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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8072-8.txt b/8072-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f6d798 --- /dev/null +++ b/8072-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16137 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of National Epics, by Kate Milner Rabb + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: National Epics + +Author: Kate Milner Rabb + + +Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8072] +This file was first posted on June 11, 2003 +Last Updated: June 5, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + + + + +Produced by David Starner, S.R. Ellison, and the Online +Distributed Proofing Team + + + + + + + + +NATIONAL EPICS + +By Kate Milner Rabb + +1896 + + + +TO MY MOTHER. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This volume is intended for an introduction to the study of the epics. +While the simplicity and directness of the epic style seem to make such a +book unnecessary, the fact that to many persons of literary tastes some of +these great poems are inaccessible, and that to many more the pleasure of +exploring for themselves "the realms of gold" is rendered impossible by +the cares of business, has seemed sufficient excuse for its being. Though +the beauty of the original is of necessity lost in a condensation of this +kind, an endeavor has been made to preserve the characteristic epithets, +and to retain what Mr. Arnold called "the simple truth about the matter of +the poem." It is believed that the sketch prefacing each story, giving +briefly the length, versification, and history of the poem, will have its +value to those readers who have not access to the epics, and that the +selections following the story, each recounting a complete incident, will +give a better idea of the epic than could be formed from passages +scattered through the text. + +The epic originated among tribes of barbarians, who deified departed +heroes and recited legends in praise of their deeds. As the hymn +developed, the chorus and strophe were dropped, and the narrative only was +preserved. The word "epic" was used simply to distinguish the narrative +poem, which was recited, from the lyric, which was sung, and from the +dramatic, which was acted. + +As the nation passed from childhood to youth, the legends of the hero that +each wandering minstrel had changed to suit his fancy, were collected and +fused into one by some great poet, who by his power of unification made +this written epic his own. + +This is the origin of the Hindu epics, the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," the +"Kalevala," the "Shah-Nameh," "Beowulf," the "Nibelungen Lied," the "Cid," +and the "Song of Roland." + +The conditions for the production of the primitive epic exist but once in +a nation's growth. Its later epics must be written on subjects of national +importance, chosen by the poet, who arranges and embellishes his material +according to the rules of the primitive epic. To this class belong the +"Aeneid," the "Jerusalem Delivered," and the "Lusiad." Dante's poem is +broader, for it is the epic of mediaeval Christianity. Milton likewise +sought "higher argument" than + + "Wars, hitherto the only argument + Heroic deemed," + +and crystallized the religious beliefs of his time in "Paradise Lost." + +The characteristics both of the primitive and the modern epic are their +uniform metre, simplicity of construction, concentration of action into a +short time, and the use of episode and dialogue. The main difference lies +in the impersonality of the primitive epic, whose author has so skillfully +hidden himself behind his work that, as some one has said of Homer, "his +heroes are immortal, but his own existence is doubtful." + +Although the historical events chronicled in the epics have in every case +been so distorted by the fancy of the poets that they cannot be accepted +as history, the epics are storehouses of information concerning ancient +manners and customs, religious beliefs, forms of government, treatment of +women, and habits of feeling. + +Constructed upon the noblest principles of art, and pervaded by the +eternal calm of the immortals, these poems have an especial value to us, +who have scarcely yet realized that poetry is an art, and are feverish +from the unrest of our time. If by the help of this volume any reader be +enabled to find a portion of the wisdom that is hidden in these mines, its +purpose will have been accomplished. + +My thanks are due to Mr. John A. Wilstach for the use of selections from +his translation of the "Divine Comedy;" to Prof. J. M. Crawford, for the +use of selections from his translation of the "Kalevala;" to Henry Holt & +Co., for the use of selections from Rabillon's translation of "La Chanson +de Roland;" to Roberts Brothers, for the use of selections from Edwin +Arnold's "Indian Idylls;" to Prof. J. C. Hall, for the use of selections +from his translation of "Beowulf;" and to A. C. Armstrong & Son, for the +use of selections from Conington's Translation of the "Aeneid." The +selections from the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" are used with the permission +of and by special arrangement with Houghton, Mifflin & Co., publishers of +Bryant's translations of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." Special thanks are +due to Miss Eliza G. Browning of the Public Library of Indianapolis, to +Miss Florence Hughes of the Library of Indiana University, and to Miss +Charity Dye, of Indianapolis. + +K. M. R. + +INDIANAPOLIS, IND., September, 1896. + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +THE HINDU EPIC: THE RAMÂYÂNA + +THE HINDU EPIC: THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA + +THE GREEK EPIC: THE ILIAD + +THE GREEK EPIC: THE ODYSSEY + +THE FINNISH EPIC: THE KALEVALA + +THE ROMAN EPIC: THE AENEID + +THE SAXON EPIC: BEOWULF + +THE GERMAN EPIC: THE NIBELUNGEN LIED + +THE FRENCH EPIC: THE SONG OF ROLAND + +THE PERSIAN EPIC: THE SHAH-NAMEH + +THE SPANISH EPIC: THE POEM OF THE CID + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE DIVINE COMEDY + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE ORLANDO FURIOSO + +THE PORTUGUESE EPIC: THE LUSIAD + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED + +THE ENGLISH EPIC: PARADISE LOST + +THE ENGLISH EPIC: PARADISE REGAINED + + + + +SELECTIONS. + + +FROM THE RÂMÂYANA: TRANSLATOR + The Descent of the Ganges ... _Milman_ + The Death of Yajnadatta ... " + +FROM THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA: + Sâvitrî; or, Love and Death ... _Arnold_ + The Great Journey ... " + +FROM THE ILIAD: + Helen at the Scaean Gates ... _Bryant_ + The Parting of Hector and Andromache ... " + +FROM THE ODYSSEY: + The Palace of Alcinoüs ... _Bryant_ + The Bending of the Bow ... " + +FROM THE KALEVALA: + Ilmarinen's Wedding Feast ... _Crawford_ + The Birth of the Harp ... " + +FROM THE AENEID: + Nisus and Euryalus ... _Conington_ + +FROM BEOWULF: + Grendel's Mother ... _Hall_ + +FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED: + How Brunhild was received at Worms ... _Lettsom_ + How Margrave Rüdeger was slain ... " + +FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND: + The Horn ... _Rabillon_ + Roland's Death ... " + +FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH: + The Rajah of India sends a Chessboard + to Nushirvan _Robinson_ + Zal and Rudabeh " + +FROM THE POEM OF THE CID: + Count Raymond and My Cid _Ormsby_ + My Cid's Triumph " + +FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY: + Count Ugolino _Wilstach_ + Buonconte di Montefeltro " + Beatrice descending from Heaven " + The Exquisite Beauty of Beatrice " + +FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO: + The Death of Zerbino _Rose_ + +FROM THE LUSIAD: + Inez de Castro _Mickle_ + The Spirit of the Cape " + +FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED: + Sophronia and Olindo _Wiffen_ + +FROM PARADISE LOST: + Satan + Apostrophe to Light + +FROM PARADISE REGAINED: + The Temptation of the Vision of the Kingdoms of the Earth + + + + +NATIONAL EPICS. + + + +THE RÂMÂYANA. + + + "He who sings and hears this poem continually has attained to the + highest state of enjoyment, and will finally be equal to the gods." + + +The Râmâyana, the Hindu Iliad, is variously ascribed to the fifth, third, +and first centuries B.C., its many interpolations making it almost +impossible to determine its age by internal evidence. Its authorship is +unknown, but according to legend it was sung by Kuça and Lava, the sons of +Rama, to whom it was taught by Valmiki. Of the three versions now extant, +one is attributed to Valmiki, another to Tuli Das, and a third to Vyasa. + +Its historical basis, almost lost in the innumerable episodes and +grotesque imaginings of the Hindu, is probably the conquest of southern +India and Ceylon by the Aryans. + +The Râmâyana is written in the Sanskrit language, is divided into seven +books, or sections, and contains fifty thousand lines, the English +translation of which, by Griffith, occupies five volumes. + +The hero, Rama, is still an object of worship in India, the route of his +wanderings being, each year, trodden by devout pilgrims. The poem is not a +mere literary monument,--it is a part of the actual religion of the Hindu, +and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or +certain passages of it, is believed to free from sin and grant his every +desire to the reader or hearer. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE RÂMÂYANA. + + +G. W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + +John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, +Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + +Sir William Jones on the Literature of the Hindus (in his Works, vol. iv.); + +Maj.-Gen. Vans Kennedy's Researches into Hindu Mythology, 1831; + +James Mill's History of British India, 1840, vol. ii., pp. 47-123; + +F. Max Müller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859; + +E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 153-271; + +Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 191-195; + +J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + +Sir Monier Williams's Indian Wisdom, 1863, Indian Epic Poetry, 1863; + +Article on Sanskrit Literature in Encyclopćdia Britannica; + +R. M. Gust's The Râmâyana: a Sanskrit Epic (in his Linguistic and Oriental +Essays, 1880, p. 56); + +T. Goldstuecker's Râmâyana (in his Literary Remains, 1879, vol. i., +p. 155); + +C. J. Stone's Cradleland of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 11-21; + +Albrecht Weber's On the Râmâyana, 1870; Westminster Review, +1849, vol. 1., p. 34; + +J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 13-81. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE RÂMÂYANA. + + +The Râmâyana, Tr. by R. T. H. Griffith, 5 vols., 1870-1874 (Follows Bombay +ed., Translated into metre of "Lady of the Lake"); + +Extracts from the Râmâyana, Tr. by Sir William Jones (in his Works, +vol. 13); + +Iliad of the East, F. Richardson, 1873 (Popular translations of a set of +legends from the Râmâyana); + +The Râmâyana translated into English Prose, edited and published by +Naumatha Nath Dutt, 7 vols., Calcutta, 1890-1894. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE RÂMÂYANA. + + +Brahma, creator of the universe, though all powerful, could not revoke a +promise once made. For this reason, Ravana, the demon god of Ceylon, stood +on his head in the midst of five fires for ten thousand years, and at the +end of that time boldly demanded of Brahma as a reward that he should not +be slain by gods, demons, or genii. He also requested the gift of nine +other heads and eighteen additional arms and hands. + +These having been granted, he began by the aid of his evil spirits, the +Rakshasas, to lay waste the earth and to do violence to the good, +especially to the priests. + +At the time when Ravana's outrages were spreading terror throughout the +land, and Brahma, looking down from his throne, shuddered to see the +monster he had gifted with such fell power, there reigned in Ayodhya, now +the city of Oude, a good and wise raja, Dasaratha, who had reigned over +the splendid city for nine thousand years without once growing weary. He +had but one grief,--that he was childless,--and at the opening of the +story he was preparing to make the great sacrifice, Asva-medha, to +propitiate the gods, that they might give him a son. + +The gods, well pleased, bore his request to Brahma in person, and +incidentally preferred a request that he provide some means of destroying +the monster Ravana that was working such woe among their priests, and +disturbing their sacrifices. + +Brahma granted the first request, and, cudgeling his brains for a device +to destroy Ravana, bethought himself that while he had promised that +neither gods, genii, nor demons should slay him, he had said nothing of +man. He accordingly led the appealing gods to Vishnu, who proclaimed that +the monster should be slain by men and monkeys, and that he would himself +be re-incarnated as the eldest son of Dasaratha and in this form compass +the death of Ravana. + +In course of time, as a reward for his performance of the great sacrifice, +four sons were born to Dasaratha, Rama by Kausalya, his oldest wife, +Bharata, whose mother was Kaikeyi, and twin sons, Lakshmana and Satrughna, +whose mother was Sumitra. + +Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu, destined to destroy Ravana, grew daily in +grace, beauty, and strength. When he was but sixteen years old, having +been sent for by a sage to destroy the demons who were disturbing the +forest hermits in their religious rites, he departed unattended, save by +his brother Lakshmana and a guide, into the pathless forests, where he +successfully overcame the terrible Rakshasa, Tarika, and conveyed her body +to the grateful sage. + +While he was journeying through the forests, destroying countless +Rakshasas, he chanced to pass near the kingdom of Mithila and heard that +its king, Janaka, had offered his peerless daughter, Sita, in marriage to +the man who could bend the mighty bow of Siva the destroyer, which, since +its owner's death, had been kept at Janaka's court. + +Rama at once determined to accomplish the feat, which had been essayed in +vain by so many suitors. When he presented himself at court Janaka was at +once won by his youth and beauty; and when the mighty bow, resting upon an +eight-wheeled car, was drawn in by five thousand men, and Rama without +apparent effort bent it until it broke, he gladly gave him his beautiful +daughter, and after the splendid wedding ceremonies were over, loaded the +happy pair with presents to carry back to Ayodhya. + +When Dasaratha, who had attended the marriage of his son at Mithila, +returned home, he began to feel weary of reigning, and bethought himself +of the ancient Hindu custom of making the eldest son and heir apparent a +Yuva-Raja,--that is appointing him assistant king. Rama deserved this +honor, and would, moreover, be of great assistance to him. + +His happy people received the announcement of his intention with delight; +the priests approved of it as well, and the whole city was in the midst of +the most splendid preparations for the ceremony, when it occurred to +Dasaratha that all he lacked was the congratulations of his youngest and +favorite wife, Kaikeyi, on this great event. The well-watered streets and +the garlanded houses had already aroused the suspicions of +Kaikeyi,--suspicions speedily confirmed by the report of her maid. Angered +and jealous because the son of Kausalya and not her darling Bharata, at +that time absent from the city, was to be made Yuva-Raja, she fled to the +"Chamber of Sorrows," and was there found by the old Raja. + +Though Kaikeyi was his youngest and most beautiful wife, her tears, +threats, and entreaties would have been of no avail had she not recalled +that, months before, the old Raja, in gratitude for her devoted nursing +during his illness, had granted her two promises. She now demanded the +fulfilment of these before she would consent to smile upon him, and the +consent won, she required him, first, to appoint Bharata Yuva-Raja; and, +second, to exile Rama for fourteen years to the terrible forest of +Dandaka. + +The promise of a Hindu, once given, cannot be revoked. In spite of the +grief of the old Raja, of Kausalya, his old wife, and of all the people, +who were at the point of revolt at the sudden disgrace of their favorite +prince, the terrible news was announced to Rama, and he declared himself +ready to go, to save his father from dishonor. + +He purposed to go alone, but Sita would not suffer herself to be thus +deserted. Life without him, she pleaded, was worse than death; and so +eloquent was her grief at the thought of parting that she was at last +permitted to don the rough garment of bark provided by the malicious +Kaikeyi. + +The people of Ayodhya, determined to share the fate of their favorites, +accompanied them from the city, their tears laying the dust raised by +Rama's chariot wheels. But when sleep overcame them, Rama, Sita, and +Lakshmana escaped from them, dismissed their charioteer, and, crossing the +Ganges, made their way to the mountain of Citra-kuta, where they took up +their abode. + +No more beautiful place could be imagined. Flowers of every kind, +delicious fruits, and on every side the most pleasing prospects, together +with perfect love, made their hermitage a paradise on earth. Here the +exiles led an idyllic existence until sought out by Bharata, who, learning +from his mother on his return home the ruin she had wrought in the Raj, +had indignantly spurned her, and hastened to Dandaka. The old Raja had +died from grief soon after the departure of the exiles, and Bharata now +demanded that Rama should return to Ayodhya and become Raja, as was his +right, as eldest son. + +When Rama refused to do this until the end of his fourteen years of exile, +Bharata vowed that for fourteen years he would wear the garb of a devotee +and live outside the city, committing the management of the Raj to a pair +of golden sandals which he took from Rama's feet. All the affairs of state +would be transacted under the authority of the sandals, and Bharata, while +ruling the Raj, would pay homage to them. + +Soon after the departure of Bharata the exiles were warned to depart from +their home on Citra-kuta and seek a safer hermitage, for terrible +rakshasas filled this part of the forest. They accordingly sought the +abode of Atri the hermit, whose wife Anasuya was so pleased with Sita's +piety and devotion to her husband that she bestowed upon her the crown of +immortal youth and beauty. They soon found a new abode in the forest of +Pancarati, on the banks of the river Godavari, where Lakshmana erected a +spacious bamboo house. + +Their happiness in this elysian spot was destined to be short-lived. Near +them dwelt a horrible rakshasa, Surpanakha by name, who fell in love with +Rama. When she found that he did not admire the beautiful form she assumed +to win him, and that both he and Lakshmana laughed at her advances, she +attempted to destroy Sita, only to receive in the attempt a disfiguring +wound from the watchful Lakshmana. Desiring revenge for her disfigured +countenance and her scorned love, she hastened to the court of her brother +Ravana, in Ceylon, and in order to induce him to avenge her wrongs, dwelt +upon the charms of the beautiful wife of Rama. + +Some days after, Sita espied a golden fawn, flecked with silver, among the +trees near their home. Its shining body, its jewel-like horns, so +captivated her fancy that she implored Rama, if possible, to take it alive +for her; if not, at least to bring her its skin for a couch. As Rama +departed, he warned Lakshmana not to leave Sita for one moment; he would +surely return, since no weapon could harm him. In the depths of the forest +the fawn fell by his arrow, crying as it fell, "O Sita! O Lakshmana!" in +Rama's very tones. + +When Sita heard the cry she reproached Lakshmana for not going to his +brother's aid, until he left her to escape her bitter words. He had no +sooner disappeared in the direction of the cry than a hermit appeared and +asked her to minister unto his wants. + +Sita carried him food, bathed his feet, and conversed with him until, able +no longer to conceal his admiration for her, he revealed himself in his +true form as the demon god of Ceylon. + +When she indignantly repulsed him he seized her, and mounting his chariot +drove rapidly towards Ceylon. + +When Rama and Lakshmana returned home, soon after, they found the house +empty. As they searched through the forest for traces of her they found a +giant vulture dying from wounds received while endeavoring to rescue the +shrieking Sita. Going farther, they encountered the monkey king Sugriva +and his chiefs, among whom Sita had dropped from the chariot her scarf and +ornaments. + +Sugriva had been deposed from his kingdom by his brother Bali, who had +also taken his wife from him. Rama agreed to conquer Bali if Sugriva would +assist in the search for Sita; and, the agreement made, they at once +marched upon Kishkindha, together slew Bali, and gained possession of the +wealthy city and the queen Tara. They were now ready to search for the +lost Sita. + +In his quest through every land, Hanuman, the monkey general, learned from +the king of the vultures that she had been carried to Ceylon. He +immediately set out for the coast with his army, only to find a bridgeless +ocean stretching between them and the island. Commanding his soldiers to +remain where they were, Hanuman expanded his body to enormous proportions, +leaped the vast expanse of water, and alighted upon a mountain, from which +he could look down upon Lanka, the capital city of Ceylon. Perceiving the +city to be closely guarded, he assumed the form of a cat, and thus, +unsuspected, crept through the barriers and examined the city. He found +the demon god in his apartments, surrounded by beautiful women, but Sita +was not among them. Continuing his search, he at last discovered her, her +beauty dimmed by grief, seated under a tree in a beautiful asoka grove, +guarded by hideous rakshasas with the faces of buffaloes, dogs, and swine. + +Assuming the form of a tiny monkey, Hanuman crept down the tree, and +giving her the ring of Rama, took one from her. He offered to carry her +away with him, but Sita declared that Rama must himself come to her +rescue. While they were talking together, the demon god appeared, and, +after fruitless wooing, announced that if Sita did not yield herself to +him in two months he would have her guards "mince her limbs with steel" +for his morning repast. + +In his rage, Hanuman destroyed a mango grove and was captured by the +demon's guards, who were ordered to set his tail on fire. As soon as this +was done, Hanuman made himself so small that he slipped from his bonds, +and, jumping upon the roofs, spread a conflagration through the city of +Lanka. + +He leaped back to the mainland, conveyed the news of Sita's captivity to +Rama and Sugriva, and was soon engaged in active preparations for the +campaign. + +As long as the ocean was unbridged it was impossible for any one save +Hanuman to cross it. In his anger at being so thwarted, Rama turned his +weapons against it, until from the terrified waves rose the god of the +ocean, who promised him that if Nala built a bridge, the waves should +support the materials as firmly as though it were built on land. + +Terror reigned in Lanka at the news of the approach of Rama. Vibishana, +Ravana's brother, deserted to Rama, because of the demon's rage when he +advised him to make peace with Rama. Fiercely fought battles ensued, in +which even the gods took part, Vishnu and Indra taking sides with Rama, +and the evil spirits fighting with Ravana. + +After the war had been carried on for some time, with varying results, it +was decided to determine it by single combat between Ravana and Rama. Then +even the gods were terrified at the fierceness of the conflict. At each +shot Rama's mighty bow cut off a head of the demon, which at once grew +back, and the hero was in despair until he remembered the all-powerful +arrow given him by Brahma. + +As the demon fell by this weapon, flowers rained from heaven upon the +happy victor, and his ears were ravished with celestial music. + +Touched by the grief of Ravana's widows, Rama ordered his foe a splendid +funeral, and then sought the conquered city. + +Sita was led forth, beaming with happiness at finding herself re-united to +her husband; but her happiness was destined to be of short duration. Rama +received her with coldness and with downcast eyes, saying that she could +no longer be his wife, after having dwelt in the zenana of the demon. Sita +assured him of her innocence; but on his continuing to revile her, she +ordered her funeral pyre to be built, since she would rather die by fire +than live despised by Rama. The sympathy of all the bystanders was with +Sita, but Rama saw her enter the flames without a tremor. Soon Agni, the +god of fire, appeared, bearing the uninjured Sita in his arms. Her +innocence thus publicly proved by the trial by fire, she was welcomed by +Rama, whose treatment she tenderly forgave. + +The conquest made, the demon destroyed, and Sita restored, Rama returned +in triumph to Ayodhya, and assumed the government. The city was +prosperous, the people were happy, and for a time all went well. It was +not long, however, before whispers concerning Sita's long abode in Ceylon +spread abroad, and some one whispered to Rama that a famine in the country +was due to the guilt of Sita, who had suffered the caresses of the demon +while in captivity in Ceylon. Forgetful of the trial by fire, forgetful of +Sita's devotion to him through weal and woe, the ungrateful Rama +immediately ordered her to the forest in which they had spent together the +happy years of their exile. + +Without a murmur the unhappy Sita, alone and unbefriended, dragged herself +to the forest, and, torn with grief of body and spirit, found the +hermitage of Valmiki, where she gave birth to twin sons, Lava and Kuça. +Here she reared them, with the assistance of the hermit, who was their +teacher, and under whose care they grew to manhood, handsome and strong. + +It chanced about the time the youths were twenty years old, that Rama, who +had grown peevish and disagreeable with age, began to think the gods were +angered with him because he had killed Ravana, who was the son of a +Brahman. Determined to propitiate them by means of the great sacrifice, he +caused a horse to be turned loose in the forest. When his men went to +retake it, at the end of the year, it was caught by two strong and +beautiful youths who resisted all efforts to capture them. In his rage +Rama went to the forest in person, only to learn that the youths were his +twin sons, Lava and Kuça. Struck with remorse, Rama recalled the +sufferings of his wife Sita, and on learning that she was at the hermitage +of Valmiki, ordered her to come to him, that he might take her to him +again, having first caused her to endure the trial by fire to prove her +innocence to all his court. + +Sita had had time to recover from the love of her youth, and the prospect +of life with Rama, without the _couleur de rose_ of youthful love, was +not altogether pleasant. At first, she even refused to see him; but +finally, moved by the appeals of Valmiki and his wife, she clad herself in +her richest robes, and, young and beautiful as when first won by Rama, she +stood before him. Not deigning to look in his face, she appealed to the +earth. If she had never loved any man but Rama, if her truth and purity +were known to the earth, let it open its bosom and take her to it. While +the armies stood trembling with horror, the earth opened, a gorgeous +throne appeared, and the goddess of earth, seated upon it, took Sita +beside her and conveyed her to the realms of eternal happiness, leaving +the too late repentant Rama to wear out his remaining years in shame and +penitence. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE RÂMÂYANA. + +THE DESCENT OF THE GANGES. + + +Sagara, an early king of Ayodhya, had sixty thousand sons, whom he sent +out one day to recover a horse that had been designed for the great +sacrifice, but had been stolen by a rakshasa. Having searched the earth +unsuccessfully, they proceeded to dig into the lower regions. + + Cloven with shovel and with hoe, pierced by axes and by spades, + Shrieked the earth in frantic woe; rose from out the yawning shades + Yells of anguish, hideous roars from the expiring brood of hell,-- + Serpents, giants, and asoors, in the deep abyss that dwell. + Sixty thousand leagues in length, all unweary, full of wrath, + Through the centre, in their strength, clove they down their hellward + path. + And downward dug they many a rood, and downward till they saw aghast, + Where the earth-bearing elephant stood, ev'n like a mountain tall and + vast. + 'T is he whose head aloft sustains the broad earth's forest-clothed + round, + With all its vast and spreading plains, and many a stately city crowned. + If underneath the o'erbearing load bows down his weary head, 't is then + The mighty earthquakes are abroad, and shaking down the abodes of men. + Around earth's pillar moved they slowly, and thus in humble accents + blest + Him the lofty and the holy, that bears the region of the East. + And southward dug they many a rood, until before their shuddering sight + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Mahapadmas' mountain height. + Upon his head earth's southern bound, all full of wonder, saw they rest. + Slow and awe-struck paced they round, and him, earth's southern + pillar, blest. + Westward then their work they urge, king Sagara's six myriad race, + Unto the vast earth's western verge, and there in his appointed place + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Saumanasa's mountain crest; + Around they paced in humble mood, and in like courteous phrase addrest, + And still their weary toil endure, and onward dig until they see + Last earth-bearing Himapandure, glorying in his majesty. + +_At last they reach the place where Vishnu appears with the horse. A flame +issues from the mouth of the indignant deity and destroys the six myriad +sons of Sagara, The adventure devolves on their brother Ansuman, who +achieves it with perfect success. He is permitted to lead away the horse, +but the ashes of his brothers cannot be purified by earthly water; the +goddess Ganga must first be brought to earth, and having undergone +lustration from that holy flood, the race of Sagara are to ascend to +heaven. Brahma at last gives his permission to Ganga to descend. King +Bhagiratha takes his stand on the top of Gokarna, the sacred peak of +Himavan (the Himalaya), and here_-- + + Stands with arms outstretch'd on high, amid five blazing fires, the one + Towards each quarter of the sky, the fifth the full meridian sun. + Mid fiercest frosts on snow he slept, the dry and withered leaves his + food, + Mid rains his roofless vigil kept, the soul and sense alike subdued. + High on the top of Himavan the mighty Mashawara stood; + And "Descend," he gave the word to the heaven-meandering water-- + Full of wrath the mandate heard Himavan's majestic daughter. + To a giant's stature soaring and intolerable speed, + From heaven's height down rushed she, pouring upon Siva's sacred head, + Him the goddess thought in scorn with her resistless might to sweep + By her fierce waves overborne, down to hell's remotest deep. + + Down on Sankara's holy head, down the holy fell, and there, + Amid the entangling meshes spread, of his loose and flowing hair, + Vast and boundless as the woods upon the Himalaya's brow, + Nor ever may the struggling floods rush headlong to the earth below. + Opening, egress was not there, amid those winding, long meanders. + Within that labyrinthine hair, for many an age, the goddess wanders. + +_By the penances of the king, Siva is propitiated, and the stream, by +seven channels, finds its way to the plains of India_. + + Up the Raja at the sign upon his glittering chariot leaps, + Instant Ganga the divine follows his majestic steps. + From the high heaven burst she forth first on Siva's lofty crown, + Headlong then, and prone to earth thundering rushed the cataract down, + Swarms of bright-hued fish came dashing; turtles, dolphins in their + mirth, + Fallen or falling, glancing, flashing, to the many-gleaming earth. + And all the host of heaven came down, spirits and genii, in amaze, + And each forsook his heavenly throne, upon that glorious scene to gaze. + On cars, like high-towered cities, seen, with elephants and coursers + rode, + Or on soft swinging palanquin, lay wondering each observant god. + As met in bright divan each god, and flashed their jewell'd vestures' + rays, + The coruscating aether glow'd, as with a hundred suns ablaze. + And with the fish and dolphins gleaming, and scaly crocodiles and + snakes, + Glanc'd the air, as when fast streaming the blue lightning shoots and + breaks: + And in ten thousand sparkles bright went flashing up the cloudy spray, + The snowy flocking swans less white, within its glittering mists at + play. + And headlong now poured down the flood, and now in silver circlets + wound, + Then lake-like spread all bright and broad, then gently, gently flowed + around, + Then 'neath the caverned earth descending, then spouted up the boiling + tide, + Then stream with stream harmonious blending, swell bubbling up and + smooth subside. + By that heaven-welling water's breast, the genii and the sages stood, + Its sanctifying dews they blest, and plung'd within the lustral flood. + Whoe'er beneath the curse of heaven from that immaculate world had fled, + To th' impure earth in exile driven, to that all-holy baptism sped; + And purified from every sin, to the bright spirit's bliss restor'd, + Th' ethereal sphere they entered in, and through th' empyreal mansions + soar'd. + The world in solemn jubilee beheld those heavenly waves draw near, + From sin and dark pollution free, bathed in the blameless waters clear. + Swift king Bhagiratha drave upon his lofty glittering car, + And swift with her obeisant wave bright Ganga followed him afar. + _Milman's Translation._ + + + + +THE DEATH OF YAJNADATTA. + + +The Raja Dasaratha was compelled to banish his favorite son Rama, +immediately after his marriage to Sita, because his banishment was +demanded by the Raja's wife Kaikeyi, to whom he had once promised to grant +any request she might make. His grief at the loss of his son is described +in this selection. + + Scarce Rama to the wilderness had with his younger brother gone, + Abandoned to his deep distress, king Dasaratha sate alone. + Upon his sons to exile driven when thought that king, as Indra bright, + Darkness came o'er him, as in heaven when pales th' eclipsed sun his + light. + Six days he sate, and mourned and pined for Rama all that weary time. + At midnight on his wandering mind rose up his old forgotten crime. + His queen, Kausalya, the divine, addressed he, as she rested near: + "Kausalya, if thou wakest, incline to thy lord's speech thy ready ear. + Whatever deed, or good or ill, by man, O blessed queen, is wrought. + Its proper fruit he gathers still, by time to slow perfection brought. + He who the opposing counsel's weight compares not in his judgment cool, + Or misery or bliss his fate, among the sage is deemed a fool. + As one that quits the Amra bower, the bright Palasa's pride to gain + Mocked by the promise of its flower, seeks its unripening fruit in vain, + So I the lovely Amra left for the Palasa's barren bloom, + Through mine own fatal error 'reft of banished Rama, mourn in gloom. + Kausalya! in my early youth by my keen arrow, at his mark + Aimed with too sure and deadly truth, was wrought a deed most fell and + dark. + At length, the evil that I did, hath fallen upon my fated head, + As when on subtle poison hid an unsuspecting child hath fed; + Even as that child unwittingly hath made the poisonous fare his food, + Even so, in ignorance by me was wrought that deed of guilt and blood. + Unwed wert thou in virgin bloom, and I in youth's delicious prime, + The season of the rains had come,--that soft and love enkindling time. + Earth's moisture all absorbed, the sun through all the world its warmth + had spread, + Turned from the north, its course begun, where haunt the spirits of the + dead: + Gathering o'er all the horizon's bound on high the welcome clouds + appeared, + Exulting, all the birds flew round,--cranes, cuckoos, peacocks, flew and + veered. + And all down each wide-watered shore the troubled, yet still limpid + floods, + Over their banks began to pour, as o'er them hung the bursting clouds. + And, saturate with cloud-born dew, the glittering verdant-mantled earth, + The cuckoos and the peacocks flew, disputing as in drunken mirth.-- + + "In such a time, so soft, so bland, oh beautiful! I chanced to go. + With quiver and with bow in hand, where clear Sarayu's waters flow, + If haply to the river's brink at night the buffalo might stray, + Or elephant, the stream to drink,--intent my savage game to slay. + Then of a water cruse, as slow it filled, the gurgling sound I heard, + Nought saw I, but the sullen low of elephant that sound appeared. + The swift well-feathered arrow I upon the bowstring fitting straight, + Towards the sound the shaft let fly, ah, cruelly deceived by fate! + The winged arrow scarce had flown, and scarce had reached its destined + aim, + 'Ah me, I'm slain,' a feeble moan in trembling human accents came. + 'Ah, whence hath come this fatal shaft against a poor recluse like me, + Who shot that bolt with deadly craft,--alas! what cruel man is he? + At the lone midnight had I come to draw the river's limpid flood, + And here am struck to death, by whom? ah whose this wrongful deed of + blood? + Alas! and in my parents' heart, the old, the blind, and hardly fed, + In the wild wood, hath pierced the dart, that here hath struck their + offspring dead. + Ah, deed most profitless as worst, a deed of wanton useless guilt: + As though a pupil's hand accurs'd his holy master's blood had spilt. + But not mine own untimely fate,--it is not that which I deplore. + My blind, my aged parents' state--'tis their distress afflicts me more. + That sightless pair, for many a day, from me their scanty food have + earned; + What lot is theirs when I'm away, to the five elements returned? + Alike, all wretched they, as I--ah, whose this triple deed of blood? + For who the herbs will now supply,--the roots, the fruit, their + blameless food?' + My troubled soul, that plaintive moan no sooner heard, so faint and low, + Trembled to look on what I'd done, fell from my shuddering hand my bow. + Swift I rushed up, I saw him there, heart-pierced, and fallen the stream + beside, + The hermit boy with knotted hair,--his clothing was the black deer's + hide. + On me most piteous turned his look, his wounded breast could scarce + respire, + And these the words, O queen, he spoke, as to consume me in his ire: + 'What wrong, O Kshatriya, have I done, to be thy deathful arrow's aim, + The forest's solitary son, to draw the limpid stream I came. + Both wretched and both blind they lie, in the wildwood all destitute, + My parents, listening anxiously to hear my home-returning foot. + By this, thy fatal shaft, this one, three miserable victims fall, + The sire, the mother, and the son--ah why? and unoffending all. + How vain my father's life austere, the Veda's studied page how vain, + He knew not with prophetic fear his son would fall untimely slain. + But had he known, to one as he, so weak, so blind, 't were bootless all, + No tree can save another tree by the sharp hatchet marked to fall. + But to my father's dwelling haste, O Raghu's son, lest in his ire + Thy head with burning curse he blast, as the dry forest tree the fire. + Thee to my father's lone retreat will quickly lead yon onward path, + Oh, haste his pardon to entreat, or ere he curse thee in his wrath. + Yet first that gently I may die, draw forth the barbed steel from hence, + Allay thy fears, no Brahmin I, not thine of Brahmin blood the offence. + My sire, a Brahmin hermit he, my mother was of Sudra race.' + So spake the wounded boy, on me while turned his unreproaching face. + As from his palpitating breast I gently drew the mortal dart, + He saw me trembling stand, and blest that boy's pure spirit seemed to + part. + As died that holy hermit's son, from me my glory seemed to go, + With troubled mind I stood, cast down t' inevitable endless woe. + That shaft that seemed his life to burn like serpent venom, thus drawn + out, + I, taking up his fallen urn, t' his father's dwelling took my route. + There miserable, blind, and old, of their sole helpmate thus forlorn, + His parents did these eyes behold, like two sad birds with pinions + shorn. + Of him in fond discourse they sate, lone, thinking only of their son, + For his return so long, so late, impatient, oh by me undone. + My footsteps' sound he seemed to know, and thus the aged hermit said, + 'O Yajnadatta, why so slow?--haste, let the cooling draught be shed. + Long on the river's cooling brink hast thou been sporting in thy joy. + Thy mother's fainting spirits sink in fear for thee; but thou, my boy, + If aught to grieve thy gentle heart thy mother or thy sire do wrong, + Bear with us, nor, when next we part, on the slow way thus linger long, + The feet of those that cannot move, of those that cannot see the eye, + Our spirits live but in thy love,--oh wherefore, dearest, no reply?' + + "My throat thick swollen with bursting tears, my power of speech that + seemed to choke, + With hands above my head, my fears breaking my quivering voice, I spoke: + The Kshatriya Dasaratha I, O hermit sage, 't is not thy son! + Most holy ones, unknowingly a deed of awful guilt I've done. + With bow in hand I took my way along Sarayu's pleasant brink, + The savage buffalo to slay, or elephant come down to drink. + + "A sound came murmuring to my ear,--'twas of the urn that slowly filled, + I deemed some savage wild-beast near,--my erring shaft thy son had + killed. + A feeble groan I heard, his breast was pierced by that dire arrow keen: + All trembling to the spot I pressed, lo there thy hermit boy was seen. + Flew to the sound my arrow, meant the wandering elephant to slay, + Toward the river brink it went,--and there thy son expiring lay. + The fatal shaft when forth I drew, to heaven his parting spirit soared, + Dying he only thought of you, long, long, your lonely lot deplored. + Thus ignorantly did I slay your child beloved, O hermit sage! + Turn thou on me, whose fated day is come, thy all-consuming rage!' + He heard my dreadful tale at length, he stood all lifeless, motionless; + Then deep he groaned, and gathering strength, me the meek suppliant did + address. + 'Kshatriya, 't is well that thou hast turned, thy deed of murder to + rehearse, + Else over all thy land had burned the fire of my wide-wasting curse. + If with premeditated crime the unoffending blood thou 'dst spilt, + The Thunderer on his throne sublime had shaken at such tremendous guilt. + Against the anchorite's sacred head, hadst, knowing, aimed thy shaft + accursed, + In th' holy Vedas deeply read, thy skull in seven wide rents had burst. + But since, unwitting, thou hast wrought that deed of death, thou livest + still, + O son of Taghu, from thy thought dismiss all dread of instant ill. + Oh lead me to that doleful spot where my poor boy expiring lay, + Beneath the shaft thy fell hand shot, of my blind age the staff, the + stay. + On the cold earth 'twere yet a joy to touch my perished child again, + (So long if I may live) my boy in one last fond embrace to strain + His body all bedewed with gore, his locks in loose disorder thrown, + Let me, let her but touch once more, to the dread realm of Yama gone.' + Then to that fatal place I brought alone that miserable pair; + His sightless hands and hers I taught to touch their boy that slumbered + there. + Nor sooner did they feel him lie, on the moist herbage coldly thrown, + But with a shrill and feeble cry upon the body cast them down. + The mother as she lay and groaned, addressed her boy with quivering + tongue, + And like a heifer sadly moaned, just plundered of her new-dropped young: + + "'Was not thy mother once, my son, than life itself more dear to thee? + Why the long way thou hast begun, without one gentle word to me? + One last embrace, and then, beloved, upon thy lonely journey go! + Alas! with anger art thou moved, that not a word thou wilt bestow?' + + "The miserable father now with gentle touch each cold limb pressed, + And to the dead his words of woe, as to his living son addressed: + 'I too, my son, am I not here?--thy sire with thy sad mother stands; + Awake, arise, my child, draw near, and clasp each neck with loving + hands. + Who now, 'neath the dark wood by night, a pious reader shall be heard? + Whose honeyed voice my ear delight with th' holy Veda's living word? + The evening prayer, th' ablution done, the fire adored with worship + meet, + Who now shall soothe like thee, my son, with fondling hand, my aged + feet? + And who the herb, the wholesome root, or wild fruit from the wood shall + bring? + To us the blind, the destitute, with helpless hunger perishing? + Thy blind old mother, heaven-resigned, within our hermit-dwelling lone, + How shall I tend, myself as blind, now all my strength of life is gone? + Oh, stay, my child, oh. Part not yet, to Yama's dwelling go not now, + To-morrow forth we all will set,--thy mother and myself and thou: + For both, in grief for thee, and both so helpless, ere another day, + From this dark world, but little loath, shall we depart, death's easy + prey! + And I myself, by Yama's seat, companion of thy darksome way, + The guerdon to thy virtues meet from that great Judge of men will pray. + Because, my boy, in innocence, by wicked deed thou hast been slain, + Rise, where the heroes dwell, who thence ne'er stoop to this dark world + again. + Those that to earth return no more, the sense-subdued, the hermits wise, + Priests their sage masters that adore, to their eternal seats arise. + Those that have studied to the last the Veda's, the Vedanga's page, + Where saintly kings of earth have passed, Nahusa and Yayati sage; + The sires of holy families, the true to wedlock's sacred vow; + And those that cattle, gold, or rice, or lands, with liberal hands + bestow; + That ope th' asylum to th' oppressed, that ever love, and speak the + truth; + Up to the dwellings of the blest, th' eternal, soar thou, best-loved + youth. + For none of such a holy race within the lowest seat may dwell; + But that will be his fatal place by whom my only offspring fell.' + + "So groaning deep, that wretched pair, the hermit and his wife, essayed + The meet ablution to prepare, their hands their last faint effort made. + Divine, with glorious body bright, in splendid car of heaven elate, + Before them stood their son in light, and thus consoled their helpless + state: + 'Meed of my duteous filial care, I've reached the wished for realms of + joy; + And ye, in those glad realms, prepare to meet full soon your dear-loved + boy. + My parents, weep no more for me, yon warrior monarch slew me not, + My death was thus ordained to be, predestined was the shaft he shot.' + Thus as he spoke, the anchorite's son soared up the glowing heaven afar, + In air his heavenly body shone, while stood he in his gorgeous car. + But they, of that lost boy so dear the last ablution meetly made, + Thus spoke to me that holy seer, with folded hands above his head. + 'Albeit by thy unknowing dart my blameless boy untimely fell, + A curse I lay upon thy heart, whose fearful pain I know too well. + As sorrowing for my son I bow, and yield up my unwilling breath, + So, sorrowing for thy son shalt thou at life's last close repose in + death.' + That curse dread sounding in mine ear, to mine own city forth I set, + Nor long survived that hermit seer, to mourn his child in lone regret. + This day that Brahmin curse fulfilled hath fallen on my devoted head, + In anguish for my parted child have all my sinking spirits fled. + No more my darkened eyes can see, my clouded memory is o'ercast, + Dark Yama's heralds summon me to his deep, dreary realm to haste. + Mine eye no more my Rama sees, and grief-o'erborne, my spirits sink, + As the swoln stream sweeps down the trees that grow upon the crumbling + brink. + Oh, felt I Rama's touch, or spake one word his home-returning voice, + Again to life I should awake, as quaffing nectar draughts, rejoice, + But what so sad could e'er have been, celestial partner of my heart, + As Rama's beauteous face unseen, from life untimely to depart? + His exile in the forest o'er, him home returned to Oude's high town, + Oh happy those, that see once more, like Indra from the sky come down. + No mortal men, but gods I deem,--moonlike, before whose wondering sight + My Rama's glorious face shall beam, from the dark forest bursting + bright. + Happy that gaze on Rama's face with beauteous teeth and smile of love, + Like the blue lotus in its grace, and like the starry king above. + Like to the full autumnal moon, and like the lotus in its bloom, + That youth who sees returning soon,--how blest shall be that mortal's + doom." + Dwelling in that sweet memory, on his last bed the monarch lay, + And slowly, softly seemed to die, as fades the moon at dawn away. + "Ah, Rama! ah, my son!" thus said, or scarcely said, the king of men, + His gentle hapless spirit fled in sorrow for his Rama then, + The shepherd of his people old at midnight on his bed of death, + The tale of his son's exile told, and breathed away his dying breath. + _Milman's Translation._ + + + + + +THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + + +"It is a deep and noble forest, abounding in delicious fruits and fragrant +flowers, shaded and watered by perennial springs." + +Though parts of the Mahâ-Bhârata, or story of the great war, are of great +antiquity, the entire poem was undoubtedly collected and re-written in the +first or second century A. D. Tradition ascribes the Mahâ-Bhârata to the +Brahman Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa. + +The Mahâ-Bhârata, unlike the Râmâyana, is not the story of some great +event, but consists of countless episodes, legends, and philosophical +treatises, strung upon the thread of a single story. These episodes are +called Upakhyanani, and the five most beautiful are called, in India, the +five precious stones. + +Its historical basis is the strife between the Aryan invaders of India and +the original inhabitants, illustrated in the strife between the sons of +the Raja Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhrita-rashtra, which forms the main +story of the poem. + +Though marred by the exaggerations peculiar to the Hindu, the poem is a +great treasure house of Indian history, and from it the Indian poets, +historical writers, and philosophers have drawn much of their material. + +The Mahâ-Bhârata is written in the Sanskrit language; it is the longest +poem ever written, its eighteen cantos containing two hundred thousand +lines. + +It is held in even higher regard than the Râmâyana, and the reading of it +is supposed to confer upon the happy reader every good and perfect gift. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + + +G.W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + +John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, +Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + +F. Max Müller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859 (Introduction); + +E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 272-352; + +Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 184-191; + +J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + +J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 87-231; + +T. Goldstuecker's Hindu Epic Poetry; the Mahâ-Bhârata Literary Remains, +1879, (vol. ii., pp. 86-145); + +M. Macmillan's Globe-trotter in India, 1815, p. 193; + +J. Peile's Notes on the Tales of Nala, 1882; + +C. J. Stone's Cradle-land of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 36-49; + +H. H. Wilson's Introduction to the Mahâ-Bhârata and a Translation of three +Extracts (in his Works, vol. iii., p. 277); Westminster Review, 1868, vol. +xxxiii., p. 380. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + + +The Mahâ-Bhârata, Selections from the Tr. by Sir Edwin Arnold, in his +Indian Poetry, 1886; in his Indian Idylls, 1883; + +Nala and Damayanti and other Poems, Tr. from the Mahâ-Bhârata by +H. H. Milman, (his translation of the Story of Nala is edited with notes by +Monier Williams, 1879); + +Metrical translations from Sanskrit writers by John Muir, 1879, pp. 13-37; + +Last Days of Krishna, Tr. from the Mahâ-Bhârata Price (Oriental +Translation Fund: Miscellaneous Translations); + +The Mahâ-Bhârata, an English Prose Translation with notes, by Protap +Chandra Roy, Published in one hundred parts, 1883-1890; + +Asiatic Researches, Tr. by H. H. Wilson, from the Mahâ-Bhârata vol. xv., +p. 101; + +Translations of episodes from the Mahâ-Bhârata, in Scribner's Monthly, +1874, vol. vii., p. 385; + +International Review, vol. x., pp. 36, 297; Oriental Magazine, Dec., 1824, +March, Sept., 1825, Sept., 1826. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + + +Long ago there dwelt in India two great Rajas who were brothers, the Raja +Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhritarashtra. The former had five noble sons +called the Pandavas, the eldest of whom was Yudhi-sthira, the second +Bhima, the third Arjuna, and the youngest, twin sons, Nakalu and Sahadeva. +All were girted in every way, but Arjuna was especially noble in form and +feature. + +The blind Raja had a family of one hundred sons, called the Kauravas from +their ancestor, Kura. The oldest of these was Duryodhana, and the bravest, +Dhusasana. + +Before the birth of Pandu's sons, he had left his kingdom in charge of +Dhrita-rashtra, that he might spend his time in hunting in the forests on +the slopes of the Himalayas. After his death Dhrita-rashtra continued to +rule the kingdom; but on account of their claim to the throne, he invited +the Pandavas and their mother to his court, where they were trained, +together with his sons, in every knightly exercise. + +There was probably jealousy between the cousins from the beginning, and +when their teacher, Drona, openly expressed his pride in the wonderful +archery of Arjuna, the hatred of the Kauravas was made manifest. No +disturbance occurred, however, until the day when Drona made a public +tournament to display the prowess of his pupils. + +The contests were in archery and the use of the noose and of clubs. Bhima, +who had been endowed by the serpent king with the strength of ten thousand +elephants, especially excelled in the use of the club, Nakalu was most +skillful in taming and driving the horse, and the others in the use of the +sword and spear. When Arjuna made use of the bow and the noose the +plaudits with which the spectators greeted his skill so enraged the +Kauravas that they turned the contest of clubs, which was to have been a +friendly one, into a degrading and blood-shedding battle. The spectators +left the splendid lists in sorrow, and the blind Raja determined to +separate the unfriendly cousins before further harm could come from their +rivalry. + +Before this could be done, another event increased their hostility. Drona +had agreed to impart to the Kauravas and the Pandavas his skill in +warfare, on condition that they would conquer for him his old enemy, the +Raja of Panchala. On account of their quarrel the cousins would not fight +together, and the Kauravas, marching against the Raja, were defeated. On +their return, the Pandavas went to Panchala, and took the Raja prisoner. + +After Yudhi-sthira had been appointed Yuva-Raja, a step Dhrita-rashtra was +compelled by the people of Hastinapur to take, the Kauravas declared that +they could no longer remain in the same city with their cousins. + +A plot was laid to destroy the Pandavas, the Raja's conscience having been +quieted by the assurances of his Brahman counsellor that it was entirely +proper to slay one's foe, be he father, brother, or friend, openly or by +secret means. The Raja accordingly pretended to send his nephews on a +pleasure-trip to a distant province, where he had prepared for their +reception a "house of lac," rendered more combustible by soaking in +clarified butter, in which he had arranged to have them burned as if by +accident, as soon as possible after their arrival. + +All Hastinapur mourned at the departure of the Pandavas, and the princes +themselves were sad, for they had been warned by a friend that +Dhrita-rashtra had plotted for their destruction. They took up their abode +in the house of lac, to which they prudently constructed a subterranean +outlet, and one evening, when a woman with five sons attended a feast of +their mother's, uninvited, and fell into a drunken sleep, they made fast +the doors, set fire to the house, and escaped to the forest. The bodies of +the five men and their mother were found next day, and the assurance was +borne to Hastinapur that the Pandavas and their mother Kunti had perished +by fire. + +The five princes, with their mother, disguised as Brahmans, spent several +years wandering through the forests, having many strange adventures and +slaying many demons. While visiting Ekachakra, which city they freed from +a frightful rakshasa, they were informed by the sage Vyasa that Draupadi, +the lovely daughter of the Raja Draupada of Panchala, was going to hold a +Svayamvara in order to select a husband. The suitors of a princess +frequently attended a meeting of this sort and took part in various +athletic contests, at the end of which the princess signified who was most +pleasing to her, usually the victor in the games, by hanging around his +neck a garland of flowers. + +Vyasa's description of the lovely princess, whose black eyes were large as +lotus leaves, whose skin was dusky, and her locks dark and curling, so +excited the curiosity of the Pandavas that they determined to attend the +Svayamvara. They found the city full of princes and kings who had come to +take part in the contest for the most beautiful woman in the world. The +great amphitheatre in which the games were to take place was surrounded by +gold and jewelled palaces for the accommodation of the princes, and with +platforms for the convenience of the spectators. + +After music, dancing, and various entertainments, which occupied sixteen +days, the contest of skill began. On the top of a tall pole, erected in +the plain, was placed a golden fish, below which revolved a large wheel. +He who sent his arrow through the spokes of the wheel and pierced the eye +of the golden fish was to be the accepted suitor of Draupadi. + +When the princes saw the difficulty of the contest, many of them refused +to enter it; as many tried it only to fail, among them, the Kaurava +Duryodhana. At last Arjuna, still in his disguise, stepped forward, drew +his bow, and sent his arrow through the wheel into the eye of the golden +fish. + +Immediately a great uproar arose among the spectators because a Brahman +had entered a contest limited to members of the Kshatriya, or warrior +class. In the struggle which ensued, however, Arjuna, assisted by his +brothers, especially Bhima, succeeded in carrying off the princess, whose +father did not demur. + +When the princes returned to their hut they went into the inner room and +informed their mother that they had brought home a prize. Supposing that +it was some game, she told them it would be well to share it equally. The +mother's word was law, but would the gods permit them to share Draupadi? +Their troubled minds were set at rest by Vyasa, who assured them that +Draupadi had five different times in former existences besought Siva for a +good husband. He had refused her requests then, but would now allow her +five husbands at once. The princes were well satisfied, and when the Raja +Draupada learned that the Brahmans were great princes in disguise, he +caused the five weddings to be celebrated in great state. + +Not satisfied with this, the Raja at once endeavored to make peace between +the Pandavas and their hostile cousins, and succeeded far enough to induce +Dhrita-rashtra to cede to his nephews a tract of land in the farthest part +of his kingdom, on the river Jumna, where they set about founding a most +splendid city, Indra-prastha. + +Here they lived happily with Draupadi, conquering so many kingdoms and +accumulating so much wealth that they once more aroused the jealousy of +their old enemies, the Kauravas. The latter, knowing that it would be +impossible to gain the advantage of them by fair means, determined to +conquer them by artifice, and accordingly erected a large and magnificent +hall and invited their cousins thither, with a great show of friendliness, +to a gambling match. + +The Pandavas knew they would not be treated fairly, but as such an +invitation could not be honorably declined by a Kshatriya, they went to +Hastinapur. Yudhi-sthira's opponent was Shakuni, the queen's brother, an +unprincipled man, by whom he was defeated in every game. + +Yudhi-sthira staked successively his money, his jewels, and his slaves; +and when these were exhausted, he continued to play, staking his kingdom, +his brothers, and last of all his peerless wife, Draupadi. + +At this point, when the excitement was intense, the brutal Dhusasana +commanded Draupadi to be brought into the hall, and insulted her in every +way, to the great rage of the helpless Pandavas, until Dhrita-rashtra, +affrighted by the evil omens by which the gods signified their +disapproval, rebuked Dhusasana for his conduct, and giving Draupadi her +wish, released her husbands and herself and sent them back to their +kingdom. + +To prevent the Pandavas from gaining time to avenge their insult, the +Kauravas induced their father to invite their cousins to court to play a +final game, this time the conditions being that the losing party should go +into exile for thirteen years, spending twelve years in the forest and the +thirteenth in some city. If their disguise was penetrated by their enemies +during the thirteenth year, the exile was to be extended for another +thirteen years. + +Though they knew the outcome, the Pandavas accepted the second invitation, +and in consequence again sought the forest, not departing without the most +terrible threats against their cousins. + +In the forest of Kamyaka, Yudhi-sthira studied the science of dice that he +might not again be defeated so disastrously, and journeyed pleasantly from +one point of interest to another with Draupadi and his brothers, with the +exception of Arjuna, who had sought the Himalayas to gain favor with the +god Siva, that he might procure from him a terrible weapon for the +destruction of his cousins. + +After he had obtained the weapon he was lifted into the heaven of the god +Indra, where he spent five happy years. When he rejoined his wife and +brothers, they were visited by the god Krishna and by the sage Markandeya, +who told them the story of the creation and destruction of the universe, +of the flood, and of the doctrine of Karma, which instructs one that man's +sufferings here below are due to his actions in former and forgotten +existences. He also related to them the beautiful story of how the +Princess Sâvitrî had wedded the Prince Satyavan, knowing that the gods had +decreed that he should die within a year; how on the day set for his death +she had accompanied him to the forest, had there followed Yama, the awful +god of death, entreating him until, for very pity of her sorrow and +admiration of her courage and devotion, he yielded to her her husband's +soul. + +Near the close of the twelfth year of their exile, the princes, fatigued +from a hunt, sent Nakalu to get some water from a lake which one had +discovered from a tree-top. As the prince approached the lake he was +warned by a voice not to touch it, but thirst overcoming fear, he drank +and fell dead. The same penalty was paid by Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bhima, +who in turn followed him. Yudhi-sthira, who went last, obeyed the voice, +which, assuming a terrible form, asked the king questions on many subjects +concerning the universe. These being answered satisfactorily, the being +declared himself to be Dharma, the god of justice, Yudhi-sthira's father, +and in token of his affection for his son, restored the princes to life, +and granted them the boon of being unrecognizable during the remaining +year of their exile. + +The thirteenth year of their exile they spent in the city of Virata, where +they entered the service of the Raja,--Yudhi-sthira as teacher of +dice-playing, Bhima as superintendent of the cooks, Arjuna as a teacher of +music and dancing to the ladies, Nakalu as master of horse, and Sahadeva +as superintendent of the cattle. Draupadi, who entered the service of the +queen, was so attractive, even in disguise, that Bhima was forced to kill +the queen's brother, Kechaka, for insulting her. This would have caused +the Pandavas' exile from Virata had not their services been needed in a +battle between Virata and the king of the Trigartas. + +The Kauravas assisted the Trigartas in this battle, and the recognition, +among the victors, of their cousins, whose thirteenth year of exile was +now ended, added to the bitterness of their defeat. + +Their exile over, the Pandavas were free to make preparations for the +great war which they had determined to wage against the Kauravas. Both +parties, anxious to enlist the services of Krishna, sent envoys to him at +the same time. When Krishna gave them the choice of himself or his armies, +Arjuna was shrewd enough to choose the god, leaving his hundreds of +millions of soldiers to swell the forces of the Kauravas. + +When their preparations were completed, and the time had come to wreak +vengeance on their cousins, the Pandavas were loath to begin the conflict. +They seemed to understand that, war once declared, there could be no +compromise, but that it must be a war for extinction. But the Kauravas +received their proposals of peace with taunts, and heaped insults upon +their emissary. + +When the Pandavas found that there was no hope of peace, they endeavored +to win to their side Karna, who was really a son of Kunti, and hence their +half-brother, though this fact had not been made known to him until he had +long been allied with the Kauravas. In anticipation of this war, the gods, +by a bit of trickery, had robbed Karna of his god-given armor and weapons. +However, neither celestial artifice, the arguments of Krishna, nor the +entreaties of Kunti were able to move Karna from what he considered the +path of duty, though he promised that while he would fight with all his +strength, he would not slay Yudhi-sthira, Bhima, and the twins. + +The forces of the two armies were drawn up on the plain of Kuruk-shetra. +The army of the Kauravas was under the command of the terrible Bhishma, +the uncle of Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who had governed the country during +the minority of Pandu. + +Each side was provided with billions and billions of infantry, cavalry, +and elephants; the warriors were supplied with weapons of the most +dangerous sort. The army of the Kauravas was surrounded by a deep trench +fortified by towers, and further protected by fireballs and jars full of +scorpions to be thrown at the assailants. + +As night fell, before the battle, the moon's face was stained with blood, +earthquakes shook the land, and the images of the gods fell from their +places. + +The next morning, when Arjuna, from his chariot, beheld the immense army, +he was appalled at the thought of the bloodshed to follow, and hesitated +to advance. Krishna insisted that it was unnecessary for him to lament, +setting forth his reasons in what is known as the Bhagavat-gita, the +divine song, in which he said it was no sin to slay a foe, since death is +but a transmigration from one form to another. The soul can never cease to +be; who then can destroy it? Therefore, when Arjuna slew his cousins he +would merely remove their offensive bodies; their souls, unable to be +destroyed, would seek other habitations. To further impress Arjuna, +Krishna boasted of himself as embodying everything, and as having passed +through many forms. Faith in Krishna was indispensable, for the god placed +faith above either works or contemplation. He next exhibited himself in +his divine form to Arjuna, and the warrior was horror-stricken at the +terrible divinity with countless arms, hands, and heads, touching the +skies. Having been thus instructed by Krishna, Arjuna went forth, and the +eighteen days' battle began. + +The slaughter was wholesale; no quarter was asked or given, since each +side was determined to exterminate the other. Flights of arrows were +stopped in mid-air by flights of arrows from the other side. Great maces +were cut in pieces by well-directed darts. Bhima, wielding his great club +with his prodigious strength, wiped out thousands of the enemy at one +stroke, and Arjuna did the same with his swift arrows. Nor were the +Kauravas to be despised. Hundreds of thousands of the Pandavas' followers +fell, and the heroic brothers were themselves struck by many arrows. + +Early in the battle the old Bhishma was pierced by so many arrows that, +falling from his chariot, he rested upon their points as on a couch, and +lay there living by his own desire, until long after the battle. + +After eighteen days of slaughter, during which the field reeked with blood +and night was made horrible by the cries of the jackals and other beasts +of prey that devoured the bodies of the dead, the Kauravas were all slain, +and the five Pandavas, reconciled to the blind Raja, accompanied him back +to Hastinapur, where Yudhi-sthira was crowned Raja, although the Raj was +still nominally under the rule of his old uncle. + +Yudhi-sthira celebrated his accession to the throne by the performance of +the great sacrifice, which was celebrated with the utmost splendor. After +several years the unhappy Dhrita-rashtra retired with his wife to a jungle +on the banks of the Ganges, leaving Yudhi-sthira in possession of the +kingdom. There the Pandavas visited him, and talked over the friends who +had fallen in the great war. One evening the sage Vyasa instructed them to +bathe in the Ganges and then stand on the banks of the river. He then went +into the water and prayed, and coming out stood by Yudhi-sthira and called +the names of all those persons who had been slain at Kuruk-shetra. +Immediately the water began to foam and boil, and to the great surprise +and terror of all, the warriors lost in the great battle appeared in their +chariots, at perfect peace with one another, and cleansed of all earthly +stain. Then the living were happy with the dead; long separated families +were once more united, and the hearts that had been desolate for fifteen +long years were again filled with joy. The night sped quickly by in tender +conversation, and when morning came, all the dead mounted into their +chariots and disappeared. Those who had come to meet them prepared to +leave the river, but with the permission of Vyasa, the widows drowned +themselves that they might rejoin their husbands. + +Not long after his return to Hastinapur, Yudhi-sthira heard that the old +Raja and his wife had lost their lives in a jungle-fire; and soon after +this, tidings came to him of the destruction of the city of the Yadavas, +the capital of Krishna, in punishment for the dissipation of its +inhabitants. + +Yudhi-sthira's reign of thirty-six years had been a succession of gloomy +events, and he began to grow weary of earth and to long for the blessings +promised above. He therefore determined to make the long and weary +pilgrimage to Heaven without waiting for death. According to the +Mahâ-Bhârata, the earth was divided into seven concentric rings, each of +which was surrounded by an ocean or belt separating it from the next +annular continent. The first ocean was of salt water; the second, of the +juice of the sugar-cane; the third, of wine; the fourth, of clarified +butter; the fifth, of curdled milk; the sixth, of sweet milk; the seventh, +of fresh water. In the centre of this vast annular system Mount Meru rose +to the height of sixty-four thousand miles. + +Upon this mountain was supposed to rest the heaven of the Hindus, and +thither Yudhi-sthira proposed to make his pilgrimage. His brothers and +their wife Draupadi insisted on going with him, for all were equally weary +of the world. Their people would fain have accompanied them, but the +princes sent them back and went unaccompanied save by their faithful dog. +They kept on, fired by their high resolves, until they reached the long +and dreary waste of sand that stretched before Mount Meru. There Draupadi +fell and yielded up her life, and Yudhi-sthira, never turning to look +back, told the questioning Bhima that she died because she loved her +husbands better than all else, better than heaven. Next Sahadeva fell, +then Nakalu, and afterwards Arjuna and Bhima. Yudhi-sthira, still striding +on, informed Bhima that pride had slain the first, self-love the second, +the sin of Arjuna was a lie, and Bhima had loved too well the good things +of earth. + +Followed by the dog, Yudhi-sthira pushed across the barren sand until he +reached the mount and stood in the presence of the god. Well pleased with +his perseverance, the god promised him the reward of entering into heaven +in his own form, but he refused to go unless the dog could accompany him. +After vainly attempting to dissuade him, the god allowed the dog to assume +its proper form, and lo! it was Dharma, the god of justice, and the two +entered heaven together. + +But where were Draupadi and the gallant princes, her husbands? +Yudhi-sthira could see them nowhere, and he questioned only to learn that +they were in hell. His determination was quickly taken. There could be no +heaven for him unless his brothers and their wife could share it with him. +He demanded to be shown the path to hell, to enter which he walked over +razors, and trod under foot mangled human forms. But joy of joys! The +lotus-eyed Draupadi called to him, and his brothers cried that his +presence in hell brought a soothing breeze that gave relief to all the +tortured souls. + +Yudhi-sthira's self-sacrifice sufficiently tested, the gods proclaimed +that it was all but an illusion shown to make him enjoy the more, by +contrast, the blisses of heaven. The king Yudhi-sthira then bathed in the +great river flowing through three worlds, and, washed from all sins and +soils, went up, hand in hand with the gods, to his brothers, the Pandavas, +and + + "Lotus-eyed and loveliest Draupadi, + Waiting to greet him, gladdening and glad." + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + +SÂVITRI, OR LOVE AND DEATH. + + +The beautiful princess Sâvitri of her own choice wedded the prince +Satyavan, son of a blind and exiled king, although she knew that he was +doomed by the gods to die within a year. When the year was almost gone, +she sat for several days beneath a great tree, abstaining from food and +drink, and imploring the gods to save him from death. On the fateful day +she accompanied him to the forest to gather the sacred wood for the +evening sacrifice. As he struck the tree with the axe he reeled in pain, +and exclaiming, "I cannot work!" fell fainting. + + Thereon that noble lady, hastening near. + Stayed him that would have fallen, with quick arms; + And, sitting on the earth, laid her lord's head + Tenderly in her lap. So bent she, mute, + Fanning his face, and thinking 't was the day-- + The hour--which Narad named--the sure fixed date + Of dreadful end--when, lo! before her rose + A shade majestic. Red his garments were, + His body vast and dark; like fiery suns + The eyes which burned beneath his forehead-cloth; + Armed was he with a noose, awful of mien. + This Form tremendous stood by Satyavan, + Fixing its gaze upon him. At the sight + The fearful Princess started to her feet. + Heedfully laying on the grass his head, + + Up started she, with beating heart, and joined + Her palms for supplication, and spake thus + In accents tremulous: "Thou seem'st some God; + Thy mien is more than mortal; make me know + What god thou art, and what thy purpose here." + + And Yama said (the dreadful god of death): + "Thou art a faithful wife, O Sâvitrî, + True to thy vows, pious, and dutiful; + Therefore I answer thee. Yama I am! + This Prince thy lord lieth at point to die; + Him will I straightway bind and bear from life; + This is my office, and for this I come." + + Then Sâvitrî spake sadly: "It is taught + Thy messengers are sent to fetch the dying; + Why is it, Mightiest, thou art come thyself?" + + In pity of her love, the Pityless + Answered--the King of all the Dead replied: + "This was a Prince unparalleled, thy lord; + Virtuous as fair, a sea of goodly gifts, + Not to be summoned by a meaner voice + Than Yama's own: therefore is Yama come." + + With that the gloomy God fitted his noose + And forced forth from the Prince the soul of him-- + Subtile, a thumb in length--which being reft, + Breath stayed, blood stopped, the body's grace was gone, + And all life's warmth to stony coldness turned. + Then, binding it, the Silent Presence bore + Satyavan's soul away toward the South. + + But Sâvitrî the Princess followed him; + Being so bold in wifely purity, + So holy by her love; and so upheld, + She followed him. + + Presently Yama turned. + "Go back," quoth he. "Pay for him funeral dues. + Enough, O Sâvitrî, is wrought for love; + Go back! Too far already hast thou come." + + Then Sâvitrî made answer: "I must go + Where my lord goes, or where my lord is borne; + Naught other is my duty. Nay, I think, + By reason of my vows, my services, + Done to the Gurus, and my faultless love, + Grant but thy grace, I shall unhindered go. + The sages teach that to walk seven steps + One with another, maketh good men friends; + Beseech thee, let me say a verse to thee:-- + + _"Be master of thyself, if thou wilt be + Servant of Duty. Such as thou shall see + Not self-subduing, do no deeds of good + In youth or age, in household or in wood. + But wise men know that virtue is best bliss, + And all by some one way may reach to this. + It needs not men should pass through orders four + To come to knowledge: doing right is more + Than any learning; therefore sages say + Best and most excellent is Virtue's way."_ + + Spake Yama then: "Return! yet I am moved + By those soft words; justly their accents fell, + And sweet and reasonable was their sense. + See now, thou faultless one. Except this life + I bear away, ask any boon from me; + It shall not be denied." + + Sâvitrî said: + "Let, then, the King, my husband's father, have + His eyesight back, and be his strength restored, + And let him live anew, strong as the sun." + + "I give this gift," Yama replied. "Thy wish, + Blameless, shall be fulfilled. But now go back; + Already art thou wearied, and our road + Is hard and long. Turn back, lest thou, too, die." + + The Princess answered: "Weary am I not, + So I walk near my lord. Where he is borne, + Thither wend I. Most mighty of the Gods, + I follow wheresoe'er thou takest him. + A verse is writ on this, if thou wouldst hear:-- + + _"There is naught better than to be + With noble souls in company: + There is naught better than to wend + With good friends faithful to the end. + This is the love whose fruit is sweet, + Therefore to bide within is meet."_ + + Spake Yama, smiling: "Beautiful! thy words + Delight me; they are excellent, and teach + Wisdom unto the wise, singing soft truth. + Look, now! Except the life of Satyavan, + Ask yet another--any--boon from me." + + Sâvitrî said: "Let, then, the pious King, + My husband's father, who hath lost his throne, + Have back the Raj; and let him rule his realm + In happy righteousness. This boon I ask." + + "He shall have back the throne," Yama replied, + "And he shall reign in righteousness: these things + Will surely fall. But thou, gaining thy wish, + Return anon; so shalt thou 'scape sore ill." + + "Ah, awful God! who hold'st the world in leash," + The Princess said, "restraining evil men, + And leading good men--even unconscious--there, + Where they attain, hear yet those famous words:-- + + _"The constant virtues of the good are tenderness and love + To all that lives--in earth, air, sea--great, small--below, above; + Compassionate of heart, they keep a gentle thought for each, + Kind in their actions, mild in will, and pitiful of speech; + Who pitieth not, he hath not faith; full many an one so lives, + But when an enemy seeks help, a good man gladly gives."_ + + "As water to the thirsty," Yama said, + "Princess, thy words melodious are to me. + Except the life of Satyavan, thy lord, + Ask one boon yet again, for I will grant." + + Answer made Sâvitrî: "The King, my sire, + Hath no male child. Let him see many sons + Begotten of his body, who may keep + The royal line long regnant. This I ask." + + "So shall it be," the Lord of Death replied; + "A hundred fair preservers of his race + Thy sire shall boast. But this wish being won, + Return, dear Princess; thou hast come too far." + + "It is not far for me," quoth Sâvitrî, + "Since I am near my husband; nay, my heart + Is set to go as far as to the end; + But hear these other verses, if thou wilt:-- + + _"By that sunlit name thou bearest, + Thou, Vaivaswata! art dearest; + Those that as their Lord proclaim thee, + King of Righteousness do name thee: + Better than themselves the wise + Trust the righteous. Each relies + Most upon the good, and makes + Friendship with them. Friendship takes + Fear from hearts; yet friends betray, + In good men we may trust alway."_ + + "Sweet lady," Yama said, "never were words + Spoke better; never truer heard by ear; + Lo! I am pleased with thee. Except this soul, + Ask one gift yet again, and get thee home." + + "I ask thee then," quickly the Princess cried, + "Sons, many sons, born of my body; boys; + Satyavan's children; lovely, valiant, strong; + Continuers of their line. Grant this, kind God." + + "I grant it," Yama answered; "thou shalt bear + These sons thy heart desireth, valiant, strong. + Therefore go back, that years be given thee. + Too long a path thou treadest, dark and rough." + + But sweeter than before, the Princess sang:-- + + _"In paths of peace and virtue + Always the good remain; + And sorrow shall not stay with them, + Nor long access of pain; + At meeting or at parting + Joys to their bosom strike; + For good to good is friendly, + And virtue loves her like. + The great sun goes his journey + By their strong truth impelled; + By their pure lives and penances + Is earth itself upheld; + Of all which live and shall live + Upon its hills and fields, + Pure hearts are the protectors, + For virtue saves and shields. + + "Never are noble spirits + Poor while their like survive; + True love has gems to render, + And virtue wealth to give. + Never is lost or wasted + The goodness of the good; + Never against a mercy, + Against a right, it stood; + And seeing this, that virtue + Is always friend to all, + The virtuous and true-hearted, + Men their protectors call."_ + + "Line for line, Princess, as thou sangest so," + Quoth Yama, "all that lovely praise of good, + Grateful to hallowed minds, lofty in sound, + And couched in dulcet numbers--word by word-- + Dearer thou grew'st to me. O thou great heart, + Perfect and firm! ask any boon from me,-- + Ask an incomparable boon!" + + She cried + Swiftly, no longer stayed: "Not Heaven I crave, + Nor heavenly joys, nor bliss incomparable, + Hard to be granted, even by thee; but him, + My sweet lord's life, without which I am dead; + Give me that gift of gifts! I will not take + Aught less without him,--not one boon--no praise, + No splendors, no rewards,--not even those sons + Whom thou didst promise. Ah, thou wilt not now + Bear hence the father of them and my hope! + Make thy free word good; give me Satyavan + Alive once more." + + And thereupon the God-- + The Lord of Justice, high Vaivaswata-- + Loosened the noose and freed the Prince's soul, + And gave it to the lady, saying this, + With eyes grown tender: "See, thou sweetest queen + Of women, brightest jewel of thy kind! + Here is thy husband. He shall live and reign + Side by side with thee, saved by thee,--in peace + And fame and wealth, and health, many long years, + For pious sacrifices world-renowned. + Boys shalt thou bear to him, as I did grant,-- + Kshatriya kings, fathers of kings to be, + Sustainers of thy line. Also thy sire + Shall see his name upheld by sons of sons, + Like the immortals, valiant, Mâlavas." + + ARNOLD: _Indian Idylls._ + + + + +FROM "THE GREAT JOURNEY." + + +The shadow of the Great War hung over King Yudhi-sthira, whose reign was +one long succession of gloomy events, culminating in the death of the +blind Raja and his wife in a jungle fire, and the destruction of the +capital city of Krishna because of the dissipation of its inhabitants. + + On tidings of the wreck of Vrishni's race, + King Yudhi-sthira of the Pandavas + Was minded to be done with earthly things, + And to Arjuna spake: "O noble prince, + Time endeth all; we linger, noose on neck, + Till the last day tightens the line, and kills. + Let us go forth to die, being yet alive." + And Kunti's son, the great Arjuna, said: + "Let us go forth! Time slayeth all. + We will find Death, who seeketh other men." + And Bhimasena, hearing, answered: "Yea, + We will find Death!" and Sahadev cried: "Yea!" + And his twin brother Nakalu; whereat + The princes set their faces for the Mount. + + * * * * * + + So ordering ere he went, the righteous King + Made offering of white water, heedfully, + To Vasudev, to Rama, and the rest,-- + All funeral rites performing; next he spread + A funeral feast.... + + And all the people cried, "Stay with us, Lord!" + But Yudhi-sthira knew his time was come, + Knew that life passes and that virtue lasts, + And put aside their love.... + + So, with farewells + Tenderly took of lieges and of lords, + Girt he for travel with his princely kin, + Great Yudhi-sthira, Dharma's royal son. + Crest-gem and belt and ornaments he stripped + From off his body, and for broidered robe + A rough dress donned, woven of jungle bark; + And what he did--O Lord of men!--so did + Arjuna, Bhima, and the twin-born pair, + Nakalu with Sahadev, and she,--in grace + The peerless,--Draupadi. Lastly those six,-- + Thou son of Bharata!--in solemn form + Made the high sacrifice of Naishtiki, + Quenching their flames in water at the close; + And so set forth, midst wailing of all folk + And tears of women, weeping most to see + The Princess Draupadi--that lovely prize + Of the great gaming, Draupadi the Bright-- + Journeying afoot; but she and all the five + Rejoiced because their way lay heavenward. + + Seven were they, setting forth,--Princess and King, + The King's four brothers and a faithful dog. + Those left Hastinapur; but many a man, + And all the palace household, followed them + The first sad stage: and ofttimes prayed to part, + + Put parting off for love and pity, still + Sighing, "A little farther!" till day waned; + Then one by one they turned. + + * * * * * + + Thus wended they, + Pandu's five sons and loveliest Draupadi, + Taking no meat and journeying due east, + On righteousness their high hearts fed, to heaven + Their souls assigned; and steadfast trod their feet-- + By faith upborne--past nullah ran, and wood, + River and jheel and plain. King Yudhi-sthir + Walked foremost, Bhima followed, after him + Arjuna, and the twin-born brethren next, + Nakalu with Sahadev; in whose still steps-- + O Best of Bharat's offspring!--Draupadi, + That gem of women paced, with soft dark face,-- + Clear-edged like lotus petals; last the dog + Following the Pandavas. + + * * * * * + + While yet those heroes walked, + Now to the northward banding, where long coasts + Shut in the sea of salt, now to the north, + Accomplishing all quarters, journeyed they; + The earth their altar of high sacrifice, + Which these most patient feet did pace around + Till Meru rose. + + At last it rose! These Six, + Their senses subjugate, their spirits pure, + Wending along, came into sight--far off + In the eastern sky--of awful Himavat; + And midway in the peaks of Himavat, + Meru, the mountain of all mountains, rose, + Whose head is heaven; and under Himavat + Glared a wide waste of sand, dreadful as death. + + Then, as they hastened o'er the deathly waste, + Aiming for Meru, having thoughts at soul + Infinite, eager,--lo! Draupadi reeled, + With faltering heart and feet; and Bhima turned, + Gazing upon her; and that hero spake + To Yudhi-sthira: "Master, Brother, King! + Why doth she fail? For never all her life + Wrought our sweet lady one thing wrong, I think. + Thou knowest; make us know, why hath she failed?" + + Then Yudhi-sthira answered: "Yea, one thing. + She loved our brothers better than all else,-- + Better than Heaven: that was her tender sin, + Fault of a faultless soul: she pays for that." + + So spake the monarch, turning not his eyes, + Though Draupadi lay dead,--striding straight on + For Meru, heart-full of the things of Heaven, + Perfect and firm. But yet a little space + And Sahadev fell down; which Bhima seeing, + Cried once again: "O King, great Madri's son + Stumbles and sinks. Why hath he sunk?--so true, + So brave and steadfast, and so free from pride!" + + "He was not free," with countenance still fixed, + Quoth Yudhi-sthira; "he was true and fast + And wise; yet wisdom made him proud; he hid + One little hurt of soul, but now it kills." + + So saying, he strode on, Kunti's strong son, + And Bhima; and Arjuna followed him, + And Nakalu and the hound; leaving behind + Sahadev in the sands. But Nakalu, + Weakened and grieved to see Sahadev fall-- + His dear-loved brother--lagged and stayed; and then + Prone on his face he fell, that noble face + Which had no match for beauty in the land,-- + Glorious and godlike Nakalu! Then sighed + Bhima anew: "Brother and Lord! the man + Who never erred from virtue, never broke + Our fellowship, and never in the world + Was matched for goodly perfectness of form + Or gracious feature,--Nakalu has fallen!" + + But Yudhi-sthira, holding fixed his eyes,-- + That changeless, faithful, all-wise king,--replied: + "Yea, but he erred! The god-like form he wore + Beguiled him to believe none like to him, + And he alone desirable, and things + Unlovely, to be slighted. Self-love slays + Our noble brother. Bhima, follow! Each + Pays what his debt was." + + Which Arjuna heard, + Weeping to see them fall; and that stout son + Of Pandu, that destroyer of his foes, + That Prince, who drove through crimson waves of war, + In old days, with his milk-white chariot-steeds, + Him, the arch hero, sank! Beholding this,-- + The yielding of that soul unconquerable, + + Fearless, divine, from Sakra's self derived, + Arjuna's--Bhima cried aloud: "O King! + This man was surely perfect. Never once, + Not even in slumber, when the lips are loosed, + Spake he one word that was not true as truth. + Ah, heart of gold! why art thou broke? O King! + Whence falleth he?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said, + Not pausing: "Once he lied, a lordly lie! + He bragged--our brother--that a single day + Should see him utterly consume, alone, + All those his enemies,--which could not be. + Yet from a great heart sprang the unmeasured speech, + Howbeit a finished hero should not shame + Himself in such a wise, nor his enemy, + If he will faultless fight and blameless die: + This was Arjuna's sin. Follow thou me!" + + So the King still went on. But Bhima next + Fainted, and stayed upon the way, and sank; + But, sinking, cried behind the steadfast Prince: + "Ah, Brother, see! I die! Look upon me, + Thy well beloved! Wherefore falter I, + Who strove to stand?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said: + "More than was well the goodly things of earth + Pleased thee, my pleasant brother! Light the offence + And large thy spirit; but the o'erfed soul + Plumed itself over others. Pritha's son, + For this thou fallest, who so near didst gain." + + Thenceforth alone the long-armed monarch strode, + Not looking back,--nay, not for Bhima's sake,-- + But walking with his face set for the Mount; + And the hound followed him,--only the hound. + + After the deathly sands, the Mount! and lo! + Sakra shone forth,--the God,--filling the earth + And Heavens with the thunders of his chariot wheels. + "Ascend," he said, "with me, Pritha's great son!" + But Yudhi-sthira answered, sore at heart + For those his kinsfolk, fallen on the way: + "O Thousand-eyed, O Lord of all the gods, + Give that my brothers come with me, who fell! + Not without them is Swarga sweet to me. + She too, the dear and kind and queenly,--she + Whose perfect virtue Paradise must crown,-- + Grant her to come with us! Dost thou grant this?" + + The God replied: "In Heaven thou shalt see + Thy kinsmen and the Queen--these will attain-- + And Krishna. Grieve no longer for thy dead, + Thou chief of men! their mortal coverings stripped, + These have their places; but to thee, the gods + Allow an unknown grace: thou shalt go up, + Living and in thy form, to the immortal homes." + + But the King answered: "O thou wisest One, + Who know'st what was, and is, and is to be, + Still one more grace! This hound hath ate with me, + Followed me, loved me; must I leave him now?" + + "Monarch," spake Indra, "thou art now as we,-- + Deathless, divine; thou art become a god; + Glory and power and gifts celestial, + And all the joys of heaven are thine for aye: + What hath a beast with these? Leave here thy hound." + + Yet Yudhi-sthira answered: "O Most High, + O Thousand-Eyed and Wisest! can it be + That one exalted should seem pitiless? + Nay, let me lose such glory: for its sake + I cannot leave one living thing I loved." + + Then sternly Indra spake: "He is unclean, + And into Swarga such shall enter not. + The Krodhavasha's wrath destroys the fruits + Of sacrifice, if dog defile the fire. + Bethink thee, Dharmaraj; quit now this beast! + That which is seemly is not hard of heart." + + Still he replied: "'Tis written that to spurn + A suppliant equals in offence to slay + A twice-born; wherefore, not for Swarga's bliss + Quit I, Mahendra, this poor clinging dog,-- + So without any hope or friend save me. + So wistful, fawning for my faithfulness; + So agonized to die, unless I help + Who among men was called steadfast and just." + + Quoth Indra: "Nay, the altar flame is foul + Where a dog passeth; angry angels sweep + The ascending smoke aside, and all the fruits + Of offering, and the merit of the prayer + Of him whom a hound toucheth. Leave it here! + He that will enter Heaven must enter pure. + Why didst thou quit thy brethren on the way, + And Krishna, and the dear-loved Draupadi, + Attaining firm and glorious to this Mount + Through perfect deeds, to linger for a brute? + Hath Yudhi-sthira vanquished self, to melt + With one pure passion at the door of bliss? + Stay'st thou for this, who did not stay for them,-- + Draupadi, Bhima?" + + But the King yet spake: + "'T is known that none can hurt or help the dead. + They, the delightful ones, who sank and died. + Following my footsteps, could not live again + Though I had turned--therefore I did not turn; + But could help profit, I had stayed to help. + There be four sins, O Sakra, grievous sins: + The first is making suppliants despair, + The second is to slay a nursing wife, + The third is spoiling Brahmans' goods by force, + The fourth is injuring an ancient friend. + These four I deem not direr than the crime, + If one, in coming forth from woe to weal, + Abandon any meanest comrade then." + + Straight as he spake, brightly great Indra smiled; + Vanished the hound, and in its stead stood there + The Lord of Death and Justice, Dharma's self! + Sweet were the words which fell from those dread lips, + Precious the lovely praise: "O thou true King, + Thou that dost bring to harvest the good seed + Of Pandu's righteousness; thou that hast ruth + As he before, on all which lives!--O Son! + + "Hear thou my word! Because thou didst not mount + This car divine, lest the poor hound be shent + Who looked to thee, lo! there is none in heaven + Shall sit above thee, King! Bharata's son! + Enter thou now to the eternal joys, + Living and in thy form. Justice and Love + Welcome thee, Monarch! thou shalt throne with us!" + ARNOLD: _Indian Idylls_. + + + + + +THE ILIAD. + + +The Iliad, or story of the fall of Ilium (Troy), is supposed to have been +written by Homer, about the tenth century B. C. The legendary history of +Homer represents him as a schoolmaster and poet of Smyrna, who while +visiting in Ithaca became blind, and afterwards spent his life travelling +from place to place reciting his poems, until he died in Ios. Seven +cities, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argos, and Athens, claimed +to be his birthplace. + +In 1795, Wolf, a German scholar, published his "Prolegomena," which set +forth his theory that Homer was a fictitious character, and that the Iliad +was made up of originally unconnected poems, collected and combined by +Pisistratus. + +Though for a time the Wolfian theory had many advocates, it is now +generally conceded that although the stories of the fall of Troy were +current long before Homer, they were collected and recast into one poem by +some great poet. That the Iliad is the work of one man is clearly shown by +its unity, its sustained simplicity of style, and the centralization of +interest in the character of Achilles. + +The destruction of Troy, for a time regarded as a poetic fiction, is now +believed by many scholars to be an actual historical event which took +place about the time of the Ćolian migration. + +The whole story of the fall of Troy is not related in the Iliad, the poem +opening nine years after the beginning of the war, and closing with the +death of Hector. + +The Iliad is divided into twenty-four books, and contains nineteen +thousand four hundred and sixty-five lines. + +As a work of art the Iliad has never been excelled; moreover, it possesses +what all works of art do not,--"the touches of things human" that make it +ours, although the centuries lie between us and its unknown author, who +told his stirring story in such swift-moving verses, with such touches of +pathos and humor, and with such evident joy of living. Another evidence of +the perfection of Homer's art is that while his heroes are perfect types +of Greeks and Trojans, they are also typical men, and for that reason, +still keep their hold upon us. It is this human interest, simplicity of +style, and grandeur of treatment that have rendered Homer immortal and his +work imperishable. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ILIAD. + +M. Arnold's Essay on Homer, 1876, pp. 284-425; + +H. Bonitz's Origin of the Homeric Poems, tr. 1880; + +R. C. Jebb's Introduction to Homer, 1887; + +F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 7-17; + +A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893; + +W. Leaf's Companion to the Iliad for English Readers, 1892; + +J. A. Symonds's Studies in Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ILIAD. + +The Iliad, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871 +(Primitive in spirit, like Homer. Union of literalness with simplicity); + +The Iliad, Tr. according to the Greek with introduction and notes by +George Chapman [1615], Ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874 (Written in verse. Pope says a +daring and fiery spirit animates this translation, something like that in +which one might imagine Homer would have written before he came to years +of discretion); + +The Iliad, Tr. by William Cowper (Very literal and inattentive to melody, +but has more of simple majesty and manner of Homer than Pope); + +The Iliad, rendered into English blank verse by the Earl of Derby, 2 +vols., 1864; + +The Iliad, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by the Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, +n. d. (Written in couplets. Highly ornamented paraphrase). + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ILIAD. + + +For nine years a fleet of one thousand one hundred and eighty-six ships +and an army of more than one hundred thousand Greeks, under the command of +Agamemnon, lay before King Priam's city of Troy to avenge the wrongs of +Menelaus, King of Sparta, and to reclaim Helen, his wife, who had been +carried away by Priam's son Paris, at the instigation of Venus. + +Though they had not succeeded in taking Troy, the Greeks had conquered +many of the surrounding cities. From one of these, Agamemnon had taken as +his share of the booty Chryseis, the beautiful daughter of the priest +Chryses; and when her father had come to ransom her, he had been insulted +and driven away by the king. Chryses had prayed to Apollo for revenge, and +the god had sent upon the Greeks a pestilence which was slaying so many +thousands that a meeting was called to consult upon what to do to check +the plague and conciliate the god. + +Calchas the seer had declared that the plague was sent because of the +detention of Chryseis, and Agamemnon, though indignant with the priest, +announced that he would send her back to save his army from destruction. +"Note, however," said he, "that I have now given up my booty. See that I +am recompensed for what I lose." + +Then rose the leader of the Myrmidons, swift-footed Achilles, in his +wrath, and denounced Agamemnon for his greediness. + +"Thou hast ever had thy share and more of all the booty, and thou knowest +well that there is now no common store from which to give thee spoil. But +wait until Troy town is sacked, and we will gladly give thee three and +fourfold thy recompense." + +The angry Agamemnon declared that if he were not given the worth of what +he had lost he would seize the maidens of Ajax and Ulysses, or Achilles' +maid, Briseis. + +Achilles was beside himself with rage. He had not come to Troy to +contribute to Agamemnon's glory. He and his followers had long borne the +brunt of battle only to see the largest share of booty given to Agamemnon, +who lay idle in his ships. Sooner than endure longer such indignity he +would return home to Phthia. + +"Go!" replied Agamemnon. "I detest thee and thy ways. Go back over the sea +and rule over thy Myrmidons. But since Phoebus has taken away my maid, I +will carry off thy prize, thy rosy-cheeked Briseis, that thou may'st learn +that I am indeed king." + +Warned by Pallas Athene, Achilles took his hand from his sword hilt, and +contented himself with telling Agamemnon that he would see the day when he +would fret to think he had driven Achilles from the Grecian ranks. + +Though the persuasive orator, Nestor, endeavored to make peace between the +chiefs, Agamemnon could not be softened. As soon as the black ship bearing +Chryseis set sail, he sent his unwilling men to where Achilles sat by his +tent, beside the barren deep, to take the fair Briseis, whom Achilles +ordered to be led forth to them. Then the long days dragged by in the tent +where the chief sat eating his heart out in idleness, while his men +engaged in athletic sports, and the rest of the Greeks fought before Troy. + +Both armies, worn out with indecisive battles, gladly hailed Hector's +proposal that a combat between Paris and Menelaus should decide the war. + +As the armies stood in silence, watching the preparations for the combat, +Helen, summoned by Iris, left her room in Priam's palace, where she was +weaving among her maidens, and, robed and veiled in white, and shedding +tears at the recollection of her former home and husband, went down to the +Scaean gates, where sat Priam and the men too old for war. When they saw +bright-haired Helen they whispered among themselves that it was little +wonder that men warred for her sake, so fair was she, so like unto the +deathless goddesses. + +In response to Priam's tender greeting she seated herself beside him and +pointed out the Greek heroes,--Agamemnon, ruler over wide lands, crafty +Ulysses, and the mighty Ajax; but she strained her eyes in vain for a +sight of her dearly loved brothers, Castor and Pollux, not knowing that +they already lay dead in pleasant Lacedaemon. + +In the single combat between Paris and Menelaus, the spear of the Greek +was fixed in Paris's buckler, and his sword was shivered on his helmet +without injury to the Trojan. But, determined to overcome his hateful foe, +Menelaus seized Paris by the helm and dragged him towards the Grecian +ranks. Great glory would have been his had not the watchful Venus loosed +the helm and snatched away the god-like Paris in a cloud. While the Greeks +demanded Helen and her wealth as the price of Menelaus's victory, +Pandarus, prompted by Pallas, broke the truce by a shot aimed at Menelaus, +and the battle soon raged with greater fury than before. + +Diomed, having received new strength and courage from Pallas, rushed madly +over the field, falling upon the affrighted Trojans like a lion in the +sheepfold; then, made more presumptuous by his success, and forgetful of +the few years promised the man who dares to meet the gods in battle, the +arrogant warrior struck at Venus and wounded her in the wrist, so that, +shrieking with pain, she yielded Ćneas to Apollo, and fled to Olympus. + +Perceiving that the Trojans were unable to withstand the fury of Diomed, +assisted as he was by Pallas and Juno, Hector hastened homeward to order a +sacrifice to Pallas that she might look with more favor upon their cause. + +Having instructed his mother to lay her richest robe on Pallas's shrine, +Hector sought his wife, the white-armed Andromache, and their babe, +Astyanax. Andromache entreated Hector to go forth no more to battle, to +lose his life and leave their babe fatherless; but Hector, upon whom the +cares of war sat heavily, bade her a tender farewell, and kissing the +babe, returned with Paris to the field. + +Incited by Pallas and Apollo, Helenus suggested to his brother Hector that +he should challenge the bravest of the Greeks to single combat. The lot +fell to Ajax the Greater, and the two mighty heroes contested with spears +and stones until twilight fell, and they were parted by a herald. + +That night the Greeks feasted, and when, the next morning, a Trojan +messenger offered them the treasures of Helen if they would withdraw from +Troy, and proposed a truce, they indignantly rejected the offer, declaring +that they would not even accept Helen herself, but agreed upon a truce in +which to bury the dead. + +When the battle was renewed, Jupiter forbade the gods to take part. +Opposed by no celestial foes, the Trojans were this day successful, and +having pursued the Greeks to the ships, sat all night, full of hope, +around their thousand watch fires, waiting for the morn. + +In the Grecian camp, however, a different scene was being enacted. +Disheartened by their defeat, Agamemnon proposed that the armies give up +the siege and return to Greece. + +Angry at his weakness, Diomed thus reproached him:-- + +"The gods have granted thee high rank and rule, but thou hast no +fortitude. Return if thou desirest. Still enough long-haired Achaians will +remain to take the city. If they desire to go as well, at least Sthenelus +and I will remain until Troy is ours. We have the gods with us." + +At the suggestion of Nestor a banquet was spread, and after the hunger of +all was appeased, the peril of the Greeks was discussed in the Council of +the Elders. Here Nestor showed Agamemnon that the trouble began at the +hour when he drove Achilles from their ranks by appropriating Briseis. + +Ill fortune had humbled the haughty Agamemnon, and he confessed that he +had done wrong. "For this wrong, however," said he, "I am ready to make +ample amends. Priceless gifts I will send to Achilles: seven tripods, six +talents of pure gold, twenty shining caldrons, twelve steeds, seven +damsels, among them Briseis; not only this, when Priam's citadel falls, he +shall be the first to load his galley down with gold and silver and with +Trojan maidens. Better yet, I will unite him to me by the ties of +marriage. I will give him my daughter for a wife, and with her for a dower +will go seven cities near the sea, rich in flocks and herds. Then let him +yield, and join us in taking Troy." + +Joyfully the messengers--Ajax, Ulysses, and the aged Phoenix, carefully +instructed by Nestor--set forth on their embassy. As they neared the tents +of the Myrmidons their ears were struck by the notes of a silver harp +touched by Achilles to solace him in his loneliness. His friend Patroclus +sat beside him in silence. Achilles and Patroclus greeted the messengers +warmly, mingled the pure wine, and spread a feast for them. This over, +Ulysses, at a nod from Ajax, drank to Achilles' health, and then told him +of the sore need of the Greeks, pressed by the Trojans. If he did not come +to their aid, he whose very name frightened the enemy, the time would +surely come when he would greatly lament his idleness. + +Achilles' passion, the greater for its fifteen days' repression, burst +forth in his reply: "I will say what I have in my heart," he cried, "since +concealment is hateful to me. What thanks does the victor in countless +battles gain? He and the idler are equally honored, and die the same +death. Many nights' slumber have I lost on the battle field; many cities +have I conquered, abroad and here upon the Trojan coast, and of the spoil, +the greater part has gone to Agamemnon, who sat idle in his fleet; yet +from me, who suffered much in fighting, he took my prize, my dearly loved +Briseis; now let him keep her. Let him learn for himself how to conquer +Hector,--this Hector, who, when I went out against him, was afraid to +leave the shelter of the Scaean gates. To-morrow, if you but watch, you +will see my galleys sailing upon the Hellespont on our return to Phthia. +Evil was the hour in which I left its fertile coasts for this barren +shore, where my mother Thetis foretold I should win deathless renown but +bitter death. + +"Tell Agamemnon that I will never wed a child of his. On my return to +Phthia my father will select a bride for me with whom, on his broad +fields, I can live the life I have dreamed of." + +The entreaties of the aged Phoenix, who had helped to rear Achilles, and +his arguments against his mercilessness, were of no avail; neither were +the words of Ajax. However, he at last sent the message that he would +remain by the sea watching the course of the war, and that he would +encounter Hector whenever he approached to set fire to the galleys of the +Myrmidons. + +That night sleep did not visit the eyes of Agamemnon. Long he reflected on +the reply of Achilles, and wondered at the watch fires on the plain before +Troy. The other chiefs were likewise full of anxiety, and when Nestor +offered a reward to any one who would go as a spy to the Trojan camp, +Diomed quickly volunteered. Selecting the wary Ulysses as his companion, +he stole forth to where the Trojans sat around their camp fires. The pair +intercepted and slew Dolon the spy, and finding Rhesus and his Thracian +band wrapped in slumber, slew the king with twelve of his chiefs, and +carried away his chariot and horses. + +Encouraged by this bold deed, the Greeks went forth to battle the next +morning. Fortune still favored the Trojans, however, and many Greeks fell +by the hand of Hector, until he was checked by Ulysses and Diomed. In the +fight, Agamemnon was wounded, and Diomed, Ulysses, and Machaon. And when +Achilles from his tent saw the physician borne back from battle wounded, +in the chariot of Nestor, he sent Patroclus to inquire of his injury. +Nestor sent word that Ulysses, Agamemnon, Diomed, Machaon, and Eurypylus +were wounded; perhaps these tidings would induce Achilles to forget his +grievances, and once more go forth to battle. If not, he urged Patroclus +to beseech Achilles to permit him, Patroclus, to go forth with the +Myrmidons, clad in Achilles' armor, and strike terror to the hearts of the +Trojans. + +The Trojans, encouraged by their success, pushed forward to the trench +which the Greeks had dug around the wall thrown up before the ships, and, +leaving their chariots on the brink, went on foot to the gates. After a +long struggle,--because the Trojans could not break down the wall and the +Greeks could not drive back the Trojans,--Hector seized a mighty stone, so +large that two men could scarcely lift it, and bearing it in one hand, +battered the bolted gates until they gave way with a crash; and the +Trojans sprang within, pursuing the affrighted Greeks to the ships. + +From the heights of Olympus the gods kept a strict watch on the battle; +and as soon as Neptune discovered that Jove, secure in the belief that no +deity would interfere with the successful Trojans, had turned away his +eyes, he went to the aid of the Greeks. Juno, also, furious at the sight +of the Greeks who had fallen before the mighty Hector, determined to turn +the attention of Jove until Neptune had had an opportunity to assist the +Greeks. Jove sat upon the peaks of Mount Ida, and thither went Juno, after +rendering herself irresistible by borrowing the cestus of Venus. Jove, +delighted with the appearance of his wife, and still further won by her +tender words and caresses, thought no longer of the armies fighting at the +Grecian wall. + +Great was his anger when, after a time, he again looked towards Troy and +saw that Neptune had employed his time in aiding the Greeks, and that +Hector had been wounded by Ajax. By his orders Neptune was quickly +recalled, Hector was healed by Apollo, and the Trojans, strengthened again +by Jupiter, drove back the Greeks to the ships, and attempted to set fire +to the fleet. + +Seeing the Greeks in such desperate straits, Achilles at last gave his +consent that Patroclus should put on his armor, take his Myrmidons, and +drive the Trojans from the ships, stipulating, however, that he should +return when this was done, and not follow the Trojans in their flight to +Troy. + +The appearance of the supposed Achilles struck fear to the hearts of the +Trojans, and Patroclus succeeded in driving them from the fleet and in +slaying Sarpedon. Intoxicated by his success, he forgot Achilles' warning, +and pursued the fleeing Trojans to the walls of Troy. The strength of the +Trojans was not sufficient to cope with that of Patroclus; and Troy would +have been taken had not Apollo stood upon a tower to thrust him down each +time he attempted to scale the walls. At last Hector and Patroclus +encountered each other, and fought furiously. Seeing the peril of Hector, +Apollo smote Patroclus's helmet off, broke his spear, and loosed his +buckler. Still undaunted, the hero fought until he fell, and died with the +boasting words of Hector in his ears. + +Speedily the swift-footed Antilochus conveyed to Achilles the tidings of +his friend's death. Enveloped in "a black cloud of sorrow," Achilles +rolled in the dust and lamented for his friend until warned by Iris that +the enemy were about to secure Patroclus's body. Then, without armor,--for +Hector had secured that of Patroclus and put it on,--he hastened to the +trench, apart from the other Greeks, and shouted thrice, until the men of +Troy, panic-stricken, fell back in disorder, and the body of his friend +was carried away by the triumphant Greeks. + +Through the long night the Achaians wept over Patroclus; but deeper than +their grief was the sorrow of Achilles, for he had promised Menoetius to +bring back his son in honor, laden with spoils, and now the barren coast +of Troy would hold the ashes of both. Then Achilles made a solemn vow not +to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus until he brought to him the +head and arms of Hector, and had captured on the field twelve Trojan +youths to slaughter on his funeral pile. The hated Hector slain and +Patroclus's funeral rites celebrated, he cared not for the future. The +fate his mother had foretold did not daunt him. Since, by his own folly, +his dearest friend had been taken from him, the sooner their ashes rested +together the better. If he was not to see the rich fields of Phthia, his +was to be, at least, a deathless renown. + +To take the place of the arms which Hector had taken from Patroclus, +Vulcan, at Thetis's request, had fashioned for Achilles the most beautiful +armor ever worn by man. Brass, tin, silver, and gold composed the bright +corselet, the solid helm, and the wondrous shield, adorned with such +pictures as no mortal artist ever wrought. + +After having feasted his eyes on this beautiful armor, whose clanking +struck terror even to the hearts of the Myrmidons, Achilles sought out the +Greeks and Agamemnon, and in the assembly acknowledged his fault. "Let +these things belong to the dead past," said he. "My wrath is done. Let us +now stir the long-haired Greeks to war." + +"Fate, not I, was the cause of our trouble," replied Agamemnon. "The +goddess of discord created the dissension, that Até who troubled even the +gods on Olympus until expelled by Jupiter. But I will make amends with +liberal gifts." + +Peace having been made between the chiefs, Achilles returned to his tent +without partaking of the banquet spread by Agamemnon, as he had vowed not +to break his fast until he had avenged his friend. Agamemnon's gifts were +carried to the tents of Achilles by the Myrmidons, and with them went +Briseis, who, when she saw the body of Patroclus, threw herself upon it +and wept long for the one whose kindness to her--whose lot had been sorrow +upon sorrow--she could never forget. All the women mourned, seemingly for +Patroclus, really for their own griefs. Achilles likewise wept, until, +strengthened by Pallas, he hastened to put his armor on and urge the +Greeks to battle. + +As he mounted his chariot he spoke thus to his fleet steeds, Xanthus and +Balius: "Bring me back when the battle is over, I charge you, my noble +steeds. Leave me not on the field, as you left Patroclus." + +Then Xanthus, with the long-flowing mane, endowed with power of speech by +Juno, thus spake: "This day, at least, we will bring thee home, Achilles; +but the hour of thy death is nigh, and, since the fates have decreed it, +we could not save thee, were we swift as the winged winds. Nor was it +through fault of ours that Patroclus fell." + +Angry at the reminder of his doom, Achilles drove hurriedly to the field, +determined to fight until he had made the Trojans sick of war. + +Knowing that the war was drawing rapidly to a close, Jupiter gave +permission to the gods to take part in it, and a terrible combat ensued. +Juno, Pallas, Neptune, Hermes, and Vulcan went to the fleet of the Greeks, +while Mars, Apollo, Diana, Latona, Venus, and Xanthus arrayed themselves +with the Trojans. When the gods joined in the combat and Neptune shook the +earth and Jupiter thundered from above, there was such tumult in the air +that even the dark god of the underworld was terrified. In the battle of +the gods, Apollo encountered Neptune, Pallas fought against Mars, Diana +and Juno opposed each other, Hermes was pitted against Latona, and Xanthus +or Scamander, the river god, strove against Vulcan. It was not long before +Jupiter's fear was realized, and the mortals needed the aid of the gods. +Ćneas, encouraged by Apollo to confront Achilles, was rescued only by the +intervention of Neptune, who, remembering that it was the will of fate +that Ćneas should be spared to perpetuate the Dardan race, snatched him +away in a cloud, although he was himself aiding the Greeks. + +Mad with rage and spattered with blood, Achilles pursued the flying +Trojans about the plain, sparing none except the twelve youths who were to +be butchered on the funeral pile of Patroclus. He stood in the river, +filling it with slaughtered bodies until, indignant at the insults offered +him, the river god Scamander caused his waters to rush after Achilles so +that he fled for his life. Far across the plain it chased him, and was +only stopped by the fires of Vulcan, summoned by Juno. + +By an artifice of Apollo, Achilles was decoyed away from the gates of Troy +long enough to allow the Trojans to enter. Hector, however, stayed +without, unmoved by the prayers of Priam and Hecuba. Too late he saw his +error in not heeding the advice of Polydamas to keep within the walls +after the re-appearance of Achilles; he feared the reproaches of the +Trojan warriors and dames, and determined to meet his fate, whatever it +might be. Even death at the hands of Achilles would be preferable to the +insults and reproaches that might await him within the walls. + +When he saw Achilles approach in his god-given armor, fear seized the +noble Hector, and he fled from his enemy. Thrice around the walls he fled, +Achilles pursuing, and the gods looked down from heaven in sorrow, for, +according to the decrees of fate, Hector must fall this day by the hand of +Achilles. To hasten the combat, Pallas assumed the form of Hector's +brother Deiphobus, and stood by his side, encouraging him to turn and meet +his foe. + +Hector soon perceived the deception, but boldly faced Achilles, who sprang +at him, brandishing his awful spear. Quickly stooping, Hector avoided the +weapon and hurled his spear at Achilles. It was an unequal conflict. The +armor of Achilles was weapon proof, and Pallas stood at his elbow to +return to him his weapons. Achilles knew well the weak spots in his old +armor worn by Hector, and selecting a seam unguarded by the shield, he +gave Hector a mortal wound, and insulted him as he lay dying at his feet. + +Tears and wailing filled the city as the Trojans watched the combat; and +despair fell upon them when they saw the body of Hector fastened to the +chariot of Achilles and dragged thrice around the Trojan walls. From her +chamber where she sat weaving, unaware of the mortal combat waged before +the walls, Andromache came forth to see great Hector fallen and his corpse +insulted by his enemy. + +While Priam sat in his palace with dust strewn on his head, and the +wailings of the women filled the streets of Troy, the Greeks were +hastening to their camps to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus, +whose body had been saved from corruption by Thetis. A massive funeral +pile was constructed of wood brought from the forests on Mount Ida. The +chiefs in their chariots and thousands of men on foot followed the body of +Patroclus. The comrades of the dead warrior cut off their long hair and +strewed it on the dead, and Achilles sheared his yellow hair and placed +the locks in Patroclus's hands. He had suffered the flowing curls to grow +long because of a vow made by his father to the river Sperchius that he +would sacrifice these locks to him on his son's return home, a useless +vow, since now he was to lose his life by this dark blue sea. + +Next the sacrifice was offered, many fatlings of the flock, and countless +oxen, noble steeds, dogs, jars of honey, and lastly the bodies of the +twelve Trojan youths were heaped upon the fire. + +After the flames had consumed the pile, Achilles and his friends quenched +the ashes with red wine, and gathered the bones of Patroclus in a golden +vase which Achilles commanded his friends not to bury until he, too, fell +before Troy, that their ashes might be mingled and buried under one mound +by the remaining Greeks. + +After the funeral rites were celebrated, the funeral games were held, in +which the warriors vied with each other in chariot racing, boxing, +wrestling, foot racing, throwing the spear, and archery. + +So ended the funeral of Patroclus, and the gods, looking down from heaven, +sorrowed for Hector, whose corpse Achilles was treating with such +indignity, intending that the dogs should destroy it. The gods had kept +the body unstained, and now they determined to soften Achilles' heart, +that he might restore it to Priam. + +Iris descended from heaven, and standing at the side of Priam as he sat +with dust-strewn head, in his palace halls, gave him Jove's command that +he should take gifts and visit Achilles, to ransom Hector's body. Heeding +not the prayers of Hecuba, Priam gathered together whatever was most +choice, talents of pure gold, beautiful goblets, handsome robes and +tunics, and seating himself in his polished car, drawn by strong-hoofed +mules, set forth unaccompanied save by an aged herald. Above him soared +Jove's eagle, in token of the god's protection. + +Priam had not gone far when he met Mercury in the guise of a Greek youth, +who guided him unseen through the slumbering Greek lines to the tent of +Achilles. + +The hero was just finishing his repast when the old king entered, fell on +his knees, kissed the cruel hands that had slain so many of his sons, and +prayed him to give up the body of his loved Hector in return for the +ransom he had brought with him. Achilles, recognizing the fact that Priam +had made his way there uninjured only by the assistance and protection of +some god, and touched by the thought of his own aged father, whom he +should never again gladden by his return to Phthia, granted the request, +and bade Priam seat himself at the table and banquet with him. He also +granted a twelve days' truce for the celebration of the funeral rites of +Hector, and then invited Priam to pass the night in his tent. Warned by +Mercury, Priam rose early in the morning, and, unseen by the Greeks, +conveyed Hector's body back to Troy. + +When the polished car of Priam entered the city of Troy, great were the +lamentations and wailings over the body of Hector. Hecuba and Andromache +vied with each other in the bitterness of their grief, and Helen lamented +because the only friend she had in Troy had departed, and no one who +remained would be kind to her. + +During the twelve days granted as a truce, wood was brought from Ida, and +the funeral rites of Hector were celebrated as befitted the son of a great +king. