"Whom nor the fword nor trumpet e'er could fright, "Nor the loud din and horror of a fight?

"And you, our fires, who left your old abodes,
“And fix'd in foreign earth your country gods;
"Will you without a stroke your city yield,
"And poorly quit an undisputed field?
"But. you, whose youth and vigour should inspire
"Heroic warmth, and kindle martial fire,

« Whom burnish'd arms and crefted helmets grace,
"Not flowery garlands and a painted face;
"Remember him to whom you stand ally'd:
"The ferpent for his well of waters dy'd.
"He fought the ftrong; do you his courage fhow,
"And gain a conqueft o'er a feeble foe.

"If Thebes muft fall, oh might the fates afford
"A nobler doom, from famine, fire, or fword!
"Then might the Thebans perifh with renown:
"But now a beardlefs victor facks the town;
"Whom nor the prancing fteed, nor ponderous fhield,
"Nor the hack'd helmet, nor the dufty field,
"But the foft joys of luxury and ease,

"The purple vefts, and flowery garland please.
"Stand then afide, I'll make the counterfeit
"Renounce his godhead, and confess the cheat.
"Acrifius from the Grecian walls repell'd

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

Thus did th' audacious wretch thofe rites profane;
His friends diffuade th' audacious wretch in vain;

In vain his grandfire urg'd him to give o'er

His impious threats; the wretch but raves the more.
So have I feen a river gently glide,

In a fmooth course, and inoffenfive tide;
But if with dams its current we restrain,
It bears down all, and foams along the plain.
But now his fervants came besmear'd with blood,
Sent by their haughty prince to seize the god;
The god they found not in the frantic throng,
But dragg'd a zealous votary along.

THE MARINERS TRANSFORMED TO

DOLPHINS.

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

Thy country, and thy parentage reveal,

:

“And, why thou join'st in these mad orgies, tell.” The captive views him with undaunted eyes, And, arm'd with inward innocence, replies "From high Meonia's rocky fhores I came, "Of poor defcent, Acœtes is my name:

My fire was meanly born; no oxen plough'd "His fruitful fields, nor in his pastures low'd. "His whole eftate within the waters lay; "With lines and hooks he caught the finny prey; "His art was all his livelihood; which he "Thus with his dying lips bequeath'd to me :

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<< In

"In ftreams, my boy, and rivers, take thy chance; "There swims, said he, thy whole inheritance.

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"Long did I live on this poor legacy,

“ Till, tir'd with rocks, and my own native sky,
“To arts of navigation I inclin’d;

"Obferv'd the turns and changes of the wind:
"Learn'd the fit havens, and began to note
"The ftormy Hyades, the rainy Goat,
"The bright Taygete, and the fhining Bears,
"With all the failor's catalogue of stars.

"Once, as by chance for Delos I defign'd,
"My veffel, driv'n by a strong gust of wind,
"Moor'd in a Chian creek: afhore I went,
"And all the following night in Chios fpent.
"When morning rofe, I fent my mates to bring

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Supplies of water from a neighbouring spring, "Whilft I the motion of the winds explor'd; "Then fummon'd-in my crew, and went aboard. "Opheltes heard my fummons, and with joy "Brought to the shore a soft and lovely boy, "With more than female sweetness in his look, "Whom ftraggling in the neighbouring fields he took. "With fumes of wine the little captive glows, "And nods with fleep, and staggers as he goes. "I view'd him nicely, and began to trace "Each heavenly feature, each immortal grace, "And faw divinity in all his face.

"I know not who, faid I, this god fhould be; "But that he is a god I plainly fee:

"And thou, whoe'er thou art, excuse the force "These men have us’d, and oh befriend our course!

"Pray

"Pray not for us, the nimble Dictys cry'd; "Dictys, that could the main-top-mast bestride, "And down the ropes with active vigour slide. "To the fame purpose old Epopeus spoke, "Who over-look'd the oars, and tim'd the stroke; "The fame the pilot, and the fame the rest; "Such impious avarice their fouls poffeft. "Nay, heaven forbid that I should bear away "Within my veffel fo divine a prey,

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

"With his clench'd fift had ftruck me over-board,
“Had not my hands in falling grasp'd a cord.
"His bafe confederates the fact approve;

}

"When Bacchus (for 'twas he) began to move, "Wak'd by the noise and clamours which they rais'd; "And fhook his drowsy limbs, and round him gaz'd "What means this noife? he cries; am I betray'd? "Ah! whither, whither muft I be convey'd ? "Fear not, faid Proteus, child, but tell us where "You wish to land, and truft our friendly care. "To Naxos then direct your course, says he; "Naxos a hospitable port shall be "To each of you, a joyful home to me. "By every God, that rules the sea or sky, "The perjur'd villains promise to comply, "And bid me hasten to unmoor the ship. "With eager joy I launch into the deep; "And, heedlefs of the fraud, for Naxos ftand: "They whisper oft, and beckon with the hand.

}

"And

"And give me figns, all anxious for their prey,
"To tack about, and steer another way.
"Then let fome other to my poft fucceed,

"Said I, I'm guiltlefs of fo foul a deed.

"What, fays Ethalion, must the ship's whole crew "Follow your humour, and dépend on you ? "And straight himself he seated at the prore, "And tack'd about, and fought another fhore. "The beauteous youth now found himself betray'd, "And from the deck the rifing waves furvey'd "And feem'd to weep, and as he wept he faid; And do you thus my easy faith beguile ? "Thus do you bear me to my native isle? "Will fuch a multitude of men employ "Their strength against a weak defenceless boy? "In vain did I the Godlike youth deplore, "The more I begg'd, they thwarted me the more. "And now, by all the Gods in heaven that hear "This folemn oath, by Bacchus' self, I swear, "The mighty miracle that did enfue, "Although it seems beyond belief, is true. "The veffel, fix'd and rooted in the flood, "Unmov'd by all the beating billows ftood. "In vain the mariners would plough the main « With fails unfurl`d, and ftrike their oars in vain « Around their oars a twining ivy cleaves, "And climbs the maft, and hides the cords in leaves : "The fails are cover'd with a chearful green, "And berries in the fruitful canvas feen.

"Amidst the waves a fudden foreft rears

"Its verdant head, and a new spring appears.

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