbound at the piping of the Castahan reed, and scorned their pasture when they heard Apollo play. Lo ! the young sons of Jason, too, their mother Hypsipyle's new-found pride, took stand upon the chariots where- in each rode, Thoas, bearing the name of his grand- sire, proper to his race, and Euneos," called from Argo's omen. In everything were the twins alike,
85
STATIUS
currus, equi, vestes, par et concordia votis,
vincere vel solo cupiunt a fratere relinqui. 345
it Chromis Hippodamusque, alter satus Hercule
magno, alter ab Oenomao : dubites, uter efFera presset frena magis. Getici pecus hie Diomedis, at ille Pisaei iuga patris habet, crudelibus ambo exuviis diroque imbuti sanguine currus. 350
metarum instar erant^ hinc nudo robore quercus, olim omnis exuta comas, hinc saxeus umbo, arbiter agricolis ; finem iacet inter utrumque, quale quater iaculo spatium, ter harundine vincas.
Interea cantu Musarum nobile mulcens 355
concilium citharaeque manus insertus Apollo Parnassi summo spectabat ab aethere terras ; orsa deum — nam saepe lovem Phlegramque suique anguis opus fratrumque pius cantarat honores — tunc aperit, quis fulmen agat, quis sidera ducat 360 spiritus, unde animi fluviis, quae pabula ventis, quo fonte immensum vivat^ mare, quae via solis praecipitet noctem, quae porrigat, imane tellus an media et rursus mundo succincta latenti. finis erat, difFert avidas audire sorores, 365
dumque chelyn lauro textumque inlustre coronae subligat et picto discingit pectora limbo, haud procul Herculeam Nemeen clamore reductus aspicit atque illic ingens certaminis instar
^ erant Slater : erat Poj.
^ vivat CO : bibat P, immensum quo fonte bibat conj. Phillimore.
" A javelin could be flung 80 yards if the " amentum " or strap were used (Pauly-Wissowa, Real-Encycl. s.v. Hasta) ; the distance between the posts was therefore about 300 yards.
" Phlegra was the scene of the battle between the gods
86
THEBAID, VI. 344.-369
in looks, in car and steeds, in raiment, and in the liarmony of their ^vishes, either to \nn or to lose only at a brother's hands. Next ride Chroniis and Hippodamus, the one born of miglity Hercules, the other of Oenomaus : it were doubtful which drove more madly. The one has horses bred by Getic Diomede, the other a yoked pair of his Pisean sire, both chariots are decked \A'ith cruel spoils and drip with ghastly blood. For turning-points there stood here a bare oak-trunk, there a stone pillar, arbiter of husbandmen ; betwixt either bound there lay a space thou mightest reach \\ith four times a javeUn's cast, %vith thrice an arrow's flight."
Meanwhile Apollo was charming ^^ith his strains the Muses' glorious company, and, his linger placed upon the strings, was gazing down to earth from the airy summit of Parnassus. First he recounts the deeds of the gods — for oft in duty bound he had sung of Jove and Phlegra and his own victory o'er the serpent and his brothers' praises ^ — and then reveals what spirit drives the thunderbolt or guides the stars, whence comes the fury of the rivers, what feeds the \nnds, what founts supply the unmeasured ocean, what pathway of the sun hastens or draws out the course of night, whether earth be lowest or in mid-heaven and encompassed by yet another world we view not. There he ended, and puts off the sisters, eager though they are to Usten, and while he fastens bay about his lyre and the woven brilliance of his coronet, and ungirds his breast of the pictured girdle, he hears a clamour, and beholds not far away Nemea famed for Hercules, and there the mighty
and the giants ; the snake is the P\-thon ; his brothers are Bacclius and Hercules, both sons of Zeus.
87
STATIUS
quadriiugi. noscit cunctos, et forte propinquo 370 constiterant Admetus et Amphiaraus in arvo. tunc secum : " quisnam iste duos/ fidissima Phoebi nomina, commisit deus in discrimina reges ? ambo pii carique ambo ; nequeam ipse priorem dicere. Peliacis hie cum famularer in arvis — 375 sic lovis imperia et nigrae voluere Sorores — tura dabat famulo nee me sentire minorem ausus ; at hie tripodum comes et pius artis alumnus aetheriae. potior meritis tamen ille, sed huius extrema iam fila colu ; datur ordo senectae 380
Admeto serumque mori ; tibi nulla supersunt gaudia, nam Thebae iuxta et tenebrosa vorago. scis miser, et nostrae pridem cecinere volucres." dixit, et ps fletu paene inviolabile tinctus extemplo Nemeen radiante per aera saltu 385
ocior et patrio venit igne suisque sagittis. ipse olim in terris, caelo vestigia durant, claraque per zephyros etiamnum semita lucet.
Et iam sortitus Prothous versarat aena casside, iamque locus cuique est et Uminis ordo. 390 terrarum decora ampla viri, decora aequa iugales, divum utrumque genus, stant uno margine clausi spesque audaxque una metus et fiducia pallens. nil fixum cordi : pugnant exire paventque, concurrit summos animosum frigus in artus. 395
^ duos w : duo P {cf. Klotz ad loc. and Ilousman. Manil. 1. 792).
88
THEBAID, VI. 370-395
spectacle of a four-horsed chariot-race. He recog- nizes all, and by chance Admetus and Amphiaraus had taken their stand in a field hard by. Then to himself he spake : " What god has set those two princes, Phoebus' most loyal names, in mutual rivalry ? Both are devoted to me, and both are dear ; nor could I say which holds first place. The one, when I served as thrall on Pehan ground — such was Jove's command, so the dark Sisters willed — burnt incense to his slave, nor dared to deem me his in- ferior. The other is the companion of the tripods and the devout pupil of the A^isdom of the air : and though the first has preference by his deserts, yet the other's thread is near its chstafF's end. For Admetus is old age ordained, and a late death ; to thee no joys remain, for Thebes awaits thee and the dark gulf. Thou knowest it, unhappy one : long since have my o^^"n birds sung thy doom." He spoke, and tears bedewed the face that scarce any sorrow may profane ; then straightway came he to Nemea, bounding radiant through the air, s^^^fter than his father's fire and his own shafts. Long had he reached the earth, yet still his tracks remain in heaven, and still athwart the zephyrs his path gleams bright.
And now Prothous had shaken the lots in a brazen helmet, and each had his place and order at the starting. The heroes, each his country's glorious boast, and the coursers, a match to them in glory, all alike of blood divdne, stand penned by the one barrier, hopeful, daring yet fearful, anxious yet con- fident. All is confusion in their hearts ; they strive, yet are afraid, to be gone, and a thrill of courage mixt with dread runs through them to the ex- tremities of their limbs. The steeds are as ardent
89
ST ATI us
qui dominis, idem ardor equis ; face lumina surgunt, ora sonant morsu, spuniisque et sanguine ferrum uritur, impulsi nequeunt obsistere postes claustraque, compressae transfumat anhelitus irae. stare adeo miserum est, pereunt vestigia mille 400 ante fugam, absentemque ferit gravis ungula campum. circumstant fidi, nexusque et torta iubarum expediunt firmantque animos et plurima monstrant. insonuit contra Tyrrhenum murmur, et omnes exsiluere loco, quae tantum carbasa ponto, 405
quae bello sic tela volant, quae nubila caelo ? amnibus hibernis minor est, minor impetus igni, tardius astra cadunt, glomerantur tardius imbres, tardius e summo decurrunt flumina monte.
Emissos videre atque agnovere Pelasgi. 410
et iam rapti oculis, iam caeco pulvere mixti una in nube latent, vultusque umbrante tumultu vix inter sese clamore et nomine noscunt. evolvere globum, et spatio quo quisque valebat diducti : delet sulcos iterata priores 415
orbita, nunc avidi prono iuga pectore tangunt, nunc pugnante genu et pressis duplicantur habenis. colla toris crinita tument, stantesque repectit aura iubas, bibit albentes humus arida nimbos. fit sonus immanisque pedum tenuisque rotarum. 420 nulla manu requies, densis insibilat aer verberibus ; gelida non crebrior exsilit Arcto grando, nee Oleniis manant tot cornibus imbres.
" Th' impatient courser pants in ev'ry vein,
And pawing, seems to beat the distant plain ; Hills, vales and floods appear already cross'd. And ere he starts, a thousand steps are lost.
Pope, Windsor Forest.
* i.e., of the trumpet ; see note on iii. 630.
' i.e., at the turning-points.
90
THEBAID, VI. 396-^23
as their masters : their eyes dart flame, they loudly champ the bits, and blood and foam corrode the iron ; scarce do the confining posts resist then- pressure, they smoke and pant in stifled rage. Such misery is it to stand still, a thousand steps are lost ere they start, and, on the absent plain, their hooves ring loud." Around stand trusty friends, smoothing out the t^v-isted tangled manes, and speak heartening words and give much counsel. The Tyrrhenian * blast rang in their ears, and all leapt forward from their places. What canvas on the deep, what javehns in war, what clouds so SAviftly fly across the heavens ? less violent are winter streams, or fire ; slower fall stars or gather rains, more slowly flow the torrents from the mountain-summits.
As they sped forth the Pelasgi saw and marked them ; now are they lost to view, now confused and hidden in one cloud of bhnding dust ; they can see nothing for the press, and scarce by shout of name can they recognize each other. Then some draw clear of the throng, and each takes place according to his strength ; the second lap blots out the former furrows, and now stooping forward in their eagerness they touch the yoke, now with straining knees they bend double, tugging at the reins." On the shaggy necks the muscles swell, and the breeze combs back the erect manes, while the dusty ground drinks up the white rain of foam. The thunder of hooves and the gentler sound of running wheels are blended. Never idle are their arms, the air hisses >\ith the oft-pUed lash ; no more densely spatters the hail from the cold North, nor streams the rain from the Olenian horns .'^
** See note on iiL 25.
91
STATIUS
Senserat adductis alium praesagus Arion stare ducem loris, dirumque expaverat insons 425 Oedipodioniden ; iam illinc a limine discors iratusque oneri solito^ truculentior ardet. Inachidae credunt accensum laudibus ; ille aurigam fugit, aurigae furiale minatur efFerus, et campo dominum circumspicit omni. 430 ante tamen cunctos sequitur longeque secundus Ampliiaraus agit, quern Thessalus aequat eundo Admetus : iuxta gemini, nunc Euneos ante et nunc ante Thoas, cedunt vincuntque, nee umquam ambitiosa pios conlidit gloria fratres. 435
postremum discrimen erant Chromis asper et asper Hippodamus, non arte rudes, sed mole tenentur cornipedum ; prior Hippodamus fert ora sequentum, fert gemitus multaque umeros incenditur aura, speravit flexae circum compendia metae 440
interius ductis Phoebeius augur habenis anticipasse viam ; nee non et Thessalus heros spe propiore calet, dum non cohibente magistro spargitur in gyros dexterque exerrat Arion. iam prior Oeclides et iam non tertius ibat 445
Admetus, laxo cum tandem ambo^ orbe reductus aequoreus sonipes premit evaditque parumper gavisos ; subit astra fragor, caelumque tremiscit, omniaque excusso patuere sedilia vulgo. sed nee lora regit nee verbera pallidus audet 450
Labdacides : lassa veluti ratione magister
^ solito PS : insolito oj.
^ ambo Alton (CI. Quart, xvii. 175) : ab Pco: ex or et ab late Mss. : Klotz conj. ambage.
" Or, as he was son of Neptune, " prescient," " inspired." " insons " : the guilty mortal makes the guiltless horse afraid.
* i.e., Polynices ; the patronymic merely indicates descent, 92
THEBAID, VI. 424-451
By instinct " had Arion guessed that another driver ood grasping the reins, and feared, innocent as he as, the dire son of Oedipus ; from the very start he rages more fiercely than his wont, fretting angrily against his burden. The sons of Inachus think him fired by praises, but it is the charioteer that he is flying, the charioteer that he threatens in maddened fury, and he looks round for his lord on all the plain. Amphiaraus follows him, yet far before the rest and by a long space second, and level A\-ith him runs Thessalian Admetus ; the twins are together, now Euneos to the fore, now Thoas, and in turn give ground and go ahead, nor ever does ambitious love of glory set at variance the devoted brothers. Last of all fierce Chromis and fierce Hippodamus contend, not lacking skill, but the weight of their coursers retards them ; Hippodamus, leading, feels the pant- ing breath of the following steeds, and their hot wind upon his shoulders. The seer of Phoebus hoped by dra^ring tight his rein and turning close around the goal to gain first place ; and the Thessahan hero too feels hope glow nearer, while Arion, defying control, dashes here and there in circles and strays rightward from the course. Already OecUdes was in front and Admetus no longer third, when the sea-born steed, at last brought back from his ^^ide circuit, overtakes and passes both, their triumph but short-hved ; a loud crash rises to the sky, and heaven trembles, and all the seats flashed bare, as the crowd sprang to their feet. But the son of Labdacus ^ in pale anxiety neither handles the rein nor dares the lash : just as a steersman, his skill exhausted, rushes
as later 1. 467, where he is called " son of Echion," one of the founders of Thebes.
93
STATIUS
in fluctus, in saxa ruit nee iam amplius astra respicit et victam proiecit casibus artem.
Rursus praecipites in recta ac devia campi obliquant tenduntque vias, iterum axibus axes 455 inflicti, radiisque rotae ; pax nulla fidesque : bella geri ferro levius, bella horrida credas ; is furor in laudes, trepidant mortemque minantur, multaque transversis praestringitur ungula campis. nee iam sufficiunt stimuli, non verbera, voce 460
nominibusque cient Pholoen Admetus et Irin fumantemque Thoen, rapidum Danaeius augur Ascheton increpitans meritumque vocabula Cygnum. audit et Herculeum Strymon Chromin, Euneon audit igneus Aethion ; tardumque Cydona lacessit 465
Hippodamus, variumque Thoas rogat ire Podarcen. solus Echionides errante silentia curru maesta tenet trepidaque timet se voce fjiteri.
Vixdum coeptus equis labor, et iam pulvere quarto campum ineunt, iamque et tepidis sudoribus artus 470 efFeti, et crassum rapit eiectatque vaporem cornipedum flammata sitis, nee iam integer illis impetus, et longi suspendunt ilia flatus, hie anceps Fortuna diu decernere primum ausa venit. ruit, Haemonium dum fervidus instat 475 Admetum superare, Thoas, nee pertulit^ ullam frater opem, velit ille quidem, sed Martius ante obstitit Hippodamus mediasque immisit habenas. mox Chromis Hippodamum metae interioris ad orbem viribus Herculeis et toto robore patris 480
axe tenet prenso, luctantur abire iugales
^ pertulit Baehrens : praetulit Pw. 94
THEBAID, VI. 452-481
upon waves and rocks alike, nor any more consults the stars, but flings his baffled art to the mercy of chance.
Again at headlong speed they swerve right-handed from the track into the plain, and strive to keep their course, and again comes the shock of axle on axle, wheel on wheel-spokes ; no truce is there, nor keep- ing faith ; a Ughter task, one would think, were war, savage war, and bloodshed, such furious will to victory is theirs, such fear and threats of death ; and many a hoof is struck as it runs crosswise o'er the plain. Neither goads nor lashes now suffice, but with shout of name does Admetus urge Iris and Pholoe and steaming Thoe, and the Danaan augur chide fleet Aschetos and Cygnus well so-called. Strymon too hears Chromis, son of Hercules, and fiery Aethion Euneos ; Hippodamus provokes slow Cydon, Thoas entreats piebald Podarces to greater speed. Only Echion's son keeps gloomy silence in his erring car, and fears to confess his plight by cries of alarm.
Scarce was the real struggle of the steeds begun, and yet now they are entering the fourth dusty lap, and now steaming sweat is pouring from their ex- hausted limbs, and fiery thirst heaves and gasps forth the tliick breath of the horn-footed steeds ; and now their \igour flags, and their flanks are racked with long- drawn pantings. Then first does Fortune, long time doubtful, dare to step in and make decision. Thoas, pressing madly on to pass Haemonian Admetus, falls, nor does his brother aid him ; fain would he, but Martian Hippodamus forestalled him and drove his team between them. Next Chromis by Herculean vigour and all his father's strength holds Hippodamus with axles interlocked, as he wheels inside him past the goal ; in vain the steeds struggle to get free,
95
STATIUS
nequiquam frenosque et colla rigentia tendunt.
ut Siculas si quando rates tenet aestus et ingens
auster agit, medio stant vela tumentia ponto.
tunc ipsum fracto curru deturbat, et isset 485
ante Chromis ; sed Thraces equi ut videre iacentem
Hippodamum, redit ilia fames, iamiamque trementem
partiti furiis, ni frena ipsosque frementes
oblitus palmae retro Tirynthius heros
torsisset victusque et conlaudatus abisset. 490
At tibi promissos iamdudum Phoebus honores, Amphiarae, cupit. tandem ratus apta favori tempora pulverei venit in spatia horrida circi, cum lam in fine viae, et summum victoria nutat ; anguicomam monstri effigiem, saevissima visu 495 ora, movet sive ille Erebo seu finxit in astus'^ temporis, innumera certe formidine cultum tollit in astra nefas. non illud ianitor atrae impavidus Lethes, non ipsae horrore sine alto Eumenides vidisse queant, turbasset euntes 500
Solis equos Martisque iugum. nam flavus Arion ut vidit, saHere iubae, atque erectus in armos stat sociumque iugi comitesque utrimque laboris secum alte suspendit equos. ruit ilicet exsul Aonius nexusque diu per terga volutus 506
exuit ; abripitur longe moderamine liber currus ; at hunc putri praeter tellure iacentem
^ astus P : astu w.
9Q
I
THEBAID, VI. 482-507
and strain their sinewy necks and bridles. As when the tide holds fast Sicilian craft and a strong South wind impels them, the swelling sails stand motionless in mid-sea. Then Chromis hurls his rival from the shattered car, and had sped on the foremost, but when the Thracian horses saw Hippodamus lying on the ground, that a^vful hunger comes back upon them, and already had they shared in their mad lust his trembling frame, had not the Tirynthian hero, forget- ful of \ictory. taken their bridles and dragged away the neighing steeds, and left the field vanquished but praised of all.
But Phoebus hath long desired for thee, Amphi- araus, thy promised honours. At last, deeming the moment fit to show thee favour, he visits the grim spaces of the dusty course, when now the race is nearing its end, and for the last time \ictory hovers doubtful ; a snake-tressed monstrous phantom, of visage terrible to behold, whether he wrought it in Erebus or for the cunning purpose of the moment, certainly endowed with countless terrors — this horrid plague he raises to the world above. The guardian of dusky Lethe could not have beheld it unterrified, nor the Eumenides themselves without a deep thrill of fear, it would have overturned the horses of the sun in mid-career, and the team of Mars. When golden Arion saw it, his mane leapt up erect, and he halts >vith upreared shoulders and holds high suspended his yoke-fellow and the steeds that shared his toil on either side. Straightway the Aonian exile is flung backward head-over-heels : he drops the reins, and the chariot, freed from restraint, dashes far away. But past him as he lies on the crumbling
VOL. II H .97
ST ATI us
Taenarii currus et Thessalus axis et heros Lemnius obliqua, quantum vitare dabatur, transabiere fuga. tandem caligine mersum 510
erigit adcursu comitum caput aegraque tollit membra solo, et socero redit baud speratus Adrasto.
Quis mortis, Thebane, locus, nisi dura negasset Tisiphone, quantum poteras dimittere bellum ? te Thebe fraterque palam, te plangeret Argos, 515 te Nemee, tibi Lerna comas Larissaque supplex poneret, Archemori maior colerere sepulcro.
Tum vero Oeclides, quamquam iam carta sequenti praemia, cum vacuus domino prior iret^ Arion, ardet adhuc cupiens vel inanem vincere currum. 520 dat vires refovetque deus ; volat ocior euro, ceu modo carceribus dimissus in arva solutis, verberibusque iubas et terga lacessit habenis increpitans Caerumque levem Cygnumque nivalem. nunc saltem, dum nemo prior, rapit igneus orbes 525 axis, et effusae longe sparguntur harenae. dat gemitum tellus et iam tunc saeva minatur. forsitan et victo prior isset Arione Cygnus, sed vetat aequoreus vinci pater : hinc vice iusta gloria mansit equo, cessit victoria vati. 530
huic pretium palmae gemini cratera ferebant Herculeum iuvenes : ilium Tirynthius olim ferre manu sola spumantemque ore supino vertere, seu monstri victor seu Marte, solebat.
^ prior iret Mueller : praeiret Pw : domitore praeir Unger, cf. ii. 551.
" i.e., Amphiaraus, Admetus, and Thoas. 98
THEBAID, \'I. .308-534
earth sweep the Taenarian car and the Thessahan axle and the Lcmnian hero," and just avoid him by swerving in their flight. His friends rush up, and at last he lifts his dazed head and reeling limbs from the ground, and returns, scarce hoped for by his father- in-law Adrastus.
How timely then, O Theban, had been thy death, had not stem Tisiphone forbidden ! How grievous a war couldest thou have prevented ! Thebe had be- wailed thee and thy brother made show thereof, and Argos too had mourned, and Xemea and Lerna and Larissa had in suppliant guise shorn tresses for thee, thou hadst excelled Archemorus in funeral pomp.
Then Oeclides, although the prize was now sure for him as he followed, since masterless Arion held first place, yearned yet with keen desire to pass even the empty chariot. The god lends strength and re- freshment ; SAvifter than the East wind he flies, as though the barrier were but just fallen and he were starting on the race, and calling aloud on nimble Caerus and snow-white Cygnus, plies their necks A\ith blows and shakes the reins upon their backs. Now at least, when nobody is in front, the fiery axle devours the course, and the scattered sand is thrown afar. The earth groans, and even then savagely threatens. And perchance Arion too had OAvned defeat and Cygnus taken first place, but his ocean-sire suffers him not to be defeated : thus by a just division the glory remained for the horse, but the prophet gained the victorj'. His meed of triumph was a Herculean bowl, borne by two youths ; the Tirj'nthian on a time was wont to take it in one hand, and with head flung back quaff it foaming, whether victorious over a monster or in the field of
99
STAT I us
Centauros habet arte truces aurumque figuris 535 j
terribile : hie mixta Lapitharum caede rotantur
saxa, faces aliique iterum crateres, ubique
ingentes morientum irae ; tenet ipse furentem
Hylaeum et torta molitur robora barba.
at tibi Maeonio fertur circumflua limbo 540
pro meritis, Admete, chlamys repetitaque multo
murice : Phrixei natat hie contemptor ephebus
aequoris et picta tralucet caerulus unda ;
in latus ire rnanus^ mutaturusque videtur
braccliia, nee siccum speres in stamine crinem ; 545
contra autem frustra sedet anxia turre suprema
Sestias in specuhs, moritur prope conscius ignis.
has Adrastus opes dono victoribus ire
imperat ; at generum famula solatur Acliaea.
Sollicitat tunc ampla viros ad praemia cursu 550 praeceleres : agile studium et tenuissima virtus, pacis opus, cum sacra vocant, nee inutile bellis subsidium, si dextra neget. prior omnibus Idas, nuper Olympiads umbratus tempora ramis, prosilit ; excipiunt plausu Pisaea iuventus 555
Eleaeque manus. sequitur Sicyonius Alcon, ^
et bis in Isthmiaca victor clamatus harena fl
Phaedimus, alipedumque fugam praegressus equorum " ante Dymas, sed tunc aevo tardante secutus. multi et, quos varii tacet ignorantia vulgi, 56a
hinc atque hinc subiere. sed Arcada Parthenopaeum
^ manus Pw {i.e. videntur) : manu Markland.
" i.e., the mixing-bowls portrayed on this bowl.
* Leander, who swam from Abydos to Sestos.
' i.e., in contrast to the robuster sports of chariot-racings boxing, etc. ; cf. 1. 730. 100
THEBAID, VI. 535-561
Mars. Fierce Centaurs has it, cunningly \\Tought, d fearful shapes in gold : here amid slaughter of ipithae are stones and torches flying, and again her bowls " ; everywhere the furious anger of dying n ; he himself seizes the raging Hylaeus, and ips him by the beard and ^\ields his club. But for : ;Le, Admetus, is brought for thy deser\ing a cloak with a flowing border of Maeonian dye, stained many a time with purple ; here swims the youth con- temptuous of Phrixean waters,* and gleams with sea- blue body through the pictured wave ; one sees the sideward sweep of his arm, and he seems about to make the alternate stroke, nor would one think to find his hair drj- in the woven fabric. Yonder high upon her tower sits anxiously watching, all in vain, the Sestian maid ; near her the conscious lamp droops and flickers. These rich rewards Adrastus bids be given to the \ictors ; but his son-in-law he consoles with an Achaean handmaid.
Then he incites those heroes who are speediest of foot to strive for ample rewards : a contest of agility where prowess is frailest,'^ fit pursuit for peace, when sacred games in\-ite, nor useless in war as a refuge should power of arm fail. Before all the rest Idas leaps to the front, whose temples were lately shaded by Olympian wTcaths ; the youth of Pisa and the bands of Elis hail him with applause. Alcon of Sicyon follows, and Phaedimus, twice acclaimed the victor on the sands of Isthmus, and Dymas, who once out- stripped the flight of wing-footed steeds, but now they outran him by reason of retarding age. Many too, whom the ignorant multitude received in silence, came forward from this side and from that. But for Parthenopaeus the Arcadian they call aloud, and
101
STATIUS
appellant densique cient vaga murmura circi. nota parens cursu ; quis Maenaliae Atalantes nesciat egregium decus et vestigia cunctis indeprensa procis ? onerat celeberrima natum 565 mater, et ipse procul fama iam notus inermes narratur cervas pedes inter aperta Lycaei tollere et emissum cursu deprendere telum. tandem exspectatus volucri super agmina saltu emicat et torto chlamydem diffibulat auro. 57(>
efFulsere artus, membrorumque omnis aperta est laetitia, insignes umeri, nee pectora nudis deteriora genis, latuitque in corpore vultus.^ ipse tamen formae laudem aspernatur et arcet mirantes ; tune Palladios non inscius haustus 57,3
incubuit pinguique cutem fuscatur olivo. hoc Idas, hoc more Dymas aliique nitescunt. sic ubi tranquillo perlucent sidera ponto vibraturque fretis caeli stellantis imago, omnia clara nitent, sed clarior omnia supra 580
Hesperos exercet radios, quantusque per altum aethera, caeruleis tantus monstratur in undis. proximus et forma nee multum segnior Idas cursibus atque aevo iuxta prior ; attamen illi iam tenuem pingues florem induxere palaestrae, 58") deserpitque genis nee se lanugo fatetur intonsae sub nube comae, tunc rite citatos explorant acuuntque gradus, variasque per artes exstimulant docto languentia membra tumultu : poplite nunc sidunt flexo, nunc lubrica forti 59(t
^ latuitque in corpore vultus P {corr. from aluitque in corpore virtus) : patuitque (valuitque Klotz) in corpore virtus Peyrared.
102
THEBAID, VI. 562-590
arouse murmurs that roam throughout the close- packed circus. Well known is his parent for speed of foot ; who cannot tell of the peerless renown of Atalanta, and of those footprints that no suitor could o'ertake ? The son bears all his mother's glory, and he himself, already known to fame, is said to catch on foot the defenceless hinds in the open glades of Mount Lycaeus, and, as he runs, to o'ertake the flung javelin. Long expected, at last darts he forward, leaping lightly o'er the companies, and unfastens the twisted golden clasp of his cloak. His limbs shine forth, and all his graceful frame is revealed, his fine shoulders, and breast as smooth and comely as his cheeks, and his face was lost in his body's beauty. But he scorns the praise of his fairness, and suffers not admirers to come near him. Then he cunningly sets to work with the draughts of Pallas," and makes his skin ta^^•ny with rich oil. Thus do Idas and Dymas and the rest shine sleek and glossy. So when the star- light glitters on a tranquil sea, and the spangled heaven is mirrored tremulous in the deep, brilliant is every star, but more brilliant than the rest does Hesperus shoot his beams, and brightly as he flames in the high heavens, so bright is his reflection in the dark-blue waves. Idas is next in beauty, nor much slower in speed, next older too in years ; but for him already has the palaestra's oil brought on the tender growth, and the down is creeping o'er his cheeks, nor yet confesses itself among the cloud of unshorn locks. Then they duly try their speed and sharpen up their paces, and by various arts and feigned excitement stir their languid limbs ; now they sink down with bended knees, now smite with " Patron goddess of Athens, to whom the olive was sacred.
103
STATIUS
pectora conlidunt plausu, nunc ignea tollunt crura brevemque fugam necopino fine reponunt. Ut ruit atque aequum submisit regula limen, corripuere leves spatium, campoque refulsit nuda cohors : volucres isdem modo tardius arvis 595 isse videntur equi ; credas e plebe Cydonum Parthorumque fuga totidem exsiluisse sagittas. non aliter celeres Hyrcana per avia cervi, cum procul impasti fremitum accepere leonis sive putant, rapit attonitos fuga caeca metusque 600 congregat, et longum dant cornua mixta fragorem. effugit hie oculos rapida puer ocior aura Maenalius, quem deinde gradu premit horridus Idas inspiratque umero, flatuque et pectoris umbra terga premit. post ambiguo discrimine tendunt 605 Phaedimus atque Dymas, illis celer imminet Alcon. flavus ab intonso pendebat vertice crinis Arcados ; hoc primis Triviae pascebat ab annis munus et, Ogygio victor cum Marte redisset, nequiquam patriis audax promiserat aris. 610
tunc liber nexu lateque in terga solutus occursu zephyri retro fugit^ et simul ipsum impedit infestoque volans obtenditur^ Idae. inde dolum iuvenis fraudique adcommoda sensit tempora ; iam finem iuxta, dum limina victor 615 Parthenopaeus init, correpto crine reductum occupat, et longae^ primus ferit ostia portae.
^ fugit P(i) : fluit Bentley.
^ obtenditur B : ostenditur Poj.
* longae w : longe FN.
"limina" practically = " limes," the line marking the 1.
In a Greek stadium the line marking the starting-point and the goal was 30 yards long. But " longae " might =
104
THEBAID, VI. 591-617
loud claps their slippery breasts, now ply their fiery feet in short sprint and sudden stop.
As soon as the bar fell, and left the threshold level, they nimbly dashed away and the naked forms gleamed upon the plain ; more slowly seemed the swift coursers to move of late on the same ground : one might deem them so many arrows poured forth from Cydonian host or flying Parthians. Not other- wise speed the stags over H}Tcanian wilds, hearing, or fancying that they hear, a famished lion roar afar ; bhnd fear drives them in crowding panic-stricken flight, amid the ceaseless noise of clashing horns. Then swifter than the rapid breeze the Maenalian boy outstrips the sight, and hard behind him fierce Idas runs and breathes upon his shoulder and presses close upon his rear with panting breath and over- shadowing form. After them Phaedimus and Dymas strive in doubtful contest, near them fleet Alcon. The yellow hair hung down from the Arcadian's un- shorn head ; this from his earliest years he cherished as a gift to Tri\ia, and vainly boasting had vowed it to his country's altars, when he should return in triumph from the Ogygian war. At that time, freed from its band and streaming loose behind, it flies backward as it meets the wind, at once hindering his own speed, and spreading out in front of his rival Idas. Thereat the youth bethought him of deceit and an opportunity for fraud ; already close upon the goal, even while Parthenopaeus is triumph- antly crossing the threshold," he grasps his hair, and pulhng him back seizes his place, and is the first to breast the wide entrance of the goal.''
" longinquae " (distant) here. In any case " longe " cannot be right.
105
STATIUS
Arcades arma fremunt, armis defendere regem, ni raptum decus et meriti reddantur honores, contendunt totoque parant descendere circo. 620
sunt et quis Idae placeat dolus, ipse regesta Parthenopaeus Immo vultumque oculosque madentes obruit, accessit lacrimarum gratia formae. pectora nunc maerens, nunc ora indigna cruento ungue secat meritamque comam, furit undique clamor dissonus, ambiguumque senis cunctatur Adrasti 626 consilium, tandem ipse refert : " compescite litem, o pueri ! virtus iterum temptanda ; sed ite limite non uno, latus hoc conceditur Idae, tu diversa tene, fraus cursibus omnis abesto." 630
Audierant, dictoque manent. mox numina supplex affatu tacito iuvenis Tegeaeus odorat : "diva potens nemorum, tibi enim hie, tibi crinis honori debitus, eque tuo venit haec iniuria voto, si bene quid genetrix, si quid venatibus ipse 635
promerui, ne, quaeso, sinas hoc omine Thebas ire nee Arcadiae tantum meruisse pudorem." auditum manifesta fides : vix campus euntcm sentit, et exilis plantis intervenit aer, raraque^ non fracto vestigia pulvere pendent. 640 inrumpit clamore fores, clamore recurrit ante ducem prensaque fovet suspiria palma. finiti cursus, operumque insignia praesto. Areas equum dono, clipeum gerit improbus Idas, cetera plebs Lyciis vadit contenta pharetris. 645
Tunc vocat, emisso si quis decernere disco
^ raraque P : ramaqueHeinsius: raptaque G'arrorf.
106
THEBAID, VI. 618-640
The Arcadians cry "'To arms!" and \%-ith arms they hasten to defend their prince, if the lost prize and merited honour be not restored, and make ready to descend on all the course. Others again were pleased by the ruse of Idas. Parthenopaeus himself pours showers of earth upon his face and streaming eyes, and the comeliness of tears is added to his beauty. In his grief he rends with.bloody nails now his breast, now his innocent cheeks and guilty hair, while all around discordant clamour rages, and old Adrastus halts irresolute of counsel. At last he speaks: "Cease quarrelhng, youths ! your prowess must be tried again ; but run not in one track only ; Idas has this side ; keep thou apart yonder, and let there be no cheating in the race ! "
They heard, and abide by his command. Then the youth of Tegea vriih silent prayer humbly en- treats the gods : " Goddess, queen of the woodlands, for to thee and to thine honour these locks of mine are vowed, and from this vow comes my disgrace ; if my mother or I myself have deserved well of thee in hunting, suffer me not, I pray thee, to go ill- omened thus to Thebes, or to have won such bitter shame for Arcadia." Clear proof was given that he was heard. The plain scarce feels him as he goes, his feet treads tenuous air, and the rare footsteps hover and leave the dust unbroken. With a shout he dashes to the goal, with a shout he runs back to the chief, and seizing the palm appeased his grief. The running was over, and prizes for their toils stand ready. The Arcadian is given a horse, the shameless Idas bears away a shield, the rest go contented with Lycian quivers.
Then he in\'ites anv who may wish to try the
107
STATIUS
impiger et vires velit ostentare superbas.
it iussus Pterelas, et aenae liibrica massae
pondera vix toto curvatus corpore iuxta
deicit ; inspectant taciti expenduntque laborem 650
Inachidae. mox turba ruunt, duo gentis Achaeae,
tres Ephyreiadae, Pisa satus unus, Acarnan
Septimus ; et plures agitabat gloria, ni se
arduus Hippomedon cavea stimulante tulisset
in mcdios, lateque ferens sub pectore dextro 655
orbem alium : " hunc potius, iuvenes, qui moenia saxis
frangere, qui Tyrias deiectum vaditis arces,
hunc rapite : ast illud cui non iaculabile dextrae
pondus ? " et abreptum nullo conamine iecit
in latus. absistunt procul attonitique fatentur 660
cedere ; vix unus Phlegyas acerque Menestlieus —
hos etiam pudor et magni tenuere parentes —
promisere manum ; concessit cetera pubes
sponte et adorato rediit ingloria disco.
qualis Bistoniis clipeus Mavortis in arvis 665
luce mala Pangaea ferit solemque refulgens
territat incussaque dei grave mugit ab hasta.
Pisaeus Phlegyas opus incohat et simul omnes abstulit in se oculos : ea viso^ corpore virtus promissa. ac primum terra discumque manumque asperat, excusso naox circum pulvere versat, 671
quod latus in digitos, mediae quod certius ulnae conveniat, non artis egens : hie semper amori
^ ea viso P : exhausto w : ex viso Baehrens.
" I have translated tlie word both " quoit " and " disk," though the discus, a plate of iron or stone about 10 or 12 inches in diameter, was very different from our quoit, which is a rinff. The "discus " is well illustrated by the familiar
108
THEBAID, \'I. 047-673
issue with the hurled quoit." and display untiring vigour and proud strength. At his command goes Pterelas, and with all his body bent scarce lays down beside him the slippery weight of the bronze mass ; in silence the sons of Inachus look on and estimate the toil. Soon a number rush forward : two of Achaean race, three sons of Ephyre, one Pisa-born, the seventh an Acarnanian ; and more was the love of glory urging on, had not tall Hippomedon, incited by the crowd, come forward, and carrying another broad disk at his right side : " Take this one rather, ye warriors, who are marching to shatter walls with stones, and to overthrow the Tyrian towers, take this one ! As for that other, any hand can toss that weight ! " and with no eifort he caught it up and threw it to one side. They fall back in amaze and confess themselves outdone ; scarce Phlegyas alone and eager Menestheus, compelled by sense of shame and noble ancestry, vouchsafed to try their strength ; the rest of their own accord gave place, and returned inglorious, marvelling at the disk. Even so the shield of Mars on the Bistonian * plain reflects an evil Ught on Mount Pangaeus, and shining strikes the sun with terror, and deeply clangs beneath the spear of the god.
Phlegyas of Pisa begins the toil ; straightway he drew all eyes upon himself, when they beheld liis frame, such promise of great deeds was there. And first with earth he roughens the quoit and his own hand, then shaking off the dust turns it right skilfully to see which side best suits his fingers, or fits more surely the middle of his arm. This sport had he
"Discobolus" of Myron. Thomas Gray wrote a verse translation of this passage (646-7;?5). * Thracian.
109
ST ATI us
ludus erat, patriae non tantum ubi laudis obiret
sacra, sed alternis Alphcon utrumque solebat 675
metari ripis et, qua latissima distant,
non umquam merso transmittere flumina disco.
ergo operum fidens non protinus horrida campi
iugera, sed caelo dextram metitur, humique
pressus utroque genu collecto sanguine discum 680
ipse super sese rotat atque in nubila condit.
ille citus sublime petit similisque cadenti
crescit in adversum, tandemque exhaustus ab alto
tardior ad terram redit atque immergitur arvis.
sic cadit, attonitis quotiens avellitur astris, 685
Solis opaca soror ; procul auxiliantia gentes
aera crepant frustraque timent, at Thessala victrix
ridet anhelantes audito carmine bigas.
conlaudant Danai, sed non tibi moUe tuenti,
Hippomedon, maiorque manus speratur in aequo. 690
Atque illi extemplo, cui spes infringere dulce immodicas, Fortuna venit. quid numina contra tendere fas homini ? spatium iam immane parabat, iam cervix conversa, et iam latus omne redibat : excidit ante pedes elapsum pondus et ictus 695
destituit frustraque manum demisit inanem. ingemuere omnes, rarisque ea visa voluptas. inde ad conatus timida subit arte Menestheus
" Here again the reader may refer to the "Discobolus" of Myron.
* It is flung aloft so swiftly that its fall by contrast is actually slower — a rhetorical paradox.
" Eclipses of the moon were believed to be caused by Thessalian witches, who were thought to have the power of drawing it down to earth ; the steeds are those of the chariot of the moon. 110
THEBAID, VI. 674-698
ever loved, not only when he attended his country's famous festival, but he was wont to reckon the space between Alpheos' either bank, and, where they are most widely distant, to clear the river nor ever wet the disk. At once, then, confident in his powers he measures, not the rough acres of the plain, but the sky's expanse with his right arm, and ^\^th either knee bent earthward " he gathers up his strength and whirls the disk above him and hides it in the clouds. Swiftly it speeds aloft, and as though falHng grows faster as it mounts ; ^ at last exhausted it returns to earth more slowly from the height, and buries itself in the field. So falls, whenever she is torn from the astonished stars, the darkened sister of the sun ; " afar the peoples beat the bronze for succour, and indulge their fruitless fears, but the Thessalian hag triumphant laughs at the panting steeds who obey her spell. The Danai shout applause, though amid thy fro^vns, Hippomedon, and he hopes for a mightier throw along the level.<*
But thereupon Fortune, whose pleasure it is to dash immoderate hopes, assails him ; what power has man against the gods ? Already he was prepar- ing a mighty throw, his head was turned and all his side was swinging back * : the weight slipped and fell before his feet and baffled his throw, and his hand dropped empty and unavaihng. All groaned, while to a few the sight brought pleasure. Mene- stheus then, more cautious, brings careful skill to the
** Phle^-as's first throw Is a practice - throw, upwards instead of *' on the flat '" (" in aequo ").
' i.e., his left side had been bent round towards the discus in his right hand ; it has already begun to swing back into place as he begins to throw.
Ill
STATIUS
cautior, et multum te, Maia crete, rogato molis praevalidae castigat pulvere lapsus. 700
ilia manu magna et multo felicior exit, nee partem exiguam circi transvecta quievit. fit sonus, et fixa signatur terra sagitta. tertius Hippomedon valida ad certamina tardos molitur gressus ; namque ilium corde sub alto 705 et casus Phlegyae monet et fortuna Menesthei. erigit adsuetum dextrae certamen,^ et alte sustentans rigidumque latus fortesque lacertos consulit ac vasto contorquet turbine, et ipse prosequitur, fugit horrendo per inania saltu 710
iamque procul meminit dextrae servatque tenorem discus, nee dubia iunctave Menesthea victum transabiit meta : longe super aemula signa consedit viridesque umeros et opaca theatri culmina ceu latae tremefecit mole ruinae : 71.")
quale vaporifera saxum Polyphemus ab Aetna lucis egente manu tamen in vestigia puppis auditae iuxtaque inimicum exegit Ulixen. sic et Aloidae, cum iam calcaret Olympum desuper Ossa rigens, ipsum glaciale ferebant 720
Pelion et trepido sperabant iungere caelo.^ Tum genitus Talao victori tigrin inanem ire iubet, fulvo quae circumfusa nitebat margine et extremos auro mansueverat ungues. Gnosiacos arcus habet et vaga tela Menestheus. 725 " at tibi " ait, " Phlegya, casu frustrate sinistro, hunc, quondam nostri decus auxiliumque Pelasgi,
^ certamen P : gestamen w.
* Lines 719-721 are only found in late and inferior US!^., and are usually bracketed as spurious.
" Hermes ; see note on iv. 228. 112
THEBAID, VI. 699-727
attempt, and uttering many a prayer to thee, O son of Maia," corrects with dust the shpperv surface of the powerful mass. With far better fortune it speeds from his huge hand, nor falls till it has covered no mean extent of the course. They applaud, and an arrow is fixed to mark the spot. Third, Hippomedon ■with slow and ponderous step advances to the labours of the contest ; for deep in his heart he takes warning from the fate of Phlegyas and the good fortune of Menestheus. He lifts the instrimient of combat that his hand knew well, and holding it aloft summons up the strength of his unyielding side and \igorous arms, and flings it \nih a mighty whirl, springing forward after it himself. With a terrific bound the quoit flies through the empty air, and even in its flight remembers the hand that flung it and keeps to its due path, nor attains a doubtful or a neighbouring goal as it passes the defeated Menestheus, but far beyond the rival sign it falls to earth, and makes tremble the green buttresses and shady heights of the theatre, as though they were falling in vast and widespread ruin ; even so from smoke-emitting Aetna did Polyphemus hurl the rock, though with hand untaught of \ision, yet on the very track of the ship he could but hear, and close to his enemy Ulixes. Thus too the Aloidae, when rigid Ossa already trod Ohnnpus under foot, bore icy Pelion also, and hoped to join it to the frightened heaven.
Then the son of Talaus bids a tiger's skin go as prize to the victor : all glossy it shone with a yellow border, and its sharp claws were tamed with gold. Menestheus receives a Gnosian bow and errant shafts. " But to thee, Phlegyas," he cries, " whom unlucky fortune foiled, we give this sword, once the VOL. II . I 113
STATIUS
ferredamus,nequeenimHippomedoninviderit,ensem. nunc opus est animis : infestos tollite caestus comminus ; haec bellis et ferro proxima virtus." 730
Constitit ininianis cerni immanisque timeri Argolicus Capaneus, ac dum nigrantia plumbo tegmina cruda bourn non mollior ipse lacertis induitur, " date tot iuvenum de milibus unum hue " ait, " atque utinam potius de stirpe veniret 735 aemulus Aonia, queni fas demittere leto, nee mea crudelis civili sanguine virtus." obstipuere animi, fecitque silentia terror, tandem insperatus nuda de plebe Laconum prosilit Aleidamas, mirantur Dorica regum 740
agniina ; sed socii fretum PoUuce magistro norant et sacras inter crevisse palaestras. ipse deus posuitque manus et bracchia finxit — materiae suadebat amor ; — tunc saepe locavit comminus, et simili stantem miratus in ira 745
sustulit exsultans nudumque in pectora pressit. ilium indignatur Capaneus ridetque vocantem ut miserans, poscitque alium, tandemque coactus restitit, et stimulis iam languida colla tumescunt. fulmineas alte suspensi corpora plantis 75o
erexere manus ; tuto procul ora recessu armorum in speculis, aditusque ad volnera clusi. hie, quantum Tityos Stygiis consurgat ab arvis, si torvae patiantur aves, tanta undique pandit membrorum spatia et tantis ferus ossibus exstat. 755 hie paulo ante puer, sed enim maturius aevo
" " crudelis " here seems to have the meaning of " crudus "' (from " cruor ").
'' Cf. iv. 239, where the Spartans are said to be trained by Mercury, the patron god of the wrestling-ground, in the modes of naked valour. 114
THEBAID, VI. 728-756
iry and aid of our Pelasgus, nor will Hippomedon uiudge it thee. And now is courage needed ; wield ye the terrible cestus in close conflict ; \alour here comes nighest to that of battle and I he sword."
Argive Capaneus took his stand — a^\'ful his aspect, awful the terror he inspires — ^and, binding on his arms the raw ox-hide black -with lumps of lead, himself no softer, " Send me one," says he, " from all those thousands of warriors ; and would rather that my rival were of Aonian stock, whom it were right to slay, and that my valour were not stained " with kindred blood." They stood aghast and terror made them silent. At last Alcidamas, unexpected, leapt forth from the naked ^ crowd of Laconians, while the Dorian princes marvel ; but his comrades knew he relied on his master Pollux, and had gro\\Ti up in the wresthng-school of a god. Pollux himself guided his hands and moulded his arms — love of the sport constrained him — and oft he set him against himself, and admiring him as he stood up in like mood caught him up exultant, and pressed his naked body to his breast. Capaneus thinks scorn of him and mocks at his challenge, as though in pity, and demands another foe ; at last perforce he faces him, and now his languid neck swells at anger's prompting. With bodies poised at their full height they lift their hands, deadly as thunderbolts ; safe withdrawn are their faces on their shoulders, ever watching, and closed is the approach to wounds. The one is as great in broad expanse of every limb and terrible in size of bone as though Tityos should rise up from the Stygian fields, did the fierce birds allow him ; the other was lately but a boy, yet his strength is riper than his
115
STATIUS
robur, et ingentes spondet tener impetus annos, quemvincihaudquisquamsaevo neque sanguinetingui malit, et erecto timeat spectacula voto.
Ut sese permensi oculis et uterque priorem 760 " speravere locum, non protinus ira nee ictus : j
alternus paulum timor et permixta furori |
consilia, inclinant tantum contraria iactu ;
bracchia et explorant caestus hebetantque terendo. ' doctior hie difFert animum metuensque futuri 76o cunctatus vires dispensat : at ille nocendi prodigus incautusque sui ruit omnis et ambas consumit sine lege manus atque inrita fi-endit insurgens seque ipse premit. sed providus astu et patria vigil arte Lacon hos reicit ictus, TTd
hos cavet ; interdum nutu capitisque citati integer obsequio, manibus nunc obvia tela discutiens, instat gressu voltuque recedit : saepe etiam iniustis conlatum viribus hostem — is vigor ingenio, tanta experientia dextrae est— 775 ultro audax animis intratque^ et obumbrat et alte ^ adsilit. ut praeceps cumulo salit unda minantes ]■ in scopulos et fracta redit, sic ille furentem circuit expugnans ; levat ecce diuque minatur in latus inque oculos ; ilium rigida arma caventem 780 avocat ac manibus necopinum interserit ictum ^ intratque Pw. : instatque late mss.
" i.e., that Alcidamas would win. For " quisque " to be supplied after "nemo " cf. Orelli's note on Hor. Sat. i. 1. 1.
* They have not yet begun boxing in earnest, but are just sparring and rubbing glove against glove.
" E. H. Alton would transpose " intrat " and " instat,"
116
THEBAID, VI. 757-781
years, and his youthful vigour gives promise of a mighty manhood ; him would none wish to see defeated nor stained with cruel gore, but each man fears the spectacle with eager prayers.*
Scanning each other with their gaze and each awaiting the first opening, they fell not at once to angry blows, but stayed awhile in mutual fear, and mingled caution with tlieir rage ; they but incline their arms against each other as they spar, and make trial of their gloves, dulling them with mere rubs.* The one, more skilfully trained, puts by his fury, and taking thought for the future delays and husbands up his strength ; but the other, prodigal of harm and reckless of his powers, rushes with all his might and in wild blows exhausts both arms, and attacks with fruitless gnashing of teeth, and injures his own cause. But the Laconian, prudent and crafty, and with all his country's vigilance, now parries, now avoids the blow ; sometimes by the throwing back or rapid bending of his head he shuns all hurt, now with his hands he beats off the aimed assault, and advances with his feet while keeping his head drawn back."^ Often again, as his foe engages him with superior power — such strength is in his cunning, such skill in his right hand — with bold initiative he enters his guard and overshadows him, and towering high assails him. Just as a mass of water hurls itself headlong on a threatening rock, and falls back broken, so does he wheel round his angry foe, breaking his defence ; look ! he lifts his hand and threatens a long time his face or side, and thus by fear of his hard weapons diverts his guard and cunningly plants a sudden blow,
contrasting the former with "recedit": "he stands up to him with his footwork, but keeps his head out of reach."
117
STATIUS
callidus et mediam designat volnere frontem : iam cruor, et tepido signantur tempora rivo. nescit adhuc Capaneus subitumqueper agmina murmur miratur ; verum ut fessam super ora reduxit 785
forte manum et summo maculas in vellere vidit, non leo, non iaculo tantum indignata recepto tigris : agit toto cedentem fervidus arvo praecipitatque retro iuvenem atque in terga supinat, dentibus horrendum stridens, geminatque rotatas 790 multiplicatque manus. rapiunt conamina venti, pars cadit in caestus ; motu Spartanus acuto mille cavet lapsas circum cava tempora mortes auxilioque pedum, sed non tamen immemor artis adversus fugit et fugiens tamen ictibus obstat. 795 Et iam utrumque labor suspiriaque aegra fatigant. tardius ille premit, nee iam hie absistere^ velox, defectique ambo genibus pariterque quierunt. sic ubi longa vagos lassarunt aequora nautas et signum de puppe datum, posuere parumper 800 bracchia : vix requies, iam vox citat altera remos. ecce iterum immodice venientem eludit et exit sponte ruens mersusque umeris : efFunditur ille in caput, adsurgentem alio puer improbus ictu perculit eventuque impalluit ipse secundo. 805
clamorem Inachidae, quantum non litora, tollunt, non nemora. ilium ab humo conantem ut vidit Adrastus
^ absistere Poj : obsistere Baehrens.
" i.e., Capaneus, of course ; Alcidamas crouches (for *' mersus umeris" cf. "colla demersere umeris," 1. 850) and rushes at Capaneus, who pitches forward over the Spartan's
118
THEBAID, VI. 782-807
and marks the middle of his forehead with a wound ; blood flows, and the warm stream stains his temples. Capaneus, yet ignorant, wonders at the sudden murmur of the crowd, but when, as he chanced to draw his weary hand across his face, he saw the stains upon the cowhide, no lion nor tiger feeling the javelin's smart was e'er so mad ; hotly he drives the youth before him in headlong retreat over the whole field, and is forcing him on to his back ; terribly he grinds his teeth and whirls his fists in countless repeated blows. The strokes are wasted on the winds, some fall on the gloves of his foe ; with active movement and aid of nimble feet the Spartan eludes the thousand deaths that shower about his temples, yet not unmindful of his art he flees still fighting, and though fleeing meets blows with blows.
And now both are wearied with the toil and their exhausted panting ; slower the one pursues, nor is the other so swift to escape ; the knees of both fail them and alike they rest. Thus when long wandering o'er the sea has wearied the mariners, the signal is given from the stern and they rest their arms awhile ; but scarce have they taken repose, when another cry summons them to the oars again. Lo I a second time he makes a furious dash, but the other tricks him and goes at him with a rush of his own and sinking into his shoulders ; forward he <* pitches on his head, and as he rises the merciless boy smote him another blow and himself grew pale at his success. The Inachidae raise a shout louder than the noise of shore or forest. But when Adrastus saw him
head. This rush of Alcidamas is the " first " blow, and explains "alio," 1. 804.
119
ST ATI us
tollentemque manus et non toleranda paranteni : " ite, oro, socii, furit, ite, opponite dextras, festinate, furit, palmamque et praemia ferte ! 810 non prius, efFracto quam misceat ossa cerebro, absistet, video, moriturum auferte Lacona." nee mora, prorumpit Tydeus, nee iussa recusat Hippomedon ; tunc vix ambo conatibus ambas restringunt cohibentque manus ac plurima suadent : " vineis, abi ; pulchrum vitam donare minori. 816
noster et hie bellique comes." nil frangitur heros, ramumque oblatumque manu thoraca repellit vociferans : " liceat ! non has ego pulvere crasso atque cruore genas, meruit quibus iste favorem 820 semivir,^ infodiam mittamque informe sepulcro corpus et Oebaho donem lugere magistro ? " dicit ; at hunc socii tumidum et vicisse negantem avertunt, contra laudant insignis alumnum Taygeti longeque minas risere Lacones. 825
lamdudum variae laudes et conscia virtus Tydea magnanimum stimuhs urgentibus angunt. ille quidem et disco bonus et contendere cursu, nee caestu bellare minor, sed corde^ labores ante ahos erat uncta pale, sic otia Martis 830
degere et armiferas laxare adsueverat iras ingentes contra ille viros Acheloia circum litora feUcesque deo monstrante palaestras. ergo ubi luctandi iuvenes animosa citavit
^ iste favorem semivir w : ista iuventa semivir P : ista iuventa semiviri Klotz. Garrod defends P in J. Ph. iviii. * corde Pw : cara Markland : cura Garrod.
" i.e., Pollux (Oebalian= Spartan). 120
THEBAID, VI. 808-8*4
struggling from the ground, and lifting his hands, intent on hideous deeds ; " Haste, friends, I pray you, he is mad I hasten, prevent him ! he is out of his mind — quick I bring the palm and the prizes ! He will not cease, I see well, till he pounds the brain within the shattered skull. Rescue the doomed Laconian I " At once Tydeus darts forth, and Hippomedon, obedient to command ; then scarce do the two with all their might master his two arms and bind them fast, and forcefully urge him : " Leave the field, thou art victorious ; 'tis noble to spare the vanquished. He too is one of us, and a comrade in the war." But no whit is the hero's fury lessened ; he thrusts away the proftered branch and the cuirass, and shouts : " Let me free I Shall I not smash in gore and clotted dust those cheeks whereby that eunuch-boy gained favour, and send his unsightly corpse to the tomb, and give cause for mourning to his Oebalian masters " ? " So says he, but his friends force hina away, swelling with wrath and protesting that he has not conquered, while the Laconians praise the nursUng of famed Taygetus, and laugh loud at the other's threats.
Long time have the varied deeds of valour and his own conscious worth provoked with urgent stings great-hearted Tydeus ; both at the quoit and in speed of foot did he excel, nor less was he a champion of the boxing-glove, but before all other sports the anointed wrestUng-match was dear. Thus had he been wont to spend the leisure intervals of fighting and relax his martial ire, and with mighty heroes on the banks of Achelous did he strive, heaven- taught, in many a victorious bout. Therefore when keen ambition called the youths to wrestle, the
121
STATIUS
gloria, terrificos umeris Aetolus amictus 835
exuitur patriumque suem. levat ardua contra membra Cleonaeae stirpis iactator Agylleus, Herculea nee mole minor, sic grandibus alte insurgens umeris hominem super improbus exit, sed non ille rigor patriumque in corpore robur : 840 luxuriant artus, effusaque sanguine laxo membra natant ; unde haec audax fiducia tantum Oenidae superare parem. quamquam ipse videri exiguus, gravia ossa tamen nodisque lacerti difficiles. numquam hunc animum natura minori 845 corpore nee tantas ausa est includere vires.
Postquam oleo gavisa cutis, petit aequor uterque procursu medium atque hausta vestitur harena. tum madidos artus alterno pulvere siccant, collaque demersere umeris et bracchia late 850
vara tenent. iam tunc astu deducit in aequum callidus et celsum procurvat Agyllea Tydeus, submissus tergo et genibus vicinus harenae. ille autem, Alpini \ eluti regina cupressus verticis urgenti cervicem inclinat in austro^ 855
vix sese radice tenens, terraeque propinquat, iamdudum aetherias eadem reditura sub auras : non secus ingentes artus praecelsus Agylleus sponte premit parvumque gemens duplicatur in
hostem, et iam alterna manus frontemque umerosque latusque
^ in austro Baehrens : in austros Pw.
° From Cleonae, the scene of Hercules' first exploit, the Nemean lion ; i.e. — Herculean.
* " sanguine laxo " seems to express the opposite of " close-knit," i.e., flabbiness, softness of flesh.
122
f
THEBAID, VI. 835-860
Aetolian puts off the terrible covering of native boar-hide from his shoulders. Against hira Agylleus, who boasts of Cleonaean " stock, raises his tall limbs, no less in bulk than Hercules, so loftily he towers \nth huge shoulders and monstrously surpasses human measure. But he lacks his father's close- knit strength of body ; loose-limbed and overgrown is he, unsteady and soft of muscle* ; hence is Oenides*' boldly confident to overthrow so mighty an antagonist. Though slight himself to look upon, yet he is heavy of bone and hard and sinewy of arm : never did nature dare enclose so fiery a spirit or so great force in so small a frame.
When their skins had taken pleasure in the oil, both ran forward to the middle of the plain and clad themselves in showers of sand ; then >\'ith the dust they dr}' their wet limbs in turn, and sink their necks into their shoulders and hold out their arms Nnde- branching. At once Tydeus Mith cunning craft stoops his own body, his knees near touching the sand, and so draws down the tall Agylleus and makes him bend to his own level. But just as the CA'press, queen of the Alpine height, inchnes her summit to the south A^ind's pressure, scarce holding by her root, and nears the ground, yet soon springs up again into the air — not otherwise does towering Agylleus of his own -s^ill force down his huge limbs and groaning "* bend double over his httle foe ; and now, first one, then the other, their hands attack brow and shoulder
' i.e., Tydeus.
•* Not from pain, but because, as Cicero says, " profun- denda voce corpus intenditur venitque plaga vehementior " {Tusc. ii. 23.56), i.e., uttering a sound makes the body strained up and taut, and helps the force of the blow (in boxing).
123
STATIUS
collaque pectoraque et vitantia crura lacessit. 861 interdumque diu pendent per mutua fulti bracchia, nunc saevi digitorum vincula frangunt. non sic ductores gemini gregis horrida tauri bella movent ; medio coniunx stat Candida prato 865 victorem exspectans, rumpunt obnixa furentes pectora, subdit amor stimulos et volnera sanat : fulmineo sic dente sues, sic hispida turpes proelia villosis ineunt complexibus ursi. vis eadem Oenidae ; nee sole aut pulvere fessa 870 membra labant, riget arta cutis durisque laborum castigata toris. contra non integer ille flatibus alternis aegroque efFetus hiatu exuit ingestas fluvio sudoris harenas ac furtim rapta sustentat pectora terra. 875
instat agens Tydeus fictumque in colla minatus crura subit ; coeptis non evaluere potiri frustratae brevitate manus, venit arduus ille desuper oppressumque ingentis mole ruinae condidit. baud aliter collis scrutator Hiberi 880
cum subiit longeque diem vitamque reliquit, si tremuit suspensus ager subitumque fragorem rupta dedit tellus, latet intus monte soluto obrutus, ac penitus fractum obtritumque cadaver indignantem animam propriis non reddidit astris, acrior hoc Tydeus, animisque et pectore supra est, nee mora, cum vinclis onerique elapsus iniquo 887 circuit errantem et tergo necopinus inhaeret,
" i.e., makes them not to be felt. 124
THEBAID, VI. 861-888
and side and neck and breast and legs that evade the clutch. Sometimes they hang a long while locked in each other's grip, now savagely they seek to break the fingers' clasp. Less fiercely do two bulls, the leaders of the herd, make war ; in the meadow stands the fair white heifer and awaits the \ictor, while their breasts are torn in the mad struggle, and love plies the goad and heals their wounds " ; so do boars fight with flashing tusks, so do ugly bears grasp shaggj* hides in hairy conflict. So \iolent is Oenides ; neither dust nor heat of sun makes his limbs faint and wear^-, but his skin is close-knit and firm, and schooled by toil to hard muscle. But the other, unsound in wind, pants hea\'ily, and breathes sickly gasps in his exhaustion, and the caked sand runs off him in streams of sweat, while furtively he snatches support for his body from the ground. On him Tydeus constantly presses, and feinting at his neck catches at his legs, but his arms were baffled by their short- ness and failed in their design, while all the other's towering height came do^vn upon him, and crushed and buried him under the huge falling mass. Just as when the Iberian ^ miner burrows beneath a hill and leaves far behind the U\ing day, then? if the suspended ground has rocked and the tunnelled earth crashed do^v'n with sudden roar, overwhelmed by the fallen mount he lies within, nor ever does his crushed and utterly broken corpse deliver up the indignant soul to its own skies. More \'igorous is Tydeus than his foe, and superior in spirited valour ; nor is it long before he has slipped from the other's hold and unequal weight, and encompassing him as he hesitates fastens suddenly on his back, then
* Spain was famous for its mines.
125
STATIUS
mox latus et firmo celer implicat ilia nexu, poplitibus genua inde premens evadere nodos 890 nequiquam et lateri dextram insertare parantem improbus, horrendum visu ac mirabile pondus, sustulit. Herculeis pressum sic fama lacertis terrigenam sudasse Libyn, cum fraude reperta raptus in excelsum, nee iam spes ulla cadendi, 895 nee licet extrema matrem contingere planta. fit sonus, et laetos adtollunt agmina plausus. tunc alte librans inopinum sponte remisit obliquumque dedit, procumbentemque secutus colla simul dextra, pedibus simul inguina vinxit. 900 deficit obsessus soloque pudore repugnat. tandem pectus humi pronamque extensus in alvum sternitur, ac longo maestus post tempore surgit, turpia signata linquens vestigia terra, palmam autem dextra laevaque nitentia dono 90a arma ferens Tydeus : "quid si non sanguinis huius partem haud exiguam — scitis- — Dircaeus haberet campus, ubi hae nuper Thebarum foedera plagae ? " haec simul ostentans quaesitaque praemia laudum dat sociis, sequitur neglectus Agyllea thorax. 910
Sunt et qui nudo subeant concurrere ferro. iamqu* aderant instructi armis Epidaurius Agreus et nondum fatis Dircaeus agentibus exsul. dux vetat lasides : " manet ingens copia leti, o iuvenes ! servate animos avidumque furorem 915
" Antaeus. He was a son of Earth, and derived all his strength from contact with her. Hercules' "trick," there- fore, was to deprive him of strength by keeping him lifted up above the ground.
* i.e., " what would have happened to him if I had not suffered loss of blood ? " ; the reference is to his adventures as an envoy (hence " foedera ") at Thebes (see Bk. ii.).
126
THEBAID, VI. 889-915
swiftly enfolds sides and groin in a firm embrace and grips his knees between his thighs, and relentlessly, as he struggles in vain to escape from the grasp and force his hand against his side — a burden wonderful and terrible to see — raises him aloft. So, fame tells, did Hercules hold fast in his arms the sweating earth- born Libyan," when he found the trick and snatched him up on high, and left him no hope of falling, nor suffered him to touch even with his foot's extremity his mother earth. A shout arises and glad applause from the multitude. Then, poising him aloft, suddenly of his own will he looked him and threw him sideways, and following him as he fell seized his neck %\'ith his right hand and his middle between his legs. Thus beset, his spirit fails, and only shame drives him to struggle. At last he lies extended, A\ith breast and belly prone on the ground, and a long time after sadly rises, lea\ing the marks of his disgrace on the imprinted earth. But Tydeus, bearing the palm in his right hand and in his left the prize of shining armour : " What if the plain of Dirce held not no small measure of my blood — as well ye know — where of late these scars made treaty ^Wth Thebes * ? " So speaking he displays the scars, and gives to his comrades the glorious rewards that he had won, while the spurned corselet follows Agvlleus from the field.
There are some, too, who advance to combat with the naked sword. And already were they taking their stand, fully armed, Agreus from Epidaurus, and the Dircaean exile, not yet doomed by fate. But the chieftain, the son of lasus, forbids them : *■ Great store of death remains, O youths, preserve your warlike temper and your mad desire for a foe-
127
ST ATI us
sanguinis adversi. tuque o, quern propter avita iugera, dilectas cui desolavimus urbes, ne, precor, ante aciem ius tantum casibus esse fraternisque sinas— abigant hoc numina ! — votis." sic ait, atque ambos aurata casside ditat. 920
turn generum, ne laudis egens, iubet ardua necti tempora Thebarumque ingenti voce citari victorem : dirae recinebant^ omnia Parcae.
Ipsum etiam proprio certamina festa labore dignari et tuniulo supremum hunc addere honorem hortantur proceres ac, ne victoria desit 926
una ducum numero, fundat vel Lyctia cornu tela rogant, tenui vel nubila transeat hasta. obsequitur gaudens, viridique ex aggere in aecum stipatus summis iuvenum descendit ; at illi 930
pone leves portat pharetras et cornua iussus armiger : ingentem iactu transmittere circum eminus et dictae dare vulnera destinat orno.
Quis fluere occultis rerum neget omina causis ? fata patent homini, piget inservare, peritque 935
venturi praemissa^ fides : sic omina^ casum fecimus, et vires hausit^ Fortuna nocendi.
Campum emensa brevi fatalis ab arbore tacta, horrendum visu, per quas modo fugerat auras, venit harundo retro versumque a fine tenorem 940 pertulit, et notae iuxta ruit ora pharetrae.
^ recinebant P : retinebant ui. ^ praemissa P : promissa w. ' omina w : omnia PB, * hausit PS : auxit w.
" Alton suggests " Thebanum " here, finding the omen in the ambiguity of the word, as meaning either Polynices or his brother.
128
THEBAID, VI. 916-941
man's blood. And thou, for whose sake we have laid bare our ancestral acres and our beloved cities, give not, I pray thee, such power to chance before the fight begins, nor — may the gods forfend it ! — to thy brother's prayers." Thus he speaks, and enriches them both with a golden helm. Then lest his son- in-law lack praise, he bids his lofty temples be garlanded, and himself proclaimed aloud \-ictor of Thebes <• : the dire Fates echoed back the ominous sound.
The monarch himself also do the princes urge to dignify with some exploit of his own the festal con- tests, and to confer this final honour on the tomb ; they bid him, lest one victory be lacking to the number of the leaders, to shoot Lyctian * arrows from his bow, or to cleave the clouds vvith the slender spear. Gladly he accedes, and thronged about by the foremost warriors descends from the green mound to the level plain ; his armour-bearer at command bears after him his light quiver and his bow : he prepares to shoot the circus' mighty length, and to plant wounds upon an appointed ash-tree.
Who will deny that omens flow from the hidden causes of things to come ? The fates lie open to mankind, but we choose not to take heed, and the proof foreshown is wasted ; thus turn we omens into chance, and from hence Fortune draws her power of harm.
The fateful arrow in a moment measured the plain and struck the tree, and then — avvful to behold I — came back through the air it but now had traversed and turning homeward from the goal kept on its way, and fell by the mouth of its well-known quiver. * i.e., Cretan. VOL. u K 129
ST ATI us
multa duces errore serunt : hi nubila et altos occurrisse notos, adversi roboris ictu tela repulsa alii, penitus latet exitus ingens monstratumque nefas : uni remeabile bellum 945 et tristes domino spondebat harundo recursus.
I
i
130
THEBAID, VI. 942-946
Much talk the princes interchange in error : some say the clouds and the winds on high did meet and drive the shaft, others that the impact of the wood repelled it. Deep hidden lies the mighty issue and the awful truth foretold : to its master only did the arrow vouchsafe survival, and a sad returning from the war.
131
LIBER VII
Atque ea cunctantes Tyrii primordia belli luppiter haud aequo respexit corde Pelasgos, concussitque caput, motu quo celsa laborant sidera proclamatque adici cervicibus Atlas, tunc ita velocem Tegees adfatus alumnum : 5
'i, medium rapido Borean inlabere saltu Bistonias, puer, usque domos axemque nivosi sideris, Oceano vetitum qua Parrhasis ignem nubibus hibernis et nostro pascitur imbri. atque ibi seu posita respirat cuspide Mavors, 10
quamquam invisa quies, seu, quod reor,arma tubasque insatiatus habet^ caraeque in sanguine gentis luxuriat : propere monitus iramque parentis ede, nihil parcens. nempe olim accendere iussus Inachias acies atque omne, quod Isthmius umbo 15 distinct et raucae circumtonat ira Maleae : illi vix muros limenque egressa inventus sacra colunt ; credas bello rediisse, tot instant plausibus, ofFensique sedent ad iusta sepulcri. hicne tuus, Gradive, furor ? sonat orbe recusso 20
^ habet Pw : havet Schrader : obit Baehrens : hiat Garrod.
" Callisto of Parrhasus in Arcadia, who was turned into a bear and made the constellation of Ursa Major.
* The strange phrase appears to express the love of the 132
BOOK VII
As thus they tarried at the outset of the T}Tian war, Jupiter turned on the Pelasgians his ^^-rathful gaze and shook his head, at the movement of which the high stars tremble and Atlas cries that his shoulders' burden is increased. Then thus did he address the speedy Tegean : " Go, boy, and swiftly leaping ghde through the North as far as the Bistonian dwelhngs and the snowy constellations of the pole, where the Parrhasian ^ feeds her Ocean-barred fires on storm-clouds and Heaven's own rain. And there, whether Mars has laid aside his spear and draws breath again — though repose be hateful to him — or whether, as I think, he has his arms and his trumpets, whereof he never tires, and is wantoning in the blootl of his beloved tribe, ** haste thou to deliver the angry message of his sire, and spare nought. Surely long ■-ince was he bidden to inflame the Inachian host, and all that the rock of Isthmus holds apart and the thunderous >vTath of echoing Malea encompasses ; yet scarce hath their army passed the boundary of their walls and they hold sacred festival ; one would deem they had returned from war, so keen is their applause, as they attend the rites of an offended tomb. Is this thy rage, Gradivus ? The round
War-God for the warrior people (the Thracians), and also his joy in bloodshed for its own sake.
133
STATIUS
discus et Oebalii coeunt in proelia caestus. at si ipsi rabies ferrique insana voluptas qua tumet, immeritas cineri dabit impius urbes ferrum ignemque ferens, implorantesque Tonantem sternet humi populos iniserumque exhauriet orbem. nunc lenis belli nostraque remittitur ira. 26
quodni praecipitat pugnas dictoque iubentis ocius impingit Tyriis Danaa agmina muris — nil equidem crudele minor — , sit mite bonumque numen, et efFreni laxentur in otia mores, 30
reddat equos ensemque mihi, nee sanguinis ultra ius erit : aspieiam terras pacemque iubebo omnibus; Ogygio sat erit Tritonia bello."
Dixerat, et^ Thracum Cyllenius arva subibat ; atque ilium Arctoae labentem cardine portae 35
tempestas aeterna plagae praetentaque caelo agmina nimborum primique Aquilonis hiatus in diversa ferunt : crepat aurea grandine multa palla, nee Arcadii bene protegit umbra galeri. hie steriles delubra notat Mavortia silvas — 40
horreseitque tuens— , ubi mille furoribus illi eingitur averso domus immansueta sub Haemo. ferrea compago laterum, ferro apta^ teruntur limina, ferratis incumbunt tecta columnis.
1 et Pw : at KQ. ^ apta P : arta w.
" See note on vi. 822.
** Theban. "Tritonia": i.e., Pallas Athena, the warhke goddess; the name was derived from a lake in Libya, where she was born, according to one legend.
« Statins uses " cardo " here not in its literal sense of "hinge," though "portae" follows, but as = " pole" (so Lucan often). The North is one of the poles or turning- points of the world, and also a gate or entrance into the
134
THEBAID, VII. 21-44
quoit crashes and reverberates, and the Oebalian" gloves meet in the boxing-match. But if he really hath that boasted fury and mad joy in battle, then ruthlessly will he lay innocent towns in ashes, "svield- ing sword and fire, and strike the peoples to the ground while they implore the Thunderer, and exhaust the miserable world. Now he is lenient in warfare and he grows slack though I am angry : but if he hastens not the fight and hiu-ls not, more swiftly than the word of my command, the Danaan ranks against the T\Tian walls — A\ith nought cruel do I threaten him — let his power be all for kindliness and goodness. and liis ungovemed rage be slackened to quietness and peace, let him return me his horses and his sword, nor have right of bloodshed any more : I will look upon the earth, and bid all cease from strife; for the Ogygian '' war Tritonia will suffice."
He had spoken, and the Cyllenian was dra^ving nigh the fields of Thrace ; down-ghding from the gate of the Northern pole '^ he is driven this way and that by the region's everlasting tempest and the serried storm-clouds ranged athwart the sky and the first blasts of Aquilo : the pouring hail rattles upon his golden robe and ill does the shady hat <* of Arcady protect him. Here he observes barren forests, the sacred haunts of Mars — and he shudders as he looks — where on the far slopes of Haemus his savage mansion is ringed by a thousand furies. The walls are of iron structure, iron portals bear upon tlie threshold, the roof is carried by colvmins wrought of
sky, as being the nearest point to it ; the two ideas are combined in the one phrase.
■* i.e., the broad -brimmed hat known as "petasus," regularly worn by Mercury.
135
STATIUS
laeditur adversum Phoebi iubar, ipsaque sedem 45 lux timet, et durus contristat sidera fulgor. digna loco statio : primis salit Impetus amens e foribus caecumque Nefas Iraeque rubentes exsanguesque Metus, occultisque ensibus adstant Insidiae geminumque tenens Discordia ferrum. 50 innumeris strepit aula Minis, tristissima Virtus stat medio, laetusque Furor voltuque cruento Mors armata sedet ; bellorum solus in aris sanguis et incensis qui raptus ab urbibus ignis, terrarum exuviae circum, et fastigia templi 55
captae insignibant gentes, caelataque ferro fragmina portarum bellatrieesque carinae, et vacui currus protritaque curribus ora, paene etiam gemitus : adeo vis omnis et omne vulnus. ubique ipsum, sed non usquam ore remisso cernere erat : talem divina Mulciber arte 61
ediderat; nondum radiis monstratus adulter foeda catenato luerat conubia lecto.
Quaerere templorum regem vix coepei-at ales Maenalius, tremit eece solum et mugire refractis 65 corniger Hebrus aquis ; tunc quod pecus utile bello vallem infestabat, trepidas spumare per herbas, signa adventantis, clausaeque adamante perenni dissiluere fores. Hyrcano in sanguine pulcher ipse subit curru, diraque adspargine latos 70
mutat agros, spolia a tergo flentesque catervae :
" Statins is thinking of the pediment of some temple; he appears to describe now carvings, now real things. No doubt he has Virg. Aen. vi. 183 sqq. in his mind.
* Mulciber (Vulcan) was the architect and craftsman of the gods (c/. Milton, P.L. i. 730 sqq.); he had here given Mars of his best work, because he had not yet been offended
136
THEBAID, VII. 45-71
iron. The rays of Phoebus are weakened when they meet it, the ver\' hght fears that dwelHng, and its murky glare dismays the stars. Fit sentinels hold watch there: from the outer gate wild Passion leaps, and bhnd Mischief and Angers flushing red and pallid Fear, and Treachery lurks with hidden sword, and Discord holding a two-edged blade. Threaten- ings innumerable make clamour in the court, sullen \'alour stands in the midst, and Rage exultant and armed Death with blood-stained visage are seated there ; no blood but that of wars is on the altars, no fire but snatched from burning cities. All around were spoils of every land, and captured peoples adorned the temple's high front," and fragments of iron- ^vTought gates and ships of war and empty chariots and faces ground by chariot-wheels, ay, almost even their groans ! truly every form of violence and wounds. Himself was everywhere to behold, but nowhere ^ith softened looks ; in such mse had Mulciber with divine skill portrayed him : not yet had the adulterer, made manifest by the sun's bright beams, atoned his shameful union in the bed's grasping chains.*
Scarce had the winged Maenalian begun to seek the temple's lord — lo ! earth trembles, and horned Hebrus bellows and stays his torrent's flow ; then all the war-steeds that troubled the valley sped foaming o'er the frightened meads, sure sign of his approach, and the gates barred with everlasting adamant flew open. Glorious in Hyrcanian gore he himself comes riding by ; far and wide the dire bespattering changes the aspect of the fields, behind him are borne spoils
by Mars' intrigue with Venus, his wife : on that occasion he had caught them together by means of a cunning ned he had made himself, r/. Horn. Od. viii. 266 sqq.
137
STATIUS
dant silvae nixque alta locum ; regit atra iugales
sanguinea Bellona manu longaque fatigat
cuspide. deriguit visu Cyllenia proles
submisitque genas : ipsi reverentia patri, 75
si prope sit, dematque minas nee talia mandet.
" quod lovis imperium, magno quid ab aethere
portas ? " occupat Armipotens " neque enim hunc, germane,
sub axem sponte venis hiemesque meas, cui roscida iuxta Maenala et aestivi clementior aura Lycaei." 80
ille refert consulta patris. nee longa moratus, sicut anhelabant, iuncto sudore volantes Mars impellit equos, resides in proelia Graios ipse etiam indignans. vidit pater altus et irae^ iam levior tardo flectebat pondere vultum : 85
ut si quando ruit debellatasque relinquit Eurus aquas, pax ipsa tumet pontumque iaeentem exanimis iam volvit hiemps : nondum arma carinis^ omnia, nee toto respirant pectore nautae.
Finierat pugnas honor exsequialis inermes, 90
necdum aberant coetus, cunctisque silentibus heros vina solo fundens cinerem placabat Adrastus Arehemori : " da, parve, tuum trieteride multa instaurare diem, nee saucius Arcadas aras malit adire Pelops Eleaque pulset eburna 95
templa manu, nee Castaliis altaribus anguis, nee sua pinigero magis adnatet umbra Lechaeo.
^ irae Peyrared : ira Pw. ^ carinis w : om. P (quiescunt in margin).
" i.e., let not the festivals of Olympia, Delphi, or the Isthmus be more honoured. For Pelops see n. on iv. 590. The snake is the Python slain by Apollo, the shade that of Palaemon.
138
THEBAID, VII. 72-97
and weeping throngs ; forests and deep snows give him room ; '\\ith bloody hand dark Bellona guides tae team and plies them hard with her long spear. The offspring of Cyllene grew stiff with terror at the sight, and cast down his eyes : ay, even the Father himself would feel awe, were he present, and would forgo his threats nor command so sternly. First spake the Lord of War: "What decree of Jove, what message bringest thou from the vast heaven ? For not of thine own will comest thou, O brother, to this cHme and to my wintry storms, thou whose home is dewy Maenalus and the kindUer air of warm Lycaeus." He reports his sire's resolve. Nor does Mars long delay, but drives forward his flying steeds, all panting as they were and sweating together 'neath the yoke, himself indignant that the Greeks were sluggish to begin the war. The Father on high beheld, and abating now his anger let his head sink with slow weight : as when the East wind sinks to rest and leaves the waters it has vanquished, yet even in calm the waters swell and the departed storm yet rolls the surface of the deep ; not yet have the vessels all their tackling set, nor do the mariners draw a full breath again.
The funeral rites had brought an end to the un- armed combats, but the crowds were not gone away, when amid universal silence the hero Adrastus poured wine upon the ground and propitiated the ashes of Archemorus : " Grant, little one, that this day may be renewed at many a triennial feast ; let not maimed Pelops prefer to seek Arcadian altars or knock at Elean temples with his ivory arm, nor the serpent rather glide to the Castalian shrine, nor its own shade to the pine-groves of Lechaeum." We
139
STATIUS
nos te lugenti, puer, infitiamur Averho, maestaque perpetuis sollemnia iungimus astris, nunc festina cohors. at si Boeotia ferro 100
vertere tecta dabis, magnis tunc dignior aris, tunc deus, Inachias nee tantum culta per urbes numina, captivis etiam iurabere Thebis." dux ea pro cunctis, eadem sibi quisque vovebat.
lam pronis Gradivus equis Ephyraea premebat 105 litora, qua summas caput Acrocorinthos in auras tollit et alterna geminum mare protegit umbra, inde unum dira comitum de plebe Pavorem quadripedes anteire iubet : non alter anhelos insinuare metus animoque avertere vires^ 110
aptior ; innumerae monstro vocesque manusque et facies quamcumque velit; bonus omnia credi auctor et horrificis lymphare incursibus urbes. si geminos soles ruituraque suadeat astra, aut nutare solum aut veteres descendere silvas, 115 a ! miseri vidisse putant. tunc acre novabat ingenium : falso Nemeaeum pulvere campum erigit ; attoniti tenebrosam a vertice nubem respexere duces ; falso clamore tumultum auget, et arma virum pulsusque imitatur equorum, terribilemque vagas ululatum spargit in auras. 121 exsiluere animi, dubiumque in inurmure vulgus pendet: " ubi iste fragor? ni^ fallimur aure. sed unde pulvereo stant astra globo ? num Ismenius ultro
^ animoque avertere vires P : animiimque avertere veris w. ^ ni Poj : num Wilkins.
" A curious parallel with Macbeth. 140
THEBAID, VII. 98-124
refuse thee, O child, to sad Avernus, and Unk these mournful rites with the undying stars, we who hxirry now to arms. But if thou wilt grant us to overthrow the Boeotian dwelUngs ^^ith the sword, then a mighty temple shall exalt thee, then shalt thou be a god indeed, nor through Inachian cities only shall thy worship spread, but Thebes also in her captivity shall swear by thy name." So vowed the chief for all, so vowed each warrior for himself.
Already Gradivus ^\'ith forward-straining steeds was tramphng the Ephyrean shores, where Acro- corinthus raises his summit into the airy heights and casts his shadow over the twin seas in turn. Then he orders Panic, one of his fearful train, to go before the horses : none more skilled than he to insinuate gasping terror and to steal coiurage from the heart ; voices and hands innumerable has the monster, and aspects to assume at will ; all-persuasive is he, and his onslaughts drive cities mad ^\•ith horror. If he suggests that there are two suns, or that the stars are falhng, or the ground heaving, or ancient forests marching down from the hills,* alas I the wretches beheve that they have seen it. A new and cunning trick was he then de\'ising : he raises a phantom dust upon the plain of Nemea ; astounded the chiefs behold above their heads the darkling cloud ; he swells the timiult with unsubstantial clamour and imitates the clank of armour and the tread of horses' hooves, and scatters the terrible war-cry upon the wandering breezes. Their hearts leap in fear, and the crowd wait muttering in suspense : " Whence comes the noise ? — unless our ears betray us. But why stands the heaven in a cloud of dust ? surely the Ismenian soldiery have not dared so far ? Ay,
141
ST ATI us
miles ? ita est : veniunt. tanta autem audacia Thebis ? 125
an dubitent — age ! — , dum inferias et busta colamus ? " haec Pavor attonitis ; variosque per agmina vultus induitur, nunc Pisaeis e milibus unus, nunc Pylius, nunc ore Lacon, hostesque propinquos adiurat turmasque metu consternat inani. 130
nil falsum trepidis. ut vero amentibus ipse incidit et sacrae circum fastigia vallis turbine praevectus rapido ter sustulit hastam, ter concussit equos, clipeum ter pectore plausit : arma, arma insani sua quisque ignotaque nullo 135 more rapit, mutant galeas alienaque cogunt ad iuga cornipedes ; ferus omni in pectore saevit mortis amor caedisque, nihil flagrantibus obstat : praecipitant redimuntque moras, sic litora vento incipiente fremunt, fugitur cum portus ; ubique 140 vela fluunt, laxi iactantur ubique rudentes ; iamque natant remi, natat omnis in aequore summo ancora, iam dulcis medii de gurgite ponti respicitur tellus comitesque a puppe relicti.
Viderat Inachias rapidum glomerare cohortes 145 Bacchus iter ; gemuit Tyriam conversus ad urbem, altricemque domum et patrios reminiscitur ignes, purpureum tristi turbatus pectore vultum : non crines, non serta loco, dextramque reliquit thyrsus, et intactae ceciderunt cornibus uvae. 150 ergo ut erat lacrimis lapsoque inhonorus amictu ante lovem — et tunc forte polum secretus habebat — ■
" The lightning that struck his mother Semele and caused his birth. 142
THEBAID, VII. 125-152
'tis even so ; they come ! But is Thebes then so bold ? Must they wait, think you, for us to pay rites to sepulchres ? " Thus Panic in their bewildered minds : and many a different countenance does he assume amid their ranks, now is he one of a thousand men of Pisa, now a Pylian, now a Laconian by his look, and he swears the foe are near, and dismays the host ^\ith vain alarm. To their terror nought is false. But Avhen undisguised he fell upon the distracted warriors, and, borne on a s^^^ft whirlwind around the heights of the sacred vale, thrice brandished his spear, thrice smote his steeds, thrice clashed his shield upon his breast, " to arms, to arms," they cry, each snatch- ing in wild disorder his neighbour's or his ovm, and they seize other helms and force strange steeds be- neath the yoke ; in every heart burns the mad lust of death and slaughter, nothing hinders their fiery rage ; in furious haste they atone for their delays. Such a clamour fills the shore when the wind is rising, and men are lea\ing the port ; everywhere sails are bellying and loose ropes flapping, and now the oars are afloat and every anchor too upon the surface, and now from mid-sea they are gazing back at the land they love and at the friends left far astern.
Bacchus had seen the Inachlan cohorts gather swiftly for the march ; ^\ith a groan he turned towards the T}Tian city, and he recalls the home that nurtured him and his father's fires," with sad- ness in his heart and dismay upon his bright coun- tenance ; disordered were his locks and garlands, the thyrsus was fallen from his hand and the un- touched grapes from off his horns ; tearful then and unsightly as he was with dishevelled robe, he stood before Jupiter — reigning then by chance alone in
143
STATIUS
constitit, baud umquam facie conspectus in ilia — nee causae latuere patrem — , supplexque profatur : " exscindisne tuas, divum sator optima, Thebas? 155 saeva adeo coniunx ? nee te telluris amatae deceptique laris miseret cinerumque meorum ? esto, olim invitum iaculatus nubibus ignem — credimus — : en itei'um atra refers incendia terris, nee Styge iurata, nee paelicis arte rogatus. 160
quis modus ? an nobis pater iratusque, bonusque fulmen babes ? sed non Danaei^ limina talis Parrhasiumque nemus Ledaeasque ibis Amyclas. scilicet e cunctis ego neglectissima natis progenies ? ego nempe tamen, qui dulce ferenti 165 pondus eram, cui tu dignatus limina vitae praereptumque iter^ et maternos reddere menses, adde, quod imbellis rarisque exercita castris turba meas acies, mea tantum proelia norunt, nectere fronde comas et ad inspirata rotari 170
buxa : timent thyrsos nuptarum et proelia matrum. unde tubas Martemque pati, qui fervidus ecce quanta parat ? quid si ille tuos Curetas in arma ducat et innocuis iubeat decernere peltis ? quin etiam invisos — sic hostis defuit ? — Argos 175 eligis^ ! o ipsis, genitor, graviora periclis
^ iter Poj : uterum Earth, iter is helped by limina ; still, uterum is extremely plausible.
'^ eligis Markland {cf. i. 259) : elicis Pw.
" Callisto (see on i. 8) was beloved of Jupiter.
^ Bacchus, born untimely from Semele his mother, when she was blasted with Jove's lightning, was received into his father's thigh, and born again from there.
" i.e., in Bacchic revelling. 144
THEBAID, VII. 153-176
heaven — ^in such guise as had never before been seen — yet his sire knew well the cause — and spake in suppUcation : " Destroyest thou thine own Thebes, O worthy father of the gods ? is thy spouse so cruel ? pitiest thou not that well-loved land, that hearth thou didst deceive, those ashes I hold dear ? Be it so, once thou didst hurl unwilling fire from the clouds — so I believe — but lo ! a second time art thou bringing deadly fire upon the land, without oath of Stvx or cunning paramour's request. What limit wilt thou set ? Art thou my father, and in- censed against me ? Kindly, and yet dost wield the thunderbolt ? Not in such mood wouldst thou go to Danae's city, or the Parrhasian grove," or Amyclae, Leda's home. Am I then in truth the worst-scorned of all thv sons ? Yet am I surely he, who was a sweet burden for thy carrying, for whom thou deignedst to open once more life's threshold and the wav once closed against me, and the period of the womb.^ Moreover, my people are unwarUke, and rarely schooled in camps, and know my warfare only, my battles, the twining of garlands in their hair and t\\-irling to the frenzied pipe ; they fear the wands that brides -svield, the wars that matrons wage." How should they endure the bray of trumpets and the work of Mars, who makes — behold him I — such furious preparation ? What if he were to lead thy own Curetes to the fight, and bid them** decide the issue with their guileless targes ? Nay more, 'tis hated * Argos thou choosest — was there no other foe } Ah I cruel, O father, is our peril, but more cruel thy
■* i.e., my citizens.
« "hated," because Juno was its patron goddess, the enemy of Thebes and Semele.
VOL. II L 145
STATIUS
iussa : novercales luimus^ ditare Mycenas !
cedo equidem. quo sacra tamen ritusque peremptae
gentis et, in tumulos si quid male feta reliquit
mater, abire iubes ? Thracen silvasque Lycurgi ? 180
anne triumphatos fugiam captivus ad Indos ?
da sedem profugo ! potuit Latonia frater
saxa — nee invideo — defigere Delon et imis
eommendare fretis ; cara submovit ab arce
hostiles Tritonis aquas ; vidi ipse potentem 185
gentibus Eois Epaphum dare iura, nee ullas
Cyllene secreta tubas Minoave curat
Ida : quid heu tantum nostris ofFenderis aris ?
hie tibi — quando minor iam nostra potentia — ^noctes
Herculeae placitusque vagae Nycteidos ardor, 190
hie Tyrium genus et nostro felicior igne
taurus : Agenoreos saltern tutare nepotes."
Invidiam risit pater, et iam poplite flexum sternentemque manus tranquillus ad oscula tollit inque vicem placida orsa refert : " non coniugis ista consiliis, ut rere, puer, nee saeva roganti 196
sic expostus ego : immoto deducimur orbe fatorum ; veteres seraeque in proelia causae, nam eui tanta quies irarum aut sanguinis usus parcior humani ? videt axis et ista per aevom 200
^ luimus P : ruimus w.
" " ditare " is one of those infinitives of purpose that Statins uses so freely, cf. iii. 321. Often the sense is helped by the main verb bearing analogy to a verb that would naturally take an infinitive ; this, however, is not the case here.
* i.e., anchor it safely (here.
"In her contest with Poseidon Athena repelled the waters of the sea-god ; Epaphus was the son of Zeus by lo ; on 146
THEBAID, VII. 177-200
command ! We pay the penalty, to make rich " my stepmother's Mycenae. I yield ! But my ruined people's sacred rites, and aught that my mother left when she brought forth but for the tomb — -whither must we depart ? to Thrace and the forests of Lycurgus ? or shall I flee a captive to that India where I once did triumph ? Grant the outlaw some resting-place ! My brother could make Delos fast, Lato's rocky home — nor do I grudge him that — and entrust it to the lowest depths * ; the Tritonian re- moved the hostile waters from her beloved citadel ; myself I have seen Epaphus lording it over Eastern races, and remote Cyllene and Minoan Ida fear not the trumpet's blast ; '^ why do our altars so offend thee ? Here — since my o\vn influence must already yield — here were those nights of Hercules' begetting, and the favoured flame of wandering Nycteis,** here was the race of Tyre and the bull more fruitful than my lightning-brand : protect at least Agenor's off- spring ! "
Smiling at his jealousy his father raised him quietly to his embrace from where he knelt with arms out- stretched, and in turn makes tranquil answer : " This comes not by my consort's will, as thou thinkest, my son, nor am I thus a slave to her fierce demands ; 'tis fate's unchanging wheel that ordains our destiny;* ancient causes are leading, now late in time, to war. Whose anger sinks so soon to rest, who is more sparing of human blood ? The heavens and my
Cyllene Maia bore Hermes to Zeus, while Ida in Crete was the scene of Zeus' own birth.
^ Antiope, daughter of Nycteus.
* The metaphor here is from spinning, of which " de- ducere " is a common term ; " immoto " must therefore mean " steady," " unshaken."
147
STATIUS
mecum aeterna domus, quotiens iani torta reponam
fulmina, quam rarus terris hie imperet ignis.
quin etiam invitus magna ulciscendaque passis
aut Lapithas Marti, aut veterem Calydona Dianae
expugnare dedi ; maesta est^ iactura pigetque 205
tot mutare animas, tot reddere corpora vitae.
Labdacios vero Pelopisque a stirpe nepotes
tardum abolere mihi ; scis ipse — ut crimina mittam
Dorica — , quam promptae superos incessere Thebae ;
te quoque — sed, quoniam vetus excidit ira, silebo.
non tamen aut patrio respersus sanguine Pentheus,
aut matrem scelerasse toris aut crimine fratres 212
progenuisse reus, lacero tua lustra replevit
funere : ubi hi fletus, ubi tunc ars tanta precandi ?
ast ego non proprio diros impendo dolori 215
Oedipodionidas : rogat hoc tellusque polusque
et pietas et laesa fides naturaque, et ipsi
Eumenidum mores, sed tu super urbe moveri
parce tua : non hoc statui sub tempore rebus
occasum Aoniis, veniet suspectior aetas 220
ultoresque aUi : nunc regia luno queretur."
his ille auditis mentemque habitumque recepit ;
ut cum sole malo tristique rosaria pendent
usta noto, si clara dies zephyrique refecit
aura polum, redit omnis honos, emissaque lucent 225
germina et informes ornat sua gloria virgas.
Nuntius attonitas iamdudum Eteoclis ad aures
^ maesta est Alton: mea est Pw: nimia est PhUlimore: lovis, nostra conj. Garrod : meaque est late mss., edd.
" More literally, " that I have already begun to whirl." " Pentheus, king of Thebes, was torn in pieces by the Bacchanals, whose revelling he tried to put down.
148
THEBAID, VII. 201-22'.
eternal age-long dwelling witness how often I lay by the whirUng " thunderbolt, how rarely these fires have master}- of the earth. Unwilhngly indeed, though they had suffered great ^^Tongs th^t cried for vengeance, did I deliver the Lapithae to Mars or ancient Calydon to Diana for destruction ; sad is the loss, and 'tis irksome to give so manv new lives for old, and animate afresh so many bodies. But for the seed of Labdacus and the sons of Pelops' hne, them am I slow to destroy ; thou knowest thy- self— to leave unsaid the Dorian crimes — how ready is Thebes to accuse the gods ; thee too — but my former anger is appeased and I will hold my peace. Pentheus * was stained by no father's blood nor bore the guilt of defiling his mother's bed and begetting brothers, yet he filled thy haunts with the mangled fragments of his limbs : where then were these tears, this eloquent appeal .' But it is to glut no private wrath that I sacrifice the sons of Oedipus : earth and heaven demand it, and natural piety and injured faith, and the laws of the Avenging Powers themselves. But be not distressed for thy city ; not at this time have I decreed that the Aonian state shall fall, a darker age shall come hereafter, and others to avenge '^ ; now royal Juno shall complain." He hearing this was composed in mind and aspect ; as when rose-gardens droop 'neath a fiery scorching sun and cruel South wind, should the day clear and Western breezes refresh the sky, all their beauty returns, the blooms open resplendent, and the un- sightly branches are decked in their proper glory. Long since has the messenger brought sure tidings
* i.e., the Epigoni, or perhaps Alexander, whose troops sacked Thebes.
