THE SHADE OF AJAX.

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Befalls in war; for fickle is Mars' rage."

I spake the shadow of Achilles stalk'd

With lengthen'd strides o'er meads of asphodel;
Glad, since I told him of his son's renown:
Then other shades of chiefs departed stood,
In anguish, and each told to me his tale:
Only the soul of 30 Ajax Telamon,
Did stand aloof being anger'd that I won
The prize from him, contending in the lists,

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545

About Achilles' arms; which Thetis sent:

(The sons of Troy, and Pallas judgment gave:)

O that I had not in that contest won,

When such a man earth cover'd for its sake!

E'en Ajax, who in stature and in deeds,

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Except Achilles, all our chiefs excell'd:

This shade I then address'd in gentle words;
"O Ajax Telamon! wilt then thou not

In death forget thy wrath for sake of those

Pernicious arms? heaven's curse unto the Greeks!

555

In that thou died, such tower of strength to them:

As deeply as for Peleus' son, the Greeks

Do grieve thou'rt gone; nor any one is there

To blame; 'twas that Jove our great warriors

So deeply hated, bringing fate to thee:

5.60

But draw near, chief, that thou mayst hear or speak;

And, O subdue thine anger and thy mind."

I spake he answer'd not a word, but went

Towards the other shades in Erebus :

He would have spoken there, or I to him,

565

30 For the story of Ajax see Note B. at the end of the 12th Book.

31 Ovid more invidiously refers the judgment to the Greeks

32 This silence of Ajax was much admired by the ancients; Longinus

quotes it as an instance of true sublimity of thought.

But that the mind within my breast desir'd

To see the souls of others once on earth.

I next saw Minos, son renown'd of Jove,

With golden sceptre, judge unto the dead ;33

And seated; while those round him causes plead ;34

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Some sitting and some standing, in that house:
The giant vast Orion,35 next I saw

Beasts driving on o'er meads of asphodel

Which he had slain, on desert mountain tops;

With brazen spear, in hand which none could break ;

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Tityus 36 I saw, the son of glorious earth,

He lay nine acres space upon the ground;

Two vultures perch'd upon his liver prey'd;

Piercing his entrails; none could drive them off:

Latona, Jove's wife, did he violate,

580

Through 37 Panopeus unto Pythos going:

Tantalus 38 saw I suffering bitter griefs,

Standing up to his chin within the lake;

He stood quite parch'd with thirst, but could not drink,

33 So Virgil.

"Quæsitor Minos urnam movet ille silentium
Consilium qui vocat, vitas qui et crimina discit."

34 Eustathius distinguishes those standing as "the pleaders" and those sitting as those for whom they pleaded, but both are named as 'speaking."

66

35 'Orion' was a huntsman, and attendant upon Diana, he was of large

stature, and changed into the constellation which bears his name.

36 Tityus was the son of Jupiter and Elara, Virgil says of him

"Necnon et Tityon, Terræ omniparentis alumnum,
Cernere erat: pertota novem cui jugera corpus
Porrigitur; rostro que immanis vultur obunco
Immortale jecur tondens, fæcundaque pænis
Viscera, rimatur que epulis habitatque sub alto
Pectore; nee fibris requies datur ulla renatis.
Emid lib vi.. v., 595,600.

37 A town of Phocis.

38 Tantalus was son of Jupiter; husband of Dione, and father of Pelops and Niobe.

39 Steuto: the poet here wishes to express extreme distress and eagerness in his attitude.

TANTALUS, SISYPHUS, HERCULES.

191

For oft as he stoops down desiring drink,

So oft the water dried up; round his feet
Black earth came back; the river god was dry:
The trees their fruits shed freely from their tops,
Pear trees, pomegranates, apples with red fruit,
The luscious figs and bright green olive drupes;
Whene'er to pluck them he stretch'd forth his hands,
The wind dispers'd them in the shadowy clouds ;
I look'd on 40 Sisyphus sustaining griefs,
With both hands pushing on a rock's huge mass;
He straining with his hands and with his feet,
Pushed on towards the top, but when about
To cast it o'er, strong force, this done, then back
Repell'd; the saucy stone retrac'd the plain :

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590

With out-stretch'd arms he drove it back; the sweat
Run down his limbs: dust rose above his head.