149
STATIUS
explorata ferens longo docet agmine Graios ire duces, nee iam Aoniis procul afore campis ; 229 quaeumque ingressi, tremere ac miserescere cunctos Thebarum ; qui stirpe, refert, qui nomine et armis. ille metum condens audire exposcit et odit narrantem ; hinc socios dictis stimulare suasque metiri decemit opes, exciverat omnem 234
Aoniam Euboeamque et Phocidos arva propinquae Mars, ita dulce lovi ; longe fugit ordine velox tessera : propellunt acies, seseque sub armis ostentant ; subeunt campo, qui proximus urbi damnatus bellis patet exspectatque furores. 239
nondum hostes contra, trepido tamen agmine matres conscendunt muros, inde arma nitentia natis et formidandos monstrant sub casside patres.
Turre procul sola nondum concessa videri Antigone populis teneras defenditur atra veste genas ; iuxtaque comes, quo Laius ibat 245 armigero ; tunc virgo senem regina veretur. quae sic orsa prior : " spesne obstatura Pelasgis haec vexilla, pater ? Pelopis descendere totas audimus gentes : die, o precor, extera regum agmina ; nam video, quae noster signa Menoeceus, quae noster regat arma Creon, quam celsus aena 251 Sphinge per ingentes Homoloidas exeat Haemon." sic rudis Antigone, senior cui talia Phorbas : " mille sagittiferos gelidae de colle Tanagrae
150
THEBAID, VII. 228-254
of discovery to the astounded ears of Eteocles, announcing that the Grecian chiefs are on the march at the head of a long array, and soon will be nigh the Aonian fields ; wheresoever they advance, all tremble and pity Thebes ; he reports the family and fame of each and their warhke deeds. The king hiding his fear demands to be told and hates the teller ; then he decides to send a stirring message to his aUies and to take the measure of his own resources. Mars — so it pleased Jove — had stirred up all Aonia and Euboea and the neighbouring lands of Phocis ; far flies the rapid signal from tovra to town ; they march forth their hosts and display themselves in arms ; they move upon the plain that, doomed to war, spreads near the city and awaits the fury of the fray. They meet no foe as yet, but matrons in an excited throng ascend the walk, and thence show to their children the ghttering armour and their sires' formidable hehns.
Far removed upon a lonely tower and still withheld from the eyes of the people, Antigone shrouds in a black veil her tender cheeks ; >\ith her was an attendant, Laius' squire of old, whom the royal maid reveres. She first addressed him : "Is there hope, O father, that these standards will hold the Pelasgians in check ? We hear that all the tribes of Pelops descend upon us ; recount, I pray, the princes and their foreign bands, for I see what standards our o^vn Menoeceus, and what troops our Creon hath under command, and how Haemon \\ith towering crest of brazen Sphinx marches out from the mighty Homo- loian gates." So spake artless Antigone, and old Phorbas thus repUed : " Dryas, look ! leads forth a thousand archers from cold Tanagra's hill : he
151
STATIUS
promovet ecce Dryas ; hie, cui nivea arma tridentem atque auro rude fulmen habent, Ononis alti 256
non falsus virtute nepos : procul, oro, paternum omen et innuptae vetus excidat ira Dianae. iungunt se castris regisque in nomen adoptant Ocalea Medeonque et confertissima lucis 260
Nisa Dionaeisque avibus cireumsona Thisbe. proximus Eurymedon, qui pastoralia Fauni arma patris pinuque iubas imitatur equinas, terribilis silvis : reor et Mavorte cruento talis erit. dites pecorum comitantur Erythrae, 265 qui Scolon densamque iugis Eteonon iniquis, qui breve litus Hyles Atalantaeamque superbi Schoenon habent notique colunt vestigia campi ; fraxineas Macetum vibrant de more sarisas saevaque difficiles excludere volnera peltas. 270
ecce autem clamore ruunt Neptunia plebes Onchesti : quos pinigeris Mycalessos in agris Palladiusque Melas Hecataeaque gurgite nutrit Gargaphie, quorumque novis Haliartos aristis invidet et nimia^ sata laeta supervenit herba. 275 tela rudes trunci, galeae vacua ora leonum, arborei dant scuta sinus, hos regis egenos Amphion en noster agit — cognoscere pronum, virgo — , lyra galeam tauroque insignis avito. macte animo iuvenis, medios parat ire per enses 280 nudaque pro caris opponere peetora muris,
^ nimia w : nivea P : Garrod conj. viva.
" Various causes are assigned for Diana's anger with Orion ; see Class. Diet,
* Thisbe was famous for its doves. All these towns are in Boeotia ; a very similar list occurs in Plin. N.H. iv. 7. 12, but Statins also takes hints from Homer's
152
THEBAID, VII. 255-281
whose snow-white armour bears a trident and a fire- brand rudely wrought in gold, is for valour the true son of exalted Orion : heaven forfend the ill omen of his sire, and chaste Diana's ancient grudge " I Ocalea and Medeon join our camps and declare for our monarch's cause, and thickly-wooded Nisa and Thisbe echoing ^^•ith Dione's tuneful birds. ^ Next is Eurymedon who counterfeits the pastoral arms and horsehair crest of his father Faunus -with club and leaves of pine ; terrible is he in the woodland, and such, I ween, ^^^ll he be in the bloody conflict. Erythrae rich in floclcs is Anth us, and so are they who hold Scolos, and Eteonos set thick with arduous ridges, and the brief strand of Hyle, and the proud folk of Schoenos, Atalanta's home, who till the famous plain her feet imprinted : they brandish as of wont the long ashen Macedonian shafts, and targes that scarce can ward off savage blows. But lo ! the Neptunian folk of Onchestus rush on with shouts : thev whom Mvcalessos nourishes beneath her pines, and Melas, Pallas' stream, and Gargaphie with the waters loved of Hecate, and they on whose young wheat Haliartos looks jealoush', o'ergro\\ing the glad comlands\sith too abundant grass. Unfashioned tree- trunks are their weapons, and lions' empty jaws their helms, the curing bark affords them bucklers. These, as they lack a king, our own Amphion, look I is leading — 'tis easy to recognize him, O maid — conspicuous ■with a lyre and oiu" ancestral bull upon his hehn. A blessing on thy courage, youth I he is ready to go where swords are thickest, and protect with naked breast the walls he loves. Ye too come to add your
Catalogue, e.g. iroKvTp-qpwva Qiff^rjy, xoi-qevd' ' AXiaprrov, see 11. ii. 494. sqq.
1.53
STATIUS
vos etiam nostris, Heliconia turba, venitis addere rebus opem ; tuque, o Permesse, canoris et felix, Olmie,^ vadis armastis alumnos bellorum resides, patriis concentibus audis 285
exsultare gregem, quales, cum pallida cedit bruma, renidentem deducunt Strymona cygni. ite alacres, numquam vestri morientur honores, bellaque perpetuo niemorabunt carmine Musae."
Dixerat, et paulum virgo interfata loquenti : 290 " illi autem, quanam iunguntur origine fratres ? sic certe paria arma viris, sic exit in auras cassidis aequus apex ; utinam haec concordia nostris I " cui senior ridens : " non prima errore videndi falleris, Antigone : multi hos — nam decipit aetas— dixerunt fratres. pater est natusque, sed aevi 296 confudere modos : puerum Lapithaona nymphe Dercetis expertem thalami crudumque maritis^ ignibus ante diem cupido violavit amore improba conubii ; nee longum, et pulcher Alatreus editus, ac primae genitorem in flore iuventae 301 consequitur traxitque notas et miscuit annos. et nunc sic fratres mentito nomine gaudent, plus pater ; hunc olim iuvat et ventura senectus. tercentum genitor totidemque in proelia natus 305 exercent equites : hi deseruisse feruntur exilem Glisanta Coroniamque, feracem messe Coroniam, Baccho Glisanta colentes.^
^ Olmie Gronovius : hormie Po.
^ maritis late ifss. : mariti Pw.
^ colentes Pjo : colenti Ellis.
" " deducere " here with two accusatives, the phrase " concentum deducere " being equivalent to " cantare," another example of Statian analogy. The construction is found also in Greek. 154
THEBAID, VII. 282-308
strength to ours, ye Heliconian throng, and thou, Perniessus, and Oknius, happy in your tuneful streams, ye have armed your unwarUke sons. Now hearest thou thy people exult in strains worthy of their home, such strains as, when pale winter pelds, the swans uplift in praise of smihng Strymon." Onward, valiant ones I your praise shall never die, and Muses in songs unending shall recount your wars."
He had finished, when the maiden briefly spake in turn : " But those yonder, what tie of birth unites those brethren ? So truly alike are their arms, so rise their helmet-peaks into the air together ; would that my brothers had such concord ! " Smiling the old man answered her : " Thou art not the first, Antigone, to be so deluded in thy seeing ; many have called them brethren, for their years deceive. Father and son they are, though the fashions of age are all confounded : the mTnph Dercetis in burning passion and shameless lust of wedlock corrupted ere his time the boy Lapithaon, still innocent of the marriage bed and unripe for a lover's flames ; and soon was born the fair Alatreus, and overtakes his father while still in the flower of youth, and assumes his features and confounds their years. So now they rejoice in the false name of brethren, but more the father ; for the past has brought him pleasure as well as the years to come.* Three hundred knights doth the sire marshal for the fray, and the son as many more ; these, they say, have left scant Ghsas and Coronia, once their husbandmen, Coronia rich in hardest, Glisas fertile in the grape. But rather look
* " olim " has the Silver Latin meaning " all this time " ( =" iamdudum ") ; " iuvat " seems to be used first imper- sonalh' and then with " senectus " as subject.
155
STATIUS
sed potius celsos umbrantem hunc aspice late
Hypsea quadriiugos, clipei septemplice tauro 310
laeva, ter insuto servantur pectora ferro,
pectora : nam tergo numquam metus. hasta
vetustum
silvarum decus, emissae cui pervia semper
armaque corporaque et numquam manus inrita voti.
Asopos genuisse datur, dignusque videri 315
tune pater, abreptis cum torrentissimus exit
pontibus, aut natae tumidus cum virginis ultor
flumina concussit generum indignata Tonantem.
namque ferunt raptam patriis Aeginan ab undis
amplexu latuisse lovis : furit amnis et astris 320
infensus bellare parat — nondum ista licebant
nee superis — ; stetit audaces efFusus in iras,
conseruitque manum, nee quem imploraret habebat,
donee vix tonitru submotus et igne trisulco
cessit. adhue ripis animosus gurges anhelis 325
fulmineum cinerem magnaeque insignia poenae
gaudet et Aetnaeos in caelum efflare vapores.
talem Cadmeo mirabimur Hypsea eampo,
si modo placavit felix Aegina Tonantem.
ducit Itonaeos et Alalcomenaea Minervae 330
agmina, quos Midea et quos uvida^ suggerit Ame,
Aulida qui Graeanque serunt viridesque Plataeas,
et sulco Peteona domant refluumque meatu
Euripum, qua noster, habent, teque ultima tractu
Anthedon, ubi gramineo de litore Glaucus 335
poscentes inrupit aquas, iam crine genisque
caerulus, et mixtos expavit ab inguine pisces.
^ iivida He'msius {from Horn. U. ii. 501): vivida P : humida u.
156
THEBAID, MI. 30&-337
at Hypseus casting his shadow far o'er his lofty steeds, his left side guarded by the sevenfold buU's- hide of his shield, his breast by triply woven mail : his breast, for no fear hath he for his back. His spear is an ancient glorv of the woodland : once thrown it always cleaves armour and flesh alike, and his hand fails never of its aim. Asopos is deemed his sire, a father worthy to behold, when in full torrent he sweeps past the \vTeck of bridges, or in swollen MTath and vengeance for his maiden daughter he lashes his waters to fury and scorns the Thunderer her paramour. For they say that Aegina was carried by force from her father's stream and hidden in the embrace of Jove ; the river in wild rage pre- pares fierce war against the stars — not yet had even the gods such licence — ; in defiant, quenchless anger he stood and strove, nor had he any whose aid he could implore, till, scarce subdued by the threefold lightning of the brand, he yielded. Even yet doth the proud flood rejoice from out his heaving banks to pant forth 'gainst heaven fiery ashes, the signs of his dire punishment, and Aetnaean vapours. Such fury shall we marvelhng see in Hypseus on the Cad- mean plain, if but Aegina has happily appeased the Thunderer. He leads the men of Itone and Minerva's Alalcomenaean bands, and those whom Midea furnishes and Arne rich in grapes, the men who sow the fields of Aulis and of Graea and verdant Plataeae, and subdue Peteon with furrows and hold — where it is ours — Euripus whose current ebbs and flows, and thee, Anthedon, remotest of our lands, where from the grassy shore Glaucus plunged beneath the waters that summoned him, sea-green already in face and hair, and started to behold the fish-tail
157
ST ATI us
glandibus et torta zephyros incidere'^ funda cura : Cydoneas anteibunt gaesa sagittas. tu quoque praeclarum forma, Cephise, dedisses 340 Narcissum, sed Thespiacis iam pallet in agris trux puer ; orbata florem, pater, adluis unda. quis tibi Phoebeas acies veteremque revolvat Phocida ? qui Panopen, qui Daulida, qui Cyparisson, et valles, Lebadia, tuas et Hyampolin acri 345
subnixam scopulo, vel qui Parnasson utrunique aut Cirrham tauris Anemorianque supinant Coryciumque nemus, propellentemque Lilaean Cephisi glaciale caput, quo suetus anhelam ferre sitim Python amnemque avertere ponto, 350 omnibus immixtas cono super aspice laurus armaque vel Tityon vel Delon habentia, vel quas hie deus innumera laxavit caede pharetras. Iphitus asper agit, genitor cui nuper ademptus Naubolus Hippasides, tuus, o mitissime Lai, 355
hospes ; adhuc currus securaque lora tenebam,^ cum tua subter equos iacuit convulsa cruentis ictibus, o utinam nostro cum sanguine, cervix ! "
Dicenti maduere genae, vultumque per omnem pallor iit, vocisque repens singultus apertum 360
intercepit iter ; refovet frigentis amicum pectus alumna senis ; redit atque exile profatur : " o mihi sollicitum decus ac suprema voluptas,
^ incidere w : incedere P : incendere Postdate. ^ tenebam P : tenebat w.
' " mixtos " is pregnant, " joined with and growing from." ^ Narcissus, beloved of Echo, fell in love with his own
image while gazing into the water : he remained there till he
died, when he was turned into the flower called after him.
Cephisus is the Boeotian, not the Attic, river of that name
(but cf. Soph. Oed. Col. 681 sqq.).
" The Parnassians bear on their shields emblems of
158
THEBAID, VII. 338-363
growing from his waist.* They whirl the sling and cleave the zephyrs ^Wth the bullets : their javelins \nll outstrip fleet arrows. Thou too, Cephisus, wouldst have sent Narcissus,* pre-eminent in beauty, but already, stubborn-hearted boy, he is a pale flower in a Thespian field : thou, O father, dost lave it with thy childless waves. Who could recount to thee the troops of Phoebus and of ancient Phocis ? Panope, Daulis, Cyparissos, thy valleys, Lebadia, and Hyampolis that nestles beneath a beetling cliff, the husbandmen who with their bulls upturn Parnassos' either slope and Cirrha and Anemoria and the woodland of Corycia, and Lilaea that sends forth the ice-cold springs of Cephisus, whither Python was wont to take his panting thirst and turn aside the river from the sea : on all their helms behold the entwined bay, on all their armour Tityos or Delos or the quivers that the god emptied here in countless slaughter.*^ Their leader is warlike Iphitus, whose father lately slain was Naubolus, son of Hippasus, thy friend, most gentle Laius : still was I holding the chariot-reins, ^^ithout thought of ill, when thy neck lay mangled by cruel blows beneath the horses' hooves — would that my blood had flowed there too ! •*"
His eyes were moistened as he spoke, and all his face grew pale, and sudden sobs checked the free passage of his voice ; his ward soothes the trembling old man's friendly heart ; he recovers and faintly speaks : " O thou, my anxious pride and chiefest
Apollo's exploits, e.g. the slaughter of Tityos who attempted to outrage Leto, and of the Python, the snake that ravaged Delphi, or Delos, the island where he was born.
** Oedipus, not knowing Laius, his father, met him at the place where three roads meet (" trifidae in Phocidis arto," i. 65), and slew him in a quarrel that arose there.
159
ST ATI us
Antigone ! seras tibi demoror improbus umbras, fors eadem scelera et caedes visurus avitas, 365
donee te thalamis habilem integramque resignem : hoc satis, et fessum vita dimittite, Parcae. sed dum labor iners, quanti — nunc ecce reviso — transabiere duces : Clonin atque in terga comantes non ego Abantiadas, non te, saxosa Caryste, 370
non humiles Aegas altumque Capherea dixi. et iam acies obtunsa negat, cunctique resistunt, et tuus armatis iubet ecce silentia frater."
Vix ea turre senex, cum rector ab aggere coepit : " magnanimi reges, quibus baud parere recusem 375 ductor et ipse meas miles defendere Thebas, non ego vos stimulare parem — nam liber in arma impetus, et meritas ultro iurastis in iras — , nee laudare satis dignasque rependere grates sufficiam — referent superi vestraeque subacto 380 hoste manus— : urbem socia de gente subistis tutari, quam non aliis populator ab oris belliger externave satus tellure, sed hostis indigena adsultat, cui castra adversa regenti 384
hie pater, hie genetrix, hie iunctae stirpe sorores, hie erat et frater. cerne en ubicumque nefandus excidium moliris avis : venere volentes Aoniae populi, nee sum tibi, saeve, relictus. quid velit ista cohors, et te sentire decebat : reddere regna vetant." sic fatus, et omnia rite 390
160
THEBAID, VII. 364-390
pleasure, Antigone ! 'tis for thee I shamelessly delay my late-arri\-ing death, though perchance I must behold the crimes and murders of thy house repeated, until I dehver thee unharmed and fit for wedlock : that is enough ; then, O Fates, let me leave this weary life. But while I am feebly swooning, what mighty champions — ah I now I see them again — have passed before us I Clonis I numbered not, nor the long-haired sons of Abas, nor thy men, rocky Carystus, nor low-lying Aegae and lofty Caphereus. But now my dimmed sight says me nay, and all have halted, while thy brother, look ! bids the armed host be silent."
Scarce had the old man ended upon the tower, when the prince began from a high mound : " Great- hearted chieftains, whom I your leader would not refuse to obey and fight, a common soldier for my native Thebes, no attempt were mine to stir your zeal — for freely have ye rushed to arms and of your own accord taken oath to champion my righteous anger — nor shall I suffice to praise enough or pay you worthy thanks — the gods and your own victor)' o'er the foe will make requital ; from friendly peoples are ye come to protect a city assailed by no pillaging warrior from foreign shores, no stranger from an ahen land, but a native enemy, who as he marshals his opposing camps has here a father and a mother and sisters of one blood, ay, and a brother had he too. Lo ! with what guilt thou plottest destruction everj^where against thy father's race ; but the Aonian peoples have come v^ilUngly to my aid, nor, cruel one, am I left to be thy \-ictim. What yonder army vnWs, thou too shouldest be feeUng : they forbid me to give up the throne." Thus he spoke, and
VOL. II M 16]
STATIUS
disponit, qui bella gerant, qui moenia servent, quas in fronte manus, medio quas robore sistat. perspicuas sic luce fores et virgea pastor claustra levat,^ dum terra recens ; iubet ordine primo ire duces, media stipantur plebe maritae ; 395
ipse levat^ gravidas et humum tractura parentum ubera, succiduasque adportat matribus agnas.
Interea Danai noctemque diemque sub armis. noctem iterum rursusque diem — sic ira ferebat — ingeminant : contempta quies, vix aut sopor illis 400 aut epulae fecere moram ; properatur in hostem more fugae. nee monstra tenent, quae plurima
nectit prodigiale canens certi fors praevia fati. quippe serunt diros monitus volucresque feraeque sideraque aversique suis decursibus amnes, 405
infestumque tonat pater et mala fulgura lucent ; terrificaeque adytis voces clusaeque deorum sponte fores ; nunc sanguineus, nunc saxeus imber, et subiti manes flentumque occursus avorum. tunc et Apollineae tacuere oracula Cirrhae, 410
et non adsuetis pernox ululavit Eleusin mensibus, et templis Sparte praesaga reclusis vidit Amyclaeos — facinus ! — concurrere fratres. Arcades insanas latrare Lycaonis umbras nocte ferunt tacita, saevo decurrere campo 415
Oenomaum sua Pisa refert ; Acheloon utroque deformem cornu vagus infamabat Acarnan. Perseos effigiem maestam exorantque Mycenae
^ levat . . . levat Pw : novat (/. 394) conj. Phillimore : iuvat (/. 396) conj. Imhof, bttt such repetitions are charac- teristic.
" Castor and Pollux. 162
THEBAID, VII. 391-418
orders all things duly, who are to meet the foe, who to guard the walls, what troops shall lead the van, whom he shall place in mid-array. Even so does a shepherd, while the earth is fresh and the rays are shining through the doorways, unfasten the wattled pens ; he bids the leaders go first, then follow the crowding ewes ; he himself aids those that are mth young, and the parents whose udders trail the ground, and bears to their mothers' side the failing lambs.
Meanwhile the Danai by day and night and night and day march under arms : wrath bears them on- ward ; they scorn repose, scarce sleep or food delays them, like a fleeing army they haste toward the foe. They heed not the portents that chance, the herald of doom, with ominous presage strews thickly in their path ; for birds and beasts give awful warnings, stars also and backward flowing rivers, and the Father thunders against them and baneful lightnings gleam ; terrifying voices are heard in shrines, and temple gates shut of their own accord ; now it rains blood, now stones, ghosts suddenly appear and sires of old confront them weeping. Then too did Apollo's oracle at Cirrha fall silent, and all night through in months unwonted did Eleusis wail, and prophetic Sparta saw in open temples — fearful sight ! — the brethren of Amyclae " locked in conflict. The Arcadians say that in the silence of the night Lycaon's shade barked madly ,** and his own Pisa tells that Oenomaus drove o'er that cruel plain ; Achelous, maimed of either horn,'' was dishonoured by the Acarnanian exile.** Sad is the image of Perseus to which Mycenae prays,
* Lycaon was turned into a wolf by Jupiter.
" By Hercules in the struggle for Deianira.
■* " exile," i.e. Tydeus.
i63
STATIUS
confusum lunonis ebur ; mugire potentem Inachon agricolae, gemini maris incola narrat 420 Thebanum toto planxisse Palaemona ponto. haec audit Pelopea phalanx, sed bellicus ardor consiliis obstat divum prohibetque timeri.
lam ripas, Asope, tuas Boeotaque ventum flumina. non ausae transmittere protinus alae 425 hostilem fluvium ; forte et trepidantibus ingens descendebat agris, animos sive imbrifer arcus, seu montana dedit nubes, seu fluminis ilia mens fuit obiectusque vado pater arma vetabat. tunc ferus Hippomedon magno cum fragmine ripae cunctantem deiecit equum, ducibusque relictis 431 gurgite de medio frenis suspensus et armis '• ite viri " clamat, " sic vos in moenia primus ducere, sic clusas voveo perfringere Thebas." praecipitant cuncti fluvio puduitque secutos. 435
ac velut ignotum si quando armenta per amnem pastor agit, stat triste pecus, procul altera tellus omnibus et late medius timor : ast ubi ductor taurus init fecitque vadum, tunc molUor unda, tunc faciles saltus, visaeque accedere ripae. 440
H aud procul inde iugum tutisque adcommodacastris arva notant, unde urbem etiam turresque videre^ Sidonias ; placuit sedes fidique receptus, colle per excelsum patulo, quem subter aperto arva sinu, nullique aliis a montibus instant 445
despectus ; nee longa labor munimina durus
1 videre SN : videri PBD.
" i.e., at the Isthmus of Corinth, where Palaemon, son of Ino, was worshipped.
* This use of " timor " may be compared with that in 1, 746 of a landslide, " desilit horrendus timor."
164
THEBAID, VII. 419-446
and dowTicast is Juno's ivon' statue ; the rustics tell how mighty Inachus bellowed, and the dweller by the double main" how Theban Palaemon made lament over the whole sea. The Pelopean phalanx hears these warnings, but warhke ardour hinders heavenly counsels and robs them of their terror.
Already they were come to thy banks, Asopus, and the Boeotian streams. The squadrons dared not cross the hostile river forthwith ; by chance too he was descending in mighty flood upon the trembhng fields, whether the rain-bringing bow or mountain clouds had given him strength, or whether the river- sire so purposed and hurled his stream athwart them to forbid their arms. Then fierce Hippomedon with a great tearing of the bank thrust down his wavering steed, and supported by reins and trappings shouts from mid-stream to the leaders left behind : " For- ward, ye men ! and I will be the first, I warrant you, to lead the attack and break through the Theban ramparts." All fling themselves into the river, ashamed to have but followed. Just so do cattle stand dismayed when the herdsman drives them to an unknown stream ; far distant seems the other bank, and fear * stretches wide between ; but when the chieftain bull leaps in and makes the crossing, then gentler seem the waters, and easier the plunge, and the banks seem to draw nearer.
Not far from thence they mark a ridge and suitable ground for a safe camp, whence too they can behold the city and the Sidonian towers ; the situation pleased them and offered secure retreat upon a high and spreading hill, with open swelling fields beneath nor any other mountains near at hand to overlook ; no wear}- toil added long lines of earthworks, for
l65
ST ATI us
addidit : ipsa loco mirum natura favebat.
in vallum elatae rupes devexaque fossis
aequa et fortuito ductae quater aggere pinnae ;
cetera dant ipsi, donee sol montibus omnis 450
erepsit rebusque dedit sopor otia fessis.
Quis queat attonitas dictis ostendere Thebas ? urbem in conspectu belli suprema parantis territat insomnem nox atra diemque minatur. discurrunt muris ; nil saeptum horrore sub illo, 455 nil fidum satis, invalidaeque Amphionis arces. rumor ubique alios^ pluresque adnuntiat hostes maioresque timor ; spectant tentoria contra Inachia externosque suis in montibus ignes. hi precibus questuque deos, hi Martia tela 460
belligerosque hortantur equos, hi pectora fletu cara premunt miserique rogos et crastina mandant funera. si tenuis demisit lumina somnus, bella gerunt ; modo lucra morae, modo taedia vitae attonitis, lucemque timent lucemque precantur. 465 it geminum excutiens anguem et bacchatur utrisque Tisiphone castris ; fratrem huic, fratrem ingerit illi, aut utrique patrem : procul ille penatibus imis excitus implorat Furias oculosque reposcit.
lam gelidam Phoeben et caligantia primus 470
hauserat astra dies, cum iam tumet igne futuro Oceanus lateque novo Titane reclusum aequor anhelantum radiis subsidit equorum : ecce truces oculos sordentibus obsita canis exsangues locasta genas et bracchia planctu 475
^ alios PS : alius w : alius Gronovius.
" They are so sure of being slain in battle that they order their own funeral pyre for the next day.
** Oedipus had remained secluded in an inner chamber of the palace, cf. i, 49.
166
THEBAID, VII. 447-475
nature herself marvellously favoured the spot. Rocks rose to form a rampart, and the shelving earth served for trenches, and four chance mounds made bastions : the rest they themselves provide, until all the light had left the hills, and sleep gave rest to weariness.
What words could portray the consternation of Thebes .'' In the face of war's impending doom dark night racks her A\ith sleepless terror and threatens her with the coming day. Men hurry hither and thither on the walls ; in that awful panic nought seems guarded or secure enough, no strength is in Amphion's fortress. Rumour announces other foes on everv' side, and Fear yet more and mightier ; yonder they see the Inachian tents and foreign watch- fires in their own native hills. Some pray and en- treat the gods, others exhort their weapons of war and battle-steeds, others weeping embrace the hearts they love and piteously appoint their pyres and funeral honours for the morrow." If their eyes are closed in a brief slumber, they are waging war ; distraught, they now sicken of life, now prize delay ; they pray for the light, yet fear its coming. Tisiphone, shaking her twin serpents, goes rioting through either camp ; brother against brother she inflames and against both their sire : aroused he wanders far from his secret cell,* and implores the Furies and prays for his lost eyes once more.
Already had breaking day put out cold Phoebe and the fading stars, while Ocean was pregnant mth dawning fire, and the sea's expanse, revealed by new-born Titan, was sinking to rest beneath his radiant panting steeds : lo I Jocasta, wild-eyed, \\ith hoary unkempt hair falling about her haggard face, her bosom bruised and livid and in her hand a branch
167
STATIUS
nigra ferens ramumque oleae cum velleris atri nexibus, Eumenidum velut antiquissima, portis egreditur magna cum maiestate malorum. hinc atque hinc natae, melior iam sexus, aniles praecipitantem artus et plus quam possit euntem sustentant. venit ante hostes, et pectore nudo 481 claustra adversa ferit tremulisque ululatibus orat admitti : " reserate viam ! rogat impia belli mater ; in his aliquod ius exsecrabile castris huic utero est." trepidi visam expavere manipli 485 auditamque magis ; remeat iam missus Adrasto nuntius : excipiunt iussi mediosque per enses dant iter, ilia duces ut primum aspexit Achivos, clamorem horrendum luctu furiata resolvit : " Argolici proceres, ecquis monstraverit hostem, 490 quern peperi ? quanam inveniam, mihi dicite, natum sub galea ? " venit attonitae Cadmeius heros obvius, et raptam lacrimis gaudentibus implet solaturque tenens, atque inter singula matrem, matrem iterat, nunc ipsam urgens, nunc cara sororum pectora, cum mixta fletus anus asperat ira : 496
"quid molles lacrimas venerandaque nomina fingis, rex Argive, mihi ? quid coUa amplexibus ambis invisamque teris ferrato pectore matrem ? tune ille exsilio vagus et miserabilis hospes ? 500
quem non permoveas ? longae tua iussa cohortes exspectant, multoque latus praefulgurat ense.
l68
THEBAID, VII. 476-502
of olive entwined with sable wool, goes forth from the gates in all the mighty majesty of sorrow, like to the most ancient of the Fm-ies. On this side and on that her daughters, now the better sex," support her as she hastens her aged limbs and would fain go faster than her strength allows. She goes to meet the foe, and baring her breast she strikes upon the gates and with tremulous wail prays for admittance : " Unbar the road ! it is the guilty mother of the war who asks you ; some right to utter curses in this camp have I by \'irtue of this womb." The squadrons started with alarm beholding her, and hearing her, yet more ; and now the messenger sent to Adrastus returns ; at his command they receive her, and open a way through the swords' midst. As soon as she saw the Achaean princes, she uttered a fearful cry of rage and grief : " Ye Argive chiefs, who will show me the enemy whom I bore ? Under what helm — tell me — shall I find my son ? " Thus frantic she is met by the Cadmean hero, who clasps her to him and sheds tears of joy, and holding her in his arms consoles her, and ever and anon repeats " mother ! " " mother ! " entreating now herself, now his beloved sisters — when the aged dame mingles sharp anger with her weeping : " Why this pretence of unmanly tears and venerable names to me, O Argive prince ? Why dost thou put thy arms about my neck, and crush thy hated mother against tliis mail-clad breast ? Art thou that wandering exile, that hapless stranger ? Whose heart wouldst thou not stir .' Far-stretching cohorts await thy word and countless blades glitter at thy side. Ah ! we
" i.e., in contrast to their " impious "' brothers.
169
STATIUS
a miserae matres ! hunc te noctesque diesque
deflebam ? si verba tamen monitusque tuorum
dignaris, dum castra silent suspensaque bellum 505
horrescit pietas, genetrix iubeoque rogoque :
i mecum patriosque deos arsuraque saltern
tecta vide, fratremque — quid aufers lumina? — -fratrem
adloquere et regnum iam me sub iudice posce :
aut dabit, aut ferrum causa meliore resumes. 510
anne times, ne forte doli, et te conscia mater
decipiam ? non sic miseros fas omne penates
effugit : vix Oedipode ducente timeres.
nupsi equidem peperique nefas, sed diligo tales, —
a dolor !— et vestros etiamnum excuso furores. 515
quodsi adeo perstas, ultro tibi, saeve, triumphum
detulimus : religa captas in terga sorores,
inice vincla mihi : gravis hue utcumque feretur
et pater, ad vestrum gemitus nunc verto pudorem,
Inachidae, liquistis enim parvosque senesque 520
et lacrimas has quisque domi : sua credite matri
viscera ! si vobis hie parvo in tempore carus — ■
sitque precor — quid me, oro, decet quidve ista,
Pelasgi, ubera ? ab Hyrcanis hoc Odrysiisve tulissem regibus, et si qui nostros vicere furores. 525
adnuite, aut natum complexa superstite bello hie moriar." tumidas frangebant dicta cohortes, nutantesque virum galeas et sparsa videres
" i.e., to Thebes, whither Jocasta has invited him.
170
THEBAID, VII. 503-528
unhappy mothers I Is this the son whom I wept for day and night ? Yet if thou hast respect for the counsel of thy kinsfolk, now, while the armies are silent, and natural affection shrinks irresolute from war, I thy mother command thee and entreat : come with me, and look at least on thy country's gods and the homes which soon must burn, and, thy brother — why dost thou look away ? — speak to thy brother and demand thy realm with me now for arbiter : either he \v'ill grant it, or thou wilt resume the sword with better right. Or fearest thou, lest there be treachery, and I thy mother purposely deceive thee ? Not so wholly has righteousness fled oiir unhappy house ; scarce shouldst thou have to fear if Oedipus led thee." Sinful verily was my marrying and my bringing forth, but I love you even so — ah ! bitter grief ! — and even now forgive your fury. But if thou dost persist so far, of our own accord we give thee the \ictory, cruel one I Seize thy sisters and bind their hands behind them, load me with chains : thy sire shall also be brought hither, aged though he be. And now to your sense of shame, ye sons of Inachus, I turn my sad appeal ; for ye have left at home, each one of you, httle ones and aged parents and tears like these : believe in a mother's feelings ! If my son here has grown dear to you so soon — and I pray he may be dear — what must I feel, Pelasgians, how must this bosom suffer ! This might I have borne from Hyrcanian or Odrysian princes, and those whose frenzy surpassed my own. Grant my request, or may I die here with my arms around my son, nor live to see this war." The proud cohorts quailed before her words, and one could have seen the warriors' helmets quaking and their armour bedewed
171
ST ATI us
fletibus arma piis. quales ubi tela virosque pectoris impulsu rabidi stravere leones, 530
protinus ira minor, gaudentque in corpora capto^ securam difFerre famem : sic flexa Pelasgum corda labant, ferrique avidus mansueverat ardor.
Ipse etiam ante oculos nunc matris ad oscula versus, nunc rudis Ismenes, nunc flebiliora^ precantis 535 Antigones, variaque animum turbante procella exciderat regnum : cupit ire, et mitis Adrastus non vetat ; hie iustae Tydeus memor occupat irae : " me potius, socii, qui fidum Eteoclea nuper expertus, nee frater eram, me opponite regi, 540
cuius adhuc pacem egregiam et bona foedera gesto pectore in hoc. ubi tunc fidei pacisque sequestra mater eras, pulchris cum me nox vestra morata est hospitiis .'' nempe haec trahis ad commercia natum ? due ilium in campum, vestro qui sanguine pinguis spirat adhuc pinguisque meo. tu porro sequeris, heu nimium mitis nimiumque oblite tuorum ? 547 scilicet infestae cum te circum undique dextrae nudabunt enses, haec flebit et arma quiescent } tene ille, heu demens, semel intra moenia clausum possessumque odiis Argiva in castra remittet ? 551 ante haec excusso frondescet lancea ferro, Inachus ante retro nosterque Achelous abibit. sed mite adloquium et saevis pax quaeritur armis : haec quoque castra patent, necdum meruere timeri. an suspectus ego ? abscedo et mea volnera done. 556
^ in corpore capto Pw : cruore recepto N and written over in D.
2 flebiliora Pw : flebilis ora QDN.
" Tydeus ironically repeats Jocasta's plea for discussion, and suggests that it might just as well take place in the Argive camp; cf. 1. 509 (" adioquere "). 172
THEBAID; VII. 529-556
with pious tears. As when hons vrith furious impact have strewn men and weapons on the ground, straightway their wrath abates, and they rejoice to sate their hunger untroubled on the captured prey : so the Pelasgians' hearts are swayed and waver, and their fiery greed of battle grows tame.
He himself, even before their eyes, turns to kiss now his mother, now Ismene plain of speech, now Antigone more tearful in her appeal, and in the varied tumult that distracts his mind the kingdom is forgot ; he would fain go, nor does kindly Adrastus forbid him ; then Tydeus, mindful of righteous anger, breaks in upon him : " Send me rather, comrades, who lately made trial of Eteocles' word, though not his brother, send me to face the king, whose boasted peace and honest covenant I yet bear on this breast of mine. Where then was the mother, mediator of peace and honour, when ye stayed me that night with such noble welcome ? Is it to such intercourse thou dost drag thy son ? Take him to that field which reeks yet richly of Theban blood, and richly yet of mine. Wilt thou follow her so far, too soft of heart, alas ! and too forgetful of thy friends .'' Forsooth, when bared blades flash all round thee in hostile hands, her tears shall lay those swords to rest ? Fool that thou art, will he send thee back to the Argive camp, once safe within his walls and at the mercy of his hatred ? Ere that will this lance shake off its point and burgeon, or Inachus and my own Achelous flow backward. But 'tis gentle speech that thou art seeking, and peace amid savage arms : well, this camp too is open to thee, nor has yet merited fear." Or am I suspected } then I depart
173
ST ATI us
intret : et hie genetrix eadem mediaeque sorores. finge autem pactis evictum excedere regnis, nempe iterum reddes ? " rursus mutata trahuntur agmina consiliis : subito ceu turbine caeli 560
obvius adversum Boreae Notus abstulit aequor. arma iterum furiaeque placent ; fera tempus Erinys arripit et primae molitur semina pugnae.
Errabant geminae Dircaea ad flumina tigres, mite iugum, belli quondam vastator Eoi 565
currus, Erythraeis sed nuper victor ab oris Liber in Aonios meritas dimiserat agros, illas turba dei seniorque ex more saeerdos sanguinis oblitas atque Indum gramen olentes palmite maturo variisque ornare corymbis 570
curat et alterno maculas interligat ostro. iamque ipsi colles, ipsa has — quis credat ? — amabant armenta, atque ausae circum mugire iuvencae ; quippe nihil grassata fames : manus obvia pascit, exceptantque cibos^ fusoque horrenda supinant 575 ora mero, vaga rure quies ; si quando benigno urbem iniere gradu, domus omnis et omnia sacris templa calent, ipsumque fides intrasse Lyaeum. has ubi vipereo tactas ter utramque flagello Eumenis in furias animumque redire priorem 580 impulit, erumpunt non agnoscentibus agris.^
1 cibos PDNQ : dapes BKS. " agris Bentley and late uss. : argis Poi : antris B.
" i.e., ask no vengeance for them. " Him " in the next sentence is, of course, Eteocles. In 11. 558, 559 the point seems to be, arbitrate if you wish, but if you fight and drive him from the throne, you are not likely to surrender it again, i.e., you will be perpetually king; therefore it is best to fight.
174
THEBAID, VII. 557-581
and make a present of my wounds." Let him enter : here too will he find mother and sisters to mediate. But suppose that utterly defeated he quits his covenanted realm : wilt thou surrender it a second time ? " The troops, swayed by his words, veer round again ; as when in a sudden hurricane the South wind swooping down WTests from Boreas the master}^ of the sea. The rage of battle finds favour once more *, fierce Erinys seizes the moment and sows the seed of opening conflict.
Two tigers were straying by Dirce's waters, gentle yoke-fellows, whose warlike chariot had once laid waste the East, but Liber, lately triumphant from Erythraean '' shores, had suffered them to roam in Aonian fields. The followers of the god and, as of wont, an aged priest are zealous to adorn them, forgetful now of bloodshed and redolent of Indian herbs, with full-grown shoots and varied clusters of the \ine, and deck their spotted hide with bands of purple. And by now the very hills and even — who would believe it ? — the cattle loved them, and the lowing heifers ventured near ; for no hunger drives them to fell deeds, they take their food from hands ready to feed them, and throw back their terrible heads to quaff the wine outpoured ; they wander at peace over the countryside ; and whenever with placid gait they come into the city, every home and every temple glows with sacrificial fire, and all believe that Lyaeus himself has entered. These did the Furj' touch, three times each, \^ith her snaky lash, and stung them to their former mood of madness ; they dash forth, and the fields know them not. As
* The " mare Erythraeum " or Red Sea was what we call the Persian Gulf.
175
ST ATI us
ceu duo diverse pariter si fulmina caelo rupta cadant longumque trahant per nubila crinem : non aliter cursu rapidae atque immane frementes transiliunt campos aurigamque impete vasto, 585
Amphiarae, tuum — nee defuit omen, eriles forte is primus equos stagna ad vicina trahebat — corripiunt ; mox Taenarium, qui proximus, Idan Aetolumque Acamanta premunt : fuga torva per agros cornipedum, visa donee flammatus Aconteus 590
strage virum, eui sueta feras prosternere virtus — Areas erat — , densis iam fida ad moenia versas insequitur telis, multumque hastile resumens ter, quater adducto per terga, per ilia telo transigit. illae autem longo cum limite fusi 595
sanguinis ad portas utrimque exstantia ducunt spicula semianimes, gemituque imitante querellas saucia dilectis adelinant pectora muris. templa putes urbemque rapi faeibusque nefandis Sidonios ardere lares, sic clamor apertis 600
exoritur muris ; mallent cunabula magni Herculis aut Semeles thalamum aut penetrale ruisse Harmoniae.^ cultor Baccheus Acontea Phegeus iam vacuum telis geminoque in sanguine ovantem comminus ense petit ; subeunt Tegeaea iuventus auxilio tardi : iam supra sacra ferarum 606
corpora maerenti iuvenis iacet ultio Baccho.
Rumpitur et Graium subito per castra tumultu concilium ; fugit exsertos^ locasta per hostes iam non ausa preces ; natas ipsamque repellunt 610
^ Harmoniae PKQ : Hermionae DSN. ^ exsertos P : externos w.
" The death of Amphiaraus's charioteer was an omen of that of his master. " primus " : he happened to be first, and Idas and the others were following.
176
THEBAID, VII. 582-610
when from opposing tracts of heaven two lightning- brands burst forth together, and falhng trail through the clouds their length of hair : not otherwise do they ■\\ith rapid course and furioas roar bound o'er the plains, and •with a mighty spring seize thy charioteer, Amphiaraus— nor was it \\ithout ill omen,** that by chance he was first driving his master's horses to a neighbouring mere — then assail Taenarian Idas, following, and Aetolian Acamas ; the horn-footed steeds flee madly over the fields, until Aconteus, kindhng at the sight of heroes slain — an Arcadian was he, of wonted valour in the chase — pursued them, now making for their trusted walls, >Wth thick- flung darts, and plying many a spear drove thrice and again the poised javelin through their backs and flanks. But they >\-ith a long trail of streaming blood bear fainting to the gates the darts that pierced them, and uttering human wails lean their M-ounded bodies on the walls they love. One would think the city and its shrines were being plundered, and the Sidonian homes were ablaze with accursed fire, such clamour arises when the gates are opened ; rather would they that the cradle of great Hercules had perished, or Semele's bower or Harmonia's bridal chamber. Phegeus, votary of Bacchus, rushes with dra\vn sword on Aconteus, now weaponless and exult- ing in his \ictims twain ; the youth of Tegea dash up in tardy succour, but already on the sacred bodies of the beasts the youth lies dead, and sorrowing Bacchus is avenged.
The Grecian council too is broken up in the sudden tumult of the camp : Jocasta flees through the enemy, already in battle trim ; no longer dares she supplicate ; they, of late so courteous, now spurn
VOL. II N 177
STATIUS
qui modo tarn mites, et praeceps tempore Tydeus utitur : " ite age, nunc pacem sperate fidemque ! num saltem differre nefas potuitve niorari, dum genetrix dimissa redit ? "sic fatus aperto ense vocat socios. saevus iam clamor, et irae 615 hinc atque inde calent ; nullo venit ordine bellum, confusique duces volgo, et neglecta regentum imperia ; una equites mixti peditumque catervae et rapidi currus ; premit indigesta ruentes copia, nee sese vacat ostentare nee hostem 620
noscere. sic subitis Thebana Argivaque pubes conflixere globis ; retro vexilla tubaeque post tergum et litui bellum invenere secuti. tantus ab exiguo^ crudescit sanguine Mavors ! ventus uti primas struit intra nubila vires, 625
lenis adhuc, frondesque et aperta cacumina gestat, mox rapuit nemus et montes patefecit opacos.
Nunc age, Pieriae, non vos longinqua, sorores, consulimus, vestras acies vestramque referte Aoniam ; vidistis enim, dum Marte propinquo 630 horrent Tyrrhenos Heliconia plectra tumultus.
Sidonium Pterelan sonipes male fidus in armis rumpentem frenos diversa per agmina raptat iam liber, sic fessa manus : venit hasta per armos Tydeos et laevum iuveni transverberat inguen 635 labentemque adfigit equo ; fugit ille perempto consertus domino, nee iam arma aut frena tenentem portat adhuc : ceu nondum anima defectus utraque
^ ab exiguo w : in ambiguo P. 178
THEBAIC, VII. 611-638
her and her daughters, and Tydeus is quick to use the moment : " Away with you, now hope for peace and honest deahng ! Surely he could have waited and delayed the outrage till his mother had returned in safety ? " So speaking he bares his blade and calls to his comrades. And now fierce shouts are raised, and on every side \^Tath boils to fever-heat ; the host assembles in disorder, chiefs are confounded with the common soldiers, and leaders' commands unmarked ; horsemen, infantry in troops and rapid chariots are intermixed, and an indiscriminate mob urges the rout, nor is there time to display them- selves nor scan the foe. Thus in sudden swarms the youth of Thebes and Argos engaged ; standards and bugles are in the rear, and the trumpets must needs follow to find the battle. So great waxes the con- flict from so little bloodshed ! Even so the >\-ind gathers its earliest strength >vithin the clouds : gentle as yet, it sways the leaves and the unprotected summits, but soon it has torn away the forest and laid the dark mountain bare to \iew.
Come now, Pierian sisters, 'tis of no far-off deeds we bid you tell, sing your own country's wars, your own Aonia ; for ye beheld while Mars raged near and the quills of Helicon shook at the blaring of Tyrrhenian bronze.
The horse of Sidonian Pterelas, untrustworthy in battle, carries his rider, tearing at the reins, through the enemy's lines ; and now he is free, so weary is his master's arm, when through his shoulder the spear of Tydeus flies, and pierces the youth's left thigh and nails him swooning to his seat ; away he dashes, pinned to his dead lord, and bears him on, though no more he holds weapon or bridle : even as
179
STATIUS
cum sua Centaurus moriens in terga recumbit. certat opus ferri : sternunt alterna furentes 640
Hippomedon Sybarin, Pylium Periphanta Menoeceus, Parthenopaeus Ityn : Sybaris iacet ense cruento, cuspide trux Periphas, Itys insidiante sagitta. Caeneos Inachii ferro Mavortius Haemon colla rapit, cui dividuum trans corpus hiantes 645 truncum oculi quaerunt, animus^ caput ; arma
iacentis iam rapiebat Abas : cornu deprensus Achiva dimisit moriens clipeum hostilemque suumque.
Quis tibi Baccheos, Eunaee, relinquere cultus, quis lucos, vetitus quibus emansisse sacerdos, 650 suasit et adsuetum Bromio mutare furorem ? quem terrere queas ? clipei penetrabile textum pallentes hederae Nysaeaque serta coronant, Candida pampineo subnectitur instita pilo, crine latent umeri, crescunt lanugine malae, 655
et rubet imbellis Tyrio subtemine thorax, bracchiaque in manicis et pietae vincula plantae carbaseique sinus, et fibula rasilis auro Taenariam fulva mordebat iaspide pallam, quam super a tergo velox corytus et arcus 660
pendentesque sonant aurata lynce pharetrae. it lymphante deo media inter milia longum vociferans : "prohibete manus, haec omine dextro moenia Cirrhaea monstravit Apollo iuvenca ; parcite, in haec ultro scopuli venere volentes. 665 gens sacrata sumus : gener huic est luppiter urbi
^ animus Pui : Garrod conj. umerus.
" Which the oracle bade Cadmus follow till it lay down, and there built a city. The heifer was to be the first they 180
THEBAID, VII. 639-666
a Centaur, not yet bereft of both his lives, sinks on his own back in death. They vie with each other in the deadly work : in furious interchange Hippo- medon lays Sybaris low, Menoeceus Pylian Periphas, Parthenopaeus Itys : Sybaris falls a victim to the reeking blade, fierce Periphas to the spear-point, Itys to a treacherous arrow. Mavortian Haemus severs ^nth a blow the neck of Inachian Caeneus : his eyes -wide-opened seek the trunk across the cloven wound, his spirit the head; already Abas was spoihng him as he lay, when caught by an Achaean shaft he let fall in death his foeman's buckler and his own.
Who persuaded thee, Eunaeus, to desert thy Bacchic Morship and the groves a priest may never leave, and to change thy Bromian frenzy } WTiora couldst thou make afraid ? Pale i\y-wreaths of Xysa garland the weak texture of thy shield, and a white riband is fastened to thy vine-wood javehn. Tresses hide his shoulders, and the down is yet growing on his cheeks ; his corslet blushes unwarlike with threads of Tyrian dye, he wears bracelets upon his arms and embroidered sandals on his feet, and is garbed in hnen folds ; a smooth golden clasp bites with a tawny jasper stone his Taenarian cloak, whereon rattle the nimble bow-case and the bow and the hanging quivers of gold-embroidered lynxes' hide. Crazed by the god he goes through the midst of thousands, and cries afar : " Stay your hands ! these walls Apollo revealed by the good omen of Cirrha's heifer " ! Forbear ! rocks came willingly of their own accord to form them. A sacred race are we : Jove is this city's son-in-law, and its father-in-law is
saw on going out from the temple, hence " Cirrhaea," i.e., Delphic, from Cirrha, port of Delphi.
181
STATIUS
Gradivusque socer ; Bacchum haud mentimur
alumnum et magnum Alciden." iactanti talia frustra turbidus aeria Capaneus occurrit in hasta. qualis ubi primam leo mane cubilibus atris 670
erexit rabiem et saevo speeulatur ab antro aut cervum aut nondum bellantem fronte iuvencum, it fremitu gaudens, licet arma gregesque lacessant venantum, praedam videt et sua volnera nescit : sic tum congressu Capaneus gavisus iniquo 675
librabat magna venturam mole cupressum. ante tamen " quid femineis ululatibus " inquit, " terrificas, nioriture, viros ? utinam ipse veniret, cui furis ! haec Tyriis cane matribus ! " et simul
hastam expulit ; ilia volans, ceu vis non ulla moretur 680
obvia, vix sonuit clipeo et iam terga reliquit. arma fluunt, longisque crepat singultibus aurum, eruptusque sinus vicit cruor. occidis audax, occidis Aonii puer altera cura Lyaei. marcida te fractis planxerunt Ismara thyrsis, 685
te Tmolos, te Nysa ferax Theseaque Naxos et Thebana metu iuratus in orgia Ganges.
Nee segnem Argolicae sensere Eteoclea turmae, parcior ad cives Polynicis inhorruit ensis. eminet ante alios iam formidantibus arva 690
Amphiaraus equis ac multo pulvere vertit
" Semele was the wife of Jove, and Harmonia the daughter of Mars and Venus.
*> i.e., after Phegeus, 1. 603.
182
THEBAID, VII. 667H391
GradivTis " : Bacchus and great Alcides we truly call our children." Amid boasts so vain fierce Capaneus meets him, a tall spear in his hand. And as at break of day a Hon in his gloomy lair stirs up his fresh- awoken fury, and spies from the grim cave a hind or bullock with yet unwarlike forehead, and leaps forth with joyous roar, though assailed by the spears of hunting bands, but he sees his prey and knows not of his womids : so then did Capaneus exult in the unequal conflict and poised for the throw the great weight of his cypress-spear. Yet first he cries : " Why, doomed one, dost thou affright our troops with womanly howls ? Would that he for whom thou ragest would come himself to battle I Go, bawl that message to thy Tyrian dames I " and therewith he flung the spear, which in its flight, as though no force could meet and stay it, scarce rang upon the shield and already had passed clean through his back. His weapons fall, the gold resounds with long choking sobs, blood streams forth and overflows his bosom. Thou art fallen, bold youth ; thou too, one favourite more * of Aonian Lyaeus, art fallen. Thee languid Ismarus lamented with broken wands, thee Tmolus and fruitful Xysa mourned, and Naxos of Theseus' fame, and Ganges, that in fear swore fealty to Theban orgies."^
Nor was Eteocles found a sluggard by the Argolic bands, but Polynices' sword, more sparing, shrank from his countr}'men. Before the rest Amphiaraus shines pre-eminent, although already ^ his horses fear the ground, and 'mid clouds of dust he upturns the
' All these are places connected with Bacchus. India was conquered by him. according to one legend. •^ See 1. 586.
183
ST ATI us
campum indignantem : famulo decus addit inane^ maestus et extremes obitus inlustrat Apollo, ille etiam clipeum galeamque incendit honoro sidere ; nee tarde fratri, Gradive, dedisti, 695
ne qua manus vatem, ne quid mortalia bello laedere tela queant : sanctum et venerabile Diti funus eat.^ talis medios aufertur in hostes certus et ipse necis, vires fiducia leti suggerit ; inde viro maioraque membra diesque 700 laetior et numquam tanta experientia caeli, si vacet : avertit morti contermina Virtus, ardet inexpleto saevi Mavortis amore, et fruitur dextra atque anima flagrante superbit. hicne hominum casus lenire et demere Fatis 705
iura frequens ? quantum subito diversus ab illo, qui tripodas laurusque sequi, qui doctus in omni nube salutato volucrem cognoscere Phoebo ! innumeram ferro plebem, ceu letifer annus aut iubar adversi grave sideris, immolat umbris 710 ipse suis : iaculo Phlegyan iaculoque superbum Phylea, falcato Clonin et Chremetaona curru comminus hunc stantem metit, hunc a poplite sectum, cuspide non missa Chroniin Iphinoumque Sagenque intonsumque Gyan sacrumque Lycorea Phoebo— invitus : iam fraxineum demiserat hastae 716
robur, et excussis apparuit infula cristis — , Alcathoum saxo, cui circum stagna Carysti et domus et coniunx et amantes litora nati vixerat ille diu pauper scrutator aquarum, 720
1 addit inane w : abdidit omne P : adicit omne conj. Garrod. '■^ eat P : erat w.
" i.e., the omens of the sky ("dies" often = " caelum ") grew more and more favourable.
184
THEBAID, VII. 692-720
indignant plain ; Apollo sadly sheds a vain lustre upon his servant, and makes his last hours glorious. His shield too and his helm he sets afire with starry splendours, nor, Gradivus, wert thou slow to grant thy brother that no human hand, no mortal weapon should have power to harm the seer, but that he should go to Dis sacred and venerable in death. In such A^ise, conscious himself of doom, he is borne into the thickest of the fray ; the assurance of death gives him new strength, his limbs grow mightier and the sky more favourable," nor ever knew he so well to read the heavens, had he but leisure : but Valour, near neighbour of death, turns his gaze away. He glows with an insatiable love of savage War and revels in his might, and his fieiy- soul exults. Is this he who so oft alleviated the lot of man and made the Fates powerless ? How quickly changed from him who was skilled to follow the guidance of tripod and of bay, to salute Phoebus and learn the import of the birds in ever\- cloud I Like some pestilence or ad- verse ray of baleful star, his sword oflFers up to his OA\n shade a host innumerable. With a javelin he slays Phleg}as and proud Phyleus, with scythed chariot he mows down Clonis and Chremetaon, the one standing to fight him, the other he severs at the knee ; with spear-thrust Chromis and Iphinous and Sages and unshorn Gyas and Lycoreus sacred to Phoebus — the last unwillingly : already had he driven home the ashen strength of the spear when the falling crest revealed the fillet — with a stone Alcathous, to whom by the meres of Carystus was home and wife and his children who loved its shores. Long had he lived a poor searcher of the waters :
185
STATIUS
decepit tellus, moriens hiemesque notosque laudat et expert! meliora pericula ponti.
Aspicit has longe iamdudum Asopius Hypseus palantum strages ardetque avertere pugnam, quamquam baud ipse minus curru Tirynthia fundens robora ; sed viso praesens minor augure sanguis : 726 ilium armis animisque cupit. probibebat iniquo agmine consertum cunei latus ; inde superbus exseruit patriis electum missile ripis, ac prius : " Aonidum dives largitor aquarum, 730
elare Giganteis etiamnum, Asope, favillis, da numen dextrae : rogat hoc natusque tuique quercus alumna vadi ; fas et mihi spernere Phoebum, si tibi conlatus divum sator. omnia mergam fontibus arma tuis tristesque sine augure vittas. " 735 audierat genitor : vetat indulgere volentem Phoebus, et aurigam iactus detorquet in Hersen. ille ruit : deus ipse vagis succedit habenis, Lernaeum falso simulans Haliacmona vultu. tunc vero ardenti non ulla obsistere temptant 740 signa, ruunt solo terrore, et volnera citra mors trepidis ignava venit, dubiumque tuenti presserit infestos onus impuleritne iugales. sic ubi nubiferum montis latus aut nova ventis solvit hiemps, aut victa situ non pertulit aetas, 745 desilit horrendus canipo timor, arva^ virosque limite non uno longaevaque robora secum praecipitans, tandemque exhaustus turbine fesso aut vallem cavat aut medios intercipit amnes.
^ arva a> : arma PS.
" i.e., Argive.
* For meaning see 11. 315 sqg. The "oaken nursling" is his spear.
186
THEBAID, VII. 721-749
earth played him false, and dying he praises the storms and >\-inds, and the more welcome dangers of the famihar sea.
Long has Asopian H^-pseus beheld from far the slaughter of the scattered rout, and burned to stay the tide of battle, though he himself not less has put to flight Tirynthian " forces ; but the sight of the augur made htm heed the present carnage less : for him his warlike spirit yearns. A dense phalanx of the foe bars his way : then proudly he makes ready a javehn, chosen from his father's banks, and first exclaims : " O bounteous lavisher of Aonian streams, Asopus, yet renowned for the ashes of Giants,^ give power to this right hand ; thy son and the oaken nursling of thv river ask thee ; if thou didst strive with the Sire of all the gods, I may despise Phoebus. All his armour will I sink in thy waters, and the sad fillets from the augur's head." His father heard him, but Phoebus would not suffer him, fain though he was, to grant the prayer, and turns the blow aside upon Herses the charioteer. He falls, and the god himself takes up the straying reins, assiuning the feigned shape of HaUacmon of Lema. Then indeed no squadrons try to resist his fiery course, but flee in terror unallayed, and in their panic they die a coward's death unwounded ; 'tis doubtful to the \iew whether the fierce coursers are retarded or sped onward by the burden. So when a cloud-encom- passed mountain-side is loosened by the fresh storms of A^inter, or by irresistible decay of age, it crashes down upon the plain, a fearful terror, and sweeps away in many a track of ruin fields, husbandmen, and aged oaks, and at length, its furious rush exhausted, either scoops out a vale or bars a river in mid-course.
187
STATIUS
non secus ingentique viro magnoque gravatus 750 temo deo nunc hoc, nunc illo in sanguine fervet. ipse sedens telis pariterque ministrat habenis Delius, ipse docet iactus adversaque flectit spicula fortunamque hastis venientibus aufert. sternuntur terra^ Melaneus pedes, Antiphus alto 755 nil defensus equo, genitusque Heliconide nympha Action,^ caesoque infamis fratre Polites, conatusque toris vittatam attingere Manto Lampus : in hunc sacras Plioebus dedit ipse sagittas. et iam cornipedes trepidi ac moribunda reflantes 760 corpora rimantur terras, omnisque per artus sulcus et incisis altum rubet orbita membris. hos iam ignorantes terit impius axis, at illi vulnere semineces — nee devitare facultas — venturum super ora vident ; iam lubrica tabo 765 frena, nee insisti madidus dat temo, rotaeque sanguine difficiles, et tardior ungula fossis visceribus : tunc ipse furens in morte relicta spicula et e mediis exstantes ossibus hastas avellit, strident animae currumque sequuntur. 770
Tandem se famulo summum confessus Apollo " utere luce tua longamque " ait, " indue famam, dum tibi me iunctum Mors inrevocata veretur. vincimur : immites scis^ nulla revolvere Parcas stamina ; vade, diu populis promissa voluptas 775 Elysiis, certe non perpessure Creontis imperia aut vetito nudus iaciture supulcro." ille refert contra, et paulum respirat ab armis : '• olim te, Cirrhaee pater, peritura sedentem 779
^ terra Pw : terrae Kohhnann.
^ Action Pw : Action LN : Aethion QD.
* scis Pw : fas DN (scis written over in D).
188
THEBAID. VII. 750-779
Not otherwise does the chariot, burdened by the great warrior and the mighty god, drive furiously through many a scene of bloodshed. From his seat the Delian guides both reins and weapons, and in- structs his aim ; he turns aside hostile darts and cheats the flying javelins of their fortune. Menaleus on foot is overthrown, and Antiphus, no whit defended by his lofty steed, and Action, born of a nymph of Hehcon, and Polites, ill-renowned for a brother's murder, and Lampus, who tried to defile the couch of the priestess Manto : against him Phoebus with his own hand sped holy arrows. And now the hom- footed steeds snort at the corpses in alarm and probe the ground, and every wheel-track runs o'er bodies and reddens deep with severed limbs. Some the remorseless axle grinds unconscious, but others half- dead from wounds — and powerless to escape — see it as it draws nigh to crush them. Already the reins are wet with gore, the slippery car gives no foothold, blood clogs the wheels and trampled entrails hinder the horses' hooves : then the hero himself madly tears out darts abandoned in the slain and spears projecting from the midst of corpses : ghosts shriek and pursue the chariot.
At length, revealing to his servant all his godhead, Apollo said : " Use the light that is thine, and put on eternal fame, while Death irrevocable fears me in thy company. We are overcome : thou knowest that the cruel Fates unravel no threads ; depart, long-promised delight of Elysian peoples, thou who of a surety wilt never bend thy neck to Creon's rule, or lie exposed and barred from burial." The other, taking breath awhile from the fight, makes answer : " Long since knew I, Cirrhaean father, that thou wert
189
ST ATI us
ad iuga — quis tantus miseris honor ? — ^axe trementi
sensimus ; instantes quonam usque morabere manes ?
audio iam rapidae eursum Stygis atraque Ditis
flumina tergeminosque mali custodis hiatus.
accipe commissum capiti decus, accipe laurus,
quas Erebo deferre nefas. nunc voce suprema, 785
si qua recessuro debetur gratia vati,
deceptum tibi, Phoebe, larem poenasque nefandae
coniugis et pulchrum nati commendo furorem."
desiluit maerens lacrimasque avertit Apollo :
tunc vero ingemuit currusque orbique iugales. 790
non aliter caeco nocturni turbine Cori
scit peritura ratis, cum iam damnata sororis
igne Therapnaei fugerunt carbasa fratres.
lamque recessurae paulatim horrescere terrae summaque terga quati graviorque efFervere pulvis coeperat ; inferno mugit iam murmure campus. 796 bella putant trepidi bellique hunc esse fragorem, hortanturque gradus ; alius^ tremor arma virosque roirantesque inclinat equos ; iam frondea nutant culmina, iam muri, ripisque Ismenos apertis 800
effugit ; exciderunt irae, nutantia figunt tela solo, dubiasque vagi nituntur in hastas comminus inque vicem viso pallore recedunt. sic ubi navales miscet super aequora pugnas contempto Bellona mari, si forte benigna"^ 805
^ alius Pw : altus Heinslus and late uss. ^ benigna Pcj : maligna BN: PJiiUimore conj. nigrabit.
" The star of Helen was baneful, as those of her brothers were beneficial, to ships at sea. Cf. Silv. iii. 2. 8 sqq. ; also Plin. N.H. ii. 37.
190
THEBAID \II. 780-805
seated on my doomed chariot's trembling axle — why such high honour to my hapless pUght ? — How long wilt thou delay the death that threatens me ? Already I hear the flow of rapid Styx, and the dark rivers of Dis and the triple baying of his noxious sentinel. Receive the honours thou didst bestow upon my head, receive the laurels which may not be taken down to Erebus. Now ^nth my last words, if any gratitude be owed to thy prophet ere he depart, I commend to thee, O Phoebus, my betrayed home and the punishment of my wicked spouse and my son's noble rage." Sad at heart Apollo leapt down and turned to hide his tears : then verily groaned the chariot and the horses, thus left desolate. Not otherwise in a blind hurricane at night, when the North-wester blows, does a ship know that she will perish, so soon as the brethren of Therapnae have fled the sails their sister's fire has doomed."
And now little by Uttle the earth began to shudder to its rending, and the surface to rock, and the dust to rise in thicker clouds, already an infernal bellowing fills the plain. In alarm they think it is the battle and the noise of conflict, and hasten on their steps : a shock far different hurls arms and warriors and marvelling steeds to earth ; already the leafy summits are nodding, and the walls, and Ismenos flees with all his banks exposed to \iew ; their wTath is abated, they fix their swaying weapons in the ground, or wandering meet and lean on their rocking spears, and start when they see each other's pallor. So when Bellona, scorning the deep,** joins ships in battle on the sea, then, should a kindly tempest
^ i.e., outraging it by making it the scene of war. " Kindly," as being safer than batue.
191
STATIUS
tempestas, sibi quisque cavent, ensesque recondit mors alia, et socii pacem fecere timores. talis erat campo belli fluitantis imago, sive laborantes concepto flamine terrae ventorum rabiem et clusum eieeere furorem, 810
exedit sen putre solum carpsitque terendo^ unda latens, sive hac volventis machina caeli incubuit, sive omne fretum Neptunia movit cuspis et extremas gravius mare torsit in oras, seu vati datus ille fragor, seu terra minata est 815 fratribus : ecce alte praeceps humus ore profundo dissilit, inque vicem timuerunt sidera et umbrae, ilium ingens haurit specus et transire parantes mergit equos ; non arma manu, non frena remisit : sicut erat, rectos defert in Tartara currus 820
respexitque cadens caelum campumque coire ingemuit, donee levior distantia rursus miscuit arva tremor lucemque exclusit Averno.
^ terendo later mss. : ferendo Pa).
192
THEBAID, VII. 806-823
befall, all look to their own safety, and another death bids all their swords be sheathed, and common fears make peace among them. Such was the appearance of the heaWng combat on the plain. Whether the earth, labouring with imprisoned blasts, expelled the pent-up fury of the raging ^vind, or whether hidden waters ate away and wore down and sapped the crumbling soil, or the fabric of the rolling sky flung that way its weight, or Neptune's trident moved all the ocean and flung too vast a sea upon the shore, or whether that uproar was a tribute to the seer, or Earth threatened the brothers — lo I in a gaping chasm the ground yawns sheer and deep, and stars and shades feel mutual terror. Him the huge abyss engulfs, and swallows the horses as they try to leap across it ; he drops neither reins nor weapons, but, just as he was, drove his unshaken chariot down to Tartarus, and as he sank looked back at the heavens and groaned to see the plain meet above him, vmtil a fainter shock joined once more the parted fields and shut out the dayUght from Avemus.
193
LIBER VIII
Ut subitus vates pallentibus incidit umbris letiferasque domos orbisque^ arcana sepulti rupit et armato turbavit funere manes, horror habet cunctos, Stygiis mirantur in oris tela et equos corpusque movum ; nee enim ignibus artus 5
conditus aut maesta niger adventabat ab urna, sed belli sudore calens, clipeumque cruentis roribus et scissi respersus pulvere campi. needum ilium aut trunca lustraverat obvia taxo Eumenis, aut furvo^ Proserpina poste notarat 10
coetibus adsumptum funetis ; quin comminus ipsa Fatorum deprensa colus, visoque paventes augure tunc demum rumpebant stamina Parcae. ilium et securi circumspexere fragorem Elysii, et si quos procul ulteriore^ barathro 15
altera nox aliisque gravat plaga caeca tenebris. tunc regemunt pigrique lacus ustaeque^ paludes, umbriferaeque fremit sulcator pallidus undae dissiluisse novo penitus telluris hiatu Tartara et admissos non per sua flumina manes, 20
^ orbisque w : regisque P. ^ furvo w : fulvo PS.
' ulteriore P : inferiore w. * ustae P Schol. : vastae a».
" Both appear to be modes of initiation to the under- 194
BOOK VIII
When' on a sudden the prophet fell among the pallid shades, and burst into the homes of death and the mysteries of the deep-sunken realm, and affrighted the ghosts ^^ith his armed corpse, all were filled with horror and marvelled at the weapons and horses and the body still undecayed upon the Stygian shores : for no fires had whelmed his limbs, nor came he charred from the gloomy urn, but hot with the sweat of war, and gory drops and the dust of the rent plain beflecked his shield. Not yet had the Fury met and purified him with branch of yew, not had Proserpine marked him on the dusky door-post as admitted to the company of the dead" ; nay, his presence surprised the ver}- distaff of the Fates, and not till in terror they beheld the augur did the Parcae break the thread. At the noise of his coming the care-free Elysian folk gazed round about them, and they whom far in the remoter gulf a deeper night and a blind region of denser shades o'envhelms. Then sluggish meres and scorched lakes resound with groaning, and the pale furrower of the ghost-bearing stream cries out that a new chasm has cloven Tartarus to its depths and spirits have been let in across a river not his own.
world, though nowhere else mentioned as such. The yew belonged specially to Furies, «•/. xi. 94. " furvus " is an epithet suitable to the underworld, cf. Silv. v. 1. 155.
195
ST ATI us
Forte sedens media regni infelicis in arce dux Erebi populos poscebat crimina vitae, nil hominum miserans iratusque omnibus umbris stant Furiae circum variaeque ex ordine Mortes, saevaque multisonas exsertat Poena catenas ; 25
Fata ferunt animas et eodem pollice damnant : vincit opus, iuxta Minos cum fratre verendo iura bonus meliora monet regemque cruentum temperat ; adsistunt lacrimis atque igne tumentes Cocytos Phlegethonque, et Styx periuria divum 30 arguit. ille autem supera compage soluta nee solitus sentire metus expavit oborta sidera, iucundaque ofFensus luce profatur : " quae superum labes inimicum impegit Averno aethera ? quis rupit tenebras vitaeque silentes 35 admonet ? unde minae^ ? uter haec mihi proelia
fratrum ? congredior, pereant agedum discrimina rerum. nam cui dulce magis ? magno me tertia victum deiecit Fortuna polo, mundumque nocentem servo : nee iste meus dirisque en pervius astris 40 inspicitur. tumidusne meas regnator Olympi explorat vires ? habeo iam quassa Gigantum vincula et aetherium cupidos exire sub axem Titanas miserumque patrem : quid me otia maesta saevus et implacidam prohibet perferre quietem 45
^ minae ui : mina P, minas Baehrens. Statius allows, occasionally, a short syllable at this point in the line, cf. iii. 710, also, very rarely, hiatus.
" Literally " thumb," with which the crowd in the amphi- theatre saved or condemned the gladiators who appealed for mercy.
* An oath sworn by Styx was inviolable, and Styx could therefore punish perjury ; see Hesiod, Theog. 784, where any
196
THEBAID, VIII. 21-45
Bv chance the lord of Erebus, enthroned in the midst of the fortress of his dolorous realm, was de- manding of his subjects the misdoings of their hves, pitying nought human but ^vToth against all the shades. Around him stand the Furies and various Deaths in order due, and savage Vengeance thrusts forth her coils of jangling chains ; the Fates bring the souls and \\"ith one gesture " damn them ; too heavv grows the work. Hard bv, Minos with his dread brother in kindly mood counsels a milder justice, and restrains the bloodthirsty king ; Cocytus and Phlege- thon, swollen ^^ith tears and fire, aid in the judge- ment, and Styx accuses the gods of perjurj-.* But he,'' when the frame of the world above was loosened and filled him with unwonted fears, quaked at the appearing stars, and thus did he speak, offended by the gladsome light : " What ruin of the upper world hath thrust the hateful light of day into Avernus ? Who hath burst our gloom and told the silent folk of hfe ? Whence comes this threat ? Which of my brothers thus makes war on me ? Well, I Mill meet him : confusion whelm all natural bounds ! For whom would that please more ? the third hazard hurled me defeated from the mighty heaven, and 1 guard the world of guilt ; nor is even that mine, but lo ! the dread stars search it from end to end, and gaze upon me. Does the proud ruler of Olympus spy out my strength ? Mine is the prison-house, now broken, of the Giants, and of the Titans, eager to force their way to the world above, and his own un- happy sire : why thus cruelly doth he forbid me to enjoy my moiu-nful leisure and this untranquil peace,
god who is guilty of such perjurj- is debarred for nine years from the company of the gods. ' i.e., Pluto, " lord of Erebus."
197
STATIUS
amissumque odisse diem ? pandani omnia regna, si placet, et Stygio praetexam Hyperiona caelo. Arcada nee superis — quid enim mihi nuntius ambas itque reditque domos ? — emittam et utrumque tenebo Tyndariden. cur autem avidis Ixiona frango 50
verticibus ? cur non exspectant Tantalon undae ? anne profanatum totiens chaos hospite vivo perpetiar ? me Pirithoi temerarius ardor temptat et audaci Theseus iuratus amico, me ferus Alcides, tunc cum custode remote 55
ferrea Cerbereae tacuerunt Umina portae ; Odrysiis etiam pudet heu ! patuisse querelhs Tartara : vidi egomet blanda inter carmina turpes Eumenidum lacrimas iterataque pensa Sororum ; me quoque — sed durae mehor violentia legis. 60
ast ego vix unum, nee celsa ad sidera, furto ausus iter Siculo rapui conubia campo : nee hcuisse ferunt ; iniustaeque a love leges protinus, et sectum genetrix mihi computat annum, sed quid ego haec ? i, Tartareas ulciscere sedes, 65 Tisiphone ; si quando novis asperrima monstris, triste, insuetum, ingens, quod nondum viderit aether, ede nefas, quod mirer ego invideantque Sorores. atque adeo fratres — nostrique haec omina sunto prima odii — , fratres alterna in vulnera laeto 70
Marte ruant ; sit, qui rabidarum more ferarum
" "The Arcadian " is Mercury, messenger of the gods and conductor of souls to Hades. The sons of Tyndareus, Castor and Pollux, enjoyed an alternate immortality, one being in heaven while the other was in Hades.
* Of Orpheus ; " Odrysian " =Thracian. The task of the Sisters was repeated, for Eurydice's thread had to be spun anew if she was allowed to return to life.
* Demeter, whose daughter Persephone was carried off by
198
THEBAID, VIII. 46-71
and to hate the light I lost ? I will open all my kingdoms, if such be my pleasure, and veil Hj-perion with a Stygian sky. I will not send the Arcadian up to the gods — why doth he come and go on errands between realm and realm ? — and I will keep both the sons of Tyndareus." And why do I break Ixion on the greedy whirhng of the wheel ? Whv do the waters not wait for Tantalus ? Must I so oft endure the profanation of Chaos by h\ing strangers ? The rash ardour of Pirithous provoked me, and Theseus, sworn comrade of his daring friend, and fierce Alcides, when the iron threshold of Cerberus' gate fell silent, its guardian removed. It shames me too, alas I how Tartarus opened a way to the Odrysian plaint ^ ; with my own eyes I saw the Eumenides shed base tears at those persuasive strains, and the Sisters repeat their allotted task ; me too — , but the \iolence of my cruel law was stronger. Yet I have scarce ventured one stolen journey, nor was that to the stars on high, when I carried off my bride from the Sicilian mead : unlawfully, so they say, and forth- with comes an unjust decree from Jove, and her mother <= cheats me of half a year. But why do I tell all this ? Go, Tisiphone, avenge the abode of Tartarus ! if ever thou hast wrought monsters fierce and strange, bring forth some ghastly horror, huge and unwonted, such as the sky hath never yet be- held, such as I may marvel at and thy Sisters envy. Ay, and the brothers — let this be the first sign of my hatred — let the brothers rush to slay each other in exultant combat ; let there be one who in hideous,
Pluto to the underworld. Demeter eventually bargained with him that she should stay only six montiis of the year in Hades.
199
STATIUS
mandat atrox hostile caput, quique igne supremo areeat exanimes et manibus aethera nudis commaculet : iuvet ista ferum spectare Tonantem. praeterea ne sola furor mea regna lacessat, 75
quaere deis qui bella ferat, qui fulminis ignes infestumque lovem clipeo fumante repellat. faxo baud sit cunctis levior metus atra movere Tartara, frondenti quam iungere Pelion Ossae." dixerat ; atque illi iamdudum regia tristis 80
attremit oranti, suaque et quae desuper urguet nutabat tellus : non fortius aethera vultu torquet et astriferos inclinat luppiter axes.
"At tibi quos " inquit, " manes, qui limite praeceps non licito per inane ruis ? " subit ille minantem 85 iam tenuis visu, iam vanescentibus armis, iam pedes : exstincto tamen indecerptus^ in ore augurii perdurat honos, obscuraque fronti vitta manet, ramumque tenet morientis olivae. " si Beet et Sanctis hie ora resolvere fas est 90
manibus, o cunctis finitor maxime rerum, at mihi, qui quondam causas elementaque noram, et sator, oro, minas stimulataque corda remulce, neve ira dignare hominem et tua iura timentem, nam nee ad Herculeos — unde haec mihi pi'oelia^ ? —
raptus, 95
nee Venerem inlicitam — crede his insignibus — ausi intramus Lethen : fugiat ne tristis in antrum
^ indecerptus Barth : interceptus Pw. * proelia P : pectora a.'.
« Tydeus and Creon, see Bk. VIII. (fin.) and Bk. XII.
* Capaneus, see Bk. X. (fin.).
" " manes," existence in underworld, so doom, fate.
■^ Pluto may be regarded as the source, as well as the
200
THEBAID, VIII. 72-97
bestial savagery shall gnaw his foeman's head, and one who shall bar the dead from the funeral fire and pollute the air with naked corpses " ; let the fierce Thunderer feast his eyes on that ! Moreover, lest their furj- harm my realms alone, seek one who shall make war against the gods,* and with smoking shield repel the fiery brand and Jove's own wrath. I will have all men fear to disturb black Tartarus no less than to set Pelion on top of leafy Ossa." He finished, and long since was the gloomy palace quaking at his words, and his own land and that which presses on it from above were rocking : no more mightily does Jupiter sway the heaven with his nod, and bow the starrj- poles.
" But what shall be thy doom," '^ he cries, " who rushest headlong through the empty realm on a path forbidden ? " As he threatens, the other draws nigh, on foot now and shado^^y to view, his armour grow- ing faint, yet in his lifeless face abides the dignity of augurship inviolate, and on his brow remains the fillet dim to behold, and in his hand is a branch of dying olive. "If it be lawful and right for holy shades to make utterance here, O thou to all men the great Finisher, but to me, who once knew causes and beginnings. Creator** also ! remit, I pray, thy threatenings and thy fevered heart, nor deem worthy of thy wrath one who is but a man and fears thy laws ; 'tis for no Herculean plunder « — such wars are not for me — , nor for a forbidden bride — believe these emblems — that I dare to enter Lethe : let not
destined end, of all souls. Earth is similarlj- called creatress of souls, 1. 304 inf.
' Hercules descended into Hades to fetch awaj- Cerberus, Pirithous, in order to carry off Proserpine.
201
STATIUS
Cerberus, aut nostros timeat Proserpina currus.
augur Apollineis modo dilectissimus aris,
tester inane chaos — quid enim hie iurandus Apollo? — .-
crimine non ullo subeo nova fata, nee alma 101
sic merui de luce rapi ; scit iudicis urna
Dictaei verumque potest deprendere Minos.
coniugis insidiis et iniquo venditus auro
Argolicas acies — unde haec tibi turba recentum 105
umbrarum, et nostrae veniunt quoque funera
dextrae — non ignarus ini : subito me turbine mundi — horret adhuc animus — mediis e milibus hausit nox tua. quae mihi mens, dum per cava viscera terrae vado diu pendens et in acre volvor operto ? 110
ei mihi ! nil ex me sociis patriaeque relictum, vel captum Thebis ; iam non Lernaea videbo tecta, nee attonito saltern cinis ibo parenti. non tumulo, non igne miser lacrimisque meorum productus, toto pariter tibi funere veni, 115
nil istis ausurus equis ; nee deprecor umbram accipere et tripodum iam non meminisse meorum. nam tibi praesagi quis iam super auguris usus, cum Parcae tua iussa trahant ? sed pectora flectas et melior sis, quaeso, deis. si quando nefanda 120 hue aderit coniunx, illi funesta reserva supplicia : ilia tua, rector bone, dignior ira." accipit ille preces indignaturque moveri. ut leo Massyli cum lux stetit obvia ferri,
" He had not yet become a shade ; Alton suggests " undam " here, i.e. of Lethe, to explain " iam non memi- nisse." The two words are often confused.
W2
THEBAID, VIII. 98-124
Cerberus flee into his cave, nor Proserpine shudder at my chariot. I, once the best beloved of augurs at Apollo's shrines, call empty Chaos to bear \vitness — for what power to receive an oath has Apollo here ? — for no crime do I suffer tliis unwonted fate, nor have I deserved to be thus torn from the kindly hght of day ; the urn of the Dictean judge doth know it, and Minos can discern the truth. Sold by the treachery of my ^\-ife for A\-icked gold, I joined the Argive host, not unwitting— hence this crowd of new-slain ghosts thou seest, and the \ictims also of this right hand ; in a sudden convulsion of the earth— my mind still shrinks in horror — ^thy darkness swallowed me up from the midst of thousands. What were my feehngs, while I made my way on and on through the hollow womb of earth, and while I was whirled along, suspended in shrouding mist ? Ah, woe is me I nought of me is left to my country or my friends, nor in the power of Thebes ; no more shall I behold the roofs of Lema, nor shall I return in ashes to my stricken sire. With no pomp of tomb or pyre or kinsmen's tears, to thee am I come with all my funeral train, nor likely to venture aught -with yonder steeds ; content am I to receive my shade," nor remember my tripods any more. For what avails thee the use of prescient augur}-, when the Parcae spin thy commands ? Nay, be thou softened, and prove more merciful than the gods. If ever my accursed wife come hither, reser\x for her thy deadly torments : she is more worthy of thy >\Tath, O right- eous lord I " He accepts his prayer, and is indignant that he yields : just as a lion, when the ghttering Massylian steel confronts him, then most summons
203
STATIUS
tunc iras, tunc arma citat ; si decidit hostis, 125
ire supra satis est vitamque relinquere victo.
Interea vittis lauruque insignis opima currus et egregiis modo formidatus in armis luce palam, fusus nulli^ nullique fugatus, quaeritur : absistunt turmae, suspectaque tellus 130 omnibus, infidi miles vestigia campi circuit, atque avidae tristis locus ille ruinae cessat et inferni vitatur honore sepulcri. nuntius hortanti diversa in parte maniplos Adrasto, vix ipse ratus vidisse, Palaemon 135
advolat et trepidans — steterat nam forte cadenti proximus inspectoque miser pallebat hiatu — "verte gradum, fuge, rector" ait, "si Dorica saltern terra loco patriaeque manent, ubi liquimus, arces. non armis, non sanguine opus : quid inutile ferrum stringimus in Thebas ? currus humus impia sorbet armaque bellantesque viros ; fugere ecce videtur 142 hie etiam, quo stamus, ager. vidi ipse profundae noctis iter ruptaque soli compage ruentem ilium heu, praesagis quo nullus amicior astris, 145 Oecliden, frustraque manus cum voce tetendi.^ mira loquor, sulcos etiamnum rector equorum fumantemque locum et spumis madida arva^ reliquit.^ nee commune malum est : tellus agnoscit alumnos, stat Thebana acies." stupet haec et credere Adi*astus cunctatur ; sed Mopsus idem trepidusque ferebat 151 Actor idem, iam^ fama novis terroribus audax
^ nulli w : media P.
2 tetendi BQC : tetendit 7'co.
^ arva w : ora P. * reliquit P : reliqui w.
® iam Sandstroem : nam Pu.
204
THEBAID, VIII. 125-152
up his anger and his might : but if the foenian fall, to pass over him is enough, and to leave to the vanquished his life.
Meanwhile his chariot, garlanded with sacred wool and victorious bay, and feared but of late for noble feats of arms, is sought in the clear light of day in vain, though by none vanquished and by none put to flight : the troops fall back, and the ground is suspected by all, and the soldiers avoid the traces of the dangerous field ; that ill-omened spot of ravenous destruction lies idle, shunned from awe of the helhsh abyss. While Adrastus in a different quarter is encouraging his men, Palaemon flies to him with tidings, scarce trusting what he has seen, and cries in terror — for it chanced that he stood nigh the falhng seer, and paled, poor wretch ! to see the chasm open : " Turn, prince, and flee, if at least the Dorian land yet remains in its place, and our native towers where we left them. No need of arms or bloodshed : why draw we against Thebes the un- availing sword ? The impious earth sucks in our chariots and our weapons and men of war ; lo ! even the field where we stand seems to flee away. With my own eyes I saw the road to deepest night, and the firm soil rent, and him, alas I Oechdes, falling, than whom none was dearer to the prescient stars ; and in vain I stretched out my arms and cried aloud. 'Tis a miracle that I tell : only now has my charioteer left the furrowed ground and the smoking, foam- bespattered fields. Nor is the ruin shared by all : the earth knows its own children, the Theban host remains." Adrastus, horror-struck, is slow to be- heve, but Mopsus and affrighted Actor were bringing the same tidings. Already rimiour, bold to ply new
205
ST ATI us
non unum cecidisse refert. sponte agmina retro non exspectato revocantum more tubarum^ praecipitant : sed torpet iter, falluntque ruentes 155 genua viros ; ipsique — putes sensisse — -repugnant cornipedes nulloque truces hortamine parent, nee celerare gradum nee tollere lumina terra, fortius incursant Tyrii, sed Vesper opacus lunar es iam ducit equos ; data foedere parvo 160
maesta viris requies et nox auctura timores.
Quae tibi nunc facies, postquam permissa gemendi copia ? qui fletus galeis cecidere solutis ? nil solitum f esses iuvat ; abiecere madentes, sicut erant, clipeos, nee quisquam spicula tersit, 165 nee laudavit equum, nitidae nee cassidis altam compsit adornavitque iubam ; vix magna lavare vulnera et efflantes libet internectere plagas : tantus ubique dolor, mensas alimentaque bello debita nee pugnae suasit timor : omnia laudes, 170 Amphiarae, tuas fecundaque pectora veri commemorant lacrimis, et per tentoria sermo unus : abisse deos dilapsaque numina castris. " heu ubi laurigeri currus soUemniaque arma et galeae vittatus apex ? hoc antra lacusque 175
Castalii tripodumque fides } sic gratus Apollo } quis mihi sidereos lapsus mentemque sinistri fulguris, aut caesis saliat quod numen in extis, quando iter, unde morae, quae saevis utilis armis, ^ tubarum a> : ferarum P.
" " tibi " may be an ethic dative here. 206
THEBAID, MIL 153-179
terrors, reports that more than one have perished. Unbidden, not awaiting the wonted bugle-call that sounds retreat, the troops take to headlong flight ; but their movement is sluggish, their knees fail their eager haste ; the horn-footed steeds themselves — one would think they knew — resist them, and stubbornly defy e\ery command, whether to hasten pace or lift their eyes from earth. More valiantly the Tyrians press on, but dark ^'esper is already leading forth the horses of the moon ; a scant truce brings the warriors sad repose, and night that will but in- crease their fears.
How looks it now, think you," when groans are granted their fill ? How fell the tears from the loosened hehns ? Nought customary delights the weary warriors ; they cast down their dripping shields, just as they were, none ^iped his spear, or praised his charger, or dressed and decked the plume of his polished helm ; scarce do they care to wash their grievous wounds, and stitch up the wide-gaping blows : so great the despair of ever}' heart. Nor could the fear of battle persuade them to take food and due sustenance for war : all sing of thy praises, Amphiaraus, and of thy mind, unfaiHng oracle of truth ; one speech is heard throughout the tents : that the gods have left them, and their protection is departed from the camp. " Where, alas ! the laurelled chariot and the sacred arms and fillet- bearing crest ? Is this the faith of Castahan lake and grotto, and holy tripod ? Is this Apollo's gratitude ? Who now shall explain to me the falling of stars, or the purpose of lightning on the left, or the ^^^ll divine that leaps in the new-slain entrails ? or when to march or tany^ what hour is profitable
207
ST ATI us
quae pacem magis hora velit ? quis iam omne futurum proferet, aut cum quo volucres mea fata loquentur ? hos quoque bellorum casus nobisque tibique praescieras, et — quanta sacro sub pectore virtus ! — venisti tamen et miseris comes additus armis. et cum te tellus fatalisque hora vocaret, 185
tu Tyrias acies adversaque signa vacasti sternere ; tunc etiam media de morte timendum hostibus infestaque abeuntem vidimus hasta. et nunc te quis casus habet ? poterisne reverti sedibus a Stygiis altaque erumpere terra ? 190
anne sedes hilares iuxta tua numina Parcas et vice concordi discis ventura docesque ? an tibi felices lucos miseratus Averni rector et Elysias dedit inservare volucres ? quidquid es, aeternus Phoebo dolor et nova clades 195 semper eris mutisque diu plorabere Delphis. hie Tenedon Chrysenque^ dies partuque ligatam Delon et intonsi cludet penetralia Branchi, nee Clarias hac luce fores Didymaeaque quisquam limina nee Lyciam supplex consultor adibit. 200
quin et cornigeri vatis nemus atque Molosso quercus anhela lovi Troianaque Thymbra tacebit. ipsi amnes ipsaeque volent^ arescere laurus, ipse nihil certum sagis^ clangoribus aether
^ chrisenque P : chrysamque BQ : cyrrhamque w. ^ ipsaeque volent cj : ipsaeque viae mallent P : ipsae malent Postgate.
* sagis w : sacis S : sacris P.
" Here, as in the well-known passage from Milton's Ode on the Nativity, "the oracles are dumb." The " bringing- forth " (1. 197) is that of Apollo and Diana.
* Tenedos and Chrj'sa were both sacred to Apollo ; he had an oracle at Claros and at Miletus (that of Branchus, son
208
THEBAID, VIII. 180-204
for battle, or rather calls for peace ? Who now shall lay bare all the future, or with whom shall birds hold converse of my destiny ? The chances of this war thou knewest also, both for thyself and us, and yet — how great the courage in that inspired breast I — thou earnest and didst join our ill-fated arms. And when the earth and thy fatal hour called thee, thou hadst time to lay low the Tyrian lines and hostile standards ; then even in the midst of death we saw thee a terror to the foe, and thy spear still threatening as thou didst depart. And now what fate befalls thee ? Wilt thou be able to return from the abodes of Styx, and break forth from the depths of earth ? Or sittest thou beside the glad Parcae, thine own deities, and by harmonious interchange dost learn and teach the future ? Or hath the lord of Avernus in pity granted thee to watch Elysian birds in the groves of the blest ? Whatever thou art, an eternal grief to Phoebus shalt thou be, and a loss that is ever new, and long shalt thou be mourned by a Delphi that is dumb." This day shall silence Tenedos and Chryse, and Delos, made fast for the bringing-forth, and unshorn Branchus' shrine, nor on this day shall any suppliant draw nigh to the Clarian temple-gates, nor to the threshold of Dindymus, nor consult the Lycian god.** Nay, the precinct also of the horned prophet and the panting oak of Molossian Jove and Trojan Thymbra shall be mute."^ The very streams and laurels shall of their own will fail and wither, the air itself shall utter no certain presage in prophetic
of i%p©llo), also in Lycia (Patara), and at Didyma, near Miletus.
* Temple of Zeus Ammon in Libya, of Zeus at Dodona, of Apollo at Thymbra.
VOL. II p 209
STATIUS
praecinet, et nulla fei'ientur ab alite nubes. 205
iamque erit ille dies, quo te quoque conscia fatis templa colant reddatque tuus responsa sacerdos." talia fatidico peragunt soUemnia regi, ceu flammas ac dona rogo tristesque rependant exsequias mollique animam tellure reponant. 210
fracta dehinc cunctis aversaque pectora bello : sic fortes Minyas subito cum funere Tiphys destituit, non arma sequi, non ferre videtur remus aquas, ipsique minus iam ducere venli. iam fessi gemitu, paulatim et corda levavit 215
exhaustus sermone dolor, nox addita curas obruit et facilis lacrimis inrepere somnus.
At non Sidoniam diversa in parte per urbem nox eadem : vario producunt sidera ludo ante domos intraque, ipsaeque ad moenia marcent 220 excubiae ; gemina aera sonant Idaeaque terga et moderata sonum vario spiramine buxus. tunc dulces superos atque omne ex ordine alumnum numen ubique sacri resonant paeanes, ubique serta coronatumque merum. nunc funera rident 225 auguris ignari, contraque in tempore certant Tiresian laudare suum ; nunc facta revolvunt maiorum veteresque canunt ab origine Thebas : hi mare Sidonium manibusque adtrita Tonantis cornua et ingenti sulcatum Nerea tauro, 230
hi Cadmum lassamque bovem fetosque cruenti Martis agros, alii Tyriam reptantia saxa
9 " i.e., it is repugnant to them. By the tackling he means rudder, sails, ropes, etc.
'' Used in the worship of Cybele by Mt. Ida in Phrygia.
210
THEBAID, VIII. 205-231
cries, and no wing of bird shall beat the clouds. And soon shall come the day, when thou too shalt be worshipped by truth-inspired shrines, and thy own priest impart thy oracles." Such solemn chant do they make in honour of the prophet-prince, as though they were paying the due of flame and gifts and mournful service to the pyre, and laying the soul to rest in the soft earth. Then broken were the spirits of all, with loathing for the war : even so when sudden death snatched Tiphys from the brave Minyae, no longer seems the tackling to obey, no longer the oars to endure the water,*^ and even the breezes drew the vessel with less power. And now were they wearied of weeping, and having mourned their fill in converse, their hearts were lightened little by little, till sorrow was drowned in the approach of night and sleep that gently steals o'er tearful eyes. But elsewhere, throughout the Sidonian city, far different was that night ; in various sport before their houses and within they spend the hours of darkness, and even the sentinels on the walls are tipsy ; cymbals and the Idaean drums * resound, and the pipe that makes its music by varied breathing. Then in honour of their darling gods and every native deity in order sacred paeans everywhere swell high, every- where are garlands seen and wreathed bowls of \\'ine. Now mock they the witless augur's death, and again they vie in praising their o'wn Tiresias ; now they tell the history of their sires, and sing from its beginnings the ancient tale of Thebes : some tell of the Sidonian sea and the hands that grasped the Thunderer's horns and the mighty bull that ploughed the deep, others of Cadmus and the weary heifer and the fields pregnant with bloody war, others again of
211
STATIUS
ad chelyn et duras animantem Amphiona cautes, hi gravidam Semelen, illi Cythereia laudant conubia et multa deductam lampade fratrum 235
Harmoniam : nullis iam deest^ sua fabula mensis. ceu modo gemmiferum thyrso populatus Hydaspen Eoasque domos nigri vexilla triumpJii Liber et ignotos populis ostenderet Indos.
Tuncprimumadcoetus sociaeque ad foedera mensae semper inaspectum diraque in sede latentem 241
Oedipoden exisse ferunt vultuque sereno canitiem nigram squalore et sordida fusis ora comis laxasse manu sociumque benignos adfatus et abacta prius solacia passum, 245
quin hausisse dapes insiccatumque cruorem deiecisse genis. cunctos auditque refertque, qui Ditem et Furias tantum et si quando regentem Antigonen maestis solitus pulsare querellis. causa latet. non hunc Tyrii fors prospera belli, 250 tantum bella iuvant ; natum hortaturque probatque, nee vicisse velit ; sed primos comminus enses et sceleris tacito rimatur semina voto. inde epulae dulees ignotaque gaudia vultu. qualis post longae Phineus ieiunia poenae, 255
nil stridere domi volucres ut sensit abactas — necdum tota fides — hilaris mensasque torosque nee turbata feris tractavit pocula pinnis.
Cetera Graiorum curis armisque iacebat fessa cohors ; alto castrorum ex aggere Adrastus 260 laetificos tenui captabat corde tumultus,
* iam deest D : deest P^ : -que deest C : defit, non est edd. : suavis Garrod, but Statms may have lengthened tlie first syllable, cf. ii. 551, vi. 519, x. 236, xi. 276.
" He was a king in Thrace, who was plagued by Harpies, who snatched away the food from his table.
212
THEBAID, VIII. 232-260
the boulders that moved to the music of the Tynan lute and Amphion stirring rocks to life ; these celebrate the travail of Semele, those the Cytherean nuptials and the train of brothers' torches that led Harmonia to her home ; every table has its story. 'Tis as though Liber of late had ravaged Hydaspes rich in gems and the kingdoms of the East, and were displaying to the folk the banners of his swarthy captive-train ahd Indians yet unknown.
Then for the first time Oedipus, who ever lurked unseen in his dread abode, came forth, they say, to the friendly gatherings of the social banquet, and, serene of countenance, freed his grey hairs from their black filth and his face from unkempt straying locks, and enjoyed the kindly converse of his fellows and the solace denied before, nay, partook of the feast and wiped the undried blood from his eyes. To all he listens and to all he makes reply, who was wont but to assail viith sad complaint Dis and the Furies and his guide Antigone. They know not the cause. 'Tis not the prosperous issue of the Tj-rian war, but war alone delights him ; he encourages and approves liis son, yet would not have him win ; but he searches for the first clash of swords and the seeds of guilt with prayers unspoken. Thence his pleasure in the feast and the strange joy upon his face. Even so did Phineus,*" after the long fast that was his punish- ment, when he knew the birds were driven away nor screamed any more about his house — yet beheved he not wholly, — recline hilarious at the board, and handle the cups that no fierce wings upset.
The rest of the Grecian host lay fordone with care and battle ; from a high mound in the camp Adrastus — frail now and old, but forced by the curse of power
213
STATIUS
quamquam aeger senio, sed agit miseranda- potestas invigilare malis. ilium aereus undique clamor Thebanique urunt sonitus, et amara lacessit tibia, turn nimio voces marcore superbae 265
incertaeque faces et iam male pervigil ignis. sic ubi per fluctus uno ratis obruta somno conticuit, pacique^ maris secura inventus mandavere animas : solus stat puppe magister pervigil inscriptaque deus qui navigat'alno. 270
Tempus erat, iunctos cum iam soror ignea Phoebi sensit equos penitusque cavam sub luce parata Oceani mugire domum, seseque vagantem colligit et leviter moto fugat astra flagello : 274
concilium rex triste vocat, quaeruntque gementes, quis tripodas successor agat, quo provida^ laurus transeat atque orbum vittae decus. baud mora,
cuncti insignem fama sanctoque Melampode cretum Thiodamanta volunt, quicum ipse arcana deorum partiri et visas uni sociare solebat 280
Amphiaraus aves, tantaeque baud invidus artis gaudebat dici similem iuxtaque secundum, ilium ingens confundit honos inopinaque turbat gloria et oblatas frondes submissus adorat, seque oneri negat esse parem cogique meretur : 285 sicut Achaemenius solium gentesque paternas excepit si forte puer, cui vivere patrem tutjus, incerta formidine gaudia librat,
^ pacique Postgate : tantique Pa', but some dat. Is needed for the verb ; it is impossible to understand somno, as Klotz. " provida Peyrared : prodigia P : prodita u.
" The image of the god stood in the stern of the ship ; cf. "pictos verberat unda deos," Ov. Tr. i. 4. 8. * Persian.
21 +
THEBAID, VIII. 261-287
to be M'atchful against disaster — heard with sinking heart the shouts of the merrymakers. From all sides the clamour of bronze and Theban uproar gall him, and the pipe grates harshly on his ears, he is vexed by the insolent shouts of the drunken and the flickering torches and the fires already scarce lasting out the night. So when upon the waves a ship is whelmed in the silence of universal sleep, and the crew in careless trust commend their lives to the peace of ocean, alone upon the poop stands the \igilant helmsman and the god who sails in the bark that bears his name."
It was the time when Phoebus' fierj- sister, hearing the sound of his yoked steeds and the roar of Ocean's cavernous abode beneath the gathering dawn, collects her straying beams and with light flick of whip chases the stars away : the king calls the doleful council, and in dismay they ask who shall take up the duty of the tripod, to whom shall pass the prescient laurel and the widowed glory of the fillet. Straightway all demand holy Melampus' son, Thiodamas of high reno^vn, with whom alone Amphiaraus' self was wont to share the mysteries of the gods and view the flying birds, nor grudged him so much skill, but rejoiced to hear him called his hke and nearest rival. Overwhelmed by the high honour and confounded by the unlooked-for glory he hxmibly reverences the proffered leaves, and pleads that he is unequal to the task, and must needs for his merit be constrained : even as when perchance a young Achaemenian * prince has succeeded to the throne and all his father's realms (though safer were it for him that his sire still lived), his delight he balances with uncertain fear, whether his chiefs be
215
STATIUS
an fidi proceres, ne pugnet volgus habenis, cui latus Euphratae, cui Caspia limina mandet ; 290 sumere tunc arcus ipsumque onerare veretur patris equum, visusque sibi nee seeptra capaci sustentare manu nee adhuc implere tiaram.
Atque is ubi intorto signatus vellere crinem convenitque dels, hilari per castra tumultu 295
vadit ovans ac, prima sui documenta, sacerdos Tellurem placare parat : nee futile maestis id visum Danais. geminas ergo ilicet aras arboribus vivis et adulto caespite texi imperat, innumerosque deae, sua munera, flores 300 et cumulos frugum et quicquid novat impiger annus addit et intacto spargens altaria lacte incipit : " o hominum divomque aeterna creatrix, quae fluvios silvasque animarum et semina mundo cuncta Prometheasque manus Pyrrhaeaque saxa 305 gignis, et impastis quae prima alimenta dedisti mutastique^ viris,^ quae pontum ambisque vehisque : te penes et pecudum gens mitis et ira ferarum et voluorum requies ; firmum atque immobile mundi robur inoccidui, te velox machina caeli 310
aere pendentem vacuo, te currus uterque circuit, o rerum media indivisaque magnis fratribus ! ergo simul tot gentibus alma, tot altis urbibus ac populis, subterque ac desuper una
^ mutastique w : multatisque P. ^ viris P : viros w.
" i.e., the race of men. According to one story Prometheus created men, cf. Ov. Met. 1. 82 ; according to another he endued them with soul, as in Hor. C. i. 16. 13.
* " Either chariot," /.«., of sun and moon. "The brethren,"
216
THEBAID, VIII. 288-314
loyal, whether the folk -w-ill fight against the reins, to whom he shall entrust the frontier of Euphrates or the Caspian gate ; then does he feel awe to wield the bow and to mount his sire's own steed, nor can he see himself upholding the sceptre with large grasp nor as yet filling the diadem.
He therefore ha\-ing set upon his locks the emblem of the t\\'isted wool and held intercourse with the gods, proceeds in triumph through the camp amid shouts of joy, and, first evidence of his priestly office, prepares to appease the Earth : nor seemed it vain to the sorrowing Danaans. Therefore he straightway bids altars twain be "WTeathed ^ith living trees and well-grown turf, and on them, in lionour of the goddess, he flings countless flowers, her own bounty, and heaps of fruit and the new produce of the tireless year, and pouring untouched milk upon the altars he thus begins : " O eternal Creatress of gods and men, who bringest into being rivers and forests and seeds of life throughout the world, the handiwork of Prometheus and the stones of Pyrrha," thou who first didst give nourishment and varied food to famished men, who dost encompass and bear up the sea ; in thy power is the gentle race of cattle and the anger of ^\ild beasts and the repose of birds ; round thee, firm, steadfast strength of the unfailing universe, as thou hangest in the empty air the rapid frame of heaven and either chariot doth wheel, O middle of the world, unshared by the mighty brethren ! ^ Therefore art thou bountiful to so many races, so many lofty cities and peoples, while from above and from beneath thou art all-sufficient, and >^'ith no
Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, took air, sea, and underworld as their portions, and left the earth common to all.
217
STATIUS
sufficis, astriferumque donios Atlanta supernas 315 ferre laborantem nullo vehis ipsa labore : nos tantum portare negas, nos, diva, gravaris ? quod, precor, ignari luimus scelus ? an quia plebes externa Inachiis hue adventamus ab oris ? omne homini natale solum, nee te, optima, saevo 320 tamque humili populos deceat distinguere fine undique ubique tuos ; maneas communis et arma hinc atque inde feras ; liceat, precor, ordine belli pugnaces efflare animas et reddere caelo. ne rape tam subitis spirantia corpora bustis, 325
ne propera : veniemus enim, quo limite cuncti, qua licet ire via ; tantum exorata Pelasgis siste levem campum, celeres neu praecipe Parcas. at tu, care deis, quern non manus ulla nee enses Sidonii, sed magna sinu Natura soluto, 330
ceu te Cirrhaeo meritum tumularet hiatu, sic amplexa coit, hilaris des, oro, precatus nosse tuos, caeloque et vera monentibus aris concilies, et quae populis proferre parabas, me doceas : tibi sacra feram praesaga, tuique 335 numinis interpres te Phoebo absente vocabo. ille mihi Delo Cirrhaque potentior omni, quo ruis, ille adytis melior locus." haec ubi dicta, nigrantis terrae pecudes obscuraque mergit armenta, ac vivis cumulos undantis harenae 340
aggerat et vati mortis simulacra rependit. Talia apud Graios, cum iam Mavortia contra
" i.e., performing the ritual of a real funeral. 218
THEBAID, VIII. 315-342
effort earnest thyself star-bearing Atlas who staggers under the weight of the celestial realm ; us alone,
0 goddess, dost thou refuse to bear ? Doth our weight vex thee ? What crime, I pray, do we unwit- tingly atone ? That we come hither, a stranger folk, from Inachian shores ? All soil is human birthright, nor doth it beseem thee, worthiest one, to distinguish by a test so cruel and so mean peoples who are every- where and in every land thine own : abide thou common to all aUke, and bear ahke the arms of all ; grant us, I pray, in war's due course to breathe out our warrior souls and restore them to the sky. Whelm not in burial so sudden our still-breathing bodies ; haste not, for we shall come by the path all tread, by the permitted way ; hearken but to our prayer, and keep firm for the Pelasgians the fickle plain, and forestall not the swift Fates. But thou, dear to the gods, whom no violence nor Sidonian sword did slay, but mighty Nature opened her bosom to enfold in union with herself, as though for thy merits she were entombing thee in Cirrha's chasm, gladly vouchsafe,
1 pray, that I may learn thy supplications, conciliate me to the gods and the prophetic altars, and teach me what thou didst design to tell the peoples ; I will perform thy rites of divination, and in Phoebus' absence be the prophet of thy godhead and call upon thy name. That place whither thou speedest is mightier, I ween, than any Delos or Cirrha, and more august than any shrine." Having thus spoken he casts into the ground black sheep and dark-hued herds, and piles up heaps of billowy sand on their living bodies, duly paying to the seer the emblems of death."
Such things were happening among the Greeks, when already yonder the Martial horns were heard,
219
STATIUS
cornua, iam saevos fragor aereus excitat enses. addit acerba sonum Teumesi e vertice crinem incutiens acuitque tubas et sibila miscet 345
Tisiphone : stupet insolito clangore Cithaeron marcidus et turres carmen non tale secutae. iam trepidas Bellona fores armataque pulsat limina, iam multo laxantur eardine Thebae. 349
turbat eques pedites, currus properantibus obstant, ecu Danai post terga premant : sic omnibus alae artantur portis septemque excursibus haerent. Ogygiis it sorte Creon, Eteoclea mittunt Neistae, celsas Homoloidas occupat Haemon, Hypsea Proetiae,^ celsum fudere Dryanta 355
Electrae, quatit Hypsistas manus Eurymedontis, culmina magnanimus stipat Dircaea Menoeceus. qualis ubi aversi secretus pabula caeli Nilus et Eoas magno bibit ore pruinas, scindit fontis opes septemque patentibus arvis 360 in mare fert hiemes ; penitus cessere fugatae Nereides dulcique timent occurrere ponto.
Tristis at inde gradum tarde movet Inacha pubes, praecipue Eleae Lacedaemoniaeque cohortes et Pylii ; subitum nam Thiodamanta secuntur 365 augure fraudati, necdum accessere regenti. nee tua te, princeps tripodum, sola agmina quaerunt : cuncta phalanx sibi deesse putat ; minor ille per alas Septimus exstat apex, liquido velut aethere nubes
^ Proetiae Pw : Proetides et Lachmann : Proetiadae (-es) edd.
" i.e., when they were built to the music of Amphion's lyre.
* Statius seems to think of the East as cold, very much as Scythia (S. Russia) is spoken of as a region of frost and snow ; here he is thinking vaguely, perhaps, of the Persian
220
THEBAID, VIII. 343-369
and the blare of bronze drew fierce swords from their sheaths. From Teuraesus' height Tisiphone sends her shrill cry. and shakes her locks, and with their hissing adds a sharpness to the trumpets' note ; drunken Cithaeron and the towers that followed a far different music " listen in amaze to the unwonted din. Already Bellona is beating at the trembling gates and the armed portals, already by many a doorway Thebes is emptying fast. Horsemen set infantry in disarray, chariots delay the hurrying troops, as though the Danaans urged their rear : thus at the issues of all the seyen gates the crowded columns are stuck fast. Creon goes out by lot from the Ogygian, the Neistae send forth Eteocles, Haemon guards the lofty Homoloian, the Proetian and Electran pour forth the men of H^'pseus and tall Dry as, the troops of Eurymedon make the Hypsistae shake, great- hearted Menoeceus crowds the Dircean battlements. Eyen so, when Nile in his secret region has drunk ^yith mighty mouth the nurture of a distant sky and the cold snows of the East,^ he breaks up all his wealth of waters and carries his tempests to the sea in seyen ^yide channels o'er the fields ; the routed Nereids take refuge in the depths, and fear to meet the saltless main. But sad and slow moye yonder the Inachian warriors, especially the cohorts of Elis and Lace- daemon, and they of Pylos ; robbed of their augur they follow the late-appointed Thiodamas, not yet assent- ing to his command. Nor is it only thy own ranks that miss thee, lord of the tripods : all the host feels its loss : less gloriously along the hne rises that seyenth crest. 'Tis as though a jealous cloud were to snatch
highlands. In poetry rivers are commonly referred to as being swollen by rain and melting snow,
221
STATIUS
invida Parrhasiis iinum si detrahat astris, 370
truncus honor Plaustri, nee idem riget^ igne reciso axis, et incerti rmmerant sua sidera nautae.
Sad iam bella vocant : alias nova suggere vires, Calliope, maiorque chelyn mihi tendat Apollo, fatalem populis ultro poscentibus horam 375
admovet atra dies, Stygiisque emissa tenebris Mors fruitur caelo bellatoremque volando campum operit nigroque viros invitat hiatu,^ nil vulgare legens, sed quae dignissima vita funera, praecipuos annis animisque cruento 380
ungue^ notat ; iamque in miseros pensum onine
Sororum scinditur, et Furiae rapuerunt licia Parcis. stat medius campis etiamnum cuspide sicca Bellipotens, iamque hos clipeum, iam vertit ad illos arma ciens, aboletque domos, conubia, natos. 385 pellitur et patriae et, qui mente novissimus exit, lucis amor ; tenet in capulis hastisque paratas ira manus animusque ultra thoracas anhelus * conatur, galeaeque tremunt horrore comarum. quid mirum caluisse viros ? flammantur in hostem 390 cornipedes niveoque rigant sola putria nimbo, corpora ceu mixti dominis irasque sedentum induerint : sic frena terunt, sic proelia poscunt hinnitu tolluntque armos equitesque supinant.
^ riget P : nitet w.
* hiatu Pu • amictu D (hiatu written over), conversely B, hence Wakefield conj. investit amictu.
' ungue Barth, Bentley : angue Pw.
* animus . . . anhelus w : -os . . . -os P.
222
THEBAID, VIII. 370-394
from the clear sky one of the Parrhasian cluster " — spoiled is the glory of the Wain, the axle wavers, shorn of one fire, and the seamen count their stars in doubt.
But already battle calls me : from a fresh source, Calliope, supply new vigour, and may a mightier Apollo attune my lyre ! The day of doom brings nigh to the peoples the fatal hour of their own asking, and Death let loose from Stygian darkness exults in the air of heaven, and hovers in flight over the field of battle, and with black jaws gaping wide in- vites the heroes ; nought vulgar doth he choose, but with bloody nail marks as victims those most worthy of life, in the prime of years or valour ; and now all the Sisters' strands are broken for the wretched men, and the Furies have snatched the threads from the Fates. In the midst of the plain stands the War-god with spear yet dry, and turns his shield now against these, now against those, stirring up the fray and blotting out home and wife and child. Love of country is driven out, and love of the light, that lingers latest in the heart ; rage holds their hands all ready on the sword-hilt and on the lance, the panting spirit strives beyond its corslet, and the helmets tremble beneath the quivering plumes. What wonder that the heroes are hot for battle ? Horn- footed steeds are inflamed against the foe and bedew the crumbling earth with a snow-white shower, as though they were made one in body with their masters, and had put on their riders' rage : so champ they the bits, and neigh to join the fight, and rearing toss the horsemen backward.
" The Great Bear which has seven stars ; see note on vii. 8.
223
STATIUS
lamque ruunt, primusque virum concurrere pulvis incipit, et spatiis utrimque aequalibus acti 396
adventant mediumque vident decrescere campum. iam clipeus clipeis, umbone repellitur umbo, ense minax ensis, pede pes et cuspide cuspis : sic obnixa acies ; pariter suspiria fumant, 400
admotaeque nitent aliena in casside cristae. pulcher adhuc belli vultus : stant vertice coni, plena armenta viris, nulli sine praeside currus, arma loco, splendent clipei pharetraeque decorae cingulaque et nondum deforme cruoribus aurum. 405 at postquam rabies et vitae prodiga virtus eniisere animos, non tanta cadentibus Haedis aeriam Rhodopen solida nive verberat Arctos, nee fragor Ausoniae tantus, cum luppiter omni arce tonat, tanta quatitur nee grandine Syrtis, 410 cum Libyae Boreas Italos niger attulit imbres. exclusere diem telis, stant ferrea caelo nubila, nee iaculis artatus sufficit aer. hi pereunt missis, illi redeuntibus hastis, concurrunt per inane sudes et mutua perdunt 415 volnera, concurrunt hastae, stridentia funda saxa pluunt, volucres imitantur fulgura glandes et formidandae non una morte sagittae. nee locus ad terram telis : in corpora ferrum omne cadit ; saepe ignari perimuntque caduntque. casus agit virtutis opus : nunc turba recedit, 421
nunc premit, ac vicibus tellurem amittit et aufert. ut ventis nimbisque minax cum solvit habenas
" A strange phrase, which seems intended to present the scene both to eye and ear.
* i.e.. Hung back again, as in 1. 435.
" i.e., from their poison as well as their sharpness, or
224
THEBAID, VIII. 395-423
And now they charge, and the first dust-clouds of the heroes begin to meet m the onset ; both sides dash forward an equal space, and see the intervening plain diminish. Then shield thrusts against shield, boss upon boss, threatening sword on sword, foot against foot and lance on lance : in such close struggle they meet ; together their groans reek," close-packed crests gleam over helmets not their own. The face of battle is still fair : plumes stand erect, horse- men bestride their steeds, no chariot is without its chief ; weapons are in their place, shields glitter, quivers and belts are comely, and gold as yet un- sightly "\\ith blood. But when fury and valour prodigal of life give rein to passion, Arctos lashes not airy Rhodope so fiercely with hardened snow when the Kids are falling, nor does Ausonia hear so loud an uproar when Jupiter thunders from end to end of heaven, nor are the Syrtes beaten mth such hail, when dark Boreas hurls Italian tempests upon Libya. Their darts shut out the day, a steely cloud hangs athwart the sky, and the crowded air has no room for all the javelins. Some perish by flung spears, others by spears returning,* stakes meet in the void and rob each other of the wounds they carry, spears meet, and stones rain hissing from the slings, swift bullets, and dread arrows \Wnged ^v^th a double death '^ rival the lightning-stroke. No place for weapons earth- ward, every dart falls on a body ; often they slay and are slain unwitting. Chance does the work of valour : now the press retires and now advances, loses ground in turn and wins it. Even so when threatening Jove has loosed the reins of winds and tempests, and sends
perhaps by hyperbole their power to kill two together, cf. ii. 637, viii. 538.
VOL. II Q 225
STATIUS
luppiter alternoque adfligit turbine mundum : stat caeli diversa acies, nunc fortior Austri, 425
nunc Aquilonis hiemps, donee pugnante procella aut nimiis hie vieit aquis, aut ille sereno.
Principium pugnae turmas Asopius Hypseus Oebalias — namque hae magnum et gentile tumentes Euboicum duris rumpunt umbonibus agmen — 430 reppulit erepto cunei ductore Menalca. hie et mente Lacon, crudi torrentis alumnus — nee turpavit avos — hastam ultra pectus euntem, ne pudor in tergo, per et ossa et viscera retro extrahit atque hosti dextra labente remittit 435
sanguineam : dilecta genis morientis oberrant Taygeta et pugnae laudataque pectora^ matri. Phaedimon lasiden arcu Dircaeus Amyntas destinat : heu celeres Parcae ! iam palpitat arvis Phaedimus, et certi nondum tacet arcus Amyntae. abstulit ex vunero dextram Calydonius Agreus 441 Phegeos : ilia suum terra tenet improba ferrum et movet ; extimuit sparsa inter tela iacentem praegrediens truncamque tamen percussit Acoetes. Iphin atrox Acamas, Argum ferus impulit Hypseus, stravit Abanta Pheres, diversaque volnera flentes Iphis eques, pedes Argus, Abas auriga iacebant. 447 Inachidae gemini geminos e sanguine Cadmi occultos galeis — saeva ignorantia belli — perculerant ferro ; sed dum spolia omnia caesis 450 eripiunt, videre nefas, et maestus uterque respicit ad fratrem pariterque errasse queruntur.
^ pectora P : verbera w. 226
THEBAID, VIII. 424-452
alternate hurricanes to afflict the world, opposing forces meet in heaven, now Auster's storms pre- vail, now Aquilo's, till in the conflict of the winds one conquers, be it Auster's overwhelming rains, or Aquilo's clear air.
At the outset of the fight Asopian Hj^seus re- pulsed the Oebahan squadrons — for these in fierce pride of race were thrusting their stout bucklers through the Euboean lines — and slew Menalcas the leader of the phalanx. He, a true-souled Spartan, child of the mountain-torrent, shamed not his an- cestry, but pulled back through bones and bowels the spear that would pass beyond his breast, lest his back should show dishonour, and with failing hand hurled it back all bloody at the foe ; his loved Tay- getus swims before his dying eyes, and his combats, and the strong breast his mother praised. Dircaean Amyntas marks out Phaedimus, son of lasus, with his bow : ah ! the swift Fates ! already Phaedimus lies gasping on the field, and not yet has the bow of sure Amyntas ceased to twang. Calydonian Agreus cut the right arm of Phegeus from off its shoulder : on the ground it holds the sword in unyielding grip and shakes it : Acoetes advancing feared it as it lay amid scattered weapons, and struck at it, severed though it was. Stern Acamas pierced Iphis, fierce Hypseus Argus, Pheres laid Abas low, and groaning from their different wounds they lay, horseman Iphis, foot-soldier Argus, chariot-driver Abas. Inachian twins had smitten with the sword twin brothers of Cadmus' blood, hidden by their helms — war's cruel ignorance I — but stripping the dead of all their spoils they saw the horror of their deed, and each in dismay looked on his brother, and cried that they
227
STATIUS
cultor Ion Pisae cultorem Daphnea Cirrhae turbatis prostravit equis ; hunc laudat ab alto luppiter, hunc tardus frustra miseratur Apollo. 455
Ingentes Fortuna viros inlustrat utrimque sanguine in adverso : Danaos Cadmeius Haexnon^ sternit agitque, furens sequitur Tyria agmina Tydeus; Pallas huic praesens, ilium Tirynthius implet. qualiter hiberni summis duo montibus amnes 460
franguntur geminaque cadunt in plana I'uina : contendisse putes, uter arva arbustaque tollat altius aut superet pontes ; ecce^ una receptas confundit iani vallis aquas ; sibi quisque superbus ire cupit, pontoque negant descendere mixti. 465
Ibat fumiferam quatiens Onchestius Idas lampada per medios turbabatque agmina Graium, igne viam rumpens ; magno quem comminus ictu Tydeos hasta feri dispulsa casside fixit. ille ingens in terga iacet, stat fronte superstes 470 lancea, conlapsae veniunt in tempora flammae. prosequitur Tydeus : "saevos ne dixeris Argos, igne tuo, Thebane — rogum concedimus — arde ! ' inde, velut primo tigris gavisa cruore per totum cupit ire pecus, sic Aona saxo, 475
ense Pholum, Chromin ense, duos Helicaonas hasta transigit, Aegaeae Veneris quos Maera sacerdos ediderat prohibente dea ; vos praeda cruenti Tydeos, it saevas etiamnum mater ad aras.
Nee minus Herculeum contra vagus Haemona ducit
^ Haemon P : heros w. ^ ecce Pw : et cum Garrod.
" Zeus and Apollo were worshipped at Olyinpia and Delphi respectively.
228
THEBAID, VIII. 453-480
were both at fault. Ion worshipper at Pisa over- threw Daphneus worshipper at Cirrha," in the con- fusion of his steeds : this one Jupiter praises from on high, that one Apollo vainly pities, too late to aid.
Fortune on either side of the bloody fray sheds lustre on mighty warriors ; Cadmean Haemon slays and routs the Danaans, Tydeus madly pursues the ranks of T\Te ; the one has Pallas' present aid, the other the Tirynthian inspires : just as when two torrents break forth from mountain heights and fall upon the plain in twofold ruin, one would think they strove, which could whelm crops and trees or bury their bridges in a deeper flood ; lo ! at last one vale receives and mingles their waters, but proudly each would fain go by himself, and they refuse to flow down to ocean with united streams.
Idas of Onchestus strode through the midst shaking a smoky brand, and disarrayed the Grecian ranks, forcing his way with fire ; but a great lunge of savage Tydeus' spear from nigh at hand smote through his helm and pierced him : in huge length he falls upon his back, the lance stays upright in his forehead, the flaming torch sinks upon his temples. Tydeus pur- sues him with a taunt : " Call not Argos cruel ; bum, Theban, in thy own flames ; see, we grant thee a pyre ! " Then like a tigress exulting in her first blood and eager to go through all the herd, he slays Aon viith a stone, Pholus and Chromis with the sword, with thrust of lance two Helicaons, whom Maera, priestess of Aegaean \^enus, bore against the goddess' pleasure : victims are ye of bloodstained Tydeus, but even now your mother visits the pitiless altars.
No less on the other side is Haemon, ward of Hercules, led on by restless vigour ; with unsated
229
STATIUS
sanguis : inexpleto rapitur per milia ferro, -481
nunc tumidae Calydonis opes, nunc torva Pylenes agmina, nunc maestae fundens Pleuronis alumnos, donee in Olenium fessa iam cuspide Buten incidit. hunc turmis obversum et abire vetantem 485 adgreditur ; puer ille, puer malasque comamque integer, ignaro cui tunc Thebana bipennis in galeam librata venit : finduntur^ utroque tempora dividuique cadunt in bracchia crines, et non hoc metuens inopino limine vita 490
exsiluit. tunc flavum Hypanin flavumque Politen — ille genas Phoebo, crinem hie pascebat laccho : saevus uterque deus — victis Hyperenora iungit conversumque fuga Damasum ; sed lapsa per armos hasta viri trans pectus abit parmamque tenenti 495 excutit et summa fugiens in cuspide portat.
Sterneret adversos etiamnum Ismenius Haemon Inachidas — nam tela regit viresque ministrat Amphitryoniades — saevum sed Tydea contra Pallas agit. iamque adverso venere favore 500
comminus, et placido prior haec Tirynthius ore : " fida soror, quaenam hunc belli caligine nobis congressum fortuna tulit ? num regia luno hoc molita nefas ? citius me fulmina contra — infandum ! — ruere et magno bellare parenti 505
aspiciat. genus huic — sed mitto agnoscere, quando tu diversa foves, nee si ipsum comminus Hyllum Tydeos hasta tui Stygioque ex orbe remissum Amphitryona petat ; teneo aeternumque tenebo,
^ finduntur BQ {both 2nd hand) SN: funduntur, scin- duntur, striduntiir other ifss. 230
THEBAID, VIII. 481-509
sword he speeds through thousands, now laying low the pride of Calydon, now Pylene's grim array, now sad Pleuron's sons, until with wearied spear he happens on Olenian Butes. Him he attacks, as he turns toward his men and forbids them to retreat ; a lad Avas he, with cheeks yet smooth and hair un- shorn, and the Theban battle-axe aimed against his helmet takes him unaware ; his temples are cleft asunder, and his locks diAided fall upon his shoulders, and he, not fearing such a fate, passed from life unwitting on its threshold. Then he slays fair-haired Hj-panis and Polites — this one was keeping his beard for Phoebus, that one his hair for lacchus ; but cruel was either god — and joins H}-perenor to his victims, and Damasus who turned to flee ; but the hero's lance sped through his shoulders and passed out by his heart, and tearing his buckler from his grasp, carried it on the lance-point as it flew.
Even yet would Ismenian Haemon be laying low his Inachian adversaries — for Amphitryon's son directs his darts and gives him strength — but against him Pallas xu-ged fierce Tydeus. And now they " met in rivalry of favour, and first the Tirynthian thus calmly spoke : " Good sister, what chance has thus brought about our meeting in the fog of war ? Has royal Jimo de\-ised this e\il ? Sooner may she see me — unutterable thought ! — assault the thunderbolt and make war against the mighty Sire ! This man's race — but I disown him, since thou dost aid his foes, ay, were it even Hyllus or AmphitrA'on sent back from the world of Styx that the spear of thy Tydeus sought in close combat ; I remember, and shall
" i.e., Pallas and Hercules, whom Statius describes as actually present to support their rival champions.
231
STATIUS
quantum haec diva manus, quotiens sudaverit aegis ista mihi, duris famulus dum casibus omnes 511
lustro vagus terras ; ipsa heu ! comes invia mecum Tartara, ni superos Acheron excluderet, isses, tu patriam caelumque mihi, quis tanta relatu aequet ? habe totas, si mens excidere,^ Thebas. 515 cedo equidem veniamque precor." sic orsus abibat. Pallada mulcet honos : rediit ardore remisso voltus et erecti sederunt pectoris angues.
Sensit abesse deum, levius Cadmeius Haemon tela rotat nuUoque manum cognoscit in ictu. 520
tunc magis atque magis vires animusque recedunt, nee pudor ire retro ; cedentem Acheloius heros impetit,^ et librans uni sibi missile telum direxit iactus, summae qua margine parmae ima sedet galea et iuguli vitalia lucent. 525
nee frustrata manus, mortemque invenerat hasta ; sed prohibet paulumque umeri libare sinistri praebuit et merito parcit Tritonia fratri. ille tamen nee stare loco nee comminus ire amplius aut voltus audet perferre cruenti 530
Tydeos ; aegra animo vis ac fiducia cessit : qualis saetigeram Lucana cuspide frontem strictus aper, penitus cui non infossa cerebro volnera, nee felix dextrae tenor, in latus iras frangit, et expertae iam non venit obvius hastae. 535
Ecce ducem turmae certa indignatus in hostem spicula felici Prothoum torquere lacerto,
^ excidere Kohlmann : exscindere w : excedere P. * impetit w : impedit P.
232
THEBAID, VIII. 510-537
remember everlastingly, how much that godlike hand, how oft that aegis of thine hath laboured for me, while, a thrall to hards liip, I roamed through every land ; yea ! thou wouldst have gone thyself to path- less Tartarus with me, did not Acheron exclude the gods. Thou gavest me my home, ay, heaven — who could name a service so great ? All Thebes is thine, if thou hast a mind to destroy it. I yield and crave pardon." So he spake, and departed. Pallas is soothed by the praise ; her countenance is calm again, the anger spent, and the snakes erect upon her bosom sank to rest.
Cadmean Haemon felt that the god had left him ; more weakly he hiu"ls his darts, nor recognizes his skill in any stroke. Then more and more his powers and courage fail him, nor is he ashamed to retreat ; as he gives ground the Acheloian hero assails him, and poising a spear that he alone could wield aims the blow where the rim of the helmet rests on the topmost margin of the shield and the vulnerable throat gleams white. Nor erred his hand, and the spear had found a deadly spot, but Tritonia forbade, and suffered it to touch the left shoulder, sparing her brother for his merits' sake. But the warrior dares no longer hold his ground or engage or bear the sight of murderous Tydeus ; his courage grows faint, and his confidence has departed : as when the bristly ^■isage of a boar has been grazed by a Lucanian javeUn-point, and the blow has not sunk deep into his brain nor has the aim been true, he lets the anger of his side -stroke weaken, nor attacks the spear he knows too well.
Lo ! now, indignant that Prothous the leader of a squadron is hurling sure darts with happy aim against
233
STATIUS
turbidus Oenides una duo corpora pinu, cornipedemque equitemque, ferit : ruit ille ruentem in Prothoum lapsasque manu quaerentis habenas 540 in voltus galeam clipeumque in pectora calcat, saucius extremo donee cum sanguine frenos respuit et iuncta domino cervice recumbit. sic ulmus vitisque, duplex iactura colenti, Gaurano de monte cadunt, sed maestior ulmus 545 quaerit utrumque nemus, nee tam sua bracchia labens quam gemit adsuetas invitaque proterit uvas. sumpserat in Danaos Heliconius arma Corymbus, ante comes Musis, Stygii cui conseia pensi ipsa diu positis letum praedixerat astris 550
Uranie. cupit ille tamen pugnasque virosque, forsitan ut caneret ; longa iacet ipse canendus laude, sed amissum mutae^ flevere sorores.
Pactus Agenoream primis Atys ibat ab annis Ismenen, Tyrii iuvenis non advena belli. 555
quamvis Cirrha domus, soceros nee tristibus actis aversatus erat ; sponsam quin cast us amanti squalor et indigni commendat gratia luetus. ipse quoque egregius, nee pectora virginis illi diversa, inque vicem, sineret fortuna, placebant. 560 bella vetant taedas, iuvenique hinc maior in hostes ira ; ruit primis immixtus et agmina Lernae nunc pedes ense vago, prensis nunc celsus habenis, ceu spectetur, agit. triplici velaverat ostro
^ mutae w : inusae PDS.
« Ovpavla, the Muse of heavenly lore, and therefore, appropriately, the teacher of astrology. " Stygium pensum " is the doom spun for him by the Fates in the underworld.
234
THEBAID, VIII. 538-564
the foe, Oenides furiously strikes two bodies with one shaft of pine, horseman and horn-footed steed : Prothous falls and the horse upon him, and as he gropes for the lost reins the horse tramples the helm upon his face and the shield upon his breast, until as the last drops ebb from his wound he casts off the bridle and sinks with his head upon his master's body. Even so from Mount Gauranus fall an elm- tree and a vine together, a twofold loss to the husbandman, but the elm more sorroAvful seeks also for its comrade tree, and falling grieves less for its ov^Ti boughs than for the familiar grapes it crushes against its ^vill. Corymbus of Helicon had taken arms against the Danaans, formerly the Muses' friend, to whom Uranie ° herself, knowing full well his Stygian destiny, had long foretold his death by the p>osition of the stars. Yet seeks he battles and warriors, perchance to find theme for song ; now Ues he low, worthy himself to be sung with lasting praise, but the Sisters wept his loss in silence.
Atys, betrothed from childhood to Ismene, off- spring of Agenor, went his way, a youth no stranger to the wars of Thebes, though Cirrha was his home, nor had he shunned his bride's kinsmen for their evil deeds ; nay, her misery undeserved and chaste himiiUty commend her to her lover's favour. He too was noble, nor was the maiden's heart tmmed from him, and they were pleasing in each other's sight, had only Fortune suffered it. But war forbids his marriage, and hence the youth's fiercer ^v^ath against the foe ; among the foremost he rushes on, and now afoot >vith errant sword, now grasping the reins aloft, as though at some spectacle, he drives before him the ranks of Lema. With threefold
235
STATIUS
surgentes etiamnum umeros et levia mater 565
pectora ; nunc auro phaleras auroque sagittas cingulaque et manicas, ne coniuge vilior iret, presserat et mixtum cono crispaverat aurum. talibus heu ! fidens vocat ultro in proelia Graios. ac primum in faciles grassatus cuspide turmas 570 arma refert sociis et in agmina fida peracta caede redit. sic Hyrcana leo Caspius umbra nudus adhuc nulloque iubae flaventis honore terribilis magnique etiamnum sanguinis insons, haud procul a stabulis captat custode remoto 575
segne pecus teneraque famem consumit in^ agna. mox ignotum armis ac solo corpore mensus Tydea non timuit, fragilique lacessere telo saepius infrendentem aliis aliosque sequentem ausus erat. tandem invalidos Aetolus ad ictus 580 forte refert oculos et formidabile ridens : " iamdudum video, magnum cupis, improbe, leti nomen " ait ; simul audacem non ense nee hasta dignatus leviter digitis imbelle solutis abiecit iaculum : latebras tamen inguinis alte 585 missile, ceu totis intortum viribus, hausit. praeterit haud dubium fati et spoliare superbit Oenides. " neque enim has Marti aut tibi, bellica
Pallas, exuvias figemus" ait, "procul arceat^ ipsum ferre pudor ; vix, si bellum comitata relictis, 590
^ consumit in Pw : depascitur iV, and written over in D. ^ arceat co : habeat P : afuat conj. Garrod.
" i.e., " procul arceat pudor me ipsum has exuvias ferre," where " arceat " is given by analogy the same construction as " prohibeat."
236
THEBAID, VIII. 565-590
robe of purple had his mother clothed his yet growing shoulders and smooth breast, and now, lest he should go in meaner raiment than his spouse, she had plated with gold his harness and with gold his arrows and his belt and armlets, and had encrusted his helm with inlay of gold. Trusting alas ! in such things as these he challenges the Greeks to combat, and first assailing a weak company with his spear he brings back spoil of arms to his comrades, and the slaughter accomplished returns to the friendly lines. So a Caspian lion beneath Hyrcanian shade, still smooth nor terrible yet in the yellow glory of his mane, and guiltless of great carnage, raids the slow-moving flock not far from their fold while the shepherd is away, and sates his hunger on a tender lamb. Soon he feared not to attack Tydeus, knowing not his prowess but judging only by his stature, and dared to vex him with his frail Aveapon, as oft he shouted taunts at some and pursued others. At length the Aetolian turned his gaze by chance upon his feeble efforts, and with a terrible laugh : " Long since," he cries, " I have seen, insatiate one, 'tis a famous death that thou desirest ! " and forthwith, deeming the bold youth worthy of neither sword nor spear, with care- less fingers lightly flung an unwarUke shaft ; yet the missile drained deep the recesses of the groin, as though hurled with all his might. His death assured, Oenides passes him by, and is too proud to plunder. " For not such spoils as these," says he, " will I hang up to Mars, or to thee, warhke Pallas ; shame keep me far from taking them for my own pleasure ; " scarcely had Deipyle ^ left her bower and come with
* She was the daughter of Adrastus, and had married Tydeus, see ii. 201 sqq.
237
STATIUS
iJeipyle thalamis, illi inludenda^ tulissem." sic ait, et belli maiora ad praemia niente ducitur : innumeris veluti leo forte potitus caedibus imbellis vitulos mollesque iuvencas transmittit : magno furor est in sanguine mergi, 595 nee nisi regnantis cervice recumbere tauri. at non semianimi clamore Menoecea lapsus falUt Atys : praevertit equos curruque citato desilit : instabat pubes Tegeaea iacenti, nee prohibent Tyrii. " pudeat, Cadmea iuventus, terrigenas mentita patres ! quo tenditis " inquit, 601 " degeneres ? meliusne iacet pro sanguine nostro hospes Atys ? tantum hospes adhuc et coniugis ultor infelix nondum iste suae ; nos pignora tanta prodimus ? " insurgunt iusto firmata pudore 605
agmine, cuique suae rediere in pectora curae.
Interea thalami secreta in parte sorores, par aliud morum miserique innoxia proles Oedipodae, varias miscent sermone querellas. nee mala quae iuxta, sed longa ab origine fati, 610 haec matris taedas, oculos ast ilia paternos, altera regnantem, profugum gemit altera fratrem, bella ambae. gravis hinc miseri^ cunctatio voti : nutat utroque timor, quemnam hoc certamine victum, quern vicisse velint : tacite praeponderat exsul. 615 sic Pandioniae repetunt ubi fida volucres
^ iniudenda w : inlaudanda P. * miseri Pui : misti Barth, edd., from later mss.
" i.e., as he sucks its blood.
'' Nightingales, from Philomela, daughter of Pandion, king of Athens, changed into a nightingale. She grieves
238
THEBAID, VIII. 591-616
me to the war, would I have borne her spoils that she might mock at." So saying, he is led on to dream of nobler prizes of the fight : as when a lion by chance hath slaughter inniunerable in his power, he passes by the unwarlike calves and heifers : he is mad to drench himself in some mighty victim's blood, nor to crouch " save on the neck of a chieftain bull. But Menoeceus fails not to hear the dying wail of fallen Atys : thither he turns his horses, and leaps down from his swift chariot ; the Tegean warriors were drawing nigh him where he lay, nor did the Tyrians hold them off. " For shame, Cadmean youth," he cries, " that behe your earthborn sires ! Whither fly ye, degenerate ones ? Hath he not fallen more nobly for our folk, the stranger Atys } Ay, still but a stranger, nor yet, hapless one, hath he avenged his spouse ; shall rve betray a pledge so great ? " Heartened by righteous shame they rally, and each bethinks himself of those he loves.
Meanwhile in the seclusion of their chamber the sisters — innocent pair, guiltless offspring of unhappy Oedipus — mingle their converse with, varying com- plaint. Nor grieve they for their present ills, but starting from the far origins of their fate, one laments their mother's marriage, the other their father's eyes, this one the brother that reigns, that one him that is an exile, and both lament the war. Long do they hesitate in their unhappy prayers : fear sways them either way, in doubt whom they wish defeated in the fight, and whom victorious : but in their silent hearts the exile wins the day. So when Pandion's birds ^ seek once more trusty welcome and the homes
for her son Itys, whom she slew to avenge his father, Tereus's, cruelty to her sister Procne.
289
ST ATI us
hospitia atque larem bruma pulsante relictum, stantque super nidos veterisque exordia fati adnarrant tectis, it^ truncum ac flebile murmur ; verba putant, voxque ilia tamen non dissona verbis, atque ibi post laerimas et longa silentia rursus 621 incohat Ismene : " quisnam hie mortalibus error ? quae deeepta fides ? curam invigilare quieti claraque per somnos animi simulacra reverti ? ecce ego, quae thalamos nee si pax alta maneret, tractarem sensu — pudet heu ! — conubia vidi 626
nocte, soror ; sponsum unde mihi sopor attulit amens vix notum visu ? semel his in sedibus ilium, dum mea nescio quo spondentur foedera pacto, respexi non sponte, soror. turbata repente 630
omnia cernebam, subitusque intercidit ignis, meque sequebatur rabido clamore reposcens mater Atyn. quaenam haec dubiae praesagia cladis ? nee timeo, dum tuta domus milesque reeedat^ Doricus et tumidos liceat componere fratres." 635
Talia nectebant, subito cum pigra tumultu expavit domus, et multo sudore receptus fertur Atys, servans animam iam sanguine nuUo, cui manus in plaga, dependet languida cervix exterior clipeo, crinesque a fronte supini. 640
prima videt caramque tremens locasta vocabat Ismenen : namque hoc solum moribunda precatur vox generi, solum hoc gelidis iam nomen inerrat faucibus. exclamant famulae, tollebat in ora
^ it Markland : et Pw. ^ recedat w : superstes P.
" The nightingales feel that they are expressing their grief, and, Statins adds, their notes, thougli not words, are yet (" tamen ") as expressive as words can he. There is real poetry in this thought.
240
THEBAID, VIII. 617-644
they left when winter drove them forth, and they stand over the nest and tell to the house the old story of their woe, a broken, dolorous sound goes forth : they deem it words, nor in truth does their voice sound other than words." Then after tears and a long silence Ismene begins again : " What delusion is this of mortals ? What means this trust deceived ? Is it true then that our cares are awake in time of rest, and our fancies return in sleep so clearly ? Lo ! I, who could not bear the thought of wedlock, not even in sure abiding peace, this very night, my sister — ah ! for shame ! — I beheld myself a bride ; whence did my fevered slumber bring my husband before my \dsion, whom I scarce know by sight ? Once in this palace I caught sight of him, my sister, not of my own ^\^ll — ^while pledges in some wise were ex- changed for my betrothal. On the instant all was confusion to my \-iew and sudden fire fell between us, and his mother followed me, demanding Atys back with loud clamour. What presage of disaster to whom I know not is this ? And yet I have no fear, so but our home be safe and the Dorian host depart, and we can reconcile our haughty brothers."
Such was their converse, when the quiet house started at a sudden tumult, and Atys, rescued at great labour's cost, bloodless but still living, is borne in ; his hand is on his hurt, outside the shield the neck droops languid, and the tresses hang backward from his forehead. Jocasta saw him first and trembling called his beloved Ismene ; for that prayer alone do the dying accents of her son-in-law utter, that name alone hovers on his parched mouth. The women shriek, and the maiden hfts her hands to her face ;
VOL. II R 241
STATIUS
virgo manus, tenuit saevus pudor ; attamen ire 645 cogitur, indulget summum hoc locasta iacenti, ostenditque oiFertque. quater iam morte sub ipsa ad nomen visus defectaque^ fortiter ora sustulit ; illam unam neglecto lumine caeli aspicit et vultu non exsatiatur amato. 650
tunc quia nee genetrix iuxta positusque beata morte pater, sponsae munus miserabile tradunt declinare genas ; ibi demum teste remoto fassa pios gemitus lacrimasque in lumina fudit.
Dumque ea per Thebas, aliis serpentibus ardens 655 et face mutata bellum integrabat Enyo. arma volunt, primos veluti modo comminus ictus sustulerint omnisque etiamnum luceat ensis. eminet Oenides. quamvis et harundine certa Parthenopaeus agat, morientumque ora furenti 660 Hippomedon proculcet equo, Capaneaque pinus iam procul Aoniis volet agnoscenda catervis : Tydeos ilia dies, ilium fugiuntque tremuntque clamantem : "quo terga datis ? licet ecce peremptos ulcisci socios maestamque rependere noctem. 665 ille ego inexpletis solus qui caedibus hausi quinquaginta animas : totidem, totidem heia^
gregatim ferte manus ! nulline patres, nulline iacentum unanimi fratres ? quae tanta oblivio luctus ? 669
quam pudet Inachias contentum abiisse Mycenas ! hine super Thebis ? haec robora regis ? ubi autem egregius dux ille mihi ? " simul ordine laevo ipsum exhortantem cuneos capitisque superbi
^ defectaque Heinsius (xii. 325) : deiectaque Pw. * totidem, totidem heia Kohlmann : totidem heia P : totidem totidemque w.
" Goddess of war. 242
THEBAIC, VIII. 645-673
fierce shame restrains her, yet she must needs go to him, Jocasta grants the dying man this final boon, and shows her-^nd sets her before him. Four times at the very point of death he bravely raised his eyes and faihng \ision at her name ; at her alone, neglect- ing the light of heaven, he gazes, and cannot gaze enough on the face he loves. Then because his mother is not near and his father is laid in bhssful death, they give to his betrothed the sad office of closing his eyes ; there at last un^^'itnessed and alone, she gave utter- ance to %\'ifely grief and drowned her eyes in tears. WTiile these things were happening in Thebes, Enyo," afire >\-ith torch fresh-charged and other serpents, was restoring the fight. They yearn for battle, as though they had but lately borne the opening shock of combat hand to hand, and every sword still shone bright and clear. Oenides is pre- eminent ; though Parthenopaeus draw an unerring shaft, and Hippomedon trample the faces of the dying with furioiLS steed, though the spear of Capaneus fly even from far with a message to Aonian troops, that day was the day of Tydeus : from him they flee and tremble, as he cries out : " Whither turn ye your backs ? Lo I thus can ye avenge your slain comrades, and atone for that sad night. I am he who took fifty lives in unsated carnage ; bring as many, ay, as many squadrons in swarms ! Are there no fathers, no loving brothers of the fallen ? Why such forgetfulness of sorrow ? Shame on me that I departed content to Inachian Mycenae ! Are these all that stand for Thebes ? Are these yovir monarch's strength.' And where can I find that noble chieftain?" Therevsith he spies him on the left of the array, en- couraging his columns and conspicuous by the flash
243
STATIUS
insignem fulgore videt ; nee segnius ardens occurrit, niveo quam flammiger ales olori 675
imminet et magna trepidum circumligat umbra, tunc prior : " Aoniae rex o iustissime gentis, imus in arma palam tandemque ostendimus enses, an noctem et solitas placet exspectare tenebras ? " ille nihil contra, sed stridula cornus in hostem 680 it referens mandata ducis, quam providus heros iamiam in fine viae percussam obliquat, et ipse telum ingens avide et quanto non ante lacerto impulit : ibat atrox finem positura duello lancea. convertere oculos utrimque faventes 685 Sidonii Graique dei ; crudelis Erinys obstat et infando differt Eteoclea fratri : cuspis in armigerum Phlegyan peccavit. ibi ingens pugna virum, stricto nam saevior inruit ense Aetolus, retroque datum Thebana tegebant 690
arma ducem. sic densa lupum iam nocte sub atra arcet ab adprenso pastorum turba iuvenco ; improbus erigitur contra, nee cura vetantes impetere : ilium, ilium, semel in quern venerat, urget. non secus obiectas acies turbamque minorem 695
dissimulat transitque manu ; tamen ora Thoantis, pectora Deilochi, Clonii latus, ilia torvi perforat Hippotadae ; truncis sua membra remittit interdum galeasque rotat per nubila plenas. et iam corporibus sese spoliisque cadentum 700
" Neither Argive nor Theban deities wished the war to end in this way. 244
THEBAID, VIII. 674-700
of haughty helm ; not less s-wiftly does he rush to meet him all afire, than the bird that wields the flame swoops on the frightened snow-white swan and enfolds him in his mighty shadow. Then he first speaks : " Most righteous king of the Aonian people, meet we in open fight, and show we our swords at last, or doth it please thee to await the night and thy wonted darkness ? " Nought spake he in reply, but the whizzing cornel-shaft comes flying against his foe, bearing the chieftain's message ; the prudent hero strikes it aside just as it reached its mark, and himself eagerly hurled a mighty weapon with strength unknown before : on was the angry lance flying, to end the war. On it the gods, Sidonian and Greek, who favoured either side, turned their eyes ; " cruel Erinys checks its comrse, and pre- serves Eteocles for a brother's impious deed ; the erring spear-point lighted on Phlegyas the charioteer. Then a great fight arose of heroes, for the Aetolian, drawing his sword, charged more fiercely, while Theban warriors protected the retreating king. So in the murk of night a crowd of shepherds forces away a wolf from the bullock he has seized ; but he relent- lessly rises up against them, nor cares to attack those who bar his way ; him, him only, whom he had once assailed, does he pursue. Just so does Tydeus ignore the lines arrayed against him and the lesser throng, and pass them by in the fight ; yet he wounds the face of Thoas, the breast of Deilochus, Clonius in the flank, stem Hippotades in the groin ; now he throws back their limbs to mutilated trunks, or whirls heads and helms together through the air. And now he had enclosed himself with the spoils and corpses of the
245
STATIUS
clauserat ; unum acies circum consumitur, unum omnia tela vovent : summis haec ossibus haerent, pars frustrata cadunt, partem Tritonia vellit, multa rigent clipeo. densis iam consitus^ hastis ferratum quatit umbo nemus, tergoque fatiscit 705 atque umeris gentilis aper ; nusquam ardua coni gloria, quique apicem torvae Gradivus habebat cassidis, baud laetum domino ruit omen : inusta^ temporibus nuda aera sedent, circumque sonori vertice percusso volvuntur in ai*ma molares. 710
iam cruor in galea, iam saucia proluit ater pectora permixtus sudore et sanguine torrens. respicit hortantes socios et Pallada fidam, longius opposita celantem lumina parma : ibat enim magnum laerimis inflectere patrem. 715
Ecce secat zephyros ingentem fraxinus iram fortunamque ferens, teli non eminet auctor : Astacides Melanippus erat, nee prodidit ipse, et vellet latuisse manum, sed gaudia turmae monstrabant trepidum ; nam flexus in ilia Tydeus submissum latus et elipei laxaverat orbem. 721
clamorem Aonii miscent gemitumque Pelasgi, obiectantque manus indignantemque tuentur. ille per oppositos longe rimatus amarxma Astaciden, totis animae se cogit in ictum 725
relliquiis telumque iaeit, quod proximus Hopleus praebuerat : perit expressus conamine sanguis, tunc tristes socii cupidum bellare — quis ardor ! — • et poscentem hastas mediaque in morte negantem exspirare trahunt, summique in margine campi 730
^ consitus CO : constitit P. ^ inusta w : inulta P.
" i.e., of his helm. 246
THEBAID, VIII. 701-730
fallen ; the ring of foes spends itself on him alone, at him alone all darts aspire ; some lodge A^ithin his limbs, some fall amiss, others Tritonia tears away, many stand stiffly in his shield. Thick-planted already with spears, his buckler is a quivering grove of steel, and his native boarskin is torn upon his back and shoulders ; gone is the towering glor^- of the crest, and the Mars that held the peak of his grim helmet falls, no happy omen to its lord. The bare bronze*' is fixed and welded in his temples, stones strike his head and fall rattling about his armour. His helm now fills \\ith blood, and now his wounded breast is drenched by a dark mingling torrent of blood and sweat. He looks round upon his applaud- ing comrades and on faithful Pallas, who conceals from afar her face behind her shield ; for she was on her way to soften vrith her tears her mighty sire.
Lo ! an ashen spear charged ^\ith might}' WTath and fate cleaves the zephyrs, its author unperceived : Melanippus it was, the son of Astacus, and he be- trayed not his oN^Ti work and would fain have been hidden, but the joy of his troop revealed him all afirighted ; for Tydeus bending o'er his groin had sunk upon his side and let go his round shield. Aonians and Pelasgians mingle their shouts and groans, and form a barrier, and protect the in- dignant hero. He spying afar through the foe the hated Astacides, summons for a stroke all the vital forces that remain, and hurls a dart that Hopleus who stood by had given him ; the effort makes the blood spout and flow. Then his grie\"ing comrades drag him away, eager yet to fight — what fiery zeal ! — and calling for spears, and even in death's agony refusing to die, and set him on the farthest margin
247
STATIUS
efFultum gemina latera inclinantia parma ponunt, ac saevi rediturum ad proelia Martis promittunt flentes. sed et ipse recedere caelum ingentesque animos extremo frigore labi sensit, et innixus terrae " miserescite " clamat, 735 " Inachidae : non ossa precor referantur ut Argos Aetolumve larem ; nee enim mihi cura supremi funeris : odi artus fragilemque hunc corporis usum, desertorem animi. caput, o caput, o mihi si quis adportet, Melanippe, tuum ! nam volveris arvis, 740 fido equidem, nee me virtus suprema fefellit. i, precor, Atrei^ si quid tibi sanguinis umquam, Hippomedon, vade, o primis puer inclyte bellis Areas, et Argolicae Capaneu iam maxime turmae."
Moti omnes, sed primus abit primusque repertum Astaciden medio Capaneus e pulvere tollit 746
spirantem laevaque super cervice reportat, terga cruentantem concussi vulneris unda : qualis ab Arcadio rediit Tirynthius antro captivumque suem clamantibus intulit Argis. 750
Erigitur Tydeus voltuque occurrit et amens laetitiaque iraque, ut singultantia vidit era trahique oculos seseque adgnovit in illo, imperat abscisum porgi, laevaque receptum spectat atrox hostile caput, gliscitque tepentis 755 lumina torva videns et adhuc dubitantia figi. infelix contentus erat : plus exigit ultrix Tisiphone ; iamque inflexo Tritonia patre venerat et misero decus immortale ferebat, atque ilium effracti perfusum tabe cerebri 760
^ Atrei Pw : Arcadii BQ : Argei Schroder.
" Of Erymanthus. 248
THEBAID, VIII. 731-760
of the field, propped against shields on either side, and promise with tears a return to the conflicts of fierce Mars. But he too now felt the light of heaven fail him and his mighty spirit yield to the final chill, and lying on the ground he cries : " Have pity, sons of Inachus : I pray not that my bones be taken to Argos or my Aetolian home ; I care not for funeral obsequies ; I hate my limbs and my body so frail and useless, deserter of the soul within it. Thy head, thy head, O Melanippus, could one but bring me that ! for thou art grovelling on the plain, so indeed I trust, nor did my valour fail me at the last. Go, Hippomedon, I beg, if thou has aught of Atreus' blood, go thou, Arcadian, youth reno>\-ned in thy first wars, and thou, O Capaneus, mightiest now of all the Argive host ! "
All were moved, but Capaneus first darts away, and finding the son of Astacus lifts him still breathing from the dust, and returns with him on his left shoul- der, staining his back A\ith blood from the stricken wound : in such wise did the Tirynthian return from the Arcadian lair, when he brought home to applauding Argos the captive boar."
Tydeus raises himself and turns his gaze upon him, then mad vriih joy and anger, when he saw them drag the gasping visage, and saw his handiwork therein, he bids them cut off and hand to him his foe's fierce head, and seizing it in his left hand he gazes at it, and glows to see it still warm in life and the wrath- ful eyes still flickering ere they closed. Content was the wretched man, but avenging Tisiphone demands yet more. And now, her sire appeased, had Tritonia come, and was bringing immortal lustre to the un- happy hero : when lo I she sees him befouled with
240
STATIUS
aspicit et vivo scelerantem sanguine fauces —
nee comites auferre valent — : stetit aspera Gorgon
crinibus emissis rectique ante ora cerastae
velavere deam ; fugit aversata iacentem,
nee prius astra subit, quam mystica lampas et insons
Elisos multa purgavit lumina lympha. 766
" This hideous scene was imitated by Dante in the /w/<?rno (canto xxxii. 11. 125 sq.), where Count Ugolino gnaws his enemy's skull. Other parallels between the Divina Commedia and the Thebaid will be found in Inf. ix. 82 {Theb. ii. 55), Inf. xiv. 46 {Theb. x. fin.). Inf. xxvi. 52 {Theb. 1. 33, xii. 429), Purg. ix. 34 {Ach. i. 228, 247).
250
THEBAID, VIII. 761-766
the shattered brains' corruption and his jaws polluted with li\'ing blood " — nor can his comrades wTest it from him — : fierce stood the Gorgon with out- stretched snakes, and the horned serpents upreared before her face o'ershadowed the goddess ; with averted face she flees from him where he lies, nor enters heaven ere that the mystic lamp and Elisos with plenteous water has purged her vision.''
* The Gorgon is the head of Medusa with snakes for hair, that Pallas carried on her breastplate. The " mystic lamp " refers to the fire which was one of the means of ceremonial purification. " Elisos '' is the river Illssus at Athens.
25]
LIBER IX
Asperat Aonios rabies audita cruenti Tydeos ; ipsi etiam minus ingemuere iacentem Inachidae, culpantque virum et rupisse queruntur fas odii ; quin te, divum implacidissime, quamquam praecipuum tunc caedis opus, Gradive, furebas,^ 5 ofFensum virtute^ ferunt, nee comminus ipsum^ ora, sed et trepidos alio torsisse iugales. ergo profanatum Melanippi funus acerbo volnere non aliis ultum Cadmeia pubes insurgunt stimulis, quam si turbata sepulcris 10
ossa patrum monstrisque datae crudelibus urnae. accendit rex ipse super : " quisquamne Pelasgis* mitis adhuc hominemque gerit ? iam morsibus uncis — pro furor ! usque adeo tela exsatiavimus ! — artus dilacerant. nonne Hyrcanis bellare putatis 15
tigribus, aut saevos Libyae contra ire leoiies ? et nunc ille iacet — pulchra o solacia leti ! — ore tenens hostile caput, dulcique nefandus
^ furebas w : ferebas P.
^ offensum virtute Po) : oifensa conj. Garrod, feritate Mueller. For virtute Klotz cf. Val. Flacc. ii. 647.
* ipsum Pu : isse Koch.
* Pelasgis Pw : -um Imhof: -us Owen.
252
BOOK IX
The news of the mad fury of blood-stained Tydeus exasperates the Aonians ; even the Inachidae them- selves grieve but httle for the fallen warrior, and blame him, complaining that he has transgressed the lawful bounds of hatred ; nay, thou too, O Gradivnis, most %iolent of gods, though at that time the furious work of slaughter did most occupy thee, thou too wert offended, as they relate, by such hardihood," nor turned thy own gaze thereon, but drove another way thy affrighted steeds. Therefore the Cadmean youth rise up to avenge the shameful profanation of Melanippus' corpse, as much inflamed as though their father's bones had been disturbed from their sepulchres and their urns flung a prey to cruel monsters. The king himself infuriates them still further : " Who any more is merciful or humane to the Pelasgians r Why, ^\-ith hooked fangs they rend our limbs — shame on such madness ! Have we then so glutted their weapons ? — Do ye not think ye are making war on Hyrcanian tigers or facing angry Libyan lions ? And now he hes — O I noble solace of death ! — his jaws fastened in his enemy's head, and meets his unhallowed end in welcome gore
" " virtus " in an unfavourable sense Is found in Val. Flacc. ii. 647, " eifera virtus" : cf. also Theb. xi. 1," iniqua virtus " : but in both cases tlie epithet helps.
253
ST ATI us
immoritur tabo ; nos ferrum immite^ facesque, illis nuda odia, et feritas iam non eget armis. 20
sic pergant rabidi claraque hac laude^ fruantur, dum videas haec, summepater. sed enimhiscere campos conquesti terraeque fugam mirantur ; an istos vel sua portet humus ? " magno sic fatus agebat procursu fremituque viros, furor omnibus idem 25 Tydeos invisi spoliis raptoque potiri corpore. non aliter subtexunt astra catervae incestarum avium, longe quibus aura nocentem aera desertasque tulit sine funere mortes ; illo avidae cum voce ruunt, sonat arduus aether 30 plausibus, et caelo volucres cessere minores.
Fama per Aonium rapido vaga murmure campum spargitur in turmas, sohto pernicior index cum lugenda refert, donee, cui maxima fando damna vehit, trepidas lapsa est Polynicis ad aures. 35 deriguit iuvenis lacrimaeque haesere paratae, et cunctata fides ; nimium nam cognita virtus Oenidae credi letum suadetque vetatque. sed postquam haud dubio clades auctore reperta est, nox oculos mentemque rapit ; turn sanguine fixo 40 membra simul, simul arma ruunt : madet ardua fletu iam galea atque ocreae chpeum excepere cadentem. it maestus genua aegra trahens hastamque sequentem, vulneribus ceu mille gravis totosque per artus saucius, absistunt socii monstrantque gementes. 45
^ immite P : mite w. Emended in various ways by edd. Supply, not, as Klotz, putamus, but pro telis habemus ; the translation makes it clear.
- laude P : luce w, cf. i. 319. 254,
THEBAID, IX. 19-45
Our weapons are ruthless steel and brands of fire, but theirs is naked hate, and savagery that needs no arms. May they continue in their frenzy and enjoy a reno^vn so glorious, do thou but look upon it, O Father supreme I But they complained that the battle-field gaped and they marvel that the earth fled : would even their own soil bear such as them .' " So speaking, he led his men forward in a fierce onset shouting loud, and all ahke furious to seize the corpse of the hated Tydeus and to gain his spoils. Not other\\ise do swarms of obscene birds veil the stars, when the breezes have told them afar of tainted air and bodies left luiburied ; thither in clamorous greed they haste, the lofty sky is loud vriih flapping of "«"ings, and lesser fowl withdraw from heaven.
Fame, travelling in s^^ift rumours about the Aonian plain, is spread from troop to troop, a more rapid messenger than of wont when her tidings are e\il, until she ghdes into the affrighted ears of Polynices, to whom her tale brings most grievous news of loss. The youth stiffened ^\ith horror, his ready tears stood congealed, and slow was he to give credence ; for Oenides' well-known valour now prompts and now forbids him to beUeve his death. But when the disaster was confirmed on undoubted warrant, his mind and \'ision are whelmed in night ; his blood stands still ; together his arms, together his limbs sink doMTi, his lofty helm is already moist ^^•ith tears, and his greaves caught the sliield as it fell. Sadly he goes, dragging faint knees and traihng spear, as though biu-dened by a thousand wounds and maimed in every limb ; his comrades shrink from him and point to liim with groans. At length he
25.5
STATIUS
tandem ille abiectis, vix quae portaverat, armis nudus in egregii vacuum iam corpus amici procidit et tali lacrimas cum voce profudit : " hasne tibi, armorum spes o suprema meorum, Oenide, grates, haec praemia digna rependi, 50
nudus ut invisa Cadmi tellure iaceres sospite me ? nunc exsul ego aeternumque fugatus, quando alius misero ac melior mihi frater ademptus. nee iam sortitus veteres regnique nocentis periurum diadema peto : quo gaudia tanti 55
empta mihi aut sceptrum, quod non tua dextera
tradet ? ite, viri, solumque^ fero me linquite fratri : nil opus arma ultra temptare et perdere^ mortes ; ite, precor ; quid iam dabitis mihi denique maius ? Tydea consumpsi ! quanam hoc ego morte piabo ? 60 o socer, o Argi ! et primae bona iurgia noctis, alternaeque manus et longi pignus amoris ira brevis ; non me ense tuo tunc, maxime Tydeu, — et poteras— nostri mactatum in limine Adrasti ! quin etiam Thebas me propter et impia fratris 05 tecta libens, unde haud alius remeasset, adisti, ceu tibimet sceptra et proprios laturus honores. iam Telamona pium, iam Thesea fama tacebat — qualis et ecce iaces ! quae primum vulnera mirer ? quis tuus hie, quis ab hoste cruor ? quae te agmina
quive 70
innumeri stravere globi ? num fallor, et ipse invidit pater et tota Mars impulit hasta ? "
^ solumque w : totumque P. ^ perdere co : pergere P.
" i.e., than Tydeus, whom he has " wasted " by allowing him to be slain. * See i. 401 sqq.
256
THEBAID, IX. 46-72
throws away the armour he scarce has power to carry, and falUng naked on the now hfeless body of his peerless friend speaks thus "vWth streaming tears : " Oenides, last hope of my emprise, is this my gratitude, is this my due reward and recompense to thee, that thou shouldst lie bare on Cadmus' hated earth and I be unharmed ? Now for ever am I an exile and for ever banished, since my other, ay and truer, brother has, alas, been taken from me. No more do I seek the old decrees of lot or the perjured diadem of a guilty throne : to what purpose are joys so dearly bought, or a sceptre that thy hand \vill not place in mine ? Depart from me, ye warriors, and leave me to face my cruel kinsman alone : nought avails it to try further battle and be wasteful of deaths. Depart, I pray you ; what greater thing can ye give me now " ? I have squandered Tydeus. By what death can I atone for that ? O father of my bride ! O Argos ! and that first night's honest quarrel, and our mutual blows, and the short wrath that was the pledge of long affection ! * Ah ! why was I not then slain by thy sword, great Tydeus — thou wert able — on the threshold of our host Adrastus ? Nay more, on my account thou didst go to Thebes, and willingly enter my brother's impious palace, whence none other would have returned, as though to win a sceptre and honours for thyself alone. Already of devoted Telamon, already of Theseus fame ceased to tell — and lo ! in what phght thou liest here ! Which wounds shall I first marvel at ? Wliich is thy blood, which thy foe's ? WTiat troops, what countless bands o'erthrew thee ? Nay, the Father himself, an I mistake not, envied thee, and Mars smote thee with all the force of his VOL. II s 257
STATIUS
sic ait, et niaerens etiamnum lubrica tabo
ora viri target lacrimis dextraque reponit.
" tune meos hostes hucusque exosus, et ultra 75
sospes ego ? " exuerat vagina turbidus ensem
aptabatque neci : comites tenuere, socerque
castigat bellique vices ac fata revolvens
solatur tumidunm, longeque a corpora caro
paulatim, unde dolor letique animosa voluntas, 80
amovet ac tacite ferrum inter verba reponit.
ducitur amisso qualis consorte laborum
deserit inceptum media inter iugera sulcum
taurus iners coUoque iugum deforme remisso
parte trahit, partem lacrimans sustentat arator. 85
Ecce autem hortatus Eteoclis et arma secuti, lecta manus, iuvenes, quos nee Tritonia bello, nee prope conlata sprevisset cuspide Mavors, adventant ; contra conlecta ut pectora parmae fixerat atque hastam longe protenderat, haeret 90 arduus Hippomedon : ceu fluctibus obvia rupes, cui neque de caelo metus et fracta aequora cedunt, stat cunctis immota minis, fugit ipse rigentem pontus et ex alto miserae novere carinae. tunc prior Aonides — validam simul eligit hastam — " non pudet hos manes, haec infirmantia bellum 96 funera dis coram et caelo inspectante^ tueri ? scilicet egregius sudor memorandaque virtus banc tumulare feram, ne non maerentibus Argos ^ inspectante u : insectante P. " "troubled," because they know their danger. 258
THEBAID, IX. 73-99
spear." So he speaks and weeping cleanses with his tears the hero's face that still runs blood, and composes it ^\^th his o>vn hand. " Didst thou then hate my foes thus far, and do I outlive thee ? " — in his bhnd passion he had pulled the sword from its sheath, and was pointing it for death — his friends restrained liim, and his father-in-law rebukes him, and calUng to his mind the chances of war and the \\i\\ of fate consoles his swelling heart, and from that dear body, whence comes his grief and eager will for death, Httle by little he drags him far away, and mid his converse silently puts back the weapon. He is led Uke a bull that ha\ing lost the partner of his toils deserts in numb despair the furrow he has begun among all the acres round, and on his drooping neck drags part of the unsightly yoke, while part the weeping ploughman bears.
But see I rallying to the battle-cry of Eteocles a chosen band of warriors advances, who neither Tritonia would have despised in the fray nor Mavors in the encounter \\ith the lance : against them, when he had set his protecting shield before his breast and thrust forth his long spear tall Hippomedon stands his ground : even as a rock that fronts the waves, and hath no fear from heaven, and the waters are broken and give way before it : firm it stands, unmoved by threats ; the ver}' sea flees from its stark face, and from afar the troubled " barks recognize it. Then first the Aonian — choosing withal a stalwart spear : " Hast thou no shame in the presence of the gods and -n-ith heaven as witness to guard this ghost, this corpse that defames our warfare ? Surely 'tis a glorious task and a memor- able exploit to compass burial for this wild beast, in
259
STATIUS
exsequiis lacrimandus eat moUique feretro 100
infandam eiectans saniem ! dimittite curam ; nullae ilium volucres, nulla impia monstra nee ipse, si demus, pius ignis edat." nee plura, sed ingens intorquet iaculum, duro quod in aere moratum transmissumque tamen clipei stetit orbe secundo. inde Pheres acerque Lycus ; sed cassa Pheretis 106 hasta redit, Lycus excelso terrore comantem perstringit galeam ; eonvulsae cuspide longe difFugere iubae patuitque ingloria cassis. ipse nee ire retro, nee in obvia concitus arma 110 exsilit, inque eadem sese vestigia semper obversus cunctis^ profert recipitque, nee umquam longius indulget dextrae motusque per omnes corpus amat, corpus servans circumque supraque vertitur. imbellem non sic amplexa iuvencum 115 infestante lupo tunc primum feta tuetur mater et ancipiti circumfert cornua gyro ; ipsa nihil metuens sexusque oblita minoris spumat et ingentes imitatur femina tauros. tandem intermissa iaculantum nube potestas 120
reddere tela fuit ; iamque et Sicyonius Alcon venerat auxilio, Pisaeaque praepetis Idae turma subit cuneumque replent. his laetus^ in hostes Lernaeam iacit ipse trabem, volat ilia sagittis aequa fuga mediumque nihil cunctata Politen 125 transabit et iuncti clipeum cavat improba Mopsi. Phocea tum Cydona Tanagraeumque Phalanthum atque Erycem,hunc retro conversum et telapetentem,
^ cunctis Pia : cuneis Heinsius. * (h)is laetus P : his fretus w.
260
THEBAID, IX. 100-128
fear he go not to Argos to win his meed of tears and obsequies, nor on the soft bier spew out his cursed gore ! Dismiss your care ; him no birds nor foul monsters mil devour, not even the sacred fire itself, were we to grant it." No more he spake, but hurled a huge javehn, that, checked by the hard bronze, yet passing through, is stayed in the second layer of the shield. Then Pheres aims, and \-igorous Lycus ; but the dart of Pheres falls vainly to earth, while Lycus cleaves the casque Mith its terrible streaming plume ; torn by the lance-point the crest is scattered far, and lays bare the inglorious helm. He himself neither retires, nor leaps out to attack the foeman, but ever turning in his own ground to ever}' side now advances and now draws back, nor ever for long gives his right arm play, but in all his movements keeps nigh the body, keeps the body in \'iew, hovering over and around it. Not so jealously does its mother shield and protect a helpless calf, her first-born, when a wolf is threatening, and wheel round in perplexity mth lowered horns ; for herself she has no fear, but forgetful of her weaker sex foams at the mouth, and, female as she is, imitates mighty bulls. At last the cloud of darts grew less, and they could hurl weapons back again ; and by now Alcon of Sicyon had come in succour, and the Pisaean squadron of fleet Idas arrives, and they reinforce the phalanx. Rejoicing thereat he flings a Lemaean shaft against the foe : it flies with all an arrow's speed, and tarrying not a whit pierces Pohtes through the middle, and still persistent passes through the shield of Mopsus his close comrade. Then he transfixes Cydon the Phocian, and Phalanthus of Tanagra, and Eryx '^'^^ latter as he turns rearward in search of '^ '^^^"^ ^^
263
ST ATI us
dum spes nulla necis, crinito a vertice figit ; faucibus ille cavis hastam non ore receptam 130
miratur moriens, pariterque et murmure planus sanguis et expulsi salierunt cuspide dentes. ausus erat furto dextram eiectare^ Leonteus, pone \iros atque arma latens, positumque trahebat prenso crine caput : vidit, quamquam undique
crebrae, 135
Hippomedon, ante ora minae, saevoque protervam abstulit ense manum ; simul increpat : " banc tibi
Tydeus, Tydeus ipse rapit ; post et confecta virorum fata time magnosque miser fuge tangere manes ! " ter Cadmea phalanx torvum abduxere cadaver, 140 ter retrahunt Danai : Siculi velut anxia puppis seditione maris nequiquam obstante magistro errat et averso redit in vestigia velo.
Non ibi Sidoniae valuissent pellere coepto Hippomedonta manus, non ilium impacta moverent tormenta opposituni, formidatique superbis 146
turribus impulsus temptato umbone redissent. sed memor Elysii regis noxasque recensens Tydeos in medios astu subit impia campos Tisiphone : sensere acies subitusque cucurrit 150
sudor equis sudorque viris, quamquam ore remisso Inachiuna fingebat Halyn ; nusquam impius ignis verberaque, et iussi tenuere silentia erines. arma gerit iuxtaque feri latus Hippomedontis
^ eiectare PN : iniectare w.
" Pluto had given special commands to Tisiphone, c/. •''i. 65 sqq.
■ - . the Fury puts off her torch and scourge and hissing
260
THEBAID, IX. 129-154
vrith no thought of death, through the long tresses of his head ; the other expu-ing marvels that he has received the lance not in his face but in his hollow throat, and therev^ith the blood gushes forth, full of his d^-ing wail, and the teeth that the spear-point has dislodged. Leonteus, lurking behind the battle of the heroes, stealthily dared to put forth his right hand, and pulled at the prostrate corpse, seizing its hair : Hippomedon spied him, though faced by many a threat on every side, and vrith his grim blade lopped off the impudent hand, taunting him withal : " 'Tis Tydeus, Tydeus, himself who robs thee of it I Have fear of heroes even when they are slain and touch not, miserable man, the mighty dead ! " Thrice did the Cadmean phalanx pull away the dreadful corpse, thrice do the Danaans drag it back again : just as an anxious vessel strays in a lawless tumult of the Sicilian sea, despite the helmsman's fruitless efforts, and then returns on her path ^ith canvas backward-blown.
No Sidonian forces would there have availed to drive Hippomedon from his purpose, no engine- hurled missiles were hke to move his stout resistance, and the blows that proud battlements dreaded had fallen baffled from the buckler they assailed. But, mindful of the Elysian monarch," and recounting the crimes of Tydeus, impious Tisiphone craftily draws nigh to the middle of the field : the armies felt her presence, and horses and men alike were seized by a sudden sweat, although, laying aside her o^nti aspect, she counterfeited Halys the Inachian ; absent was the unhallowed torch and the scourge, while her locks at her command held their peace.* As warrior, and with flattering looks and voice, she comes near to
263
STATIUS
blanda genas vocemque venit, tamen ille loquentis extimuit vultus admiraturque timorem. 156
ilia autem lacrimans " tu nunc " ait, " inclyte, frustra exanimes socios inhumataque corpora Graium — scilicet is nobis metus, aut iam cura sepulcri ? — protegis ; ipse nianu Tyria tibi captus Adrastus 160 raptatur, teque ante alios, te voce manuque invocat ; heu qualem lapsare in sanguine vidi, exutum canos lacero diademate crines ! nee procul hinc, adverte oculos ; ubi plurimus ille pulvis, ubi ille globus." paulum stetit anxius heros librabatque metus ; premit aspera virgo : " quid haeres ? 166
imus ? an hi retinent manes, et vilior ille qui superest ? " miserum sociis opus et sua mandat proelia et unanimi vadit desertor amici, respiciens tamen et revocent si forte paratus. 170 inde legens turbata trucis vestigia divae hue illuc frustra ruit avius, impia donee Eumenis ex oculis reiecta caerula parma fugit et innumeri galeam rupere cerastae. aspicit infelix discussa nube quietos 175
Inachidas currumque nihil metuentis Adrasti.
Et Tyrii iam corpus habent, iam gaudia magnae testantur voces, victorque ululatus aderrat auribus occultoque ferit praecordia luctu. ducitur hostili — pro dura potentia fati ! — • 180
Tydeus ille solo, modo cui Thebana sequenti agmina, sive gradus seu frena efFunderet, ingens
" i.e., is Adrastus less worth rescuing than the dead body (" manes ") of Tydeus ? 264
THEBAID, IX. 155-182
fierce Hippomedon, yet he feared her countenance as she spoke, and marvelled at his fear. Weeping she says : "In vain, O man of reno>\Ti, thou guardest thy dead comrades and the unburied bodies of the Greeks — is that then our fear, do we yet care for a sepulchre r — Lo ! Adrastus is being dragged along, the captive of a Tyrian band, and to thee before all else, to thee he cries and beckons. Alas I in what plight I saw him slip and fall in blood, his diadem torn and the white locks streaming free ! Nor far from here, look I where all that cloud of dust is, all that mass of men." Awhile the hero stood perplexed, balancing his fears ; the ruthless maid urges him : " Why dost thou hesitate ? Shall we go forward ? Or does this dead body keep us back, and is he more worthless who sur\'ives ? " " To his comrades he entrusts the forlorn task and the fight that should be his, and strides away, deserting his loyal friend, yet looking behind him, and ready, should they perchance recall him. Then following the impetuous footsteps of the relentless goddess he rushes here and there in aimless, pathless course, till the wicked Fury, casting her shield behind her, vanishes darkly from his sight, and snakes innumerable break forth from her helmet. The cloud disperses, and the unhappy man beholds the Inachidae unperturbed, and Adrastus in his chariot, fearing nought.
And now the Tyrians possess the body, and by loud cries attest their joy ; the triumphant shout steals upon the ear and strikes the heart with secret dismay. He is dragged on hostile soil — alas ! fate's cruel power I — that verj- Tydeus for whom of late a mighty space on either hand was left as he pursued the ranks of Thebes, whether on foot or shaking out
265
STATIUS
limes utrimque datus ; numquam arma manusque
quiescunt, nulla viri feritas : iuvat ora rigentia leto et formidatos impune lacessere vultus. 185
hie amor, hoc una timidi fortesque sequuntur nobilitare manus, infectaque sanguine tela coniugibus servant parvisque ostendere natis. sic ubi Maura diu populatum rura leonem, 189
quem propter clausique greges vigilantque magistri, pastorum lassae debellavere cohortes : gaudet ager, magno subeunt clamore coloni, praecerpuntque iubas immaniaque ora recludunt damnaque commemorant, seu iam sub culmine fixus excubat, antiquo seu pendet gloria luco. 195
At ferus Hippomedon quamquam iam sentit inane auxilium et seram rapto pro corpore pugnam, it tamen et caecum rotat inrevocabilis ensem, vix socios hostesque, nihil dum tardet euntem, secernens ; sed caede nova iam lubrica tellus 200 armaque seminecesque viri currusque soluti^ impediunt laevumque femur, quod cuspide fixum regis Echionii, sed dissimulaverat ardens, sive ibi nescierat. maestum videt Hoplea tandem ; Tydeos hie magni fidus comes et modo frustra 205 armiger alipedem prona cervice tenebat fatorum ignarum domini solumque frementem, quod vacet inque acies audentior ille pedestres. hunc aspernantem tumido nova pondera tergo — unam quippe manum domitis expertus ab annis — corripit adfaturque : "quid o nova fata recusas, 211
^ soluti w : secuti P.
^Q6
THEBAID, IX. 183-211
his chariot-reins ; never still are hands or weapons or any savagery of man : they dehght to wound with impunity those features rigid in death and that \'isage that they feared. This is their passion, by this deed they strive, both brave and cowards, to gain ennoble- ment, and they keep the blood-stained weapons to dis- play to their young children and their wives. So when weary troops of shepherds have warred do\vn a lion that has long devastated Moorish fields, and caused flocks to be penned up and guardians to be watchful, the countr\'side exults, the husbandmen come with loud cries of joy, and pluck at the mane and open the mighty jaws and tell of all their losses, whether he now keeps \'igil nailed up beneath the roof, or hangs the glory of some ancient grove.
But fierce Hippomedon, although he sees now his help is of no avail and he is too late to fight for the stolen corpse, nevertheless goes on and blindly whirls his relentless sword, scarce knowing friend from foe, so that nought delay his advance ; but the ground now shppery ^vith recent slaughter, and arms and dying men and shattered chariots impede him, and his left thigh, which the spear-point of the Echionian monarch pierced, but in his fury he had dissembled the wound or known not of it. At length he sees Hopleus sorrowing : he, the trusty comrade of great Tydeus and lately, but all in vain, his squire, was holding the wing-footed steed, who, with bowed neck and ignorant of his master's fate, was impatient only of his idleness, and because his lord was more adven- turous in the fray of infantry. Him, though he scorns a new weight on his proud back — for since his taming he knew but one hand only — the hero seizes and thus bespeaks : " Why refiisest thou thy new destiny,
267
STATIUS
infelix sonipes ? numquam tibi dulce superbi regis onus ; non iam Aetolo satiabere campo gaudentemque iubam per stagna Acheloia solves, quod superest, caros, i, saltern ulciscere manes 215 aut sequere, extorrem ne tu quoque laeseris umbram captivus tumidumque equitem post Tydea portes." audisse accensumque putes : hoc fulmine raptum abstulit et similes minus indignatur habenas. semifer aeria talis Centaurus ab Ossa 220
desilit in valles, ipsum nemora alta tremiscunt, campus equum, trepidi cursu glomerantur anhelo Labdacidae, premit ille super, necopinaque ferro colla metens linquit truncos post terga cadentes.
\'entum erat ad fluvium ; solito tunc plenior alveo — signa mali — magna se mole Ismenos agebat. 226
ilia brevis requies, illo timida agmina lassam de campis egere fugam ; stupet hospita belli unda viros claraque armorum incenditur umbra, insiluere vadis, magnoque fragore solutus 230
agger et adversae latuerunt pulvere ripae. ille quoque hostiles saltu maiore per undas inruit attonitis — longum dimittere habenas — sicut erat, tantum viridi defixa parumper caespite populeo commendat spicula trunco. 235
tunc vero exanimes tradunt rapientibus ultro arma vadis : alii demissa casside, quantum tendere conatus animae valuere sub undis,
" "hoc" here = " tali." " fulmen " is occasionally used by Statius for a sudden shock or violent movement.
* i.e., at that part of the Centaur which was human.
* The word " umbra " is sometimes used by Statius in the sense of " reflection " ; here of the light reflected from a thing: see n. on viii. 116.
268
THEBAID, IX. 212-238
unhappy charger ? Never more for thee is the burden of thy haughty lord ; no more shalt thou sate thy hunger on the Aetohan meads, or shake free thy exultant mane about the streams of Achelous. This remains for thee — go and at least avenge thy dear master's death, or come with me, lest thou too in captiNity vex his vanished shade, and after Tydeus bear some boastful rider." One would have said he heard and was enkindled : so \"iolently " does he whirl him away in -wild career, resenting less the similar reins. Even so the half-brute Centaur leaps do^^^l into the vale from the airy height of Ossa : at himself * the lofty forests quake in fear, at the horse the plain shakes. Alarmed and breathless the sons of Labdacus flock together, on them Hippomedon bears down, and shearing with the sword their un^^•itting necks leaves behind their falling trunks.
They had reached the river : with channel fuller than of wont Ismenos was running then in mighty spate, an omen of disaster. There a short respite was given, thither the columns urged their wearv flight in terror from the field ; the waves, their refuge from the fray, are spellbound at the warriors, and are ht up by the bright sheen ' of armour. Into the water they leapt, and with a great crash the bank gave way and the opposite shores lay hid in dust. He too with mightier leap plunges through the hostile stream against his astonished foe, just as he was — no time for dismounting — , only his javelins, fixed in the green turf, he entrusts for a while to a poplar tree. Then, indeed in deadly terror, of their own accord they fling their weapons on the waves that carry them away ; some doff their helms and lie basely hid, so long as they can maintain their
269
ST ATI us
turpe latent ; multi fluvium transmittere nando adgressi, sed vincla tenent laterique repugnat 240 balteus et madidus deducit pectora thorax, qualis caeruleis tumido sub gurgite terror piscibus, arcani quotiens devexa profundi scrutantem delphina vident ; fugit omnis in imos turba lacus viridesque metu stipantur in algas ; 245 nee prius emersi, quam summa per aequora flexus emieet et visis malit certare carinis : talis agit sparsos mediisque in fluetibus heros frena manu pariter, pariter regit arma, pedum quem^ remigio sustentat equus^ ; consuetaque campo 250 fluctuat et mersas levis ungula quaerit harenas. sternit lona Chromis, Chromin Antiphos, Antiphon
Hypseus, Hypseus Astyagen evasurumque relicto amne Linum, ni fata vetent et stamine primo ablatum tellure mori. premit agmina Thebes 255 Hippomedon, turbat Danaos Asopius Hypseus : amnis utrimque timet, crasso vada mutat uterque sanguine, et e fluvio neutri fatale reverti. iam laceri pronis volvuntur cursibus artus oraque et abscisae redeunt in pectora dextrae, 260 spicula iam clipeosque leves arcusque remissos unda vehit, galeasque vetant descendere cristae : summa vagis late sternuntur flumina^ telis,
^ pedum quern Housman : pedumque Pw : pedum se Jortin.
* equus Housman : equum Foi.
^ sternuntur flumina w : spernuntur fulmina P.
" Obviously not of metal, but the linen corselet {XiyoOJ^pi)^ Hom. II. ii. 529, 830), used sometimes by the Romans, e.g. Suet. Galba, xix. " loricam induit linteam." 270
THEBAID, IX. 239-263
lives beneath the waters ; many tried to s^^'im the river, but their fastenings grip them, the belts im- pede their breathing, and the soaked* corslets weigh down their bodies. Even as beneath the swelhng flood the dark blue fishes are afraid, when- so'er thev see a dolphin probing the secret lairs of the deep ; the whole swarm flees to the lowest pools and huddles frightened in the green seaweed : nor come they forth till through the surface waves he darts his cur\-ing body and prefers to race the ships that meet his sight : even so the hero drives them pell-mell before him, and in mid-stream both guides the rein and aims the shaft, upheld by his SA^imming horse, whose nimble hoof, accustomed to the plain, now treads the wave and seeks the deep-sunk sands. Chromis lays Ion low, Antiphos Chromis, and Hj'pseus Antiphos, Hypseus also Astyages, and Linus, who is about to leave the river and flee away, were it not that the Fates forbid, and early in his hfe's thread he is doomed to a watery death.* Hippomedon presses hard the ranks of Thebes, Asopian H\^seus throws the Danaans into confusion ; on either side the river is affrighted, each stains the waters thick \vith blood, from that stream each is fated never to return. And now mangled limbs are rolled do^^'n on the flowing current, and heads and severed arms rejoin their bodies, and now the wave bears lances and hght targes and slackened bows, and plumes suffer not their casques to sink. Far and wide the surface of the stream is strewn with floating weapons, and its
* It is not clear whether " ablatum " governs " stamine primo " or " illo " understood ; in either case the sense is the same : " it was taken away from him," i.e., forbidden him, "to die on land."
271
STATIUS
ima viris ; illic luctantur corpora leto,
efflantesque animas retro premit obvius amnis. 265
Flumineam rapiente vado puer Argipus ulmum prenderat, insignes umeros ferus ense Menoeceus amputat ; ille cadens, nondum conamine adempto, truncus in excelsis spectat sua bracchia ramis. Hypseos hasta Tagen ingenti vulnere mersit, 270
ille manet fundo, rediit pro corpore sanguis, desiluit ripis fratrem rapturus Agenor heu ! miser et tenuit, sed saueius ille levantem degravat amplexu : poterat resolutus Agenor emersisse vadis, piguit sine fratre reverti. 275
surgentem dextra Capetum vulnusque minantem sorbebat rapidus nodato^ gurgite vertex ; iam voltu, iam crine latet, iam dextera nusquam, ultimus abreptas ensis descendit in undas, mille modis leti miseros mors una fatigat. 280
induit a tergo Mycalesia cuspis Agyrten ; respexit : nusquam auetor erat, sed concita tractu gurgitis efFugiens invenerat hasta eruorem.
Figitur et validos sonipes Aetolus in armos, exsiluitque alte vi mortis et aera pendens 285
verberat ; baud tamen est turbatus fulmine^ ductor, sed miseratur equum, magnoque ex volnere telum exuit ipse gemens et sponte remisit habenas. inde pedes repetit pugnas gressuque manuque certior, et segnem Nomium fortemque Mimanta 290 Thisbaeumque Lichan Anthedoniumque Lycetum
^ nodato QN: nudato P : notato, montano, vadato, etc.,
MSS.
* fulmine P : fluinine w.
" i.e., of Tydeus, now ridden by Hippomedon. * See note on line 218 above.
272
THEBAID, IX. 264-291
depths yviih men ; there bodies ^\Testle with death, and the confronting stream chokes back their forth- issuing breath.
The lad Argipus had grasped a river-side ehn-tree in the rushing flood ; savage Menoeceus \nih his sword shears through those comely shoulders ; he, as he falls, still stri\ing, gazes, a trunk, at his own arms on the high boughs . The spear of Hypseus sank Tages with a mighty wound : he remains at the bottom, and in place of his body his blood returns. To rescue his brother Agenor leapt down from the bank, and grasped him — alas ! poor A\Tetch I — but the wounded man weighs him down in his embrace, as he tries to hft him. Agenor could have freed himself and come forth from the water, but hked not to return without his brother. Capetus rises to his right and threatens a blow, but is sucked down by the en- tanghng eddies of the rapid current ; now his face goes under, now his hair, now his right arm is gone, last of all his sword sinks beneath the headlong waters. One death in a thousand shapes of dying torments the ^vretches. A Mycalesian spear-point sheathes itself in AgjTtes' back : he looks round, but there was none who hurled it ; urged by the torrent's flow the spear had sped and found his blood.
The Aetohan charger " too is pierced in his strong shoulders, and at the deadly shock rears up and prances, beating the air ; yet the chief is no whit upset by the plunge,* but pities the horse, and groaning pulls the dart from the deep wound with his own hand, and of his own accord lets go the reins. Then he rejoins the fray afoot, surer both in step and hand, and, one after the other, slays tardy Nomius and vaUant Mimas and Lichas of Thebes and VOL. II T 273
ST ATI us
continuat ferro geminisque e fratribus unum Thespiaden ; eadem poscenti fata Panemo : " vive superstes " ait, " diraeque ad moenia Thebes solus abi, miseros non decepture parentes. 295
di bene, quod pugnas rapidum deieeit in amnem sanguinea Bellona manu : trahit unda timentes gurgite gentili, nuda nee flebilis umbra stridebit vestros Tydeus inhumatus ad ignes ; ibitis aequoreis crudelia pabula monstris, 300
ilium terra vehit suaque in primordia solvet." sic premit adversos et acerbat vulnera dictis ac nunc ense furit, nunc tela natantia captans ingerit : innuptae comitem Therona Dianae, ruricolamque Gyen cum fluctivago Ergino, 305
intonsumque Hersen contemptoremque profundi Crethea, nimbosam qui saepe Caphereos arcem Euboicasque hiemes parva transfugerat alno. quid non fata queant ? traiectus pectora ferro volvitur in fluctus, heu cuius naufragus undae ! 310 te quoque sublimi tranantem flumina curru, dum socios, Pharsale, petis, resupinat ademptis Dorica cuspis equis ; illos violentia saevi gurgitis infelixque iugi concordia mergit.
Nunc age, quis tumidis magnum inclinarit in undis Hippomedonta labor, cur ipse excitus in arma 316 Ismenos, doctae nosse indulgete sorores : vestrum opus ire retro et senium depellere famae. gaudebat Fauno Nymphaque Ismenide natus maternis bellare tener Crenaeus in undis, 320
" Who could now no longer mistake him for his brother.