595

I next perceiv'd the strength of Hercules;
A shadow here: but he amidst the gods
Delights in banquets; where bright Hebe waits,
Child of gold-sandal'd Juno and of Jove :
Round him the dead made clangour like to birds;
On all sides troubled; he like to dark night,

600

Holding his bow with arrow in the string,

With aspect dread seem'd always going to strike;

Circling his breast a most terrific belt ;

605

With golden girth; works wondrous wrought thereon,

Rough bears, grim lions, and wild forest boars,

Battles and slaughterings, homicides, close fights.

He ne'er 42design'd one like, nor will again,

40 Sisyphus, son of Eolus and Enarite; husband of Merope, and king of Corinth; he infested Attica with robbers, and was killed by Theseus. 41 The Scholiast interprets 'aortes' the pensile belt from which the proper sword belt (telamon) hung.

42 Not he who having designed this-having designed nothing like it before can design anything like it afterwards.

Who by his cunning art this girdle wrought!

He knew me when his eyes beheld me, straight;
And pitying, spoke these swift-wing'd words to me;

610

66

Ulysses, vers'd in wiles, Laertes' son!

Ah wretched! bear'st thou too some cruel fate

Such as I've borne beneath the sun's bright rays?

615

Saturnian Jove's son am I, yet I had

Hard toils enough: unto much weaker men

Was I subdued hard labour who impos'd:

And also sent me to bear off hell's dog.

He thought there was none left more hard than that;

620

I brought it off, from out the gates of hell;

But Hermes and Minerva were my guides;

This said, he vanish'd swift through Hades' house;

625

I firmly stood; if any yet might come,
Of heroes perish'd in the days of yore,
I long'd to see those kings of olden time,
Peirithous and 44 Theseus, sons of gods,

But ere I could, ten thousand tribes came round
With loudest clamour, pale fear seiz'd on me ;
Lest Proserpine should out of Hades send
The monster Gorgon with his horrid head;
I went straight to the ship, my comrades bade
T'embark and loose the cables from the shore;
They swift embark'd and on the benches sat,
Down ocean's river flood waves bore the ship,
With oars at first, and then a fav'ring gale.

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635

43 The dog Cerberus: Hercules was reputed the son of Jupiter by Alcmena; his true father was Amphitryon; the story of his twelve labours is well known: one of them was to cleanse the stable of Augeas, king of Elis, in one day.

44 Theseus, king of Athens, was son of Ægeus by Ethra; Peirithous, son of Ixion (son of Jupiter by Dia, according to others): king of the Lapithæ; husband of Hippodamia, the story of his descent into the infernal regions with Theseus is well known; he was a native of Larissa.

ULYSSES BURIES ELPENOR.

193

Book rií.

The Sirens, Scylla, Charybdis, the Oxen of the Sun.

When our swift ship had Ocean's river left,
And had arriv'd amongst the wide sea's waves,
And at ξa's isle, where is the home

Of Sol's arisings, and Aurora fair,
We haul'd the vessel out upon the sands,
Ourselves too disembark'd upon the shore;
Then lying down we for Aurora wait;
And when the rosy-finger'd goddess came,
I sent my comrades on to Circe's house,
To bear the dead Elpenor's body off;
And cutting boughs, upon the highest shore,
We buried him in grief, midst copious tears;
And when his body and his arms were burnt,
Rasing a mound and monument thereon,
We on the summit fix'd his well wrought oar:
These things we did, nor yet from Circe now,
We hid were leaving hell, but soon she came,
Herself attiring first: domestics brought
Abundant bread and flesh, and purple wine;
Standing amidst us, thus the goddess spoke;

Unhappy men, who have whilst still in life
Gone down to Hades' house, thus dying twice;
Whilst other mortals only die but once!
But come now eat, and drink the purple wine,
Throughout the day, and with the dawning morn
Shall ye set sail, and I will shew the path,
And each thing point out, that ye may'nt endure,
By bad advice, more griefs on sea or land."