274
THEBAID, IX. 292-320
Lycetus of Anthedon. and Thespiades, one of twin brothers ; to Panemus begging a like fate he cries : " Live on, and to the walls of accursed Thebes depart alone, no more to deceive thy unhappy parents." Thanks be to Heaven that Bellona's gory hand has driven the fight into the rapid stream ; the wave sweeps away the cowards on their native flood, and the naked ghost of unburied Tydeus shall not moan and shriek around your pyres ; ye shall go down to feed the cruel monsters of the deep, but him the earth doth carry and shall resolve into her own elements." So harries he the foe, and with taunts adds bitterness to his blows ; and now he rages ^\-ith the sword, now snatches up floating javelins and flings them back ; Theron he slays, the friend of chaste Diana, and Gyas, dweller in the country, and wave-wandering Erginus, and unshorn Herses, and Cretheus, contemner of the deep, who oft in a tiny craft had weathered Caphereus' stormy promontory and the Euboean squalls. Behold the power of fate ! a lance pierces his breast, and he is carried on the stream, alas on what waters ship^^Tecked ! Thee too Pharsalus, crossing the river in thy lofty car to join thy companions, the Doric spear-point overturns and slays thy horses : the violence of the angry flood engulfs them, and the ill-starred union of the yoke.
Come now, ye learned Sisters, grant me to know what toil laid low Hippomedon in the heaWng billows, and why Ismenos himself was roused to join the fray ; for your task it is to search out the past, and let not fame grow old. Crenaeus, the youthful son of Faunus and the nymph Ismenis, rejoiced to fight in his mother's waters — Crenaeus, who first saw the
275
STATIUS
Crenaeus, cui prima dies in gurgite fido et natale vadum et virides cunabula ripae. ergo ratus nihil Elysias ibi posse Sorores, laetus adulantem nunc hoc, nunc margine ab illo transit avum : levat unda gradus, seu defluus ille, 325 sive obliquus eat ; nee cum subit obvius, ullas stagna dedere moras pariterque revertitur amnis. non Anthedonii tegit hospitis inguina pontus blandior, aestivo nee se magis aequore Triton exserit, aut carae festinus ad oscula matris 330
cum remeat tardumque ferit delphina Palaemon. arma decent umeros, clipeusque insignis et auro lucidus Aoniae caelatur origine gentis. Sidonis hie blandi per Candida terga iuvenci, iam secura maris, teneris iam cornua palmis 335
non tenet, extremis adludunt aequora plantis ; ire putes clipeo fluctusque secare iuvencum. adiuvat unda fidem pelago nee discolor amnis. tunc audax pariter telis et voce proterva Hippomedonta petit : " non haec fecunda veneno 340 Lerna, nee Herculeis haustae serpentibus undae : sacrum amnem, sacrum — et miser experiere ! —
deumque altrices inrumpis aquas." nihil ille, sed ibat comminus ; opposuit cumulo se densior amnis tardavitque manum, vulnus tamen ilia retentum 345 pertulit atque animae tota in penetralia sedit.
" Glaucus, who was turned into a fish from the waist down, c/. vii. 337.
* Often referred to by Statius ; he was the infant son of Leucothea, a daughter of Cadmus, who with his mother was worshipped as a deity at the isthmus of Corinth ; cf. i. 13, 121, vii. 421. 276
THEBAID, IX. 321-346
light in the trusted stream and was cradled in the green banks of his native river. So thinking that there the Elysian Sisters had no power, merrily, now from this bank now from that, he crosses his caressing grandsire : the wave supports his footsteps, whether he go downstream or athwart the flood ; nor when he goes counter does the river one whit delay him, but flows backward likewise. No more winningly does the sea cover the waist of the stranger from Anthedon," nor Triton rise higher from the summer waves, nor yet Palaemon,^ when he hastes back to his darling mother's kisses, and smites his tardy dolphin. Gay harness decks his shoulders, and his splendid buckler gleaming with gold is engraved with the ancient tale of the Aonian race. Here the Sidonian maid '^ rides on the white back of the enticing steer ; now fears she not the sea, now clings not to the horns with tender hands ; around the margin of her feet the waves play sportively ; one would think that the bull moved upon the shield, and cleft the billows. The river-waves, of the same colour as the sea,** assist belief. Then bold alike with weapons and saucy speech he chal- lenges Hippomedon : " This is no poisonous Lerna, no Herculean Hydras drink these waters, 'tis a sacred river that thou art defiling, ay, sacred, — so shalt thou find it to thy cost, thou wTctch ! — and gods have been nourished by its streams." Nought said the other, but advanced upon him ; in a denser mass the flood resisted him, and checked his hand, but yet he drave home the wound for all his hindering, and pierced utterly life's secret chambers. The river
" Europa.
■* Alton suggests " umbra " = reflection, for " unda " : c/. note on viii. 116.
277
STATIUS
horruit unda nefas, silvae flevistis utraeque, et. graviora cavae sonuerunt murmura ripae. ultimus ille sonus moribundo emersit ab ore : " mater ! " in banc miseri ceciderunt flumina vocem. At genetrix coetu glaucarum eincta sororum 351 protinus icta malo vitrea de valle solutis exsiluit furibunda comis, ac verbere crebro oraque pectoraque et viridem scidit horrida vestem. utque erupit aquis iterumque iterumque trementi ingeminat " Crenaee " sono : nusquam ille, sed index desuper, a miserae nimium noscenda parenti, 357 parma natat ; iacet ipse procul, qua mixta supremum Ismenon primi mutant confinia ponti. fluctivagam sic saepe domum madidosque penates Alcyone deserta gemit, cum pignora saevus 361
Auster et algentes rapuit Thetis invida nidos. mergitur oi*ba iterum, penitusque occulta sub undis limite non uno, liquidum qua subter eunti lucet iter, miseri nequaquam funera nati 365
vestigat, plangitque tamen ; saepe horridus amnis obstat, et obducto caligant sanguine visus, ilia tamen praeceps in tela ofFendit et enses scrutaturque manu galeas et prona reclinat corpora ; nee ponto submota intrabat amaram 370 Dorida, possessum donee iam fluctibus altis Nereidum miserata cohors ad pectora matris impulit. ilia manu ceu vivirni amplexa reportat insternitque toris riparum atque umida siccat
278
THEBAID, IX. 347-374
shuddered at the horrid deed, ye woods on either shore lamented, and deeper groans resounded from the hollow banks. From his dying hps came the last cry : " Mother ! " As he uttered it, the waters choked the poor lad's voice.
But his mother, amid her company of silvery- gleaming sisters, leapt up straightway from the sea- green valley at the shock of doom, frenzied, with loosened hair, and in wild grief rent ^\ith many a blow her face and bosom and green robe. Forth from the waves she burst, and ^^ith trembhng voice again and again cries out " Crenaeus " : nowhere was he to be seen, but on the flood there floats his shield, a mark, alas ! his unhappy parent must recognize too well; he himself Ues far off, where on the bounds of minghng sea and river Ismenos suffers his last change. Often thus does Alcyone deserted make lament for her wave-wandering, spray-drenched home, when savage Auster and envious Thetis have scattered her darUngs and their shivering nests. Once more the bereaved mother sinks, and hidden in the watery depths she searches in vain for her dead son by many a track, where the path shines clear before her as she goes — searches and yet bewails ; ofttimes the bristUng river checks her, and a bloody haze obscures her vision. Yet in mad haste she flings herself on weapons and swords, and thrusts her hand into helmets and turns over prostrate corpses ; nor draw- ing nigh the deep did she enter the bitter brine of Doris, until a band of Nereids pitying her wafted his body, now in the keeping of the ocean-billows, to his mother's breast. Embracing him as though he lived she brings him home and lays him on the sloping bank and with soft tresses dries his wet
279
ST ATI us
mollibus ora comis, atque haec ululatibus addit : 375 " hoc tibi semidei munus tribuere parentes nee mortalis avus ? sic nostro in gurgite regnas ? mitior haee misero discors alienaque tellus,^ mitior unda maris, quae iuxta flumina corpus rettulit et miseram visa exspectasse parentem. 380 hine mei vultus ? haec torvi lumina patris ? hi crines undantis avi ? tu nobile quondam undarum nemorumque decus, quo sospite maior diva et Nympharum longe regina ferebar. heu ubinam ille frequens modo circa limina matris ambitus orantesque tibi servire Napaeae ? 386'
cur nunc te, mehus saevo mansure^ profundo, amplexu misero tumulis, Crenaee, reporto non mihi ? nee tantae pudet heu miseretque ruinae, dure parens ? quae te alta et ineluctabiUs imo 390 condidit amne palus, quo nee iam cruda nepotis funera, nee nostri valeant perrumpere planctus ? ecce furit iactatque tuo se in gurgite maior Hippomedon, ilium ripaeque undaeque tremiscunt, illius impulsu nostrum bibit unda cruorem : 395
tu piger et trucibus facilis servire Pelasgis. ad cineres saltem supremaque iusta tuorum, saeve, veni, non hie solum accensure nepotem." his miscet planctus multumque indigna cruentat pectora, caeruleae referunt lamenta sorores : 400
qualiter Isthmiaco nondum Nereida portu
1 I. 378 only in PDN. * mansure Baehrens : mansura Pu).
" Leucothea's infant son Palaemon was drowned (c/. Theb. i. 14), and subsequently worshipped as Melicertes at the 280
THEBAID, IX. 375-401
face, and cries amid loud lament : "Is this the gift thy half-di\'ine parents and thy immortal grandsire have given thee ? Is it thus thou reignest in our flood ? Unhappy boy I gentler was the discordant ahen earth, gentler the ocean wave, which brought back thy body to the river and seemed to await thy hapless mother's coming. Are these my hnea- ments ? Are these the eyes of thy fierce sire ? Are these thy billoN^y grandsire's tresses ? Once wert thou the pride and glory of wave and woodland, and whilst thou livedst I was held a greater goddess and the queen of Nymphs. Where alas ! is that late crowd of courtiers round thy mother's halls, where are the Maidens of the Glen that prayed to serve thee ? Why do I now bring thee home, Crenaeus, in my sad embrace, not for myself but for thy burial, who hadst better remained there in the cruel deep ? Hard-hearted father, hast thou not pity nor shame for such a death ? What lake profound and in- escapable hath engulfed thee in the river's depths, so that nor thy grandson's cruel fate nor my o^\^l weeping can reach thee there ? Lo ! Hippomedon rages and boasts himself the master in thy flood, and banks and waves tremble before him ; his was the stroke that made the water drink our blood ; but thou art sluggish, and the fierce Pelasgians' acquiescent slave ! Come at least, cruel sire, to the ashes and last obsequies of thy own, for 'tis not thy grandson only whose p}Te thou shalt kindle here." With her words she mingles wailing, and stains with blood her innocent bosom, while the caerulean sisters re-echo her lament ; so, men say, did Leucothea," not yet a
Isthmus of Corinth. Before his mother was made a Nymph, she was Ino, daughter of Cadmus.
281
STATIUS
Leucothean planxisse ferunt, dum pectore anhelo frigidus in matrem saevum mare respuit infans.
At pater arcano residens Ismenos in antro, unde aurae nubesque bibunt atque imbrifer arcus pascitur et Tyrios melior venit annus in agros, 406 ut lamenta procul, quamquam obstrepit ipse, novos-
que accepit natae gemitus, levat aspera niusco colla gravemque gelu crinem, ceciditque soluta pinus adulta manu dimissaque volvitur urna. 410
ilium per ripas annoso scrupea limo ora exsertantem silvae fluviique minores mirantur : tantus tumido de gurgite surgit, spumosum attollens apieem lapsuque sonoro pectora caeruleae rivis manantia barbae. 415
obvia cognatos gemitus casumque nepotis Nympharum docet una patrem monstratque cruentum auctorem dextramque premit : stetit arduus alto amne, manuque genas et nexa virentibus ulvis cornua concutiens sic turbidus ore profundo 420
incipit : " huncne mihi, superum regnator, honorem, quod totiens hospesque tuis et conscius actis — nee memorare timor — falsa nunc improba fronte cornua, nunc vetitam currus deiungere Phoeben, dotalesque rogos deceptaque fulmina vidi 425
praecipuosque alui natorum ? an vilis et illis gratia ? ad hunc certe repsit Tirynthius amnem, hac tibi flagrantem Bromium restinximus unda.
" Jupiter's amours with Europa, Alcmene, and Semele are thus alluded to ; Hercules and Bacchus were the sons of the two last-named.
282
THEBAID, IX. 402-428
Nereid, wail in Isthmus' haven, when her cold babe with gasping breast spewed out upon his mother the angry sea.
But father Ismenos, reclining in that secret cavern whence winds and clouds do drink and the rain- bringing bow is nourished, and whence comes a fuller harvest to the Tyrian fields, when from afar, spite of his own waters' roar, he caught the sound of lamentations and his daughter's earliest groans, uplifted his moss-gro^\'n neck and his ice-weighted hair ; the tall pine fell from his loosened grasp, and the um dropped and rolled away. Along the banks the woods and lesser rivers marvel at him as he thrusts forth his face encrusted with age-long mire ; so majestically he rises from the flood, lifting his foamy head and his breast astream with the echoing fall of rivulets from his dark- blue beard. One of the Nymphs meets her father and tells him of his daughter's tears and his grandson's fate, and shows him the blood- stained author of the deed and seizes his right hand ; high he stands in the deep river, and smiting his face and horns entwined %Aith grpen sedge, thus begins sore troubled A\-ith deep-mouthed utterance : " Is this thy reward, O ruler of the gods above, for that so oft I played the accomplice-friend to thy adventures, and saw — I fear not to recall it — the shameless horns on thy false \'isage, then Phoebe forbidden to unyoke her car, or the dowTy-gift of a funeral-pyre and the lightning's trickery " ? And that I have nurtured the foremost of thy sons ? Do they too feel so mean a gratitude ? Of a truth the Tirynthian crawled an infant by this river ; viith these waters I quenched thy Bromius as he burned.
283
STATIUS
aspice, quas fluvio caedes, quae funera portem,
continuus telis alioque adopertus acervo. 430
omne vadum belli series tenet, omnis anhelat
unda nefas, subterque animae supraque recentes
errant et geminas iungunt caligine ripas.
ille ego clamatus saeris ululatibus amnis,
qui molles thyrsos Baccheaque cornua puro 435
fonte lavare feror, stipatus eaedibus artas
in freta quaero vias ; non Strymonos impia tanto
stagna cruore natant, non spumifer altius Hebrus
Gradivo bellante rubet. nee te admonet altrix
unda tuasque manus, iam pridem oblite parentum
Liber ? an Eous melius pacatur Hydaspes ? 441
at tu, qui tumidus spoliis et sanguine gaudes
insontis pueri, non hoc ex amne potentem
Inachon aut saevas victor revehere Mycenas,
ni mortalis ego et tibi ductus ab aethere sanguis."
Sic ait infrendens et sponte furentibus undis 446 signa dedit : mittit gelidus montana Cithaeron auxilia antiquasque nives et pabula brumae ire iubet ; frater tacitas Asopos eunti conciliat vires et hiulcis flumina venis 450
suggerit. ipse cavae scrutatur viscera terrae stagnaque torpentesque lacus pigrasque paludes excutit, atque avidos toUens ad sidera voltus umentes nebulas exhaurit et aera siccat. iamque super ripas utroque exstantior ibat 455
aggere, iam medium modo qui superaverat amnem
" i.e., so easily that you must needs fight here? References to the Eastern exploits of Bacchus are frequent.
** The rivers have a common dwelling-place underground, whence they can secretly reinforce one another; "venis" refers to channels underground, " hiulcis " seems to imply
284
THEBAID, IX. 429-456
See the carnage and the corpses I carry on my stream, choked utterly with weapons as it is and hidden beneath unwonted heaps. Continuous war- fare besets my channel, everv- wave breathes horror, and souls new-slain wander above me and beneath, and join bank to bank in darkness. Yet I, that river invoked with holy cries, I, whose praise it is to lave in my pure fount the soft wands and horns of Bacchus, am blocked ^^^th dead, and seek a difficult passage to the sea ; so great a stream of gore fills not the impious meres of Strymon, and foaming Hebrus reddens not so deeply when Gradivus is at war. Does not thy fostering wave rebuke thee and thy violence, O Liber, who hast long forgotten thy parents ? Is Eastern Hydaspes more easily sub- dued ? ° But thou who boastfully exultest in the spoils and slaughter of an innocent lad, thou shalt not return in triumph from this stream to mighty Inachus of fierce Mycenae, unless it be that I am mortal and thou of heavenly race."
So spake he, gnashing his teeth, and gave the sign to his already raging waters : cold Cithaeron sends succour from the hills, and bids his ancient snows and stores of frost be moving ; to the flood his brother Asopos unites his secret stores, and supphes streams from A\ide-open veins.* He himself explores the hollow earth's recesses, and tries torpid lakes and pools and lazy fens, and lifting sk^^vard his greedy countenance sucks down the moisture of the clouds and drains dry the air. Already he flowed with a tide that rose above either lofty bank, already Hippomedon, who of late stood higher than mid-
that they are not closed but ready to connect with Ismenus's stream.
285
STATIUS
Hippomedon intactus aquis umerosque manusque, miratur crevisse vadum seseque minorem. hinc atque hinc tumidi fluctus animosaque surgit tempestas instar pelagi, cum Pliadas haurit 460
aut nigrum trepidis impingit Oriona nautis. non secus aequoreo iactat Teumesius amnis^ Hippomedonta salo, semperque umbone sinistro tollitur et clipeum nigrante supervenit aestu spumeus adsultans, fractaque refunditur unda 465 et cumulo maiore redit ; nee mole liquenti contentus carpit putres servantia ripas arbusta annosasque trabes eiectaque fundo saxa rotat. stat pugna impar amnisque virique, indignante deo ; nee enim dat terga nee ullis 470 frangitur ille minis, venientesque obvius undas intrat et obiecta dispellit flumina parma. stant terra fugiente gradus, et poplite tenso lubrica saxa tenet, genibusque obnixus et haerens subruta fallaci servat vestigia limo, 475
sic etiam increpitans : "unde haec, Ismene, repente ira tibi ? quove has traxisti gurgite vires, imbelli famulate deo solumque cruorem femineis experte choris, cum Bacchica mugit buxus et insanae maculant trieterida^ matres ? ' 480 dixerat ; atque illi sese deus obtulit ultro turbidus imbre genas et nube^ natantis harenae, nee saevit dictis, trunca sed pectora quercu
^ amnis at : ignis P. ^ trieterida PBQ : trieterica DNS. ^ nube PBN : mole w.
" The sea is described as (i.) draining the Pleiads, i.e. of their rain, cf. iv. 120, (ii.) hurling Orion against the sailors (by inversion, for the sailors, i.e. ships, against Orion), a
286
THEBAID, IX. 457-483
channel's depth, %\ithunrnoistened arms and shoulders, is marvelling that the stream has grown above his stature. All round him the billows swell and the angry tempest rises high, hke the sea when it drains the Pleiads or flings darkened Orion against trembling mariners." Not othersWse does the Teumesian river batter Hippomedon with its seething flood and ever is hurled back by the shield on his left arm, and anon the dark tide in its foaming onslaught surges over his buckler, pours back with shattered wave and returns in greater volume ; moreover, not content with the watery mass, it plucks at the trees that support the crumbling banks and whirls along aged boughs and stones torn from its bed. River and hero are locked in unequal combat, and furious grows the god ; for the other retreats not, nor is weakened by any threats, but advancing attacks the oncoming billows, and holding out his shield divides the stream. His feet stand firm though the ground recedes, and with straining sinews he holds fast to slippery rocks, and by struggling and clinging with his knees he maintains the foothold that the treacherous mud undermines, and thus he taunts besides : " Whence, Ismenos, this sudden WTath ? Or from what deeps hast thou drawn these forces, slave of an unwarhke god, who knowest nought of blood save in women's revels, when the Bacchic pipe is bleating, and frenzied matrons defile the three-yearly festival ? " He spoke, and on the instant the god assailed him, his visage a welter of rain and clouded by floating sand ; nor was he fierce in speech, but with an oak- common h\-perbole in storm-descriptions; cf. Lucan, v. %2a, 642. Both Orion and the Pleiades set in November, t.«., the stormy season.
287
ST ATI us
ter quater oppositi, quantum ira deusque valebat. impulit adsurgens : tandem vestigia flexit 485
excussumque manu tegimen, conversaque lente terga refert. instant undae sequiturque labantem amnis ovans ; nee non saxis et grandine ferri desuper infestant Tyrii geminoque repellunt aggere. quid faciat bellis obsessus et undis ? 490 nee fuga iam misero, nee magnae copia mortis,
Stabat gramineae producta erepidine ripae undarum ae terrae dubio, sed amieior undis, fraxinus ingentique vadum possederat umbra, huius opem — nam qua terras invaderet ? — unca arripuit dextra : nee pertulit ilia trahentem ; 496
sed maiore super, quam stabat, pondere victa solvitur, et qua stagna subit radice quibusque arentem mordebat humum, demissa^ superne Iniecit sese trepido ripamque, nee ultra 500
passa virum^ subitae vallavit ponte ruinae. hue undae eoeunt, et ineluctabile caeno verticibusque cavis sidit crescitque barathrum, iamque umeros, iam colla ducis sinuosa vorago circuit : hie demum victus suprema fateri 505
exclamat: "fluvione — pudet! — Mars inclyte, merges hanc animam, segnesque lacus et stagna subibo ceu pecoris custos, subiti torrentis iniquis interceptus aquis ? adeone oecumbere ferro 509
^ demissa w : dimissa PL. ^ passa virum Barth : passurum Pw.
" Statins is here trying to concentrate his description into one effective phrase. He has in mind Horn. II. xxi. 2S3 sqq., the battle between Achilles and Scamander, especially 242 sqq. where the elm-tree that Achilles grasps falls into the river,
288
THEBAID, IX. 484-509
trunk thrice and four times smote his adversary's breast with all the might of a god's \\Tath, rising to the blow ; he at last turned his steps, the buckler stricken from his ann, and beat a slow retreat. The waters press after him, and the river follows in triumph as he gives ground ; the Tyrians too vex him from above "with stones and iron hail, and drive him back from either bank. What can he do, beset by flood and battle .' No flight is there now for the unhappy man, no room for a glorious death.
Rising from the grassy brim there stood an ash- tree, on the doubtful verge of land and waters but more friendly to the waters, and held the stream in the dominion of its mighty shadow. The succour of this tree — for where could he attempt the land ? — he grasped \\ith clutching fingers, nor did it endure the strain, but, overcome by a weight too great for its hold, gave way, and, torn from the roots whereby it entered the river and gripped the thirsty ground, dropped from on high and hurled itself and the bank together on the dismayed hero, nor brooking him further, bridged and dammed the stream with sudden downfall." Hither all the waves come surging, and an inescapable whirlpool of mud and hollow eddies rises and falls. And now the tortuous flood surrounds the shoulders, now the neck of the warrior ; com- pelled at last to confess despair he exclaims : " For shame ! great Mars ! wilt thou drown this life of mine in a river ? Must I then sink beneath sluggish lakes and meres like a shepherd caught in the cruel waters of a sudden torrent ? Have I verily not deserved to fall by the sword .^ " Moved by his
and " stemmed {ye(pup'jjj€f, lit. bridged) the River himself falling all within him" (Lang, Leaf, and Myers).
VOL. II u 289
STATIUS
non merui ? " tandem precibus commota Tonantem luno subit : "quonam miseros, sator inclyte divum, Inachidas, quonam usque premes ? iam Pallas et odit Tydea, iam rapto tacuerunt augure Delphi : en meus Hippomedon, cui gentis origo Mycenae Argolicique lares numenque ante omnia luno — 515 sic ego fida meis ? — pelagi crudelibus ibit praeda feris ? certe tumulos supremaque victis iusta^ dabas ; ubi Cecropiae post proelia flammae, Theseos ignis ubi est?" non spernit coniugis aequas ille preces, leviterque oculos ad moenia Cadmi 520 rettulit, et viso sederunt flumina nutu. illius exsangues umeri et perfossa patescunt "pectora : ceu ventis alte cum elata resedit tempestas, surgunt scopuli quaesitaque nautis terra, et ab infestis descendunt aequora saxis. 525 quid ripas tenuisse iuvat ? premit undique nimbo telorum Phoenissa cohors, nee tegmina membris ulla, omnisque patet leto ; tunc vulnera manant, quique sub amne diu stupuit cruor, acre nudo solvitur et tenues venarum laxat hiatus, 530
incertique labant undarum e frigore gressus. procumbit, Getico qualis procumbit in Haemo seu Boreae furiis putri seu robore quercus caelo mixta comas, ingentemque aera laxat : illam nutantem nemus et mons ipse tremiscit, 535 qua tellure cadat, quas obruat ordine silvas. non tamen aut ensem galeamve audacia cuiquam
^ iusta IJeinshis : busta Pu.
" Theseus, the champion of humanity, allowed his enemies to burn their dead after a battle ; in Book XII. he compels Creon to give the Argives the same right.
290
THEBAID, IX. 510-537
prayers Juno at length accosts the Thunderer : " How long, glorious sire of gods, how long wilt thou press the hapless sons of Inachus ? Already Pallas holds Tydeus in detestation, already Delphi is silent, its prophet slain : lo ! my Hippomedon, whose home is Argos and Mycenae the cradle of his race, who worships Juno before all other gods — is it thus I am faithful to my own ? — shall my Hippomedon go to feed the cruel monsters of the deep ? Surely thou didst once allow the conquered to have the last rites of the tomb ? Where are the flames that followed the Cecropian fray " ? Where is Theseus' fire? " He spurns not his consort's righteous plea, but lightlv glanced towards Cadmus' walls : the waters beheld his nod and sank to rest. The shoulders and breast of the hero are revealed, those drained of blood, that pierced with wounds : as when a stormy sea, made mountainous by the -vvinds, abates, the rocks and the land the sailors sought for rise into view, and the waters subside from the threatening crags. What avails it to have gained the bank .- The Phoenician host presses him on every side with a storm of darts, his limbs are without covering, all exposed is he to death ; then his wounds stream, and the blood that was staunched beneath the water flows in the open air and breaks the tender apertures of the veins, and the cold of the river makes him reel and stagger in his gait. He falls, even as on Getic Haemus, whether from Boreas' rage or its own strength's decay, an oak that blended its fohage with the sky falls forward and leaves a void in the wide air ; as it totters, the forest and the very mountain tremble, for fear where it may fall, what stretch of woodland it may shatter. Yet none dares touch his sword or
291
ST ATI us
tangere ; vix credunt oculis ingentiaque horrent funera, et adstrictis accedunt comminus armis.
Tandem adiit Hypseus capulumque^ in morte tenenti 540
extrahit et torvos laxavit casside vultus ; itque per Aonios alte mucrone corusco suspensam ostentans galeam et clamore superbit : " hie ferus Hippomedon, hie formidabilis ultor Tydeos infandi debellatorque cruenti 545
gurgitis ! " agnovit longe pressitque dolorem magnanimus Capaneus, telumque immane lacerto^ hortatur librans : " ades o mihi, dextera, tantum tu praesens bellis et inevitabile numen, te voco, te solam superum contemptor adoro." 550 sic ait, et voti sese facit ipse potentem. it tremibunda abies clipeum per et aerea texta^ loricae tandemque animam sub pectore magno deprendit : ruit haud alio quam celsa fragore turris, ubi innumeros penitus quassata per ictus 555 labitur efFractamque aperit victoribus urbem. cui super adsistens " non infitiamur honorem mortis " ait, " refer hue oculos, ego vulneris auctor ; laetus abi multumque aliis iactantior umbris ! " tunc ensem galeamque rapit clipeumque revellit 560 Hypseos* ; exanimumque tenens super Hippomedonta " accipe " ait, " simul hostiles, dux magne, tuasque exuvias, veniet cineri decus et suus ordo manibus ; interea iustos dum reddimus ignes, hoc ultor Capaneus operit tua membra sepulcro." 565
^ capulum u : caelum P : telum Garrod. ^ lacerto : receptum P : (from -to) lacertum Kohlmann. Klotz thinks recepto came from a false reading lacepto. ' texta Gronovius : terga Pw. * Hypseos Markland : ipsius Pw.
292
THEBAID, IX 538-565
helmet ; scarce believe they their eyes, but shudder at the monstrous corpse, and approach it with drawn swords.
At length Hypseus went near and wrenched the sword-hilt from his deathly grip, and freed the grim \isage of its casque : then he goes through the Aonian ranks, displaying the helmet balanced aloft on his ghttering blade, and crying exultantly : " Behold the fierce Hippomedon, behold the dread avenger of impious Tydeus, and the subduer of the gory flood ! " Great-hearted Capaneus " knew him from afar, and mastered his rage, and poising a huge javehn ^Wth his arm thus prays : " Help me now, right arm of mine, my only present aid in battle and deity irresistible ! On thee I call, thee only I adore, despising the gods above." So he speaks, and himself fulfils his own prayer. The quivering fir-shaft flies through shield and corslet's brazen mail, and finds out at last the Ufe deep in the mighty breast ; he falls >nth the thunderous crash of a lofty tower when pierced and shaken ^^^th innumerable blows it sinks in ruin, and opens the breached city to the conquerors. Then standing over him : " We deny thee not," says he, " thy death's renown ; look hither, 'twas I that dealt the wound. Depart in joy, and boast thee far beyond the other shades I " Then he seizes the sword and casque of Hypseus, and tears away his shield ; and holding them over the dead Hippomedon : " Receive, O mighty chief," he cries, " thy o^vn and thy enemy's spoils together ; thy ashes shall have their glory and thy shade its rightful rank. Meanwliile, till we pay thee the flame that is thy due, Capaneus thy avenger hides thy hmbs in " Cf. Aesch. Sept. 422 aqq.
293
STATIUS
sic anceps dura belli vice mutua Grais Sidoniisque simul nectebat vulnera Mavors : hie ferus Hippomedon, illic non segnior Hypseus fletur, et alterni praebent solacia luctus.
Tristibus interea somnum turbata figuris 570
torva sagittiferi mater Tegeatis ephebi, crine dato passim plantisque ex more solutis, ante diem gelidas ibat Ladonis ad undas purgatura malum fluvio vivente soporemi. namque per attonitas curarum pondere noctes 575 saepe et delapsas adytis, quas ipsa dicarat, exuvias, seque ignotis errare sepulcris extorrem nemorum Dryadumque a plebe fugatam, saepe novos nati bello rediisse triumphos, armaque et alipedem notum comitesque videbat, 580 numquam ipsum, nunc ex umeris fluxisse pharetras, effigiesque suas simulacraque nota cremari. praecipuos sed enim ilia metus portendere visa est nox miserae totoque erexit pectore matrem. nota per Arcadias felici robore silvas 585
quereus erat, Triviae quam desacraverat ipsa electam turba nemorum numenque colendo fecerat : hie arcus et fessa reponere tela, armaque curva suum et vacuorum terga leonum figere et ingentes aequantia cornua silvas. 590
vix ramis^ locus, agrestes adeo omnia cingunt
^ ramis Pco : radiis Barth.
" Atalanta, an Arcadian maiden, vowed to chastity, until, according to one legend, she became the mother of Partheno- paeus by Ares, according to another, by Milanion, who married her after defeating her in the famous footrace ; other legends again make her of Boeotian origin. Tegea is in Arcadia. Statins seems to follow the first form of the
294
THEBAID, IX. 566-591
this sepulchre." Thus impartial Mars in the cruel vicissitudes of war gave interchange of mutual slaughter to Greeks and to Sidonians alike : here they mourn fierce Hippomedon, there Hypseus, no slower to the fray, and each gain solace from their foes' distress.
Meanwhile the stem-eyed mother of the Tegean archer-lad," troubled in her sleep by gloomy dreams, ^\^th flying hair and feet duly unsandalled was going before day-break to Ladon's chilly stream, that she might cleanse her from her tainted slumbers in its h\"ing waters. For throughout many a distracted, care-worn night she would often see spoils that she herself had dedicated fallen from the shrines, and herself, a fugitive from the woodlands and chased away by Dr\'ad folk, wandering by unknow^^ tombs, and often new-won triumphs of her son brought home from the war, his armour, his well-known steed, his comrades, but himself never ; or again she would see her quiver fallen from her shoulders, and her own images and familiar hkenesses aflame. But that night seemed to the unhappy woman to portend surpassing terrors, and disturbed all her mother's heart. Well-known throughout the forests of Arcadia was an oak of fertile growth, which she herself had chosen from a multitude of groves and made sacred to Diana, and by her worship endued with power di\'ine ; here she would lay by her bow and weary shafts, and fasten the curved weapons of boars and the flayed skins of hons, and antlers huge as woodland boughs. Scarce have the branches room, so closely set is it with spoils of the countrj'-side, and the
story (<•/. 1. 613 and "culpam," 1. 617), but he speaks of " parents " in 1. 780 without any allusion to Ares.
295
STATIUS
exuviae, et viridem ferri nitor impedit umbram. hanc, ut forte iugis longo defessa redibat venatu, niodo rapta ferox Erymanthidos ursae ora ferens, multo proscissam vulnere cernit 595
deposuisse comam et rorantes sanguine ramos exspirare solo ; quaerenti Nympha cruentas Maenadas atque hostem dixit saevisse Lyaeum. dum gemit et planctu circumdat pectus inani, abrupere oculi noctem maestoque cubili 600
exsilit et falsos quaerit per lumina fletus.
Ergo ut in amne nefas merso ter crine piavit verbaque sollicitas matrum solantia curas addidit, armatae ruit ad delubra Dianae rore sub Eoo, notasque ex ordine silvas 605
et quercum gavisa videt. tunc limina divae adstitit et tali nequiquam voce precatur : " virgo potens nemorum, cuius non moUia signa militiamque trucem sexum indignata frequento more nihil Graio — nee te gens aspera ritu 610
Colchis Amazoniaeve magis coluere catervae — : si mihi non umquam thiasi ludusve protervae noctis et, inviso quamvis temerata cubili, non tamen aut teretes thyrsos aut mollia gessi pensa, sed in tetricis et post conubia lustris 615
sic quoque venatrix animumque innupta remansi : nee mihi secretis culpam occultare sub antris cura, sed ostendi prolem posuique trementem ante tuos confessa pedes ; nee degener ille sanguinis inque meos reptavit protinus arcus, 620
" For this use of "impedit" may be compared Hor. Od. k 9 "viridi nitidum caput impedire myrto." '' Ominous of her son's fate in the Theban war. " i.e., of Theban Bacchanals.
296
THEBAID, IX. 592-620
sheen of steel mingles " with the green shade. This oak-tree, when once she was returning from the uplands tired viith. the long chase, and carrying in proud triumph the head late-severed of an En,^- manthian bear, she beheld all hacked and torn with many a wound, its foliage fallen, and its branches dripping blood and dying on the ground ; in answer to her question a N\Tnph told of the \-iolence of cruel Maenads and her foe Lyaeus.* While she moaned and beat her breast with imaginary blows, her eyes cast off their darkness ; from her sorrowing couch she leaps, and searches o'er her cheeks for the phantom tears.
So when by dipping thrice her hair in the river she had atoned the sacrilege, and added words that com- fort a mother's troubled heart, she hastened to armed Diana's shrine while the morning dew was falling, and rejoiced to see the familiar woodland and the oak-tree all unharmed. Then standing at the threshold of the goddess she prays thus, to no avail : " Maiden Queen of the forests, whose ungentle standards and ruthless warfare I follow, scorning my sex, in no Grecian manner — nor are the barbarous- fashioned Colchians or troops of Amazons more truly thy votaries — if I have never joined revelhng bands or the wanton nightly sport,'' if, although stained by a hated union, I have nevertheless handled not the smooth wands nor the soft skeins, but even after wedlock remained in the rough wilds, a huntress still and in my heart a virgin ; if I took no thought to hide my fault in some secret cave, but showed my child and confessed and laid him trembling at thy feet — no puny weakling was he, but straightway crawled to my bow, and as a babe he cried for arrows
297
STATIUS
tela puer lacrimis et prima voce poposcit : ^
hunc mihi — quid trepidae noctes somnusque minan-
tur ?— hunc, precor, audaci qui nunc ad proelia voto heu nimium tibi fisus abit, da visere belli victorem, vel, si ampla peto, da visere tantum ! ^ 625 hie sudet tuaque arma ferat. preme dira malorum signa ; quid in nostris, nemoralis Delia, silvis Maenades hostiles Thebanaque numina regnant ? ei mihi ! cur penitus — simque augur cassa futuri ! — cur penitus magnoque interpreter omine quercum ? quod si vera sopor miserae praesagia mittit, 631
per te maternos, mitis Dictynna, labores fraternumque decus, cunctis^ hunc fige sagittis infelicem uterum ; miserae sine funera matris audiat ille prior ! " dixit, fletuque soluto 635
aspicit et niveae saxum maduisse Dianae.
Illam diva ferox etiamnum in limine sacro expositam et gelidas verrentem crinibus aras linquit, et in mediis frondentem Maenalon astris exsuperat saltu gressumque ad moenia Cadnii 640 destinat, interior caeli qua semita lucet* dis tantum, et cunctas iuxta videt ardua terras, iamque fere medium Parnassi frondea praeter colla tenebat iter, cum fratrem in nube corusca aspicit haud solito visu : remeabat ab armis 645
maestus Echioniis, demersi funera lugens
^ This line is not in P, and is condemned by some edd, * In some late mss. after this line folloics " si non victorem,
da tantum cernere victum," '"'grant me to behold him, if not
victor, at least vanquished.''''
^ cunctis P : iustis w. * lucet w : ducit P.
" Different regions of the sky were apportioned to 298
THEBAID, IX. 621-646
in his first tearful accents : for him I pray — ah ! what mean these nights of terror, these threatening dreams ? — for him, who now in confident hope, trusting overmuch, alas, in thee, is gone to battle ; grant me to see him \ictorious in the war, or if I ask too much, grant me but to see him ! Here let him labour and bear thy arms. Make the dire signs of ill to cease ; what power, O Diana of the woods, have Maenads and Theban deities in our glades ? Woe is me ! why in my own heart — may my augury be vain ! — why in my o^\'n heart do I find a dreadful omen in the oak ? But if sleep sends true presagings to my unhappy mind, I beseech thee, merciful Dictynna, by thy mother's travail and thy brother's splendour, pierce with all thine arrows this unblest womb ! Let him first hear of his wretched mother's death ! " She spoke, and beheld even cold Diana's marble moist with falling tears.
The stern goddess leaves her still stretched upon the sacred doorway and brushing the cold altar with her tresses, and with a bound crosses the leafy summit of Maenalos in mid-air and directs her steps to Cadmus' walls, where the inner path of heaven <* shines for gods alone, and high uphfted \iews all the earth together. And now, near half-way on her road, she was passing the forest-clad ridges of Parnassus, when in a ghttering cloud she saw her brother not as she was wont to see him : for he was returning sadly from the Echionian fray, mourning
different grades of supernatural beings; cf. Phars. ix. 5, where Lucan speaks of demigods (" semidei manes ") having the space between earth and moon allotted to them (also Silv. ii. 7. 109). The " interior semita " would refer to some loftier zone.
299
STATIUS
auguris. inrubuit caeli plaga sidere mixto,
occursuque sacro pariter iubar arsit utrimque,
et coiere arc us et respondere pharetrae.^
ille prior : "scio, Labdacias, germana, cohortes 650
et nimium fortes ausum petis Arcada pugnas.
fida rogat genetrix : utinam indulgere precanti
fata darent ! en ipse mei — pudet ! — inritus arma
cultoris frondesque sacras ad inania vidi
Tartara et in memet versos descendere vultus ; 655
nee tenui currus terraeque abrupta coegi,
saevus ego immeritusque coli. lugentia cernis
antra, soror, mutasque domos : haec sola rependo
dona pio comiti ; nee tu peritura movere
auxilia et maestos in vanum perge labores. 660
finis adest iuveni, non hoc mutabile fatum,
nee te de dubiis fraterna oracula fallunt."
" sed decus extremum certe ^ " confusa vicissim
virgo refert, " veraeque licet solacia morti
quaerere, nee fugiet poenas, quicumque nefandam
insontis pueri scelerarit sanguine dextram 666
impius, et nostris fas sit saevire sagittis."
sic effata movet gressus libandaque fratri
parcius ora tulit, Thebasque infesta petivit.
At pugna ereptis maior crudescit utrimque 670 regibus, alternosque ciet vindicta furores. Hypseos hinc turmae desolatumque magistro agmen, at hinc gravius fremit Hippomedontis adempti
^ Lines 648-9 omitted in P. * certe P : misero a.'.
" Some commentators think that Statius means to describe an ecHpse of the sun in this meeting of Diana and Apollo.
300
THEBAID, IX. 647-673
the death of the engulfed augur. The region of the sky glowed red as their rays mingled ; at the di\ine conjunction the beams of each shone out, their bows met, and quiver rang to quiver.** He first began : " I know, my sister, 'tis the Labdacian ranks thou seekest, and the Arcadian who dares a fight too valiant for him. His faithful mother begs thee : would that the Fates might grant her prayer ! Lo ! I myself have availed not — ah I for shame ! — but seen my votary's arms and consecrated laurels go down to the void of Tartarus, and his face turned toward me as he went, nor did I check his car or close the chasm of the earth, heartless that I am and unworthy to be worshipped. Thou seest how my caverns mourn, O sister, and the silence of my shrine ; this is my sole recompense to my loyal friend. Nor do thou continue to summon aid that can but fail, nor pursue thy sad task in vain ; the youth is near his end, 'tis fate immutable, nor do thv brother's oracles deceive thee on a doubtful matter." " But I may surely obtain glory for him at the last," the maiden in dismay rephes, " and find a solace for his death, if indeed it so must be, nor shall that man escape unpunished, whoever shall impiously stain his guilty hand with the blood of an innocent boy, and may my shafts wTeak a dire revenge I " With these words she moved upon her way, and suffering her brother but a scant embrace sought Thebes in hostile mood.
But on either side after the slaying of the chiefs the fight waxed fiercer, and the lust of vengeance aroused mutual rage. Here the squadrons of Hyp- seus shout and the troop that has lost its leader, there Anth deeper roar the bereft cohort of the dead
301
STATIUS
orba cohors ; praebent obnixi corpora ferro,
idem ardor rabidis externum haurire cruorem 675
ac fudisse suum, nee se vestigia mutant :
stat cuneo defixa acies, hostique cruento
dant animas et terga negant^ : cum lapsa per auras
vertice Dircaei velox Latonia montis
adstitit ; adgnoscunt colles notamque tremiscit 680
silva deam, saevis ubi quondara exserta sagittis
fecundam lasso Nioben consumpserat arcu.
Ilium acies inter coepta^ iam caede superbum nescius armorum et primas tunc passus habenas venator raptabat equus, quern discolor ambit 685
tigris et auratis adverberat unguibus armos. colla sedent nodis et castigata iubarum libertas, nemorisque notae sub pectore primo iactantur niveo lunata monilia dente. ipse bis Oebalio saturatam murice pallam 690
lucentesque auro tunicas — hoc neverat unum mater opus — ^tenui collectus in ilia vinclo, cornipedis laevo clipeum demiserat armo, ense gravis nimio : tereti iuvat^ aurea morsu fibula, pendentes circum latera aspera cinctus, 695 vaginaeque sonum tremulumque audire pharetrae murmur et a cono missas in terga catenas ; interdum cristas hilaris iactare comantis et pictum gemmis galeae iubar. ast ubi pugna cassis anhela calet, resoluto vertice nudus 700
^ negant w : natant P : vetant Postgate. ^ coepta Kohlmann : coeptas P : medias w. * iuvat oj : iubet P : ligat, levat, vorat edd.
302
THEBAID, IX. 674-700
Hippomedon ; fiercely struggling they expose their bodies to the sword, and with equal ardour drain the foe's blood and shed their own, nor do they budge a step : the lines stand locked, column against column, and they yield their lives, but will not turn their backs, to the cruel foe — when ghd- ing through the air the sA\ift Latonian takes her stand on the Dircaean height ; the hills know her, and the forest trembles at the well-known goddess, where once bare-breasted with cruel arrows she had slain Niobe and all her brood, out-wearying her bow. But the lad, exultant now that the slaughter has begun, was darting between the lines on a hunter steed, untrained to war and suffering then his earliest bridle ; about him was cast a striped tiger- skin, and the gilded talons beat upon his shoulders : liis knotted mane in controlled luxuriance lies close against his neck, and upon his breast tosses a crescent chain of snow-white tusks, tokens of the woodland. The boy wore a cloak t-vWce steeped in Oebalian dye,** and a glittering gold-embroidered tunic — only this had his mother woven — gathered about his waist by a slender girdle, and, burdened by a huge sword, he had let drop his shield on the left shoulder of his horse ; the golden buckle of the belt that hangs by his armed side delights him \nih its polished clasp, and he joys to hear the rattle of the scabbard and the rusthng murmur of the quiver and the sound of the chains that fall behind him from his crest ; sometimes he gaily tosses his flo^\ing plume and his glancing jewel-studded casque. But when his panting helm grows hot in the fight, he frees him of the covering
" i.e., Laconian (from Oebahis, once king of Sparta) ; cf. Hor. Od. ii. 18. 8, It was the purple dye from shell-fish.
303
ST ATI us
exoritur^ : tunc dulce comae radiisque trementes^ dulce nitent visus et, quas dolet ipse morari, nondum niutatae rosea lanugine malae. nee formae sibi laude placet multumque severis asperat ora minis, sed frontis servat honorem 705 ira decens. dat sponte locum Thebana iuventus, natorum memores, intentaque tela retorquent, sed premit et saevas miserantibus ingerit hastas. ilium et Sidoniae iuga per Teumesia^ Nymphae bellantem atque ipso sudore et pulvere gratum 710 laudant, et tacito ducunt suspiria voto.
Talia cernenti mitis subit alta Dianae corda dolor, fletuque genas violata " quod " inquit, " nunc tibi, quod leti quaeram dea fida propinqui efFugium ? haecne ultro properasti in proelia, saeve ac miserande puer ? cruda heu festinaque virtus 716 suasit et hortatrix animosi gloria leti. scilicet angustum iamdudum urgentibus annis Maenalium tibi, parve, nemus, perque antra ferarum vix tutae sine matre viae, silvestria cuius 720
nondum tela procax arcumque implere valebas. et nunc ilia meas ingentem plangit ad aras invidiam surdasque fores et limina lassat : tu dulces lituos ululataque proelia gaudes felix et miserae tantum moriture parenti." 725
ne tamen extremo frustra morientis honori adfuerit, venit in medios caligine furva
^ nudus exoritur Pw : vultus exseritur conj. Garrod.
* trementes BDQ : frementes P : meantes, micantes, etc.,
MSS.
' iuga per T. w : Teumesi e vertice P {from viii. 344).
" i.e., he would die so nobly that only his mother would weep. 304
THEBAID, IX. 701-727
and appears bare-headed ; then sweetly shuie his locks and his countenance, all a-quiver in the sun- beams, and the cheeks whose tardiness he himself laments, not yet changed by rosy do^\^l. Nor does he find pleasure in the praise of his ovra fairness, but puts on a harsh severity of look ; yet anger becomes him and preserves the beauty of his brow. Freely do the Theban warriors yield him place, remembering their own sons, and relax their strain- ing bows, but he pursues and plies them with ruth- less javelins, for all their pity. Even the Sidonian Njinphs along Teumesian ridges praise him as he fights ; his very dust and sweat are in favour, and sighing they breathe unspoken prayers.
Tender sorrow steals to the depth of Diana's heart as she beholds this sight, and staining her cheeks with tears she cries : " What escape from approaching death can thy faithful goddess find thee now } Was it to battles such as these thou hastenedst, fierce, ill- fated lad ? Alas ! thy rash and untried spirit drove thee, and the love of fame that prompts to a glorious death. Too scant already, forsooth, was the Maena- lian forest for thy impetuous years, and the paths that lay through lairs of beasts, scarce safe for thee, child, without thy mother, to whose bow and woodland spears, impudent boy, thy strength was yet unequal. And she now is making loud and bitter complaint about my altars, and wearies the unhearing doors and thresholds ; in the well-loved clarions and the battle's outcry thou art rejoicing, happy thou, and thou shalt die making but thy mother ^vTctched. " " Yet lest as he dies she fail to bring him her last honour, she advances into the midst of the array, hemmed about
VOL. II X 805
ST ATI us
saepta globos, primumque leves furata sagittas audacis tergo pueri caelestibus implet coryton telis, quorum sine sanguine nullum 730
decidit ; ambrosio turn spargit membra liquore, spargit equum, ne quo violetur^ vulnere corpus ante necem, cantusque sacros et conscia miscet murmura, secretis quae Colchidas ipsa sub antris noete docet monstratque feras quaerentibus berbas.
Tunc vero exserto circumvolat igneus arcu 736
nee se mente regit, patriae matrisque suique immemor, et nimium caelestibus utitur armis : ut leo, cui parvo mater Gaetula cruentos suggerit ipsa cibos, cum primum crescere sensit 740 colla iubis torvusque novos respexit ad ungues, indignatur ali, tandemque efFusus apertos liber amat campos et nescit in antra reverti. quos, age, Parrhasio sternis, puer improbe, cornu ? prima Tanagraeum turbavit harundo Coroebum 745 extremo galeae primoque in margine parmae angusta transmissa via, stat faucibus unda sanguinis, et sacri facies rubet igne veneni. saevius Eurytion, cui luminis orbe sinistro callida^ tergeminis acies se condidit uncis. 750
ille trahens oculo plenam labente sagittam ibat in auctorem : sed divum fortia quid non tela queant ? alio geminatum lumine volnus explevit tenebras ; sequitur tamen improbus hostem, qua meminit, fusum donee prolapsus in Idan 755
decidit : hie saevi miser inter funera belli palpitat et mortem sociosque hostesque precatur.
^ violetur P : temeretur w. ^ callida PB : aspera w.
306
THEBAID, IX. 728-757
>\ith dusky mist, and first stealing the light shafts from the back of the bold lad, she fill his quiver vriih celestial arrows, whereof none falls unstained with blood ; then she sprinkles his limbs with ambrosial liquor, and his steed also, lest their bodies be pro- faned by any wound before his death, and murmurs many a sacred charm and conscious spell, which she herself teaches the Colchian maids at night in secret caves, and as they search shows them cruel herbs. Then indeed uncovering his bow he darts in fiery course about the field, nor is controlled by caution, forgetful of his native land, his mother and himself, and uses overmuch his heavenly weapons : just as a lion, whose GaetuUan dam brings him herself in his infancy gory food, as soon as he feels his neck swell with muscles and grimly looks at his new talons, scorns to be fed, and at last breaks forth to freedom and loves the open plains, and can no more return to his cave. Whom now slayest thou, ruthless boy, with thy Parrhasian horn ? Coroebus of Tanagra, did thy first shaft lay low, sped on a narrow path between the lowest margin of the helm and the uppermost of the shield ; the blood wells up into his throat, and his face glows red with the sacred fiery venom. More cruelly Eurytion falls, in the orb of whose left eye the cunning point buries itself with triple barb. Pulling out the arrow that brings the melting eyeball with it, he dashes at his assailant ; but what cannot the brave weapons of the gods per- form ? A second wound in the other orb makes his darkness complete ; yet he yields not but pursues the foe by memorj-'s aid, until he trips and falls o'er prostrate Idas : there wTetchedly he hes gasping amid the \ictims of the cruel fight, and entreats friend
307
ST ATI us
addit Abantiadas, insignem crinibus Argum et male dilectum miserae Cydona sorori.^ 759
huic geminum obliqua traiecit harundine tempus, 761 exsilit hac ferrum, velox hac pinna remansit : fluxit utrimque cruor. nulli tela aspera mortis dant veniam, non forma Lanaum, non infula Lygdum, non pubescentes texerunt Aeolon anni : 765
figitur ora^ Lamus, flet saucius inguina Lygdus, perfossus^ telo niveam gemis, Aeole, frontem. te praeeeps Euboea tulit, te Candida Thisbe miserat, hunc virides non excipietis Erythrae.* 769 numquam cassa manus, nullum sine numine^ fugit missile, nee requies dextrae, sonitumque priori iungit harundo sequens. unum quis crederet arcum aut unam saevire manum ? modo derigit ictus, nunc latere alterno dubius conamina mutat, nunc fugit instantes et solo respicit arcu. 775
Et iam mirantes indignantesque coibant Labdacidae, primusque lovis de sanguine claro Amphion ignarus adhuc, quae funera campis ille daret : "quonam usque moram lucrabere fati, o multum meritos puer orbature parentes ? 780
quin etiam menti tumor atque audacia gliscit, congressus dum nemo tuos pugnamque minorem dignatur bellis, iramque relinqueris infra, i, repete Arcadiam mixtusque aequalibus illic,
^ After 759 folloics " illi perfossum telo patefecerat inguen," not found in Pw, only in later Mss., and clearly spurious.
^ ora w : ilia P : lie Garrod. Klotz suggests that ilia was a gloss on inguina.
* perfossus Bentley : perfossam Pw.
* Erythrae Koestlin : Amyclae Pw, which must he wrong, as Thebans are spoken of: Hyrides . . . amicae Phillimore.
* numine P : vulnere w. 308
THEBAID, IX. 758-784
and foe to slay him. To these he adds the sons of Abas, Argus of the noble locks, and Cydon, guiltily loved by his unhappy sister. Him did he pierce through both his temples with transverse-flpng shaft : from one temple the point protrudes, at the other the feathers' flight was stayed, from both the blood came flowing. None do his angry darts excuse from death, Lamus is not slxielded by his beauty, nor Lygdus by his fillet, nor Aeolos by his budding man- hood. Lamus is pierced in the face, Lygdus be- wails a wounded groin, thou, Aeolus, dost bemoan the dart that transfixed thy snow-white brow. Thee rocky Euboea bore, thee Thisbe shining white had sent, tliis warrior, green Erythrae, thou wilt not receive again. No blow but tells, no missile flies un- favoured of heaven, his right hand rests not, and the next arrow's twang follows hard upon the last. Who could beheve that one bow, one arm was deahng death ? Now aims he forward, now shifts from side to side in bewildering change of attack, now flees >vhen they assail and turns nought but his bow to face them.
And now in wonder and indignation the sons of Labdacus were rallying, and first Amphion, of Jove's famous seed, ignorant still what deaths the lad was dealing on the battle-field : " How long shalt thou still makeprofitof death's delaying, thou boy that shalt be a sore loss to thy goodly parents ? Nay, even yet thy spirit swells high and thy rashness grows, while none deigns to meet thy onset and thy too feeble might, and thou art left as beneath their wrath. Go, return to thy Arcadia and minghng with thy equals
309
STATIUS
dum ferus hie vero desaevit pulvere Mavors, 785
proelia lude domi : quodsi te maesta sepulcri fama movet, dabimus leto moriare^ virorum ! iamdudum hunc contra stimulis gravioribus ardet trux Atalantiades — necdum ille quierat — et infit : " sera etiam in Thebas, quarum hie exereitus, arma profero ; quisnam adeo puer, ut bellare recuset 791 tahbus ? Arcadiae stirpem et fera semina gentis, non Thebana vides : non me sub nocte silenti Thyias Echionio genetrix famulata Lyaeo edidit, haud umquam deformis vertice mitras 795 Induimus turpemque^ manu iaetavimus hastam. protinus adstrietos didici reptare per amnes horrendasque domos magnarum intrare ferarum et — quid plura loquar ? ferrum mea semper et arcus mater habet, vestri feriunt cava tympana patres." 800 non tulit Amphion vultumque et in ora loquentis telum immane rotat ; sed ferri lumine diro turbatus sonipes sese dominumque retorsit in latus atque avidam transmisit devius hastam. acrior hoc iuvenem stricto muerone petebat 805
Amphion, cum se medio Latonia campo iecit et ante oculos omnis stetit obvia vultu.
Haerebat iuveni devinctus amore pudieo Maenalius Doreeus, eui bella suumque timorem mater et audaces pueri mandaverat annos. 810
huius tum vultu dea dissimulata profatur : " haetenus Ogygias satis infestasse eatervas, Parthenopaee, satis ; miserae iam paree parenti,
moriare Housman : moriere Pw. turpemque Klotz : turpique Pw.
310
THEBAID, IX. 785-813
there, while fierce Mars exhausts liis fury here in the real dust of war, play thy soldier games at home ! But if the melancholy glory of the tomb doth move thee, we will grant thee to die a hero's death." Long had the truculent son of Atalanta raged with yet bitterer taunts against him, and ere yet the other had ended thus begins : " Nay, I am even late in making war on Thebes, if this is all your host ! What boy so tender as to refuse to fight ^ith such as these? No Theban offspring seest thou here, but the war- hke stock of the Arcadian race ; no Thpad mother, slave to Echionian Lyaeus, bore me in the silence of the night, never have we put unsightly turbans on our heads, nor brandished dishonourable spears. From childhood I learnt to crawl on frozen streams, and to enter the dread lairs of monsters, and — but why should I say more ? My mother has ever the sword and bow, your fathers beat hollow drums ! " Amphion brooked this not, but hurled a mighty spear at his face while he spoke ; but his charger, affrighted by the terrible gleam of the steel, swung round with his master to one side, and swer\ing sent the greedy javeUn flying wide of the mark. Amphion was attacking the youth with drawn sword the more fiercely, when the Latonian " leapt down into mid- plain, and stood clear to see before the eyes of all.
Dorceus of Maenalus, bound by the ties of chaste affection, was keeping close to the lad's side : to him the queen had entrusted her son's rash youth and her own fears and all the chances of war. Disguised in his features the goddess then addressed the boy : " Enough, Parthenopaeus, to have routed the Og}'gian bands so far ; enough, now spare thy un- *• i.e., Diana (= Artemis, daughter of Latona).
311
STATIUS
parce deis, quicumque favent." nee territus ille :
" hunc sine me — non plura petam — fidissime Dorceu,
sternere humi, qui tela meis gerit aemula telis 816
et similes cultus et frena sonantia iactat.
frena regam, cultus Triviae pendebitis alto
limine,, captivis matrem donabo pharetris."
audiit et mixto risit Latonia fletu. 820
Viderat banc caeli iamdudum in parte remota Gradivum complexa Venus, dumque anxia Tbebas commemorat Cadmumque viro caraeque nepotes Harmoniae, pressum tacito sub corde dolorem tempestiva movet : " nonne hanc,Gradive, protervam virginitate vides mediam se ferre virorum 826
coetibus ? utque acies audax et Martia signa temperet ? en etiam donat praebetque necandos tot nostra de gente viros. huic tradita virtus, huic furor ? agrestes superest tibi figere dammas." desiluit iustis commotus in amia querellis 831
Bellipotens, cui sola vagum per inane ruenti Ira comes, reliqui sudant ad bella Furores, nee mora, cum maestam monitu Letoida duro increpat adsistens : " non haec tibi proelia divum 835 dat pater ; armiferum ni protinus improba campum deseris, huic aequam nosces nee Pallada dextrae." quid faciat contra ? premit hinc Mavortia cuspis, hinc plenae tibi, parve, colus, lovis inde severi vultus : abit solo post haec evicta pudore. 840
S12
THEBAID, IX. 814-840
happy mother, spare the gods who favour thee." But he unterrified : " Suffer me, faithful Dorceus — no more ^^^ll I ask — to slay this man who bears weapons that rival mine, and boasts Uke apparel and resounding reins. These reins I will handle, the apparel shall hang on Trivia's lofty door, and his captured quiver shall be a present to my mother." The Latonian heard him, and smiled amid her tears. Long time from a distant quarter of the sky had \'enus, in the embrace of Mars, beheld her, and while she anxiously commended Thebes and Cadmus and her dear Harmonia's progeny to her lord, she stirred with timely utterance the grief that lay hidden in his silent breast : " Seest thou not, O Gradivus, yonder wanton maid who goes to and fro among the troops of warriors ? And with what boldness she is ordering the hnes and the Martial standards ? Lo ! she even presents and offers to the slaughter all these men of our oa\"ti race I Hath she then valour ? Hath she the rage of battle ? Nought then remains for thee but to hunt the woodland deer I " Moved by these just complaints the lord of war sprang down into the fight : as he sped through the paths of air Anger alone was his companion : the other Madnesses were busy in the sweat of war. Without delay he stands by Lato's sorrowing daughter and chides her with harsh reproof: " Not such battles as these does the Father of the gods allow thee : leave forth^nth the field of arms, thou shameless one, or thou shalt learn that not even Pallas is a match for this right hand." What can she do against him ? On one side the spear of Mavors threatens her, on the other, child, is thy distaff, full already, yonder the stern countenance of Jove : then she departs, yielding to reverence alone.
313
STATIUS
At pater Ogygias Mayors circumspicit alas horrendumque Dryanta movet, cui sanguinis auctor turbidus Orion, comitesque odisse Dianae (inde furit) patrium, hic^ turbatos arripit ense Arcadas exarmatque ducem ; cadit agmine longo Cyllenes populus Tegeesque habitator opacae, 846 Aepytiique duces Telphusiaeaeque phalanges, ipsum autem et lassa fidit prosternere dextra, nee servat vires : etenim hue iam fessus et illuc mutabat turmas ; urgent praesagia mille 850
funeris, et nigrae praecedunt nubila mortis, iamque miser raros comites verumque videbat Dorcea, iam vires paulatim abscedere sensit, sensit et exhaustas umero leviore pharetras ; iam minus atque minus fert arma puerque videtur 855 et sibi, cum torva clipei metuendus obarsit luce Dryas : tremor ora repens ac viscera torsit Arcados ; utque feri vectorem fulminis albus cum supra respexit olor, cupit hiscere ripam Strymonos et trepidas in pectora contrahit alas : 860 sic iuvenem saevi conspecta mole Dryantos iam non ira subit, sed leti nuntius horror, arma tamen, frustra superos Triviamque precatus, molitur pallens et surdos expedit arcus. iamque instat telis et utramque obliquus^ in ulnam^ cornua contingit mucrone et pectora nervo, 866
cum ducis Aonii magno cita turbine cuspis
^ patrium hie Alton : primum Pu, hie DNS and Q {with n over), hinc B,
^ obliquus w : oblitus P : obnixus Phillimore.
* ulnam w : urnam P.
" For this use of " patrium " cf. Val. Fl. ii. 157 " adde cruentis quod patrium saevire Dahis," and Theb. xi. 33.
* Diana in h 811 is mentioned as having taken the shape of Dorceus.
314
THEBAID, IX. 841-867
But father Mavors looks round upon the Ogygian ranks, and rouses up the terrible Dryas, who had turbulent Orion as the author of his blood, and an inherited" hatred of Diana's followers — hence came his fury. Sword in hand he leaps upon the dis- heartened Arcadians, and robs their leader of his arms : in long lines fall the folk that dwell in Cyllene and shady Tegea, and the Aepytian chieftains and the Telphusian cohorts. Their prince himself he is confident to slay, though his arm be tired, nor does he husband his strength ; for the other, already wear\-, was wheeling his squadrons here and there : a thousand presentiments of doom crowd on him, and the black clouds of death float before his eyes. And now the wretched lad could see but few companions and the true Dorceus,^ now he felt his force ebb little by httle, and his shoulder lighten as the shafts diminished; already less and less can he support his armour, and even to himself he seems now but a boy, when Dr^-as blazed terribly before him with fiercely -flashing shield ; a sudden tremor shook the countenance and the frame of the Arcadian, and, just as when a white swan sees above him the bearer of the angry thunderbolt he wishes that Strymon's bank would gape and gathers his trembhng wings about his breast, so the youth, perceiving the great bulk of savage Dryas, felt >vrath no longer, but a thrill that heralded death. Yet he plies his weapons, pale-faced and praying vainly to Trivia and the gods, and makes ready the bow that will not answer. Already he is on the point to shoot, and with both elbows held aslant he is touching the bow with the arrow-head and his breast with the string — when, mightily whirled, the Aonian chieftain's spear flies
315
880
STATIUS
fertur in adversum nervique obliqua sonori vincla secat : pereunt ictus manibusque remissis vana supinato ceciderunt spicula cornu. 870
tunc miser et frenos turbatus et arma remisit, vulneris impatiens, umeri quod tegmine dextri intrarat facilemque cutem : subit altera cuspis cornipedisque fugani succiso poplite sistit. tunc cadit ipse Dryas — mirum — nee vulneris umquam conscius : olim auctor teli causaeque patebunt.^ 876
At puer infusus sociis in devia campi tollitur — heu simplex aetas ! — moriensque iacentem flebat equum ; cecidit laxata casside vultus, aegraque per trepidos exspirat gratia visus, et prensis concussa comis ter colla quaterque stare negant, ipsisque nefas lacrimabile Thebis, ibat purpureus niveo de pectore sanguis, tandem haec singultu verba incidente profatur : " labimur, i, miseram, Dorceu, solare parentem. 885 ilia quidem, si vera ferunt praesagia curae, aut somno iam triste nefas aut omine vidit. tu tamen arte pia trepidam suspende diuque decipito ; neu tu subitus neve arma tenenti veneris, et tandem, cum iam cogere fateri, 890
die : merui, genetrix, poenas invita capesse ; arma puer rapui, nee te retinente quievi, nee tibi sollicitae tandem inter bella peperci. vive igitur potiusque animis irascere nostris, et iam pone metus. frustra de colle Lycaei 895
^ patebunt P : patebant w : latebant Grotius.
« The word is perhaps intended to refer to the ends of the bow that sprang back when the string was cut. *' i e., in their endeavour to rouse him.
31b
THEBAID, IX. 868-895
straight upon him, and cuts the slanted fastenings of the echoing bowstring : the shot is lost, his hands relax, and the arrow falls fruitless from the back- ward falling *" bow. Then in confusion and distress he drops both reins and weapons, reckless of the wound that had pierced the harness and the soft skin of his right shoulder ; another javelin follows and checks the charger's flight, cutting the tendons of his leg. Then Dryas himself falls — strange ! — nor ever knows who wounds him ; one dav the author of the deed and its cause will be revealed.
But the lad is carried from the field in his comrades' arms — alas, for his tender years ! — and dying bewails his fallen steed ; relieved of the helm his head sinks back, and a sickly charm plays about his quivering eyes ; thrice and four times, grasping his hair, they shake the neck * that refuses to stay upright, and — a horror Avhereat Thebes itself might weep — the purple blood came welling from the snow-white breast. At last he speaks, with sobs that break his utterance : " I am dying, Dorceas : go, solace my poor mother. Already, if care doth bring true presage, she hath seen this calamity in dream or omen. Yet do thou with loyal craft keep her fears in suspense, and long deceive her ; nor come upon her of a sudden, nor when she holds a weapon in her hand ; and when at last thou art forced to admit the truth, say this to her : Mother, I confess my fault ; exact thy unwilhng punishment ; I rushed to arms, though a mere boy, nor, though thou didst hold me back, would I be still, nor, despite thy trouble, war once begun did I spare thee at the last. Live then thou and be angry rather at my impetuous spirit and now be done with fears. In vain dost thou
317
STATIUS
anxia prospectas, si quis per nubila longe aut sonus aut nostro sublatus ab agmine pulvis : frigidus et nuda iaceo tellure, nee usquam tu prope, quae voltus efflantiaque ora teneres. hunc tamen, orba parens, crinem " dextraque secandum 900
praebuit " hunc toto capies pro corpore crinem, comere quem frustra me dedignante solebas. huic dabis exsequias, atque inter iusta memento, ne quis inexpertis hebetet mea tela lacertis dilectosque canes ullis agat amplius antris.^ 905
haec autem primis arma infelicia castris ure, vel ingratae crimen^ suspende Dianae."
^ Lines 903-5 not in P. ^ crimen Imhof : crinem P : munus crimen B : munus DNS.
318
THEBAID, IX. 896-907
look forth anxiously from Lycaeus' hill, if per- chance sound or dust of my cavalcade rise to thee through the air afar ; cold on the bare earth I lie, and thou art nowhere near me, to hold my face and catch my parting breath. Yet take this tress, O mother bereaved," and with his hand he offered it to be cut, " take this tress in place of my whole body ; once thou wert wont to trim it in spite of my vain scorn." To it give burial, and amid the rites re- member to let none blunt my weapons with inex- perienced hands, or lead my beloved hounds to the hunting-grounds any more. But bum these ill- fated arms of my first warfare, or hang them up as a reproach to ungrateful Diana."
" Or taking " frustra " with " comere," " which thou went wont to trim, though I scorned it, in vain."
319
LIBER X
Obruit Hesperia Phoebum nox umida porta, imperiis properata lovis ; nee eastra Pelasgum aut Tyrias miseratus opes, sed triste, tot extra agmina et immeritas ferro decrescere gentes. panditur immenso deformis sanguine campus : 5
illic arma et equos, ibant quibus ante superbi, funeraque orba rogis neglectaque membra relinquunt. tunc inhonora cohors laceris insignibus aegras secernunt acies, portaeque, ineuntibus arma angustae populis, latae cepere reversos. 10
par utrimque dolor ; sed dant solacia Thebis quattuor errantes Danaum sine praeside turmae : ceu mare per tumidum viduae moderantibus alni, quas deus et casus tempestatesque gubernant. inde animus Tyriis non iam sua eastra, sed ultro 15 hostilem servare fugam, ne forte Mycenas contenti rediisse petant : dat tessera signum excubiis, positaeque vices ; dux noctis opertae sorte Meges ultroque Lycus. iamque ordine iusso arma, dapes ignemque ferunt ; rex firmat euntes : 20 " victores Danaum — nee enim lux crastina longe, 320
BOOK X
De^\'\' Night overwhelmed Phoebus in the gateway of the West, hastened by the commands of Jove ; nought pitied he the Pelasgian camp nor the Tyrlan forces, but he grieved that beside the warriors so many innocent folk should fall by the sword. Far stretches the plain, a vast vmsightly sea of blood ; there they leave their arms, and the steeds whereon before they went so proudly, and the corpses de- prived of their pyres and the neglected limbs. Then, an unsightly troop with tattered ensigns, they ^\ith- draw their exhausted lines, and the gates that were so narrow as they thronged to battle are all too broad as they return. Each side is ahke distressed, but Thebes has solace in the four Danaan bands wandering without a chief : Hke alder vessels on the billowy deep that are widowed of their helmsmen and steered by God and Chance and all the storms. Therefore the T}Tians are emboldened to keep watch no more on their own camp, but rather on their foes' retreat, lest haply they seek to return with all speed to Mycenae ; the watchword gives the signal to the sentinels, and posts are set ; Meges by lot, and Lycus at his request are leaders of the night's enter- prise. And now in marshalled ranks they bring arms and food and fire ; the king cheers them as they go : " Conquerors of the Danaaos — for to- VOL. II Y 321
STATIUS
nee quae pro timidis intercessere tenebrae semper erunt — augete animos et digna secundis pectora ferte dels, iacet omnis gloria Lernae praecipuaeque manus : subiit ultricia Tydeus 25
Tartara, Mors subitam nigri^ stupet auguris umbram, Ismenos raptis tumet Hippomedontis opimis, Arcada belligeris pudet adnumerare tropaeis. in manibus merces, nusquam capita ardua belli monstrataeque ducum septena per agmina cristae ; scilicet Adrasti senium fraterque iuventa 31
peior et insanis Capaneus metuendus in armis. ite age et obsessis vigilem circumdate flammam ! nulli ex hoste metus : praedam adservatis opesque iam vestras." sic ille truces hortatibus implet 35 Labdacidas, iuvat exhaustos iterare^ labores : sicut erant — pulvis sudorque cruorque per artus mixtus adhuc — vertere gradum ; vix obvia passi conloquia, amplexus etiam dextrasque suorum excussere umeris. tum frontem aversaque terga 40 partiti laterumque sinus, vallum undique cingunt ignibus infestis. rabidi sic agmine multo sub noctem coiere lupi, quos omnibus agris nil non ausa fames longo tenuavit hiatu : 44
lam stabula ipsa premunt, torquet spes inrita fauces, balatusque tremens pinguesque ab ovilibus aurae^ ; quod superest, duris adfrangunt postibus ungues, pectoraque et siccos minuunt in limine dentes.
^ nigri Pu : Garrod conj. integri, and cp. viii. 6 and x. 204.
* iterare Pio : tolerare D.
* aurae (agnae written over) P : conversely D.
" Inconsistent with 1. 204, but he supposes that the seer's body has been burnt, and that therefore his shade will be charred black, cf. viii. 6 " niger ab urna," " black from the ashes of the urn." " i.e., Parthenopaeus.
322
THEBAID, X. 22-48
morrow's dawn is near, and the darkness that saved the cowards Avill not last for ever — raise your spirits high and let your hearts be worthy of heaven's favour. All the glory of Lema, all her foremost might lies low : Tydeus is gone to avenging Tartarus ; Death starts to behold the black augur's sudden shade ; " Ismenos is swollen with the plunder of Hippomedon's spoils ; the Arcadian ^ we are ashamed to count among the trophies of war. Our reward is in our hands, gone are the proud leaders of the host, and the chieftains' crests displayed along the sevenfold array ; formidable indeed is Adrastus' dotage, and my brother's more cowardly manhood, and Capaneus' frenzied arms ! Forward then, and set your wakeful fires about their beleaguered camp. Ye need not fear the foe ; 'tis booty ye watch, and wealth that at last is yours." Thus does he heap encoxu-aging words upon the fierce Labdacidae : they rejoice to repeat the toils already endured. Just as they were, with dust and sweat and blood still caked upon their limbs, they turned to go, scarce heeding the farewells that would stay them, but shaking off the embracing arms and hand-clasps of their friends. Then sharing between them front and rear and curving flanks they ring round the rampart ^vith hostile flame. So gathers at night- fall a herd of ravening wolves, whom over all the country-side hunger that brings reckless daring has starved with long privation : already they are near the ver}' sheep-folds, hope imfulfilled and the. feeble bleatings and juicy scents from the pens torture their throats ; at last they break their claws against the cruel stakes, and bruise their bodies and blunt their unfleshed fangs upon the doors.
323
ST ATI us
At procul Argolici supplex in margine templi coetus et ad patrias fusae Pelopeides aras 50
sceptriferae lunonis opem reditumque suorum exposcunt, pictasque fores et frigida voltu saxa terunt parvosque decent procumbere natos. condiderant iam vota diem ; nox addita curas iungit, et ingestis vigilant altaria flammis. 55
peplum etiam dono, cuius mirabile textum nulla manu sterilis nee dissociata marito versarat, calathis castae velamina divae haud spernenda ferunt, variis ubi plurima floret purpura picta modis mixtoque incenditur auro. 60 ipsa illic magni thalamo desponsa Tonantis, expers conubii et timide positura sororem/ lumine demisso pueri lovis oscula libat simplex et nondum furtis ofFensa mariti. hoc tunc Argolicae sanctum velamine matres 65
induerant ebur, et lacrimis questuque rogabant : "aspice sacrilegas Cadmeae paelicis arces, siderei regina poli, tumulumque rebellem disice et in Thebas aliud — potes— excute fulmen." quid faciat ? scit Fata suis contraria Grais 70
aversumque lovem, sed nee periisse precatus tantaque dona velit ; tempus tamen obvia magni fors dedit auxilii. videt alto ex aethere clusa moenia et insomni vallum statione teneri : horruit irarum stimulis motaque verendum 75
turbayit diadema coma : non saevius arsit
^ sororem Pu : pudorem D : furorem {corrected from sororem) B.
" Semele. S24
THEBAID, X. 49-76
But far away a suppliant train of Pelopean dames, prostrate before their native altars and on the thres- hold of the Argohc fane, implore the help of sceptred Juno and the return of their loved ones, and press their faces to the cold stones and painted doors, and teach their Uttle children to kneel. The day was already spent in entreaties : night comes and adds its cares, and the altars keep vigil with high-piled fires. They bear too a gift in a basket, a robe whose marvellous textm-e no hand of childless wife nor of any parted from her husband had wTought, a garment full worthy of the chaste goddess : thereon was much purple, gaily embroidered in manifold design and blazing with interwoven gold. She herself was there, promised in marriage to the great Thunderer, but not yet a bride and timidly putting off her sisterhood ; with downcast eyes she kisses the youthful Jupiter, a simple maid, nor yet offended by the secret loves of her husband. With this robe the Argive matrons at that time veiled the sacred ivory image, and with tears and supplications made their prayer : " Look upon the sacrilegious towers of the Cadmean harlot," O Queen of the starry pole, shatter that rebel hill, and hurl — for thou canst — another thunderbolt against Thebes." What can she do ? She knows the Fates are adverse to her Grecians, and Jove's favour is turned away, but she would that such prayers and gifts were not wasted ; nevertheless, a ready chance gave occasion for potent aid. From lofty heaven she sees the city-gates closed and the rampart guarded by sleepless sentinels ; the stings of anger thrilled her frame, and stirred her hair and shook the awful diadem : no more fiercely did she rage, when alone in heaven she felt
325
STATIUS
Herculeae cum matris onus geminosque Tonantis
secubitus vacuis indignaretur in astris.
ergo intempesta somni dulcedine captos
destinat Aonios leto praebere, suamque 80
orbibus accingi solitis iubet Irin et omne
mandat opus, paret iussis dea clara polumque
linquit et in terras longo suspenditur arcu.
Stat super occiduae nebulosa cubilia noctis Aethiopasque alios, nulli penetrabilis astro, 85
lucus iners, subterque cavis grave rupibus antrum it vacuum in montem, qua desidis atria Somni securumque larem segnis Natura locavit. limen opaca Quies et pigra Oblivio servant et numquam vigili torpens Ignavia voltu. 90
Otia vestibulo pressisque Silentia pinnis muta sedent abiguntque truces a culmine ventos et ramos errare vetant et murmura demunt alitibus. non hie pelagi, licet omnia clament litora, non ullus caeli fragor ; ipse profundis 95
vallibus efFugiens speluncae proximus amnis saxa inter scopulosque tacet^ : nigrantia circum armenta, omne solo recubat pecus, et nova marcent germina,^ terrarumque inclinat spiritus herbas. mille intus simulacra dei caelaverat ardens 100
Mulciber : hie haeret lateri redimita Voluptas, hie comes in requiem vergens Labor, est ubi Baccho, est ubi Martigenae socium pulvinar Amori obtinet. interius tecti in penetralibus altis
^ tacet w : iacet P. ^ germina Pw : gramina late mss. and edd.
" Because the night was prolonged to twice its length.
" The Aethiopians of the far West ; they were usually spoken of as being in the East or South. 326
THEBAID, X. 77-104
v^Tath against Alcmene for her offspring and for the Thunderer's twofold ° adulter}-. Therefore she determines to make the Aonians, sunk in the timeless bliss of slumber, a prey to death, and bids her own Iris gird herself "with her wonted circles, and commits to her all her task. Obedient to command, the bright goddess leaves the pole and ^vings her way down her long arc to earth.
Beyond the cloud-^sTapt chambers of western gloom and Aethiopia's other realm ^ there stands a motionless grove, impenetrable by any star ; be- neath it the hollow recesses of a deep and rocky cave run far into a mountain, where the slow hand of Nature has set the halls of lazy Sleep and his un- troubled dwelling. The threshold is guarded by shady Quiet and dull Forgetfulness and torpid Sloth vrith ever drowsy countenance. Ease, and Silence with folded wings sit mute in the forecourt and drive the blustering ^^^nds from the roof-top, and forbid the branches to sway, and take away their warbUngs from the birds. No roar of the sea is here, though all the shores be sounding, nor yet of the sky ; the very torrent that runs do^vn the deep valley nigh the cave is silent among the rocks and boulders ; by its side are sable herds, and sheep recUning one and all upon the ground ; the fresh buds >\-ither, and a breath from the earth makes the grasses sink and fail. Within, glowing Mulciber had carved a thousand likenesses of the god : here wreathed Pleasure clings to his side, here Labour drooping to repose bears him company, here he shares a couch with Bacchus, there ^^^th Love, the child of Mars. Further \\ithin, in the secret places of the palace he
327
STATIUS
et cum Morte iacet, nullique ea tristis imago^ 105 cernitur. hae species, ipse autem^ umentia subter antra soporifero stipatos flore tapetas incubat ; exhalant vestes et corpore pigro strata calent, supraque torum niger efflat anhelo ore vapor ; manus haec fusos a tempore laevo 110 sustentat crinis, haec cornu oblita remisit. adsunt innumero circum vaga Somnia vultu,^ vera simul falsis permixtaque tristia blandis,^ noctis opaca cohors, trabibusque aut postibus haerent, aut tellure iacent. tenuis, qua circuit aulam, 115 invalidusque nitor, primosque hortantia somnos languida succiduis exspirant lumina flammis.
Hue se caeruleo libravit ab aethere virgo discolor : effulgent silvae, tenebrosaque Tempe adrisere deae, et zonis lucentibus icta 120
evigilat domus ; ipse autem nee lampade clara nee sonitu nee voce deae perculsus eodem more iacet, donee radios Thaumantias omnis impulit inque oculos penitus descendit inertes. tunc sic orsa loqui nimborum fulva creatrix : 125
" Sidonios te luno duces, mitissime divum Somne, iubet populumque trucis defigere Cadmi, qui nunc eventu belli tumefactus Achaeum pervigil adservat vallum et tua iura recusat. da precibus tantis, rara est hoc posse facultas 130 placatumque lovem dextra lunone mereri.^ "
^ Lines 100-5 only in P and some late uss. ^ cernitur. hae (haec Klotz) species, ipse autem Vollmer : cernitur haec species autem P : ipse autem vacuus curis w.
* Lines 112-17 only in P, 112-15 in a MS. of Corp. Christ. Coll. Oxford.
* tristia blandis edd. i flumina flammis P {from 117), various conjectures by edd.
* mereri w : vereri P : merere late Mss., Gronovius.
328
THEBAID, X. 105-131
lies with Death also, but that dread image is seen by none. These are but pictures : he himself be- neath humid caverns rests upon coverlets heaped with slumbrous flowers, his garments reek, and the cushions are warm with his sluggish body, and above the bed a dark vapour rises from his breathing mouth. One hand holds up the locks that fall from his left temple, from the other drops his neglected horn." \'ague dreams of countless shapes stand round about him, true mixed ^^■ith false, flattering viiih sad, the dark brood of Night, and chng to beams and doorposts, or he on the ground. The light about the chamber is weak and fitful, and languid gleams that woo to earhest slumbers vanish as the lamps flicker and die. Hither from the blue sky came in balanced flight the varicoloured maid ; the forests shine out, and the shady glens smile upon the goddess, and smitten with her zones of radiance the palace starts from its sleep ; but he himself, awoken neither by the bright glow nor by the sound or voice of the goddess, lay motionless as ever, till the Thaumantian ^ shot at him all her splendours and sank deep into his drowsy \-ision. Then thus began to speak the golden fashioner of clouds " : " Sleep, gentlest of the gods, Juno bids thee bind fast the Sidonian leaders and the folk of ruthless Cadmus, who now, puffed up by the issue of the fight, aie watching in ceaseless vigi\ the Achaean rampart, and refuse thy sway. Grant so solemn a request — rarely is this opportunity vouch- safed, to win the favour of Jove with Juno on thy
' Elsewhere alluded to by Statius, ii. 14o, vi. 27, never, apparently, by other poets. * Iris, daughter of Thaumas.
* "fulvus " is a regular epithet of gold : Iris seems to be regarded as creating the clouds on which she shines.
329
STATIUS
dixit, et increpitans languentia pectora dextra, ne pereant voces, iterumque iterumque monebat. ille deae iussis vultu, quo nutat, eodem^ adnuit ; excedit gravior nigrantibus antris 135
Iris et obtusum multo iubar excitat imbri.
Ipse quoque et volucrem gressum et ventosa citavit tempora, et obscuri sinuatam frigore caeli implevit clilamydem, tacitoque per aethera cursu fertur et Aoniis longe gravis imminet arvis. 140
illius aura solo volucres peeudesque ferasque explicat, et penitus, quemcumque^ supervolat orbem, languida de scopulis sidunt freta, pigrius haerent nubila, demittunt extrema cacumina silvae, pluraque laxato ceciderunt sidera caelo. 145
primus adesse deum subita caligine sensit campus, et innumerae voces fremitusque virorum submisere sonum ; cum vero umentibus alis incubuit piceaque baud umquam densior umbra castra subit, errare oculi resolutaque colla, 150
et medio adfatu verba imperfecta relinqui. mox et fulgentes clipeos et saeva remittunt pila manu, lassique cadunt in pectora voltus. et iam cuncta silent : ipsi iam stare recusant cornipedes, ipsos subitus cinis abstulit ignes. 155
At non et trepidis eadem sopor otia Grais suadet, et adiunctis arcet sua nubila castris noctivagi vis blanda dei : stant undique in armis
^ vultu quo nutat eodem P : dubium mixtumque sopori w. ^ quemcumque PD : quamcumque w, quacumque N.
" i.e., nodding as he ever does in slumber.
* Sleep is sometimes represented with wings upon his temples, as may be seen in a well-known bronze figure of 330
THEBAID, X. 132-158
side." She spoke, and \vith her hand beat upon his languid breast, and charged him again and yet again, lest her message be lost. He ^vith his ovm nodding \isage ° nods assent to the goddess' command ; o'er- weighted with the caverns' gloom Iris goes forth, and tricks out her beams, made dim by showers of rain.
Himself too he bestirred both swift progress and his wind-torn temples,* and filhng his mantle's folds with the chill dark air is borne in silent course through heaven, and from afar swoops do\vn in might upon the Aonian fields. The -wind of his coming sets birds and beasts and cattle prostrate on the ground, and, whatsoever region of the world he passes in his flight, the waves shde languidly from the rocks, more lazily cHng the clouds, the forests bow their summits, and many a star drops from the loosened vault of heaven. The plain first felt the god's presence by the sudden coming of a mist, and the countless voices and cries of men were hushed ; but when he brooded with dewy wings and entered the camp, unsubstantial as a pitchy shadow, eyes wavered and heads sank, and words were left un- finished in mid-speech. Next shining bucklers and cruel spears are dropped from their hands, their faces fall in weariness upon their breasts. And now universal silence reigns : even the horn-footed steeds refuse to stand, even the fires are quenched in sudden ashes.
But slumber woos not the anxious Greeks to the same repose, and the night-wandering, persuasive deity keeps his mists from the camp hard by ; on
Hypnos (Greek Bronzes, A. S. Murray, p. 72). Cf. also Theb. V. 433.
331
STATIUS
foedam indignantes noctem vigilesque superbos. ecce repens superis animum lymphantibus horror Thiodamanta subit formidandoque tumultu 161
pandere fata iubet, sive hanc Saturnia mentem, sive novum comitem bonus instigabat Apollo, prosilit in medios, visu audituque tremendus impatiensque dei, fragili quem mente receptum 165 non capit : exundant stimuli, nudusque per ora stat furor, et trepidas incerto sanguine tendit exhauritque genas — acies hue errat et illuc — sertaque mixta comis sparsa cervice flagellat. sic Phryga terrificis genetrix Idaea cruentum 170 elicit ex adytis consumptaque bracchia ferro scire vetat ; quatit ille sacras in pectora pinus sanguineosque rotat crines et vulnera cursu exanimat : pavet omnis ager respersaque cultrix^ arbor, et attoniti currum erexere leones. 175
Ventum ad consilii penetrale domumque verendam signorum, magnis ubi dudum cladibus aeger, rerum extrema movens, frustra consultat Adrastus. stant circum subiti proceres, ut quisque perempto proximus, et magnis loca desolata tuentur 180
regibus baud laeti seque hue crevisse dolentes. non secus amisso medium cum praeside puppis fregit iter, subit ad vidui^ moderamina clavi aut laterum custos, aut quem penes obvia ponto prora fuit : stupet ipsa ratis tardeque sequuntur 185 arma, nee accedit domino tutela minori.
^ cultrix PN : cultris w. * vidui w : dubii P.
" i.e., Juno, daughter of Saturn.
* i.e., the pine, sacred to Cybele, and bespattered by the blood of her votaries. 332
THEBAIC, X. 159-186
every side they stand to arms, in wTath at the hateful gloom and their foes' proud sentinels. Lo ! a sudden frenzy, heaven-inspired, seizes Thiodamas, and in aw-ful tumult bids him show forth the fates, whether Saturnia <* fired him mth this resolve, or kindly Apollo incited his new attendant. He rushes into the midst, fearful to see and to hear, and impatient of the god, whom his frail mind had received but could not contain ; his pangs overwhelm him, stark madness reigns upon his \isage, and the uncertain blood now distends, now ebbs from his trembling cheeks ; his gaze darts here and there, he shakes and scatters on his shoulders the -wTcaths ent^^^ned in his locks. Thus does the Idaean mother summon from the terrible shrine the blood-stained Phrygian and make him unconscious of his knife-hacked arms ; he beats the holy pine-brands against his breast, and tosses his gory hair and deadens his wounds by running ; all the country-side and the bespattered votary tree ** feels terror, and the panic-stricken lions rear the chariot high.
Now had he reached the inner council-chamber and the revered home of the standards, where Adrastus, long distressed by the dire disasters, takes fruitless counsel for their desperate phght : the new-appointed chiefs stand about him, each the next successor to the slain, and gaze at the empty places of the mighty princes, feeling no joy but rather grief that they are raised so high. Even so when a bark has lost its helms- man and stopped in mid-voyage, either the watchman of the sides or of the wave-breasting prow succeeds to the guidance of the widowed helm ; the ship herself is all aghast, and the very tackling is slow to obey the word, nor does she brook the protection of a lesser
333
STATIUS
ergo alacer trepidos sic erigit augur Achivos :
" magna deum mandata, duces, monitusque verendos
advehimus, non hae nostro de pectore voces :
ille canit, cui me famulari et sumere vittas 190
vestra fides, ipso non discordante, subegit.
nox fecunda operum pulchraeque accommoda fraudi
panditur augurio divom ; vocat obvia Virtus,
ct poscit Fortuna manus. stupet obruta somno
Aonidum legio : tempus nunc funera regum 195
ulcisci miserumque diem ; rapite arma morasque
frangite portarum : sociis hoc subdere flammas,
hoc tumulare suos. equidem haec et Marte diurno
dum res infractae pulsique in terga redimus —
per tripodas iuro et rapti nova fata magistri — - 200
vidi, et me volucres circum plausere secundae.
sed nunc certa fides, modo me sub nocte silenti
ipse, ipse adsurgens iterum tellure soluta,
quahs erat — solos infecerat umbra iugales — ,
Amphiaraus adit : non vanae monstra quietis, 205
nee somno comperta loquor. 'tune' inquit, 'inertes
Inachidas — redde haec Parnassia serta meosque
redde deos — -tantam patiere amittere noctern,
degener ? haec egomet caeh secreta vagosque
edocui lapsus ? vade heia, ulciscere ferro 210
nos saltem ! ' dixit, meque haec ad limina visus
cuspide sublata totoque impellere curru.
quare agite, utendum superis ; non comminus hostes
334
THEBAID, X. 187-213
lord. Therefore \\-ith spirited words the prophet rouses the hearts of the do>\'ncast Achaeans : " Chief- tains, it is the high eommands and aA^'ful counsels of the gods that I bring you ; these words come not from my o>vn breast ; he gives the oracle, whom your solemn word, he too consenting, constrained me to serve and to assume his fillets. The di\'ine augury reveals a night fruitful in achievement and well fitted for glory-winning guile ; \alour meets and beckons us, and Fortune implores our arms. The Aonian legions are sunk 'neath the spell of slumber : now is the time to avenge our princes' deaths and that unhappy day ; snatch up your weapons and break through the hindering gates I This means the lighting of our comrade's pyres, this means their burial. This saw I during the battle of the day, when our arms were stricken and we fled defeated to the rear — I swear it by the tripods and the strange fate of my lost master — I saw it, and the birds around me sang a favouring strain. But now my behef is sure. Only now beneath the silent night he himself — himself, Amphiaraus ! — rose up again from the chasm of earth, even as he was^the shades had touched his team alone— and came towards me : 'tis of no vain phantom of night, or %ision of sleep that I tell. ' Wilt thou allow the idle sons of Inachus,' he cries, ' — restore then those Parnassian \vreaths, give me back my ovra gods ! — to lose so favourable a night, degenerate one ? Was it thus I taught thee all the secrets of the sky and the wandering flight of birds ? Begone I for me at least take vengeance vrith the sword.' He spake, and seemed to raise his lance, and to drive me \\ith all his chariot's force unto these doors. Arouse you, then, and use heaven's favour ; this is
335
ST ATI us
sternendi : bellum iacet, et saevire potestas. ecqui aderunt, quos ingenti se adtollere fama 215 non pigeat, dum fata sinunt ? iterum ecce benignae noctis aves ; sequor, et comitum licet agmina cessent? solus eo ! atque adeo venit ille et quassat habenas."
Talia vociferans noctem exturbabat, euntque^ non secus aecensi proceres, quam si omnibus idem 220 corde deus : flagrant comitari et iungere casus, ter denos numero, turmarum robora, iussus ipse legit ; circa fremit indignata iuventus cetera, cur maneant castris ignavaque servent otia : pars sublime genus, pars facta suorum, 225
pars sua, sortem alii clamant, sortem undique poscunt. gaudet in adversis animoque adsurgit Adrastus. vertice sic Pholoes volucrum nutritor equorum, cum fetura gregem pecoroso vere novavit, laetatur cernens hos montis in ardua niti, 230
hos innare vadis, certare parentibus illos ; tunc vacuo sub corde movet, qui molle domandi ferre iugum, qui terga boni, quis in arma tubasque natus, ad Eleas melior quis surgere palmas : talis erat turmae ductor longaevus Achivae. 235
nee deest inceptis^ : " unde haec tam sera repente numina ? qui fractos superi rediistis ad Argos ? estne hie infelix virtus ? gentique superstes sanguis, et in miseris animorum semina durant ? laudo equidem, egregii iuvenes, pulchraque meorum
^ euntque w : eumque PD.
" deest inceptis Ellis, Garrod : deest coeptis Pw ; cf. viii. 236.
336
THEBAID, X. 214-240
no hand-to-hand slaying of the foe ; his men He prostrate, and ye may take your revenge. Will any come forward, ready to exalt themselves to mighty fame, while the Fates allow ? Lo I once again the birds of night are auspicious ; I follow them, and though my comrades' troops he idle, I go alone I Ay, and there he too comes, shaking his reins ! "
With such cries did he disturb the night : the chiefs pour forward, fired as though the same god inspired the hearts of all : they burn to accompany him, and share his fortunes. By command he chooses thirty himself, the flower of all the host ; the rest of the youth demand in ^\Tathful clamour, why remain they in the camp ingloriously at ease ; some plead their noble birth, some their kinsmen's deeds, others their own, others again shout for the lot, and all take up the cry. Adrastus exults that they oppose him, and his spirits rise. Thus upon Pholoe's height a rearer of swift coursers rejoices when the breeding-time of prohfic spring has renewed his stud, and he beholds some straining up steep mountain-paths, some swimming the stream, others vying with their sires ; then in idle thought he ponders which he shall tame to bear a gentle yoke, which ^\^ll make good riders, which are born for trumpets and arms, which best fitted to >\in the palm of Ehs : such was the aged chieftain of the Achaean host. Nor does he fail the enterprise : " Whence of a sudden comes so late the favour of heaven ? What gods are ye, who have turned again to Argos in her distress ? Is this the valour born of misfortune ? Does the \-igour of our race still sll^^-ive, and seeds of courage endure in spite of adversity ? Yea, I praise you, heroic youths, and enjoy my warriors' glorious mutiny ; but it is VOL. II z 387
ST ATI us
seditione fruor ; sed fraudem et operta paramus 241 proelia, celandi motus : numquam apta latenti turba dolo. servate animos, venit ultor in hostes ecce dies ; tunc arma palam, tunc ibimus onines." his tandem virtus iuvenum frenata quievit : 245
non aliter moto quam si pater Aeolus antro portam iterum saxo premat imperiosus et omne claudat iter, iamiam sperantibus^ aequora ventis.
Insuper Herculeum sibi iungit Agyllea vates Actoraque : hie aptus suadere, hie robore iactat 250 non cessisse patri ; comites tribus ordine deni, horrendum Aoniis et contra stantibus agmen. ipse novi gradiens furta ad Mavortia belU ponit adoratas, Phoebea insignia, fi'ondes, longaevique ducis gremio commendat honor em 255 frontis, et oblatam Polynicis munere grato loricam galeamque subit. ferus Actora magno ense gravat Capaneus, ipse haud dignatus in hostem ire dolo superosque sequi. permutat Agylleus arma trucis Nomii : quid enim fallentibus umbris arcus et Herculeae iuvissent bella sagittae ? 261
Inde per abruptas castrorum ex aggere pinnas, ne gravis exclamet portae mugitus aenae, praecipitant saltu ; nee longum, et protinus ingens praeda solo ceu iam exanimes multoque peracti 265 ense iacent. " ite, o socii, quacumque voluptas caedis inexhaustae, superisque faventibus, oro, sufficite ! " hortatur clara iam voce sacerdos,
^ sperantibus w : spirantibus PBLQ. 338
THEBAID, X. 241-268
fraud and a hidden assault that we devise, our move- ments must be concealed ; a crowd ill fits a secret ruse. Nurse then your rage, lo I dawn will bring vengeance on our foes ; then shall the fight be open, and all take the field ! " These words at length re- strained and allayed their ardour : even so might father Aeolus, when the cave is in a tumult and the vvinds are already yearning for the deep, sternly set another rock against the door, and wholly bar their passage.
Beside the rest the seer takes v\-ith him Agylleus, son of Hercules, and Actor : persuasive of speech is Actor, the other boasts strength equal to his sire's; with each go ten companions, a troop that even in open fight the Aonians would fear. He himself, since he goes to unwonted battle and a ruse of war, lays down the sacred leaves, the emblems of Phoebus, and entrusts the glory of his brow to the bosom of the aged prince, and dons helm and corslet, the welcome gift of Polynides. Fierce Capaneus fastens his heavy sword on Actor, not deigning himself to go by stealth against the foe, or to follow where heaven leads. AgA'lleus borrows the arms of truculent Xomius ; for what would the bow and shafts of Hercules have availed him, battling amid deceiving shades ?
Then, lest the brazen hinges groan too loudly, they leap down from the steep battlements of the fortress wall ; nor is it long before lo ! their prey lies vast upon the ground, as though already hfeless and slain by many a sword. " Forward, friends, whither- soe'er dehght in carnage unsated takes you, and have strength for the work I pray, since heaven shows us favour ! " Now with loud voice the seer exhorts
S39
STATIUS
" cemitis expositas turpi marcore cohortes ? pro pudor ! Argolicas hine ausi obsidere portas, 270 hi servare viros ? " sic fatus. et exuit ensem fulmineum rapidaque manu morientia transit agmina. quis numeret caedes, aut nomine turbam exanimem signare queat ? subit ordine nullo tergaque pectoraque et galeis inclusa relinquit 275 murmura permiscetque vagos in sanguine manes : hunc temere explicitum stratis, hunc sero remissis gressibus inlapsum elipeo et male tela tenentem, coetibus hos mediis vina inter et arma iacentes, adclines clipeis alios, ut quemque ligatum 280
infelix tellure sopor supremaque nubes obruerat. nee numen abest, armataque luno lunarem quatiens exserta lampada dextra pandit iter firmatque animos et corpora monstrat. sentit adesse deam, tacitus sed gaudia celat 285
Thiodamas ; iam tarda manus, iam debile ferrum et caligantes nimiis successibus irae. Caspia non aliter magnorum in strage iuvencum tigris, ubi immenso rabies placata cruore lassavitque genas et crasso sordida tabo 290
confudit maculas, spectat sua facta doletque defecisse famem : victus sic augur inerrat caedibus Aoniis ; optet nunc bracchia centum centenasque in bella manus ; iam taedet inanes exhaurire minas, hostemque adsurgere mallet. 295
Parte alia segnes magno satus Hercule vastat Sidonios Actorque alia, sua quemque cruento limite turba subit : stagnant nigrantia tabo
" Seems to mean a torch kindled from the lunar fires (c/. X. 370).
340
THEBAID, X. 269-298
them, " See ye the cohorts lying in base torpor ? Shame on them ! Dared these beleaguer Argive gates, and keep watch on heroes ? " So spake he, and drew his flashing sword, and vrith. s^^ift hand passed over the doomed Unes. Who could reckon up the slaughter, or give names to all the crowd of corpses ? At random he goes o'er backs and breasts, and leaves behind him groans stifled in their helms, and mingled all his victims in a welter of blood ; one stretched carelessly upon a couch, another shpping with reeling steps upon his shield, too late, and fumbUng ^\-ith his arms, others lying in a throng amid wine and weapons, others propped against their shields — each one just as ill-fated slumber and the night that was their last had bound and cast them to the ground. Nor lack they divine power, but armed Juno frees her right hand and brandishing a lunar torch ° makes clear their path and strengthens their courage and displays the bodies. Thiodamas feels her presence, but conceals his joy in silence ; already his hand grows slow, and his blade weak, and his fury- is dimmed by too much success. Not otherwise does a Caspian tigress, amid a mighty slaughter of bullocks, when fury appeased by streams of gore has wearied out her jaws and stained her stripes in foul clotted corruption, behold her work, and grieve that her appetite fails ; so wanders the augur fordone among the Aonian corpses : now would he have a hundred arms, a hundred hands to fight with ; already it irks him to squander menaces in vain, and he could ^^■ish the foe would rise against him.
Here the son of mighty Hercules, there Actor destroys the sluggish Sidonians, each followed by his own band along a path of slaughter ; the grass is
341
STATIUS
gramina, sanguineis nutant tentoria rivis ;
fumat humus, somnique et mortis anhelitus una 300
volvitur ; haud quisquam visus aut ora iacentum
erexit : tali miseris deus aliger umbra
incubat et tantum morientia lumina solvit.
traxerat insomnis cithara ludoque suprema
sidera iam nullos visurus lalmenus ortus, 305
Sidonium paeana canens ; huic languida cervix
in laevum cogente deo mediaque iacebant
colla replicta^ lyra : ferrum per pectus Agylleus
exigit aptatamque cava testudine dextram
percutit et digitos inter sua fila trementes. 310
proturbat mensas dirus liquor : undique manant
sanguine permixti latices et Bacchus in altos
crateras paterasque redit. ferus occupat Actor
implicitum fratri Thamyrin, Tagus haurit Echetli
terga coronati, Danaus caput amputat Hebri : 315
nescius heu rapitur fatis, hilarisque sub umbras
vita fugit mortisque ferae lucrata dolores.
stratus humo gelida subter iuga fida rotasque
Calpetus Aonios gramen gentile metentes
proflatu terrebat equos : madida ora redundant 320
accensusque mero sopor aestuat ; ecce iacentis
Inachius vates iugulum fodit, expulit ingens
vina cruor fractumque perit in sanguine murmur.
fors illi praesaga quies, nigrasque gravatus
per somnum Thebas et Thiodamanta videbat. 325
Quarta soporiferae superabant tempora nocti, cum vacuae nubes et honor non omnibus astris,
^ replicta Heinsius : relicta Pw : relapsa N : reclina Gronovius.
342
THEBAID, X. 299-327
black and stagnant with gore, the tents totter and sway in streams of blood, the earth reeks, and the breathing of sleep is mingled 's^ith the gasps of death ; none of the sluraberers hfts his head or turns liis gaze, so deep the shade wherewith the winged god broods over the wretched ones, and unseals their eyes but as they die. lalmenus had spent his last night in unsleeping merriment and with the lute, never to behold to-morrow's dawn, and was singing a Sidonian paean ; under the influence of the god his languid neck sank leftward, and his lyre pillowed his drooping head : through his breast Agy Ileus drives the blade, and pierces the right hand that grasps the tortoise- shell, and the fingers trembhng among their well- known strings. The tables are flooded by the dreadful stream ; everywhere flow blood and water mingled, and the wine returned to the goblets and deep mixing- bowls. Fierce Actor catches Thamyris in his brother's embrace, Tagus stabs garlanded Echetlus in the back, Danaus shears off the head of Hebrus : unwitting alas ! he meets his fate, and mirthfully his life passes to the shades, saving the pains of cruel death. Calpetus, lying on the cold ground beneath his trusty chariot-wheels, scared with his hea\y breath- ing his Aonian steeds as they cropped their native grass : his mouth o'erflows with Uquor, and his slumber wine-inflamed grows agitated ; lo ! the Inachian prophet pierces his throat as he lies : the wine is forced out in a great rush of blood, and his murmiu"s perish in the stream. Perchance his sleep foretold his doom, and in his dream he saw with dismay Thiodamas and a black ruin that was Thebes. The fourth period of slumbrous night remained, when the clouds have shed their dew and not all the
343
STATIUS
adflatusque fugit curru maiore Bootes.
iamque ipsum defecit opus, cum providus Actor
Thiodamanta vocat : " satis haec inopina Pelasgis 330
gaudia : vix ullos tanto reor agmine saevam
efFugisse necem, ni quos deformis in alto
sanguine degeneres occultat vita ; secundis
pone modum : sunt et diris sua numina Thebis.
forsitan et nobis modo quae favere, recedunt.^ " 335
paruit, et madidas tollens ad sidera palmas :
" Phoebe, tibi exuvias monstratae praemia noctis
nondum ablutus aquis — tibi enim haec ego sacra litavi —
trado ferus miles tripodum fidusque sacerdos.
si non dedecui tua iussa tulique prementem, 340
saepe veni, saepe hanc dignare inrumpere mentem.
nunc tibi crudus honos, trunca arma cruorque
virorum : at patrias si quando domos optataque. Paean, templa, Lycie, dabis, tot ditia dona sacratis postibus et totidem voti memor exige tauros." 345 dixerat, et laetis socios revocabat ab armis.
Venerat hos inter fato Calydonius Hopleus Maenaliusque Dymas, dilecti regibus ambo, regum ambo comites, quorum post funera maesti vitam indignantur. prior Arcada concitat Hopleus : " nullane post manes regis tibi cura perempti, 351 clare Dyma, teneant^ quern iam fortasse volucres Thebanique canes ? patriae quid deinde feretis,
^ recedunt Pw, which Klotz defends by Silv, i. 3. 63, ii. 6. 101, V. 3. 185 (c/. also i. 447 inf.) : recedant Jortin.
- teneant Pw : temerant Baehrens, because only here does Statius use fortasse with subj. 344
THEBAID, X. 328-353
stars shine bright, and Bootes flies before the pantings of a mightier car. And now, the task itself faiUng them, prudent Actor calls Thiodamas : " Sufficient for the Pelasgians is this unhoped-for triumph ; scarce any, methinks, of so large a company have escaped cruel death, save the base cowards whom the gory flood conceals, polluted but aUve ; set a limit to success : dread Thebes too hath her deities. Perchance we too may lose those who late have favoured us." He consented, and raising his dripping hands to the stars : " These spoils, O Phoebus, the trophies of the night thou didst reveal, I present to thee, I, the bold champion of thy tripods and thy faithful priest, not yet cleansed with water, for this is my sacrifice to thee. If I have not disgraced thy commands and have borne thy instancy, come often to me, often deign to take possession of my mind. Rude is thy guerdon now, maimed hmbs and human blood, but if ever, O Paean, thou Milt bestow on me my native home and the temples that I long for, O Lycian god, forget not my vow, but demand as many sumptu- ous gifts and as many bulls for thy sacred portals." He spoke, and recalled his comrades from the glad work of arms.
Among these by the will of Fate had come Caly- donian Hopleus and Maenahan Dymas, both favourites and close companions of their princes, after whose deaths they grieve and think scorn of living. First Hopleus incites the Arcadian : " Renowned Dymas, hast thou no care for thy hapless prince once slain, though perchance already birds and Theban dogs possess him ? What then will ye bring home to your country, ye Arcadians ? Lo ! his
345
STATIUS
Arcades ? en reduces contra venit aspera mater :
funus ubi ? at nostro semper sub pectore Tydeus 355
saevit inops tumuli, quamvis patientior artus
ille nee abruptis adeo lacrimabilis annis.
ire tamen saevumque libet nullo ordine passim
scrutari campum, mediasve inrumpere Thebas."
excipit orsa Dymas ; " per ego haec vaga sidera iuro,
per ducis errantes instar mihi numinis umbras, 361
idem animus misero ; comitem circumspicit dim
mens humilis luctu, sed nunc prior ibo " — viamque
incohat et maesto conversus ad aethera voltu
sic ait : " arcanae moderatrix Cynthia noctis, 365
si te tergeminis perhibent variare figuris
numen et in silvas alio descendere voltu,
ille comes nuper nemorumque insignis alumnus,
ille tims, Diana, puer — nunc respice saltem —
quaeritur." incendit^ pronis dea cornibus^ almum
sidus et admoto monstravit funera curru.^ 371
apparent campi Thebaeque altusque Cithaeron :
sic ubi nocturnum tonitru malus aethera frangit
luppiter, absiliunt nubes et fulgure claro
astra patent, subitusque oculis ostenditur orbis. 375
accepit radios et eadem percitus Hopleus
Tydea luce videt ; longe dant signa per umbras
mutua laetantes, et amicum pondus uterque,
ceu reduces vitae saevaque a morte remissos,
subiecta cervice levant ; nee verba, nee ausi 380
flere diu : prope saeva dies indexque minatur
^ incendit Po : intendit Earth and late Mss.
^ cornibus Markland ; curribus Pw.
' curru P : cornu w, and N (curru written over), con- versely D. 346
THEBAID, X. 354-381
stem mother meets you returning, and asks " Where is his body ? " But in my heart imburied Tydeus gives me no rest, though more enduring of limb nor so worthy of lament for an untimely death. Yet fain would I go and search even,"\vhere, high and low, over the ruthless plain, or break into the midst of Thebes." Dymas makes reply : " I swear by these moving stars, by my chieftain's wandering shade, to me a power divine, my grief inspires a like resolve ; my downcast mind hath long looked for a companion, but now I will lead the way " — and straight he starts upon the road, and turning his sad face to heaven thus speaks : " Cynthia, queen of the mysteries of night, if as they say thou dost vart* in threefold ^\^se the aspect of thy godhead, and in different shape comest do^^'n into the woodland, 'tis he who was lately thy companion and the glorious nursling of thy groves, 'tis thine oym boy, Diana — now at least look upon us ! — 'tis he we search for." The goddess stooped her horns and made bright her kindly star, and illumined the battle-field ^^ith near-approaching chariot. The plain appears and Thebes and lofty Cithaeron : so when fell Jupiter cleaves the sky at night with thunder, the clouds di\'ide and the bright flash reveals the stars, and the world is suddenly sho^^■n to watching eyes. He caught the rays, and by the same piercing light Hopleus sees Tydeus ; from afar they joyfully beckon to each other through the darkness, and each lifts his beloved burden on his bowed shoulders, as though it were restored to life and rescued from cruel death ; no word do they utter, nor for a long while dare to weep ; unfriendly day is nigh at hand, and the sunrise that threatens to
347
STATIUS
ortus. eunt taciti per maesta silentia magnis passibus exhaustasque dolent pallere tenebras.
Invida fata piis et fors ingentibus ausis rara comes, iam castra vident animisque propinquant, et decrescit onus, subiti cum pulveris umbra 386
et sonus a tergo, monitu duels acer agebat Amphion equites, noctem vigilataque castra explorare datus, primusque per avia campi usque procul — necdum totas lux solverat umbras — nescio quid visu dubium incertumque moveri 391
corporaque ire videt ; subitus mox fraude reperta exclamat : " cohibete gradum quicumque ! " sed hostes esse patet : miseri pergunt anteire timentque non sibi ; tunc mortem trepidis minitatur et hastam expulit, ac vanos alte levat eminus ictus, 396
adfectans errare manum. stetit ilia Dy mantis ante oculos, qui forte prior gressumque repressit. at non magnanimus curavit perdere iactus Aepytus, et fixo transverberat Hoplea tergo 400
pendentisque etiam perstrinxit Tydeos armos. labitur egregii nondum ducis immemor Hopleus, exspiratque tenens — felix, si corpus ademptum nesciat — et saevas talis descendit ad umbras.
Viderat hoc retro conversus et agmina sentit 405 iuncta Dymas, dubius precibusne subiret an armis instantes ; arma ira dabat, fortuna precari, non audere iubet : neutri fiducia coepto. distulit ira preces ; ponit miserabile corpus ante pedes, tergoque graves, quas forte ferebat, 410
348
THEBAID, X. 382-410
betray. Mute they go with long strides through the sad silences and grieve that the exhausted gloom is pahng to the dawn.
Fate is envious of devoted souls, and good luck goes rarely with great ventures. Already they see the camp and in thought are at the gates, and lighter grows the burden, when there is a sudden cloud of dust and a sound behind them. It was bold Amphion at the head of his troop, bidden by his chief to explore the night and the guarded camp ; he is the first to see far away on the pathless plain — not yet had the light dispersed all the shadows — something stirring faint and doubtful to the sight and bodies moving ; then on a sudden he discovers the fraud and cries : " Halt, whoe'er ye be ! " but 'tis plain they are the foe ; on go the hapless ones, and fear, though not for themselves ; then he threatens the anxious pair >\ith death, and flings his spear, but, aiming in purposed error, sends it high and far beyond them. Before the eyes of Dymas it fell, who by chance was in front : he halted ; but Aepytus, proud of soul, cared not to lose his throw, and transfixed the back of Hopleus, grazing thereby the shoulder of Tydeus as he hung. Hopleus falls, not yet forgetful of his peerless chieftain, and dies still clutching him — happy were he ignorant that the corpse was lost — and in such wise descends to the cruel shades.
Dymas had turned and seen, and knew that battle was joined, and doubted whether to use arms or prayers against the oncoming foe : ^vrath urges arms, fortune bids him try prayer not daring ; neither resource brings confidence. Anger forbade entreaty ; before his feet he places the hapless body, and flings on his left arm a hea\'y tiger's hide that
349
STATIUS
tigridis exuvias, in laevam torquet et obstat
exsertum obiectans mucronem, inque omnia tela
versus et ad caedem iuxta mortemque paratus :
ut lea, quam saevo fetam pressere cubili
venantes Numidae, natos erecta superstat 415
mente sed^ incerta, torvum ac miserabile frendens ;
ilia quidem turbare globos et frangere morsu
tela queat, sed prolis amor crudelia vincit
pectora, et a media catulos circumspicit ira.
et iam laeva viro, quamvis saevire vetaret 420
Amphion, erepta manus, puerique trahuntur
ora supina comis. serus tunc denique supplex
demisso mucrone rogat : " moderatius, oro,
ducite, fulminei per vos cunabula Bacchi
Inoamque fugam vestrique Palaemonis annos ! 425
si cui forte domi natorum gaudia, si quis
hie pater, angusti puero date pulveris haustus
exiguamque facem ! rogat, en I'ogat ipse tacentis^
voltus : ego infandas potior satiare volucres,
me praebete feris, ego bella audere coegi." 430
" immo " ait Amphion, " regem si tanta cupido
condere, quae timidis belli mens, ede, Pelasgis,
quid fracti exsanguesque parent ; cuncta ocius efFer,
et vita tumuloque ducis donatus abito."
horruit et toto praeeordia protinus Areas 435
implevit capulo. " summumne hoc cladibus " inquit,
" deerat, ut adflictos turparem ego proditor Argos ?
nil emimus tanti, nee sic velit ipse^ cremari."
^ sed Garrod : sub Pu : sui Heinsius. ^ tacentis Markland : iacentis Pw. * sic . . . ipse CO : si . . . iste P.
350
THEBAID, X. 411-438
he wore bv chance upon his back, and holding out his bared blade he stands on guard,, and turns to face every dart, prepared both to slay and to be slain : as a honess lately whelped, beset by Numidian hunters in her savage lair, stands above her young, erect but doubting in her mind, and utters a wild and melan- choly roar ; full well could she scatter their array and snap their weapoas in her jaws, but love of her off- spring overcomes the fierceness of her heart, and from the midst of her rage she looks round upon her cubs. And now the hero's left hand has been cut away, though Amphion bade them use no \"iolence, and the boy is dragged along by his hair \^-ith face upturned. Then at last, too late a supphant, he lets fall his blade and makes entreaty : " Carry him less roughly, I pray you, by the cradle of hghtning-born Bacchus and the flight of Ino and your own Palae- mon's tender years ; if any of you know at home the joy of children, if any here is a father, grant the lad some few handfuls of dust, and a httle fire : lo I he implores, he implores you with mute countenance ; better that I should sate the accursed fowls, cast me to the wild beasts, 'twas I that made him dare the fight." " If so great be thy desire to bury thy prince," Amphion cried, " tell us, what plan of war have the scared Pelasgians, what purpose they in their broken, heartless state ? Quick, out with it all, and we grant thee to depart ahve and give burial to thy chief I " The Arcadian shuddered, and on the instant plunged his sword up to the hilt in his o^vn breast. " Was this then lacking," he cried, " to crown our woes, that I should dishonour and betray Argos in her hour of need ? That were too dearly bought, nor would he himself wish for the pyre at
351
STATIUS
sic ait, et magno proscissum volnere pectus
iniecit puero, supremaque murmura volvens : 440
" hoc tamen interea mecum^ potiare^ sepulcro."
tales optatis regum in complexibus ambo,
par insigne animis, Aetolus et inclytus Areas,
egregias efflant animas letoque fruuntur.
vos quoque sacrati, quamvis mea carmina surgant
inferiore lyra, memores superabitis annos. 446
forsitan et comites non aspernabitur umbras
Euryalus Phrygiique admittet gloria Nisi.
At ferus Amphion, regi qui facta reportent edoceantque dolum captivaque corpora reddant, 450 mittit ovans ; clusis ipse insultare Pelasgis tendit et abscisos sociorum ostendere voltus. interea reducem murorum e culmine Grai Thiodamanta vident nee iam erumpentia celant gaudia. ut exsertos enses et caede recenti 455
arma rubere notant, novus adsilit aethera magnum clamor, et e summo pendent cupida agmina vallo noscere quisque suos. volucrum sic turba recentum, cum reducem longo prospexit in acre matrem, ire cupit contra summique e margine nidi 460
exstat hians, iamiamque cadat, ni pectore toto obstet aperta parens et amantibus increpet alis. dumque opus arcanum et taciti compendia Martis enumerant laetisque suos complexibus implent HopleaqueexquirunttardumqueDymantaqueruntur: ecce et Dircaeae iuxta dux concitus alae 466
^ mecum Garrod : et tu P : claro w : saltern conj. Klotz : sed tu Vollmer : dedero cotij. Alton.
^ potiare a> : potiere D : potiore P {with a written over).
352
THEBAID, X. 439-466
such a cost." So speaking, he tore a mightv gash in his breast, and casting him do^^•n upon the lad with his last breath murmured : " Yet receive mean- while this burial ^^ith me ! " Thus in the longed- for embraces of their chiefs do both the noble- minded pair, Aetolian alike and famed Arcadian, breathe out their peerless souls and taste of death. Ye too are consecrate, though my songs soar for a less lofty lyre, and will go down the unforgetful years. Perchance too Eurvalus will not spurn his comrade shades, and the glory of Phrygian Nisus will not say them nay.
But fierce Amphion sends in triumph heralds to report his doings to the king, and inform him of the crafty attack, and deliver back the captured bodies ; he himself proceeds to iiisult the beleaguered Pelas- gians, and to display their comrades* severed heads. Meanwhile from the summit of the walls the Greeks perceive Thiodamas returning, nor conceal any more their joyous outbursts. But when they saw their naked swords and arms all red with recent carnage. a fresh shout leaps upward to the broad sky, and eager throngs hang from the rampart's top, while each one looks for his own. Even so a crowd of nestlings, seeing their mother returning through the air afar, would fain go to meet her, and lean gaping from the edge of the nest, and would even now be falling, did she not spread all her motherly bosom to save them, and chide them with lo\ing wings. And while they recount their hidden deeds and the swift work of silent war, and clasp their friends in a long embrace, they look for Hopleus and complain of Dymas' slowness : and lo I Amphion, the com- mander of the Theban band, had drawni nigh in
VOL. II 2 a 353
ST ATI us
venerat Amphion ; non longum caede recenti laetatus videt innumeris fervere catervis tellurem atque una gentem exspirare ruina. qui tremor elicita^ caeli de lampade tactis, 470
hie fixit iuvenem, pariterque horrore sub uno vox, acies sanguisque perit, gemitusque parantem ipse ultro convertit equus ; fugit ala retorto pulvere. nondum illi Thebarum claustra subibant, et iam Argiva cohors nocturno freta triumpho 475 prosilit in campos ; per et arma et membra iacentum taetraque congerie sola semianimumque cruorem cornipedes ipsique ruunt : gravis exterit artus ungula, sanguineus lavat imber et impedit axes, dulee viris hac ire via, ceu tecta superbi 480
Sidorlia atque ipsas calcent in sanguine Thebas. hortatur Capaneus : " satis occultata, Pelasgi, delituit virtus : nunc, nunc mihi vincere pulchrum teste die ; mecum clamore et pulvere aperto ite palam, iuvenes : sunt et mihi provida dextrae omina^ et horrendi stricto mucrone furores." 486
sic ait ; ardentes alacer succendit Adrastus Argolicusque gener, sequitur iam tristior augur, iamque premunt muros — et adhuc nova funera narrat Amphion — miseramque intrarant protinus urbem, ni Megareus specula citus exclamasset ab alta : 491 "claude, vigil, subeunt hostes,claude undique portas !''
Est ubi dat vires nimius timor : ocius omnis porta coit ; solas dum tardius artat Echion
^ elicita late mss., Peyrared : inlicita Pw : inicitur conj. Garrod : ilicibus Phillimore.
^ omina w : omnia P : Menke conj. numina (ill. 615).
354
THEBAID, X. 467-494
haste ; no long delight had he of his late bloodshed, when he saw the ground a heap of countless bodies, and a whole race in the death-throes of one universal doom. Such a tremor as falls on those whom the brand called forth from heaven has smitten, seized now the warrior, and in one spasm voice, sight, and blood all fail, and as he still attempts a groan his charger unbidden wheels him round ; 'mid a whirl of dust the troop flees back. Not yet had they entered the barred gates of Thebes, when the Argive band, flushed ynih their nocturnal triumph, leapt forth into the plain ; over weapons and prostrate bodies and earth befouled bv heaps of slain, and blood still warm -with hfe men and horn- footed steeds go rushing : the hea\y hoof crushes the Hmbs, and a rain of gore bathes and clogs the axles. Sweet is it to the heroes to go by such a road, as if they proudly trampled Sidonian homes and Thebes herself in blood. Capaneus cheers them on : " Long enough, Pelasgians, has our valour lain in hiding ; now, now is \'ictory fair in my eyes, in the full blaze of day ! On, men, with me to open con- flict ! Raise the dust and shout your battle-cry ! Sure is the omen of my right hand, terrible the fury of my drawn sword ! " So he speaks ; Adrastus and the Argive prince vriih eagerness inflame their ire, and the augur follows in sadder mood. Already they are nigh the walls — and still Amphion is telling of the new disaster — and Mould straight have entered the hapless city, had not Megareus from a high watch- tower exclaimed in haste : " Shut the gates, sentry, everj-where ! the enemy comes."
Overmastering fear sometimes gives strength : quick closes every gate ; only while Echion is slow
355
ST ATI us
Ogygias, audax animis Spartana iuventus 495
inrupit, caesique ruunt in limine primo incola Tavgeti Panopeus rigidique natator Oebalus Eurotae ; tuque, o spectate palaestris omnibus et nuper Nemeaeo in pulvere felix, Alcidama, primis quem eaestibus ipse ligarat 500
Tyndarides, nitidi moriens eonvexa magistri respicis : averso pariter deus occidit astro, te nemus Oebalium, te lubrica ripa Lacaenae virginis et falso gurges cantatus olori flebit, Amyclaeis Triviae lugebere Nymphis, 505
et quae te leges praeceptaque fortia belli erudiit genetrix, nimium didicisse queretur. talis Echionio Mavors in limine saevit.
Tandem umeris obnixus Acron et pectore toto pronus lalmenides aeratae^ robora portae 510
torserunt : quanta pariter cervice gementes profringunt inarata diu Pangaea iuvenci. par operis iactura lucro, quippe hoste retento exclusere suos ; cadit intra moenia Graius Ormenus, et pronas tendentis Amyntoris ulnas 515 fundentisque preces penitus cervice remissa verba solo voltusque cadunt, colloque decorus torques in hostiles cecidit per vulnus harenas. solvitur interea vallum, primaeque recusant stare morae ; iam se peditum iunxere catervae 520 moenibus : at patulas saltu transmittere fossas horror equis, haerent trepidi atque immane paventes abruptum mirantur agi^ ; nunc impetus ire
^ aeratae Klotz : ferratae w. ^ affi w : iter P.
" i.e., the Eurotas, where Jupiter feigned to be a swan (proverbially tuneful) and deceived Leda.
356
THEBAID, X. 495-523
to bar the Ogygian. courageous Spartan warriors break in, and fall in the threshold slain,. Panopeus, dweller upon Taygetus, and Oebalus, swimmer of rough Eurotas ; thou too, Alcidamas, who didst prove thy worth in every \\Testling-gi-ound, and of late win Wctory in Nemean dust, thou for whom the son of Tyndareus himself fastened thy first gloves ; dying thou lookest toward the vault where thy master shines ; straightway the god sinks wiih averted star. Thee the Oebalian woodland, thee the Laconian maiden's deceitful river-bank shall mourn, and the flood" that the feigned swan once sang of ; thou shalt be wept by Trivia's Amyclaean Nymphs, and thy mother who taught thee the laws and valiant rules of war shall lament that thou wert too apt a scholar. Thus does Mavors wreak his fury on the threshold of Echion's to^\-n.
At length Acron, hea\'ing vrith his shoulders, and lalmenides, leaning all his body's weight, forced to the bronze-clad doors : with such strength do groan- ing bullocks cleave side by side the long-unploughed fields of Pangaeum. Yet equal is the loss to their labour's gain, for they have kept the foe A^ithin, and shut out their own countrymen. Ormenus the Grecian is slain ^vithin the walls, and while Amyntor stretches imploring arms and pours out prayers, his head is severed, and words and face ahke fall to earth, and at the blow a shapely necklace drops from his neck into the hostile dust. Meanwhile the ram- part is breached, the first lines give way, and already troops of infantrv are at the walls ; but the horses fear to leap the vride trenches and shrink back in alarm, and panic-struck at the vast abyss marvel that they are driven on ; now they start forward from the
357
ST ATI us
margine ab extremo, nunc sponte in frena recedunt. hi praefixa solo vellunt munimina, at illi 525
portarum obiectus minuunt et ferrea sudant claustra remoliri, trabibusque atque aere^ sonoro pellunt saxa loco ; pars ad fastigia missas exsultant haesisse faces, pars ima lacessunt scrutanturque cavas caeca testudine turres. 530
At Tyrii, quae sola salus, caput omne coronant murorum, nigrasque sudes et lucida ferro spicula et arsuras caeli per inania glandes saxaque in adversos ipsis avolsa rotabant moenibus: exundant saevo fastigia nimbo, 535
armataeque vomunt stridentia tela fenestrae. qualiter aut Malean aut alta Ceraunia supra cessantes in nube sedent nigrisque locantur^ collibus et subitae saliunt in vela procellae : talis Agenoreis Argivom exercitus armis^ 540
obruitur ; non ora virum, non pectora flectit imber atrox, rectosque tenent in moenia voltus immemores leti et tantum sua tela videntes. Anthea falcato lustrantem moenia curru desuper Ogygiae pepulit gravis impetus hastae ; 545 lora excussa manu, retroque in terga volutus semianimos artus ocreis retinentibus haeret ; mirandum visu belli scelus : arma trahuntur, fumantesque rotae tellurem et tertius hastae sulcus arat ; longo sequitur vaga pulvere cervix, 550 et resupinarum patet orbita lata comarum.
^ trabibusque atque aere Postgate : trabibusque artata w, trabibus et ariete P : trabibusque aut aere Kohlmann, tr. atque assere duro Owen: fidibusque artata sonoris conj. Garrod.
2 locantur Bury : locuntur P : legantur S : leguntur w : teguntur D {with le- written over).
^ armis co : orans P.
358
THEBAID, X. 524:-55l
edge, now of their own accord recoil upwjn the reins. Some tear from the ground the planted palisades, others hack at the defences of the gates and sweat to force away the iron barriers, and %nth beams and sounding bronze drive stones from their places ; some hurl torches roofwards and exult when they stick fast, others assail the foundations and with the bhnd tortoise sap the base of hollow towers.
But the Tyrians — their only means of safety — crown the summit of the battlements, and hurl charred stakes and shining darts of steel against the foe, and stones torn from their own walls, and missiles that catch fire as they go through the void of air ; a fierce deluge streams from the roof-tops, and the barred ^^^ndows spew forth hissing javehns. As when the tempests sit motionless in the clouds over Malea or tall Ceraunia's mount and are ranged about the darkened hills, then suddenly swoop upon the sails beneath : so is the Argive host overwhelmed by the Agenorean arms ; yet the relentless rain turns aside neither face nor breast, the warriors keep their gaze steady upon the walls, forgetful of death and seeing nought but their o^^ti weapons. While Antheus drives his scythed car round the Theban walls the \iolent impact of an Og}'gian spear strikes him from above ; the reins are torn from his grasp, and, scarce ahve, he is hurled to the rear upon his back, but stays caught by his greaves ; strange sight and horrible fate of war 1 his arms are dragged along, the smoking wheels and the spear with third furrow ploughing the earth ; tossed to and fro the head follows in a long wake of dust, and the broad track of the outspread locks shows clear.
359
STATIUS
At tuba luctificis pulsat clangoribus urbem obsaeptasque fores sonitu perfringit amaro. divisere aditus, omnique in limine saevus signifer, ante omnes sua damna et gaudia portans. dira intus facies, vix Mavors ipse videndo 556
gaudeat ; insanis lymphatam horroribus urbem scindunt dissensu vario Luctusque Furorque et Pavor et caecis Fuga circumfusa tenebris. bellum intrasse putes : fervent discursibus arces, miscentur clamore viae, ferrum undique et ignes 561 mente vident, saevas mente accepere catenas, consumpsit ventura timor : iam tecta replerunt templaque et ingratae vallantur planctibus arae. una omnes eademque subit formido per annos : 565 poscunt fata senes, ardet palletque inventus, atria femineis trepidant ululata querellis. flent pueri et flendi nequeunt cognoscere causas attoniti et tantum matrum lamenta trementes. illas cogit amor, nee habent extrema pudorem : 570 ipsae tela viris, ipsae iram animosque ministrant, hortanturque unaque ruunt, nee avita gementes limina nee parvos cessant ostendere natos : sic ubi pumiceo pastor rapturus ab antro armatas erexit apes, fremit aspera nubes, 575
inque vicem sese stridore hortantur et omnes hostis in ora volant, mox deficientibus alis amplexae flavamque domum captivaque plangunt mella laboratasque premunt ad pectora ceras.
" i.e., the standard, emblem of each one's fate, whether sad or glorious.
*" " shame," i.e., of appearing in public.
360
THEBAID, X. 552 579
But now the trumpet's clangour smites the city with dismay, and its harsh sound penetrates the barricaded doors. They dixide the approaches, and in every gate there stands a fierce ensign-bearer, raising high for all to see their sufferings or their joys." Dreadful is the sight within, scarce Mars himself would rejoice to behold it ; Grief and Fury and Panic, and Rout enwTapped in blinding gloom rend with many-voiced discord the frenzied, horror- stricken town. One would think the battle was within ; men are hurrying to and fro about the citadel, the streets are full of clamour, everywhere they see in imagination sword and fire, everywhere cruel chains. Fear anticipates the future ; already houses and temples are thronged, and the ungrateful shrines are ringed with lamentation. Old and young alike are in the grip of one universal terror ; the old men pray for death, the young flush with ardour and grow pale bv turns, the houses rock with the shriek of women's wailing. Children weep, nor know the cause of their weeping, but stand aghast and tremble at their mothers' sobs. Them love constrains, nor does utmost need admit of shame ^ ; with their own hands they give weapons to the men, with their own voices they fire them to wrath and valour, and exhort them, and rush with them to battle, nor cease amid their tears to show them their ancestral homes and helpless babes. So when a husbandman, on plunder bent, has aroused the armed bees from their rocky cavern, the angry swarm is in an uproar, inciting each other with loud buzzing, and all fly in the enemy's faces; but soon with failing wings they clasp their waxen home, and bewail the rifled store of honey, and press to their bosoms the laboured combs.
361
STATIUS
Nee non ancipitis pugnat sententia volgi 580
diseordesque serit motus : hi reddere fratrem^ — nee mussant, sed voee palam elaroque tumultu — , reddere regna iubent ; periit reverentia regis sollicitis : " veniat pactumque hie eomputet annum, Cadmeosque lares exsul patriasque salutet 585
infehx tenebras ; cur autem ego sanguine fraudes et periura luam regahs crimina noxae ? " inde alii : " sera ista fides, iam vincere mavult." Tiresian alii lacrimis et supplice coetu orant, quodque unum rebus solamen in artis, 590
nosse futura rogant. tenet ille inclusa premitque fata deum : " quiane ante duci bene credita nostro consilia et nionitus, cum perfida bella vetarem ? te tamen, infelix," inquit, " perituraque Thebe, si taceam, nequeo miser exaudire cadentem 595
Argolicumque oculis haurire vacantibus ignem. vincamur, Pietas ; pone heia altaria, virgo, quaeramus superos." facit ilia, acieque sagaci sanguineos flammarum apices geminumque per aras ignem et clara tamen mediae fastigia lucis 600
orta docet ; tunc in speciem serpentis inanem ancipiti gyro volvi frangique ruborem demonstrat dubio, patriasque inluminat umbras, ille coronatos iamdudum amplectitur ignes, fatidicum sorbens vultu flagrante vaporem. 605
stant tristes horrore comae, vittasque prementes caesaries insana levat : diducta putares
^ fratrem Pw : fratri late mss., Sandstroem.
" i.e., "do 3'e ask my counsel now because . . ."
^ i.e., lit by Argives.
" The goddess of devotion to country, etc. ; see n. on 1. 780.
"* " ancipiti " here may mean " doubtful," i.e. not clear to the sight, or " two-headed," literally. " frangi " is to be broken or moulded into a shape. 36-2
THEBAID, X. 580-607
The crowd also is filled with the strife of opposing tongues, and spreads discordant passions ; some, with no muttered voice, but outspokenly and in open tumult, bid the brother restore the kingdom ; in their distress all reverence for their prince is lost : " Let him come, and here make up the count of his bargained year, and salute — unhappy exile ! — his Cadmean home and his father's blindness ; why should my blood atone the fraud and the royal miscreant's traitorous crime ? " Then others : " Too late is good faith now, he would rather conquer." Others in a tearful suppliant throng implore Tiresias, and ask — the only solace in adversity— to learn the future. But he withholds and keeps hidden the destinies of heaven: "Is it because" our monarch so trusted my warning counsels before, when I forbade perfidious warfare ? Yet, unhappy Thebes," he cries, " that art doomed to destruction should I be dumb, I cannot endure miserably to hear of thy fall and with these empty eyes to drink in Argohc ^ flames. Let me yield, O Piety " ! ho ! maiden, set the altars, let us inquire of the gods above." She obeys, and keenly gazing informs him of blood-red points of flame and a twofold fire upon the altar, and how the middle blaze yet rises high and clear ; then she teaches her doubt- ing sire that the ruddy flame is rolled and shaped with double coil into the ghostly likeness of a serpent ** and illuminates her father's gloom. He straightway spreads his arms about the gar- landed fire, and absorbs the prophetic vapours with glowing countenance. His hair rises in horror and dismay, and the grey locks madly Hft high the covering fillets : one would think his eyes were open,
363
STATIUS
lumina consumptumque genis rediisse nitorem.
tandem exundanti permisit verba furori :
" audite, o sontes, extrema litamina divum, 610
Labdacidae : venit alma salus, sed limite duro.
Martius inferias et saeva efflagitat anguis
sacra : cadat generis quicumque novissimus exstat
viperei, datur hoe tantum victoria pacto.
felix, qui tanta lucem mercede relinquet." 615
Stabat fatidici prope saeva altaria vatis maestus, adhuc patriae et tantum communia lugens fata, Creon : grandem subiti cum fulminis ictum, non secus ac torta traiectus cuspide pectus, accipit exanimis sentitque Menoecea posci. 620
monstrat enim suadetque timor ; stupet anxius alto corda metu glaciante pater : Trinacria qualis era repercussum Libyco mare sumit ab aestu. mox plenum Phoebo vatem et celerare iubentem nunc humilis genua amplectens, nunc ora canentis nequiquam reticere rogat ; iam fama sacratam 626 vocem amplexa volat, clamantque oracula Thebae.
Nunc, age, quis stimulos et pulchrae gaudia mortis addiderit iuveni — neque enim haec absentibus
umquam mens homini transmissa deis — memor incipe Clio, saecula te quoniam penes et digesta vetustas. 631
Diva lovis solio iuxta comes, unde per orbem rara dari terrisque solet contingere. Virtus, seu pater omnipotens tribuit, sive ipsa capacis elegit penetrare viros, caelestibus ut tunc 635
" Sicilian. 364
THEBAID, X. G08-63.5
and the lost glow had returned again to his cheeks. At length he gave vent in words to the flood of his frenzy : " Listen, ye guilty sons of Labdacus, and hear the last sacrifice of all ! Kindly salvation Cometh, but by a hard path. The snake of Mars demands a \"ictim and a cruel offering : the latest born of the serpent -brood must fall, at this price alone can victory come. Happy is he whose death shall win so great a guerdon I "
Creon, sad at heart and mourning as yet only for his country and the common fate, stood by the stern altar of the prophetic seer : when with the shock of a sudden blow, as if a flung lance had pierced his breast, he heard, near dead with horror, and knew Menoeceus was demanded. Fear points the truth, nor suffers doubt : he is benumbed by anguish, and an icy dread assails the father's heart ; even so does the Trin- acrian " coast sustain the sea hurled back from the Libyan surge. Then humbly clasping the knees of the seer, who, full of Phoebus, bids him make speed, and touching the lips that chant the oracle, he entreats him to be silent, all in vain ; already rumour has seized the word and flies abroad, and Thebes proclaims the oracle.
Come, now, tell who fired the youth with joy in a noble death — for ne\-er without heaven's aid is this mind given to men — begin thou, unforgetting Clio, for the ages are in thy keeping, and all the storied annals of the past.
The goddess Mrtue, close companion of the throne of Jove, whence rarely she is wont to be vouchsafed to the world and to bless the earth, whether the almighty Father hath sent her, or she herself hath chosen to dwell in men worthy of her — how gladly
365
STATIUS
desiluit gavisa plagis ! dant clara meanti
astra locum quosque ipsa polis adfixerat ignes.
iamque premit terras, nee vultus ab aethere longe ;
sed placuit mutare genas, fit provida Manto,
responsis ut plena^ fides, et fraude priores 640
exuitur voltus. abiit horrorque vigorque
ex oeulis, paulum decoris permansit honosque
mollior, et posito vatum gestamina ferro
subdita ; descendunt vestes, torvisque ligatur
vitta comis — nam laurus erat — tamen aspera produnt
ora deam nimiique gradus. sic Lydia coniunx 646
Amphitryoniaden exutum horrentia terga
perdere Sidonios umeris ridebat^ amictus
et turbare colus et tympana rumpere dextra.
Sed neque te indecorem sacris dignumque iuberi talia Dircaea stantem pro tun*e, Menoeceu, 651
invenit ; immensae reserato limine portae sternebas Danaos, pariter Mavortius Haemon. sed consanguinei quamvis atque omnia fratres, tu prior : exanimes circum cumulantur acervi ; 655 omne sedet telum, nulli sine caedibus ictus — necdum aderat Virtus — non mens,non dextra quiescit, non avida arma vacant, ipsa insanire videtur Sphinx galeae custos, visoque animata cruore emicat effigies et sparsa orichalca renident : 660
^ plena Pw : plana L Gronovius. ^ ridebat a; : redimibat P.
" i.e., the spirits who for their virtue had been made divine. The stars were supposed to be the abode of such, or even the spirits themselves.
* Apparently a rendering of Homer's description of Eris, II. iv. 443 ovpav<^ earrjpL^e Kapr) /cat eVi x^^vl ^alvn.
366
THEBAID, X. 636-660
then did she leap do^^Ti from the heavenly places ! The shining stars gave way before her, and those fires that she herself had fixed in heaven <* ; already she treads the earth, nor is her countenance far distant from the sky * ; but it pleased her to change her aspect, and she becomes sagacious Manto, that her speech might have full credence, and by deceit puts off her former mien. The look of awe, the austerity were gone, something of charm remained, and a softer beauty ; the sword was laid aside, and she took instead the prophet's wand ; her robe falls to her feet, and on her stem brow the wool is bound, where before was laurel ; yet her grave aspect and more than mortal strides betray the goddess. Even so at AmphitrA'on's son did his Lydian mistress ^ laugh, when putting off the bristling hide he marred the Sidonian raiment ^^^th his vast shoulders, and wrought confusion in the distaff and smashed the timbrels with his hand.
Nor does she find thee, O Menoeceus, an unworthy \ictim, nor unfit to receive so solemn a behest, as thou standest before the Dircaean tower ; the huge gate unbarred, thou wert slaying the Danaans, and Martian Haemon'* in like manner. But though ye were of one blood, and in everj'thing brothers, thou hadst first place : heaps of dead are piled around thee, ever}- dart finds its mark, no stroke but a victim falls — nor yet had Virtue come to aid — neither mind nor hand is idle, the eager weapons are never still, even the Sphinx, the guardian of his casque, appears to rage, the image, animated by the sight of blood, flashes out, and the bespattered brass gleams :
* i,*., Orophale. ''His brother.
367
STATIUS
cum dea pugnantis capulum dextramque repressit : " magnanime o iuvenis, quo non agnoverit ullum certius armifero Cadmi de semine Mavors, linque humiles pugnas, non haec tibi debita virtus : astra vocant, caeloque animam, plus concipe, mittes. iamdudum hoc hilares genitor bacchatur ad aras, 666 hoc ignes fibraeque volunt, hoc urget Apollo : terrigenam cuncto patriae pro sanguine poscunt. fama canit monitus, gaudet Cadmeia plebes certa tui^ ; rape mente deos, rape nobile fatum. 670 1, precor, adcelera, ne proximus occupet Haemon." sic ait, et magna cunctantis pectora dextra permulsit tacite seseque in corde reliquit. fulminis haud citius radiis adflata cupressus combibit infestas et stirpe et vertice flammas, 675 quam iuvenis multo possessus numine pectus erexit sensus letique invasit amorem. ut vero aversae gressumque habitumque notavit et subitam a terris in nubila crescere Manto, obstipuit. " sequimur, divum quaecumque vocasti, nee tarde paremus," ait ; iamiamque recedens 681 instantem vallo Pylium tamen Agrea fixit. armigeri fessum excipiunt ; tum vulgus euntem auctorem pacis servatoremque deumque conclamat gaudens atque ignibus implet honestis. iamque iter ad muros cursu festinus anhelo 686
obtinet et miseros gaudet vitasse parentes, cum genitor — steteruntque ambo et vox haesit utrique,^
^ certa tui w : certatim P. utrique KQ : utrimque Pw.
SQS
THEBAID, X. 661-688
M'hen the goddess stays the warrior's hand upon the sword-hilt : " Great-hearted youth, than whom none were more surely known of Mars to be of Cadmas' fighting seed, leave these mean affrays, such is not the prowess reserved for thee : the stars are calhng thee, thou shalt send thy soul to heaven — conceive a nobler destiny ! This it is that inspires my father's frenzy at the joyful altars, this the flames and the fibres demand, this doth Apollo urge : they call for an earth-born one on behalf of our country's common hfe. Rumour repeats the counsel, the folk of Cadmus, certain of thee, rejoice ; take the gods' word to heart, and snatch a glorious fate. Go, I pray thee, and hasten, lest Haemon by thy side forestall thee." So speaking she assured his wavering mind vrith the silent touch of her mighty hand, and left herself \v-ithin his heart. No more swiftly does the cypress blasted by the lightning flash drink up the deadly flame from stem to summit than did the youth, possessed by the mighty deity, raise high his' spirit and fall straight in love with death. But when he marked her gait and habit as she turned, and beheld Manto on a sudden rise from earth into the clouds, he was astounded. " I follow thee," he cries, " who- ever of the gods hast called me, nor am I slow to obey : " yet even as he retired he pierced Agreus of Pylos, who was threatening the rampart. His squires receive him, weary from the battle ; then, as he proceeds, the mob in joy hails him as peace- bringer, preserver and god, and kindles within him a noble flame.
And now he is making his way to the city in breathless haste, rejoicing to have avoided his un- happy parents, when his father — both stopped, with
VOL. II 2 b 369
ST ATI us
deiectaeque genae. tandem pater ante profatus :
" quis novus inceptis rapuit te casus ab armis ? 690
quae bello graviora paras ? die, nate, precanti,
cur tibi torva acies ? cur hie truculentus in ore
pallor, et ad patrios non stant tua lumina voltus ?
audisti responsa, palam est. per ego oro tuosque,
nate, meosque annos miseraeque per ubera matris,
ne vati, ne crede, puer ! superine profanuin 696
dignantur stimulare senem, cui vultus inanis
exstinctique orbes et poena simillima diro
Oedipodae ? quid si insidiis et fraude dolosa
rex agit, extrema est cui nostra in sorte timori 700
nobilitas tuaque ante duces notissima virtus ?
illius haec forsan, remur quae verba deorum ;
ille monet ! ne frena animo permitte calenti,
da spatium tenuemque moram, male cuncta ministrat
impetus ; hoc, oro, munus concede parenti. 705
sic tua maturis signentur tempora canis,
et sis ipse parens et ad hunc, animose, timorena
pervenias : ne perge meos orbare penates.
externi te nempe patres alienaque tangunt
pignora ? si pudor est, primum miserere tuorum. 710
haec pietas, hie verus honos ; ibi gloria tantum
ventosumque decus titulique in morte latentes.
nee timidus te flecto parens : i, proelia misce,
i Danaas acies mediosque per obvius enses ;
non teneo : liceat misero tremibunda lavare 715
vulnera et undantem lacrimis siccare cruorem,
teque iterum saevis iterumque remittere bellis.
hoc malunt Thebae." sic colla manusque tenebat
370
THEBAID, X. 689-718
speech cut short and eyes downcast. At length his sire began : " What new chance has taken thee from a battle lately joined ? What design hast thou, that is weightier than war ? Tell me, my son, I entreat thee, why is thy look so fierce ? Why this angry pallor in thy face, why do thy eyes meet not thy father's gaze ? 'Tis plain, thou hast heard the oracle. By thy years and mine, my son, and by thy \ATetched mother's breast, I pray thee, lad, listen not to the seer ! Do the gods deign to inspire an impious dotard, with sightless face and blinded eyes, stricken even as dread Oedipus ? What if the king be using treachery and deceitful fraud, fearing in his desperate case our noble blood and thy valour that is renowned above our chieftains ? Perchance they are his words, which we deem to be the gods' ; 'tis he that gives this counsel ! Suffer not thy hot blood to carry thee away, but delay a trifling space, passion is ever a bad guide ; grant this boon, I entreat thee, to thy father. So may thy temples be marked with the grey hairs of age, and thyself be a parent, and come, rash boy, to fear like me : lay not my home desolate. Do other sires and the babes of strangers move thee ? If thou hast any shame, pity first thine own. This is duty, this is true honour ; there lies but empty glory and wind-blown reno^^Ti and a name that will be lost in death. Nor is it from a father's fears that I urge thee : go, join in the fray, go, force thy way through the Danaan lines where swords are thickest : I do not hold thee back ; let me but cleanse thy quivering wounds and stanch with my tears thy welling blood, and send thee back again and yet again to the cruel battle. This does Thebes rather choose." So spake he, vriih his arms in close
371
ST ATI us
implicitus ; sed nee laerimae nee verba movebant dis votum iuvenem ; quin et monstrantibus illis 720 fraude patrem tacita subit avertitque timorem : " falleris heu verosque metus, pater optime, nescis. non me ulli monitus, nee vatum exorsa furentum sollicitant vanisque^ movent : sibi callidus ista Tiresias nataeque canat ; non si ipse reclusis 725
comminus ex adytis in me insaniret Apollo, sed gravis unanimi casus me fratris ad urbem sponte refert : gemit Inachia mihi saucius Haemon cuspide ; vix ilium medio de pulvere belli inter utrasque acies, iamiamque tenentibus Argis — sed moror ; i, refove dubium turbaeve ferenti^ 731 die, parcant leviterque vehant ; ego vulnera doctum iungere supremique fugam revocare cruoris Aetiona petam." sic imperfecta locutus effugit ; illi atra mersum caligine pectus 735
confudit sensus ; pietas incerta vagatur discordantque metus, impellunt credere Parcae.
Turbidus interea ruptis venientia portis agmina belligeri Capaneus agit aequore campi, cornua nunc equitum, cuneos nunc ille pedestres, et proculcantes moderantum funera currus ; 741
idem altas turres saxis et turbine crebro laxat, agit turmas idem atque in sanguine fumat. nunc spargit torquens volucri nova vulnera plumbo, nunc iaculum excusso rotat in sublime lacerto, 745 nuUaque tectorum subit ad fastigia, quae non deferat hasta virum perfusaque caede recurrat.
^ vanisque P : manesque w. " ferenti P : furenti BLD.
372
THEBAID, X. 719-747
embrace about his son's neck, but the youth, once vowed to the gods, was moved by neither tears nor words ; nay, at their prompting he met his sire with secret fraud and turned his fears : " Good father, thou art mistaken, thy fears are vain. No warning or speech of frenzied seers disturbs me, or troubles me "vWth empty terrors ; let crafty Tiresias keep his chantings for himself and his own daughter ; nought should I care, if Apollo himself were to open his shrine and confront me with his ravings. No, 'tis the sore hurt of my loved brother that takes me back of my own will to the city ; my Haemon groans from the wound of an Inachian spear ; scarce out of the dust of battle, from between the lines — the Argives had already seized him — but I waste time ; go, cheer his distress, and tell his bearers to spare him and carry him gently ; I go to find Action who is skilled to join up wounds and recall the life-blood's ebbing stream." He breaks off and speeds away ; in the other's breast confusion reigns and a dark cloud of woe ; he wavers uncertainly between devoted love and harsh, discordant fears ; but Fate impels him to beheve.
Meanwhile impetuous Capaneus drives o'er the battle-plain the troops that issue from the breached gates, now squadrons of horse, now regiments of foot, now chariots that trample the corpses of their own charioteers ; he it is that rends high towers with stones and many a whizzing dart, he it is that routs the cohorts and reeks in gore. Now he whirls the winged bullet and scatters strange wounds all around, now he swings his arm aloft and sends the javelin flying, nor ever a lance mounts the roof-top, that brings not down its man, and falls back streaming with blood.
373
STATIUS
nee iam aut Oeniden aut Hippomedonta peremptos aut vatem Pelopea phalanx aut Arcada eredunt : quin socium coiisse animas et eorpore in uno 750
stare omnes, ita cuncta replet. non ullius aetas, non cultus, non forma movet ; pugnantibus idem supplicibusque furit ; non quisquam obsistere contra, non belli temptare vices : procul arma furentis terribilesque iubas et frontem cassidis horrent. 755
At pius electa murorum in parte Menoeceus iam sacer aspectu solitoque augustior ore, ceu subito in terras supero demissus ab axe, constitit, exempta manifestus casside nosci, despexitque acies hominum et clamore profundo 760 convertit campum iussitque silentia bello. " armorum superi, tuque o qui funere tanto indulges mihi, Phoebe, mori, date gaudia Thebis, quae pepigi et toto quae sanguine prodigus emi. ferte retro bellum captaeque impingite Lernae 765 relliquias turpes, confixaque terga foventes Inachus indecores pater aversetur alumnos. at Tyriis templa, arva, domos, conubia, natos reddite morte mea : si vos placita hostia iuvi, si non attonitis vatis consulta recepi 770
auribus et Thebis nondum credentibus hausi, haec Amphioniis pro me persolvite tectis ac mihi deceptum, precor, exorate parentem." sic ait, insignemque animam mucrone corusco dedignantem artus pridem maestamque teneri 775 arripit atque uno quaesitam vulnere rumpit. sanguine tunc spargit turres et moenia lustrat,
374
THEBAID, X. 748-777
No longer does the Pelopean phalanx believe Oenides or Hippomedon slain, or the bard or yet the Arcadian, but rather that their comrades' souls are all rejoined in his one frame, so fills he all the battle-field. Nor age, nor dress, nor beauty moves him ; alike on those that fight and those that entreat he pours his fury ; none dare resist, or try the chances of war ; afar as he rages they shudder at his armour and terrible crest and helmet's front.
But the devoted Menoeceus stood on a chosen part of the wall, sacred already to behold, and majestic in mien beyond his wont, as though suddenly de- scended to earth from heaven above, bareheaded and manifest to view ; he gazed down upon the lines of warriors, and stilled the clamours of the field and bade the war be silent. " Ye gods of battle, and thou, O Phoebus, who grantest me a death so glorious, vouchsafe to Thebes the joys which I have covenanted for and bought with all my lavish hfe- blood. Roll back the tide of war, and hurl against captive Lerna her base remnants ; let father Inachus turn away from his dishonoured sons as they nurse the spear- wound in their backs. But restore to the T}Tians by my death their temples, fields and homes, children and wives ; if I, your chosen \ictim, have pleased you, if I heard the prophet's oracle with no panic-stricken ear, and took it to my heart ere ever Thebes believed it, reward Amphion's town in my stead, and reconcile,! pray, the sire whom I deceived." So he speaks, and with his ghttering blade tears at the noble soul that long has disdained its body and grieved to be held fast, and probes for the life and rends it with one wound. Then with his blood he sprinkled the towers and purified the walls, and
375
STATIUS
seque super medias acies, nondum ense remisso,
iecit et in saevos cadere est eonatus Achivos.
ast ilium amplexae Pietas Virtusque ferebant 780
leniter ad terras corpus ; nam spiritus olim
ante lovem et summis apicem sibi poscit in astris.
lamque intra muros nullo sudore receptum gaudentes heroa ferunt : abscesserat ultro Tantalidum venerata cohors ; subit agmine longo colla inter iuvenum, laetisque favoribus omni 786
concinitur vulgo Cadmum atque Amphiona supra eonditor ; hi sertis, hi veris honore solutos^ adcumulant artus patriaque in sede reponunt corpus adoratum. repetunt mox bella peractis 790 laudibus ; hie victa genitor lacrimabilis ira congemit, et tandem matri data flere potestas : " lustralemne feris ego te, puer inclyte, Thebis devotumque caput vilis ceu mater alebam ? quod molita nefas, cui tantum invisa deorum ? 795 non ego monstrifero coitu revoluta novavi^ pignora, nee nato peperi funesta nepotes. quid refert ? potitur natis^ locasta ducesque regnantesque videt : nos saeva piacula bello demus, ut alterni — placet hoc tibi, fulminis auctor — Oedipodionii mutent diademata fratres ! 801
quid superos hominesve queror ? tu, saeve Menoeceu, tu miseram ante omnes properasti exstinguere matrem.
^ solutos late mss., Peyrared : soluto w : solito P.
" novavi DQ, Heinsius : notavi w, natavi P.
^ potitur natis P : habet ecce suos to.
" The Latin " Pietas " has a somewhat wider significance, including the ideas of Loyaltj', Devotion, Affection, which it is impossible to express in one English word. 376
THEBAID, X. 778-803
grasping still his sword hurled himself into the midst of the hnes and strove to fall upon the fierce Achaeans. But Piety " and \'irtue clasped and bore his body Ughtly to the earth ; for his spirit long since is at the throne of Jove, and demands for itself a crown 'mid highest stars.
And now rejoicing they bear the hero within the walls, recovering his body ^\^th no labour : of its own accord the Tantahd host in reverence withdrew ; he is borne on the necks of youths in a long train, and is acclaimed by the glad praise of all the populace as patron of the town above Cadmus and Amphion ; with garlands and all the honour of the spring they heap his hfeless limbs, and lay his venerated body in his forefathers' tomb. Then when their lauds are finished they resume the fight, and his sire, his \ATath appeased, sheds tears and joins in the lament, and his mother can weep her fill at last : " Was it then to make atonement and devote thy life for cruel Thebes that I nourished thee, illustrious boy, as though I were some worthless mother ? What crime then had I "WTOught, what god so hated me ? No incestuous offspring have I borne in unnatural intercourse, nor given unhallowed progeny to my own son. What matters that ? Jocasta hath her sons, and sees them leaders and kings : but we must make cruel expiation for the war, that the brothers, sons of Oedipus, may exchange their diadems — doth this please thee, O author of the blow * ? But why complain I of men and gods ? Thou, cruel Menoeceus, thou before all didst haste to slay thy unhappy
* For the use of " fulmen " see note on ix. 218 ; for the phrase cf. Chid, Met. viii. 349 " auctor teU." Jupiter is presumably meant.
377
STATIUS
unde hie mortis amor ? quae saera insania menti ? quosve ego conceptus aut quae male pignora fudi tarn diversa mihi ? nimirum Martius anguis, 806
quaeque novis proavum tellus effloruit armis — hinc animi tristes nimiusque in pectore Mayors, et de matre nihil, sponte en ultroque peremptus inrumpis maestas Fatis nolentibus umbras. 810
ast egomet Danaos Capaneaque tela verebar : haec erat, haec metuenda manus ferrumque, quod
amens ipsa dedi. viden ut iugulo consumpserit ensem ? altius haud quisquam Danaum mucrone subisset."
Diceret infelix etiamnum et cuncta repleret 815 questibus : abducunt comites famulaeque perosam solantes thalamoque tenent, sedet eruta multo ungue genas ; non ilia diem, non verba precantum respicit aut visus flectit tellure relietos, iam vocis, iam mentis inops. sic aspera tigris 820 fetibus abreptis Scythico deserta sub antro accubat et tepidi lambit vestigia saxi ; nusquam irae, sedit^ rabidi^ feritasque famesque oris, eunt praeter secura ai'menta gregesque : aspicit ilia iacens ; ubi enim, quibus ubera pascat aut quos ingenti premat exspectata rapina ? 826
Hactenus arma, tubae, ferrumque et vulnera : sed nunc comminus astrigeros Capaneus tollendus in axis, non mihi iam solito vatum de more canendum^ ;
^ sedit Pw : cedit Q. ^ rabidi VoUmer : rapidi P : rabies w. * canendum w : canentum P.
378
THEBAID, X. 804-829
mother ! Whence came this love of death ? WTiat cursed madness seized thy mind ? What did I con- ceive, what misbegotten child did I bear, so different from mvself ? \'erily 'tis the snake of Mars, and the ground that burgeoned fresh \\-ith our armed sires — thence comes that desperate valour, that o'er- mastering love of war : nought comes of his mother. Lo ! of thine o^\•n ysriW and pleasure slain, ay, even against the will of Fate, thou forcest an entrance to the gloomy shades. I was fearing the Danaans and the shafts of Capaneus : 'twas this hand, this hand of thine I should have feared, and the sword I myself once gave thee in my folly. See how the blade is wholly buried in his throat ! None of the Danaans could have made a deeper thrust."
Even yet would the unhappy woman be speaking and making her sorrow kno\^Ti on every side ; but her companions and her handmaids bear her away, hating those who would console her, and keep her in her chamber ; there she sits, her cheeks deep ploughed by her nails, nor looks towards the hght, nor listens to entreaties, nor turns her face that is ever fixed on the ground — her voice, her reason lost. So a fierce tigress robbed of her cubs lies desolate in her Scythian lair and hcks the traces on the warm stone ; her fury is gone, the savagery and hunger of her ravenous jaws are abated, and the flocks and herds go careless by : she sees them and hes still, for where are they for whom she should feed her dugs, or, long-awaited, heap up the abundant prey ?
So far of arms and trumpets, of swords and wounds I tell ; but now Capaneus must be raised high to do battle mth the star-bearing vault. No more may I sing after the wonted way of bards ; a mightier
379
STATIUS
maior ab Aoniis poscenda amentia lucis : 830
mecum omnes audete deae ! sive ille profunda missus nocte furor, Capaneaque signa secutae arma lovem contra Stygiae rapuere sorores, seu virtus egressa modum, seu gloria praeceps, seu magnae data fata^ neci, seu laeta malorum 835 principia et blandae superum mortalibus irae.
lam sordent terrena viro taedetque profundae caedis, et exhaustis olim Graiumque suisque missilibus lassa respexit in aethera dextra. ardua mox torvo metitur culmina visu, 840
innumerosque gradus, gemina latus arbore clusos, aerium sibi portat iter, longeque timendus multifidam quercum flagranti lumine vibrat ; arma rubent una clipeoque ineenditur ignis. " hac " ait, " in Thebas, hac me iubet ardua virtus 845 ire, Menoeceo qua lubrica sanguine turris. experiar, quid sacra iuvent, an falsus Apollo." dicit, et alterno captiva in moenia gressu surgit ovans : qualis mediis in nubibus aether vidit Aloidas, cum cresceret impia tellus 850
despectura deos nee adhuc immane veniret Pelion et trepidum iam tangeret Ossa Tonantem.
Tunc vero attoniti fatorum in cardine summo, ceu suprema lues urbi facibusque cruentis aequatura solo turres Bellona subiret, 855
^ fata Pw : fama late MSB.
" " magnae data fata neci " seems hardly Latin, but I have kept the ms. reading ; " fama " merely repeats the idea of " gloria praeceps " ; " necis," Klotz's suggestion, may be right.
* A strange expression by which Statius means a ladder (the KXlfxaKos Trpoo-ayU^dtrets of Aeschylus, Sept. 466).
380
THEBAID, X. 830-855
frenzy must be summoned from the Aonian groves. Dare \\ith me, goddesses all : whether that madness of his was sent from deepest night and the Stygian sisters dogged the banner of Capaneus and forced him to the assault against Jove, or whether 'twas valour that brooked no bounds, or headlong love of glory, or utter destruction's appointed doom,** or success that goes before disaster and heaven luring to ruin in its wTath.
Now earthly battles grow mean in the hero's eyes, he is tired of the endless slaughter ; long ago have his own weapons and those of the Greeks been spent, his right arm grows weary, he looks up to the sky. Soon with frowning gaze he measures the lofty battlements, and gets him a skyward leading path of steps in- numerable, a tree guarding its either flank,* and terribly from afar he brandishes a flaring torch of oaken faggots : his armour glows red, and a blaze is kindled on his shield. " By this road," he cries, " by this road my lofty valour bids me go to Thebes, where yonder tower is slippery with Menoeceus' blood. I shall try what sacrifice avails, and whether Apollo be false." He speaks, and chmbs %\-ith alter- nate step exultant against the captured wall : even as the vault beheld the Aloidae "^ amid the clouds, when impious earth rose high and was like to look down upon the gods ; not yet had mighty Pelion been added and Ossa already touched the affrighted Thunderer.
Then indeed aghast, upon the utmost verge of doom, as though the last destruction threatened, or Bellona with blood-stained brand drew nigh to raze their towers to the ground, from every roof in
* Otus and Ephialtes, Giants who tried to storm heaven.
381
ST ATI us
omnibus e tectis certatim ingentia saxa roboraque et validas fundae Balearis habenas — nam iaculis caeloque vagis spes unde sagittis ? — verum avidi et tormenta rotant et molibus urgent, ille nee ingestis nee terga sequentibus umquam 860 detrahitur telis, vacuoque sub aere pendens plana velut terra certus vestigia figat, tendit et ingenti subit oceurrente ruina : amnis ut incumbens longaevi robora pontis adsiduis oppugnat aquis, iam saxa fatiscunt 865
emotaeque trabes ; tanto violentior ille — sentit enim — maiore salo quassatque trahitque molem aegram, nexus donee celer alveus omnis abscidit et cursu victor respirat aperto. utque petita diu celsus fastigia supra 870
eminuit trepidamque adsurgens desuper urbem vidit et ingenti Thebas exterruit umbra, increpat attonitos : " humilesne^ Amphionis arces, pro pudor ! hi faciles carmenque imbelle secuti, hi, mentita diu Thebarum fabula, muri ? 875
et quidnam egregium prosternere moenia molli structa lyra ? " simul insultans gressuque manuque molibus obstantes cuneos tabulataque saevus restruit^ : absiliunt pontes, tectique prementis saxea frena labant, dissaeptoque aggere rursus 880 utitur et truncas rupes in templa domosque praecipitat frangitque suis iam moenibus urbem. lamque lovem circa studiis diversa fremebant
^ humilesne Pw : haene illae N2, Barth, Bentley. 2 restruit PQSB -. destruit K, detrahit N. Garrod cf. X. 527, claustra remoliri.
382
THEBAID, X. 856-883
emulous haste they hurl huge stones and stakes, and whirl the strong lash of the Balearic sling — what hope is there in javehns and the vague flight of arrows ? — nay, they eagerly ply their engines and impel great rocks against him. But he, unmoved by missiles assailing him in front or rear, hovers aloft in empty air, yet sure as though he planted his steps on the flat earth, and strives onward, and draws nigh in the teeth of fell destruction : just as a river pressing upon the timbers of an ancient bridge assaults it w-iih unresting waters, and now the stones gape and the beams are loosened ; with the more violence — for he knows it — and greater surge he shakes and drags at the weakening mass, till the s>\'ift current has burst all the fastenings, and triumphantly draws breath again, and flows on with unhampered course. And when he stood out high above the long-attempted summit, and in towering height looked down upon the trembling city, and terrified Thebes with his huge shadow, he taunted the astounded folk: "Are these Amphion's insigni- ficant towers — for shame I— are these the comphant walls that followed an unwarlike song ? — that ancient, lying tale of Thebes ? And what glor}- is there in overtlirowing a fortress built by a feeble lyre ? " Therewith he falls vrith. foot and hand upon the masonry, and fiercely destroys the jointing and the flooring that would stay him; connecting bridges fall, the stone curbs of the covering roof give way, and again he uses the dismembered mass, and hurls do\vn rocky fragments on temples and on houses, and now he is shattering the city with its own fortress- walls.
Meanwhile about Jove's throne the Argive and
383
ST ATI us
Argolici Tyriique dei ; pater aequus utrisque aspicit ingentes ardentum comminus iras 885
seque obstare videt. gemit inservante^ noverca Liber et obliquo respectans lumine patrem : " nunc ubi saeva manus, meaque heu cunabula
flammae, fulmen, io ubi fulmen ? " ait. gemit auctor Apollo, quas dedit ipse, domos ; Lernam Thebasque rependit maestus et intento dubitat Tirynthius arcu ; 891
maternos plangit volucer Danaeius Argos ; flet Venus Harmoniae populos metuensque mariti stat procul et tacita Gradivum respicit ira. increpat Aonios audax Tritonia divos, 895
lunonem tacitam furibunda silentia torquent. non tamen haec turbant pacem lovis : ecce quierunt iurgia, cum mediis Capaneus auditus in astris. " nullane pro trepidis " clamabat, " numina Thebis statis ? ubi infandae segnes telluris alumni, 900
Bacchus et Alcides ? pudet instigare minores. tu potius venias — quis enim concurrere nobis dignior? en cineres Semeleaque busta tenentur — , nunc age, nunc totis in me conitere flammis, luppiter ! an pavidas tonitru turbare puellas 905
fortior et soceri turres exscindere Cadmi ? "
Ingemuit dictis superum dolor ; ipse furentem risit et incussa sanctarum mole comarum, " quaenam spes hominum tumidae post proelia
Phlegrae !
^ inservante PN : infestante KQ marg. of B.
" i.e., Juno.
* The references here are to the oracle given by Apollo at Delphi to Cadmus, which led to the founding of Thebes, cf. vii. 664, and to the fact that Hercules was connected
384
THEBAID, X. 884-909
the Tyrian deities were clamouring in diverse factions: the impartial sire beholds their \\Tath blaze high around him, and marks that he restrains it. Beneath his stepmother's " gaze Liber regards his sire askance, and makes lament : " Where now is that ruthless hand? " he cries, "where alas! is my cradle of fire, the thunderbolt, ay, where the thunderbolt ? " Apollo ^ too laments the homes which once his command appointed ; the Tirynthian weighs Lema ^ against Thebes, and hesitates %\-ith ready-strung bow; the >nnged Danaan ^ grieves for his mother's Argos ; Venus weeps for Harmonia's folk, and fearing her husband stands apart and gazes at Gradivus in silent anger. Bold Tritonia blames the Tyrian gods, while speechless rage tortures the heart of silent Juno. Yet undisturbed is the peace of Jove ; and lo ! their quarrels ceased when in mid-heaven Capaneus was heard: "Are there no gods among you," he cries, " who stand for panic-stricken Thebes ? Where are the sluggard sons of this accursed land, Bacchus and Alcides ? Any of lesser name I am ashamed to challenge. Rather come thou — what worthier antagonist ? For lo ! Semele's ashes and her tomb are in my power! — <;ome thou, and strive with all thy flames against me, thou, Jupiter! Or art thou braver at frightening timid maidens with thy thunder, and razing the towers of thy father-in- law Cadmus? "
Loud rose the gods' indignant clamour at his words ; Jove himself laughed at the madman, and shaking the thick mass of his sacred locks : " What hope has man after Phlegra's arrogant assault ? " he says,
botli with Thebes and Argos (Lema) by descent. The Danaan is Perseus, son of Danae.
VOL. II 2 c 385
ST ATI us
tune etiam feriendus ? " ait. premit undique lentum turba deum frendens et tela ultrieia poscit, 911
nee iam audet fatis turbata obsistere coniunx. ipsa dato nondum caelestis regia signo sponte tonat, coeunt ipsae sine flamine nubes adcurruntque imbres : Stygias rupisse catenas 915 lapetum aut vinctam^ supera ad convexa levari Inarimen Aetnanive putes. pudet ista timere caelicolas ; sed cum in media vertigine mundi stare virum insanasque vident deposcere pugnas, mirantur taciti et dubio pro fulmine pallent. 920
coeperat Ogygiae supra fastigia turris arcanum mugire polus caelumque tenebris auferri : tenet ille tamen, quas non videt, arces, fulguraque attritis quotiens micuere procellis, " his " ait, " in Thebas, his iam decet ignibus uti, 925 hinc renovare faces lassamque accendere quercum." talia dicentem toto love fulmen adactum corripuit : primae fugere in nubila cristae, et clipei niger umbo cadit, iamque omnia lucent membra viri. cedunt acies, et terror utrimque, 930 quo ruat, ardenti feriat quas corpore turmas. intra se stridere facem galeamque comasque sentit,^ et urentem thoraca repellere dextra conatus ferri cinerem sub pectore tractat,^ stat tamen, extremumque in sidera versus anhelat,*
^ vinctam K2, Peyrared: victam BDNQK: victum PS. aut after victum Kohlmann.
^ sentit Imliof: quaerit mss. : questus Garrod : saevit Klotz.
^ Lines 932-4 only in DS (between lines) B {in marg.) and late MSS.
* anhelat w : adhaesit PN2.
" lapetus was a Titan, imprisoned below the earth; volcanoes such as Aetna were thought to contain fettered giants and Titans.
386
THEBAID, X. 910-935
" and must thou too be struck down ? " As he hesitates the gods throng round him, gnashing their teeth and crying for the avenging weapons, nor any longer dares his anxious consort resist the Fates. The heavenly palace itself thunders, though no sign is given, the clouds themselves gather and the storms collect without the blast of any wind : one would think lapetus had burst his Stygian chains, and that fettered Inarime or Aetna had been lifted to the heights above." Such things the denizens of heaven feel shame to fear; but when they see the hero stand midway in the dizzy height of air, and summon them to insane battle, they marvel in silence, and grow pale, doubting the thunderbolt's power. Then above the summit of the Ogygian tower the vault began to bellow strangely, and the sky to be lost in darkness ; yet still he grasps the battlements he no longer sees, and as often as the lightnings flashed through the rent storm-clouds : "Ay here," he shouts, "here at last are the fires 'tis right to use against Thebes ! From them I may renew my torch, and awaken my smouldering oaken brand." Ev6n as he spoke, the thunderbolt struck him, hurled vrith the whole might of Jove : his crest first vanished into the clouds, the blackened shield-boss dropped, and all the hero's limbs are now illumined. The armies both give way, in terror where he may fall, what squadrons he may strike with his burning body. He feels the flame hissing within him and his helmet and hair afire, and trying to push away the galling cuirass ^^-ith his hand, touches the scorched steel beneath his breast. He stands nevertheless, and turning towards heaven
387
STATIUS
pectoraque invisis obicit fumantia muris, 936
ne caderet : sed membra virum terrena relinquunt, exuiturque animus ; paulum si tardius artus cessissent, potuit fulmen sperare^ secundum.
^ sperare Pi)iV2 : meruisse w.
388
THEBAID, X. 936-939
pants out his life and leans his smoking breast on the hated battlements, lest he should fall ; but his earthly frame deserts the hero, and his spirit is released ; yet had his limbs been consumed a whit more slowly, he might have expected a second thunderbolt.
389
LIBER XI
Postquam magnanimus furias virtutis iniquae consumpsit Capaneiis exspiravitque receptum fulmen, et ad terras longe comitata cadentem signavit muros ultricis semita flammae : componit dextra victor concussa plagarum 5
luppiter et vultu caelumque diemque reducit. gratantur superi, Phlegrae ceu fessus anhelet proelia et Encelado fumantem impresserit Aetnen. ille iacet lacerae complexus fragmina turris, torvus adhuc visu memorandaque facta relinquens 10 gentibus atque ipsi non inlaudata Tonanti. quantus Apollineae temerator matris Averno tenditur ; ipsae horrent, si quando pectore ab alto emergunt, volucres immensaque membra iacentis spectant, dum miserae crescunt in pabiila fibrae : 15 sic gravat iniectus terras hostiliaque urit arva et anhelantem caelesti sulpure campum. respirant Thebae, templisque iacentia surgunt agmina ; iam finis votis finisque supremis planctibus, et natos ausae deponere matres. 20
At vaga palantes^ campo fuga volvit Achivos. nee iam hostes turmae aut ferrum mortale timetur : ^ palantes w : pallentes PQ.
« Tityos. 390
BOOK XI
When great-souled Capaneus had spent the fury of his unrighteous valour and gasped forth the le\'in- fire that lodged \\-ithin him, and when the long track of avenging flame that marked his fall to earth had left its brand upon the walls : \'ictorious Jove with his right hand composed the shaken vault, and with his countenance restored the light of heaven. The gods welcome him, as though he were breathless and wear}' after Phlegra's fight, or had piled smoking Aetna upon Enceladus. Grasping the fragment of a shattered tower the hero lies, with a scowl yet upon his face, and leaving deeds for all the world to tell of, deeds that even the Thunderer might praise. As vast as in Avemus lies outstretched the defiler of Apollo's mother,'' whom even the birds behold aghast when they emerge from his cavernous breast and view his huge extended hmbs, while the wTctched fibres grow again to feed them : so biu"dens he the earth, flung prostrate, and scars the hostile fields and the plain that gasps v\ith the heavenly sulphur. Thebes draws breath once more, and the bowed suppliants rise in the temples ; vows and desperate wailing have an end, and the mothers dare to put down their httle ones.
But the Achaeans are swept over the plain in scattered, aimless rout. No more do they fear the
391
STATIUS
omnibus ante oculos irae lovis, omnibus ardent arma metu galeaeque tonant,^ visusque paventes ipse sequi et profugis opponere luppiter ignes. 25 instat Agenoreus miles caelique tumultu utitur : indomitos ut cum Massyla per arva armenti reges magno leo fregit hiatu et contentus abit ; rauci tunc comminus ursi, tunc avidi venere lupi, rabieque remissa 30
lambunt degeneres alienae vulnera praedae. liinc premit Eurymedon, cui rusticus horror in armis, rustica tela manu, patriumque agitare tumultus : Pan illi genitor ; tener hinc conatibus annos egreditur iuvenemque patrem puer aequat Alatreus: felices ambo, sed fortunatior ille, 36
quem genuisse iuvat ; nee iam dignoscere promptum, quae magis arma sonent, quo plus eat hasta lacerto.
Artatur denso fugientum examine vallum, quas volvis, Gradive, vices ? modo moenia Cadmi 40 scandebant : sua nunc defendunt tecta Pelasgi ! ceu redeunt nubes, ceu circumflantibus austris alternus procumbit ager, ceu gurgite cano nunc retegit bibulas, nunc induit aestus harenas. exspirat^ late pubes Tirynthia, alumni 45
exuvias imitata dei ; trux maeret ab astris Amphitryoniades Nemeaea in sanguine terga et similes ramos similesque videre pharetras. stabat in Argolicae ferrato culmine turris egregius lituo dextri Mavortis Enyeus^ 50
pre ^ tenant Pw : tremunt Q : tenant -D {with tremunt written over).
^ exspirat P : procumbit to : expirat (cumbit written over) D. * Enyeus P : enipeus w.
392
THEBAID, XL 23-50
squadrons of the foe or mortal steel : all have the anger of Jove before their eyes, all in their terror see their armour blazing and hear his thimder ringing in their helmets ; Jove himself seemed to pursue and to oppose his fires to their flight. The warriors of Agenor press hard upon them, and use the tumult of the sky : as when upon Massylian meads a lion has crushed \\ithin his mighty jaws the untamed monarchs of the herd, and departs, his hunger sated ; then growling bears draw nigh and greedy wolves, and with abated rage cowardly lap the blood of an alien prey. Here Eur^medon pursues, vrith armour rustic and uncouth and rustic weapons in his hand and native skill to arouse panic terrors — his sire was Pan ; there goes Alatreus forth, tender in vears for such emprise, and though a boy, matching his youthful father : fortunate both, but happier he who delights in such progeny ; nor is it easy to discern whose weapons ring the louder, from whose arm more mightily flies the spear.
The ramparts are thronged with a dense mass of fugitives. What changes dost thou bring, Gradivus ! But lately the Pelasgians were climbing Cadmus' walls, now they defend their own ! Even so the clouds return, so when the south %\'inds are blowing field after field is swept by the blast, so the surge now uncovers, now clothes with its white foam the thirsty sand. Far and \\'ide perish the Tirynthian soldier}-, that counterfeit the spoils of their'native god; the stem son of Amphitryon mourns from the stars above to see the Nemean skins and the clubs and quivers like his own all drenched in blood. Upon the iron- clad summit of the Argive tower stood Enyeus, foremost to cheer to prosperous battle with the
39s
ST ATI us
hortator ; sed tunc miseris dabat utile signum suadebatque fugam et tutos in castra receptus : cum subitum obliquo descendit ab acre vulnus, urgentisque sonum laeva manus aure retenta est,^ sicut erat ; fugit in vacuas iam spiritus auras, 55
iam gelida ora tacent, carmen tuba sola peregit.
lamquepotens scelerumgeminaeque exercitagentis sanguine Tisiphone fraterna cludere quaerit bella acie^ : nee se tanta in certamina fidit sufficere, inferna comitem ni sede Megaeram 60
et consanguineos in proelia suscitet angues. ergo procul vacua concedit^ valle solumque ense fodit Stygio terraeque immurmurat absens nomen et — Elysiis signum indubitabile regnis — crinalem attollit longo stridore cerasten : 65
caeruleae dux ille comae, quo protinus omnis horruit audito tellus pontusque polusque, et pater Aetnaeos iterum respexit ad ignes. accipit ilia sonum ; stabat tunc forte parenti proxima, dum coetu Capaneus laudatur ab omni 70 Ditis et insignem Stygiis fovet amnibus umbram. protinus abrupta terrarum mole sub astris constitit, exsultant manes, quantumque profundae rarescunt tenebrae, tantum de luce recessit. excipit atra soror dextraeque innexa profatur : 75 " hac, germana, tenus Stygii metuenda parentis imperia et iussos potui tolerare furores,
^ Line o-t omitted by P.
^ acie conj. Klotz : tuba P, certainly corrupt and probably from l. 56 : pyra Fostgate : manu Imhof.
^ concedit PBL : consedit w, which is unsuitable in sense ; vacua concedit valle may be paralleled by ibam via sacra.
394
THEBAID, XI. 51-77
trumpet, but then he was giving welcome signal to the distressed, and urging their flight and safe retirement to the camp : when suddenly through the air fell a sidelong blow, and as he sped the sound his hand, just as it was, was fixed to his left ear ; already his spirit flies forth upon the empty breeze, already his frozen lips are silent, the trumpet completed its call alone.
And now Tisiphone, haxing wrought her crimes and weary of the bloodshed of two peoples, seeks to conclude the fight with the brothers' conflict ; nor trusts she her own strength for so dire a fray, unless she can rouse from her infernal abode her companion Megaera and her kindred snakes to battle. There- fore she withdrew to an empty vale afar, and dug into the ground her Stygian blade, and muttered into the earth the name of the absent one, and — a sign indubitable to the Elysian realm — raised aloft a homed serpent from her hair vvith long-drawn hisses : he was the prince ot her caerulean tresses, and straightway hearing liim earth shuddered and sea and sky, and the Father glanced again at his Aetnaean fires." The other heard the sound : by chance she was standing near her sire, while Capaneus was be- lauded by the whole train of Dis, and refreshed his glorious shade in the Stygian streams. Forthwith she broke through the massive earth, and stood be- neath the stars ; the ghosts rejoice, and as the nether darkness grows less thick, so wanes the light above. Her fell sister receives her, and clasps her hand and speaks : " Thus far, my sister, have I been able to sustain our Stygian father's dread commands and
" i.e., he looks again for his thunderbolts, after using one against Capaneus.
395
ST ATI us
sola super terras hostilique obvia mundo,
dum vos Elysium et faciles compescitis umbras.
nee pretium deforme morae cassique labores : 80
hoc quodcumque madent campi, quod sanguine
fumant stagna, quod innumero Lethaea examine gaudet ripa, meae vires, mea laeta insignia, sed quid haec ego ? Mars habeat, volgataque iactet Enyo. vidisti — Stygiis certe manifestus in umbris — 85
sanguine foedatum rictus atroque madentem ora ducem tabo : miseri insatiabilis edit me tradente caput, modo nempe horrendus ab astris descendit vos usque fragor : me sacra premebat tempestas, ego mixta viri furialibus armis 90
bella deum et magnas ridebam fulminis iras. sed iam — efFabor enim — longo sudore fatiscunt corda, soror, tardaeque manus ; hebet infera caelo taxus et insuetos angues nimia astra soporant. tu, cui totus adhuc furor exsultantque recentes 95 Coqyti de fonte comae, da iungere vires, non solitas acies nee Martia bella paramus, sed fratrum — licet alma Fides Pietasque repugnent, vincentur — fratrum stringendi comminus enses. grande opus ! ipsae odiis, ipsae discordibus armis 100 aptemur. quid lenta venis ? agedum elige, cuius signa feras. ambo faciles nostrique ; sed anceps volgus et adfatus matris blandamque precatu Antigonen timeo, paulmn ne nostra retardent
" She despises such mean triumphs, and proceeds to compare her own. '' From which her torch was made
396
THEBAID, XI. 78-104
the frenzy laid upon me, alone upon the earth and exposed to a hostile world, while ye in Elysium con- strain the unresisting ghosts. No mean reward is mine for my pains, my labours are not vain : this deep-drenched battle-field, these waters that reek with blood, the countless swarms that gladden Lethe's bank — these are the tokens of my power, my signs of triumph. But what care I for these ? Let Mars enjoy them, let Enyo boast and spread the story." Thou sawest — manifest surely was he in the Stygian shades — the chief whose jaws were fouled with blood, whose face dripped back corrup- tion ; insatiable, he ate the head of his hapless foe, which I did give him. Just now — was it not so ? — the sound of a terrible din came down to you from the stars : me did that a\\'ful storm assail, 'twas I who mingling with the hero's fury-stricken arms laughed at the warring gods and the le\in's mighty wrath. But now, sister, long toil — I confess it — has wearied out my spirit, and my arm is slow ; the infernal yew * languishes in the air of heaven, and the too strong influence of the stars drowses my unaccustomed snakes. Thou who still hast all thy rage, whose tresses are still riotous and fresh from Cocytus' fount, join thou thy strength to mine. 'Tis no common fray or Martian battle that we prepare, but brothers — though kindly Faith and Duty resist, they will be o'ercome — ay, brothers shall draw the sword in combat hand-to-hand. A noble work ! Gird we our- selves with deadly hate, with armed discord. Dost thou hesitate ? Nay, choose which banner thou wilt bear. Both are comphant and will do our ^nll ; but the mob is double-minded, and I fear his mother's words and Antigone's persuasive tongue, lest they
397
STATIUS
consilia. ipse etiam, qui nos lassare precando 105 suetus et ultrices oculorum exposcere Diras, iam pater est : coetu fertur iam solus ab omni flere sibi. atque adeo moror ipsa inrumpere Thebas adsuetumque larem. tibi pareat impius exsul, Argolieumque impelle nefas ; neu mitis Adrastus 110 praevaleat plebesque, cave, Lernaea moretur. vade, et in alternas inimica reverter e pugnas."
Talia partitae diversum abiere sorores : ut Notus et Boreas gemino de cardine mundi, hie nive Rhipaea, Libycis hie pastus harenis, 115
bella cient : clamant amnes, freta, nubila, silvae, iamque patent strages ; plangunt sua damna coloni, et tamen oppressos miserantur in aequore nautas. illas ut summo vidit pater altus Olympo incestare diem, trepidumque Hyperionis orbem 120 subfundi maculis, torvo sic incohat ore : " vidimus armiferos, quo fas erat usque, furores, caelicolae, licitasque acies, etsi impia bella unus init aususque^ mea procumbere dextra. nunc par infandum miserisque incognita terris 125 pugna subest : auferte oculos ! absentibus ausint ista deis lateantque lovem ; sat funera mensae Tantaleae et sontes vidisse Lycaonis aras et festina polo ducentes astra Mycenas. nunc etiam turbanda dies : mala nubila, tellus, 130
^ aususque Pw : dignusque QC and {written over aususque) D.
"An imaginary mountain range at the N. limit of the world.
* Tantalus cut up and boiled Pelops his son, and set him before the gods as a meal ; Lycaon, father of Callisto, offered human meat to Jove ; the sun turned away from
398
THEBAID, XL 105-130
somewhat hinder our design. Ay, even he, wlio is wont to weary us with his entreaties and call on the Furies to avenge his eyes, already feels his father- hood ; already they say he weeps alone, far from the haunts of men ; ay, verily, I like not to invade Thebes and the abode I know so well ^^ithout thy succour. Command thou the impious exile, incite the Argive to the crime ; see that the mild Adrastus prevail not, nor the Lemean host delay thee. Go, and return to the mutual fray — my foe ! "
Their duties thus assigned, the sisters went their different ways : as from the two poles of the world South ^nnd and North make war, one nurtured on Rhipaean " snows, the other on Libyan sands : rivers, seas, clouds and woods resound, and soon is the ruin seen, the husbandmen lament their losses, yet pity the sailors whelmed upon the deep. When from Olympus' top the exalted Sire beheld them pollute the air, and saw Hj-perion's frightened orb be- flecked and tainted, \\ith stern utterance he thus began : " Ye heavenly ones, we have seen armed fury pushed to the uttermost bound of right, and a war that yet was lawful, though one man engaged in impious conflict and dared to fall by my right hand. But now a duel unspeakable approaches, a combat yet unknown to miserable earth : look not upon it ! Let no gods countenance such a crime, let it be hid from Jove ; enough is it to have seen the deadly feast of Tantalus and the guilty altars of Lycaon, and Mycenae bringing the stars in hurried train upon the sky.** Now once again must day be troubled ; accept, O Earth, these baleful clouds, and let the sky
Mycenae when Atreus set the flesh of Thyestes' sons before their father ; hence the sudden appearance of the stars.
399
ST ATI us
accipe, secedantque poli : stat parcere mundo caelitibusque^ meis ; saltern ne virginis almae sidera, Ledaei videant neu talia fratres." sic pater omnipotens, visusque nocentibus arvis abstulit, et dulci terrae earuere sereno. 135
lamque per Argolieas Erebo sata virgo cohortis vestigat Polynieis iter portisque sub ipsis invenit, incertum leto tot iniqua fugane exeat, et dubios turbarant omina sensus : viderat, obscura vallum dum nocte pererrat 140
aeger consilii curisque novissima volvens, coniugis Argiae laeeram cum lampade maesta effigiem — sunt monstra deum, sic ire parabat, has latura viro taedas erat ! — : ergo roganti, quae via quisve dolor, cur maesta insignia, tantum 145 fleverat atque manu tacitos averterat ignes. scit mentem vidisse nefas ; etenim unde Mycenis adforet et vallum coniunx inopina subiret ? sed fati monitus vicinaque funera sentit, ac sentire timet, cum vero Acherontis aperti 150 Dira ter admoto tetigit thoraca flagello, ardet inops animi, nee tam considere regno, quam scelus et caedem et perfossi^ in sanguine fratris^ exspirare cupit, subitusque adfatur Adrastum : " sera quidem, extremus socium gentisque superstes Argolicae, consulta, pater, iam rebus in artis 156
^ caelitibusque Pw : sideribusque B and D {with caelesti- busque written over).
^ perfossi in Pw : perfossum (fusus written over) D : perfusus conj. Housman.
' fratris Pw : D has fratrem written over.
400
THEBAID, XI. 131-156
be veiled ; it is my will to spare heaven and my own deities ; let not at least the star of the kindly maid * behold such deeds, nor the Ledaean brethren." So spake the omnipotent Sire and turned his gaze away from the guilty fields, and the earth lacked its joyous light serene.
Meanwhile the daughter of Erebus hastes on the track of Polynices through the Argolic cohorts, and finds him even at the gate, uncertain whether to avoid so many horrors by death or flight. Omens too had troubled his doubting mind : wandering by the rampart in the hours of darkness, distressed at heart and brooding in deep despair, he had seen the phantom of his wife Argia, with tresses torn and a doleful torch in her hand — a sign from heaven ! ay, that was her intent, such were the torches she was to bring her spouse !— so, when he asked why she was come and what her grief, what meant these emblems of woe, she did but weep and hide the flame in silence. He knows 'twas but a mental \-ision of ill, for how could his spouse have come from Mycenae and draw nigh the wall, nor any know ? But he is aware of Fate's admonishing and his approaching doom, and fears to be aware. But when the Fury of yawning Acheron thrice smote her lash against his corslet, he raged without restraint, and yearned not to be seated on his throne, but for crime and carnage and to expire in his slaughtered kinsman's blood, and suddenly he accosts Adrastus : " Late though it be, O father, and in our extremity, I am at length resolved, who am the last survivor of my comrades and the folk of Argos : then had been the
" Astraea, cf. Silv. i. 4. 2 " videt alma pios Astraea," and note ad loc. She was frequently identified with Justice. VOL. n 2d 401
STATIUS
adgredior ; tunc tempus erat, cum sanguis Achivum integer, ire ultro propriamque capessere pugnam, non plebis Danaae florem regumque verendas obiectare animas, ut lamentabile tantis 160
urbibus induerem capiti decus. aspera quando praeteriit virtus, nunc saltern exsolvere fas sit, quae merui. scis namque, socer, licet alta recondas volnera et adflictum generi vereare pudorem : ille ego sum, qui te pacem et pia iura regentem — infelix utinamque aliis datus urbibus hospes ! — 166 extorrem patria regnoque — sed exige tandem supplicium : fratrem suprema in bella — quid horres ? decretum est fixumque — voco ; desiste morari, nee poteris. non si atra parens miseraeque sorores in media arma cadant, non si ipse ad bella ruenti 171 obstet et exstinctos galeae pater ingerat orbes, deficiam. anne bibam superest quodcumque cruoris Inachii et vestris etiamnum mortibus utar ? vidi ego me propter ruptos telluris hiatus, 175
nee subii ; vidi exanimum fecique nocentem Tydea ; me Tegea regem indefensa reposcit, orbaque Parrhasiis ululat mihi mater in antris. ipse nee Ismeni ripas, dum stagna cruentat Hippomedon, Tyrias potui nee scandere turres, 180 dum tonat, et tecum, Capaneu, miscere furores, quis tantus pro luce timor ? sed digna rependam. conveniant ubi quaeque^ nurus matresque Pelasgae longaevique patres, quorum tot gaudia carpsi orbavique domos : fratri concurro, quid ultra est ?
^ ubi qusieque Ileinsius : ubicumque Pw, see Aen. vii. 400, Theb. xii. 23.
" The construction (i.e., " now behold thee exiled," etc., or some such word) is dehberately broken off to mark his excitement. 402
THEBAID, XI. 157-185
time, when the Achaean blood was yet unshed, to step boldly forth and venture single combat, nor expose the Danaan flower and the sacred lives of princes, that I might crown me with a glory that was the woe of mighty cities. But now since the stern hour of valour is past, now at least let me be allowed to pay what I deserve. For well thou knowest, father, though deep thou dost hide thy wounds and dost revere thy son-in-law's misery and shame : I am he, who, while thou wert ruUng in peace and justice - — ah I wretch that I am, would some other city had been my host ! — exiled from country and throne " — but exact thy punishment at last : I challenge my brother — why dost thou start ? I am resolved — to the death ! nay, hinder me not, nor wilt thou be able. Not if my sad mother and unhappy sisters were to fling themselves between our weapons, not even if my sire were to oppose me as I rushed to battle and cast his sightless orbs upon my helm, should I give way. Shall I drink all that remains of Inachian blood, and even yet draw profit from your deaths ? I saw the earth yawn and gape on my account, nor went I to the rescue ; I saw Tydeus dead and caused his guilt ; defenceless Tegea de- mands of me her prince, and his bereaved mother cries out against me in Parrhasian caves. I had not the spirit to scale Ismenos' banks while Hippomedon stained its streams with gore, nor the Tyrian towers amid the thunder and join my rage to thine, O Capaneus. Why such craven fear for my own life ? But I will make due recompense. Let all the Pelasgian brides and mothers and aged sires assemble, all whom I have robbed of so many joys, and whose homes I have despoiled — I fight my brother !
403
ST ATI us
spectent et votis victorem Eteoclea poscant. 186
iamque vale, coniunx, dulcesque valete Mycenae ! at tu, care socer — nee enim omnis culpa malorum me penes, et superi mecum Parcaeque nocentes — , sis lenis cineri, meque haec post proelia raptuni 190 alitibus fratrique tegas^ urnamque reportes — hoc tantum — et natae melius conubia iungas."
Ibant in lacrimas, veluti cum vere reverso Bistoniae tepuere nives, submittitur ingens Haemus et angustos Rhodope descendit in amnes. coeperat et leni senior mulcere furentem 196
adloquio : scidit orsa novo terrore cruenta Eumenis, alipedemque citum fataliaque arma protinus, Inachii voltus expressa Pherecli, obtulit ac fidas exclusit casside voces. 200
ac super haec : " abrumpe moras, celeremus ! et ilium adventare ferunt portis." sic omnia vicit, conreptumque iniecit equo ; volat aequore aperto pallidus instantemque deae circumspicit umbram.
Sacra lovi merito Tyrius pro fulmine ductor 205 nequiquam Danaos ratus exarmasse ferebat. nee pater aetherius divomque has ullus ad aras, sed mala Tisiphone trepidis inserta ministris adstat et inferno praevertit vota Tonanti. "summe deum, tibi namque meae primordia Thebae — liveat infandum licet Argos et aspera luno — 211
debent, Sidonios ex quo per litora raptor turbasti thiasos, dignatus virgine nostra
1 tegas Pw : negas Q : neges N {both written over tegas).
» The dative after " tegas " may be explained by the same use of analogy that we have seen before (here = dat. after verbs of rescuing from).
" i.e., Pluto. 404
THEBAID, XL 18&-213
what more remains to do ? Let them look on, and pray for Eteocles' victory. And now farewell, my wife, and farewell, sweet Mycenae I But thou, be- lov^ed sire — for mine is not all the blame for these ills, but Fate and the gods share the guilt with me — be gentle to my ashes, rescue my body after the battle and shield it from the birds and from my brother," and bring home my urn, 'tis all I ask, and, for thy daughter, unite her in worthier wedlock."
They fell to weeping, as when with returning spring the Bistonian snows are warmed and mighty Haemus melts and Rhodope is all dissolved into the straitened rivers. And the aged king had begun to soothe his rage vWth gentle words : but the cruel Fury broke off his speech with new terrors, and straightway, in the shape of Inachian Phereclus, brought his swift wing-footed steed and fatal arms, and "with his helmet closed his ears to trusty counsels. Then " Haste ! " she cried, " delay not ! He too, so they say, is marching on the gates ! " Thus, all scruples over- come, she seizes him and sets him upon his steed ; ashen pale, he scours the open plain, and glances back to descry the looming shadow of the goddess.
The Tyrian chieftain was offering in vain to Jove the sacrifice that his hghtning stroke had won, think- ing that the Danaans were disarmed. But neither the celestial sire nor any of the gods were at his altars, but baneful Tisiphone mingling v\ith the affrighted attendants stands near, and to the infernal Thunderer * turned aside his prayers. " Supreme of gods, to whom my Thebes owes its origin — though accursed Argos and angry Juno be jealous — since thou as a ravisher didst break up the revels on the Sidonian shore, and deign to bear on thy back a maiden of
405
STATIUS
terga premi et placidas falsum mugire per undas ! nee te vana fides iterum Cadmeia adeptum 215
conubia et Tyrios nimium inrupisse penates : tandem, inquam, soceros dilectaque moenia gratus respicis adsertorque tonas ; ceu regia caeli adtemptata tui, sic te pro turribus altis vidimus urgentem nubes, laetique benignum 220
fulmen et auditos proavis adgnoscimus ignes. accipe nunc pecudes et magni turis acervos votivumque marem ; dignas sed pendere grates baud mortale opus est ; certent tibi reddere Bacchus noster et Alcides, illis haec moenia servas." 225
dixerat : ast illi niger ignis in ora genasque prosiluit raptumque comis diadema cremavit. tunc ferus ante ictum spumis delubra cruentat taurus et obstantum mediis e coetibus exit turbidus insanoque ferens^ altaria cornu. 230
difFugiunt famuli, et regem solatur haruspex. ipse instaurari sacrum male fortis agique imperat, et magnos ficto premit ore timores. qualis ubi implicitum Tirynthius ossibus ignem sensit et Oetaeas membris accedere vestes, 235
vota incepta tamen libataque tura ferebat durus adhuc patiensque mali ; mox grande coactus ingemuit, victorque furit per viscera Nessus. Nuntius exanimi suspensus pectora cursu
^ -que ferens PB : feriens w.
" With Semele ; the same reference in i. 220-22 1 . * i.e., the poison of Nessus's shirt, given by him in treachery to Deianira, and by her as a love-charm to Hercules. Nessus
406
THEBAID, XI. 214-239
our race and to utter feigned lo^^■ings over the tranquil seas ! Nor vainly do we believe that thou a second time didst enjoy Cadmean wedlock" and invade the Tj-rian dwelUngs in overpowering might : at length, at length thou dost gratefully regard thy kinsmen and the walls thou lovest, and sendest thy thunder to avenge ; as though the heavenly palace had suffered assault, we saw thee rolhng cloud on cloud to succour our lofty towers, and gladly we recognize thy kindly brand, and the lightnings that our sires once heard of old. Receive now our flocks and high-piled incense and our votive bull ; worthy recompense is not in mortal power ; let our own Bacchus and Alcides strive to repay thee, for them thou dost preserve these walls." He spoke, but the murky flame leapt forth against his face and cheeks, and seized and burnt the diadem on his locks. Then still unsmitten the angry bull beflecked the shrine with bloody foam, and dashed wildly through the opposing concourse, bearing the altar upon his frenzied horns. The ministers scatter, and the soothsayer strives to console the king. Faint- heartedly he commands the rite to be renewed and carried through, and with feigned countenance screens his anxious fears. As when the Tirynthian felt the fire enwrap his bones and the Oetaean robe cling to his limbs, he continued the offering he had begun and poured the incense, still resolute and enduring the agony ; soon beneath the stress he groaned aloud, while triumphant Nessus * raged throughout his vitals.
Aepytus, in excited breathless haste, comes run- was a centaur slain by Hercules' poisoned arrows, and here he takes his revenge.
407
STATIUS
Aepytus ad regem portae statione relicta 240
tendit et haec trepido vix intellectus anhelat : " rumpe pios cultus intempestivaque, rector, sacra deum : frater muris circum omnibus instat portarumque moras frenis adsultat et hastis, nomine te crebro, te solum in proelia poscens." 245 flent maesti retro comites, et uterque loquenti adgemit et pulsis exercitus obstrepit armis. ille vocat : " nunc tempus erat, sator optime divom! quid meruit Capaneus ? " turbatus inhorruit altis rex odiis, mediaque tamen gavisus in ira est. 250
sic ubi regnator post exsulis otia tauri mugitum hostilem summa tulit aure iuvencus adgnovitque minas, magna stat fervidus ira ante gregem spumisque animos ardentibus efflat, 254 nunc pede torvus humum, nunc cornibus aera findens ; horret ager, trepidaeque exspectant proelia valles. Nee desunt regni comites : " sine, moenia pulset inritus." " ille autem fractis hue audeat usque viribus ? " " hie miseris furor est instare periclo, nee librare metus et tuta odisse." " resiste 260
hie fretus solio, nos propulsabimus hostem, nos bellare iube." sic proxima turba, sed ardens ecce aderat luctu dicturusque omnia belli libertate Creon : urit fera corda Menoeceus ; nulla patri requies, ilium quaeritque tenetque ; 265 ilium sanguineos proflantem pectore rivos aspicit et saeva semper de turre cadentem. ut dubium et pugnas cunctantem Eteoclea vidit :
" i.e., to hurl the thunderbolt. It should have been kept for Polynices, in comparison with whom Capaneus had done nothing.
408
THEBAID, XL 240-268
ning ^^ith news to the king, his post by the gate abandoned, and scarcely understood pants out these words to the anxious prince : " Break off thy pious worship and the untimely sacrifice, O king I Thy brother rides threatening round thy walls, and with spear and bridle assails thy hindering gates, and flinging many a challenge calls thee, thee alone to battle." Behind him his sorrowing comrades weep, each echoing the speaker with their groans, while the host clash arms and rage against the foe. The monarch prays : " Now was the time," most righteous sire of the gods I What did Capaneus deserve ? " A thrill of profound hatred shook the king, yet he rejoices in mid rage : as when a chieftain-bull after the repose of his rival's exile hears with ear alert the bellow of his enemy, and knows his challenge, he stands consumed viith mighty ■N^Tath before the herd, and pants forth his valour in hot foam, now fiercely tearing the ground with his hoof, now the air with his horns ; the meadows quake, and the affrighted vales await the conflict.
Nor are his friends less moved : " Let him batter the walls in vain I " " Can he dare so far with shattered forces ? " " 'Tis madness prompts the wretches to court danger, weigh no fears and detest safety." " Stay thou assured upon thy throne, we will repulse the foe, bid us make war ! " So speak those near him, but lo ! Creon was at hand, aflame with grief and claiming for his tongue a warrior's licence ; Menoeceus galls his heart to fierceness, no peace does the father know ; him he seeks and clutches, him he beholds panting the bloody stream from his breast, and ever falling from the cruel tower. And when he saw Eteocles in doubt and shrinking
409
ST ATI us
"ibis," ait, "neque te ulterius fratremque ducemque, pessime, funeribus patriae lacrimisque potentem, Eumenidum bellique reum, patiemur inulti. 271
sat tua non acquis luimus periuria divis. urbem armis opibusque gravem et modocivibus artam, ceu caelo deiecta^ lues inimicave tellus,^ hausisti vacuamque tamen sublimis obumbras ? 275 deest tibi^ servitio plebes : hos ignis egentes fert humus, hos pelago patrius iam detuht amnis ; hi quaerunt artus, illi anxia vuhiera eurant. redde agedum miseris fratres natosque patresque, redde arvis domibusque viros ! ubi maximus Hypseus finitimusque Dryas, ubi Phocidos arma sonorae 281 Euboicique duces ? illos tamen aequa duclli fors tulit ad manes : at tu, pudet ! hostia regni, hostia, nate, iaces, ceu mutus et e grege sanguis, ei mihi ! primitiis ararum^ et rite nefasto 285
libatus iussusque mori : et cunctabitur ultra iste nee adverse nunc saltern Marte vocatus stabit ? an in pugnas alium iubet ire profanus Tiresias iterumque meos oracula nectit 289
in gemitus ? quid enim misero super unicus Haemon ? ille iube subeat, tuque hinc spectator ab alta turre sede ! quid saeva fremis famulamque cohortem respectas ? hi te ire volunt, hi pendere poenas ; ipsa etiam genetrix ipsaeque odere sorores.
^ deiecta P : demissa w : deiecta (demissa written over) D, cf. Silv. i. 2. 154.
2 tellus Pw : labes, tabes edd. Garrod conj. inhiulcave t. unnecessarily.
* deest tibi Owen : deest Pw : iam deest Weher.
* ararum PB : armorum, annorum w.
410
THEBAID, XI. 269-294
from the fight : " Thou shalt go," he cries, " not, villain, shall we unavenged endure thee longer, thee the brother and tlie prince, made powerful by thy countr\''s tears and sufferings, guilty of Heaven's Furies and the war. Long enough have we atoned thy perjuries to the angry gods. This city, once full of arms and wealth, and thronged vrith citizens, hast thou like a heaven-sent pestilence or plague of earth drained to nothing, yet castest thy tall shadow o'er its emptiness ? Folk are lacking to be thy slaves : some lie on earth unbumt, others their native stream has already borne down to the sea ; some seek their limbs, others tend anxious wounds. Come, restore to our wretched people their brothers, fathers, sons, restore husbands to their homes and farmsteads ! Where now is mighty Hypseus, where is our neighbour Drj'as, where are the arms of echoing Phocis and the Euboean chiefs ? Yet them the impartial fate of war hath slain, but thou, my son — O shame ! — hest the victim, ay, the victim of the throne, like some mute beast of the herd, alas ! sprinkled with the first-fruits at the altar's un- hallowed rite and bidden die : and doth he still waver, and now at least when summoned refuse the challenge ? or does the wicked Tiresias bid another go to battle, and devise a second oracle to bring me woe ? Yes, why is Haemon alone left to his unhappy sire ? Command him to go, and sit thou on a lofty tower to watch the spectacle ! Why dost thou rage and look round upon thy retinue .' These would have thee go, ay, and pay the penalty ; even thy mother and thy sisters hate thee. Thy brother
411
ST ATI us
in te ardens frater ferrum mortemque minatur 295 saevaque portarum convellit claustra, nee audis^ ? "
Sic pater infrendens, miseraque exaestuat ira. ille sub haec " non fallis," ait, " nee te inclyta nati fata movent : canere ilia patrem et iactare decebat. sed spes sub lacrimis, spes atque occulta cupido 300 his latet : insano praetendis funera voto, meque premis frustra vacuae ceu proximus aulae. non ita Sidoniam Fortuna reliquerit urbem, in te ut sceptra cadant, tanto indignissime nato. nee mihi difficilis praesens vindicta ; sed arma, 305 arma prius, famuli ! coeant in proelia fratres. vult gemitus lenii'e Creon : lucrare furorem ; victori mihi cuncta lues." sic iurgia paulum distulit atque ensem, quem iam dabat ira, repressit. ictus ut incerto pastoris vulnere serpens 310
erigitur gyro longumque e corpore toto virus in ora legit ; paulum si devius hostis torsit iter, cecidere minae tumefactaque frustra colla sedent, irasque sui bibit ipse veneni.
At genetrix primam funestae sortis ut amens 315 expavit famam — nee tarde credidit — ibat scissa comam voltusque et pectore nuda cruento, non sexus decorisve memor ; Pentheia qualis mater ad insani scandebat culmina montis, promissum saevo caput adlatura Lyaeo. 320
^ audis Pu} : audes BLK.
" Agave, who tore her son, the king of Thebes, in pieces for trying to suppress the Bacchic worship.
412
THEBAID, XL 295-320
hotly threatens thee with the sword and death, and rends the stern barriers of thy gates — dost thou not hearken ? "
Thus spoke the father, gnashing his teeth, in trans- ports of misery and rage. The other in reply : " Thou dost not fool me, nor art thou moved by thy son's renowned death : that song of woe, those vaunts did but befit a father. But ambition lurks beneath those tears, ambition and concealed desire : thou art making his death a mask for thy mad hopes, and dost press me hard, as though succeeding to the vacant throne. Not so utterly has Fortune left the Sidonian city that the sceptre should fall to thee, O most unworthy of so brave a son ! Nor would revenge be difficult even now, but first — arms, arms, my servants I Let the brothers meet in battle. Creon would have some balm for his sorrow : take advan- tage of my rage ; when I am victorious thou shalt pay me all." Thus for a while he put off the quarrel, and thrust back the sword that wrath had put into his hand. As a serpent, struck at a venture and wounded by a shepherd, lifts up its coils erect, and from all its length of body draws the poison to its mouth : but should the foe bend his course but a little, the threats abate, the vainly swollen neck subsides, and it swallows back the venom of its own anger.
But when his mother heard the first news of the calamity in appalled dismay — nor was she slow to beheve it — she went '^^'ith face and tresses torn, and naked, blood-stained breast, reckless of sex and dignity: just as the mother of Pentheus " climbed the heights of the frenzied mount to bring the promised head to fierce Lyaeus. Neither her
413
STATIUS
non comites, non ferre piae^ vestigia natae aeque valent : tantum miserae dolor ultimus addit robur, et exsangues crudescunt luctibus anni. iamque decus galeae, iam spicula saeva ligabat ductor et ad lituos hilarem intrepidumque tubarum prospiciebat equum, subito cum apparuit ingens 326 mater, et ipse metu famulumque expalluit omnis coetus, et oblatam retro dedit armiger hastam. " quis furor ? unde iterum regni integrata resurgit Eumenis ? ipsi etiam post omnia, comminus ipsi 330 stabitis ? usque adeo geminas duxisse cohortes et facinus mandasse parum est ? quo deinde redibit victor ? in hosne sinus ? o diri coniugis olim felices tenebrae ! datis, improba lumina, poenas. haec spectanda dies ? quo, saeve, minantia flectis ora ? quid alternus voltus pallorque ruborque 336 mutat, et obnixi frangunt mala murmura dentes ? me miseram,vinces ! prius haectamen armanecesseest experiare domi ; stabo ipso in limine porta e auspicium infelix scelerumque immanis imago. 340 haec tibi canities, haec sunt calcanda, nefande, ubera, perque uterum sonipes hie matris agendus. parce : quid oppositam capulo parmaque repellis ? non ego te contra Stygiis feralia sanxi vota deis, caeco nee Erinyas ore rogavi. 345
exaudi miseram : genetrix te, saeve, precatur, non pater ; adde moram sceleri et metire, quod audes. sed pulsat muros germanus et impia contra
^ piae P : ipsae w : piae D (with ipsae written over). 414
THEBAID, XL 321-348
maidens nor her devoted daughters can keep pace with her, such strength does despair lend to the un- happy woman, her enfeebled years grow \igorous with grief. And already the chief was fastening on him the glory^ of his helm, and taking his sharp javelins, and regarding his steed that rejoiced at the trumpets nor feared the bugle's blast, when on a sudden his mother appeared, mighty to behold, and he and all his company grew pale with fear, and his squire took back the spear he was proffering. " What madness is this ? Whence hath returned the Evil Spirit of this realm, restored again to life ? Must ye then fight each other at the last ? Is it too little to have led rival hosts and given the word for slaughter ? And afterwards, what home awaits the victor ? these arms of mine ? O my dread spouse, blest hereafter in thy blindness I now pay ye the penalty, my guilty eyes ! Must I then see this day ? Whither, ruthless one, turnest thou thy threatening gaze ? Why do flush and pallor alternate on thy countenance, and thy clenched teeth stifle angrj^ mutterings ? Ah, woe is me ! thou wilt prevail ! yet first must thou test thy arms at home : I will stand in the threshold of the gate, a baneful omen and dread image of calamity. These hoarj' locks, these breasts must needs be trampled by thee, accursed one, and o'er thy mother's womb this steed be driven. Ah ! spare ! why dost thou repel me from thy path with shield and sword ? No solemn curses have I uttered against thee to the Stygian gods, nor invoked the Furies with sightless prayer. Hear me in my dis- tress ! 'tis thy mother, not thy sire entreats thee, cruel one ! Stay thy guilt, and take the measure of such madness. But thy brother — dost thou say ?
415
ST ATI us
bella ciet. non mater enim, non obstat eunti ulla soror ; te cuncta rogant, hie plangimus omnes. ast ibi vix unus pugnas dissuadet Adrastus, 351
aut fortasse iubet : tu limina avita deosque linquis et a nostris in fratrem amplexibus exis ? "
At parte ex alia tacitos obstante tumultu Antigone furata gradus — nee casta retardat 355
virginitas — volat Ogygii fastigia muri exsuperare furens ; senior comes haeret eunti Actor, et hie summas non duraturus ad arces. utque procul visis paulum dubitavit in armis, adgnovitque — nefas ! — iacuhs et voce superba 360 tecta incessentem, magno prius omnia planctu implet et ex muris ceu descensura profatur : " comprimetela manu paulumque hancrespiceturrem, frater, et horrentes refer in mea lumina cristas ! agnoscisne hostes ? sic annua pacta fidemque 365 poscimus ? hi questus, haec est bona causa modesti exsuhs ? Argolicos per te, germane, penates — nam Tyriis iam nullus honos — per si quid in ilia dulce domo, submitte animos : en utraque gentis turba rogant ambaeque acies ; rogat ilia suorum 370 Antigone devota malis suspectaque regi, et tantum tua, dure, soror. saltem ora trucesque solve genas ; liceat voltus fortasse supremum noscere^ dilectos et ad haec lamenta videre, anne fleas, ilium gemitu iam supplice mater 375 frangit et exsertum dimittere dicitur ensem : tu mihi fortis adhuc ? mihi, quae tua nocte dieque
^ noscere w : nosce (i written over) P : nosci Housman. 416
THEBAID, XL 349-377
— beats at the walls, and raises impious war against thee. Ay, for no mother, no sister doth prevent him ; but thee all beseech, here all make lament. Yonder scarce Adrastus alone dissuades from battle, or perchance doth urge it ; wilt thou leave thy ancestral gate and the gods, and from my very embrace go forth against thy brother ? "
But in another region Antigone glides silently by stealth through all the tumult— nor does maidenly chastity delay her — and hastes in eagerness to climb to the summit of the Ogygian wall ; old Actor follows close behind, though his strength avails not to reach the tower's height. Awhile she hesitated at the sight of the host afar, then recognized him, alas ! as with proud taunt and javelin he assailed the city ; first her waihngs fill the air, then, as though about to leap down from the wall, she cries : " Put up thy weapons and look but a moment at this tower, my brother, and turn thy bristhng crest to face my eyes ! Is it enemies thou findest ? Is it thus we demand good faith and yearly pact ? Is this an innocent exile's just complaint and righteous cause ? By thy Argive home, O brother — for thy Tyrian home thou shghtest — by any joy thou hast therein, be softened : lo ! both the armies, either folk entreat thee ! Antigone, faithful to her kins- men's sufferings and suspected by the king, and sister but to thee, hard-hearted one, entreats thee ! Remit at least thy frowning looks ; let me perchance for the last time behold the face I love, and see whether thou dost weep at my lament. Him even now doth our mother urge with supphant tears, and doth put back, they say, his naked blade : art thou still stubborn to me, to me who night and day weep for
VOL. n 2 E 417
STATIUS
exsilia erroresque fleo, iamiamque tumentem placavi tibi saepe patrem ? quid crimine solvis germanum ? nempe ille fidem et stata foedera rupit, ille nocens saevusque suis ; tamen ecce vocatus 381 non venit." his paulum furor elanguescere dictis coeperat, obstreperet quamquam atque obstaret
Erinys ; iam submissa manus, lente iam flectit habenas, iani tacet ; erumpunt gemitus, lacrimasque fatetur cassis ; hebent irae, pariterque et abire nocentem 386 et venisse pudet : subito cum matre repulsa Eumenis eiecit fractis Eteoclea portis clamantem : " venio solumque, quod ante vocasti, invideo ; ne incesse moras, gravis arma tenebat 390 mater ; io patria, o regum incertissima tellus, nunc certe victoris eris ! " nee mitior ille " tandem " inquit, "scis, saeve, fidem et descendis in
aequum ? o mihi nunc primum longo post tempore, frater, congredere : hae leges, haec foedera sola supersunt." sic hostile tuens fratrem ; namque uritur alto 396 corde, quod innumeri comites, quod regia cassis instratusque ostro sonipes, quod fulva metallo parma micet, quamquam haud armis inhonorus et ipse nee palla volgare nitens : opus ipsa novarat 400
Maeoniis Argia modis ac poUice docto stamina purpureae sociaverat aurea telae.
lamque in pulvereum Furiis hortantibus aequor prosiliunt, sua quemque comes stimulatque monetque. frena tenent ipsae phalerasque et lucida comunt 405
" i.e., by one of the Furies. 418
THEBAID, XI. 378-405
thy wandering exile, and have ofttimes appeased thy father's wrath even as it rose against thee ? Why dost thou free thy brother of guilt ? Verily he broke faith and his sworn word, guilty is he and cruel to his own ; yet lo ! he comes not to thy challenge." At these words his rage began some- what to grow faint though the Fury upbraided and resisted ; already he has relaxed liis arm, now he wheels his horse less sharply, now he falls silent ; groans burst from him, his casque confesses tears, his ire is blunted, and he feels shame both to depart and to have come in guilt : when suddenly the Fiend, thrusting his mother aside, shatters the gate and hurls forth F>teocles crying : " I come, and only grudge thee thou wert the first to challenge ; chide not my delay, my mother hung upon my arms and stayed me ; what ho I my country, land of thy monarchs most unsure, now assuredly thou shalt be the victor's ! " The other in no milder strain : " At last, ruffian, dost thou keep faith, and come down into fair field ? O once again after many a day my brother, engage ! no law, no treaty but this remains." So spoke he, scowhng at his kinsman in hostile mood ; for in his heart he chafes at the other's numerous train, and his royal helm and the purple trappings of his charger, and his buckler's glancing gold — though he himself was not meanly armed, and his cloak shone with no common lustre : Argia herself had wrought it in Maeonian fashion, and with skilled finger had woven strands of gold in the purple web. And now at the Furies' impulse, they dash forward to the dusty plain, each goaded and inspired by his companion." These guide the reins themselves, and arrange the trappings and the shining arms, and
419
STATIUS
arma manu mixtisque iubas serpentibus augent. stat consanguineum campo scelus, unius ingens bellum uteri, coeuntque pares sub casside voltus. signa pavent, siluere tubae, stupefactaque Martis cornua ; ter nigris avidus regnator ab oris 410
intonuit terque ima soli concussit, et ipsi armorum fugere dei : nusquam inclyta Virtus, restinxit Bellona faces, longeque paventes Mars rapuit currus, et Gorgone cruda virago abstitit,^ inque vicem Stygiae subiere^ sorores. 415 prominet excelsis volgus miserabile tectis, cuncta madent lacrimis et ab omni plangitur arce. hinc questi vixisse senes, hinc pectore nudo stant matres parvosque vetant adtendere natos. ipse quoque Ogygios monstra ad gentilia manes 420 Tartareus rector porta iubet ire reclusa. montibus insidunt patriis tristique corona infecere diem et vinci sua crimina gaudent.
Illos ut stimulis ire in discrimen apertis audiit et sceleri nullum iam obstare pudorem, 425 advolat et medias immittit Adrastus habenas, ipse quidem et regnis multum et venerabilis aevo. sed quid apud tales, quis nee sua pignora curae, exter honos^ ? tamen ille rogat : " spectabimus ergo
hoc, Inachidae Tyriique, nefas ? ubi iura deique, 430
bella ubi ? ne perstate animis. te deprecor, hostis —
1 abstitit w : obstitit PBNK.
^ subiere Bentley : rubuere Pu : rediere Schrader,
^ exter honos PNK late mss. : externos w.
420
THEBAID, XI. 40fr-431
entwine their snakes amid the horses' manes. Set there upon the field is the crime of kindred blood, the dread conflict of one womb, beneath their helms the faces of brothers meet in battle. The banners quake, the trumpets are silent, and the Martian horns are struck dumb ; thrice from the regions of gloom thundered their impatient monarch and shook the depths of earth, and even the deities of battle fled ; renoA\'ned \irtue was nowhere seen, Bellona put out her torches, Mars drove afar his affrighted chariot, and the Maid^ shrank away with her fierce Gorgon-head, and into their places came the Stygian sisters. The ^vretched common folk stand high upon the house-tops, no place but is wet with tears, no tower but sounds ^vith lamentations. Here old men complain that they have Hved so long, there mothers stand Avith bosoms bare, and forbid their httle ones to view the fray. The king of Tartarus himself orders the gates to be set open, and the Ogygian ghosts to attend their kindred's monstrous deeds. Seated upon their native hills they pollute the day ^\•ith grisly band, and rejoice that their o^\^l crimes should be surpassed.
When Adrastus heard that the princes were rush- ing to the perilous fight ^^ith open taunts, and that shame could no longer hinder the ghastly deed, he hastens to the spot and himself drove between them, himself full-reverend both in monarchy and years. But what could a stranger's influence avail ^^^th those who recked not even of their loved ones ? Yet he entreats : " Shall we then behold tliis horror, sons of Inachus and Tyre ? In the name of justice and the gods, in the name of war — persist not in your « Pallas.
421
STATIUS
quamquam, haec ira sinat, nee tu mihi sanguine
longe — , te, gener, et iubeo ; sceptri si tanta cupido est, exuo regales habitus, i, Lernan et Argos solus habe ! " non verba magis suadentia frangunt accensos, sumptisque semel conatibus obstant, 436 quam Scytha curvatis erectus fluctibus umquam Pontus Cyaneos vetuit concurrere montes. ut periisse preces geminoque ad proelia fusos pulvere cornipedes explorarique furentum 440
in digitis amenta videt, fugit omnia linquens, castra, viros, generum, Thebas, ac fata monentem conversumque iugo propellit Ariona : qualis demissus curru laevae post praemia sortis umbrarum custos mundique novissimus heres 445 palluit, amisso veniens in Tartara caelo.
Non tamen indulsit pugnae cunctataque primo substitit in scelere et paulum f'ortuna morata est. bis cassae periere viae, bis comminus actos^ avertit bonus error equos, puraeque nefandi 450
sanguinis obliquis ceciderunt ictibus hastae. tendunt frena manu, saevis calcaribus urgent immeritos ; movet et geminas venerabile divom prodigium turmas, alternaque murmura volvont mussantes : iterare acies, procurrere saepe 455
impetus et totum miseris opponere bellum.
lamdudum terris coetuque offensa deorum aversa caeli Pietas in parte sedebat, non habitu, quo nota prius, non ore sereno,^
^ actos CO : ictos P. ^ I. 459 omitted in some itss.
" To prevent the horses from swerving.
^ For the translation of this word see note on x. 780. Here it has reference to the ties of natural affection (hence her appeal to Nature), which the brothers are breaking. 422
THEBAID, XI. 432-459
fury ! Thee, foeman, I beseech — although, did thy rage suffer thee, thou too art not far from me in blood — thee, son-in-law, I command as well ; if thy lust of power is so great, I put off this royal robe, go take Lerna and Argos for thyself alone ! " But his persuasion no more abates their kindled rage, or checks their once-determined purpose, than did the Scythian Pontus ever stay the Cyanean rocks from clashing, though it rose high \v'ith arching waves. When he sees his prayers are fruitless, and the teams galloping in twofold dust to battle, and the frenzied princes feeling their hold on the javehn-strap, he flees away leaving all, camp, army, son-in-law and Thebes, and drives Arion forward, though he turn him in the yoke and give fateful warning : even as the warden of the shades and the third heir of the world, after the lot's unkind apportioning, leapt down from his chariot and grew pale, for he was come to Tartarus and heaven was lost for ever.
Yet would not Fortune suffer the fray, but halted at the opening of the crime, and delayed awhile. Twice were their onslaughts wasted, twice did a kindly mischance divert their charging steeds, and their flung darts fell aside pure of unnatural blood. They strain at the reins," with savage goads they incite their innocent teams ; then too an awful prodigy of heaven stirs the armies, and from this side and that roll murmurs through the muttering hosts ; often do they burn to renew the fight, to dash forward and to set their whole array in the wretches' path.
Long time, offended alike by earth and the com- pany of the gods, had Piety ^ been sitting in a remote region of the heavens, with unwonted
423
STATIUS
sed vittis exuta comam, fraternaque bella, 460
ceu soror infelix pugnantum aut anxia mater, deflebat, saevumque lovem Parcasque nocentes vociferans, seseque polls et luce relicta descensuram Erebo et Stygios iam malle penates. "quid me," ait," ut saevis animantum ac saepedeorum obstaturam animis, princeps Natura, creabas ? 466 nil iam ego per populos, nusquam reverentia nostri. o furor, o homines diraeque Prometheos artes ! quam bene post Pyrrham tellus pontusque vacabant^ ! en mortale genus ! " dixit, speculataque tempus 470 auxilio " temptemus," ait, " licet inrita coner." desiluitque polo, niveus sub nubibus atris^ quamquam maesta deae sequitur vestigia limes. vix steterat campo, subita mansuescere pace agmina sentirique nefas ; tunc ora madescunt 475 pectoraque, et tacitus subrepsit fratribus horror, arma etiam simulata gerens cultusque viriles, nunc his, nunc illis "agite, ite, obsistite," clamat, " quis nati fratresque domi, quis pignora tanta ! hie quoque — nonne palam est ultro miserescere divos ?— 480
tela cadunt, cunctantur equi, Fors ipsa repugnat."
Nonnihil impulerat dubios, ni torva notasset Tisiphone fraudes caelestique ocior igne adforet increpitans : " quid belli obverteris ausis,
^ vacabant w : vocabat P : vacarent DN. ^ atris Schroder : altis Pw. 424
THEBAID, XL 460-484
dress and troubled countenance, and fillets stripped from off her hair : she bewailed the fraternal strife, as though a hapless sister or anxious mother of the fighters, and loudly chiding cruel Jove and the guilty Fates protested she would leave heaven and the light of day, and descend to Erebus, for already she preferred the abodes of Styx. " Why, sovereign Nature, didst thou create me to oppose the passions of h\ing folk and often of the gods ? Nought am I any more among men, nowhere am I reverenced. Ah ! what fury ! alas ! mankind, alas ! dread Promethean skill ! How blessed was the vacancy of earth and sea after Pyrrha's time ! Behold the race of mortals ! " She spoke, and watching an occasion for her aid : " Let me but try," she cried, " though my attempt be fruitless." Down from the pole she leapt, and beneath the darkened clouds a snow-white track followed the footsteps of the goddess, sad though she was. Scarce had she set foot upon the plain, when a sudden peace stilled the fury of the warriors, and they were conscious of their crime ; then tears bedewed faces and breasts, and a silent horror stole upon the brethren. Clad in feigned armour also and manly dress she cries now to these, now to those : " Forward ! be moving ! withstand them ! ye who have sons at home or brothers, or pledges held so dear. Even here — is it not plain, the gods unasked are pitiful ? — weapons are falling, steeds wavering, and Chance herself resists."
She had somewhat stirred the doubting lines, had not grim Tisiphone marked her deceit, and s\vifter than fire from heaven darted to her side, reproaching her : "" Why hinderest thou the bold deeds of war, O
425
ST ATI us
numen iners pacique datum ? cede, improba : noster hie campus nosterque dies ; nunc sera nocentes 486 defendis Thebas. ubi tunc, cum bella cieret Bacchus et armatas furiarent orgia matres ? aut ubi segnis eras, dum Martius impia serpens stagna bibit, dum Cadmus arat, dum victa cadit Sphinx,! 490
dum rogat Oedipoden genitor, dum lampade nostra in thalamos locasta venit ? " sic urget, et ultro vitantem aspectus etiam pudibundaque longe ora reducentem premit adstridentibus hydris intentatque faces ; deiectam in lumina pallam 495 diva trahit magnoque fugit questura Tonanti. Tunc vero accensae stimuHs maioribus irae : arma placent, versaeque volunt spectare cohortes. instaurant crudele nefas ; rex impius aptat tela et funestae casum prior occupat hastae. 500
ilia viam medium clipei conata per orbem non perfert ictus atque alto vincitur auro. tunc exsul subit et clare funesta precatur : " di, quos efFosso non inritus ore rogavit Oedipodes flammare^ nefas, non improba posco^ 505 vota : piabo manus et eodem pectora ferro rescindam, dum me moriens hie sceptra tenentem linquat et hunc secum portet minor umbra dolorem." hasta subit velox equitis femur inter equique ilia, letum utrique volens* ; sed plaga sedentis 510 laxato vitata genu, tamen inrita voti
^ dum victa cadit Sphinx w : dum victa cadit Pi : dum semina surgunt P2.
^ fiammare late mss., Heinsius : flammate w,
' posco w : poscet P.
* letum utrique volens co : lentum utrimque volans P.
426
THEBAID, XI. 485-511
sluggard, peace-devoted deity ? Hence, shameless one ! this battle-field, this day is mine ; too late now defendest thou guilty Thebes. Where wert thou then when Bacchus made war and the orgies drove the matrons to arms and madness ? Where wert thou idling, while the snake of Mars drank the un- hallowed flood, while Cadmus ploughed, while the Sphinx fell defeated, while Oedipus was questioned by his sire," while by my torch's h'ght Jocasta was entering the marriage-chamber ? " So she upbraids, and threatens her with hissing hydras and brandished torch, as she shrinks from her gaze and far withdraws her shamefast face ; down over her eyes the goddess draws her mantle and flees to lay her complaint before the mighty Thunderer.
Then verily are they kindled to yet more fiery ■WTath ; battle pleases, and the armies, changed once more, are willing to look on. They begin anew the savage work : the impious monarch aims his dart, and first dares the fortune of the deadly spear ; but striving to find a way through the middle of the shield it strikes not home, but is bafiled by the solid gold. Then the exile advances, and utters loud a deadly prayer : " Ye gods, whom blinded Oedipus besought not vainly to blow the blaze of crime, I make no wTongful plea ; with this same steel vriW I atone my deed and rend my breast, so that my rival die and leave me with the sceptre in my grasp, and, my vassal in the shades, take that sorrow with him to the tomb." The swift javelin flies between horseman's thigh and horse's flank, willing death for both, but the blow was foiled by the rider's bent
" When they met at the cross-roads. The serpent of Mars was slain by Cadmus after it had killed some of his men.
427
STATIUS
cuspis in obliquis invenit volnera costis. it praeceps sonipes strictae contemptor habenae arvaque sanguineo scribit rutilantia gyro, exsultat fratris credens hunc ille cruorem : 515
credit et ipse metu ; totis iamque exsul habenis indulget, caeeusque avidos inlidit in aegrum cornipedem cursus. miscentur frena manusque telaque, et ad terram turbatis gressibus ambo praecipitant. ut nocte rates, quas nubilus auster 520 implicuit, frangunt tonsas mutantque^ rudentes, luctataeque diu tenebris hiemique sibique, sieut erant, imo pariter sedere profundo : haec pugnae facies. coeunt sine more, sine ax*te, tantum animis iraque, atque ignescentia cernunt 525 per galeas odia et voltus rimantur acerbo lumine : nil adeo mediae telluris, et enses impliciti innexaeque manus, alternaque saevi murmura ceu lituos rapiunt aut signa tubarum. fulmineos veluti praeceps cum comminus egit 530 ira sues strictisque erexit tergora^ saetis : igne tremunt oculi, lunataque dentibus uncis ora sonant ; spectat pugnas de rupe propinqua Venator pallens canibusque silentia suadet : sic avidi incurrunt ; necdum letalia miscent 535
volnera, sed coeptus sanguis, facinusque peractum est. nee iam opus est Furiis ; tantum mirantur et adstant laudantes, hominumque dolent plus posse furores, fratris uterque furens cupit adfectatque cruorem et nescit manare suum ; tandem inruit exsul, 540
mutantque P : nectuntque Wilkins : miscentque Slater. * tergora Heinsius : pectora Pu.
428
THEBAID, XL 512-540
knee, yet the spear-point baffled of its vow found a wound slantwise in the horse's ribs. Scorning the tightened rein the steed darts headlong away, and traces a bloody curve along the reddened field. The other exults, thinking it his brother's gore, and so thinks he himself in fear ; and now the exile shakes free all his rein, and dashes in bhnd, impetuous onslaught against the wounded charger. Arms, bridles, weapons are all mingled in confusion, both horses lose their footing and are thrown to earth. Even as at night two ships that the cloudy South \\'ind has locked together break oars, entangle ropes, and, struggling ^^^th each other and the storm through the long darkness, sink even as they are together tc the depths : such was the appearance of the fight. Without skill or fashion, only in wrath and fury they engage, and see through their helms the flames of hate, and search with fiery glance each other's countenance : no interval of ground divides them, swords are entangled, arms interlocked, and they catch the sound of each other's cries hke bugle or trumpet-call. As when rage has set lightning-swift boars rushing headlong to the fight, and raised the bristles erect upon their backs, fire quivers in their eyes, and the curved tusks of crescent shape ring loud ; from a neighbouring height the anxious hunter watches the fray, and bids his hounds be silent : so bloodthirstily do they attack, nor yet do they deal mortal wounds, but the blood flows, the crime is accomplished. No more need is there of Furies : they only marvel and praise as they watch, and grieve that human rage exceeds their own. Each in furious lust seeks his brother's life-blood, nor knows his own is flowing ; at last the exile rushes
429
ST ATI us
hortatusque manum, cui fortior ira nefasque iustius, alte ensem germani in corpore pressit, qua male iam plumis imus tegit inguina thorax, ille dolens nondum, sed ferri frigore primo territus in clipeum turbatos colligit artus ; 545
mox intellecto magis ac magis aeger anhelat volnere. nee parcit cedenti atque increpat hostis : " quo retrahis, germane, gradus? hoc languida somno, hoc regnis efFeta quies, hoc longa^ sub umbra imperia ! exsiho rebusque exercita egenis 550
membra vides ; disce arma pati nee fidere laetis."
Sic pugnant miseri ; restabat lassa nefando vita duci summusque cruor, poterantque parumper stare gradus ; sed sponte ruit fraudemque supremam in media iam morte parat. clamore Cithaeron 555 erigitur, fraterque ratus vicisse levavit ad caelum palmas : " bene habet ! non inrita vovi, cerno graves oculos atque ora natantia leto. hue aliquis propere sceptrum atque insigne comarum, dum videt." haec dicens gressus admovit et arma, ceu templis decus et patriae laturus ovanti, 561
arma etiam spoliare cupit ; nondum ille peractis manibus ultrices animam servabat in iras. utque superstantem pronumque in pectora sensit, erigit occulte ferrum vitaeque labantis 565
relliquias tenues odio supplevit, et ensem iam laetus fati^ fraterno in^ corde reliquit.
^ hoc . . . hoc . . • hoc longa P : o . . . et . . . longaque w.
2 fati PS : fratri oo.
3 fraterno in PNSQ2: frater non KlQl : frater sub BD: gelido sub K2.
" " Feathers " was the name given to small pieces of metal arranged scale-wise on the piece of skin or linen forming the basis of the cuirass ; cf, Virg. Aen. xi. 770.
* i.e., of the onlookers. 430
THEBAID, XL 541-567
in, and calling on his right arm, whose ire is more valiant and which has the greater justice in his crime, drove his sword deep into his kinsman's body, where the corslet's lowest rim now gives with feathers '' but ill protection to the groin. The other, not yet in pain, but frightened by the first cold of the steel, withdraws his shaken limbs behind his buckler, but soon more and more conscious of the wound he gasps and labours ; nor does his foe spare him as he gives way, but taunts him : " Whither art thou retreating, brother ? Behold the somnolent languor, the ex- hausted sleep of kings ! See there long years of sheltered rule ! But here thou seest limbs hardened by want and exile ! Learn to be schooled in arms, nor trust to fortune ! "
So fight the hapless ones ; life yet remained, though feeble, in the wicked king, and his last drops of blood, and awhile he could have stayed upright ; but purposely he falls, and even in the moment of death devises his last fraud. Cithaeron is startled by a shout,* and his brother thinking he has conquered raises his hands to heaven : " 'Tis well, my vow is heard ; his eyes are heavy, and his face swims in death. Come, somebody, quick, away with the sceptre and the ornament of his locks, while he yet sees ! " So speaking he drew nigh, and would fain also take his arms, as though to bear them to grace the shrines of his victorious land ; but the other's life was not yet spent, and he retained still breath enough to wTeak his avenging wTath ; and when he knew that he was standing over him and stooping to his body, he raises his weapon unperceived and calhng up his hatred to strengthen the weak remnants pf his failing life, now glad to die, he left the sword
431
ST ATI us
ille autem : " vivisne an adhuc manet ira superstes, perfide, nee sedes umquam meriture quietas ? hue meeum ad manes ! illie quoque paeta^ reposeam, si modo Agenorei stat Gnosia iudicis urna, 571
qua reges punire datur." nee plura locutus concidit et totis fratrem gravis obruit armis.
Ite truces animae funestaque Tartara leto polluite et cunctas Erebi eonsumite poenas ! 575
vosque malis hominum, Stygiae, iam parcite, divae : omnibus in terris scelus hoc omnique sub aevo viderit una dies, monstrumque infame futuris exeidat, et soH memorent haec proelia reges.
At genitor sceleris comperto fine profundis 580
erupit tenebris, saevoque in Umine profert mortem imperfectam : veteri stat sordida tabo utraque^ canities, et durus sanguine crinis obnubit furiale caput ; procul ora genaeque intus et efFossae squalent vestigia lucis. 585
virgo autem impositae sustentat pondera laevae, dextra sedet baculo. quaUs si puppe rehcta exosus manes pigri sulcator Averni exeat ad superos solemque et pallida turbet astra, nee ipse diu fortis patiensque supemi 590
aeris ; interea longum cessante magistro crescat opus, totisque^ exspectent saecula ripis : talis init campum, comitique extrema gementi
^ pacta w : parta P.
* utraque w, Priscian : hirtaque Heinsius : atraque, tetraque edd.
* totisque P : tostisque, solisque, tota atque edd.
" i.e., Minos, who was son of Europa, daughter of Agenor, 432
THEBAID, XL 568-593
in his brother's heart. But he : " Livest thou still, and doth thy malice yet survive, thou treacherous one, who wilt never merit an abode of peace ? This way with me to the shades ! There too will I demand my rights, if but the Gnosian urn of the Agenorean judge " still stands, whereby kings may be punished." No more he spake, but fell, and crushed his brother beneath all his armed weight.
Go, savage souls, and pollute baleful Tartarus by your death, and exhaust all the punishments of Erebus ! And O ye Stygian goddesses, spare now the afflictions of mankind ; in every land and throughout all ages let one day only have seen so dread a crime ; let posterity forget the infamous horror, and kings alone recount that combat.
But the sire, when he knew the horrid deed was over, burst out from his gloom profound, and in the dread gateway displays his hving corpse ; his grey hair and beard are filthy and matted with ancient gore, and locks congealed with blood veil his fury-haunted head ; deep-sunken are his cheeks and eyes, and foul the traces of the sight's uprooting. The maid * sustains his left arm that leans its weight upon her ; his right is supported by a staff. 'Tis even as though the furrower of sluggish Avernus through loathing of the shades should leave his bark and come up to the world above and affright the sun and the pale stars, though himself unable long to endure the air of heaven ; meanwhile the long tale grows as the ferryman dallies, and all along the banks the ages await him : in such wise does he come forth upon the plain, and to his comrade 'mid her utter woe : " Lead
king of Tyre. Gnosus or Cnossus was a city of Crete, where Minos ruled. * Antigone.
VOL. II 2 F 4.33
STATIUS
" due," ait, " ad natos patremque recentibus, oro, inice funeribus ! " cunctatur nescia virgo, 595
quid paret ; impediunt iter implicitosque morantur arma, viri, currus, altaque in strage seniles deficiunt gressus et dux miseranda laborat. ut quaesita diu monstravit corpora clamor \irginis, insternit totos frigentibus artus. 600
nee vox ulla seni : iacet immugitque cruentis vulneribus, nee verba diu temptata sequuntur. dum tractat galeas atque ora latentia quaerit, tandem muta diu^ genitor suspiria solvit :
tarda meam, pietas, longo post tempore mentem 605 percutis ? estne sub hoc hominis dementia corde ? vincis io miserum, vincis, Natura, parentem ! en habeo gemitus lacrimaeque per arida serpunt volnera et in molles sequitur manus impia planctus. accipite infandae iusta exsequialia mortis, 610
crudeles, nimiumque mei ! nee noscere natos adloquiumque aptare licet ; die, virgo, precanti, quem teneo ? quo nunc vestras ego saevus honore prosequar inferias ? o si fodienda redirent lumina et in voltus saevire ex more potestas ! 615 heu dolor, heu iusto magis exaudita parentis vota malaeque preces ! quisnam fuit ille deorum, qui stetit orantem iuxta praereptaque verba dictavit Fatis ? furor ilia et movit Erinys et pater et genetrix et regna oculique cadentes ; 620 nil ego : per Ditem iuro dulcesque tenebras immeritamque ducem, subeam sic Tartara digna
^ muta diu PDN : multa furens w. 434
THEBAID, XI. 594-622
me," he cries, '• to my sons, I pray, and set their father on the new-slain corpses." The maiden hesi- tates, not knowing what he purposes ; arms, men, and cliariots block their way, and entangle and delay them, and the old man's steps falter in the high- piled carnage, and his hapless guide hath sore ado. But when the virgin's shriek betrayed the long- sought bodies, he flung his full length on the cold limbs. No word the old man spake : he lies and moans upon their bloody wounds, nor do the long- attempted words follow. At length while he gropes and searches for the faces hidden within their helms the father found utterance for his long-silent grief : Late after so long time art thou come, affection, to sway my heart ? Doth mercy dwell in this human breast ? Ah ! thou hast conquered, Nature, con- quered this unhappy father ! Behold, I weep, and my tears steal oyer these dry wounds, this sinful hand follows with womanly beating of my breast. Receiye these fitting obsequies of your unhallowed deaths, O cruel ones, too truly mine ! I cannot recognize my sons, nor suit my words — tell me, daughter, I beg, which am I holding ? With what honours now can one so cruel as I perform your rites ? Oh, if my eyes could be restored for me to rend them ! Oh, if I could wreak my rage upon my countenance as once I did ! Ah, woe ! alas, for a parent's prayers and curses granted too faithfully ! What god was it stood by when I prayed, and caught my words and told them to the Fates ? 'Twas madness caused those ills, and the Fury, and my father and my mother and my kingdom and my falling eyes — not I I By Dis I swear it, and by the darkness that I loyed and this my innocent guide, so may I go to Tartarus by a
435
STATIUS
morte, nee irata fugiat me Laius umbra. ei mihi, quos nexus fratrum, quae volnera tracto ! solvite quaeso manus infestaque vincula tandem 625 dividite, et medium nunc saltern admittite patrem." talia dequestus paulatim insumpserat iras mortis, et occulte telum, ni nata vetaret, quaerebat ; sed cauta manu subtraxerat enses Antigone, furit inde senex : " ubi noxia tela ? 630 heu Furiae ! num totum abiit in corpora ferrum ? " dicentem comes aegra levat mutumque dolorem ipsa premit, saevum gaudens planxisse parentem.
OHm autem inceptae clamore exterrita pugnae regina extulerat notum penetralibus ensem, 635
ensem sceptriferi spolium lacrimabile Lai. multaque cum superis et diro questa cubili et nati furiis et primi coniugis umbris, luctata est dextra, et prono vix pectore ferrum intravit tandem : venas perrumpit aniles 640
volnus et infelix lustratur sanguine lectus. illius exili stridentem in pectore plagam Ismene conlapsa super lacrimisque comisque siccabat plangens : qualis Marathonide silva flebilis Erigone caesi prope funera patris 645
questibus absumptis tristem iam solvere^ nodum coeperat et fortes ramos moritura ligabat.
Et iam laeta ducum spes elusisse duorum res Amphionias alio sceptrumque maligna transtulerat Fortuna manu, Cadmique tenebat 650
^ solvere w : vulnere P, volvere, involvere, iungere edd. But Lemaire's laxare ut se strangularet is clearly right.
436
THEBAID, XI. 623-650
worthy death, and Laius' shade not angrily shun my presence ! Woe is me, what brotherly embraces are these, what are these wounds I feel ? Loose your hands, I entreat, and relax at last these deadly bonds, now at least let your sire come between you." Amid such laments he little by little had become in mood for death, and secretly, lest his daughter should prevent him, sought a weapon ; but prudent Antigone had '«■ithdra^^^l their swords from his reach. Then the old man in >vrath : " Where are the weapons of death ? Alas ! ye Furies I has the blade sunk all its length into their bodies ? " His feeble comrade lifts him as he speaks, and hides her own mute sorrow, rejoicing that grief has touched her savage sire.
But the queen, terrified by the shout that marked the fight begun, had then brought forth from her chamber the famous sword, the sword that was the lamentable spoil of sceptred Laius. And Avith much complaining of the gods above and her dire couch and her son's madness and the shade of her first lord she strove ■with her right hand, yet scarce at length as she leaned forward did the steel make entrance to her breast ; the wound rent her aged veins, and the ill-fated couch is purged in blood. As the blade grated upon her skinny bosom Ismene fell upon her and weeping stanched the wound \vith her hair and tears : as when in the Marathonian glade sorrowful Erigone wept her fill for her slain sire, and already was untying the fatal girdle, and bent on death was fastening it to the sturdy boughs.
And now, rejoicing to have foiled the hopes of both the princes. Fortune -with spiteful hand had trans- ferred elsewhere the sceptre of Amphion's realm,
437
STATIUS
iura Creon. miser heu bellorum terminus ! illi pugnarant fratres. hunc et Mavortia clamant semina, et impensus patriae paulo ante Menoeceus conciliat populis. scandit fatale tyrannis flebilis Aoniae solium : pro blanda potestas 655
et sceptri malesuadus amor ! numquamne priorum haerebunt documenta novis ? iuvat ecce nefasto stare loco regimenque manu tractare cruentum ! quid, melior Fortuna, potes ? iam flectere patrem incipit atque datis abolere Menoecea regnis. 660
primum adeo saevis imbutus moribus^ aulae indicium specimenque sui iubet igne supremo arceri Danaos, nudoque sub axe relinqui infelix bellum et tristes sine sedibus umbras, mox reducem Ogygiae congressus limine portae 665 Oedipodem extimuit paulum, seseque minorem confessus tacite, promptamque coercuit iram ; sed redit in regem caecumque audentius hostem increpitans "procul," inquit, " abi, victoribus omen invisum, et Furias averte ac moenia lustra 670
discessu Thebana tuo ! spes longa peracta est : vade, iacent nati. quae iam tibi vota supersunt ? " Horruit instinctu rabido, steteruntque trementes ceu visu squalore^ genae,^ seniumque recessit. tunc natam baculumque manu dimisit, et irae 675 innixus tumido vocem de pectore rumpit : " iamne vacat saevire, Creon ? modo perfida regna fortunaeque locum nostrae, miserande, subisti,
^ imbutus moribus late mss., Bartli : imbutum moribus P : imbutus amoribus oi.
* squalore P : praesente w. ^ genae u> : comae P. 438
THEBAID, XL 651-678
and Creon held the power of Cadmus. Ah. miserable end of war I for him had the brothers fought. Him does the seed of Mars proclaim, and Menoeceus lately offered to save the state endears him to the people. He ehmbs the throne of distressful Aonia, that brings death to tyrants : ah, flattering power I ill-counselling ambition I Will new rulers ne'er take heed by the examples of the old ? Lo I he delights to stand in the accursed spot, and exert a bloody <wav. What availest thou, kindlier Fortune ? Al- ready he begins to blunt the feelings of a sire, and once upon the throne to ^^^pe Menoeceus from his heart. First, imbued ^^rith the savage customs of the palace, as proof and sample of his rule, he bids the Danaans be debarred from funeral fire, and the unhappy host he left under the bare vault, and their sad shades \\ithout a resting-place. Next, meeting the returning Oedipus in the entrance of the Ogygian gate, he quailed for a moment, and owned his lesser rank in silence, and checked his ready ire ; but soon he resumes the king, and more boldly chiding his blind foe : " Avaunt," he cried, " hateful omen to the conquerors, keep far hence thy Furies, and purify the Theban walls by thy departure I Fulfilled is thy long-enduring hope : go, for thy sons lie dead ; what wishes hast thou left ? "
A thrill of frenzy shook him, his squalid cheeks stood quivering as though he saw, and his old age fell from him. Then thrusting away his daughter and his staff, sustained by >\Tath alone, he utters a crv in the indignation of his heart : " Hast thou already time to be cruel, Creon ? Camest thou but lately by treacher}^ to my throne and place of rank, miserable wretch, and art so soon permitted to
439
STATIUS
et tibi iam fas est regum calcare ruinas ?
iam tumulis victos, socios iam moenibus arces ? 680
macte, potes digne Thebarum sceptra tueri.
haec tua prima dies, sed cur nova eontrahis amens
iura ? quid anguste tantos metiris honores ?
exsilium intendis. timida inclementia regum
ista ! feros avidus quin protinus imbuis enses ? 685
crede, licet, veniat cupidus parere satelles
intrepidusque seeet non evitantia colla.
incipe ! an exspectas, ut pronus supplice dextra
sternar et immitis domini vestigia quaeram ?
finge autem temptare, sines ? mihine uUa minaris
supplicia, aut ullos reris superesse timores ? 691
linquere tecta iubes ? caelum terramque reliqui
sponte, atque ultricem crudelis in ora retorsi
non ullo cogente manum : quid tale iubere,
rex inimice, potes ? fugio excedoque nefandis 695
sedibus ; an refert, quo funera longa measque
transportem tenebras ? ne non gens cuncta precanti
concedat, patriae quantum miser incubo terrae ?
sed dulces Thebae. nimirum hie clarior ortus,
et meliora meos permulcent sidera voltus, 700
hie genetrix natique. habeas Thebana regasque
moenia, quo Cadmus, quo Laius omine rexit
quoque ego ; sic thalamos, sic pignora fida capessas,
nee tibi sit virtus fortunam evadere dextra,
sed lucem deprensus ames. satis omina sanxi. 705
due, age, nata procul. quid te autem luctibus addo ?
" Literally " I have hallowed good omens for you enough," ironically, of course; for the phrase cf. 1. 344 " vota sanxi." 440
THEBAID, XL 679-706
trample on the ruin of kings ? Already dost thou debar the conquered from burial, our kinsmen from their city ? Well done I thou canst worthily defend the sceptre of Thebes ! This is thy first day of power, but why dost thou foolishly restrict thy new authority? Why grudgingly measure out so great an office ? Thou threatenest exile : that is but timorous harsh- ness in a monarch I Why dost thou not forth\vith imbue thy greedy blade ? Thou hast the power, beheve me ! some minion would come eager to obey, and fearlessly sever my unresisting neck. Begin then ! or dost thou expect me to fall prostrate and with suppliant hand grope for my stem master's feet ? But did I try, wouldst thou allow me ? Canst thou threaten me ^\'ith any punishments, or think that any terrors yet remain for me ? Dost thou bid me leave the palace ? Heaven and earth I have left of my own ^v^ll, and uncompelled turned my fierce avenging hand on my ovm eyes : what canst thou command to equal that, mahcious monarch ? I take my flight, and leave an unhallowed land ; what matters it whither I convey my bUndness and my lingering death ? Do I fear lest any people refuse to grant my prayer for as much of their soil as my miserable corpse ^\^ll cover ? But Thebes is sweet : ay, verily, here my birth is more reno^^^led, here kindlier stars dehght my \ision, here are my mother and my sons ! Nay, keep thou Thebes and rule it, yviih Cadmus' fortune and Laius' and mine ; in such wise marr}', and beget loyal sons ! and lack the courage to escape by thy oa\ti hand the blows of Fortune, but when thou art in the toils, then hold hfe dear. There, 'tis enough of blessings ** I come, daughter, lead me far away ; yet why do I make thee
441
STATIUS
da, rex magne, ducem." timuit miseranda relinqui Antigone mutatque preces : " felicia per te regna, verende Creon, sanctasque Menoeceos umbras : da veniam adflieto dictisque ignosce superbis. 710 hunc morem fandi longae fecere querellae ; nee soli ferus iste tibi : sic fata deosque adloquitur, durus luctu, facilisque nee ipsi saepe mihi ; pridem indoniito sub pectore vivit libertas misera et saevae spes aspera mortis. 715
et nunc ecce tuas inritat callidus iras suppliciumque cupit ; sed tu maioribus, oro, imperii potiare bonis, altusque iacentes praetereas, et magna ducum vereare priorum funera. et hie quondam solio sublimis et armis 720 saeptus opem miseris et iura, potentibus^ aequus supplicibusque, dabat, cui nunc ex agmine tanto una comes, necdum exsul erat. felicibus hione obstat ? in hunc odiis et regni viribus exis, hunc abigis tectis ? an ne prope limina clarum 725 ingemat et votis intempestivus oberret ? pone metum, procul usque tua submotus ab aula flebit ; ego erectum subigam et servire docebo, coetibus abducam solaque in sede recondam. exsul erit. nam quae migrant! externa patebunt moenia ? vis Argos eat hostilesque Mycenas 731
squalidus inreptet, victique ad limen Adrasti Aonias referat clades, tenuemque precetur
^ potentibus PBDNS : petentibus KQ. 442
THEBAID, XI. 707-733
share my sorrows ? Give me a guide , great sovereign ! ' ' Hapless Antigone fears to be left behind, and pleads in different wise : " By thy heaven-blest throne, revered Creon, and Menoeceus' sacred shade, pardon him in his affliction, forgive his proud words. Long grievance hath given him this style of speech ; nor is he thus harsh to thee alone, even so addresses he the gods and Fate ; his distress hath hardened him, even to me he is often discourteous ; in his untame- able heart there long hath dwelt a stifled freedom and a savage longing for pitiless death. And now behold in his cunning he rouses up thy anger and desires thee to punish him ; but do thou, I pray, enjoy the greater blessings of thy realm, and in thy lofty state o'erlook the fallen, and have reverence for the mighty ruins of former kings. He too was once lifted high upon a throne and hedged AWth arms, and, impartial alike to great and humble, gave succour and justice to the vTetched — who now has but one companion maid out of all his armies ; not yet did he know exile. Can he oppose thy happiness ? Dost thou proceed against him with hatred and thy kingdom's might ? Dost thou drive him from thy house ? Is it lest he groan too loudly at thy gate and meet thee with importunate prayers ? Fear not that : far removed from thy hall will he lament ; I will subdue his proud spirit and teach him sub- mission, I will take him from the gatherings of men and hide him in a place of sohtude. An outlaw will he be ; for e'en should he wander, what foreign walls will open to him ? Wouldst thou have him go to Argos and crawl a beggar into hostile Mycenae, or tell of the slaughter of the Aonians at the gate of con- quered Adrastus, and entreat some scrap of succour
443
STATIUS
rex Thebanus opem ? miserae quid crimina gentis pandere, quid casus iuvat ostentare pudendos ? 735 conde, precor, quodcumque sumus, nee longa preeamur dona, Creon : miserere senis, maestosque parentis hie, precor, hie manes indulge ponere : certe Thebanos sepelire licet." sic orat humique volvitur ; abducit genitor saevumque minatur 740 indignans veniam. qualis leo rupe sub alta, quem viridem quondam silvae montesque^ tremebant, iam piger et longo iacet exarmatus ab aevo, magna tamen facies et non adeunda senectus ; et si demissas veniat mugitus ad aures, 745
erigitur meminitque sui, viresque solutas^ ingemit et campis alios regnare leones.
Flectitur adfatu, sed non tamen omnia rector supplicis indulget lacrimis partemque recidit 749
muneris. "baud," inquit, " patriis prohibebere longe finibus, occursu dum non pia templa domosque commacules. habeant te lustra tuusque Cithaeron ; atque haec ecce tuis tellus habitabilis umbris, qua bellum geminaeque iacent in sanguine gentes." sic ait, et ficto comitum volgique gementis 755
adsensu limen tumidus regale petebat.
Interea pulsi vallum exitiale Pelasgi destituunt furto ; nulli sua signa suusque ductor : eunt taciti passim et pro funere pulchro dedecorem amplexi vitam reditusque pudendos. 760 nox favet et grata profugos amplectitur umbra.
^ silvae montesque w : -que amnesque PBQK. ^ solutas PBDN2Q, D (with peractas written over) : peractas KNS.
44.4.
THEBAID, XI. 734-761
for a Theban king ? Doth it please thee that he should recount the crimes of our unhappy race, and show forth all his shameful plight ? Conceal us, I pray, whate'er we are — no lengthy boon, O Creon : pity his old age, and grant me here, ay, here, I beg, to lay to rest my sire's unhappy spirit. Surely Thebans may have burial I " So prays she, prostrate on the ground ; her father leads her away, ^ith angry words and scorning pardon. Even as a Hon, whom once in his youth the woods and mountains trembled at, now lies sluggish beneath a lofty rock and dis- armed by length of years : yet even in age is he terrible of aspect and not to be approached, and should the noise of lo^^•ing come to his languid ears, he springs up and remembers himself, and groans that his strength is broken, and that other lions lord it upon the plains.
The monarch is moved by her plea, yet grants not ever}'thing to the supphant's tears, but cuts short a part of his bounty. " Thou shalt not," he cries, " be kept far from the boundaries of thy land, so be it thou defile not with thy presence its sacred shrines and homes. Let the wilds of thy Cithaeron hold thee ; and lo ! this land is a fit dwelling for thy dark- ness, where the fight was fought and two races lie in blood." So he speaks, and in haughty pride, amid the feigned applauding of his train and the weeping folk, sought the palace gate.
Meanwhile the routed Pelasgians steal away from their fatal camp ; none has his own ensigns or chief to follow ; silently in scattered rout they go, and in- stead of a glorious death they cherish dishonoured life and a shameful home-coming. Night favoiu^s the fugitives and shrouds them in welcome gloom
445
LIBER XII
Nondum cuncta polo vigil inclinaverat astra ortus et instanteni cornu tenuiore videbat Luna diem, trepidas ubi iam Tithonia nubes discutit ac reduci magnum parat aethera Phoebo : agmina iam raris Dircaea penatibus errant, 5
noctis questa moras ; quamvis tunc otia tandem et primus post bella sopor, tamen aegra quietem pax fugat et saevi meminit victoria belli, vix primo proferre gradum et munimina valli solvere, vix totas reserare audacia portas ; 10
stant veteres ante ora metus campique vacantis horror : ut adsiduo iactatis aequore tellus prima labat, sic attoniti nil comminus ire mirantur fusasque putant adsurgere turmas. sic ubi perspicuae scandentem limina turris 15
Idaliae volucres fulvum aspexere draconem, intus agUnt natos et feta cubilia valiant unguibus imbellesque citant ad proelia pinnas ; mox ruerit licet ille retro, tamen aera nudum Candida turba timet, tandemque ingressa volatus 20 horret et a mediis etiamnum respicit astris.
Itur in exsanguem populum bellique iacentis
" The Dawn (Aurora), husband of Tithonus. '' Doves, sacred to Venus.
446
BOOK XII
Not yet had the wakeful dawn put all the stars to flight from heaven, and the moon was beholding the approach of day with fading horn, what time Tithonia* scatters the clouds in hurrying rout, and prepares the wide firmament for the return of Phoebus : already Dircean bands stray forth from their scanty dwellings, complaining of the tardy night ; although not till then had they rested, or gained their first sleep after battle, yet a troubled peace forbids repose, and victory still remembers the horrors of war. Scarce at first dare they to step forth and destroy the ram- part works, scarce wholly to unbar the gates ; the old fears rise before them, and the dread of the deserted plain : just as to men long tossed on ocean earth heaves at first, so are they spellbound and amazed that nought assails them, and fancy that the slain hosts rise up again. So when Idalian birds * have seen a tawny snake climbing the threshold of a conspicuous tower, they drive their little ones within and wall the nestling brood behind their talons, and stir their unwarlike wings to battle ; and though he soon retreat, yet the white flock fears the empty air, and when at last they venture flight they thrill with terror and still look back from the mid-vault of heaven.
Forth they go to the bloodless multitude and the
447
STATIUS
relliquias, quacumquei dolor luctusque cruenti exegere duces ; hi tela, hi corpora, at ilU caesorum tantum ora vident alienaque iuxta 25
pectora ; pars currus deflent viduisque loquuntur, hoc solum quia restat, equis ; pars oscula figunt vulneribus magnis et de virtute queruntur.. frigida digeritur strages : patuere recisae cum capuHs hastisque manus mediisque sagittae 30 luminibus stantes ; multis vestigia caedis nulla, ruunt planctu pendente et ubique parato. at circum informes truncos miserabile surgit certamen, qui iusta ferant, qui funera ducant. saepe etiam hostiles— lusit Fortuna parumper— 35 decepti flevere viros ; nee certa facultas noscere, quern miseri vitent calcentve cruorem. at quibus est inlaesa domus vacuique doloris,^ aut deserta vagi Danaum tentoria lustrant immittuntque faces, aut— quae post bella facultas^— quaerunt, dispersus iaceat quo pulvere Tydeus, 41 an rapti pateat specus auguris, aut ubi divum hostis, an aetheriae vivant per membra favillae. iam lacrimis exempta dies, nee serus abegit Vesper : amant miseri lamenta malisque fruuntur. 45 nee subiere domos, sed circum funera pernox turba sedet, vicibusque datis alterna gementes igne feras planctuque fugant ; nee dulcibus astris victa, nee adsiduo coierunt lumina fletu. tertius Aurorae pugnabat Lucifer, et iam 50
montibus orbatis, lucorum gloria, magnae
^ quacumque PD late uss. : qua quemque w. /^ doloris Gronovius {sc. et qui): dolores Pw: dolore Uemsius. 3 facultas PDN : voluptas cu.
448
THEBAID, XII. 23-51
remnants of the fallen host, wherever grief and in- dignation, blood-stained guides, impel them ; some behold the weapons, some the bodies, others but the faces of the slain, with strangers' hmbs near by ; some mourn their chariots, and address — all they can do — the \Aidowed steeds ; others imprint kisses on gaping wounds, and bewail the valour of the dead. They sort out the cold heaps of slain : severed hands appear with lances and sword-hilts in their grip, and arrows fixed in eyes ; many find no traces of their dead, and rush about, with grief ever ready and on the verge. But around the unsightly corpses a piti- able strife arises, who shall perform the rites and make their funeral. Often too were they deceived — Fortune mocking them awhile — and wept for foe- men ; nor was it easy to tell what carnage to avoid and what to trample. But those whose homes have suffered not, and who are spared all anguish, either stray around the deserted tents of the Danaans and set them afire, or — so far as they can after battle — search where lies the dust-bespattered Tydeus, whether the chasm of the ravished augur still be gaping, where is the enemy of the gods, 'and whether the heavenly embers still glow among his limbs. Already the dayhght faded upon their tears, nor did late Vesper drive them away ; in their misery they love their lamentation and feast upon their sorrow. Nor return they to their homes, but sit all night about the corpses, and bewailing them by turns ward off the beasts by fires and sounds of woe ; nor did their eyes close yielding to the sweet influence of the stars, nor through constant weeping. For the third time Aurora strove with the \Ioming Star, and already the mountains are despoiled, and mighty trunks of VOL. II 2 G 4-49
STATIUS
Teumesi venere trabes et arnica Cithaeron silva rogis ; ardent excisae viscera gentis molibus exstructis : supremo munere gaudent Ogygii manes ; queritur miserabile Graium 55
nuda cohors vetitumque gemens circumvolat ignem. accipit et saevi manes Eteoclis iniquos haudquaquam regalis honos, Argivus haberi frater iussus adhuc atque exsuP pellitur umbra.
At non plebeio fumare Menoecea busto 60
rex genitor Thebaeque sinunt, nee robora vilem struxerunt de more rogum ; sed bellicus agger curribus et clipeis Graiorumque omnibus armis sternitur ; hostiles super ipse, ut victor, acervos, pacifera lauro crinem vittisque decorus 65
accubat : haud aliter, quam cum poscentibus astris laetus in accensa iacuit Tirynthius Oeta. spirantes super inferias captiva Pelasgum corpora frenatosque pater, solacia forti^ bellorum, mactabat equos ; his arduus ignis 70
palpitat, et gemitus tandem erupere paterni : " o nisi magnanimae nimius te laudis inisset ardor, Echioftios mecum venerande penates atque ultra recture puer, venientia qui nunc gaudia et ingratum regni mihi munus acerbas ! 75 tu superum convexa licet coetusque perenni — credo equidem — virtute colas, mihi flebile semper numen eris : ponant aras excelsaque Thebae templa dicent ; uni fas sit lugere parenti. et nunc heu quae digna tibi sollemnia quasve 80
largiar exsequias ? nee si fatale potestas
^ exsul a Heidelberg commentator : exsule Pui. 2 forti PBDQl : fortes KQS: fortis N : sorti late Mss. 450
THEBAID, XII. 52-81
Teuinesus, the glory of the groves, and the timber of Cithaeron, friend of the funeral pyre, is come ; on high-%\Tought piles blaze the bodies of the ruined race : the Ogygian ghosts rejoice at the last tribute ; but the unburied troop of Greeks raise pitiable lament, and moaning flit about the forbidden fires. Nor does the cruel spirit of fierce Eteocles receive the honours of a prince ; his brother by command is held an Argive still, and his outlawed shade is driven away.
But Menoeceus is not suffered by Thebes or the king his father to burn upon a \'ulgar pyre, no heap of logs forms a common, customary mound, but a warlike pile of chariots and shields and all the weapons of the Greeks is raised ; on the massed trophies of the foe he himself like a conqueror is laid, his locks adorned \\ith peace-bringing laurel and woollen fillets : just as when the Tirynthian, sum- moned by the stars, laid him down with joy on kindled Oeta. Thereon did his sire sacrifice yet h\ing victims, Pelasgian captives and bridled steeds, a solace to his warlike valour ; upon them the tower- ing flames quiver, and at last his father's groans burst forth : " Ah ! had not overmastering desire of noble praise possessed thee, my son, thou hadst been revered alike ^\ith me, ay, even ruled Echion's city, but now thou embitterest my coming joys and the ungrateful burden of a realm. Though thy un- failing virtue dwell in heaven amid the companies of the gods — as I verily believe — yet, I shall ever mourn thee, deity as thou art : let Thebes build altars and dedicate lofty fanes ; suffer thy sire alone to lament thee. And now, alas, what worthy rites, what funeral pomp can I la\-ish on thy tomb ? I
451
STATIUS
Argos et impulsas cineri miscere Mycenas, meque super, cui vita — nefas ! — et sanguine nati partus honos. eademne dies, eadem impia bella te, puer, et diros misere in Tartara fratres ? 85
et nunc Oedipodi par est fortuna doloris ac mihi ? quam similes gemimus, bone luppiter,
umbras ! accipe, nate, tui nova libamenta triumphi, accipe et hoc regimen dextrae frontisque superbae vincula, quae patri minimum laetanda^ dedisti, 90 regem te, regem tristes Eteocleos umbrae aspiciant." simul haec dicens crinemque manumque destruit, accensaque iterat violentius ira : " saevum agedum immitemque vocent, si funera
Lernae tecum ardere veto ; longos utinam addere sensus 95 corporibus caeloque animas Ereboque nocentes pellere fas, ipsumque feras, ipsum unca volucrum ora sequi atque artus regum^ monstrare nefandos ! ei mihi, quod positos humus alma diesque resolvet. quare iterum repetens iterumque edico : suprema ne quis ope et flammis ausit iuvisse Pelasgos ; 101 aut nece facta luet numeroque explebit adempta corpora ; per superos magnumque Menoecea iuro." dixit, et abreptum comites in tecta ferebant.
Flebihs interea vacuis comitatus ab Argis — 105 fama trahit miseras — orbae viduaeque ruebant Inachides ceu capta manus ; sua volnera cuique,
^ minimum laetanda P : nimium gestanda w. * regum cj : ferrum P : Garrod conj. fratrum . . . vorandos.
452
THEBAID, XII. 82-107
could not. even had I power to mingle baneful Argos and stricken Mycenae with thy ashes, and fling my- self upon them, who have gained life — ah ! horror ! — and royal state by the blood of my son ! Hath one day, one same unhallowed war sent thee, boy, and those dread brothers to Tartarus together ? Are Oedipus now and I in equal plight of sorrow ? Like indeed are the shades we mourn, O righteous Jove ! Receive, my son, new offerings to grace thy triumph, receive this ruling sceptre of my right hand and this haughty crown that binds my brow, thy gifts unto thy sire — small joy indeed to him I As king, ay, king let the sullen shade of Eteocles behold thee ! " So speaking he strips head and hand, and with A^Tath inflamed continues in more violent strain : " Come then, let them call me fierce and heartless, if I forbid the Lemaean dead to bum A\ith thee ; would I could put lingering life AAithin their bodies and drive their guilty souls from heaven and Erebus, and myself, ay myself go search for wild beasts and birds with hooked mouths, and show them the accursed limbs of the princes ! Woe is me, that the kindly earth and the lapse of time will resolve them where they lie ! Wherefore again and again I repeat my stern decree : let none venture to give the aid of final fire to the Pelasgians, or he will atone his deed by death, and fill up the tale of corpses : by the gods above and by great Menoeceus I swear it ! " He spoke, and his companions dragged him away and bore him to the palace.
Meanwhile a sorroAA'ful band of Inachian women, widowed and bereaved — draA\Ti, hapless ones, by the sad tidings — were hastening, hke a captive throng, from desolated Argos ; each had her own
453
ST ATI us
par habitus cunctis, deiecti in pectora crines accinctique sinus ; manant lacera ora cruentis unguibus, et molles planctu crevere lacerti. 110
prima per attonitas nigrae regina catervae, tristibus inlabens famulis iterumque resurgens, quaerit inops Argia vias ; non regia cordi, non pater : una fides, unum Polynicis amati nomen in ore sedet ; Dircen infaustaque Cadmi 115 moenia posthabitis velit incoluisse Mycenis. proxima Lernaeo Calydonidas agmine mixtas Tydeos exsequiis trahit baud cessura sorori Deipyle ; scelus ilia quidem morsusque profanes audierat miseranda viri, sed cuncta iacenti 120
infelix ignoseit amor, post aspera visu, ac deflenda tamen, digno plangore Nealce Hippomedonta ciens. vatis mox impia coniunx heu vacuos positura rogos. postrema gementum agmina Maenaliae ducit comes orba Dianae, 125
et gravis Euadne : dolet haec queriturque labores audacis pueri, magni memor ilia mariti it torvum lacrimans summisque irascitur astris. illas et lueis Hecate speculata Lycaeis prosequitur gemitu, duplexque ad litus euntes 130 planxit ab Isthmiaco genetrix Thebana sepulcro, noctivagumque gregem, quamvis sibi luget, Eleusin flevit et arcanos errantibus extulit ignes. ipsa per aversos ducit Saturnia calles occultatque vias, ne plebs congressa suorum 135
" Statius seems to mean Demeter here, though "Eleusin" in vii. 411 above means the town of Eleusis.
* Juno. 454
THEBAID, XII. 108-135
wounds, all were in similar plight, with hair hanging down upon their bosoms and high-girt raiment ; their faces torn by their cruel nails were streaming, their tender arms were swollen ^vith beating. First of her stricken sisters, helpless Argia, queen of the sable- clad company, seeks her path, sinking upon her sorro^^ing maidens and anon strugghng to her feet ; no thought has she of her sire or royal home ; one devotion fills her heart, one name, that of her be- loved Polvnices, is on her lips ; she would fain forget Mycenae and make Dirce and Cadmus' ill-starred city her abode. Next Deipyle, as eager as her sister, brings Calydonian women mingling ^\"ith the train of Lerna to Tydeus' obsequies ; she had heard, un- happy one ! of her husband's crime and impious gnawing, but love in affliction forgives the slain one all. After her Nealce, AA-ild of aspect, yet rousing tearful compassion, bewails Hippomedon -vWth the grief that is his due. Then comes the seer's un- righteous spouse, doomed alas ! to build an empty pyre. The bereft comrade of Maenahan Diana leads the rearmost companies of the mourners, and Evadne, bitter at heart : the one in querulous sorrow for the exploits of her daring boy, the other mindful of her mighty lord goes fiercely weeping and in MTath against high heaven. Hecate beheld them from her Lycean groves and bore them tearful company, and as they approached the double shore the Theban mother lamented from her Isthmian tomb ; the Eleusinian," though sorrowing for herself, wept for the night- wandering multitude, and showed her mystic fires to guide their errant course. The Saturnian ^ herself leads them through hidden paths and conceals their going, lest her own folk should
455
STATIUS
ire vetet pereatque ingentis gloria coepti. nee non functa ducum refovendi corpora curam Iris habet, putresque arcanis roribus artus ambrosiaeque rigat sucis, ut longius obstent 139
exspectentque rogum et flammas non ante fatiscant.
Squalidus ecce genas et inani vulnere pallens Ornytus — hie socio desertus ab agmine, tardat plaga recens — timido secreta per avia furto debile carpit iter fractaeque innititur hastae. isque ubi mota novo stupiiit loca sola tumultu 145 femineumque gregem, quae iam super agmina Lernae sola videt, non ille viam causasve requirit, quippe patent, maesto sed sic prior occupat ore : " quo, miserae, quo fertis iter ? funusne peremptis speratis cineremque viris ? stat pervigil illic 150
umbraruni custos inhumataque corpora regi adnumerat. nusquam lacrimae, procul usque fugati accessus hominum : solis avibusque ferisque ire licet, vestrisne Creon dabit aequus honorem luctibus ? immitis citius Busiridos aras 155
Odrysiique famem stabuli Siculosque licebit exorare deos ; rapiet fortasse precantes, si mens nota mihi, nee coniugialia supra funera, sed caris longe mactabit ab umbris. 159
quin fugitis, dum tuta via est, Lernamque reversae nomina, quod superest, vacuis datis orba sepulcris absentesque animas ad inania busta vocatis ? aut vos Cecropiam— prope namque et Thesea fania est
" Busiris, king of Egypt, sacrificed strangers to the gods, till slain by Hercules ; the Odrysian (Thracian) horses of Diomede ate human flesh ; the Sirens, who ate unwary seamen, were supposed to have lived on the coast of Sicily (c/. Silv. ii. 1. 10).
456
THEBAID, XII. 136-163
meet them and forbid them passage, and the glory of their great enterprise be lost. Moreover, Iris is bidden cherish the dead bodies of the princes, and laves their decaying hmbs ^\^th mysterious dews and ambrosial juices, that they may resist the longer and await the p^TC, nor perish before the flames have seized them.
Lo ! Ornytus, haggard of face and pale from a gaping wound — he had lost his friends and was hampered by a recent blow — feebly picks his way in timid stealth through pathless deserts, leaning upon a broken spear. When in amaze he beheld the soli- tudes stirred by strange tumult and the train of women, all that he sees sur\'i\'ing of the host of Lerna, he inquires not of their journey or its cause — 'tis clear enough — but in mournful accents thus accosts them : " Whither, hapless ones, whither are ye journeying ? Do ye hope for funeral fires for yoiu- dead heroes ? A sentinel of the slain stands there unsleeping, and keeps count of the unburied corpses for the king. Tears are there nowhere, all men that venture nigh are driven far away ; only beasts and birds are suffered to approach. Will the just Creon pay respect to your grief ? Sooner may one prevail upon the merciless altars of Busiris or the ravening Odrysian stall or the Sicilian deities " ; perchance he will carry off the suppliants, if I know his mind, nor >\ill he slay you upon the bodies of your lords, but far from the spirits ye love. Nay, flee, while your road is safe, return to Lerna and carve — this ye yet can do — the names of your lost ones on empty sepulchres, and call the absent ghosts to untenanted tombs. Or implore Cecropian succour — they say that Theseus draws nigh, returning in
4f57
STATIUS
Thermodontiaco laetum remeare triumpho — imploratis opem ? bello cogendus et amis 165
in mores hominemque Creon." sic fatus, at illis horruerunt lacrimae, stupuitque immanis eundi impetus, atque uno voltus pallore gelati.^ non secus adflavit molles si quando iuvencas tigridis Hyrcanae ieiunum murmur, et ipse 170
auditu turbatus ager, timor omnibus ingens, quae placeat, quos ilia fames escendat in armos.
Continuo discors vario sententia motu scinditur : his Thebas tumidumque ambire Creonta, his placet Actaeae si quid dementia gentis 175
adnuat ; extremum curarum ac turpe reverti. hie non femineae subitum virtutis amorem colligit Argia, sexuque immane relicto tractat opus : placet — egregii spes dura pericli ! — comminus infandi leges accedere regni, 180
quo Rhodopes non ulla nurus nee alumna nivosi Phasidis innuptis vallata cohortibus iret. tunc movet arte dolum, quo semet ab agmine fido degreget, immitesque deos regemque cruentum contemptrix animae et magno temeraria luctu 185 provocet ; hortantur pietas ignesque pudici. ipse etiam ante oculos omni manifestus in actu, nunc hospes miserae, primas nunc sponsus ad aras, nunc mitis coniunx, nunc iam sub casside torva maestus in amplexu multumque a limine summo 190 respiciens : sed nulla animo versatur imago crebrior, Aonii quam quae de sanguine campi
^ gelati PBQ : notati D (gelati written over) B marg. K.
" i.e., over the Amazons.
* " ilia fames," that hunger, i.e. hungry beast ; cf. " timor," vii. 746.
<= i.e., no Amazon and no Medea.
458
THEBAID, XII. 164-192
triumph from Wctory on Thermodon's banks." By force of arms alone \\i\\ Creon learn humanity." So he spoke, but they were horrified amid their tears, and their great zest of going was struck -sWth dismay, and all their faces were frozen in one pallor. Even so when the hungry roar of a HjTcanian tigress comes wafted on the wind to gentle heifers, at the sound terror seizes the countryside, and all are filled with mighty fear, which shall please her, whose shoulders shall feel the ravening beast * upon them. Straightway opinion is di\ided by many a dis- cordant impulse : some ^^■ish to supphcate Thebes and haughty Creon, others to see if the clemency of the Attic folk will grant them aught ; return seems cowardly and is last in their thoughts. Hereupon Argia conceives a sudden passion for more than womanly valour, and neglecting her sex designs a mightv emprise : she purposes — cruel expectation of unequalled peril 1 — to come to grips %Wth the law of the impious realm, whither no maid of Rhodope, no child of snow}' Phasis ringed round by virgin cohorts would go.*^ Then she devises a cunning ruse whereby to separate herself from her faithful train, and in contempt of her life and in the rashness of overpowering grief to challenge the merciless gods and the cruel king ; devotion and chaste passion urge her on. He himself too appears before her eyes, manifest in every act, now as her guest, un- happy girl ! now pledging his hand at the first holy rites, now her kindly spouse, and now grirply helmed and mournful in her embrace and oft looking back from the outer threshold of the gate : but no image more frequently haunts her mind than that which comes, stripped of its annour, from the blood of the
459
STATIUS
nuda venit poscitque rogos. his anxia mentem
aegrescit furiis et, qui castissimus ardor,
funus amat ; tunc ad comites conversa Pelasgas : 195
" vos," ait, " Actaeas acies Marathoniaque arma
elicite, adspiretque pio Fortuna labori :
me sinite Ogygias, tantae quae sola ruinae
causa fui, penetrare domos et fulmina regni
prima pati ; nee surda ferae pulsabimus urbis 200
limina : sunt illic soeeri mihi suntque sorores
coniugis, et Thebas haud ignoranda subibo.
ne tantum revocate gradus : illo impetus ingens
auguriumque animi." necplura,unumqueMenoeten —
olim hie virginei custos monitorque pudoris — 205
eligit et, quamquam rudis atque ignara locorum,
praecipites gressus, qua venerat Ornytus, aufert.
atque ubi visa procul socias hquisse malorum,
" anne," ait, " hostiles ego te tabente^ per agros —
heu dolor ! — exspectem, quaenam sententia lenti
Theseos ? an bello proceres, an dexter haruspex 211
adnuat ? interea funus decrescit. et uncis
alitibus non hos potius supponimus artus ?
et nunc me duram, si quis tibi sensus ad umbras,
me tardam Stygiis quereris, fidissime, divis. 215
heu si nudus adhuc, heu si iam forte sepultus :
nostrum utrumque nefas ; adeo vis nulla dolenti,
Mors nusquam saevusve^ Creon ? hortaris euntem,
Ornyte ! " sic dicens magno Megareia praeceps
arva rapit passu, demonstrat proxima quisque 220
^ tabente P : labente w. * sa.QVMS\'& Kohlmann : sae\TisneP: saevusque w.
" Marathon is a village of Attica ; the epithet probably has reference to Theseus, who performed an exploit there.
460
THEBAID, XII. 193-220
Aonian battle-field and cries for burial. Her soul fretted >vith such frenzy she sickens, and 'svith purest passion woos the grave ; then, turning to her Pelasgian comrades, " Do you," she says, " call forth the Attic hosts and Marathonian <* arms, and may Fortune favour your devoted toil : suffer me to penetrate the OgA'gian abodes, who was the sole cause of ruin, and endure the first terrors of the monarch ; nor shall I beat at the city's doors in vain ; the parents and the sisters of my lord are there : not as a stranger shall I enter Thebes. Only call me not back : my keen desire urges me thither, and gives me good omen." Without more words she selects Menoetes alone — once the guardian and counsellor of her maiden modesty — and though ^^ith- out experience or knowledge of the country, hurries on wth headlong speed by the way that Ornytus had come. And when she seemed to have left afar the comrades of her woes, " Could I wait," she cried, " for the pleasure of tardy Theseus, while thou — ah, sorrow ! — art mouldering on the enemy's fields ? Would his chieftains, would his cunning soothsayer assent to war ? Meanwhile thy body doth decay. Rather than that shall I not give my o\«i limbs for the taloned birds to tear ? Even now, if thou hast any feeling in the world of shades, thou art complain- ing, faithful spouse, to the deities of Styx that I am hard-hearted, that I am slow in coming. Alas ! if thou still art bare, alas I if perchance already buried : mine is the crime in either case ; hath sorrow then no power ? Is death, or fierce Creon, all a dream ? Ornytus, thou dost cheer me on my way ! " So speaking, she hastens with rapid pace over the fields of Megara ; folk that she meets point out her path,
461
STATIUS
obvius horrescitque habitus miseramque veretur. vadit atrox visu, nil corde nee aure^ paveseens, et nimiis confisa^ malis propiorque timeri : noete velut Plirygia cum lamentata resultant Dindyma, pinigeri rapitur Simoentis ad amnem 225 dux vesana chori, cuius dea sanguine lecto ipsa dedit ferrum et vittata fronde notavit.
lam pater Hesperio flagrantem gurgite currum abdiderat Titan, aliis rediturus ab undis, cum tamen ilia gravem luctu fallente laborem 230 nescit abisse diem : nee caligantibus arvis terretur, nec^ frangit iter per et invia saxa lapsurasque trabes nemorumque arcana, sereno nigra die, caecisque incisa novalia fossis, per fluvios secura vadi somnosque ferarum 235
praeter et horrendis infesta cubilia monstris. tantum animi luctusque valent ! pudet ire Menoeten tardius, invalidaeque gradum miratur alumnae, quas non ilia domos pecudumque hominumque
molesto* pulsavit gemitu ! quotiens amissus eunti 240
limes, et errantem comitis solacia flammae destituunt gelidaequa facem vicere tenebrae ! iamque supinantur fessis lateque fatiscunt Penthei devexa iugi, cum pectore anhelo lam prope deficiens sic incipit orsa Menoetes : 245 " haud procul, exacti si spes non blanda laboris,
^ aure Pw : ore Lachnmnn.
* confisa w : confixa P {Klotz cf. ii. 572).
^ nee Pw : Garrod conj, sed ; frangere here — to break off, to check.
* molesto Heinsius : modesto Pw.
" The votaries of Cybele cut themselves with knives in honour of the goddess. 462
THEBAID, XII. 221-246
awe-struck at her miserable plight. With grim countenance she strides onward, terrified by no sound without or panic within, with all the con- fidence of utter despair, and rather feared than fearing : as when upon a night in Phrygia Dindymus resounds ^vith waihng, and the crazy leader of the women's revel speeds to the waters of pine-rearing Simois — she to whom the goddess herself gave the knife, selecting her for bloodshed, and marked her viith the wool-bound wTeath."
Already had father Titan hidden his flaming chariot in the Hesperian flood, to emerge again from other waves, yet she, her weary toil beguiled by grief, knows not that the day is ended ; nor does the gathering gloom of the fields affray her, but unchecked she fares o'er pathless rocks, past boughs that threaten to fall, through mysterious forests, pitch-dark even in cloudless day, over plough-lands scarred with hidden dykes, plunging heedless through rivers, past sleeping beasts and dangerous lairs of fearful monsters. So great is the strength of passion and of grief ! Menoetes is ashamed of his slower pace, and marvels at the gait of his frail ward. What abodes of beasts or men echoed not to her grievous plaint ? How often did she lose the track as she went, how often did the solace of the companion flame desert her straying steps, and the cold darkness swallow up the torchlight ? And now the slopes of Pentheus' ridge * lie beside their weary path, and broaden into plain, when Menoetes nigh faiUng and with panting breast thus begins to speak : " Not far away, Argia, if the hope inspired by the toils
* i.e.. the slopes of Cithaeron; c/. "Tibur supinum," Hor. C. iii. 4. -'3.
463
ST ATI us
Ogygias, Argia, domos et egena sepulcri busta iacere reor ; grave comminus aestuat aer sordidus, et magnae redeunt per inane volucres. haec ilia est crudelis humus, nee moenia longe. 250 cernis, ut ingentes murorum porrigat umbras campus, et e speculis moriens intermicet ignis ? moenia sunt iuxta ; modo nox magis ipsa tacebat, solaque nigrantes laxabant astra tenebras." horruit Argia, dextramque ad moenia tendens : 255 " urbs optata prius, nunc tecta hostilia Thebae, et tamen, inlaesas si reddis coniugis umbras, sic quoque dulce solum, cernis, quo praedita cultu, qua stipata manu, iuxta tua limina primum 259
Oedipodis magni venio nurus ? improba non sunt vota : rogos hospes planctumque et funera posco. ilium, oro, extorrem regni belloque fugatum, ilium, quem solio non es dignata paterno, redde mihi ! tuque, oro, veni, si manibus uUa effigies errantque animae post membra solutae,^ 265 tu mihi pande vias, tuaque ipse ad funera deduc, si merui ! " dixit, tectumque adgressa propinquae pastorale casae reficit spiramina fessi ignis, et horrendos inrumpit turbida campos. qualis ab Aetnaeis accensa lampade saxis 270
orba Ceres magnae variabat imagine flammae Ausonium Siculumque latus, vestigia nigri raptoris vastosque legens in pulvere sulcos ; ilhus insanis ululatibus ipse remugit
^ solutae Pu) : soluta Baehrens : Garrod conj. prope m. solutae.
" One of the Giants, imprisoned by Jupiter under Aetna. 464
THEBAID, XII. 247-274
we have endured deceive not, lie, methinks, the Ogygian dwellings and the bodies that lack sepulture ; from close at hand come waves of hea\"ily-tainted air, and mighty birds are returning through the void. 'Tis indeed that cruel battle-field, nor is the city far distant. Seest thou how the plain outstretches the vast shadow of the walls, and how the dying fires flicker from the watch-towers ? The city is hard by : night herself was more silent but a moment past, and only the stars broke through the pitchy gloom." Argia shuddered, and stretched out her right hand toward the walls : " O city of Thebes, once longed-for, but now the dwelhng of our foes, yet, if thou givest back my dead spouse uninjured, even so a soil beloved : seest thou in what garb arrayed, by what a train accompanied. I, the daughter-in-law of mighty Oedipus, for the first time approach thy gates ? No unhallowed wash have I ; a stranger, I beg but for a p)Te, a corpse, and leave to mourn. Him restore to me, I pray, who was exiled from his realm and conquered in the fight, him, whom thou deemedst not worthy of his father's throne ! And come thou too, I beg, if spirits have any shape, and souls can wander freed from their bodies, show me the way, and lead me thyself to thy own corpse, if I have so deserved ! " She spoke, and entering the pastoral shelter of a neighbouring cottage kindles anew the breath of the d^ing brand, and impetuously rushes forth upon the awful plain. Even so did the bereaved Ceres light her torch and from Aetna's rocks cast the shifting glare of the mighty flame here over Sicily, there over Ausonia, as she followed the traces of the dark ra\'isher and the great wheel-furrows in the dust ; Enceladus" himself re-echoes her wild waitings, VOL. II 2 H 4/65
ST ATI us
Enceladus ruptoque vias inluminat igni : 275
Persephonen amnes silvae freta nubila clamant, Persephonen tantum Stygii tacet aula mariti.
Admonet adtonitam fidus meminisse Creontis altor et occulto submittere lampada furto. regina Argolicas modo formidata per urbes, 280
votum immane procis spesque augustissima gentis, nocte sub infesta, nullo duce et hoste propinquo, sola per ofFensus armorum et lubrica tabo gramina, non tenebras, non circumfusa tremiscens concilia umbrarum atque animas sua membra gementes 285
saepe gradu caeco ferrum calcataque tela dissimulat, solusque labor vitasse iacentes, dum funus putat omne suum, visuque sagaci rimatur positos et corpora prona supinat incumbens, queriturque parum lucentibus astris. 290
Forte soporiferas caeli secreta per umbras luno, sinu magni semet furata mariti, Theseos ad muros, ut Pallada flecteret, ibat, supplicibusque piis faciles aperiret Athenas. atque ubi per campos errore fatiscere vano 295
immeritam Argian supero respexit ab axe, indoluit visu, et lunaribus obvia bigis advertit vultum^ placidaque ita voce locuta est : " da mihi poscenti munus breve, Cynthia, si quis est lunonis honos^ ; certe lovis improba iussu 300 ter noctem Herculeam — veteres sed mitto querellas : en locus officio, cultrix placitissima^ nostri Inachis Argia cernis qua nocte vagetur
^ vultum P : currum oi.
^ lunonis honos u : iuvenis P.
^ placitissima Gronovius : placidissima Pw.
466
THEBAID, XII. 275-303
and illumines her path \\-ith bursting fire ; " Perse- phone " cry woods and rivers, seas and clouds : only the palace of her Stygian lord calls not " Persephone ".
Her faithful supporter warns the distracted dame to remember Creon and keep low her torch in stealthy hiding. She who of late was feared as queen through- out Argive cities, the ambitious hope of suitors and sacred promise of her race, through all the terrors of the night, without a guide and in the presence of the foe, goes on alone, o'er obstacles of arms, o'er grass all shppery vrith gore, trembling not at the gloom nor at troops of spirits hovering around or ghosts bewaiUng their ovm hmbs, oft treading blindly but unheeding on swords and weapons ; she labours but to avoid the fallen, and thinks even,' corpse the one she seeks, while \Wth keen glance she searches the slain, and bending down turns bodies on their backs, and complains to the stars that they give not hght enough.
By chance Juno, stealing herself from the bosom of her mighty lord, was faring through the slumbrous darkness of the sky to Theseus' walls, that she might move Pallas to yield and Athens to give gracious welcome to the pious supphants ; and when from the height of heaven she beheld the innocent Argia ex- hausted by fruitless wandering o'er the plain, she was grieved at the sight, and encountering the lunar team she faced them and spoke thus with calm accents : " Grant me a little boon, O Cynthia, if Juno can command respect ; 'tis true that at Jove's bidding, thou shameless one, that threefold night when Hercules — but I will let old quarrels be ; now canst thou do me a service. Argia, daughter of Inachus, my favourite votary — seest thou in what a
467
ST ATI us
nee reperire virum densis queat aegra tenebris ? et tibi nimbosum languet iubar : exsere quaeso 305 cornua, et adsueto propior premat orbita terras, hunc quoque, qui curru madidas tibi pronus habenas ducit, in Aonios vigiles demitte Soporem." vix ea, cum scissis magnum dea nubibus orbem protulit ; expavere umbrae, fulgorque recisus 310 sideribus ; vix ipsa tulit Saturnia flammas.
Primum per campos infuso lumine pallam coniugis ipsa suos noscit miseranda labores, quamquam texta latent sufFusaque sanguine maeret purpura ; dumque deos vocat et de funere caro 315 hoc superesse putat, videt ipsum in pulvere paene calcatum. fugere animus visusque sonusque, inclusitque dolor lacrimas ; tum corpora toto sternitur in voltus animamque per oscula quaerit absentem, pressumque comis ac veste cruorem 320 servatura legit, mox tandem voce reversa : " hunc ego te, coniunx, ad debita regna profectum ductorem belli generumque potentis Adrasti aspicio, taHsque tuis occurro triumphis ? hue adtolle genas defectaque lumina : venit 325
ad Thebas Argia tuas ; age, raoenibus indue et patrios ostende lares et mutua redde hospitia. heu quid ago ? proiectus caespite nudo hoc patriae telluris habes. quae iurgia ? certe
" i.e., as the soul is fled ("absentem"), she gathers up some of his blood. 468
THEBAID, XII. 304-329
night she roams, nor yriih faihng strength can find her spouse in the thick darkness ? Thy beams too are faint ^^ith shrouding vapour ; show forth thy horns, I pray thee, and let thy orbit approach the earth nearer than is thy wont. This Sleep, too, who lean- ing forward plies for thee thy humid chariot-reins, send him upon the Aonian watchmen." Scarce had she spoken, when the goddess cleft the clouds and displayed her mighty orb ; the shadows started in terror, and the stars were shorn of their radiance ; scarce did Saturnia herself endure the brightness.
First by the hght that floods the plain she recog- nizes her husband's cloak, her ovm handiv^ork, poor woman I though the texture is hidden and the purple mourns to be suffused with blood ; and while she calls upon the gods, and thinks that this is all that is left of the beloved corpse, she catches sight of himself, nigh trampled into the dust. Her spirit quailed, and \ision and speech fled, and grief thrust back her tears ; then she falls prostrate about his face, and seeks with kisses for his departed soul, and pressing the blood from his hair and raiment gathers it up to treasure." At last as her voice returns : " My husband, is it he who once marched captain of the war to the realm that was his due, is it the son-in-law of powerful Adrastus whom I now behold ? Is this the manner in which I go to meet thy triumph ? Raise hither thy countenance and thy sightless eyes : Argia has come to thy Thebes ; lead me then inside thy city, show me thy father's halls and make me welcome in thy turn. Alas I what am I doing ? thou Uest on the naked earth, and this is all that thou dost o\vn of thy native land. \Miat were those quarrels ? 'Tis sure thy brother
469
STATIUS
imperium non frater habet. nullasne tuorum 330 movisti lacrimas ? ubi mater, ubi inclyta fama Antigone ? mihi nempe iaces, mihi vietus es uni ! dicebam : quo tendis iter ? quid sceptra negata poscis ? habes Argos, soceri regnabis in aula ; hie tibi longus honos, hie indivisa potestas. 335
quid queror ? ipsa dedi bellum maestumque rogavi ipsa patrem, ut talem nunc te complexa tenerem. sed bene habet, superi, gratum est, Fortuna ; peracta spes longinqua viae : totos invenimus artus. ei mihi, sed quanto deseendit vulnus hiatu ! 340
hoc frater ? qua parte, precor, iacet ille nefandus praedator ? vincam volueres — sit adire potestas — excludamque feras ; an habet funestus et ignes ? sed nee te flammis inopem tua terra videbit : ardebis lacrimasque feres, quas ferre negatum 345 regibus, aeternumque tuo famulata sepulcro durabit deserta fides, testisque dolorum natus erit, parvoque torum Poly nice fovebo."
Ecce alios gemitus aUamque ad busta ferebat Antigone miseranda facem, vix nacta petitos 350
moenibus egressus ; illam nam tempore in omni adtendunt vigiles et rex iubet ipse teneri, contractaeque vices et crebrior excubat ignis, ergo deis fratrique moras excusat et amens, ut paulum immisso cessit static horrida somno, 355 erumpit muris : fremitu quo territat agros virginis ira leae, rabies cui libera tandem
" i.e., the guards succeed each other at shorter intervals and the watchfires are kindled more frequently.
470
THEBAID, XII. 330-357
holcls not dominion here. Didst thou move none of thine own to tears .' Where is thy mother ? Where the famed Antigone ? \'erily 'tis for me thou hest dead, for me alone thou didst suffer defeat I I asked thee : Whither marchest thou ? Why demandest thou the sceptre denied thee ? Thou hast Argos and ^^ilt reign in my father's hall; long honours await thee here, and undivided power. But why do I complain ? Myself I gave thee war, and with my own lips begged it of my sorrowing sire — that now I might hold thee thus in my embrace. But it is well, ye gods ; I thank thee, Fortune ; the distant hope of my wandering is fulfilled : I have found his body whole. Ah ! what a deep and gaping wound I Was this his brother's work ? Were lies, I pray, that infamous robber ? I would outdo the birds, might I but approach him, and keep the beasts away I Hath the fell \illain fire as well ? But thee thy land shall not behold undowered of flame ; burn thou shalt, and tears that may not weep for kings shall rain on thee, and desolate love shall endure and aye tend thy sepulchre ; thy son shall be the witness of my sorrow, a little Polynices shall cherish thy couch for me."
Lo ! with another torch and other sounds of woe liapless Antigone drew nigh the dead, ha\"ing scarce won from the town the escape she longed for ; for ever do guards attend her, and the king himself bids her be held fast ; the times of watching are shortened and more frequent glow the fires." There- fore she makes excuse for her delaying to the gods and her brother, and frantically, so soon as the rough sentinels relaxed one whit their ^^gilance, burst from out the walls : ^\"ith such a cry does the virgin Uoness terrify the countryside, her fury free at last, when
471
STATIUS
et primus sine matre furor, nee longa morata est, quippe trucem campum et, positus quo pulvere frater, noverat : atque illam contra videt ire Menoetes, 360 cui vacat, et carae gemitus compescit alumnae, cum tamen erectas extremus virginis aures accessit sonus, utque atra sub veste comisque squalentem et crasso foedatam sanguine vultus astrorum radiis et utraque a lampade vidit : 365
" cuius," ait, " manes, aut quae temeraria quaeris nocte mea ? " nihil ilia diu, sed in ora mariti deicit inque suos pariter velamina vultus, capta metu subito paulumque oblita doloris. hoc magis increpitans suspecta silentia perstat 370 Antigone, comitemque premens ipsamque ; sed ambo deficiunt fixique silent, tandem ora retexit Argia, corpusque tamen complexa profatur : ' ' si quid in hoc veteri bellorum sanguine mecum quaesitura venis, si tu quoque dura Creontis 375
iussa times, possum tibi me confisa fateri. si misera es — certe lacrimas lamentaque cemo — , iunge, age, iunge fidem : proles ego regia Adrasti — ei mihi ! num quis adest ? — cari Polynicis ad ignes, etsi regna vetant— ." stupuit Cadmeia virgo 380 intremuitque simul, dicentemque occupat ultro : " mene igitur sociam — pro fors ignara ! — malorum, mene times ? mea membra tenes, mea funera plangis. cedo, tene, pudet heu ! pietas ignava sororis ! haec prior — ! " hie pariter lapsae iunctoque per ipsum 385
" i.e., Antigone's.
472
THEBAID, XII. 358-385
for the first time her mother shares not in her rage. Not long did she tarry, for she knew the cruel plain and where her brother lay in the dust : Menoetes, as he stands unbusied, marks her as she comes, and hushes the groans of his dear ward. But when the latest sob reached the maiden's ° uplifted ears, and when she saw by the stars' rays and the hght of either torch her mourning raiment and dis- hevelled hair and face all foul >^ith congealed gore, she cried : " Whose body seekest thou in this night that is mine ? Who art thou, daring woman ? Nought answered the other a long while, but cast her raiment about her husband's face and likewise her o^^'n, a prey to sudden fear and awhile forgetful of her sorrow. Antigone, chiding her suspected silence, persists the more, and urges her comrade and herself; but both are lost in utter silence. At last Argia unveiled her face and spoke, yet still clasped the body : " If thou comest to seek aught \\ith me in this stale blood of battle, if thou also fearest Creon's harsh commands, I can A\-ith confidence reveal myself to thee. If thou art A^TCtched — and surely I behold tears and signs of grief — come join with me in friendship ; Adrastus' royal seed am I — ah I is any near ? — at the pyre of my beloved PoljTiices, though kingdoms set their ban—" the Cadmean maiden started in amaze and trembled, and broke in upon her speech : " Is it I then whom thou dost fear ? — how bhnd is chance ! — I, the partner of thy woes ? Mine are the hmbs thou boldest, mine the corpse thou dost bewail. Take him, he is thine I Ah, shame I Ah, for the cowardly devotion of a sister ! She came before me — ! " Side by side they fall, and together embracing the same body
473
STATIUS
amplexu miscent avidae lacrimasque comasque, partitaeque artus redeunt alterna gementes ad vultum et cara vicibus cervice fruuntur. dumque modo haec fratrem memorat, nunc ilia
maritum, mutuaque exorsae Thebas Argosque renarrant, 390 longius Argia miseros reminiscitur actus : " per tibi furtivi sacrum commune doloris, per socios manes et conscia sidera iuro : non hie amissos, quamquam vagus exsul, honores, non gentile solum, carae non pectora matris, 395
te cupiit unam noctesque diesque locutus Antigonen ; ego cura minor facilisque relinqui. tu tamen ex celsa sublimem forsitan arce ante nefas Grais dantem vexilla maniplis vidisti, teque ille acie respexit ab ipsa 400
ense salutatam et nutantis vertice coni : nos procul. extremas sed quis deus egit in iras ? nil vestrae valuere preces ? tibine iste negavit oranti ? " causas ac tristia reddere fata coeperat Antigone ; fidus comes admonet ambas : 405 " heia agite inceptum potius ! iam sidera pallent vicino turbata die, perferte laborem, tempus erit lacrimis, accenso flebitis igne."
Haud procul Ismeni monstrabant murmura ripas, qua turbatus adhuc et sanguine decolor ibat. 410
hue laceros artus socio conamine portant invalidae, iungitque comes non fortior ulnas. sic Hyperionium tepido Phaethonta sorores
474
THEBAID, XII. 386-413
mingle greedily their tears and tresses, and share his Hnibs between them, and anon return %\-ith united lament to his face and glut themselves by turns upon his well-loved breast. And while they recall the one her brother and the other her spouse, and each tells to each the tale of Argos and of Thebes, Argia in longer strain brings to mind her oa^ti sad story : " By the sacred communion of our stolen mourning, by our common dead and the \\-itnessing stars I swear to thee : not his lost crown, nor his native soil, nor his dear mother's breast did he desire, wandering exile though he was, but thee alone ; of thee, Antigone, he spake by night and day ; I was a lesser care and easily rehnquished. Yet didst thou perchance before the horrid deed from a lofty turret behold him towering high and giving the Grecian companies their banners, and he looked back at thee from the very hne of battle, and saluted thee \\-ith his sword and the nodding summit of his helm : but I was far away. But what god drove them to the extremity of ^\Tath ? Did your prayers nought avail ? Did the other refuse thy own entreaty ? " Antigone had begun to set forth the causes and the cruelty of fate, but the faithful comrade warned them : " Nay finish rather your task ! Already the stars are pahng in rout before the approaching day ; complete your toil, the time for tears will come ; kindle the fire, then weep your fill."
Not far away a roar betrayed the channel of Ismenos where he was flowing still discoloured and befouled by gore. Hither >\ith united effort they feebly bear the mangled hmbs, while their companion as weak as they adds his arm to theirs. So did his sisters lave the smoking Phaethon, Hyperion's son,
475
STATIUS
fumantem lavere Pado ; vixdum ille sepulcro conditus, et flentes stabant ad flumina silvae. 415 ut sanies purgata vado membrisque reversus mortis honos, ignem miserae post ultima quaerunt oscula ; sed gelidae circum exanimesque favillae putribus in foveis, atque omnia busta quiescunt. stabat adhuc seu forte rogus, seu numine divum, 420 cui torrere datum saevos Eteocleos artus, sive locum monstris iterum Fortuna parabat, seu dissensuros servaverat Eumenis ignes. hie tenuem nigris etiamnum advivere lucem roboribus pariter cupidae videre, simulque 425
flebile gavisae ; nee adhuc, quae busta, repertum, sed placidus quemcumque^ rogant mitisque supremi admittat cineris consortem et misceat umbras.
Ecce iterum fratres : primos ut contigit artus ignis edax, tremuere rogi et novus advena busto 430 pellitur ; exundant diviso vertice flammae alternosque apices abrupta luce coruscant. pallidus Eumenidimi veluti commiserit ignes Orcus, uterque minax globus et conatur uterque longius ; ipsae etiam commoto pondere paulum 435 secessere trabes. conclamat territa virgo : " occidimus, functasque manu stimulavimus iras. frater erat : quis enim accessus ferus hospitis umbrae pelleret ? en clipei fragmen semiustaque nosco cingula, frater erat ! cernisne, ut flamma recedat 440 concurratque tamen ? vivunt odia improba, vivunt. nil actum bello ; miseri, sic, dum arma movetis,
^ quemcumque P : quicumque w.
" His sisters were turned into poplars. 476
THEBAID, XII. 414-442
in the heated Padus : scarce was he interred, when a weeping grove rose by the river-side." When the filth was purged in the stream and the body was once more beautiful in death, the \\Tetched women after the last kisses searched for fire, but dead and cold were the ashes in the mouldering pits, and all the p}Tes were silent. Still there remained one funeral pile, whether by chance or heaven's ^nll, that had been fated to burn the limbs of fierce Eteocles — whether Fortune once more gave opportunity for portents, or the Fury had spared the fires for mutual strife. Here both in their eagerness beheld a feeble glow still alive among the blackened timbers, and together wept tears of joy ; nor yet knew they whose the pyre, but prayed, whosesoe'er it be, that he be favourable and graciously admit a partner to his latest ashes and unite their ghosts.
Once more behold the brothers : as soon as the devouring fire touched the body, the pile shook, and the newcomer is driven from the pjTe ; a flame streams up ^vith double head, each darting tongues of flashing light. As though pale Orcus had set in conflict the torches of the Eumenides, each ball of fire threatens and strives to outreach the other ; the very timbers, with all their massive weight, were moved and gave way a space. The maiden cries out in terror : " We are undone ; ourselves we have stirred his wrath in death. It was his brother ; who else would be so cruel as to spurn the approach of a stranger ghost ? Lo ! I recognize the broken buckler and the charred sword-belt, ay, it was liis brother ! Seest thou how the flame shrinks away and yet rushes to the fight ? AHve, ay, ahve is that impious hatred. The war was in vain : while thus
477
ST ATI us
vicit nempe Creon ! nusquam iam regna, quis ardor ? cui furitis ? sedate minas ; tuque exsul ubique semper inops aequi, iam cede : hoc nupta precatur, hoc soror, aut saevos mediae veniemus in ignes." 446
Vix ea, cum subitus campos tremor altaque tecta impuUt adiuvitque rogi discordis hiatus, et vigilum turbata quies, quibus ipse malorum fingebat simulacra sopor : ruit ilicet, omnem 450
prospectum lustrans armata indagine miles, illos instantes senior timet unus ; at ipsae ante rogum saevique palam sprevisse Creontis imperia et furtum claro plangore fatentur securae, quippe omne vident fluxisse cadaver. 455 ambitur saeva de morte animosaque leti spes furit : haec fratris rapuisse, haec coniugis artus contendunt vicibusque probant: " ego corpus," " ego
ignes," " me pietas," " me duxit amor." deposcere saeva supplicia et dextras iuvat insertare catenis. 460
nusquam ilia alternis modo quae reverentia verbis, iram odiumque putes ; tantus discordat utrimque clamor, et ad regem, qui deprendere, trahuntur.
At procul Actaeis dextra iam Pallade muris luno Phoroneas inducit praevia matres 465
attonitas, non ipsa minus, coetumque gementem conciliat populis et fletibus addit honor em. 478
THEBAID, XII. 443-467
ye strive, unhappy ones, Creon has conquered after all ! Gone is your realm, why then such fury ? For whom do ye rage ? Appease your anger. And thou, everywhere an exile, ever debarred from justice, yield at last ; this is thy wife's and thy sister's prayer, else shall we leap into the fierce flame to part you."
Scarce had she spoken, when a sudden tremor shook the plain and the lofty roofs, and increased the chasm of the discordant pyre, while the watchmen, whose very sleep shaped images of woe, started from repose : straightway the soldiers rush forth, and with a ring of arms search the whole countryside. As they draw nigh, the old man alone has fear ; but the women openly before the pyre confess to have spurned fierce Creon's command, and with loud cry admit their secret deed, careless, for they see that already the whole body is consumed. Ambitious are they for cruel destruction, and a spirited hope of death is aflame within them : they contend that they stole, the one her consort's, the other her kinsman's limbs, and prove their case by turns : " I brought the body," " but I the fire," " I was led by affection," " I by love." They delight to ask for cruel punishment and to thrust their arms into the chains. Gone is the reverence that but now was in the words of each ; \\Tath and hatred one would deem it, so loud on either side rise the cries of discord ; they even drag their captors before the king.
But far away Juno leads the distraught Phoronean dames — herself no less distraught — to the walls of Athens, having gained at last the goodwill of Pallas, and goes before them on the road ; she gives the train of mourners favour in the people's sight and inspires reverence for their tears. With her own
479
STATIUS
ipsa manu ramosque oleae vittasque precantes
tradit, et obtenta submittere lumina palla
et praeferre docet vacuas sine manibus urnas. 470
omnis Erechtheis^ efFusa penatibus aetas
tecta viasque replent : unde hoc examen et una
tot miserae ? necdum causas novere malorum,
iamque gemunt. dea conciliis se miscet utrisque
cuncta docens, qua gente satae, quae funera plangant
quidve petant ; variis nee non adfatibus ipsae 476
Ogygias leges immansuetumque Creonta
multum et ubique fremunt. Geticae non plura
queruntur hospitibus tectis truneo sermone volucres, cum duplices thalamos et iniquum Terea clamant.
Urbe fuit media nulli concessa potentum 481
ara deum ; mitis posuit Clementia sedem, et miseri fecere sacram ; sine supplice numquam ilia novo, nulla damnavit vota repulsa. auditi quicumque rogant, noctesque diesque 485
ire datum et solis numen placare querellis. parca superstitio : non turea flamma, nee altus accipitur sanguis : lacrimis altaria sudant, maestarumque super libamina secta comarum pendent et vestes mutata sorte relictae. 490
mite nemus circa, cultuque insigne verendo vittatae laurus et supplicis arbor olivae. nulla autem effigies, nulli commissa metallo fornxa dei, mentes habitare et pectora gaudet. semper habet trepidos, semper locus horret egenis
^ Erechtheis late Mss., Heinsius : et Acteis w.
" Nightingales, see note on viii. 616. Tereus, king of Thrace, ravished Philomela, sister of his wife Procne ; " truneo," because she cut out her own tongue.
480
THEBAID, XII. 468-495
hand she gives them boughs of olive and supplicating fillets, and teaches them to hide their faces in their robes and bear before them urns untenanted by the dead. A multitude of every age streams forth from the Erechthean homes and fills the housetops and the streets ; whence comes this swarm ? Whence so many mourners together ? Not yet do they know the cause of their distress, yet are already weeping. With either concourse the goddess mingles and tells them of all : of what race they are sprung, what deaths they are bewaihng, and what they seek ; they themselves too in various converse make everywhere loud outcry against the Ogygian laws and inhuman Creon. No lengthier plaint do the Getic birds " utter upon the foreign housetops in mutilated speech, when they exclaim against the treachery of the wedding bower and Tereus' cruel deed.
There was in the midst of the city an altar belong- ing to no god of power * ; gentle Clemency had there her seat, and the wretched made it sacred ; never lacked she a new suppliant, none did she condemn or refuse their prayers. All that ask are heard, night and day may one approach and win the heart of the goddess by complaints alone. No costly rites are hers ; she accepts no incense flame, no blood deep- welling ; tears flow upon her altar, sad off'erings of severed tresses hang above it, and raiment left when Fortune changed. Around is a grove of gentle trees, marked by the cult of the venerable, wool-entwined laurel and the suppliant olive. No image is there, to no metal is the di\'ine form entrusted, in hearts and minds does the goddess dehght to dwell. The distressed are ever nigh her, her precinct ever swarms
* For this passage see vol. i. Introduction, pp. xvi, xxvi.
VOL. II 2 1 i8T
STATIUS
coetibus, ignotae tantum felicibus arae. 496
fama est, defenses acie post busta paterni numinis Herculeos sedem fundasse nepotes. fama minor factis : ipsos nam credere dignum caelicolas, tellus quibus hospita semper Athenae, 500 eeu leges hominemque novum ritusque sacrorum seminaque in vacuas hinc descendentia terras, sic sacrasse loco commune animantibus aegris confugium, unde procul starent iraeque minaeque regnaque, et a iustis Fortuna recederet aris. 505
iam tunc innumerae norant altaria gentes : hue victi bellis patriaque a sede fugati, regnorumque inopes scelerumque errore nocentes conveniunt pacemque rogant ; mox hospita sedes vicit et Oedipodae Furias et funus Olynthi^ 510
texit et a misero matrem submovit Oreste. hue volgo monstrante locum manus anxia Lernae deveniunt, cedunt^ miserorum turba priorum. vix ibi, sedatis requierunt pectora curis : ceu patrio super alta grues Aquilone fugatae 515
cum videre Pharon ; tunc aethera latius implent, tunc hilari clangore sonant ; iuvat orbe^ sereno contempsisse nives et frigora solvere Nilo.
lamque domos patrias Scythicae post aspera gentis proelia laurigero subeuntem Thesea curru 520
^ et funus Olynthi Pu : funusque Coloni Imhof : et funus^ Onitae tersit Unger, quod patrem siium occidit Schol. D. ^ cedunt Kohlmann : caedunt Pi : caedit or cedit ui. ' orbe CO : ore P.
" He refers to the gift of the knowledge of agriculture,} which Triptolemus brought to Attica, and the worship of Demeter which he instituted there. The " new man " ap-
482
I
THEBAID, XII. 49«>-o20
with needy folk, only to the prosperous is her slirine unknoA^Ti. Fame says that the sons of Hercules, saved in battle after the death of their diWne sire, set up this altar ; but Fame comes short of truth : 'tis right to believe that the heavenly ones them- selves, to whom Athens was ever a welcoming land, as once they gave laws and a new man and sacred ceremonies and the seeds that here descended upon the empty earth," so now sanctified in this spot a conmion refuge for travaihng souls, whence the wTath and threatenings of monarchs might be far removed, and Fortune depart from a shrine of righteousness. Already to countless races were those altars kno^^'n ; hither came flocking those defeated in war and exiled from their country, kings who had lost their realms and those guilty of grievous crime, and sought for peace ; and later this abode of kindliness o'er- came the rage of Oedipus and sheltered the murder of Olynthus and defended hapless Orestes from his mother. Hither guided by the common folk comes the distressful band of Lema, and the crowd of previous votaries give way before them. Scarce were they arrived, when their troubles were soothed and their hearts had rest : even as cranes chased o'er the deep by their native North >vind, beholding Pharos, spread in denser array over the sky and raise a joyful clamour ; they dehght beneath a cloudless heaven to think scorn of snows, and to loose the grip of winter by the banks of Nile.
And now Theseus, dra>^"ing nigh his native land in laurelled car after fierce battling with the Scythian
pears to be Triptolemus himself. Athens boasted to have always been a refuge for the distressed, e.g. for Orestes and Oedipus ; Olynthus is not otherwise known.
483
ST ATI us
laetifici plausus missusque ad sidera vulgi clamor et emeritis hilaris tuba nuntiat armis. ante ducem spolia et, duri Mavortis imago, virginei currus cumulataque fercula cristis et tristes ducuntur equi truncaeque bipennes, 525 quis nemora et solidam Maeotida caedere suetae, corytique leves portantur et ignea gemmis cingula et informes dominarmn sanguine peltae. ipsae autem nondum trepidae sexumve fatentur, nee vulgare gemunt aspernanturque precari, 530
et tantuni innuptae quaerunt delubra Minervae. primus amor niveis victorem cernere vectum quadriiugis ; nee non populos in semet agebat Hippolyte, iam blanda genas patiensque mariti foederis, banc patriae ritus fregisse severos 535
Atthides oblique secum mirantur operto murmure, quod nitidi crines, quod pectora palla tota latent, magnis quod barbara semet Athenis miseeat atque hosti veniat paritura^ marito.
Paulum et ab insessis maestae Pelopeides aris 540 promovere gradum seriemque et dona triumphi mirantur, victique animo rediere mariti. atque ubi tardavit currus et ab axe superbo explorat causas victor poscitque benigna aure preces, ausa ante alias Capaneia coniunx : 545 " belliger Aegide, subitae cui maxima laudis semina de nostris aperit Fortuna ruinis, non externa genus, dirae nee conscia noxae turba sumus : domus Argos erat regesque mariti,
^ paritura w : placitura P.
" i.e., of the Amazons, the tribe of warrior-maids of Scythia, cf. v. 144; the Maeotis is the Sea of Azov.
484
THEBAID, XII. 521-349
folk, is heralded by glad applause and the heaven- flung shout of the populace and the merry trump of warfare ended. Before the chief are borne his spoils, and virgin chariots " that recall the grim War-God, and wagons heaped ^^•ith crests and downcast steeds and broken axes, wherewith the foe were wont to cleave the forests and frozen Maeotis, hght quivers too are borne and baldricks fiery with gems and targes stained with the blood of the warrior-maids. They themselves, still un- afraid, admit no thought of sex, and scorn to entreat nor utter mean lament, only they seek the shrine of unwedded Minerva. The first passion of the folk is to behold the conqueror, drawn by his four snow- white steeds ; Hippolyte too drew all toward her, friendly now in look and patient of the marriage- bond. With hushed whispers and sidelong gaze the Attic dames marvel that she has broken her country's austere laws, that her locks are trim, and all her bosom hidden beneath her robe, that though a barbarian she mingles with mighty Athens, and comes to bear offspring to her foeman-lord.
The sorrowful daughters of Pelops moved a short space from the altars where they sat, and marvelled at the triimiph with its train of spoils, and their vanquished lords came once more to their minds. And when the conqueror halted the chariots and from his proud car inquired the causes that had brought them and with kind attention bade them make their request, the ^\^fe of Capaneus dared speak before the others : " WarUke son of Aegeus, for whom Fortune opens up vast fields of unexpected glor)^ through our ruin, no strangers by race are we, nor guilty of any heinous crime ; our home was
485
STATIUS
non utinam et fortes ! quid enim septena movere castra et Agenoreos opus emendare penates ? 551 nee querimur caesos : haec bellica iura vicesque armorum ; sed non Siculis exorta sub antris monstra nee Ossaei hello cecidere bimembres. mitto genus clarosque patres : hominum, inclyte Theseu, 555
sanguis erant, homines, eademque in sidera, eosdem sortitus animarum alimentaque vestra creati, quos vetat igne Creon Stygiaeque a limine portae, ceu sator Eumenidum aut Lethaei portitor amnis, submovet ac dubio caelique Erebique sub axe 560 detinet. heu princeps Natura ! ubi numina, ubi illest fulminis iniusti iaculator ? ubi estis, Athenae ? septima iam surgens trepidis Aurora iacentes aversatur equis ; radios declinat et horret stelligeri iubar omne poli ; iam comminus ipsae 565 pabula dira ferae campumque odere volueres spirantem tabo et caelum ventosque gravantem. quantum etenim superesse rear ? nuda ossaputremque verrere permittat saniem. properate, verendi Cecropidae ; vos ista decet vindicta, priusquam 570 Emathii Thracesque dolent,^ quaeque exstat ubique gens arsura rogis manesque habitura supremos. nam quis erit saevire modus ? bellavimus, esto ; sed cecidere odia et tristes mors obruit iras. tu quoque, ut egregios fama cognovimus actus, 575 non trucibus monstris Sinin infandumque dedisti ^ dolent Pw : adolent Baehrens : volent Lemaire.
<• i.e., Cyclopes or Centaurs. 486
THEBAID, XII. 550-576
Argos, and our husbands princes, would they had not been brave also ! \Miat need was there to arouse a sevenfold host, and chastise the city of Agenor ? We complain not that they were slain : that is the law of war and the fortune of the fight ; but they were no monsters risen from Sicihan dens or twyformed creatures of Ossa " who fell in the battle. Of their race and famous sires I speak not ; they were men, renowned Theseus, and of the seed of men, born to the selfsame stars to the same human lot, the same food and drink as ye are : yet Creon denies them fire, and like the father of the Furies or the ferryman of Lethe's stream debars them from the Stygian gate and keeps them hovering doubtfully between the worlds of heaven and hell. Alas I sovereign Nature I \Miere are the gods ? \Miere is the hurler of the unrighteous brand ? \Miere art thou, Athens ? Already the seventh dawn shrinks with frightened steeds from their corpses ; the stany pole shudders in all its splendours and withdraws its rays ; already the very birds and prowling beasts loathe the horrid carrion and the battle-field that reeks of corruption and hea\-ily taints the breezes and the air. How much indeed remains ? let him but permit me to sweep up bare bones and putrid gore I Make haste, ye worthy sons of Cecrops I such a vengeance becomes you, before the Emathians and Thracians suffer, and every race of men that would fain be burnt on p}Tes and be given the last rites of death. For what limit ^vill he set to his fury ? We made war, I grant it ; but hatred is assuaged, and death has put an end to sullen wrath. Thou also, for so Fame hath taught us of thy noble deeds, didst not give Sinis and the
487
STATIUS
Cercyona, et saevum velles Scirona crematum. credo et Amazoniis Tanain fumasse sepulcris, undehaecarma refers, sed et hune dignare triumphum. da terris unum caeloque Ereboque laborem, 580
si patrium Marathona metu, si teeta levasti Cressia, nee fudit vanos anus hospita fletus. sic tibi non ullae socia sine Pallade pugnae, nee sacer invideat paribus Tirynthius actis, semper et in curru, semper te mater ovantem 585 cernat, et invictae nil tale precentur Athenae."
Dixerat ; excipiunt cunctae tenduntque precantes cum clamore manus ; rubuit Neptunius heros permotus lacrimis ; iusta mox concitus ira exclamat : " quaenam ista novos induxit Erinys 590 regnorum mores ? non haec ego pcctora liqui Graiorum abscedens, Scythiam Pontumque nivalem cum peterem ; novus unde furor ? victumne putasti Thesea, dire Creon ? adsum, nee sanguine fessum crede ; sitit meritos etiamnum haec hasta cruores. nulla mora est ; verte hune adeo, fidissime Phegeu, cornipedem, et Tyrias invectus protinus arces 597 aut Danais edice rogos aut proelia Thebis." sic ait oblitus bellique viaeque laborum, hortaturque suos viresque instaurat anhelas : 600
ut nnodo conubiis taurus saltuque recepto cum posuit pugnas, alio si forte remugit bellatore nemus, quamquam ora et colla cruento imbre madent, novus arma paratcampumquelacessens
" Hecale, who entertained Theseus when he went out to slay the Marathonian bull.
* Theseus was a son of Neptune, according to some legends.
488
THEBAID, XII. 577-604
unutterable Cercyon to cruel monsters, and wert willing to let fierce Sciron bum. I ween too that Tanais smoked ^vith Amazonian pyres, whence thou hast brought this host : deem then this triumph also worthy of thee. Devote one exploit to earth and heaven and hell alike, if thou didst save thy native Marathon from fear, and the halls of Crete, and if the aged dame " that welcomed thee shed not her tears in vain. So may no battles of thine lack Pallas' aid, nor the di\ine TintTithian en\y thy equal exploits, may thy mother ever behold thee triumphant in thy car, and Athens know not defeat nor ever make a prayer Uke mine ! "
She spoke : they all with hands outstretched make clamorous echo to her words ; the Neptunian hero * flushed, deeply stirred by their tears ; soon fired by righteous anger he cries : " What Fury has inspired this strange unkingly conduct ? Not so minded were the Greeks at my departure, when I sought Scythia and the Pontic snows : whence this new madness ? Thoughtest thou Theseus conquered, fell Creon ? I am near at hand, think me not blood-weary ; even yet my spear thirsts for righteous slaughter. I make no delay ; turn on the instant thy galloping steed, most trusty Phegeus, speed to the T\Tian towers and proclaim that the Danai must bum or Thebes must fight." So speaks he, forgetful of the labours of warfare and the march, and encourages his men and inspires their exhausted strength anew : as when a bull has lately won back his brides and pasture and ceased from battle, if by chance another glade resound \vith a warrior's loN^ing, then, though his neck and breast be dripping with the bloody rain, he prepares afresh for war and pawing the plain
489
STATIUS
dissimulat gemitus et vulnera pulvere celat. 605
ipsa metus Libycos servatricemque Medusam pectoris incussa movit Tritonia parma. protinus erecti toto simul agmine Thebas respexere angues ; necdum Atticus ire parabat miles, et infelix expavit classica Dirce. 610
Continue in pugnas baud solum accensa iuventus, qui modo Caucasei comites rediere triumphi : omnis ad arma rudes ager exstimulavit alumnos. conveniunt ultroque ducis vexilla sequuntur, qui gelidum Braurona viri, qui rura lacessunt 615 Monychia et trepidis stabilem Piraeea nautis et nondum Eoo clarum Marathona triumpho. mittit in arma manus gentilibus hospita divis Icarii Celeique domus viridesque Melaenae, dives et Aegaleos nemorum Parnesque benignus 620 vitibus et pinguis melior Lycabessos olivae. venit atrox Alaeus et olentis arator Hymetti, quaeque rudes thyrsos hederis vestistis, Acharnae. linquitur Eois longe speculabile proris Sunion, unde vagi casurum in nomina ponti 625
Cressia decepit false ratis Aegea velo. hos Salamin populos, illos Cerealis Eleusin horrida suspensis ad proelia misit aratris, et quos Callirhoe noviens errantibus undis implicat, et raptae qui conseius Orithyiae 630
celavit ripis Geticos Elisos amores. ipse quoque in pugnas vacuatur coUis, ubi ingens lis superum, dubiis donee nova surgeret arbor
" Medusa and the Gorgons lived in Libya. '' Bacchus and Demeter.
* Acharnae was famous for the ivy that decked the thjTsi, or wands of the Bacchanals.
'' Aegeus, father of Theseus, threw himself into the sea
490
THEBAID, XII. 605-633
hides his groaning and conceals his wounds in dust. Tritonia herself smote upon her buckler and shook the Libyan terror," the Medusa that guards her bosom. Straightway all the serpents rose erect together, and in a mass looked towards Thebes ; not yet were the Attic warriors on the march, and already ill-fated Dirce trembled at the trumpets' sound.
At once not only are they inflamed to war who were returned from sharing the Caucasian \ictory : all the countryside stirred up its untrained sons to war. They flock together and of their O'wti accord follow their prince's standard : the men who spare not chilly Brauron and the Monychian fields and Piraeus, firm ground for frightened sailors, and Marathon, not yet famous for her Eastern triumph. The home- steads of Icarius and of Celeus that entertained their native gods * send troops to battle, green Melaenae too, and Aegaleos, rich in forests, and Parnes, friend of vines, and Lycabessos, richer in the juicy ohve. Violent Alaeus came, and the ploughman of fragrant Hymettus, thou, too, Acharnae, who didst clothe the bare wands in ivy." Sunion, far seen of Eastern prows, is left behind, whence Aegeus fell,'' deceived by the lying sails of the Cretan bark, and gave a name to the wandering main. These folk from Salamis, those from Eleusis, Ceres' towTi, were sent, their ploughs hung up, to the dreadful fray, and they whom Callirhoe enfolds with her nine errant streams, and Ehsos who privy to Orithyia's rape concealed beneath his banks the Thracian lover.* That hill too is emptied for the fight, where gods strove mightily, until a new tree rose from the doubting
(whence called Aegean), thinking that his son had perished in Crete. • Boreas, the north wind.
491
STATIUS
rupibus et longa refugum mare frangeret iimbra. isset et Arctoas Cadmea ad moenia ducens 635
Hippolyte turmas : retinet iam certa tumentis spes uteri, coniunxque rogat dimittere curas Martis et emeritas thalanio sacrare pharetras.
Hos ubi velle acies et dulci gliscere ferro dux videt, utque piis raptim dent oscula natis 640 amplexusque breves, curru sic fatur ab alto : " terrarum leges et mundi foedera mecum defensura cohors, dignas insumite mentes^ coeptibus : hac omnem divumque hominumque favorem Naturamque ducem coetusque silentis Averni 645 stare palam est ; illic Poenarum exercita Thebis agmina et anguicomae ducunt vexilla sorores. ite alacres tantaeque, preeor, confidite causae." dixit, et emissa praeceps iter incohat hasta : qualis Hyperboreos ubi nubilus institit axes 650
luppiter et prima tremefecit sidera bruma, rumpitur Aeolia et longam indignata quietem tollit hiemps animos ventosaque sibilat Arctos ; tunc montes undaeque fremunt, tunc proelia caecis^ nubibus et tonitrus insanaque fulmina gaudent. 655
Icta gemit tellus, virides gravis ungula campos mutat, et^ innumeris peditumque equitumque catervis exspirat protritus ager, nee pulvere crasso armorum lux victa perit, sed in aethera longum frangitur, et mediis ardent in nubibus hastae. 660
^ insumite mentes w : consumite amantes P. ^ caecis P : caesis a; : quassis Koch. * mutat et Pw : atterit N.
" The Acropolis of Athens, scene of the strife between Athene and Poseidon (god of the sea) ; Athene gained the victory by her gift of the olive-tree.
* Veterans on their discharge ("emeriti ") were accustomed to dedicate their arms in a temple
492
THEBAID, XII. 634-660
rocks and cast its long shadow on the retreating sea." Hippolyte too would have led her Northern squadrons to the Cadmean walls, but the already certain hope of her swelling womb restrains her, and her spouse entreats her to dismiss the thoughts of battle and in the marriage-bower to dedicate her Avar-spent quiver.''
When the chief perceives them in warhke mood and ablaze ^Aith joyous steel, how they give hurried kisses and brief embraces to their lo\ing children, he speaks thus from his lofty chariot : " Soldiers, who Avill defend Anth me the laws of nations and the covenants of heaven, take courage worthy of our emprise ! For us, 'tis clear, stands the favour of all gods and men, Nature our guide and the silent multitudes of Avernus : for thena the troops of the Furies, that Thebes has marshalled, and the snake- haired Sisters bring forth their banners. Onward in warlike spirit, and trust, I pray you, in a cause so noble ! " He spake, and hurhng his spear dashed forth upon the road : as when Jupiter plants his cloudy footsteps upon the Hyperborean pole and makes the stars tremble at the oncoming of winter, Aeoha"^ is riven, and the storm, indignant at its long idleness, takes heart, and the North whistles vrith the hurricane ; then roar the mountains and the waves, clouds battle in the bhnd gloom, and thunders and crazed hghtnings revel.
The smitten earth groans, the hea^-y hoof changes the aspect of the verdant plains, and the crushed fields expire beneath countless troops of horse and foot, nor is the gleam of armour lost in the thick dust, but flashes far into the air, and the spears burn amid • The abode of Aeolus, king of the winds.
STATIUS
noctem adeo placidasque operi iunxere tenebras, certamenque immane viris, quo concita tendant agmina, quis visas proclamet ab aggere Thebas, cuius in Ogygio stet princeps lancea muro. at procul ingenti Neptunius agmina Theseus 665
angustat elipeo, propriaeque exordia laudis centum urbes umbone gerit centenaque Cretae moenia, seque ipsum monstrosi ambagibus antri hispida torquentem luctantis colla iuvenci alternasque manus circum et nodosa ligantem 670 bracchia et abducto vitantem cornua vultu. terror habet populos, cum saeptus imagine torva^ ingreditur pugnas : bis Thesea bisque cruentas caede videre manus ; veteres reminiscitur actus ipse tuens sociumque gregem metuendaque quondam limina, et absumpto pallentem Gnosida filo. 676
Saevus at interea ferro post terga revinctas Antigonen viduamque Creon Adrastida leto admovet ; ambae hilares et mortis amore superbae ensibus intentant iugulos regemque cruentum 680 destituunt : cum dicta ferens Theseia Phegeus adstitit. ille quidem ramis insontis olivae pacificus, sed bella ciet bellumque minatur, grande fr emens ,nimiumque memor mandantis et ipsum iam prope, iam medios operire cohortibus agros 685 ingeminans. stetit ambiguo Thebanus in aestu curarum, nutantque minae et prior ira tepescit. tunc firmat sese, fictumque ac triste renidens :
^ imagine torva w : in agmine torvo P.
" Theseus's exploits in Crete (slaying of the Minotaur) were the prelude to his still greater subsequent fame.
THEBAID, XII. 661-688
the clouds. Night too and the quiet shades they add to their toil, and the warriors mightily strive how they may speed the army's march, who 'may pro- claim from a hillock the first sight of Thebes, whose lance mil first stand fixed in the Ogygian rampart. But from afar Theseus, son of Neptune, dwarfs the ranks with his huge shield, and bears upon its boss the hundred cities and hundred walls of Crete, the prelude to his o^^Tl reno^%■n,'' and himself in the wind- ings of the monstrous cave t\\isting the shaggy neck of the strugghng bull, and binding him fast \nt\\ sinewy arms and grip of either hand, and avoiding the horns with head dra\\Ti back. Terrified are the folk when he goes to battle 'neath the shelter of that grim device, to behold Theseus in double shape and his hands twice drenched in gore ; he himself recalls his deeds of old, the band of comrades and the once- dreaded doorway and the pale face of the Gnosian maid as she followed out the clue.
But meanwhile the ruthless Creon leads onward to death Antigone and the widowed daughter of Adrastus, their hands fettered behind them ; both cheerful and proudly eager for death, they hold out their necks to the swords and baffle the cruel king, when lo I bearing Theseus' message Phegeus stood there. All peaceful he with innocent olive- branch, but war is his intent, and war he threatens in loud and angry tones, and well remembering his lord's commands repeats that he ^\•ill soon be nigh at hand in person, soon covering the countryside as he passes with all his cohorts. The Theban stood in doubt amid surging cares, his anger wavers and his first wTath grows cool. Then steeling his heart, and with a feigned and sullen smile he answered : " Too
495
ST ATI us
" parvane prostratis " inquit, " documenta Mycenis sanximus? en iterum, qui moenia nostra lacessant. 690 accipimus, veniant ; sed ne post bella querantur : lex eadem victis." dicit ; sed pulvere crasso caligare diem et Tyrios iuga perdere montes aspicit ; armari populos tamen armaque ferri ipse iubet pallens, mediaeque in sedibus aulae 695 Eumenidas subitas flentemque Menoeeea cernit turbidus impositosque rogis gaudere Pelasgos. quis fuit ille dies ? tanto cum sanguine Thebis pax inventa perit ? patriis modo fixa revellunt arma deis, clipeisque obducunt peetora fractis, 700 et galeas humiles et adhuc sordentia tabo spicula : non pharetris quisquam, non ense decorus, non spectandus equo ; cessat fiducia valli, murorum patet omne latus, munimina portae exposcunt : prior hostis habet ; fastigia desunt : 705 deiecit Capaneus ; exsanguis et aegra inventus iam nee coniugibus suprema nee oscula natis iungit, et attoniti nil optavere parentes.
Atticus interea, iubar ut clarescere ruptis nubibus et solem primis aspexit in armis, 710
desilit in campum, qui subter moenia nudos adservat manes, dirisque vaporibus aegrum aera pulverea penitus sub casside dueens ingemit et iustas belli flammatur in iras. hunc saltem miseris ductor Thebanus honorem 715 largitus Danais, quod non super ipsa iacentum corpora belligeras acies Martemque secundum miscuit ; aut^ lacera ne quid de strage nefandus
^ aut Pw : at Grotius. 496
THEBAID, XII. 689-718
slight assurance then did we give of Mycenae's ruin ? Lo I here come others to vex our walls ! Let them come I We take the challenge ! But let them not whine when they are beaten ; one law awaits the conquered." He speaks, but sees the daylight wane in thickening dust, and the sharp outUnes fade from the Tyrian hills ; yet in pale anxiety he bids his people arm and go to war, and suddenly beholds in his palace-hall the Furies, and Menoeceus weeping, and the Pelasgians exultant on their pyres. Ah ! fatal day ! when peace gained for Thebes at such a price of blood is lost again ! They tear down the arms lately hung in their native shrines, and shield their bodies with pierced bucklers, don mutilated helms and take up gore-encrusted spears ; none is gay with quiver or sword, none is glorious to behold upon his charger ; no trust is there in the pahsade, the city walls are all agape, the gates cry for defences ; the former foe hath them in possession ; the battle- ments are gone : Capaneus hath o'erthrown them ; strengthless and faint, the warriors no more give the last kisses to wives or children, nor do their dazed parents utter any prayer.
Meanwhile the Attic chief, beholding the rays burst through the clouds in growing splendour and the sun first glint upon the arms, leaps down into the plain where by the walls the dead still lie un- buried, and breathing beneath his dusty helm the dread vapours of the tainted air he groans and is inflamed to righteous rage for war. This honour at least did the Theban chieftain pay to the hapless Danaans, that he engaged not the warring hosts in a second battle o'er the very bodies of the fallen ; or else, that his impious lust might lose naught of
VOL. II 2 k 497
STATIUS
perderet, eligitur saevos potura cruores terra rudis ? iamque alternas in proelia gentes 720 dissimilis Bellona ciet ; non clamor utrimque, non utrimque tubae : stat debilis altera pubes submissos enses nequiquam amentaque dextris laxa tenens ; cedunt tellure, armisque reductis ostentant veteres etiamnum in sanguine plagas. 725 iam nee Cecropiis idem ductoribus ardor, languescuntque minae et virtus secura residit : ventorum velut ira minor, nisi silva furentes impedit, insanique tacent sine litore fluctus.
Ut vero aequoreus quercum Marathonida Theseus extulit, erectae cuius crudelis in hostes 731
umbra cadit campumque trucem lux cuspidis implet : ceu pater Edonos Haemi de vertice Mavors impulerit currus, rapido mortemque fugamque axe vehens, sic exanimes in terga reducit 735
pallor Agenoridas ; taedet fugientibus uti Thesea, nee facilem dignatur dextra cruorem. cetera plebeio desaevit sanguine virtus, sic iuvat exanimis proiectaque praeda canesque degeneresque lupos : magnos alit ira leones. 740
attamen Olenium Lamyrumque, hunc tela pharetra promentem, hunc saevi tollentem pondera saxi deicit, et triplici confisos robore gentis Alcetidas fratres, totidem quos eminus hastis continuat ; ferrum consumpsit pectore Phyleus, 745 ore momordit Helops, umero transmisit lapyx. iamque et quadriiugo celsum petit Haemona curru,
" i.e., that the carnage might be greater on a fresh field. 498
THEBAID, XII. 719-747
mangled carnage," does he choose a \irgin field to drink up the streams of gore ? Already in far different ^^^se Bellona summons the armies to mutual fight : here only is heard the battle-cry, here only the trumpet-blast ; there frail warriors stand, ^\ith drooping ineffectual swords and loosened slings ; they give way, and dra\\ing back their armour dis- play old wounds yet bleeding. Already even the Cecropian chiefs have lost their ardour for the fray, their temper wanes and confident valour flames less high ; just as the vTath of the winds is weakened, if no forest impede their raging blasts, and the furious billows are silent where there is no shore.
But when Theseus, bom of the main, held aloft his Marathonian oaken shaft, whose cruel shadow as he lifted it fell upon the foe, and the spear-point flashed o'er the battle-field afar — as though father Mavors were driWng his Edonian chariot down from Haemus' summit, with Death and Panic riding upon his hurry- ing axle, even so does pale fear drive the sons of Agenor in terror-stricken rout ; but Theseus disdains to do battle with the fugitives, his right hand thinks scorn of easy victims. The rest of the gallant host sate their rage in common slaughter. Even so dogs and coward wolves delight in prey that lies cowering at their feet, while anger is the strength of mighty lions. Yet he slays Olenius and LamATus, the one as he takes arroMS from his quiver, the other as he raises a great stone aloft, and the sons of Alcetus, trusting in their threefold might, whom he pierces at long range with as many spears. Phyleus re- ceived the spear-point in his breast, Helops bit the iron with his teeth, the missile sped through the shoulder of lapyx. And now he makes for Haemon
499
STATIUS
horrendumque manu telum rotat : ille paventes obliquavit equos ; longo perlata tenore transiit hasta duos, sitiebat vulnera nee non 750
tertia, sed medio cuspis temone retenta est. Sed solum votis, solum clamore tremendo^ omnibus in turmis optat vocitatque Creonta. atque hunc diversa bellorum in fronte maniplos hortantem dictis frustraque extrema minantem 755 conspicit ; abscedunt comites : sed Thesea iussi linquebant fretique deis atque ipsius armis ; ille tenet revocatque suos ; utque aequa notavit hinc atque hinc odia, extrema se colligit ira, iam letale furens, atque audax morte futura : 760 " non cum peltiferis," ait, " haec tibi pugna puellis, virgineas ne crede manus : hie cruda virorum proelia, nos magnum qui Tydea quique furentem Hippomedonta neci Capaneaque misimus umbris pectora. quae bellum praeceps amentia suasit, 765 improbe ? nonne vides, quos ulciscare, iacentes ? " sic ait, et frustra periturum missile summo adfixit clipeo. risit vocesque manumque horridus Aegides, ferrataque arbore magnos molitur iactus, nee non prius ore superbo 770
intonat : " Argolici, quibus haec datur hostia, manes, pandite Tartareum chaos ultricesque parate Eumenidas, venit ecce Creon ! " sic fatus, et auras dissipat hasta tremens ; tunc qua subtemine duro multiplicem tenues iterant thoraca catenae, 775
incidit : emicuit per mille foramina sanguis
^ tremendo late Mss., Heinsius : premendo P: fremendo w.
" i.e., Amazons. 500
THEBAID, XII. 748-776
riding aloft in four-horsed car, and whirls the terrible javeUn \nih his arm ; the other swerved his frightened steeds, but the spear, far-flung, struck home, and piercing two of them thirsted for yet a third wound, but the point was stayed by the intervening pole.
But Creon alone is the object of his hopes and prayers, him alone he summons ^^•ith terrible challenge amid all the squadrons of the field ; he perceives him on a battle-front afar, exhorting his troops and utter- ing desperate threats in vain. His comrades flee away, but those of Theseus leave him at his bidding, relpng on the gods and the prowess of their chief ; Creon restrains his men and calls them back, but seeing that he is hated by either side alike, he nerves himself to a last outburst of rage, inspired now by the frenzy of doom and emboldened by inevitable death : " 'Tis with no targe-bearing girls " thou doest battle here ; no maiden's hands are ours, be sure ; here is the stern strife of men who have sent great Tydeus and furious Hippomedon to death, and the vast bulk of Capaneus to the shades. What headlong madness drove thee to fight, thou reckless fool ? Seest thou not their corpses whom thou wouldst avenge ? " So he spoke, and lodged his missile fruitlessly in the buckler's edge. But the terrible son of Aegeus laughed at his words and deed alike, and poising his iron-clad shaft for a mighty blow first proudly cried in thunderous accents : " Ye Argive spirits, to whom I offer this \'ictini, open \\ide the void of Tartarus, bring forth the Avenging Furies, lo I Creon comes I " He spoke, and the quivering spear rends the air ; then, where with iron weft the slender chains combine to form the manifold cuirass, it falls ; through a thousand meshes spirts upward
501
STATIUS
impius ; ille oculis extremo errore solutis labitur. adsistit Theseus gravis armaque tollens : " iamne dare exstinctis iustos," ait, " hostibus ignes, iam vietos operire placet ? vade atra dature 780
supplicia extremique tamen secure sepulcri."
Accedunt utrimque pio vexilla tumultu permiscentque manus ; medio iam foedera bello, iamque hospes Theseus ; orant succedere muris dignarique domos. nee tecta hostilia victor 785
aspernatus init ; gaudent matresque nurusque Ogygiae, qualis thyrso bellante subactus mollia laudabat iam marcidus orgia Ganges, ecce per adversas Dircaei verticis umbras femineus quatit astra fragor, matresque Pelasgae decurrunt : quales Bacchea ad bella vocatae 791
Thyiades amentes, magnum quas poscere credas aut fecisse nefas ; gaudent lamenta novaeque exsultant lacrimae ; rapit hue, rapit impetus illuc, Thesea magnanimum quaerant prius, anne Creonta, anne suos : vidui ducunt ad corpora luctus. 796
Non ego, centena si quis mea pectora laxet voce deus, tot busta simul vulgique ducumque, tot pariter gemitus dignis conatibus aequem : turbine quo sese caris impleverit^ audax 800
ignibus^ Euadne fulmenque in pectore magno quaesierit ; quo more iacens super oscula saevi corporis infelix excuset Tydea coniunx ; ut saevos narret vigiles Argia sorori ;
^ impleverit P : instraverit w. ^ ignibus w -. ictibus P.
" i.e., of Bacchus, warring in the East. 502
\
THEBAID, XII. 777-804
the accursed blood ; he sinks, his eyes open in the last spasm of death. Theseus stands over him in stern wrath, and spoiling him of his armour speaks : " Now art thou pleased to give dead foes the fire that is their due ? Now wilt thou bury the vanquished ? Go to thy dreadful reckoning, yet be assured of thy ovm burial."
From either side the banners meet and mingle in friendly tumult ; on the very field of war a treaty is made, and Theseus is now a welcome guest ; they beg him to approach their walls and to deem their homes Avorthy of his presence. The \-ictor disdains not to set foot in the dwelUngs of his foes ; the Ogygian dames and maidens rejoice : even as, o'er- come by the warring thyrsus," Ganges by now drunken applauded womanly revels. Lo ! yonder on the shady heights of Dirce a shout of women shakes the vault, and the Pelasgian matrons come running down : like raving Thj'iads are they, summoned to Bacchus' wars, demanding, thou mightest deem, or ha\ing done some deed of horror ; their waihng is of joy, fresh tears gush forth ; they dart now here, now there, doubting whether first to seek great- hearted Theseus, or Creon, or their own kinsmen ; their >\idowed grief leads them to the dead.
I could not, even if some god gave hundredfold utterance to my heart, recount in worthy strains so vast a funeral of chieftains alike and conmion folk, so many lamentations united : how fearless Evadne with impetuous bound had her fill of the fires she loved and sought the thunderbolt in that mighty breast, how as she lay and showered kisses on his terrible form his unhappy spouse made excuse for Tydeus ; how Argia tells her sister the story of the
503
STATIUS
Arcada quo planctu genetrix Erymanthia clamet, Arcada, consumpto servantem sanguine vultus, 806 Arcada, quern geminae pariter flevere cohortes. vix novus ista furor veniensque implesset Apollo, et mea iam longo meruit ratis aequore portum.
Durabisne procul dominoque legere superstes, 810 o mihi bissenos multum vigilata per annos Thebai ? iam certe praesens tibi Fama benignum stravit iter coepitque novam monstrare futuris. iam te magnanimus dignatur noscere Caesar, Itala iam studio discit memoratque iuventus. 815
vive, precor ; nee tu divinam Aeneida tempta, sed longe sequere et vestigia semper adora. mox, tibi si quis adhuc praetendit nubila livor, occidet, et meriti post me referentur honores.
504
THEBAID, XII. 805-819
cruel watchmen, yviih what lament the Erymanthian mother bewails the Arcadian, the Arcadian, who keeps his beauty though all his blood be spent, the Arcadian, wept for by either host alike. Scarce would new inspiration or Apollo's presence sustain the task, and my httle bark has voyaged far and deserves her haven.
WUt thou endure in the time to come, O my Thebaid, for twelve years object of my wakeful toil, wilt thou survive thy master and be read ? Of a truth already present Fame hath paved thee a friendly road, and begun to hold thee up, young as thou art, to future ages. Already great-hearted Caesar deigns to know thee, and the youth of Italy eagerly learns and recounts thy verse. O live, I pray ! nor rival the divine Aeneid, but follow afar and ever venerate its footsteps. Soon, if any envy as yet o'erclouds thee, it shall pass away, and, after I am gone, thy well-won honours shall be duly paid.
505
ACHILLEID
ACHILLEIDOS
LIBER I
Magnanimum Aeaciden formidatamque Tonanti
progeniem et patrio vetitam succedere caelo,
diva, refer, quamquam acta viri multum inclita cantu
Maeonio, sed plura vacant : nos ire per omnem
— sic amor est— heroa velis Scyroque latentem 5
Dulichia proferre tuba nee in Hectore tracto
sistere, sed tota iuvenem deducere Troia.
tu modo, si veterem digno deplevimus haustu,
da fontes mihi, Phoebe, novos ac fronde secunda
necte comas: neque enim Aonium nemus advena pulso
nee mea nunc primis augescunt tempora vittis. 11
scit Dircaeus ager meque inter prisca parentum
nomina cumque suo numerant Amphione Thebae.
At tu, quern longe primum stupet Itala virtus Graiaque, cui geminae florent vatumque ducuraque 15 certatim laurus — olim dolet altera vinci — , ■da veniam ac trepidum patere hoc sudare parumper
" Zeus would have married Thetis, had it not been declared that their son would be mightier than Zeus himself.
*■ i.e., the Iliad of Homer.
" i.e., of Ulysses (see line 873). Dulichium was part of his kingdom.
'' Of the Muses. ' A fountain at Thebes
f " altera," that of poetry ; Domitian fancied himself both 508
4
ACHILLEID
BOOK I
Tell, O goddess, of great-hearted Aeacides and of the progeny that the Thunderer feared and forbade to inherit his father's heaven." Highly reno\Mied are the warrior's deeds in Maeonian song,* but more remains untold : suffer me — for such is my desire — - to recount the whole story of the hero, to summon him forth from his hiding-place in Sc}tos with the Duhchian trumpet,'^ and not to stop short at the dragging of Hector, but to lead the youth through the whole tale of Troy. Only do thou, O Phoebus, if with a worthy draught I drained the former fount, vouchsafe new springs and weave my hair with propitious chaplets ; for not as a newcomer do I seek entrance to the Aonian** grove, nor are these the first fillets that magnify my brow. The fields of Dirce* know it, and Thebes counts my name among her fore- fathers of old time and with her own Amphion.
But thou whom far before all others the pride of Italy and Greece regards with reverent awe, for whom the laurels twain of poet and warrior-chief flourish in mutual rivalry — already one of them grieves to be surpassed^ — grant pardon, and allow me anxiously to toil in this dust awhile. Thine is
as a poet and a general, but would be better flattered by being called more brilliant in the latter capacity.
509
STATIUS
pulvere. te longo necdum fidente paratu molimur magnusque tibi praeludit Achilles.
Solverat Oebalio classem de litore pastor 20
Dardanus incautas blande populatus Amyclas plenaque materni referens praesagia somni culpatum relegebat iter, qua condita ponto fluctibus invisis iam Nereis imperat Helle : cum Thetis Idaeos — heu numquam vana parentum auguria ! — expavit vitreo sub gurgite remos. 26
nee mora, et undosis turba comitante sororum prosiluit thalamis : fervent coeuntia Phrixi litora et angustum dominas non explicat aequor.
Ilia ubi^ discusso primum subit aera ponto : 30
" me petit haec, mihi classis," ait, " funesta minatur, agnosco monitus et Protea vera locutum. ecce novam Priamo facibus de puppe levatis fert Bellona nurum : video iam mille carinis Ionium Aegaeumque premi ; nee sufficit, omnis 35 quod plaga Graiugenum tumidis coniurat Atridis : iam pelago terrisque meus quaeretur Achilles, et volet ipse sequi. quid enim cunabula parvo Pelion et torvi commisimus antra magistri ? illic, ni fallor, Lapitharum proelia ludit 40
^ ilia ubi w : ilia P.
" Part of the usual prologue to an epic, cf. Theh. i. 17.
* i.e., of Laconia.
" Hecuba, before she bore Paris, dreamed that she was bearing a burning torch which set fire to Troy.
"* The Hellespont was so called after Helle, who was drowned there while fleeing with her brother Phrixus upon the ram with fleece of gold. 510
ACHILLEID, I. 18-40
the theme thereat ^\-ith long nor yet confident pre- paration I am labouring, and great Achilles plays the prelude unto thee."
The Dardan shepherd had set sail from the Oebalian shore,* having MTought sweet havoc in thoughtless Amyclae, and fulfilling the presage of his mother's " dream was retracing his guilty way, where Helle ** deep sunk below the sea and now a Nereid holds sway over the detested waves :_when Thetis — ah ! never vain are a parent's auguries !— started ^\'itl^' terror beneath the glassy flood at the Idaean oars.* Without delay she sprang forth from her watery, bower, accompanied by her train of sisters.: the narro^\^ng shores of Phrixus swarm, and the straitened sea has not room for its mistresses.
As soon as she had shaken the brine from off her, and entered the air of heaven : " There is danger to me," said she, " in yonder fleet, and threat of deadly Tiarm; I recognize the truth of Proteus' warnings. LoT Bellona brings from the v^ssgL-amid uplifted torches a jie^I^iigEter^IivIaw to^riam. ; already 1 see the Ionian and Aegean seas pressed by a thousand keels ; nor does it suffice that all the country of the Grecians conspires A^ith the proud sons of Atreus, soonjwilljny Achilles be sojaght for by land and sea, ay^ and himself \\"ilT A\-ish to follow them. Why in- deed did I suffer Pelion and the stern master's cave ^ to cradle hi§. infant years ? There, if I mistake not, he plays, the rogue, at the battle of the Lapiths,
' Because his fleet was built of wood of Mt. Ida. So " Rhoeteae " (line 44) from the promontory near Troy. f Chiron's.
511
STATIUS
improbus et patria iam se metitur in hasta. o dolor, o seri materno in corde timores ! non potui infelix, cum primum gurgite nostro Rhoeteae cecidere trabes, attollere magnum aequor et incesti praedonis vela profunda 45
tempestate sequi cunctasque inferre sorores ? nunc quoque — sed tardum, iam plena iniuria raptae. ibo tamen pelagique deos dextramque secundi, quod superest, complexa lovis per Tethyos annos grandaevumque patrem supplex miseranda rogabo 50 unam hiemem." dixit magnumque in tempore regem aspicit. Oceano veniebat ab hospite, mensis laetus et aequoreo difFusus nectare vultus — unde hiemes ventique silent cantuque, quieto armigeri Tritones eunt scopulosaque cete 55
Tyrrhenique greges circumque infraque rotantur rege salutato ; placidis ipse arduus undis eminet et triplici telo iubet ire iugales. illi spumiferos glomerant a pectore cursus,^ pone natant delentque pedum vestigia cauda — 60 cum Thetis : " o magni genitor rectorque profundi, aspicis in quales miserum patefeceris usus aequor ? eunt tutis terrarum crimina velis, ex quo iura freti maiestatemque repostam rupit lasonia puppis Pagasaea rapina. 65
en aliud furto scelus et spolia hospita portans navigat iniustae temerarius arbiter Idae, eheu quos gemitus terris caeloque daturus,
^ cursus P : fluctus w.
" i.e., Neptune. * i.e., of the Tyrrhenian sea.
512
ACHILLEID, I. 41-68
and already takes his measure with his father's spear. O sorrow ! O fears that came too late to sl.'^ -^.-j mother !s.jieartXl Coiild I no I, unhappy ^Kat Tlim, ^y^ when first the timber of Rhoeteum was launched . upon my flood, have raised^ a mighty sea and pursued ^dth a tempest on the deep the adulterous robber's sails and led on all my sisters against him ? Even now — but 'tis too late, the outrage hath been wrought in full. Yet will I go, and cUnging to the gods of ocean and the right hand of second Jove" — nought else remains — entreat him in piteous sup- pUcation by the years of TetKys and ms aged sire for one sfngte^Tofm." She spdte, an3ropportunely beheld the niighty monarch ; he was coming from Oceanus his host, gladdened by the banquet, and his countenance suffused -svith the nectar of the deep : wherefore the \vinds and tempests are silent and with tranquil song proceed the Tritons who bear his armour and the rock-like sea-monsters and the Tyrrhenian herds,*" and gambol around and below him, saluting their king ; he towers on high above the peaceful waves, urging on his team with his three-pronged spear : frontwise they run at furious speed amid showers of foam, behind they swim and blot out their footprints with their tails : — when Thetis : " 0 sireand ruler of the miglity„d_eep.,_ae^lu tHoiT to what uses thou liasrTna3e_ a J^ayjo'er^the llapless^cean ? The crimes of the nations pass by with unmolested sails, since the Pagasaean bark broke through the sanctions of tlie waters and profaned their hallowed majesty on Jason's quest of plunder. Lo^ " eighted A^ith another wicked theft, the ^spoils o. pitahty, sails the daring arbiter of unjust Ida, <», Jined to cause what sorrow alas ! to heaven and VOL. n 2l 518
STATIUS
quos mihi ! sic Phrygiae pensamus gaudia palmae, hi Veneris mores, hoc gratae munus alumnae ? 70 has saltern — num semideos nostrumque reportant Thesea? — si quis adhuc undis honor, obrue puppes, aut permitte fretum ! nulla inclementia ; fas sit pro nato timuisse mihi. da pellere luctus,^ nee tibi de tantis placeat me fluctibus unum^ 75
litus et Iliaci scopulos habitare sepulcri." Orabat laniata genas et pectore nudo caeruleis obstabat equis. sed rector aquarum invitat curru dictisque ita mulcet amicis : " ne pete Dardaniam frustra, Theti, mergere classem : fata vetant, ratus ordo deis miscere cruentas 81
Europamque Asiamque manus, consultaque belh luppiter et tristes edixit caedibus annos. quern tu illic natum Sigeo in pulvere, quanta aspicies victrix Phrygiarum funera matrum, 85
cum tuus Aeacides tepido modo sanguine Teucros undabit^ campos, modo crassa exire vetabit flumina et Hectoreo tardabit funere currus impelletque manu nostros, opera inrita, muros ! Pelea iam desiste queri thalamosque minores : 90 crederis peperisse lovi ; nee inulta dolebis cognatisque utere fretis : dabo tollere fluctus,
^ pellere luctus P : tollere fluctus w.
* fluctibus unum w: fluctibus unam P : fletibus udam, neptibus unam, fluctibus imum edd.
* undabit w : undavit P : Garrod conj. turpabit.
" Is this the way we are paying for the victory of Veni''- on Ida ? " alumnae," i.e. Helen. sea.
514
^ji V.
ACHILLEID, I. 69-92
earth, and what to me ! Is it thus we requite the joy of the Phrygian triumph,* is this the way of Venus, is this her gift to her dear ward ? These ships at least-^na demigods nor our ovn\ Theseus do they carry home * — o'erwhelm, if thou still hast any regard for the waters, or give the sea into my power ; rio^fUeTfy do I purpose ; suffer me to fear for my "^f^ own son. Grant me to drive away my sorrow, nor j^^P'^^ let it be thy pleasure that out of all the seas I find a home in but a single coast, and the rocks of an Ilian tomb/
With torn cheeks she made her prayer, and with bare bosom would fairi hinder tTie cerulean steeds. But the rulerjDif the seas invites her into his chariot, and soothes her thus with friendly words : "■ Seek not in vainrTh'etis, to sink the Dardanian fleet : the fates forbid it, 'tis the sure ordinance of heaven that Europe and Asia should join in bloody conflict, and Jupiter hath issued his decree of war and appointed years of drear}' carnage. What prowess of thy son in the Sigean dust, what vast funeral trains of PhrA'gian matrons shalt thou victoriously behold, when thy Aeacides shall flood the Trojan fields with streaming blood, and anon forbid the choked rivers to flow and check his chariot's speed with Hector's corpse and mightily o'erthrow my walls,'* my useless toil ! Cease now to complain of Peleus and thy inferior wedlock : thy child shall be deemed begotten of Jove ; nor shalt thou suffer unavenged, but shalt use thy kindred seas : I will grant thee to raise the
' They are no Argonauts, nor Theseus, who, according to one legend, was the son of Neptune.
' i.e., haunt a rocky shore by the tomb of my son Achilles. "* Neptune had helped Apollo to build the walls of Troy.
515
STATIUS
cum reduces Danai nocturnaque signa Caphereus exseret et dirum pariter quaeremus Ulixen."
Dixerat. ilia gravi vultum demissa repulsa, 95 quae iam excire fretum et ratibus bellare parabat Iliacis, alios animo^ commenta paratus, tristis ad Haemonias detorquet brachia terras, ter conata manu, liquidum ter gressibus aequor reppulit et niveas feriunt vada Thessala plantas. 100 laetantur montes et conubialia pandunt antra sinus lateque deae Sperchios abundat obvius et dulci vestigia circuit unda. ilia nihil gavisa locis, sed coepta fatigat pectore consilia et sellers pietate magistra 105
longaevum Chirona petit, domus ardua montem perforat et longo suspendit Pe'lion arcu ; pars exhausta manu, partem sua ruperat aetas. signa tamen divumque tori et quem quisque sacravit accubitu genioque locum monstrantur : at intra 110 Centauri stabula alta patent, non aequa nefandis fratribus. hie hominum nullos experta cruores spicula nee truncae bellis genialibus orni aut consanguineos fracti crateres in hostes, sed pharetrae insontes et inania terga ferarum. 115 haec quoque dum viridis ; nam tunc labor unus inermi nosse salutiferas dubiis animantibus herbas, aut monstrare lyra veteres heroas alumno.
Et tunc venatu rediturum in limine prime ^ animo P : iterum w.
" A promontory at the southern end of Euboea, on which many Greek ships were wrecked when returning from Troy, because NaupHus, king of Euboea, showed false lights.
'' He offended Poseidon, who sought to destroy him ; see Odyssey, xiii. 125 sq.
" i.e., at the marriage- feast of Peleus and Thetis.
516
ACHILLEID, I. 93-119
billows, when the Danaans return and Caphereus" shows forth his nightly signals and we search together for the terrible Ulysses.^ "
He spoke ; but she, downcast at the stern refusal, for but now she was preparing to stir up the waters .^v- and make war upon the Ilian craft, de\ised in her^v^ mind another plan, and sadly turned her strokes ^^^«^ toward the Haemonian land. Thrice strove she ^^^th ^ i her arms, thrice spurned the clear water yviih her '^ feet, and the Thessahan waves are washing her snow- white ankles. The mountains rejoice, the marriage- bowers fling open their recesses, and Spercheus in ■wide, abundant stream flows to meet the goddess and laps her footsteps with his fresh water. _She delights notjnjhe^scejie, but wearies her mind with schemes essayed, andTJaught cunning by her devoted '-' loy^leetejout the aged Thifon. His lofty home bores deep into the mountain, beneath the long, overarching vault of Pelion ; part had been hollowed out by toil, part worn away by its own age. Yet the images and couches of the gods are sho\^'n, and the places that each had sanctified by his rechning and his sacred presence "^ ; -within are the Centaur's wide and lofty stalls, far different from those of his •wicked brethren. Here are no spears that have tasted human blood, nor ashen clubs broken in festal conflict, nor mixing-bowls shattered upon kindred foemen, but innocent quivers and mighty hides of beasts. These did he take while yet in the prime of age ; but now, a warrior no more, his only toil was to learn the herbs that bring health to creatures doubting of their hves, or to describe to his pupil upon liis lyre the heroes of old time.
On the threshold's edge he awaited his return from
517
STATIUS
opperiens properatque dapes largoque serenat 120 igne domum : cum visa procul de litore surgens^ Nereis ; erumpit silvis — dant gaudia vires — notaque^ desueto crepuit senis ungula campo. tunc blandus dextra atque imos demissus in armos pauperibus tectis inducit et admonet antri. 125
lamdudum tacito lustrat Thetis omnia visu nee perpessa moras : " ubinam mea pignora, Chiron, die," ait, " aut cur ulla puer iam tempora ducit te sine ? non merito trepidus sopor atraque matri signa deum et magnos utinam mentita timores ? 130 namque modo infensos utero mihi contuor enses, nunc planctu hvere manus, modo in ubera saevas ire feras ; saepe ipsa — nefas ! — sub inania natum Tartara et ad Stygios iterum fero mergere fontes. hos abolere metus magici iubet ordine sacri 135
Carpathius vates puerumque sub axe peracto^ secretis lustrare fretis, ubi Utora summa Oceani et genitor tepet inlabentibus astris Pontus. ibi ignotis horrenda piacula divis donaque — sed longum cuncta enumerare vetorque ; trade magis ! " sic ficta parens : neque enim ille dedisset, 141
si molles habitus et tegmina foeda fateri ausa seni. tunc ipse refert : " due, optima, quaeso, due genetrix humihque deos infringe precatu.
^ surgens PE : mater w.
* notaque P : motaque w. ^ peracto P : probato w.
" Proteus, from his abode in the Carpathian sea. " axe peracto," the bound or Hmit of the sky, i.e., beneath the horizon, not necessarily western, though that is the meaning here (1. 138).
* Here obviously = Oceanus, not the Euxine.
518
ACHILLEID, I. 120-144
hunting, and was urging the laying of the feast and brightening his abode with lavish fire : when far off the Nereid was seen climbing upward from the shore ; he burst forth from the forests — ^joy speeds his going — and the well-known hoof-beat of the sage rang on the now unwonted plain. Then bowing down to his horse's shoulders he leads her with courtly hand within his humble dwelHng and warns her of the cave. Long tinie has Thetis been scaniiing every corner with silent glance : then, impatient of delay, she cries : " Tell me, Chiron, where is my darling ? Why )j^ spends the boy any time apart from thee ? Is it not with reason that my sleep is troubled, and terrible portents from the gods and fearful panics — would they were false I — afflict his mother's heart ? T - For now I behold swords that threaten to pierce my womb, now my arms are bruised with lamentation,^^ now savage beasts assail my breasts ; often — ah, horror ! — I seem to take my son down to the void of Tartarus, and dip him a second time in the springs ofSfyx^^ The^CSrpalliian seef "T)ids me banish these terrorsrby the ordinance of a magic rite, and purify the lad in secret waters Tieyond the bound of heaven's vault, where is the farthest shore of Ocean and father Pontus^is warmed by the ingliding stars. There awful ^crifices and gifts to gods unknown — but 'tis long to recount all, and I am forbidden ; give him to me rather." Thus spoke his mother in lying speech — nor would he have given him up, had she dared to confess to the old man the soft raiment and dishonourable garb.* Then he rephes : " Take him, I pray,"Crbest'pflpai*ents, take him, and assuage the gods with humble entreaty. For thy hopes are ' See 11. 326 sq.
519
STATIUS
nam superant tua vota modum placandaque multum invidia est. non addo metum, sed vera fatebor : 146 nescio quid magnum — nee me patria omina fallunt — vis festina parat tenuesque supervenit annos. olim at ferre minas avideque audire solebat imperia et nostris procul haud discedere ab antris : nunc ilium non Ossa capit, non Pelion ingens 151
Thessaliaeve nives.^ ipsi mihi saepe queruntur Centauri raptasque domos abstractaque coram armenta et semet campis fluviisque fugari : insidiasque et bella parant tumideque^ minantur. 155 olim equidem Argoos pinus cum Thessala reges hac veheret, iuvenem Alciden et Thesea vidi — sed taceo." figit gelidus Nereida pallor : ille aderat multo sudore et pulvere maior, et tamen arma inter festinatosque labores 160
dulcis adhuc visu : niveo natat ignis in ore purpureus fulvoque nitet coma gratior auro. necdum prima nova lanugine vertitur aetas, tranquillaeque faces oculis et plurima vultu mater inest : qualis Lycia venator Apollo 165
cum redit et saevis permutat plectra pharetris. forte et laetus adest — o quantum gaudia formae adiciunt ! — : fetam Pholoes sub rupe leaenam perculerat ferro vacuisque reliquerat antris ipsam, sed catulos adportat et incitat ungues. 170 quos tamen, ut fide genetrix in limine visa est, abicit exceptamque avidis circumligat ulnis, iam gravis amplexu iamque aequus vertice matri.
^ Thessaliaeve nives w: Pharsaliaeve nives P: thessaliae iuvenes E.
* tumideque Kohlmann : timideque P : tumidique w.
" " purpureus," as in Virgil's " lumenque iuventae pur- pureum " {Aen. i. 590), also cf. Hor. C. iii. 3. 12.
520
ACHILLEID, I. 145-173
pitched too high, and envy needs much appeasing. I add not to thy fears, but will confess the truth : some swift and violent deed — the forebodings of a sire deceive me not — is preparing, far beyond his tender years. Formerly he was wont to endure my anger, and listen eagerlv to my commands nor wander far from my cave : now Ossa carmot contain him, nor mighty Pehon and all the snows of Thessaly. Even the Centaurs often complain to me of plundered homes and herds stolen before their eyes, and that they themselves are driven from field and river ; they de\-ise \iolence and fraud, and utter angry threats. Once when the Thessalian pine bore hither the princes of the Argo, I saw the young Alcides and Theseus — but I say no more." Cqldjpallor seized the daughter of Nereug : lo ! he was come, made
Targer bymuch dustand sweat, and yet for all his weapons and hastened labours still pleasant to the sight ; a radiant glow ^ shimmers on his snow-white countenance, and his locks shine more comely than tawny gold. The bloom of youth is not yet changed by new-springing down, a tranquil flame bums in his glance, and there is much of his mother in his look : even as when the hunter Apoilo-retums from Lycia and exchanges liis fierce quiver for the quill. By chancp ton hp is in joyful mood — '^h, how _joy en- hances beauty ! — ; beneath Pholoe's cliff he had
"IfrickelT a lioness lately dehvered and had left her in the empty lair, but had brought the cubs and was making them show their claws. Yet when he sees his mother on the well-known threshold, away he throws them, catches her up and binds her in his longing arms, already violent in his embrace and equal to her in height. Patroclus follows him, bound
521
ST ATI us
insequitur magno iam tunc conexus amore Patroclus tantisque extenditur aemulus actis, 175 par studiis aevique modis, sed robore longe, et tamen aequali visurus Pergama fato.
Protinus ille subit rapido quae proxima saltu flumina fumantesque genas crinemque novatur fontibus : Eurotae qualis vada Castor anhelo 180
intrat equo fessumque sui iubar excitat astri. miratur comitque senex, nunc pectora mulcens, nunc fortes umeros : angunt sua gaudia matrem. tunc libare dapes Baccheaque munera Chiron orat et attonitae varia oblectamina nectens 185
elicit extremo chelyn et solantia curas fila movet leviterque expertas pollice chordas dat puero. canit ille libens immania laudum semina : quot tumidae superarit iussa novercae Amphitryoniades, crudum quo Bebryca caestu 190 obruerit Pollux, quanto circumdata nexu ruperit Aegides Minoia bracchia tauri, maternos in fine toros superisque gravatum Pelion : hie victo risit Thetis anxia vultu. nox trahit in somnos, saxo conlabitur ingens 195
Centaurus blandusque umeris se innectit Achilles, quamquam ibi fida parens, adsuetaque pectora mavult.
At Thetis undisonis per noctem in rupibus astans, quae nato secreta velit, quibus abdere terris destinet, hue illuc divisa niente volutat. 200
522
ACHILLEID, I. 174-200
to him even then by a strong affection, and strains to rival all his mighty doings, well-matched in the pursuits and ways of youth, but far behind in strength, and vet to pass to Pergamum >vith equal fate.
Straightway vriih rapid bound he hies him to the nearest river, and freshens in its waters his steaming face and hair : just as Castor enters the shallows of Eurotas on his panting steed, and tricks out anew the weary splendours of his star. The old m&e marvels as he adorns him, caressing now his breast, now his sti'ong shoulders : her very joy pierces his mother's heart. Then Chiron prays her to taste the banquet and the gifts of Bacchus, and contriving various amusements for her beguiling at last brings forth the lyre and moves the care-consoling strings, and trying the chords lightly with his finger gives them to the boy. Gladly he sings of the mighty causes of noble deeds : how many behests of his haughty stepmother the son of Amphitryon per- formed, how Pollux with his glove smote down the cruel Bebryx, with what a grip the son of Aegeus enfolded and crushed the limbs of the Minoan bull, lastly his own mother's marriage-feast and Pelion trodden by the gods. Then Thetis relaxedher anxious countenance and smiled. Xight draws them on to slvunber : the huge Centaur lays him do^^-n on a stony couch, and Achilles lovinglv twines his arms about his shoulders — though his laithful parent is there — and prefers the wonted breast. -T— But Thetis, standing by night upon the sea-echoing rocks, this way and that divides her purpose, and ponders in what hiding-place she will set lier son, in what countiy^slie shall choose to conceal him. Nearest
ST ATI us
proxima, sed studiis multum Mavortia Thrace ;
nee Maeetum gens dura placet laudumque daturi
Cecropidae stimulos, nimium opportuna carinis
Sestos Abydenique sinus : placet ire per altas
Cycladas . hie spretae Myconosque humilisque Seriphos
et Lemnos non aequa viris atque hospita Delos 206
gentibus. imbelli nuper Lycomedis ab aula
virgineos coetus et litora persona ludo
audicrat, duros laxantem Aegaeona nexus
^"issa sequi centumque dei numerare catenas. 210
haec placet, haec timidae tellus tutissima matri.
qualis vicino volucris iam sedula partu
iamque timens, qua fronde domum suspendat inanem,
providet hie ventos, hie anxia cogitat angues,
hie homines : tandem dubiae placet umbra, novisque
vix stetit in ramis et protinus arbor amatur. 216
Altera consilio superest tristemque fatigat cura deam, natum ipsa sinu complexa per undas an magno Tritone ferat, ventosne volucres advocet an pelago solitam Thaumantida pasci. 220 elicit inde fretis et murice frenat acuto delphinas biiugos, quos illi maxima Tethys gurgite Atlanteo pelagi sub valle sonora nutrierat ; — nullis vada per Neptunia glaucae tantus honos formae nandique potentia nee plus 225 pectoris humani — iubet hos subsistere pleno
" The Athenians.
* See the story of Hypsipyle, Theb. v. 48 sq.
' King of Scyros.
<* Also named Briareus, one of the sons of Uranus, put in chains by Cronos, and set free by Zeus ; Thetis went in search of him to bring aid to Zeus when threatened by the other Olympians (see Hesiod, Theog. 502 ; Homer, II. i. 398 sqq.). " centum," because he had a hundred arms.
' Iris, i.e. the rainbow, that seems to draw moisture from
524
ACHILLEID, I. 201-226 l^ \
/ is Thrace, but steeped in the passionate love of war ; nor does the hardy folk of Macedon please her, nor the sons of Cecrops,** sure to excite to noble deeds, nor Sestos and the bay of Abydos, too opportune for / ^-c ships ; she decides to roam the lofty Cyclades. Of-^ . v these she spurns Myconos and humble Seriphos, and^ ^ Lemnos cruel to its men,* and Deles, that gives all ''^^i^ the world a welcome. Of late from the unwarhke >0>^ palace of Lycomedes '^ had she heard the sound of maiden bands and the echo of their sport along the shore, what time she was sent to follow Aegaeon "* freed from his stubborn bonds and to count the hundred fetters of the god.— ~^his land finds favour, -V
and seems safesiL^to Jthe 4imid, mother -Even so a ^
bird already taking anxiouTTfiought, as her deliverj- dfaws nigh, on what branch to hang her empty home, ^ere foresees \vinds, there bethinks her fearfully of snakeSj_andJJierje_ofLmen ;_^ at last in her doubt a shady spot finds favour ; scarce has she alighted on the boughs, and straightway loves the tree.
One more care abides in her mind and troubles the sad goddess, whether she shall carry her son in her ovra. bosom o'er the waves, or use great Triton's aid, whether she shall summon the swift winds to help her, or the Thaumantian « that is wont to drink the main. Then she calls out from the waves^ajjd bridles with a sharp-edged shell her team ofdolphin^^^ twain, which Tethys, mighty queen, had nourished for her in an echoing vale beneath the sea ; — ^none throughout all Neptune's watery realm had such ^renown forjtheir sea-green beauty, nor -greater speed "^ of swimming, nor more of human sense ; — these she
the sea, cf. Ovid. ^let. i. 271 " concipit Iris aquas alimentaque nubibus adfert." Iris was the daughter of Thaumas.
525
ST ATI us
litore, ne nudae noceant contagia terrae.
ipsa dehinc toto resolutum pectore Achillen,
qui pueris sopor, Haemonii de rupibus antri
ad placidas deportat aquas et iussa tacere 230
litora : monstrat iter totoque efFulgurat orbe
Cynthia, prosequitur divam celeresque recursus
securus pelagi Chiron rogat^ udaque celat
lumina et abreptos subito iamiamque latentes
erecto prospectat equo, qua cana parumper 235
spumant signa fugae et hquido perit orbita ponto.
ilium non alias rediturum ad Thessala Tempe
iam tristis Pholoe, iam nubilus ingemit Othrys
et tenuior^ Spercheos aquis speluncaque docti
muta senis ; quaerunt puerilia carmina Fauni 240
et sperata diu plorant conubia Nymphae.
Iam premit astra dies humilique ex aequore Titan rorantes evolvit equos et ab aethere magno sublatum curru pelagus cadit, at vada mater Scyria iamdudum fluctus emensa tenebat, 245
exierantque iugo fessi delphines erili : cum pueri tremefacta quies oculique patentes infusum sensere diem, stupet aere primo, quae loca, qui fluctus, ubi Pelion ? omnia versa atque ignota videt dubitatque agnoscere matrem. 250 occupat ilia manu blandeque adfata paventem : "si mihi, care puer, thalamos sors aequa tulisset, quos dabat, aetheriis ego te complexa tenerem
^ rogat w : rotat P. * tenulor Postgate : senior P : tenuis w.
" " rotat " would presumably mean " gallops quickly back," which would have no point here. * Both mountains of Thessaly.
526
ACHILLEID, I. 227-253
halts in the deep shore-water, lest they take harm from the touch of naked earth. Then in her own arms she carries Achilles, his body utterly relaxedJa a bov s sluinBeiFj^bm the rocks of the Haemonian cave dm^Ti to the placid waters and the beach that she had bidden be silent ; Cynthia lights her way and shines out with full orb. Chiron escorts " the goddess, and careless of the sea entreats her speedy return, and hides his moistened eyes and high upon his horse's body gazes out towards them as suddenly they are whirled away, and now — and now are lost to \iew, where for a short while the foamy marks of their going gleam white and the wake dies away into the water}- main. Him destined never more to return to Thessalian Tempe now mournful Pholoe bewails, now cloudy Othrj-s,* and Spercheos with diminished flood and the silent grotto of the sage ; the Fauns listen for his boyish songs in vain, and the Nymphs bemoan their long-hoped-for nuptials.
Now day o'ervvhelms the stars, and from the low and level main Titan wheels heavenward his dripping steeds, and down from the expanse of air falls the sea that the chariot bore up ; but long since had the mother traversed the waves and gained the ScjxiaD shores, and the wear\' dolphins had been loosed from their mistress'~}'oke : when the boy's ileep was stirred, and his opening eyes grew conscious oflthe inpouring~day . ffT "amaze at the light that greets hinr-fee- ask*, where is he, What are these waves, ,where~is Pelion ? All he beholds is diiferent and ':jnknown, andlie hesitates to_recognize his mother. Quickly she caresses him and soothes his fear : " lfiloJj^ray\ dear lad, a kindly lot had brough^ me the wedlock > r\ _, that it offered, in the fields of Heaven should I be ''^^
527
STATIUS
sidus grande plagis, magnique puerpera caeli nil humilis Parcas terrenaque fata vererer. 255
nunc impar tibi, nate, genus, praeclusaque leti tantum a matre via est ; quin et metuenda propinquant tempora et extremis admota pericula metis, cedamus, paulumque animos submitte viriles atque habitus dignare meos. si Lydia dura 260
pensa manu mollesque tulit Tirynthius hastas, si decet aurata Bacchum vestigia palla verrere, virgineos si luppiter induit artus, nee magnum ambigui fregerunt Caenea sexus : hae^ sine, quaeso, minas nubemque exire malignam.^ mox iterum campos, iterum Centaurica reddam 266 lustra tibi: per ego hoc decus eb ventura iuventae gaudia, si terras humilemque experta maritum te propter, si progenitum Stygos amne severe armavi — totumque utinam ! — , cape tuta parumper tegmina nil nocitura animo. cur ora reducis 271
quidve parant oculi ? pudet hoc mitescere cultu ? per te, care puer, cognata per aequora iuro, nesciet hoc Chiron." sic horrida pectora tractat nequiquam mulcens ; obstat genitorque roganti 275 nutritorque ingens et cruda exordia magnae indolis. efFrenae tumidum velut igne iuventae si quis equum primis submittere temptet habenis : ille diu campis fluviisque et honore superbo
^ hac Postgate : hae P : has w. * nubemque malignam P : numenque malignum w.
" Hercules spun wool for Omphale in Lydia.
* Jupiter disguised himself as Diana to gain possession of Callisto (Ovid, Met. ii. 425).
" First a girl, Caenis, then a man, then a woman again (Ovid, Met. xii. 189 ; Virg, Aen. vi. 448),
528
I
ACHILLEID, I. 254-279
holding thee, a glorious star, in my en^race, nor a cgIe^iaJjfn6TheT~shbul3 T f e arTh e^To^vT^^F a tps or the
i^estinie^' of earth. But now unequal isuiy birth, my son. and only on thy mother's side is the way of death barred for thee ; moreover, times of terror draw nigh, and peril hovers about the utmost goal. Retire we then, relax awhile thy mighty spirit, and scorn not this raiment of mine. If the Tirj-nthian took in his rough hand Lydian wool and women's wan3s7" if it becomes Bacchus to trail a gold-em- broidered robe behind him, if Jupiter put on a woman's form,* and doubtful sex weakened not the mighty Caeneus,*^ this way, I entreat thee, suffer me to<;^scape the threatening, baleful cloud. Soon will I resTofethy plains and the fields where the Centaurs roam : bv this beauty of thine _and the coming joys of youth I prav thee, ifjbr thv sake}! endured the earth and an inglorious mate,if at thy birth I fortified thee^-ith the stem wateES_pLStyx <* — ay, would I had wholly I — take these^^sa^robes) awhile, they will in no Svise harm thy valour! W'hydost thou turn away ? What means that glance ? Art thou ashamed to soften thee in this garb ? Dear lad, I swear it by my kindred waters, Chiron shall know nought of this." So doth she work on his rough heart, vainly
'cajoling ; the thought of his sire and his great teacher oppose her prayer and the rude beginnings of his mighty spirit. Even so, should one try to subdue with earliest rein a horse full of the mettle- some fire of ungoverned youth, he haWng long de- Ughted in stream and meadow and his ox^m proud
"» Thetis plunged the infant Achilles in the waters of Styx, and thereby made his body immune from harm — all except the left heel by which she held him.
VOL. 11 2 M 529
STATIUS
gavisus non colla iugo, non aspera praebet 280
ora lupis dominique fremit captivus inire imperia atque alios miratur discere cursus.
Quis deus attonitae fraudes astunique parenti contulit ? indocilem quae mens detraxit Achillem ? Palladi litoreae celebrabat Scyros honorum 285
forte diem, placidoque satae Lycomede sorores luce sacra patriis, quae rara licentia, muris exierant dare veris opes divaeque severas fronde ligare comas et spargere floribus hastam. omnibus eximium formae decus, omnibus idem 290 cultus et expleto teneri iam fine pudoris virginitas matura toris annique tumentes. sed quantum virides pelagi Venus addita Nymphas obruit, aut umeris quantum Diana relinquit Naidas, effulget tantum regina decori 295
Deidamia chori pulchrisque sororibus obstat. illius et roseo flammatur purpura vultu et gemmis lux maior inest et blandius aurum : atque ipsi par forma deae est,^ si pectoris angues ponat et exempta pacetur casside vultus. 300
hanc ubi ducentem longe socia agmina vidit, trux puer et nullo temeratus pectora motu deriguit totisque novum bibit ossibus ignem. nee latet haustus amor, sed fax vibrata medullis in vultus atque ora redit lucemque genarum 305
tingit et impulsum tenui sudore pererrat.
^ deae est Kohlmann : deae w : deest P. 530
f
ACHILLEID, I. 280-306
beauty, gives not his neck to the yoke, nor his fierce mouth to the bridle, and snorts with rage at passing beneath a master's sway and marvels that he learns another gait. , /^^ ^
What god endupf^th^ Hp-spairing mother with 4^raud and cunniTig? What de\'ice drew Achilles from his stubborn purpose ? It chanced that Scyros was keeping festal day in honour of Pallas, guardian of the shore, and that the sisters, offspring of peace- loving Lycomedes, had on this sacred morn gone forth from their native town— ^a licence rarely given — to pay tribute of the spring, and bind their grave tresses with the leaf of the goddess and scatter flowers u^ii her spear. All were of rarest beauty, all clad alike and all in lusty youth, their years of girlish modesty now ended, and maidenhood ripe for the marriage-couch. But as far as ^'enus by comparison doth surpass the green Nymphs of the sea, or as Diana rises taller by head and shoulders than the Naiads, so doth Deidamia, queen of the lovely choir, outshine and dazzle her fair sisters. The bright colour flames upon her rosy countenance, a more brilliant light is in her jewels, the gold has a more anuring gleam ; as beauteous were the goddess her- self, 3yould she but lay aside the serpents on her breast, and doff her helm and pacify her brow. WTien he beheld her far in advance of her attendant train, the lad, ungentle as he was and heart-whole from any touch of passion, stood spellbound and drank in strange fire through all his frame. Nor does the love he has imbibed lie hidden, but the flame pulsat- ing in his inmost being returns to his face and colours the glow upon his cheeks, and as he feels its power runs o'er his body with a light sweat. As when the
531
STATIUS
lactea Massagetae veluti cum pocula fuscant
sanguine puniceo vel ebur corrumpitur ostro :
sic variis manifesta notis — palletque rubetque —
flamma repens. eat atque ultro ferus hospita sacra
dissiciat turbae securus et immemor aevi, 311
ni pudor et iunctae teneat reverentia matris.
ut pater armenti quondam ductorque futurus,
cui nondum toto peraguntur cornua gyro,
cum sociam pastus niveo candore iuvencam 315
aspicit, ardescunt animi primusque per ora
spumat amor, spectant hilares obstantque magistri.
Occupat arrepto iam conscia tempore mater : " hasne inter simulare choros et bracchia ludo nectere, nate, grave est ? gelida quid tale sub Ossa Peliacisque iugis ? o si mihi iungere curas 321
atque alium portare sinu contingat Achillen ! " mulcetur laetumque rubet visusque protervos obliquat vestesque manu leviore repellit. aspicit ambiguum genetrix cogique^ volentem 325 iniecitque sinus ; tum colla rigentia mollit submittitque graves umeros et fortia laxat bracchia et impexos certo domat ordine crines ac sua dilecta cervice monilia transfert ; et picturato cohibens vestigia limbo 330
incessum motumque docet fandique pudorem. qualiter artifici victurae pollice cerae accipiunt formas ignemque manumque sequuntur : talis erat divae natiun mutantis imago, nee luctata diu ; superest nam plurimus illi 335
^ cogique Ueinsius : cogitque Pw. 532
ACHILLEID, I. 307-335
Massagetae darken milk-white bowls with blood-red dye, or ivory is stained >\-ith purple, so by varying ^^ signs of blush and pallor does the sudden fire betray >*^ its presence. He would rush forward and unprovoked j^M"^ fiercely break up the ceremonies of his hosts, reckless fyu^^ of the crowd and forgetful of his years, did not shame ^/^ restrain him and awe of the mother by his side. As ' when a bullock, soon to be the sire and leader of a herd, though his horns have not yet come full circle, perceives a heifer of sno\\y whiteness, the comrade of his pasture, his spirit takes fire, and he foams at the mouth with his first passion ; glad at heart the
herdsmen watch him and check his fury.
Seizing^ the moment his mother purposely accosts him : " Is it too hard a thing, my son, to make pretence, of dancing and join hands in sport among / these maidens ? Hast thou aught such 'neath Ossa and the crags of Pehon ? O, if it were my lot to match two lo\"ing hearts, and to bear another Achilles iTTTny^fms'I " He is softened, and blushes for joy, and with sly and sidelong glance repels the robes less certainly. His mother sees him in doubt and wilUngn to be compelled, and casts the raiment o'er him ; 1 then she softens his stalwart neck and bows his '. JL strong shoulders, and relaxes the muscles of his arms, ; .y and tames and orders duly his uncombed tresses, and ~^ sets~Rer~own necklace about the neck she loves ; then keeping his step -s^ithin the embroidered skirt she teaches him gait and motion and modesty of speech. Even as the waxen images that the artist's thumb will make to live take form and follow the fire and the hand that carves them, such was the picture of the goddess as she transformed her son. Nor dldTshe struggle_long ; , for plenteous charm re-
533
STATIUS
invita virtute decor, fallitque tuentes ambiguus tenuique latens discrimine sexus.
Procedunt, iterumque monens iterumque fatigans blanda Thetis : " sic ergo gradum, sic ora manusque, nate, feres comitesque modis imitabere fictis, 340 ne te suspectum molli non misceat aulae rector et incepti pereant mendacia furti." dicit et admoto non distat comere tactu. sic ubi virgineis Hecate lassata Therapnis ad patrem fratremque redit, comes haeret eunti 345 mater et ipsa umeros exsertaque bracchia velat ; ipsa arcum pharetrasque locat vestemque latentem deducit sparsosque tumet componere crines.
Protinus adgreditur regem atque ibi testibus aris "hanctibi," ait," nostrigermanam, rector, Achillis 350 — nonne vides, ut torva genas aequandaque fratri ? — tradimus : arma umeris arcumque animosa petebat ferre et Amazonio conubia pellere ritu. sed mihi curarum satis est pro stirpe virili : haec calathos et sacra ferat, tu frange regendo 355 indocilem sexuque tene, dum nubilis aetas solvendusque pudor ; neve exercere protervas^ gymnadas aut lustris nemorum concede vagari. intus ale et similes inter seclude puellas ; litore praecipue portuque arcere memento. 360
^ protervas w : catervas P. 534
ACHILLEID, I. 336-360
mains to him though his manhood brook it not, and he baffles beholders by the puzzle of his sex that by a narrow margin hides its secret.
They go forward, and Thetis unsparingly plies her counsels and persuasive words :_ " Thus then, my son, must thou manage thy gait, thus thy features and thy hands, and imitate thy comrades and counterfeit their ways, lest the king suspect thee and admit thee not to the women's chambers, and the crafty ciinning> of our enterprise be lost." So speaking she delays not to put correcting touches to his attire. Thus when Hecate " returns wearied to her sire and brother from Therapnae, haunt of maidens, her mother bears her company as she goes, and with her own hand covers her shoulders and bared arms, herself arranges the bow and quiver, and pulls down the girt-up robe, and is proud to trim the disordered tresses.
Straightway she accosts the monarch, and there in the presence of the altars : J^jlereiO king, " she says, " I present to thee the sister of my Acliilles— seest thou notJiow proud her glance and like her brother's ? — so high her spirit, she begged for arms and a bow to carry on her shoulders, and like an Amazon to spurntne tTaoughFofwedTock. But my son is enough care for me ; let her carry the baskets at the sacrifice, do thou control and tame her wilfulness, and keep Jierjto her sex, till the time for marriage come and the end of her maiden modest}* ; nor suffer her to engage in wanton -v^TCStling-matches, nor to frequent the woodland haunts. Bring her up indoors, in seclusion among girls of her own age ; above all remember to keep her from the harbour and the
" Another name for Diana.
535
STATIUS
vidisti modo vela Phrygum : iam rriutua iura fallere transmissae pelago didicere carinae."
Accedit dictis pater ingenioque parentis occultum Aeaciden — quis divum fraudibus obstet ? — accipit ; ultro etiam veneratur supplice dextra 365 et grates electus agit : nee turba piarum Scyriadum eessat nimio defigere visu virginis ora novae, quantum cervice comisque emineat quantumque umeros ac pectora fundat. dehinc sociare chores castisque accedere sacris 370 hortantur, ceduntque loco et contingere gaudent. qualiter Idaliae volucres, ubi mollia frangunt nubila, iam longum caeloque domoque gregatae, si iunxit pinnas diversoque hospita tractu venit avis, cunctae primum mirantur et horrent : 375 mox propius propiusque volant, atque aere in ipso paulatim fecere suam plausuque secundo circueunt hilares et ad alta cubilia ducunt.
Digreditur multum cunctata in limine mater, dum repetit monitus arcanaque murmura figit 380 auribus et tacito dat verba novissima vultu. tunc excepta freto longe cervice reflexa abnatat et blandis adfatur litora votis : " cara mihi tellus, magnae cui pignora curae depositumque ingens timido commisimus astu, 385 sis felix taceasque, precor, quo more tacebat Creta Rheae : te longus honos aeternaque cingent templa nee instabili fama superabere Delo ;
" i.e., of Paris.
* Doves, as sacred to Venus, who had a shrine at Idahum.
" When she gave birth to Zeus.
•^ Delos floated till made fast by Apollo.
536
ACHILLEID, I. 361-388
shore. Lately thou sawest the Phrygian " sails : already ships that have crossed the sea have learnt treason to mutual loyalties."
The sire accedes to her words, and receives the disguised Achilles by his mother's ruse — who can resist when gods deceive ? Nay more, he venerates her A^ith a suppliant's hand, and gives thanks that he was chosen ; nor is the band of duteous ScjT-ian maidens slow to dart keen glances at the face of their new comrade, how she o'ertops them by head and neck, how broad her expanse of breast and shoulders ; then they invite her to join the dance and approach the holy rites, and make room for her in their ranks and rejoice to be near her. Just as IdaHan birds,** clea\ing the soft clouds and long since gathered in the sky or in their homes, if a strange bird from some distant region has* joined them ^ving to wing, are at first all filled with amaze and fear ; then nearer and nearer they fly, and while yet in the air have made him one of them and hover joyfully around with favouring beat of pinions and lead him to their lofty resting-places.
Long, ere she .departs, lingers the mother at the gate, while she repeats adxice and implants whispered secrets in his ear and in hushed tones gives her last counsels. Then she plunges into the main, and gazing "back swims far away, and entreats A\ith flattering prayers the island-shore : " O land that I love, to whom by flinid cunnipg^ I have committed the pledge of my anxious care, a trust that is great indee375ayst thou prosper and be silent, I beg, as Crete was silent for Rhea "^ ; enduring honour and everlasting shrines shall gird thee, nor shalt thou be surpassed by unstable ** Delos ; sacred alike to wind
537
ST ATI us
et ventis et sacra fretis interque vadosas Cycladas, Aegaeae frangunt ubi saxa procellae, 390 Nereidum tranquilla domus iurandaque nautis insula, ne solum Danaas admitte carinas, ne, precor ! hie thiasi tantum et nihil utile bellis, ■ — hoc famam narrare doce — dumque arma parantur Dorica et alternum Mavors interfurit orbem, 395
— cedo equidem — sit virgo pii Lycomedis Achilles."
Interea meritos ultrix Europa dolores dulcibus armorum furiis et supplice regum conquestu flammata movet ; quippe ambit Atrides ille magis, cui nupta domi, facinusque relatu 400
asperat Iliacum : captam sine Marte, sine armis progeniem cael' Spartaeque potentis alumnam, iura fidem superos una calcata rapina. hocfoedus Phrygium,haec geminaecommerciaterrae? quid maneat populos, ubi tanta iniuria primos 405 degrassata duces ? — coeunt gens omnis et aetas : nee tantum exciti, bimari quos Isthmia vallo claustra nee undisonae quos circuit umbo Maleae, sed procul admotas Phrixi qua semita iungi Europamque Asiamque vetat ; quasque ordine gentes litore Abydeno maris alligat unda superni. 411
fervet amor belli concussasque erigit urbes. aera domat Temese, quatitur navalibus ora Eubois, innumera resonant incude Mycenae, Pisa novat currus, Nemee dat terga ferarum, 415
Cirrha sagittiferas certat stipare pharetras,
" Because daughter of Zeus by Leda. * See note on Silv. i. 1. 42.
538
ACHILLEID, I. 389-416
and wave shalt thou be, and calm abode of Nereids among the shaTIows of the Cyclades, where the rocks are shattered by Aegean storms, an isle that sailors swear by — only admit no Danaan keels, I beg I ' Here are only the wands of Bacchus, nought that avails for war ; ' that tale bid rumour spread, and while the Dorian armaments make ready and Mavors rages from world to world — he may, for aught I care — Tet_Achilles.^he_ the -jaaaiden -daughter of good Lycomedes."
Meanwhile avenging Europe, inflamed by war's sweet frenzy and the monarchs' complaining en- treaties, excites her righteous ire ; more earnestly pleads that son of Atreus whose spouse abides at home, and by his telling makes the Ilian crime more grievous : how without aid of Mars or force of arms the daughter of heaven " and child of mighty Sparta was taken, and justice, good faith and the gods spurned by one deed of rapine. Is this then Phrj-gian honour ? Is this the intercourse of land with land ? What awaits the common folk, when wrong so deadly attacks the foremost chieftains ? All races, all ages flock together : nor are they only aroused whom the Isthmian barrier with its rampart fronting on two seas encloses and Malea's wave-resounding promon- tory, but where afar the strait of Phrixus sunders Europe and Asia ; and the peoples that fringe Abydos' shore, bound fast by the waters of the upper sea. The war-fever rises high, thrilling the agitated cities. Temese * tames her bronze, the Euboean coast shakes with its dockyards, Mycenae echoes with innumerable forges, Pisa makes new chariots, Xemea gives the skins of wild beasts, Cirrha vies in packing tight the arrow-bearing quivers,
539
STATIUS
Lerna graves clipeos caesis vestire iuvencis. dat bello pedites Aetolus et asper Acarnan, Argos agit turmas, vacuantur pascua ditis Arcadiae, frenat celeres Epiros alumnos, 420
Phocis et Aoniae iaculis rarescitis umbrae, murorum tormenta Pylos Messenaque tendunt. nulla immunis humus ; velluntur postibus altis arma olim dimissa patrum, flammisque liquescunt dona deum : ereptum superis Mars efferat aurum. 425 nusquam umbrae veteres : minor Othrys et ardua sidunt Taygeta, exuti viderunt aera montes. iam natat omne nemus : caeduntur robora classi, silva minor remis. ferrum lassatur in usus innumeros, quod rostra liget, quod muniat arma, 430 belligeros quod frenet equos, quod mille catenis squalentes nectat tunicas, quod sanguine fumet vulneraque alta bibat, quod conspirante veneno impellat mortes ; tenuant umentia saxa attritu et pigris addunt mucronibus iras. 435
nee modus aut arcus lentare aut fundere glandes aut torrere sudes galeasque attollere conis, hos inter motus pigram gemit una quietem Thessalia et geminis incusat fata querellis, quod senior Peleus nee adhuc maturus Achilles. 440
lam Pelopis terras Graiumque exhauserat orbem praecipitans in transtra viros insanus equosque Bellipotens. fervent portus et operta carinis stagna suasque hiemes classis promota suosque 540
ACHILLEID, I. 417-444
Lema in covering heavy shields ^^ith the hides of slaughtered bullocks. Aetolia and fierce Acarnania send infantry to war, Argos collects her squadrons, the pasture-lands of rich Arcadia are emptied, Epiros bridles her s^^ift - footed nurslings," ye shades of Phocis and Aonia grow scant by reason of the javelins, Pylos and Messene strain their fortress-engines. No land but bears its burden ; ancestral weapons long renounced are torn from lofty portals, gifts to the gods melt in the flame ; gold reft from di\'ine keeping ^Iars turns to fiercer use. Nowhere are the shady haunts of old : Othrys is lesser grown, lofty Taygetus sinks low, the shorn hills see the light of day. Now the whole forest is afloat : oaks are hewn to make a fleet, the woods are diminished for oars. Iron is forced into countless uses, for riveting prows, for armour of defence, for bridling chargers, for knitting rough coats of mail by a thousand links, to smoke with blood, to drink deep of wounds, to drive death home in conspiracy with poison ; they make the dripping whetstones thin A\ith grinding, and add A\Tath to sluggish sword-points. No limit is there to the shaping of bows or heaping up of bullets or the charring of stakes or the heightening of helms with crests. Amid such commotion Thessaly alone be- wails her indolent repose, and brings a twofold complaint against the Fates, that Peleus is too old and Achilles not yet ripe of age.
Already the lord of war had drained the land of Pelops and the Grecian world, madly flinging aboard both men and horses. All aswarm are the harbours and the bays in\'isible for shipping, and the mo\ing
» Cf. Virgil Georg. i. 57 " Eliadum palmas Epiros equanim."
541
STATIUS
attollit fluctus ; ipsum iam puppibus aequor 445
deficit et totos consumunt carbasa ventos.
Prima ratis Danaas Hecateia congregat Aulis, rupibus expositis longique crepidine dorsi Euboicum scandens^ Aulis mare, litora multum montivagae dilecta deae, iuxtaque Caphereus 450 latratum pelago tollens caput, ille Pelasgas ut vidit tranare rates, ter monte ter undis intonuit saevaeque dedit praesagia noctis. coetus ibi armorum Troiae fatalis, ibi ingens iuratur bellum, donee sol annuus omnes 455
conficeret metas. tunc primum Graecia vires contemplata suas ; tunc sparsa ac dissona moles in corpus vultumque coit et rege sub uno disposita est. sic curva feras indago latentes claudit et admotis paulatim cassibus artat. 460
illae ignem sonitumque pavent difFusaque linquunt avia miranturque suum decrescere monteni, donee in angustam ceciderunt undique vallem ; inque vicem stupuere greges socioque timore mansuescunt : simul hirtus aper, simul ursa lupusque cogitur et captos contempsit cerva leones 466
Sed quamquam et gemini pariter sua bella capessant Atridae famamque avida virtute paternam Tydides Sthenelusque premat, nee cogitet annos Antilochos septemque Aiax umbone coruscet 470
armenti reges atque aequum moenibus orbem. consiliisque armisque vigil contendat Ulixes : omnis in absentem belli manus ardet Achillem, nomen Achillis amant, et in Hectora solus Achilles
^ scandens Pw : scindens Menke, but cf. Theb. 11. 44.
" Cf. note on 1. 93.
^ i.e., the seven bullocks whose hides went to make his shield.
542
ACHILLEID, I. 445-474
fleet stirs its own storms and billows ; the sea itself fails the vessels, and their canvas swallows up every breath of wind.
Aulis, sacred to Hecate, first gathers together the Danaan fleet, Aulis, whose exposed cliff and long- projecting ridge climb the Euboean sea, coast beloved by the mountain-wandering goddess, and Caphereus, that raises his head hard by against the barking waves. He, when he beheld the Pelasgian ships sail by, thrice thundered from peak to wave, and gave presage of a night of fury.** There assembles the armament for Troy's undoing, there the vast array is sworn, while the sun completes an annual course. Then first did Greece behold her own might ; then a scattered, dissonant mass took form and feature, and was marshalled under one single lord. Even so does the round hunting-net confine the hidden beasts, and graduallv hem them in as the toils are drawn close. They in panic of the torches and the shouting leave their wide pathless haunts, and marvel that their o^^Ti mountain is shrinking, till from every side they pour into the narrow vale ; the herds startle each other, and are tamed by mutual fear ; bristly boar and bear and wolf are driven together, and the hind despises the captured lions.
But although the twain Atridae make war in their own cause together, though Sthenelus and Tydeus' son surpass in eager valour their fathers' fame, and Antilochus heeds not his years, and Ajax shakes upon his arm the seven leaders of the herd * and the circle vast as a city-wall, though Ulysses, sleepless in counsel and deeds of arms, joins in the quarrel, yet all the host yearns ardently for the absent Achilles, lovingly they dwell upon Achilles' name, Achilles alone is
543
STATIUS
poscitur, ilium unum Teucris Priamoque loquuntur fatalem, quis enim Haemoniis sub vallibus alter 476 creverit effbssa reptans nive ? cuius adortus^ cruda rudimenta et teneros formaverit annos Centaurus ? patrii propior cui linea caeli, quemve alium Stygios tulerit secreta per amnes 480 Nereis et pulchros ferro praestruxerit artus ? haec Graiae castris iterant traduntque eohortes, cedit turba ducum vincique haud maesta fatetur. sic cum pallentes Phlegraea in castra coirent caelicolae iamque Odrysiam Gradivus in hastam 485 surgeret et Libycos Tritonia tolleret angues ingentemque manu curvaret Delius arcum, stabat anhela metu solum Natura Tonantem respiciens — quando ille hiemes tonitrusque vocaret nubibus, igniferam quot fulmina posceret Aetnen ?
Atque ibi dum mixta vallati plebe suorum 491
et maris et belli consultant tempera reges, increpitans magno vatem Calchanta tumultu Protesilaus ait — namque huic bellare cupido praecipua et primae iam tunc data gloria mortis — : " o nimium Phoebi tripodumque oblite tuorum, 496 Thestoride, quando ora deo possessa movebis iustius aut quianam^ Parcarum occulta recludis^ ? cernis ut ignotum cuncti stupeantque fremantque* Aeaciden ? sordent vulgo Calydonius heros 500
^ adortus Pw : ad ortus E : ab ortu Q {correction from ad ortus). ^ quianam P : quaenam oj.
* recludis Garrod : recludes Pw.
* fremantque E : premantque Pc<>.
" Scene of the battle of gods and giants, part of Macedonia, also called Pallene. * i-e., Thracian.
" I have adopted Garrod's reading here, giving " recludo " the meaning of " conceal " ; " quaenam . . . recludes " would mean " What mysteries wilt thou reveal ? " 544.
ACHILLEID, I. 475-500
called for against Hector, him and none other do they speak of as the doom of Priam and of Troy. For who else grew up from infancy crawling on fresh- dug snow in the Haemonian valleys ? Whom else did the Centaur take in hand and shape his rude beginnings and tender years ? Whose line of ancestry runs nearer heaven ? WTiom else did a Nereid take by stealth through the Stygian waters and make his ^air limbs impenetrable to steel ? Such talk do the Grecian cohorts repeat and interchange. The band of chieftains yields before him and gladly owns defeat. So when the pale denizens of heaven flocked into the Phlegraean camp,** and already Gradivus was tower- ing to the height of his OdrA'sian '' spear and Tritonia raised her. Libyan snakes and the Delian strongly bent his mighty bow, Nature in breathless terror stood looking to the Thunderer alone — when would he summon the lightnings and the tempests from the clouds, how many thunderbolts would he ask of fiery Aetna }
There, while the princes, surrounded by the mingled multitudes of their folk, hold counsel of times for sailing and for war, Protesilaus amid great tumult rebukes the prophet Calchas and cries — for to him was given the keenest desire to fight, and the glory even then of suffering death the first : " O son of Thestor, forgetful of Phoebus and thy own tripods, when vn\t thou open thy god-possessed lips more surely, or why dost thou hide the secret things of Fate "^ ? Seest thou how all are amazed at the un- known Aeacides and clamour for him ? The Caly- donian hero "* seems as nought in the people's eyes,
** Diomede. VOL. II 2 N 545
STATIUS
et magno genitus Telamone Aiaxque secundus, nos quoque : sed Mayors et Troia arrepta probabunt. ilium neglectis — pudet heu ! — ductoribus omnes belligerum ceu numen amant. die ocius aut eur serta eomis et multus honos ? quibus abditus oris quave iubes tellure peti ? nam fama nee antris 506 Chironis patria nee degere Peleos aula, heia, inrumpe deos et fata latentia vexa, laurigerosque ignes, si quando, avidissimus hauri ! arma horrenda tibi saevosque remisimus enses, 510 numquam has imbelles galea violabere vittas : sed felix numeroque ducum praestantior omni, si magnum Danais per te^ deprendis^ Achillem."
lamdudum trepido eircumfert lumina m'otu intrantemque deum primo pallore fatetur 515
Thestorides ; mox igne genas et sanguine torquens^ nee socios nee castra videt, sed caecus et absens nunc superum magnos deprendit in aethere coetus, nunc sagas adfatur aves, nunc dura sororum licia, turiferas modo consulit anxius aras 520
flammarumque apicem rapit et caligine sacra pascitur. exsiliunt crines rigidisque laborat vitta comis, nee colla loco nee in ordine gressus. tandem fessa tremens longis mugitibus ora
^ per te Garrod (from own us.) : pro te Pu.
* deprendis Garrod {from own MS.) : deprehendis E: dependis P : portendis w. See Garrod ad loc. P is faulty in these lines.
' torquens Poo : terpens Garrod.
" Garrod rightly remarks that there is no question here 546
ACHILLEID, I. 501-524
and so too Ajax bom of mighty Telamon and lesser Ajax, so do we also : but Mars and the capture of Troy ^^ill prove the truth. Slighting their leaders — for shame I — they all love him as a deitv of war. Quickly speak, or why are thy locks enwTeathed and held in honour ? In what coasts lies he hidden ? In what land must we seek him ? For report has it that he is living neither in Chiron's cave nor in the halls of Peleus his sire. Come, break in upon the gods, harn>- the fates that lie concealed I Quaff greedily, if ever thou dost, thy draughts of laurelled fire I We have relieved thee of dread arms and cruel swords, and never shall a helm profane thy unwarhke locks, yet blest shalt thou be and foremost of all our chiefs, if of thyself thou dost find great Achilles for the Danaans." "
Long since has the son of Thestor been glancing roimd about him with excited movements, and by his first pallor betrayed the incoming of the god ; soon he rolls fiery, bloodshot eyes, seeing neither his comrades nor the camp, but blind and absent from the scene he now overhears the mighty councils of gods in the upper air, now accosts the prescient birds, now the stem sisters' threads, now anxiously consults the incense-laden altars, and quickly scans the shooting flames and feeds upon the sacred vapours.* His hair streams out, and the fillet totters on his stiffened locks, his head rolls and he staggers in his gait. At last trembUng he looses his weary
of which is to serse in the campaign (implied by " pro te depend is ") ; see 11. 510, 511. The question is " Where is Achilles ? "
* This was a KarvofiavTiia, or divination by the smoke of the altar-fire, as in Theb. x. 598. The altar of Apollo would be crowned with laurel (<•/. 509).
547
STATIUS
solvit, et oppositum vox eluctata furorem est : 525 " quo rapis ingentem magni Chironis alumnum femineis, Nerei, dolis ? hue mitte : quid aufers ? non patiar : meus iste, meus. tu diva profundi, ^et me Phoebus agit. latebris quibus abdere temptas eversorem Asiae ? video per Cyeladas altas 530
attonitam et turpi quaerentem litora furto. occidimus : plaeuit Lycomedis conscia tellus. o scelus ! en fluxae veniunt in pectora vestes. scinde, puer, scinde et timidae ne cede parenti. ei mihi raptus abit ! quaenam haec procul improba virgo ? " 535
Hie nutante gradu stetit amissisque furoris viribus ante ipsas tremefactus conruit aras. tunc haerentem Ithacum Calydonius occupat heros : " nos vocat iste labor : neque enim conies ire recusem, si tua cura trahat. licet ille sonantibus antris 540 Tethyos aversae gremioque prematur aquosi Nereos : invenies. tu tantum providus astu tende animum vigilem fecundumque erige pectus : non mihi quis vatum dubiis in casibus ausit fata videre prior." subicit gavisus Ulixes : 545
" sic deus omnipotens firmet, sic adnuat ilia virgo paterna tibi ! sed me spes lubrica tardat : grande equidem armatum castris inducere Achillem ; sed si fata negent, quam foedum ac triste reverti ! vota tamen Danaum non intemptata relinquam 550
^ Lines 529-661 only in PE and late mss,, not in u.
" i.e., himself and Ulysses; "cura" seems to recognize J Ulysses' hesitation. . \
548 ■
ACHILLEID, I. 525-550
lips from their long bello-wings, and his voice has struggled free from the resisting frenzy : " Whither bearest thou, O Nereid, by thy woman's guile great Chiron's mighty pupil ? Send him hither : why dost thou carry him away ? I \n\\ not suffer it : mine is he, mine ! Thou art a goddess of the deep, but I too am inspired by Phoebus. In what hiding-places triest thou to conceal the destroyer of Asia ? I see her all bewildered among the Cyclades, in base stealth seeking out the coast. We are ruined ! The accomplice land of Lycomedes finds favour. Ah ! horrid deed ! see, flowing garments drape his breast. Rend them, boy, rend them, and yield not to thy timid mother. Woe, woe ! he is rapt away and is gone ! Who is that wicked maiden yonder ? "
Here tottering he ceased, the madness lost its force, and with a shudder he collapsed and fell before the altar. Then the Calydonian hero accosts the hesitating Ithacan : " 'Tis us<^ that task summons; for I could not refuse to bear thee company, should thy thought so lead thee. Though he be sunk in the echoing caves of Tethys far removed and in the bosom of waterj' Nereus, thou >vilt find him. Do thou but keep alert the cunning and foresight of thy watchful mind, and arouse thy fertile craft : no prophet, methinks, would make bold in perplexity to see the truth before thee." Ulysses in joy makes answer : " So may almighty God bring it to pass, and the virgin guardian of thy sire grant to thee ! But fickle hope gives me pause ; a great enterprise is it indeed to bring Achilles and his arms to our camp, but should the fates say nay, how woeful a disgrace were it to return ! Yet will I not leave unventured the fulfilment of the Danaans' desire. Ay, verily, either
5i9
STATIUS
iamque adeo aut aderit mecum Peleius heros, aut verum penitus latet et sine Apolline Calchas."
Conclamant Danai stimulatque Agamemno vo- lentes : laxantur coetus resolutaque murmure laeto agmina discedunt. quales iam nocte propinqua 555 e pastu referuntur aves, vel in antra reverti melle novo gravidas mitis videt Hybla catervas. nee mora, iam dextras Ithacesia carbasus auras poscit, et in remis hilaris sedere iuventus.
At procul occultum falsi sub imagine sexus 560 Aeaciden furto iam noverat una latenti Deidamia virum ; sed opertae conscia culpae cuncta pavet tacitasque putat sentire sorores. namque ut virgineo stetit in grege durus Achilles exsolvitque rudem genetrix digressa pudorem, 565 protinus elegit comitem, quamquam omnis in ilium turba coit, blandeque novas nil tale timenti admovet insidias : illam sequiturque premitque improbus, illam oculis iterumque iterumque resumit. nunc nimius lateri non evitantis inhaeret, 570
nunc levibus sertis, lapsis nunc sponte canistris, nunc thyrso parcente ferit, modo dulcia notae fila lyrae tenuesque modos et carmina monstrat Chironis ducitque manum digitosque sonanti infringit citharae, nunc occupat ora canentis 575
et ligat amplexus et mille per oscula laudat.
550
ACHILLEID, I. 551-576
the Pelean hero shall accompany me hither, or the truth lies deep indeed and Calchas hath not spoken by Apollo."
The Danai shout applause, and Agamemnon urges on the MilHng pair ; the gathering breaks up, and the dispersing ranks depart ^ith joyful murmurs, even as at nightfall the birds v-'ing their way home- ward from the pastures, or kindly Hybla sees the swarms returning laden with fresh honey to their cells. Without delay the canvas of the Ithacan is already calUng for a favouring breeze, and the merry- crew are seated at the oars.
But far away Deidamia — and she alone — ^had learnt in stolen secrecy the manhood of Aeacides, that lay hid beneath the show of a feigned sex ; conscious of guilt concealed there is nought she does not fear, and thinks that her sisters know, but hold their peace. For when Achilles, rough as he was, stood amid the maiden company, and the departure of his mother rid him of his artless bashfulness, straightway although the whole band gathers round him, he chose her as his comrade and assails >\ith new and >\inning A^iles her unsuspecting innocence ; her he follows, and persistently besets, toward her he ever and again directs his gaze. Now too zealously he clings to her side, nor does she avoid him, now he pelts her >\ith light garlands, now >Wth baskets that let their burden fall, now with the thyrsus that harms her not, or again he shows her the sweet strings of the lyre he knows so well, and the gentle measures and songs of Chiron's teaching, and guides her hand and makes her fingers strike the sounding harp, now as she sings he makes a conquest of her lips, and binds her in his embrace, and praises her
5.51
STATIUS
ilia libens discit, quo vertice Pelion, et quis Aeacides, puerique auditum nomen et actus adsidue stupet et praesentem caijtat Achillem. ipsa quoque et validos proferre modestius artus 580 et tenuare rudes attrito pollice lanas demonstrat reficitque colos et perdita dura^ pensa manu ; vocisque sonum pondusque tenentis, quodque fugit comites, nimio quod lumine sese figat et in verbis intempestivus anhelet, 685
miratur : iam iamque dolos aperire parantem virginea levitate fugit prohibetque fateri. sic sub matre Rhea iuvenis regnator Olympi oscula securae dabat insidiosa sorori frater adhuc, medii donee reverentia cessit 590
sanguinis et versos germana expavit amores.
Tandem detecti timidae Nereidos astus. lucus Agenorei sublimis ad orgia Bacchi stabat et admissum caelo nemus : huius in umbra alternam renovare piae trieterida matres 595
consuerant scissumque pecus terraque revulsas ferre trabes gratosque deo praestare furores, lex procul ire mares : iterat praecepta verendus ductor, inaccessumque viris edicitur antrum, nee satis est : stat fine dato metuenda sacerdos 600 exploratque aditus, ne quis temerator oberret agmine femineo. tacitus sibi risit Achilles, ilium virgineae ducentem signa catervae
^ perdita dura E, late mss. : perfida durat P.
" The courting of Juno by the youthful Jupiter is also mentioned Theb. x. 61 sq.
^ From Agenor, king of Tyre, from whom Semele, his mother, was descended. 552
ACHILLEID, I. 577-603
amid a thousand kisses. With pleasure does she learn of Pelion's summit and of Aeacides, and hearing the name and exploits of the youth is spellbound in constant wonder, and sings of Achilles in his very presence. She in her turn teaches him to move his strong hmbs viiih more modest grace and to spin out the un^vTought wool by rubbing \^ith his thiunb, and repairs the distaff and the skeins that his rough hand has damaged ; she marvels at the deep tones of his voice, how he shuns aU her fellows and pierces her with too-attentive gaze and at all times hangs breath- less on her words ; and now he prepares to reveal the fraud, but she hke a fickle girl avoids him, and will not allow him to confess. Even so beneath his mother Rhea's rule the young prince of OljTnpus gave treacherous kisses to his sister ; he was still her brother and she thought no harm, until the reverence for their common blood gave way, and the sister feared a lover's passion."
At length the timorous_Nereijd.'s^ running was laid bare. There stood a lofty grove, scene of the rites 'ofAgenorean ' Bacchus, a grove that reached to heaven ; within its shade the pious matrons were wont to renew the recurrent three-yearly festival, and to bring torn animals of the herd and uprooted saphngs, and to offer to the god the frenzy wherein he took delight. The law bade males keep far away ; the reverend monarch repeats the command, and makes proclamation that no man may draw nigh the sacred haunt. Nor is that enough ; a venerable priestess stands at the appointed hmit and scans the approaches, lest any defiler come near in the train of women ; Achilles laughed silently to himself. His comrades wonder at him as he leads the band of
553
STATIUS
magnaque difficili solventem bracchia motu — et sexus pariter decet et mendacia matris — 605 mirantur comites. nee iam pulcherrima turbae Deidamia suae tantumque admota superbo vincitur Aeacide, quantum premit ipsa sorores. ut vero e tereti demisit nebrida collo errantesque sinus hedera coilegit et alte 610
cinxit purpureis flaventia tempora vittis vibravitque gravi redimitum missile dextra, attonito stat turba metu sacrisque relictis ilium ambire libet pronosque attollere vultus. 614 talis, ubi ad Thebas vultumque animumque remisit Euhius et patrio satiavit pectora luxu, serta comis mitramque levat thyrsumque virentem armat et hostiles invisit fortior Indos. Scandebat roseo medii fastigia eaeli Luna iugo, totis ubi somnus inertior alis 620
defluit in terras mutumque amplectitur orbem : consedere chori paulumque exercita pulsu aera tacent, tenero cum solus ab agmine Achilles haec secum : " quonam timidae commenta parentis usque feres ? primumque imbelli caroere perdes 625 florem animi ? non tela licet Mavortia dfcxtra, non trepidas agitare feras. ubi campus et amnes Haemonii ? quaerisne meos, Sperchie, natatus promissasque comas ? an desertoris alumni 629
nullus honos ? Sty giasque procul iam raptus ad umbras dicor, et orbatus plangit mea funera Chiron ?
" i.e., the thyrsus.
* There is a sort of inverted comparison here : the warUke Achilles putting on Bacchic garb is compared to effeminate Bacchus making ready for war.
554
ACHILLEID, I. 604-631
virgins and moves his mighty arms with awkward motion — his own sex and his mother's counterfeit ahke become him. No more is Deidamia the fairest of her company, and as she surpasses her own sisters, so does she herself own defeat compared -svith proud Aeacides. But when he let the fawn-skin hang from his shapely neck, and \Aith i\y gathered up its flowing folds, and bound the purple fillet high upon his flaxen temples, and ^\'ith powerful hand made the enAvreathed missile " quiver, the crowd stood awe- struck, and lea\ing the sacred rites are fain to throng about him, uphfting their bowed heads to gaze. Even so Euhius, what time he has relaxed at Thebes his martial spirit and frowning brow, and sated his soul with the luxur}' of his native land, takes chaplet and mitre from his locks, and arms the green thyrsus for the fray, and in more martial guise sets out to meet his Indian foes.*
The Moon in her rosy chariot was cUmbing to the height of mid-heaven, when drowsy Sleep gUded down with full sweep of his pinions to earth and gathered a silent world to his embrace : the choirs reposed, the stricken bronze awhile was mute, when Achilles, parted in solitude from the \irgin train, thus spoke with himself: " How long wilt thou endure the precepts of thy anxious mother, and waste the first flower of thy manhood in this soft imprisonment ? No weapons of war mayst thou brandish, no beasts mayst thou pursue. Oh I for the plains and valleys of Haemonia I Lookest thou in vain, Spercheus, for my swimming, and for my promised tresses ? Or hast thou no regard for the foster-child that has deserted thee ? Am I already spoken of as borne to the Stygian shades afar, and does Chiron in
555
STATIUS
tu nunc tela manu, nostros tu dirigis arcus nutritosque mihi scandis, Patrocle, iugales : ast ego pampineis difFundere brachia thyrsis et tenuare colus — pudet haec taedetque fateri ! — 635 iam scio. quin etiani dilectae virginis ignem aequaevamque facera captus noctesque diesque dissimulas. qiionam usque premes urentia pectus vulnera, teque marem — pudet heu ! — nee amore
probaris^ ? Sic ait ; et densa noctis ga\'isus in umbra 640
tempestiva suis torpere silentia furtis vi potitur votis et toto pectore veros admovet amplexus ; vidit chorus omnis ab alto astrorum et tenerae rubuerunt cornua Lunae. ilia quidem clamore nemus montemque replevit : 645 sed Bacchi comites, discussa nube soporis, signa choris indicta putant ; fragor undique notus tollitur, et thyrsos iterum vibrabat Achilles, ante tamen dubiam verbis solatus amicis : " ille ego — quid trepidas ? — , genitum quern caerula
mater 650
paene lovi^ silvis nivibusque immisit alendum Thessalicis. nee ego hos cultus aut foeda subissem tegmina, ni primo tu visa^ in litore : cessi te propter, tibi pensa manu, tibi molUa gesto tympana, quid defies magno nurus addita ponto ?
^ probaris P : probabis late uss.
^ paene lovi Gustafsson: paene iovis P : Penei E : Peneis late Mss. : Paeoniis conj. Wilamowitz. * tu visa E : te vias P : te visa late mss.
" Thetis nearly became the wife of Jove, so that Achilles 556
ACHILLEID, I. 632-655
solitude bewail my death ? Thou, O Patroclus, now dost aim my darts, dost bend my bow and mount the team that was noxirished for me ; but I have learnt to fling ^\-ide my arms as I grasp the vine- wands, and to spin the distaiF-thread — ah ! shame and vexation to confess it ! Nay more, night and day thou dost dissemble the love that holds thee, and thy passion for the maid of equal years. How long Avilt thou conceal the wound that galls thy heart, nor even in love — for shame ! — prove thy own manhood ? "
So he speaks ; and in the thick darkness of the night, rejoicing that the unstirring silence gives timely aid to his secret deeds, he gains by force his desire, and vrith all his \igour strains her in a real embrace ; the whole choir of stars beheld from on high, and the horns of the young moon blushed red. She indeed filled grove and mountain with her cries, but the train of Bacchus, dispelhng slumber's cloud, deemed it the signal for the dance ; on every side the famihar shout arises, and Achilles once more brandishes the thyrsus ; yet first vrith. friendly speech he solaces the anxious maid : " I am he — why fearest thou r — whom my cerulean mother bore wellnigh to Jove," and sent to find my nurture in the woods and snows of Thessaly. Nor had I endured this dress and shameful garb, had I not seen thee on the sea- shore ; 'twas for thee I did submit, for thee I carry skeins and bear the womanly timbrel. Why dost thou weep who art made the daughter-in-law of mighty ocean ? Why dost thou moan who shalt bear
was " nearly " his son. An oracle warned Jove that the son thus born would destroy him. Wilamowitz's conjecture " Paeoniis " is attractive.
557
STATIUS
quid gemis ingentes caelo paritura nepotes ? 656
sed pater — : ante igni ferroque excisa iacebit Scyros et in tumidas ibunt haec versa procellas moenia, quam saevo mea tu conubia pendas funere : non adeo parebimus omnia matri."^ 660 Obstipuit tantis regina exterrita monstris, 662
quamquam olim suspeeta fides, et comminus ipsum horruit et facies multum mutata fatentis.^ quid faciat ? casusne suos ferat ipsa parenti 665
seque simul iuvenemque premat, fortassis acerbas hausurum poenas ? et adhue in eorde manebat ille diu deceptus amor : silet aegra premitque iam commune nefas ; unam placet addere furtis altricem sociam, precibus quae victa duorum 670
adnuit. ilia astu tacito raptumque pudorem surgentemque uterum atque aegrosin pondere menses occuluit, plenis donee stata tempora metis attulit et partus index Ivucina resolvit.
^ lamque per Aegaeos ibat Laertia flexus 675
puppis, et innumeras mutabant Cycladas aurae^ : iam Paros Olearosque latent ; iam raditur alta Lemnos et a tergo decrescit Bacchica Naxos, ante oculos crescente Samo ; iam Delos opacat aequor : ibi e celsa libant carchesia puppi 680
responsique fidem et verum Calchanta precantur.
^ After line 660 follows only in Q by a late hand the line vade sed ereptum celes taceasque pudorem, "go, but conceal and be silent of thy ravished honour."
^ Lines 663-664 bracketed by Garrod as spurious.
* The old editors began Book II. here.
* innumeras mutabant Cycladas aurae Koestlin : in- numerae m. Cyclades auras Pu: innumerae mutabat Cyclados oras Garrod.
558
ACHILLEID, I. 65fr-681
valiant grandsons to OhTnpus " ? But thy father — Scyros shall be destroyed by fire and sword and these walls shall be in ruins and the sport of wanton winds, ere thou pay by cruel death for my embraces : not so utterly am I subject to my mother."
Horror-struck was the princess at such dark happenings, albeit long since she had suspected his good faith, and shuddered at his presence, and his countenance was changed as he made confession. What is she to do .' Shall she bear the tale of her misfortune to her father, and ruin both herself and her lover, who perchance would suffer untimely death ? And still there abode within her breast the love so long deceived. Silent is she in her grief, and dissembles the crime that both now share aUke ; her nurse alone she resolves to make a partner in deceit, and she, yielding to the prayers of both, assents. With secret cunning she conceals the rape and the swelling womb and the burden of the months of ailing, till Lucina brought round by token the appointed season, her course now fully run, and gave deliverance of her child.
And now the Laertian^ bark was threading the winding ways of the Aegean, while the breezes changed one for another the countless Cyclades ; already Paros and Olearos are hid, now they skirt lofty Lemnos and behind them Bacchic Naxos is lost to view, while Samos grows before them ; now Delos darkens the deep, and there from the tall stem they pour cups of libation, and pray that the oracle be true and Calchas undeceived. The Wielder of the
Peleus was descended from Zeus ; cf. 869, 899. * Because Ulvsses was son of Laertes.
559
STATIUS
audiit Arquitenens Zephyrumque e vertice Cynthi impulit et dubiis pleno dedit omina velo.
•° it pelago secura ratis : quippe alta Tonantis
iussa Thetin certas fatorum vertere leges 685
arcebant aegram lacrimis ac multa timentem, quod non erueret pontum ventisque fretisque omnibus invisum iam tunc sequeretur Ulixem.
IS Frangebat radios humili iam pronus Olympo
Phoebus et Oceani penetrabile litus anhelis 690
promittebat equis, cum se scopulosa levavit Scyros ; in banc totos emisit puppe rudentes dux Laertiades sociisque resumere pontum
20 imperat et remis Zephyros supplere cadentes.
accedunt iuxta, et magis indubitata magisque 695 Scyros erat placidique super Tritonia custos litoris. egressi numen venerantur amicae Aetolusque Ithacusque deae. tunc providus heros,
25 hospita ne subito terrerent moenia coetu,
puppe iubet remanere suos ; ipse ardua fido 700
cum Diomede petit, sed iam praevenerat arcis litoreae servator Abas ignotaque regi ediderat, sed Graia tamen, succedere terris
30 carbasa. procedunt, gemini ceu foedere iuncto hiberna sub nocte lupi : licet et sua pulset 705
natorumque fames, penitus rabiemque minasque dissimulant humilesque meant, ne nuntiet hostes cura canum et trepidos moneat vigilare magistros. 560
ACHILLEID, I. 682-708
Bow " heard them, and from the top of Cynthus sent a zephyr flying and gave the doubting ones the good omen of a bellying sail. The ship sails o'er the sea untroubled ; for the Thunderer's high comriiands_ suffered not THeti5~to' overturn the sure decrees of Fate, faint as she was with tears, and ToreFodiiig^ fnuch because she couId~n6t" excite theTnain and straightway pursue tlieTiated Ulysses with all her winds and waves.
Already Phoebus, stooping low upon the verge of Olympus, was sending forth broken rays, and prom- ising to his panting steeds the yielding shore of Ocean, when rocky Scyros rose aloft ; the Laertian chieftain from the stern let out all sail to make it, and bade his crew resume the deep and with their oars supply the failing zephyrs. Nearer they draw, and more undoubtedly, more surely was it Scyros, and Tritonia * above, the guardian of the tranquil shore. They disembark, and venerate the power of the friendly goddess, Aetolian and Ithacan alike. Then the prudent hero, lest they should frighten the hospitable walls >vith sudden throng, bids his crew remain upon the ship ; he himself mth trusty Diomede ascends the heights. But already Abas, keeper of the coastal tower, had gone before them and given tidings to the king, that unknown sails, though Greek, were drawing nigh the land. For- ward they go, Uke two wolves leagued together on a ^^•inter's night : though their cubs' hunger and their own assails them, yet do they utterly dissemble ravening rage, and go slinking on their way, lest the alertness of the dogs announce a foe and warn the anxious herdsmen to keep vigil.
» ApoUo. " Cf. 1. 285.
VOL. II 2 o 56 1
ST ATI us
35 Sic segnes heroes eunt campumque patentem, qui medius portus celsamque interiacet urbem, 710 alterno sermone terunt ; prior occupat acer Tydides : " qua nunc verum ratione paramus scrutari ? namque ambiguo sub pectore pridem
40 verso, quid imbelles thyrsos mercatus et aera
urbibus in mediis Baccheaque terga mitrasque 715 hue tuleris varioque aspersas nebridas auro. hisne gravem Priamo Phrygibusque armabis Achillem? lUi subridens Ithacus paulum ore remisso :
45 " haec tibi, virginea modo si Lycomedis in aula est fraude latens, ultro confessum in proeha ducent 720 Peliden ; tu cuncta citus de puppe memento ferre, ubi tempus erit, cKpeumque his iungere donis, qui pulcher signis auroque asperrimus ; hasta^
50 haec^ sat erit : tecum htuo bonus adsit Agyrtes occultamque tubam tacitos adportet in usus." 725
Dixerat, atque ipso portarum in Hmine regem cernit et ostensa pacem praefatus ohva : " magna, reor, pridemque tuas pervenit ad aures
55 fama trucis belh, regum placidissime, quod nunc Europamque Asiamque quatit. si nomina forte 730 hue perlata ducum, fidit quibus ultor Atrides : hie tibi, quern tanta mehorem stirpe creavit magnanimus Tydeus, Ithacis ego ductor Ulixes.
60 causa viae — metuam quid enim tibi cuncta fateri, cum Graius notaque fide celeberrimus unus^ — 735
^ hasta P : ardet w : astat E, Garrod and conj. Kohlmann. ^ haec Pw : nee Garrod. ^ unus w : imus PE. 562
ACHILLEID, I. 709-735
So with slow pace the heroes move, and with mutual converse tread the open plain that lies be- tween the harbour and the high citadel ; first keen Tydides speaks : " By what means now are we pre- paring to search out the truth? For in perplexity of mind have I long been pondering why thou didst buy those unwarlike wands and cymbals in the city marts, and didst bring hither Bacchic hides and turbans, and fawn-skins decked \Wth patterns of gold. Is it with these thou wilt arm Achilles to be the doom of Priam and the Phrygians ? "
To him with a smile and somewhat less stern of look the Ithacan repUed : " These things, I tell thee, if only he be lurking among the maidens in Lycomedes' palace, shall draw the son of Peleus to the fight, ay, self-confessed ! Remember thou to bring them all quickly from the ship, when it is time, and to join to these gifts a shield that is beautiful ^\-ith carving and rough with work of gold ; this spear \\i\\ suffice ; let the good trumpeter Agyrtes be with thee, and let him bring a hidden bugle for a secret purpose."
He spoke, and spied the king in the very threshold of the gate, and displaying the olive first announced his peaceful purpose : " Loud report, I ween, hath long since reached thy ears, O gentle monarch, of that fierce war which now is shaking both Europe and Asia. If perchance the chieftains' names have been borne hither, in whom the avenging son of Atreus trusts, here beholdest thou him whom great- hearted Tydeus begot, mightier even than so great a sire, and I am Ulysses the Ithacan chief. The cause of our voyage — for why should I fear to confess all to thee, who art a Greek and of all men most renowned by sure report ? — is to spy out the
56s
STATIUS
explorare aditus invisaque litora Troiae, quidve parent." medio sermone intercipit ille : " adnuerit Fortuna, precor, dextrique secundent
65 ista dei ! nunc hospitio mea tecta piumque
inlustrate larem." simul intra limina ducit. 740
nee mora, iam mensas famularis turba torosque instruit. interea visu perlustrat Ulixes scrutaturque domum, si qua vestigia magnae
70 virginis aut dubia facies suspecta figura ;
porticibusque vagis errat totosque penates, 745
ceu miretur, adit : velut ille cubilia praedae indubitata tenens muto legit arva Molosso venator, videat donee sub frondibus hostem
75 porrectum somno positosque in caespite dentes.
Rumor in arcana iamdudum perstrepit aula, 750 virginibus qua fida domus, venisse Pelasgum ductores Graiamque ratem sociosque receptos. iure^ pavent aliae ; sed vix nova gaudia celat
80 Pelides avidusque novos heroas et arma
vel talis vidisse cupit. iamque atria fervent 755
regali strepitu et picto discumbitur auro, cum pater ire iubet natas comitesque pudicas natarum. subeunt, quales Maeotide ripa,
85 cum Scythicas rapuere domos et capta Getarum moenia, sepositis epulantur Amazones armis. 760
tum vero intentus vultus ac pectora Ulixes perlibrat visu, sed nox inlataque fallunt
^ iure Pw : aure Garrod (Theb. i. 366). 5Q^
ACHILLEID, I. 736-762
approaches to Troy and her hated shores, and what their schemes may be." Ere he had finished the other broke in upon him : " May Fortune assist thee, I pray, and propitious gods prosper that enterprise ! Now honour my roof and pious home by being my guests." Therewith he leads them within the gate. Straightway numerous attendants prepare the couches and the tables. Meanwhile Ulysses scans and searches the palace with his gaze, if anywhere he can find trace of a tall maiden or a face suspect for its doubtful features; uncertainly he wanders idly in the galleries and, as though in wonder, roams the whole house through ; just as yon hunter, having come upon his prey's undoubted haunts, scours the fields with his silent Molossian hound, till he behold his foe stretched out in slumber 'neath the leaves and his jaws resting on the turf.
Long since has a rumour been noised throughout the secret chamber where the maidens had their safe abode, that Pelasgian chiefs are come, and a Grecian ship and its mariners have been made welcome. With good reason are the rest affrighted ; but Pehdes scarce conceals his sudden joy, and eagerly desires even as he is to see the newly-arrived heroes and their arms. Already the noise of princely trains fills the palace, and the guests are reclining on gold- embroidered couches, when at their sire's command his daughters and their chaste companions join the banquet ; they approach, like unto Amazons on the Maeotid shore, when, having made plunder of Scythian homesteads and captured strongholds of the Getae, they lay aside their arms and feast. Then indeed does Ulysses with intent gaze ponder carefully both forms and features, but night and the lamps that are
565
STATIUS
lumina et extemplo latuit mensura iacentum. 93 at tamen erectumque genas oculisque vagantem nuUaque virginei servantem signa pudoris 765
defigit comitique obliquo lumine monstrat. quod nisi praecipitem blando complexa moneret Deidamia sinu nudataque pectora semper 95 exsertasque manus umerosque in veste teneret
et prodire toris et poscere vina vetaret 770
saepius et fronti crinale reponeret aurum, Argolicis ducibus iam tunc patuisset Achilles. Ut placata fames epulis bis terque repostis,
ICX3 rex prior adloquitur paterisque hortatur Achivos : " invideo vestris, fateor, decora inclita gentis 775
Argolicae, coeptis : utinam et mihi fortior aetas, quaeque fuit, Dolopas cum Scyria litora adortos perdomui fregique vadis, quae signa triumphi
los vidistis celsa murorum in fronte, carinas !
saltem si suboles, aptum quam mittere bello — ^ 780 nunc ipsi viresque meas et cara videtis 782
pignora : quando novos dabit haec mihi turba nepotes ? "
no dixerat, et sellers arrepto tempore Ulixes :
" haud spernenda cupis ; quis enim non visere gentes innumeras variosque duces atque agmina regum 786 ardeat ? omne simul roburque decusque potentis Europae meritos ultro iuravit in enses.
115 rura urbesque vacant, niontes spoliavimus altos, omine fretum longa velorum obtexitur umbra ; 790
^ After line 780 occurs only in late uss. : possem, plena forent mihi gaudia ; namque iuvarem, " / could {belonging to the aposiopesis), my joy would be full ; for I would help." 566
ACHILLEID, I. 763-790
brought in deceive him, and their stature is hidden as soon as they redine. One nevertheless vrith. head erect and wandering gaze, one who preserves no sign of virgin modesty, he marks, and with sidelong glance points out to his companion. But if Deidamia, to warn the hasty youth, had not clasped him to her soft bosom, and ever covered with her own robe his bare breast and naked arms and shoulders, and many a time forbidden him to start up from the couch and ask for v\ine, and replaced the golden hair-band on his brow, Achilles had even then been revealed to the Argive chieftains.
When hunger was assuaged and the banquet had twice and three times been renewed, the monarch first addresses the Achaeans, and pledges them with the wine-cup : " Ye famous heroes of the Argolic race, I en\y, I confess, your enterprise ; would that I too were of more valiant years, as when I utterly subdued the Dolopes who attacked the shores of Scyros, and shattered on the sea those keels that ye beheld on the forefront of my lofty walls, tokens of my triumph ! At least if I had offspring that I could send to war, — but now ye see for yourselves my feeble strength and my dear children : ah, when \n\\ these numerous daughters give me grandsons ? " He spoke, and seizing the moment crafty Ulysses made reply : " Worthy indeed is the object of thy desire ; for who would not burn to see the countless peoples of the world and various chieftains and princes with their trains ? All the might and glory of powerful Europe hath sworn together willing allegiance to our righteous amis. Cities and fields aUke are empty, we have spoiled the lofty mountains, the whole sea lies hidden beneath the far-spread shadow of our
567
STATIUS
tradunt arma patres, rapit inrevocata iuventus. non alias umquam tantae data copia famae fortibus aut campo maiore exercita virtus."
1 20 aspicit intentum vigilique haec aure trahentem, cum paveant aliae demissaque lumina flectant, 795 atque iterat : " quisquis proavis et gente superba, quisquis equo iaculoque potens, qui praevalet arcu, omnis honos illic, illic ingentia certant
115 nomina : vix timidae matres aut agmina cessant virginea ; a ! multum steriles damnatus in annos 800 invisusque deis, si quern haec nova gloria segnem praeterit." exisset stratis, ni provida signo Deidamia dato cunctas hortata sorores
130 liquisset mensas ipsum complexa. sed haeret
respiciens Ithacum coetuque novissimus exit. 805 ille quidem incepto paulum ex sermone remittit, pauca tamen iungens : "at tu tranquillus in alta pace mane carisque para conubia natis,
135 quas tibi sidereis divarum vultibus aequas
fors dedit. ut me olim taciturn reverentia tangit ! is decor et formae species permixta virili." 811
occurrit genitor : " quid si aut Bacchea ferentes orgia, Palladias aut circum videris aras ?
140 et dabimus, si forte novus cunctabitur auster."
excipiunt cupidi et tacitis spes addita votis. 815
cetera depositis Lycomedis regia curis
tranquilla sub pace silet, sed longa sagaci
nox Ithaco, lucemque cupit somnumque gravatur.
568
ACHILLEID, I. 791-818
sails ; fathers give weapons, youths snatch them and are gone beyond recall. Never was offered to the brave such an opportunity for high reno^\'n, never had valour so wide a field of exercise." He sees him all attentive and drinking in his words with vigilant ear, though the rest are alarmed and turn aside their downcast eyes, and he repeats : " Whoever hath pride of race and ancestry, whoever hath sure javehn and vahant steed, or skill of bow, all honour there awaits him, there is the strife of mighty names : scarce do timorous mothers hold back or troops of maids ; ah ! doomed to barren years and hated of the gods is he whom this new chance of glory passes by in idle sloth." Up from the couches had he sprung, had not Deidamia, watchfully giving the sign to summon all her sisters, left the banquet clasping him in her arms ; yet still he lingers looking back at the Ithacan, and goes out from the company the last of all. Ulysses indeed leaves unsaid somewhat of his purposed speech, yet adds a few words : " But do thou abide in deep and tranquil peace, and find husbands for thy beloved daughters, whom fortune has given thee, goddess-like in their starry counten- ances. What awe touched me anon and holds me silent .'' Such charm and beauty joined to manhness of form ! " The sire replies : " What if thou couldst see them performing the rites of Bacchus, or about the altars of Pallas? Ay, and thou shalt, if perchance the rising south wind prove a laggard." They eagerly accept his promise, and hope inspires their silent prayers. All else in Lycomedes' palace are at rest in peaceful quiet, their troubles laid aside, but to the cunning Ithacan the night is long ; he yearns for the day and brooks not slumber,
569
STATIUS
145 Vixdum exorta dies et iam comitatus Agyrte
Tydides aderat praedictaque dona ferebat. 820
nee minus egressae thalamo Scyreides ibant ostentare choros promissaque saei'a verendis hospitibus. nitet ante alias regina comesque
150 Pelides : qualis Siculae sub rupibus Aetnae
Naidas Ennaeas inter Diana feroxque 825
Pallas et Elysii lucebat sponsa tyranni, iamque movent gressus thiasisque Ismenia buxus signa dedit, quater aera Rheae, quater enthea pulsant
155 terga manu variosque quater legere recursus. 829 tunc thyrsos pariterque levant pariterque reponunt multiplicantque gradum, modo quo Curetes in actu quoque pii Samothraces eunt, nunc obvia versae pectine Amazonio, modo quo citat orbe Lacaenas
160 Delia plaudentesque suis intorquet Amyelis.
tunc vero, tunc praecipue manifestus Achilles 835 nee servare vices nee bracchia iungere curat ; tunc molles gressus, tunc aspernatur amictus plus solito rumpitque choros et plurima turbat.
165 sic indignantem thyrsos acceptaque matris
tympana iam tristes spectabant Penthea Thebae. 840
Solvuntur laudata cohors repetuntque paterna limina, ubi in mediae iamdudum sedibus aulae munera virgineos visus tractura locarat
" i.e., Theban (from the river Ismenos), i.e. Bacchic.
* Here = Cybele, worshipped by the Corybantes with very noisy rites.
* The Curetes were priests of Jupiter (Zeus) in Crete ; the Samothracians celebrated mysteries in honour of the Cabiri.
"* " pecten " was the name of a dance in which, one may gather, two opposing Hnes met and passed through each other.
« Pentheus, king of Thebes, tried to put down the Bacchus- worship of which his mother Agave was a votary. " tristes,"
570
ACHILLEID, I. 819-843
Scarce had day dawned, and already the son of Tydeus accompanied by Ag}'Ttes was present bring- ing the appointed gifts. The maids of Scyros too went forth from their chamber and advanced to display their dances and promised rites to the honoured strangers. Brilliant before the rest is the princess vdih Pelides her companion : even as be- neath the rocks of Aetna in Sicily Diana and bold Pallas and the consort of the Elysian monarch shine forth among the nymphs of Enna. Already they begin to move, and the Ismenian " pipe gives the signal to the dancers ; four times they beat the cymbals of Rhea,* four times the maddening drums, four times they trace their manifold ^\^ndings. Then together they raise and lower their wands, and com- plicate their steps, now in such fashion as the Curetes and devout Samothracians use,*^ now turning to face each other in the Amazonian comb,'* now in the ring wherein the Delian sets the Laconian girls a-dancing, and whirls them shouting her praises into her own Amyclae. Then indeed, then above all is Achilles manifest, caring neither to keep his turn nor to join arms ; then more than ever does he scorn the delicate step, the womanly attire, and breaks the dance and mightily disturbs the scene. Even so did Thebes already sorro^\^ng behold Pentheus spurning the wands and the timbrels that his mother welcomed.*
The troop disperses amid applause, and they seek
again their father's threshold, where in the central
h amber of the palace the son of Tydeus had long
-iace set out gifts that should attract maidens'
eyes, the mark of kindly welcome and the guerdon
as though with apprehension of his fate (he was torn in pieces by his own mother in her frenzy).
571
STATIUS
170 Tydides, signum hospitii pretiumque laboris ;
hortaturque legant, nee rex placidissimus arcet. 845 heu simplex nimiumque rudis, qui callida dona Graiorumque dolos variumque ignoret Ulixem ! hie aliae, quas sexus iners naturaque ducit,
175 aut teretes thyrsos aut respondentia temptant
tympana, gemmatis aut nectunt tempora limbis : 850 amna vident magnoque putant donata parenti. at ferus Aeacides, radiantem ut comminus orbem, caelatum pugnas — saevis et forte rubebat
iSo bellorum maculis — adclinem conspicit hastae,
infremuit torsitque genas, et fronte relicta 855
surrexere comae ; nusquam mandata parentis, nusquam occultus amor, totoque in pectore Troia est. ut leo, materno cum raptus ab ubere mores
1S5 accepit pectique iubas hominemque vereri
edidicit nullasque rapi nisi iussus in iras, 860
si semel adverso radiavit lumine ferrum, eiurata fides domitorque inimicus : in ilium prima fames, timidoque pudet servisse^ magistro.
19' ut vero accessit propius luxque aemula vultum
reddidit et simili talem se vidit in auro, 865
horruit erubuitque simul. tunc acer Ulixes admotus lateri summissa voce : " quid haeres ? scimus," ait, " tu semiferi Chironis alumnus,
iP5 tu caeli pelagique nepos, te Dorica classis,
te tua suspensis exspectat Graecia signis, 870
ipsaque iam dubiis nutant tibi Pergama muris. heia, abrumpe moras : sine perfida palleat Ide, et iuvet haec audire patrem, pudeatque dolosam
^ pudet servisse EQ : iuvet servire P : rubet servire Krohn. 572
ACHILLEID, I. 844-873
of their toil ; he bids them choose, nor does the peaceful monarch say them nay. Alas I how simple and untaught, who knew not the cunning of the gifts nor Grecian fraud nor Ulysses' many wiles I There- upon the others, prompted by nature and their ease- loving sex, try the shapely wands or the timbrels that answer to the blow, and fasten jewelled bands around their temples ; the weapons they behold, but think them a gift to their mighty sire. But the bold son of Aeacus no sooner saw before him the gleaming shield enchased with battle-scenes — by chance too it shone red with the fierce stains of war — and leaning against the spear, than he shouted loud and rolled his eyes, and his hair rose up from his brow ; for- gotten were his mother's words, forgotten his secret love, and Troy fills all his breast. As a lion, torn from his mother's dugs, submits to be tamed and lets his mane be combed, and learns to have awe of man and not to fly into a rage save when bidden, yet if but once the steel has glittered in his sight, his fealty is forsworn, and his tamer becomes his foe : against him he first ravens, and feels shame to have served a timid lord. But when he came nearer, and the emulous brightness gave back his features and he saw himself mirrored in the reflecting gold, he thrilled and blushed together. Then quickly went Ulysses to his side and whispered : " Why dost thou hesitate ."* We know thee, thou art the pupil of the half-beast Chiron, thou art the grandson of the sky and sea ; thee the Dorian fleet, thee thy own Greece awaits with standards uplifted for the march, and the very walls of Pergamum totter and sway for thee to over- turn. Up ! delay no more ! Let perfidious Ida ::row pale, let thy father delight to hear these
573
STATIUS
200 sic pro te timuisse Thetin." iam pectus amictu laxabat, cum grande tuba sic iussus Agyrtes 875
insonuit : fugiunt disiectis undique donis implorantque patrem commotaque proelia credunt. illius intactae cecidere a pectore vestes,
205 iam clipeus breviorque manu consumitur hasta,
— mira fides ! — Ithacumque umeris excedere visus 880 Aetolumque ducem : tantum subita arma calorque Martius horrenda confundit luce penates. immanisque gradu, ceu protinus Hectora poscens,
210 stat medius trepidante domo : Peleaque virgo
quaeritur. ast alia plangebat parte retectos 885
Deidamia dolos, cuius cum grandia primum lamenta et notas accepit pectore voces, haesit et occulto virtus infracta calore est.
215 demittit clipeum regisque ad lumina versus
attonitum factis inopinaque monstra paventem, 890 sicut erat, nudis Lycomedem adfatur in armis : " me tibi, care pater. — dubium dimitte pavorem ! — me dedit alma Thetis : te pridem tanta manebat
220 gloria ; quaesitum Danais tu mittis Achillem,
gratior et magno, si fas dixisse, parente 895
et dulci Chirone mihi. sed corda parumper hue adverte libens atque has bonus accipe voces : Peleus te nato socerum et Thetis hospita iungunt,
225 adlegantque suos utroque a sanguine divos.
unam virgineo natarum ex agmine poscunt : 900
" " consumitur," a vivid use of the word ; " is consumed, or used up by " his hand, which is too mighty for it.
574
ACHILLEID, I. 874-900
tidings, and guileful Thetis feel shame to have so feared for thee." Already was he stripping his body of the robes, when Agyrtes, so commanded, blew a great blast upon the trumpet : the gifts are scattered, and they flee and fall Avith prayers before their sire and believe that battle is joined. But from his breast the raiment fell without his touching, already the shield and puny spear are lost in the grasp of his hand " — marvellous to believe ! — and he seemed to surpass by head and shoulders the Ithacan and the Aetohan chief : with a sheen so awful does the sudden blaze of arms and martial fire dazzle the palace-hall. Mighty of limb, as though forthwith summoning Hector to the fray, he stands in the midst of the panic-stricken house : and the daughter of Peleus is sought in vain. But Deidamia in another chamber bewailed the discovery of the fraud, and as soon as he heard her loud lament and recognized the voice that he knew so well, he quailed and his spirit was broken by his hidden passion. He dropped the shield, and turning to the monarch's face, while Lycomedes is dazed by the scene and distraught by the strange portent, just as he was, in naked panoply of arms, he thus bespeaks him : " 'Twas I, dear father, I whom bounteous Thetis gave thee — dismiss thy anxious fears ! — long since did this high renown await thee ; 'tis thou who wilt send Achilles, long sought for, to the Greeks, more welcome to me than my mighty sire — if it is right so to speak — and than beloved Chiron. But, if thou ^^^lt, give me thy mind awhile, and of thy favour hear these words : Peleus and Thetis thy guest make thee the father-in-law of their son, and recount their kindred deities on either side ; they demand one of thy train of virgin
575
ST ATI us
dasne ? an gens humilis tibi degeneresque videmur ? non renuis ; iunge ergo manus et concipe foedus atque ignosce tuis. tacito iam cognita furto
230 Deidamia mihi ; quid enim his obstare lacertis,
qua potuit nostras possessa repellere vires^ ? 905
me luere ista iube ; pono arma et reddo Pelasgis et maneo, quid triste fremis ? quid lumina mutas ? iam socer es " — natum ante pedes prostravit et addit :
235 " iamque avus : immitis quotiens iterabitur ensis ! turba sumus." tunc et Danai per sacra fidemque 910 hospitii blandusque precum compellit Ulixes. ille, etsi carae comperta iniuria natae et Thetidis mandata movent prodique videtur
240 depositum tarn grande deae, tamen obvius ire
tot metuit fatis Argivaque bella morari ; 915
fac velit : ipsam illic matrem sprevisset Achilles, nee tamen abnuerit genero se iungere tali : vincitur. arcanis efFert pudibunda tenebris
245 Deidamia gradum, veniae nee protinus amens
credit et opposite genitorem placet Achille. 920
Mittitur Haemoniam, magnis qui Pelea factis impleat et classem comitesque in proelia poscat. nee non et geminas regnator Scyrius alnos
250 deducit genero viresque excusat Achivis.
tunc epulis consumpta dies, tandemque retectum 925 foedus et intrepidos nox conscia iungit am antes.
^ repellere vires Kohlmann : repellere vir P : evadere flammas w.
" i.e., there was not only Achilles for Lycomedes to slay, but his daughter and his grandson also.
576
ACHILLEID, I. 901-926
daughters : dost thou give her ? or seem we a mean and coward race ? Thou dost not refuse. Join then our hands, and make the treaty, and pardon thy own kin. Already hath Deidamia been known to me in stolen secrecy ; for how could she have resisted these arms of mine, how once in my embrace repel my might ? Bid me atone that deed : I lay down these weapons and restore them to the Pelasgians, and I remain here. Why these angry cries ? Why is thy aspect changed ? Already art thou my father-in- law " — he placed the child before his feet, and added : " and already a grandsire ! How often shall the pitiless sword be plied ! We are a multitude ! " " Then the Greeks too and Ulysses \Wth his persuasive prayer entreat by the holy rites and the sworn word of hospitality. He, though moved by the discovery of his dear daughter's wrong and the command of Thetis, though^ seeming to betray the goddess and so grave a trust, yet fears to oppose so many destinies and delay the Argive war — even were he fain, AchUles had~spufhed even his mother then. Xor is he unwilling to take unto himself so great a son-in- law : he is won. Deidamia comes shamefast from her dark priv-acy, nor in her despair believes at first his pardon, and puts forward Achilles to appease her sire, A messenger is sent to Haemonia to give Peleus full tidings of these great events, and to demand ships and comrades for the war. Moreover, the Scyrian prince launches two vessels for his son-in-law, and makes excuse to the Achaeans for so poor a show of strength. Then the day was brought to its end with feasting, and at last the bond was made known to all, and conscious night joined the now fearless lovers.
VOL. II 2 p 577
STATIUS
lUius ante oculos nova bella et Xanthus et Ide Argolicaeque rates atque ipsas cogitat undas
255 auroramque timet : cara cervice mariti
fusa novi lacrimas iam solvit et occupat artus. 930 " aspiciamne iterum meque hoc in pectore ponam, Aeacide ? rursusque tuos dignabere partus ? an tumidus Teucrosque lares et capta reportans
2fo Pergama virgineae noles meminisse latebrae ?
quid precer, heu ! timeamve prius ? quidve anxia mandem, 935
cui vix flere vacat ? modo te nox una deditque inviditque mihi ! thalamis haec tempora nostris ? hicne est liber hymen ? o duleia furta dolique,
265 o timor ! abripitur miserae permissus Achilles. i — neque enim tantos ausim revocare paratus — , 940 cautus, nee vana Thetin timuisse memento, felix nosterque redi ! nimis improba posco : iam te sperabunt lacrimis planctuque decorae
270 Troades optabuntque tuis dare colla catenis
et patriam pensare toris aut ipsa placebit 945
Tyndaris, incesta nimium laudata rapina. ast egomet primae puerilis fabula culpae narrabor famulis aut dissimulata latebo.
275 quin age, due comitem ; cur non ego Martia tecum sign a feram ? tu thyrsa^ manu Baccheaque mecum sacra, quod infelix non credet Troia, tulisti. 951
attamen hunc, quem maesta mihi solacia linquis, ^ thyrsa P : pensa ui.
" i.e., Deidamia's. 578
ACHILLEID, I. 927-952
Before her " eyes new wars and Xanthus and Ida pass, and the Argolic fleet, and she imagines the very waves and fears the coming of the dawn ; she flings herself about her new lord's beloved neck, and at last clasping his limbs gives way to tears : " Shall I see thee again, and lay myself on this breast of thine, O son of Aeacus ? Wilt thou deign once more to look upon thy offspring ? Or wilt thou proudly bring back spoils of captured Pergamum and Teucrian homes and wish to forget where thou didst hide thee as a maid ? What should I entreat, or alas ! what rather fear ? How can I in my anxiety lay a behest on thee, who have scarce time to weep ? One single night has given and grudged thee to me ! Is this the season for oiu* espousals ? Is this free wedlock ? Ah ! those stolen sweets I that cunning fraud ! Ah ! how I fear ! Achilles is given to me only to be torn away. Go ! for I would not dare to stay such mighty preparations; go^ and be cautious, and remember that the fears of Thetis were not vain ; go, and good luck be with thee, and come back mine ! Yet too bold is my request : soon the fair Trojan dames will sigh for thee with tears and beat their breasts, and pray that they may offer their necks to thy fetters, and weigh thy couch against their homes, or Tyn- daris * herself will please thee, too much belauded for her incestuous rape. But I shall be a story to thy henchmen, the tale of a lad's first fault, or I shall be disowned and forgotten. Nay, come, take me as thy conu-ade ; why should I not carry the standards of Mars A\ith thee ? Thou didst carr}' with me the wands and holy things of Bacchus, though ill-fated Troy beheve it not. Yet this babe, whom thou dost * Helen, daughter of Tyndareus.
579
STATIUS
hunc saltern sub corde tene et concede precanti
hoc solum, pariat ne quid tibi barbara coniunx,
ne qua det indignos Thetidi captiva nepotes." 955
talia dicentem non ipse immotus Achilles
solatur iuratque fidem iurataque fletu
spondet et ingentes famulas captumque reversus
Ilion et Phrygiae promittit munera gazae.
inrita ventosae rapiebant verba procellae. 960
580
ACHILLEID, I. 953-960
leave as my sad solace — keep him at least within thy heart, and grant this one request, that no foreign \^ife bear thee a child, that no captive woman give unworthy grandsons to Thetis." As thus she speaks, Achilles, moved to compassion himself, comforts her, and gives her his sworn oath, and pledges it Avith tears, and promises her on his return tall hand- maidens and spoils of Ilium and gifts of Phrvgian treasure. The fickle breezes swept his words un- fulfilled away.
581
LIBER II
^^ Exuit implicitum tenebris umentibus orbem Oceano prolata dies, genitorque coruscae lucis adhuc hebetem vicina nocte levabat
290 et nondum excusso rorantem lampada ponto.
et iam punicea nudatum pectora palla 5
insignemque ipsis, quae prima invaserat, armis Aeaciden^quippe aura vocat cognataque suadent aequora — prospectant cuncti iuvenemque ducemque
295 nil ausi meminisse pavent ; sic omnia visu
mutatus rediit, ceu numquam Scyria passus 10
litora Peliacoque rates escendat ab antro. tunc ex more deis — ita namque monebat Ulixes — aequoribusque austrisque litat fluctuque sub ipso
300 caeruleum regem tauro veneratur avumque
Nerea : vittata genetrix placata iuvenca. 15
hie spumante salo iaciens tumida exta profatur ;
" paruimus, genetrix, quamquam baud toleranda
iubebas^, paruimus nimiimi : bella ad Troiana ratesque
305 Argolicas quaesitus eo." sic orsus et alno
insiluit penitusque noto stridente propinquis 20
abripitur terris : et iam ardua ducere nubes incipit et longo Scyros discedere ponto.
^ iubebas w : puberis P : iuberes E : pararis Klotz. 582
BOOK II
Day arising from Ocean set free the world from dank enfolding shades, and the father of the flashing light upraised his torch still dimmed by the neighbouring gloom and moist with sea-water not yet shaken off. And now all behold Aeacides, his shoulders stripped of the scarlet robe, and glorious in those very arms he first had seized — for the \\ind is calling and his kindred seas are urging him — and quake before the youthful chieftain, not daring to remember aught ; so wholly changed to the sight hath he come back, as though he had ne'er experienced the shores of ScvTos, but were embarking from the Pehan cave. Then duly — for so Ulysses counselled — he does sacri- fice to the gods and the waters and south ^vinds, and venerates with a bull the cerulean king below the waves and Nereus his grandsire : his mother is appeased with a garlanded heifer. Thereupon cast- ing the swollen entrails on the salt foam he addresses her : " Mother, I have obeyed thee, though thy commands were hard to bear ; too obedient have I been : now they demand me, and I go to the Trojan war and the Argolic fleet." So speaking he leapt into the bark, and was swept away far from the neighbourhood of land by the whistling south wind ; already lofty Scyros begins to gather mist jibout her, and to fade from sight over the long expanse of sea.
583
ST ATI us
Turre procul summa lacrimis comitata sororum
310 commissumque^ tenens et habentem nomina Pyrrhum pendebat coniunx oculisque in carbasa fixis 25
ibat et ipsa freto, et puppem iam sola videbat. ille quoque obliques dilecta ad moenia vultiis declinat viduamque doniuin gemitusque relictae
315 cogitat : occultus sub corde renascitur ardor
datque locum virtus, sentit Laertius heros 30
maerentem et plaeidis adgressus flectere dictis : " tene," inquit, " magnae vastator debite Troiae, quern Danaae classes, quern divum oraeula poscunt,
320 erectumque manet reserato in limine Bellum,
callida femineo genetrix violavit amictu 35
commisitque illis tam grandia furta latebris speravitque fidem ? nimis o suspensa nimisque mater ! an haec tacita virtus torperet in umbra,
325 quae vix audito litui clangore refugit
et Thetin et comites et quos suppresserat ignes ? 40 nee nostrum est, quod in arma venis sequerisque
precantes : venisses- — " dixit, quem talibus occupat heros Aeacius : " longum resides exponere causas
330 maternumque nefas ; hoe excusabitur ense
Scyros et indecores, fatorum crimina, cultus. 45
tu potius, dum lene fretum zephyroque fruuntur carbasa, quae Danais tanti primordia belli, ede : libet iustas hinc sumere protinus iras."
335 hie Ithacus paulum repetito longius orsu :
" fertur in Hectorea, si talia credimus, Ida^ 50
electus formae certamina solvere pastor
^ commissum P : confessum w. * Ida P : ora w. 584
ACHILLEip, II. 23-51
Far away on the summit of a tower with weeping sisters round her his wife leaned forth, holding her precious charge, who bore the name of Pyrrhus, and with her eyes fixed on the canvas sailed herself upon the sea, and all alone still saw the vessel. He too turned his gaze aside to the walls he held dear, he thinks upon the widowed home and the sobs of her he had left : the hidden passion glows again within his heart, and martial ire gives place. The Laertian hero perceives him sorrowing, and draws nigh to influence him with gentle words : " Was it thou, O destined destroyer of great Troy, whom Danaan fleets and divine oracles are demanding, and War aroused is awaiting with unbarred portals — was it thou whom a crafty mother profaned with feminine robes, and trusted yonder hiding-place with so great a secret, and hoped the trust was sure ? O too anxious, O too true a mother ! (Zkuild -such valour
lie inert and l^idden^that scarce hearing the trumpet- blast fled fronl Thetis and companions and the heart's unspoken passiorTF^ Nor is it due to us that thou comest to the war, and compliest with our prayers ; thou wouldst have come — ," he spoke, and thus the Aeacian hero takes up the word : " 'Twere long to set forth the causes of my tarrying and my mother^s crime ; this sword shall make excuse for Scyros and my dishonourable garb, the reproach of destiny. Do thou rather, while the sea is peaceful and the sails enjoy the zephyr, tell how the Danaans began so great a war : I would fain draw straightway from thy words a righteous anger." Then the Ithacan, tracing far back the beginning of the tale : "A shepherd, they say — if we believe such things — was chosen in Hector's domain of Ida to end a strife of
ST ATI us
sollicitas tenuisse deas nee torva Minervae ora nee aetherii sociam reetoris amico
34'^ lumine, sed solam nimium vidisse Dionen.
atque adeo lis ilia tuis exorta sub antris 55
coneilio superum, dum Pelea dulce maritat Pelion, et nostris iam tunc promitteris armis. ira quatit vietas ; petit exitialia index
345 praemia : raptori faciles monstrantur Amyclae.
ille Phrygas lucos, matris penetralia caedit 60
turrigerae veritasque^ solo procumbere pinus praecipitat terrasque freto delatus Achaeas hospitis Atridae — pudet heu miseretque potentis
35° Europae ! — spoliat thalamos, Helenaque superbus navigat et captos ad Pergama devehit Argos. 65
inde date passim varias rumore per urbes, undique inexciti sibi quisque et sponte coimus ultores : quis enim inlicitis genialia rumpi
355 pacta dolis facilique trahi conubia raptu
ceu pecus armentumve aut viles messis acervos 70 perferat ? haec etiam fortes iactura moveret. non tulit insidias divum imperiosus Agenor mugitusque sacros et magno numine vectam
360 quaesiit Europen aspernatusque Tonantem est
ut generum ; raptam Scythico de litore prolem 75 non tuHt Aeetes ferroque et classe secutus semideos reges et ituram in sidera puppim : nos Phryga semivirum portus et litora circum
365 Argolica incesta volitantem puppe feremus ?
^ veritasque P : vetitasque w.
" Medea. The Argo was set in heaven as a constellation by Pallas. 586
ACHILLEID, II. 52-79
beauty, and while he kept the goddesses in anxious doubt looked not with friendly eye upon Minerva's fro\\'ning countenance nor on the consort of the heavenly ruler, but gazed overmuch on Dione alone. And verily that quarrel arose in thy o^vn glades, at a gathering of the gods, when pleasant Pelion made marriage-feast for Peleus, and thou even then wert promised to our armament. Wrath thrills the van- quished ones : the judge demands his fateful reward, and compliant Amyclae is sho^vn to the ravasher. He cuts down the Phrygian groves, the secret haunts of the turret-cro^^'ned mother, and flings down pines that fear to fall to earth, and borne o'er the sea to Achaean lands he plunders the marriage-chamber of his host the son of Atreus — ah ! shame and pity on proud Europe ! — and exulting in Helen puts to sea and brings home to Pergamum the spoils of Argos. Then, as the rumours spread far and wide through the cities, of our own will, none urging us, we gather, each for himself, from ever)' side for vengeance ; for who could endure the unlawful, crafty breaking of the marriage-bond, or a consort carried oif in un- resisted rape, as though a beast of the flock or herd, or some poor heap of harvest-corn } Such a loss would shake even a valiant heart. Masterful Agenor endured not the treachery of the gods, but went in quest of sacred lo^nngs and Europa riding on a mighty god, and scorned the Thunderer as a son-in- law ; Aeetes endured not the rape of his daughter " from the Scj'thian shore, but with ships and steel pursued the princes and the vessel fated to join the stars : shall we endure a Phrygian eunuch hovering about the coasts and harbours of Argos with his incestuous bark ? Are our horses and men so utterly
587
STATIUS
usque adeo nusquam arma et equi, fretaque invia Grais ? 80
quid si nunc aliquis patriis rapturus ab oris Deidamian eat viduaque e sede revellat attonitam et magni claniantem nomen Achillis ? *
370 illius ad capulum rediit manus ac simul ingens
impulit ora rubor : tacuit contentus Ulixes. 85
Excipit Oenides : " quin, o dignissima caeli progenies, ritusque tuos elementaque primae indolis et, valida mox accedente iuventa,
375 quae solitus laudum tibi semina pandere Chiron, virtutisque aditus, quas membra augere per artes, 90 quas animum, sociis niultumque faventibus edis ? sit pretium longas penitus quaesisse per undas Scyron et his primos arma ostendisse lacertis.^ "
380 Quern pigeat sua facta loqui ? tamen ille modeste incohat, ambiguus paulum propiorque coacto : 95
" dicor et in teneris et adhuc reptantibus^ annis, Thessalus ut rigido senior me monte recepit, non ullos ex more cibos hausisse nee almis
385 uberibus satiasse famem, sed spissa leonum
viscera semianimisque lupae traxisse medullas. 100 haec mihi prima Ceres, haec laeti munera Bacchi, sic dabat ille pater, mox ire per invia secum lustra gradu maiore trahens visisque docebat
39J adridere feris nee fracta ruentibus undis
saxa nee ad vastae trepidare silentia silvae. 105
iam tunc arma manu, iam tunc cervice pharetrae,
^ his primos arma ostendisse lacertis Wilamowitz : his primum arma ostendisse lacertis P : armos (is) tendisse QKC : primum me arma ost. Schenkel.
^ reptantibus P : restantibus w : crescentibus edd.
" i.e., Chiron. 588
ACHILLEID, II. 80-106
vanished ? Are the seas so impassable to Greeks ? What if someone now were to carry off Deidamia from her native shores, and tear her from her lonely chamber in dire dismay and crying on the name of great Achilles ? " His hand flew to the sword-hilt, and a dark flush surged over his face : Ulysses was silent and content.
Then spoke Oenides : " Nay, O thou worthiest progeny of heaven, tell us, thy admiring friends, of the ways in which thy spirit first was trained, and as the vigour of thy youth increased what stirring themes of glory Chiron was wont to recount to thee, and how thy valour grew, by what arts he made strong thy limbs or fired thy courage ; let it be worth while to have sought Scyros over long leagues of sea, and to have first shown weapons to those arms of thine."
Who would find it hard to tell of his own deeds r Yet he begins modestly, somewhat uncertain and more like one compelled : " Even in my years of crawling infancy, when the Thessalian sage received me on his stark mountain-side, I am said to have devoured no wonted food, nor to have sated my hunger at the nourishing breast, but to have gnawed the tough entrails of lions and the bowels of a half- slain she-wolf. That was my first bread, that the bounty of joyous Bacchus, in such wise did that father of mine <' feed me. Then he taught me to go with him through pathless deserts, dragging me on with mighty stride, and to laugh at sight of the wild beasts, nor tremble at the shattering of rocks by rushing torrents or at the silence of the lonely forest. Already at that time weapons were in my hand and quivers on my shoulders,
589
STATIUS
et ferri properatus amor durataque multo sole geluque cutis ; tenero nee fluxa cubili
395 membra, sed ingenti saxum commune magistro. vix mihi bissenos annorum torserat orbes 110
vita rudis, volucres cum iam praevertere cervos et Lapithas cogebat equos praemissaque cursu tela sequi ; saepe ipse gradu me praepete Chiron.
400 dum velox aetas, campis admissus agebat
omnibus, exhaustumque vago per gramina passu 115 laudabat gaudens atque in sua terga levabat. saepe etiam primo fluvii torpore iubebat ire supra glaciemque levi non frangere planta.
405 hoc puerile decus. quid nunc tibi proelia dicam silvarum et saevo vacuos iam murmure saltus ? 120 numquam ille imbelles Ossaea per avia dammas sectari aut timidas passus me cuspide lyncas sternere, sed tristes turbare cubilibus ursos
410 fulmineosque sues, et sicubi maxima tigris
aut seducta iugis fetae spelunca leaenae. 125
ipse sedens vasto facta exspectabat in antro, si sparsus nigro remearem sanguine ; nee me ante nisi inspectis admisit ad oscula telis.
415 iamque et ad ensiferos vicina pube tumultus
aptabar, nee me ulla feri Mavortis imago 130
praeteriit. didici, quo Paeones arma rotatu, quo Macetae sua gaesa citent, quo turbine contum Sauromates falcemque Getes arcumque Gelonus
420 tenderet et flexae Balearicus actor habenae
" " admissus," cf. the common phrase " admisso equo." 590
ACHILLEID, II. 107-134
the love of steel grew apace within me, and my skin was hardened by much sun and frost ; nor were my limbs weakened by soft couches, but I shared the hard rock with my master's mighty frame. Scarce had my raw youth turned the wheel of twice six years, when already he made me outpace swift hinds and Lapith steeds and running overtake the flung dart ; often Chiron himself, while yet he was swift of foot, ohased me at full gallop " with headlong speed o'er all the plains, and when I was exhausted by roaming over the meads he praised me joyously and hoisted me upon his back. Often too in the first freezing of the streams he would bid me go upon them with light step nor break the ice. These were my boyhood's glories. Why now should I tell thee of the woodland battles and of the glades that know my fierce shout no more .'' Never would he suffer me to follow unwarlike does through the path- less glens of Ossa, or lay low timid lynxes with my spear, but only to drive angry bears from their rest- ing-places, and boars with lightning thrust ; or if anywhere a mighty tiger lurked or a lioness with her cubs in some secret lair upon the mountain-side, he himself, seated in his vast cave, awaited my ex- ploits, if perchance I should return bespattered with dark blood ; nor did he admit me to his embrace before he had scanned my weapons. And already I was being prepared for the armed tumults of the neighbouring folk, and no fashion of savage warfare passed me by. I learnt how the Paeonians whirl and fling their darts and the Macetae their javelins, with how fierce a rush the Sarmatian plies his pike and the Getan his falchion- how the Gelonian draws his bow, and how the Balearic wielder of the pliant
591
STATIUS
quo suspensa trahens libraret vulnera tortu 135
inclusumque suo distingueret aera gyro, vix memorem cunctos, etsi bene gessimus, actus, nunc docet ingentes saltu me iungere fossas,
425 nunc caput aerii scandentem prendere montis,
quo fugitur per plana gradu, simulacraque pugnae 140 excipere immissos scutato^ umbone molares ardentesque errare^ casas peditemque volantes sistere quadriiugos. memini, rapidissimus ibat
430 imbribus adsiduis pastus nivibusque solutis
Sperchios vivasque trabes et saxa ferebat : 145
cum me ille immissum, qua saevior impetus undae, stare iubet contra tumidosque repellere fluctus, quos vix ipse gradu totiens obstante tulisset.
435 stabam equidem, sed me referebat concitus amnis et latae caligo fugae : ferus ille minari 150
desuper incumbens verbisque urgere pudorem. nee nisi iussus abi : sic me sublimis agebat gloria, nee duri tanto sub teste labores.
440 nam procul Oebalios in nubila condere discos
et liquidam nodare palen et spargere caestus, 155 ludus erat requiesque mihi ; nee maior in istis sudor, Apollineo quam fila sonantia plectro cum quaterem priscosque virum mirarer honores.
445 quin etiam sucos atque auxiliantia morbis
gramina, quo nimius staret medicamine sanguis, 160 quid faciat somnos, quid hiantia vulnera claudat, quae ferro cohibenda lues, quae cederet herbis,
^ scutato P : curvato w. ^ errare P : Intrare w.
« Cf. Theb. iv. 67.
* i.e., he had four legs to withstand the torrent. "^ See note on Silv. v. 3. 53 ; but it may simply mean Spartan, as being a sport much practised in Sparta.
ACHILLEID, II. 13.5-162
thong keeps the missile swinging round with balanced motion, and as he savings it marks out a circle in the air.* Scarce could I recount all my doings, successful though they were ; now he instructs me to span huge dykes by leaping, now to climb and grasp the airy mountain-peak, with what stride to run upon the level, how to catch flung stones in mimic battle on my shielded arm, to pass through burning houses, and to check flying four-horse teams on foot. Spercheus, I remember, was flo\\'ing with rapid current, fed full with constant rains and melted snows and carrying on its flood boulders and living trees, when he sent me in, there where the waves rolled fiercest, and bade me stand against them and hurl back the swelling billows that he himself could scarce have borne, though he stood to face them ^^^th so many a limb.* I strove to stand, but the violence of the stream and the dizzy panic of the broad spate forced me to give ground ; he loomed o'er me from above and fiercely threatened, and flung taunts to
hame me. Nor did I depart till he gave me word, ~o far did the lofty love of fame constrain me, and my toils were not too hard with such a witness. For to fling the Oebalian'' quoit far out of sight into the clouds, or to practise the holds of the sleek wrestling- bout, and to scatter blows with the boxing-gloves were sport and rest to me : nor laboured I more therein than when I struck with my quill the sounding strings, or told the wondrous fame of heroes of old. Also did he teach me of juices and the grasses that
uccour disease, what remedy will staunch too fast a
flow of blood, what will lull to sleep, what ^dll close
gaping wounds ; what plague should be checked by
the knife, what will yield to herbs ; and he implanted
VOL. II 2 Q .593
STATIUS
edocuit monitusque sacrae sub pectore fixit 450 iustiti'ae, qua Peliacis dare iura verenda
gentibus atque suos solitus pacare biformes. 165
hactenus annorum, comites, elementa meorum
et memini et meminisse iuvat : scit cetera mater." ^
^ After line 167 is added in E and some other uss. in a fifteenth-century hand aura silet, puppis currens ad litora venit.
594
ACHILLEID, II. 163-167
deep within my heart the precepts of divine justice, whereby he was wont to give revered laws to the tribes that dwelt on Pelion, and tame his own twy- formed folk. So much do I remember, friends, of the training of my earliest years, and sweet is their remembrance ; the rest my mother knows."
2 Q 2 5i)5
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by Sir Arthur Hort, Bart. 2 Vols. THUCYDIDES. Trans, by C. F. Smith. 4 Vols. (Vol. I.
2nd Impression.) XENOPHON : CYROPAEDIA. Trans, by Walter Miller.
2 Vols. (Vol. I. 2nd Impression.) XENOPHON : HELLENICA, ANABASIS, APOLOGY,
AND SYMPOSIUM. Trans, by C. L. Brownson and
O. J. Todd. 3 Vols. XENOPHON : MEMORABILIA and OECONOMICUS.
Trans, by E. C. Marchant. XENOPHON : SCRIPTA MINORA. Trans, by E. C.
Marchant.
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GREEK AUTHORS.
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