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE ILIAD. + +HELEN AT THE SCAEAN GATES. + + +Paris, moved by the reproaches of Hector, proposed that the nine years' +indecisive war be settled by single combat between himself and Menelaus, +the victor to take Helen and the treasure. Greeks and Trojans agreed to +this proposition, and the tidings of the approaching combat were borne to +Helen by Iris. + + In the heart of Helen woke + Dear recollections of her former spouse + And of her home and kindred. Instantly + She left her chamber, robed and veiled in white, + And shedding tender tears; yet not alone, + For with her went two maidens,--Aethra, child + Of Pitheus, and the large-eyed Clymene. + Straight to the Scaean gates they walked, by which + Panthoüs, Priam, and Thymoetes sat, + Lampus and Clytius, Hicetaon sprung + From Mars, Antenor and Ucalegon, + Two sages,--elders of the people all. + Beside the gates they sat, unapt, through age, + For tasks of war, but men of fluent speech, + Like the cicadas that within the wood + Sit on the trees and utter delicate sounds. + Such were the nobles of the Trojan race + Who sat upon the tower. But when they marked + The approach of Helen, to each other thus + With winged words, but in low tones, they said:-- + + "Small blame is theirs, if both the Trojan knights + And brazen-mailed Achaians have endured + So long so many evils for the sake + Of that one woman. She is wholly like + In feature to the deathless goddesses. + So be it: let her, peerless as she is, + Return on board the fleet, nor stay to bring + Disaster upon us and all our race." + + So spake the elders. Priam meantime called + To Helen: "Come, dear daughter, sit by me. + Thou canst behold thy former husband hence, + Thy kindred and thy friends. I blame thee not; + The blame is with the immortals who have sent + These pestilent Greeks against me. Sit and name + For me this mighty man, the Grecian chief, + Gallant and tall. True, there are taller men; + But of such noble form and dignity + I never saw: in truth, a kingly man." + + And Helen, fairest among women, thus + Answered: "Dear second father, whom at once + I fear and honor, would that cruel death + Had overtaken me before I left, + To wander with thy son, my marriage bed, + And my dear daughter, and the company + Of friends I loved. But that was not to be; + And now I pine and weep. Yet will I tell + What thou dost ask. The hero whom thou seest + Is the wide-ruling Agamemnon, son + Of Atreus, and is both a gracious king + And a most dreaded warrior. He was once + Brother-in-law to me, if I may speak-- + Lost as I am to shame--of such a tie." + + She said, the aged man admired, and then + He spake again: "O son of Atreus, born + Under a happy fate, and fortunate + Among the sons of men! A mighty host + Of Grecian youths obey thy rule. I went + To Phrygia once,--that land of vines,--and there + Saw many Phrygians, heroes on fleet steeds, + The troops of Otreus, and of Mygdon, shaped + Like one of the immortals. They encamped + By the Sangarius. I was an ally; + My troops were ranked with theirs upon the day + When came the unsexed Amazons to war. + Yet even there I saw not such a host + As this of black-eyed Greeks who muster here." + Then Priam saw Ulysses, and inquired:-- + "Dear daughter, tell me also who is that, + Less tall than Agamemnon, yet more broad + In chest and shoulders. On the teeming earth + His armor lies, but he, from place to place, + Walks round among the ranks of soldiery, + As when the thick-fleeced father of the flocks + Moves through the multitude of his white sheep." + And Jove-descended Helen answered thus:-- + "That is Ulysses, man of many arts, + Son of Laertes, reared in Ithaca, + That rugged isle, and skilled in every form + Of shrewd device and action wisely planned." + Then spake the sage Antenor: "Thou hast said + The truth, O lady. This Ulysses once + Came on an embassy, concerning thee, + To Troy with Menelaus, great in war; + And I received them as my guests, and they + Were lodged within my palace, and I learned + The temper and the qualities of both. + When both were standing 'mid the men of Troy, + I marked that Menelaus's broad chest + Made him the more conspicuous, but when both + Were seated, greater was the dignity + Seen in Ulysses. When they both addressed + The council, Menelaus briefly spake + In pleasing tones, though with few words,--as one + Not given to loose and wandering speech,--although + The younger. When the wise Ulysses rose, + He stood with eyes cast down, and fixed on earth, + And neither swayed his sceptre to the right + Nor to the left, but held it motionless, + Like one unused to public speech. He seemed + An idiot out of humor. But when forth + He sent from his full lungs his mighty voice, + And words came like a fall of winter snow, + No mortal then would dare to strive with him + For mastery in speech. We less admired + The aspect of Ulysses than his words." + Beholding Ajax then, the aged king + Asked yet again: "Who is that other chief + Of the Achaians, tall, and large of limb,-- + Taller and broader-chested than the rest?" + Helen, the beautiful and richly-robed, + Answered: "Thou seest the might Ajax there, + The bulwark of the Greeks. On the other side, + Among his Cretans, stands Idomeneus, + Of godlike aspect, near to whom are grouped + The leaders of the Cretans. Oftentimes + The warlike Menelaus welcomed him + Within our palace, when he came from Crete. + I could point out and name the other chiefs + Of the dark-eyed Achaians. Two alone, + Princes among their people, are not seen,-- + Castor the fearless horseman, and the skilled + In boxing, Pollux,--twins; one mother bore + Both them and me. Came they not with the rest + From pleasant Lacedaemon to the war? + Or, having crossed the deep in their goodships, + Shun they to fight among the valiant ones + Of Greece, because of my reproach and shame?" + She spake; but they already lay in earth + In Lacedaemon, their dear native land. + + _Bryants Translation, Book III._ + + + + +THE PARTING OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE. + + +The single combat between Paris and Menelaus broke up in a general battle +unfavorable to the Trojans, and Hector returned to Troy to order the +Trojan matrons to sacrifice to Pallas. He then sought his dwelling to +greet his wife and child, but learned from one of the maids that +Andromache, on hearing that the Greeks were victorious, had hastened to +the city walls with the child and its nurse, + + Hector left in haste + The mansion, and retraced his way between + The rows of stately dwellings, traversing + The mighty city. When at length he reached + The Scaean gates, that issue on the field, + His spouse, the nobly-dowered Andromache, + Came forth to meet him,--daughter of the prince + Eëtion, who among the woody slopes + Of Placos, in the Hypoplacian town + Of Thebč, ruled Cilicia and her sons, + And gave his child to Hector great in arms. + She came attended by a maid, who bore + A tender child--a babe too young to speak-- + Upon her bosom,--Hector's only son, + Beautiful as a star, whom Hector called + Scamandrius, but all else Astyanax,-- + The city's lord,--since Hector stood the sole + Defence of Troy. The father on his child + Looked with a silent smile. Andromache + Pressed to his side meanwhile, and, all in tears, + Clung to his hand, and, thus beginning, said:-- + + "Too brave! thy valor yet will cause thy death. + Thou hast no pity on thy tender child + Nor me, unhappy one, who soon must be + Thy widow. All the Greeks will rush on thee + To take thy life. A happier lot were mine, + If I must lose thee, to go down to earth, + For I shall have no hope when thou art gone,-- + Nothing but sorrow. Father have I none, + And no dear mother. Great Achilles slew + My father when he sacked the populous town + Of the Cilicians,--Thebč with high gates. + 'T was there he smote Eëtion, yet forbore + To make his arms a spoil; he dared not that, + But burned the dead with his bright armor on, + And raised a mound above him. Mountain-nymphs, + Daughters of aegis-bearing Jupiter, + Came to the spot and planted it with elms. + Seven brothers had I in my father's house, + And all went down to Hades in one day. + Achilles the swift-footed slew them all + Among their slow-paced bullocks and white sheep. + My mother, princess on the woody slopes + Of Placos, with his spoils he bore away, + And only for large ransom gave her back. + But her Diana, archer-queen, struck down + Within her father's palace. Hector, thou + Art father and dear mother now to me, + And brother and my youthful spouse besides. + In pity keep within the fortress here, + Nor make thy child an orphan nor thy wife + A widow. Post thine army near the place + Of the wild fig-tree, where the city-walls + Are low and may be scaled. Thrice in war + The boldest of the foe have tried the spot,-- + The Ajaces and the famed Idomeneus, + The two chiefs born to Atreus, and the brave + Tydides, whether counselled by some seer + Or prompted to the attempt by their own minds." + + Then answered Hector, great in war: "All this + I bear in mind, dear wife; but I should stand + Ashamed before the men and long-robed dames + Of Troy, were I to keep aloof and shun + The conflict, coward-like. Not thus my heart + Prompts me, for greatly have I learned to dare + And strike among the foremost sons of Troy, + Upholding my great father's fame and mine; + Yet well in my undoubting mind I know + The day shall come in which our sacred Troy, + And Priam, and the people over whom + Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all. + But not the sorrows of the Trojan race, + Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those + Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait + My brothers many and brave,--who all at last, + Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,-- + Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek + Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee + Thy day of freedom. Thou in Argos then + Shalt at another's bidding ply the loom, + And from the fountain of Messeis draw + Water, or from the Hypereian spring, + Constrained unwilling by thy cruel lot. + And then shall some one say who sees thee weep, + 'This was the wife of Hector, most renowned + Of the horse-taming Trojans, when they fought + Around their city.' So shall some one say, + And thou shalt grieve the more, lamenting him + Who haply might have kept afar the day + Of thy captivity. O let the earth + Be heaped above my head in death before + I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!" + So speaking, mighty Hector stretched his arms + To take the boy; the boy shrank crying back + To his fair nurse's bosom, scared to see + His father helmeted in glittering brass, + And eying with affright the horsehair plume + That grimly nodded from the lofty crest. + At this both parents in their fondness laughed; + And hastily the mighty Hector took + The helmet from his brow and laid it down + Gleaming upon the ground, and, having kissed + His darling son and tossed him up in play, + Prayed thus to Jove and all the gods of heaven:-- + "O Jupiter and all ye deities, + Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become + Among the Trojans eminent like me, + And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say, + 'This man is greater than his father was!' + When they behold him from the battle-field + Bring back the bloody spoil of the slain foe,-- + That so his mother may be glad at heart." + So speaking, to the arms of his dear spouse + He gave the boy; she on her fragrant breast + Received him, weeping as she smiled. The chief + Beheld, and, moved with tender pity, smoothed + Her forehead gently with his hand, and said:-- + "Sorrow not thus, beloved one, for me. + No living man can send me to the shades + Before my time; no man of woman born, + Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. + + But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,-- + The web, the distaff,--and command thy maids + To speed the work. The cares of war pertain + To all men born in Troy, and most to me." + Thus speaking, mighty Hector took again + His helmet, shadowed with the horsehair plume, + While homeward his beloved consort went, + Oft looking back, and shedding many tears. + Soon was she in the spacious palace-halls + Of the man-queller Hector. There she found + A troop of maidens,--with them all she shared + Her grief; and all in his own house bewailed + The living Hector, whom they thought no more + To see returning from the battle-field, + Safe from the rage and weapons of the Greeks. + _Bryant's Translation, Book VI._ + + + + + +THE ODYSSEY. + + "The surge and thunder of the Odyssey." + + +The Odyssey relates the adventures of Ulysses on his return to Ithaca +after the Trojan war. + +It consists of twenty-four books, the first four of which are sometimes +known as the Telemachia, because Telemachus is the principal figure. + +The difference in style of the Iliad and Odyssey has caused some critics +to assert that the latter is not the work of Homer; this is accounted for, +however, by the difference of subject, and it is probable that the +Odyssey, though of a later date, is the work of the same hand, "the work +of Homer's old age,--an epic bathed in a mellow light of sunset." + +If the Odyssey alone had come down to us, its authorship would have passed +unquestioned, for the poem is so compact, its plot so carefully planned +and so skilfully carried out, that there can be no doubt that it is the +work of one hand. + +The Odyssey is as great a work of art as the Iliad, and is even more +popular; for the Odyssey is a domestic romance, and as such appeals to a +larger audience than a tale of war alone,--the romance of the wandering +Ulysses and the faithful Penelope. Interwoven with it are the ever-popular +fairy tales of Ulysses's wanderings and descriptions of home life. It is +marked by the same pagan enjoyment of life, the same freshness and charm +that lend enchantment to the Iliad. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ODYSSEY. + + +F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 17-25; + +A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893, chaps. 8-13; + +J. A. Symonds's Studies of the Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893; + +J. E. Harrison's Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature, 1882; + +W. J. Stillman's On the Track of Ulysses, 1888; + +F. W. Newman's The Authorship of the Odyssey (in his Miscellanies, vol. +v.); + +J. Spence's Essay on Pope's Translation of the Odyssey, 1837. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ODYSSEY. + + +The Odyssey, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871; + +The Odyssey, Tr. according to the Greek, with introduction and notes by +George Chapman, ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by William Cowper; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by G. H. Palmer, 1894 (prose); + +The Odyssey, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, +n. d.; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by S. H. Butcher and A. Lang, 1879 (prose). + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY. + + +After the fall of Troy, Agamemnon returned to Argos, where he was +treacherously slain by Aegisthus, the corrupter of his wife; Menelaus +reached Sparta in safety, laden with spoil and reunited to the beautiful +Helen; Nestor resumed the rule of Pylos, but Ulysses remained absent from +Ithaca, where his wife Penelope still grieved for him, though steadfast in +her belief that he would return. One hundred and fourteen suitors, princes +from Dulichium, Samos, Zacynthus, and Ithaca, determined to wed Penelope +that they might obtain the rich possessions of Ulysses, spent their time +in revelling in his halls and wasting his wealth, thinking in this way to +force Penelope to wed some one of them. + +Penelope, as rich in resources as was her crafty husband, announced to +them that she would wed when she had woven a funeral garment for Laertes, +the father of Ulysses. During the day she wove industriously, but at night +she unravelled what she had done that day, so that to the expectant +suitors the task seemed interminable. After four years her artifice was +revealed to the suitors by one of her maids, and she was forced to find +other excuses to postpone her marriage. In the mean time, her son +Telemachus, now grown to manhood, disregarded by the suitors on account of +his youth, and treated as a child by his mother, was forced to sit +helpless in his halls, hearing the insults of the suitors and seeing his +rich possessions wasted. + +Having induced Jove to end the sufferings of Ulysses, Pallas caused Hermes +to be dispatched to Calypso's isle to release the hero, while she herself +descended to Ithaca in the guise of Mentes. There she was received +courteously by the youth, who sat unhappy among the revellers. At a table +apart from the others, Telemachus told the inquiring stranger who they +were who thus wasted his patrimony. + +"Something must needs be done speedily," said Mentes, "and I shall tell +thee how to thrust them from thy palace gates. Take a ship and go to Pylos +to inquire of the aged and wise Nestor what he knows of thy father's fate. +Thence go to Menelaus, in Sparta; he was the last of all the mailed Greeks +to return home. If thou hear encouraging tidings, wait patiently for a +year. At the end of that time, if thy father come not, celebrate his +funeral rites, let thy mother wed again, and take immediate steps for the +destruction of the suitor band. Thou art no longer a child; the time has +come for thee to assert thyself and be a man." + +Telemachus, long weary of inactivity, was pleased with this advice, and at +once announced to the incredulous suitors his intention of going to learn +the fate of his father. A boat was procured and provided with a crew by +the aid of Pallas, and provisioned from the secret store-room guarded by +the old and faithful servant Eurycleia. From among the treasures of +Ulysses--garments, heaps of gold and brass, and old and delicate +wines--Telemachus took sweet wine and meal to be conveyed to the ship at +night, and instructing Eurycleia not to tell his mother of his absence +until twelve days had passed, he departed as soon as sleep had overcome +the suitors. Pallas, in the guise of Mentor, accompanied him. + +His courage failed him, however, as they approached the shore of Pylos, +where Nestor and his people were engaged in making a great sacrifice to +Neptune. "How shall I approach the chief?" he asked. "Ill am I trained in +courtly speech." + +But, encouraged by Pallas, he greeted the aged Nestor, and after he and +his companion had assisted in the sacrifice and partaken of the banquet +that followed, he revealed his name and asked for tidings of his, father, +boldly and confidently, as befitted the son of Ulysses. The old king could +tell him nothing, however. After Troy had fallen, a dissension had rent +the camp, and part of the Greeks had remained with Agamemnon, part had +sailed with Menelaus. Sailing with Menelaus, Nestor had parted with Diomed +at Argos, and had sailed on to Pylos. Since his return he had heard of the +death of Agamemnon, and of the more recent return of Menelaus, but had +heard no tidings of Ulysses, who had remained with Agamemnon. +To Menelaus he advised Telemachus to go, warning him, however, not to +remain long away from Ithaca, leaving his home in the possession of rude +and lawless men. + +In a car provided by Nestor and driven by his son, Pisistratus, Telemachus +reached Sparta after a day and a night's rapid travel, and found Menelaus +celebrating the nuptial feast of his daughter Hermione, betrothed at Troy +to the son of Achilles, and his son Megapenthes, wedded to the daughter of +Alector. The two young men were warmly welcomed, and were invited to +partake of the banquet without being asked their names. After the feast +they wondered at the splendor of the halls of gold, amber, and ivory, the +polished baths, and the fleecy garments in which they had been arrayed; +but Menelaus assured them that all his wealth was small compensation to +him for the loss of the warriors who had fallen before Troy, and above +all, of the great Ulysses, whose fate he knew not. Though Telemachus's +tears fell at his father's name, Menelaus did not guess to whom he spoke, +until Helen, entering from her perfumed chamber, saw the likeness between +the stranger and the babe whom Ulysses had left when he went to Troy, and +greeted their guest as Telemachus. + +Then they sat in the splendid hall and talked of Troy,--Menelaus broken by +his many toils, Helen beautiful as when she was rapt away by Paris, +weaving with her golden distaff wound with violet wool, and the two young +men, who said little, but listened to the wondrous tale of the wanderings +of Menelaus. And they spoke of Ulysses: of the times when he had proved +his prudence as well as his craft; of his entering Troy as a beggar and +revealing the Achaian plots to Helen; of how he had prevented their +breaking out of the wooden horse too soon. Then the king told of his +interview with the Ancient of the Deep, in which he had learned the fate +of his comrades; of Agamemnon's death, and of the detention of Ulysses on +Calypso's isle, where he languished, weeping bitterly, because he had no +means of escape. + +This information gained, Telemachus was anxious to return home; but his +host detained him until he and Helen had descended to their fragrant +treasure-chamber and brought forth rich gifts,--a double cup of silver and +gold wrought by Vulcan, a shining silver beaker, and an embroidered robe +for his future bride. + +Mercury, dispatched by Jove, descended to the distant isle of Calypso, and +warned the bright-haired nymph, whom he found weaving in her charmed +grotto, that she must let her mortal lover go or brave the wrath of the +gods. The nymph, though loath to part with her lover, sought out the +melancholy Ulysses, where he sat weeping beside the deep, and giving him +tools, led him to the forest and showed him where to fell trees with which +to construct a raft. His labor finished, she provided the hero with +perfumed garments, a full store of provisions, and saw him set forth +joyfully upon the unknown deep. + +For seventeen days his journey was a prosperous one; but on the eighteenth +day, just as the land of the Phćacians came in sight. Neptune returned +from Ethiopia, and angry at what the gods had contrived to do in his +absence, determined to make the hero suffer as much as possible before he +attained the promised end of his troubles. + +Soon a great storm arose and washed Ulysses from the raft. Clinging to its +edge, buffeted here and there by the angry waves, he would have suffered +death had not a kind sea nymph urged him to lay aside his heavy garments, +leave the raft, and binding a veil that she gave him about his chest, swim +to the land of the Phćacians. The coast was steep and rocky, but he found +at last a little river, and swimming up it, landed, and fell asleep among +some warm heaps of dried leaves. + +The Phćacians were a people closely allied to the gods, to whom they were +very dear. They had at one time been neighbors of the Cyclops, from whose +rudeness they had suffered so much that they were compelled to seek a +distant home. They were a civilized people, who had achieved great results +as sailors, having remarkably swift and well-equipped ships. + +To the Princess Nausicaa, beautiful as a goddess, Pallas appeared in a +dream the night that Ulysses lay sleeping on the isle, warning her that +since her wedding day was near at hand, when all would need fresh +garments, it was fitting that she should ask her father's permission to +take the garments of the household to the river side to wash them. + +Nausicaa's father willingly granted his permission, and ordered the strong +car in which to carry away the soiled garments. A hamper of food and a +skin of wine were added by her mother, as the princess climbed into the +chariot and drove towards the river, followed by her maids. + +When the garments had been washed in the lavers hollowed out by the river +side, and the lunch had been eaten, the maids joined in a game of ball. +Joyous they laughed and frolicked, like Dian's nymphs, until they roused +the sleeper under the olive-trees on the hillside. + +All save Nausicaa fled affrighted as he came forth to speak to them, +covered with sea foam, his nakedness hidden only by a leafy branch woven +round his waist; but she, strengthened by the goddess, heard his story, +and provided him with clothing and materials for the bath. When he +appeared, cleansed from the sea foam, and made more handsome by the art of +Pallas, Nausicaa's pity was changed to admiration, and she wished that she +might have a husband like him. + +Food and wine were set before the hero, and while he refreshed himself the +dried clothes were folded and placed in the cart. As the princess prepared +to go she advised the stranger to follow the party until they reached a +grove outside the city, and to remain there until she had time to reach +her father's palace, lest some gossip should connect Nausicaa's name with +that of a stranger. She told him how to find her father's palace, and +instructed him to win the favor of her mother, that he might be received +with honor and assisted on his homeward way. + +Ulysses obeyed, and when he reached the city gates was met by Pallas, in +the guise of a virgin with an urn. She answered his questions, directed +him to the palace, and told him to throw himself first at the feet of +Queen Arete, who was looked on by the people as if she were a goddess. +Wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, the unseen Ulysses admired the spacious +halls of Alcinoüs. Walls of brass supported blue steel cornices, golden +doors guarded by gold and silver mastiffs opened into the vast hall, along +which were ranged thrones covered with delicately woven mantles, for which +the Phćacian women were famous. + +Around the palace lay a spacious garden filled with pear, pomegranate, +fig, and apple trees, that knew no change of season, but blossomed and +bore fruit throughout the year. Perennially blooming plants scattered +perfume through the garden kept fresh by water from two sparkling +fountains. + +As Ulysses knelt at the feet of Arete, the cloud enveloping him fell away, +and all were astonished at the sight of the stranger imploring protection. +Arete received Ulysses with favor, and Alcinoüs was so pleased with him +that he offered him his daughter in marriage, if he was unmarried, a +palace and riches if he would remain on the island, and a safe passage +home if he desired to leave them. The king then invited the chiefs of the +isle to a great banquet in honor of his guest. At this banquet Demodocus, +the blind minstrel, sang so touchingly of the heroes of the Trojan war +that Ulysses was moved to tears, a fact observed by the king alone. After +the feast the guests displayed their strength in athletic games; and +Ulysses, provoked by the taunts of the ill-bred Euryalus, cast a broader, +heavier quoit than had yet been used far beyond the mark. The Phćacians +were amazed, and the king confessed that his people were weak in athletic +sports but excelled in the dance,--a statement to which Ulysses readily +agreed when he saw the beautiful and graceful dance of the princes +Laodamas and Halius to the music of Demodocus's silver harp. + +When the games were over, all the chiefs presented Ulysses with garments +and with talents of gold, for the reception of which Arete gave a +beautiful chest. As he corded up the chest, and stepped forth to the +banquet, refreshed from the bath, Nausicaa, standing beside a pillar, bade +him farewell. + +"Remember, in thy native land, O stranger, that thou owest thy life to +me." + +When they sat again in the banqueting hall, Ulysses besought Demodocus to +sing again of the fall of Troy; but when the minstrel sang of the strategy +of the wooden horse which wrought the downfall of Troy, the hero was again +melted to tears,--and this time his host, unable to repress his curiosity, +asked him to reveal his name and history. + +"Thou hast spoken, O king, and I proceed to tell the story of my +calamitous voyage from Troy; for I am Ulysses, widely known among men for +my cunning devices. Our first stop was among the Ciconians, whose city we +laid waste. Here, in spite of my warning, my men tarried to drink red wine +until the Ciconians had had time to recruit their forces, and, attacking +us, slew six men from each galley. When we who survived reached the land +of the lotus-eaters, some of my men ate of the sweet plant, after which a +man thinks never more of wife, or friends, or home; and it was with the +utmost difficulty that we succeeded in dragging them to the ships. + +"At the Cyclopean land I myself, with a few of my men, disembarked, and +went up to seek the inhabitants and conciliate them with gifts of food and +wine. The Cyclops were huge one-eyed giants who did not cultivate the +land, had no government, and cared nought for the gods. The first cave to +which we came was empty, and we went in to await the arrival of the owner, +appeasing our appetites, meanwhile, with some of his cheeses. Presently he +arrived, and after he had closed up the entrance of the cave with a huge +stone, and had milked his goats, he questioned us as to who we were. Our +story told, he seized two of my companions, dashed their heads against the +rocks, and devoured them. The next morning, after devouring two others, he +drove out his flocks, leaving us shut up in the huge cave. All that day I +revolved plans for his destruction and our escape; and at last, drawing +lots with my companions to determine who should assist me, I determined, +with their aid, to bore out his great eye with a huge olive-wood stick +that I found in the cave. We spent the day sharpening it and hardening it +in the fire, and at night hid it under a heap of litter. Two more of my +men made his evening meal, after which I plied him with the wine I had +brought, until, softened by the liquor, he inquired my name, assuring me +that as return for my gift, he would devour me last. My name, I told him, +was Noman. + +"As soon as he had fallen into a drunken slumber I put the stake to heat, +and, strengthening the courage of my men, I drew it forth and plunged it +into his eye. Steadily we spun it round until the monster, screaming with +pain, drew it forth, crying to the other Cyclops to come to his aid. When +they, from without, questioned who hurt him, he replied, 'Noman destroyeth +me by guile.' 'If it is "Noman,"' said they, departing, 'it must be Jove. +Then pray to Neptune.' + +"During the night I tied together the rams, three and three with osier +twigs, and instructed my comrades, as he drove them out, to cling under +the middle one. I hid myself under the fleecy belly of a huge ram, the +finest of the flock. He touched their backs as he drove them out, but he +did not penetrate my cunning, and we all escaped. After we had driven the +flock on board, however, and had pushed out our galley, I could not +forbear a taunting shout, at which he hurled a huge fragment of rock after +us, just missing our galley. + +"With Aeolus, King of the Winds, we remained a month, reciting the events +connected with the fall of Troy. So pleased was the king with my story, +that on our departure he presented me with a bag tied up with a silver +cord, which contained the adverse winds. One day, as I slumbered, my +unhappy sailors, suspecting some treasure concealed therein, opened it, +and we were immediately blown back to Aeolus's isle, from which he, +enraged at our folly, indignantly drove us. + +"At the land of the Laestrygonians all our galleys were lost and our men +devoured by the cannibal inhabitants, with the exception of my own ship, +which by good fortune I had moored without the harbor. Overcome with +grief, we rowed wearily along until we arrived at the land of Circe. With +caution born of experience, we drew lots to see who should venture into +the unknown isle. The lot fell to Eurylochus, who, with twenty-two brave +men, went forward to the fair palace of Circe, around which fawned tamed +mountain lions and wolves. Within sat the bright haired goddess, singing +while she threw her shuttle through the beautiful web she was weaving. + +"All the men entered the palace at her invitation but Eurylochus, who, +suspecting some guile, remained without. He saw his comrades led within, +seated upon thrones and banqueted; but no sooner was the feast over, than +she touched them with her wand, and transformed them into swine that she +drove scornfully to their cells. + +"Eurylochus hastened back to our ships with the sorrowful tidings. As soon +as grief had permitted him to tell the story, I flung my sword over my +shoulders and hastened away to the palace. As I entered the valley, not +far from the palace, I was met by a youth, none save the Argus-queller +himself, who revealed to me Circe's guile, and presented me with a plant, +the moly, which would enable me to withstand her charms. + +"The goddess received me kindly, seated me upon a throne, and invited me +to feast with her. After the feast she struck me with her wand, as she had +done my comrades, ordering me to go to my sty; but when I remained +unchanged, she perceived that her guest was Ulysses, whose coming had long +been foretold to her. + +"Softened by her entreaties, I sheathed my sword, after having made her +promise to release my friends and do us no further harm. Then the others +were called from the ships, and we banqueted together. + +"Time passed so happily on Circe's isle that we lingered a whole year, +until, roused by the words of my friends, I announced my intended +departure, and was told by Circe that I must first go to the land of the +dead to get instructions as to my future course from Tiresias. Provided +with the proper sacrifices by Circe, we set sail for the land of the +Cimmerians, on the confines of Oceanus. The sacrifices having been duly +performed, the spirits appeared,--Elpenor, my yet unburied comrade, whose +body lay on Circe's isle, my own dead mother, and the Theban seer, +Tiresias, with his golden wand. 'Neptune is wroth with thee,' he said, +'but thou mayst yet return if thou and thy comrades leave undisturbed the +cattle of the Sun. If thou do not, destruction awaits thee. If thou escape +and return home it will be after long journeyings and much suffering, and +there thou wilt slay the insolent suitor crew that destroy thy substance +and wrong thy household.' After Tiresias had spoken I lingered to speak +with other spirits,--my mother, Ajax, Antiope, Agamemnon, Achilles, +Patroclus, and Antilochus. Having conversed with all these, we set sail +for Circe's isle, and thence started again on our homeward voyage. + +"Circe had instructed me to stop the ears of my men with wax as we +approached the isle of the Sirens, and to have myself tied to the boat +that I might not leap into the ocean to go to the beautiful maidens who +sang so entrancingly. We therefore escaped without adding our bones to +those on the isle of the Sirens, and came next to Scylla and Charybdis. +Charybdis is a frightful whirlpool. The sailor who steers too far away in +his anxiety to escape it, is seized by the six arms of the monster Scylla +and lifted to her cavern to be devoured. We avoided Charybdis; but as we +looked down into the abyss, pale with fear, six of my comrades were seized +by Scylla and snatched up to her cave. + +"As we neared the Island of the Sun I told my comrades again of the +warning of Tiresias, and begged them to sail past without stopping. I was +met, however, by the bitterest reproaches, and at last consented to a +landing if they would bind themselves by a solemn oath not to touch the +cattle of the Sun. They promised, but when adverse winds prolonged our +stay and food became scarce, fools, madmen, they slew the herds, and in +spite of the terrible omens, the meat lowing on the spits, the skins +crawling, they feasted for six days. When, on the seventh, the tempest +ceased and we sailed away, we went to our destruction. I alone was saved, +clinging to the floating timbers for nine long days, until on the tenth I +reached Calypso's isle, Ogygia, where, out of love for me, the mighty +goddess cherished me for seven years." + +The Phćacians were entranced by this recital, and in addition to their +former gifts, heaped other treasures upon the "master of stratagems" that +he might return home a wealthy man. The swift ship was filled with his +treasures, and after the proper sacrifices and long farewells, the +chieftain embarked. It was morn when the ship arrived in Ithaca, and +Ulysses, worn out from his long labors, was still asleep. Stopping at the +little port of Phorcys, where the steep shores stretch inward and a +spreading olive-tree o'ershadows the grotto of the nymphs, the sailors +lifted out Ulysses, laid him on the ground, and piling up his gifts under +the olive-tree, set sail for Phćacia. But the angry Neptune smote the +ship as it neared the town and changed it to a rock, thus fulfilling an +ancient prophecy that Neptune would some day wreak his displeasure on the +Phćacians for giving to every man who came to them safe escort home. + +When Ulysses awoke he did not recognize the harbor, and thinking that he +had been treated with deceit, he wept bitterly. Thus Pallas, in the guise +of a young shepherd, found him, and showed him that it was indeed his own +dear land. She helped him to conceal his treasures in the grotto, and told +him that Telemachus was even now away on a voyage of inquiry concerning +him, and his wife was weeping over his absence and the insolence of the +suitors. But he must act with caution. To give him an opportunity to lay +his plans for the destruction of these men without being recognized, she +changed him to a beggar, wrinkled and old, and clad in ragged, soiled +garments. Then directing him to the home of his old herdsman, she hastened +to warn Telemachus to avoid the ship the suitors had stationed to destroy +him on his way home. + +The old Eumaeus was sitting in his lodge without whose hedge lay the many +sties of swine that were his care. He greeted the beggar kindly, and +spread food before him, lamenting all the while the absence of his noble +master and the wickedness of the suitors. Ulysses told him that he was a +wanderer who had heard of his master, and could speak surely of his +return. Though Eumaeus regarded this as an idle speech spoken to gain food +and clothing, he continued in his kindness to his guest. + +To this lodge came Telemachus after the landing of his ship, that he might +first hear from Eumaeus the news from the palace,--Telemachus, who had +grown into sudden manliness from his experience among other men. He also +was kind to the beggar, and heard his story. While he remained with the +beggar, Eumaeus having gone to acquaint Penelope of her son's return, +Pallas appearing, touched the beggar with her golden wand, and Ulysses, +with the presence of a god, stood before his awed and wondering son. + +Long and passionate was their weeping as the father told the son of his +sufferings, and the son told of the arrogance of the one hundred and +fourteen suitors. + +"There are we two with Pallas and her father Jove against them," replied +his father. "Thinkest thou we need to fear with two such allies?" + +On the day after Telemachus's return, Ulysses, accompanied by Eumaeus, +visited the palace. No one recognized him except his old dog, Argus, long +neglected and devoured by vermin, who, at the sound of his master's voice, +drew near, wagged his tail, and fell dead. + +According to their carefully laid plans, Telemachus feigned not to know +his father, but sent to the beggar some food. Ulysses asked the same of +the suitors, but was repulsed with taunts and insults, Antinoüs, the most +insolent, striking him with a footstool. + +To Penelope, weaving in her chamber, was carried the story of the beggar +at whom the abhorred Antinoüs had thrown a stool, and she sent for him to +ask if he had tidings of Ulysses. He refused to go to her, however, until +the suitors had withdrawn for the night; and as he sat among the +revellers, he caught the first glimpse of his wife, as she came down among +her maids, to reproach her son for exposing himself to danger among the +suitors, and for allowing the beggar to be injured. + +When darkness fell and the hall was deserted, Telemachus, with the +assistance of his father, removed all the weapons from the walls. After +Telemachus had retired to his chamber, Penelope came down, and sitting +upon her ivory throne conversed with the beggar, questioning him about his +story until he was driven to invent tales that seemed like truth, and +asking about her husband while the tears ran down her fair cheeks. By a +great effort Ulysses kept his tears from falling as he beheld his wife +weeping over him; he assured her that her husband would soon return, but +he would accept no clothing as a reward for his tidings. The aged +Eurycleia, who was called forth to wash his feet, came near betraying her +master when she recognized a scar made by a wild boar's tusk, but he +threatened her into silence. Soon after, Penelope and her maids withdrew, +and left Ulysses to meditate vengeance through the night. + +The next morning, when the suitors again sat in the banquet-hall, Penelope +descended to them and declared that she had determined to give her hand to +the one of the suitors who could draw the great bow of Ulysses and send +the arrow through twelve rings set on stakes planted in the ground. Up to +the polished treasure-chamber she went, and took down the great bow given +to Ulysses by Iphitus. As she took it from its case her tears fell, but +she dried them and carried it and the steel rings into the hall. Gladly +Ulysses hailed this hour, for he knew the time had come when he should +destroy the suitor band. That morn many omens had warned him, and he had +revealed himself to his faithful men, Eumaeus, and Philoetius the +master-herdsman, that they might assist him. Telemachus, though astonished +at his mother's decision, first took the bow; if he succeeded in bending +it, his mother would not have to leave her home. He would have bent the +bow at the fourth attempt had not his father's glance warned him to yield +it to the suitors. + +Although the bow was rubbed and softened with oil, all failed in their +attempts to draw it; and when the beggar asked to be allowed to try, their +wrath burst forth. What shame would be theirs if the beggar succeeded in +doing that in which they had failed! But Telemachus, who asserted his +rights more day by day, insisted that the beggar should try to bend the +bow, if he so desired. Sending his mother and her maids to their bower, he +watched his father as he easily bent the mighty bow, snapped the cord with +a sound at which the suitors grew pale, and sent the arrow through the +rings. Then casting aside his rags, the supposed beggar sprang upon the +threshold, and knowing that by his orders, Eumaeus, Philoetius, and +Eurycleia had secured the portals so that escape was impossible, he sent +his next shaft through the throat of Antinoüs. "Dogs! ye thought I never +would return! Ye dreaded not the gods while ye devoured my substance and +pursued my wife! Now vengeance is mine! Destruction awaits you all!" + +Too late Eurymachus sprang up and besought the monarch to grant them their +lives if they made good their waste and returned to their homes. Ulysses +had brooded too long over his injuries; his wife and son had suffered too +many years from their persecutions for him to think of mercy. Eurymachus +fell by the next brass-tipped shaft, and for every arrow in the quiver a +suitor lay dead until the quiver was empty. Then Telemachus, Philoetius, +and Eumaeus, provided with weapons and armor, stood forth with Ulysses, +and withstood the suitors until all were slain, save Medon the herald and +Phemius the minstrel, for both of whom Telemachus pleaded, since they had +been coerced by the others. Giving the destruction of the false +serving-maids to his three assistants, Ulysses ordered the hall to be +cleansed, and after greeting his faithful servants and weeping with them, +sent Eurycleia up to the bower to tell Penelope that her master had at +last arrived. + +Penelope was too fearful of deceit to believe instantly that the beggar +sitting beside the lofty column was her husband, though as she looked at +him wonderingly, she sometimes fancied that she saw Ulysses, and again +could not believe that it was he. So long was she silent that Telemachus +reproached her for her hardness of heart; but Ulysses, better guessing the +difficulty, ordered that all should take the bath and array themselves in +fresh garments while the harper played gay melodies, that those passing +should not guess the slaughter that had occurred, but should fancy that a +wedding was being celebrated. When Ulysses again appeared, refreshed and +handsomely attired, Penelope, still uncertain, determined to test his +knowledge of her chamber. "Bear out the bed made by his own hands," she +commanded Eurycleia, "that he may rest for the night." + +"Who has dared move my bed?" cried Ulysses; "the couch framed upon the +stump of an olive-tree, round which I built a stone chamber! I myself +cunningly fitted it together, and adorned it with gold, silver, and +ivory." + +Then Penelope, who knew that no one save herself, Ulysses, and one +handmaiden had ever seen the interior of that chamber, fell on his neck +and welcomed the wanderer home. "Pray, be not angry with me, my husband. +Many times my heart has trembled lest some fraud be practised on me, and I +should receive a stranger to my heart." + +Welcome as land to the shipwrecked mariner was Ulysses to Penelope. Both +wept as he held her in his arms, and the rosy-fingered morn would have +found them thus, weeping, with her fair, white arms encircling his neck, +had not Pallas prolonged the night that he might relate to her the story +of his wanderings. Then, happy in their reunion, the years of sorrow all +forgotten, sleep overcame them. At dawn, bidding a brief farewell to his +wife, Ulysses went forth to visit his father, and settle as best he might +the strife which he knew would result from the slaughter of the suitors. + +After Ulysses' mother had died of grief at the prolonged absence of her +son, Laertes passed his days wretchedly in a little habitation remote from +the palace. There Ulysses found him and made himself known; and there he, +Laertes, Telemachus, the aged Dolius, and his six sons faced the people +who had been roused to battle by the speech of Eupeithes, whose son +Antinoüs had been the first of the suitors to fall by the hand of Ulysses. +Not heeding the warning of the herald Medon that the suitors had been +slain justly, they attacked Ulysses and his handful of followers. + +Eupeithes fell first by the spear of Laertes, and a great slaughter would +have ensued, had not the combatants been silenced by the voice of Pallas, +who commanded all strife to cease. Frightened by this divine command, the +enemy fled; and Pallas, descending in the form of Mentor, plighted a +covenant between them that Ulysses might live peacefully among them the +remainder of his life. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE ODYSSEY. + +THE PALACE OF ALCINOÜS. + + +Ulysses, having been directed by Nausicaa, reached the gate of the city, +and was there met by Pallas in the guise of a maiden with an urn, who +instructed him how to approach the king and queen. He passed through the +town, wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, and paused on the threshold of +Alcinoüs's palace. + + For on every side beneath + The lofty roof of that magnanimous king + A glory shone as of the sun or moon. + There from the threshold, on each side, were walls + Of brass that led towards the inner rooms, + With blue steel cornices. The doors within + The massive building were of gold, and posts + Of silver on the brazen threshold stood, + And silver was the lintel, and above + Its architrave was gold; and on each side + Stood gold and silver mastiffs, the rare work + Of Vulcan's practised skill, placed there to guard + The house of great Alcinoüs, and endowed + With deathless life, that knows no touch of age. + Along the walls within, on either side, + And from the threshold to the inner rooms, + Were firmly planted thrones on which were laid + Delicate mantles, woven by the hands + Of women. The Phćacian princes here + Were seated; here they ate and drank, and held + Perpetual banquet. Slender forms of boys + In gold upon the shapely altars stood, + With blazing torches in their hands to light + At eve the palace guests; while fifty maids + Waited within the halls, where some in querns + Ground small the yellow grain; some wove the web + Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick + Light motion, like the aspen's glancing leaves. + The well-wrought tissues glistened as with oil. + As far as the Phćacian race excel + In guiding their swift galleys o'er the deep, + So far the women in their woven work + Surpass all others. Pallas gives them skill + In handiwork and beautiful design. + Without the palace-court and near the gate, + A spacious garden of four acres lay. + A hedge enclosed it round, and lofty trees + Flourished in generous growth within,--the pear + And the pomegranate, and the apple-tree + With its fair fruitage, and the luscious fig + And olive always green. The fruit they bear + Falls not, nor ever fails in winter time + Nor summer, but is yielded all the year. + The ever-blowing west-wind causes some + To swell and some to ripen; pear succeeds + To pear; to apple, apple, grape to grape, + Fig ripens after fig. A fruitful field + Of vines was planted near; in part it lay + Open and basking in the sun, which dried + The soil, and here men gathered in the grapes, + And there they trod the wine-press. Farther on + Were grapes unripened yet, which just had cast + The flower, and others still which just began + To redden. At the garden's furthest bound + Were beds of many plants that all the year + Bore flowers. There gushed two fountains: one of them + Ran wandering through the field; the other flowed + Beneath the threshold to the palace-court, + And all the people filled their vessels there. + Such were the blessings which the gracious gods + Bestowed on King Alcinoüs and his house. + _Bryant's Translation, Book VII._ + + + + +THE BENDING OF THE BOW. + + +Penelope, weary of the importunities of the suitors, determined to end the +contest by giving them the bow of Ulysses and allowing the one who could +successfully send the arrow through the steel rings to become her husband. +Having announced her intention, she ascended the stairs to the treasure +chamber, where the bow was kept. + + Now when the glorious lady reached the room, + And stood upon the threshold, wrought of oak + And polished by the workman's cunning hand, + Who stretched the line upon it, and set up + Its posts, and hung its shining doors, she loosed + With a quick touch the thong that held the ring, + Put in the key, and with a careful aim + Struck back the sounding bolts. As when a bull + Roars in the field, such sound the beautiful doors, + Struck with the key, gave forth, and instantly + They opened to her. Up the lofty floor + She stepped, where stood the coffer that contained + The perfumed garments. Reaching forth her hand, + The queen took down the bow, that hung within + Its shining case, and sat her down, and laid + The case upon her knees, and, drawing forth + The monarch's bow, she wept aloud. As soon + As that new gush of tears had ceased to fall, + Back to the hall she went, and that proud throng + Of suitors, bearing in her hand the bow + Unstrung, and quiver, where the arrows lay + Many and deadly. Her attendant maids + Brought also down a coffer, where were laid + Much brass and steel, provided by the king + For games like these. The glorious lady then, + In presence of the suitors, stood beside + The columns that upheld the stately roof. + She held a lustrous veil before her cheeks, + And while on either side of her a maid + Stood modestly, bespake the suitors thus:-- + + "Hear, noble suitors! ye who throng these halls, + And eat and drink from day to day, while long + My husband has been gone; your sole excuse + For all this lawlessness the claim ye make + That I become a bride. Come then, for now + A contest is proposed. I bring to you + The mighty bow that great Ulysses bore. + Whoe'er among you he may be whose hand + Shall bend this bow, and send through these twelve rings + An arrow, him I follow hence, and leave + This beautiful abode of my young years, + With all its plenty,--though its memory, + I think, will haunt me even in my dreams." + + She spake, and bade the master of the swine, + The good Eumaeus, place the bow and rings + Of hoary steel before the suitor train. + In tears he bore the bow and laid it down. + The herdsman also wept to see again + His master's bow. + + * * * * * + + He (Telemachus) spake and, rising, from his shoulders took + The purple cloak, and laid the trenchant sword + Aside; and first he placed the rings of steel + In order, opening for them in the ground + A long trench by a line, and stamping close + The earth around them. All admired the skill + With which he ranged them, never having seen + The game before. And then he took his place + Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow; + And thrice he made the attempt, and thrice gave o'er, + Yet hoping still to draw the cord, and send + An arrow through the rings. He would have drawn + The bow at the fourth trial, but a nod + Given by his father caused him to forbear, + Though eager for the attempt. + + * * * * * + + ... And then Eupeithes' son, + Antinoüs, to the crowd of suitors said:-- + + "Rise one by one, my friends, from right to left. + Begin where he begins who pours the wine." + So spake Antinoüs, and the rest approved. + Then rose Leiodes, son of Oenops, first. + He was their seer, and always had his seat + Beside the ample bowl. From deeds of wrong + He shrank with hatred, and was sore incensed + Against the suitors all. He took the bow + And shaft, and, going to the threshold, stood + And tried the bow, yet bent it not; it galled + His hands, for they were soft, and all unused + To such a task. + + ... The swineherd went + Forward along the hall, and, drawing near + The wise Ulysses, gave into his hands + The bow. + + * * * * * + + ... but when the wary chief + Had poised and shrewdly scanned the mighty bow, + Then, as a singer, skilled to play the harp, + Stretches with ease on its new fastenings + A string, the twisted entrails of a sheep, + Made fast at either end, so easily + Ulysses bent that mighty bow. He took + And drew the cord with his right hand; it twanged + With a clear sound as when a swallow screams. + The suitors were dismayed, and all grew pale. + Jove in loud thunder gave a sign from heaven. + The much-enduring chief, Ulysses, heard + With joy the friendly omen, which the son + Of crafty Saturn sent him. He took up + A winged arrow, that before him lay + Upon a table drawn; the others still + Were in the quiver's womb; the Greeks were yet + To feel them. This he set with care against + The middle of the bow, and toward him drew + The cord and arrow-notch, just where he sat, + And aiming opposite, let fly the shaft. + He missed no ring of all; from first to last + The brass-tipped arrow threaded every one. + Then to Telemachus Ulysses said:-- + + "Telemachus, the stranger sitting here + Hath not disgraced thee. I have neither missed + The rings, nor found it hard to bend the bow; + Nor has my manly strength decayed, as these + Who seek to bring me to contempt pretend; + And now the hour is come when we prepare + A supper for the Achaians, while the day + Yet lasts, and after supper the delights + Of song and harp, which nobly grace a feast." + + He spake, and nodded to Telemachus, + His well-beloved son, who girded on + His trenchant sword, and took in hand his spear, + And, armed with glittering brass for battle, came + And took his station by his father's seat. + + Then did Ulysses cast his rags aside, + And, leaping to the threshold, took his stand + On its broad space, with bow and quiver filled + With arrows. At his feet the hero poured + The winged shafts, and to the suitors called:-- + + "That difficult strife is ended. Now I take + Another mark, which no man yet has hit. + Now I shall see if I attain my aim, + And, by the aid of Phoebus, win renown." + + He spake; and, turning, at Antinoüs aimed + The bitter shaft--Antinoüs, who just then + Had grasped a beautiful two-eared cup of gold, + About to drink the wine. He little thought + Of wounds and death; for who, when banqueting + Among his fellows, could suspect that one + Alone against so many men would dare, + However bold, to plan his death, and bring + On him the doom of fate? Ulysses struck + The suitor with the arrow at the throat. + The point came through the tender neck behind, + Sideways he sank to earth; his hand let fall + The cup; the dark blood in a thick warm stream + Gushed from the nostrils of the smitten man. + He spurned the table with his feet, and spilled + The viands; bread and roasted meats were flung + To lie polluted on the floor. Then rose + The suitors in a tumult, when they saw + The fallen man; from all their seats they rose + Throughout the hall, and to the massive walls + Looked eagerly; there hung no buckler there, + No sturdy lance for them to wield. They called + Then to Ulysses with indignant words:-- + + "Stranger! in evil hour hast thou presumed + To aim at men; and thou shalt henceforth bear + Part in no other contest. Even now + Is thy destruction close to thee. Thy hand + Hath slain the noblest youth in Ithaca. + The vultures shall devour thy flesh for this." + + So each one said; they deemed he had not slain + The suitor wittingly; nor did they see, + Blind that they were, the doom which in that hour + Was closing round them all. Then with a frown + The wise Ulysses looked on them, and said:-- + + "Dogs! ye had thought I never would come back + From Ilium's coast, and therefore ye devoured + My substance here, and offered violence + To my maid-servants, and pursued my wife + As lovers, while I lived. Ye dreaded not + The gods who dwell in the great heaven, nor feared + Vengeance hereafter from the hands of men; + And now destruction overhangs you all." + + He spake, and all were pale with fear, and each + Looked round for some escape from death. + + _Bryant's Translation, Books XXI., XXII_. + + + + + +THE KALEVALA. + +"Songs preserved from distant ages." + + +The national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, or Place of Heroes, stands +midway between the purely epical structure, as exemplified in Homer, and +the epic songs of certain nations. + +It is a purely pagan epic, and from its complete silence as to Finland's +neighbors, the Russians, Germans, and Swedes, it is supposed to date back +at least three thousand years. + +The first attempt to collect Finnish folk-song was made in the seventeenth +century by Palmsköld and Peter Bäng. In 1733, Maxenius published a volume +on Finnish national poetry, and in 1745 Juslenius began a collection of +national poems. Although scholars saw that these collected poems were +evidently fragments of a Finnish epic, it remained for two physicians, +Zacharias Topelius and Elias Lönnrot, to collect the entire poem. +Topelius, though confined to his bed by illness for eleven years, took +down the songs from travelling merchants brought to his bedside. His +collections were published in 1822 and 1831. Lönnrot travelled over +Finland, collecting the songs, which he published, arranged in epical +form, in 1835. A revised edition was published in 1849. + +The Kalevala consists of fifty parts, or runes, containing twenty-two +thousand seven hundred and ninety-three lines. Its historical foundation +is the contests between the Finns and the Lapps. + +Its metre is the "eight syllabled trochaic with the part-line echo," +alliteration also being used, a metre familiar to us through Longfellow's +"Hiawatha." + +The labors of a Wolf are not necessary to show that the Kalevala is +composed of various runes or lays, arranged by a compiler. Topelius and +Lönnrot were conscientious collectors and compilers, but they were no +Homers, who could fuse these disconnected runes into one great poem. The +Kalevala recites many events in the lives of different heroes who are not +types of men, like Rama, or Achilles, or Ulysses, but the rude gods of an +almost savage people, or rather, men in the process of apotheosis, all +alike, save in the varying degrees of magic power possessed by each. + +The Finnish lays are interesting to us because they are the popular songs +of a people handed down with few changes from one generation to another; +because they would have formed the material for a national epic if a great +poet had arisen; because of their pictures of ancient customs, and +particularly the description of the condition of women, and because of +their frequently beautiful descriptions of nature. But because they are +simply runes "loosely stitched together" we can regard them only with +interest and curiosity, not with admiration. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE KALEVALA. + + +Andrew Lang's Homer and the Epic, pp. 412-419; + +Andrew Lang's Kalevala, or the Finnish National Epic (in his Custom and +Myth), 1885, pp. 156-179; + +C. J. Billson's Folk-songs, comprised in the Finnish Kalevala, Folk-Lore, +1895, vi. pp. 317-352; + +F. C. Cook's Kalevala, Contemporary, 1885, xlvii., pp. 683-702; + +Preface of J. M. Crawford's Translation of the Kalevala, 1891. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE KALEVALA. + + +The Kalevala, Tr. by J. M. Crawford, 2 vols., 1891; + +The Kalevala, Tr. by W. F. Kirby, through the German translation of +Schiefner; + +Selections from the Kalevala, Tr. from a German version by J. A. Porter, +with an introduction and analysis of the Poem, 1868. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE KALEVALA. + + +Wainamoinen was born upon the ocean after his mother, Ilmatar, daughter of +the illimitable Ether, had floated upon its surface for more than seven +hundred years. During this time Ilmatar had created the islands, the +rocks, and the continents. After eight years of swimming through the +ocean, studying his surroundings, Wainamoinen left the waters and swam to +a barren promontory, where he could rest himself on dry land and study the +sun, the moon, and the starry skies. At last he called to him +Pellerwoinen, that the slender youth might scatter seeds broadcast upon +the island, sowing in their proper places the birch, the alder, the +linden, the willow, the mountain ash, and the juniper. It was not long +until the eyes of the sower were gladdened by the sight of trees rising +above the hitherto barren soil. + +But as Wainamoinen cast his eyes over the place he perceived that the oak, +the tree of heaven, was wanting. The acorn planted in the sterile soil +developed not until Tursas, the giant, arose from the ocean, burned some +meadow grasses, and raking together the ashes, planted therein the acorn, +from which soon sprang up a mighty oak-tree whose branches hid the sun +rays and the starlight. + +The oak-tree must be felled if the land was to prosper, but who could fell +it? "Help me, Kapé, daughter of the Ether, help me, my ancient mother, to +uproot this terrible tree that shuts out the sunshine," cried Wainamoinen. + +Straightway arose from the ocean a little being clad in copper,--cap, +boots, gloves, and belt. He was no longer than a man's forefinger, and the +blade of the hatchet at his belt was but a finger's breadth. "Art thou +divine, or human?" queried Wainamoinen. "Tell me who thou art. Thou surely +hast the bearing of a hero, though so small. But thou must be of the race +of the pygmies, and therefore useless." + +"I came here to fell the oak," replied the pygmy. "I am a god and a hero +from the tribes that rule the ocean." + +"Never canst thou lop the branches of this mighty tree," replied +Wainamoinen. + +As he spoke, the pygmy became a giant; with one step he left the ocean, +and stood piercing the clouds with his head. He whetted his hatchet on the +great rocks, and with three steps reached the tree; with four blows felled +it. The trunk fell eastward, its tops westward, the leaves to the south, +the hundred branches to the north. Full of magic power were the parts of +this tree, and happy was he who possessed himself of some part of it. + +Then vegetation flourished, the birds sang happily in the trees, and all +was well except that barley was wanting. On the ocean strand Wainamoinen +discovered the barley seed; and, advised by the birds how to plant it, was +soon gratified by the sight of the growing barley. His next act was to +clear the forest; but he left the slender birch for the birds to nest in, +thus winning the gratitude of the silver-voiced singers. + +In the land of Kalevala, Wainamoinen passed many happy years, and the fame +of his wonderful songs of wit and wisdom spread even to the land of the +Lapps, in the dismal north, where lived Youkahainen, a young minstrel. +Against the advice of his parents, the youth, filled with jealousy, +visited Kalevala, to hold a singing contest with Wainamoinen. + +He proudly displayed his wisdom to the old minstrel, who laughed at it as +"women's tales and children's wisdom," and when Youkahainen declared in +song that he was present at the creation, Wainamoinen called him the +prince of liars, and himself began to sing. As he sang, the copper-bearing +mountains, the massive rocks and ledges, trembled, the hills re-echoed, +and the very ocean heaved with rapture. The boaster stood speechless, +seeing his sledge transformed into reed grass and willows, his beautiful +steed changed to a statue, his dog to a block of stone, and he himself +fast sinking in a quicksand. Then comprehending his folly, he begged his +tormentor to free him. Each precious gift he offered for a ransom was +refused, until he named his beautiful sister Aino. Wainamoinen, happy in +the promise of Aino for a wife, freed the luckless youth from his +enchantment, and sent him home. + +Aino's mother was rejoiced to hear that her daughter had been promised to +the renowned Wainamoinen; but when the beautiful girl learned that she was +tied by her brother's folly to an old man, she wandered weeping through +the fields. In vain her mother and father sought to console her; she wept +for her vanished childhood, for all her happiness and hope and pleasure +forever gone. To console her daughter, the mother told her of a store of +beautiful ornaments that she herself had worn in girlhood; they had been +given her by the daughters of the Moon and Sun,--gold, ribbons, and +jewels. Beautifully arrayed in these long-concealed ornaments, Aino +wandered through the fields for many days, bewailing her sad fate. On the +fourth day, she laid her garments on the sea shore, and swam out to the +standing rock, a little distance from the shore. No sooner had she +clambered on the rainbow-colored rock than it turned and fell to the +bottom of the sea, carrying with it the weeping maiden, chanting a +farewell to her family. The fleet and haughty hare bore the news of her +death to the household, where her unfortunate mother sat weeping, urging +other mothers never to force their daughters to wed against their choice. +The tears that rolled down her cheeks formed three streamlets, that, +growing larger, became torrents with foaming cataracts. From the cataracts +towered three pillared rocks upon which rose three hillocks, and upon each +hillock sprang a birch-tree. On the summit of each tree sat a golden bird +singing; and the first sang, for three moons, his song of "Love! O Love!" +the second called for six moons, "Suitor! Suitor!" but the third bird sang +forever his sad song of "Consolation! Consolation!" + +Wainamoinen was deeply grieved when he heard of the fate of the lovely +Aino, and he at once went to angle in the deep where dwelt the mermaids, +the daughters of Wellamo. + +After he had fished many days in vain, he caught a wondrous salmon, larger +and more beautiful than he had ever before caught. But as he took out his +silver knife to cut it, the fish sprang from his hand into the deep, +telling him that it was Aino who had thus come to him, and whom he had now +lost forever by his stupidity. Then indeed the song of the golden bird +seemed sad to Wainamoinen, and he was disconsolate until his mother spoke +to him from her grave: "My son, go north and seek thy wife. Take not a +silly Lapp, but choose one of the daughters of Suomi." + +Quickly Wainamoinen prepared for his journey, and mounted his magic steed, +that galloped over the plains of Kalevala and crossed the waste of blue +sea-water as though it were land. + +But the envious Youkahainen was informed of the journey, and had prepared +a cruel cross-bow and three poisoned arrows. In spite of the protests of +his mother, he waited for the hero and shot at him three times. The third +arrow struck Wainamoinen's horse, which sank to the bottom of the ocean, +leaving the hapless rider struggling in the water. "Seven summers must he +tread the waves," chuckled Youkahainen; "eight years ride the billows." + +For six days Wainamoinen floated on the waters; then he was rescued by a +huge eagle that carried him on its back to Pohyola, the dismal Sariola, +and left him on a barren promontory, where he bemoaned his unhappy fate. +Here he was found by Louhi, the toothless dame of Pohyola, who took him +home and fed him. Then she promised to provide him with a sledge that he +might journey safely home if he would forge for her the Sampo, a magical +jewel that gave success to its possessor. If he could make her this, she +would also give him her daughter in marriage. "I cannot forge the Sampo, +but if thou wilt help me to my distant country I will send thee my brother +Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, who can forge for thee the magic Sampo, and win +thy beautiful daughter." + +Louhi provided a sledge and horse, and as Wainamoinen seated himself she +warned him, as he journeyed, not to look upward before nightfall, or some +great misfortune would befall him. + +The maiden of the Rainbow, beautiful daughter of Pohyola, was sitting on +the rainbow weaving, and Wainamoinen, hearing the whizzing of the loom, +forgot the warning, and, looking up, was filled with love for the maiden. + +"Come to me," he cried. + +"The birds have told me," she replied, "that a maiden's life, as compared +to a married woman's, is as summer to coldest winter. Wives are as dogs +enchained in kennels." + +When Wainamoinen further besought her, she told him that she would +consider him a hero when he had split a golden hair with edgeless knives +and snared a bird's egg with an invisible snare. When he had done these +things without difficulty, she demanded that he should peel the sandstone, +and cut her a whipstick from the ice without making a splinter. This done, +she commanded that he should build her a boat from the fragments of her +distaff, and set it floating without the use of his knee, arm, hand, or +foot to propel it. + +While Wainamoinen was engaged in this task, Hisi, the god of evil, caused +him to cut his knee with the axe. None of his charms availed to stanch the +blood, so he dragged himself to his sledge and sought the nearest village. +In the third cottage he found a graybeard, who caused two maids to dip up +some of the flowing blood, and then commanded Wainamoinen to sing the +origin of iron. The daughters of Ukko the Creator had sprinkled the +mountains with black, white, and red milk,--from this was formed iron. +Fire caught the iron and carried it to its furnace, and later Ilmarinen +worked the unwilling metal into various articles. As he sought something +to harden it, Hisi's bird, the hornet, dropped poison into the water; and +the iron dipped into it, formed the hard steel, which, angry because it +could not be broken, cut its brother, and vowed that it would ever cause +man's blood to flow in torrents. + +The old man then addressed the crimson stream flowing from the wound, and +prayed to mighty Ukko to stop it. + +When it ceased to flow at his prayer, he sent forth his son to gather +various charmed plants, steep them, and make a magic balsam. After many +attempts the son was successful; and the balsam, applied to Wainamoinen's +wound, healed it immediately. + +Wainamoinen returned home and sought Ilmarinen, who refused to go north to +forge the Sampo. Inducing his brother to climb a lofty fir-tree to bring +down the Moon and the Bear he had conjured there, the wizard caused a +great storm-wind to arise and blow Ilmarinen to the woodlands of Pohyola. + +There the blacksmith at once set up a forge, and after four days' work saw +the Sampo rising from the furnace, its many colored lid rocking and +grinding, every day, many measures of meal. + +Joyfully Louhi received the magic Sampo and locked it in a secret chamber +under the copper-bearing mountains. But when Ilmarinen asked for the hand +of the Rainbow Maid, he was refused. "Never shall I, in my lifetime, say +farewell to maiden freedom." So the blacksmith was compelled to return +alone to Wainola. + +While Ilmarinen was forging the Sampo and Wainamoinen was building the +magic boat, Lemminkainen, or Ahti, the reckless wizard, king of the +islands, was longing for a bride from Ehstland. In spite of his mother's +entreaties, Lemminkainen went to Ehstland, and when he found it was +impossible to gain the favor of Kylliki, the Sahri maid of beauty, he +carried her off by force in his sledge. She became reconciled to him when +he promised that he would never go to battle, and she in turn vowed that +she would not visit the village dances. They lived happily together until +Lemminkainen tarried late at the fishing one evening, and Kylliki went to +the village dance. When Lemminkainen returned, his sister told him of +Kylliki's broken vow; and in spite of the prayers of his mother and wife, +the hero declared that he would break his promise and go to war. To the +Northland he would go, and win another wife. "When my brush bleeds, then +you may know that misfortune has overtaken me," he said angrily, flinging +his hairbrush at the wall. + +Through many dangers he passed unscathed by the aid of his magic, until he +stood in the halls of Louhi and asked for her daughter, the Rainbow +Maiden. + +"First bring me the wild moose from the Hisi-fields and forests," said +Louhi. + +From Kauppi, able smith, Lemminkainen procured the wondrous snow-shoes; +but Hisi, who heard the boasts of the hero, fashioned a wild moose that +ran so rapidly that Lemminkainen could not overtake it, but broke his +snow-shoes in the race. He besought Ukko and the mistress of the forest +and her king, and at last, with their aid, the moose was captured and led +home to Louhi. + +"Now bridle the flaming horse of Hisi," said she. + +The mighty stallion stood on the Hisi mountain, breathing fire and smoke. +When the hero saw him he prayed to Ukko, "Let the hail and icy rain fall +upon him." His prayer was granted; and, going forward, Lemminkainen prayed +the steed to put its head into the golden head-stall, promising to treat +it with all gentleness. Then he led it to the courts of Sariola. + +"Now kill for me the swan that swims in Tuoni, the black death-river. One +shot only canst thou have. If thou succeed, then mayst thou claim thy +bride." + +When Lemminkainen entered Pohyola he had slain all his opponents but one +blind shepherd, whom he spared because he despised his helplessness. This +object of his scorn was waiting for him, and when Lemminkainen approached +the river he fell by a shot from the enemy, regretting, as he died, that +he had not asked his mother's advice before attempting to reach Tuoni. + +Nasshut, the shepherd, threw the hero's body into the river, where it was +seized and cut in pieces by the son of Tuoni. + +At home the mother and wife awaited anxiously tidings of their hero. When +they saw blood trickling from the brush, the mother could wait no longer, +but at once set out for the dreary Northland. After repeated threats, she +wrested from Louhi the fact that her son had gone to Tuoni; from the Sun +she learned his fate. + +Quickly seeking Ilmarinen, the mother bade him forge for her a mighty +rake. With this she raked the deep death-river, collected the pieces of +the hero, bound them together with the aid of the goddess Suonetar, and +making a balsam, the materials for which were brought her by the bee, she +healed her hero son, comforted him, and led him back to Kalevala. + +In the mean time, Wainamoinen, who was building his boat for the Rainbow +Maid, found that he had forgotten three magic words with which to fasten +in the ledges and complete the boat's forecastle. + +After examining in vain the mouths of the wild animals, he sought the dead +hero Wipunen, forced open his jaws, and accidentally fell into his mouth. +Wipunen quickly swallowed him; but Wainamoinen, setting up a forge in his +body, caused him such discomfort that the giant was glad to give his +information, and get rid of his unwelcome visitor. Having thus learned the +secrets of the ages, and among them the three magic words, Wainamoinen +hastened home and finished his boat. + +The boat builded, he at once set out for the Northland to woo the Rainbow +Maid. The boat was bedecked with silver and gold, and the linen sails were +blue, white, and scarlet. The sails were merely for ornament, however, for +the boat moved over the ocean without the aid of oars or sails. +Wainamoinen's departure from Kalevala was observed by Anniki, the sister +of Ilmarinen, who at once told her brother. With her assistance, Ilmarinen +cleansed the black from his ruddy countenance, and jumping into his +sledge, was soon on the way to Sariola. The approach of the heroes was +perceived by Louhi. "Daughter," said she, "the old man brings thee a boat +full of treasures; take him. Do not wed the empty-handed youth." + +"Thy advice is good, but I will not take it. The young man shall be my +husband." + +When Wainamoinen was refused in spite of his gifts, Louhi addressed +herself to Ilmarinen, and set him, in turn, three tasks: to plough the +serpent field of Hisi, to muzzle Tuoni's bear, and to catch the pike of +Mana, in the river of Tuoni. + +With the help of his sweetheart, Ilmarinen accomplished these tasks, and +the wedding day was set. Old Wainamoinen, heavy hearted, journeyed +homeward, and sent the edict to his people that in the future old men +should not go wooing, or strive with younger men. + +Great preparations were made for the wedding feast; the mighty ox of +Karjala was slain, and for the first time, beer was brewed in Pohyola. +Invitations were sent to all the people of Pohyola and the tribes of +Kalevala, to all save Lemminkainen. + +When Ilmarinen returned for his bride, he was received with honor, and the +wedding feast was merry. But when the time came to take the bride away, +the Rainbow Maid was unwilling, she who before had been so ready to go +with him. Many times had she been told of the miseries of the wife: her +husband's slave, her whole life one of service, one long endeavor to +please her husband's mother and father. After her lament, Osmatar, the +Bride-adviser, instructed her how to please her husband's family, and +admonished Ilmarinen to guard well his Bride of Beauty. Then the two set +forth together, the Rainbow Maid shedding many tears at parting with her +loved ones. + +The bride and groom were received with joy by Ilmarinen's family, and old +Wainamoinen himself sang at the wedding feast. + +But Lemminkainen was angry because he had received no invitation to the +wedding, and in spite of his mother's advice, set out to make war against +the Lapps. He successfully overcame all the terrors that beset him, and +reached Sariola, but was so coldly received there that, enraged at such +treatment, he slew his host, the landlord of Pohyola, and fled homeward to +escape the hosts whom Louhi called to defend her. + +His mother sent him to the isle of refuge to escape the northern hosts. In +the centre of the tenth ocean it rose, the refuge of his father; there he +must abide three years, and must take a vow not to fight again for sixty +summers. + +The three years passed speedily on the happy isle, where dwelt many +maidens who admired the reckless hero, and he departed just in time to +escape the swords of the jealous heroes of the isle. His ancient home was +in ashes when he returned, his mother missing; but while he mourned for +her, he chanced upon her, hiding from the Lapps in the forest. Again he +determined to seek out his enemies and be revenged on them. Taking with +him his friend Tiera he sought the north, but was met by the Frost-Fiend +and compelled to return. + +To the house of Ilmarinen the blacksmith, was sold by Untamoinen a slave, +Kullervo. He was a giant who had done naught but evil, until in despair +his master sold him to the blacksmith. Kullervo, or Kullerwoinen, was made +a shepherd and sent forth with the flocks. But rage at the blacksmith's +wife, who baked a stone in his bread on which he broke the magic knife of +his people, caused him to transform the flocks into wolves, who tore the +Rainbow Wife to pieces when she went to milk them. + +Then Kullerwoinen fled from the blacksmith, and set out to find his +tribe-people, but on the way unknowingly corrupted his sister, and in +despair at his evil deeds, destroyed himself. + +Ilmarinen was full of grief at the loss of his wife. Unhappy and restless, +he forged for himself a bride of gold; but the image failed to satisfy +him, and Wainamoinen, reproving him, forbade his people in the future to +worship any graven image. Then the blacksmith again sought the north to +win the sister of his former bride, but was met with bitter reproaches for +the sorrow he had brought upon the family. Nevertheless, he seized the +maiden to carry her away, but she was so angry and so unhappy that he +changed her to a seagull and came home wifeless and sad. + +Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen soon conceived the idea of going to the +Northland to win back the Sampo. On the way they allied to themselves the +wizard Lemminkainen. As they approached the whirlpool near Pohyola, their +vessel stuck on the shoulders of a great pike. When neither Lemminkainen +nor Ilmarinen could slay it, Wainamoinen impaled it on his fire-sword, and +the three banqueted on the great fish. From its bones, Wainamoinen framed +the first harp. No one could win music from it but its creator; but when +he touched its strings and sang, the very trees danced about him, wild +animals lay in peace at his feet, and the hearts of men were ravished. As +his listeners wept at the strains, Wainamoinen's tears rolled down into +the ocean. Thence the duck brought them, changed to pearls, receiving for +a reward its beautiful coat. Such was the origin of sea-pearls. + +When Wainamoinen had put the inhabitants of Pohyola to sleep with his +magic music, the heroes found the Sampo with little difficulty, and bore +it away from the copper mountain. But as they hastened home, the +discordant voice of Lemminkainen, who sang for joy of their capture, +caused the crane to screech, and the bird's cry roused the people of +Pohyola. Louhi speedily discovered her loss, and started in pursuit of the +heroes. In various ways she attacked them,--with war ships that were +stopped by a reef conjured up by Wainamoinen, by a terrible storm, and by +a giant eagle that perched on their boat. In their struggle with her the +Sampo was broken and its fragments scattered on the ocean. Louhi left +them, uttering dire threats; and Wainamoinen, gathering up what fragments +of the Sampo he could find, buried them where they would bring prosperity +to his people. + +Now Wainamoinen longed to sing to his harp to rejoice the hearts of his +people, but the magic instrument had been lost in the storm conjured by +Louhi. After raking the sea for it in vain, he constructed a new harp from +the birch-tree, and delighted the people with his songs. + +In revenge for the theft of the Sampo, Louhi sent nine diseases upon +Wainamoinen's people,--colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague, consumption, +gout, sterility, and cancer, the offspring of the fell Lowyatar; but by +the use of vapor baths and balsams Wainamoinen healed his people. Then +Louhi sent Otso the Bear, the honey-eater, but he was slain by the hero, +who made a banquet of his flesh for the people. Enraged at her failures, +she stole the sun, moon, and fire, and left Kalevala in darkness. Ukko, +taking pity on his people, struck lightning from his fire-sword and gave +the fire-child to a virgin to be cared for. In an unguarded moment it +sprang earthward, fell into the sea, and was swallowed by a fish, that, in +the agonies of torment, was swallowed by another. Wainamoinen went fishing +with Ilmarinen, and at last caught the gray pike,--found in it the trout, +found in the trout the whiting, and in the whiting the fireball. When he +attempted to seize the fireball he burned his fingers, and dropped it. +Ilmarinen did likewise. Then the ball rolled rapidly away until +Wainamoinen caught it in an elm-tree, and took it home to gladden his +people. Still they were cheerless without the sun and moon, and +Wainamoinen was obliged to go to Louhi and compel her to give up the sun +and moon. When he returned there was joy in Kalevala. + +In the Northland dwelt a happy maiden, Mariatta, who, eating of the magic +berry, as she wandered one day in the fields, bore by it a child which she +called Flower. Her parents cast her off, and as no one would take her in, +she was compelled to go to the flaming steed of Hisi, in whose manger the +child was born. Once when she slumbered the child vanished, and she sought +for it in vain, until told by the sun that it was in Wainola, sleeping +among the reeds and rushes. + +The child grew in grace and beauty, but no priest would baptize him, all +saying that he was a wizard. Wainamoinen, too, counselled that he be +destroyed; but when the two weeks old babe lifted its head and reproached +him, saying that he had committed many follies but had been spared by his +people, Wainamoinen baptized him, and gave him the right to grow a hero +and become a mighty ruler over Karyala. + +As Wainamoinen grew feeble with the passing years, he built himself a boat +of copper, and singing a plaintive song in which he said the people of +Suomi would look forward to his return as a time of peace and plenty, he +set forth, sailing through the dusk of evening to the fiery sunset, and +anchored in the purple horizon, leaving behind him for an heritage his +harp, his wondrous songs, and his wisdom sayings. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE KALEVALA. + +ILMARINEN'S WEDDING FEAST. + + +Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, visited the Northland, won the Rainbow Maid, +and successfully performed the tasks set by her mother Louhi. Great +preparations were made in Pohyola for the wedding, and the coming of the +bridegroom was anxiously expected. + + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Ancient dame of Sariola, + While at work within her dwelling, + Heard the whips crack on the fenlands, + Heard the rattle of the sledges; + To the northward turned her glances, + Turned her vision to the sunlight, + And her thoughts ran on as follow: + "Who are these in bright apparel, + On the banks of Pohya-waters, + Are they friends or hostile armies?" + + Then the hostess of the Northland + Looked again and well considered, + Drew much nearer to examine, + Found they were not hostile armies, + Found that they were friends and suitors; + In the midst was Ilmarinen, + Son in-law to ancient Louhi. + + When the hostess of Pohyola + Saw the son-in-law approaching, + She addressed the words that follow: + + "I had thought the winds were raging, + That the piles of wood were falling, + Thought the pebbles in commotion, + Or perchance the ocean roaring; + Then I hastened nearer, nearer, + Drew still nearer and examined, + Found the winds were not in battle, + Found the piles of wood unshaken, + Found the ocean was not roaring, + Nor the pebbles in commotion; + Found my son-in-law was coming + With his heroes and attendants, + Heroes counted by the hundreds. + + "Should you ask of me the question, + How I recognized the bridegroom + Mid the host of men and heroes, + I should answer, I should tell you: + 'As the hazel-bush in copses, + As the oak-tree in the forest, + As the moon among the planets; + Drives the groom a coal-black courser, + Running like a famished black-dog, + Flying like the hungry raven, + Graceful as the lark at morning, + Golden cuckoos, six in number, + Twitter on the birchen cross-bow; + There are seven blue-birds singing + On the racer's hame and collar.'" + + Noises hear they in the court-yard, + On the highway hear the sledges. + To the court comes Ilmarinen, + With his body-guard of heroes; + In the midst the chosen suitor, + Not too far in front of others, + Not too far behind his fellows. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Hie ye hither, men and heroes, + Haste, ye watchers, to the stables, + There unhitch the suitor's stallion, + Lower well the racer's breast-plate, + There undo the straps and buckles, + Loosen well the shafts and traces, + And conduct the suitor hither, + Give my son-in-law good welcome!" + + Ilmarinen turned his racer + Into Louhi's yard and stables, + And descended from his snow-sledge + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, thou servant of my bidding, + Best of all my trusted servants, + Take at once the bridegroom's courser + From the shafts adorned with silver, + From the curving arch of willow, + Lift the harness trimmed in copper, + Tie the white-face to the manger, + Treat the suitor's steed with kindness, + Lead him carefully to shelter + By his soft and shining bridle, + By his halter tipped with silver; + Let him roll among the sand-hills, + On the bottoms soft and even, + On the borders of the snow-banks, + In the fields of milky color. + Lead the hero's steed to water, + Lead him to the Pohya-fountains, + Where the living streams are flowing, + Sweet as milk of human kindness, + From the roots of silvery birches, + Underneath the shade of aspens. + + "Feed the courser of the suitor, + With the sweetest corn and barley, + With the summer-wheat and clover, + In the caldron steeped in sweetness; + Feed him at the golden manger, + In the boxes lined with copper, + At my manger richly furnished, + In the warmest of the hurdles; + Tie him with a silk-like halter, + To the golden rings and staples, + To the hooks of purest silver, + Set in beams of birch and oak-wood; + Feed him on the hay the sweetest, + Feed him on the grains nutritious, + Give the best my barns can furnish. + + "Curry well the suitor's courser + With the curry-comb of fish-bone, + Brush his hair with silken brushes, + Put his mane and tail in order, + Cover well with silken blankets, + Blankets wrought in gold and silver, + Buckles forged from shining copper. + + "Come, ye small lads of the village, + Lead the suitor to my chambers, + With your auburn locks uncovered, + From your hands remove your mittens, + See if ye can lead the hero + Through the door without his stooping, + Lifting not the upper cross-bar, + Sinking not the oaken threshold, + Moving not the oaken casings, + Great the hero who must enter. + + "Ilmarinen is too stately, + Cannot enter through the portals, + Not the son-in-law and bridegroom, + Till the portals have been lengthened; + Taller by a head the suitor + Than the doorways of the mansion." + Quick the servants of Pohyola + Tore away the upper cross-bar, + That his cap might not be lifted; + Made the oaken threshold lower + That the hero might not stumble; + Made the birch-wood portals wider, + Opened full the door of welcome, + Easy entrance for the suitor. + + Speaks the hostess of the Northland + As the bridegroom freely passes + Through the doorway of her dwelling: + + "Thanks are due to thee, O Ukko, + That my son-in-law has entered! + Let me now my halls examine; + Make the bridal chambers ready, + Finest linen on my tables, + Softest furs upon my benches, + Birchen flooring scrubbed to whiteness, + All my rooms in perfect order." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Visited her spacious dwelling, + Did not recognize her chambers; + Every room had been remodelled, + Changed by force of mighty magic; + All the halls were newly burnished, + Hedgehog bones were used for ceilings, + Bones of reindeer for foundations, + Bones of wolverine for door-sills, + For the cross-bars bones of roebuck, + Apple-wood were all the rafters, + Alder-wood, the window casings, + Scales of trout adorned the windows, + And the fires were set in flowers. + All the seats were made of silver, + All the floors of copper-tiling, + Gold-adorned were all the tables, + On the floor were silken mattings, + Every fire-place set in copper, + Every hearth-stone cut from marble, + On each shelf were colored sea-shells, + Kalew's tree was their protection. + + To the court-room came the hero, + Chosen suitor from Wainola, + These the words of Ilmarinen: + + "Send, O Ukko, health and pleasure + To this ancient home and dwelling, + To this mansion richly fashioned!" + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Let thy coming be auspicious + To these halls of thee unworthy, + To the home of thy affianced, + To this dwelling lowly fashioned, + Mid the lindens and the aspens. + + "Come, ye maidens that should serve me, + Come, ye fellows from the village, + Bring me fire upon the birch-bark, + Light the fagots of the fir-tree, + That I may behold the bridegroom, + Chosen suitor of my daughter, + Fairy Maiden of the Rainbow, + See the color of his eyeballs, + Whether they are blue or sable, + See if they are warm and faithful." + + Quick the young lads from the village + Brought the fire upon the birch-bark, + Brought it on the tips of pine-wood; + And the fire and smoke commingled + Roll and roar about the hero, + Blackening the suitor's visage, + And the hostess speaks as follows: + + "Bring the fire upon a taper, + On the waxen tapers bring it!" + + Then the maidens did as bidden, + Quickly brought the lighted tapers, + Made the suitor's eyeballs glisten, + Made his cheeks look fresh and ruddy; + Eyes were neither blue nor sable, + Sparkled like the foam of waters, + Like the reed-grass on the margin, + Colored as the ocean-jewels, + Iridescent as the rainbow. + + "Come, ye fellows from the hamlets, + Lead my son-in-law and hero + To the highest seat at table, + To the seat of greatest honor, + With his back upon the blue-wall, + Looking on my bounteous tables, + Facing all the guests of Northland." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Served her guests in great abundance, + Richest drinks and rarest viands, + First of all she served the bridegroom; + On his platters honeyed biscuit, + And the sweetest river-salmon, + Seasoned butter, roasted bacon, + All the dainties of Pohyola. + Then the servants served the others, + Filled the plates of all invited + With the varied food of Northland. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, ye maidens from the village, + Hither bring the beer in pitchers, + In the urns with double handles, + To the many guests in-gathered. + Ere all others, serve the bridegroom." + + Thereupon the merry maidens + Brought the beer in silver pitchers + From the copper-banded vessels, + For the wedding guests assembled; + And the beer, fermenting, sparkled + On the beard of Ilmarinen, + On the beards of many heroes. + + When the guests had all partaken + Of the wondrous beer of barley, + Spake the drink in merry accents + Through the tongues of the magicians, + Through the tongue of many a hero, + Through the tongue of Wainamoinen, + Famed to be the sweetest singer + Of the Northland bards and minstrels. + + * * * * * + + "Grant, O Ukko, my Creator, + God of love, and truth, and justice, + Grant thy blessing on our feasting, + Bless this company assembled, + For the good of Sariola, + For the happiness of Northland! + May this bread and beer bring joyance, + May they come in rich abundance, + May they carry full contentment + To the people of Pohyola, + To the cabin and the mansion; + May the hours we spend in singing, + In the morning, in the evening, + Fill our hearts with joy and gladness! + Hear us in our supplications, + Grant to us thy needed blessings, + Send enjoyment, health, and comfort, + To the people here assembled, + To the host and to the hostess, + To the bride and to the bridegroom, + To the sons upon the waters, + To the daughters at their weavings, + To the hunters on the mountains, + To the shepherds in the fenlands, + That our lives may end in honor, + That we may recall with pleasure + Ilmarinen's magic marriage + To the Maiden of the Rainbow, + Snow-white virgin of the Northland." + + _Crawford's Translation, Rune XXI._ + + + + +THE BIRTH OF THE HARP. + + +Wainamoinen, Ilmarinen, and the wizard Lemminkainen started to the +Northland to win back the Sampo forged for Louhi by Ilmarinen. On the way +their boat stuck on the shoulders of a great pike, which was killed by +Wainamoinen. The three then landed, ordered the pike to be cooked by the +maidens, and feasted until nothing remained of the fish but a heap of +bones. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Looked upon the pile of fragments, + On the fish-bones looked and pondered, + Spake these words in meditation: + + "Wondrous things might be constructed + From the relics of this monster, + Were they in the blacksmith's furnace, + In the hands of the magician, + In the hands of Ilmarinen." + + Spake the blacksmith of Wainola: + + "Nothing fine can be constructed + From the bones and teeth of fishes + By the skilful forger-artist, + By the hands of the magician." + These the words of Wainamoinen: + + "Something wondrous might be builded + From these jaws, and teeth, and fish-bones; + Might a magic harp be fashioned, + Could an artist be discovered + That could shape them to my wishes." + + But he found no fish-bone artist + That could shape the harp of joyance + From the relics of their feasting, + From the jaw-bones of the monster, + To the will of the magician. + Thereupon wise Wainamoinen + Set himself at work designing; + Quick became a fish-bone artist, + Made a harp of wondrous beauty, + Lasting joy and pride of Suomi. + Whence the harp's enchanting arches? + From the jaw-bones of the monster. + Whence the necessary harp-pins? + From the pike-teeth, firmly fastened. + Whence the sweetly singing harp-strings? + From the tail of Lempo's stallion. + Thus was born the harp of magic + From the mighty pike of Northland, + From the relics from the feasting + Of the heroes of Wainola. + All the young men came to view it, + All the aged with their children, + Mothers with their beauteous daughters, + Maidens with their golden tresses; + All the people on the islands + Came to view the harp of joyance, + Pride and beauty of the Northland. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Let the aged try the harp-strings, + Gave it to the young magicians, + To the dames and to their daughters, + To the maidens, silver-tinselled, + To the singers of Wainola. + When the young men touched the harp-strings, + Then arose the notes of discord; + When the aged played upon it, + Dissonance their only music. + Spake the wizard, Lemminkainen: + + "O ye witless, worthless children, + O ye senseless, useless maidens, + O ye wisdom-lacking heroes, + Cannot play this harp of magic, + Cannot touch the notes of concord! + Give to me this thing of beauty, + Hither bring the harp of fish-bones, + Let me try my skillful fingers." + Lemminkainen touched the harp-strings, + Carefully the strings adjusted, + Turned the harp in all directions, + Fingered all the strings in sequence, + Played the instrument of wonder, + But it did not speak in concord, + Did not sing the notes of joyance. + Spake the ancient Wainamoinen: + + "There is none among these maidens, + None among these youthful heroes, + None among the old magicians, + That can play the harp of magic, + Touch the notes of joy and pleasure. + Let us take the harp to Pohya, + There to find a skillful player + That can touch the strings in concord." + + Then they sailed to Sariola, + To Pohyola took the wonder, + There to find the harp a master. + All the heroes of Pohyola, + All the boys and all the maidens, + Ancient dames and bearded minstrels, + Vainly touched the harp of beauty. + + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Took the harp-strings in her fingers; + All the youth of Sariola, + Youth of every tribe and station, + Vainly touched the harp of fish-bone; + Could not find the notes of joyance, + Dissonance their only pleasure; + Shrieked the harp-strings like the whirlwinds, + All the tones were harsh and frightful. + + * * * * * + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + The eternal wisdom-singer, + Laves his hands to snowy whiteness, + Sits upon the rock of joyance, + On the stone of song he settles, + On the mount of song he settles, + On the mount of silver clearness, + On the summit, golden colored, + Takes the harp by him created, + In his hands the harp of fish-bone, + With his knee the arch supporting, + Takes the harp-strings in his fingers, + Speaks these words to those assembled: + + "Hither come, ye Northland people, + Come and listen to my playing,-- + To the harp's entrancing measures, + To my songs of joy and gladness." + + Then the singer of Wainola + Took the harp of his creation, + Quick adjusting, sweetly tuning, + Deftly plied his skillful fingers + To the strings that he had fashioned. + Now was gladness rolled on gladness, + And the harmony of pleasure + Echoed from the hills and mountains; + Added singing to his playing, + Out of joy did joy come welling, + Now resounded marvellous music, + All of Northland stopped and listened. + Every creature in the forest, + All the beasts that haunt the woodlands + On their nimble feet came bounding, + Came to listen to his playing, + Came to hear his songs of joyance. + Leaped the squirrels from the branches, + Merrily from birch to aspen; + Climbed the ermines on the fences, + O'er the plains the elk deer bounded, + And the lynxes purred with pleasure; + Wolves awoke in far-off swamp-lands, + Bounded o'er the marsh and heather, + And the bear his den deserted, + Left his lair within the pine-wood, + Settled by a fence to listen, + Leaned against the listening gate-posts, + But the gate-posts yield beneath him; + Now he climbs the fir-tree branches + That he may enjoy and wonder, + Climbs and listens to the music + Of the harp of Wainamoinen. + + Tapiola's wisest senior, + Metsola's most noble landlord, + And of Tapio, the people, + Young and aged, men and maidens, + Flew like red-deer up the mountains + There to listen to the playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Tapiola's wisest mistress, + Hostess of the glen and forest, + Robed herself in blue and scarlet, + Bound her limbs with silken ribbons, + Sat upon the woodland summit, + On the branches of a birch-tree, + There to listen to the playing, + To the high-born hero's harping, + To the songs of Wainamoinen. + + All the birds that fly in mid-air + Fell like snow-flakes from the heavens, + Flew to hear the minstrel's playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen. + Eagles in their lofty eyrie + Heard the songs of the enchanter; + Swift they left their unfledged young ones, + Flew and perched around the minstrel. + From the heights the hawks descended, + From the clouds down swooped the falcon, + Ducks arose from inland waters, + Swans came gliding from the marshes; + Tiny finches, green and golden, + Flew in flocks that darkened sunlight, + Came in myriads to listen, + Perched upon the head and shoulders + Of the charming Wainamoinen, + Sweetly singing to the playing + Of the ancient bard and minstrel. + And the daughters of the welkin, + Nature's well-beloved daughters, + Listened all in rapt attention; + Some were seated on the rainbow, + Some upon the crimson cloudlets, + Some upon the dome of heaven. + + In their hands the Moon's fair daughters + Held their weaving-combs of silver; + In their hands the Sun's sweet maidens + Grasped the handles of their distaffs, + Weaving with their golden shuttles, + Spinning from their silver spindles, + On the red rims of the cloudlets, + On the bow of many colors. + As they hear the minstrel playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Quick they drop their combs of silver, + Drop the spindles from their fingers, + And the golden threads are broken, + Broken are the threads of silver. + + All the fish in Suomi-waters + Heard the songs of the magician, + Came on flying fins to listen + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Came the trout with graceful motions, + Water-dogs with awkward movements, + From the water-cliffs the salmon, + From the sea-caves came the whiting, + From the deeper caves the bill-fish; + Came the pike from beds of sea-fern, + Little fish with eyes of scarlet, + Leaning on the reeds and rushes, + With their heads above the surface; + Came to hear the harp of joyance, + Hear the songs of the enchanter. + + Ahto, king of all the waters, + Ancient king with beard of sea-grass, + Raised his head above the billows, + In a boat of water-lilies, + Glided to the coast in silence, + Listened to the wondrous singing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + These the words the sea-king uttered: + + "Never have I heard such playing, + Never heard such strains of music, + Never since the sea was fashioned, + As the songs of this enchanter, + This sweet singer, Wainamoinen." + + Satko's daughters from the blue-deep, + Sisters of the wave-washed ledges, + On the colored strands were sitting, + Smoothing out their sea-green tresses + With the combs of molten silver, + With their silver-handled brushes, + Brushes forged with golden bristles. + When they hear the magic playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Fall their brushes on the billows, + Fall their combs with silver handles + To the bottom of the waters, + Unadorned their heads remaining, + And uncombed their sea-green tresses. + + Came the hostess of the waters, + Ancient hostess robed in flowers, + Rising from her deep sea-castle, + Swimming to the shore in wonder, + Listened to the minstrel's playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + As the magic tones re-echoed, + As the singer's song outcircled, + Sank the hostess into slumber, + On the rocks of many colors, + On her watery couch of joyance, + Deep the sleep that settled o'er her. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Played one day and then a second, + Played the third from morn to even. + There was neither man nor hero, + Neither ancient dame nor maiden, + Not in Metsola a daughter, + Whom he did not touch to weeping; + Wept the young and wept the aged, + Wept the mothers, wept the daughters, + At the music of his playing, + At the songs of the magician. + _Crawford's Translation, Runes XL.-XLI._ + + + + + +THE AENEID. + + +The Aeneid was written by Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as +Vergil, who was born at Andes, near Mantua, Oct. 15, 70 B. C., and died at +Brundusium, Sept. 22, 19 B.C. + +He was educated at Cremona, Milan, Naples, and Rome. When the lands near +Cremona and Mantua were assigned by Octavianus to his soldiers after the +battle of Philippi, Vergil lost his estates; but they were afterwards +restored to him through Asinius Pollio. + +He became a favorite of Augustus, and spent part of his time in Rome, near +his patron, Maecenas, the emperor's minister. + +Vergil's first work was the Bucolics, in imitation of Theocritus. His +second work, the Georgics, treats of husbandry. The Aeneid relates the +adventures of Aeneas, the legendary ancestor of the Romans. + +The Aeneid is in twelve books, of which the first six describe the +wanderings of Aeneas, and the last six his wars in Italy. Its metre is the +dactyllic hexameter. + +Vergil worked for eleven years on the poem, and considered it incomplete +at his death. + +The Aeneid tells the story of the flight of Aeneas from burning Troy to +Italy, and makes him an ancestor of the Romans. With the story of his +wanderings are interwoven praises of the Caesars and the glory of Rome. + +It is claimed that because Vergil was essentially a poet of rural life, he +was especially fitted to be the national poet, since the Roman life was +founded on the agricultural country life. He also chose a theme which +particularly appealed to the patriotism of the Romans. For this reason, +the poem was immediately received into popular favor, and was made a +text-book of the Roman youths. It is often said of Vergil by way of +reproach, that his work was an imitation of Homer, and the first six books +of the Aeneid are compared to the Odyssey, the last six to the Iliad. But +while Vergil may be accused of imitation of subject matter, his style is +his own, and is entirely different from that of Homer. There is a tender +grace in the Roman writer which the Greek does not possess. Vergil also +lacks that purely pagan enjoyment of life; in its place there is a tender +melancholy that suggests the passing of the golden age. This difference of +treatment, this added grace and charm, which are always mentioned as +peculiarly Vergil's own, united with his poetical feeling, and skill in +versification, are sufficient to absolve him from the reproach of a mere +imitator. + +The Aeneid was greatly admired and imitated during the Middle Ages, and +still retains its high place in literature. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE AENEID. + +R. W. Brown's History of Roman Classical Literature, n. d., pp. 257-265; + +John Alfred Church's Story of the Aeneid, 1886; + +Domenico Comparetti's Virgil in the Middle Ages, Tr. by Benecke, 1895; + +C. T. Cruttwell's Virgil (see his History of Roman Literature, n. d. pp. +252-375); + +John Davis's Observations on the poems of Homer and Virgil, out of the +French, 1672; + +James Henry's Aeneidea: or Critical, Exegetical, and Aesthetical Remarks +on the Aeneis, 1873; + +James Henry's Notes of Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the first six +Books of the Aeneid, 1853; + +J. W. Mackail's Virgil (see his Latin Literature, 1895, pp. 91-106); + +H. Nettleship's The Aeneid (see his Vergil, 1880, pp. 45-74); + +H. T. Peck and R. Arrowsmith's Roman Life in Latin Prose and Verse, 1894, +pp. 68-70; + +Leonhard Schmitz's History of Latin Literature, 1877, pp. 106-108; + +W. Y. Sellar's Roman Poets of the Augustan Age, Vergil, Ed. 2, 1883; + +W. S. Teuffel's Aeneis (see his History of Roman Literature, 1891, pp. +434-439); + +J. S. Tunison's Master Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, as he seemed in +the Middle Ages, 1888; + +Robert Y. Tyrrell's Virgil (see his Latin Poetry, 1895, pp. 126-161); + +A Forgotten Virtue, Macmillan, 1895, xii. 51-56, an article on the Aeneid, +"the epic of piety;" + +Scene of the last six books of the Aeneid, Blackwood, 1832, xxxii. 76-87; + +A. A. Knight's The Year in the Aeneid, Education, 1886, vi. 612-616; + +William C. Cawton's The Underworld in Homer, Virgil, and Dante, Atlantic, +1884, liv. 99-110. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE AENEID. + + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. Conington, 1887; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by C. P. Cranch, 1872; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by John Dryden (1697), 1884; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by William Morris, 1882; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by W. S. Thornhill, 1886; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. A. Wilstach, 1884; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. W. Mackail, 1890. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE AENEID. + + +For many years the heroic Aeneas, who escaped from falling Troy to seek the +shores of Italy, there to found the lofty walls of Rome, was tossed upon +the sea by the wrath of cruel Juno. + +The fates foretold that these future Romans would overthrow a city dearer +to her than Samos,--Carthage, founded by the Tyrians, opposite Italy, and +far from the Tiberine mouths. For this rich city Juno desired boundless +rule,--hence her hatred of the Trojans. Moreover, she had not forgotten +the judgment of Paris, her slighted charms, and the supplanting of Hebe by +Ganymede. + +After having tossed the unhappy hero and his men over many seas, Juno, +observing their approach to Italy, hastened to Aeolia, where King Aeolus +ruled over the struggling winds and tempests, chained in vast caves. + +Bribed by Juno, Aeolus sent forth a tempest that scattered the ships of +Aeneas, and would have destroyed them had it not been for the interposition +of Neptune. + +Suspecting his sister's treachery, Neptune angrily dismissed the winds, +and hastened to the relief of the Trojans. Cymothoë and Triton pushed the +ships from the rocks, he himself assisting with his trident. Then, driving +over the rough waves in his chariot, he soothed the frenzy of the sea. + +The wearied Aeneans speedily sought a harbor on the Libyan shore, a long +and deep recess bordered by a dense grove. In the cliffs was a cave, with +sweet waters and seats carved from the living rock,--the abode of the +nymphs. Gathering here the seven ships that survived the fury of the +storm, Aeneas landed, and feasted with his comrades. + +The next morning Aeneas, accompanied by his friend Achates, sallied forth +from the camp at dawn, to learn, if possible, something of the land on +which they had been thrown. They had gone but a little way in the depths +of the forest when they met Aeneas's mother, Venus, in the guise of a +Spartan maid, her bow hung from her shoulders, her hair flowing to the +wind. + +"Hast thou seen my sister?" she inquired, "hunting the boar, wrapped in a +spotted lynx hide, her quiver at her back?" + +"Nay, we have seen no one," replied Aeneas. "But what shall I call thee, +maiden? A goddess, a nymph? Be kind, I pray thee, and tell us among what +people we have fallen, that before thy altars we may sacrifice many a +victim." + +"I am unworthy of such honors," Venus answered. "This land is Libya, but +the town is Tyrian, founded by Dido, who fled hither from her brother +Pygmalion, who had secretly murdered her husband, Sichaeus, for his gold. +To Dido, sleeping, appeared the wraith of Sichaeus, pallid, his breast +pierced with the impious wound, and revealed to her her brother's crime, +showed where a hoard of gold was concealed, and advised her to leave the +country. + +"Gathering together a company of those who wished to flee from the tyrant, +Dido seized the ships, loaded them with the gold, and fled to Libya, where +she is now erecting the walls and towers of New Carthage. I would advise +thee to hasten forward and seek our queen. If augury fail me not, I read +from yonder flight of swans the return of thy missing ships and comrades." + +As she turned to go, her neck shone with a rosy refulgence, ambrosial +fragrance breathed from her, her robe flowed down about her feet and +revealed the goddess. As she vanished, her son stretched longing hands +after her. "Ah, mother, why dost thou thus trifle with me? Why may not I +clasp thy loved hands and exchange true words with thee?" + +Wrapped in a cloud by Venus, Aeneas and Achates mounted a hill that +overlooked the city, and looked down wondering on the broad roofs and the +paved streets of Carthage. The busy Tyrians worked like the bees in early +summer: some moving the immense masses of stone, some founding the +citadel, others laying off the sites for the law courts and sacred Senate +House. "O happy ye whose walls now rise!" exclaimed Aeneas, as he and +Achates mingled with the crowd, still cloud-wrapped, and entered the vast +temple built to Juno. Here Aeneas's fear fell from him; for as he waited +for the queen's coming, he saw pictured on the walls the fall of his own +dear city, and wept as he gazed upon the white tents of Rhesus, and +Hector's disfigured body. + +As he wept, the beautiful Dido entered, joyously intent on her great work, +and, seating herself on her throne, proceeded to give laws to the Tyrians, +and assign their work to them. + +Suddenly, to the amazement of Aeneas and Achates, in burst their lost +comrades, Antheus, Sergestus, Gyas, Cloanthus, and other Trojans, +demanding of Dido a reason for their rough reception. To whom the queen +replied:-- + +"Let fear desert your hearts; I, too, have suffered, and know how to aid +the unfortunate. And whither hath not the fame of Troy penetrated? I will +aid you in leaving this coast, or give you a home with me, treating you as +I treat my Tyrians. Would only that Aeneas's self stood with you!" + +Then burst Aeneas forth from his cloud-wrapping, made more beautiful by +Venus, the purple bloom of youth on his face, joy in his eyes. "Here am I, +Trojan Aeneas, to render thanks to thee, divine Dido." + +Dido, charmed with the hero, prepared a banquet for him in her splendid +hall, curtained with rich drapery, and adorned with costly plate, whereon +were pictured the proud deeds of her ancestors. Hither came the Trojans +with gifts for Dido,--a rich robe stiff with gold embroidery, a veil +embroidered with the yellow acanthus, ornaments of Helen, the sceptre of +Ilione, a pearl and gold necklace, and a double crown of gems and gold. + +Beside Achates tripped Cupid, for Venus, suspecting the craft of the +Tyrians, had hidden Ascanius on Mount Ida, and sent her own son in his +guise, to complete Aeneas's conquest of Dido. + +After the feast was over, the great beakers were brought in and crowned +with garlands. Dido called for the beaker used by Belus and all his +descendants, and pouring a libation, drank to the happiness of the Trojan +wanderers, and passed the cup around the board. Iopas, the long-haired +minstrel, sang, and the night passed by in various discourse. Dido, +forgetting Sichaeus, hung on the words of Aeneas, questioning him of Priam +and Hector, and at last demanding the story of his wanderings. + +"Thou orderest me, O queen, to renew my grief, the destruction of Troy by +the Greeks, which deeds I have seen, and a part of which I have been. + +"Despairing of conquering Troy, the Greeks attempted to take it by +stratagem. By the art of Pallas, they framed a heaven-high horse, within +which were concealed picked men for our destruction. Leaving this behind +them, they sailed, ostensibly for home, in reality for Tenedos. + +"When we supposed them gone we joyfully went forth to examine the deserted +camp and the giant horse. As we wondered at it, and Laocoön, priest of +Neptune, urged us to destroy it, a crowd of shepherds approached with a +youth whom they had found hiding in the sedges. His name was Sinon. He was +a Greek, but he was hated by Ulysses, and had fled to save his life. The +Greeks had sailed home, he assured us, leaving the horse as a votive +offering to Pallas. They had hoped that its great bulk would prevent the +Trojans from taking it inside their walls, for once within the city, Troy +could never be taken. + +"We Trojans were credulous, and Sinon's tale was plausible. To increase +our belief in it, while Laocoön was sacrificing a bull to Neptune, we saw +coming over the sea from Tenedos two huge serpents, their crimson crests +towering high, their breasts erect among the waves, their long folds +sweeping over the foaming sea. As we fled affrighted, they seized the two +sons of Laocoön, twining their coils around the wretched boys; and when +their father hastened to their aid, caught him in their huge coils, +staining his fillets with black blood. 'Laocoön suffered for his crime,' +we said, when, the priest slain, the serpents crept to Pallas's altar, and +curled themselves around the feet of the goddess. Then joyfully we made a +breach in the walls, put rollers under the horse, and, with music and +dancing, dragged it within the walls. + +"That night as we lay sleeping after revelry and feasting, Sinon crept +down, opened the horse, and freed the men, who were soon joined by the +other Greeks, returned from Tenedos. + +"In a dream Hector's shade appeared to me, and, weeping, bade me fly. +'Troy falls. Do thou go forth and save her household deities!' As I woke, +sounds of battle penetrated to my palace halls, removed somewhat from the +city, and embowered in trees; and I rushed forth, forgetful of Hector's +warning. I saw the streets swimming in Trojan blood, Trojan women and +children led captive, Cassandra dragged from her shrine. Enraged, I +gathered a band and slew many Greeks. But when I saw the impious Pyrrhus +enter the palace and slay Priam at the altar, I recognized the uselessness +of my struggle, and turned to my home. + +"Taking my old father Anchises on my back, and leading Iulus by the hand, +I set forth, followed by my wife Creusa. But when I looked behind me at +the city gates, my wife was gone. Mad with despair, I rushed back to the +citadel, crying, 'Creusa! Creusa!' Our homestead was in flames, the +streets filled with Greeks; but as I roamed through the town, I met her +pallid shape. 'O husband, rage not against heaven's decrees! Happy days +will come for thee on the banks of the Tiber. Farewell, and love with me +our boy!' + +"Without the gates I was joined by other fugitives; and after the +departure of the Greeks we built ships from the timbers of Mount Ida, and +loading these with our household gods and a few spoils from the city, we +departed to seek new homes. + +"In Thrace, our first stopping-place, I learned that Polydore, Priam's +son, who had been entrusted to the care of the Thracian king, had been +slain by him for his gold, when the fortunes of Troy fell. We hastened to +leave this accursed land, and sought Delos, only to be instructed by +Apollo that we must seek the home from which our forefathers had come. +Anchises, who remembered the legends of our race, thought this must be +Crete; so to Crete we sailed, and there laid the foundations of a city, +only to be driven thence by a plague and a threatened famine. + +"In a dream my household gods instructed me that Dardanus, the founder of +our race, had come from Hesperia, and thither we must bend our course. +Tempests drove us about the sea for three suns, until, on the fourth, we +landed at the isle of the Harpies,--loathsome monsters, half woman, half +bird, who foul everything they touch. When we had slain the cattle and +prepared to banquet, they drove us from the tables; and when attacked by +us, uttered dire threats of future famine. + +"At Epirus we heard that Andromache had wed Prince Helenus, who had +succeeded to the rule of Pyrrhus, two Trojans thus being united. As I +landed here, anxious to prove the truth of the rumor, I met Andromache +herself in a grove near the town, sacrificing at an empty tomb dedicated +to Hector. Pyrrhus had made her his slave after the fall of Troy, but +after he wedded Hermione, he had given her to Helenus, himself a slave. +When Pyrrhus died, part of his realm fell to Helenus, and here the two had +set up a little Troy. + +"Helenus received us kindly, instructed us as to our route, and gave us +rich gifts; and Andromache, remembering her dead Astyanax, wept over lulus +as she parted with him. + +"As we passed Sicily we took up a Greek, Achemenides, a companion of +Ulysses, who had been left behind, and had since been hiding in deadly +terror from the Cyclops. We ourselves caught sight of the monster +Polyphemus, feeling his way to the shore to bathe his wounded eye. + +"Instructed by Helenus, we avoided Scylla and Charybdis, and reached +Sicily, where my father died. We were just leaving the island when the +storm arose that brought us hither. The rest thou knowest." + +The guests departed from the banquet hall; but the unhappy Dido, consumed +with love, imparted her secret to her sister Anna. + +"Why shouldst thou weep, sister dear? Why regret that thou hast at last +forgotten Sichaeus? Contend not against love, but strive to unite Trojan +and Tyrian. Winter comes on, and thou canst detain him while the sea rages +and the winds are fierce and the rains icy." + +Her ambitious plans for her city forgotten, Dido wandered through the +streets, mad with love and unable to conceal her passion. She led Ćneas +among the walls and towers, made feasts for him, and begged again and +again to hear the story of his wandering. At other times she fondled +Ascanius, leaving her youths undrilled, and the city works abandoned. + +Perceiving that Aeneas, well content, seemed to forget that his goal was +Hesperia, Mercury was dispatched by Jupiter to warn him to depart from +Carthage. + +"Why stoppest thou here?" questioned the herald of the gods. "If thou +carest not for thyself, think of Ascanius, thine heir. His must be the +Italian realms, the Roman world." + +The horror-stricken Aeneas stood senseless with fear. He longed to escape, +but how leave the unhappy Dido? Quickly calling his comrades, he commanded +them to fit out the fleet in silence, hoping to find a time when he could +break the news to Dido gently. + +But who can deceive a lover? Rumor bore the report to Dido, who, mad with +grief, reproached Aeneas. "Perfidious one! didst thou think to escape from +me? Does not our love restrain thee, and the thought that I shall surely +die when thou art gone? I have sacrificed all to thee; now leave me not +lonely in my empty palace." + +Aeneas remained untouched. He would ever retain the kindest memories of his +stay in Carthage. He had never held out the hope of wedlock to her. A +higher power called him, and, bidden by Jove, he must depart, for +Ascanius's sake, to Italy. + +The fainting Dido was carried to her palace, whence she could watch the +hurried preparations for the departure. As she watched, life became +intolerable to her. Pretending to her sister that she was preparing to +perform a magic spell to release her from the bonds of love, she reared a +mighty pyre in her court, wreathed it with funereal garlands, and placed +thereon Aeneas's couch, garments, and sword. With her hair dishevelled, she +then invoked Hecate, and sprinkling Avernian water and poisons on it, and +casting thereon various love charms, she called the gods to witness that +she was determined to die. As the ships left the harbor, she tore her +hair, one moment accusing herself because she had not torn Aeneas to pieces +when in her power, at another vowing to follow him. Then, anxious to +forget her grief, she mounted, the pyre, and threw herself on the sword of +her faithless, lover. + +Far out at sea, the Aeneans, looking back, dimly guessed the meaning of the +flames that brightened the stormy skies. + +Contrary winds compelled Aeneas to seek harbor in Sicily. Its king, +Acestes, was his friend, and there he had buried his father Anchises. A +year had elapsed since his death, and in honor of the anniversary, Aeneas +instituted funeral games, in which there were trials of skill in rowing, +foot-racing, archery, and boxing. + +While the spectators were applauding the feats of skill, the Trojan women, +at the instigation of Juno, set fire to the ships, that they might compel +Aeneas to remain in Sicily. By Jupiter's aid, some of the vessels were +saved, and Aeneas, acting on the advice of Nautes, allowed the women and +those Trojans who so desired, to remain in Sicily, and himself marked out +for them the foundations of their city. + +While here Aeneas was urged by Anchises in a dream to visit the Cumaean +Sibyl, that, with her assistance, he might visit Elysium and talk with +him. + +In the lofty temple, the Sibyl, inspired by the god, encouraged the hero. +"Success will at last be thine, and Juno will be won over to thee. But +great labors must thou undergo." + +To visit the underworld was no easy task, she assured him. "The gates of +Dis stand open night and day; small trouble it is to descend thereto, but +to retrace one's steps, and regain the upper air, there lies the toil." +Aeneas must first possess a golden branch to present to Proserpina, and +celebrate the funeral rites of his friend, Misenus, who yet lay unburied. + +While Aeneas worked in the forest, felling trees for Misenus's bier, the +doves of Venus descended and aided him to find the tree, from which he +plucked the gleaming branch. + +Across the Styx, past the dread Cerberus, Aeneas and the Sibyl went, +through the abode of babes and those who died for deeds they did not do, +and into the mourning fields, where the disappointed in love were hedged +in with myrtle sprays. Here Aeneas descried Dido dimly through the clouds, +and wept to see her fresh wound. Many were his protestations of his +faithfulness, and strong his declaration that he left her only at the +command of the gods. But without raising her eyes, Dido turned coldly away +to where her former husband returned her love for love. Past the chamber +of torture, beyond Phlegethon, guarded by Tisiphone and Tartarus, in whose +depths the wicked were punished, they went, and entered the beautiful +fields of Elysium, where Aeneas found his father. + +To his son, Anchises explained that the souls that visited the underworld +were punished according to their deserts, and then sent into Elysium. +Cleansed there of all impurities, and with the memories of the past washed +from them by Lethe, they again visited the world in another form. Pointing +out a crowd that passed them, he indicated to Aeneas the illustrious men +who would make his race famous in Italy. First his son Silvius, born of +Lavinia, his Italian wife to be; Numitor, Romulus, the founder of Rome, +Caesar, and greatest of all, Augustus Caesar, who would usher in the +golden age. + +Comforted by the prophecies of Anchises, Aeneas sought the upper world, and +collecting his companions, set sail for the mouth of the Tiber. + +Latinus the king welcomed Aeneas, and received his proposals for his +daughter Lavinia's hand with favor, remembering an ancient prophecy that +Lavinia was to wed a foreign prince. But queen Amata, aroused by Juno, +insisted that Lavinia should be espoused to Turnus, chief of the +Rutulians. Stung by the fury Alecto, she stirred up the people until they +demanded that Latinus declare war against Aeneas; and when he hesitated, +Juno herself threw open the gates of the temple of Janus. + +Leaving part of his forces in Latium with Ascanius, Aeneas, instructed in a +dream by father Tiber, sailed up the river to Pallanteum, the future site +of Rome, to gain the alliance of Evander, an Arcadian king unfriendly to +Turnus. + +Evander, who was celebrating a solemn feast to Hercules, together with his +only son Pallas, and his senate, welcomed the warriors to his modest home, +promised his alliance, and sent forth with Aeneas his son Pallas and four +hundred knights. He also advised him to go to Argylla, whose people were +stirred up against Turnus because he protected their tyrant king +Mezentius. + +While Aeneas was thus seeking allies, his troops in Latium had been +attacked and besieged by Turnus, and were greatly in need of the hero's +aid. While the hosts of Turnus were sleeping after their drunken revelry, +Nisus proposed to his beloved Euryalus that they steal through the Latin +line with messages to Aeneas. Their proposal was applauded by the elders, +and Iulus, weeping, promised to cherish them forever for their courage. + +As the youths passed among the sleeping Latins, the desire for slaughter +overcame them, and they slew Rhamnes, as he lay upon his gorgeous rugs, +Lamus, and many others, Euryalus taking Rhamnes's golden-studded belt and +Messapus's helmet as booty. Unfortunately they had delayed too long in +slaughter; as they neared the camp of Turnus, Volscens, returning with +reinforcements, caught sight of the shining helmet of Euryalus. The youth, +flying, became separated from Nisus, and was captured by the enemy. Nisus, +who returned to rescue his friend, sent weapon after weapon from his +retreat, and when he saw Euryalus about to suffer death from Volscens, +rushed forth to save him, only to fall dead upon the body of his +slaughtered friend. + +Angry at the slaughter committed by Nisus and Euryalus, Turnus, on his +return, attempted to scale the intrenchments. The fight raged fiercely +around the walls and towers; but just as the victory seemed to be with +Turnus, Aeneas returned with his Tuscan allies, effected a landing, and +began to put the enemy to flight, slaying the tyrant Mezentius and his +son. + +Turnus, hearing of the danger of his friend Lausus, at the hands of +Pallas, who had already wrought great slaughter, sought him out, amazing +the young warrior by his great size. Pallas faced him bravely; but while +his spear only grazed the shoulder of Turnus, the spear of the Rutulian +crushed the folds of iron, bronze, and hides, the corselet's rings of +steel, and buried itself in Pallas's breast. + +Turnus took the sword-belt from Pallas's body; but because of the merit of +the young warrior, yielded his body to the Arcadians to be carried to King +Evander. + +Enraged at the death of his friend, Aeneas fought more fiercely. Especially +anxious was he to meet Turnus; but Juno, determined, if possible, to save +her favorite, decoyed Turnus off the battle-field by assuming the guise of +Aeneas. + +After a truce, during which the armies buried their dead, and the body of +Pallas was sent home to his father, the armies again came together, the +Latins being reinforced by the Amazons, under the leadership of Camilla. +Camilla had been reared by her father, the exile Metabus, and, early +trained to warlike pursuits, had consecrated herself to Diana. Beautiful +as a goddess was she, and so light of foot that she could fly over the +tops of the tallest wheat without harming the ears. + +Within the walls of Latium there was quarrelling between the parties, +Drances, leader of the peace party, accusing Turnus of bringing on and +continuing the hostilities. The approach of Aeneas brought these disputes +to an abrupt conclusion, and Camilla, with Turnus, hastened to battle. +Many victims fell by Camilla's hand that day, as she rode about the field, +her breast bare, her hand clasping her double battle-axe, before Aruns +struck her down and fled, frightened at his victory. + +In Latium the unhappiness increased, and Turnus, enraged at the reproaches +heaped upon him, declared that he would decide the war by single combat +with Aeneas. Latinus made no secret of his regret at having been compelled +to break his compact with Aeneas; but Amata, still furious, raged against +Aeneas, and declared that she would die if he were made her son-in-law. + +The preparations were made for the single combat, the sacrifices at the +altars, the crowds assembled to witness the combat; but just as the kings +were solemnizing the agreement, Turnus's sister, Juturna, a river goddess, +beloved of Jupiter, renewed the hostilities that Turnus might be saved. A +weapon hurled from the Latin ranks caused the indignant Trojans to rise in +arms, forgetful of the treaty, and the fight raged more fiercely than +before. + +Juturna, fearful from Juno's words of the fate of Turnus, assumed the +guise of Metiscus, his charioteer, and drove her brother over the field +far from the angry Aeneas, who, weary of waiting for Turnus, turned towards +Latium. The frightened people rushed hither and thither, and the queen, +seeing the approaching foe, the roofs in flames, and no troops of Turnus +in sight, supposed the Rutulian dead, and hanged herself. + +In the mean time, Turnus, remote from the fight, reproached his sister. +"Think'st thou not I recognized thee? Thy deceit is in vain. Is to die so +wretched a thing? Let us go to the battle. At least, I will die not +unworthy of my ancestry." + +As he spoke, Saces, wounded and bleeding, rushed to him, imploring: +"Turnus, have pity on us; come to our rescue! The Latins call thee, the +queen is dead, the phalanxes crowd thick around the gates, while thou +drivest idly here." + +Turnus, amazed, confused, and shamed, saw flames consuming the towers of +Latium. + +"Now, sister, the fates control. Desist! It is too late, I will be shamed +no more!" Leaping from his chariot, he rushed forward, demanding that war +cease in order that he and Aeneas might decide the battle in single combat. + +When Turnus's sword broke on the helmet of Aeneas,--the sword of his +charioteer, that he had seized by mistake instead of his own Styx-hardened +blade,--he turned and fled, Aeneas pursuing. + +Above, in Olympus, Jupiter and Juno quarrelled, as they watched the heroes +circling over the yellow sand. + +"Give over thy enmity," said the omnipotent father. "Thou hast caused the +treaty to be violated; even now thou hast made Juturna return the lost +sword to Turnus--in vain. Grieve no more, and goad no longer these +suffering men of Troy." + +Then Juno yielded, stipulating only that the Trojans lay aside their +ancient name, that Latium remain Latium, and the future growth Roman. + +Juturna, warned by Jove's messenger, a bird of evil omen, tore her locks +and beat her breast, regretting the gift of immortality conferred on her +by Jove. Then wrapping her gray veil about her, she fled to her watery +throne that she might not see the death of her brother. The frightened +Turnus, still fleeing from Aeneas, abandoned his sword and took up instead +a mighty rock, a landmark such as scarce six men could uplift. + +Hurling this at Aeneas, he stood, his blood running chill, his eyes cast +towards the Rutuli, the town, and the spear of Aeneas, that, shrieking +through the air, doom laden, wrecked his heavy shield and pierced his +thigh. + +"Mercy!" he prayed. "Fate hath given thee the advantage. Think, thou +duteous son, of my old father, Daunus." + +As Aeneas stood, softened, and ready to grant the request, the sword-belt +of Pallas caught his eye. + +"Shalt thou escape, decked out with Pallas's spoils? No, not I slay thee, +but Pallas! His hand immolates thee!" As he spoke he plunged his sword in +Turnus's breast. + +Chilly death came, and the warrior's spirit fled, groaning to the shades. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE AENEID. + +NISUS AND EURYALUS. + + +While Aeneas, finding the Latins hostile to him, sailed up the Tiber in +search of allies, the troops he left behind under Ascanius were attacked +by Turnus, and their slight fortifications besieged. They were sorely +pressed, and longed to be able to inform Aeneas of their need. + + Nisus was guardian of the gate, + No bolder heart in war's debate, + The son of Hyrtacus, whom Ide + Sent, with his quiver at his side, + From hunting beasts in mountain brake + To follow in Aeneas' wake: + With him Euryalus, fair boy; + None fairer donned the arms of Troy; + His tender cheek as yet unshorn + And blossoming with youth new-born. + Love made them one in every thought: + In battle side by side they fought; + And now in duty at the gate + The twain in common station wait. + "Can it be Heaven," said Nisus then, + "That lends such warmth to hearts of men, + Or passion surging past control + That plays the god to each one's soul? + Long time, impatient of repose, + My swelling heart within me glows, + And yearns its energy to fling + On war, or some yet grander thing. + See there the foe, with vain hope flushed! + Their lights are scant, their stations hushed: + Unnerved by slumber and by wine + Their bravest chiefs are stretched supine. + Now to my doubting thought give heed + And listen where its motions lead. + Our Trojan comrades, one and all, + Cry loud, Aeneas to recall, + And where, they say, the men to go + And let him of our peril know? + Now if the meed I ask they swear + To give you--nay, I claim no share, + Content with bare renown-- + Meseems, beside yon grassy heap + The way I well might find and keep, + To Pallanteum's town." + The youth returns, while thirst of praise + Infects him with a strange amaze: + "Can Nisus aim at heights so great, + Nor take his friend to share his fate? + Shall I look on, and let you go + Alone to venture 'mid the foe? + Not thus my sire Opheltes, versed + In war's rude toil, my childhood nursed, + When Argive terror filled the air + And Troy was battling with despair: + Nor such the lot my youth has tried, + In hardship ever at your side, + Since, great Aeneas' liegeman sworn, + I followed Fortune to her bourne: + Here, here within this bosom burns + A soul that mere existence spurns, + And holds the fame you seek to reap, + Though bought with life, were bought full cheap." + + "Not mine the thought," brave Nisus said, + "To wound you with so base a dread: + So may great Jove, or whosoe'er + Marks with just eyes how mortals fare, + Protect me going, and restore + In triumph to your arms once more. + But if--for many a chance, you wis, + Besets an enterprise like this-- + If accident or power divine + The scheme to adverse end incline, + Your life at least I would prolong: + Death does your years a deeper wrong. + Leave me a friend to tomb my clay, + Rescued or ransomed, which you may; + Or, e'en that boon should chance refuse, + To pay the absent funeral dues. + Nor let me cause so dire a smart + To that devoted mother's heart, + Who, sole of all the matron train, + Attends her darling o'er the main, + Nor cares like others to sit down + An inmate of Acestes' town." + He answers brief: "Your pleas are naught: + Firm stands the purpose of my thought: + Come, stir we: why so slow?" + Then calls the guards to take their place, + Moves on by Nisus, pace with pace, + And to the prince they go. + All other creatures wheresoe'er + Were stretched in sleep, forgetting care: + Troy's chosen chiefs in high debate + Were pondering o'er the reeling state, + What means to try, or whom to speed + To show Aeneas of their need. + There stand they, midway in the field, + Still hold the spear, still grasp the shield: + When Nisus and his comrade brave + With eager tones admittance crave; + The matter high; though time be lost, + The occasion well were worth the cost, + Iulus hails the impatient pair, + Bids Nisus what they wish declare. + Then spoke the youth: "Chiefs I lend your ears, + Nor judge our proffer by our years. + The Rutules, sunk in wine and sleep, + Have ceased their former watch to keep: + A stealthy passage have we spied + Where on the sea the gate opes wide: + The line of fires is scant and broke, + And thick and murky rolls the smoke. + Give leave to seek, in these dark hours, + Aeneas at Evander's towers, + Soon will you see us here again + Decked with the spoils of slaughtered men. + Nor strange the road: ourselves have seen + The city, hid by valleys green, + Just dimly dawning, and explored + In hunting all the river-board." + Out spoke Aletes, old and gray: + "Ye gods, who still are Ilium's stay, + No, no, ye mean not to destroy + Down to the ground the race of Troy, + When such the spirit of her youth, + And such the might of patriot truth." + Then, as the tears roll down his face, + He clasps them both in strict embrace: + "Brave warriors! what rewards so great, + For worth like yours to compensate? + From Heaven and from your own true heart + Expect the largest, fairest part: + The rest, and at no distant day, + The good Aeneas shall repay, + Nor he, the royal youth, forget + Through all his life the mighty debt." + "Nay, hear me too," Ascanius cried, + "Whose life is with my father's tied: + O Nisus! by the home-god powers + We jointly reverence, yours and ours, + The god of ancient Capys' line, + And Vesta's venerable shrine, + By these dread sanctions I appeal + To you, the masters of my weal; + Oh, bring me back my sire again! + Restore him, and I feel no pain. + Two massy goblets will I give; + Rich sculptures on the silver live; + The plunder of my sire, + What time he took Arisba's hold; + Two chargers, talents twain of gold, + A bowl beside of antique mould + By Dido brought from Tyre. + Then, too, if ours the lot to reign + O'er Italy by conquest ta'en, + And each man's spoil assign,-- + Saw ye how Turnus rode yestreen, + His horse and arms of golden sheen? + That horse, that shield and glowing crest + I separate, Nisus, from the rest + And count already thine. + Twelve female slaves, at your desire, + Twelve captives with their arms entire, + My sire shall give you, and the plain + That forms Latinus' own domain. + But you, dear youth, of worth divine, + Whose blooming years are nearer mine, + Here to my heart I take, and choose + My comrade for whate'er ensues. + No glory will I e'er pursue, + Unmotived by the thought of you: + Let peace or war my state befall, + Thought, word, and deed, you share them all." + The youth replied: "No after day + This hour's fair promise shall betray, + Be fate but kind. Yet let me claim + One favor, more than all you name: + A mother in the camp is mine, + Derived from Priam's ancient line: + No home in Sicily or Troy + Has kept her from her darling boy. + She knows not, she, the paths I tread; + I leave her now, no farewell said; + By night and this your hand I swear, + A parent's tears I could not bear. + Vouchsafe your pity, and engage + To solace her unchilded age: + And I shall meet whate'er betide + By such assurance fortified." + With sympathy and tender grief + All melt in tears, Iulus chief, + As filial love in other shown + Recalled the semblance of his own: + And, "Tell your doubting heart," he cries, + "All blessings wait your high emprise: + I take your mother for my own, + Creusa, save in name alone, + Nor lightly deem the affection due + To her who bore a child like you. + Come what come may, I plight my troth + By this my head, my father's oath, + The bounty to yourself decreed + Should favoring gods your journey speed, + The same shall in your line endure, + To parent and to kin made sure." + He spoke, and weeping still, untied + A gilded falchion from his side, + Lycaon's work, the man of Crete, + With sheath of ivory complete: + Brave Mnestheus gives for Nisus' wear + A lion's hide with shaggy hair; + Aletes, old in danger grown, + His helmet takes, and gives his own. + Then to the gates, as forth they fare, + The band of chiefs with many a prayer + The gallant twain attends: + Iulus, manlier than his years, + Oft whispering, for his father's ears + Full many a message sends: + But be it message, be it prayer, + Alike 'tis lost, dispersed in air. + + The trenches past, through night's deep gloom + The hostile camp they near: + Yet many a foe shall meet his doom + Or ere that hour appear. + There see they bodies stretched supine, + O'ercome with slumber and with wine; + The cars, unhorsed, are drawn up high; + 'Twixt wheels and harness warriors lie, + With arms and goblets on the grass + In undistinguishable mass. + "Now," Nisus cried, "for hearts and hands: + This, this the hour our force demands. + Here pass we: yours the rear to mind, + Lest hostile arm be raised behind; + Myself will go before and slay, + While carnage opes a broad highway." + So whispers he with bated breath, + And straight begins the work of death + On Rhamnes, haughty lord; + On rugs he lay, in gorgeous heap, + From all his bosom breathing sleep, + A royal seer by Turnus loved: + But all too weak his seer-craft proved + To stay the rushing sword. + Three servants next the weapon found + Stretched 'mid their armor on the ground: + Then Remus' charioteer he spies + Beneath the coursers as he lies, + And lops his downdropt head; + The ill-starred master next he leaves, + A headless trunk, that gasps and heaves: + Forth spouts the blood from every vein, + And deluges with crimson rain, + Green earth and broidered bed. + Then Lamyrus and Lamus died, + Serranus, too, in youth's fair pride: + That night had seen him long at play: + Now by the dream-god tamed he lay: + Ah, had his play but matched the night, + Nor ended till the dawn of light! + So famished lion uncontrolled + Makes havoc through the teeming fold, + As frantic hunger craves; + Mangling and harrying far and near + The meek, mild victims, mute with fear, + With gory jaws he raves. + Nor less Euryalus performs: + The thirst of blood his bosom warms; + 'Mid nameless multitudes he storms, + Herbesus, Fadus, Abaris kills + Slumbering and witless of their ills, + While Rhoetus wakes and sees the whole, + But hides behind a massy bowl. + There, as to rise the trembler strove, + Deep in his breast the sword he drove, + And bathed in death withdrew. + The lips disgorge the life's red flood, + A mingled stream of wine and blood: + He plies his blade anew. + Now turns he to Messapus' band, + For there the fires he sees + Burnt out, while coursers hard at hand + Are browsing at their ease, + When Nisus marks the excess of zeal, + The maddening fever of the steel, + And checks him thus with brief appeal: + "Forbear we now; 't will soon be day: + Our wrath is slaked, and hewn our way." + Full many a spoil they leave behind + Of solid silver thrice refined, + Armor and bowls of costliest mould + And rugs in rich confusion rolled. + A belt Euryalus puts on + With golden knobs, from Rhamnes won, + Of old by Caedicus 't was sent, + An absent friendship to cement, + To Remulus, fair Tibur's lord, + Who, dying, to his grandson left + The shining prize: the Rutule sword + In after days the trophy reft. + Athwart his manly chest in vain + He binds these trappings of the slain; + Then 'neath his chin in triumph laced + Messapus' helm, with plumage graced, + The camp at length they leave behind, + And round the lake securely wind. + + Meanwhile a troop is on its way, + From Latium's city sped, + An offshoot from the host that lay + Along the host in close array, + Three hundred horsemen, sent to bring + A message back to Turnus, king, + With Volscens at their head. + Now to the camp they draw them nigh, + Beneath the rampart's height, + When from afar the twain they spy, + Still steering from the right; + The helmet through the glimmering shade + At once the unwary boy betrayed, + Seen in the moon's full light. + Not lost the sight on jealous eyes: + "Ho! stand! who are ye?" Volscens cries, + "Whence come, or whither tend?" + No movement deign they of reply, + But swifter to the forest fly, + And make the night their friend. + With fatal speed the mounted foes + Each avenue as with network close, + And every outlet bar. + It was a forest bristling grim + With shade of ilex, dense and dim: + Thick brushwood all the ground o'ergrew: + The tangled ways a path ran through, + Faint glimmering like a star. + The darkling boughs, the cumbering prey + Euryalus's flight delay: + His courage fails, his footsteps stray: + But Nisus onward flees; + No thought he takes, till now at last + The enemy is all o'erpast, + E'en at the grove, since Alban called, + Where then Latinus' herds were stalled: + Sudden he pauses, looks behind + In eager hope his friend to find: + In vain: no friend he sees. + "Euryalus, my chiefest care, + Where left I you, unhappy? where? + What clue may guide my erring tread + This leafy labyrinth back to thread?" + Then, noting each remembered track, + He thrids the wood, dim-seen and black. + Listening, he hears the horse-hoofs' beat, + The clatter of pursuing feet. + A little moment--shouts arise, + And lo! Euryalus he spies, + Whom now the foemen's gathered throng + Is hurrying helplessly along. + While vain resistance he essays, + Trapped by false night and treacherous ways. + What should he do? what force employ + To rescue the beloved boy? + Plunge through the spears that line the wood, + And death and glory win with blood? + Not unresolved, he poises soon + A javelin, looking to the Moon: + "Grant, goddess, grant thy present aid, + Queen of the stars, Latonian maid, + The greenwood's guardian power; + If, grateful for success of mine, + With gifts my sire has graced thy shrine, + If e'er myself have brought thee spoil, + The tribute of my hunter's toil, + To ornament thy roof divine, + Or glitter on thy tower, + These masses give me to confound, + And guide through air my random wound." + He spoke, and hurled with all his might; + The swift spear hurtles through the night: + Stout Sulmo's back the stroke receives: + The wood, though snapped, the midriff cleaves. + He falls, disgorging life's warm tide, + And long-drawn sobs distend his side. + All gaze around: another spear + The avenger levels from his ear, + And launches on the sky. + Tagus lies pierced through temples twain, + The dart deep buried in his brain. + Fierce Volscens storms, yet finds no foe, + Nor sees the hand that dealt the blow, + Nor knows on whom to fly. + "Your heart's warm blood for both shall pay," + He cries, and on his beauteous prey + With naked sword he sprang. + Scared, maddened, Nisus shrieks aloud: + No more he hides in night's dark shroud, + Nor bears the o'erwhelming pang: + "Me, guilty me, make me your aim, + O Rutules! mine is all the blame; + He did no wrong, nor e'er could do; + That sky, those stars attest 't is true; + Love for his friend too freely shown, + This was his crime, and this alone." + In vain he spoke: the sword, fierce driven, + That alabaster breast had riven. + Down falls Euryalus, and lies + In death's enthralling agonies: + Blood trickles o'er his limbs of snow; + "His head sinks gradually low": + Thus, severed by the ruthless plough, + Dim fades a purple flower: + Their weary necks so poppies bow, + O'erladen by the shower. + But Nisus on the midmost flies, + With Volscens, Volscens in his eyes: + In clouds the warriors round him rise, + Thick hailing blow on blow: + Yet on he bears, no stint, no stay, + Like thunderbolt his falchion's sway: + Till as for aid the Rutule shrieks + Plunged in his throat the weapon reeks: + The dying hand has reft away + The life-blood of its foe. + Then, pierced to death, asleep he fell + On the dead breast he loved so well. + + Blest pair! if aught my verse avail, + No day shall make your memory fail + From off the heart of time, + While Capitol abides in place, + The mansion of the Aeneian race, + And throned upon that moveless base + Rome's father sits sublime. + _Conington's Translation, Book IX_. + + + + + +BEOWULF. + + +Beowulf, the only Anglo-Saxon epic preserved entire, was composed in +southwest Sweden probably before the eighth century, and taken to England, +where it was worked over and Christianized by the Northumbrian poets. + +It is variously attributed to the fifth, seventh, and eighth centuries; +but the seventh is most probably correct, since the Higelac of the poem +has been identified with Chocilaicus of the "Gesta Regum Francorum," a +Danish king who invaded Gaul in the days of Theuderic, son of Clovis, and +died near the close of the sixth century. + +The only manuscript of the poem in existence is thought to be of the tenth +century. It is preserved in the British Museum. Since 1837 much interest +has been manifested in the poem, and many editions of it have been given +to the public. + +Beowulf contains three thousand one hundred and eighty-four lines. It is +written in alliterative verse. The lines are written in pairs, and each +perfect line contains three alliterating words,--two in the first part, +and one in the second. + +The unknown writer of Beowulf cannot be praised for his skill in +composition; the verse is rude, as was the language in which it was +written. But it is of the greatest interest to us because of the pictures +it gives of the everyday lives of the people whose heroic deeds it +relates,--the drinking in the mead-halls, the relation of the king to his +warriors, the description of the armor, the ships, and the halls. The +heroes are true Anglo-Saxon types,--bold, fearless, ready to go to the +assistance of any one in trouble, no matter how great the risk to +themselves; and as ready to drink mead and boast of their valor after the +peril is over. In spite of the attempt to Christianize the poem, it is +purely pagan; the most careless reader can discover the priestly +interpolations. And it has the greater value to us because it refused to +be moulded by priestly hands, but remained the rude but heroic monument of +our Saxon ancestors. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, BEOWULF. + + +B. Ten Brink's Early English Literature, Tr. by Kennedy; + +S. A. Brooke's History of Early English Literature, 1892, p. 12; + +W. F. Collier's History of English Literature, p. 19; + +G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, pp. +382-398; in 1880 ed. pp. 189-201; + +Isaac Disraeli's Amenities of Literature, i. 65-73; + +J. Earle's Anglo-Saxon Literature; + +T. W. Hunt's Ethical Teaching in Beowulf (in his Ethical Teachings in Old +English Literature, 1892, pp. 66-77); + +H. Morley's English Writers, 1887, pp. 276-354; + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, 1886, i. 62; + +S. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, iii. 326; in ed. 3, i. 456; + +J. Harrison's Old Teutonic Life in Beowulf (in the Overland Monthly, July, +1894); + +F. A. March's The World of Beowulf (in Proceedings of American +Philological Association, 1882). + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, BEOWULF. + + +Beowulf, edition with English translation, notes and glossary by Thomas +Arnold, 1876; + +The Deeds of Beowulf, 1892; + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Garnett, 1882 (translated line for line); + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. L. Hall, 1892, metrical translation; + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Kemble, with copious glossary, preface, and +philological notes, 2 vols., 1833-37; + +Beowulf translated into modern rhymes, by H. W. Lumsden, 1881; + +Beowulf, Tr. by Benjamin Thorpe, Literal translation, notes and glossary, +1875. + + + + +THE STORY OF BEOWULF. + + +A mighty man was Scyld, ruler of the Gar-Danes. From far across the +whale-path men paid him tribute and bore witness to his power. Beowulf was +his son, a youth endowed with glory, whose fame spread far and wide +through all the Danish land. + +When the time came for Scyld to die he ordered his thanes to prepare the +ring-stemmed ship, laden with treasures, battle-weed, and swords, and +place him in the death-chamber. Laden with his people's gifts, and sailing +under a golden banner, he passed from sight, none knew whither. + +After him ruled Beowulf, and after him Healfdene,--brave warriors and kind +monarchs. When, after Healfdene's death, his son Hrothgar succeeded him, +his fame in war inclined all his kinsmen towards him, and he, too, became +a mighty monarch. + +To the mind of Hrothgar it came to build a lordly mead-hall where he and +his men could find pleasure in feasting, drinking mead, and hearing the +songs of the minstrels. Heorot it was called, and when its high spires +rose glistening in the air, all hailed it with delight. + +But, alas! The joy in hall, the melody of the harp, and the shouts of the +warriors penetrated to the dismal fen where lay concealed the monster +Grendel, descendant of sin-cursed Cain. At night came Grendel to the hall, +found sleeping the troop of warriors, and bore away in his foul hands +thirty of the honored thanes. Great was the sorrow in Heorot when in the +morning twilight the deed of Grendel became known. + +For twelve long winters did this sorrow continue; for so long a time was +Hrothgar plunged in grief; for so many years did this beautiful mead-hall, +destined for joyful things, stand idle. + +While thus the grief-stricken lord of the Scyldings brooded over his +wrongs, and the people besought their idols vainly for aid, the tidings of +Grendel's ravages were conveyed to the court of the Gothic king, Higelac, +and thus reached the ears of a highborn thane, Beowulf. A strong man was +he, his grasp equal to that of thirty men. + +Straightway commanded he a goodly ship to be made ready, chose fifteen of +his bravest Goths, and swiftly they sailed over the swan-path to the great +headlands and bright sea-cliffs of the Scyldings. + +High on the promontory stood the guard of Hrothgar. "What men be ye who +hither come?" cried he. "Not foes, surely. Ye know no pass word, yet +surely ye come on no evil errand. Ne'er saw I a greater lord than he who +leads the band. Who are ye?" + +"Higelac's man am I," answered the leader. "Ecgtheow, my sire; my name, +Beowulf. Lead me, I pray thee, to thy lord, for I have come over seas to +free him forever from his secret foe, and to lift the cloud that hangs +over the stately mead-hall." + +Over the stone-paved streets the warder led the warriors, their armor +clanking, their boar-tipped helmets sparkling, to the goodly hall, Heorot. +There were they warmly welcomed, for Hrothgar had known Beowulf's sire; +the fame of the young man's strength had also reached him, and he trusted +that in his strong grasp Grendel should die. + +All took their seats on the mead-benches, and a thane passed from warrior +to warrior, bearing the chased wine-cup. Sweet was the minstrel's song, +and the warriors were happy in Heorot. + +But Hunferd sat at the banquet, and envious of Beowulf's fame, taunted him +with his swimming match with Breca. "Seven days and nights thou didst swim +with Breca; but he was stronger, and he won. Worse will befall thee, if +thou dar'st this night await Grendel!" + +"Easy it is to brag of Breca's deeds when drunk with beer, friend +Hunferd!" replied Beowulf. "Seven days and nights I swam through the +sea-water, slaying the monsters of the deep. Rough was the wave, terrible +were the water beasts; but I reached the Finnish land. Wert thou as brave +as thou claim'st to be, Grendel would ne'er have wrought such havoc in thy +monarch's land." + +Decked with gold, Queen Waltheow passed through the hall, greeted the +warriors, and proffered the mead-cup to Beowulf, thanking God that she had +found an earl who would deliver them from their enemy. + +When dusky night fell over Heorot, the king uprose. "To no other man have +I ever entrusted this hall of gold. Have now and keep it! Great reward +shall be thine if thou come forth alive!" + +The knights left in the lordly hall composed themselves for slumber, all +save Beowulf, who, unarmed, awaited the coming of Grendel. + +He came, with wrathful step and eyes aflame, bursting open the iron bolts +of the great door, and laughing at the goodly array of men sleeping before +him. On one he laid hands and drank his blood; then he clutched the +watchful Beowulf. + +Ne'er had he found a foe like this! Fearful, he turned to flee to his home +in the fen, but the grip of Beowulf forbade flight. Strongly was Heorot +builded, but many a gilded mead-bench was torn from the walls as the two +combated within the hall. The sword blade was of no avail, and him must +Beowulf bring to death by the strength of his grip alone. At last, with a +scream that struck terror to every Dane's heart, the monster sprang from +Beowulf and fled, leaving in the warrior's grasp his arm and shoulder. +Great was Beowulf's joy, for he knew that the wound meant death. + +When the king and queen came forth in the morning with their nobles and +maids, and saw the grisly arm of Grendel fastened upon the roof of Heorot, +they gave themselves up to rejoicing. Gifts were heaped upon Beowulf,--a +golden crest, a banner bright, a great and goodly sword and helm and +corselet, eight steeds with headstalls ornamented with gold plate, and a +richly decorated saddle. Nor were his comrades forgotten, but to each were +given rich gifts. + +When the mead-hall had been cleansed and refitted, they gathered therein +and listened to the song of the bard who told how Healfdene's knight, +Hnćf, smote Finn. The song over, the queen, crowned with gold, gave gifts +to Beowulf, the liberator from the horrors of Grendel,--two armlets, a +necklace, raiment, and rings. When the drinking and feasting were over, +the king and Beowulf withdrew, leaving many earls to keep the hall. Little +guessed they that one of them was that night doomed to die! + +The haunt of Grendel was a mile-wide mere. Around it were wolf-haunted +cliffs, windy promontories, mist-covered mountains. Close around the mere +hung the woods, shrouding the water, which, horrible sight, was each night +covered with fire. It was a place accursed; near it no man might dwell; +the deer that plunged therein straightway died. + +In a palace under the mere dwelt Grendel and his mother; she, a foul +sprite, whom the peasants had sometimes seen walking with her son over the +meadows. From her dwelling-place she now came forth to avenge the death of +her son, and snatched away from the group of sleeping Ring-Danes the good +Ćschere, dearest of all his thanes to Hrothgar. + +Loud was Hrothgar's wailing when at morning Beowulf came forth from his +bower. + +"Sorrow not, O wise man," spake Beowulf. "I fear not. I will seek out this +monster and destroy her. If I come not back it will at least be better +than to have lost my glory. She can never hide from me. I ween that I will +this day rid thee of thine enemy." + +Accompanied by Hrothgar, some of the Ring-Danes and his Goths, Beowulf +sought the dismal mere, on whose brink they found the head of Ćschere. +Among the bloody waves swam horrible shapes, Nicors and sea-drakes, that +fled at a blast of the war-horn. Beowulf slew one of the monsters, and +while his companions were marvelling at the grisly form, he prepared +himself for the combat. His breast was guarded by a coat of mail woven +most cunningly; upon his head shone the gold-adorned helmet, and in his +hand was Hunferd's sword, Hrunting, made of iron steeped in twigs of +bitter poison, annealed in battle blood, and fearful to every foe. + +"Hearken unto me, O Hrothgar," cried the hero. "If I return not, treat +well my comrades and send my gifts to Higelac, that he may see the deed I +have accomplished, and the generous ring-lord I have gained among the +Scyldings." And without waiting for a reply, he leaped into the waves and +was lost to sight. + +There was the monster waiting for him; and catching him in her grip, which +bruised him not because of his strong mail-coat, she dragged him to her +cave, in whose lighted hall he could see the horrible features of the +woman of the mere. Strong was Hrunting, but of no avail was its mighty +blade against her. Soon he threw it down, and gripped her, reckless of +peril. Once he threw her on the ground, but the second time she threw him, +and drew her glaive to pierce his breast. Strong was the linked mail, and +Beowulf was safe. Then his quick eye lighted on a sword,--a magic, giant +sword; few men could wield it. Quickly he grasped it, and smote the neck +of the sea-woman. Broken were the bone-rings, and down she fell dead. Then +Ecgtheow's son looked around the hall and saw the body of the dead +Grendel. Thirsting to take his revenge, he smote him with his sword. Off +flew the head; but when the red drops of blood touched the magic blade it +melted, leaving but the massive golden hilt in the hands of the hero. +Beowulf took no treasure from the cave, but rose through the waves, +carrying only the head of the monster and the hilt of the sword. + +When Hrothgar and his men saw the mere red and boiling with blood they +deemed that Beowulf was dead, and departed to their citadel. Sorrowful sat +the comrades of Beowulf, waiting and hoping against hope for his +reappearance. Up sprang they when they saw him, joyfully greeted him, +relieved him of his bloody armor, and conducted him to Hrothgar, +bearing--a heavy task--the head of Grendel. + +When Hrothgar saw the hideous head and the mighty sword-hilt, whose +history he read from its Runic inscriptions, he hailed Beowulf with joy, +and proclaimed him the mightiest of men. "But ever temper thy might with +wisdom," advised the king, "that thou suffer not the end of Heremod, or be +punished as I have been, in this my spacious mead-hall." + +After a night's rest, Beowulf prepared to return to his country. Returning +Hrunting to Hunferd, he praised the sword, saying nothing of its failure +in the fight. Then to Hrothgar: "Farewell. If e'er thou art harried by +foes, but let me know,--a thousand fighting men I'll bring. Higelac, well +I know, will urge me on to honor thee. If e'er thy son seeks Gothic halls, +I will intercede and win friends for him." + +The old king, weeping, bade Beowulf farewell. "Peace be forever between +the Goths and the Gar-Danes; in common their treasures! May gifts be +interchanged between them!" + +The bark was filled with the gifts heaped upon Beowulf and his men; and +the warder, who had hailed them so proudly at their coming, now bade them +an affectionate farewell. Over the swan-path sailed they, and soon reached +the Gothic coast, and landed their treasures. + +Then went Beowulf before Higelac and told him of his adventures. Higelac +was a mighty king; lofty his house and hall, and fair and gentle was his +wife, Hygd. To him, after he had related his adventures, Beowulf presented +the boar-head crest, the battle-mail and sword, four of the steeds, and +much treasure, and upon the wise and modest Hygd bestowed he the wondrous +necklace given him by Waltheow. So should a good thane ever do! + +There had been a time when Beowulf was accounted a sluggish knight, but +now the land rang with his glory. + +When Higelac died and Hardred was slain, Beowulf succeeded to the throne, +and for fifty years ruled the people gloriously. + +At this time a great fire-drake cherished a vast hoard in a cave on a high +cliff, difficult of access, and known to few men. Thither one day fled a +thrall from his master's wrath, and saw the hoard buried by some weary +warrior, and now guarded by the dragon. While the drake slept, the thrall +crept in and stole a cup as a peace-offering to his master. + +When the drake awoke, he scented the foot-prints of the foe, and +discovered his loss. When even was come, he hastened to wreak his revenge +on the people, spewing out flames of fire, and laying waste the land. + +Far and near were the lands of the Goths devastated, and ere long, tidings +were borne to Beowulf that his great hall, his gift seat, was destroyed by +fire. Saddened, and fearing that he had in some way angered God, he turned +his mind to vengeance, and girded on his armor. A stout shield of iron he +took, knowing that the dragon's fiery breath would melt the wood, and with +foreboding of his fate, bade farewell to his hearth-mates. "Many times +have I battled, great deeds have I done with sword and with hand-grip; now +must I go forth and battle with hand and sword against the hoard-keeper." + +Commanding the men who had accompanied him to remain upon the hillside, +leaving him to combat with the dragon alone, Beowulf went proudly forward, +shouting his battle-cry. Out rushed the dragon, full of deadly hate. His +fiery breath was stronger than the king had deemed it. Stroke upon stroke +he gave his enemy, who continued to cast forth his death-fire, so that +Beowulf stood girt with flames. + +From afar, among the watching thanes, Wiglaf saw his monarch's peril. +"Comrades," he cried, "do you remember our promises to our king? Was it +for this he stirred us up to glorious deeds? Was it for this he heaped +gifts upon us? Let us go to his rescue. It is not right that we should see +our lord fall, and bear away our shields untouched!" + +Rushing forward, he cried, "Beowulf, here am I! Now strike for thy life! +Thou hast said that thou never wouldst let thy fame depart from thee!" + +Again the dragon came forth; again it enveloped its foeman in flames. The +linden shield of Wiglaf burned in his hands, and he sought shelter behind +Beowulf's shield of iron. Again and again Wiglaf smote the monster, and +when the flames burnt low, Beowulf seized his dirk and pierced the dragon +so that he fell dead. + +The dragon lay dead, but Beowulf felt the poison in his wounds and knew +that he had not long to live. He commanded Wiglaf to bring forth the +treasure that he might gaze upon the hoard,--jewel work and twisted +gold,--that he had wrested from the fire-drake. + +The den was filled with rings of gold, cups, banners, jewels, dishes, and +the arms of the old owner of the treasure. All these did Wiglaf bear forth +to his lord, who surveyed them, and uttered thanks to his Maker, that he +could win such a treasure. Then, turning to Wiglaf, he said, "Now I die. +Build for me upon the lofty shore a bright mound that shall ever remind my +people of me. Far in the distance their ships shall descry it, and they +shall call it Beowulf's mound." Then, giving his arms to Wiglaf, he bade +him enjoy them. "Thou art the last of our race. All save us, fate-driven, +are gone to doom. Thither go I too." + +Bitterly did Wiglaf denounce his comrades when he saw them steal from +their hiding-places. "Well may it be said of you that he who gave you your +arms threw them away. No thanks deserve ye for the slaughter of the +dragon! I did my little, but it was not in my power to save my kinsman. +Too few helpers stood about him! Now shall your kin be wanting in gifts. +Void are ye of land-rights! Better is it for an earl to die than to live +with a blasted name!" + +Sorrowful were the people when they heard of the death of Beowulf. Full +well they knew with what joy the tidings would be hailed by their enemies, +who would hasten to harry the land, now that their great leader was gone. +The Frisians, the Merovingians, the Franks, the Swedes,--all had their +grievances, which they would hasten to wreak on the Goths when they +learned that the dreaded king was gone. Dreary would be the land of the +Goths; on its battle-fields the wolves would batten; the ravens would call +to the eagles as they feasted on the slain. + +Straight to the Eagle's Nest went the band, and found their dead monarch; +there, too, lay the loathsome fire-drake, full fifty feet long, and +between them the great hoard, rust-eaten from long dwelling in the earth. +Ever had that hoard brought ill with it. + +Down from the cliff they thrust the dragon into the deep, and carried +their chief to Hronesness. There they built a lofty pile, decked it with +his armor, and burned thereon the body of their glorious ruler. According +to his wish, they reared on the cliff a broad, high barrow, surrounded it +with a wall, and laid within it the treasure. There yet it lies, of little +worth to men! + +Then around the barrow rode twelve of the bravest, boldest nobles, +mourning their king, singing his praises, chanting a dirge, telling of his +glorious deeds, while over the broad land the Gothic folk lamented the +death of their tender prince, their noble king, Beowulf. + + + + +SELECTION FROM BEOWULF. + +GRENDEL'S MOTHER. + + +There was great rejoicing in Heorot when Beowulf slew Grendel, and at +night the earls again slept in the hall as they had not dared to do since +the coming of the fiend. But Grendel's mother came to avenge her son's +death and slew Ćschere, a favorite liegeman of Hrothgar's. In the morning, +Beowulf, who had slept in another part of the palace, was sent for and +greeted Hrothgar, unaware of his loss. + + Hrothgar rejoined, helm of the Scyldings: + "Ask not of joyance! Grief is renewed to + The folk of the Danemen. Dead is Ćschere, + Yrmenlaf's brother, older than he, + My true-hearted counsellor, trusty adviser, + Shoulder-companion, when fighting in battle + Our heads we protected, when troopers were clashing, + And heroes were dashing; such an earl should be ever, + An erst-worthy atheling, as Ćschere proved him. + The flickering death-spirit became in Heorot + His hand-to-hand murderer; I cannot tell whither + The cruel one turned, in the carcass exulting, + By cramming discovered. The quarrel she wreaked then, + The last night igone Grendel thou killedst + In grewsomest manner, with grim-holding clutches, + Since too long he had lessened my liege-troop and wasted + My folk-men so foully. He fell in the battle + With forfeit of life, and another has followed, + A mighty crime-worker, her kinsman avenging, + And henceforth hath 'stablished her hatred unyielding, + As it well may appear to many a liegeman, + Who mourneth in spirit the treasure-bestower, + Her heavy heart-sorrow; the hand is now lifeless + Which availed yon in every wish that you cherished. + Land-people heard I, liegemen, this saying, + Dwellers in halls, they had seen very often + A pair of such mighty march-striding creatures, + Far-dwelling spirits, holding the moorlands: + One of them wore, as well they might notice, + The image of woman, the other one wretched + In guise of a man wandered in exile, + Except that he was huger than any of earthmen; + Earth-dwelling people entitled him Grendel + In days of yore; they knew not their father, + Whe'r ill-going spirits any were borne him + Ever before. They guard the wolf-coverts, + Lands inaccessible, wind-beaten nesses, + Fearfullest fen-deeps, where a flood from the mountains + 'Neath mists of the nesses netherward rattles, + The stream under earth: not far is it henceward + Measured by mile-lengths that the mere-water standeth, + Which forests hang over, with frost-whiting covered, + A firm-rooted forest, the floods overshadow. + There ever at night one an ill-meaning portent + A fire-flood may see; 'mong children of men + None liveth so wise that wot of the bottom; + Though harassed by hounds the heath-stepper seek for, + Fly to the forest, firm-antlered he-deer, + Spurred from afar, his spirit he yieldeth, + His life on the shore, ere in he will venture + To cover his head. Uncanny the place is: + Thence upward ascendeth the surging of waters, + Wan to the welkin, when the wind is stirring + The weathers unpleasing, till the air groweth gloomy, + And the heavens lower. Now is help to be gotten + From thee and thee only! The abode thou know'st not, + The dangerous place where thou'rt able to meet with + The sin-laden hero: seek if thou darest! + For the feud I will fully fee thee with money, + With old-time treasure, as erstwhile I did thee, + With well-twisted jewels, if away thou shalt get thee." + + Beowulf answered, Ecgtheow's son: + "Grieve not, O wise one! for each it is better, + His friend to avenge than with vehemence wail him; + Each of us must the end-day abide of + His earthly existence; who is able accomplish + Glory ere death! To battle-thane noble + Lifeless lying, 't is at last most fitting. + Arise, O king, quick let us hasten + To look at the footprint of the kinsman of Grendel! + I promise thee this now: to his place he'll escape not, + To embrace of the earth, nor to mountainous forest, + Nor to depths of the ocean, wherever he wanders. + Practice thou now patient endurance + Of each of thy sorrows, as I hope for thee soothly!" + Then up sprang the old one, the All-Wielder thanked he, + Ruler Almighty, that the man had outspoken. + Then for Hrothgar a war-horse was decked with a bridle, + Curly-maned courser. The clever folk-leader + Stately proceeded: stepped then an earl-troop + Of linden-wood bearers. Her foot-prints were seen then + Widely in wood-paths, her way o'er the bottoms, + Where she far-away fared o'er fen-country murky, + Bore away breathless the best of retainers + Who pondered with Hrothgar the welfare of country. + The son of the athelings then went o'er the stony, + Declivitous cliffs, the close-covered passes, + Narrow passages, paths unfrequented, + Nesses abrupt, nicker-haunts many; + One of a few of wise-mooded heroes, + He onward advanced to view the surroundings, + Till he found unawares woods of the mountain + O'er hoar-stones hanging, holt-wood unjoyful; + The water stood under, welling and gory. + 'T was irksome in spirit to all of the Danemen, + Friends of the Scyldings, to many a liegeman + Sad to be suffered, a sorrow unlittle + To each of the earlmen, when to Ćschere's head they + Came on the cliff. The current was seething + With blood and with gore (the troopers gazed on it). + The horn anon sang the battle-song ready. + The troop were all seated; they saw 'long the water then + Many a serpent, mere-dragons wondrous + Trying the waters, nickers a-lying + On the cliffs of the nesses, which at noonday full often + Go on the sea-deeps their sorrowful journey, + Wild-beasts and worm-kind; away then they hastened + Hot-mooded, hateful, they heard the great clamor, + The war-trumpet winding. One did the Geat-prince + Sunder from earth-joys, with arrow from bowstring, + From his sea-struggle tore him, that the trusty war-missile + Pierced to his vitals; he proved in the currents + Less doughty at swimming whom death had off-carried. + Soon in the waters the wonderful swimmer + Was straitened most sorely and pulled to the cliff-edge; + The liegemen then looked on the loath-fashioned stranger. + Beowulf donned then his battle-equipments, + Cared little for life; inlaid and most ample, + The hand-woven corselet which could cover his body, + Must the wave-deeps explore, that war might be powerless + To harm the great hero, and the hating one's grasp might + Not peril his safety; his head was protected + By the light-flashing helmet that should mix with the bottoms, + Trying the eddies, treasure-emblazoned, + Encircled with jewels, as in seasons long past + The weapon-smith worked it, wondrously made it, + With swine-bodies fashioned it, that thenceforward no longer + Brand might bite it, and battle-sword hurt it. + And that was not least of helpers in prowess + That Hrothgar's spokesman had lent him when straitened; + And the hilted hand-sword was Hrunting entitled, + Old and most excellent 'mong all of the treasures; + Its blade was of iron, blotted with poison, + Hardened with gore; it failed not in battle + Any hero under heaven in hand who it brandished, + Who ventured to take the terrible journeys, + The battle-field sought; not the earliest occasion + That deeds of daring 't was destined to 'complish. + Ecglaf's kinsman minded not soothly, + Exulting in strength, what erst he had spoken + Drunken with wine, when the weapon he lent to + A sword-hero bolder; himself did not venture + 'Neath the strife of the currents his life to endanger, + To fame-deeds perform; there he forfeited glory, + Repute for his strength. Not so with the other + When he, clad in his corselet, had equipped him for battle. + + Beowulf spoke, Ecgtheow's son: + "Recall now, oh, famous kinsman of Healfdene, + Prince very prudent, now to part I am ready, + Gold-friend of earl-men, what erst we agreed on, + Should I lay down my life in lending thee assistance, + When my earth-joys were over, thou wouldst evermore serve me + In stead of a father; my faithful thanemen, + My trusty retainers, protect thou and care for, + Fall I in battle: and, Hrothgar belovčd, + Send unto Higelac the high-valued jewels + Thou to me hast allotted. The lord of the Geatmen + May perceive from the gold, the Hrethling may see it + When he looks on the jewels, that a gem-giver found I + Good over-measure, enjoyed him while able. + And the ancient heirloom Unferth permit thou, + The famed one to have, the heavy-sword splendid, + The hard-edged weapon; with Hrunting to aid me, + I shall gain me glory, or grim death shall take me." + The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and + Heroic did hasten, not any rejoinder + Was willing to wait for; the wave-current swallowed + The doughty-in-battle. Then a day's-length elapsed ere + He was able to see the sea at its bottom. + Early she found then who fifty of winters + The course of the currents kept in her fury, + Grisly and greedy, that the grim one's dominion + Some one of men from above was exploring. + Forth did she grab them, grappled the warrior + With horrible clutches; yet no sooner she injured + His body unscathed: the burnie out-guarded, + That she proved but powerless to pierce through the armor, + The limb-mail locked, with loath-grabbing fingers. + The sea-wolf bare then, when bottomward came she, + The ring-prince homeward, that he after was powerless. + (He had daring to do it) to deal with his weapons, + But many a mere-beast tormented him swimming, + Flood-beasts no few with fierce-biting tusks did + Break through his burnie, the brave one pursued they. + The earl then discovered he was down in some cavern + Where no water whatever anywise harmed him, + And the clutch of the current could not come anear him, + Since the roofed-hall prevented; brightness a-gleaming + Fire-light he saw, flashing, resplendent. + The good one saw then the sea-bottom's monster, + The mighty mere-woman; he made a great onset + With weapon-of-battle, his hand not desisted + From striking, that war-blade struck on her head then + A battle-song greedy. The stranger perceived then + The sword would not bite, her life would not injure, + But the falchion failed the folk prince when straitened: + Erst had it often onsets encountered, + Oft cloven the helmet, the fated one's armor: + 'T was the first time that ever the excellent jewel + Had failed of its fame. Firm-mooded after, + Not heedless of valor, but mindful of glory, + Was Higelac's kinsman; the hero-chief angry + Cast then his carved-sword covered with jewels + That it lay on earth, hard and steel-pointed; + He hoped in his strength, his hand-grapple sturdy. + So any must act whenever he thinketh + To gain him in battle glory unending, + And is reckless of living. The lord of the War-Geats + (He shrank not from battle) seized by the shoulder + The mother of Grendel; then mighty in struggle + Swung he his enemy, since his anger was kindled, + That she fell to the floor. With furious grapple + She gave him requital early thereafter, + And stretched out to grab him; the strongest of warriors + Faint-mooded stumbled, till he fell in his traces, + Foot-going champion. Then she sat on the hall-guest + And wielded her war-knife wide-bladed, flashing, + For her son would take vengeance, her one only bairn. + His breast-armor woven bode on his shoulder; + It guarded his life, the entrance defended + 'Gainst sword-point and edges. Ecgtheow's son there + Had fatally journeyed, champion of Geatmen, + In the arms of the ocean, had the armor not given, + Close-woven corselet, comfort and succor, + And had God most holy not awarded the victory, + All-knowing Lord; easily did heaven's + Ruler most righteous arrange it with justice; + Uprose he erect ready for battle. + + Then he saw 'mid the war-gems a weapon of victory, + An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty, + Glory of warriors: of weapons 't was choicest, + Only 't was larger than any man else was + Able to bear in the battle-encounter, + The good and splendid work of the giants. + He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of the Scyldings, + Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword, + Hopeless of living, hotly he smote her, + That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled, + Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her + Fate-cursčd body, she fell to the ground then: + The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted. + The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered, + Just as from heaven gemlike shineth + The torch of the firmament. He glanced 'long the building, + And turned by the wall then, Higelac's vassal + Raging and wrathful raised his battle-sword + Strong by the handle. The edge was not useless + To the hero-in-battle, but he speedily wished to + Give Grendel requital for the many assaults he + Had worked on the West-Danes not once, but often, + When he slew in slumber the subjects of Hrothgar, + Swallowed down fifteen sleeping retainers + Of the folk of the Danemen, and fully as many + Carried away, a horrible prey. + He gave him requital, grim-raging champion, + When he saw on his rest-place weary of conflict + Grendel lying, of life-joys bereavčd, + As the battle at Heorot erstwhile had scathed him; + His body far bounded, a blow when he suffered, + Death having seized him, sword-smiting heavy, + And he cut off his head then. Early this noticed + The clever carles who as comrades of Hrothgar + Gazed on the sea-deeps, that the surging wave-currents + Were mightily mingled, the mere-flood was gory: + Of the good one the gray-haired together held converse, + The hoary of head, that they hoped not to see again + The atheling ever, that exulting in victory + He'd return there to visit the distinguished folk-ruler: + Then many concluded the mere-wolf had killed him. + The ninth hour came then. From the ness-edge departed + The bold-mooded Scyldings; the gold-friend of heroes + Homeward betook him. The strangers sat down then + Soul-sick, sorrowful, the sea-waves regarding: + They wished and yet weened not their well-loved friend-lord + To see any more. The sword-blade began then, + The blood having touched it, contracting and shrivelling + With battle-icicles; 't was a wonderful marvel + That it melted entirely, likest to ice when + The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and + Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion + Of time and of tides: a truth-firm Creator. + Nor took he of jewels more in the dwelling, + Lord of the Weders, though they lay all around him, + Than the head and the handle handsome with jewels; + The brand early melted, burnt was the weapon: + So hot was the blood, the strange-spirit poisonous + That in it did perish. He early swam off then + Who had bided in combat the carnage of haters, + Went up through the ocean; the eddies were cleansed, + The spacious expanses, when the spirit from farland + His life put aside and this short-lived existence. + The seamen's defender came swimming to land then + Doughty of spirit, rejoiced in his sea-gift, + The bulky burden which he bore in his keeping. + The excellent vassals advanced then to meet him, + To God they were grateful, were glad in their chieftain, + That to see him safe and sound was granted them. + From the high-minded hero, then, helmet and burnie + Were speedily loosened: the ocean was putrid, + The water 'neath welkin weltered with gore. + Forth did they fare, then, their footsteps retracing, + Merry and mirthful, measured the earth-way, + To highway familiar: men very daring + Bare then the head from the sea-cliff, burdening + Each of the earlmen, excellent-valiant. + Four of them had to carry with labor + The head of Grendel to the high towering gold-hall + Upstuck on the spear, till fourteen most-valiant + And battle-brave Geatmen came there going + Straight to the palace: the prince of the people + Measured the mead-ways, their mood-brave companion, + The atheling of earlmen entered the building, + Deed-valiant man, adorned with distinction, + Doughty shield-warrior, to address King Hrothgar: + Then hung by the hair, the head of Grendel + Was borne to the building, where beer-thanes were drinking, + Loth before earlmen and eke 'fore the lady: + The warriors beheld then a wonderful sight. + _J. L. Hall's Translation, Parts XXI.-XXIV._ + + + + + +THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +The Nibelungen Lied, or Song of the Nibelungen, was written about the +beginning of the thirteenth century, though the events it chronicles +belong to the sixth or seventh century. The manuscript poem was discovered +about the middle of the eighteenth century. + +Lachmann asserts that the Nibelungen Lied consists of twenty songs of +various dates and authorship; other scholars, while agreeing that it is +the work of a single author, ascribe it variously to Conrad von +Kurenburger, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, and Walther +von der Vogelweide. + +Whoever was its author, he was only a compiler of legends that were the +property of the people for centuries, and are found in many other of the +popular German epics of the Middle Ages. + +The poem consists of thirty-nine adventures, containing two thousand four +hundred and fifty-nine stanzas of four lines each. The action covers +thirty years. It is based on material obtained from four sources: (1) The +Frankish saga-cycle, whose hero is Siegfried; (2) the saga-cycle of +Burgundy, whose heroes are Günther, king of Worms, and his two brothers; +(3) the Ostrogothic saga-cycle, whose hero is Dietrich of Bern; and (4) +the saga-cycle of Etzel, king of the Huns, with his allies and vassals. + +Dietrich of Bern is supposed to be Theodoric of Italy, in exile at the +Hunnish court. Etzel is Attila the Hun, and Günther, Gunducarius, king of +the Burgundians, who was destroyed by the Huns with his followers in the +year 436. + +The Nibelungen Lied very much resembles the Iliad, not only in the +uncertainty of its origin and the impersonality of its author, but also in +its objectivity, its realism, the primitive passions of its heroes, and +the wondrous acts of valor performed by them. It contains many passages of +wonderful beauty, and gives a striking picture of the social customs and +the religious belief of the time. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +Mary Elizabeth Burt's Story of the German Iliad, 1892; + +Thomas Carlyle's Nibelungen Lied (see his Miscellaneous Essays, 1869, vol. +iii., pp. 111-162); + +Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Nibelungen Lied (see their Tales of the +Teutonic Lands, 1872, pp. 79-132); + +G. T. Dippold's Nibelungenlied (see his Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany, +1882, pp. 1-117); + +William T. Dobson's Nibelungenlied Epitomized (see his Classic Poets, +1878); + +Auber Forestier's Echoes from Mistland, or the Nibelungen Lay Revealed, +Tr. by A. A. Woodward, 1877; + +Joseph Gostwick's and Robert Harrison's Nibelungenlied (see their Outlines +of German Literature, n. d., pp. 16-24); + +Hugh Reginald Haweis's Nibelungenlied (see his Musical Memories, 1887, pp. +225-250); + +Frederick Henry Hedge's Nibelungenlied (see his Hours with the German +Classics, 1887, pp. 25-55); + +James K. Hosmer's Nibelungen Lied (see his Short History of German +Literature, 1891, pp. 23-77); + +J. P. Jackson's Ring of the Nibelung, Cosmopolitan, 1888, vol. vi. pp. +415-433; + +Henry W. Longfellow's Nibelungenlied (see his Poets and Poetry of Europe, +new ed., enlarged, 1882, pp. 217-227); + +J. M. F. Ludlow's Lay and Lament of the Niblungs (see his Popular Epics of +the Middle Ages, 1865, pp. 105-183); + +E. Magnusson and William Morris's Völsungs Saga, story of the Völsungs and +Niblungs, 1870; + +William Morris's Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs, +1887; + +F. Max Müller's Das Nibelungenlied (see his German Classics, new ed., +1893, vol. i., pp. 112-136); + +Ernst Raupach's Nibelungen Treasure, a tragedy from the German with +remarks, 1847; + +A. M. Richey's Teutonic and the Celtic Epic, Fraser's Magazine, 1874, vol. +lxxxix., pp. 336-354; + +Wilhelm Scherer's Nibelungenlied (see his History of German Literature, +1893, vol. i., pp. 101-115); + +Leda M. Schoonamaker's Nibelungen Lied, Harper's Magazine, 1877, vol. lv., +pp. 38-51; + +Bayard Taylor's Nibelungen Lied (see his Studies in German Literature, +1893, pp. 101-134); + +Wilhelm Wagner's Nibelungenlied (see his Epics and Romances of the Middle +Ages, 1883, pp. 229-306); + +Henry Weber's The Song of the Nibelungen (see Weber and Jamieson, +Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, 1874, pp. 167-213). + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE NIBELUNGEN. + + +The Nibelungen Lied, Tr. by Alfred G. Foster Barham, 1887; + +The Lay of the Nibelungers, Tr. into English text after Lachman's text by +Jonathan Birch, ed. 3, 1887; + +The Nibelungenlied, Tr. by Joseph Gostwick (see his Spirit of German +Poetry, 1843); + +The Fall of the Nibelungers, Tr. by William Nanson Lettsom, ed. 2, 1874. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +In the beautiful city of Worms, in Burgundy, dwelt the maiden Kriemhild, +surpassing all others in beauty. Her father, long since dead, was Dancrat; +her mother, Uta, and her three brothers,--Günther, Gernot, and +Giselher,--puissant princes whose pride it was to guard their lovely +sister. Among the noble lords their liegemen were Hagan of Trony, +Dankwart, his brother, Ortwine of Metz, Eckewart, Gary, Folker, Rumolt the +steward, Sindolt the butler, and Humolt the chamberlain. + +The peace of the beautiful Kriemhild was one night disturbed by a dream, +in which she saw a young falcon that she had long reared with tender care +torn to pieces by two fierce eagles. When she confided this dream to her +mother, the wise Uta declared that it meant that she would one day wed a +fair prince threatened with a dreadful doom. + +"Then I will never wed!" cried Kriemhild. "Better to forego the bliss thou +tellest me attends only the wedded state than to taste the anguish +foretold by my dream." Alas! little could she guess of what the future +held in store for her. + +In the wide country of the Netherlands, in the city of Xanten, dwelt the +great prince Siegmund and his wife Sieglind. Their kingdom was wide, their +wealth great, but nothing gave them so much happiness as the renown of +their glorious son Siegfried. Such mighty deeds of valor had he performed +that his fame was already world-wide, though he was but a youth. To Xanten +the fame of the peerless princess Kriemhild had penetrated, and the young +prince declared to his parents his intention of seeking her out in +Burgundy, and wooing her for his wife. All entreaties were in vain; with +but twelve companions, each fitted out with the most gorgeous vestments, +by the care of the queen mother, the haughty prince advanced into +Burgundy. + +King Günther, surprised at the sight of the splendidly attired strangers, +called one after another of his knights to inform him who they were. None +knew, until Hagan was at last called because he was familiar with the +warriors of every land. He did not know them. "But," said he, "though I +have never set eyes on him, I'll wager that is the noble Siegfried, the +mighty warrior who slew the Nibelungers. Once, so I have heard the story, +when he was riding alone, he saw the two kings Nibelung and Shilbung +dividing the treasure of the Niblungs. They had just brought it out from +the cavern where it was guarded by the dwarf Albric, and they called +Siegfried to come and divide it for them. The task was so great that he +did not finish it, and when the angry kings set upon him he slew them +both, their giant champions and chiefs, and then overcame the dwarf +Albric, and possessed himself of his wondrous cloud-cloak. So he is now +lord of the Nibelungers and owner of the mighty treasure. Not only this, +my king; he once slew a poison-spitting dragon and bathed in its blood, so +that his skin is invulnerable. Treat the young prince with respect. It +would be ill-advised to arouse his hatred." + +While the king and his counsellors were admiring his haughty bearing, +Siegfried and his followers advanced to the hall and were fittingly +welcomed. Siegfried haughtily declared that he had come to learn if +Günther's renown for knighthood was correct, and wished to fight with him, +with their respective kingdoms as stakes. Günther had no desire to fight +with such a doughty warrior, and he hastened to soothe Siegfried's wrath +with gentle words, inviting him to remain as his guest. + +So happy was Siegfried in the tourneys and games enjoyed by Günther's +court, that he remained in Worms for a year, and in all that time never +set eyes on Kriemhild. How enraptured would he have been had he known that +the gentle maiden watched for him daily at her lattice, and came to long +for a glimpse of the handsome stranger! + +At the end of the year tidings were brought to Worms that the Saxons, led +by King Lüdeger, and Lüdegast, king of Denmark, were marching against +Burgundy. The Burgundians were terrified at the news; but Siegfried, +delighted at the thought of war, begged Günther to give him but a thousand +Burgundians, in addition to the twelve comrades he had brought with him, +and he would pledge himself to defeat, unaided, the presumptuous enemy. +Many were the camps of the foe; full forty thousand were there mustered +out to fight, but Siegfried quickly scattered them, slew many thousands, +and took the two kings prisoners. + +How joyful the melancholy Kriemhild became when the messenger bore to her +the glad tidings! Ruddy gold and costly garments he gained for his good +news. + +On Siegfried's return he first met and loved Kriemhild. More blooming than +May, sweeter than summer's pride, she stood by the gallant warrior, who +dared not yet to woo her. The twelve days of revel in celebration of the +victory were one long dream of bliss to the happy lovers. + +While Siegfried was still lingering at Günther's court, tidings were +brought thither of the beauty, prowess, and great strength of Brunhild, +Queen of Issland, and Günther determined to go thither and woo her. +Siegfried implored him not to go. + +"Thou knowest not what thou must undertake," he said. "Thou must take part +in her contests, throw the javelin, throw the stone and jump after it, and +if thou fail in even one of these three games thou must lose thy life and +that of thy companions." + +When Siegfried found that he could not move Günther, he promised to go +with him and assist him, on condition that on their return Günther would +give him the beautiful Kriemhild for his wife. + +Attired in the most splendid raiment, prepared by the willing fingers of +Kriemhild and her maids, Günther, with only three companions, Siegfried, +Hagan, and Dankwart, set forth to Issland. Siegfried requested his +companions to inform Brunhild that he was Günther's man; and when she +welcomed him first, he himself told her to speak first to his master. +The little party was greatly impressed with the splendor of Brunhild's +three turreted palaces, and with the beauty and prodigious strength of the +queen. When they saw her huge golden shield, steel-studded, beneath whose +weight four chamberlains staggered, and the immense javelin of the +war-like maid, the warriors trembled for their lives, all save Siegfried, +who, wrapped in his cloud-cloak, invisible to all, stood behind the +bewildered Günther. + +"Give me thy buckler," he whispered. "Now make but the motions, and I will +hurl both spear and stone. But keep this a secret if thou wouldst save +both our lives." + +To the surprise of every one Günther won the games, and Brunhild, +surprised and mortified, ordered her followers to bow to her better, and +returned to the castle to make ready for the journey to Worms. + +Siegfried carried the tidings to Worms, and the bridal party was met and +welcomed at the banks of the Rhine by the Queen Uta, Kriemhild, and a +large following. During the wedding feast, Siegfried reminded Günther of +his promise, and the king, calling Kriemhild to him, affianced the two in +the presence of the company. + +When the suspicious Brunhild saw Siegfried sitting at the table of the +king, she was angered, for she had been told that he was a vassal. +Although she could get no satisfaction from Günther, she suspected some +secret. When she and Günther retired for the night she conquered him, tied +him hand and foot with her magic girdle, and hung him on the wall until +morning. Günther, overcome with wrath and vexation, told his humiliation +to Siegfried the next morning at the minster. "Be comforted," said +Siegfried. "Tonight I will steal into thy chamber wrapped in my +mist-cloak, and when the lights are extinguished I will wrestle with her +until I deprive her of the magic ring and girdle." + +After some hesitation, Günther assented, and Brunhild, supposing she was +conquered by Günther, yielded herself willingly to her husband and lost +all her former strength. Siegfried carried away her girdle and ring and +gave them to his wife, little suspecting what harm they would do him in +the years to come. + +The wedding festivities over, Siegfried took his bride home to the +Netherlands, where their arrival was celebrated with the greatest +festivities. Siegmund placed the crown on his son's head, and Siegfried +and Kriemhild ruled happily over the kingdom for ten years, during which +time a son was born to them, christened Günther for his uncle. + +During these years Brunhild had been fretting that the supposed vassal, +Siegfried, had never come to pay homage to his king. At last, affecting a +great longing to see Kriemhild once more, she induced Günther to invite +his sister and her husband to visit them. This he did gladly, and on their +arrival many days were spent in feasting, merrymaking, and the tourney. + +But one day, when the two queens were watching the tilting in the castle +court, Kriemhild, excited by the victories of her husband, declared that +Siegfried, because of his might, ought to be ruler of Burgundy. This +angered Brunhild, who reproached the wife of a vassal for such +presumption. + +"My husband a vassal!" exclaimed the indignant Kriemhild. "He, ruler of +the Netherlands, who holds a higher place than my brother Günther! I +cannot endure thy insolence longer." + +"I will see," said Brunhild, "this very day whether thou receivest the +public respect and honor paid to me." + +"I am ready for the test," responded Kriemhild, "and I will show thee +to-day, before our following, that I dare to enter the church before +Günther's queen." + +When the two queens met on the minster steps, and Brunhild declared that +no vassaless should enter before her, Kriemhild reproached her for being +the leman of Siegfried, and displayed in proof the ring and girdle he had +taken from Brunhild. Rage and fury rendered Brunhild speechless. The kings +were summoned, and both denied the truth of Kriemhild's words. But the two +queens were now bitter enemies, and the followers of Brunhild, among them +the gloomy Hagan of Trony, were deeply angered at Siegfried and his queen. +Hagan laid a plot to destroy Siegfried, and Günther, though at first +unwilling, was at last induced to enter it. + +Pretended messengers came to announce to Günther that the Saxons again +threatened war against him. Siegfried proposed to take part in the war, +and preparations were at once begun. Hagan, with pretended tenderness, +told Kriemhild of the coming danger, and asked her if her lord had a weak +place, that he might know and guard it for him. Kriemhild confided to him +her husband's secret. When Siegfried was bathing in the dragon's blood, a +leaf fell between his shoulders, and that spot was vulnerable. There she +would embroider a cross on his vesture that Hagan might protect him in the +shock of battle. + +The war was now abandoned and a great hunt undertaken. Gernot and +Giselher, though they did not see fit to warn Siegfried, refused to take +part in the plot and go to the hunt. Many a lion, elk, and boar fell by +Siegfried's hand that day before the hunters were called together to the +royal breakfast; when they at last sat down in the flowery meadow the wine +was wanting, and the warriors were compelled to quench their thirst at a +brooklet near by. + +"A race!" cried the hero; and he, Hagan, and Günther ran for the brook, +Siegfried gaining it first. After the king had quenched his thirst, +Siegfried threw down his arms and stooped to drink. Then Hagan, picking up +his ashen spear, threw it at the embroidered cross, and Siegfried fell in +the agonies of death, reproaching his traitorous friends whom he had +served so faithfully. + +To add cruelty to cruelty, the vindictive Hagan placed the body of +Siegfried outside Kriemhild's chamber door, where she would stumble over +it as she went out to early mass next morning. Down she fell fainting when +she recognized her husband, and reviving, shrieked in her anguish, +"Brunhild planned it; Hagan struck the blow!" + +Her grief was terrible to see. One moment the unhappy queen was accusing +herself for revealing her husband's secret; again she was vowing revenge +against Hagan, and at another time she reviled the traitorous Günther. + +When her father-in-law Siegmund returned home, she would not go with him, +but remained near the body of her husband, under the protection of her +brothers Gernot and Giselher and in the company of her mother. + +Kriemhild, living in joyless state in her lonely palace, was at last +induced to speak to Günther and pardon him. The pardon granted, Günther +and Hagan at once plotted to have the Nibelungen hoard, Siegfried's +morning-gift to Kriemhild, brought to Worms. Never before was such a +treasure seen. Twelve huge wagons, journeying thrice a day, required four +nights and days to carry it from the mountain to the bay. It consisted of +nothing but precious stones and gold, and with it was the magic +wishing-rod. It filled Kriemhild's towers and chambers to overflowing, and +won many friends for the queen, who distributed it liberally. + +When the envious Hagan could not induce Günther to take the treasure from +Kriemhild, he selected a time when the king and his brothers were away +from home, and seizing the treasure, cast it into the Rhine, hoping to get +it again. In this he failed, so the great treasure was forever lost. + +Thus ends the first part of the Lay of the Nibelungen. The second part is +sometimes called the Need or Fall of the Nibelungen. + +While Kriemhild was bewailing her loss and revolving plans for revenge, +Etzel, King of the Huns, who had heard of the charms of Siegfried's widow, +sent the noble Margrave Rüdeger into Burgundy with proposals for her hand. + +Günther and his brothers begged Kriemhild to accept the offer; their +counsellors advised it; only the sage Hagan protested. He knew too well +how Kriemhild longed for revenge. "When once she gets among the Huns, she +will make us rue the day," said he. + +But the others laughed at Hagan's scruples. The land of the Huns was far +away, and they need never set foot in it. Moreover, it was their duty to +make Kriemhild happy. + +Moved by the eloquence of Rüdeger, Kriemhild consented to wed Etzel, and +set out in great state to meet the king. + +She was splendidly entertained along the way, tarried a short time at the +home of the Margrave Rüdeger, and at Tulna met the great monarch Etzel, +riding to meet her, among his hosts of Russians, Polacks, Greeks, and +Wallachians. + +The splendid wedding-feast was held at Vienna. Kriemhild was received with +the greatest honor, and so lavish was she of the gold and jewels she had +brought with her, and so gracious to the attendant Huns, that every one +loved her, and willingly worked her will. + +For seven long years she and Attila lived happy together, and to them was +given a son whom they christened Ortlieb. Then Kriemhild, still +remembering her loss and the cruelties of her Burgundian relatives and +friends, bethought herself of her revenge. + +Feigning a great desire to see her brothers, she entreated Etzel to invite +them to visit her; and the king, not suspecting her fell purpose, and glad +of an opportunity to welcome her friends, at once despatched messengers +with the invitation. + +This time other counsellors besides Hagan mistrusted the queen, and +advised King Günther and his brothers to decline the invitation. But the +princes grew angry at their advice; and Hagan, who could not endure to be +laughed at, set forth with them, accompanied with a great train of +warriors. + +The Rhine was too swollen to ford, and Hagan was sent up the stream to +find a ferryman. As he looked for the boatman, he spied some mermaids +bathing, and seizing their garments, would not restore them until they +told him what would befall the Burgundians in Hungary. + +"Safe will you ride to Etzel's court, and safe return," said one, as he +returned the garments. But as he turned to go, another called: "My aunt +has lied to thee that she might get back her raiment. Turn now, or you +will never live to see Burgundy. None save the chaplain will return in +safety." + +Hagan went on gloomily and found the ferryman, who, proud and sullen, +refused to take the party across. Hagan slew him, and, returning with the +boat, threw the unfortunate chaplain into the river, thinking by drowning +him to prove the mermaid's prophecy untrue. But the chaplain escaped to +the other side, and walked back to Burgundy. Then Hagan told the party of +the prophecy and they resolved to go on together, though they realized +that they were going to their doom. + +Because of the slaughter of the ferryman, they were attacked by Gelfrat, +the ruler of the land; but he was overcome and slain by Dankwart. + +The Margrave Rüdeger received the travellers hospitably, and betrothed his +fair daughter to Giselher. He then accompanied the Burgundians to Etzel's +court. + +The Burgundians suspected Kriemhild from the first. Giselher was the only +one of her brothers whom she kissed, and she and Hagan quarrelled over the +treasure at their first meeting. + +They were warned by Eckewart, who had accompanied Kriemhild from Burgundy, +and by Dietrich of Bern, an exile at the court of Etzel, who told them +that every morning since her stay in Hunland she had moaned and wailed for +Siegfried. By Hagan's advice they all kept on their armor, telling Etzel +that it was the custom in their country to wear it for the first three +days. + +Kriemhild's design was to destroy Hagan and spare her brothers. But Hagan, +on his guard, drove her warriors away from his room at night, and saved +himself at church from the jostling Hunnish lords, never, in the mean +time, sparing his insults to Kriemhild. + +The Huns, who were devoted to their queen, were not slow in showing their +anger at Hagan's treatment of her, and the ill feeling between the +warriors increased as the days passed by. + +As the Burgundians sat at the banquet with Etzel and his wife, in burst +Dankwart, exclaiming that he had been attacked by Bloedel, who had slain +all his followers. + +"Be stirring, brother Hagan!" he cried. "Help me to avenge my wrongs!" + +At this moment the little prince Ortlieb had been brought into the hall +and passed around among the guests. + +"Let us drink to friendship with moody Kriemhild in king's wine!" cried +Hagan, and with one blow of the sword sent the child's head in his +mother's lap. Then arose a fearful clamor. Spear rang against shield, and +the cries of the fierce Huns mingled with the defiant shouts of the +Burgundians. + +Dietrich of Bern, leaping upon a bench, asked King Günther, that, as a +friend to both parties, he might be permitted to withdraw from the hall +with his friends. When the Burgundians assented, he led forth the king and +queen. The same privilege was accorded to Rüdeger. + +Then, while the terrible Folker guarded the door with his fiddle bow, one +side of which was a trenchant sword, the battle began. The Burgundians +taunted the Huns with their weakness and cowardice until they ventured +into the hall and were cut down by Hagan and his desperate men. When +evening fell the thousand and four who had entered the hall all lay dead +by the hands of the Burgundians. + +When Kriemhild's offer to give her brothers their lives if they would +surrender Hagan was refused, she ordered fire to be set to the four +corners of the hall, thinking thus to drive them forth. But the burning +rafters fell into the rivers of blood and were quenched, and the +Burgundians derived new courage and strength from huge draughts of blood +from their fallen foes. + +Then Kriemhild and Etzel, seeing how their Hunnish men had fallen, and +perceiving that the Burgundians were in no wise injured by the fire, +reproached the Margrave Rüdeger that he did not enter the fight. In vain +he told them of his friendship with the princes; of the betrothal of his +daughter and Giselher. Kriemhild persisted in reminding him of the promise +he had made to serve her to her dying day. At last he reluctantly summoned +his men, and bidding farewell to his cruel king and queen, he entered the +hall. Gladly was he welcomed by the Burgundians, who could not believe +that he came to do battle with them. He explained how he was forced to +fight them, and amid the tears of both sides, he exchanged shields with +Hagan, whose buckler was broken. Then was the grim Hagan moved to tears, +and he vowed not to touch Rüdeger in the fight. Fearful was the clatter of +shield and blade as Rüdeger fought with Gernot, and fell at last by the +blade he had himself given the prince. + +Great was the wailing of the Huns when they saw the lifeless body of +Rüdeger, and deeply did Etzel regret the loss of the valiant and true +margrave. + +Dietrich of Bern, who sat afar off, sent some of his best warriors under +his man Hildebrand, to inquire of the truth of the report of Rüdeger's +death. These fiery men disobeyed the orders of their master, and fought +with the Burgundians until none remained save Günther and Hagan on one +side, and Hildebrand on the other. + +When Dietrich heard of the slaughter of his followers, he was overcome +with sorrow, and himself sought the hall. He promised Günther and Hagan +that if they would surrender, he would himself lead them back in safety to +Burgundy; but to this they would not consent. By this time they were so +worn out, however, from the long battle, that Dietrich easily overpowered +them and led them captive before Kriemhild, who promised to show them fair +treatment. + +But Kriemhild's mind had become so warped by her desire for revenge, that +she could not think of mercy. She cast her prisoners into separate +dungeons, and visiting Hagan first, demanded her treasure. "But give it to +me again, and thou shalt return living into Burgundy." + +"Pray not to me, haughty queen," replied Hagan. "I swore that while my +lords were living I would ne'er tell where it lies. Thy prayer is thrown +away." + +Straightway the savage Kriemhild ordered the head of Günther to be struck +off, and bearing it by the hair, she displayed it to Hagan, asking him now +to tell her the secret. + +"Now that all my lords are dead," said he, "no one shall know, thou least +of all, she-fiend!" + +Kriemhild, beside herself with grief and rage, snatched from him the sword +Balmung that he had taken from Siegfried, and ever since carried, and +raising it high with both hands, struck off the head of her hated enemy. + +At this the grief of Etzel broke forth, and the aged Hildebrand, enraged +to see a woman do such deeds, sprang upon Kriemhild and smote her to death +with his sword. + +Bitterly wept King Etzel and Dietrich as they gazed on the corpses +scattered round, and the disfigured body of the fair queen. Nothing +remained for the Hunnish people but grief and woe. + +Here on earth pain ever follows in the steps of pleasure. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + +HOW BRUNHILD WAS RECEIVED AT WORMS. + + +Brunhild, queen of Issland, was won by Günther of Worms with the aid of +Siegfried, whom Günther sent forward to Worms to announce the coming of +the royal pair. Queen Uta and Princess Kriemhild, with many followers from +the Burgundian court, went forward to the Rhine to meet and welcome the +royal bridal party. + + Beyond the Rhine King Günther, with many a well-arm'd rank + And all his guests about him, rode towards the river's bank; + You might see by the bridle led forward many a maid. + Those, who were to receive them, were ready all array'd. + + Soon as the men of Issland came to the shallops down, + And eke the Nibelungers, lieges of Siegfried's crown, + To th' other shore they hasten'd (busy was every hand) + Where them the friends of Günther awaited on the strand. + + Now hear, by wealthy Uta what a device was wrought. + Down with her from the castle a virgin train she brought, + That rode where she was riding in that procession bright; + So many a maid acquainted became with many a knight. + + Kriemhild by the bridle the Margrave Gary led, + But only from the castle; then forward Siegfried sped, + And did that gentle service; fair was the blushing maid; + Full well for that thereafter the warrior she repaid. + + Ortwine, the fearless champion, rode by Dame Uta's rein; + Knights and maids together follow'd, a social train. + At such a stately meeting, all must confess, I ween, + So many lovely ladies were ne'er together seen. + + Full many a famous champion careering you might spy + (Ill there was sloth and idlesse) beneath fair Kriemhild's eye + E'en to the place of landing; by knights of fair renown + There many a high-born lady from steed was lifted down. + + The king was now come over, and many a worthy guest. + Ah, before the ladies what spears were laid in rest! + How many went in shivers at every hurtling close! + Buckler clashed with buckler; ah, what a din arose! + + Now might you see the ladies fast by the haven stand. + With his guests King Günther debark'd upon the strand, + In his hand soft leading the martial maiden fair. + Then each on each flash'd radiance, rich robes and jewels rare. + + With that the smiling Kriemhild forth stepp'd a little space, + And Brunhild and her meiny greeted with gentle grace, + Each with snowy fingers back her headband drew, + And either kiss'd the other lovingly and true. + + Then spoke in courteous manner Kriemhild the fair and free, + "In this our land, dear Brunhild, ever welcome be + To me and to my mother and all by us allow'd + For faithful friends and liegemen." Then each to th' other bow'd. + + Next to greet Dame Brunhild approach'd Dame Uta too; + Oft she and oft her daughter their arms about her threw, + And on her sweet mouth lavish'd many a loving kiss. + Never was known a welcome so kind and frank as this. + + Soon as Brunhild's women were all come to the strand, + Many a courtly warrior took by her lily hand + A lady fair, and gently her mincing steps upstay'd, + Now before Dame Brunhild stood many a noble maid. + + 'T was long before the greeting had gone through all the list. + On either part in plenty rosy mouths were kiss'd. + Still the two fair princesses were standing side by side, + A pair with love and rapture by longing warriors ey'd. + + What erst had been but rumour, was now made clear to sight, + That nought had yet been witness'd so beautiful and bright + As those two lovely damsels; 't was plain to every eye; + None the slightest blemish in either form could spy. + + Whoever look'd on women with but the sight for guide, + Such for her faultless beauty praised Günther's, stately bride; + But those whose thoughts went deeper, and div'd into the mind, + Maintain'd that gentle Kriemhild left Brunhild far behind. + + Now met the dames and damsels in friendly converse free; + Fair robes and fairer beauties were there in store to see; + Many a silk pavilion and many a gorgeous tent + The plain before the city fill'd in its whole extent. + + King Günther's kinsmen ceas'd not to press to that fair show. + And now was begg'd each princess from the sun to go + Close by, with their attendants, where shade was overhead. + By bold Burgundian warriors thither were they led. + + Then clomb to horse the heroes, and scour'd the sounding field; + Many a joust was practis'd with order'd spear and shield; + Right well were prov'd the champions, and o'er the trampled plain, + As though the land were burning, the dust curl'd up amain. + + So all before the ladies display'd their skill and force, + Nor doubt I that Sir Siegfried rode many a knightly course + Before the rich pavilions, and ever as he sped, + His thousand Nibelungers, a stately squadron, led. + + Then came the knight of Trony by the good king's command; + In friendly wise he parted the jousters on the strand, + For fear the dust, now thick'ning, the ladies might molest. + Him with ready reverence obey'd each gentle guest. + + Then spake the noble Gernot, "Let each now rest his steed + Till the air be cooler, 't will then be ours to lead + These lovely ladies homeward e'en to the palace wide. + So keep yourselves all ready till it please the king to ride." + + Thus ended was the tourney, and now the warriors went + To join the dames and damsels beneath each lofty tent, + And there in gentle converse their grace and favor sought; + So flew the hours in pastime till of riding home they thought. + + Now as drew on the twilight, when cooler grew the air + And the sun was setting, they would not linger there, + But up rose lords and ladies to seek the castle high; + Many a fair dame was cherish'd by many a love-lit eye. + + So on the fair they waited as from good knights is due. + Then hardy squires, hot spurring before the nobles' view, + After the country's custom rode for the prize of weed + As far as to the palace, where sprung the king from steed. + + There too the proud queens parted, each taking thence her way. + Dame Uta and her daughter with their handmaids gay + Into a spacious chamber both together went. + There might you see on all sides the sound of merriment. + + In hall the seats were order'd; the king would instant hie + With all his guests to table; beside him you might spy + His lovely bride, Queen Brunhild; her royal crown she wore + There in King Günther's country; so rich was none before. + + Seats were there plac'd unnumber'd with tables broad and good, + As is to us reported, full heap'd with costly food. + How little there was wanted that passes for the best! + There with the king was seated full many a noble guest. + + The chamberlains of Günther in ewers of ruddy gold + Brought to the guests the water; should you be ever told + That at a prince's table service was better done, + 'T were labor lost to say so, 't would be believ'd by none. + + Then, ere the lord of Rhineland touch'd the water bright, + Up to him, as befitted, went Siegfried the good knight, + And brought to his remembrance the promise made him there, + Ere yet afar in Issland he look'd on Brunhild fair. + + Said he, "You must remember what swore to me your hand, + That soon as Lady Brunhild were come into this land, + To me you 'd give your sister, your oaths now where are they? + On me throughout your journey much toil and travail lay." + + "Well did you to remind me," the noble king replied, + "By what my hand has promis'd, I ever will abide, + And in this thing to serve you will do my best, my all." + Then sent he to beg Kriemhild to come into the hall. + + Straight to the hall came Kriemhild begirt with many a maid, + When from the lofty staircase young Giselher thus said, + "Send back your maidens, Kriemhild, this bus'ness is your own; + On this the king, our brother, would speak with you alone." + + Then forward led was Kriemhild, as Günther gave command, + Where stood the king, and round him from many a prince's land + Were noble knights unnumber'd; at once all silence kept; + At that same instant Brunhild had just to table stepp'd. + + Thence came it she knew nothing of what was to be done. + Then to his gather'd kinsmen spoke Dancrat's royal son, + "Help me to move my sister Siegfried for lord to take." + "Such match," they all made answer, "with honour she may make." + + Then spoke the king to Kriemhild, "Sister, I ask of thee + From an oath to set me by thy kindness free. + Thee to a knight I promis'd; if thou become his bride, + Thou 'lt do the will of Günther, and show thy love beside." + + Then spake the noble maiden, "Dearest brother mine, + It needed not to ask me; whate'er command be thine, + I'll willingly perform it; so now, for thy sake, + Whom thou for husband giv'st me, fain I, my lord, will take." + + With love and eke with pleasure redden'd Siegfried's hue; + At once to Lady Kriemhild he pledg'd his service true. + They bade them stand together in the courtly circle bright, + And ask'd her if for husband she took that lofty knight. + + In modest maiden fashion she blush'd a little space, + But such was Siegfried's fortune and his earnest grace. + That not altogether could she deny her hand. + Then her for wife acknowledg'd the noble king of Netherland. + + He thus to her affianc'd, and to him the maid, + Straight round the long-sought damsel in blushing grace array'd + His arms with soft emotion th' enamour'd warrior threw, + And kiss'd the high-born princess before that glitt'ring crew. + _Lettsom's Translation, Tenth Adventure._ + + + + +HOW MARGRAVE RÜDEGER WAS SLAIN. + + +The Margrave Rüdeger did not take part in the battle fought in Etzel's +hall between the Burgundians visiting the Hunnish court and the Huns, +because of his friendship for the Burgundians, and the betrothal of his +daughter to Prince Giselher. Because of this, he was taunted by a Hun, who +said to the queen that although Rüdeger had accepted many favors from +Etzel he did not fight for him. When the Hun fell dead under Rüdeger's +blow, Etzel reproached him for slaying one of his followers when he had +need of so many. + + Then came the fair Queen Kriemhild; she too had seen full well + What from the hero's anger the luckless Hun befell; + And she too mourn'd it deeply; with tears her eyes were wet. + Thus spake she to Rüdeger, "How have we ever yet + + "Deserv'd that you, good Rüdeger, should make our anguish more? + Now sure to me and Etzel you've promised o'er and o'er, + That you both life and honour would risk to do us right. + That you 're the flower of knighthood is own'd by every knight. + + "Now think upon the homage that once to me you swore, + When to the Rhine, good warrior, King Etzel's suit you bore, + That you would serve me ever to either's dying day. + Ne'er can I need so deeply, that you that vow should pay." + + "'T is true, right noble lady; in this we 're not at strife; + I pledg'd, to do you service, my honour and my life, + But my soul to hazard never did I vow. + I brought the princes hither, and must not harm them now." + + * * * * * + + With that, to beg and pray him the king began as well; + King and queen together both at his feet they fell. + Then might you the good margrave have seen full ill bestead, + And thus in bitterest anguish the faithful hero said:-- + + "Woe's me the heaven-abandon'd, that I have liv'd to this! + Farewell to all my honours! woe for my first amiss! + My truth--my God-giv'n innocence--must they be both forgot? + Woe's me, O God in heaven! that death relieves me not!" + + Then thus bespake him Kriemhild, "Right noble Rüdeger, + Take pity on our anguish; thou see'st us kneeling here, + The king and me before thee; both clasp thy honour'd knees. + Sure never host yet feasted such fatal guests as these." + + With that the noble margrave thus to the queen 'gan say, + "Sure must the life of Rüdeger for all the kindness pay, + That you to me, my lady, and my lord the king have done. + For this I'm doomed to perish, and that ere set of sun. + + "Full well I know, this morning my castles and my land + Both will to you fall vacant by stroke of foeman's hand, + And so my wife and daughter I to your grace commend, + And all at Bechelaren, each trusty homeless friend." + + * * * * * + + So to war the margrave under helmet strode; + Sharpest swords his meiny brandished as they rode; + Each in hand, bright-flashing, held his shield before. + That saw the dauntless minstrel, and seeing sorrow'd sore. + + Then too was by young Giselher his lady's father seen + With helm laced as for battle. "What," thought he, "can he mean? + But nought can mean the margrave but what is just and right." + At the thought full joyous wax'd the youthful knight. + + "I know not what you trust in;" thus the stern minstrel spake; + "Where saw you warriors ever for reconcilement's sake + With helmets laced advancing, and naked swords in hand? + On us will earn Sir Rüdeger his castles and his land." + + Scarcely the valiant minstrel his words had utter'd all, + When the noble Rüdeger was close before the hall. + His shield, well proved in battle, before his feet he laid, + But neither proffered service, nor friendly greeting made. + + To those within he shouted, "Look not for succor hence; + Ye valiant Nibelungers, now stand on your defence. + I'd fain have been your comrade; your foe I now must be. + We once were friends together; now from that bond I'm free." + + "Now God forbid," said Günther, "that such a knight as you + To the faith wherein we trusted, should ever prove untrue, + And turn upon his comrades in such an hour as this. + Ne'er can I think that Rüdeger can do so much amiss." + + "I can't go back," said Rüdeger, "the deadly die is cast; + I must with you do battle; to that my word is pass'd. + So each of you defend him as he loves his life. + I must perform my promise; so wills King Etzel's wife." + + * * * * * * * + + "Tarry yet a little, right noble Rüdeger! + I and my lords a moment would yet with you confer; + Thereto hard need compels us, and danger gathering nigh; + What boot were it to Etzel though here forlorn we die? + + "I'm now," pursued Sir Hagan, "beset with grievous care; + The shield that Lady Gotelind gave me late to bear, + Is hewn, and all-to broken by many a Hunnish brand. + I brought it fair and friendly hither to Etzel's land. + + "Ah! that to me this favour heaven would be pleas'd to yield, + That I might to defend me bear so well-prov'd a shield + As that, right noble Rüdeger, before thee now display'd! + No more should I in battle need then the hauberk's aid." + + "Fain with the same I'd serve thee to th' height of thy desire, + But that I fear such proffer might waken Kriemhild's ire. + Still, take it to thee, Hagan, and wield it well in hand. + Ah! might'st thou bring it with thee to thy Burgundian land!" + + While thus with words so courteous so fair a gift he sped, + The eyes of many a champion with scalding tears were red, + 'T was the last gift, that buckler, e'er given to comrade dear + By the lord of Bechelaren, the blameless Rüdeger. + + However stern was Hagan, and of unyielding mood, + Still at the gift he melted, which one so great and good + Gave in his last few moments, e'en on the eve of fight, + And with the stubborn warrior mourn'd many a noble knight. + + "Now God in heaven, good Rüdeger, thy recompenser be! + Your like on earth, I'm certain, we never more shall see, + Who gifts so good and gorgeous to homeless wanderers give. + May God protect your virtue, that it may ever live! + + "Alas! this bloody bus'ness!" Sir Hagan then went on, + "We have had to bear much sorrow, and more shall have anon. + Must friend with friend do battle, nor heaven the conflict part?" + The noble margrave answer'd, "That wounds my inmost heart." + + "Now for thy gift I'll quit thee, right noble Rüdeger! + What e'er may chance between thee and my bold comrades here, + My hand shall touch thee never amidst the heady fight, + Not e'en if thou shouldst slaughter every Burgundian knight." + + For that to him bow'd courteous the blameless Rüdeger. + Then all around were weeping for grief and doleful drear, + Since none th' approaching mischief had hope to turn aside. + The father of all virtue in that good margrave died. + + * * * * * * * + + What a fearful clatter of clashing blades there rang! + From shields beneath the buffets how the plates they sprang, + And precious stones unnumber'd rain'd down into the gore! + They fought so fell and furious as man will never more. + + The lord of Bechelaren went slashing here and there, + As one who well in battle knew how himself to bear. + Well prov'd the noble Rüdeger in that day's bloody fight, + That never handled weapon a more redoubted knight. + + * * * * * * * + + Loud o'er the din of battle stout Gernot shouted then, + "How now, right noble Rüdeger? not one of all my men + Thou 'lt leave me here unwounded; in sooth it grieves me sore + To see my friends thus slaughter'd; bear it can I no more. + + "Now must thy gift too surely the giver harm to-day, + Since of my friends so many thy strength has swept away. + So turn about and face me, thou bold and high-born man! + Thy goodly gift to merit, I'll do the best I can." + + Ere through the press the margrave could come Sir Gernot nigh, + Full many a glittering mail-coat was stain'd a bloody die. + Then those fame-greedy champions each fierce on th' other leapt, + And deadly wounds at distance with wary ward they kept. + + So sharp were both their broadswords, resistless was their dint, + Sudden the good Sir Rüdeger through th' helmet hard as flint + So struck the noble Gernot, that forth the blood it broke; + With death the stern Burgundian repaid the deadly stroke. + + He heaved the gift of Rüdeger with both his hands on high, + And to the death though wounded, a stroke at him let fly + Right through both shield and morion; deep was the gash and wide. + At once the lord of Gotelind beneath the swordcut died. + + In sooth a gift so goodly was worse requited ne'er. + Down dead dropp'd both together, Gernot and Rüdeger. + Each slain by th' other's manhood, then prov'd, alas! too well. + Thereat first Sir Hagan furious wax'd and fell. + + Then cried the knight of Trony, "Sure we with ills are cross'd; + Their country and their people in both these chiefs have lost + More than they'll e'er recover;--woe worth this fatal day! + We have here the margrave's meiny, and they for all shall pay!" + + All struck at one another, none would a foeman spare. + Full many a one, unwounded, down was smitten there, + Who else might have 'scap'd harmless, but now, though whole and sound, + In the thick press was trampled, or in the blood was drown'd. + + "Alas! my luckless brother who here in death lies low! + How every hour I'm living brings some fresh tale of woe! + And ever must I sorrow for the good margrave too. + On both sides dire destruction and mortal ills we rue." + + Soon as the youthful Giselher beheld his brother dead, + Who yet within were lingering by sudden doom were sped. + Death, his pale meiny choosing, dealt each his dreary dole. + Of those of Bechelaren 'scaped not one living soul. + + King Günther and young Giselher, and fearless Hagan too, + Dankwart as well as Folker, the noble knights and true, + Went where they found together out-stretched the valiant twain. + There wept th' assembled warriors in anguish o'er the slain. + + "Death fearfully despoils us," said youthful Giselher, + "But now give over wailing, and haste to th' open air + To cool our heated hauberks, faint as we are with strife. + God, methinks, no longer, will here vouchsafe us life." + + This sitting, that reclining, was seen full many a knight; + They took repose in quiet; around (a fearful sight!) + Lay Rüdeger's dead comrades; all was hush'd and still; + From that long dreary silence King Etzel augur'd ill. + + "Alas for this half friendship!" thus Kriemhild frowning spake, + "If it were true and steadfast, Sir Rüdeger would take + Vengeance wide and sweeping on yonder murderous band; + Now back he'll bring them safely to their Burgundian land. + + "What boot our gifts, King Etzel? was it, my lord, for this + We gave him all he asked us? The chief has done amiss. + He, who should have reveng'd us, will now a treaty make." + Thereto in answer Folker, the gallant minstrel, spake, + + "Not so the truth is, lady! the more the pity too! + If one the lie might venture to give a dame like you, + Most foully against the margrave you've lied, right noble queen! + Sore trick'd in that same treaty he and his men have been. + + "With such good will the margrave his king's commands obey'd, + That he and all his meiny dead on this floor are laid. + Now look about you, Kriemhild! for servants seek anew; + Well were you served by Rüdeger; he to the death was true. + + "The fact if still you're doubting, before your eyes we'll bring." + 'T was done e'en of set purpose her heart the more to wring. + They brought the mangled margrave, where Etzel saw him well. + Th' assembled knights of Hungary such utter anguish ne'er befell. + + When thus held high before them they saw the margrave dead, + Sure by the choicest writer could ne'er be penn'd nor said + The woeful burst of wailing from woman and eke from man, + That from the heart's deep sorrow to strike all ears began. + + Above his weeping people King Etzel sorrow'd sore; + His deep-voic'd wail resounded loud as the lion's roar + In the night-shaded desert; the like did Kriemhild too; + They mourn'd in heart for Rüdeger, the valiant and the true. + + _Lettsom's Translation, Thirty-seventh Adventure._ + + + + + +THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +The Song of Roland is one of the many mediaeval romances that celebrate +the deeds of Charlemagne. + +The oldest text now in existence was written about 1096, but the poem was +current in other forms long before this. + +The author was a Norman, for the poem is written in the Norman dialect; +but it is uncertain whether the Turoldus or Théroulde named in the last +line of the poem, "Thus endeth here the geste Turoldus sang," was the +author, a copyist, or a _jongleur_. + +It is said that Taillefer, the minstrel of Normandy, sang the Song of +Roland at the battle of Hastings. "Taillefer, who right well sang, mounted +on his rapid steed, went before them singing of Charlemagne, and of +Roland, and Olivier, and of the vassals who died in Roncesvalles." + +The only text of the poem now in existence is one of the thirteenth +century, preserved in the Bodleian library at Oxford. + +On the fifteenth of August, 778, in the valley of Roncesvalles, in the +Pyrenees, Charlemagne's rear guard, left under the command of Roland, +Prefect of the Marches of Brittany, was attacked and slaughtered by a +large army of Gascons. + +This incident forms the historical basis of the poem; but the imagination +of the poet has made of Charlemagne, then a young man, the old emperor, +with "beard all blossom white," and transformed his Gascon foes to +Saracens. + +The Song of Roland is written in the heroic pentameter; it is divided into +"laisses," or stanzas, of irregular length, and contains about three +thousand seven hundred and eight lines. It is written in the assonant, or +vowel rhyme, that was universal among European nations in the early stage +of their civilization. + +Each stanza ends with the word "aoi," for which no satisfactory +translation has yet been offered, although "away" and "it is done" have +been suggested. + +The author of the Song of Roland undertook, like Homer, to sing of one +great event about which all the interest of the poem centres; but unlike +Homer, his poem is out of all proportion, the long-drawn out revenge being +in the nature of an anti-climax. The Song of Roland is a fair exponent of +the people among whom it originated. It contains no ornament; it is a +straightforward relation of facts; it lacks passion, and while it +describes fearful slaughter, it never appeals to the emotions. Though the +French army shed many tears, and fell swooning to the ground at the sight +of the fearful slaughter at Roncesvalles, we are rather moved to smile at +the violence of their emotion than to weep over the dead, so little power +has the poet to touch the springs of feeling. However, there are passages +in which the poem rises to sublimity, and which have been pronounced +Homeric by its admirers. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +J. Banquier's Bibliographie de la Chanson de Roland, 1877; + +T. Bulfinch's Legends of Charlemagne, 1863; + +Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, +pp. 320-347; + +Léon Gautier's Les épopées françaises, vol. i., 1878; + +J. Malcolm Ludlow's Story of Roland (see his Popular Epics of the Middle +Ages, 1865, vol. i., pp. 362-427); + +Gaston Paris's La poésie épique (see his Histoire poétique de Charlemagne, +1865, pp. 1-33); + +Gaston Paris's Les Chansons de Gestes françaises (see his Histoire +poétique de Charlemagne, 1865, pp. 69-72); + +George Saintsbury's The Chansons de Gestes (see his Short History of +French Literature, 1892, pp. 10-25); + +Henri Van Laun's The Carlovingian Cycle (see his History of French +Literature, 1876, vol. i., pp. 141-148); + +Ancient Literature of France, Quarterly Review, 1866, cxx. 283-323; + +The Chanson de Roland, Westminster Review, 1873, c. 32-44; + +M. Hayden's The Chansons de Geste, Dublin Review, 1894, cxiv. 346-357; + +Charles Francis Keary's The Chansons de Geste: +the Song of Roland, Fraser's Magazine, 1881, civ. 777-789; + +J. M. L.'s The Song of Roland, Macmillan's Magazine, 1862, vi. 486-501; + +Agnes Lambert's The oldest epic of Christendom, Nineteenth Century, 1882, +xi. 77-101; + +Andrew Lang's The Song of Roland and the Iliad, National Review, 1892, xx. +195-205; + +Legend of Roland, Encyclopćdia Britannica, vol. xx.; + +Gustave Masson's The Chanson de Roland, Leisure Hour, 1877, xxvi. 618-620; + +The Song of Roland, Catholic World, 1873 and 1874, xviii. 378-388, +488-500; + +The Song of Roland, Harper's Monthly, 1882, lxiv. 505-515; + +The Month, 1880, xl. 515-527; Temple Bar, 1886, lxxviii. 534-540. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +The Song of Roland, as chanted before the Battle of Hastings by the +Minstrel Taillefer, Tr. from the French translation of Vitet by Mrs. Anne +Caldwell Marsh, 1854; + +The Song of Roland, Tr. into English verse by John O'Hagan, ed. 2, 1883; + +La Chanson de Roland, Tr. from the seventh ed. of Léon Gautier, by Leonce +Rabillon, 1885. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +For full seven years had Charlemagne tarried in Spain, and all the land +lay conquered save the city of Saragossa. There, in an orchard, upon a +terrace paved with blue marble, sat its king, Marsile, taking counsel with +his lords. + +"No army have I," said the king; "no people to array against the hosts of +the great emperor. Advise me, my lords, what I shall do to save ourselves +from disgrace and shame." + +The wily Blancandrin, wisest and greatest among the pagans, advanced +before him. "Where might cannot prevail, often craft gains the day. My +lord, send gifts to mighty Carle. Drive forth a long train of camels; heap +many mules with gold; send chariots filled with precious gifts. Advise him +that on the day of Saint Michael's feast you will seek him at Aix, and +there become a Christian, and his vassal. Yea, even send hostages; my own +son shall go, even though he lose his head. Then will Carle depart for +France. The day set by you will come, but he will hear naught from us. The +hostages' heads will fall. What of it? Better this than for us to lose +forever Spain the fair." + +The king, pleased with the craft of Blancandrin, dismissed his council, +and ordered ten of his fiercest barons to seek Charlemagne at Cordova, +bearing the olive-branch, and make the offer suggested by Blancandrin. + +Cordova, filled with rich spoils, had been taken, and its surviving +inhabitants given the choice of the sword or Christian baptism. Therefore +the happy emperor sat at his ease in a wide-spreading orchard. Around him +stood Roland, Olivier, Samsun the duke, Anseis, Gefrei d'Anjou, and +Gerier. At least fifteen thousand French knights were diverting themselves +with different games in the beautiful orchard, where, under a pine-tree, +the great King of France sat upon a golden chair. His white hair and +flowing white beard added majesty to his already majestic figure, so that +the olive-bearing messengers needed not to have great Carle pointed out to +them. + +The emperor heard the message of Marsile in silence, and dismissing the +pagans for the night to a pavilion, called together in council his wisest +barons, Duke Ogier, Archbishop Turpin, Gerier, Roland, Olivier, a thousand +Franks, among them Ganelon, the step-father of Roland, and laid before +them the message of Marsile. + +"Rich gifts he offers me, but he demands that I return to France; thither +will he follow me, and at Aix will become a Christian and a vassal. A fair +promise, but what is in his heart I cannot tell." + +After a moment's silence Roland stood forth. + +"Sire, have no faith in the words of Marsile. When have we found aught but +treachery in the Saracen? For seven years I have been winning victories +for you here in Spain. Once before you yielded to such a message as this, +from this same Marsile, and lost, in consequence, the heads of your Counts +Bazan and Bazile. War on as you have begun. Besiege his city! subdue +Saragossa!" + +Then strode forth the angry Ganelon. "My king, this young hot-head is a +fool; hearken not unto him. Accept the offer of Marsile, and lose no more +lives by the foolhardiness of one who cares more for his own glory than +for human life." + +The voice of the others, among them Duke Naimes, Charlemagne's wisest +counsellor and truest vassal, was with Ganelon. The emperor stroked his +white beard. "My lords, whom shall we send to meet Marsile at Saragossa?" + +"I will go," said Duke Naimes. + +"Nay, I cannot spare you from my councils," replied the king. + +"I am here!" cried Roland. + +"Not you! You are too hot-headed to venture into the court of the enemy!" +cried his friend Olivier. "Let me go instead, sire!" + +"Nay!" cried the king. "Silence! Not one of the twelve peers sets his foot +in the kingdom of the Moors." + +"Then let my step-father go," suggested Roland. "No wiser man than he can +be found." + +"Come forward," said the king, as the Franks murmured assent, "and receive +the staff and glove. The Franks have chosen you." + +Ganelon rose, wrathful, casting off his fur robe. His eyes were gray, his +face fierce, his form noble. + +"This is Roland's work. I shall hate him forever, and Olivier, and the +twelve peers, because they love him. Ne'er shall I return; full well I +know it. If e'er I do, it will be to wreak vengeance on my enemy." + +"Go!" said the king. "You have said enough!" + +As Ganelon went forward, full of rage, to receive the king's glove, it +fell ere he touched it. "A bad omen!" exclaimed the French. + +"Sirs, ye shall hear of this!" said Ganelon. + +On his way to Saragossa with the legates of Marsile, Ganelon laid the +impious plot that was to result in the destruction of Roland and the +peers. It saved his life at Saragossa, where Marsile threatened to kill +him on reading Charlemagne's message. He explained carefully to the +Saracens how the rear guard, left at Roncesvalles under the command of +Roland and the twelve peers, could be destroyed by the pagan forces before +the knowledge of the battle could reach Charlemagne, and that, with these +props of his kingdom gone, the king's power would be so diminished that +Marsile could easily hold out against him. Then the traitor hastened back +to Cordova, laden with rich gifts. + +When Ganelon rode back, the emperor was preparing to return to sweet +France. "Barons," said Carle, "whom shall I leave in charge of these deep +defiles and narrow passes?" + +"My step-son Roland is well able to take the command," said Ganelon; "he +your nephew, whom you prize most of all your knights." + +Rage filled the hearts of both Roland and Carle; but the word was spoken, +and Roland must remain. With him remained the twelve peers, his friends, +Olivier, his devoted comrade, the gallant Archbishop Turpin, and twenty +thousand valiant knights. + +While Charlemagne's army toiled over the terrible gorges and high +mountains into Gascony, the emperor, ever grieving over the untimely death +his nephew might meet in the defiles of Spain, down came the pagans, who +had been gathering on the high mountains and in the murky valleys,--emirs, +sons of noble counts were they, brave as the followers of Charlemagne. + +When Olivier descried the pagan horde he at once exclaimed,-- + +"This is the work of Ganelon!" + +"Hush!" replied Roland. "He is my step-father. Say no more." + +Then Olivier, when from the hill he saw the one hundred thousand Saracens, +their helmets bedecked with gold, their shields shining in the sun, +besought his friend to sound his horn, the olifant, and summon the king to +their aid. + +"Never will I so disgrace myself!" exclaimed Roland. "Never shall sweet +France be so dishonored. One hundred thousand blows shall I give with my +sword, my Durendal, and the Moors will fall and die!" + +When Olivier found his pleading vain, he mounted his steed and rode with +Roland to the front of the lines. + +Long was the fight and terrible. If gallantry and strength sat with the +twelve peers and their followers, they were with their opponents as well. +No sooner had Roland, or Olivier, or Turpin, or Engelier cleft the body of +a Moorish knight down to the saddle, than down fell a Christian, his +helmet broken, his hauberk torn by the lance of his dreaded foe. The +nephew of Marsile fell by the hand of Roland, who taunted him as he lay in +death; Olivier struck down Marsile's brother. "A noble stroke!" cried +Roland. + +"A baron's stroke!" exclaimed the archbishop, as Samsun pierced the +Almazour with his lance and he fell dead. Olivier spurred over the field, +crushing the pagans and beating them down with his broken lance. + +"Comrade, where is thy sword, thy Halteclere?" called Roland to his +friend. + +"Here, but I lack time to draw it," replied the doughty Olivier. + +More than a thousand blows struck Turpin; the pagans fell by hundreds and +by thousands, and over the field lay scattered those who would nevermore +see sweet France. + +Meanwhile, in France, hail fell and rain; the sky was vivid with lightning +bolts. The earth shook, and the land lay in darkness at noonday. None +understood the portent. Alas! it was Nature's grief at the death of Count +Roland. + +When Roland perceived that in spite of their mighty efforts the passes +were still filled with heathen knights, and the French ranks were fast +thinning, he said to Olivier, "What think you if we call the king?" + +"Never!" exclaimed Olivier. "Better death now than shame!" + +"If I blow, Carle will hear it now and return. I shall blow my olifant," +cried Roland. + +"When I begged you to blow it," said Olivier, "you refused, when you could +have saved the lives of all of us. You will show no valor if you blow it +now." + +"Great is the strife," said Roland. "I will blow that Carle may come." + +"Then," said Olivier, "if I return to France, I pledge you my word my +sister Aude shall never be your wife. Your rashness has been the cause of +our destruction. Now you shall die here, and here ends our friendship." + +Across the field the archbishop spurred to reconcile the friends. "Carle +will come too late to save our lives," said he, "but he will reach the +field in time to preserve our mangled bodies and wreak vengeance on our +foes." + +Roland put his horn to his lips and blew with such force that his temples +burst and the crimson blood poured forth from his mouth. Three times he +sounded his horn, and each time the sound brought anguish to the heart of +Carle, who heard it, riding thirty leagues away. "Our men make battle!" +cried he; but this Ganelon hastened to deny, insisting that Roland was but +hunting and blowing the horn, taking sport among the peers. But Duke +Naimes exclaimed, "Your nephew is in sore distress. He who would deceive +you is a traitor. Haste! Shout your war-cry, and let us return to the +battle-field. You yourself hear plainly his call for help!" + +Commanding Ganelon to be seized and given to the scullions of his house to +be kept for punishment until his return, Carle ordered his men to arm and +return to Roncesvalles, that they might, if possible, save the lives of +the noble peers. All the army wept aloud as they thought of the doom of +Roland. High were the mountains, deep the valleys, swift the rushing +streams. The French rode on, answering the sound of the olifant; the +emperor rode, filled with grief and rage; the barons spurred their horses, +but in vain. + +After Roland had sounded the horn he again grasped Durendal, and, mounted +on his horse Veillantif, scoured the battle-field, cutting down the +heathen. But still their troops pressed him, and when he saw the Ethiopian +band led by the uncle of Marsile, he knew his doom had come. Olivier, +riding forth to meet the accursed band, received his death-wound from the +Kalif, but lived to cut his enemy down, and call Roland to him. Alas! +sight had forsaken his eyes, and as he sat on his steed he lifted his +bright sword Halteclere, and struck Roland a fearful blow that clove his +crest but did not touch his head. "Was the blow meant for me, my comrade?" +asked Roland softly. "Nay, I can see no more. God pity me! Pardon me, my +friend!" and as the two embraced each other, Olivier fell dead. + +Then, in the agony of his grief, Roland fainted, sitting firm in his +saddle, and again recovering consciousness, became aware of the terrible +losses of the French. Only himself, the archbishop, and the gallant +Gaultier de l'Hum were left to defend the honor of the French. After +Gaultier fell, Roland, unassisted save by Turpin, who fought transfixed by +four spear shafts, put the enemy to flight. Feeling his death wounds, +Roland besought Turpin to let him bring together the bodies of his fallen +comrades that they might receive the blessing of the archbishop. Weak and +trembling from loss of blood, Roland passed to and fro over the +corpse-bestrewn field, and gathered together his comrades: here, Gerin and +Gerier, Berengier and Otun; there, Anseis, Samsun, and Gerard de +Roussillon, and last of all, his beloved Olivier, and placing them before +the knees of Turpin, he saw them receive his blessing. + +In his great grief at the sight of the dead Olivier, Roland again fainted, +and Turpin hastened to a little brook near by for water to revive him. But +the strain was too great for his already weakened body, and, when Roland +revived, it was to find the archbishop dead. + +Then Roland, realizing that his hour, too, had come, sought out a place in +which to die. Upon a hill between two lofty trees, where was a marble +terrace, he placed himself with his head towards the enemy's country; and +there a Saracen, who had feigned death to escape it, tried to wrest from +him his beloved Durendal. + +Roland crushed the pagan's head with his olifant, but now he was troubled, +for he feared that his sword would fall into other than Christian hands. +Ill could he bear to be parted from his beloved sword. Its golden hilt +contained rare relics,--a tooth of Saint Peter, blood, hair, and bones of +other saints, and by the strength of these holy relics it had conquered +vast realms. Ten and more mighty blows he struck with Durendal upon the +hard rock of the terrace, in the endeavor to break it; but it neither +broke nor blunted. Then, counting over his great victories, he placed it +and the olifant beneath him, and committed his soul to the Father, who +sent down his angels to bear it to Paradise. + +When the French army, led by Charlemagne, found the passes heaped high +with the bodies of the dead and no living soul to tell the story of the +slaughter, they wept, and many fell swooning to the earth. But the enraged +Charlemagne, unwilling then to give time for mourning, spurred on his +soldiers, overtook the fleeing enemy, and drove them into the Ebro, so +that those who survived the sword, perished by the wave. Then, returning +to the field of Roncesvalles, he wept over his beloved Roland and the +peers. + +Great was his grief; handfuls of hair he tore from his head, and many +times wished that his soul were in Paradise, and his body beside that of +Roland. He commanded that the hearts of Roland, Olivier, and Turpin be +taken from their bodies, wrapped, and inurned, and the bodies borne home +in chariots. The bodies of the others were gathered together in one tomb, +and assoiled and blessed by the priests who accompanied the army. + +As Charlemagne prepared to start for France, he saw a new army +approaching. The aged Emir Baligant, from Babylon, who had long ago been +summoned by Marsile, had just arrived in Saragossa, and hastened forth to +meet Charlemagne. The emir's army was countless, and Charlemagne's was +weakened by its great loss. But the thought of the slaughtered peers +spurred on the French, and with great Carle for their leader, they quickly +put the pagans to flight. + +The Franks pursued the enemy to Saragossa, where the wounded Marsile +expired on hearing of his defeat. The city was taken, its inhabitants +either slain, or converted and baptized, and Queen Bramimunde taken to +France to be won to the true faith by gentler means. + +When Charlemagne entered his stately palace at Aix, he was met by the fair +lady Aude. + +"Where is Roland, my betrothed?" + +Carle wept, tearing his white beard. + +"Thou askest of one who is no more. But in his place I will give thee my +son. I can do no better." + +"Nay, God forbid that I should live if Roland is dead;" and so saying, +Aude, the beautiful, fell dead at the feet of the emperor. + +From all his lands Carle summoned men to Aix for the trial of Ganelon. + +"Judge him according to the law, my barons," said the king. "He lost me +twenty thousand of my Franks. My nephew Roland, Olivier, my twelve peers, +he sold." + +"My king," pleaded Ganelon, "call it not treason. I was ever loyal to you. +I thought not of gain, but of revenge against my rebellious and haughty +step-son." + +The sentiment of many was with Ganelon, and Pinabel offered to fight for +him against Thierri, the champion of the king. Thirty knights of his kin +gave themselves as legal sureties of his pledge, and the combat began. +Pinabel was conquered and slain, and Ganelon was condemned to be torn to +pieces by wild horses. His thirty sureties were also compelled to suffer +death. + +Ganelon was punished; Bramimunde was made a Christian, and the emperor +thought at last to have peace. But as night fell and he sought rest in his +lofty room, Gabriel appeared to him. + +"Summon thy hosts and march into Bire to succor King Vivien. The +Christians look to thee for help." + +The king wept and tore his beard. "So troubled is my life!" said he. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND. + +THE HORN. + + +The Rear Guard of the French army, left behind at Roncesvalles, under +Roland, was attacked by a great host of Moors. In the beginning of the +battle Olivier besought Roland to recall the emperor by blowing the +olifant, whose sound could be heard for many leagues, but Roland refused. +But when he saw the overwhelming forces of the Moors, and the field strewn +with the corpses of the French, he resolved to blow the horn. + + Seeing so many warriors fall'n around, + Rollánd unto his comrade Olivier + Spoke thus: "Companion fair and dear, for God + Whose blessing rests on you, those vassals true + And brave lie corses on the battle-field: + Look! We must mourn for France so sweet and fair, + From henceforth widowed of such valiant knights. + Carle, 'would you were amongst us, King and friend! + What can we do, say, brother Olivier, + To bring him news of this sore strait of ours!" + Olivier answers: "I know not; but this + I know; for us is better death than shame." + Aoi. + + Rollánd says: "I will blow mine olifant, + And Carle will hear it from the pass. I pledge + My word the French at once retrace their steps." + Said Olivier: "This a great shame would be, + One which to all your kindred would bequeathe + A lifetime's stain. When this I asked of you, + You answered nay, and would do naught. Well, now + With my consent you shall not;--if you blow + Your horn, of valor true you show no proof. + Already, both your arms are drenched with blood." + Responds the count: "These arms have nobly struck." + Aoi. + + "The strife is rude," Rollánd says; "I will blow + My horn, that Carle may hear."--Said Olivier: + "This would not courage be. What I desired, + Companion, you disdained. Were the king here, + Safe would we be, but yon brave men are not + To blame."--"By this my beard," said Olivier, + "I swear, if ever I see again sweet Aude, + My sister, in her arms you ne'er shall lie." + Aoi. + + Rollánd asked Olivier--"Why show to me + Your anger, friend?"--"Companion, yours the fault; + True courage means not folly. Better far + Is prudence than your valiant rage. Our French + Their lives have lost, your rashness is the cause. + And now our arms can never more give Carle + Their service good. Had you believed your friend, + Amongst us would he be, and ours the field, + The King Marsile, a captive or a corse. + Rollánd, your valor brought ill fortune, nor + Shall Carle the great e'er more our help receive, + A man unequalled till God's judgment-day. + Here shall you die, and dying, humble France, . . . + This day our loyal friendship ends--ere falls + The Vesper-eve, dolorously we part!" + Aoi. + + The archbishop heard their strife. In haste he drives + Into his horse his spurs of purest gold, + And quick beside them rides. Then chiding them, + Says: "Sire Rollánd, and you, Sire Olivier, + In God's name be no feud between you two; + No more your horn shall save us; nathless't were + Far better Carle should come and soon avenge + Our deaths. So joyous then these Spanish foes + Would not return. But as our Franks alight, + Find us, or slain or mangled on the field, + They will our bodies on their chargers' backs + Lift in their shrouds with grief and pity, all + In tears, and bury us in holy ground: + And neither wolves, nor swine, nor curs shall feed + On us--" Replied Rollánd: "Well have you said." + + Rollánd raised to his lips the olifant, + Drew a deep breath, and blew with all his force. + High are the mountains, and from peak to peak + The sound re-echoes; thirty leagues away + 'T was heard by Carle and all his brave compeers. + Cried the king: "Our men make battle!" Ganelon + Retorts in haste: "If thus another dared + To speak, we should denounce it as a lie." + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd in his great anguish blows + His olifant so mightily, with such + Despairing agony, his mouth pours forth + The crimson blood, and his swol'n temples burst. + Yea, but so far the ringing blast resounds; + Carle hears it, marching through the pass, Naimes harks, + The French all listen with attentive ear. + "That is Rollánd's horn!" Carle cried, "which ne'er yet + Was, save in battle, blown!" But Ganelon + Replies: "No fight is there! you, sire, are old, + Your hair and beard are all bestrewn with gray, + And as a child your speech. Well do you know + Rollánd's great pride. 'Tis marvellous God bears + With him so long. Already took he Noble + Without your leave. The pagans left their walls + And fought Rollánd, your brave knight, in the field; + With his good blade he slew them all, and then + Washed all the plain with water, that no trace + Of blood was left--yea, oftentimes he runs + After a hare all day and blows his horn. + Doubtless he takes his sport now with his peers; + And who 'neath Heav'n would dare attack Rollánd? + None, as I deem. Nay, sire, ride on apace; + Why do you halt? Still far is the Great Land." + Aoi. + + Rollánd with bleeding mouth and temples burst, + Still, in his anguish, blows his olifant; + Carle hears it, and his Franks. The king exclaims: + "That horn has a long breath!" Duke Naimes replies: + "Rollánd it is, and in a sore distress, + Upon my faith a battle rages there! + A traitor he who would deceive you now. + To arms! Your war-cry shout, your kinsman save! + Plainly enough you hear his call for help." + Aoi. + + Carle orders all the trumpeters to sound + The march. The French alight. They arm themselves + With helmets, hauberks and gold-hilted swords, + Bright bucklers, long sharp spears, with pennons white + And red and blue. The barons of the host + Leap on their steeds, all spurring on; while through + The pass they march, each to the other says: + "Could we but reach Rollánd before he dies, + What deadly blows, with his, our swords would strike!" + But what avails? Too late they will arrive. + Aoi. + + The ev'n is clear, the sun its radiant beams + Reflects upon the marching legions, spears, + Hauberks and helms, shields painted with bright flowers, + Gold pennons all ablaze with glitt'ring hues. + Burning with wrath the emperor rides on; + The French with sad and angered looks. None there + But weeps aloud. All tremble for Rollánd. + + * * * * * + + The king commands Count Ganelon be seized + And given to the scullions of his house. + Their chief, named Bčgue, he calls and bids: "Guard well + This man as one who all my kin betrayed." + Him Bčgue received, and set upon the count + One hundred of his kitchen comrades--best + And worst; they pluck his beard on lip and cheek; + Each deals him with his fist four blows, and falls + On him with lash and stick; they chain his neck + As they would chain a bear, and he is thrown + For more dishonor on a sumpter mule, + There guarded so until to Carle brought back. + Aoi. + + High are the mountains, gloomy, terrible, + The valleys deep, and swift the rushing streams. + In van, in rear, the brazen trumpets blow, + Answering the olifant. With angry look + Rides on the emp'ror; filled with wrath and grief, + Follow the French, each sobbing, each in tears, + Praying that God may guard Rollánd, until + They reach the battle-field. With him what blows + Will they not strike! Alas? what boots it now? + Too late they are and cannot come in time. + Aoi. + + Carle in great anger rides--his snow-white beard + O'erspreads his breast-plate. Hard the barons spur, + For never one but inwardly doth rage + That he is far from their great chief, Rollánd, + Who combats now the Saracens of Spain: + If wounded he, will one of his survive? + O God! What knights those sixty left by him! + Nor king nor captain better ever had.... + Aoi. + _Rabillon's Translation._ + + + + +ROLAND'S DEATH. + + +When all the French lay dead upon the field except Roland and the +Archbishop Turpin, Roland gathered together the bodies of his dead +comrades, the peers, that they might receive the archbishop's blessing. He +then fell fainting from grief, and aroused himself to find the archbishop +dead also. + + Rollánd now feels his death is drawing nigh: + From both his ears the brain is oozing fast. + For all his peers he prays that God may call + Their souls to him; to the Angel Gabriel + He recommends his spirit. In one hand + He takes the olifant, that no reproach + May rest upon him; in the other grasps + Durendal, his good sword. Forward he goes, + Far as an arblast sends a shaft, across + A new-tilled ground and toward the land of Spain. + Upon a hill, beneath two lofty trees, + Four terraces of marble spread;--he falls + Prone fainting on the green, for death draws near. + Aoi. + + High are the mounts, and lofty are the trees. + Four terraces are there, of marble bright: + There Count Rollánd lies senseless on the grass. + Him at this moment spies a Saracen + Who lies among the corpses, feigning death, + His face and body all besmeared with blood. + Sudden he rises to his feet, and bounds + Upon the baron. Handsome, brave, and strong + He was, but from his pride sprang mortal rage. + He seized the body of Rollánd, and grasped + His arms, exclaiming thus: "Here vanquished Carle's + Great nephew lies! This sword to Araby + I'll bear." He drew it; this aroused the count. + Aoi. + + Rollánd perceived an alien hand would rob + Him of his sword; his eyes he oped; one word + He spoke: "I trow, not one of us art thou!" + Then with his olifant from which he parts + Never, he smites the golden studded helm, + Crushing the steel, the head, the bones; both eyes + Are from their sockets beaten out--o'erthrown + Dead at the baron's feet he falls;--"O wretch," + He cries, "how durst thou, or for good or ill, + Lay hands upon Rollánd? Who hears of this + Will call thee fool. Mine olifant is cleft, + Its gems and gold all scattered by the blow." + Aoi. + + Now feels Rollánd that death is near at hand + And struggles up with all his force; his face + Grows livid; Durendal, his naked sword, + He holds; beside him rises a gray rock + On which he strikes ten mighty blows through grief + And rage. The steel but grinds; it breaks not, nor + Is notched; then cried the count: "Saint Mary, help! + O Durendal! Good sword! ill starred art thou! + Though we two part, I care not less for thee. + What victories together thou and I + Have gained, what kingdoms conquered, which now holds + White-bearded Carle! No coward's hand shall grasp + Thy hilt: a valiant knight has borne thee long, + Such as none shall e'er bear in France the Free!" + Aoi. + + Rollánd smites hard the rock of Sardonix; + The steel but grinds, it breaks not, nor grows blunt; + Then seeing that he cannot break his sword, + Thus to himself he mourns for Durendal: + "O good my sword, how bright and pure! Against + The sun what flashing light thy blade reflects! + When Carle passed through the valley of Moriane, + The God of Heaven by his Angel sent + Command that he should give thee to a count, + A valiant captain; it was then the great + And gentle king did gird thee to my side. + With thee I won for him Anjou--Bretaigne; + For him with thee I won Poitou, le Maine + And Normandie the free; I won Provence + And Aquitaine, and Lumbardie, and all + The Romanie; I won for him Baviere, + All Flandre--Buguerie--all Puillanie, + Costentinnoble which allegiance paid, + And Saxonie submitted to his power; + For him I won Escoce and Galle, Irlande, + And Engleterre he made his royal seat; + With thee I conquered all the lands and realms + Which Carle, the hoary-bearded monarch, rules. + Now for this sword I mourn. . . . Far better die + Than in the hands of pagans let it fall! + May God, Our Father, save sweet France this shame!" + Aoi. + + Upon the gray rock mightily he smites, + Shattering it more than I can tell; the sword + But grinds. It breaks not--nor receives a notch, + And upward springs more dazzling in the air. + When sees the Count Rollánd his sword can never break, + Softly within himself its fate he mourns: + "O Durendal, how fair and holy thou! + In thy gold-hilt are relics rare; a tooth + Of great Saint Pierre--some blood of Saint Basile, + A lock of hair of Monseigneur Saint Denis, + A fragment of the robe of Sainte-Marie. + It is not right that pagans should own thee; + By Christian hand alone be held. Vast realms + I shall have conquered once that now are ruled + By Carle, the king with beard all blossom-white, + And by them made great emperor and lord. + May thou ne'er fall into a cowardly hand." + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd feels through his limbs the grasp + Of death, and from his head ev'n to his heart + A mortal chill descends. Unto a pine + He hastens, and falls stretched upon the grass. + Beneath him lie his sword and olifant, + And toward the Heathen land he turns his head, + That Carle and all his knightly host may say: + "The gentle count a conqueror has died. . . ." + Then asking pardon for his sins, or great + Or small, he offers up his glove to God. + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd feels now his end approach. + Against a pointed rock, and facing Spain, + He lies. Three times he beats his breast, and says: + "Mea culpa! Oh, my God, may through thy grace, + Be pardoned all my sins, or great or small, + Until this hour committed since my birth!" + Then his right glove he offers up to God, + And toward him angels from high Heav'n descend. + Aoi. + + Beneath a pine Rollánd doth lie, and looks + Toward Spain. He broods on many things of yore: + On all the lands he conquered, on sweet France, + On all his kinsmen, on great Carle his lord + Who nurtured him;--he sighs, nor can restrain + His tears, but cannot yet himself forget; + Recalls his sins, and for the grace of God + He prays: "Our Father, never yet untrue, + Who Saint-Lazare raised from the dead, and saved + Thy Daniel from the lions' claws,--oh, free + My soul from peril, from my whole life's sins!" + His right hand glove he offered up to God; + Saint Gabriel took the glove.--With head reclined + Upon his arm, with hands devoutly joined + He breathed his last. God sent his cherubim, + Saint-Raphael, _Saint Michiel del Peril_. + Together with them Gabriel came. All bring + The soul of Count Rollánd to Paradise. + Aoi. + _Rabillon's Translation_ + + + + + +THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +The monarchs of ancient Persia made several attempts to collect the +historic annals of their country, but both people and traditions were +scattered by the Arabian conquest. The manuscript annals were carried to +Abyssinia, thence to India, and were taken back to Persia just when the +weakness of the conquerors was beginning to show itself. The various +members of the Persian line, who had declared themselves independent of +their conquerors, determined to rouse the patriotism of their countrymen +by the recital of the stirring deeds of the warriors of old Persia. + +The fame of Abul Kasin Mansur, born at Thus, in Khorasan, A. D. 920, +reached Mahmoud of Ghaznin, who was searching for a poet to re-cast the +annals of Persia. He called the poet to his court, and, on hearing him +improvise, called him Firdusi (the paradisiacal). The poet was intrusted +with the preparation of the Shah-Nameh, or Epic of Kings, for every one +thousand distichs of which he was to receive a thousand pieces of gold. It +had been the dream of the poet's life to build a bridge and otherwise +improve his native town. He therefore asked that the payment be deferred +until the completion of his work, that he might apply the entire sum to +these improvements. But when the poem was completed, after thirty years' +labor, the king, instigated by the slanders of the jealous prime minister, +sent to the poet sixty thousand silver instead of gold dirhems. The +enraged poet threw the silver to his attendants and fled from the country, +leaving behind him an insulting poem to the sultan. He spent the remainder +of his life at Mazinderan and Bagdad, where he was received with honor, +and in his old age returned to Thus to die. Tradition relates that Mahmoud +at last discovered the villainy of his minister, and sent the gold to +Thus. But the old poet was dead, and his daughter indignantly refused the +money. Mahmoud then applied the sum to the improvements of the town so +long desired by Firdusi. + +The Shah-Nameh is written in the pure old Persian, that Mohammed declared +would be the language of Paradise. In its sixty thousand couplets are +related the deeds of the Persian kings from the foundation of the world to +the invasion by the Mohammedans; but it is of very little value as a +historical record, the facts it purports to relate being almost lost among +the Oriental exaggerations of the deeds of its heroes. + +The only complete translation in a foreign language is the elaborate +French translation of Julius Mohl. + +The Shah-Nameh is still popular in Persia, where it is said that even the +camel drivers are able to repeat long portions of it. Firdusi is sometimes +called the Homer of the East, because he describes rude heroic times and +men, as did Homer; but he is also compared to Ariosto, because of his +wealth of imagery. His heroes are very different from those to whom we +have been wont to pay our allegiance; but they fight for the same +principles and worship as lovely maids, to judge from the hyperbole +employed in their description. The condensation of the Shah-Nameh reads +like a dry chronicle; but in its entirety it reminds one of nothing so +much as a gorgeous Persian web, so light and varied, so brightened is it +by its wealth of episode. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +Samuel Johnson's The Shah-Nameh, or Book of Kings (in his Oriental +Religion, Persia, 1885, pp. 711-782); + +E. B. Cowell's Persian Literature, Firdusi (in Oxford Essays, 1885, pp. +164-166); + +Elizabeth A. Reed's Persian Literature, Ancient and Modern, 1893, pp. +214-283. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +The Shah-Nameh, Tr. and abridged in prose and verse with notes and +illustrations, by James Atkinson, 1832; + +Abbreviated version taken from a Persian abridgment, half prose, half +verse; The Epic of Kings, Stories re-told from Firdusi, by Helen +Zimmern, 1882. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +Kaiumers was the first King of Persia, and against him Ahriman, the evil, +through jealousy of his greatness, sent forth a mighty Deev to conquer +him. By this Deev, Saiamuk, the son of Kaiumers, was slain, and the king +himself died of grief at the loss of his son. + +Husheng, his grandson, who succeeded Kaiumers, was a great and wise king, +who gave fire to his people, taught them irrigation, instructed them how +to till and sow, and gave names to the beasts. His son and successor, +Tahumers, taught his people the arts of spinning, weaving, and writing, +and when he died left his throne to his son Jemschid. + +Jemschid was a mighty monarch, who divided men into classes, and the years +into periods, and builded mighty walls and cities; but his heart grew +proud at the thought of his power, and he was driven away from his land by +his people, who called Zohak to the throne of Iran. + +Zohak, who came from the deserts of Arabia, was a good and wise young man +who had fallen into the power of a Deev. This Deev, in the guise of a +skillful servant, asked permission one day to kiss his monarch between the +shoulders, as a reward for an unusually fine bit of cookery. From the spot +he kissed sprang two black serpents, whose only nourishment was the brains +of the king's subjects. + +The serpent king, as Zohak was now called, was much feared by his +subjects, who saw their numbers daily lessen by the demands of the +serpents. But when the children of the blacksmith Kawah were demanded as +food for the serpents, the blacksmith defied Zohak, and raising his +leathern apron as a standard,--a banner ever since honored in Persia,--he +called the people to him, and set off in search of Feridoun, an heir of +Jemschid. Under the young leader the oppressed people defeated the tyrant, +and placed Feridoun on the throne. + +Feridoun had three sons, Irij, Tur, and Silim. Having tested their +bravery, he divided the kingdom among them, giving to Irij the kingdom of +Iran. Although the other brothers had received equal shares of the +kingdom, they were enraged because Iran was not their portion, and when +their complaints to their father were not heeded, they slew their brother. +Irij left a son, a babe named Minuchihr, who was reared carefully by +Feridoun. In time he avenged his father, by defeating the armies of his +uncles and slaying them both. Soon after this, Feridoun died, intrusting +his grandson to Saum, his favorite pehliva, or vassal, who ruled over +Seistan. + +Saum was a childless monarch, and when at last a son was born to him he +was very happy until he learned that while the child was perfect in every +other way, it had the silver hair of an old man. Fearing the talk of his +enemies, Saum exposed the child on a mountain top to die. There it was +found by the Simurgh, a remarkable animal, part bird, part human, that, +touched by the cries of the helpless infant, carried him to her great nest +of aloes and sandal-wood, and reared him with her little ones. + +Saum, who had lived to regret his foolish and wicked act, was told in a +dream that his son still lived, and was being cared for by the Simurgh. He +accordingly sought the nest, and carried his son away with great +thanksgiving. The Simurgh parted tenderly with the little Zal, and +presented him with a feather from her wing, telling him that whenever he +was in danger, he had only to throw it on the fire and she would instantly +come to his aid. + +Saum first presented his son at the court of Minuchihr, and then took him +home to Zaboulistan, where he was carefully instructed in every art and +science. + +At one time, while his father was invading a neighboring province, Zal +travelled over the kingdom and stopped at the court of Mihrab, a tributary +of Saum, who ruled at Kabul. Though a descendant of the serpent king, +Mihrab was good, just, and wise, and he received the young warrior with +hospitality. Zal had not been long in Kabul before he heard of the +beauties of Rudabeh, the daughter of Mihrab, and she, in turn, of the +great exploits of Zal. By an artifice of the princess they met and vowed +to love one another forever, though they knew their love would meet with +opposition. Saum and Zal both pleaded Zal's cause before Minuchihr, who +relented when he heard from the astrologers that a good and mighty warrior +would come of the union. Rudabeh's mother won the consent of Mihrab, so +that the young people were soon married with great pomp. To them a son was +born named Rustem, who, when one day old, was as large as a year-old +child. When three years old he could ride a horse, and at eight years was +as powerful as any hero of the time. + +Nauder succeeded the good Minuchihr, and under him Persia was defeated by +the Turanians, and Afrasiyab occupied the Persian throne. But Zal, whose +father, Saum, had died, overthrew him and placed Zew upon the throne. +Zew's reign was short, and Garshasp, his son, succeeded him. When he was +threatened by the Turanians, his people went for aid to Zal, who, because +he was growing old, referred them to Rustem, yet of tender age. Rustem +responded gladly, and his father commanded that all the horses from +Zaboulistan to Kabul be brought forth that his son might select a steed +therefrom. Every horse bent beneath his grasp until he came to the colt +Rakush, which responded to Rustem's voice, and suffered him to mount it. +From that day to his death, this steed was his faithful companion and +preserver. + +Garshasp was too weak to rule over the kingdom, and Zal despatched Rustem +to Mt. Alberz, where he had been told in a dream a youth dwelt called +Kai-Kobad, descended from Feridoun. Kai-Kobad welcomed Rustem, and the +two, with the noblest of the kingdom, defeated the power of Turan. + +After a reign of a hundred years, the wise Kai-Kobad died, and was +succeeded by his son, the foolish Kai-Kaus, who, not satisfied with the +wealth and extent of his kingdom, determined to conquer the kingdom of +Mazinderan, ruled by the Deevs. Zal's remonstrances were of no avail: the +headstrong Kai-Kaus marched into Mazinderan, and, together with his whole +army, was conquered, imprisoned, and blinded by the power of the White +Deev. + +When the news of the monarch's misfortune came to Iran, Rustem immediately +saddled Rakush, and, choosing the shortest and most peril-beset route, set +forth, unaccompanied, for Mazinderan. If he survived the dangers that +lurked by the way, he would reach Mazinderan in seven days. + +While sleeping in a forest, after his first day's journey, he was saved +from a fierce lion by Rakush, who stood at his head. + +On the second day, just as he believed himself perishing of thirst, he was +saved by a sheep that he followed to a fountain of water; on the third +night, Rakush, whom he had angrily forbidden to attack any animal without +waking him, twice warned him of the approach of a dragon. The first time +the dragon disappeared when Rustem awoke, and he spoke severely to his +faithful horse. The second time he slew the dragon, and morning having +dawned, proceeded through a desert, where he was offered food and wine by +a sorceress. Not recognizing her, and grateful for the food, he offered +her a cup of wine in the name of God, and she was immediately converted +into a black fiend, whom he slew. + +He was next opposed by Aulad, whom he defeated, and promised to make ruler +of Mazinderan if he would guide him to the caves of the White Deev. A +stony desert and a wide stream lay between him and the demon; but the +undaunted Rustem passed over them, and choosing the middle of the day, at +which time Aulad told him the Deevs slept, he slew the guards, entered the +cavern, and after a terrible struggle, overcame and slew the great Deev. + +He then released Kai-Kaus and his army, and restored their sight by +touching their eyes with the blood from the Deev's heart. + +Kai-Kaus, not satisfied with this adventure, committed many other follies, +from which it taxed his warrior sorely to rescue him. + +Once he was imprisoned by the King of Hamaveran after he had espoused his +daughter; again he followed the advice of a wicked Deev, and tried to +search the heavens in a flying-machine, that descended and left him in a +desert waste. It was only after this last humiliation that he humbled +himself, lay in the dust many days, and at last became worthy of the +throne of his fathers. + +At one time Rustem was hunting near the borders of Turan, and, falling +asleep, left Rakush to graze in the forest, where he was espied by the men +of Turan and at once captured. When Rustem awoke he followed his steed by +the traces of its hoofs, until he came to the city of Samengan. The king +received him kindly, and promised to restore the horse if it could be +found. While his messengers went in search of it, he feasted his guest, +and led him for the night to a perfumed couch. + +In the middle of the night Rustem awoke, to see a beautiful young woman +enter the room, accompanied by a maid. She proved to be the princess, who +had fallen in love with Rustem. She pleaded with him to return her love, +promising, if he did so, to restore his cherished horse. Rustem longed for +his steed; moreover, the maiden was irresistibly beautiful. He accordingly +yielded to her proposals, and the two were wedded the next day, the king +having given his consent. + +After tarrying some time in Samengan, Rustem was forced to return to Iran. +Bidding his bride an affectionate farewell, he presented her with a +bracelet. + +"If thou art given a daughter, place this amulet in her hair to guard her +from harm. If a son, bind it on his arm, that he may possess the valor of +Nariman." + +In the course of time, the princess bore a boy, who was like his father in +beauty and boldness, whom she christened Sohrab. But for fear that she +would be deprived of him, she wrote to Rustem that a daughter had been +born to her. To her son she declared the secret of his birth, and urged +him to be like his father in all things; but she warned him not to +disclose the secret, for she feared that if it came to the ears of +Afrasiyab, he would destroy him because of his hatred of Rustem. + +Sohrab, who had already cherished dreams of conquest, was elated at the +knowledge of his parentage. "Mother," exclaimed he, "I shall gather an +army of Turks, conquer Iran, dethrone Kai-Kaus, and place my father on the +throne; then both of us will conquer Afrasiyab, and I will mount the +throne of Turan." + +The mother, pleased with her son's valor, gave him for a horse a foal +sprung from Rakush, and fondly watched his preparations for war. + +The wicked Afrasiyab well knew that Sohrab was the son of Rustem. He was +also aware that it was very dangerous to have two such mighty warriors +alive, since if they became known to each other, they would form an +alliance. He planned, therefore, to aid Sohrab in the war, keeping him in +ignorance of his father, and to manage in some way to have the two meet in +battle, that one or both might be slain. + +The armies met and the great battle began. Sohrab asked to have Rustem +pointed out to him, but the soldiers on his side were all instructed to +keep him in ignorance. By some strange mischance the two men whom his +mother had sent to enlighten him, were both slain. Rustem was moved at the +sight of the brave young warrior, but remembering that Tahmineh's +offspring was a daughter, thought nothing more of the thrill he felt at +sight of him. At last Sohrab and Rustem met in single combat. Sohrab was +moved with tenderness for his unknown opponent, and besought him to tell +him if he was Rustem, but Rustem declared that he was only a servant of +that chief. For three days they fought bitterly, and on the fourth day +Rustem overthrew his son. When Sohrab felt that the end had come he +threatened his unknown opponent. "Whoever thou art, know that I came not +out for empty glory but to find my father, and that though I have found +him not, when he hears that thou hast slain his son he will search thee +out and avenge me, no matter where thou hidest thyself. For my father is +the great Rustem." + +Rustem fell down in agony when he heard his son's words, and realized that +his guile had prevented him from being made known the day before. He +examined the onyx bracelet on Sohrab's arm; it was the same he had given +Tahmineh. Bethinking himself of a magic ointment possessed by Kai-Kaus, he +sent for it that he might heal his dying son; but the foolish king, +jealous of his prowess, refused to send it, and Sohrab expired in the arms +of his father. + +Rustem's heart was broken. He heaped up his armor, his tent, his +trappings, his treasures, and flung them into a great fire. The house of +Zal was filled with mourning, and when the news was conveyed to Samengan, +he tore his garments, and his daughter grieved herself to death before a +year had passed away. + +To Kai-Kaus and a wife of the race of Feridoun was born a son called +Saiawush, who was beautiful, noble, and virtuous. But his foolish father +allowed himself to be prejudiced against the youth by slanderous tongues, +so that Saiawush fled from the court and sought shelter with Afrasiyab in +Turan. There he speedily became popular, and took unto himself for a wife +the daughter of Afrasiyab. But when he and Ferandis his wife built a +beautiful city, the hatred and jealousy of Gersiwaz was aroused, so that +he lied to Afrasiyab and said that Saiawush was puffed up with pride, and +at last induced Afrasiyab to slay his son-in-law. + +Saiawush had a son, Kai-Khosrau, who was saved by Piran, a kind-hearted +nobleman, and given into the care of a goatherd. When Afrasiyab learned of +his existence he summoned him to his presence, but the youth, instructed +by Piran, assumed the manners of an imbecile, and was accordingly freed by +Afrasiyab, who feared no harm from him. + +When the news of the death of Saiawush was conveyed to Iran there was +great mourning, and war was immediately declared against Turan. For seven +years the contest was carried on, always without success, and at the end +of that time Gudarz dreamed that a son of Saiawush was living called +Kai-Khosrau, and that until he was sought out and placed at the head of +the army, deliverance could not come to Iran. Kai-Khosrau was discovered, +and led the armies on to victory; and when Kai-Kaus found that his +grandson was not only a great warrior, skilled in magic, but also +possessed wisdom beyond his years, he resigned the throne and made +Kai-Khosrau ruler over Iran. + +Kai-Khosrau ruled many long years, in which time he brought peace and +happiness to his kingdom, avenged the murder of his father, and compassed +the death of the wicked Afrasiyab. Then, fearing that he might become +puffed up with pride like Jemschid, he longed to depart from this world, +and prayed Ormuzd to take him to his bosom. + +The king; after many prayers to Ormuzd, dreamed that his wish would be +granted if he set the affairs of his kingdom in order and appointed his +successor. Rejoiced, he called his nobles together, divided his treasure +among them, and appointed his successor, Lohurasp, whom he commanded to be +the woof and warp of justice. Accompanied by a few of his faithful +friends, he set out on the long journey to the crest of the mountains. At +his entreaties, some of his friends turned back; those who stayed over +night, in spite of his warnings, found on waking that they were covered by +a heavy fall of snow, and were soon frozen. Afterwards their bodies were +found and received a royal burial. + +Lohurasp had a son Gushtasp who greatly desired to rule, and was a just +monarch, when he succeeded to the throne. Gushtasp, however, was jealous +of his son, Isfendiyar, who was a great warrior. When Gushtasp was about +to be overcome by the forces of Turan, he promised Isfendiyar the throne, +if he would destroy the enemy; but when the hosts were scattered, and +Isfendiyar reminded his father of his promise, he was cast into a dungeon, +there to remain until his services were again needed. When he had again +gained a victory, he was told that the throne should be his when he had +rescued his sisters from the brazen fortress of Arjasp, where they had +been carried and imprisoned. + +On his way to this tower Isfendiyar met with as many terrible foes as +Rustem had encountered on his way to the White Deev, and as successfully +overcame them. Wolves, lions, enchantresses, and dragons barred the way to +the impregnable fortress, which rose three farsangs high and forty wide, +and was constructed entirely of brass and iron. But Isfendiyar, assuming +the guise of a merchant and concealing his warriors in chests, won his way +into the castle, gained the favor of its inmates, and made them drunk with +wine. This done, he freed his sisters, slew the guards, and struck down +Arjasp. + +Instead of keeping his promise, Gushtasp hastened to set his son another +task. Rustem was his Pehliva, but it pleased him to send forth Isfendiyar +against him, commanding him to bring home the mighty warrior in chains. +Isfendiyar pleaded in vain with his father. Then he explained the +situation to Rustem, and begged that he would accompany him home in peace +to gratify his father. Rustem refused to go in chains, so the two heroes +reluctantly began the hardest battle of their lives. + +At the end of the first day, Rustem and Rakush were severely wounded, and +on his return home Rustem happened to think of the Simurgh. Called by the +burning of the feather, the kind bird healed the wounds of the hero and of +Rakush, and instructed Rustem how to slay his foe. "Seek thou the tamarisk +tree, and make thereof an arrow. Aim at his eye, and there thou canst +blind and slay him." + +Rustem followed the directions, and laid low the gallant youth. Isfendiyar +died exclaiming, "My father has slain me, not thou, Rustem. I die, the +victim of my father's hate; do thou keep for me and rear my son!" + +Rustem, who had lived so long and accomplished such great deeds, died at +last by the hand of his half-brother. This brother, Shugdad, stirred up +the king of Kabul, in whose court he was reared, to slay Rustem because he +exacted tribute from Kabul. + +Rustem was called into Kabul by Shugdad, who claimed that the king +mistreated him. When he arrived, the matter was settled amicably, and the +brothers set out for a hunt with the king. The hunters were led to a spot +where the false king had caused pits to be dug lined with sharp weapons. +Rustem, pleased with his kind reception and suspecting no harm, beat +Rakush severely when he paused and would go no further. Stung by the +blows, the gallant horse sprang forward, and fell into the pit. As he rose +from this, he fell into another, until, clambering from the seventh pit, +he and Rustem fell swooning with pain. + +"False brother!" cried Rustem; "what hast thou done? Was it for thee to +slay thy father's son? Exult now; but thou wilt yet suffer for this +crime!" Then altering his tone, he said gently: "But give me, I pray thee, +my bow and arrows, that I may have it by my side to slay any wild beast +that may try to devour me." + +Shugdad gave him the bow; and when he saw the gleam in Rustem's eyes, +concealed himself behind a tree. But the angry Rustem, grasping the bow +with something of his former strength, sent the arrow through tree and +man, transfixing both. Then thanking his Creator that he had been given +the opportunity to slay his murderer, he breathed his last. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH. + +THE RAJA OF INDIA SENDS A CHESSBOARD TO NUSHIRVAN. + + +"This account of the game of chess, written by Ferdusi more than eight +hundred years ago, is curious as showing the antiquity of the game, its +resemblance to it as now played, and the tradition that it was invented in +India, and came originally from that country." + + A Mubid related, how one day the king + Suspended his crown over the ivory throne, + All aloes-wood and ivory, and all ivory and aloes; + Every pavilion a court, and every court a royal one; + All the Hall of Audience crowned with soldiers; + Every pavilion filled with Mubids and Wardens of the Marches, + From Balkh, and Bokhara, and from every frontier-- + For the King of the world had received advices + From his vigilant and active emissaries, + That an Ambassador had arrived from a King of India, + With the parasol, and elephants, and cavalry of Sind, + And, accompanied by a thousand laden camels, + Was on his way to visit the Great King. + When the circumspect Monarch heard this news, + Immediately he despatched an escort to receive him. + And when the illustrious and dignified Ambassador + Came into the presence of the Great King, + According to the manner of the great, he pronounced a benediction, + And uttered the praise of the Creator of the world. + Then he scattered before him abundance of jewels, + And presented the parasol, the elephants, and the ear-rings; + The Indian parasol embroidered with gold, + And inwoven with all kinds of precious stones. + Then he opened the packages in the midst of the court, + And displayed each one, article by article, before the King. + Within the chest was much silver, and gold, + And musk, and amber, and fresh wood of aloes, + Of rubies, and diamonds, and Indian swords. + Each Indian sword was beautifully damascened; + Everything which is produced in Kanuj and Mai + Hand and foot were busy to put in its place. + They placed the whole together in front of the throne, + And the Chief, the favored of wakeful Fortune, + Surveyed all that the Raja had painstakingly collected, + And then commanded that it should be sent to his treasury. + Then the Ambassador presented, written on silk, + The letter which the Raja had addressed to Nushirvan; + And a chessboard, wrought with such exceeding labor, + That the pains bestowed upon it might have emptied a treasury. + And the Indian delivered a message from the Raja: + "So long as the heavens revolve, may thou be established in thy place! + All who have taken pains to excel in knowledge, + Command to place this chessboard before them, + And to exert their utmost ingenuity + To discover the secret of this noble game. + Let them learn the name of every piece. + Its proper position, and what is its movement. + Let them make out the foot-soldier of the army, + The elephant, the rook, and the horseman, + The march of the vizier and the procession of the King. + If they discover the science of this noble game, + They will have surpassed the most able in science. + Then the tribute and taxes which the King hath demanded + I will cheerfully send all to his court. + But if the congregated sages, men of Iran, + Should prove themselves completely at fault in this science, + Then, since they are not strong enough to compete with us in knowledge, + Neither should they desire taxes or tribute from this land and country: + Rather ought we to receive tribute from you, + Since knowledge hath a title beyond all else." + + Khosru gave heart and ear to the speaker, + And impressed on his memory the words which he heard. + They placed the chessboard before the King, + Who gazed attentively at the pieces a considerable time. + Half the pieces on the board were of brilliant ivory, + The other half of finely imaged teak-wood. + The nicely-observant King questioned him much + About the figures of the pieces and the beautiful board. + The Indian said in answer: "O thou great Monarch, + All the modes and customs of war thou wilt see, + When thou shalt have found out the way to the game; + The plans, the marches, the array of the battle-field." + He replied: "I shall require the space of seven days; + On the eighth we will encounter thee with a glad mind." + They furnished forthwith a pleasant apartment, + And assigned it to the Ambassador as his dwelling. + + Then the Mubid and the skilful to point out the way + Repaired with one purpose to the presence of the King. + They placed the chessboard before them, + And observed it attentively, time without measure. + They sought out and tried every method, + And played against one another in all possible ways. + One spoke and questioned, and another listened, + But no one succeeded in making out the game. + They departed, each one with wrinkles on his brow; + And Buzarchamahar went forthwith to the king. + + He perceived that he was ruffled and stern about this matter, + And in its beginning foresaw an evil ending. + Then he said to Khosru: "O Sovereign, + Master of the world, vigilant, and worthy to command, + I will reduce to practice this noble game; + All my intelligence will I exert to point out the way." + Then the king said: "This affair is thine affair; + Go thou about it with a clear mind and a sound body, + Otherwise the Raja of Kanuj would say, + 'He hath not one man who can search out the road,' + And this would bring foul disgrace on my Mubids, + On my court, on my throne, and on all my wise men." + Then Buzarchmahar made them place the chessboard before him, + And seated himself, full of thought, and expanded his countenance. + He sought out various ways, and moved the pieces to the right hand and + to the left, + In order that he might discover the position of every piece. + When after a whole day and a whole night, he had found out the game, + He hurried from his own pavilion to that of the King, + And exclaimed: "O King, whom Fortune crowneth with victory, + At last I have made out these figures and this chessboard, + By a happy chance, and by the favor of the Ruler of the world, + The mystery of this game hath found its solution. + Call before thee the Ambassador and all who care about it; + But the King of kings ought to be the first to behold it. + You would say at once without hesitation, + It is the exact image of a battle-field." + The King was right glad to hear the news; + He pronounced him the Fortunate, and the bearer of good tidings. + He commanded that the Mubids, and other counsellors, + And all who were renowned for their wisdom should be assembled; + And ordered that the Ambassador should be summoned to the Presence, + And that he should be placed on a splendid throne. + + Then Buzarchamahar, addressing him, said: + "O Mubid, bright in council as the sun, + Tell us, what said the King about these pieces, + So may intelligence be coupled with thee forever!" + + And this was his answer: "My Master, prosperous in his undertakings, + When I was summoned and appeared before him, + Said to me: 'These pieces of teak and ivory + Place before the throne of him who weareth the crown, + And say to him: Assemble thy Mubids and counsellors, + And seat them, and place the pieces before them. + If they succeed in making out the noble game, + They will win applause and augment enjoyment: + Then slaves and money and tribute and taxes, + I will send to him as far as I have the means; + For a monarch is to be esteemed for his wisdom, + Not for his treasure, or his men, or his lofty throne. + But if the King and his counsellors are not able to do all this + And their minds are not bright enough to comprehend it, + He ought not to desire from us tribute or treasure, + And his wise soul, alas! must come to grief; + And when he seeth our minds and genius to be subtler than theirs. + Rather will he send them to us in greater abundance.'" + + Then Buzarchamahar brought the chess-men and board, + And placed them before the throne of the watchful King, + And said to the Mubids and counsellors: + "O ye illustrious and pure-hearted sages, + Give ear all of you to the words he hath uttered, + And to the observations of his prudent chief." + + Then the knowing-man arranged a battle-field, + Giving to the King the place in the centre; + Right and left he drew up the army, + Placing the foot-soldiers in front of the battle. + A prudent vizier he stationed beside the King, + To give him advice on the plan of the engagement; + On each side he set the elephants of war [our bishops], + To support one another in the midst of the combat. + Further on he assigned their position to the war-steeds [our knights], + Placing upon each a horseman eager for battle. + Lastly, right and left, at the extremities of the field, + He stationed the heroes [the rooks] as rivals to each other. + When Buzarchamahar had thus drawn up the army, + The whole assembly was lost in astonishment; + But the Indian Ambassador was exceedingly grieved, + And stood motionless at the sagacity of that Fortune-favored man; + Stupefied with amazement, he looked upon him as a magician, + And his whole soul was absorbed in his reflections. + "For never hath he seen," he said, "a chessboard before, + Nor ever hath he heard about it from the experienced men of India. + I have told him nothing of the action of these pieces, + Not a word have I said about this arrangement and purpose. + How then hath the revelation come down upon him? + No one in the world will ever take his place!" + + And Khosru was so proud of Buzarchamahar, + Thou mightest say that he was looking Fortune in the face. + He was gladdened at his heart, and loaded him with caresses, + And ordered him a more than ordinary dress of honor, + And commanded him to be given a royal cup + Filled to the brim with princely jewels, + And a quantity of money, and a charger and a saddle, + And dismissed him from the Presence overwhelmed with praises. + _Robinson's Translation._ + + + + +ZAL AND RUDABEH. + + +"Zal, recovered from the care of the Simurgh and arrived at manhood, is +sent to govern the frontier province of Zabul; the adjoining province of +Kabul, though tributary to the Persian emperor, being governed by its own +king, called Mihrab. This episode commences with a visit which Mihrab pays +to Zal, who receives him with distinguished honor, entertains him at a +sumptuous banquet, and they separate with mutual respect." + + Then a chief of the great ones around him + Said: "O thou, the hero of the world, + This Mihrab hath a daughter behind the veil, + Whose face is more resplendent than the sun; + From head to foot pure as ivory, + With a cheek like the spring, and in stature like the teak-tree. + Upon her silver shoulders descend two musky tresses, + Which, like nooses, fetter the captive; + Her lip is like the pomegranate, and her cheek like its flower; + Her eyes resemble the narcissus in the garden; + Her eyelashes have borrowed the blackness of the raven; + Her eyebrows are arched like a fringed bow. + Wouldst thou behold the mild radiance of the moon? Look upon her + countenance! + Wouldst thou inhale delightful odors? She is all fragrance! + She is altogether a paradise of sweets, + Decked with all grace, all music, all thou canst desire! + She would be fitting for thee, O warrior of the world; + She is as the heavens above to such as we are." + + When Zal heard this description, + His love leaped to the lovely maiden: + His heart boiled over with the heat of passion, + So that understanding and rest departed from him. + Night came, but he sat groaning, and buried in thought, + And a prey to sorrow for the not-yet-seen. + +_On returning from a second visit, Mihrab describes Zal to his wife and +his daughter Rudabeh._ + + "O beautiful silver-bosomed cypress, + In the wide world not one of the heroes + Will come up to the measure of Zal! + In the pictured palace men will never behold the image + Of a warrior so strong, or so firm in the saddle. + He hath the heart of a lion, the power of an elephant, + And the strength of his arm is as the rush of the Nile. + When he sitteth on the throne, he scattereth gold before him; + In the battle, the heads of his enemies. + His cheek is as ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + Young in years, all alive, and the favorite of fortune; + And though his hair is white as though with age, + Yet in his bravery he could tear to pieces the water-serpent. + + "He rageth in the conflict with the fury of the crocodile, + He fighteth in the saddle like a sharp-fanged dragon. + In his wrath he staineth the earth with blood, + As he wieldeth his bright scimitar around him. + And though his hair is as white as is a fawn's, + In vain would the fault-finder seek another defect! + Nay, the whiteness of his hair even becometh him; + Thou wouldst say that he is born to beguile all hearts!" + + When Rudabeh heard this description, + Her heart was set on fire, and her cheek crimsoned like the pomegranate. + Her whole soul was filled with the love of Zal, + And food, and peace, and quietude were driven far from her. + +_After a time Rudabeh resolves to reveal her passion to her attendants._ + + Then she said to her prudent slaves: + "I will discover what I have hitherto concealed; + Ye are each of you the depositaries of my secrets, + My attendants, and the partners of my griefs. + I am agitated with love like the raging ocean, + Whose billows are heaved to the sky. + My once bright heart is filled with the love of Zal; + My sleep is broken with thoughts of him. + My soul is perpetually filled with my passion; + Night and day my thoughts dwell upon his countenance. + + "Not one except yourselves knoweth my secret; + Ye, my affectionate and faithful servants, + What remedy can ye now devise for my ease? + What will ye do for me? What promise will ye give me? + Some remedy ye must devise, + To free my heart and soul from this unhappiness." + + Astonishment seized the slaves, + That dishonor should come nigh the daughter of kings. + In the anxiety of their hearts they started from their seats, + And all gave answer with one voice: + "O crown of the ladies of the earth! + Maiden pre-eminent amongst the pre-eminent! + Whose praise is spread abroad from Hindustan to China; + The resplendent ring in the circle of the harem; + Whose stature surpasseth every cypress in the garden; + Whose cheek rivalleth the lustre of the Pleiades; + Whose picture is sent by the ruler of Kanuj + Even to the distant monarchs of the West-- + Have you ceased to be modest in your own eyes? + Have you lost all reverence for your father, + That whom his own parent cast from his bosom, + Him will you receive into yours? + A man who was nurtured by a bird in the mountains! + A man who was a by-word amongst the people! + You--with your roseate countenance and musky tresses-- + Seek a man whose hair is already white with age! + You--who have filled the world with admiration, + Whose portrait hangeth in every palace, + And whose beauty, and ringlets, and stature are such + That you might draw down a husband from the skies!" + +_To this remonstrance she makes the following indignant answer:_ + + When Rudabeh heard their reply, + Her heart blazed up like fire before the wind. + She raised her voice in anger against them, + Her face flushed, but she cast down her eyes. + After a time, grief and anger mingled in her countenance, + And knitting her brows with passion, she exclaimed: + "O unadvised and worthless counsellors, + It was not becoming in me to ask your advice! + Were my eye dazzled by a star, + How could it rejoice to gaze even upon the moon? + He who is formed of worthless clay will not regard the rose, + Although the rose is in nature more estimable than clay! + I wish not for Caesar, nor Emperor of China, + Nor for any one of the tiara-crowned monarchs of Iran; + The son of Saum, Zal, alone is my equal, + With his lion-like limbs, and arms, and shoulders. + You may call him, as you please, an old man, or a young; + To me, he is in the room of heart and of soul. + Except him never shall any one have a place in my heart; + Mention not to me any one except him. + Him hath my love chosen unseen, + Yea, hath chosen him only from description. + For him is my affection, not for face or hair; + And I have sought his love in the way of honor." + +_The slaves speak_. + + "May hundreds of thousands such as we are be a sacrifice for thee; + May the wisdom of the creation be thy worthy portion; + May thy dark narcissus-eye be ever full of modesty; + May thy cheek be ever tinged with bashfulness! + If it be necessary to learn the art of the magician, + To sew up the eyes with the bands of enchantment, + We will fly till we surpass the enchanter's bird, + We will run like the deer in search of a remedy. + Perchance we may draw the King nigh unto his moon, + And place him securely at thy side." + + The vermil lip of Rudabeh was filled with smiles; + She turned her saffron-tinted countenance toward the slave, and said: + "If thou shalt bring this matter to a happy issue, + Thou hast planted for thyself a stately and fruitful tree, + Which every day shall bear rubies for its fruit, + And shall pour that fruit into thy lap." + +_The slaves arrange an interview between the lovers_. + + Then said the elegant cypress-formed lady to her maidens: + "Other than this were once your words and your counsel! + Is this then the Zal, the nursling of a bird? + This the old man, white-haired and withered? + Now his cheek is ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + His stature is tall, his face beautiful, his presence lordly! + Ye have exalted my charms before him; + Ye have spoken and made me a bargain!" + She said, and her lips were full of smiles, + But her cheek crimsoned like the bloom of pomegranate. + +_The interview takes place in a private pavilion of the princess._ + + When from a distance the son of the valiant Saum + Became visible to the illustrious maiden, + She opened her gem-like lips, and exclaimed: + "Welcome, thou brave and happy youth! + The blessing of the Creator of the world be upon thee; + On him who is the father of a son like thee! + May destiny ever favor thy wishes! + May the vault of heaven be the ground thou walkest on! + The dark night is turned into day by thy countenance; + The world is soul-enlivened by the fragrance of thy presence! + Thou hast travelled hither on foot from thy palace; + Thou hast pained, to behold me, thy royal footsteps!" + + When the hero heard the voice from the battlement, + He looked up and beheld a face resplendent as the sun, + Irradiating the terrace like a flashing jewel, + And brightening the ground like a naming ruby. + + Then he replied: "O thou who sheddest the mild radiance of the moon, + The blessing of Heaven, and mine, be upon thee! + How many nights hath cold Arcturus beholden me, + Uttering my cry to God, the Pure, + And beseeching the Lord of the universe, + That he would vouchsafe to unveil thy countenance before me! + Now I am made joyful in hearing thy voice, + In listening to thy rich and gracious accents. + But seek, I pray thee, some way to thy presence; + For what converse can we hold, I on the ground, and thou on the + terrace?" + + The Peri-faced maiden heard the words of the hero; + Quickly she unbound her auburn locks, + Coil upon coil, and serpent upon serpent; + And she stooped and dropped down the tresses from the battlement, + And cried: "O hero, child of heroes, + Take now these tresses, they belong to thee, + And I have cherished them that they might prove an aid to my beloved." + + And Zal gazed upward at the lovely maiden, + And stood amazed at the beauty of her hair and of her countenance; + He covered the musky ringlets with his kisses, + And his bride heard the kisses from above. + Then he exclaimed: "That would not be right-- + May the bright sun never shine on such a day! + It were to lay my hand on the life of one already distracted; + It were to plunge the arrow-point into my own wounded bosom." + Then he took his noose from his boy, and made a running knot, + And threw it, and caught it on the battlement, + And held his breath, and at one bound + Sprang from the ground, and reached the summit. + + As soon as the hero stood upon the terrace, + The Peri-faced maiden ran to greet him, + And took the hand of the hero in her own, + And they went like those who are overcome with wine. + + Then he descended from the lofty gallery, + His hand in the hand of the tall princess, + And came to the door of the gold-painted pavilion, + And entered that royal assembly, + Which blazed with light like the bowers of Paradise; + And the slaves stood like houris before them: + And Zal gazed in astonishment + On her face, and her hair, and her stately form, and on all that + splendor. + + And Zal was seated in royal pomp + Opposite that mildly-radiant beauty; + And Rudabeh could not rest from looking towards him, + And gazing upon him with all her eyes; + On that arm, and shoulder, and that splendid figure, + On the brightness of that soul-enlightening countenance; + So that the more and more she looked + The more and more was her heart inflamed. + + Then he kissed and embraced her, renewing his vows-- + Can the lion help pursuing the wild ass?-- + And said: "O sweet and graceful silver-bosomed maiden, + It may not be, that, both of noble lineage, + We should do aught unbecoming our birth; + For from Saum Nariman I received an admonition. + To do no unworthy deed, lest evil should come of it; + For better is the seemly than the unseemly, + That which is lawful than that which is forbidden. + And I fear that Manuchahar, when he shall hear of this affair, + Will not be inclined to give it his approval; + I fear, too, that Saum will exclaim against it, + And will boil over with passion, and lay his hand upon me. + Yet, though soul and body are precious to all men, + Life will I resign, and clothe myself with a shroud-- + And this I swear by the righteous God-- + Ere I will break the faith which I have pledged thee. + I will bow myself before Him, and offer my adoration, + And supplicate Him as those who worship Him in truth, + That He will cleanse the heart of Saum, king of the earth, + From opposition, and rage, and rancor. + Perhaps the Creator of the world may listen to my prayer, + And thou mayest yet be publicly proclaimed my wife." + + And Rudabeh said: "And I also, in the presence of the righteous God, + Take the same pledge, and swear to thee my faith; + And He who created the world be witness to my words, + That no one but the hero of the world, + The throned, the crowned, the far-famed Zal, + Will I ever permit to be sovereign over me." + + So their love every moment became greater; + Prudence was afar, and passion was predominant, + Till the gray dawn began to show itself, + And the drum to be heard from the royal pavilion. + Then Zal bade adieu to the fair one; + His soul was darkened, and his bosom on fire, + And the eyes of both were filled with tears; + And they lifted up their voices against the sun: + "O glory of the universe, why come so quick? + Couldst thou not wait one little moment" + + Then Zal cast his noose on a pinnacle, + And descended from those happy battlements, + As the sun was rising redly above the mountains, + And the bands of warriors were gathering in their ranks. + _Robinson's Translation._ + + + + + +THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +Rodrigo Ruy Diaz, El Cid Campeador, was born near Burgos, in Spain, about +1040. The name Cid was given him by the Moors, and means lord. Campeador +means champion. + +Ruy Diaz was the trusty lord of Sancho, King of Castile, who at his death +divided his kingdom among his children. He then espoused the cause of the +eldest son, Sancho, and assisted him in wresting their portion of the +kingdom from his brothers Garcia and Alfonso. Sancho having been +treacherously slain while besieging his sister Urraca's town of Zamora, +the Cid attached himself to Alfonso, humiliating him, however, by making +him and his chief lords swear that they had had no hand in Sancho's death. +For this, Alfonso revenged himself by exiling the Cid on the slightest +pretexts, recalling him only when his services were needed in the defence +of the country. + +This much, and the Cid's victories over the Moors, his occupation of +Valencia, and his army's departure therefrom in 1102, led by his corpse +seated on horseback, "clothed in his habit as he lived", are historical +facts. + +A great mass of romances, among them the story of his slaying Count Don +Gomez because he had insulted his father, Diego Laynez; of Don Gomez's +daughter Ximena wooing and wedding him; of his assisting the leper and +having his future success foretold by him, and of his embalmed body +sitting many years in the cathedral at Toledo, are related in the +"Chronicle of the Cid" and the "Ballads." + +The Poem of the Cid narrates only a portion of his career, and "if it had +been named," says Ormsby, "would have been called 'The Triumph of the +Cid.'" + +The Poem of the Cid was written about 1200 A. D. Its authorship is +unknown. + +It contains three thousand seven hundred and forty-five lines, and is +divided into two cantares. The versification is careless; when rhyme +hampered the poet he dropped it, and used instead the assonant rhyme. + +The Poem of the Cid is of peculiar interest because it belongs to the very +dawn of our modern literature, and because its hero was evidently a real +personage, a portion of whose history was recorded in this epic not long +after the events took place. The Cid is one of the most simple and natural +of the epic heroes; he has all a man's weaknesses, and it is difficult to +repress a smile at the perfectly natural manner in which, while he +slaughters enough Moors to secure himself a place in the heavenly kingdom, +he takes good care to lay up gold for the enjoyment of life on earth. The +poem is told with the greatest simplicity, naturalness, and directness, as +well as with much poetic fire. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE CID. + + +Robert Southey's Chronicle of the Cid. . . . Appendix contains Poetry of +the Cid by J. H. Frere, 1808, new ed., 1845; + +Matthew Arnold's Poem of the Cid, MacMillan, 1871, vol. xxiv., pp. +471-485; + +George Dennio's The Cid: A short Chronicle founded on the early Poetry of +Spain, 1845; + +Butler Clarke's The Cid (in his Spanish Literature, 1893, pp. 46-53); +E. E. Hale and Susan Hale's The Cid (in their Story of Spain, 1893, pp. +248-261); + +Stanley Lane Poole's The Cid (in his Story of the Moors in Spain, 1891, +pp. 191-213); + +Sismondi's Poem of the Cid (in his Literature of the South of Europe, +1884, vol. ii., pp. 95-140); + +George Ticknor's Poem of the Cid (in his History of Spanish Literature, +ed. 6, 1893, vol. i., pp. 12-26); + +W. T. Dobson's Classic Poets, (1879, pp. 35-138); + +J. G. von Herder's Der Cid, nach spanischen Romanzen besungen (in his +works, 1852, vol. xiv.), translated. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +The Poem of the Cid, Tr. by John Ormsby, 1879; + +Translations from the Poem of the Cid by John Hookam Frere (in his works, +1872, vol. ii., p. 409); + +Ballads of the Cid, Tr. by Lewis Gerard, 1883; + +Ancient Spanish Ballads, Tr. by John Gibson Lockhart, 1823. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +Tears stood in the eyes of the Cid as he looked at his pillaged castle. +The coffers were empty, even the falcons were gone from their perches. +"Cruel wrong do I suffer from mine enemy!" he exclaimed as they rode into +Burgos. "Alvar Fanez, of a truth we are banished men." + +From the windows of Burgos town the burghers and their dames looked down +with tearful eyes upon the Cid and his sixty lances. "Would that his lord +were worthy of him," said they. + +He rode up to the gates of his house in Burgos; the king's seal was upon +them. "My lord," cried a damsel from an upper casement, "thy goods are +forfeited to the king, and he has forbidden that we open door or shelter +thee upon pain of forfeiture of our goods, yea, even of our sight!" + +Little hope then had the Cid of mercy from King Alfonso; and sooner than +bring suffering on his beloved people of Burgos he betook himself without +the city and sat him down to think of what to do. "Martin Antolinez," said +he, "I have no money with which to pay my troops. Thou must help me to get +it, and if I live I will repay thee double." + +Then the two together fashioned two stout chests covered with red leather +and studded with gilt nails, and these they filled with sand. Then Martin +Antolinez without delay sought out the money lenders, Rachel and Vidas, +and bargained with them to lend the Cid six hundred marks, and take in +pawn for them the two chests filled with treasure that he dared not at +that time take away with him. For a year they were to keep the chests and +pledge themselves not to look in them. Glad were the hearts of the money +lenders as they lifted the heavy chests, and happy was the Cid when he saw +the six hundred marks counted out before him. + +Seeking the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena, the Cid embraced his wife +Ximena and his two daughters, and left them in the protection of the +abbot, to whom he promised recompense. Hard was the pain of parting as +when the finger nail is torn away from the flesh, but a banished man has +no choice. And as they passed the night at Higeruela a sweet vision +promising success comforted the Cid in his slumbers; and many from +Castile, who heard of the departure of the hero, sought his banners to +better their fortune. + +Next day the Cid and his men took Castejon and sold the spoil to the Moors +of Hita and Guadalajara, and then my Cid passed on and planted himself +upon a lofty and strong hill opposite Alcocer, and levied tribute upon the +neighboring peoples. When he had so besieged Alcocer for fifteen weeks he +took it by stratagem, and Pero Bermuez, the slow of speech, planted his +standard on the highest part. When the King of Valencia heard of this, he +determined to capture my Cid, and accordingly sent three thousand Moors to +lay siege to Alcocer. + +When the water was cut off and bread became scarce, the six hundred +Spanish men, acting upon the advice of Minaya, took the field against the +three thousand Moors; and such was the valor of him that in a good hour +was born, and of his standard bearer, Pero Bermuez, and of the good +Minaya, that the Moors fell to the ground three hundred at a time, their +shields shivered, their mail riven, their white pennons red with blood. + +"Thanks be to God for victory!" said the Cid. In the Moorish king's camp +was found great spoil,--shields, arms, and horses. Greatly the Christians +rejoiced, for to them fell much spoil, and but fifteen of their men were +missing. Even to the Moors my Cid gave some of his spoil, and from his +share of one hundred horses he sent by Minaya thirty, saddled and bridled, +with as many swords hung at the saddle bows, to King Alfonso. Also he sent +by him a wallet of gold and silver for his wife and daughters, and to pay +for a thousand Masses at Burgos. + +Alfonso was well pleased to receive this token. "It is too soon to take +him into favor, but I will accept his present, and I am glad he won the +victory. Minaya, I pardon thee; go to the Cid and say that I will permit +any valiant man who so desires to follow him." + +Upon the hill now called the hill of the Cid, he who girt on the sword in +a good hour, took up his abode and levied tribute on the people for +fifteen weeks. But when he saw that Minaya's return was delayed, he went +even unto Saragossa, levying tribute and doing much damage, insomuch that +the Count of Barcelona, Raymond de Berenger, was provoked into making an +assault upon him in the Pine Wood of Bivar, where he was ingloriously +defeated and taken prisoner. The count was the more shamed at this because +my Cid had sent him a friendly message, saying that he did not want to +fight him, since he owed him no grudge. When Count Raymond had given up +his precious sword, the great Colada, the good one of Bivar endeavored to +make friends with his prisoner, but to no avail. The count refused meat +and drink, and was determined to die, until the Cid assured him that as +soon as he ate a hearty meal he should go free. Then he departed joyfully +from the camp, fearing even to the last lest the Cid should change his +mind, a thing the perfect one never would have done. + +Cheered by this conquest, the Cid turned to Valencia, and met a great +Moorish army, which was speedily defeated, the Cid's numbers having been +greatly increased by men who flocked to him from Spain. Two Moorish kings +were slain, and the survivors were pursued even to Valencia. Then my Cid +sat down before the city for nine months, and in the tenth month Valencia +surrendered. The spoil--who could count it? All were rich who accompanied +the Cid, and his fifth was thirty thousand marks in money, besides much +other spoil. And my Cid's renown spread throughout Spain. Wonderful was he +to look upon, for his beard had grown very long. For the love of King +Alfonso, who had banished him, he said it should never be cut, nor a hair +of it be plucked, and it should be famous among Moors and Christians. Then +he again called Minaya to him, and to King Alfonso sent a hundred horses, +with the request that his wife and daughters might be allowed to join him. +Also he sent him word that he had been joined by a good bishop, Don +Jerome, and had created for him a bishopric. + +Now were the enemies of the good one of Bivar incensed in proportion as +the king was pleased with this noble gift. And when the king silenced the +envious ones, and ordered an escort for Ximena and her daughters, and +treated Minaya with consideration, the Infantes of Carrion talked +together, commenting on the growing importance of my Cid. "It would better +our fortunes to marry his daughters, but they are below us in rank." And +so saying they sent their salutations to the Cid. + +The Cid met his wife and daughters on his new horse, Babieca, the wonder +of all Spain, and great was his joy to clasp them again in his arms. And +he took them up in the highest part of Valencia, and their bright eyes +looked over the city and the sea, and they all thanked God for giving them +so fair a prize. + +When winter was past and spring had come, the King of Morocco crossed the +sea to Valencia with fifty thousand men, and pitched his tents before the +city. Then the Cid took his wife and daughters up in the Alcazar, and +showed them the vast army. "They bring a gift for us, a dowry against the +marriage of our daughters. Because ye are here, with God's help, I shall +win the battle." + +He went forth on the good Babieca; four thousand less thirty followed him +to attack the fifty thousand Moors. The Cid's arms dripped with blood to +the elbow; the Moors he slew could not be counted. King Yucef himself he +smote three times, and only the swiftness of the horse he rode saved the +king from death. All fled who were not slain, leaving the spoil behind. +Three thousand marks of gold and silver were found there, and the other +spoil was countless. Then my Cid ordered Minaya and Pero Bermuez to take +to Alfonso the great tent of the King of Morocco, and two hundred horses. +And the king was greatly pleased, and the Infantes of Carrion, counselling +together, said, "The fame of the Cid grows greater; let us ask his +daughters in marriage." And the king gave their request to Minaya and +Bermuez, who were to bear it to the Cid. + +Said my Cid, when he heard the proposal: "The Infantes of Carrion are +haughty, and have a faction in court. I have no taste for the match; but +since my king desires it, I will be silent." + +When the king heard his answer, he appointed a meeting, and when he that +in a good hour was born saw his king, he fell at his feet to pay him +homage. But the king said: "Here do I pardon you, and grant you my love +from this day forth." + +The next day when the king presented to the Cid the offer of the Infantes, +my Cid replied: "My daughters are not of marriageable age, but I and they +are in your hands. Give them as it pleases you." Then the king +commissioned Alvar Fanez to act for him and give the daughters of my Cid +to the Infantes. + +The Cid hastened home to prepare for the wedding. The palace was +beautifully decorated with hangings of purple and samite. Rich were the +garments of the Infantes, and meek their behavior in the presence of my +Cid. The couples were wedded by the Bishop Don Jerome, and the wedding +festivities lasted for fifteen days. And for wellnigh two years the Cid +and his sons-in-law abode happily in Valencia. + +One day while my Cid was lying asleep in his palace, a lion broke loose +from its cage, and all the court were sore afraid. The Cid's followers +gathered around his couch to protect him; but Ferran Gonzalez crept +beneath the couch, crying from fear, and Diego ran into the court and +threw himself across a wine-press beam, so that he soiled his mantle. The +Cid, awakened by the noise, arose, took the lion by the mane, and dragged +him to his cage, to the astonishment of all present. Then my Cid asked for +his sons-in-law, and when they were found, pale and frightened, the whole +court laughed at them until my Cid bade them cease. And the Infantes were +deeply insulted. + +While they were still sulking over their injuries, King Bucar of Morocco +beleagured Valencia with fifty thousand tents. The Cid and his barons +rejoiced at the thought of battle; but the Infantes were sore afraid, for +they were cowards, and feared to be slain in battle. The Cid told them to +remain in Valencia; but stung by shame they went forth with Bermuez, who +reported that both had fleshed their swords in battle with the Moor. + +Great was the slaughter of the Moors on that field. Alvar Fanez, Minaya, +and the fighting bishop came back dripping with gore, and as for my Cid, +he slew King Bucar himself, and brought home the famous sword, Tizon, +worth full a thousand marks in gold. + +The Infantes, still wrathful at their humiliation, talked apart: "Let us +take our wealth and our wives and return to Carrion. Once away from the +Campeador, we will punish his daughters, so that we shall hear no more of +the affair of the lion. With the wealth we have gained from the Cid we can +now wed whom we please." + +Sore was the heart of the Cid when he heard of their determination; but he +gave them rich gifts, and also the priceless swords Colada and Tizon. "I +won them in knightly fashion," said he, "and I give them to you, for ye +are my sons, since I gave you my daughters; in them ye take the core of my +heart." He ordered Feliz Muńoz, his nephew, to accompany them as an +escort, and sent them by way of Molina to salute his friend, Abengalvon +the Moor. + +The Moor received them in great state, and escorted them as far as the +Salon; but when he overheard the Infantes plotting to destroy him, and +seize his substance, he left them in anger. At night the Infantes pitched +their tents in an oak forest full of tall trees, among which roamed fierce +beasts. During the night they made a great show of love to their wives, +and the next morning ordered the escort to go on, saying that they would +follow alone. As soon as they were alone they stripped the daughters of +the Cid of their garments, beat them with their saddle-girths and spurs, +and left them for dead in the wild forest. "Now we are avenged for the +dishonor of the lion," said they, as they departed for Carrion. But Feliz +Muńoz, who had suspected the Infantes, had gone forward but a little way, +and then crept back, so that from a thicket he perceived the sufferings of +his cousins. Straightway he went to their rescue, found them clothes, and +helped them home again. + +When the Cid heard of this insult to himself and his daughters, he grasped +his beard and swore a mighty oath that the Infantes would rue the day when +they had thus offended him. All of the Cid's friends strove to comfort the +ladies Elvira and Sol, and Abengalvon the Moor made them a rich supper for +love of the Cid. + +At the request of my Cid, King Alfonso summoned a Cortes at Toledo, to try +the cause of the Cid and the Infantes. Thither went the Cid, richly clad, +so that all men wondered at his rich garments, his long hair in a scarlet +and gold coif, and his uncut beard bound up with cords. He and his hundred +men wore bright hauberks under their ermines, and trenchant swords under +their mantles, for they feared treachery. + +The king appointed some of his counts as judges, and announced that he +held this, the third Cortes of his reign, for the love of the Cid. Then my +Cid stood forth. + +"I am not dishonored because the Infantes deserted my daughters," said the +Cid, "for the king gave them away, not I; but I demand my swords, Colada +and Tizon. When my lords of Carrion gave up my daughters they relinquished +all claims to my property." + +The Infantes, well pleased that he demanded no more, returned the swords; +and when the blades were unsheathed and placed in the hands of the king, +the eyes of the court were dazzled by their brightness. + +The Cid presented Tizon to his nephew and Colada to Martin Antolinez. +"Now, my king, I have another grievance. I now demand that the Infantes +restore the three thousand marks in gold and silver they carried from +Valencia. When they ceased to be my sons-in-law they ceased to own my +gold." Then the Infantes were troubled, for they had spent the money; but +the judges gave them no relief, and they were forced to pay it out of +their heritage of Carrion. + +"So please your grace," said the Cid, "still another grievance, the +greatest of all, I have yet to state. I hold myself dishonored by the +Infantes. Redress by combat they must yield, for I will take no other." + +The Count Garcia ridiculed the Cid's claim. "The noble lords of Carrion +are of princely birth; your daughters are not fitting mates for them." +Then, while his enemies were taunting him and the court broke into an +uproar, the Cid called on Pero Bermuez, "Dumb Peter," to speak. + +When Pero spoke he made himself clear. For the first time he told how like +a craven Ferrando had demeaned himself in battle, and how he himself had +slain the Moor on whom the prince had turned his back. He also reminded +Ferrando of the affair of the lion. When Diego attempted to speak, he was +silenced by Martin Antolinez, who told of the figure he cut when he clung +to the wine-press beam in an agony of fear, on the day the lion came forth +from its cage. Then the king, commanding silence, gave them permission to +fight. Martin Antolinez engaged to meet Diego, Pero Bermuez was to combat +with Ferrando, and Muno Gustioz challenged the brawler, Assur Gonzalez. It +was agreed that the combat should be held at the end of three weeks in the +vega of Carrion. + +When all had been arranged to his satisfaction, the Cid took off his coif, +and released his beard, and all the court wondered at him. Then he offered +some of his wealth to all present, and, kissing the king's hand, besought +him to take Babieca. But this the king refused to do: "Babieca is for the +like of you to keep the Moors off with. If I took him he would not have so +good a lord." + +When the day for the combat arrived, the king himself went to Carrion to +see that no treachery was used, and he said to the Infantes: "Ye have need +to fight like men. If ye come out successful, ye will receive great honor. +If ye are vanquished, the fault will be on your own heads. Seek to do no +wrong; woe betide him who attempts it!" + +Then the marshals placed the contestants in the lists and left them face +to face. Each with his gaze fixed on the other, they rushed together and +met midway of the lists. + +At the thrust of Pero's Lance, Ferrando fell from his horse and yielded, +as he saw the dread Tizon held over him. At the same time Diego fled from +the sword of Martin Antolinez, and Muńo Gustioz's lance pierced Assur +Gonzalez, who begged him to hold his hand, since the Infantes were +vanquished. + +Thus the battle was won, and Don Roderick's champions gained the victory. +Great was the sorrow in the house of Carrion; but he who wrongs a noble +lady deserves such suffering. + +Rejoiced were they of Valencia when the champions brought home these +tidings, and ere long, favored by Alfonso himself, the princes of Navarre +and Aragon wooed my Cid's daughters, and were married to them with the +most splendid nuptials. Now was the Cid happy, and happier still he grew +as his honor increased, until upon the feast of Pentecost he passed away. +The grace of Christ be upon him! + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE POEM OF THE CID. + +COUNT RAYMOND AND MY CID. + + +After one of the victories over the Moors won by the Cid after his +banishment by King Alfonso, he despatched a messenger to the king with a +gift of thirty horses, and while awaiting his return, encamped in the +Pine-wood of Tebar and levied tribute on the surrounding country. This +information was conveyed to the Count of Barcelona, Raymond Berenger, who +prepared to march against the intruder. + + Great mustering there is of Moors and Christians through the land, + A mighty host of men-at-arms he hath at his command. + Two days, three nights, they march to seek the Good One of Bivar, + To snare him where he harbors in the Pine-wood of Tebar; + And such the speed of their advance, that, cumbered with his spoils, + And unaware, my Cid wellnigh was taken in the toils. + The tidings reached my Cid as down the sierra side he went, + Then straightway to Count Raymond be a friendly message sent: + "Say to the count that he, meseems, to me no grudge doth owe: + Of him I take no spoil, with him in peace I fain would go." + "Nay," said the count, "for all his deeds he hath to make amends: + This outlaw must be made to know whose honor he offends." + With utmost speed the messenger Count Raymond's answer brought; + Then of a surety knew my Cid a battle must be fought. + "Now, cavaliers," quoth he, "make safe the booty we have won. + Look to your weapons, gentlemen; with speed your armor don. + On battle bent Count Raymond comes; a mighty host hath he + Of Moors and Christians; fight we must if hence we would go free. + Here let us fight our battle out, since fight we must perforce. + On with your harness, cavaliers, quick saddle, and to horse! + Yonder they come, the linen breeks, all down the mountain side, + For saddles they have Moorish pads, with slackened girths they ride: + Our saddles are Galician make, our leggings tough and stout: + A hundred of us gentlemen should scatter such a rout. + Before they gain the level plain, home with the lance charge we, + And then, for every blow we strike, we empty saddles three. + Count Raymond Berenger shall know with whom he has to do; + And dearly in Tebar to-day his raid on me shall rue." + In serried squadron while he speaks they form around my Cid. + Each grasps his lance, and firm and square each sits upon his steed. + Over against them down the hill they watch the Franks descend, + On to the level ground below, where plain and mountain blend. + Then gives my Cid the word to charge--with a good will they go: + Fast ply the lances; some they pierce, and some they overthrow. + And he that in a good hour was born soon hath he won the field; + And the Count Raymond Berenger he hath compelled to yield; + And reaping honor for his beard a noble prize hath made: + A thousand marks of silver worth, the great Colada blade. + + Unto his quarters under guard the captive count he sent, + While his men haste to gather in their spoils in high content. + Then for my Cid Don Roderick a banquet they prepare; + But little doth Count Raymond now for feast or banquet care. + They bring him meat and drink, but he repels them with disdain. + "No morsel will I touch," said he, "for all the wealth of Spain. + Let soul and body perish now; life why should I prolong, + Conquered and captive at the hands of such an ill-breeched throng?" + "Nay," said my Cid; "take bread and wine; eat, and thou goest free; + If not, thy realms in Christendom thou never more shalt see." + "Go thou, Don Roderick," said the Count, "eat if thou wilt, but I + Have no more lust for meat and drink: I only crave to die." + Three days, while they the booty share, for all that they entreat, + The Count his purpose holds unchanged, refusing still to eat. + Then said my Cid, "I pray thee, Count, take food and trust to me; + Thyself and two knights of thy train I promise to set free." + Glad was Count Raymond in his heart when he the promise heard-- + "A marvel that will be, my Cid, if thou dost keep thy word." + "Then, Count, take food, and when I see thy hunger satisfied, + My word is pledged to let thee go, thyself and two beside. + But understand, one farthing's worth I render not again + Of what has been in battle lost and won on yonder plain. + I give not back the lawful spoils I fairly win in fight; + But for mine own and vassals' wants I hold them as my right. + My followers are needy men; I cannot if I would; + For spoil from thee and others won is all our livelihood. + And such, while God's good will it is, must be our daily life, + As outcasts forced to wander, with an angry king at strife." + With lighter heart Count Raymond called for water for his hands, + And then with his two gentlemen, sent by the Cid's commands, + He blithely sat him down to meat: God! with what gust ate he! + And glad was the Campeador such heartiness to see. + Quoth he, "Until thou eat thy fill we part not, Count, to-day." + "Nor loth am I," Count Raymond said, "such bidding to obey." + So he and his two cavaliers a hearty meal they made: + It pleased my Cid to watch his hands, how lustily they played. + "Now if thou wilt," Count Raymond said, "that we are satisfied, + Bid them to lead the horses forth, that we may mount and ride. + Never since I have been a Count have I yet broken fast + With such a relish; long shall I remember this repast." + Three palfreys with caparisons of costly sort they bring, + And on the saddles robes of fur and mantles rich they fling. + Thus, with a knight on either hand, away Count Raymond rides; + While to the outposts of the camp his guests the Champion guides. + "Now speed thee, Count; ride on," quoth he, "a free Frank as thou art. + For the brave spoil thou leavest me I thank thee from my heart; + And if to win it back again perchance thou hast a mind, + Come thou and seek me when thou wilt; I am not far to find. + But if it be not to thy taste to try another day, + Still, somewhat, be it mine or thine, thou carriest away." + "Nay! go in peace for me, my Cid: no more I seek of thee; + And thou, I think, for one year's space hast won enough of me." + He spurred his steed, but, as he rode, a backward glance he bent, + Still fearing to the last my Cid his promise would repent: + A thing, the world itself to win, my Cid would not have done: + No perfidy was ever found in him, the Perfect One. + _Ormsby's Translation._ + + + + +MY CID'S TRIUMPH. + + +In the Cortes called by the King of Spain to hear the cause of the Cid, +whose daughters had been shamefully treated and deserted by their +husbands, the Infantes of Carrion, Ferran and Diego Gonzalez, the Cid +demanded the restitution of his swords and of three thousand marks of gold +and silver he had given the Infantes. These being granted, the Cid spoke +again:-- + + "So please your grace! once more upon your clemency I call; + A grievance yet remains untold, the greatest grief of all. + And let the court give ear, and weigh the wrong that hath been done. + I hold myself dishonored by the lords of Carrion. + Redress by combat they must yield; none other will I take. + How now, Infantes! what excuse, what answer do ye make? + Why have ye laid my heartstrings bare? In jest or earnest, say, + Have I offended you? and I will make amends to-day. + My daughters in your hands I placed the day that forth ye went, + And rich in wealth and honors from Valencia were you sent. + Why did you carry with you brides ye loved not, treacherous curs? + Why tear their flesh in Corpes wood with saddle-girths and spurs, + And leave them to the beasts of prey? Villains throughout were ye! + What answer ye can make to this 't is for the court to see." + The Count Garcia was the first that rose to make reply. + "So please ye, gracious king, of all the kings of Spain most high; + Strange is the guise in which my Cid before you hath appeared; + To grace your summoned court he comes, with that long straggling beard; + With awe struck dumb, methinks, are some; some look as though they + feared. + The noble lords of Carrion of princely race are born; + To take the daughters of my Cid for lemans they should scorn; + Much more for brides of equal birth: in casting them aside-- + We care not for his blustering talk--we hold them justified." + Upstood the Champion, stroked his beard, and grasped it in his hands. + "Thanks be to God above," he cried, "who heaven and earth commands, + A long and lordly growth it is, my pleasure and my pride; + In this my beard, Garcia, say, what find you to deride? + Its nurture since it graced my chin hath ever been my care; + No son of woman born hath dared to lay a finger there; + No son of Christian or of Moor hath ever plucked a hair. + Remember Cabra, Count! of thine the same thou canst not say: + On both thy castle and thy beard I laid my hand that day: + Nay! not a groom was there but he his handful plucked away. + Look, where my hand hath been, my lords, all ragged yet it grows!" + With noisy protest breaking in Ferran Gonzalez rose: + "Cid, let there be an end of this; your gifts you have again, + And now no pretext for dispute between us doth remain. + Princes of Carrion are we, with fitting brides we mate; + Daughters of emperors or kings, not squires of low estate: + We brook not such alliances, and yours we rightly spurned." + My Cid, Ruy Diaz, at the word, quick to Bermuez turned. + "Now is the time, Dumb Peter, speak, O man that sittest mute! + My daughters' and thy cousins' name and fame are in dispute; + To me they speak, to thee they look to answer every word. + If I am left to answer now, thou canst not draw thy sword." + Tongue-tied Bermuez stood, awhile he strove for words in vain, + But, look you, when he once began he made his meaning plain. + "Cid, first I have a word for you: you always are the same, + In Cortes ever jibing me, 'Dumb Peter' is the name: + It never was a gift of mine, and that long since you knew; + But have you found me fail in aught that fell to me to do? + You lie, Ferrando; lie in all you say upon that score. + The honor was to you, not him, the Cid Campeador; + For I know something of your worth, and somewhat I can tell. + That day beneath Valencia wall--you recollect it well-- + You prayed the Cid to place you in the forefront of the fray; + You spied a Moor, and valiantly you went that Moor to slay; + And then you turned and fled--for his approach, you would not stay. + Right soon he would have taught you 't was a sorry game to play, + Had I not been in battle there to take your place that day. + I slew him at the first onfall; I gave his steed to you; + To no man have I told the tale from that hour hitherto. + Before the Cid and all his men you got yourself a name, + How you in single combat slew a Moor--a deed of fame; + And all believed in your exploit; they wist not of your shame. + You are a craven at the core; tall, handsome, as you stand: + How dare you talk as now you talk, you tongue without a hand? + Again, Ferrando, call to mind--another tale for you-- + That matter of the lion; it was at Valencia too. + My Cid lay sleeping when you saw the unchained lion near; + What did you do, Ferrando, then, in your agony of fear? + Low did you crouch behind the couch whereon the Champion lay: + You did, Ferrando, and by that we rate your worth to-day. + We gathered round to guard our lord, Valencia's conqueror. + He rose, and to the lion went, the brave Campeador; + The lion fawned before his feet and let him grasp its mane; + He thrust it back into its cage; he turned to us again: + His trusty vassals to a man he saw around him there; + Where were his sons-in-law? he asked, and none could tell him where. + Now take thou my defiance as a traitor, trothless knight: + Upon this plea before our King Alfonso will I fight; + The daughters of my lord are wronged, their wrong is mine to right. + That ye those ladies did desert, the baser are ye then; + For what are they?--weak women; and what are ye?--strong men. + On every count I deem their cause to be the holier, + And I will make thee own it when we meet in battle here. + Traitor thou shalt confess thyself, so help me God on high, + And all that I have said to-day my sword shall verify." + + Thus far these two. Diego rose, and spoke as ye shall hear: + "Counts by our birth are we, of stain our lineage is clear. + In this alliance with my Cid there was no parity. + If we his daughters cast aside, no cause for shame we see. + And little need we care if they in mourning pass their lives, + Enduring the reproach that clings to scorned rejected wives. + In leaving them we but upheld our honor and our right, + And ready to the death am I, maintaining this, to fight." + Here Martin Antolinez sprang upon his feet: "False hound! + Will you not silent keep that mouth where truth was never found? + For you to boast! the lion scare have you forgotten too? + How through the open door you rushed, across the court-yard flew; + How sprawling in your terror on the wine-press beam you lay? + Ay! never more, I trow, you wore the mantle of that day. + There is no choice; the issue now the sword alone can try; + The daughters of my Cid ye spurned; that must ye justify. + On every count I here declare their cause the cause of right, + And thou shall own the treachery the day we join in fight." + He ceased, and striding up the hall Assur Gonzalez passed; + His cheek was flushed with wine, for he had stayed to break his fast; + Ungirt his robe, and trailing low his ermine mantle hung; + Rude was his bearing to the court, and reckless was his tongue. + "What a to-do is here, my lords! was the like ever seen? + What talk is this about my Cid--him of Bivar, I mean? + To Riodouirna let him go to take his millers' rent, + And keep his mills agoing there, as once he was content. + He, forsooth, mate his daughters with the Counts of Carrion!" + Up started Muńo Gustioz: "False, foul-mouthed knave, have done! + Thou glutton, wont to break thy fast without a thought of prayer, + Whose heart is plotting mischief when thy lips are speaking fair; + Whose plighted word to friend or lord hath ever proved a lie; + False always to thy fellow-man, falser to God on high. + No share in thy good will I seek; one only boon I pray, + The chance to make thee own thyself the villain that I say." + Then spoke the king: "Enough of words: ye have my leave to fight, + The challenged and the challengers; and God defend the right." + + * * * * * + + The marshals leave them face to face and from the lists are gone; + Here stand the champions of my Cid, there those of Carrion; + Each with his gaze intent and fixed upon his chosen foe, + Their bucklers braced before their breasts, their lances pointing low, + Their heads bent down, as each man leans above his saddle-bow. + Then with one impulse every spur is in the charger's side, + And earth itself is felt to shake beneath their furious stride; + Till, midway meeting, three with three, in struggle fierce they lock, + While all account them dead who hear the echo of the shock. + Ferrando and his challenger, Pero Bermuez, close; + Firm are the lances held, and fair the shields receive the blows. + Through Pero's shield Ferrando drove his lance, a bloodless stroke; + The point stopped short in empty space, the shaft in splinters broke. + But on Bermuez, firm of seat, the shock fell all in vain; + And while he took Ferrando's thrust he paid it back again. + The armored buckler shattering, right home his lance he pressed, + Driving the point through boss and plate against his foeman's breast. + Three folds of mail Ferrando wore, they stood him in good stead; + Two yielded to the lance's point, the third held fast the head. + But forced into the flesh it sank a hand's breadth deep or more, + Till bursting from the gasping lips in torrents gushed the gore. + Then, the girths breaking, o'er the croup borne rudely to the ground, + He lay, a dying man it seemed to all who stood around. + Bermuez cast his lance aside, and sword in hand came on; + Ferrando saw the blade he bore, he knew it was Tizon: + Quick ere the dreaded brand could fall, "I yield me," came the cry. + Vanquished the marshals granted him, and Pero let him lie. + + And Martin Antolinez and Diego--fair and true + Each struck upon the other's shield, and wide the splinters flew. + Then Antolinez seized his sword, and as he drew the blade, + A dazzling gleam of burnished steel across the meadow played; + And at Diego striking full, athwart the helmet's crown, + Sheer through the steel plates of the casque he drove the falchion down, + Through coif and scarf, till from the scalp the locks it razed away, + And half shorn off and half upheld the shattered head-piece lay. + Reeling beneath the blow that proved Colada's cruel might, + Diego saw no chance but one, no safety save in flight: + He wheeled and fled, but close behind him Antolinez drew; + With the flat blade a hasty blow he dealt him as he flew; + But idle was Diego's sword; he shrieked to Heaven for aid: + "O God of glory, give me help! save me from yonder blade!" + Unreined, his good steed bore him safe and swept him past the bound, + And Martin Antolinez stood alone upon the ground. + "Come hither," said the king; "thus far the conquerors are ye." + And fairly fought and won the field the marshals both agree. + So much for these, and how they fought: remains to tell you yet + How meanwhile Muńo Gustioz Assur Gonzalez met. + With a strong arm and steady aim each struck the other's shield, + And under Assur's sturdy thrusts the plates of Muńo's yield; + But harmless passed the lance's point, and spent its force in air. + Not so Don Muńo's; on the shield of Assur striking fair, + Through plate and boss and foeman's breast his pennoned lance he sent, + Till out between the shoulder blades a fathom's length it went. + Then, as the lance he plucked away, clear from the saddle swung, + With one strong wrench of Muno's wrist to earth was Assur flung; + And back it came, shaft, pennon, blade, all stained a gory red; + Nor was there one of all the crowd but counted Assur sped, + While o'er him Muńo Gustioz stood with uplifted brand. + Then cried Gonzalo Assurez: "In God's name hold thy hand! + Already have ye won the field; no more is needed now." + And said the marshals, "It is just, and we the claim allow." + And then the King Alfonso gave command to clear the ground, + And gather in the relics of the battle strewed around. + And from the field in honor went Don Roderick's champions three. + Thanks be to God, the Lord of all, that gave the victory. + + But fearing treachery, that night upon their way they went, + As King Alfonso's honored guests in safety homeward sent, + And to Valencia city day and night they journeyed on, + To tell my Cid Campeador that his behest was done. + But in the lands of Carrion it was a day of woe, + And on the lords of Carrion it fell a heavy blow. + He who a noble lady wrongs and casts aside--may he + Meet like requital for his deeds, or worse, if worse there be. + But let us leave them where they lie--their meed is all men's scorn. + + Turn we to speak of him that in a happy hour was born. + Valencia the Great was glad, rejoiced at heart to see + The honored champions of her lord return in victory: + And Ruy Diaz grasped his beard: "Thanks be to God," said he, + "Of part or lot in Carrion now are my daughters free; + Now may I give them without shame whoe'er the suitors be." + And favored by the king himself, Alfonso of Leon, + Prosperous was the wooing of Navarre and Aragon, + The bridals of Elvira and of Sol in splendor passed; + Stately the former nuptials were, but statelier far the _hast_. + And he that in a good hour was born, behold how he _hath_ sped! + His daughters now to higher rank and greater honor wed: + Sought by Navarre and Aragon for queens his daughters twain; + And monarchs of his blood to-day upon the thrones of Spain. + And so his honor in the land grows greater day by day. + Upon the feast of Pentecost from life he passed away. + For him and all of us the Grace of Christ let us implore. + And here ye have the story of my Cid Campeador. + _Ormsby's Translation._ + + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + "This Poem of the earth and air, + This mediaeval miracle of song." + + +Dante Alighieri was born at Florence, in May, 1265. His family belonged to +the Guelph, or Papal faction, and he early took part in the struggle +between the parties. In 1274 he first saw Beatrice Portinari, and he says +of this meeting in the "Vita Nuova," "I say that thenceforward Love swayed +my soul, which was even then espoused to him." Beatrice died in 1290, and +Dante married Gemma Donati, between 1291 and 1294. In 1295 he joined the +Art of Druggists, in order to become a member of the Administrative +Council. In 1300 he was made Prior, and in 1301, when the Neri entered +Florence, he was exiled, his property confiscated, and himself sentenced +to be burned, if found within the republic. After this he became a +Ghibeline, and took up arms against the city with his fellow-exiles, but +withdrew from their council at last because of disagreements, and +separating from them, spent his time at Verona, Padua, Sunigianda, and in +the monastery of Gubbio. In 1316 the government of Florence issued a +decree allowing the exiles to return on payment of a fine; but Dante +indignantly refused to acknowledge thus that he had been in the wrong. He +was in Ravenna in 1320, and died there Sept. 14, 1321, on his return from +an embassy to Venice. + +The "Commedia" was written during Dante's nineteen years of exile. The +three parts, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, are emblematic of the +threefold state of man,--sin, grace, and beatitude. The thirty-three +cantos into which each part is divided, are in allusion to the years of +the Saviour's life, and the triple rhyme suggests the Trinity. + +The Divine Comedy is written in the _terza rima_, which consists of three +verses arranged in such a way that the middle line of each triplet rhymes +with the first or third verse of the succeeding triplet. + +The entire time occupied in the "Commedia" is eleven days, from March 25 +to April 5, 1300. + +Dante called the poem a comedy because of its prosperous ending. The +prefix "divine" was given it later by its admirers. + +The Divine Comedy is sometimes called the epic of mediaevalism, and again, +the epic of man. Dante himself said: "The subject of the whole work, then, +taken literally, is the state of the soul after death, regarded as a +matter of fact; for the action of the whole work deals with this and is +about this. But if the work be taken allegorically, its subject is man, in +so far as by merit or demerit in the exercise of free will, he is exposed +to the rewards or punishment of justice." + +For a time the Divine Comedy was neglected, and even in comparatively +recent times the Inferno was the only portion read; but of late years +there has been a re-awakening of interest in regard to the whole poem. + +In no other of the epics has the author put so much of himself as Dante +has in the "Commedia." It was he himself who saw this vision; he himself, +proud, tortured, who carried the sense of his wrongs with him through Hell +and Purgatory, even into Paradise. We learn the history of his times, all +the crimes committed by men in high position, and we also learn the +history of the unhappy Florentine, of whose poem it has been said, "none +other in the world is so deeply and universally sorrowful." + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + +J. Colomb de Batines's Bibliografia Dantesca, 2 vols., 1846; + +William Coolidge Lane's The Dante collections in the Harvard College and +Boston Public Libraries (Bibliographical contributions of the library of +Harvard University, 1885); + +William Coolidge Lane's Additions to the Dante collection in the Harvard +Library (see the Annual Reports of the Dante Society of Cambridge, Mass., +1887); + +Brother Azarius's Spiritual Sense of the Divina Commedia (in his Phases of +Thought and Criticism, 1892, pp. 125-182); + +Henry Clark Barlow's Critical Contributions to the Study of the Divine +Comedy, 1865; + +Herbert Baynes's Dante and his Ideal, 1891; + +Vincenzo Botta's Introduction to the Study of Dante, 1887; + +Oscar Browning's Dante, his Life and Writing, 1890, pp. 70-104; + +A. J. Butler's Dante, his Time and Work, 1895; + +Richard William Church's Dante and Other Essays, 1888, pp. 1-191; + +J. Farrazzi's Manuale Dantesco, 5 vols., 1865-77; + +William Torrey Harris's Spiritual Sense of Dante's Divina Commedia, 1890; + +Francis Hettinger's Dante's Divina Commedia, its Scope and Value, Tr. by +H. S. Bowden, 1887 (Roman Catholic standpoint); + +J. R. Lowell's Essay on Dante (in his Among my Books, 1876); + +Lewis E. Mott's Dante and Beatrice, an Essay on Interpretation, 1892; + +Giovanni Andrea Scartazzini's A Companion to Dante, from the German, by A. +J. Butler, 1892; + +Denton J. Snider's Dante's Inferno: a Commentary, 1892; + +Augustus Hopkins Strong's Dante and the Divine Comedy (in his Philosophy +and Religion, 1888, pp. 501-524); + +John Addington Symonds's An Introduction to the Study of Dante, Ed. 2, +1890; + +Paget Toynbee's Dictionary of the Divina Commedia, 2 parts; + +William Warren Vernon's Readings on the Purgatorio of Dante, chiefly based +on the Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola; Intro. by the Dean of St. Paul's, +2 vols., 1889; + +Dr. Edward Moore's Time References in the Divina Commedia, London, 1887; + +Dr. E. Moore's Contributions to the Textual Criticism of the Divina +Commedia, Cambridge, 1889. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + +The Divine Comedy, the Inferno, a literal prose translation with the text +of the original collated from the best editions, with explanatory notes by +J. A. Carlyle, Ed. 6, 1891 (contains valuable chapters on manuscripts, +translations, etc.); + +Divina Commedia, edited with translation and notes by A. J. Butler, 1892; + +Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, Tr. by H. F. Cary, 1888; + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. by H. W. Longfellow, 1887; + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. by C. E. Norton, 1891-92 (rhythmical prose +translation); + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. of the Commedia and Lanzoniere, notes, essays, and +biographical introduction by E. H. Plumptre, 1887; + +Divina Commedia, Tr. into English verse with notes and illustrations by J. +A. Wilstach, 2 vols., 1888. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE HELL. + + +The Hell conceived by Dante was made by the falling of Lucifer to the +centre of the earth. It was directly under Jerusalem. The earth, displaced +by Lucifer's fall, made the Mount of Purgatory, which was the antipodes of +Jerusalem. + +The unbarred entrance gate, over which stands the inscription, "Leave hope +behind, all ye who enter here," leads into a Vestibule, or Ante-Hell, a +dark plain separated from Hell proper by the river Acheron. Hell proper +then falls into three great divisions for the punishment of the sins of +Incontinence, Bestiality, and Malice, which are punished in nine circles, +each circle sub-divided. Circle One is the Limbo of the Unbaptized. +Circles Two, Three, Four, and Five are reserved for the punishment of the +sins of Incontinence, Lasciviousness, Gluttony, Avarice with Prodigality, +and Anger with Melancholy. In Circle Six is punished the sin of +Bestiality, under which fall Infidelity and Heresiarchy, Bestiality having +here its Italian meaning of folly. In Circles Seven and Eight is punished +Malice, subdivided into Violence and Fraud. There are three divisions of +Violence,--the Violent against their neighbors (Tyrants, Murderers, etc.); +the Violent against themselves (Suicides); and the violent against God +(Blasphemers, etc.); and ten divisions of Circle Eight,--Fraud, _i.e._, +Seducers, Flatterers, Simoniacs, Soothsayers, Barrators, Hypocrites, +Thieves, False Counsellors, Schismatics, and Forgers and Falsifiers. Below +these ten pits yawns the well of the giants, above which the giants tower +so that half their persons is visible. Within this well in Circle Nine is +Cocytus, a lake of ice divided into four belts,--Caina, Antenora, +Ptolemaea, and Judecca, where are punished, respectively, the Betrayers of +their kindred, of their country, of their friends and guests, and of their +benefactors. At the bottom of the pit is Lucifer, half above the ice and +half below it, the centre of his body being the centre of gravity. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE HELL. + + +The poet Dante, in the thirty-fifth year of his life, this being the year +1300 A. D., on New Year's day of the old reckoning, lost his way in a +rough and thorny forest, and when he attempted to regain it by mounting a +hill that rose before him resplendent in sunshine, encountered a leopard, +a lion, and a wolf. Driven back by these, and utterly despairing of +rescue, he met one who declared himself to be that Vergil who had sung the +fall of Troy and the flight of Aeneas, and who promised to take him through +the lower world and Purgatory, even unto Paradise. Dante questioned why it +was permitted to him to take the journey denied to so many others, and was +told that Vergil had been sent to his rescue by the beauteous Beatrice, +long since in Paradise. When the poet, trembling with fear, heard that the +shining eyes of Beatrice had wept over his danger in the forest, and that +she had sought the gates of hell to effect his rescue, his strength was +renewed, even as the flowers, chilled by the frosts of night, uplift +themselves in the bright light of the morning sun; and he entered without +fear on the deep and savage way. + +This allegory, being interpreted, probably means that the poet, entangled +in the dark forest of political anarchy, was driven from the hill of civil +order by the Leopard of Pleasure (Florence), the Lion of Ambition +(France), and the Wolf of Avarice (Rome), and was by divine grace granted +a vision of the three worlds that he might realize what comes after death, +and be the more firmly established in the right political +faith,--Ghibellinism. + +"Through me is the way into the sorrowful city; into eternal dole among +the lost people. Justice incited my sublime Creator. Divine Omnipotence, +the highest wisdom, and the Primal Love created me. Before me, there were +no created things. Only eternal, and I eternal, last. Abandon hope, all ye +who enter here!" + +Such was the inscription over the doorway, after the reading of which +Dante's ears were assailed by words of agony and heart-rending cries. +"This," said Vergil, "is the home of those melancholy souls who lived +without infamy and without praise. Cowards and selfish in life, they are +denied even entrance to hell." As they looked, a long train passed by, +stung by gadflies and following a whirling standard. + +Charon, about whose eyes were wheels of flame, endeavored to drive the +poet and his guide away as they stood among the weary and naked souls that +gathered shivering on the margin of Acheron; but as a blast of wind and a +burst of crimson light caused a deep sleep to fall on the poet, he was +wafted across the river, and awaking he found himself in the Limbo of the +Unbaptized, the first of the nine circles of hell, where were the souls of +many men, women, and infants, whose only punishment was, without hope, to +live on in desire. Here was no torment, only the sadness caused by the +ever-unsatisfied longing for the ever-denied divine grace. This was +Vergil's abode, and in the noble castles set among the green enamelled +meadows dwelt Homer, Horace, and Ovid, Electra, Hector, and Camilla. + +Passing down a narrow walk into a region of semi-darkness, they entered +the second circle, where Minos stood, judging the sinners and girding +himself with his tail as many times as was the number of the circle to +which the spirit was to go. Here in darkness and storm were the carnal +sinners, whose punishment was to be beaten hither and thither by the +winds,--Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Paris, Tristan, and all those who had +sinned for love, and here Dante conversed with the spirit of Francesca da +Rimini, whom he had known in life, and her lover Paolo, slain for their +sin by her husband. Though there is no greater sorrow than to be mindful +of the happy time in misery, she assured Dante that the sorrows of Hell +were lightened by the presence of Paolo. + +At the sight of Paolo's grief Dante fell swooning with pity, and awoke to +find himself in the circle where a cold rain fell forever on the gluttons. +Cerberus guarded the entrance, and now and again devoured the unhappy ones +who lay prone on their faces in the murk and mire. Here Ciacco of Florence +recognized and spoke with Dante, falling back in the mire as the poet +passed on, to rise no more until the Day of Judgment. + +Plutus guarded the fourth circle, where were confined the avaricious and +prodigal, who, divided into two bands, rolled weights against each other, +uttering wretched insults. Down the sloping banks to the marsh of the Styx +the poets went, past the sullen and angry, who in life refused the comfort +of the sweet air and gladdening sun, and were in consequence doomed +forever to remain buried in the sullen mire. As Dante and Vergil passed +over the Styx in the boat of the vile Phlegyas, Dante was saluted by the +spirit of the once haughty and arrogant Philippo Argenti, whom he +repulsed, and gladly saw set upon and torn by the people of the mire. + +Then appeared to him the mosques of the city of Dis, within the valley, +vermilion-hued from the fire eternal. Deep were the moats; the walls +appeared to be of iron. Upon the flaming summit sat the Furies, stained +with blood, begirt with Hydras. Here even Vergil trembled as they waited +the arrival of one sent from Heaven to open the gate and admit them. + +Within, over the plain, were scattered sepulchres heated red hot, with +uplifted coverings, from which issued forth dire laments from the Infidels +and Heresiarchs tormented within. To Farinata degli Uberti, who rose from +his tomb to ask the news of Florence, Dante spoke, observing in the mean +time a shade that, on hearing the Tuscan tongue, rose next Uberti, +questioning, "Where is my son, my Guido?" Fancying from the poet's delay +in answering, and his use of the past tense, that his beloved child no +longer enjoyed the sweet light, Cavalcante fell back and appeared no more. + +Leaving the dismal plain, whose countless tombs would remain open until +the Judgment Day, the poets entered upon the next and seventh circle, +composed of three smaller circles in which were punished the Violent +against their neighbors, against nature, and against God. The steep banks +of the ravine were guarded by the huge Minotaur, from which Dante and +Vergil escaped only by running. + +Within Phlegethon, the boiling river of blood, stood the tyrants, among +whom were Dionysius, Azzolin, and Attila, uttering loud laments. If they +ventured to stir from their place of torment they were pierced by the +arrows of the Centaurs that guarded the banks. The Centaur Nessus conveyed +Dante across the river into the second circle, the dolorous forest, where +the Violent against nature, the Suicides, were transformed into closely +set, twisted thorn-trees, infested with harpies that fed on their leaves, +inflicting perpetual pain; thence into the third circle, where the Violent +against God, chief among whom was the arrogant Capaneus, dwelt in a sandy +plain surrounded by the dolorous forest. Upon the naked souls, some of +whom were lying supine, some crouching, others moving about continually, +fell a perpetual shower of flakes of fire. + +Picking their way along the edge of the forest, not daring to step on the +sand waste, the poets came upon a little blood-red rivulet quenching the +flames above it, Phlegethon again, formed by the rivers Acheron and Styx, +whose source is the tears of Time. As they skirted the forest they saw a +troop of spirits hastening past, one of whom, after a sharp look, grasped +Dante's garment exclaiming, "What a wonder!" The baked countenance, the +ghastly face, was that of his old teacher Ser Brunetto, who not daring to +stop for fear of increasing his punishment, followed him, questioning him +on his appearance below, and comforting him by the assurance of his future +greatness. Deep were the burns in the limbs of the other Florentines Dante +met below, to whom he gave tidings of the state of affairs in their former +home. + +Mounting on the shoulders of the hideous monster Geryon, the poets were +carried into a fearful abyss whose sides were Alp-like in steepness. This +was the eighth circle, Malebolge, or Evil pits, consisting of ten +concentric bolge, or ditches of stone with dikes between and rough bridges +running across them to the centre. + +In the first pit Jason and other deceivers of women were being lashed by +horned demons. In pit two, a Florentine friend of Dante's was submerged +with others in filth as a punishment for flattery. In pit three the +Simoniacs were placed head down in purses in the earth, their projecting +feet tortured with flames. The poets crossed the bridge, and Vergil +carried Dante down the sloping bank so that he could speak to one who +proved to be the unhappy Nicholas III., who accused Boniface for his evil +deeds and expressed a longing for his arrival in this place of torture. +From the next bridge-top Dante dimly perceived the slow procession of +weeping soothsayers with heads reversed on their shoulders. There walked +Amphiarus, Tiresias, Manto, and Michael Scott. So great was Dante's sorrow +on beholding the misery of these men who had once been held in such great +esteem, that he leaned against a crag and wept until reproved by Vergil as +a reprobate for feeling compassion at the doom divine. Through the +semi-darkness the poets looked down into pit five, where devils with +fantastic names pitched barrators into a lake of boiling pitch and speared +those who dared to raise their heads above the surface. From these Evil +Claws Dante and Vergil escaped only by running into the sixth pit, where +walked the hypocrites in richly gilded mantles. When Dante wondered at +their weary faces and their tears, he was told by two of the Frati +Gaudenti (Jolly Friars) of Florence who suffered here, that the cloaks and +hoods were of heaviest lead, a load that grew more irksome with the ages. +Caiaphas, Annas, and the members of the council that condemned Christ lay +on the ground transfixed with stakes, and over their bodies passed the +slow moving train of the hypocrites. The next bridge lay in ruins as a +result of the earthquake at the Crucifixion, and Vergil experienced the +utmost difficulty in conveying Dante up the crags to a point where he +could look down into the dark dungeon of thieves, where the naked throng +were entwined with serpents and at their bite changed from man to serpent +and back again. Some burned and fell into ashes at the venomous bite, only +to rise again and suffer new tortures. Here Dante spoke with Vanni Fucci +of Pistoja, who robbed the sacristy of Florence, and whose face "was +painted with a melancholy shame" at being seen in his misery. The eighth +pit was brightly lighted by the flames that moved back and forth, each +concealing within an evil counsellor. Ulysses and Diomed walked together +in a flame cleft at the top, for the crime of robbing Deidamia of +Achilles, of stealing the Palladium, and of fabricating the Trojan horse. +As Dante looked into pit nine he saw a troop compelled to pass continually +by a demon with a sharp sword who mutilated each one each time he made the +round of the circle, so that the wounds never healed. These were the evil +counsellors. Mahomet was there; there too was Ali. But ghastliest of +sights was that of a headless trunk walking through the grim plain, +holding its severed head by the hair like a lantern, and exclaiming "O +me!" This was the notorious Bertrand de Born, the Troubadour, who had +caused dissension between Henry II. of England and his son. Among this +throng Dante recognized his kinsman Geri del Bello, who gave him a +disdainful look because he had not yet avenged his death. From the tenth +and last pit of Malebolge came a stench as great as though it came from +all the hospitals of Valdichiana, Maremma, and Sardinia, between July and +September. All the loathsome diseases were gathered into this moat to +afflict the forgers and falsifiers. Here Dante saw Athamas, mad king of +Thebes, the mad Gianni Schicchi, and Messer Adam of Brescia, the false +coiner, who, distorted with dropsy, was perishing of thirst, and thinking +constantly of the cool rivulets that descended from the verdant hills of +Casentino. + +As Dante and his guide turned their backs on the wretched valley and +ascended the bank that surrounded it, the blare of a loud horn fell upon +their ears, louder than Roland's blast at Roncesvalles. This came from the +plain of the giants between Malebolge and the mouth of the infernal pit. +All around the pit, or well, were set the giants with half their bodies +fixed in earth. Nimrod, as a punishment for building the tower of Babel, +could speak no language, but babbled some gibberish. Ephialtes, Briareus, +and Antaeus were here, all horrible in aspect; Antaeus, less savage than +the others, lifted the two poets, and stooping set them down in the pit +below. This was the last and ninth circle, a dismal pit for the punishment +of traitors, who were frozen in the vast lake that Cocytus formed here. In +Caina were the brothers Alessandro and Napoleone degli Alberti, mutual +fratricides, their heads frozen together. In Antenora was that Guelph +Bocca who had caused his party's defeat; but the most horrible sight they +encountered was in Ptolemaea, where Count Ugolino, who had been shut up +with his sons and grandsons in a tower to starve by the Archbishop +Ruggieri, was now revenging himself in their place of torture by +continually gnawing the archbishop's head, frozen in the ice next his own. +Farther down they walked among those who, when they shed tears over their +woe had their teardrops frozen, so that even this solace was soon denied +them. Dante promised to break the frozen veil from the eyes of one who +prayed for aid, but when he learned that it was the Friar Alberigo, whose +body was still on earth, and whose soul was already undergoing punishment, +he refused, "for to be rude to him was courtesy." + +In the fourth and last division of the ninth circle, the Judecca, a strong +wind was blowing. Then Dante saw the emperor of the kingdom frozen in the +ice, a mighty giant foul to look upon, with three faces, vermilion, white +and yellow, and black. The waving of his two featherless wings caused the +great winds that froze Cocytus. Teardrops fell from his six eyes; in each +mouth he was crunching a sinner, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. + +Being warned by Vergil that it was time to depart, Dante clasped his guide +around his neck, and Vergil began to climb down the huge monster until +they reached his middle, the centre of gravity, where with much difficulty +they turned and climbed upward along the subterranean course of Lethe, +until they again beheld the stars. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PURGATORY. + + +The Purgatory of Dante is situated on a mountain top on the opposite side +of the earth from Jerusalem, and is surrounded by the western ocean. The +souls of those who go there collect on the banks of the Tiber, and are +taken to the mountain in a boat by an angel pilot. The shores of the +island are covered with the reeds of humility. Around the base of the +mount dwell the souls that, repenting late, must "expiate each year of +deferred penitence with thirty years of deferred Purgatory" unless the +time be shortened by the prayers of their friends on earth. There are +three stages of this Ante-Purgatory: the first, for those who put off +conversion through negligence; the second, for those who died by violence +and repented while dying; the third, for those monarchs who were too much +absorbed in earthly greatness to give much thought to the world to come. +The ascent of the terraces, as also those of Purgatory proper, is very +difficult, and is not allowed to be made after sunset. The gate of St. +Peter separates Ante-Purgatory from Purgatory proper. Three steps, the +first of polished white marble, the second of purple, rough and cracked, +and the third of blood-red porphyry, signifying confession, contrition, +and penance, lead to the gate where sits the angel clad in a penitential +robe, with the gold and silver keys with which to unlock the outer and +inner gates. Purgatory proper consists of seven terraces, in each of which +one of the seven capital sins, Pride, Anger, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and +Lasciviousness are punished; Pride first, because no other sin can be +purged from the body until this deepest sin is eliminated. The soul, +cleansed of these sins, mounts to the terrestrial paradise, which, above +the sphere of air, crowns the Mount of Purgatory. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PURGATORY. + + +As morning dawned and the poets slowly climbed out of the infernal region +and stepped upon the isle from which the Mount of Purgatory rises, they +were accosted by an old man with long white hair and beard, Cato of Utica, +who demanded the reason of their coming, and only permitted them to remain +when he heard that a lady from Heaven had given the command. Then he +ordered Vergil to lave the smoke of Hell from Dante's face in the waves of +the sea, and to gird him with the reed of humility. As the sun rose a +radiant angel, guiding a boat laden with souls, appeared, and the poets +fell on their knees until he departed. + +As the newly-landed spirits questioned Vergil of the way up the mountain, +Dante recognized among them his beloved friend Casella, the musician, and +tried in vain to embrace his spirit body. At Dante's request, Casella +began to sing, and the enchanted spirits were scattered only by the +chiding voice of Cato. + +Vergil surveyed the insurmountable height before them, and hastened with +Dante to inquire the way of a troop of souls coming towards them. As they +talked, Dante recognized one, blond and smiling, with a gash over one +eyebrow and another over his heart. It was Manfredi, King of Apulia and +Sicily, who was slain at Benevento by Charles of Anjou, and, being under +excommunication, was not allowed Christian burial. He asked Dante to make +him happy by telling his daughter that by faith he was saved from eternal +destruction, but because of his sins he must spend thirty times the time +that his presumption had endured at the foot of the mount, unless his time +was shortened by the righteous prayers of his friends on earth. + +It was with the greatest difficulty that the poets clambered up the steep +and narrow path to the next terrace, and only the assurance that the +ascent would grow easier as he neared the summit sustained Dante. As +Vergil explained to him while resting on the next terrace that the sun +appeared on his left because Purgatory and Jerusalem were in different +hemispheres, some one spoke, and turning they saw a group of persons in an +attitude of indolence, among them a Florentine acquaintance, Belacqua, a +maker of musical instruments, who sat waiting the length of another +lifetime for admission above because he had postponed conversion from time +to time, through negligence. + +Proceeding, the poets met a concourse of souls who had suffered violent +death, chanting the Miserere, who perceiving Dante to be living, sent +messages to their friends on earth. Among these were Giacopo del Cassero +and Buonconte di Montefeltro, son of Dante's friend, Guido di Montefeltro, +who fell in the battle of Campaldino, in which Dante had taken part. +Wounded in the neck, he fell, and had just time to breathe a prayer to +Mary, thus saving his soul from the Evil One, who was so incensed that, +raising a great storm, he caused the rivers to overflow and sweep away the +lifeless body, tearing from it the cross he had made with his arms in his +last agony, and burying it in the mire of the Arno. The third shade bade +him think of her when, returned home, he sang of his journey. She was Pia, +born at Sienna, who died at Maremma, by the hand of her husband. + +Dante at last managed to escape from these shades, who implored him to ask +for prayers for them on earth, and moved on with Vergil until they met the +haughty shade of Sordello, who clasped Vergil in his arms when he learned +he was a Mantuan. Touched by this expression of love for his native land, +Dante launched into an apostrophe to degenerate Italy, to that German +Albert who refused to save the country groaning under oppression, and to +lost Florence, torn by internecine wars. + +When Sordello learned that the Mantuan shade was Vergil, he humbled +himself before him, and paid him reverence, asking eagerly in what part of +the underworld he dwelt. The sun was sinking, and as the poets could not +ascend by night, he urged them to pass the night with him. Leading them to +a vale carpeted with emerald grass and brilliant with flowers, he pointed +out the shades singing "Salve Regina" as the Emperor Rudolph,--he who made +an effort to heal sick Italy,--Philip III. of France, Charles I. of +Naples, and Henry III. of England. As the hour of twilight approached, +that hour in which the sailor thinks of home, and the pilgrim thrills at +the sound of vesper bells, Dante beheld a shade arise, and lifting its +palms begin to sing the vesper hymn. Soon two radiant angels clad in +delicate green descended from Heaven, holding flaming swords. These, +Sordello explained, were to keep off the serpent that threatened this fair +vale at night. + +As the hour of night approached in which the swallow laments its woes, +Dante fell asleep on the grass and dreamed that he was Ganymede snatched +from Mt. Ida by Jove's eagle. Awaking, he found himself alone with Vergil +in a strange place, with the sun two hours high. Lucia, symbolical of the +enlightening grace of Heaven, had conveyed him to the spot and pointed out +to Vergil the gate of Purgatory. Cheered and confident, he rose, and they +went together to the portal and mounted the three steps, the first of +shining white marble, the second of purple stone, cracked and burnt, and +the third of flaming red porphyry. There, on the diamond threshold, sat an +angel with a naked sword, clad in a robe of ashen gray, whose face was too +bright to look upon. When Dante fell on his knees and implored entrance, +the angel imprinted on his forehead seven "P"'s for the seven sins +(Peccata), and opening the gate with the gold and silver keys, ushered +them into the mighty portals. "From Peter I have these keys. Me he +instructed to err rather in opening than in keeping shut. But see that ye +look not behind, or ye will at once return." + +With much difficulty the two poets ascended the steep and winding path, +and paused to view the wonderful sculptures on the embankment, that would +put Nature herself to shame, so natural were they. Many examples of +Humility were there portrayed,--the Virgin Mary, the Holy Ark, drawn by +oxen, the Psalmist dancing before the Lord, while Michal looked forth in +scorn from her palace window, and Trajan, yielding to the widow's prayer. +As they stood there, the souls came in sight. "Reader, attend not to the +fashion of the torment, but think of what follows." The unhappy ones crept +around the terrace, bowed under a heavy burden of stones, and the most +patient, as he bent under his burden, exclaimed, with tears, "I can do no +more!" As they walked they repeated the Lord's Prayer, and kept their eyes +fixed on the life-like sculptures on the floor of those who had suffered +before them for the sins of pride: Lucifer, falling from Heaven; Briareus +and Nimrod overcome by the bolts of Jove; Niobe, weeping among her dead +children; Cyrus's head taunted by Tomyris; Troy humbled in ashes. + +As Vergil approached the penitents to inquire the way to the next terrace, +he and Dante were invited to join the procession and talk with one who +could not lift his face enough to see them. This was Omberto, who had been +slain by the Siennese for his unbearable pride. Dante also talked with his +friend Oderigi, an illuminator of manuscript, who now humbly acknowledged +that he was far surpassed by Franco Bolognese. "What is mundane glory?" he +exclaimed, as he pointed out Provenzano Salvani, with whose fame Tuscany +once rang, but who barely escaped Hell by his voluntary humiliation for a +friend. "Lift up thy face!" commanded Vergil, as Dante walked with his +head bowed, absorbed in the floor-sculptures; and as he looked, the +white-robed angel whose face was like "a tremulous flame" approached, and +struck Dante's forehead with his wings. Dante marvelled at the ease with +which he mounted, until his master explained that the heaviest sin, the +sin that underlies all others, had fallen from him when the angel struck +the "P" from his forehead, and that the ascent would grow still lighter +from terrace to terrace. "Blessed are the poor in spirit!" sung by sweet +voices, greeted the mounting poets. + +The second terrace was of livid stone unrelieved by any sculpture. The air +was full of voices inculcating charity and self-denial, and others +lamenting the sin of envy. Here envy was punished, and here the sharpest +pain pierced Dante's heart as he saw the penitents sit shoulder to +shoulder against the cliff, robed in sackcloth of the same livid color, +their eyelids, through which bitter tears trickled, sewed together with +wire. Sapia of Sienna first greeted Dante and entreated him to pray for +her. When she had told how, after having been banished from her city, she +had prayed that her townsman might be defeated by the Florentines, Dante +passed on and spoke with Guido of Duca, who launched into an invective +against Florence to his companion Rinieri. "The whole valley of the Arno +is so vile that its very name should die. Wonder not at my tears, Tuscan, +when I recall the great names of the past, and compare them with the curs +who have fallen heir to them. Those counts are happiest who have left no +families." Guido himself was punished on this terrace because of his envy +of every joyous man, and the spirit with whom he talked was Rinieri, whose +line had once been highly honored. "Go, Tuscan," exclaimed Guido, "better +now I love my grief than speech." As the poets passed on, the air was +filled with the lamentations of sinful but now repentant spirits. + +Dazzled by the Angel's splendor, the poets passed up the stairs to the +third terrace, Dante in the mean time asking an explanation of Guido's +words on joint resolve and trust. + +"The less one thinks of another's possessions," replied his guide, "and +the more he speaks of 'our' instead of 'my,' the more of the Infinite Good +flows towards him. If you thirst for further instruction, await the coming +of Beatrice." + +As they attained the next height, Dante, rapt in vision, saw the sweet +Mother questioning her Son in the Temple, saw Pisistratus, his queen, and +the martyred Stephen blessing his enemies in death. As he awoke, they +passed on, to become involved in a thick cloud of smoke, through which it +was impossible to distinguish any object, and whose purpose was to purge +away anger, the sin-cloud that veils the mortal eye. + +As they passed from the thick smoke into the sunset, Dante fell into a +trance, and saw Itys, Haman, and other notable examples of unbridled +angers, and as the visions faded away, was blinded by the splendor of the +angel guide who directed them to the fourth terrace. As they waited for +the dawn, Vergil answered Dante's eager questions. "Love," he said, "is +the seed of every virtue, and also of every act for which God punished +man. Natural love is without error; but if it is bent on evil aims, if it +lacks sufficiency, or if it overleaps its bounds and refuses to be +governed by wise laws, it causes those sins that are punished on this +mount. The defective love which manifests itself as slothfulness is +punished on this terrace." + +A troop of spirits rushed past them as morning broke, making up by their +haste for the sloth that had marked their lives on earth. As they hurried +on they urged themselves to diligence by cries of "In haste the mountains +blessed Mary won!" "Caesar flew to Spain!" "Haste! Grace grows best in +those who ardor feel!" As the poet meditated on their words, he lapsed +into a dream in which he saw the Siren who drew brave mariners from their +courses; and even as he listened to her melodious song, he beheld her +exposed by a saint-like lady, Lucia, or Illuminating Grace. Day dawned, +the Angel fanned the fourth "P" from his forehead, and the poet ascended +to the fifth terrace, where lay the shades of the avaricious, prostrate on +the earth, weeping over their sins. They who in life had resolutely turned +their gaze from Heaven and fixed it on the things of the earth, must now +grovel in the dust, denouncing avarice, and extolling the poor and liberal +until the years have worn away their sin. + +Bending over Pope Adrian the Fifth, Dante heard his confession that he was +converted while he held the Roman shepherd's staff. Then he learned how +false a dream was life, but too late, alas! to escape this punishment. As +Dante spoke with the shade of Capet the elder, a mighty trembling shook +the mountain, which chilled his heart until he learned from the shade of +Statius, whom they next met, that it was caused by the moving upward of a +purified soul, his own, that had been undergoing purgation on this terrace +five hundred years and more. "Statius was I," said the shade, "and my +inspiration came from that bright fountain of heavenly fire, the Aeneid; +it was my mother; to it I owe my fame. Gladly would I have added a year to +my banishment here, could I have known the Mantuan." Vergil's glance said +"Be mute!" but Dante's smile betrayed the secret, and Statius fell at +Vergil's feet adoring. Statius had suffered for the sin of prodigality, +which was punished, together with avarice, on this terrace. + +The three proceeded upward to the sixth terrace, the ascent growing easier +on the disappearance of the "P" of avarice from Dante's forehead. Vergil +and Statius moved on in loving conversation, Dante reverently following. +"Your Pollio led me to Christianity," said Statius, "but my cowardice +caused me long to conceal it. Prodigality brought me hither." + +On the sixth terrace two trees stood in opposite parts of the pathway that +the gluttons were compelled to tread, the first with branches broad at the +top and tapering downward, so that it was impossible to mount it; upon it +fell a fount of limpid water. From its branches a voice cried, "Of this +food ye shall have a scarcity. In the primal age, acorns furnished sweet +food and each rivulet seemed nectar." Towards the next tree, grown from a +twig of the tree of knowledge, the gluttons stretched eager hands, but a +voice cried, "Pass on; approach not!" Such desire for food was excited by +these tempting fruits, that the gluttons were emaciated beyond +recognition. By his voice alone did Dante recognize his kinsman Forese, +whose time in Purgatory had been shortened by the prayers of his wife +Nella. Forese talked with Dante for a while on the affairs of Florence, +and predicted the fall of his brother Corso Donati. + +The dazzling splendor of the angel of the seventh terrace warned them of +his approach, and, lightened of one more "P," Dante and his companions +climbed to where two bands of spirits, lascivious on earth, moved through +paths of purifying flames, stopping as they passed to greet each other, +and singing penitential hymns. Here, Statius explained to Dante why the +shades of the sixth terrace were lean from want of food when they +possessed no longer their physical bodies. "After death the soul keeps its +memory, intelligence, and will more active than before, and as soon as it +reaches either the banks of Acheron or the Tiber, a shade form is attached +to it which acquires the soul's semblance, and has every sense given it, +even that of sight." + +Guido Guinicelli, from out the flame-furnace, explained to Dante the +punishments of the terrace: "Thus are our base appetites burned out that +we may enjoy future happiness," and Arnaud the Troubadour, hating his past +follies, weeping and singing, implored Dante's prayers. It was only by +telling him that the fire lay between him and Beatrice that Vergil +prevailed on Dante to walk into the flames, which, though they tortured +him by the intensity of their heat, did not consume even his garments. As +they left the fire, the sun was setting, and they passed the night on the +steps of the next terrace, Statius and Vergil watching Dante as the +goatherds watch their flocks. In a dream the sleeping poet saw Leah, +symbolical of the active life, in contrast to her sister Rachel, of +contemplative life. On waking, Vergil told him that he would accompany him +further, but not as a guide; henceforth his own free will must lead him. +"Crowned, mitred, now thyself thou 'lt rule aright." + +Dense green were the heavenly woodlands of the terrestrial paradise; sweet +were the bird songs, as sweet the songs of the whispering foliage; and on +the pleasant mead, beyond the dimpling waters of a stream so small that +three paces would span it, walked a beautiful lady, Matilda, gathering +flowers and singing an enchanting melody. At Dante's request, she came +nearer, and explained to him that God had created the terrestrial paradise +from which man was banished by his fault alone. To vex him it was raised +to this height. Its atmosphere was not that of the earth below, but given +it from the free sphere of ether. Here every plant had its origin; here +each river had its virtue; Lethe destroyed the memory of sin; Eunoë +restored to the mind the memory of things good. + +As they talked, Hosannas were heard, and in the greatest splendor appeared +the Car of the Church Triumphant. First came the seven golden +candlesticks; following them, many people in resplendent white garments; +next, the four and twenty elders, lily crowned--the twenty-four books of +the Old Testament--singing to Beatrice "O blessed Thou!" Then four +six-winged, many-eyed living creatures described both by Ezekiel and John +surrounded the massive car drawn by the Gryphon, emblem of our Lord in his +divine and human nature, white, gold, and vermilion-hued, part lion, part +eagle, whose wings pierced the heavens. + +Three maidens, red, emerald, and white, the Theological Virtues, Faith, +Hope, and Charity, danced at the right wheel of the car; four clad in +purple, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance, walked at the left +wheel. With them came two old men, Luke and Paul; then four together, +James, Peter, John, and Jude, and last an aged man walking in slumber, +Saint John, writer of the Revelation. These last were crowned with red +roses and other tinted flowers. With a crash as of thunder, the car +stopped before Dante, and a hundred angels, chanting, showered on it roses +and lilies. In the midst of the shower, Beatrice descended, clad in a +crimson robe, with a green mantle and a white veil, and crowned with an +olive wreath. Thrilling with his ancient love, Dante turned to Vergil to +sustain him, but Vergil was gone. As he looked again, her eyes, less +severe from the veil that enveloped her, were fixed on him as she rebuked +him, and he was sustained only by the compassion in the sweet voices of +the angels, which soothed him until the tears rained down his cheeks. + +After her death, when she had arisen from flesh to spirit, Beatrice +complained that her influence was dimmed, and that he had sought such +depths that she had been compelled to go to the gates of hell to implore +Vergil to bring him hither that he might learn his future sufferings if he +did not repent. As he answered her, blaming the things that had led him +aside with joys deceitful, he tried to gaze into her eyes, but stung with +penitential thorns, fell senseless to the ground. Matilda, who stood by, +seized him and plunged him into the river Lethe, that he might forget his +past sin. Dripping, he was given to the four lovely maidens, who led him +before Beatrice that he might look into her eyes, fixed on the Gryphon. A +thousand longings held him fast while, "weary from ten years' thirsting," +he gazed upon her lovely eyes, now unveiled in their full splendor. +Reproached at last by the seven virtues for his too intent gaze, Dante +watched the car move on to the Tree of Knowledge, to which its pole was +attached by the Gryphon. Dante, lulled to sleep by the hymn, was aroused +by Matilda, who pointed out to him the radiant Beatrice, sitting under a +tree surrounded by the bright forms of her attendants. The other +attendants of the car had followed the Gryphon to the skies. + +"Observe the car," said Beatrice, "and write what thou hast seen when thou +returnest home." As she spoke, the car was attacked in turn by the eagle +of persecution, the fox of heresy, and the dragon of Islamism; these +driven away, it was disturbed by inward dissensions, the alliance between +Boniface and Philip the Fair. + +Rising, Beatrice called Dante, Statius, and Matilda to her, and as they +walked upon that pleasant mead, she asked Dante the meaning of his +continued silence. She explained the attacks on the chariot to him, but he +declared that he could not understand her language. Then, at Beatrice's +nod, Matilda called him and Statius, and plunged them into Eunoë, whence +he rose regenerate, and prepared to mount to the stars. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PARADISE. + + +The Paradise of Dante consists of nine heavens, each a revolving +crystalline sphere, enclosed in another; without them, the boundless +Empyrean. The first or innermost heaven, of the Moon, revolved by the +angels, is the habitat of wills imperfect through instability. The second, +of Mercury, revolved by the Archangels, is the abode of wills imperfect +through love of fame. The third, of Venus, revolved by the Principalities, +is the abode of wills imperfect through excess of human love. The fourth, +of the Sun, revolved by the Powers, is the abode of the great intellectual +lights, the doctors of the Church. The fifth heaven, of Mars, revolved by +the Virtues, is the abode of the martyrs, warriors, and confessors, and is +sacred to the Faith. The sixth, of Jupiter, revolved by the Dominations, +is inhabited by just rulers. The seventh, of Saturn, revolved by the +Thrones, is inhabited by monks and hermits. The eighth, of the Fixed +Stars, revolved by the Cherubim, is inhabited by the apostles and saints. +The ninth, or Primum Mobile, revolved by the Seraphim, is the abode of the +moral philosophers. These abodes, however, are not real, but +representative, to illustrate the differences in glory of the inhabitants +of Paradise, for the real seat of each is in the Rose of the Blessed. In +the heavens, the saints appear swathed in cocoons of light; in the Rose +they are seen in their own forms. They know all because they behold God +continually. In the Empyrean is the Rose of the Blessed, whose myriad +leaves form the thrones of the spirits, and whose centre of light is the +Father himself. Dividing the Rose horizontally, the lower thrones are held +by those who died in infancy; among them are varying degrees of glory. +Above it, are those who died adults. Supposing a vertical division, the +thrones to the left are for those who looked forward to Christ's coming; +those to the right, not yet all occupied, by those who died after Christ's +coming. Along the division lines are the holy women, the Virgin, Eve, +Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and Ruth, Saint Anne and Saint +Lucia, and the saints, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Adam, Moses, +Saint Francis, Saint Benedict, Saint Augustine, Saint Peter, and in the +midst, the Everlasting Glory of the Universe, whose light so fills the +Rose that "naught can form an obstacle against it." + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PARADISE. + + +The ascent to Paradise was accomplished by a fixed gaze into Beatrice's +eyes, by which Dante, like Glaucus, was made divine, and by which he was +lifted, with incredible swiftness, through the heavens. As soon as he had +fixed his eyes on Beatrice's, who in turn looked towards heaven, they +found themselves in the Heaven of the Moon, whose luminous yet pearl-like +light enfolded them. While Beatrice was explaining to him that the spots +on the moon were not caused by the varying degrees of atmospheric density, +as he had supposed, but by the Divine Virtue infused in divine measure +through the angelic dwellers in the first heaven, he met Piccarda, his +sister-in-law, whose brother, Corso Donati, had torn her from her convent +to wed her to Rosselin della Tosa, soon after which she died. Here also +was Costanza, daughter of Roger I. of Sicily, grandmother of that Manfredi +whom he had seen in Purgatory. Here Beatrice instructed Dante as to the +imperfection of those wills that held not to their vows, but allowed +violence to thwart them. + +Another look into the smiling eyes, and the two were in the Heaven of +Mercury, where those wills abide in whom love of fame partly extinguished +love of God. One of the thousand splendors that advanced towards them was +the soul of the Emperor Justinian, who reviewed the Empire, the Church, +condemning severely the behavior of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and told +of the spirits who inhabited the little planet, whose lives were sweetened +by living justice, and whose ears were gladdened by the sweetest +harmonies. + +Dante was unaware of his ascent into, Venus, where dwelt those souls who +were lovers on earth, until he perceived Beatrice's added beauty. Amid +revolving lights Charles Martel of Hungary appeared, denounced his brother +Robert of Sicily, and instructed Dante on the subjects of heredity and +degeneracy; that "sweet seed can come bitter" because the influence of the +star under which the child is born can counteract that of the parent, and +because his state is not always adapted to him by his parents and +advisers. + +In the sphere of the Sun, consecrated to the great doctors of divinity, +Beatrice became still more beautiful; but so absorbed was the poet in the +love for the Eternal Source of all this splendor that for the first time +he forgot her. Out of the whirling lights, shining like precious jewels, +came Saint Thomas Aquinas, who pointed out to Dante his noted companions, +Gratian, Peter Lombard, Solomon, Dionysius, Boethius, and Baeda. Thomas +then related the story of Saint Francis of Assisi and the founding of his +order of the Franciscans, upon which Saint Bonaventura of the Franciscans, +from the next flame garland, told of Saint Dominic and the Dominican +order. Alas! while both orders were great in the beginning, both narrators +had to censure their present corruption. + +The array of brilliant lights, dividing itself, formed into two disks +which, revolving oppositely, sang the praises of the Trinity. The song of +praise finished, Saint Thomas explained that Solomon was elevated to this +sphere for his wisdom and his regal prudence, and warned Dante against the +error of rash judgment. + +The splendor of Mars was almost blinding; it was ruddier than the others, +and in it dwelt the souls of the crusaders and martyrs. While Dante's ears +were ravished by exquisite music, his eyes were dazzled by the lights, +which had arranged themselves in the form of a cross. From out the +splendor, one star saluted Dante. It was the soul of his ancestor +Cacciaguida, who had waited long for the coming of his descendant. He +related to Dante the story of his life, commenting on the difference +between the simple life of the Florentines of his day and the corrupt +practices of Dante's time, and broke to the poet what had already been +darkly hinted to him in Hell and Purgatory,--his banishment; how he must +depart from Florence and learn how salt is the bread of charity, how +wearisome the stairs in the abode of the stranger. + +As Cacciaguida ceased and pointed out the other well-known dwellers in +Mars, each one on the cross flashed as his name was called,--Joshua, Judas +Maccabeus, Charlemagne and Roland, Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert Guiscard, +and others. + +In Jupiter, whose whiteness contrasted with the ruddiness of Mars, dwelt +the souls of great rulers, certain of whom arranged themselves first to +form the golden letters of _Diligite Justitiam qui judicatis terram_ +("Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth"), and then formed +themselves into the Roman eagle and sang of the justice and mercy that +caused their elevation to this position, and of events about to occur in +history. + +Had Beatrice smiled as they ascended to Saturn, Dante would have perished +as did Semele, from excess of light. In Saturn dwelt the spirits of the +contemplative, the monks and hermits, and here was Jacob's ladder, up and +down whose bars of gold sparkled the spirits of the saints, silent for the +same reason that Beatrice smiled not. By divine election, Saint Peter +Damian descended and spoke with Dante, accusing the churchmen of the time +of worldliness and luxury. "Cephas and our Lord came on earth barefoot and +poorly clad, but these men are covered with gorgeous raiment and ride upon +sleek palfreys." As he closed, a thunder cry of approval went up from the +other saints. + +Up the wonderful ladder passed Dante and his lady into the eighth heaven +of the Fixed Stars, and looking down saw the little earth and the starry +heavens through which they had passed. Then, as Beatrice paused with her +face all aflame, and her eyes full of ecstasy, down came the hosts of +Christ's triumphal march, and within the living light, which dazzled +Dante's eyes until he could not see, also appeared Mary, mother of God, +crowned by Gabriel, rising into the Empyrean. Of those who remained +behind, Beatrice asked that Dante be sprinkled with the waters of the +living Fountain; and while they gave their consent, Saint Peter appeared +as a fire whirling ecstatically, and singing a divine song. He examined +the trembling poet on faith, and his questions being answered +satisfactorily, encircled him thrice with his light. Saint James, who next +came forth, was likewise pleased with his response on Hope, and he was +then blinded by the effulgence of John, so that for a time he could not +see the face of his lady. + +Of Love he spoke with John, and then talked with Adam. As he listened to +the strains of richest melody, he noticed one of the lights--Saint +Peter--change from white to red, and then, as silence fell, speak, enraged +at the worldliness of the Holy See. "My cemetery has been made a sewer of +blood and stench. When thou returnest to earth, reveal what thou hast +heard. Do not thou conceal what I have not concealed." + +Commanded by Beatrice, Dante looked back at earth once more, and as he +looked, was carried up into the heaven of the Primum Mobile, where dwelt +the moral philosophers. Here the angelic spirits circled round the point +of intense light, the divine centre. The nearer God was the circle, the +greater virtue it possessed. This order was inverse to that of the +heavens, but Dante learned from Beatrice that the orbs revolved through +narrow paths or wide according to the virtue of their parts, and that a +strict agreement of harmony prevailed between the great and the small. The +angel and the heavens were created simultaneously, and, as direct +emanations from God, know no decay. Of this and many things concerning the +Creation, did Beatrice enlighten Dante before the beauty of her smile told +him that they were in the Empyrean. "Now shall thou look upon the mighty +hosts of Paradise." + +The poet's dazzled eyes saw then a river of light from which issued living +sparks sunk down into the flowers like rubies set in gold. Instructed by +Beatrice he drank of the stream and the river changed into a lake; then he +saw the Courts of Heaven made manifest, and the splendor of God. The ample +Rose unfolded its leaves before him, breathing praise and perfume, and as +he gazed into it Beatrice pointed out the radiant spirits and the thronged +seats, one of which was reserved for the Emperor Henry of Luxembourg, from +whom Dante expected so much, and who died before aught was accomplished. +As Dante gazed, the hosts with wings of gold and faces of living flame, +singing anthems, alternately sank into the Rose, like a swarm of bees +sinking into summer flowers, and rose again to view the Divine splendor. +Turning to question Beatrice again, Dante found in her place Saint Bernard +of Clairvaux, an old man full of the tenderest pity, who pointed out to +him Beatrice in her own place, the third round of the first rank. As from +afar, Dante pleaded with the beautiful lady who had left her place in +heaven to go even unto the gates of hell for his sake, to aid him still; +she seemed to smile upon him before she again turned her gaze upon the +Eternal Fountain of Light. Saint Bernard explained to the poet the +divisions of the Rose and the seats of the saints, and then addressed a +prayer to the Virgin, asking that Dante be permitted to look upon the +Almighty Father. As he prayed, Beatrice and all the blessed ones clasped +their hands to her who likes so well prayers of divine fervor. At a +gesture from Bernard, the poet looked upward. Then what a radiant vision +met his eyes! Three circles he saw of threefold color and one dimension. +As he looked, one seemed to take our image, and again was lost in the +infinite glory of the Light Divine. As he tried to describe it, +imagination failed him, though his will remained, moving on with the even +motion of the sun and stars. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +COUNT UGOLINO. + + +In the frozen lake of Cocytus in the ninth circle of the Inferno, where +were punished the traitors to kindred, country, friends, or benefactors, +the poets beheld Count Ugolino, a Guelph, who, because of his treachery, +was taken prisoner by the people with his sons and grandsons and thrust +into a tower, where they were left to starve. Ugolino was frozen in the +ice, where he forever gnawed the head of the Archbishop Ruggieri, his +enemy. At the request of Dante he stopped to tell his story. + + "Thy will 'tis I renew + A desperate sorrow that doth crush my heart + Even before my lips its tale impart. + But if my words may be a seed that, sowed, + Shall fruit of infamy to this traitor bear, + Then, though I weep, speech too shall be my care. + + "Who thou may'st be I know not, nor what mode + Hath brought thee here below, but then I glean, + From words of thine, thou art a Florentine. + That I Count Ugolino was, know thou, + And this the Archbishop Ruggieri. Why + I will thee tell we are such neighbors nigh. + Needs not to say that him I did allow + A friend's own trusts, but so his treachery wrought; + That first my liberty, then my life, it sought. + + "But that which thou canst not have hitherto learned + That is, how cruel was my death, I thee + Will tell; judge thou if he offended me. + Within the Mew, a tower which well hath earned + From me its name of Famine, and where wrath + Yet others waits, a narrow opening hath, + Through which of several moons the broken light + Had strayed, when unto me in sleep was sent + A dream whereby the future's veil was rent. + + "This ill dream me this man set forth in might: + He wolf and whelps upon those mounts pursued + Which Pisa 'twixt and Lucca's domes obtrude. + Hounds had he with him, lank and shrewd and keen, + And in their front Gualandi's sword had place, + Sismondi's lash and sour Lanfranchi's mace. + Father and sons' undoing soon was seen; + Methought the sharp fangs on them closed, and tore + Their flanks, which now the hue of crimson wore. + + "Before the dawn I woke and heard my sons, + The helpless children with me, in their sleep, + Cry out for bread, cries pushed from sobbings deep. + Right cruel art thou, if not e'en now runs + To tears thy grief at what my heart forbode, + If tears of thine at misery's tale e'er flowed. + And then they woke, and came the hour around + Which had been wont our scanty meal to bring; + But from our dreams dumb terrors seemed to spring; + + "When from below we heard the dreadful sound + Of nails; the horrible tower was closed; all dumb + I let my gaze into my sons' eyes come. + Weep I did not, like stone my feelings lay. + They wept, and spoke my little Anselm: 'Pray + Why lookest so? Father, what ails thee, say?' + Shed I no tear, nor answered all that day + Nor the next night, until another sun + His journey through the wide world had begun. + + "Then came a small ray into our sad, sad den, + And when in their four faces I beheld + That carking grief which mine own visage held, + Mine hands for grief I bit, and they, who then + Deemed that I did it from desire to eat, + Stood up each one at once upon his feet, + And said: 'Father, 'twill give us much less pain + If thou wilt eat of us: of thee was born + This hapless flesh, and be it by thee torn.' + + "Myself I calmed that they might not so grieve; + Mute that day and the next we were; O thou + Most cruel earth, that didst not open now! + When we the fourth day's agony did receive + Stretched at my feet himself my Gaddo threw, + And said: 'My father, canst thou nothing do?' + There died he, and, as now sees me thy sight, + The three I saw fall one by one; first died + One on the fifth; deaths two the sixth me tried. + + "Then blind, I groped o'er them to left and right, + And for three days called on their spirits dead; + Then grief before the power of fasting fled." + _Wilstach's Translation, Inferno. Canto XXXIII._ + + + + +BUONCONTE DI MONTEFELTRO. + + +On the second terrace of the Ante-Purgatory, on the Purgatorial Mount, +were the spirits of those whose lives were ended by violence. Among those +who here addressed Dante was Buonconte di Montefeltro, who was slain in +the battle of Campaldino, and whose body was never found. + + Another then: "Ah, be thy cherished aim + Attained that to the lofty Mount thee draws, + As thou with pity shalt advance my cause. + Of Montefeltro I Buonconte am; + Giovanna, and she only, for me cares; + Hence among those am I whom waiting wears." + + "What violence or what chance led thee so wide + From Campaldino," I of him inquired, + "That's still unknown thy burial-place retired?" + "Oh, Casentino's foot," he thus replied, + "Archiano's stream o'erflows, which hath its rise + Above the Hermitage under Apennine skies. + There where its name is lost did I arrive, + Pierced through and through the throat, in flight, + Upon the plain made with my life-blood bright; + + "There sight I lost, and did for speech long strive; + At last I uttered Mary's name, and fell + A lifeless form, mine empty flesh a shell. + Truth will I speak, below do thou it hymn; + Took me God's Angel up, and he of Hell + Cried out: 'O thou from Heaven, thou doest well + To rob from me the eternal part of him + For one poor tear, that me of him deprives; + In other style I'll deal with other lives!' + + "Well know'st thou how in air is gathered dim + That humid vapor which to water turns + Soon as the cold its rising progress learns. + The fiend that ill-will joined (which aye seeks ill) + To intellectual power, which mist and wind + Moved by control which faculties such can find, + And afterwards, when the day was spent, did fill + The space from Protomagno to where tower + The Mounts with fog; and high Heaven's covering power + + "The pregnant atmosphere moist to water changed. + Down fell the rain, and to the ditches fled, + Whate'er of it the soil's thirst had not sped; + And, as it with the mingling torrents ranged + Towards the royal river, so it flowed + That over every obstacle wild it rode. + The robust river found my stiffened frame + Near to its outlet, and it gave a toss + To Arno, loosening from my breast the cross + + "I made of me when agony me o'ercame; + Along his banks and bottoms he me lapped, + Then in his muddy spoils he me enwrapped." + _Wilstach's Translation, Purgatorio, Canto V._ + + + + +BEATRICE DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN. + + +Dante and Vergil mounted to the Terrestial Paradise, where, while they +talked with Matilda, the Car of the Church Triumphant appeared in the +greatest splendor. As it stopped before Dante it was enveloped in a shower +of roses from the hands of a hundred angels. + + I have beheld ere now, when dawn would pale, + The eastern hemisphere's tint of roseate sheen, + And all the opposite heaven one gem serene, + And the uprising sun, beneath such powers + Of vapory influence tempered, that the eye + For a long space its fiery shield could try: + + E'en so, embosomed in a cloud of flowers, + Which from those hands angelical upward played, + And roseate all the car triumphal made, + And showered a snow-white veil with olive bound, + Appeared a Lady, green her mantle, name + Could not describe her robe unless 't were flame. + And mine own spirit, which the past had found + Often within her presence, free from awe, + And which could never from me trembling draw, + And sight no knowledge giving me at this time, + Through hidden virtue which from her came forth, + Of ancient love felt now the potent worth. + As soon as on my vision smote sublime + The heavenly influence that, ere boyhood's days + Had fled, had thrilled me and awoke my praise, + Unto the leftward turned I, with that trust + Wherewith a little child his mother seeks, + When fear his steps controls, and tear-stained cheeks, + + To say to Vergil: "All my blood such gust + Of feeling moves as doth man's bravery tame; + I feel the traces of the ancient flame." + _Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX._ + + + + +THE EXQUISITE BEAUTY OF BEATRICE. + + +While Dante and Beatrice rose from the Heaven of Primal Motion to the +Empyrean, the poet turned his dazzled eyes from the heavens, whose sight +he could no longer bear, to the contemplation of Beatrice. + + Wherefore my love, and loss of other view, + Me back to Beatrice and her homage drew. + If what of her hath been already said + Were in one single eulogy grouped, 't would ill + Her meed of merit at this moment fill. + + The beauty which in her I now beheld + B'yond mortals goes; her Maker, I believe, + Hath power alone its fulness to receive. + Myself I own by obstacles stronger spelled + Than in his labored theme was ever bard + Whose verses, light or grave, brought problems hard; + For, as of eyes quelled by the sun's bright burst, + E'en so the exquisite memory of that smile + Doth me of words and forming mind beguile. + + Not from that day when on this earth I first + Her face beheld, up to this moment, song + Have I e'er failed to strew her path along, + But now I own my limping numbers lame; + An artist sometimes finds his powers surpassed, + And mine succumbs to beauty's lance at last. + And I must leave her to a greater fame + Than any that my trumpet gives, which sounds, + Now, hastening notes, which mark this labor's bounds. + _Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX._ + + + + + +THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Ludovico Ariosto, author of the Orlando Furioso was born in Reggio, Italy, +Sept. 8, 1474. In 1503 he was taken into the service of the Cardinal +Hippolito d'Este, and soon after began the composition of the Orlando +Furioso, which occupied him for eleven years. It was published in 1516, +and brought him immediate fame. Ariosto was so unkindly treated by his +patron that he left him and entered the service of the cardinal's brother, +Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. By him he was appointed governor of a province, +in which position he repressed the banditti by whom it was infested, and +after a successful administration of three years, returned to Ferrara to +reside. The latter part of his life was spent in writing comedies and +satires, and in revising the Orlando Furioso. He died in Ferrara, June 6, +1533. + +The Orlando Furioso is a sequel to Boiardo's Orlando Innamorata, Ariosto +taking up the story at the end of that poem. Its historical basis is the +wars of Charlemagne with the Moors, which were probably confused with +those of Charles Martel. As the Orlando of the poem is the same Roland +whose fall at Roncesvalles in 778 is celebrated in the Song of Roland, its +events must have occurred before that time. + +Although the poem is called Orlando Furioso, Orlando's madness occupies a +very small part of it, the principal threads of the story being Orlando's +love for Angelica and his consequent madness, the wars of Charlemagne, and +the loves of Bradamant and Rogero. From this Rogero the family of Este +claimed to be derived, and for this reason Ariosto made Rogero the real +hero of the poem, and took occasion to lavish the most extravagant praises +upon his patron and his family. + +With these principal threads are interwoven innumerable episodes which are +not out of place in the epic, and lend variety to a story which would +otherwise have become tiresome. The lightness of treatment, sometimes +approaching ridicule, the rapidity of movement, the grace of style, and +the clearness of language, the atmosphere created by the poet which so +successfully harmonizes all his tales of magic and his occasional +inconsistencies, and the excellent descriptions, have all contributed to +the popularity of the poem, which is said to be the most widely read of +the epics. These descriptions outweigh its faults,--the taking up the +story of Boiardo without an explanation of the situation, the lack of +unity, and the failure to depict character; for with the exception of +Bradamant and Rogero, Ariosto's heroes and heroines are very much alike, +and their conversation is exceedingly tiresome. + +The Furioso is written in the octave stanza, and originally consisted of +forty cantos, afterwards increased to forty-six. + +The poem is the work of a practical poet, one who could govern a province. +It is marred by an over-profusion of ornament, and contains no such lofty +flights of fancy as are to be found in the Jerusalem Delivered. To this, +no doubt, it owes, in part at least, its great popularity, for the poet's +poem is never the people's poem. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Dublin University Magazine, 1845, xxvi., 187-201, 581-601, xxvii., 90-104; + +Retrospective Review, 1823, viii., 145-170, ix., 263-291; + +William T. Dobson's Classic Poets, 1879, pp. 186-238; + +Leigh Hunt's Stories from the Italian Poets, n. d. vol. ii., pp. 134-151; + +William Hickling Prescott's Italian Narrative Poetry. (See his +Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, 1873, pp. 441-454); + +M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most eminent Literary and Scientific Men of +Italy, Spain, and Portugal, 1835, pp. 239-255. (In Lardner's Cabinet +Cyclopedia, vol. i.); + +John Addington Symonds's Italian Literature, 1888, vol. i., pp. 493-522, +vol. ii. pp. 1-50. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. from the Italian by Sir James Harrington, 1724; + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. by John Hoole, 1819; + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. into English verse by W. S. Rose, 2 vols., 1864-5. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +The Emperor Charlemagne was at war with the Moors and had camped near the +Pyrenees with his host, determined to conquer their leaders, Marsilius of +Spain and Agramant of Africa. To his camp came Orlando, the great paladin, +with the beautiful Angelica, princess of Cathay, in search of whom he had +roamed the world over. Orlando's cousin, Rinaldo, another of the great +lords of Charlemagne, also loved Angelica, for he had seen her immediately +after drinking of the Fountain of Love in the forest of Arden, and +Charlemagne, fearing trouble between the cousins on her account, took +Angelica from Orlando's tent and placed her in the care of Duke Namus of +Bavaria. + +Angelica did not like Orlando and she loathed Rinaldo, for he had been the +first to meet her after she had tasted the waters of the Fountain of Hate. +So when the Christian forces were one day routed in battle and the tents +forsaken, she leaped on her palfrey and fled into the forest. Here the +first person she met was the hated Rinaldo; and fleeing from him she +encountered the fierce Moor Ferrau, who, being also in love with her, drew +his sword and attacked the pursuing paladin. But when the two discovered +that Angelica had taken advantage of their duel to flee, they made peace +and went in search of her. + +As she fled, Angelica met Sacripant, an eastern lover who had followed her +to France, and put herself under his protection. But when Sacripant was +first defeated by Bradamant and then engaged in battle with the pursuing +Rinaldo, she deemed herself safer without him and fled; and presently a +page appeared, a shade conjured there by a hermit magician whom Angelica +had met, and announced to the warriors that Orlando had appeared and +carried the maid to Paris. + +Rinaldo immediately hastened to Paris, to find Orlando absent and +Charlemagne, defeated by the Moors, entrenching himself in the city and +preparing to send to England for aid. Rinaldo must be his ambassador, and +that without a day's delay. + +Frantic with jealousy, Rinaldo leaped into a ship in the midst of a storm, +and hastened on his errand. Driven upon the coast of Scotland, he won the +king's gratitude by saving his daughter Ginevra from shame and death, and +secured from him a promise of all the horsemen and arms that could be +spared. He was equally successful in England, and was soon reviewing the +troops preparatory to their embarkation. + +The warrior maid, Bradamant, sister of Rinaldo, after overthrowing +Sacripant, pursued her way through the forest in search of Rogero the +pagan. They had met once in battle and had loved, and since then she had +ever roamed through the land in search of him. In the forest she found +Pinabel, lamenting because his beloved lady had been snatched from him by +a wizard on a winged steed, and carried to an impregnable castle. Thither +he had seen many warriors conveyed, among them Rogero and Gradasso, +conquered first by the lance and then thrown into profound slumber by the +glare of a magic shield carried by the wizard. + +Bradamant, anxious to save Rogero, offered to rescue Pinabel's lady if he +would guide her to the castle. But when the treacherous knight learned +that she was Bradamant, between whose house and his there was a deadly +feud, he planned to slay her, and soon, by his treachery, managed to hurl +her down a precipice. + +Bradamant was only stunned by the fall, however, and soon awoke, to find +herself at the entrance of a cave, which was the tomb of Merlin. Melissa, +the prophetess maid, welcomed her, assured her that Rogero should be her +spouse, and showed her their phantom descendants, brave princes and +beautiful princesses of the house of Este. She then told her that +Brunello, a knight of King Agramant, was hastening to the castle to +release the prisoners by means of a magic ring, formerly the property of +Angelica, which when put in the mouth would render one invisible, and, +worn on the finger, made one proof against magic spells. Bradamant must +overcome Brunello, wrest the ring from him, and herself free Rogero. + +Following Melissa's advice, Bradamant overtook Brunello, seized the ring, +and hastening to the castle, challenged Atlantes to battle. When he +displayed the shield she pretended to become unconscious; but when he ran +up to bind her she sprang up and seized him. He declared that he had +imprisoned Rogero, his nephew, only to save him from the fate foretold by +the stars, death by treachery at the hands of the Christians, and had +brought the other knights and ladies there for his entertainment. Then +Atlantes broke the spell and disappeared, together with the castle, and +the prisoners trooped forth, Rogero among them. + +Bradamant was happy, but alas! only for a moment; for as she and Rogero +went down the mountain together he thoughtlessly leaped on the hippogrif, +which alighted near him, and the winged steed, refusing his control, rose +in the air, leaving the tearful Bradamant behind. The hippogrif flew +rapidly over land and sea until it was directly above a small island, upon +which it descended. Rogero sprang from its back, tied it to a myrtle tree, +and, weary from his three thousand mile ride in heavy armor, prepared to +drink from a rippling spring. The groves were of cedar, laurel, palm, and +myrtle; roses and lilies filled the air with their perfume, and the wild +stag and timid hare ran fearlessly through the groves. As he stooped to +drink he heard a voice issuing from the myrtle to which he had tied the +hippogrif. It was that of Astolpho, the English knight, who told him that +the greater part of the island was under the control of Alcina the +enchantress, who had left only a small portion to her sister Logistilla, +to whom it all rightfully belonged. He himself had been enticed thither by +Alcina, who had loved him for a few weeks, and then, serving him as she +did all her lovers, had transformed him to a tree. + +Rogero determined to profit by this advice; but when he was driven from +the narrow path to Logistilla's domain and met Alcina he fell under the +power of her beauty, and thought Astolpho a traducer. The days passed so +gayly in her beautiful home that Rogero forgot the pagan cause, forgot his +duty, forgot Bradamant, and was roused from his lethargy only by Melissa, +to whom Bradamant had given the magic ring to enable her to find and +rescue her lover. Melissa found the young knight when apart from Alcina, +and gave him the ring that he might with it be enabled to see the +enchantress in her true form. She then instructed him how to escape and +seek the kingdom of Logistilla. Rogero was disgusted when the beautiful +enchantress appeared as a hideous, wrinkled old woman, but concealing his +change of feeling, waited until the opportunity presented itself to get +his armor, take a steed, and pass by the warders of the gate. With great +difficulty he reached a stream which separated Alcina's lands from those +of Logistilla, and while ferrying across was overtaken by the boats of +Alcina. With the help of Atlantes' shield, they were overcome, and Alcina +was forced to depart, weeping, with only one boat, while Rogero entered +the castle of the fairy Logistilla, from whom he learned many noble +lessons. + +Here came the other knights freed from Alcina's enchantment by Melissa, +and Melissa herself with Astolpho, on the hippogrif, which she had learned +to control. Astolpho was in his own armor and bore his wondrous spear, +which had the power of overthrowing every one whom it so much as touched. + +After a short rest among the pleasant gardens of Logistilla, Rogero +departed on the hippogrif, and although anxious to see his Bradamant +again, took the opportunity to pass over all the known world by this novel +method of travel. He saw the troops in England gathering to go to the aid +of Charlemagne, and rescued the beautiful Angelica, who had been taken by +pirates and sold to the people of Ebuda, who chained her upon a rock as a +victim for the orc. Rogero put the orc to sleep with his magic shield, +giving Angelica the ring that the sight of the shield might not affect her +as well. But when, charmed by the maid, he became too lover-like in his +attentions, she put the ring in her mouth and disappeared. The angry +Rogero turned, only to find that his hippogrif had broken its rein and was +gone. Hastening through the forest, vexed with himself and the maiden, he +fancied he saw 'Bradamant carried off by a giant, and following her, +entered a magic castle of Atlantes, where he spent his days vainly trying +to overtake his beloved and her captor. + +Orlando could think only of his lost Angelica; and forgetful of the fact +that his uncle Charlemagne was sorely pressed by the heathen, he stole +from the camp one night in disguise, and went in search of her. Passing +the isle of Ebuda he slew the ore, rescued Olympia, who was exposed as its +victim, avenged her wrongs, and continued on his way until he reached the +castle of Atlantes, and, fancying he saw Angelica, entered, and began the +mad round of pursuit with many other Christian and pagan knights who were +rendered unconscious of one another's presence by the magic of the wizard. + +Hither came Angelica, invisible by means of the ring, to find a knight to +protect her on her way to Cathay. Unfortunately as she showed herself to +Sacripant, she was seen by Ferrau and Orlando, and all three pursued her +from the castle. When they were sufficiently removed from it Angelica +slipped the ring in her mouth and disappeared, and Ferrau and Orlando +began to quarrel about Orlando's helmet, which the Moor was determined to +win and wear. As Ferrau wore no helm until he could win Orlando's, that +paladin hung his on a tree while they fought. Unseen by them, Angelica +took it down, intending to restore it to Orlando later, and slipped away. +When the knights discovered her absence they went in search of her, and +Ferrau, coming upon her, took the helmet as she disappeared in fright. +Orlando, assuming another crest, which he did not need, as his body was +charmed and could not be hurt by any weapon, went forward, still in search +of his love, and on the way encountered and almost totally destroyed two +squadrons of Moors, and rescued from a robber's cave the beautiful Isabel, +betrothed of Zerbino. + +Melissa returned to Bradamant with the news that while Rogero was freed +from the enchantment of Aleina, he was imprisoned in Atlantes' castle, +from which she herself could rescue him by slaying the wizard, who would +appear to her in the form of her lover. Bradamant resolved to do so; but +when she saw the seeming Rogero set upon by two giants, she forgot her +resolution, believed Melissa to be false, and spurring after him, became a +prisoner in that wondrous castle, through which day and night she pursued +her ever-fleeing lover. + +When the Moors discovered the destruction of the two squadrons, +Mandricardo, the Tartar king, determined to seek and do battle with the +knight (unknown to him by name) who had wrought such destruction. The +Tartar wore the arms of Hector save the sword, which was the property of +Orlando, and until he gained it, he bore no weapon save the lance. With +this, however, he stormed through the battlefield, striking terror to the +hearts of all. With it alone, he destroyed a band of men conveying to +Rodomont, the Saracen chief, his betrothed bride, Doralice, and won the +maid for himself. + +Outside Paris raged the infidel, chief among them the giant King Rodomont. +Smiting those of his troops who hesitated to mount the scaling ladders, he +waded through the wet moat, scaled the first wall, leaped the dry ditch, +mounted the second wall, and ran alone through the city, spreading terror, +death, and fire, while Charlemagne, ignorant of his presence, was busied +in the defence of one of the gates against Agramant. + +Now Rinaldo's army approached, unsuspected by the heathen, because of the +aid of Silence, summoned by Saint Michael. Through these, welcomed by +Charlemagne, Rodomont cut his way, hewing down fifteen or twenty foes at +once, and, casting himself into the Seine, escaped, angry that he had not +succeeded in destroying the city. + +Discord, also summoned by Michael to the aid of the Christians, informed +Rodomont on his return to the camp of the capture of Doralice, and the +chief set forth raging, in search of Mandricardo, thoughtlessly abandoning +King Agramant, struggling against the English re-inforcements. As night +fell on a furious battle, the Moors were driven back, and Charlemagne +pitched his tents without the city, opposite those of the Moors. + +In the Moorish camp were two youths who loved one another with a love +passing wonderful, Medoro and Cloridan. Both served Dardinello, and had +crossed the sea with him. As they stood on guard that night they talked of +their lord's death on the field that day, and Medoro suggested that they +go in search of his body and bury it. Cloridan agreed, and they crept +through the sleeping lines of the Christians, slaughtering many, found the +body, and were hurrying into the forest when they heard the troops of +Zerbino. Cloridan fled, fancying that Medoro would do the same, but on +finding himself unaccompanied, retraced his footsteps, only to see his +friend surrounded by a troop of horsemen. From his ambush he shot his +arrows at the foe, until Zerbino in wrath seized Medoro by the throat, +exclaiming, "Thou shall die for this!" But when Medoro prayed to be +allowed first to bury his lord, pity touched Zerbino, and he freed the +youth, who fell, however, wounded by a thrust from a churlish horseman, in +pursuit of whom Zerbino at once fled. Cloridan sprang in among the +horsemen and fell dead by their thrusts at the side of the unconscious +Medoro. + +The bleeding youth was found by Angelica, who passed by, clad in rustic +raiment; and the maid, struck with his beauty, recalled her knowledge of +chirturgery and revived him. After Dardinello was buried, she and a +shepherd assisted Medoro to a neighboring cottage, where she attended him +until his wound was healed. But as he grew well, Angelica, who had scorned +the suit of the proudest knights, fell sick of love for the humble youth, +and resolved to take him with her to Cathay. + +When Astolpho left the castle of Logistilla he carried with him as her +gift a book from which he could learn to overcome all magic cheats, and a +horn whose sound would put the boldest man to flight. Following her +directions, he sailed past Scythia and India into the Persian Gulf, and +there disembarking, passed through Arabia and along the Red Sea. There he +overcame the giant Caligorantes, slew Orillo, who guarded the outlet of +the Nile, and met there the brother knights Gryphon and Aquilant. Gryphon, +led astray by an unworthy love, stole away from his brother, but was found +again after many adventures, and the three, together with Sansonet and +Marphisa, a warlike virgin, embarked for France. A great storm arose, and +the vessel was forced to land in Syria. This was the land of the Amazons, +and the troop escaped only by the warning and assistance of Guido, the +savage, who was a bondsman in the land. + +Astolpho became separated from the rest of the party and reached Europe +alone. One day, while he was stooping to drink at a spring in the forest, +a rustic sprang from a thicket, and leaping upon Rabican, rode him away. +Astolpho, hastening after him, entered the enchanted castle of Atlantes, +and soon recognized it as a house of magic. He broke the spell by the aid +of his book, freed the captive knights, and finding the hippogrif, which +he had learned to guide from Melissa, mounted it and rode away. + +When the castle was destroyed, Rogero recognized Bradamant and clasped her +in his arms, rejoicing to find her again. The maid, anxious to avoid +further separation, promised to wed him if he would become a Christian, +and demand her of her father, Duke Aymon. Rogero gladly promised to do so. +and the two were hastening to Vallombrosa that he might be baptized when +they encountered a maid, who prayed them to hasten to the relief of a +youth doomed to death by fire. They hurried on, but paused to free Guido +the savage, Gryphon. Aquilant, and Sansonet, who had been imprisoned by +Pinabel, and Bradamant, pursuing Pinabel into the forest, slew him. But +there, unfortunately, she lost her way, and while she was wandering about, +Rogero, ignorant of her whereabouts, pushed on and freed the youth, who +proved to be Bradamant's brother. + +As Bradamant wandered through the forest she found Astolpho, who had just +made a bridle for the hippogrif, and recognizing him, took his horse and +spear in charge. A long time she wandered forlorn. She did not know the +way to Vallombrosa; she did not know the whereabouts of Rogero. Her home +was in sight, but if her mother saw her she would not again be suffered to +depart. As she stood debating with herself, she was recognized by one of +her brothers, and was forced to accompany him home. Thence she secretly +sent her maid Hippalca to Vallombrosa with Rogero's horse Frontino, and a +message explaining her absence. + +After the capture of Doralice, Mandricardo hastened on, and overtook +Orlando just as he had freed Zerbino and united him to Isabel. Recognizing +Orlando by his crest as the chief who had destroyed the squadrons, the +Tartar challenged him to combat. In courtesy to his foe, who would bear no +sword until he could have Durindana, Orlando hung the blade on a tree, and +the two knights spurred their steeds and broke their lances together. Then +grappling, each endeavored to unhorse the other. The breaking of Orlando's +saddle girth caused his fall just as he had slipped the bridle from the +head of his enemy's horse, and the frightened steed, freed from its rein, +ran madly through the wood, followed by Doralice. + +Orlando told Zerbino to inform Mandricardo if he overtook him that he +would wait in that spot three days for him to return and renew the combat, +and bade the lovers farewell. As he wandered through the region while +waiting, he found a peaceful little spot where a limpid rill rippled +through a meadow dotted here and there with trees. Here the weary warrior +sought repose; but as he looked about him he espied the name of Angelica +carved on the trees, entwined with that of Medoro. Persuading himself that +this was a fanciful name by which the maid intended to signify himself, he +entered a little ivy-covered grotto, arching over a fountain, and there +discovered on the rocky wall some verses in which Medoro celebrated his +union with Angelica. For a moment he stood as if turned to stone. Unable +to weep, he again mounted his horse and sought a peasant's house to pass +the night. There he heard the story of Angelica's infatuation, and saw the +bracelet she had left them in return for their hospitality. The unhappy +Orlando passed a sleepless night, weeping and groaning, and the next +morning hastened to the forest that he might give way to his grief +unobserved. There madness came upon him, and he uprooted the hateful +trees, cut the solid stone of the grotto with his sword, making a +desolation of the beautiful spot, and, casting off his armor, ran naked +through the country, pillaging, burning, and slaying. + +Zerbino and Isabel sought the spot in a few days to learn if Mandricardo +had returned, found the scattered armor, and heard of Orlando's madness +from a shepherd. Lamenting over their protector's misfortune, they +gathered up the armor, hung it on a sapling, and wrote thereon Orlando's +name. But while they were thus engaged, Mandricardo arrived, took the long +coveted sword, and gave Zerbino, who attempted to prevent the theft, a +mortal wound. The unhappy Isabel, intent on self-destruction, was +comforted by a hermit, who promised to take her to a monastery near +Marseilles. + +Mandricardo had had but a few moments for repose after this combat with +Zerbino, when the furious Rodomont overtook him and a terrible combat +between the two began, the beautiful cause of it looking on with interest. +But so strong were the champions that the struggle might have been +prolonged indefinitely had not a messenger announced to the knights that +they must postpone their private quarrels for a moment and hasten to the +relief of King Agramant. + +After Rogero had freed Richardetto, Bradamant's brother, and had attempted +in vain to find Bradamant, he was troubled by the thought of King +Agramant. He was determined to wed the warrior maid and become a +Christian, but first came his vow to the pagan king. He therefore wrote +her a note, saying that honor required his presence with Agramant for at +least fifteen or twenty days, but after that time he would find means to +justify himself with Agramant and would meet her at Vallombrosa to be +baptized. + +He, with Richardetto, Aldigier, and Marphisa, whom they met on her way to +the pagan camp, rode on together, and freed Vivian and Malagigi from the +Moors and Manganese. While they rested at a little fountain, Hippalca rode +up, and told them that she had just met Rodomont, who took Frontino from +her. She also managed secretly to give Rogero Bradamant's message and +receive his letter in return. + +While the party still remained at the fountain, Rodomont came up with +Mandricardo and Doralice, and all engaged in a fierce battle, which was at +last interrupted by Malagigi, who, versed in wizard arts, conjured a demon +into Doralice's horse so that it ran away; and Rodomont and Mandricardo, +frightened by her screams, started in pursuit. + +With the assistance of Rogero, Marphisa, Rodomont, and Mandricardo, +Agramant was enabled to drive Charlemagne back into Paris, where he was +saved only by the interposition of Discord, who stirred up the old +quarrels between Rodomont, Mandricardo, Rogero, and Gradasso over weapons, +bearings, and horses, until Agramant announced that they should settle +their difficulties by single combat, drawing lots to see who should first +engage in battle. But when they were ready for the lists, fresh quarrels +broke out, until the king despaired of ever having peace in his ranks. +Finally, at his command, Doralice publicly declared Mandricardo her +choice, and the furious Rodomont fled from the camp. On his way to Africa +he found a little abandoned church between France and Spain, and decided +to remain there instead of returning home. From this spot he saw Isabel on +her way to Marseilles, and falling in love with her, he slew the hermit, +dragged her to his retreat, and tried to win her. But she, loathing him +and faithful to Zerbino, caused him to slay her, pretending that she was +rendered invulnerable by an ointment which she had prepared, and the +secret of which she would impart to him. The unhappy Rodomont walled up +the church to form her tomb, and threw a narrow bridge across the stream. +On this bridge he met every knight who came thither, and having overthrown +him, took his arms to deck the tomb, on which he determined to hang a +thousand such trophies. If the vanquished knight was a Moor he was set +free without his arms; if a Christian he was imprisoned. Thither came the +mad Orlando, and wrestled with Rodomont on the bridge until both fell into +the stream. The madman then passed on through the country and met Medoro +and Angelica on their way to India. They escaped with difficulty, Medoro's +horse falling a victim to the madman, who continued to lay waste the land +until he reached Zizera on the bay of Gibraltar, and, plunging into the +sea, swam to Africa. + +After Doralice had decided the quarrel between Mandricardo and Rodomont, +Rogero and the Tartar met in the lists to decide their quarrel over their +bearings. The battle was fearful, and when both fell to the ground it was +supposed that Mandricardo was the victor. But when the crowd rushed to the +lists they found the Tartar dead and Rogero only wounded. But the cheers +of the crowd gave little pleasure to the hero, who grieved that he must +lie on a sick-bed instead of seeking Bradamant, according to his promise. +Bradamant too, who had looked forward so eagerly to the day he had set, +wept when it came without her lover. Soon she heard that Rogero's coming +was prevented by his wounds; but when she also heard that he was attended +by the warrior maid Marphisa, and that their names were frequently coupled +in the pagan camp, she at once felt the pangs of jealousy. Unable to +endure it longer, she armed herself, changing her usual vest for one whose +colors denoted her desperation and desire to die, and set forth to meet +and slay Marphisa, taking with her the spear left her by Astolpho, whose +magic properties she did not know. With this she overthrew Rodomont and +caused him to depart from his tomb and free his captives, and then, +proceeding to Aries, challenged Rogero, who was sadly puzzled, not +recognizing his challenger on account of her changed vest. Several knights +attacked her before Rogero came forth, only to be overthrown by the spear, +and then Marphisa, who had rushed forth before Rogero could arm, met her, +and the two women fought like tigers. When Rogero at last went forth he +recognized Bradamant's voice, and suspecting the cause of her hostility, +implored her to withdraw with him to a wood near by to hear his +explanation. Marphisa followed them and attacked Bradamant so fiercely +that Rogero was forced to her rescue, and lifting his sword would have +struck the maid had he not been stopped by a voice from a tomb near by. It +was that of Atlatites, who announced to Rogero and Marphisa that they were +brother and sister, children of Rogero of Pisa and Galiciella; that Rogero +had been treacherously slain and his town betrayed to Almontes, who cast +Galiciella adrift on the sea. Atlantes rescued her, and took her children +when she died; but Marphisa was stolen from him by a band of Arabs. + +From this speech it was plainly the duty of Rogero and Marphisa to espouse +the cause of Charlemagne and take arms against Agramant, who was their +enemy. Bradamant and Marphisa then embraced, bade Rogero farewell, and +proceeded to Charlemagne's camp, where Marphisa was received with honor +and baptized, while Rogero promised to follow them as soon as he could +find an excuse to leave Agramant. + +When Astolpho left Bradamant in the forest, he quickly rose in the air and +passed rapidly over the kingdoms of the world, Aragon, Navarre, Cadiz, +Egypt, Morocco, Fez, over the sandy desert until he reached the kingdom of +Nubia, whose king he rescued from the harpies by the sound of his magic +horn. Then, mounted on his hippogrif again, he rose to the terrestrial +Paradise, where he was welcomed by John, who informed him that he was sent +thither by the grace of God that he might get instruction how to furnish +aid to Charles and the Church, who were sorely in need of it. With John he +rose in a chariot to the Heaven of the Moon, where, after seeing many +strange things, he was given the wits of Orlando enclosed in a vial. They +had been taken from him as a punishment for his loving a pagan, but were +now to be restored to him that he might aid Charlemagne in conquering the +Moors. Astolpho then descended to Nubia, restored sight to its king, and +asking for his forces, went with them into Africa and attacked Biserta, +the city of Agramant. + +When these tidings were borne to Agramant he was greatly troubled, and +desiring to end the war in Europe and hasten to his own country, he +proposed to Charlemagne that the war be decided by single combat between +two champions. Great was the agony of Rogero, the pagan champion, when he +recognized in his opponent Rinaldo, the brother of Bradamant. He would +never dare to slay him, so he parried the blows rained upon him, and +struck back so feebly that the spectators, not understanding his motives, +deemed him unable to cope with Rinaldo. But Melissa, determined that +Merlin's prophecy should come true, appeared to Agramant in the guise of +Rodomont, and urged him to break the compact and fall upon the Christians. +Delighted to have the mighty king with him again, Agramant did not scruple +to break his word, and rushed upon the Christian forces, breaking up the +combat. After a sharp conflict, the Saracens were put to flight and +Agramant hastened into Africa. + +His people in Biserta, their strength drained by the long war, were unable +to withstand the Christian foe, soon re-enforced by a powerful enemy. One +day, as Astolpho and his friends were standing on the beach, a madman came +raging towards them, whom Astolpho recognized as Orlando. The warriors +attempted in vain to hold him until Astolpho ordered the ship's hawsers to +be brought, and knotting them flung them at the count's limbs, and so +threw him down and tied him. Then, after having had his body cleansed from +mud and filth, he stopped his mouth with herbs so that he could breathe +only through his nostrils, and holding the vial there, the lost senses +were quickly inhaled, and Orlando was himself again, astonished and +delighted to find himself with his friends. + +With Orlando's help, Biserta was soon taken, and Agramant, who had met the +Christian fleet under the leadership of Dudon and had barely escaped with +his life, saw from afar the flames devouring his beloved city. + +Landing with Sobrino upon a little isle, he found there King Sericane, who +advised him to challenge the Christians to single combat in order to +decide the outcome of the war, he, Gradasso, and Sobrino to stand in the +lists against three Christian champions. Orlando agreed to do so, and +selected for his companions in the fight Brandimart and Olivier. But the +pagans were no match for Orlando, whom no weapon could injure, and +Agramant and Gradasso soon fell, while Sobrino was wounded. But the joy +over the Christian victory was not unalloyed by sorrow, for Olivier was +severely wounded and the beloved Brandimart was slain. + +The champions were now joined by Rinaldo, who after the breaking of the +pact by Agramant, had set off for India in search of Angelica, whom he +still madly loved. But Disdain guided his steps to the Fountain of Hate, +one draught of which changed his love to loathing, so that he abandoned +his undertaking and hastened to join the Christian forces in Africa. + +Olivier's wound proved slow to heal, and when at last the warriors heard +of a hermit on a lonely isle who could help him, they hastened to take +their wounded comrade thither. There they found Rogero, who had been +shipwrecked while sailing to Africa, and had been baptized by the hermit, +who was warned in a dream of his coming. The Christian warriors gladly +welcomed Rogero to their ranks, for they knew of his valor; and Rinaldo, +who had learned how the young hero had saved the life of Richardetto and +had preserved Vivian and Malagigi, embraced him, and at the suggestion of +the hermit, plighted him to his sister. Before they left the isle, Sobrino +was converted by the pious hermit, and Olivier's wound was healed. + +The knights were received with the greatest honor by Charlemagne, +especially Rogero, the new convert. But what unhappiness awaited him! In +his absence Bradamant's father had promised the maid to Leo, the son of +the Greek emperor, Constantine, in spite of her prayers and entreaties. + +Although Bradamant declared that she would die sooner than wed another, +the heart-broken Rogero hastily departed for Constantinople to slay his +rival. In his absence, Bradamant besought Charlemagne not to compel her to +marry Leo unless he could defeat her in single combat; and her angry +parents, on learning of this, took her from the court and shut her up in +the tower of Rocca Forte. Rogero, in the mean time, reached Leo's realms +just as the Greeks engaged in battle with the Bulgarians. Because of his +hatred for Leo, he fought with the Bulgarians, and when their king fell he +rallied their scattered troops and put the Greeks to flight. Rogero then +followed the fleeing Greeks unaccompanied, and being recognized, was taken +captive that night as he slept in a hostelry. At the entreaty of a +kinswoman whose son Rogero had slain that day, the emperor surrendered his +captive to her, and he was thrust into a gloomy dungeon, where he suffered +agonies from hunger and cold. But Leo, who had admired his valor in battle +and had longed to know him, rescued him, recovered his horse and armor, +and by his generosity compelled Rogero to admire him as much as he had +before hated him. The news of Charlemagne's decree now reached Leo, and +he, fearing to fight Bradamant, asked the unknown knight of the unicorn to +take his place. Rogero's heart sank within him, but he dared not refuse. +His life was Leo's, and he must sacrifice himself for him, must either +slay Bradamant, or be slain by her for his deliverer's sake. He +accompanied Leo to France, and feigning a cheerfulness he did not feel, +changed armor and steed that he might not be known, and, while Leo +remained in his tent outside the city, entered the lists and encountered +Bradamant, who was determined to slay her hated suitor. Rogero was equally +determined not to slay her nor to allow himself to be conquered. When +twilight fell and king and court saw that while the young knight had not +overcome the maid, he had not allowed himself to be overcome, they +declared that the couple were well matched and that they should wed. + +The hopeless Rogero hastened back to Leo's camp, changed armor and steed, +and during the night stole away from the hateful place to the greenwood +that he might die there, since he could never possess his beloved. At the +same time, Bradamant gave way to her grief in such a manner that Marphisa, +already indignant at the treatment of her brother, appeared before the +king in his behalf. She declared that Rogero and Bradamant had already +exchanged all the vows of those who marry and therefore she was not free +to wed another. She then suggested that since the matter had gone so far, +Leo and Rogero should meet in the lists to decide to whom the lady +belonged. + +Leo at once set out in search of his knight of the unicorn, who he +believed would defend him from all peril, and found him in the forest, +almost fainting from fasting and sleeplessness. The Greek embraced Rogero +tenderly and implored him to betray the cause of his grief, and so tender +were his words and so gracious his manner that Rogero could not but +unbosom himself. And when Leo learned that his unknown champion was no +other than Rogero himself he declared that he would gladly forego +Bradamant for him, and would rather have forfeited his life than caused +such grief to such a faithful friend. + +Joy filled the court when the story of Rogero's fidelity was made known, +and the joy was increased when ambassadors came from Bulgaria, seeking the +unknown knight of the unicorn that they might offer their throne to him. +Duke Aymon and his wife were reconciled when they found that Rogero was to +be a king, and the wedding was celebrated with the greatest splendor, +Charlemagne providing for Bradamant as though she were his daughter. + +In the midst of the celebrations Rodomont appeared to defy Rogero, and +that knight, nothing loath, met him in the lists. The Moor fell under +Rogero's blows, and all the Christian court rejoiced to see the last of +the pagan knights fall by the hand of their champion. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + +THE DEATH OF ZERBINO. + + +As Orlando talked with Zerbino, whose life he had saved and to whom he had +given his lady Isabel, also rescued by him, Mandricardo the Tartar king +came up and challenged Orlando to single combat. While they fought, +Mandricardo's steed, from which Orlando had slipped the rein, became +unmanageable, and fled with its rider. Orlando asked Zerbino and Isabel to +tell Mandricardo, if they overtook him, that he would wait for him in that +place for three days to renew the battle. But while waiting, Orlando +learned of Angelica's love for Medoro, and losing his senses from grief, +threw away his armor, and went wandering through France. Zerbino and +Isabel returned to the place to see if Mandricardo had returned, and there +learned of Orlando's condition. + + Far off, he [Zerbino] saw that something shining lay, + And spied Orlando's corselet on the ground; + And next his helm; but not that head-piece gay + Which whilem African Almontes crowned: + He in the thicket heard a courser neigh, + And, lifting up his visage at the sound, + Saw Brigliadoro the green herbage browse, + With rein yet hanging at his saddle-bows, + + For Durindane, he sought the greenwood, round, + Which separate from the scabbard met his view; + And next the surcoat, but in tatters, found; + That, in a hundred rags, the champaign strew, + Zerbino and Isabel, in grief profound, + Stood looking on, nor what to think they knew: + They of all matters else might think, besides + The fury which the wretched count misguides. + + Had but the lovers seen a drop of blood, + They might have well believed Orlando dead: + This while the pair, beside the neighboring flood, + Beheld a shepherd coming, pale with dread. + He just before, as on a rock he stood, + Had seen the wretch's fury; how he shed + His arms about the forest, tore his clothes, + Slew hinds, and caused a thousand other woes. + + Questioned by good Zerbino, him the swain + Of all which there had chanced, informed aright. + Zerbino marvelled, and believed with pain, + Although the proofs were clear: This as it might, + He from his horse dismounted on the plain, + Full of compassion, in afflicted plight; + And went about, collecting from the ground + The various relics which were scattered round. + + Isabel lights as well; and, where they lie + Dispersed, the various arms uniting goes. + + * * * * * + + Here Prince Zerbino all the arms unites, + And hangs like a fair trophy, on a pine. + And, to preserve them safe from errant knights, + Natives or foreigners, in one short line + Upon the sapling's verdant surface writes, + ORLANDO'S ARMS, KING CHARLES'S PALADINE. + As he would say, "Let none this harness move, + Who cannot with its lord his prowess prove!" + + Zerbino having done the pious deed, + Is bowning him to climb his horse; when, lo! + The Tartar king arrives upon the mead. + He at the trophied pine-tree's gorgeous show, + Beseeches him the cause of this to read; + Who lets him (as rehearsed) the story know. + When, without further pause, the paynim lord + Hastes gladly to the pine, and takes the sword. + + "None can (he said) the action reprehend, + Nor first I make the faulchion mine to-day; + And to its just possession I pretend + Where'er I find it, be it where it may. + Orlando, this not daring to defend, + Has feigned him mad, and cast the sword away; + But if the champion so excuse his shame, + This is no cause I should forego my claim." + + "Take it not thence," to him Zerbino cried, + "Nor think to make it thine without a fight: + If so thou tookest Hector's arms of pride, + By theft thou hadst them, rather than by right." + Without more parley spurred upon each side, + Well matched in soul and valor, either knight. + Already echoed are a thousand blows; + Nor yet well entered are the encountering foes. + + In 'scaping Durindane, a flame in show + (He shifts so swiftly), is the Scottish lord. + He leaps about his courser like a doe, + Where'er the road best footing does afford. + And well it is that he should not forego + An inch of vantage; who, if once that sword + Smite him, will join the enamored ghosts, which rove + Amid the mazes of the myrtle grove. + + As the swift-footed dog, who does espy + Swine severed from his fellows, hunts him hard, + And circles round about; but he lies by + Till once the restless foe neglect his guard; + So, while the sword descends, or hangs on high, + Zerbino stands, attentive how to ward, + How to save life and honor from surprise; + And keeps a wary eye, and smites and flies. + + On the other side, where'er the foe is seen + To threaten stroke in vain, or make it good, + He seems an Alpine wind, two hills between, + That in the month of March shakes leafy wood; + Which to the ground now bends the forest green, + Now whirls the broken boughs, at random strewed. + Although the prince wards many, in the end + One mighty stroke he cannot 'scape or fend. + + In the end he cannot 'scape one downright blow, + Which enters, between sword and shield, his breast. + As perfect was the plate and corselet, so + Thick was the steel wherein his paunch was drest: + But the destructive weapon, falling low, + Equally opened either iron vest; + And cleft whate'er it swept in its descent, + And to the saddle-bow, through cuirass, went. + + And, but that somewhat short the blow descends + It would Zerbino like a cane divide; + But him so little in the quick offends, + This scarce beyond the skin is scarified. + More than a span in length the wound extends; + Of little depth: of blood a tepid tide + To his feet descending, with a crimson line, + Stains the bright arms which on the warrior shine. + + 'T is so, I sometimes have been wont to view + A hand more white than alabaster, part + The silver cloth with ribbon red of hue; + A hand I often feel divide my heart. + Here little vantage young Zerbino drew + From strength and greater daring, and from art; + For in the temper of his arms and might, + Too much the Tartar king excelled the knight. + + The fearful stroke was mightier in show, + Than in effect, by which the prince was prest; + So that poor Isabel, distraught with woe, + Felt her heart severed in her frozen breast. + The Scottish prince, all over in a glow, + With anger and resentment was possest, + And putting all his strength in either hand, + Smote full the Tartar's helmet with his brand. + + Almost on his steed's neck the Tartar fell, + Bent by the weighty blow Zerbino sped; + And, had the helmet been unfenced by spell + The biting faulchion would have cleft his head. + The king, without delay, avenged him well, + "Nor I for you till other season," said, + "Will keep this gift;" and levelled at his crest, + Hoping to part Zerbino to the chest. + + Zerbino, on the watch, whose eager eye + Waits on his wit, wheels quickly to the right; + But not withal so quickly, as to fly + The trenchant sword, which smote the shield outright, + And cleft from top to bottom equally; + Shearing the sleeve beneath it, and the knight + Smote on his arm; and next the harness rended, + And even to the champion's thigh descended. + + Zerbino, here and there, seeks every way + By which to wound, nor yet his end obtains; + For, while he smites upon that armor gay, + Not even a feeble dint the coat retains. + On the other hand, the Tartar in the fray + Such vantage o'er the Scottish prince obtains, + Him he has wounded in seven parts or eight, + And reft his shield and half his helmet's plate. + + He ever wastes his blood; his energies + Fail, though he feels it not, as't would appear; + Unharmed, the vigorous heart new force supplies + To the weak body of the cavalier. + His lady, during this, whose crimson dyes + Were chased by dread, to Doralice drew near, + And for the love of Heaven, the damsel wooed + To stop that evil and disastrous feud. + + Doralice, who as courteous was as fair, + And ill-assured withal, how it would end, + Willingly granted Isabella's prayer, + And straight to truce and peace disposed her friend. + As well Zerbino, by the other's care, + Was brought his vengeful anger to suspend; + And, wending where she willed, the Scottish lord, + Left unachieved the adventure of the sword. + + For to leave Durindana such misdeed + To him appeared, it past all other woes; + Though he could hardly sit upon his steed, + Through mighty loss of life-blood, which yet flows. + Now, when his anger and his heat secede, + After short interval, his anguish grows; + His anguish grows, with such impetuous pains, + He feels that life is ebbing from his veins. + + For weakness can the prince no further hie, + And so beside a fount is forced to stay: + Him to assist the pitying maid would try, + But knows not what to do, nor what to say. + For lack of comfort she beholds him die; + Since every city is too far away, + Where in this need she could resort to leech, + Whose succor she might purchase or beseech. + + She, blaming fortune, and the cruel sky, + Can only utter fond complaints and vain. + "Why sank I not in ocean," (was her cry), + "When first I reared my sail upon the main?" + Zerbino, who on her his languid eye + Had fixt, as she bemoaned her, felt more pain + Than that enduring and strong anguish bred, + Through which the suffering youth was well-nigh dead. + + "So be thou pleased, my heart," (Zerbino cried), + "To love me yet, when I am dead and gone, + As to abandon thee without a guide, + And not to die, distresses me alone. + For did it me in place secure betide + To end my days, this earthly journey done, + I cheerful, and content, and fully blest + Would die, since I should die upon thy breast + + "But since to abandon thee, to whom a prize + I know not, my sad fate compels, I swear, + My Isabella, by that mouth, those eyes, + By what enchained me first, that lovely hair; + My spirit, troubled and despairing, hies + Into hell's deep and gloomy bottom; where + To think, thou wert abandoned so by me, + Of all its woes the heaviest pain will be." + + At this the sorrowing Isabel, declining + Her mournful face, which with her tears o'erflows, + Towards the sufferer, and her mouth conjoining + To her Zerbino's, languid as a rose; + Rose gathered out of season, and which, pining + Fades where it on the shadowy hedgerow grows, + Exclaims, "Without me think not so, my heart, + On this your last, long journey to depart. + + "Of this, my heart, conceive not any fear. + For I will follow thee to heaven or hell; + It fits our souls together quit this sphere, + Together go, for aye together dwell. + No sooner closed thine eyelids shall appear, + Than either me internal grief will quell, + Or, has it not such power, I here protest, + I with this sword to-day will pierce my breast. + + "I of our bodies cherish hope not light, + That they shall have a happier fate when dead; + Together to entomb them, may some wight, + Haply by pity moved, be hither led." + She the poor remnants of his vital sprite + Went on collecting, as these words she said; + And while yet aught remains, with mournful lips, + The last faint breath of life devoutly sips. + + 'T was here his feeble voice Zerbino manned, + Crying, "My deity, I beg and pray, + By that love witnessed, when thy father's land + Thou quittedst for my sake; and, if I may + In anything command thee, I command, + That, with God's pleasure, thou live-out thy day; + Nor ever banish from thy memory, + That, well as man can love, have I loved thee. + + "God haply will provide thee with good aid, + To free thee from each churlish deed I fear; + As when in the dark cavern thou wast stayed, + He sent, to rescue thee. Andante's peer; + So he (grammercy!) succored thee dismayed + At sea, and from the wicked Biscayneer. + And, if thou must choose death, in place of worse, + Then only choose it as a leaser curse." + + I think not these last words of Scotland's knight + Were so exprest, that he was understood: + With these, he finished, like a feeble light, + Which needs supply of wax, or other food. + --Who is there, that has power to tell aright + The gentle Isabella's doleful mood? + When stiff, her loved Zerbino, with pale face, + And cold as ice, remained in her embrace. + + On the ensanguined corse, in sorrow drowned, + The damsel throws herself, in her despair, + And shrieks so loud that wood and plain resound + For many miles about; nor does she spare + Bosom or cheek; but still, with cruel wound, + One and the other smites the afflicted fair; + And wrongs her curling locks of golden grain, + Aye calling on the well-loved youth in vain. + + She with such rage, such fury, was possest, + That, in her transport, she Zerbino's glaive + Would easily have turned against her breast, + Ill keeping the command her lover gave; + But that a hermit, from his neighboring rest, + Accustomed oft to seek the fountain-wave, + His flagon at the cooling stream to fill, + Opposed him to the damsel's evil will. + + The reverend father, who with natural sense + Abundant goodness happily combined, + And, with ensamples fraught and eloquence, + Was full of charity towards mankind, + With efficacious reasons her did fence, + And to endurance Isabel inclined; + Placing, from ancient Testament and new, + Women, as in a mirror, for her view. + + The holy man next made the damsel see, + That save in God there was no true content, + And proved all other hope was transitory, + Fleeting, of little worth, and quickly spent; + And urged withal so earnestly his plea, + He changed her ill and obstinate intent; + And made her, for the rest of life, desire + To live devoted to her heavenly sire. + + Not that she would her mighty love forbear + For her dead lord, nor yet his relics slight; + These, did she halt or journey, everywhere + Would Isabel have with her, day and night. + The hermit therefore seconding her care, + Who, for his age, was sound and full of might, + They on his mournful horse Zerbino placed, + And traversed many a day that woodland waste. + + * * * * * + + He thought to bear her to Provence, where, near + The city of Marseilles, a borough stood, + Which had a sumptuous monastery; here + Of ladies was a holy sisterhood. + + _Rose's Translation, Canto XXIV_. + + + + + +THE LUSIAD. + + +"The discovery of Mozambique, of Melinda, and of Calcutta has been sung by +Camoens, whose poem has something of the charm of the Odyssey and of the +magnificence of the Aeneid." + +MONTESQUIEU. + + +The Portuguese epic, the Lusiad, so-called from Lusitania, the Latin name +for Portugal, was written by Luis de Camoens. + +He was born in Lisbon in 1524, lost his father by shipwreck in infancy, +and was educated by his mother at the University of Coimbra. On leaving +the university he appeared at court, where his graces of person and mind +soon rendered him a favorite. Here a love affair with the Donna Catarina +de Atayde, whom the king also loved, caused his banishment to Santarem. At +this place he began the Lusiad, and continued it on the expedition against +the Moors in Africa sent out by John III., an expedition on which he +displayed much valor and lost an eye. He was recalled to court, but +jealousies soon drove him thence to India, whither he sailed in 1553, +exclaiming, "Ungrateful country, thou shall not possess my bones." In +India his bravery and accomplishments won him friends, but his imprudences +soon caused his exile to China, where he accumulated a small fortune and +finished his poem. Happier circumstances permitted him to return to Goa; +but on the way the ship laden with his fortune sank, and he escaped, +saving only his poem. After sixteen years of misfortune abroad, Camoens +returned to Lisbon in 1569. The pestilence that was then raging delayed +the publication of the Lusiad until 1572. The poem received little +attention; a small pension was bestowed on the poet, but was soon +withdrawn, and the unfortunate Camoens was left to die in an almshouse. On +his death-bed he deplored the impending fate of his country, which he +alone could see. "I have loved my country. I have returned not only to die +on her bosom, but to die with her." + +The Lusiad tells the story of the voyage of Vasco da Gama. The sailors of +Prince Henry of Portugal, commander of the Portuguese forces in Africa, +had passed Cape Nam and discovered the Cape of Storms, which the prince +renamed the Cape of Good Hope. His successor Emmanuel, determined to carry +out the work of his predecessor by sending out da Gama to undertake the +discovery of the southern passage to India. The Portuguese were generally +hostile to the undertaking, but da Gama, his brother, and his friend +Coello gathered a company, part of which consisted of malefactors whose +sentence of death was reversed on condition that they undertake the +voyage, and reached India. + +The Lusiad is divided into ten cantos, containing one thousand one hundred +and two stanzas. Its metre is the heroic iambic, in rhymed octave stanzas. + +The Lusiad is marred by its mythological allusions in imitation of Homer +and Virgil, but these are forgotten when the poet sings in impassioned +strains of his country's past glory. + +The Lusiad is simple in style; its subject is prosaic; it is a constant +wonder that out of such unpromising materials Camoens could construct a +poem of such interest. He could not have done so had he not been so great +a poet, so impassioned a patriot. + +Camoens was in one sense of the word a practical man, like Ariosto; he had +governed a province, and governed it successfully. But he had also taken +up arms for his country, and after suffering all the slights that could be +put upon him by an ungrateful and forgetful monarch, still loved his +native land, loved it the more, perhaps, that he had suffered for it and +was by it neglected. He foresaw, also, as did no one else, the future ruin +of his country, and loved it the more intensely, as a parent lavishes the +fondest, most despairing affection on a child he knows doomed to early +death. + +The Lusiad is sometimes called the epic of commerce; it could be called +far more appropriately the epic of patriotism. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE LUSIAD. + + +J. Adamson's Memoirs of Life and Writing of Camoens, 2 vols., 1820 (vol. +2, account of works of Camoens in Portuguese and other languages, and of +the works founded on his life or suggested by his writings); + +R. F. Burton's Camoens, his Life and his Lusiad, 2 vols., 1881; + +M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of +Italy, Spain, and Portugal, vol. 3; + +F. Bouterwek's History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature, 1823 (Tr. by +T. Ross); + +Chambers's Repository, no. 32, Spirit of Camoens's Lusiad; +W. T. Dobson's Classic Poets, pp. 240-278; + +Montgomery's Men of Italy, iii., 295; + +Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, ii., 475-528; + +Southey's Sketch of Portuguese Literature in vol. i. of Quarterly Review, +1809; + +Fortnightly Review, i., 184; + +Quarterly, i., 235; + +Monthly Review, clx., 505; + +Edinburgh Review, 1805, vi., 43; + +New England Magazine, liii., 542; + +Revue de Deux Mondes, 1832, vi., 145. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE LUSIAD. The Lusiad, Tr. by J. J. + + +Aubertin, 2 vols., 1881 (Portuguese text and English Tr., in verse); + +The Lusiad, Englished by R. F. Burton, 2 vols., 1881; + +The Lusiad, Tr. into Spenserian verse by R. F. Duff, 1880; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1655; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by W. J. Mickle, 3 vols., Ed. 5, 1807; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by T. M. Musgrave (blank verse), 1826; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by Edward Quillinan, with notes by John Adamson, 1853. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE LUSIAD. + + +When Jupiter, looking down from Olympus, saw the Lusitanian fleet sailing +over the heretofore untravelled seas, he called the gods together, and +reviewing the past glory of the Portuguese, their victories over the +Castilians, their stand against the Romans, under their shepherd-hero +Viriatus, and their conquest of Africa, he foretold their future glories +and their discovery and conquest of India. + +Bacchus, who had long since made conquests in India, fearful lest his +ancient honors should be forgotten, bitterly opposed the scheme of the +Portuguese; Venus, however, was favorable to them, and Mars interceded, +counselling Jove not to heed Bacchus, but to permit the Lusitanians to +reach India's shore in safety. + +When the council of the gods was dismissed, Mercury was sent to guide the +Armada, which made its first landing at Mozambique. Canoes with curious +palm-leaf sails, laden with dark-skinned natives, swarmed round the ships +and were hailed with joy by Gama and his men, who invited them on board. A +feast was spread for them, and to them Gama declared his intention of +seeking India. Among them was a Moor who had at first thought the +Portuguese Moors, on account of their dark skins. Feigning cordiality +while plotting their ruin, he offered them a pilot to Quiloa, where, he +assured them, they would find a Christian colony. He and his friends also +laid a plot to place some soldiers in ambush to attack Gama's men when +they landed next day to get water; in this way many would be destroyed, +and certain death awaited the survivors at Quiloa, whither the promised +pilot would conduct them. But the Moors had not counted on the strength of +the Portuguese. Gama's vengeance was swift and certain. The thunder of his +guns terrified the Moors, and the regent implored his pardon, and with +make-believe tears insisted on his receiving at his hands the promised +pilot. + +Many questions were asked by Gama concerning the spicy shores of India, of +the African coasts, and of the island to the north. "Quiloa, that," +replied the Moor, "where from ancient times, the natives have worshipped +the blood-stained image of the Christ." He knew how the Moorish +inhabitants hated the Christians, and was secretly delighted when Gama +directed him to steer thither. + +A storm swept the fleet past Quiloa, but the pilot, still determined on +revenge, pointed out the island town of Mombaça, as a stronghold of the +Christians, and steering the fleet thither, anchored just outside the bar. +Bacchus, now intent on the destruction of the Lusitanians, assumed the +character of a priest to deceive the heralds sent ashore by Gama, who +assured their commander that they saw a Christian priest performing divine +rites at an altar above which fluttered the banner of the Holy Ghost. In a +few moments the Christian fleet would have been at the mercy of the Moors, +but Cytherea, beholding from above the peril of her favorites, hastily +descended, gathered together her nymphs, and formed an obstruction, past +which the vessels strove in vain to pass. As Gama, standing high on the +poop, saw the huge rock in the channel, he cried out, and the Moorish +pilots, thinking their treason discovered, leaped into the waves. + +Warned in a dream by Mercury that the Moors were preparing to cut his +cables, De Gama roused his fleet and set sail for Melinda, whose monarch, +Mercury had told him, was both powerful and good. + +The fleet, decorated with purple streamers and gold and scarlet tapestry +in honor of Ascension Day sailed with drums beating and trumpets sounding, +into the harbor of Melinda, where they were welcomed by the kind and +truthful people. The fame of the Lusitanians had reached Melinda, and the +monarch gladly welcomed them to his land. His herald entreated them to +remain with him, and brought them sheep, fowls, and the fruits of the +earth, welcome gifts to the mariners. Gama had vowed not to leave the ship +until he could step on Indian ground, so the next day the king and the +commander, clad in their most splendid vestments, met in barges, and the +monarch of Melinda asked Gama to tell him of the Lusian race, its origin +and climate, and of all his adventures up to the time of his arrival at +Melinda. + +"O king," said Gama, "between the zones of endless winter and eternal +summer lies beautiful Europe, surrounded by the sea. To the north are the +bold Swede, the Prussian, and the Dane; on her south-eastern line dwelt +the Grecian heroes, world-renowned, and farther south are the ruins of +proud Rome. Among the beauteous landscapes of Italy lies proud Venice, +queen of the sea, and north of her tower the lofty Alps. The olive groves +and vineyards of fair Gallia next greet the eye, and then the valorous +fields of Spain, Aragon, Granada, and--the pride of Spain--Castile. On the +west, a crown to it, lies Lusitania, on whom last smiles the setting +sun,--against whose shores roll the waves of the western sea. + +"Noble are the heroes of my country. They were the first to rise against +the Moors and expel them from the kingdom. The forces of Rome were routed +by our shepherd-hero, Viriatus. After his death our country languished +until Alonzo of Spain arose, whose renown spread far and wide because of +his battles against the Moors. + +"Alonzo rewarded generously the heroes who fought under him, and to Prince +Henry of Hungaria he gave the fields through which the Tagus flows and the +hand of his daughter. To them was born a son, Alfonso, the founder of the +Lusian throne. After the death of his father Henry, Alfonso's mother +became regent, and ere long wedded her minister Perez and plotted to +deprive her young son of his inheritance. The eighteen year old son arose, +won the nobility to his side, and defeated his guilty mother and her +husband in the battle of Guimaraens. Forgetful of the reverence due to +parents, he cruelly imprisoned his mother, whose father, the king of +Spain, indignant at such treatment of his daughter, now marched against +the young prince and defeated him. As he lay in prison, his faithful +guardian Egas knelt before the king, and vowed that his master, if +released, would pay homage to him. Well he knew that his master would +never bow his proud head to pay homage to Castile. So when the day +arrived, Egas, and all his family, clad in gowns of white like sentenced +felons, with unshod feet, and with the halter around their necks, sought +Castile. 'O king, take us as a sacrifice for my perjured honor. Turn in +friendship to the prince thy grandson, and wreak thy vengeance on us +alone.' + +"Fortunately Alonzo was noble enough to release the self-sacrificing Egas, +and to forgive his grandson. + +"The young Alfonso, pardoned by his grandfather, proceeded to Ourique, +whither marched five Moorish kings. Over his head appeared the sacred +cross; but he prayed heaven to show it to his army instead, that they +might be inspired with the hope of victory. Filled with joy at the token, +the Portuguese defeated the Moors, and on the bloody battle-field Alfonso +was proclaimed King of Portugal, and from that day placed on his hitherto +unadorned buckler five azure shields, arranged as a cross. He continued +the wars with the Moors until, wounded and taken prisoner at Badajoz, he +resigned the throne to his son, Don Sancho, who in turn won many +victories. Alfonso II., Sancho II., Alfonso III., and Alfonso the Brave +succeeded him. At the court of the latter was a beautiful maiden, Inez de +Castro, whom Alfonso's son Don Pedro had married secretly. The courtiers, +fearful lest Pedro should show favor to the Castilians because Inez was +the daughter of a Castilian, told the king of his son's amour. In the +absence of Pedro, Inez was led before the king, bringing with her her +children, to help her to plead for mercy. But the king was merciless, his +counsellors, brutal, and at his signal they stabbed her. Pedro never +recovered from the shock given him by the fate of his beautiful wife, and +after his succession to the throne, as a partial atonement for her +suffering, he had her body taken from the grave and crowned Queen of +Portugal. + +"The weak Fernando, who took his wife Eleanora from her lawful husband, +succeeded Pedro, and their daughter Beatrice not being recognized by the +Portuguese, at his death Don John, a natural brother, came to the throne. +In the mean time a Spanish prince had married Beatrice and invaded +Portugal, claiming it as his right. The Portuguese were divided until Nuńo +Alvarez Pereyra came forward. 'Has one weak reign so corrupted you?' he +cried. 'Have you so soon forgotten our brave sires? Fernando was weak, but +John, our godlike king, is strong. Come, follow him! Or, if you stay, I +myself will go alone; never will I yield to a vassal's yoke; my native +land shall remain unconquered, and my monarch's foes, Castilian or +Portuguese, shall heap the plain!' + +"Inspired by Nuńo's eloquence the Lusians took the field and defeated the +Spanish in the battle of Aljubarota. Still dissatisfied, Nuńo pressed into +Spain and dictated the terms of peace at Seville. Having established +himself upon the throne of Portugal, John carried the war into Africa, +which wars were continued after his death by his son Edward. While laying +siege to Tangier, Edward and his brother Fernando were taken prisoners, +and were allowed to return home only on promise to surrender Ceuta. Don +Fernando remained as the hostage they demanded. The Portuguese would not +agree to surrender Ceuta, and Don Fernando was forced to languish in +captivity, since the Moors would accept no other ransom. He was a +patriotic prince than whom were none greater in the annals of Lusitania. + +"Alfonso V., victorious over the Moors, dreamed of conquering Castile, but +was defeated, and on his death was succeeded by John II., who designed to +gain immortal fame in a way tried by no other king. His sailors sought a +path to India, but 'though enriched with knowledge' they perished at the +mouth of the Indus. To his successor, Emmanuel, in a dream appeared the +rivers Ganges and Indus, hoary fathers, rustic in aspect, yet with a +majestic grace of bearing, their long, uncombed beards dripping with +water, their heads wreathed with strange flowers, and proclaimed to him +that their countries were ordained by fate to yield to him; that the fight +would be great, and the fields would stream with blood, but that at last +their shoulders would bend beneath the yoke. Overjoyed at this dream, +Emmanuel proclaimed it to his people. I, O king, felt my bosom burn, for +long had I aspired to this work. Me the king singled out, to me the dread +toil he gave of seeking unknown seas. Such zeal felt I and my youths as +inspired the Mynian youths when they ventured into unknown seas in the +Argo, in search of the golden fleece. + +"On the shore was reared a sacred fane, and there at the holy shrine my +comrades and I knelt and joined in the solemn rites. Prostrate we lay +before the shrine until morning dawned; then, accompanied by the 'woful, +weeping, melancholy throng' that came pressing from the gates of the city, +we sought our ships. + +"Then began the tears to flow; then the shrieks of mothers, sisters, and +wives rent the air, and as we waved farewell an ancient man cried out to +us on the thirst for honor and for fame that led us to undertake such a +voyage. + +"Soon our native mountains mingled with the skies, and the last dim speck +of land having faded, we set our eyes to scan the waste of sea before us. +From Madeira's fair groves we passed barren Masilia, the Cape of Green, +the Happy Isles, Jago, Jalofo, and vast Mandinga, the hated shore of the +Gorgades, the jutting cape called by us the Cape of Palms, and southward +sailed through the wild waves until the stars changed and we saw +Callisto's star no longer, but fixed our eyes on another pole star that +rises nightly over the waves. The shining cross we beheld each night in +the heavens was to us a good omen. + +"While thus struggling through the untried waves, and battling with the +tempests, now viewing with terror the waterspouts, and the frightful +lightnings, now comforted by the sight of mysterious fire upon our masts, +we came in sight of land, and gave to the trembling negro who came to us +some brass and bells. Five days after this event, as we sailed through the +unknown seas, a sudden darkness o'erspread the sky, unlighted by moon or +star. Questioning what this portent might mean, I saw a mighty phantom +rise through the air. His aspect was sullen, his cheeks were pale, his +withered hair stood erect, his yellow teeth gnashed; his whole aspect +spoke of revenge and horror. + +"'Bold are you,' cried he, 'to venture hither, but you shall suffer for +it. The next proud fleet that comes this way shall perish on my coast, and +he who first beheld me shall float on the tide a corpse. Often, O Lusus, +shall your children mourn because of me!' 'Who art thou?' I cried. 'The +Spirit of the Cape,' he replied, 'oft called the Cape of Tempests.'" + +The king of Melinda interrupted Gama. He had often heard traditions among +his people of the Spirit of the Cape. He was one of the race of Titans who +loved Thetis, and was punished by Jove by being transformed into this +promontory. + +Gama continued: "Again we set forth, and stopped at a pleasant coast to +clean our barks of the shell-fish. At this place we left behind many +victims of the scurvy in their lonely graves. Of the treason we met with +at Mozambique and the miracle that saved us at Quiloa and Mombas, you know +already, as well as of your own bounty." + +Charmed with the recital of Gama, the King of Melinda had forgotten how +the hours passed away. After the story was told the company whiled away +the hours with dance, song, the chase, and the banquet, until Gama +declared that he must go on to India, and was furnished with a pilot by +the friendly king. + +Bacchus, enraged at seeing the voyage so nearly completed, descended to +the palace of Neptune, with crystal towers, lofty turrets, roofs of gold, +and beautiful pillars inwrought with pearls. The sculptured walls were +adorned with old Chaos's troubled face, the four fair elements, and many +scenes in the history of the earth. Roused by Bacchus, the gods of the sea +consented to let loose the winds and the waves against the Portuguese. + +During the night, the Lusians spent the time in relating stories of their +country. As they talked, the storm came upon them, and the vessels rose +upon the giant waves, so that the sailors saw the bottom of the sea swept +almost bare by the violence of the storm. But the watchful Venus perceived +the peril of her Lusians, and calling her nymphs together, beguiled the +storm gods until the storm ceased. While the sailors congratulated +themselves on the returning calm, the cry of "Land!" was heard, and the +pilot announced to Gama that Calicut was near. + +Hail to the Lusian heroes who have won such honors, who have forced their +way through untravelled seas to the shores of India! Other nations of +Europe have wasted their time in a vain search for luxury and fame instead +of reclaiming to the faith its enemies! Italy, how fallen, how lost art +thou! and England and Gaul, miscalled "most Christian!" While ye have +slept, the Lusians, though their realms are small, have crushed the +Moslems and made their name resound throughout Africa, even to the shores +of Asia. + +At dawn Gama sent a herald to the monarch; in the mean time, a friendly +Moor, Monçaide, boarded the vessel, delighted to hear his own tongue once +more. Born at Tangiers, he considered himself a neighbor of the Lusians; +well he knew their valorous deeds, and although a Moor, he now allied +himself to them as a friend. He described India to the eager Gama: its +religions, its idolaters, the Mohammedans, the Buddhists, the Brahmins. At +Calicut, queen of India, lived the Zamorin, lord of India, to whom all +subject kings paid their tribute. + +His arrival having been announced, Gama, adorned in his most splendid +garments, and accompanied by his train, also in bright array, entered the +gilded barges and rowed to the shore, where stood the Catual, the +Zamorin's minister. Monçaide acted as an interpreter. The company passed +through a temple on their way to the palace, in which the Christians were +horrified at the graven images there worshipped. On the palace walls were +the most splendid pictures, relating the history of India. One wall, +however, bore no sculptures; the Brahmins had foretold that a foreign foe +would at some time conquer India, and that space was reserved for scenes +from those wars. + +Into the splendid hall adorned with tapestries of cloth of gold and +carpets of velvet, Gama passed, and stood before the couch on which sat +the mighty monarch. The room blazed with gems and gold; the monarch's +mantle was of cloth of gold, and his turban shone with gems. His manner +was majestic and dignified; he received Gama in silence, only nodding to +him to tell his story. + +Gama proclaimed that he came in friendship from a valorous nation that +wished to unite its shores with his by commerce. The monarch responded +that he and his council would weigh the proposal, and in the mean time +Gama should remain and feast with them. + +The next day the Indians visited the fleet, and after the banquet Gama +displayed to his guests a series of banners on which were told the history +of Portugal and her heroes. First came Lusus, the friend of Bacchus, the +hero-shepherd Viriatus, the first Alonzo, the self-sacrificing Egas, the +valiant Fuaz, every hero who had strengthened Lusitania and driven out her +foes, down to the gallant Pedro and the glorious Henry. + +Awed and wondering at the deeds of the mighty heroes, the Indians returned +home. In the night Bacchus appeared to the king, warning him against the +Lusians and urging him to destroy them while in his power. The Moors +bought the Catual with their gold. They also told the king that they would +leave his city as soon as he allied himself with the odious strangers. +When Gama was next summoned before the king he was received with a frown. + +"You are a pirate! Your first words were lies. Confess it; then you may +stay with me and be my captain." + +"I know the Moors," replied Gama. "I know their lies that have poisoned +your ears. Am I mad that I should voluntarily leave my pleasant home and +dare the terrors of an unknown sea? Ah, monarch, you know not the Lusian +race! Bold, dauntless, the king commands, and we obey. Past the dread Cape +of Storms have I ventured, bearing no gift save friendly peace, and that +noblest gift of all, the friendship of my king. I have spoken the truth. +Truth is everlasting!" + +A day passed and still Gama was detained by the power of the Catual, who +ordered him to call his fleets ashore if his voyage was really one of +friendship. + +"Never!" exclaimed Gama. "My fleet is free, though I am chained, and they +shall carry to Lisbon the news of my discovery." + +As he spoke, at a sign from the Catual, hostile ships were seen +surrounding the Lusian vessels. "Not one shall tell on Lisbon's shores +your fate." + +Gama smiled scornfully, as the fleet swept on towards his vessels. Loud +sounded the drums, shrill the trumpets. The next moment sudden lightning +flashed from Gama's ships and the skies echoed with the thunder of the +guns. + +No word fell from Gama's lips as, the battle over, they saw the sea +covered with the torn hulks and floating masts; but the populace raged +around the palace gates, demanding justice to the strangers. + +The troubled king sought to make peace with Gama. + +"My orders have been given. To-day, when the sun reaches its meridian, +India shall bleed and Calicut shall fall. The time is almost here. I make +no terms. You have deceived me once." + +The Moors fell fainting on the floor; the monarch trembled. "What can save +us?" he cried. + +"Convey me and my train to the fleet. Command at once; it is even now +noon." + +Once more safe within his ship, with him the faithful Monçaide, who had +kept him informed of the treason of the Moors, his ships laden with +cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and gems, proofs of his visit, Gama, rejoicing, +set sail for home. + +Venus saw the fleet setting out, and planned a resting-place for the weary +sailors, a floating isle with golden sands, bowers of laurel and myrtle, +beautiful flowers and luscious fruits. Here the sea nymphs gathered, +Thetis, the most beautiful, being reserved for Gama, and here days were +spent in joyance. + +At the banquet the nymphs sang the future glories of the Lusians, and +taking Gama by the hand, led him and his men to a mountain height, whence +they could look upon a wondrous globe, the universe. The crystal spheres +whirled swiftly, making sweet music, and as they listened to this, they +saw the sun go by, the stars, Apollo, the Queen of Love, Diana, and the +"yellow earth, the centre of the whole." Asia and Africa were unrolled to +their sight, and the future of India, conquered by the Lusians, Cochin +China, China, Japan, Sumatra,--all these countries given to the world by +their voyage around the terrible cape. + +"Spread thy sails!" cried the nymphs; "the time has come to go!" + +The ships departed on their homeward way, and the heroes were received +with the wildest welcome by the dwellers on Tago's bosom. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE LUSIAD. + +INEZ DE CASTRO. + + +During the reign of Alfonso the Brave, his son Don Pedro secretly wedded +a beautiful maiden of the court, Inez de Castro. The courtiers, jealous +because Inez was a Castilian, betrayed Pedro's secret to the king, who, in +the absence of his son, had Inez brought before him and slain by hired +ruffians. + + While glory, thus, Alonzo's name adorn'd, + To Lisbon's shores the happy chief return'd, + In glorious peace and well-deserv'd repose, + His course of fame, and honor'd age to close. + When now, O king, a damsel's fate severe, + A fate which ever claims the woful tear, + Disgraced his honors--On the nymph's 'lorn head + Relentless rage its bitterest rancor shed: + Yet, such the zeal her princely lover bore, + Her breathless corse the crown of Lisbon wore. + 'Twas thou, O Love, whose dreaded shafts control + The hind's rude heart, and tear the hero's soul; + Thou, ruthless power, with bloodshed never cloy'd, + 'Twas thou thy lovely votary destroy'd. + Thy thirst still burning for a deeper woe, + In vain to thee the tears of beauty flow; + The breast that feels thy purest flames divine, + With spouting gore must bathe thy cruel shrine. + Such thy dire triumphs!--Thou, O nymph, the while, + Prophetic of the god's unpitying guile, + In tender scenes by love-sick fancy wrought, + By fear oft shifted, as by fancy brought, + In sweet Mondego's ever-verdant bowers, + Languish'd away the slow and lonely hours: + While now, as terror wak'd thy boding fears, + The conscious stream receiv'd thy pearly tears; + And now, as hope reviv'd the brighter flame, + Each echo sigh'd thy princely lover's name. + Nor less could absence from thy prince remove + The dear remembrance of his distant love: + Thy looks, thy smiles, before him ever glow, + And o'er his melting heart endearing flow: + By night his slumbers bring thee to his arms, + By day his thoughts still wander o'er thy charms: + By night, by day, each thought thy loves employ, + Each thought the memory, or the hope, of joy. + Though fairest princely dames invok'd his love, + No princely dame his constant faith could move: + For thee, alone, his constant passion burn'd, + For thee the proffer'd royal maids he scorn'd. + Ah, hope of bliss too high--the princely dames + Refus'd, dread rage the father's breast inflames; + He, with an old man's wintry eye, surveys + The youth's fond love, and coldly with it weighs + The people's murmurs of his son's delay + To bless the nation with his nuptial day. + (Alas, the nuptial day was past unknown, + Which, but when crown'd, the prince could dare to own.) + And, with the fair one's blood, the vengeful sire + Resolves to quench his Pedro's faithful fire. + Oh, thou dread sword, oft stain'd with heroes' gore, + Thou awful terror of the prostrate Moor, + What rage could aim thee at a female breast, + Unarm'd, by softness and by love possess'd! + + Dragg'd from her bower, by murd'rous ruffian hands, + Before the frowning king fair Inez stands; + Her tears of artless innocence, her air + So mild, so lovely, and her face so fair, + Mov'd the stern monarch; when, with eager zeal, + Her fierce destroyers urg'd the public weal; + Dread rage again the tyrant's soul possess'd, + And his dark brow his cruel thoughts confess'd; + O'er her fair face a sudden paleness spread, + Her throbbing heart with gen'rous anguish bled, + Anguish to view her lover's hopeless woes, + + And all the mother in her bosom rose. + Her beauteous eyes, in trembling tear-drops drown'd, + To heaven she lifted (for her hands were bound); + Then, on her infants turn'd the piteous glance, + The look of bleeding woe; the babes advance, + Smiling in innocence of infant age, + Unaw'd, unconscious of their grandsire's rage; + To whom, as bursting sorrow gave the flow, + The native heart-sprung eloquence of woe, + The lovely captive thus:--"O monarch, hear, + If e'er to thee the name of man was dear, + If prowling tigers, or the wolf's wild brood + (Inspired by nature with the lust of blood), + Have yet been mov'd the weeping babe to spare, + Nor left, but tended with a nurse's care, + As Rome's great founders to the world were given; + Shall thou, who wear'st the sacred stamp of Heaven + The human form divine, shalt thou deny + That aid, that pity, which e'en beasts supply! + Oh, that thy heart were, as thy looks declare, + Of human mould, superfluous were my prayer; + Thou couldst not, then, a helpless damsel slay, + Whose sole offence in fond affection lay, + In faith to him who first his love confess'd, + Who first to love allur'd her virgin breast. + In these my babes shalt thou thine image see, + And, still tremendous, hurl thy rage on me? + Me, for their sakes, if yet thou wilt not spare, + Oh, let these infants prove thy pious care! + Yet, Pity's lenient current ever flows + From that brave breast where genuine valor glows; + That thou art brave, let vanquish'd Afric tell, + Then let thy pity o'er my anguish swell; + Ah, let my woes, unconscious of a crime, + Procure mine exile to some barb'rous clime: + Give me to wander o'er the burning plains + Of Libya's deserts, or the wild domains + Of Scythia's snow-clad rocks, and frozen shore; + There let me, hopeless of return, deplore: + Where ghastly horror fills the dreary vale, + Where shrieks and howlings die on every gale, + The lion's roaring, and the tiger's yell, + There with my infant race, consigned to dwell, + There let me try that piety to find, + In vain by me implor'd from human kind: + There, in some dreary cavern's rocky womb, + Amid the horrors of sepulchral gloom, + For him whose love I mourn, my love shall glow, + The sigh shall murmur, and the tear shall flow: + All my fond wish, and all my hope, to rear + These infant pledges of a love so dear, + Amidst my griefs a soothing glad employ, + Amidst my fears a woful, hopeless joy." + + In tears she utter'd--as the frozen snow + Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow, + So just began to melt his stubborn soul, + As mild-ray'd Pity o'er the tyrant stole; + But destiny forbade: with eager zeal + (Again pretended for the public weal), + Her fierce accusers urg'd her speedy doom; + Again, dark rage diffus'd its horrid gloom + O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign, + Their swords, unsheath'd, around her brandish'd shine. + O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain, + By men of arms a helpless lady slain! + + Thus Pyrrhus, burning with unmanly ire, + Fulfilled the mandate of his furious sire; + Disdainful of the frantic matron's prayer, + On fair Polyxena, her last fond care, + He rush'd, his blade yet warm with Priam's gore, + And dash'd the daughter on the sacred floor; + While mildly she her raving mother eyed, + Resigned her bosom to the sword, and died. + Thus Inez, while her eyes to heaven appeal, + Resigns her bosom to the murd'ring steel: + That snowy neck, whose matchless form sustain'd + The loveliest face, where all the graces reign'd, + Whose charms so long the gallant prince enflam'd, + That her pale corse was Lisbon's queen proclaim'd, + That snowy neck was stain'd with spouting gore, + Another sword her lovely bosom tore. + The flowers that glisten'd with her tears bedew'd, + Now shrunk and languished with her blood embru'd. + As when a rose ere-while of bloom so gay, + Thrown from the careless virgin's breast away, + Lies faded on the plain, the living red, + The snowy white, and all its fragrance fled; + So from her cheeks the roses died away, + And pale in death the beauteous Inez lay: + With dreadful smiles, and crimson'd with her blood, + Round the wan victim the stern murd'rers stood, + Unmindful of the sure, though future hour, + Sacred to vengeance and her lover's power. + + O Sun, couldst thou so foul a crime behold, + Nor veil thine head in darkness, as of old + A sudden night unwonted horror cast + O'er that dire banquet, where the sire's repast + The son's torn limbs supplied!--Yet you, ye vales! + Ye distant forests, and ye flow'ry dales! + When pale and sinking to the dreadful fall, + You heard her quiv'ring lips on Pedro call; + Your faithful echoes caught the parting sound, + And Pedro! Pedro! mournful, sigh'd around. + Nor less the wood-nymphs of Mondego's groves + Bewail'd the memory of her hapless loves: + Her griefs they wept, and, to a plaintive rill + Transform'd their tears, which weeps and murmurs still. + To give immortal pity to her woe + They taught the riv'let through her bowers to flow, + And still, through violet-beds, the fountain pours + Its plaintive wailing, and is named Amours. + Nor long her blood for vengeance cried in vain: + Her gallant lord begins his awful reign, + In vain her murderers for refuge fly, + Spain's wildest hills no place of rest supply. + The injur'd lover's and the monarch's ire, + And stern-brow'd Justice in their doom conspire: + In hissing flames they die, and yield their souls in fire. + _Mickle's Translation, Canto III._ + + + + +THE SPIRIT OF THE CAPE. + + +Vasco de Gama relates the incidents of his voyage from Portugal to the +King of Melinda. The southern cross had appeared in the heavens and the +fleet was approaching the southern point of Africa. While at anchor in a +bay the Portuguese aroused the hostility of the savages, and hastily set +sail. + + "Now, prosp'rous gales the bending canvas swell'd; + From these rude shores our fearless course we held: + Beneath the glist'ning wave the god of day + Had now five times withdrawn the parting ray, + When o'er the prow a sudden darkness spread, + And, slowly floating o'er the mast's tall head + A black cloud hover'd: nor appear'd from far + The moon's pale glimpse, nor faintly twinkling star; + So deep a gloom the low'ring vapor cast, + Transfix'd with awe the bravest stood aghast. + Meanwhile, a hollow bursting roar resounds, + As when hoarse surges lash their rocky mounds; + Nor had the black'ning wave nor frowning heav'n + The wonted signs of gath'ring tempest giv'n. + Amazed we stood. 'O thou, our fortune's guide, + Avert this omen, mighty God!' I cried; + 'Or, through forbidden climes adventurous stray'd, + Have we the secrets of the deep survey'd, + Which these wide solitudes of seas and sky + Were doom'd to hide from man's unhallow'd eye? + Whate'er this prodigy, it threatens more + Than midnight tempests, and the mingled roar, + When sea and sky combine to rock the marble shore.' + + "I spoke, when rising through the darken'd air, + Appall'd, we saw a hideous phantom glare; + High and enormous o'er the flood he tower'd, + And 'thwart our way with sullen aspect lower'd: + An earthy paleness o'er his cheeks was spread, + Erect uprose his hairs of wither'd red; + Writhing to speak, his sable lips disclose, + Sharp and disjoin'd, his gnashing teeth's blue rows; + His haggard beard flow'd quiv'ring on the wind, + Revenge and horror in his mien combin'd; + His clouded front, by with'ring lightnings scar'd, + The inward anguish of his soul declar'd. + His red eyes, glowing from their dusky caves, + Shot livid fires: far echoing o'er the waves + His voice resounded, as the cavern'd shore + With hollow groan repeats the tempest's roar. + Cold gliding horrors thrill'd each hero's breast, + Our bristling hair and tott'ring knees confess'd + Wild dread, the while with visage ghastly wan, + His black lips trembling, thus the fiend began:-- + + "'O you, the boldest of the nations, fir'd + By daring pride, by lust of fame inspir'd, + Who, scornful of the bow'rs of sweet repose, + Through these my waves advance your fearless prows, + Regardless of the length'ning wat'ry way, + And all the storms that own my sov'reign sway, + Who, mid surrounding rocks and shelves explore + Where never hero brav'd my rage before; + Ye sons of Lusus, who with eyes profane + Have view'd the secrets of my awful reign, + Have passed the bounds which jealous Nature drew + To veil her secret shrine from mortal view; + Hear from my lips what direful woes attend, + And, bursting soon, shall o'er your race descend. + + "'With every bounding keel that dares my rage, + Eternal war my rocks and storms shall wage, + The next proud fleet that through my drear domain, + With daring search shall hoist the streaming vane, + That gallant navy, by my whirlwinds toss'd, + And raging seas, shall perish on my coast: + Then he, who first my secret reign descried, + A naked corpse, wide floating o'er the tide, + Shall drive--Unless my heart's full raptures fail, + O Lusus! oft shall thou thy children wail; + Each year thy shipwreck'd sons thou shalt deplore, + Each year thy sheeted masts shall strew my shore. + + "'With trophies plum'd behold a hero come, + Ye dreary wilds, prepare his yawning tomb. + Though smiling fortune bless'd his youthful morn, + Though glory's rays his laurell'd brows adorn, + Full oft though he beheld with sparkling eye + The Turkish moons in wild confusion fly, + While he, proud victor, thunder'd in the rear, + All, all his mighty fame shall vanish here. + Quiloa's sons, and thine, Mombaz, shall see + Their conqueror bend his laurell'd head to me; + While, proudly mingling with the tempest's sound, + Their shouts of joy from every cliff rebound. + + "'The howling blast, ye slumb'ring storms prepare, + A youthful lover and his beauteous fair + Triumphant sail from India's ravag'd land; + His evil angel leads him to my strand. + Through the torn hulk the dashing waves shall roar, + The shatter'd wrecks shall blacken all my shore. + Themselves escaped, despoil'd by savage hands, + Shall, naked, wander o'er the burning sands, + Spar'd by the waves far deeper woes to bear, + Woes, e'en by me, acknowledg'd with a tear. + Their infant race, the promis'd heirs of joy, + Shall now, no more, a hundred hands employ; + By cruel want, beneath the parents' eye, + In these wide wastes their infant race shall die; + Through dreary wilds, where never pilgrim trod + Where caverns yawn, and rocky fragments nod, + The hapless lover and his bride shall stray, + By night unshelter'd, and forlorn by day. + In vain the lover o'er the trackless plain + Shall dart his eyes, and cheer his spouse in vain. + Her tender limbs, and breast of mountain snow, + Where, ne'er before, intruding blast might blow, + Parch'd by the sun, and shrivell'd by the cold + Of dewy night, shall he, fond man, behold. + Thus, wand'ring wide, a thousand ills o'er past, + In fond embraces they shall sink at last; + While pitying tears their dying eyes o'erflow, + And the last sigh shall wail each other's woe. + + "'Some few, the sad companions of their fate, + Shall yet survive, protected by my hate, + On Tagus' banks the dismal tale to tell, + How, blasted by my frown, your heroes fell.' + + "He paus'd, in act still further to disclose + A long, a dreary prophecy of woes: + When springing onward, loud my voice resounds, + And midst his rage the threat'ning shade confounds. + + "'What art thou, horrid form that rid'st the air? + By Heaven's eternal light, stern fiend, declare.' + His lips he writhes, his eyes far round he throws, + And, from his breast, deep hollow groans arose, + Sternly askance he stood: with wounded pride + And anguish torn, 'In me, behold,' he cried, + While dark-red sparkles from his eyeballs roll'd, + 'In me the Spirit of the Cape behold, + That rock, by you the Cape of Tempests nam'd, + By Neptune's rage, in horrid earthquakes fram'd, + When Jove's red bolts o'er Titan's offspring flam'd. + With wide-stretch'd piles I guard the pathless strand, + And Afric's southern mound, unmov'd, I stand: + Nor Roman prow, nor daring Tyrian oar + Ere dash'd the white wave foaming to my shore; + Nor Greece nor Carthage ever spread the sail + On these my seas, to catch the trading gale. + You, you alone have dar'd to plough my main, + And with the human voice disturb my lonesome reign." + + "He spoke, and deep a lengthen'd sigh he drew, + A doleful sound, and vanish'd from the view: + The frighten'd billows gave a rolling swell, + And, distant far, prolong'd the dismal yell, + Faint and more faint the howling echoes die, + And the black cloud dispersing, leaves the sky. + High to the angel-host, whose guardian care + Had ever round us watch'd, my hands I rear, + And Heaven's dread King implore: 'As o'er our head + The fiend dissolv'd, an empty shadow fled; + So may his curses, by the winds of heav'n, + Far o'er the deep, their idle sport, be driv'n!'" + + With sacred horror thrill'd, Melinda's lord + Held up the eager hand, and caught the word. + "Oh, wondrous faith of ancient days," he cries, + "Concealed in mystic lore and dark disguise! + Taught by their sires, our hoary fathers tell, + On these rude shores a giant spectre fell, + What time from heaven the rebel band were thrown: + And oft the wand'ring swain has heard his moan. + While o'er the wave the clouded moon appears + To hide her weeping face, his voice he rears + O'er the wild storm. Deep in the days of yore, + A holy pilgrim trod the nightly shore; + Stern groans he heard; by ghostly spells controll'd, + His fate, mysterious, thus the spectre told: + + "'By forceful Titan's warm embrace compress'd, + The rock-ribb'd mother, Earth, his love confess'd: + The hundred-handed giant at a birth, + And me, she bore, nor slept my hopes on earth; + My heart avow'd my sire's ethereal flame; + Great Adamastor, then, my dreaded name. + In my bold brother's glorious toils engaged, + Tremendous war against the gods I waged: + Yet, not to reach the throne of heaven I try, + With mountain pil'd on mountain to the sky; + To me the conquest of the seas befell, + In his green realm the second Jove to quell. + Nor did ambition all my passions hold, + 'Twas love that prompted an attempt so bold. + Ah me, one summer in the cool of day, + I saw the Nereids on the sandy bay, + With lovely Thetis from the wave advance + In mirthful frolic, and the naked dance. + In all her charms reveal'd the goddess trod, + With fiercest fires my struggling bosom glow'd; + Yet, yet I feel them burning in my heart, + And hopeless, languish with the raging smart. + For her, each goddess of the heavens I scorn'd, + For her alone my fervent ardor burn'd. + In vain I woo'd her to the lover's bed, + From my grim form, with horror, mute she fled. + Madd'ning with love, by force I ween to gain + The silver goddess of the blue domain; + To the hoar mother of the Nereid band + I tell my purpose, and her aid command: + By fear impell'd, old Doris tried to move, + And win the spouse of Peleus to my love. + The silver goddess with a smile replies, + 'What nymph can yield her charms a giant's prize! + Yet, from the horrors of a war to save, + And guard in peace our empire of the wave, + Whate'er with honor he may hope to gain, + That, let him hope his wish shall soon attain.' + The promis'd grace infus'd a bolder fire, + And shook my mighty limbs with fierce desire. + But ah, what error spreads its dreadful night, + What phantoms hover o'er the lover's sight! + + "The war resign'd, my steps by Doris led, + While gentle eve her shadowy mantle spread, + Before my steps the snowy Thetis shone + In all her charms, all naked, and alone. + Swift as the wind with open arms I sprung, + And, round her waist with joy delirious clung: + In all the transports of the warm embrace, + A hundred kisses on her angel face, + On all its various charms my rage bestows, + And, on her cheek, my cheek enraptur'd glows. + When oh, what anguish while my shame I tell! + What fix'd despair, what rage my bosom swell! + Here was no goddess, here no heavenly charms, + A rugged mountain fill'd my eager arms, + Whose rocky top, o'erhung with matted brier, + Received the kisses of my am'rous fire. + Wak'd from my dream, cold horror freez'd my blood; + Fix'd as a rock, before the rock I stood; + 'O fairest goddess of the ocean train, + Behold the triumph of thy proud disdain; + Yet why,' I cried, 'with all I wish'd decoy, + And, when exulting in the dream of joy, + A horrid mountain to mine arms convey?' + Madd'ning I spoke, and furious sprung away. + Far to the south I sought the world unknown, + Where I, unheard, unscorn'd, might wail alone, + My foul dishonor, and my tears to hide, + And shun the triumph of the goddess' pride. + My brothers, now, by Jove's red arm o'erthrown, + Beneath huge mountains pil'd on mountains groan; + And I, who taught each echo to deplore, + And tell my sorrows to the desert shore, + I felt the hand of Jove my crimes pursue, + My stiff'ning flesh to earthy ridges grew, + And my huge bones, no more by marrow warm'd, + To horrid piles, and ribs of rock transform'd, + Yon dark-brow'd cape of monstrous size became, + Where, round me still, in triumph o'er my shame, + The silv'ry Thetis bids her surges roar, + And waft my groans along the dreary shore.'" + + _Mickle's Translation, Canto V_. + + + + + +THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +The Gerusalemme Liberata, or Jerusalem Delivered, was written by Torquato +Tasso, who was born at Sorrento, March 11, 1544. He was educated at +Naples, Urbino, Rome, Venice, Padua, and Bologna. In 1572 he attached +himself to the court of Ferrara, which he had visited in 1565 in the suite +of the Cardinal d'Este, and by whose duke he had been treated with great +consideration. Here his pastoral drama "Aminta" was written and performed, +and here he began to write his epic. The duke, angry because of Tasso's +affection for his sister Eleanora, and fearful lest the poet should +dedicate his poem to the Medicis, whom he visited in 1575, and into whose +service he was asked to enter, kept him under strict surveillance, and +pretended to regard him as insane. Feigning sympathy and a desire to +restore his mind, he had the unfortunate poet confined in a mad-house. +Tasso escaped several times, but each time returned in the hope of a +reconciliation with the duke. During his confinement his poem was +published without his permission: first in 1580, a very imperfect version; +in 1581, a genuine one. This at once brought him great fame; but while its +publishers made a fortune, Tasso received nothing. Neither did the duke +relent, although powerful influences were brought to bear on him. Tasso +was not released until 1586, and then, broken in health, he passed the +rest of his life in Rome and Naples, living on charity, though treated +with great honor. He died in Rome, April 25, 1595, just before he was to +have been crowned at the capitol. + +The Jerusalem Delivered has for its subject the first Crusade, and the +events recorded in its twenty cantos comprise the happenings in the camp +of the Crusaders during forty days of the campaign of 1099. Its metre is +the _octava rima_, the eight lined rhymed stanza. + +Tasso was not so successful in the delineation of character and in the +description of actions as in the interpretation of feeling, being by +nature a lyric rather than an epic poet. But his happy choice of +subject,--for the Crusades were still fresh in the memory of the people, +and chivalry was a thing of the present--his zeal for the Christian cause, +his impassioned delineations of love, and his exquisitely poetical +treatment of his whole theme, rendered his epic irresistible. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +J. Black's Life of Tasso (with a historical and critical account of his +writings), 2 vols. 1810; + +E. J. Hasell's Tasso, 1882; + +Rev. Robert Milman's Life of Tasso, 2 vols. 1850; + +Dennistown's Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, 1851, iii., 292-316; + +Hallam's Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the 15th, 16th, and +17th Centuries, 1839, ii., 192-199; + +Leigh Hunt's Stories from Italian Poets, 1888, ii., 289-474; + +Longfellow's Poets and Poetry of Europe, 1845, pp. 568-577; + +Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, Ed. 2, 1846, i., 359-391; + +J. A. Symonds's Renaissance in Italy, 1886, vol. 2, chapters 7-8; + +Edin. Rev., Oct. 1850, xcii., 294-302; + +Blackwood, 1845, lvii., 401-414; + +Quarterly Review, Jan. 1857, ci., 59-68. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. from the Italian by John Hoole. First American +from Eighth London Edition, 2 vols., 1810; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into English Spenserian verse with life of the +author by J. H. Wiffen. New ed., 1883; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir John Kingston James, 2 vols., 1884; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into the metre of the original by C. L. Smith, +1876-79; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir Edward Fairfax and edited by Prof. Henry +Morley, 1889. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +The Eternal Father looked down from His lofty throne upon the Christian +powers in Syria. In the six years they had spent in the East they had +taken Nice and Antioch. Now, while inactive in winter quarters, Bohemond +was strengthening himself in Antioch, and the other chiefs were thinking +of glory or love; but Godfrey, to whom renown was the meanest of glories, +was burning to win Jerusalem and restore it to the faith. Inspired by +Gabriel, despatched by the Eternal Father, Godfrey called a council, and +with an eloquence and fire more than mortal, roused the Christians to +action. "We came not here to raise empires; the period has come when all +the world is waiting for our next step. Now is the propitious moment. If +we delay longer, Egypt will step in to the aid of our Syrian foe!" + +Godfrey was unanimously elected chief, and immediate arrangements were +made for the setting out to Jerusalem. Godfrey first reviewed the army. A +thousand men marched under the lilied banner of Clotharius; a thousand +more from the Norman meads under Robert; from Orange and Puy, troops came +under the priests William and Ademar. Baldwin led his own and Godfrey's +bands, and Guelpho, allied to the house of Este, brought his strong +Carinthians. Other troops of horse and foot were led by William of +England. After him came the young Tancred, the flower of chivalry, +blighted now, alas! by unrequited love. He had seen by chance the pagan +maid Clorinda, the Amazon, drinking at a pool in the forest, and had +forgot all else in his love for her. After him came the small Greek force +under Tatine; next, the invincible Adventurers under Dudon, bravest of +men. Following these were Otho, Edward and his sweet bride Gildippe, who, +unwilling to be separated from her husband, fought at his side, and, +excellent above all others, the young Rinaldo, whose glorious deeds were +yet but a promise of his great future. While but a boy he had escaped from +the care of his foster mother, Queen Matilda, and hastened to join the +Crusaders. The review was closed by the array of foot soldiers led by +Raymond, Stephen of Amboise, Alcasto, and Camillus. The pageant having +passed by, Godfrey despatched a messenger to summon Sweno the Dane, who +with his forces was still tarrying in Greece, and at once set out for +Jerusalem. + +Swift rumor had conveyed the tidings of his approach to Aladine, King of +Jerusalem, a merciless tyrant, who, enraged, immediately laid heavier +taxes upon the unfortunate Christians in his city. Ismeno, a sorcerer, +once a Christian, but now a pagan who practised all black arts, penetrated +to the presence of the king and advised him to steal from the temple of +the Christians an image of the Virgin and put it in his mosque, assuring +him that he would thus render his city impregnable. This was done, and +Ismeno wrought his spells about the image, but the next morning it had +disappeared. After a fruitless search for the image and the offender, the +angry king sentenced all the Franks to death. The beautiful maid +Sophronia, determined to save her people, assumed the guilt, and was +sentenced to be burned. As she stood chained to the stake, her lover, +Olindo, to whom she had ever been cold, saw her, and in agony at her +sacrifice, declared to the king that Sophronia had lied and that he was +the purloiner of the image. The cruel monarch ordered him also to be tied +to the stake, that they might die together; and the flames had just been +applied when the two were saved by the Amazon Clorinda, who convinced the +king that the Christians were innocent and that Allah himself, incensed at +the desecration, had snatched away the image. + +To the camp of Godfrey at Emmaus came two ambassadors from the king of +Egypt, Alethes, a supple crafty courtier of low lineage, and Argantes, a +haughty and powerful warrior. But their efforts to keep Godfrey from +Jerusalem, first by persuasion, and then by threats, were in vain. +They were dismissed from the camp, and the army proceeded on its way. + +When the walls and towers of the city where Messias died came in sight, +the Christian army, crying "All Hail, Jerusalem!" laid aside their +casques, and, shedding tears, trod barefoot the consecrated way. + +At sight of the Franks, the pagans hastened to strengthen the +fortifications of their city, and Aladine from a lofty tower watched +Clorinda attack a band of Franks returning from a foray. At his side was +the lovely Erminia, daughter of the King of Antioch, who had sought +Jerusalem after the downfall of her city. + +Erminia instructed Aladine of the various crusaders, and when she pointed +out the noble Tancred, who had treated her with such consideration in +Antioch, she felt her love for him revive, though she pretended to the +king to hate him for his cruelty. Tancred recognized among the leaders of +the pagans Clorinda, bereft of her helmet, and for love of her, refused to +fight her. The pagans, driven back by the Christians, were rallied by +Argantes, but only to be met by the matchless Adventurers under Dudon. +When Dudon fell, the troops under Rinaldo, burning for revenge, +reluctantly obeyed Godfrey's summons to return. + +The funeral rites over, the artificers were sent to the forest to fell the +trees, that engines might be fabricated for the destruction of the city +walls. + +Angry at the success of the Franks, Satan stirred up the infernal regions, +and set loose his friends to work destruction to the Christians. One he +despatched to the wizard Idraotes, at Damascus, who conceived the scheme +of sending his beautiful niece Armida to ensnare the Christians. In a few +days Armida appeared among the white pavilions of the Franks, attracting +the attention and winning the love of all who saw her. Her golden locks +appeared through her veil as the sunshine gleams through the stormy skies; +her charms were sufficiently hidden to make them the more alluring. So +attired, modestly seeking the camp of Godfrey, she was met by Eustace, his +young brother, and taken to the prince. + +With many tears and sighs, she told her pitiful story. She had been driven +from her kingdom, an orphan, by the envy and wickedness of her uncle, and +had come to ask the Christians to aid her in regaining her rights. +Unfortunately for her success, she and her uncle had not calculated on +Godfrey's absorption in his divine undertaking. He was proof against her +charms, and was determined not to be delayed longer in laying siege to the +city. It required the utmost persuasion of Eustace to induce him to permit +ten of the Adventurers to accompany her. Armida, though disappointed in +Godfrey's lack of susceptibility, employed her time so well while in camp +that when she departed with the ten Adventurers chosen by lot, she was +followed secretly by Eustace and many others who had not been chosen, but +who were madly in love with her. + +Before his departure, Eustace, jealous of Rinaldo, whom he was fearful +Armida might admire, had persuaded him to aspire to the place of Dudon, to +whom a successor must be elected. Gernando of Norway desired the same +place, and, angry that the popular Rinaldo should be his rival, scattered +through the camp rumors disparaging to his character: Rinaldo was vain and +arrogant; Rinaldo was rash, not brave; Rinaldo's virtues were all vices. +At last, stung past endurance by his taunts and insinuations, Rinaldo gave +the lie to his traducer, and slew him in fair fight. False reports were +taken to Godfrey by Rinaldo's enemies; and the ruler determined to punish +the youth severely; but he, warned by his friends, escaped from camp and +fled to Antioch. To Godfrey, deprived thus of Rinaldo and many of his +brave Adventurers, was brought the tidings that the Egyptian expedition +was on its way, and that a ship laden with provisions had been intercepted +on its way to his camp. + +The bold Argantes, weary of the restraint of the siege, sent a challenge +to the Christians, saying he would meet any Frank, high-born or low, in +single combat, the conditions being that the vanquished should serve the +victor. A thousand knights burned to accept the challenge, but Godfrey +named Tancred, who proudly buckled on his armor and called for his steed. +As he approached the field, he saw among the pagan hosts, who stood around +to view the combat, the fair face of Clorinda, and stood gazing at her, +forgetful of all else. Otho, seeing his delay, spurred on his horse, and +fought till vanquished. Then Tancred woke from his stupor, and, burning +with shame, rushed forward. The battle raged until night fell, and the +weary warriors ceased, pledging themselves to return on the morrow. + +Erminia, shut up in Jerusalem, mourned over the wounds of Tancred. She +knew many healing balms, by which, were she with him, she might heal him +and make him ready for the morrow's fight; but she was forced to +administer them to his enemy instead. Unable to endure the suspense +longer, she put on her friend Clorinda's armor and fled to the Christian +camp to find her beloved. The Franks, who spied her, supposed her +Clorinda, and pursued her; but she succeeded in reaching a woodland +retreat, where she determined to remain with the kind old shepherd and his +wife who had fled from the disappointments of the court and had here +sought and found peace in their humble home. When Tancred heard from his +followers that they had driven Clorinda from the camps, he determined to +pursue and speak with her. Rising from his bed he sought the forest only +to fall into the wiles of Armida, and be lured into a castle, in whose +dungeon he lay, consumed with shame at the thought of his unexplained +absence from the morrow's combat. + +When morning dawned and Tancred did not appear, the good old Count Raymond +went forth to meet Argantes. When he was about to overcome his antagonist, +an arrow shot from the pagan ranks brought on a general conflict, in which +the Christians were successful until a storm, summoned by the powers of +darkness, put an end to the battle. The next morning a knight came to the +camp of Godfrey to tell of Sweno's defeat and slaughter. He, the sole +survivor of the band, had been commissioned by some supernatural visitants +to bring Sweno's sword to Rinaldo. + +While Godfrey's heart was wrung by this disaster, the camp of Italians, +led to suppose by some bloody armor found in a wood that Rinaldo had been +treacherously slain with the connivance of Godfrey, accused the chief and +stirred up the camp to revolt; but Godfrey, praying to Heaven for strength +to meet his enemies, walked through the camp firmly and unfalteringly, +unarmed and with head bare, his face still bright with the heavenly light +left there by spiritual communion, and silenced the tumult by a few +well-chosen words. His arch-accuser Argillan he sentenced to death; the +others crept back to their tents in shame. + +The Soldan Solyman, driven from Nice at its capture, had joined the Turks, +and, spurred on by hate and fury, made a night attack on the Frankish +camp. The Franks, saved only by the interposition of the angel Michael, +and by the troops just returned, released from Armida's enchantment, +fought fiercely, and at dawn put Solyman to flight. By the arts of Ismeno +he was conveyed to Jerusalem by a secret way, where he cheered the +discouraged Aladine. + +Before attempting to storm the city, the Christian troops, by the advice +of Peter the Hermit, walked in a long procession to Mt. Olivet, filling +the heavens with melody, and there partook of the communion administered +by the warrior priests, William and Ademar. The next morning, Godfrey, in +the light armor of a foot-soldier, appeared with his barons, prepared for +the storm. The troops were arranged carefully, the huge engines were moved +forward, and the Franks made a bold attempt against the walls, from the +top of which Clorinda aimed her arrows, wounding and slaying many men. +Godfrey himself was wounded, but was healed by divine aid, and immediately +returned to the field to rally his troops. Night fell, and the contest was +deferred until another day. + +Clorinda, burning to distinguish herself, determined to fire the huge +towers of the Christians. Her eunuch tried to dissuade her because he had +been warned in a dream that she would this night meet her death. He told +her her history. Her mother was a Christian who had been compelled to put +her infant away from her. This eunuch had rescued her from death and +brought her up, failing, however, to obey an angel's command to have her +baptized a Christian. + +Clorinda would not heed his caution, but went forth and fired the Frankish +machines. She and the fleeing pagans were pursued by the Christians; and +while her companions reached the city in safety, she was accidentally shut +out and met Tancred in mortal combat. She refused to tell her name until +she felt her death-wound, and then she prayed her enemy to baptize her, +that she might die a Christian. The broken-hearted Tancred fell fainting +on her corpse, and was found there the next morning by the Franks. Neither +his comrades, nor Godfrey and Peter the Hermit, were able to rouse him +from his melancholy. + +Their machines destroyed, timbers were needed by the Franks to construct +new ones. Knowing this, Ismeno laid spells on the forest, so that the +warriors sent thither by Godfrey were frightened away by the sights they +saw therein. Even Tancred was put to flight when one of the demons took +the form of his beloved Clorinda. To add to the discomfort of the Franks, +excessive heat overpowered them, and they suffered tortures from lack of +water until the prayers of Godfrey moved the Ruler of the Earth with pity, +and He sent down the longed-for showers. + +Delighted with the piety of Godfrey, the Great King sent him a dream by +which he might know the will of Heaven. Lifted through the whirling +spheres, his ears charmed with their music, his eyes dazzled by the +brilliancy of the stars, he saw Duke Hugo, who told him that Rinaldo must +be sought out before the conquest of Jerusalem could be accomplished. The +same Power influenced the princes in council so that by the will of all, +two knights, one of them him to whom Sweno's sword had been given, were +despatched to seek Rinaldo. Instructed by Peter the Hermit, they sought +the sea-coast, and found a wizard, who, after showing them the splendor of +his underground abode beneath the river's bed, revealed to them the way in +which they were to overcome the wiles of Armida. + +A beautiful maid with dove-like eyes and radiant smile received them in +her small bark, and they were soon flying over the sea, marvelling at the +rich cities and vast fleets by which they passed. Leaving rich Cadiz and +the Pillars of Hercules, they sped out into the unknown sea, while the +maiden told them of how some day Columbus would venture into unknown seas +to find a new continent. On, on they flew, past the Happy Isles, the +Fortunate, long the song of the poet; where the olive and honey made happy +the land, and the rivers swept down from the mountains in silver +streamlets; where every bird-song was heavenly music, a place so divine +that there were placed of old the Elysian fields. To one of these islands +the lady steered, and the knights disembarked, and started on their +perilous journey up the mountain. Following the wizard's instructions, +they waved the golden rod at the monstrous serpents hissing in their +pathway, and they vanished; they steeled their hearts against the charms +of the voluptuous maids bathing in the lake, and passed without tasting +the fountain of laughter. Then the spacious palace met their eyes. Built +round a garden, its marble courts and unnumbered galleries formed a +trackless maze through which they could never have found their way without +the aid of the wizard's map. As they trod the marble floors they paused +many times to view the matchless carvings on the silver doors, which told +anew the beautiful old stories of love triumphant. + +Once through the winding ways, they entered the wonderful garden which art +and nature combined to render the most beautiful spot on earth. The same +trees bore ripe fruit, buds, and blossoms; the birds sang joyfully in the +green bowers; and the faint breezes echoed their song. One bird sang a +song of love, and when the tender melody was done the other birds took it +up and sang until the forest rang with melody, and all was love, love, +love. Then the knights saw Rinaldo, lying in the grove, his head in the +lap of the enchantress. His sword was gone from his side, and in its place +hung a mirror in which he sometimes gazed at Armida's reflection. When +Armida left him alone for a few hours, the knights surprised Rinaldo, and +turned the wizard's diamond shield upon him. For the first time he saw +himself as others saw him, and, blushing with shame, announced himself +ready to return with them to rescue Jerusalem. Tearing off his ornaments, +he hastened down the mountain, but not soon enough to escape Armida. +Tears, prayers, threats she used in vain. She had captured him when he +fled from the camp, intending to slay him; but moved by his beauty, she +had spared him, and falling in love with him, had reared this palace that +they might in it revel in love's pleasures. Now, miserable, she saw him +desert her, and destroying the beautiful haunt, she drove her swift +chariot across the seas to the camp of the Egyptian king, who was +hastening towards Jerusalem. Intent on the slaughter of Rinaldo, her love +for whom had changed to bitter hate, she offered the warriors of the +Egyptian king, all of whom had fallen victims to her charms, her hand as a +reward to the slayer of Rinaldo. + +When Rinaldo and his rescuers reached the abode of the wizard they found +him waiting with new arms for the young hero. The sage reproached him +gently for his dalliance, and then, seeing the blush of shame upon his +countenance, showed him the shield, which bore the illustrious deeds of +his ancestors of the house of Este. Great as were their past glories, +still greater would be those of the family which he should found, greatest +of whom would be the Duke Alphonso. + +Rinaldo, having told his story to Godfrey, and confessed his wrong-doing +to Peter the Hermit, proceeded to the enchanted forest; and though as +beauteous scenes, and as voluptuous sirens displayed themselves to him as +dwelt in Armida's garden, yea, though one tree took the semblance of +Armida herself, he boldly hacked the trunk and broke the magic spell. +Joyfully the Franks set to work to fell the huge trees and construct +vaster, stronger engines than before, under the direction of a master +mechanic. At the same time, Vafrino, a cunning squire of Tancred, was +commissioned to go forth in disguise and inspect the camp of the coming +Egyptian king. Even before he departed, a carrier pigeon, driven back by a +hawk, fell into Godfrey's hands, bearing a message to Aladine from Egypt, +saying that in four or five days he would be with him in Jerusalem. + +Godfrey, determined to take the city before that day should come, made the +utmost exertions to have the machines completed. In Jerusalem, also, great +preparations were made, machines built, and a fearful fire concocted by +Ismeno with which to drive the assaulters from the wall. + +Shriven by the priests, the Christian army went forth to battle. Godfrey +took his stand against the northern gate; Raymond was assigned to the +steep sharp crags at the southwest walls, and Guelph and the two Roberts +were stationed on the track to Gaza to watch for the Egyptians. + +The pagans fought with great fury, bringing out new instruments to oppose +the huge battering rams, raining down arrows, and throwing the suffocating +fire. But Rinaldo, to whom all this work appeared too slow, urged on his +bold Adventurers to form a tortoise, hastened to the wall, seized a +scaling ladder, and, unmoved by any missile, mounted the wall and assisted +his followers, in spite of the multitudes who surrounded him, attempting +to hurl him down. But as Godfrey advanced, Ismeno launched his terrible +fire-balls, more horrible than the flames of Mt. Etna; they affected even +the vast tower, swelling and drying the heavy skins that covered its sides +until protecting Heaven sent a breeze that drove the flames back to the +city. Ismeno, accompanied by two witches, hurried to the wall, but was +crushed by a stone that ground his and their bones to powder. Godfrey, +inspired by a vision of the slain soldiery fighting in his ranks, leaped +upon the wall and planted the red-cross flag. Raymond was also successful, +and the Christians rushed over the walls into the town, following Aladine, +who hastened to shut himself up in the citadel. + +While the battle was raging, but success was assured to the Christians, +Tancred and the terrible Argantes met, and glad of an opportunity to +settle their quarrel, withdrew to a glade in the forest. Tancred, stung by +the taunts of cowardice for his former failure to keep his appointment, +fought bitterly. He had not the sheer strength of his antagonist, but his +sleight at last overcame, and Argantes fell. Weakened by pain and loss of +blood, Tancred fell senseless, and was thus found by Erminia, who had met +Vafrino the spy in the camp of the Egyptians and had fled with him. They +revived Tancred, and carried him home to be nursed by the delighted +Erminia. + +Vafrino had seen Armida in the camp and had learned through Erminia not +only the princes' designs on Rinaldo, but also that they meant to assume +the signs of the red-cross knights and thus reach the neighborhood of +Godfrey and slay him. On this intelligence Godfrey changed the signs of +his men that they might recognize the Egyptians on the following day and +put them to death. + +Terrible to the Franks was the sight of the Egyptian army when they opened +their eyes upon it next morning. Clouds of dust obscured all the heavens, +hills, and valleys, so great was the coming host. But Godfrey, with an +eloquence that fired each soul, told them of the helplessness of the +enemy, of how many of them were slaves, scourged to the battle, and +reminded them of the great undertaking before them, the saving of the +Sepulchre, until fired with zeal, and burning to fight, they rushed into +battle and dispersed the Egyptians. Many of the Christians fell by the +sword of the terrible Soldan, among them Gildippe and her husband, united +in death as in life. Rinaldo, hearing of their slaughter, speedily avenged +it by laying the Soldan low on the battle-field. + +One after another of Armida's champions attacked Rinaldo, determined to +win the prize, but his good sword sent them to earth, and Armida was left +alone and unprotected. Rinaldo, having seen her fly away over the plain +and knowing the victory achieved, followed and found her ready to put +herself to death in a lonely glade. He snatched the sword from her hand +and speedily changed back her hate to love. She fell upon his breast, and +with the promise to become a Christian and give her life to him, +accompanied him back to the city. + +During the battle, Aladine and those who were imprisoned in the citadel +overpowered Count Raymond, and rushed out to battle, only to be overcome +and slain. Prince Altamore, who, covered with blood, remained alone on the +field, yielded himself to Godfrey, and was given his life and his kingdom. + +Then, from the field covered with spoil and floating with blood, the +conquering troops, clad in their bloody armor, marched in solemn cavalcade +to the Temple and paid their vowed devotions at the sacred tomb. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + +SOPHRONIA AND OLINDO. + + +At the instigation of the wizard Ismeno, Aladine, king of Jerusalem, stole +an image of the Virgin from the temple of the Christians and put it in his +mosque in order to render the city impregnable. When morning dawned the +image was gone, and no search could reveal any clue to the theft. + + In every temple, hermitage, and hall, + A long and eager search the monarch made, + And tortures or rewards decreed to all + Who screened the guilty, or the guilt betrayed; + Nor ceased the Sorcerer to employ in aid + Of the inquiry all his arts, but still + Without success; for whether Heaven conveyed + The prize away, or power of human will, + Heaven close the secret kept, and shamed his vaunted skill. + + But when the king found all expedients vain + To trace th' offender, then, beyond disguise, + Flamed forth his hatred to the Christians; then, + Fed by wild jealousies and sharp surmise, + Immoderate fury sparkled in his eyes; + Follow what may, he will revenge the deed, + And wreak his rage: "Our wrath shall not," he cries, + "Fall void, but root up all th' accursed seed; + Thus in the general doom the guilty yet shall bleed! + + "So that he 'scapes not, let the guiltless die! + But wherefore thus of guiltlessness debate? + Each guilty is, nor 'mongst them all know I + One, well-affected to the faith and state; + And what if some be unparticipate + In this new crime, new punishment shall pay + For old misdeeds; why longer do ye wait, + My faithful Mussulmans? up! up! away! + Hence with the torch and sword: seize, fire, lay waste, and slay!" + + Thus to the crowd he spake, the mandate flew, + And in the bosoms of the Faithful shed + Astonishment and stupor; stupor threw + On every face the paleness of the dead; + None dared, none sought to make defence; none fled, + None used entreaty, none excuse; but there + They stood, like marble monuments of dread, + Irresolute,--but Heaven conceived their prayer, + And whence they least had hope, brought hope to their despair. + + Of generous thoughts and principles sublime + Amongst them in the city lived a maid, + The flower of virgins in her ripest prime, + Supremely beautiful! but that she made + Never her care, or beauty only weighed + In worth with virtue; and her worth acquired + A deeper charm from blooming in the shade; + Lovers she shunned, nor loved to be admired, + But from their praises turned, and lived a life retired. + + Yet could not this coy secrecy prevent + Th' admiring gaze and warm desires of one + Tutored by Love, nor yet would Love consent + To hide such lustrous beauty from the sun; + Love! that through every change delight'st to run, + The Proteus of the heart I who now dost blind, + Now roll the Argus eyes that nought can shun! + Thou through a thousand guards unseen dost wind, + And to the chastest maids familiar access find. + + Sophronia hers, Olindo was his name; + Born in one town, by one pure faith illumed; + Modest--as she was beautiful, his flame + Feared much, hoped little, and in nought presumed; + He could not, or he durst not speak, but doomed + To voiceless thought his passion; him she slighted, + Saw not, or would not see; thus he consumed + Beneath the vivid fire her beauty lighted; + Either not seen ill known, or, known, but ill requited. + + And thus it was, when like an omen drear + That summoned all her kindred to the grave, + The cruel mandate reached Sophronia's ear, + Who, brave as bashful, yet discreet as brave, + Mused how her people she from death might save; + Courage inspired, but virginal alarm + Repressed the thought, till maiden shyness gave + Place to resolve, or joined to share the harm; + Boldness awoke her shame, shame made her boldness charm. + + Alone amidst the crowd the maid proceeds, + Nor seeks to hide her beauty, nor display; + Downcast her eyes, close veiled in simple weeds, + With coy and graceful steps she wins her way: + So negligently neat, one scarce can say + If she her charms disdains, or would improve,-- + If chance or taste disposes her array; + Neglects like hers, if artifices, prove + Arts of the friendly Heavens, of Nature, and of Love. + + All, as she passed unheeding, all, admire + The noble maid; before the king she stood; + Not for his angry frown did she retire, + But his indignant aspect coolly viewed: + "To give,"--she said, "but calm thy wrathful mood, + And check the tide of slaughter in its spring,-- + To give account of that thou hast pursued + So long in vain, seek I thy face, O king! + The urged offence I own, the doomed offender bring!" + + The modest warmth, the unexpected light + Of high and holy beauty, for a space + O'erpowered him,--conquered of his fell despite, + He stood, and of all fierceness lost the trace. + Were his a spirit, or were hers a face + Of less severity, the sweet surprise + Had melted him to love; but stubborn grace + Subdues not stubborn pride; Love's potent ties + Are flattering fond regards, kind looks, and smiling eyes. + + If 't were not Love that touched his flinty soul, + Desire it was, 't was wonder, 't was delight: + "Safe be thy race!" he said, "reveal the whole, + And not a sword shall on thy people light." + Then she: "The guilty is before thy sight,-- + The pious robbery was my deed; these hands + Bore the blest Image from its cell by night; + The criminal thou seek'st before thee stands,-- + Justice from none but me her penalty demands." + + Thus she prepares a public death to meet, + A people's ransom at a tyrant's shrine: + Oh glorious falsehood! beautiful deceit! + Can Truth's own light thy loveliness outshine? + To her bold speech misdoubting Aladine + With unaccustomed temper calm replied: + "If so it were, who planned the rash design, + Advised thee to it, or became thy guide? + Say, with thyself who else his ill-timed zeal allied?" + + "Of this my glory not the slightest part + Would I," said she, "with one confederate share; + I needed no adviser; my full heart + Alone sufficed to counsel, guide and dare." + "If so," he cried, "then none but thou must bear + The weight of my resentment, and atone + For the misdeed." "Since it has been my care," + She said, "the glory to enjoy alone, + 'T is just none share the pain; it should be all mine own." + + To this the tyrant, now incensed, returned, + "Where rests the Image?" and his face became + Dark with resentment: she replied, "I burned + The holy Image in the holy flame, + And deemed it glory; thus at least no shame + Can e'er again profane it--it is free + From farther violation: dost thou claim + The spoil or spoiler? this behold in me; + But that, whilst time rolls round, thou never more shall see. + + "Albeit no spoiler I; it was no wrong + To repossess what was by force obtained:" + At this the tyrant loosed his threatening tongue, + Long-stifled passion raging unrestrained: + No longer hope that pardon may be gained, + Beautiful face, high spirit, bashful heart! + Vainly would Love, since mercy is disdained, + And Anger flings his most envenomed dart, + In aid of you his else protecting shield impart! + + Doomed in tormenting fire to die, they lay + Hands on the maid; her arms with rough cords twining. + Rudely her mantle chaste they tear away, + And the white veil that o'er her drooped declining: + This she endured in silence unrepining, + Yet her firm breast some virgin tremors shook; + And her warm cheek, Aurora's late outshining, + Waned into whiteness, and a color took, + Like that of the pale rose, or lily of the brook. + + The crowd collect; the sentence is divulged; + With them Olindo comes, by pity swayed; + It might be that the youth the thought indulged, + What if his own Sophronia were the maid! + There stand the busy officers arrayed + For the last act, here swift the flames arise; + But when the pinioned beauty stands displayed + To the full gaze of his inquiring eyes,-- + '_T is_ she! he bursts through all, the crowd before him flies. + + Aloud he cries: "To her, oh not to her + The crime belongs, though frenzy may misplead! + She planned not, dared not, could not, king, incur + Sole and unskilled the guilt of such a deed! + How lull the guards, or by what process speed + The sacred Image from its vaulted cell? + The theft was mine! and 't is my right to bleed!" + Alas for him! how wildly and how well + He loved the unloving maid, let this avowal tell. + + "I marked where your high Mosque receives the air + And light of heaven; I climbed the dizzy steep; + I reached a narrow opening; entered there, + And stole the Saint whilst all were hushed in sleep: + Mine was the crime, and shall another reap + The pain and glory? Grant not her desire! + The chains are mine; for me the guards may heap + Around the ready stake the penal fire; + For me the flames ascend; 't is mine, that funeral pyre!" + + Sophronia raised to him her face,--her eye + Was filled with pity and a starting tear: + She spoke--the soul of sad humanity + Was in her voice, "What frenzy brings thee here, + Unhappy innocent! is death so dear, + Or am I so ill able to sustain + A mortal's wrath, that thou must needs appear? + I have a heart, too, that can death disdain, + Nor ask for life's last hour companionship in pain." + + Thus she appeals to him; but scorning life, + His settled soul refuses to retreat: + Oh glorious scene, where in sublimest strife + High-minded Virtue and Affection meet! + Where death's the prize of conquest, and defeat + Seals its own safety, yet remains unblest! + But indignation at their fond deceit, + And rage, the more inflames the tyrant's breast, + The more this constant pair the palm of guilt contest. + + He deems his power despised, and that in scorn + Of him they spurn the punishment assigned: + "Let," he exclaimed, "the fitting palm adorn + The brows of both! both pleas acceptance find!" + Beckoning he bids the prompt tormentors bind + Their galling chains around the youth--'t is done; + Both to one stake are, back to back, consigned, + Like sunflowers twisted from their worshipped sun, + Compelled the last fond looks of sympathy to shun. + + Around them now the unctuous pyre was piled, + And the fanned flame was rising in the wind, + When, full of mournful thoughts, in accents wild, + The lover to his mate in death repined: + "Is this the bond, then, which I hoped should bind + Our lives in blissful marriage? this the fire + Of bridal faith, commingling mind with mind, + Which, I believed, should in our hearts inspire + Like warmth of sacred zeal and delicate desire? + + "For other flames Love promised to impart, + Than those our envious planets here prepare; + Too, ah too long they kept our hands apart, + But harshly now they join them in despair! + Yet does it soothe, since by a mode so rare + Condemned to die, thy torments to partake, + Forbid by fate thy sweetnesses to share; + If tears I shed, 't is but for thy dear sake, + Not mine,--with thee beside, I bless the burning stake! + + "And oh! this doom would be indeed most blest, + My sharpest sufferings blandishments divine, + Might I but be permitted, breast to breast, + On thy sweet lips my spirit to resign; + If thou too, panting toward one common shrine, + Wouldst the next happy instant parting spend + Thy latest sighs in sympathy on mine!" + Sorrowing he spake; she, when his plaints had end, + Did thus his fond discourse most sweetly reprehend. + + "Far other aspirations, other plaints + Than these, dear friend, the solemn hour should claim. + Think what reward God offers to his saints; + Let meek repentance raise a loftier aim: + These torturing fires, if suffered in his name, + Will, bland as zephyrs, waft us to the blest; + Regard the sun, how beautiful his flame! + How fine a sky invites him to the west! + These seem to soothe our pangs, and summon us to rest." + + The Pagans lifting up their voices, wept; + In stifled sorrow wept the Faithful too; + E'en the stern king was touched,--a softness crept + O'er his fierce heart, ennobling, pure, and new; + He felt, he scorned it, struggled to subdue, + And lest his wavering firmness should relent, + His eyes averted, and his steps withdrew; + Sophronia's spirit only was unbent; + She yet lamented not, for whom all else lament. + + In midst of their distress, a knight behold, + (So would it seem) of princely port! whose vest + And arms of curious fashion, grained with gold, + Bespeak some foreign and distinguished guest; + The silver tigress on the helm impressed, + Which for a badge is borne, attracts all eyes,-- + A noted cognizance, th' accustomed crest + Used by Clorinda, whence conjectures rise, + Herself the stranger is,--nor false is their surmise. + + All feminine attractions, aims, and parts, + She from her childhood cared not to assume; + Her haughty hand disdained all servile arts, + The needle, distaff, and Arachne's loom; + Yet, though she left the gay and gilded room + For the free camp, kept spotless as the light + Her virgin fame, and proud of glory's plume, + With pride her aspect armed, she took delight + Stern to appear, and stern, she charmed the gazer's sight. + + Whilst yet a girl, she with her little hand + Lashed and reined in the rapid steed she raced, + Tossed the huge javelin, wrestled on the sand, + And by gymnastic toils her sinews braced; + Then through the devious wood and mountain-waste + Tracked the struck lion to his entered den, + Or in fierce wars a nobler quarry chased; + And thus in fighting field and forest glen, + A man to savage beasts, a savage seemed to men. + + From Persia now she comes, with all her skill + The Christians to resist, though oft has she + Strewed with their blood the field, till scarce a rill + Remained, that ran not purple to the sea. + Here now arrived, the dreadful pageantry + Of death presents itself,--the crowd--the pyre-- + And the bound pair; solicitous to see, + And know what crime condemns them to the fire, + Forward she spurs her steed and hastens to inquire. + + The throng falls back, and she awhile remains, + The fettered pair more closely to survey; + One she sees silent, one she sees complains, + The stronger spirit nerves the weaker prey; + She sees him mourn like one whom the sad sway + Of powerful pity doth to tears chastise, + Not grief, or grief not for himself; but aye + Mute kneels the maid, her blue beseeching eyes + So fixed on heaven, she seems in heaven ere yet she dies. + + Clorinda melts, and with them both condoles; + Some tears she sheds, but greater tenderness + Feels for her grief who most her grief controls,-- + The silence moves her much, the weeping less; + No longer now does she delay to press + For information; turning towards one + Of reverend years, she said with eagerness, + "Who are they? speak! and oh, what crime has won + This death? in Mercy's name, declare the deed they've done!" + + Thus she entreats; a brief reply he gives, + But such as well explains the whole event: + Amazed she heard it, and as soon conceives + That they are both sincerely innocent; + Her heart is for them, she is wholly bent + To avert their fate, if either arms can aid, + Or earnest prayers secure the king's consent; + The fire she nears, commands it to be stayed, + That now approached them fast, and to th' attendants said: + + "Let none of you presume to prosecute + Your barbarous office, till the king I see; + My word I pledge that at Clorinda's suit, + Your fault he will forgive, if fault it be." + Moved by her speech and queenlike dignity + The guards obey, and she departs in quest + Of the stern monarch, urgent of her plea: + Midway they met; the monarch she addressed + And in this skilful mode her generous purpose pressed. + + "I am Clorinda; thou wilt know perchance + The name, from vague remembrance or renown; + And here I come to save with sword and lance + Our common Faith, and thy endangered crown, + Impose the labor, lay th' adventure down, + Sublime, I fear it not, nor low despise; + In open field or in the straitened town, + Prepared I stand for every enterprise, + Where'er the danger calls, where'er the labor lies!" + + "'T would be assuredly a thing most rare, + If the reward the service should precede; + But of thy bounty confident, I dare + For future toils solicit, as my meed, + Yon lovers' pardon; since the charge indeed + Rests on no evidence, 't was hard to press + The point at all, but this I waive, nor plead + On those sure signs which, urged, thou must confess + Their hands quite free from crime, or own their guilt far less. + + "Yet will I say, though here the common mind + Condemns the Christians of the theft, for me, + Sufficient reasons in mine own I find + To doubt, dispute, disparage the decree; + To set their idols in our sanctuary + Was an irreverence to our laws, howe'er + Urged by the sorcerer; should the Prophet see + E'en idols of our own established there? + Much less then those of men whose lips his faith forswear: + + "The Christian statue ravished from your sight + To Allah therefore rather I impute, + In sign that he will let no foreign rite + Of superstition his pure place pollute: + Spells and enchantments may Ismeno suit, + Leave him to use such weapons at his will; + But shall we warriors by a wand dispute? + No! no! our talisman, our hope, our skill, + Lie in our swords alone, and they shall serve us still!" + + She ceased; and he, though mercy could with pain + Subdue a heart so full of rage and pride, + Relents, her reasons move, her prayers constrain.-- + Such intercessor must not be denied; + Thus, though reluctant, he at length complied: + "The plea for the fair pleader I receive; + I can refuse thee nothing; this," he cried, + "May justice be or mercy,--let them live; + Guiltless--I set them free, or guilty I forgive!" + + Restored to life and liberty, how blest. + How truly blest was young Olindo's fate! + For sweet Sophronia's blushes might attest, + That Love at length has touched her delicate + And generous bosom; from the stake in state + They to the altar pass; severely tried, + In doom and love, already made his mate, + She now objects not to become his bride. + And grateful live with him who would for her have died. + + _Wiffen's Translation, Canto_ + + + + + +PARADISE LOST. + + +Paradise Lost was written by John Milton, who was born in London, Dec. 9, +1608, and died Nov. 8, 1674. After leaving college, he spent five years in +study at home, during which time he wrote L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, +Arcades, Comus, and Lycidas. In 1638 he travelled on the continent and in +Italy, where he met Galileo. He hastened home in 1639 on account of the +political disturbances in England, and espousing the Puritan cause, +devoted the next twenty years of his life to the writing of pamphlets in +its defence. In 1649 he was appointed Latin Secretary under Cromwell. In +1652 he lost his sight in consequence of overwork. At the age of +twenty-nine, Milton had decided to make an epic poem his life work, and +had noted many historical subjects. By 1641 he had decided on a Biblical +subject. He had probably conceived Paradise Lost at the age of thirty-two, +although the poem was not composed until he was over fifty. It was written +after his blindness and dictated in small portions to various persons, the +work being collected and revised by Milton and Aubrey Phillips. It was +completed, according to the authority of Phillips, in 1663, but on account +of the Plague and the Great Fire, it was not published until 1667. + +Paradise Lost is divided into twelve books and is written, to use Milton's +own words, "In English heroic verse without rhyme, as that of Homer in +Greek and of Virgil in Latin, rhyme being no necessary adjunct or true +ornament of poem or good verse." + +Paradise Lost was neglected until the time of the Whig supremacy in +England. In 1688 Lord Somers, the Whig leader, published an _édition de +luxe_ of the poem; Addison's papers on it, in 1712, increased its +popularity, and through the influence of the Whigs a bust of the poet was +placed in Westminster Abbey in 1737. + +There is no better proof of the greatness of Paradise Lost than the way in +which it has survived hostile criticism. It has been criticised for the +lengthy conversations and "arguments" of its characters; for its +materialization of the Divine Being; because of its subject; because of +Milton's vagueness of description of things awesome and terrible, in +comparison with Dante's minute descriptions. But the earnest spirit in +which it was conceived and written; the subject, giving it a "higher +argument" than any merely national epic, even though many of Milton's, and +his age's, special beliefs are things of the past, and its lofty and +poetical style, have rendered unassailable its rank among the noblest of +the epics. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE LOST. + + +Joseph Addison's Notes upon the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost; +by Albert S. Cook, 1892. (In the Spectator from Dec. 31, 1711-May 3, +1712); + +Samuel Austin Allibone's Dictionary of Authors, 1891, vol. ii., pp. +1301-1311; + +Matthew Arnold's A French Critic on Milton (see his Mixed Essays, 1880, +pp. 260-273); + +Walter Bagehot's Literary Studies, by Richard Holt Hutton, 1879, vol. i., +202-219; + +Richard Bentley's Emendations on the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost, 1732; + +E. H. Bickersteth's Milton's Paradise Lost, 1876. (St. James Lectures, 2d +series. Another edition, 1877); + +Hugh Blair's Paradise Lost (see his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles +Lettres, 1783, vol. ii., 471-476); + +Miss Christian Cann's A Scriptural and Allegorical Glossary to Paradise +Lost, 1828; + +Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical +Works, 1867; + +Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Lectures and Notes on Shakespeare and other +English Poets collected by T. Ashe, 1893, pp. 518-529; + +William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their lives and times etc., 1879; + +Charles Eyre's Fall of Adam, from Milton's Paradise Lost, 1852; + +George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 17-25; + +S. Humphreys Gurteen's The Epic of the Fall of Man; a comparative Study of +Caedmon, Dante, and Milton, 1896; + +William Hazlitt On the Character of Milton's Eve (see his Round Table ed. +by W. Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 150-158); + +William Hazlitt On Milton's Versification (see his Round Table, ed. by W. +Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 51-57); + +John A. Himes's Study of Milton's Paradise Lost, 1878; + +Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets; ed. by Mrs. Alexander +Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + +Thomas Keightley's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his An account of +the Life, Opinions, and Writings of John Milton, 1855, pp. 397-484); + +Walter Savage Landor's Imaginary Conversations, Southey and Landor, 1853, +vol. ii., 57-74, 156-159; + +Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical +Essays, ed. 10, 1860, vol. i., pp. 1-61); + +William Massey's Remarks upon Milton's Paradise Lost, 1761; + +David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his edition of Milton's +Poetical Works, 1893, vol. ii., pp. 1-57); + +David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 505-558, 621-636; + +David Masson's Three Devils (Luther's, Goethe's, and Milton's), (see his +Three Devils and other Essays, 1874); + +James Peterson's A complete Commentary on Paradise Lost, 1744; + +Jonathan Richardson's Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Paradise Lost, +1734; + +Edmond Scherer's Milton and Paradise Lost (see his essays on English +Literature; Tr. by George Saintsbury, 1891, pp. 134-149); + +John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures +and Essays), 1871, pp. 142-152; + +First Edition of Paradise Lost, Book Lore, 1886, iii., 72-75; + +J. A. Himes's Cosmology of Paradise Lost, Lutheran Quarterly, 1876, vi., +187-204; + +J. A. Himes's Plan of Paradise Lost, New Englander, 1883, xlii., 196-211; + +Satan of Milton and the Lucifer of Byron compared, Knickerbocker, 1847, +xxx., 150-155; + +Satan of Paradise Lost, Dublin University Magazine, 1876, lxxxviii., +707-714; + +Augustine Birrell's Obiter Dicta (2d series 1887, pp. 42-51); + +Isaac Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature; +Bentley's Milton, 1867, pp. 138-139; + +Henry Hallam's Literary History of Europe, 1873, ed. 5, vol. iii., pp. +475-483; + +Mark Pattison's John Milton, n. d. (English Men of Letters Series); + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature; Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, +vol. ii., pp. 106-124. + + + + +THE STORY OF PARADISE LOST. + + +When that bright spirit, afterwards known as Satan, rose in rebellion +against the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, presumptuously thinking +himself equal to him in strength and following, he was overthrown by the +Great Power and cast with his followers out of Heaven down to his future +dwelling, flaming Hell. + +Nine days he and his horrid crew fell through Chaos into the flaming pit +yawning to receive them, and there lay for nine days,--rendered still more +miserable by the thought of their immortality and the eternal bliss they +had forfeited. Then Satan, rousing himself from the stupor consequent upon +the fall, half rose and addressed the next in power to himself, Beelzebub. + +"Thou art the same, yet not the same," said he; "changed, lost is some of +thy former brightness. Yet why repine? While we live, while we have so +large a following, all is not lost. Our hate still lives, and have we but +strength enough, we may still revenge ourselves upon him who thrust us +into this accursed place." + +Rising from the lake, his great shield slung over his shoulders, the +unconquered archangel walked over the burning marl to the beach of that +fiery sea, and there with chiding words addressed the legions strewn +around him. The great army rose hastily at the voice of its chief and +passed before him, spirits whose heavenly names were now forever lost, who +later became the gods of the idolaters. There was mighty Moloch, Chemos, +those who later went by the general names of Baalim and +Ashtaroth,--Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Orus and their train, +Belial, and last of all, the Ionian gods. + +His despair in part dissipated by the sight of this heroic array, their +prince, towering high above all, addressed them. No one had foreseen the +calamity that had overtaken them. Who could have guessed the power of the +Almighty? But though overthrown they were not totally defeated. A rumor +had long since been rife of the creation of another world with which they +could interfere. At any rate, there must never be peace between them and +the heavenly Powers. War there must be, war in secret, or war waged +openly. As he ended, shield clashed against shield, and swords, quickly +drawn, flashed before his eyes, and loud cries hurled defiance to Heaven. + +The legions, led by Mammon, who in Heaven had been an honored architect, +sought a hill near by, and quickly emptying it of its rich store of gold +and jewels, built a massive structure. Like a temple in form was it, and +round about it stood Doric columns overlaid with gold. No king of any +future state could boast of a grander hall than this palace of Pandemonium +which was so quickly reared upon a hill in Hell, and to which the heralds' +trumpets now summoned all the host. + +On the massive throne, blazing with jewels, sat the fallen spirit, and +thus addressed his followers: "Our success is sure in whatever we +undertake. We shall never be riven with internecine warfare, for surely no +one will quarrel over precedence in Hell. Therefore, united, we can, sure +of our success, debate of the way in which we shall take up our warfare +with the powers that have overthrown us." + +Moloch, Belial, Mammon, and Beelzebub spoke. Moloch was in favor of open +war, since nothing could be worse than Hell, and continued assault against +the Most High would, in annoying him, be a sweet revenge. Belial, who +though timorous and slothful, was a persuasive orator, denounced Moloch's +plan. Since the ruler of Heaven was all-powerful, and they immortal, no +one knew to what greater misery he could push them; perhaps he would bury +them in boiling pitch to eternity, or inflict a thousand undreamed-of +tortures. War, open and secret, he disliked, since it was impossible to +conceal aught from the eye of the Most High. To make the best of Hell +seemed all that was possible; in time they might become inured to its +flames and better days might come, if they but accepted their doom +patiently. + +Mammon also considered war impossible. They could never hope to overcome +the Almighty; neither could they hope nor wish for a reconciliation, for +how hateful would be an eternity spent in cringing to one whom they hated. +The desert soil of Hell teemed with riches, they could find peaceful +pursuits, and it was his advice to continue there in quiet, untroubled by +any thoughts of revenge. + +Amid the murmur of applause that followed Mammon's speech, Beelzebub, than +whom none towered higher save Satan, arose, his face grave, his attitude +majestic. "Would you, Thrones and Imperial Powers," he cried, "think to +build up a kingdom here, secure from the arm of Heaven? Have you so soon +forgotten that this is not a kingdom ceded to you by the Most High, but a +dungeon in which he has shut you for your everlasting punishment? Never +will he forget that you are his prisoners; your lot will not be peace, but +custody and stripes. What return can we make, then, but to think out some +slow but sure and sweet revenge? It is not necessary to attempt to scale +the walls of Heaven. Other things remain. There is this new world, his +plaything. It may lie exposed, and we can at least make the attempt to +seize it and lay it waste, and thus vex him." As he saw their eyes +sparkle, he continued: "We may in this attempt come near to the steps of +our old abode and breathe again its delicious airs instead of these +hellish flames. But first we must find some one, strong, wary, and +watchful, to send in search of it." + +Satan strode forth, his courage and his consciousness of it making his +face shine with transcendent glory. "Long is the way and hard; its dangers +unknown and terrible, but I should be a poor sovereign did I hesitate in +the attempt to seek it out. I do not refuse the sovereignty, for I fear +not to accept as great a share of hazard as of honor. Stay here; charm +away your time, and I will seek deliverance abroad for all of us." + +As he spoke he rose to depart, fearful lest others might now offer to go +and share the glory with him. + +The legions rose with a sound like thunder, bowed in deepest reverence and +went forth, some, to explore their dismal abode, others to amuse +themselves at games, others to discuss Free Will and Fate, while their +leader pursued his way toward the gate of Hell. + +The nine-fold gates were of brass, iron, and adamantine rock, reaching +high to the mighty roof, and most horrible were the Shapes that guarded +it. + +On one side sat a creature, woman to the waist, below, a serpent, +surrounded by a crew of hell hounds, forever barking and then seeking +refuge within her. On the other, a Shape, black, fierce, terrible, crowned +with the likeness of a kingly crown, and shaking in its hands a dreadful +dart. As he strode, Hell trembled. Satan, undaunted, met him with fierce +words. As the two stood, their lances pointed at each other, the woman +shrieked and ran between them. + +"Father, rush not upon thy son! Son, raise not thy hand against thy +father!" She then explained that she was Satan's daughter, Sin, who had +sprung from his head full grown, and that she later became by him the +mother of the creature called Death who sat with her to guard the gates. + +Satan at once unfolded to them his plan of seeking the new world and +making a happy home for both Sin and Death, where they could forever find +food to gratify their hideous cravings. Charmed by his highly-colored +pictures, and forgetful of the commands from above, Sin opened the mighty +doors, so that the flames of Hell spread far out into Chaos, but her +strength failed her when she attempted to close them again. + +For a moment Satan looked out into the mixture of Hot and Cold and Moist +and Dry that formed Chaos, and then started forth, now rising, now +falling, his wings heavy with the dense masses, now wading, now creeping, +until at last he reached the spot where was fixed the throne of Chaos and +of Night. Here Satan learned of the situation of the new world and soon +caught a glimpse of it, hanging like a star, by a golden chain, from +Heaven. + +Sitting in Heaven, high throned above all, God, all-seeing, all-knowing, +was conscious of Satan's escape from Hell and his approach to the new +world. To his Son, sitting on his right hand, he pointed out the fallen +spirit. "No prescribed bounds can shut our Adversary in; nor can the +chains of hell hold him. To our new world he goes, and there, by no fault +of mine, will pervert man, whom I have placed therein, with a free will; +so to remain until he enthralls himself. Man will fall as did Satan, but +as Satan was self-tempted, and man will be deceived by another, the latter +shall find grace where his tempter did not." + +Great was the joy of the Son when he learned that man would receive mercy +for his transgression. "Pardon and mercy he shall receive," declared the +Father, "but some one must be willing to expiate his sin for him; the just +must die for the unjust. Who in Heaven is willing to make the sacrifice?" + +For a moment all the Heavenly quire stood mute; then the Son of God spoke +and implored his Father to let his anger fall on him, since he could not +wholly die, but could arise from death and subdue his vanquisher. + +When his Father accepted the sacrifice, and named him Son of God and Man +who should hereafter be Universal King, Ruler of Heaven and Earth, Heaven +rang with the shouts of the Angels, who, casting down their amaranthine +wreaths until the golden pavement was covered with the garlands, took +their golden harps and sang the praises of the Father and the Son. + +While they sang, Satan walked over the vast globe on which he had +alighted, through what in after years, when the world was peopled, was to +be the Paradise of Fools, the spot to which the spirits of all things +transitory and vain, of those who had worked for their reward in life +instead of in Heaven, would come. He walked around the dark globe until, +directed by a gleam of light, he found the spot where a ladder led up to +Heaven. Just below it, down through the spheres, was the seat of Paradise +to which he was bending his way. + +Down through the crystal spheres he bent his way toward the Sun, which +attracted him by its superior splendor. Espying Uriel, the Angel of the +Sun, he quickly took the form of a youthful Cherub, and, approaching +Uriel, told him that having heard of the new world he had been seized by a +longing to quit the bands of Cherubim and see for himself the wonderful +work of the Creator. + +Directed by the unsuspecting Uriel, Satan sped downward and standing upon +the top of Niphates, surveyed Eden. + +As he looked, his spirit was troubled. He had brought Hell with him, and +his unhappy thoughts boiled and surged in his troubled mind. "Sun, I hate +thee, because thy beams recall to me what I was and how I fell. The +matchless King of Heaven deserved no such return from me. His service was +easy. Had I only been created a lower Power!--But even then, might not +some higher one have led me into temptation? What shall I do, whither +shall I fly, to escape infinite wrath, and infinite despair? Hell is +around me, I myself am Hell! There is no hope for me. Submission is the +only way left, and I could not unsay what I have said; I could never +bridge the gulf made by my revolt. Farewell to remorse! Good is forever +lost to me, and I must now make Evil my good. I can at least divide the +empire of the world with the King of Heaven." + +As he realized how his bitter thoughts had dimmed his countenance he +smoothed it over with outward calm, but not before Uriel, from the Sun, +had noted and wondered over his strange gestures. + +Leaping over the high natural walls of Paradise, Satan, in the form of a +cormorant, perched himself on the Tree of Life. Beautiful was the scene +before him. All the trees and plants were of the noblest kind. In the +midst of them stood the Tree of Life with its golden fruit, and not far +off the Tree of Knowledge. Southward through Eden ran a river, which, +passing under a huge hill, emerged into four great streams wandering +through many afterwards famous realms. Between the rows of trees stretched +level lawns where grazed the happy flocks, and over the green mead were +sprinkled flowers of every hue. No fairer scene ever met living eyes, and +fairest of all were the two stately forms, in whose looks shone the +divinity of their Maker. Hand in hand they passed through the garden, +refreshed themselves with the delicious fruits, and were happy in each +other. + +As he gazed on them while the animals fell asleep and the sun sank below +the horizon, Satan, still torn with conflicting emotions, ruminated over +the unhappiness he was to bring the lovely pair. He admired them, he could +love them; they had not harmed him, but he must bring unhappiness upon +them because of their likeness to their Creator. Through them only could +he obtain his longed-for revenge. + +Anxious to learn where to attack them, he prowled about them, now as a +lion, now as a tiger, listening to their conversation. They spoke of their +garden, of the Tree of Life, and of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. "In +the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die," had been their warning. Eve +recalled the day of her creation, when she had first fled from Adam, and +then yielded to his embraces, and Satan, watching their caresses, envied +and hardened his heart. "Live while ye may!" he muttered. "Soon will I +return and offer you new woes for your present pleasures." + +In the mean time, Gabriel, warned by Uriel, who suspected that an evil +spirit had crept into Paradise, had set watches around the garden. +Ithuriel and Zephon, sent to search for him, spied Satan in the form of a +toad, sitting near the ear of Eve, tainting her dreams with foul whispers. +Touched by Ithuriel's spear, he was forced to resume his own shape and was +taken to Gabriel. The angry Satan attempted to use force, but warned by a +sign from Heaven that his strength was insufficient, fled, murmuring, +through the night. + +When morning dawned on Eden, a morn of unimaginable beauty, Adam waked Eve +from her restless slumbers, and heard her troubled dreams, in which she +had been tempted to taste of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He +comforted her, and after their morning hymn, in which they glorified their +Creator, they set about their pleasant work of pruning the too luxuriant +vines of their Paradise. In the mean time, the Father above, knowing the +design of Satan, and determined that man should not fall without warning, +sent Raphael down to Adam to tell him that he was threatened by an enemy, +and that, as a free agent, if he fell, his sin would be upon his own head. + +Six-winged Raphael swept down through the spheres and stood in Paradise, +welcomed by Adam. Eve hastened to set before their guest every delicacy +that Eden knew, and while she was preparing these Adam listened to the +Angel's warning. + +To emphasize the sin of disobedience, Raphael related to the pair the +story of Satan's conspiracy with the other powers because the Father had +proclaimed the power of his Son. The Father, knowing Satan's confidence in +himself, had allowed him for two days to fight an equal number of his +legions of angels, among whom was Abdiel who had fled, indignant, from +Satan's ranks, and on the third day, when the legions of evil lay crushed +beneath the mountains which the shining angels had heaped upon them, the +Son of God drove forth in his chariot, and single-handed, forced them +before him, terror-stricken, until, Heaven's wall having opened, they fell +downward for nine days, in horror and confusion into the depths of Hell. +The Messiah, returning home in triumph in his chariot, was welcomed by the +bright orders into the home of his Father. + +Delighted by the recital of Raphael, Adam asked him to relate the story of +the Creation, and explain to him the motion of the celestial bodies. He +then told Raphael of his own creation; how he awoke as from a sleep and +found the Sun above him and around him the pleasant groves of Paradise; +how he named the animals as they passed before him, according to the will +of God, and how he had pleaded with his Maker for a companion and equal, +until the Creator, casting him into a sound sleep, took from his side a +rib and formed from it his beauteous Eve. As Adam concluded, the setting +sun warned Raphael to depart. + +Satan, after fleeing from Gabriel, had hidden in the dark parts of the +earth, so that he could creep in at night unseen of Uriel. After the +eighth night, he crept in past the watchful Cherubim, and stealing into +Paradise, wrapped in the mist rising over the river that, shooting +underground, rose up as a fountain near the Tree of Life, he crept, though +not without loathing, into the serpent, in which form he could best evade +the watchful eyes of the heavenly guards and accomplish his purpose. + +When morning dawned, Eve asked Adam for once to permit her to work alone, +so that they might accomplish more. Adam, who constantly desired her +presence, prayed her to remain, warning her of the enemy of whom Raphael +had spoken, and telling her that they could resist temptation more easily +together than when separated. But Eve was obdurate, and Adam finally +consented that she should go alone to work. + +As she moved among the groves, tying up the drooping flowers, like to +Pomona in her prime, or to Ceres, the sight of so much beauty, goodness, +and innocence moved even the serpent, as he approached, intent on the +destruction of her happiness. But as he looked, the thought of her joy but +tortured him the more, since happiness was no longer possible for him. + +This was before the serpent had been compelled to crawl his whole length +on the ground, and as he moved on, fold on fold, his head proudly reared, +his scales brilliant in color, he was not an unpleasant object to look +upon. He circled about Eve as though lost in admiration, until her +attention was attracted, and then astounded her by addressing her in her +own language. When she demanded by what means he had acquired speech, he +told her by the plucking and eating of a certain tree in the garden, which +he had no sooner tasted than he felt his inward powers to develop until he +found himself capable of speech. + +Eve at once asked him to take her to the tree, but when she recognized the +forbidden Tree of Knowledge, she demurred, assuring the serpent that God +had commanded them not to touch it, for if they ate of it, they should +surely die. "Am I not alive?" asked her tempter, "and have I not eaten of +it? Is it not a rank injustice that you should be forbidden to taste it +and to lack the Knowledge of Good and Evil which it would give you? Where +can the offence lie? It must be envy that causes such a prohibition." + +His words, the sight of the fruit, and natural hunger all prevailed on +Eve, and she plucked a branch from the tree and tasted the fruit. As she +ate she saw Adam coming in search of her, holding a garland which he had +been binding to crown her. To his reproaches, she replied with the +arguments of her tempter, until Adam, in despair, determined to taste the +apple that he might not lose Eve. Paradise without her would not be +Paradise, and no new wife could make him forget her. + +After the first exhilaration of the food was past they began to reproach +each other, mindful of their destiny, of which they had been warned by +Raphael, and, engaged in this fruitless chiding, they were found by the +Son, who, informed of their transgression by the angels, sought them out +in their place of concealment. Adam and Eve he sentenced to a life of +sorrow and labor, the serpent to go despised and ever at enmity with man. +Then, pitying the unhappy pair, he clad them in skins and re-ascended to +Heaven. + +While this was occurring in Eden, Sin and Death, feeling in some +mysterious way the success of their parent, determined to leave Hell and +seek their new home. Passing through Chaos, they pushed the heavy elements +this way and that, cementing them with Death's mace until they constructed +of them a bridge from the gates of Hell to the point on earth at which +Satan had first alighted, and here met him, just returning, flushed with +success, to Hell. + +All the followers of Satan were gathered in Pandemonium to hear the news +of his success, which he related, overjoyed at having wrought the ruin of +mankind and revenged himself on God by so small a thing as the eating of +an apple. As he concluded and stood waiting their applause, he heard a +universal hiss, and saw himself surrounded by serpents, and himself +changing into an enormous dragon. The great hall was filled with the +monsters, scorpions, asps, hydras, and those who stood waiting without +with applause for their leader were likewise changed into loathsome +reptiles. Without the hall a grove sprang up, loaded with tempting fruit, +but when, tortured with thirst, they tried to eat, it turned in their +mouths to bitter ashes. After a time they were permitted to take again +their own shapes, but were compelled to resume this serpent-form for a +certain number of days each year, to crush their pride. + +When God saw the entrance of Sin and Death into the world, he proclaimed +to his Saints that their seeming victory was but temporary, and that +eventually his Son would defeat Sin, Death, and the Grave, and seal up the +mouth of Hell. Then, as the Halleluias rang out, he ordered the angels to +make certain changes in the universe as a punishment to man. The Sun was +so to move as to affect the earth alternately with a cold and heat almost +unbearable; to the Moon were assigned her motions; the other planets were +to join in various ways, often "unbenign." The winds were assigned their +stations to torment the earth and sea, and the thunder was set to strike +terror to the heart of man. The poles of the earth were pushed aslant, and +soon the effects of the changes were felt in heat, cold, wind, and storm. + +Adam, though absorbed in his own misery and momentarily expecting Death, +saw the changes, and bemoaned his woes the more. How would his mysterious +progeny despise him, since he was the cause of their being brought into +the world of woe! When Eve attempted to comfort him he drove her from him +with harsh words, saying that in time to come women would be the unhappy +cause of all man's misery, as she had been of his. At last, seeing the +futility of his outcries Adam began to cheer his wife, recalling the +promise that their offspring should crush the head of the serpent, and +suggested to her that they go to their former place of prayer and pour +forth to God their true contrition and repentance. + +The glad Son, presenting these prayers at his Father's throne, interceded +with him for them, since their contrition now was worth more than their +worship in a state of innocence. His intercession was accepted, but since +they had lost the two gifts of Happiness and Immortality, they must leave +the garden lest they be tempted to taste next of the Tree of Life and make +their woe eternal. + +Michael was sent down to drive them from the garden, and if the pair +seemed repentant and disconsolate he was ordered to comfort them with the +promise of better days and to reveal to them somewhat of the future. In +habit as a man Michael descended and declared to Adam and Eve that they +could no longer abide in Paradise. When Adam, himself broken with grief, +attempted to console the heart-broken Eve, the Angel comforted her also, +and causing a sleep to fall upon her, led Adam to a hill-top, whence could +be seen the hemisphere of the earth, soon to be covered by the seats of +empires. + +Touching Adam's eyes with three drops from the well of life, the Angel +showed him a long panorama, beginning with the crime of Cain, and showing +the building of the Ark and its landing on Ararat. When he perceived that +Adam's eyes were weary, he recited to him the story of Abraham, of the +deliverance from Egypt, the wandering in the Wilderness, of the royal +stock of David from which would spring the seed so often promised Adam, +who should ascend the hereditary throne, and whose glory should be +universal. + +Overjoyed, Adam inquired when would take place the final death stroke to +Satan, the bruising with the Victor's heel. Michael responded that Satan +was not to be destroyed, but his works in Adam and his seed, and that the +sacrifice of the Son's life for man would forever crush the strength of +Satan's progeny, Sin and Death. Then, to that Heaven to which he would +reascend, the faithful would go when the time came for the world's +dissolution, and there would be received into the bliss eternal. + +Strengthened and sustained, Adam went down from the mount and met Eve, +just awaking from comforting dreams. + +The Cherubim descended, and, urged by the Angel, the two took their way +into the wide world that lay before them, and looking back beheld the +flaming swords of the Cherubim at the gates of their lost Paradise. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM PARADISE LOST. + +SATAN. + + +After having been thrown out of Heaven with his crew, Satan lay nine days +in the burning lake into which he fell. Then, rousing himself, he rose +from the liquid flames, flew over the lake, and alighting upon the solid +though burning land, thus addressed Beelzebub, who had accompanied him. + + "Is this the region, this the soil, the clime," + Said then the lost Archangel, "this the seat + That we must change for Heaven?--this mournful gloom + For that celestial light? Be it so, since He + Who now is sovran can dispose and bid + What shall be right: farthest from Him is best, + Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme + Above his equals. Farewell, happy fields, + Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail, + Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hell, + Receive thy new possessor--one who brings + A mind not to be changed by place or time. + The mind is its own place, and in itself + Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. + What matter where, if I be still the same, + And what I should be, all but less than he + Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least + We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built + Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: + Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice, + To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: + Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. + But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, + The associates and co-partners of our loss, + Lie thus astonished on the oblivious pool, + And call them not to share with us their part + In this unhappy mansion, or once more + With rallied arms to try what may be yet + Regained in Heaven, or what more lost in Hell?" + + So Satan spake; and him Beelzebub + Thus answered:--"Leader of those armies bright + Which, but the Omnipotent, none could have foiled! + If once they hear that voice, their liveliest pledge + Of hope in fears and dangers--heard so oft + In worst extremes, and on the perilous edge + Of battle, when it raged, in all assaults + Their surest signal--they will soon resume + New courage and revive, though now they lie + Grovelling and prostrate on yon lake of fire, + As we erewhile, astounded and amazed; + No wonder, fallen from such pernicious highth!" + + He scarce had ceased when the superior Fiend + Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield, + Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round, + Behind him cast. The broad circumference + Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb + Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views + At evening, from the top of Fesolč, + Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, + Rivers, or mountains, in her spotty globe. + His spear--to equal which the tallest pine + Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast + Of some great ammiral, were but a wand-- + He walked with, to support uneasy steps + Over the burning marle, not like those steps + On Heaven's azure; and the torrid clime + Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with fire. + Nathless he so endured, till on the beach + Of that inflamčd sea he stood, and called + His legions--Angel Forms, who lay entranced + Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks + In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades + High over-arched embower; or scattered sedge + Afloat, when the fierce winds Orion armed + Hath vexed the Red-Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew + Busiris and his Memphian chivalry, + While with perfidious hatred they pursued + The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld + From the safe shore their floating carcases + And broken chariot wheels. So thick bestrewn, + Abject and lost, lay these, covering the flood, + Under amazement of their hideous change. + He called so loud that all the hollow deep + Of Hell resounded:--"Princes, Potentates, + Warriors, the Flower of Heaven--once yours; now lost, + If such astonishment as this can seize + Eternal Spirits! Or have ye chosen this place + After the toil of battle to repose + Your wearied virtue, for the ease you find + To slumber here, as in the vales of Heaven? + Or in this abject posture have ye sworn + To adore the Conqueror, who now beholds + Cherub and Seraph rolling in the flood + With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon + His swift pursuers from Heaven-gates discern + The advantage, and descending, tread us down + Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts + Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf?-- + Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen!" + _Book I._, 240-330. + + +APOSTROPHE TO LIGHT. + +This passage forms the beginning of Book III., in which the poet visits +the realms of light after having described Hell and its inhabitants. + + Hail, holy Light, offspring of Heaven first-born! + Or of the Eternal coeternal beam + May I express thee unblamed? since God is light, + And never but in unapproachčd light + Dwelt from eternity--dwelt then in thee, + Bright effluence of bright essence increate! + Or hear'st thou rather pure Ethereal stream, + Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the Sun, + Before the Heavens, thou wert, and at the voice + Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest + The rising World of waters dark and deep, + Won from the void and formless Infinite! + Thee I revisit now with bolder wing, + Escaped the Stygian Pool, though long detained + In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight, + Through utter and through middle Darkness borne, + With other notes than to the Orphean lyre + I sung of Chaos and eternal Night, + Taught by the Heavenly Muse to venture down + The dark descent, and up to re-ascend, + Though hard and rare. Thee I revisit safe, + And feel thy sovran vital lamp; but thou + Revisit'st not these eyes, that roll in vain + To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn; + So thick a drop serene hath quenched their orbs, + Or dim suffusion veiled. Yet not the more + Cease I to wander where the Muses haunt + Clear spring, or shady grove, or sunny hill, + Smit with the love of sacred song; but chief + Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath, + That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, + Nightly I visit: nor sometimes forget + Those other two equalled with me in fate, + So were I equalled with them in renown, + Blind Thamyris and blind Mćonides, + And Tiresias and Phineus, prophets old: + Then feed on thoughts that voluntary move + Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful bird + Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid, + Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year + Seasons return; but not to me returns + Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, + Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, + Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; + But cloud instead and ever-during dark + Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men + Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair, + Presented with a universal blank + Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased, + And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. + So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, + Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers + Irradiate; there plant eyes; all mist from thence + Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell + Of things invisible to mortal sight. + _Book III_ + + + + + +PARADISE REGAINED. + + "A cold and noble epic."--TAINE. + + +Paradise regained was written by Milton, judging from a passage in the +Autobiography of Thomas Ellwood, in the winter of 1665-6, but was not +published until 1671. It was printed at Milton's expense in a small volume +together with Samson Agonistes. + +Paradise Regained tells the story of Christ's temptation in the +Wilderness, and the material was taken from the accounts of Matthew and +Luke, which the poet, with great skill, expanded without essentially +deviating from them. + +The title has been criticised on the ground that the poem should have +extended over the whole of Christ's life on earth. But Paradise Regained +was written as a sequel to Paradise Lost, and, as in the first poem the +poet showed that Paradise was lost by the yielding of Adam and Eve to +Satan, so in the second, he wished to show that Paradise was regained by +the resistance of Christ to temptation, Satan's defeat signifying the +regaining of Paradise for men by giving them the hope of Christ's second +coming. Therefore the poem naturally ends with Satan's rebuff and his +final abandonment of the attempt on the pinnacle of the Temple. + +The poem has been criticised for its shortness, some scholars even +affecting to believe it unfinished; its lack of variety, in that it has +but two characters, its lack of action, and the absence of figurative +language. + +But with all these faults, it has a charm of its own, entirely different +from that of Paradise Lost. Satan has degenerated during his years of +"roaming up and down the earth;" he is no longer the fallen angel of +Paradise Lost, who struggled with himself before making evil his good. He +is openly given over to evil practices, and makes little effort to play +the hypocrite. His temptations are worked up from that of hunger to that +of the vision of the kingdoms of the earth with a wonderful power of +description which makes up for the lack of action and the few actors. The +pathless, rockbound desert, the old man, poorly clad, who accosts the +Christ, the mountain-top from which all the earth was visible, the night +of horror in the desert, and the sublime figure of the Savior, are all +enduring pictures which compensate for any rigidity of treatment. If +figurative language is omitted it is because the theme does not need it, +and does not show that the poem is less carefully finished than Paradise +Lost. Its lack of action and similarity of subject to the longer poem +sufficiently account for its not meeting with popular favor. Johnson was +correct when he said, "had this poem been written not by Milton, but by +some imitator, it would have claimed and received universal praise." + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE REGAINED. + + +H. C. Beeching, On the Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, +1889; + +Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical +Works, 1867; + +William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their Lives and Times etc., 1879; + +George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 15-16; + +Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets, ed. by Mrs. Alexander +Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + +Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical +Essays, ed, 10, 1860, vol. i.); + +David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Regained (see his ed. of Milton's +Poetical works, 1893, vol. iii., pp. 1-14); + +David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 651-661; + +Richard Meadowcourt's Critique on Milton's Paradise Regained, 1732; + +A Critical Dissertation on Paradise Regained with Notes, 2d ed. 1748; + +John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures +and Essays, 1871, pp. 152-157); + +Mark Pattison's John Milton (English Men of Letters Series), n. d.; + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, +vol. ii. + + + + +THE STORY OF PARADISE REGAINED. + + +After the expulsion from Paradise of Adam and Eve, Satan and his followers +did not return to Hell, but remained on earth, the fallen angels becoming +the evil gods of various idolatrous nations and Satan engaging in every +kind of evildoing which he knew would vex the Powers of Heaven. All the +time he was troubled by the thought of the heavenly foe who he had been +told would one day appear on earth to crush him and his rebel angels. + +Now John had come out of the wilderness, proclaiming his mission, and +among those who came to him to be baptized was one who was deemed the son +of Joseph of Nazareth. John recognized in the obscure carpenter's son the +one "mightier than he" whose coming he was to proclaim, and this fact was +further made clear to the multitude and the observant Satan by the opening +of the Heavens and the descent therefrom on Christ's head of the Dove, +while a voice was heard declaring, "This is my beloved Son." + +Satan, enraged, fled to the council of the fiends to announce to them the +presence on earth of their long-dreaded enemy. He was empowered by them to +attempt his overthrow, and they were the more confident because of his +success with Adam and Eve. + +Satan's purpose was known to the Eternal Father, who smiled to see him +unwittingly fulfilling the plan so long foreordained for his destruction. + +After his baptism, the Father had sent his Son into the wilderness to gain +strength for his struggle with Sin and Death, and there Satan, in the +guise of an old, poorly clad rustic, found him. Although the Son of God +had wandered through the rock-bound, pathless desert, among wild beasts, +without food for forty days, he had no fear, believing that some impulse +from above had guided him thither before he should go out among men to do +his divinely appointed task. + +Then, when hunger came upon him as he wandered, thinking of past events +and those to come, he met the aged man and was addressed by him. + +"Sir, how came you hither, where none who ventures alone escapes alive? I +ask because you look not unlike the man I lately saw baptized by John and +declared the Son of God." + +"I need no guide," replied the Son. "The Power who brought me here will +bring me forth." + +"Not otherwise than by miracle. Here we subsist only upon dry roots and +must often endure parching thirst. If thou art indeed the Son of God, save +thyself and relieve us wretched people by changing these stones to bread." + +"Men live not by bread alone," replied the Son, "but by the word of God. +Moses in the Mount was without food and drink for forty days. Elijah also +wandered fasting in the wilderness. Thou knowest who I am as I know who +thou art; why shouldest thou suggest distrust to me?" + +"'Tis true that I am that unfortunate spirit who fell from Heaven, but I +have been permitted to roam around the earth and have not been altogether +excluded from Heaven. God allowed me to test Job and prove his worth and +to draw Ahab into fraud. Though I have lost much of my original brightness +I can still admire all that is illustrious and good. The sons of men +should not regard me as an enemy, for I have oft given them aid by +oracles, dreams, and portents. My loss was not through them, so their +restoration does not grieve me; only that fallen man will be restored and +not I." + +"Thou deservest to grieve, tissue of lies that thou art!" exclaimed our +Savior. "Thou boastest of being released from Hell and permitted to come +into Heaven. No joy hast thou there! Thy own malice moved thee to torture +Job. Brag not of thy lies, thy oracles for men. Henceforth oracles are +dumb, since God has sent his living oracle into the world to teach the +truth." + +Satan, though angry, still dissembled. + +"Accuse me, reprove me, if thou wilt. Fallen as I am, I still love to hear +the truth fall from thy lips." + +Unmoved by his false words the Savior of men declared that he neither +forbade nor invited his presence, and Satan, bowing low, disappeared as +night fell over the desert. + +In the mean time, those at Bethabara who had rejoiced at the declaration +of John and had talked with the Messiah, were deeply grieved to find him +gone and with him their hope of deliverance. His mother, too, was troubled +at his absence, but comforted herself with the thought of his former +absences, afterwards explained. + +Satan, hastening from the desert, sought his troop of evil spirits to warn +them that his undertaking was no easy one, and to summon them to his +assistance. + +Night fell on the Son of God, still fasting, wondering what would be the +end. In sleep he was visited by dreams of Elijah, raven-fed, and of the +same prophet fed by the angel in the desert, and as he dreamed that he ate +with them, the lark's song awoke him and he wandered into a pleasant +grove. As he viewed it, charmed by its beauty, a man appeared before him, +no rustic this time, but one attired in the apparel of city or court. + +"I have returned, wondering that thou still remainest here, hungering. +Hagar once wandered here; the children of Israel, and the Prophet, but all +these were fed by the hand of Heaven. Thou alone art forgotten and goest +tormented by hunger." + +Though the Son of God declared that he had no need to eat, Satan invited +his attention to a table, set under a spreading tree. Upon it was heaped +every known delicacy; by it waited youths handsome as Ganymede, and among +the trees tripped naiads and nymphs of Diana, with fruits and flowers. +Exquisite music was heard, and the perfumes of Araby filled the air. + +"Why not sit and eat?" continued Satan. "These foods are not forbidden, +and all these gentle ministers are ready to do thee homage." + +"What hast thou to do with my hunger?" demanded Jesus. "Should I receive +as a gift from thee what I myself could command if I so desired? I too +could bring a table here, and swift-winged angels to attend me. Thy gifts +are but guiles." + +"I am forever suspected," responded Satan, as the table vanished. "Hunger +cannot move thee, set on high designs. But what canst thou, a lowly +carpenter's son, accomplish without aid? Where wilt thou find authority, +where followers? First get riches; hearken to me, for fortune is in my +hand. Wealth will win, while virtue, valor, and wisdom sit and wait in +vain." + +"Yet what can wealth do without these?" replied Jesus patiently. "How can +it gain dominion, and keep it when gained? Gideon, Jephtha, David, and +among the heathen (for I am not ignorant of history) Quinctius, Fabricius, +Curius, Regulus, all these have risen from the depths and achieved the +highest deeds. Then, why may not I accomplish as much, even more, without +wealth, which but cumbers the wise man, and slackens virtue, rather than +prompts it to worthy deeds? Suppose I reject both riches and realms? Not +because the regal diadem is a wreath of thorns and he who wears it bears +each man's burden, for the king's chief praise is the manner in which he +bears this burden for the public. But he who rules himself is greater than +a king, and he who cannot do this should not aspire to royal power. But it +is surely more kingly to lead nations blinded by error into the light of +God's truth. This dominion is over the nobler part of man. And it has ever +been thought greater and nobler to give a kingdom and to lay down +authority than to assume it. Therefore thy riches are needless both in +themselves, and to gain a kingdom which would better be missed than +gained." + +Satan, though for a moment struck dumb by this answer to his arguments, +soon collected himself and suggested that while the Savior knew so well +what was best to know, say, and do, that if known he would be regarded as +an oracle, still he did wrong to despise glory and deprive earth of his +great deeds, citing as examples of more active spirits accomplishing much +when younger than he, the young Alexander, Scipio, Pompey, and Caesar. But +the Savior replied that the glory which consisted of the approval of the +rabble was only to be despised. The true glory was that of the man who +dared to be truly good, who though little known on earth, was famous in +Heaven. Such men did not lay waste fields, sack, pillage, and slay, but by +deeds of peace won the approval of the Father. Such was Job, oft tempted +by Satan; such was Socrates, who suffered unjust death for teaching truth. +And the Son of God had come upon earth not to win glory for himself as +vain men do, but for Him who sent him. + +"Thy Father does not despise glory," sneered Satan. "He demands it from +his angels, from men, even from us, his foes." + +"With reason," answered the Son, "since he created all things, though not +for glory. And what slighter recompense could he expect from men who could +return nothing else?" + +Satan, remembering his own ambition and his fall, was silent for a moment, +and then spoke to remind the Savior that he was born to the throne of +David, but that it must be wrested from the Roman by force of arms. It was +his duty to do this and save his people from oppression. + +"All things in due time," replied the Savior. "If the Writ tells of my +sufferings, my tribulations, of violence done unto me, it also tells of my +reign without end. I can wait. He who suffers best, can do best; he who +obeys first, reigns best; and why shouldest thou be so anxious to hasten +my rule when it means thy destruction?" + +"When hope is gone, what is there left to fear? My punishment will come +whether thou reign or no. I could hope that thy reign would stand between +me and the anger of thy Father. And if I haste to the worst that can be, +why shouldest thou go so slowly to the best? Perhaps thou fearest the +dangerous enterprise, thou who, pent up in Galilean towns, hast seen so +little." + +So saying, he took the Son up into a high mountain at the foot of which +stretched a vast plain. Two rivers watered the fertile land. The hills +were covered with flocks; vast cities could be seen, and here and there, +so wide was the land, a barren desert. Then the Tempter pointed out the +vast cities of Assyria, Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Bactra, and the vast +host of the Parthian king, even then marching against the Scythians. As +they watched the great host of mailed warriors, accompanied by chariots, +elephants, archers, engineers, Satan pursued his argument. Suppose the Son +should take possession of his kingdom; how should he hope to keep it in +peace between two such powerful enemies as the Parthians and the Romans? +It would be better to conquer first the nearest, the Parthians, and this +could be done with Satan's help. In doing this he would not only be able +to occupy his throne but would deliver the offspring of the Ten Tribes of +Israel, who, scattered among the Medes, still served as slaves. + +But the Savior, in response, only questioned Satan as to why he had +suddenly become so solicitous for the salvation of the Tribes when he +himself had once tempted David to number Israel and had thus brought +pestilence upon them. And as to the Ten Tribes, they had brought their +punishment upon themselves, and must serve the enemy and their idols until +the Father should see fit to release them. + +Though embarrassed by the failure of his wiles, Satan could not yet yield. +Turning to the western side of the mountain, he pointed out to the Savior +a long, narrow plain, bordered on the south by the sea and protected from +northern blasts by a mountain range. There, crowning the seven hills stood +the imperial city adorned with porches, theatres, baths, aqueducts, and +palaces. Satan pointed out the different objects of interest in splendid +Rome, the Capitol, Mt. Palatine, crowned by the imperial palace, and the +great gates, through which issued or entered a continuous stream of +praetors, proconsuls, lictors, legions, embassies, on all the roads which +led through the far-stretching empire, even to those of the Asian kings, +and remote Britain. All the glory of the world, he argued, lay in Parthia +and Rome, and Rome was greater. He who ruled her was indeed ruler of the +world, and yet its present emperor was old, weak, lascivious, without +heir, and lived at Capreae, his public cares entrusted to his favorite. +How easily could the Son of God force from him the power and lift the yoke +from his people! + +But the splendor of the scene allured neither the eye nor the mind of the +Son. The gluttonies, the gorgeous feasts, the hollow compliments and lies +of the people did not attract him. His mission, he told his Tempter, was +not yet to free that people, once just and frugal, now debased by their +insatiable ambition. When the time came for him to sit on David's throne, +this with all other kingdoms of the earth would be shattered while his +kingdom would be eternal. + +"Though thou despisest my offers," cried Satan, "thou knowest that I +esteem them highly, and will not part with them for nought. This is the +condition; Wilt thou fall down and worship me as thy superior lord?" + +"It is written, thou accursed one," responded the Savior in disdain, "that +thou shouldst worship and serve the Lord thy God alone. Who gave thee the +kingdoms of the earth if He did not? And what gratitude thou showest! Get +thee behind me! Truly thou art Satan!" + +Satan, abashed but not silenced, pointed southwest toward Athens. Since +the Savior seemed to prefer a contemplative life, why should he not seek +that seat of learning? All wisdom was not contained in Moses' law and the +writings of the prophets. Let him master the learning of the great +Athenian teachers, philosophers and orators, and he would be a king within +himself. + +But the Savior assured Satan that, having received light from above, he +knew how false and fallacious were the boasted philosophies of the Greeks. +Their philosophers, ignorant of themselves and of God, and arrogating all +glory to themselves and ascribing none to Him, were unable to impart +wisdom to any one. From Hebrew psalm and hymn, and captive harps in +Babylon, the Greeks derived their arts, and the results, the odious +praises of their vicious gods, could not compare with the songs of Sion in +praise of the Father. Their orators, too, were far below the Hebrew +prophets. "Stay in the wilderness, then," thundered Satan, wroth at this +failure. "Since neither riches nor arms, nor power, nor yet the +contemplative life please thee, it is for thee the fittest place! But the +time will yet come when violence, stripes, and a cruel death will make +thee long for me and my proffered power. Truly the stars promise thee a +kingdom, but of what kind and when I cannot read." + +As he disappeared, darkness fell, and the Son of God, still hungry and +cold, sought rest under a sheltering tree. But Satan watched near, and +forbade rest. Thunder and lightning shook the Heavens; rain drenched the +earth; the fury of the winds was loosed, and in their path the sturdiest +trees were uprooted. Ghosts, furies, raved around the holy one, but, +unshaken by fear, he endured all calmly, and came forth, as the bright sun +shone upon the earth, to meet again the Prince of Darkness. + +Enraged that the terrors of the night had had no effect upon his enemy, +Satan cried out that he still doubted that the wanderer in the wilderness +was the Son of God in the true sense, and would therefore try him another +way. + +So speaking, he caught him up and bore him through the air unto Jerusalem, +and setting him on the highest pinnacle of the glorious Temple, said +scornfully:-- + +"Stand there, if thou canst; I have placed thee highest in thy Father's +house. Now show if thou art indeed the Son of God. Cast thyself down, for +it is written that He will command his angels concerning thee, so that +they in their hands shall uplift thee." + +"It is also written," said Jesus, "'Tempt not the Lord thy God.'" And as +he so spoke and stood, Satan, overcome with amazement, fell whence he had +expected to see his conqueror fall, and, struck with dread and anguish at +his certain defeat, fled to his rebel angels. + +Straightway, a "fiery globe" of angels received the Son on their pinions, +bore him from the pinnacle into a flowery vale, and there refreshed him +with ambrosial food and water from the Fount of Life, while all around him +the angelic choir sang his praises for the conquest of his enemy, and +encouraged him to go forth on his work of saving mankind. Thence, rested +and refreshed, he arose, and went, unobserved, home to his mother's house. + + + + +SELECTION FROM PARADISE REGAINED. + +THE TEMPTATION OF THE VISION OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH. + + +Satan, meeting the Savior in the wilderness, tempted him to change the +stones to bread, and then, after endeavoring to awake in him a longing for +wealth and power, appealed to his ambition by leading him to a mountain +top, and displaying to him the kingdoms of the earth. + + With that (such power was given him then), he [Satan] took + The Son of God up to a mountain high. + It was a mountain at whose verdant feet + A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide + Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flowed, + The one winding, the other straight, and left between + Fair champaign, with less rivers interveined, + Then meeting joined their tribute to the sea. + Fertile of corn the glebe, of oil, and wine; + With herds the pasture thronged, with flocks the hills; + Huge cities and high-towered, that well might seem + The seats of mightiest monarchs; and so large + The prospect was that here and there was room + For barren desert, fountainless and dry. + To this high mountain-top the Tempter brought + Our Saviour, and new train of words began:-- + + "Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale, + Forest, and field, and flood, temples and towers, + Cut shorter many a league. Here thou behold'st + Assyria, and her empire's ancient bounds, + Araxes and the Caspian lake; thence on + As far as Indus east, Euphrates west, + And oft beyond; to south the Persian bay, + And, inaccessible, the Arabian drouth: + Here, Nineveh, of length within her wall + Several days' journey, built by Ninus old, + Of that first golden monarchy the seat, + And seat of Salmanassar, whose success + Israel in long captivity still mourns; + There Babylon, the wonder of all tongues, + As ancient, but rebuilt by him who twice + Judah and all thy father David's house + Led captive, and Jerusalem laid waste, + Till Cyrus set them free; Persepolis, + His city, there thou seest, and Bactra there; + Ecbatana her structure vast there shows, + And Hecatompylos her hundred gates; + There Susa by Choaspes, amber stream, + The drink of none but kings; of later fame, + Built by Emathian or by Parthian hands, + The great Seleucia, Nisibis, and there + Artaxata, Teredon, Ctesiphon, + Turning with easy eye, thou may'st behold. + All these the Parthian (now some ages past + By great Arsaces led, who founded first + That empire) under his dominion holds, + From the luxurious kings of Antioch won. + And just in time thou com'st to have a view + Of his great power; for now the Parthian king + In Ctesiphon hath gathered all his host + Against the Scythian, whose incursions wild + Have wasted Sogdiana; to her aid + He marches now in haste. See though from far, + His thousands, in what martial equipage + They issue forth, steel bows and shafts their arms, + Of equal dread in flight or in pursuit-- + All horsemen, in which fight they most excel; + See how in warlike muster they appear, + In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings." + + He looked, and saw what numbers numberless + The city gates outpoured, light-armed troops + In coats of mail and military pride. + In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong, + Prancing their riders bore, the flower and choice + Of many provinces from bound to bound-- + From Arachosia, from Candaor east, + And Margiana, to the Hyrcanian cliffs + Of Caucasus, and dark Iberian dales; + From Atropatia, and the neighboring plains + Of Adiabene, Media, and the south + Of Susiana, to Balsara's haven. + He saw them in their forms of battle ranged, + How quick they wheeled, and flying behind them shot + Sharp sleet of arrowy showers against the face + Of their pursuers, and overcame by flight; + The field all iron cast a gleaming brown. + Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor, on each horn, + Cuirassiers all in steel for standing fight, + Chariots, or elephants indorsed with towers + Of archers; nor of labouring pioneers + A multitude, with spades and axes armed, + To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys fill, + Or where plain was raise hill, or overlay + With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke: + Mules after these, camels and dromedaries, + And waggons fraught with utensils of war. + Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp, + When Agrican, with all his northern powers, + Besieged Albracca, as romances tell, + The city of Gallaphrone, from thence to win + The fairest of her sex, Angelica, + His daughter, sought by many prowest knights, + Both Paynim and the peers of Charlemain. + Such and so numerous was their chivalry. + _Book III._ + + He brought our Saviour to the western side + Of that high mountain, whence he might behold + Another plain, long, but in breadth not wide, + Washed by the southern sea, and on the north + To equal length backed with a ridge of hills + That screened the fruits of the earth and seats of men + From cold Septentrion blasts; thence in the midst + Divided by a river, off whose banks + On each side an imperial city stood, + With towers and temples proudly elevate + On seven small hills, with palaces adorned, + Porches and theatres, baths, aqueducts, + Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs, + Gardens and groves, presented to his eyes + Above the highth of mountains interposed-- + By what strange parallax, or optic skill + Of vision, multiplied through air, or glass + Of telescope, were curious to inquire. + And now the Tempter thus his silence broke:-- + "The city which thou seest no other deem + Than great and glorious Rome Queen of the Earth + So far renowned, and with the spoils enriched + Of nations. There the Capitol thou seest, + Above the rest lifting his stately head + On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel + Impregnable; and there Mount Palatine, + The imperial palace, compass huge, and high + The structure, skill of noblest architects, + With gilded battlements, conspicuous far, + Turrets, and terraces, and glittering spires. + Many a fair edifice besides, more like + Houses of gods--so well have I disposed + My aery microscope--thou may'st behold, + Outside and inside both, pillars and roofs + Carved work, the hand of famed artificers + In cedar, marble, ivory, or gold. + Thence to the gates cast round thine eye, and see + What conflux issuing forth, or entering in: + Praetors, proconsuls to their provinces + Hasting, or on return, in robes of state; + Lictors and rods, the ensigns of their power; + Legions and cohorts, turms of horse and wings; + Or embassies from regions far remote, + In various habits, on the Appian road, + Or on the Aemilian--some from farthest south, + Syene, and where the shadow both way falls, + Meroe, Nilotic isle, and, more to west, + The realm of Bocchus to the Blackmoor sea; + From the Asian kings (and Parthian among these), + From India and the Golden Chersoness, + And utmost Indian isle Taprobane, + Dusk faces with white silken turbants wreathed; + From Gallia, Gades, and the British west; + Germans, and Scythians, and Sarmatians north + Beyond Danubius to the Tauric pool. + All nations now to Rome obedience pay-- + To Rome's great Emperor, whose wide domain, + In ample territory, wealth and power, + Civility of manners, arts and arms, + And long renown, thou justly may'st prefer + Before the Parthian. These two thrones except, + The rest are barbarous, and scarce worth the sight, + Shared among petty kings too far removed; + These having shown thee, I have shown thee all + The kingdoms of the world, and all their glory". + _Book IV._ + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of National Epics, by Kate Milner Rabb + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + +***** This file should be named 8072-8.txt or 8072-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/0/7/8072/ + +Produced by David Starner, S.R. Ellison, and the Online +Distributed Proofing Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: National Epics + +Author: Kate Milner Rabb + + +Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8072] +This file was first posted on June 11, 2003 +Last Updated: June 5, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + + + + +Text file produced by David Starner, S.R. Ellison, and the Online +Distributed Proofing Team + +HTML file produced by David Widger + + + + +</pre> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + NATIONAL EPICS + </h1> + <h2> + By Kate Milner Rabb + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h4> + 1896 + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + TO MY MOTHER. + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + This volume is intended for an introduction to the study of the epics. + While the simplicity and directness of the epic style seem to make such a + book unnecessary, the fact that to many persons of literary tastes some of + these great poems are inaccessible, and that to many more the pleasure of + exploring for themselves "the realms of gold" is rendered impossible by + the cares of business, has seemed sufficient excuse for its being. Though + the beauty of the original is of necessity lost in a condensation of this + kind, an endeavor has been made to preserve the characteristic epithets, + and to retain what Mr. Arnold called "the simple truth about the matter of + the poem." It is believed that the sketch prefacing each story, giving + briefly the length, versification, and history of the poem, will have its + value to those readers who have not access to the epics, and that the + selections following the story, each recounting a complete incident, will + give a better idea of the epic than could be formed from passages + scattered through the text. + </p> + <p> + The epic originated among tribes of barbarians, who deified departed + heroes and recited legends in praise of their deeds. As the hymn + developed, the chorus and strophe were dropped, and the narrative only was + preserved. The word "epic" was used simply to distinguish the narrative + poem, which was recited, from the lyric, which was sung, and from the + dramatic, which was acted. + </p> + <p> + As the nation passed from childhood to youth, the legends of the hero that + each wandering minstrel had changed to suit his fancy, were collected and + fused into one by some great poet, who by his power of unification made + this written epic his own. + </p> + <p> + This is the origin of the Hindu epics, the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," the + "Kalevala," the "Shah-Nameh," "Beowulf," the "Nibelungen Lied," the "Cid," + and the "Song of Roland." + </p> + <p> + The conditions for the production of the primitive epic exist but once in + a nation's growth. Its later epics must be written on subjects of national + importance, chosen by the poet, who arranges and embellishes his material + according to the rules of the primitive epic. To this class belong the + "Aeneid," the "Jerusalem Delivered," and the "Lusiad." Dante's poem is + broader, for it is the epic of mediaeval Christianity. Milton likewise + sought "higher argument" than + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Wars, hitherto the only argument + Heroic deemed," +</pre> + <p> + and crystallized the religious beliefs of his time in "Paradise Lost." + </p> + <p> + The characteristics both of the primitive and the modern epic are their + uniform metre, simplicity of construction, concentration of action into a + short time, and the use of episode and dialogue. The main difference lies + in the impersonality of the primitive epic, whose author has so skillfully + hidden himself behind his work that, as some one has said of Homer, "his + heroes are immortal, but his own existence is doubtful." + </p> + <p> + Although the historical events chronicled in the epics have in every case + been so distorted by the fancy of the poets that they cannot be accepted + as history, the epics are storehouses of information concerning ancient + manners and customs, religious beliefs, forms of government, treatment of + women, and habits of feeling. + </p> + <p> + Constructed upon the noblest principles of art, and pervaded by the + eternal calm of the immortals, these poems have an especial value to us, + who have scarcely yet realized that poetry is an art, and are feverish + from the unrest of our time. If by the help of this volume any reader be + enabled to find a portion of the wisdom that is hidden in these mines, its + purpose will have been accomplished. + </p> + <p> + My thanks are due to Mr. John A. Wilstach for the use of selections from + his translation of the "Divine Comedy;" to Prof. J. M. Crawford, for the + use of selections from his translation of the "Kalevala;" to Henry Holt + & Co., for the use of selections from Rabillon's translation of "La + Chanson de Roland;" to Roberts Brothers, for the use of selections from + Edwin Arnold's "Indian Idylls;" to Prof. J. C. Hall, for the use of + selections from his translation of "Beowulf;" and to A. C. Armstrong & + Son, for the use of selections from Conington's Translation of the + "Aeneid." The selections from the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" are used with + the permission of and by special arrangement with Houghton, Mifflin & + Co., publishers of Bryant's translations of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." + Special thanks are due to Miss Eliza G. Browning of the Public Library of + Indianapolis, to Miss Florence Hughes of the Library of Indiana + University, and to Miss Charity Dye, of Indianapolis. + </p> + <h3> + K. M. R. + </h3> + <p> + INDIANAPOLIS, IND., September, 1896. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> SELECTIONS. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> <b>NATIONAL EPICS.</b> </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkram"> <b>THE RÂMÂYANA.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL1"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE RÂMÂYANA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE RÂMÂYANA. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> THE STORY OF THE RÂMÂYANA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> SELECTIONS FROM THE RÂMÂYANA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> THE DEATH OF YAJNADATTA. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0009"> <b>THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL2"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> THE STORY OF THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0013"> SELECTIONS FROM THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0014"> FROM "THE GREAT JOURNEY." </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> <b>THE ILIAD.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL3"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ILIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ILIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> THE STORY OF THE ILIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> SELECTIONS FROM THE ILIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> THE PARTING OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> <b>THE ODYSSEY.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL4"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ODYSSEY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ODYSSEY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> SELECTIONS FROM THE ODYSSEY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> THE BENDING OF THE BOW. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> <b>THE KALEVALA.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL5"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE KALEVALA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE KALEVALA. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0031"> THE STORY OF THE KALEVALA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0032"> SELECTIONS FROM THE KALEVALA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0033"> THE BIRTH OF THE HARP. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0034"> <b>THE AENEID.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL6"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE AENEID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0036"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE AENEID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0037"> THE STORY OF THE AENEID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0038"> SELECTION FROM THE AENEID. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0039"> <b>BEOWULF.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL7"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, BEOWULF. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0041"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, BEOWULF. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0042"> THE STORY OF BEOWULF. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0043"> SELECTION FROM BEOWULF. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0044"> <b>THE NIBELUNGEN LIED.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL8"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0046"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE NIBELUNGEN. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0047"> THE STORY OF THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0048"> SELECTIONS FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0049"> HOW MARGRAVE RÜDEGER WAS SLAIN. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0050"> <b>THE SONG OF ROLAND.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL9"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0052"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SONG OF + ROLAND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0053"> THE STORY OF THE SONG OF ROLAND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0054"> SELECTIONS FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0055"> ROLAND'S DEATH. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0056"> <b>THE SHAH-NAMEH.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL10"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SHAH-NAMEH. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0058"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0059"> THE STORY OF THE SHAH-NAMEH. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0060"> SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0061"> ZAL AND RUDABEH. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0062"> <b>THE POEM OF THE CID.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL11"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE CID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0064"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE POEM OF THE + CID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0065"> THE STORY OF THE POEM OF THE CID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0066"> SELECTIONS FROM THE POEM OF THE CID. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0067"> MY CID'S TRIUMPH. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0068"> <b>THE DIVINE COMEDY.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL12"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0070"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE DIVINE + COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0071"> THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0072"> THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0073"> THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0074"> THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0075"> THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0076"> THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0077"> SELECTIONS FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0078"> BUONCONTE DI MONTEFELTRO. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0079"> BEATRICE DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0080"> THE EXQUISITE BEAUTY OF BEATRICE. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0081"> <b>THE ORLANDO FURIOSO.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL13"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0083"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ORLANDO + FURIOSO. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0084"> THE STORY OF THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0085"> SELECTION FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0086"> <b>THE LUSIAD.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL14"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE LUSIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0088"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE LUSIAD. The + Lusiad, Tr. by J. J. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0089"> THE STORY OF THE LUSIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0090"> SELECTIONS FROM THE LUSIAD. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0091"> THE SPIRIT OF THE CAPE. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0092"> <b>THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL15"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE JERUSALEM + DELIVERED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0094"> STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE JERUSALEM + DELIVERED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0095"> THE STORY OF THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0096"> SELECTION FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0097"> <b>PARADISE LOST.</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL16"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE LOST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0099"> THE STORY OF PARADISE LOST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0100"> SELECTIONS FROM PARADISE LOST. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0101"> PARADISE REGAINED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_BIBL17"> BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE REGAINED. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0103"> THE STORY OF PARADISE REGAINED. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0104"> SELECTION FROM PARADISE REGAINED. </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE RÂMÂYANA: TRANSLATOR + The Descent of the Ganges ... <i>Milman</i> + The Death of Yajnadatta ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA: + Sâvitrî; or, Love and Death ... <i>Arnold</i> + The Great Journey ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE ILIAD: + Helen at the Scaean Gates ... <i>Bryant</i> + The Parting of Hector and Andromache ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE ODYSSEY: + The Palace of Alcinoüs ... <i>Bryant</i> + The Bending of the Bow ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE KALEVALA: + Ilmarinen's Wedding Feast ... <i>Crawford</i> + The Birth of the Harp ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE AENEID: + Nisus and Euryalus ... <i>Conington</i> +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM BEOWULF: + Grendel's Mother ... <i>Hall</i> +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED: + How Brunhild was received at Worms ... <i>Lettsom</i> + How Margrave Rüdeger was slain ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND: + The Horn ... <i>Rabillon</i> + Roland's Death ... " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH: + The Rajah of India sends a Chessboard + to Nushirvan <i>Robinson</i> + Zal and Rudabeh " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE POEM OF THE CID: + Count Raymond and My Cid <i>Ormsby</i> + My Cid's Triumph " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY: + Count Ugolino <i>Wilstach</i> + Buonconte di Montefeltro " + Beatrice descending from Heaven " + The Exquisite Beauty of Beatrice " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO: + The Death of Zerbino <i>Rose</i> +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE LUSIAD: + Inez de Castro <i>Mickle</i> + The Spirit of the Cape " +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED: + Sophronia and Olindo <i>Wiffen</i> +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM PARADISE LOST: + Satan + Apostrophe to Light +</pre> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +FROM PARADISE REGAINED: + The Temptation of the Vision of the Kingdoms of the Earth +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + NATIONAL EPICS. + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="linkram" id="linkram"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE RÂMÂYANA. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "He who sings and hears this poem continually has attained to the + highest state of enjoyment, and will finally be equal to the gods." +</pre> + <p> + The Râmâyana, the Hindu Iliad, is variously ascribed to the fifth, third, + and first centuries B.C., its many interpolations making it almost + impossible to determine its age by internal evidence. Its authorship is + unknown, but according to legend it was sung by Kuça and Lava, the sons of + Rama, to whom it was taught by Valmiki. Of the three versions now extant, + one is attributed to Valmiki, another to Tuli Das, and a third to Vyasa. + </p> + <p> + Its historical basis, almost lost in the innumerable episodes and + grotesque imaginings of the Hindu, is probably the conquest of southern + India and Ceylon by the Aryans. + </p> + <p> + The Râmâyana is written in the Sanskrit language, is divided into seven + books, or sections, and contains fifty thousand lines, the English + translation of which, by Griffith, occupies five volumes. + </p> + <p> + The hero, Rama, is still an object of worship in India, the route of his + wanderings being, each year, trodden by devout pilgrims. The poem is not a + mere literary monument,—it is a part of the actual religion of the + Hindu, and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of + it, or certain passages of it, is believed to free from sin and grant his + every desire to the reader or hearer. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL1" id="link2H_BIBL1"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE RÂMÂYANA. + </h2> + <p> + G. W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + </p> + <p> + John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, + Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + </p> + <p> + Sir William Jones on the Literature of the Hindus (in his Works, vol. + iv.); + </p> + <p> + Maj.-Gen. Vans Kennedy's Researches into Hindu Mythology, 1831; + </p> + <p> + James Mill's History of British India, 1840, vol. ii., pp. 47-123; + </p> + <p> + F. Max Müller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859; + </p> + <p> + E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 153-271; + </p> + <p> + Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 191-195; + </p> + <p> + J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + </p> + <p> + Sir Monier Williams's Indian Wisdom, 1863, Indian Epic Poetry, 1863; + </p> + <p> + Article on Sanskrit Literature in Encyclopćdia Britannica; + </p> + <p> + R. M. Gust's The Râmâyana: a Sanskrit Epic (in his Linguistic and Oriental + Essays, 1880, p. 56); + </p> + <p> + T. Goldstuecker's Râmâyana (in his Literary Remains, 1879, vol. i., p. + 155); + </p> + <p> + C. J. Stone's Cradleland of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 11-21; + </p> + <p> + Albrecht Weber's On the Râmâyana, 1870; Westminster Review, 1849, vol. 1., + p. 34; + </p> + <p> + J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 13-81. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE RÂMÂYANA. + </h2> + <p> + The Râmâyana, Tr. by R. T. H. Griffith, 5 vols., 1870-1874 (Follows Bombay + ed., Translated into metre of "Lady of the Lake"); + </p> + <p> + Extracts from the Râmâyana, Tr. by Sir William Jones (in his Works, vol. + 13); + </p> + <p> + Iliad of the East, F. Richardson, 1873 (Popular translations of a set of + legends from the Râmâyana); + </p> + <p> + The Râmâyana translated into English Prose, edited and published by + Naumatha Nath Dutt, 7 vols., Calcutta, 1890-1894. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE RÂMÂYANA. + </h2> + <p> + Brahma, creator of the universe, though all powerful, could not revoke a + promise once made. For this reason, Ravana, the demon god of Ceylon, stood + on his head in the midst of five fires for ten thousand years, and at the + end of that time boldly demanded of Brahma as a reward that he should not + be slain by gods, demons, or genii. He also requested the gift of nine + other heads and eighteen additional arms and hands. + </p> + <p> + These having been granted, he began by the aid of his evil spirits, the + Rakshasas, to lay waste the earth and to do violence to the good, + especially to the priests. + </p> + <p> + At the time when Ravana's outrages were spreading terror throughout the + land, and Brahma, looking down from his throne, shuddered to see the + monster he had gifted with such fell power, there reigned in Ayodhya, now + the city of Oude, a good and wise raja, Dasaratha, who had reigned over + the splendid city for nine thousand years without once growing weary. He + had but one grief,—that he was childless,—and at the opening + of the story he was preparing to make the great sacrifice, Asva-medha, to + propitiate the gods, that they might give him a son. + </p> + <p> + The gods, well pleased, bore his request to Brahma in person, and + incidentally preferred a request that he provide some means of destroying + the monster Ravana that was working such woe among their priests, and + disturbing their sacrifices. + </p> + <p> + Brahma granted the first request, and, cudgeling his brains for a device + to destroy Ravana, bethought himself that while he had promised that + neither gods, genii, nor demons should slay him, he had said nothing of + man. He accordingly led the appealing gods to Vishnu, who proclaimed that + the monster should be slain by men and monkeys, and that he would himself + be re-incarnated as the eldest son of Dasaratha and in this form compass + the death of Ravana. + </p> + <p> + In course of time, as a reward for his performance of the great sacrifice, + four sons were born to Dasaratha, Rama by Kausalya, his oldest wife, + Bharata, whose mother was Kaikeyi, and twin sons, Lakshmana and Satrughna, + whose mother was Sumitra. + </p> + <p> + Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu, destined to destroy Ravana, grew daily in + grace, beauty, and strength. When he was but sixteen years old, having + been sent for by a sage to destroy the demons who were disturbing the + forest hermits in their religious rites, he departed unattended, save by + his brother Lakshmana and a guide, into the pathless forests, where he + successfully overcame the terrible Rakshasa, Tarika, and conveyed her body + to the grateful sage. + </p> + <p> + While he was journeying through the forests, destroying countless + Rakshasas, he chanced to pass near the kingdom of Mithila and heard that + its king, Janaka, had offered his peerless daughter, Sita, in marriage to + the man who could bend the mighty bow of Siva the destroyer, which, since + its owner's death, had been kept at Janaka's court. + </p> + <p> + Rama at once determined to accomplish the feat, which had been essayed in + vain by so many suitors. When he presented himself at court Janaka was at + once won by his youth and beauty; and when the mighty bow, resting upon an + eight-wheeled car, was drawn in by five thousand men, and Rama without + apparent effort bent it until it broke, he gladly gave him his beautiful + daughter, and after the splendid wedding ceremonies were over, loaded the + happy pair with presents to carry back to Ayodhya. + </p> + <p> + When Dasaratha, who had attended the marriage of his son at Mithila, + returned home, he began to feel weary of reigning, and bethought himself + of the ancient Hindu custom of making the eldest son and heir apparent a + Yuva-Raja,—that is appointing him assistant king. Rama deserved this + honor, and would, moreover, be of great assistance to him. + </p> + <p> + His happy people received the announcement of his intention with delight; + the priests approved of it as well, and the whole city was in the midst of + the most splendid preparations for the ceremony, when it occurred to + Dasaratha that all he lacked was the congratulations of his youngest and + favorite wife, Kaikeyi, on this great event. The well-watered streets and + the garlanded houses had already aroused the suspicions of Kaikeyi,—suspicions + speedily confirmed by the report of her maid. Angered and jealous because + the son of Kausalya and not her darling Bharata, at that time absent from + the city, was to be made Yuva-Raja, she fled to the "Chamber of Sorrows," + and was there found by the old Raja. + </p> + <p> + Though Kaikeyi was his youngest and most beautiful wife, her tears, + threats, and entreaties would have been of no avail had she not recalled + that, months before, the old Raja, in gratitude for her devoted nursing + during his illness, had granted her two promises. She now demanded the + fulfilment of these before she would consent to smile upon him, and the + consent won, she required him, first, to appoint Bharata Yuva-Raja; and, + second, to exile Rama for fourteen years to the terrible forest of + Dandaka. + </p> + <p> + The promise of a Hindu, once given, cannot be revoked. In spite of the + grief of the old Raja, of Kausalya, his old wife, and of all the people, + who were at the point of revolt at the sudden disgrace of their favorite + prince, the terrible news was announced to Rama, and he declared himself + ready to go, to save his father from dishonor. + </p> + <p> + He purposed to go alone, but Sita would not suffer herself to be thus + deserted. Life without him, she pleaded, was worse than death; and so + eloquent was her grief at the thought of parting that she was at last + permitted to don the rough garment of bark provided by the malicious + Kaikeyi. + </p> + <p> + The people of Ayodhya, determined to share the fate of their favorites, + accompanied them from the city, their tears laying the dust raised by + Rama's chariot wheels. But when sleep overcame them, Rama, Sita, and + Lakshmana escaped from them, dismissed their charioteer, and, crossing the + Ganges, made their way to the mountain of Citra-kuta, where they took up + their abode. + </p> + <p> + No more beautiful place could be imagined. Flowers of every kind, + delicious fruits, and on every side the most pleasing prospects, together + with perfect love, made their hermitage a paradise on earth. Here the + exiles led an idyllic existence until sought out by Bharata, who, learning + from his mother on his return home the ruin she had wrought in the Raj, + had indignantly spurned her, and hastened to Dandaka. The old Raja had + died from grief soon after the departure of the exiles, and Bharata now + demanded that Rama should return to Ayodhya and become Raja, as was his + right, as eldest son. + </p> + <p> + When Rama refused to do this until the end of his fourteen years of exile, + Bharata vowed that for fourteen years he would wear the garb of a devotee + and live outside the city, committing the management of the Raj to a pair + of golden sandals which he took from Rama's feet. All the affairs of state + would be transacted under the authority of the sandals, and Bharata, while + ruling the Raj, would pay homage to them. + </p> + <p> + Soon after the departure of Bharata the exiles were warned to depart from + their home on Citra-kuta and seek a safer hermitage, for terrible + rakshasas filled this part of the forest. They accordingly sought the + abode of Atri the hermit, whose wife Anasuya was so pleased with Sita's + piety and devotion to her husband that she bestowed upon her the crown of + immortal youth and beauty. They soon found a new abode in the forest of + Pancarati, on the banks of the river Godavari, where Lakshmana erected a + spacious bamboo house. + </p> + <p> + Their happiness in this elysian spot was destined to be short-lived. Near + them dwelt a horrible rakshasa, Surpanakha by name, who fell in love with + Rama. When she found that he did not admire the beautiful form she assumed + to win him, and that both he and Lakshmana laughed at her advances, she + attempted to destroy Sita, only to receive in the attempt a disfiguring + wound from the watchful Lakshmana. Desiring revenge for her disfigured + countenance and her scorned love, she hastened to the court of her brother + Ravana, in Ceylon, and in order to induce him to avenge her wrongs, dwelt + upon the charms of the beautiful wife of Rama. + </p> + <p> + Some days after, Sita espied a golden fawn, flecked with silver, among the + trees near their home. Its shining body, its jewel-like horns, so + captivated her fancy that she implored Rama, if possible, to take it alive + for her; if not, at least to bring her its skin for a couch. As Rama + departed, he warned Lakshmana not to leave Sita for one moment; he would + surely return, since no weapon could harm him. In the depths of the forest + the fawn fell by his arrow, crying as it fell, "O Sita! O Lakshmana!" in + Rama's very tones. + </p> + <p> + When Sita heard the cry she reproached Lakshmana for not going to his + brother's aid, until he left her to escape her bitter words. He had no + sooner disappeared in the direction of the cry than a hermit appeared and + asked her to minister unto his wants. + </p> + <p> + Sita carried him food, bathed his feet, and conversed with him until, able + no longer to conceal his admiration for her, he revealed himself in his + true form as the demon god of Ceylon. + </p> + <p> + When she indignantly repulsed him he seized her, and mounting his chariot + drove rapidly towards Ceylon. + </p> + <p> + When Rama and Lakshmana returned home, soon after, they found the house + empty. As they searched through the forest for traces of her they found a + giant vulture dying from wounds received while endeavoring to rescue the + shrieking Sita. Going farther, they encountered the monkey king Sugriva + and his chiefs, among whom Sita had dropped from the chariot her scarf and + ornaments. + </p> + <p> + Sugriva had been deposed from his kingdom by his brother Bali, who had + also taken his wife from him. Rama agreed to conquer Bali if Sugriva would + assist in the search for Sita; and, the agreement made, they at once + marched upon Kishkindha, together slew Bali, and gained possession of the + wealthy city and the queen Tara. They were now ready to search for the + lost Sita. + </p> + <p> + In his quest through every land, Hanuman, the monkey general, learned from + the king of the vultures that she had been carried to Ceylon. He + immediately set out for the coast with his army, only to find a bridgeless + ocean stretching between them and the island. Commanding his soldiers to + remain where they were, Hanuman expanded his body to enormous proportions, + leaped the vast expanse of water, and alighted upon a mountain, from which + he could look down upon Lanka, the capital city of Ceylon. Perceiving the + city to be closely guarded, he assumed the form of a cat, and thus, + unsuspected, crept through the barriers and examined the city. He found + the demon god in his apartments, surrounded by beautiful women, but Sita + was not among them. Continuing his search, he at last discovered her, her + beauty dimmed by grief, seated under a tree in a beautiful asoka grove, + guarded by hideous rakshasas with the faces of buffaloes, dogs, and swine. + </p> + <p> + Assuming the form of a tiny monkey, Hanuman crept down the tree, and + giving her the ring of Rama, took one from her. He offered to carry her + away with him, but Sita declared that Rama must himself come to her + rescue. While they were talking together, the demon god appeared, and, + after fruitless wooing, announced that if Sita did not yield herself to + him in two months he would have her guards "mince her limbs with steel" + for his morning repast. + </p> + <p> + In his rage, Hanuman destroyed a mango grove and was captured by the + demon's guards, who were ordered to set his tail on fire. As soon as this + was done, Hanuman made himself so small that he slipped from his bonds, + and, jumping upon the roofs, spread a conflagration through the city of + Lanka. + </p> + <p> + He leaped back to the mainland, conveyed the news of Sita's captivity to + Rama and Sugriva, and was soon engaged in active preparations for the + campaign. + </p> + <p> + As long as the ocean was unbridged it was impossible for any one save + Hanuman to cross it. In his anger at being so thwarted, Rama turned his + weapons against it, until from the terrified waves rose the god of the + ocean, who promised him that if Nala built a bridge, the waves should + support the materials as firmly as though it were built on land. + </p> + <p> + Terror reigned in Lanka at the news of the approach of Rama. Vibishana, + Ravana's brother, deserted to Rama, because of the demon's rage when he + advised him to make peace with Rama. Fiercely fought battles ensued, in + which even the gods took part, Vishnu and Indra taking sides with Rama, + and the evil spirits fighting with Ravana. + </p> + <p> + After the war had been carried on for some time, with varying results, it + was decided to determine it by single combat between Ravana and Rama. Then + even the gods were terrified at the fierceness of the conflict. At each + shot Rama's mighty bow cut off a head of the demon, which at once grew + back, and the hero was in despair until he remembered the all-powerful + arrow given him by Brahma. + </p> + <p> + As the demon fell by this weapon, flowers rained from heaven upon the + happy victor, and his ears were ravished with celestial music. + </p> + <p> + Touched by the grief of Ravana's widows, Rama ordered his foe a splendid + funeral, and then sought the conquered city. + </p> + <p> + Sita was led forth, beaming with happiness at finding herself re-united to + her husband; but her happiness was destined to be of short duration. Rama + received her with coldness and with downcast eyes, saying that she could + no longer be his wife, after having dwelt in the zenana of the demon. Sita + assured him of her innocence; but on his continuing to revile her, she + ordered her funeral pyre to be built, since she would rather die by fire + than live despised by Rama. The sympathy of all the bystanders was with + Sita, but Rama saw her enter the flames without a tremor. Soon Agni, the + god of fire, appeared, bearing the uninjured Sita in his arms. Her + innocence thus publicly proved by the trial by fire, she was welcomed by + Rama, whose treatment she tenderly forgave. + </p> + <p> + The conquest made, the demon destroyed, and Sita restored, Rama returned + in triumph to Ayodhya, and assumed the government. The city was + prosperous, the people were happy, and for a time all went well. It was + not long, however, before whispers concerning Sita's long abode in Ceylon + spread abroad, and some one whispered to Rama that a famine in the country + was due to the guilt of Sita, who had suffered the caresses of the demon + while in captivity in Ceylon. Forgetful of the trial by fire, forgetful of + Sita's devotion to him through weal and woe, the ungrateful Rama + immediately ordered her to the forest in which they had spent together the + happy years of their exile. + </p> + <p> + Without a murmur the unhappy Sita, alone and unbefriended, dragged herself + to the forest, and, torn with grief of body and spirit, found the + hermitage of Valmiki, where she gave birth to twin sons, Lava and Kuça. + Here she reared them, with the assistance of the hermit, who was their + teacher, and under whose care they grew to manhood, handsome and strong. + </p> + <p> + It chanced about the time the youths were twenty years old, that Rama, who + had grown peevish and disagreeable with age, began to think the gods were + angered with him because he had killed Ravana, who was the son of a + Brahman. Determined to propitiate them by means of the great sacrifice, he + caused a horse to be turned loose in the forest. When his men went to + retake it, at the end of the year, it was caught by two strong and + beautiful youths who resisted all efforts to capture them. In his rage + Rama went to the forest in person, only to learn that the youths were his + twin sons, Lava and Kuça. Struck with remorse, Rama recalled the + sufferings of his wife Sita, and on learning that she was at the hermitage + of Valmiki, ordered her to come to him, that he might take her to him + again, having first caused her to endure the trial by fire to prove her + innocence to all his court. + </p> + <p> + Sita had had time to recover from the love of her youth, and the prospect + of life with Rama, without the <i>couleur de rose</i> of youthful love, + was not altogether pleasant. At first, she even refused to see him; but + finally, moved by the appeals of Valmiki and his wife, she clad herself in + her richest robes, and, young and beautiful as when first won by Rama, she + stood before him. Not deigning to look in his face, she appealed to the + earth. If she had never loved any man but Rama, if her truth and purity + were known to the earth, let it open its bosom and take her to it. While + the armies stood trembling with horror, the earth opened, a gorgeous + throne appeared, and the goddess of earth, seated upon it, took Sita + beside her and conveyed her to the realms of eternal happiness, leaving + the too late repentant Rama to wear out his remaining years in shame and + penitence. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE RÂMÂYANA. + </h2> + <h3> + THE DESCENT OF THE GANGES. + </h3> + <p> + Sagara, an early king of Ayodhya, had sixty thousand sons, whom he sent + out one day to recover a horse that had been designed for the great + sacrifice, but had been stolen by a rakshasa. Having searched the earth + unsuccessfully, they proceeded to dig into the lower regions. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Cloven with shovel and with hoe, pierced by axes and by spades, + Shrieked the earth in frantic woe; rose from out the yawning shades + Yells of anguish, hideous roars from the expiring brood of hell,— + Serpents, giants, and asoors, in the deep abyss that dwell. + Sixty thousand leagues in length, all unweary, full of wrath, + Through the centre, in their strength, clove they down their hellward + path. + And downward dug they many a rood, and downward till they saw aghast, + Where the earth-bearing elephant stood, ev'n like a mountain tall and + vast. + 'T is he whose head aloft sustains the broad earth's forest-clothed + round, + With all its vast and spreading plains, and many a stately city crowned. + If underneath the o'erbearing load bows down his weary head, 't is then + The mighty earthquakes are abroad, and shaking down the abodes of men. + Around earth's pillar moved they slowly, and thus in humble accents + blest + Him the lofty and the holy, that bears the region of the East. + And southward dug they many a rood, until before their shuddering sight + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Mahapadmas' mountain height. + Upon his head earth's southern bound, all full of wonder, saw they rest. + Slow and awe-struck paced they round, and him, earth's southern + pillar, blest. + Westward then their work they urge, king Sagara's six myriad race, + Unto the vast earth's western verge, and there in his appointed place + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Saumanasa's mountain crest; + Around they paced in humble mood, and in like courteous phrase addrest, + And still their weary toil endure, and onward dig until they see + Last earth-bearing Himapandure, glorying in his majesty. +</pre> + <p> + <i>At last they reach the place where Vishnu appears with the horse. A + flame issues from the mouth of the indignant deity and destroys the six + myriad sons of Sagara, The adventure devolves on their brother Ansuman, + who achieves it with perfect success. He is permitted to lead away the + horse, but the ashes of his brothers cannot be purified by earthly water; + the goddess Ganga must first be brought to earth, and having undergone + lustration from that holy flood, the race of Sagara are to ascend to + heaven. Brahma at last gives his permission to Ganga to descend. King + Bhagiratha takes his stand on the top of Gokarna, the sacred peak of + Himavan (the Himalaya), and here</i>— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Stands with arms outstretch'd on high, amid five blazing fires, the one + Towards each quarter of the sky, the fifth the full meridian sun. + Mid fiercest frosts on snow he slept, the dry and withered leaves his + food, + Mid rains his roofless vigil kept, the soul and sense alike subdued. + High on the top of Himavan the mighty Mashawara stood; + And "Descend," he gave the word to the heaven-meandering water— + Full of wrath the mandate heard Himavan's majestic daughter. + To a giant's stature soaring and intolerable speed, + From heaven's height down rushed she, pouring upon Siva's sacred head, + Him the goddess thought in scorn with her resistless might to sweep + By her fierce waves overborne, down to hell's remotest deep. + + Down on Sankara's holy head, down the holy fell, and there, + Amid the entangling meshes spread, of his loose and flowing hair, + Vast and boundless as the woods upon the Himalaya's brow, + Nor ever may the struggling floods rush headlong to the earth below. + Opening, egress was not there, amid those winding, long meanders. + Within that labyrinthine hair, for many an age, the goddess wanders. +</pre> + <p> + <i>By the penances of the king, Siva is propitiated, and the stream, by + seven channels, finds its way to the plains of India</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Up the Raja at the sign upon his glittering chariot leaps, + Instant Ganga the divine follows his majestic steps. + From the high heaven burst she forth first on Siva's lofty crown, + Headlong then, and prone to earth thundering rushed the cataract down, + Swarms of bright-hued fish came dashing; turtles, dolphins in their + mirth, + Fallen or falling, glancing, flashing, to the many-gleaming earth. + And all the host of heaven came down, spirits and genii, in amaze, + And each forsook his heavenly throne, upon that glorious scene to gaze. + On cars, like high-towered cities, seen, with elephants and coursers + rode, + Or on soft swinging palanquin, lay wondering each observant god. + As met in bright divan each god, and flashed their jewell'd vestures' + rays, + The coruscating aether glow'd, as with a hundred suns ablaze. + And with the fish and dolphins gleaming, and scaly crocodiles and + snakes, + Glanc'd the air, as when fast streaming the blue lightning shoots and + breaks: + And in ten thousand sparkles bright went flashing up the cloudy spray, + The snowy flocking swans less white, within its glittering mists at + play. + And headlong now poured down the flood, and now in silver circlets + wound, + Then lake-like spread all bright and broad, then gently, gently flowed + around, + Then 'neath the caverned earth descending, then spouted up the boiling + tide, + Then stream with stream harmonious blending, swell bubbling up and + smooth subside. + By that heaven-welling water's breast, the genii and the sages stood, + Its sanctifying dews they blest, and plung'd within the lustral flood. + Whoe'er beneath the curse of heaven from that immaculate world had fled, + To th' impure earth in exile driven, to that all-holy baptism sped; + And purified from every sin, to the bright spirit's bliss restor'd, + Th' ethereal sphere they entered in, and through th' empyreal mansions + soar'd. + The world in solemn jubilee beheld those heavenly waves draw near, + From sin and dark pollution free, bathed in the blameless waters clear. + Swift king Bhagiratha drave upon his lofty glittering car, + And swift with her obeisant wave bright Ganga followed him afar. + <i>Milman's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE DEATH OF YAJNADATTA. + </h2> + <p> + The Raja Dasaratha was compelled to banish his favorite son Rama, + immediately after his marriage to Sita, because his banishment was + demanded by the Raja's wife Kaikeyi, to whom he had once promised to grant + any request she might make. His grief at the loss of his son is described + in this selection. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Scarce Rama to the wilderness had with his younger brother gone, + Abandoned to his deep distress, king Dasaratha sate alone. + Upon his sons to exile driven when thought that king, as Indra bright, + Darkness came o'er him, as in heaven when pales th' eclipsed sun his + light. + Six days he sate, and mourned and pined for Rama all that weary time. + At midnight on his wandering mind rose up his old forgotten crime. + His queen, Kausalya, the divine, addressed he, as she rested near: + "Kausalya, if thou wakest, incline to thy lord's speech thy ready ear. + Whatever deed, or good or ill, by man, O blessed queen, is wrought. + Its proper fruit he gathers still, by time to slow perfection brought. + He who the opposing counsel's weight compares not in his judgment cool, + Or misery or bliss his fate, among the sage is deemed a fool. + As one that quits the Amra bower, the bright Palasa's pride to gain + Mocked by the promise of its flower, seeks its unripening fruit in vain, + So I the lovely Amra left for the Palasa's barren bloom, + Through mine own fatal error 'reft of banished Rama, mourn in gloom. + Kausalya! in my early youth by my keen arrow, at his mark + Aimed with too sure and deadly truth, was wrought a deed most fell and + dark. + At length, the evil that I did, hath fallen upon my fated head, + As when on subtle poison hid an unsuspecting child hath fed; + Even as that child unwittingly hath made the poisonous fare his food, + Even so, in ignorance by me was wrought that deed of guilt and blood. + Unwed wert thou in virgin bloom, and I in youth's delicious prime, + The season of the rains had come,—that soft and love enkindling time. + Earth's moisture all absorbed, the sun through all the world its warmth + had spread, + Turned from the north, its course begun, where haunt the spirits of the + dead: + Gathering o'er all the horizon's bound on high the welcome clouds + appeared, + Exulting, all the birds flew round,—cranes, cuckoos, peacocks, flew and + veered. + And all down each wide-watered shore the troubled, yet still limpid + floods, + Over their banks began to pour, as o'er them hung the bursting clouds. + And, saturate with cloud-born dew, the glittering verdant-mantled earth, + The cuckoos and the peacocks flew, disputing as in drunken mirth.— + + "In such a time, so soft, so bland, oh beautiful! I chanced to go. + With quiver and with bow in hand, where clear Sarayu's waters flow, + If haply to the river's brink at night the buffalo might stray, + Or elephant, the stream to drink,—intent my savage game to slay. + Then of a water cruse, as slow it filled, the gurgling sound I heard, + Nought saw I, but the sullen low of elephant that sound appeared. + The swift well-feathered arrow I upon the bowstring fitting straight, + Towards the sound the shaft let fly, ah, cruelly deceived by fate! + The winged arrow scarce had flown, and scarce had reached its destined + aim, + 'Ah me, I'm slain,' a feeble moan in trembling human accents came. + 'Ah, whence hath come this fatal shaft against a poor recluse like me, + Who shot that bolt with deadly craft,—alas! what cruel man is he? + At the lone midnight had I come to draw the river's limpid flood, + And here am struck to death, by whom? ah whose this wrongful deed of + blood? + Alas! and in my parents' heart, the old, the blind, and hardly fed, + In the wild wood, hath pierced the dart, that here hath struck their + offspring dead. + Ah, deed most profitless as worst, a deed of wanton useless guilt: + As though a pupil's hand accurs'd his holy master's blood had spilt. + But not mine own untimely fate,—it is not that which I deplore. + My blind, my aged parents' state—'tis their distress afflicts me more. + That sightless pair, for many a day, from me their scanty food have + earned; + What lot is theirs when I'm away, to the five elements returned? + Alike, all wretched they, as I—ah, whose this triple deed of blood? + For who the herbs will now supply,—the roots, the fruit, their + blameless food?' + My troubled soul, that plaintive moan no sooner heard, so faint and low, + Trembled to look on what I'd done, fell from my shuddering hand my bow. + Swift I rushed up, I saw him there, heart-pierced, and fallen the stream + beside, + The hermit boy with knotted hair,—his clothing was the black deer's + hide. + On me most piteous turned his look, his wounded breast could scarce + respire, + And these the words, O queen, he spoke, as to consume me in his ire: + 'What wrong, O Kshatriya, have I done, to be thy deathful arrow's aim, + The forest's solitary son, to draw the limpid stream I came. + Both wretched and both blind they lie, in the wildwood all destitute, + My parents, listening anxiously to hear my home-returning foot. + By this, thy fatal shaft, this one, three miserable victims fall, + The sire, the mother, and the son—ah why? and unoffending all. + How vain my father's life austere, the Veda's studied page how vain, + He knew not with prophetic fear his son would fall untimely slain. + But had he known, to one as he, so weak, so blind, 't were bootless all, + No tree can save another tree by the sharp hatchet marked to fall. + But to my father's dwelling haste, O Raghu's son, lest in his ire + Thy head with burning curse he blast, as the dry forest tree the fire. + Thee to my father's lone retreat will quickly lead yon onward path, + Oh, haste his pardon to entreat, or ere he curse thee in his wrath. + Yet first that gently I may die, draw forth the barbed steel from hence, + Allay thy fears, no Brahmin I, not thine of Brahmin blood the offence. + My sire, a Brahmin hermit he, my mother was of Sudra race.' + So spake the wounded boy, on me while turned his unreproaching face. + As from his palpitating breast I gently drew the mortal dart, + He saw me trembling stand, and blest that boy's pure spirit seemed to + part. + As died that holy hermit's son, from me my glory seemed to go, + With troubled mind I stood, cast down t' inevitable endless woe. + That shaft that seemed his life to burn like serpent venom, thus drawn + out, + I, taking up his fallen urn, t' his father's dwelling took my route. + There miserable, blind, and old, of their sole helpmate thus forlorn, + His parents did these eyes behold, like two sad birds with pinions + shorn. + Of him in fond discourse they sate, lone, thinking only of their son, + For his return so long, so late, impatient, oh by me undone. + My footsteps' sound he seemed to know, and thus the aged hermit said, + 'O Yajnadatta, why so slow?—haste, let the cooling draught be shed. + Long on the river's cooling brink hast thou been sporting in thy joy. + Thy mother's fainting spirits sink in fear for thee; but thou, my boy, + If aught to grieve thy gentle heart thy mother or thy sire do wrong, + Bear with us, nor, when next we part, on the slow way thus linger long, + The feet of those that cannot move, of those that cannot see the eye, + Our spirits live but in thy love,—oh wherefore, dearest, no reply?' + + "My throat thick swollen with bursting tears, my power of speech that + seemed to choke, + With hands above my head, my fears breaking my quivering voice, I spoke: + The Kshatriya Dasaratha I, O hermit sage, 't is not thy son! + Most holy ones, unknowingly a deed of awful guilt I've done. + With bow in hand I took my way along Sarayu's pleasant brink, + The savage buffalo to slay, or elephant come down to drink. + + "A sound came murmuring to my ear,—'twas of the urn that slowly filled, + I deemed some savage wild-beast near,—my erring shaft thy son had + killed. + A feeble groan I heard, his breast was pierced by that dire arrow keen: + All trembling to the spot I pressed, lo there thy hermit boy was seen. + Flew to the sound my arrow, meant the wandering elephant to slay, + Toward the river brink it went,—and there thy son expiring lay. + The fatal shaft when forth I drew, to heaven his parting spirit soared, + Dying he only thought of you, long, long, your lonely lot deplored. + Thus ignorantly did I slay your child beloved, O hermit sage! + Turn thou on me, whose fated day is come, thy all-consuming rage!' + He heard my dreadful tale at length, he stood all lifeless, motionless; + Then deep he groaned, and gathering strength, me the meek suppliant did + address. + 'Kshatriya, 't is well that thou hast turned, thy deed of murder to + rehearse, + Else over all thy land had burned the fire of my wide-wasting curse. + If with premeditated crime the unoffending blood thou 'dst spilt, + The Thunderer on his throne sublime had shaken at such tremendous guilt. + Against the anchorite's sacred head, hadst, knowing, aimed thy shaft + accursed, + In th' holy Vedas deeply read, thy skull in seven wide rents had burst. + But since, unwitting, thou hast wrought that deed of death, thou livest + still, + O son of Taghu, from thy thought dismiss all dread of instant ill. + Oh lead me to that doleful spot where my poor boy expiring lay, + Beneath the shaft thy fell hand shot, of my blind age the staff, the + stay. + On the cold earth 'twere yet a joy to touch my perished child again, + (So long if I may live) my boy in one last fond embrace to strain + His body all bedewed with gore, his locks in loose disorder thrown, + Let me, let her but touch once more, to the dread realm of Yama gone.' + Then to that fatal place I brought alone that miserable pair; + His sightless hands and hers I taught to touch their boy that slumbered + there. + Nor sooner did they feel him lie, on the moist herbage coldly thrown, + But with a shrill and feeble cry upon the body cast them down. + The mother as she lay and groaned, addressed her boy with quivering + tongue, + And like a heifer sadly moaned, just plundered of her new-dropped young: + + "'Was not thy mother once, my son, than life itself more dear to thee? + Why the long way thou hast begun, without one gentle word to me? + One last embrace, and then, beloved, upon thy lonely journey go! + Alas! with anger art thou moved, that not a word thou wilt bestow?' + + "The miserable father now with gentle touch each cold limb pressed, + And to the dead his words of woe, as to his living son addressed: + 'I too, my son, am I not here?—thy sire with thy sad mother stands; + Awake, arise, my child, draw near, and clasp each neck with loving + hands. + Who now, 'neath the dark wood by night, a pious reader shall be heard? + Whose honeyed voice my ear delight with th' holy Veda's living word? + The evening prayer, th' ablution done, the fire adored with worship + meet, + Who now shall soothe like thee, my son, with fondling hand, my aged + feet? + And who the herb, the wholesome root, or wild fruit from the wood shall + bring? + To us the blind, the destitute, with helpless hunger perishing? + Thy blind old mother, heaven-resigned, within our hermit-dwelling lone, + How shall I tend, myself as blind, now all my strength of life is gone? + Oh, stay, my child, oh. Part not yet, to Yama's dwelling go not now, + To-morrow forth we all will set,—thy mother and myself and thou: + For both, in grief for thee, and both so helpless, ere another day, + From this dark world, but little loath, shall we depart, death's easy + prey! + And I myself, by Yama's seat, companion of thy darksome way, + The guerdon to thy virtues meet from that great Judge of men will pray. + Because, my boy, in innocence, by wicked deed thou hast been slain, + Rise, where the heroes dwell, who thence ne'er stoop to this dark world + again. + Those that to earth return no more, the sense-subdued, the hermits wise, + Priests their sage masters that adore, to their eternal seats arise. + Those that have studied to the last the Veda's, the Vedanga's page, + Where saintly kings of earth have passed, Nahusa and Yayati sage; + The sires of holy families, the true to wedlock's sacred vow; + And those that cattle, gold, or rice, or lands, with liberal hands + bestow; + That ope th' asylum to th' oppressed, that ever love, and speak the + truth; + Up to the dwellings of the blest, th' eternal, soar thou, best-loved + youth. + For none of such a holy race within the lowest seat may dwell; + But that will be his fatal place by whom my only offspring fell.' + + "So groaning deep, that wretched pair, the hermit and his wife, essayed + The meet ablution to prepare, their hands their last faint effort made. + Divine, with glorious body bright, in splendid car of heaven elate, + Before them stood their son in light, and thus consoled their helpless + state: + 'Meed of my duteous filial care, I've reached the wished for realms of + joy; + And ye, in those glad realms, prepare to meet full soon your dear-loved + boy. + My parents, weep no more for me, yon warrior monarch slew me not, + My death was thus ordained to be, predestined was the shaft he shot.' + Thus as he spoke, the anchorite's son soared up the glowing heaven afar, + In air his heavenly body shone, while stood he in his gorgeous car. + But they, of that lost boy so dear the last ablution meetly made, + Thus spoke to me that holy seer, with folded hands above his head. + 'Albeit by thy unknowing dart my blameless boy untimely fell, + A curse I lay upon thy heart, whose fearful pain I know too well. + As sorrowing for my son I bow, and yield up my unwilling breath, + So, sorrowing for thy son shalt thou at life's last close repose in + death.' + That curse dread sounding in mine ear, to mine own city forth I set, + Nor long survived that hermit seer, to mourn his child in lone regret. + This day that Brahmin curse fulfilled hath fallen on my devoted head, + In anguish for my parted child have all my sinking spirits fled. + No more my darkened eyes can see, my clouded memory is o'ercast, + Dark Yama's heralds summon me to his deep, dreary realm to haste. + Mine eye no more my Rama sees, and grief-o'erborne, my spirits sink, + As the swoln stream sweeps down the trees that grow upon the crumbling + brink. + Oh, felt I Rama's touch, or spake one word his home-returning voice, + Again to life I should awake, as quaffing nectar draughts, rejoice, + But what so sad could e'er have been, celestial partner of my heart, + As Rama's beauteous face unseen, from life untimely to depart? + His exile in the forest o'er, him home returned to Oude's high town, + Oh happy those, that see once more, like Indra from the sky come down. + No mortal men, but gods I deem,—moonlike, before whose wondering sight + My Rama's glorious face shall beam, from the dark forest bursting + bright. + Happy that gaze on Rama's face with beauteous teeth and smile of love, + Like the blue lotus in its grace, and like the starry king above. + Like to the full autumnal moon, and like the lotus in its bloom, + That youth who sees returning soon,—how blest shall be that mortal's + doom." + Dwelling in that sweet memory, on his last bed the monarch lay, + And slowly, softly seemed to die, as fades the moon at dawn away. + "Ah, Rama! ah, my son!" thus said, or scarcely said, the king of men, + His gentle hapless spirit fled in sorrow for his Rama then, + The shepherd of his people old at midnight on his bed of death, + The tale of his son's exile told, and breathed away his dying breath. + <i>Milman's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </h2> + <p> + "It is a deep and noble forest, abounding in delicious fruits and fragrant + flowers, shaded and watered by perennial springs." + </p> + <p> + Though parts of the Mahâ-Bhârata, or story of the great war, are of great + antiquity, the entire poem was undoubtedly collected and re-written in the + first or second century A. D. Tradition ascribes the Mahâ-Bhârata to the + Brahman Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa. + </p> + <p> + The Mahâ-Bhârata, unlike the Râmâyana, is not the story of some great + event, but consists of countless episodes, legends, and philosophical + treatises, strung upon the thread of a single story. These episodes are + called Upakhyanani, and the five most beautiful are called, in India, the + five precious stones. + </p> + <p> + Its historical basis is the strife between the Aryan invaders of India and + the original inhabitants, illustrated in the strife between the sons of + the Raja Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhrita-rashtra, which forms the main + story of the poem. + </p> + <p> + Though marred by the exaggerations peculiar to the Hindu, the poem is a + great treasure house of Indian history, and from it the Indian poets, + historical writers, and philosophers have drawn much of their material. + </p> + <p> + The Mahâ-Bhârata is written in the Sanskrit language; it is the longest + poem ever written, its eighteen cantos containing two hundred thousand + lines. + </p> + <p> + It is held in even higher regard than the Râmâyana, and the reading of it + is supposed to confer upon the happy reader every good and perfect gift. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL2" id="link2H_BIBL2"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </h2> + <p> + G.W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + </p> + <p> + John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, + Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + </p> + <p> + F. Max Müller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859 (Introduction); + </p> + <p> + E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 272-352; + </p> + <p> + Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 184-191; + </p> + <p> + J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + </p> + <p> + J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 87-231; + </p> + <p> + T. Goldstuecker's Hindu Epic Poetry; the Mahâ-Bhârata Literary Remains, + 1879, (vol. ii., pp. 86-145); + </p> + <p> + M. Macmillan's Globe-trotter in India, 1815, p. 193; + </p> + <p> + J. Peile's Notes on the Tales of Nala, 1882; + </p> + <p> + C. J. Stone's Cradle-land of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 36-49; + </p> + <p> + H. H. Wilson's Introduction to the Mahâ-Bhârata and a Translation of three + Extracts (in his Works, vol. iii., p. 277); Westminster Review, 1868, vol. + xxxiii., p. 380. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </h2> + <p> + The Mahâ-Bhârata, Selections from the Tr. by Sir Edwin Arnold, in his + Indian Poetry, 1886; in his Indian Idylls, 1883; + </p> + <p> + Nala and Damayanti and other Poems, Tr. from the Mahâ-Bhârata by H. H. + Milman, (his translation of the Story of Nala is edited with notes by + Monier Williams, 1879); + </p> + <p> + Metrical translations from Sanskrit writers by John Muir, 1879, pp. 13-37; + </p> + <p> + Last Days of Krishna, Tr. from the Mahâ-Bhârata Price (Oriental + Translation Fund: Miscellaneous Translations); + </p> + <p> + The Mahâ-Bhârata, an English Prose Translation with notes, by Protap + Chandra Roy, Published in one hundred parts, 1883-1890; + </p> + <p> + Asiatic Researches, Tr. by H. H. Wilson, from the Mahâ-Bhârata vol. xv., + p. 101; + </p> + <p> + Translations of episodes from the Mahâ-Bhârata, in Scribner's Monthly, + 1874, vol. vii., p. 385; + </p> + <p> + International Review, vol. x., pp. 36, 297; Oriental Magazine, Dec., 1824, + March, Sept., 1825, Sept., 1826. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </h2> + <p> + Long ago there dwelt in India two great Rajas who were brothers, the Raja + Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhritarashtra. The former had five noble sons + called the Pandavas, the eldest of whom was Yudhi-sthira, the second + Bhima, the third Arjuna, and the youngest, twin sons, Nakalu and Sahadeva. + All were girted in every way, but Arjuna was especially noble in form and + feature. + </p> + <p> + The blind Raja had a family of one hundred sons, called the Kauravas from + their ancestor, Kura. The oldest of these was Duryodhana, and the bravest, + Dhusasana. + </p> + <p> + Before the birth of Pandu's sons, he had left his kingdom in charge of + Dhrita-rashtra, that he might spend his time in hunting in the forests on + the slopes of the Himalayas. After his death Dhrita-rashtra continued to + rule the kingdom; but on account of their claim to the throne, he invited + the Pandavas and their mother to his court, where they were trained, + together with his sons, in every knightly exercise. + </p> + <p> + There was probably jealousy between the cousins from the beginning, and + when their teacher, Drona, openly expressed his pride in the wonderful + archery of Arjuna, the hatred of the Kauravas was made manifest. No + disturbance occurred, however, until the day when Drona made a public + tournament to display the prowess of his pupils. + </p> + <p> + The contests were in archery and the use of the noose and of clubs. Bhima, + who had been endowed by the serpent king with the strength of ten thousand + elephants, especially excelled in the use of the club, Nakalu was most + skillful in taming and driving the horse, and the others in the use of the + sword and spear. When Arjuna made use of the bow and the noose the + plaudits with which the spectators greeted his skill so enraged the + Kauravas that they turned the contest of clubs, which was to have been a + friendly one, into a degrading and blood-shedding battle. The spectators + left the splendid lists in sorrow, and the blind Raja determined to + separate the unfriendly cousins before further harm could come from their + rivalry. + </p> + <p> + Before this could be done, another event increased their hostility. Drona + had agreed to impart to the Kauravas and the Pandavas his skill in + warfare, on condition that they would conquer for him his old enemy, the + Raja of Panchala. On account of their quarrel the cousins would not fight + together, and the Kauravas, marching against the Raja, were defeated. On + their return, the Pandavas went to Panchala, and took the Raja prisoner. + </p> + <p> + After Yudhi-sthira had been appointed Yuva-Raja, a step Dhrita-rashtra was + compelled by the people of Hastinapur to take, the Kauravas declared that + they could no longer remain in the same city with their cousins. + </p> + <p> + A plot was laid to destroy the Pandavas, the Raja's conscience having been + quieted by the assurances of his Brahman counsellor that it was entirely + proper to slay one's foe, be he father, brother, or friend, openly or by + secret means. The Raja accordingly pretended to send his nephews on a + pleasure-trip to a distant province, where he had prepared for their + reception a "house of lac," rendered more combustible by soaking in + clarified butter, in which he had arranged to have them burned as if by + accident, as soon as possible after their arrival. + </p> + <p> + All Hastinapur mourned at the departure of the Pandavas, and the princes + themselves were sad, for they had been warned by a friend that + Dhrita-rashtra had plotted for their destruction. They took up their abode + in the house of lac, to which they prudently constructed a subterranean + outlet, and one evening, when a woman with five sons attended a feast of + their mother's, uninvited, and fell into a drunken sleep, they made fast + the doors, set fire to the house, and escaped to the forest. The bodies of + the five men and their mother were found next day, and the assurance was + borne to Hastinapur that the Pandavas and their mother Kunti had perished + by fire. + </p> + <p> + The five princes, with their mother, disguised as Brahmans, spent several + years wandering through the forests, having many strange adventures and + slaying many demons. While visiting Ekachakra, which city they freed from + a frightful rakshasa, they were informed by the sage Vyasa that Draupadi, + the lovely daughter of the Raja Draupada of Panchala, was going to hold a + Svayamvara in order to select a husband. The suitors of a princess + frequently attended a meeting of this sort and took part in various + athletic contests, at the end of which the princess signified who was most + pleasing to her, usually the victor in the games, by hanging around his + neck a garland of flowers. + </p> + <p> + Vyasa's description of the lovely princess, whose black eyes were large as + lotus leaves, whose skin was dusky, and her locks dark and curling, so + excited the curiosity of the Pandavas that they determined to attend the + Svayamvara. They found the city full of princes and kings who had come to + take part in the contest for the most beautiful woman in the world. The + great amphitheatre in which the games were to take place was surrounded by + gold and jewelled palaces for the accommodation of the princes, and with + platforms for the convenience of the spectators. + </p> + <p> + After music, dancing, and various entertainments, which occupied sixteen + days, the contest of skill began. On the top of a tall pole, erected in + the plain, was placed a golden fish, below which revolved a large wheel. + He who sent his arrow through the spokes of the wheel and pierced the eye + of the golden fish was to be the accepted suitor of Draupadi. + </p> + <p> + When the princes saw the difficulty of the contest, many of them refused + to enter it; as many tried it only to fail, among them, the Kaurava + Duryodhana. At last Arjuna, still in his disguise, stepped forward, drew + his bow, and sent his arrow through the wheel into the eye of the golden + fish. + </p> + <p> + Immediately a great uproar arose among the spectators because a Brahman + had entered a contest limited to members of the Kshatriya, or warrior + class. In the struggle which ensued, however, Arjuna, assisted by his + brothers, especially Bhima, succeeded in carrying off the princess, whose + father did not demur. + </p> + <p> + When the princes returned to their hut they went into the inner room and + informed their mother that they had brought home a prize. Supposing that + it was some game, she told them it would be well to share it equally. The + mother's word was law, but would the gods permit them to share Draupadi? + Their troubled minds were set at rest by Vyasa, who assured them that + Draupadi had five different times in former existences besought Siva for a + good husband. He had refused her requests then, but would now allow her + five husbands at once. The princes were well satisfied, and when the Raja + Draupada learned that the Brahmans were great princes in disguise, he + caused the five weddings to be celebrated in great state. + </p> + <p> + Not satisfied with this, the Raja at once endeavored to make peace between + the Pandavas and their hostile cousins, and succeeded far enough to induce + Dhrita-rashtra to cede to his nephews a tract of land in the farthest part + of his kingdom, on the river Jumna, where they set about founding a most + splendid city, Indra-prastha. + </p> + <p> + Here they lived happily with Draupadi, conquering so many kingdoms and + accumulating so much wealth that they once more aroused the jealousy of + their old enemies, the Kauravas. The latter, knowing that it would be + impossible to gain the advantage of them by fair means, determined to + conquer them by artifice, and accordingly erected a large and magnificent + hall and invited their cousins thither, with a great show of friendliness, + to a gambling match. + </p> + <p> + The Pandavas knew they would not be treated fairly, but as such an + invitation could not be honorably declined by a Kshatriya, they went to + Hastinapur. Yudhi-sthira's opponent was Shakuni, the queen's brother, an + unprincipled man, by whom he was defeated in every game. + </p> + <p> + Yudhi-sthira staked successively his money, his jewels, and his slaves; + and when these were exhausted, he continued to play, staking his kingdom, + his brothers, and last of all his peerless wife, Draupadi. + </p> + <p> + At this point, when the excitement was intense, the brutal Dhusasana + commanded Draupadi to be brought into the hall, and insulted her in every + way, to the great rage of the helpless Pandavas, until Dhrita-rashtra, + affrighted by the evil omens by which the gods signified their + disapproval, rebuked Dhusasana for his conduct, and giving Draupadi her + wish, released her husbands and herself and sent them back to their + kingdom. + </p> + <p> + To prevent the Pandavas from gaining time to avenge their insult, the + Kauravas induced their father to invite their cousins to court to play a + final game, this time the conditions being that the losing party should go + into exile for thirteen years, spending twelve years in the forest and the + thirteenth in some city. If their disguise was penetrated by their enemies + during the thirteenth year, the exile was to be extended for another + thirteen years. + </p> + <p> + Though they knew the outcome, the Pandavas accepted the second invitation, + and in consequence again sought the forest, not departing without the most + terrible threats against their cousins. + </p> + <p> + In the forest of Kamyaka, Yudhi-sthira studied the science of dice that he + might not again be defeated so disastrously, and journeyed pleasantly from + one point of interest to another with Draupadi and his brothers, with the + exception of Arjuna, who had sought the Himalayas to gain favor with the + god Siva, that he might procure from him a terrible weapon for the + destruction of his cousins. + </p> + <p> + After he had obtained the weapon he was lifted into the heaven of the god + Indra, where he spent five happy years. When he rejoined his wife and + brothers, they were visited by the god Krishna and by the sage Markandeya, + who told them the story of the creation and destruction of the universe, + of the flood, and of the doctrine of Karma, which instructs one that man's + sufferings here below are due to his actions in former and forgotten + existences. He also related to them the beautiful story of how the + Princess Sâvitrî had wedded the Prince Satyavan, knowing that the gods had + decreed that he should die within a year; how on the day set for his death + she had accompanied him to the forest, had there followed Yama, the awful + god of death, entreating him until, for very pity of her sorrow and + admiration of her courage and devotion, he yielded to her her husband's + soul. + </p> + <p> + Near the close of the twelfth year of their exile, the princes, fatigued + from a hunt, sent Nakalu to get some water from a lake which one had + discovered from a tree-top. As the prince approached the lake he was + warned by a voice not to touch it, but thirst overcoming fear, he drank + and fell dead. The same penalty was paid by Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bhima, + who in turn followed him. Yudhi-sthira, who went last, obeyed the voice, + which, assuming a terrible form, asked the king questions on many subjects + concerning the universe. These being answered satisfactorily, the being + declared himself to be Dharma, the god of justice, Yudhi-sthira's father, + and in token of his affection for his son, restored the princes to life, + and granted them the boon of being unrecognizable during the remaining + year of their exile. + </p> + <p> + The thirteenth year of their exile they spent in the city of Virata, where + they entered the service of the Raja,—Yudhi-sthira as teacher of + dice-playing, Bhima as superintendent of the cooks, Arjuna as a teacher of + music and dancing to the ladies, Nakalu as master of horse, and Sahadeva + as superintendent of the cattle. Draupadi, who entered the service of the + queen, was so attractive, even in disguise, that Bhima was forced to kill + the queen's brother, Kechaka, for insulting her. This would have caused + the Pandavas' exile from Virata had not their services been needed in a + battle between Virata and the king of the Trigartas. + </p> + <p> + The Kauravas assisted the Trigartas in this battle, and the recognition, + among the victors, of their cousins, whose thirteenth year of exile was + now ended, added to the bitterness of their defeat. + </p> + <p> + Their exile over, the Pandavas were free to make preparations for the + great war which they had determined to wage against the Kauravas. Both + parties, anxious to enlist the services of Krishna, sent envoys to him at + the same time. When Krishna gave them the choice of himself or his armies, + Arjuna was shrewd enough to choose the god, leaving his hundreds of + millions of soldiers to swell the forces of the Kauravas. + </p> + <p> + When their preparations were completed, and the time had come to wreak + vengeance on their cousins, the Pandavas were loath to begin the conflict. + They seemed to understand that, war once declared, there could be no + compromise, but that it must be a war for extinction. But the Kauravas + received their proposals of peace with taunts, and heaped insults upon + their emissary. + </p> + <p> + When the Pandavas found that there was no hope of peace, they endeavored + to win to their side Karna, who was really a son of Kunti, and hence their + half-brother, though this fact had not been made known to him until he had + long been allied with the Kauravas. In anticipation of this war, the gods, + by a bit of trickery, had robbed Karna of his god-given armor and weapons. + However, neither celestial artifice, the arguments of Krishna, nor the + entreaties of Kunti were able to move Karna from what he considered the + path of duty, though he promised that while he would fight with all his + strength, he would not slay Yudhi-sthira, Bhima, and the twins. + </p> + <p> + The forces of the two armies were drawn up on the plain of Kuruk-shetra. + The army of the Kauravas was under the command of the terrible Bhishma, + the uncle of Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who had governed the country during + the minority of Pandu. + </p> + <p> + Each side was provided with billions and billions of infantry, cavalry, + and elephants; the warriors were supplied with weapons of the most + dangerous sort. The army of the Kauravas was surrounded by a deep trench + fortified by towers, and further protected by fireballs and jars full of + scorpions to be thrown at the assailants. + </p> + <p> + As night fell, before the battle, the moon's face was stained with blood, + earthquakes shook the land, and the images of the gods fell from their + places. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, when Arjuna, from his chariot, beheld the immense army, + he was appalled at the thought of the bloodshed to follow, and hesitated + to advance. Krishna insisted that it was unnecessary for him to lament, + setting forth his reasons in what is known as the Bhagavat-gita, the + divine song, in which he said it was no sin to slay a foe, since death is + but a transmigration from one form to another. The soul can never cease to + be; who then can destroy it? Therefore, when Arjuna slew his cousins he + would merely remove their offensive bodies; their souls, unable to be + destroyed, would seek other habitations. To further impress Arjuna, + Krishna boasted of himself as embodying everything, and as having passed + through many forms. Faith in Krishna was indispensable, for the god placed + faith above either works or contemplation. He next exhibited himself in + his divine form to Arjuna, and the warrior was horror-stricken at the + terrible divinity with countless arms, hands, and heads, touching the + skies. Having been thus instructed by Krishna, Arjuna went forth, and the + eighteen days' battle began. + </p> + <p> + The slaughter was wholesale; no quarter was asked or given, since each + side was determined to exterminate the other. Flights of arrows were + stopped in mid-air by flights of arrows from the other side. Great maces + were cut in pieces by well-directed darts. Bhima, wielding his great club + with his prodigious strength, wiped out thousands of the enemy at one + stroke, and Arjuna did the same with his swift arrows. Nor were the + Kauravas to be despised. Hundreds of thousands of the Pandavas' followers + fell, and the heroic brothers were themselves struck by many arrows. + </p> + <p> + Early in the battle the old Bhishma was pierced by so many arrows that, + falling from his chariot, he rested upon their points as on a couch, and + lay there living by his own desire, until long after the battle. + </p> + <p> + After eighteen days of slaughter, during which the field reeked with blood + and night was made horrible by the cries of the jackals and other beasts + of prey that devoured the bodies of the dead, the Kauravas were all slain, + and the five Pandavas, reconciled to the blind Raja, accompanied him back + to Hastinapur, where Yudhi-sthira was crowned Raja, although the Raj was + still nominally under the rule of his old uncle. + </p> + <p> + Yudhi-sthira celebrated his accession to the throne by the performance of + the great sacrifice, which was celebrated with the utmost splendor. After + several years the unhappy Dhrita-rashtra retired with his wife to a jungle + on the banks of the Ganges, leaving Yudhi-sthira in possession of the + kingdom. There the Pandavas visited him, and talked over the friends who + had fallen in the great war. One evening the sage Vyasa instructed them to + bathe in the Ganges and then stand on the banks of the river. He then went + into the water and prayed, and coming out stood by Yudhi-sthira and called + the names of all those persons who had been slain at Kuruk-shetra. + Immediately the water began to foam and boil, and to the great surprise + and terror of all, the warriors lost in the great battle appeared in their + chariots, at perfect peace with one another, and cleansed of all earthly + stain. Then the living were happy with the dead; long separated families + were once more united, and the hearts that had been desolate for fifteen + long years were again filled with joy. The night sped quickly by in tender + conversation, and when morning came, all the dead mounted into their + chariots and disappeared. Those who had come to meet them prepared to + leave the river, but with the permission of Vyasa, the widows drowned + themselves that they might rejoin their husbands. + </p> + <p> + Not long after his return to Hastinapur, Yudhi-sthira heard that the old + Raja and his wife had lost their lives in a jungle-fire; and soon after + this, tidings came to him of the destruction of the city of the Yadavas, + the capital of Krishna, in punishment for the dissipation of its + inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + Yudhi-sthira's reign of thirty-six years had been a succession of gloomy + events, and he began to grow weary of earth and to long for the blessings + promised above. He therefore determined to make the long and weary + pilgrimage to Heaven without waiting for death. According to the + Mahâ-Bhârata, the earth was divided into seven concentric rings, each of + which was surrounded by an ocean or belt separating it from the next + annular continent. The first ocean was of salt water; the second, of the + juice of the sugar-cane; the third, of wine; the fourth, of clarified + butter; the fifth, of curdled milk; the sixth, of sweet milk; the seventh, + of fresh water. In the centre of this vast annular system Mount Meru rose + to the height of sixty-four thousand miles. + </p> + <p> + Upon this mountain was supposed to rest the heaven of the Hindus, and + thither Yudhi-sthira proposed to make his pilgrimage. His brothers and + their wife Draupadi insisted on going with him, for all were equally weary + of the world. Their people would fain have accompanied them, but the + princes sent them back and went unaccompanied save by their faithful dog. + They kept on, fired by their high resolves, until they reached the long + and dreary waste of sand that stretched before Mount Meru. There Draupadi + fell and yielded up her life, and Yudhi-sthira, never turning to look + back, told the questioning Bhima that she died because she loved her + husbands better than all else, better than heaven. Next Sahadeva fell, + then Nakalu, and afterwards Arjuna and Bhima. Yudhi-sthira, still striding + on, informed Bhima that pride had slain the first, self-love the second, + the sin of Arjuna was a lie, and Bhima had loved too well the good things + of earth. + </p> + <p> + Followed by the dog, Yudhi-sthira pushed across the barren sand until he + reached the mount and stood in the presence of the god. Well pleased with + his perseverance, the god promised him the reward of entering into heaven + in his own form, but he refused to go unless the dog could accompany him. + After vainly attempting to dissuade him, the god allowed the dog to assume + its proper form, and lo! it was Dharma, the god of justice, and the two + entered heaven together. + </p> + <p> + But where were Draupadi and the gallant princes, her husbands? + Yudhi-sthira could see them nowhere, and he questioned only to learn that + they were in hell. His determination was quickly taken. There could be no + heaven for him unless his brothers and their wife could share it with him. + He demanded to be shown the path to hell, to enter which he walked over + razors, and trod under foot mangled human forms. But joy of joys! The + lotus-eyed Draupadi called to him, and his brothers cried that his + presence in hell brought a soothing breeze that gave relief to all the + tortured souls. + </p> + <p> + Yudhi-sthira's self-sacrifice sufficiently tested, the gods proclaimed + that it was all but an illusion shown to make him enjoy the more, by + contrast, the blisses of heaven. The king Yudhi-sthira then bathed in the + great river flowing through three worlds, and, washed from all sins and + soils, went up, hand in hand with the gods, to his brothers, the Pandavas, + and + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Lotus-eyed and loveliest Draupadi, + Waiting to greet him, gladdening and glad." +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE MAHÂ-BHÂRATA. + </h2> + <h3> + SÂVITRI, OR LOVE AND DEATH. + </h3> + <p> + The beautiful princess Sâvitri of her own choice wedded the prince + Satyavan, son of a blind and exiled king, although she knew that he was + doomed by the gods to die within a year. When the year was almost gone, + she sat for several days beneath a great tree, abstaining from food and + drink, and imploring the gods to save him from death. On the fateful day + she accompanied him to the forest to gather the sacred wood for the + evening sacrifice. As he struck the tree with the axe he reeled in pain, + and exclaiming, "I cannot work!" fell fainting. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Thereon that noble lady, hastening near. + Stayed him that would have fallen, with quick arms; + And, sitting on the earth, laid her lord's head + Tenderly in her lap. So bent she, mute, + Fanning his face, and thinking 't was the day— + The hour—which Narad named—the sure fixed date + Of dreadful end—when, lo! before her rose + A shade majestic. Red his garments were, + His body vast and dark; like fiery suns + The eyes which burned beneath his forehead-cloth; + Armed was he with a noose, awful of mien. + This Form tremendous stood by Satyavan, + Fixing its gaze upon him. At the sight + The fearful Princess started to her feet. + Heedfully laying on the grass his head, + + Up started she, with beating heart, and joined + Her palms for supplication, and spake thus + In accents tremulous: "Thou seem'st some God; + Thy mien is more than mortal; make me know + What god thou art, and what thy purpose here." + + And Yama said (the dreadful god of death): + "Thou art a faithful wife, O Sâvitrî, + True to thy vows, pious, and dutiful; + Therefore I answer thee. Yama I am! + This Prince thy lord lieth at point to die; + Him will I straightway bind and bear from life; + This is my office, and for this I come." + + Then Sâvitrî spake sadly: "It is taught + Thy messengers are sent to fetch the dying; + Why is it, Mightiest, thou art come thyself?" + + In pity of her love, the Pityless + Answered—the King of all the Dead replied: + "This was a Prince unparalleled, thy lord; + Virtuous as fair, a sea of goodly gifts, + Not to be summoned by a meaner voice + Than Yama's own: therefore is Yama come." + + With that the gloomy God fitted his noose + And forced forth from the Prince the soul of him— + Subtile, a thumb in length—which being reft, + Breath stayed, blood stopped, the body's grace was gone, + And all life's warmth to stony coldness turned. + Then, binding it, the Silent Presence bore + Satyavan's soul away toward the South. + + But Sâvitrî the Princess followed him; + Being so bold in wifely purity, + So holy by her love; and so upheld, + She followed him. + + Presently Yama turned. + "Go back," quoth he. "Pay for him funeral dues. + Enough, O Sâvitrî, is wrought for love; + Go back! Too far already hast thou come." + + Then Sâvitrî made answer: "I must go + Where my lord goes, or where my lord is borne; + Naught other is my duty. Nay, I think, + By reason of my vows, my services, + Done to the Gurus, and my faultless love, + Grant but thy grace, I shall unhindered go. + The sages teach that to walk seven steps + One with another, maketh good men friends; + Beseech thee, let me say a verse to thee:— + + <i>"Be master of thyself, if thou wilt be + Servant of Duty. Such as thou shall see + Not self-subduing, do no deeds of good + In youth or age, in household or in wood. + But wise men know that virtue is best bliss, + And all by some one way may reach to this. + It needs not men should pass through orders four + To come to knowledge: doing right is more + Than any learning; therefore sages say + Best and most excellent is Virtue's way."</i> + + Spake Yama then: "Return! yet I am moved + By those soft words; justly their accents fell, + And sweet and reasonable was their sense. + See now, thou faultless one. Except this life + I bear away, ask any boon from me; + It shall not be denied." + + Sâvitrî said: + "Let, then, the King, my husband's father, have + His eyesight back, and be his strength restored, + And let him live anew, strong as the sun." + + "I give this gift," Yama replied. "Thy wish, + Blameless, shall be fulfilled. But now go back; + Already art thou wearied, and our road + Is hard and long. Turn back, lest thou, too, die." + + The Princess answered: "Weary am I not, + So I walk near my lord. Where he is borne, + Thither wend I. Most mighty of the Gods, + I follow wheresoe'er thou takest him. + A verse is writ on this, if thou wouldst hear:— + + <i>"There is naught better than to be + With noble souls in company: + There is naught better than to wend + With good friends faithful to the end. + This is the love whose fruit is sweet, + Therefore to bide within is meet."</i> + + Spake Yama, smiling: "Beautiful! thy words + Delight me; they are excellent, and teach + Wisdom unto the wise, singing soft truth. + Look, now! Except the life of Satyavan, + Ask yet another—any—boon from me." + + Sâvitrî said: "Let, then, the pious King, + My husband's father, who hath lost his throne, + Have back the Raj; and let him rule his realm + In happy righteousness. This boon I ask." + + "He shall have back the throne," Yama replied, + "And he shall reign in righteousness: these things + Will surely fall. But thou, gaining thy wish, + Return anon; so shalt thou 'scape sore ill." + + "Ah, awful God! who hold'st the world in leash," + The Princess said, "restraining evil men, + And leading good men—even unconscious—there, + Where they attain, hear yet those famous words:— + + <i>"The constant virtues of the good are tenderness and love + To all that lives—in earth, air, sea—great, small—below, above; + Compassionate of heart, they keep a gentle thought for each, + Kind in their actions, mild in will, and pitiful of speech; + Who pitieth not, he hath not faith; full many an one so lives, + But when an enemy seeks help, a good man gladly gives."</i> + + "As water to the thirsty," Yama said, + "Princess, thy words melodious are to me. + Except the life of Satyavan, thy lord, + Ask one boon yet again, for I will grant." + + Answer made Sâvitrî: "The King, my sire, + Hath no male child. Let him see many sons + Begotten of his body, who may keep + The royal line long regnant. This I ask." + + "So shall it be," the Lord of Death replied; + "A hundred fair preservers of his race + Thy sire shall boast. But this wish being won, + Return, dear Princess; thou hast come too far." + + "It is not far for me," quoth Sâvitrî, + "Since I am near my husband; nay, my heart + Is set to go as far as to the end; + But hear these other verses, if thou wilt:— + + <i>"By that sunlit name thou bearest, + Thou, Vaivaswata! art dearest; + Those that as their Lord proclaim thee, + King of Righteousness do name thee: + Better than themselves the wise + Trust the righteous. Each relies + Most upon the good, and makes + Friendship with them. Friendship takes + Fear from hearts; yet friends betray, + In good men we may trust alway."</i> + + "Sweet lady," Yama said, "never were words + Spoke better; never truer heard by ear; + Lo! I am pleased with thee. Except this soul, + Ask one gift yet again, and get thee home." + + "I ask thee then," quickly the Princess cried, + "Sons, many sons, born of my body; boys; + Satyavan's children; lovely, valiant, strong; + Continuers of their line. Grant this, kind God." + + "I grant it," Yama answered; "thou shalt bear + These sons thy heart desireth, valiant, strong. + Therefore go back, that years be given thee. + Too long a path thou treadest, dark and rough." + + But sweeter than before, the Princess sang:— + + <i>"In paths of peace and virtue + Always the good remain; + And sorrow shall not stay with them, + Nor long access of pain; + At meeting or at parting + Joys to their bosom strike; + For good to good is friendly, + And virtue loves her like. + The great sun goes his journey + By their strong truth impelled; + By their pure lives and penances + Is earth itself upheld; + Of all which live and shall live + Upon its hills and fields, + Pure hearts are the protectors, + For virtue saves and shields. + + "Never are noble spirits + Poor while their like survive; + True love has gems to render, + And virtue wealth to give. + Never is lost or wasted + The goodness of the good; + Never against a mercy, + Against a right, it stood; + And seeing this, that virtue + Is always friend to all, + The virtuous and true-hearted, + Men their protectors call."</i> + + "Line for line, Princess, as thou sangest so," + Quoth Yama, "all that lovely praise of good, + Grateful to hallowed minds, lofty in sound, + And couched in dulcet numbers—word by word— + Dearer thou grew'st to me. O thou great heart, + Perfect and firm! ask any boon from me,— + Ask an incomparable boon!" + + She cried + Swiftly, no longer stayed: "Not Heaven I crave, + Nor heavenly joys, nor bliss incomparable, + Hard to be granted, even by thee; but him, + My sweet lord's life, without which I am dead; + Give me that gift of gifts! I will not take + Aught less without him,—not one boon—no praise, + No splendors, no rewards,—not even those sons + Whom thou didst promise. Ah, thou wilt not now + Bear hence the father of them and my hope! + Make thy free word good; give me Satyavan + Alive once more." + + And thereupon the God— + The Lord of Justice, high Vaivaswata— + Loosened the noose and freed the Prince's soul, + And gave it to the lady, saying this, + With eyes grown tender: "See, thou sweetest queen + Of women, brightest jewel of thy kind! + Here is thy husband. He shall live and reign + Side by side with thee, saved by thee,—in peace + And fame and wealth, and health, many long years, + For pious sacrifices world-renowned. + Boys shalt thou bear to him, as I did grant,— + Kshatriya kings, fathers of kings to be, + Sustainers of thy line. Also thy sire + Shall see his name upheld by sons of sons, + Like the immortals, valiant, Mâlavas." + + ARNOLD: <i>Indian Idylls.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + FROM "THE GREAT JOURNEY." + </h2> + <p> + The shadow of the Great War hung over King Yudhi-sthira, whose reign was + one long succession of gloomy events, culminating in the death of the + blind Raja and his wife in a jungle fire, and the destruction of the + capital city of Krishna because of the dissipation of its inhabitants. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + On tidings of the wreck of Vrishni's race, + King Yudhi-sthira of the Pandavas + Was minded to be done with earthly things, + And to Arjuna spake: "O noble prince, + Time endeth all; we linger, noose on neck, + Till the last day tightens the line, and kills. + Let us go forth to die, being yet alive." + And Kunti's son, the great Arjuna, said: + "Let us go forth! Time slayeth all. + We will find Death, who seeketh other men." + And Bhimasena, hearing, answered: "Yea, + We will find Death!" and Sahadev cried: "Yea!" + And his twin brother Nakalu; whereat + The princes set their faces for the Mount. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + So ordering ere he went, the righteous King + Made offering of white water, heedfully, + To Vasudev, to Rama, and the rest,— + All funeral rites performing; next he spread + A funeral feast.... + + And all the people cried, "Stay with us, Lord!" + But Yudhi-sthira knew his time was come, + Knew that life passes and that virtue lasts, + And put aside their love.... + + So, with farewells + Tenderly took of lieges and of lords, + Girt he for travel with his princely kin, + Great Yudhi-sthira, Dharma's royal son. + Crest-gem and belt and ornaments he stripped + From off his body, and for broidered robe + A rough dress donned, woven of jungle bark; + And what he did—O Lord of men!—so did + Arjuna, Bhima, and the twin-born pair, + Nakalu with Sahadev, and she,—in grace + The peerless,—Draupadi. Lastly those six,— + Thou son of Bharata!—in solemn form + Made the high sacrifice of Naishtiki, + Quenching their flames in water at the close; + And so set forth, midst wailing of all folk + And tears of women, weeping most to see + The Princess Draupadi—that lovely prize + Of the great gaming, Draupadi the Bright— + Journeying afoot; but she and all the five + Rejoiced because their way lay heavenward. + + Seven were they, setting forth,—Princess and King, + The King's four brothers and a faithful dog. + Those left Hastinapur; but many a man, + And all the palace household, followed them + The first sad stage: and ofttimes prayed to part, + + Put parting off for love and pity, still + Sighing, "A little farther!" till day waned; + Then one by one they turned. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Thus wended they, + Pandu's five sons and loveliest Draupadi, + Taking no meat and journeying due east, + On righteousness their high hearts fed, to heaven + Their souls assigned; and steadfast trod their feet— + By faith upborne—past nullah ran, and wood, + River and jheel and plain. King Yudhi-sthir + Walked foremost, Bhima followed, after him + Arjuna, and the twin-born brethren next, + Nakalu with Sahadev; in whose still steps— + O Best of Bharat's offspring!—Draupadi, + That gem of women paced, with soft dark face,— + Clear-edged like lotus petals; last the dog + Following the Pandavas. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + While yet those heroes walked, + Now to the northward banding, where long coasts + Shut in the sea of salt, now to the north, + Accomplishing all quarters, journeyed they; + The earth their altar of high sacrifice, + Which these most patient feet did pace around + Till Meru rose. + + At last it rose! These Six, + Their senses subjugate, their spirits pure, + Wending along, came into sight—far off + In the eastern sky—of awful Himavat; + And midway in the peaks of Himavat, + Meru, the mountain of all mountains, rose, + Whose head is heaven; and under Himavat + Glared a wide waste of sand, dreadful as death. + + Then, as they hastened o'er the deathly waste, + Aiming for Meru, having thoughts at soul + Infinite, eager,—lo! Draupadi reeled, + With faltering heart and feet; and Bhima turned, + Gazing upon her; and that hero spake + To Yudhi-sthira: "Master, Brother, King! + Why doth she fail? For never all her life + Wrought our sweet lady one thing wrong, I think. + Thou knowest; make us know, why hath she failed?" + + Then Yudhi-sthira answered: "Yea, one thing. + She loved our brothers better than all else,— + Better than Heaven: that was her tender sin, + Fault of a faultless soul: she pays for that." + + So spake the monarch, turning not his eyes, + Though Draupadi lay dead,—striding straight on + For Meru, heart-full of the things of Heaven, + Perfect and firm. But yet a little space + And Sahadev fell down; which Bhima seeing, + Cried once again: "O King, great Madri's son + Stumbles and sinks. Why hath he sunk?—so true, + So brave and steadfast, and so free from pride!" + + "He was not free," with countenance still fixed, + Quoth Yudhi-sthira; "he was true and fast + And wise; yet wisdom made him proud; he hid + One little hurt of soul, but now it kills." + + So saying, he strode on, Kunti's strong son, + And Bhima; and Arjuna followed him, + And Nakalu and the hound; leaving behind + Sahadev in the sands. But Nakalu, + Weakened and grieved to see Sahadev fall— + His dear-loved brother—lagged and stayed; and then + Prone on his face he fell, that noble face + Which had no match for beauty in the land,— + Glorious and godlike Nakalu! Then sighed + Bhima anew: "Brother and Lord! the man + Who never erred from virtue, never broke + Our fellowship, and never in the world + Was matched for goodly perfectness of form + Or gracious feature,—Nakalu has fallen!" + + But Yudhi-sthira, holding fixed his eyes,— + That changeless, faithful, all-wise king,—replied: + "Yea, but he erred! The god-like form he wore + Beguiled him to believe none like to him, + And he alone desirable, and things + Unlovely, to be slighted. Self-love slays + Our noble brother. Bhima, follow! Each + Pays what his debt was." + + Which Arjuna heard, + Weeping to see them fall; and that stout son + Of Pandu, that destroyer of his foes, + That Prince, who drove through crimson waves of war, + In old days, with his milk-white chariot-steeds, + Him, the arch hero, sank! Beholding this,— + The yielding of that soul unconquerable, + + Fearless, divine, from Sakra's self derived, + Arjuna's—Bhima cried aloud: "O King! + This man was surely perfect. Never once, + Not even in slumber, when the lips are loosed, + Spake he one word that was not true as truth. + Ah, heart of gold! why art thou broke? O King! + Whence falleth he?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said, + Not pausing: "Once he lied, a lordly lie! + He bragged—our brother—that a single day + Should see him utterly consume, alone, + All those his enemies,—which could not be. + Yet from a great heart sprang the unmeasured speech, + Howbeit a finished hero should not shame + Himself in such a wise, nor his enemy, + If he will faultless fight and blameless die: + This was Arjuna's sin. Follow thou me!" + + So the King still went on. But Bhima next + Fainted, and stayed upon the way, and sank; + But, sinking, cried behind the steadfast Prince: + "Ah, Brother, see! I die! Look upon me, + Thy well beloved! Wherefore falter I, + Who strove to stand?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said: + "More than was well the goodly things of earth + Pleased thee, my pleasant brother! Light the offence + And large thy spirit; but the o'erfed soul + Plumed itself over others. Pritha's son, + For this thou fallest, who so near didst gain." + + Thenceforth alone the long-armed monarch strode, + Not looking back,—nay, not for Bhima's sake,— + But walking with his face set for the Mount; + And the hound followed him,—only the hound. + + After the deathly sands, the Mount! and lo! + Sakra shone forth,—the God,—filling the earth + And Heavens with the thunders of his chariot wheels. + "Ascend," he said, "with me, Pritha's great son!" + But Yudhi-sthira answered, sore at heart + For those his kinsfolk, fallen on the way: + "O Thousand-eyed, O Lord of all the gods, + Give that my brothers come with me, who fell! + Not without them is Swarga sweet to me. + She too, the dear and kind and queenly,—she + Whose perfect virtue Paradise must crown,— + Grant her to come with us! Dost thou grant this?" + + The God replied: "In Heaven thou shalt see + Thy kinsmen and the Queen—these will attain— + And Krishna. Grieve no longer for thy dead, + Thou chief of men! their mortal coverings stripped, + These have their places; but to thee, the gods + Allow an unknown grace: thou shalt go up, + Living and in thy form, to the immortal homes." + + But the King answered: "O thou wisest One, + Who know'st what was, and is, and is to be, + Still one more grace! This hound hath ate with me, + Followed me, loved me; must I leave him now?" + + "Monarch," spake Indra, "thou art now as we,— + Deathless, divine; thou art become a god; + Glory and power and gifts celestial, + And all the joys of heaven are thine for aye: + What hath a beast with these? Leave here thy hound." + + Yet Yudhi-sthira answered: "O Most High, + O Thousand-Eyed and Wisest! can it be + That one exalted should seem pitiless? + Nay, let me lose such glory: for its sake + I cannot leave one living thing I loved." + + Then sternly Indra spake: "He is unclean, + And into Swarga such shall enter not. + The Krodhavasha's wrath destroys the fruits + Of sacrifice, if dog defile the fire. + Bethink thee, Dharmaraj; quit now this beast! + That which is seemly is not hard of heart." + + Still he replied: "'Tis written that to spurn + A suppliant equals in offence to slay + A twice-born; wherefore, not for Swarga's bliss + Quit I, Mahendra, this poor clinging dog,— + So without any hope or friend save me. + So wistful, fawning for my faithfulness; + So agonized to die, unless I help + Who among men was called steadfast and just." + + Quoth Indra: "Nay, the altar flame is foul + Where a dog passeth; angry angels sweep + The ascending smoke aside, and all the fruits + Of offering, and the merit of the prayer + Of him whom a hound toucheth. Leave it here! + He that will enter Heaven must enter pure. + Why didst thou quit thy brethren on the way, + And Krishna, and the dear-loved Draupadi, + Attaining firm and glorious to this Mount + Through perfect deeds, to linger for a brute? + Hath Yudhi-sthira vanquished self, to melt + With one pure passion at the door of bliss? + Stay'st thou for this, who did not stay for them,— + Draupadi, Bhima?" + + But the King yet spake: + "'T is known that none can hurt or help the dead. + They, the delightful ones, who sank and died. + Following my footsteps, could not live again + Though I had turned—therefore I did not turn; + But could help profit, I had stayed to help. + There be four sins, O Sakra, grievous sins: + The first is making suppliants despair, + The second is to slay a nursing wife, + The third is spoiling Brahmans' goods by force, + The fourth is injuring an ancient friend. + These four I deem not direr than the crime, + If one, in coming forth from woe to weal, + Abandon any meanest comrade then." + + Straight as he spake, brightly great Indra smiled; + Vanished the hound, and in its stead stood there + The Lord of Death and Justice, Dharma's self! + Sweet were the words which fell from those dread lips, + Precious the lovely praise: "O thou true King, + Thou that dost bring to harvest the good seed + Of Pandu's righteousness; thou that hast ruth + As he before, on all which lives!—O Son! + + "Hear thou my word! Because thou didst not mount + This car divine, lest the poor hound be shent + Who looked to thee, lo! there is none in heaven + Shall sit above thee, King! Bharata's son! + Enter thou now to the eternal joys, + Living and in thy form. Justice and Love + Welcome thee, Monarch! thou shalt throne with us!" + ARNOLD: <i>Indian Idylls</i>. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ILIAD. + </h2> + <p> + The Iliad, or story of the fall of Ilium (Troy), is supposed to have been + written by Homer, about the tenth century B. C. The legendary history of + Homer represents him as a schoolmaster and poet of Smyrna, who while + visiting in Ithaca became blind, and afterwards spent his life travelling + from place to place reciting his poems, until he died in Ios. Seven + cities, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argos, and Athens, claimed + to be his birthplace. + </p> + <p> + In 1795, Wolf, a German scholar, published his "Prolegomena," which set + forth his theory that Homer was a fictitious character, and that the Iliad + was made up of originally unconnected poems, collected and combined by + Pisistratus. + </p> + <p> + Though for a time the Wolfian theory had many advocates, it is now + generally conceded that although the stories of the fall of Troy were + current long before Homer, they were collected and recast into one poem by + some great poet. That the Iliad is the work of one man is clearly shown by + its unity, its sustained simplicity of style, and the centralization of + interest in the character of Achilles. + </p> + <p> + The destruction of Troy, for a time regarded as a poetic fiction, is now + believed by many scholars to be an actual historical event which took + place about the time of the Ćolian migration. + </p> + <p> + The whole story of the fall of Troy is not related in the Iliad, the poem + opening nine years after the beginning of the war, and closing with the + death of Hector. + </p> + <p> + The Iliad is divided into twenty-four books, and contains nineteen + thousand four hundred and sixty-five lines. + </p> + <p> + As a work of art the Iliad has never been excelled; moreover, it possesses + what all works of art do not,—"the touches of things human" that + make it ours, although the centuries lie between us and its unknown + author, who told his stirring story in such swift-moving verses, with such + touches of pathos and humor, and with such evident joy of living. Another + evidence of the perfection of Homer's art is that while his heroes are + perfect types of Greeks and Trojans, they are also typical men, and for + that reason, still keep their hold upon us. It is this human interest, + simplicity of style, and grandeur of treatment that have rendered Homer + immortal and his work imperishable. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL3" id="link2H_BIBL3"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ILIAD. + </h2> + <h3> + M. Arnold's Essay on Homer, 1876, pp. 284-425; + </h3> + <p> + H. Bonitz's Origin of the Homeric Poems, tr. 1880; + </p> + <p> + R. C. Jebb's Introduction to Homer, 1887; + </p> + <p> + F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 7-17; + </p> + <p> + A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893; + </p> + <p> + W. Leaf's Companion to the Iliad for English Readers, 1892; + </p> + <p> + J. A. Symonds's Studies in Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ILIAD. + </h2> + <p> + The Iliad, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871 + (Primitive in spirit, like Homer. Union of literalness with simplicity); + </p> + <p> + The Iliad, Tr. according to the Greek with introduction and notes by + George Chapman {1615}, Ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874 (Written in verse. Pope says a + daring and fiery spirit animates this translation, something like that in + which one might imagine Homer would have written before he came to years + of discretion); + </p> + <p> + The Iliad, Tr. by William Cowper (Very literal and inattentive to melody, + but has more of simple majesty and manner of Homer than Pope); + </p> + <p> + The Iliad, rendered into English blank verse by the Earl of Derby, 2 + vols., 1864; + </p> + <p> + The Iliad, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by the Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, + n. d. (Written in couplets. Highly ornamented paraphrase). + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE ILIAD. + </h2> + <p> + For nine years a fleet of one thousand one hundred and eighty-six ships + and an army of more than one hundred thousand Greeks, under the command of + Agamemnon, lay before King Priam's city of Troy to avenge the wrongs of + Menelaus, King of Sparta, and to reclaim Helen, his wife, who had been + carried away by Priam's son Paris, at the instigation of Venus. + </p> + <p> + Though they had not succeeded in taking Troy, the Greeks had conquered + many of the surrounding cities. From one of these, Agamemnon had taken as + his share of the booty Chryseis, the beautiful daughter of the priest + Chryses; and when her father had come to ransom her, he had been insulted + and driven away by the king. Chryses had prayed to Apollo for revenge, and + the god had sent upon the Greeks a pestilence which was slaying so many + thousands that a meeting was called to consult upon what to do to check + the plague and conciliate the god. + </p> + <p> + Calchas the seer had declared that the plague was sent because of the + detention of Chryseis, and Agamemnon, though indignant with the priest, + announced that he would send her back to save his army from destruction. + "Note, however," said he, "that I have now given up my booty. See that I + am recompensed for what I lose." + </p> + <p> + Then rose the leader of the Myrmidons, swift-footed Achilles, in his + wrath, and denounced Agamemnon for his greediness. + </p> + <p> + "Thou hast ever had thy share and more of all the booty, and thou knowest + well that there is now no common store from which to give thee spoil. But + wait until Troy town is sacked, and we will gladly give thee three and + fourfold thy recompense." + </p> + <p> + The angry Agamemnon declared that if he were not given the worth of what + he had lost he would seize the maidens of Ajax and Ulysses, or Achilles' + maid, Briseis. + </p> + <p> + Achilles was beside himself with rage. He had not come to Troy to + contribute to Agamemnon's glory. He and his followers had long borne the + brunt of battle only to see the largest share of booty given to Agamemnon, + who lay idle in his ships. Sooner than endure longer such indignity he + would return home to Phthia. + </p> + <p> + "Go!" replied Agamemnon. "I detest thee and thy ways. Go back over the sea + and rule over thy Myrmidons. But since Phoebus has taken away my maid, I + will carry off thy prize, thy rosy-cheeked Briseis, that thou may'st learn + that I am indeed king." + </p> + <p> + Warned by Pallas Athene, Achilles took his hand from his sword hilt, and + contented himself with telling Agamemnon that he would see the day when he + would fret to think he had driven Achilles from the Grecian ranks. + </p> + <p> + Though the persuasive orator, Nestor, endeavored to make peace between the + chiefs, Agamemnon could not be softened. As soon as the black ship bearing + Chryseis set sail, he sent his unwilling men to where Achilles sat by his + tent, beside the barren deep, to take the fair Briseis, whom Achilles + ordered to be led forth to them. Then the long days dragged by in the tent + where the chief sat eating his heart out in idleness, while his men + engaged in athletic sports, and the rest of the Greeks fought before Troy. + </p> + <p> + Both armies, worn out with indecisive battles, gladly hailed Hector's + proposal that a combat between Paris and Menelaus should decide the war. + </p> + <p> + As the armies stood in silence, watching the preparations for the combat, + Helen, summoned by Iris, left her room in Priam's palace, where she was + weaving among her maidens, and, robed and veiled in white, and shedding + tears at the recollection of her former home and husband, went down to the + Scaean gates, where sat Priam and the men too old for war. When they saw + bright-haired Helen they whispered among themselves that it was little + wonder that men warred for her sake, so fair was she, so like unto the + deathless goddesses. + </p> + <p> + In response to Priam's tender greeting she seated herself beside him and + pointed out the Greek heroes,—Agamemnon, ruler over wide lands, + crafty Ulysses, and the mighty Ajax; but she strained her eyes in vain for + a sight of her dearly loved brothers, Castor and Pollux, not knowing that + they already lay dead in pleasant Lacedaemon. + </p> + <p> + In the single combat between Paris and Menelaus, the spear of the Greek + was fixed in Paris's buckler, and his sword was shivered on his helmet + without injury to the Trojan. But, determined to overcome his hateful foe, + Menelaus seized Paris by the helm and dragged him towards the Grecian + ranks. Great glory would have been his had not the watchful Venus loosed + the helm and snatched away the god-like Paris in a cloud. While the Greeks + demanded Helen and her wealth as the price of Menelaus's victory, + Pandarus, prompted by Pallas, broke the truce by a shot aimed at Menelaus, + and the battle soon raged with greater fury than before. + </p> + <p> + Diomed, having received new strength and courage from Pallas, rushed madly + over the field, falling upon the affrighted Trojans like a lion in the + sheepfold; then, made more presumptuous by his success, and forgetful of + the few years promised the man who dares to meet the gods in battle, the + arrogant warrior struck at Venus and wounded her in the wrist, so that, + shrieking with pain, she yielded Ćneas to Apollo, and fled to Olympus. + </p> + <p> + Perceiving that the Trojans were unable to withstand the fury of Diomed, + assisted as he was by Pallas and Juno, Hector hastened homeward to order a + sacrifice to Pallas that she might look with more favor upon their cause. + </p> + <p> + Having instructed his mother to lay her richest robe on Pallas's shrine, + Hector sought his wife, the white-armed Andromache, and their babe, + Astyanax. Andromache entreated Hector to go forth no more to battle, to + lose his life and leave their babe fatherless; but Hector, upon whom the + cares of war sat heavily, bade her a tender farewell, and kissing the + babe, returned with Paris to the field. + </p> + <p> + Incited by Pallas and Apollo, Helenus suggested to his brother Hector that + he should challenge the bravest of the Greeks to single combat. The lot + fell to Ajax the Greater, and the two mighty heroes contested with spears + and stones until twilight fell, and they were parted by a herald. + </p> + <p> + That night the Greeks feasted, and when, the next morning, a Trojan + messenger offered them the treasures of Helen if they would withdraw from + Troy, and proposed a truce, they indignantly rejected the offer, declaring + that they would not even accept Helen herself, but agreed upon a truce in + which to bury the dead. + </p> + <p> + When the battle was renewed, Jupiter forbade the gods to take part. + Opposed by no celestial foes, the Trojans were this day successful, and + having pursued the Greeks to the ships, sat all night, full of hope, + around their thousand watch fires, waiting for the morn. + </p> + <p> + In the Grecian camp, however, a different scene was being enacted. + Disheartened by their defeat, Agamemnon proposed that the armies give up + the siege and return to Greece. + </p> + <p> + Angry at his weakness, Diomed thus reproached him:— + </p> + <p> + "The gods have granted thee high rank and rule, but thou hast no + fortitude. Return if thou desirest. Still enough long-haired Achaians will + remain to take the city. If they desire to go as well, at least Sthenelus + and I will remain until Troy is ours. We have the gods with us." + </p> + <p> + At the suggestion of Nestor a banquet was spread, and after the hunger of + all was appeased, the peril of the Greeks was discussed in the Council of + the Elders. Here Nestor showed Agamemnon that the trouble began at the + hour when he drove Achilles from their ranks by appropriating Briseis. + </p> + <p> + Ill fortune had humbled the haughty Agamemnon, and he confessed that he + had done wrong. "For this wrong, however," said he, "I am ready to make + ample amends. Priceless gifts I will send to Achilles: seven tripods, six + talents of pure gold, twenty shining caldrons, twelve steeds, seven + damsels, among them Briseis; not only this, when Priam's citadel falls, he + shall be the first to load his galley down with gold and silver and with + Trojan maidens. Better yet, I will unite him to me by the ties of + marriage. I will give him my daughter for a wife, and with her for a dower + will go seven cities near the sea, rich in flocks and herds. Then let him + yield, and join us in taking Troy." + </p> + <p> + Joyfully the messengers—Ajax, Ulysses, and the aged Phoenix, + carefully instructed by Nestor—set forth on their embassy. As they + neared the tents of the Myrmidons their ears were struck by the notes of a + silver harp touched by Achilles to solace him in his loneliness. His + friend Patroclus sat beside him in silence. Achilles and Patroclus greeted + the messengers warmly, mingled the pure wine, and spread a feast for them. + This over, Ulysses, at a nod from Ajax, drank to Achilles' health, and + then told him of the sore need of the Greeks, pressed by the Trojans. If + he did not come to their aid, he whose very name frightened the enemy, the + time would surely come when he would greatly lament his idleness. + </p> + <p> + Achilles' passion, the greater for its fifteen days' repression, burst + forth in his reply: "I will say what I have in my heart," he cried, "since + concealment is hateful to me. What thanks does the victor in countless + battles gain? He and the idler are equally honored, and die the same + death. Many nights' slumber have I lost on the battle field; many cities + have I conquered, abroad and here upon the Trojan coast, and of the spoil, + the greater part has gone to Agamemnon, who sat idle in his fleet; yet + from me, who suffered much in fighting, he took my prize, my dearly loved + Briseis; now let him keep her. Let him learn for himself how to conquer + Hector,—this Hector, who, when I went out against him, was afraid to + leave the shelter of the Scaean gates. To-morrow, if you but watch, you + will see my galleys sailing upon the Hellespont on our return to Phthia. + Evil was the hour in which I left its fertile coasts for this barren + shore, where my mother Thetis foretold I should win deathless renown but + bitter death. + </p> + <p> + "Tell Agamemnon that I will never wed a child of his. On my return to + Phthia my father will select a bride for me with whom, on his broad + fields, I can live the life I have dreamed of." + </p> + <p> + The entreaties of the aged Phoenix, who had helped to rear Achilles, and + his arguments against his mercilessness, were of no avail; neither were + the words of Ajax. However, he at last sent the message that he would + remain by the sea watching the course of the war, and that he would + encounter Hector whenever he approached to set fire to the galleys of the + Myrmidons. + </p> + <p> + That night sleep did not visit the eyes of Agamemnon. Long he reflected on + the reply of Achilles, and wondered at the watch fires on the plain before + Troy. The other chiefs were likewise full of anxiety, and when Nestor + offered a reward to any one who would go as a spy to the Trojan camp, + Diomed quickly volunteered. Selecting the wary Ulysses as his companion, + he stole forth to where the Trojans sat around their camp fires. The pair + intercepted and slew Dolon the spy, and finding Rhesus and his Thracian + band wrapped in slumber, slew the king with twelve of his chiefs, and + carried away his chariot and horses. + </p> + <p> + Encouraged by this bold deed, the Greeks went forth to battle the next + morning. Fortune still favored the Trojans, however, and many Greeks fell + by the hand of Hector, until he was checked by Ulysses and Diomed. In the + fight, Agamemnon was wounded, and Diomed, Ulysses, and Machaon. And when + Achilles from his tent saw the physician borne back from battle wounded, + in the chariot of Nestor, he sent Patroclus to inquire of his injury. + Nestor sent word that Ulysses, Agamemnon, Diomed, Machaon, and Eurypylus + were wounded; perhaps these tidings would induce Achilles to forget his + grievances, and once more go forth to battle. If not, he urged Patroclus + to beseech Achilles to permit him, Patroclus, to go forth with the + Myrmidons, clad in Achilles' armor, and strike terror to the hearts of the + Trojans. + </p> + <p> + The Trojans, encouraged by their success, pushed forward to the trench + which the Greeks had dug around the wall thrown up before the ships, and, + leaving their chariots on the brink, went on foot to the gates. After a + long struggle,—because the Trojans could not break down the wall and + the Greeks could not drive back the Trojans,—Hector seized a mighty + stone, so large that two men could scarcely lift it, and bearing it in one + hand, battered the bolted gates until they gave way with a crash; and the + Trojans sprang within, pursuing the affrighted Greeks to the ships. + </p> + <p> + From the heights of Olympus the gods kept a strict watch on the battle; + and as soon as Neptune discovered that Jove, secure in the belief that no + deity would interfere with the successful Trojans, had turned away his + eyes, he went to the aid of the Greeks. Juno, also, furious at the sight + of the Greeks who had fallen before the mighty Hector, determined to turn + the attention of Jove until Neptune had had an opportunity to assist the + Greeks. Jove sat upon the peaks of Mount Ida, and thither went Juno, after + rendering herself irresistible by borrowing the cestus of Venus. Jove, + delighted with the appearance of his wife, and still further won by her + tender words and caresses, thought no longer of the armies fighting at the + Grecian wall. + </p> + <p> + Great was his anger when, after a time, he again looked towards Troy and + saw that Neptune had employed his time in aiding the Greeks, and that + Hector had been wounded by Ajax. By his orders Neptune was quickly + recalled, Hector was healed by Apollo, and the Trojans, strengthened again + by Jupiter, drove back the Greeks to the ships, and attempted to set fire + to the fleet. + </p> + <p> + Seeing the Greeks in such desperate straits, Achilles at last gave his + consent that Patroclus should put on his armor, take his Myrmidons, and + drive the Trojans from the ships, stipulating, however, that he should + return when this was done, and not follow the Trojans in their flight to + Troy. + </p> + <p> + The appearance of the supposed Achilles struck fear to the hearts of the + Trojans, and Patroclus succeeded in driving them from the fleet and in + slaying Sarpedon. Intoxicated by his success, he forgot Achilles' warning, + and pursued the fleeing Trojans to the walls of Troy. The strength of the + Trojans was not sufficient to cope with that of Patroclus; and Troy would + have been taken had not Apollo stood upon a tower to thrust him down each + time he attempted to scale the walls. At last Hector and Patroclus + encountered each other, and fought furiously. Seeing the peril of Hector, + Apollo smote Patroclus's helmet off, broke his spear, and loosed his + buckler. Still undaunted, the hero fought until he fell, and died with the + boasting words of Hector in his ears. + </p> + <p> + Speedily the swift-footed Antilochus conveyed to Achilles the tidings of + his friend's death. Enveloped in "a black cloud of sorrow," Achilles + rolled in the dust and lamented for his friend until warned by Iris that + the enemy were about to secure Patroclus's body. Then, without armor,—for + Hector had secured that of Patroclus and put it on,—he hastened to + the trench, apart from the other Greeks, and shouted thrice, until the men + of Troy, panic-stricken, fell back in disorder, and the body of his friend + was carried away by the triumphant Greeks. + </p> + <p> + Through the long night the Achaians wept over Patroclus; but deeper than + their grief was the sorrow of Achilles, for he had promised Menoetius to + bring back his son in honor, laden with spoils, and now the barren coast + of Troy would hold the ashes of both. Then Achilles made a solemn vow not + to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus until he brought to him the + head and arms of Hector, and had captured on the field twelve Trojan + youths to slaughter on his funeral pile. The hated Hector slain and + Patroclus's funeral rites celebrated, he cared not for the future. The + fate his mother had foretold did not daunt him. Since, by his own folly, + his dearest friend had been taken from him, the sooner their ashes rested + together the better. If he was not to see the rich fields of Phthia, his + was to be, at least, a deathless renown. + </p> + <p> + To take the place of the arms which Hector had taken from Patroclus, + Vulcan, at Thetis's request, had fashioned for Achilles the most beautiful + armor ever worn by man. Brass, tin, silver, and gold composed the bright + corselet, the solid helm, and the wondrous shield, adorned with such + pictures as no mortal artist ever wrought. + </p> + <p> + After having feasted his eyes on this beautiful armor, whose clanking + struck terror even to the hearts of the Myrmidons, Achilles sought out the + Greeks and Agamemnon, and in the assembly acknowledged his fault. "Let + these things belong to the dead past," said he. "My wrath is done. Let us + now stir the long-haired Greeks to war." + </p> + <p> + "Fate, not I, was the cause of our trouble," replied Agamemnon. "The + goddess of discord created the dissension, that Até who troubled even the + gods on Olympus until expelled by Jupiter. But I will make amends with + liberal gifts." + </p> + <p> + Peace having been made between the chiefs, Achilles returned to his tent + without partaking of the banquet spread by Agamemnon, as he had vowed not + to break his fast until he had avenged his friend. Agamemnon's gifts were + carried to the tents of Achilles by the Myrmidons, and with them went + Briseis, who, when she saw the body of Patroclus, threw herself upon it + and wept long for the one whose kindness to her—whose lot had been + sorrow upon sorrow—she could never forget. All the women mourned, + seemingly for Patroclus, really for their own griefs. Achilles likewise + wept, until, strengthened by Pallas, he hastened to put his armor on and + urge the Greeks to battle. + </p> + <p> + As he mounted his chariot he spoke thus to his fleet steeds, Xanthus and + Balius: "Bring me back when the battle is over, I charge you, my noble + steeds. Leave me not on the field, as you left Patroclus." + </p> + <p> + Then Xanthus, with the long-flowing mane, endowed with power of speech by + Juno, thus spake: "This day, at least, we will bring thee home, Achilles; + but the hour of thy death is nigh, and, since the fates have decreed it, + we could not save thee, were we swift as the winged winds. Nor was it + through fault of ours that Patroclus fell." + </p> + <p> + Angry at the reminder of his doom, Achilles drove hurriedly to the field, + determined to fight until he had made the Trojans sick of war. + </p> + <p> + Knowing that the war was drawing rapidly to a close, Jupiter gave + permission to the gods to take part in it, and a terrible combat ensued. + Juno, Pallas, Neptune, Hermes, and Vulcan went to the fleet of the Greeks, + while Mars, Apollo, Diana, Latona, Venus, and Xanthus arrayed themselves + with the Trojans. When the gods joined in the combat and Neptune shook the + earth and Jupiter thundered from above, there was such tumult in the air + that even the dark god of the underworld was terrified. In the battle of + the gods, Apollo encountered Neptune, Pallas fought against Mars, Diana + and Juno opposed each other, Hermes was pitted against Latona, and Xanthus + or Scamander, the river god, strove against Vulcan. It was not long before + Jupiter's fear was realized, and the mortals needed the aid of the gods. + Ćneas, encouraged by Apollo to confront Achilles, was rescued only by the + intervention of Neptune, who, remembering that it was the will of fate + that Ćneas should be spared to perpetuate the Dardan race, snatched him + away in a cloud, although he was himself aiding the Greeks. + </p> + <p> + Mad with rage and spattered with blood, Achilles pursued the flying + Trojans about the plain, sparing none except the twelve youths who were to + be butchered on the funeral pile of Patroclus. He stood in the river, + filling it with slaughtered bodies until, indignant at the insults offered + him, the river god Scamander caused his waters to rush after Achilles so + that he fled for his life. Far across the plain it chased him, and was + only stopped by the fires of Vulcan, summoned by Juno. + </p> + <p> + By an artifice of Apollo, Achilles was decoyed away from the gates of Troy + long enough to allow the Trojans to enter. Hector, however, stayed + without, unmoved by the prayers of Priam and Hecuba. Too late he saw his + error in not heeding the advice of Polydamas to keep within the walls + after the re-appearance of Achilles; he feared the reproaches of the + Trojan warriors and dames, and determined to meet his fate, whatever it + might be. Even death at the hands of Achilles would be preferable to the + insults and reproaches that might await him within the walls. + </p> + <p> + When he saw Achilles approach in his god-given armor, fear seized the + noble Hector, and he fled from his enemy. Thrice around the walls he fled, + Achilles pursuing, and the gods looked down from heaven in sorrow, for, + according to the decrees of fate, Hector must fall this day by the hand of + Achilles. To hasten the combat, Pallas assumed the form of Hector's + brother Deiphobus, and stood by his side, encouraging him to turn and meet + his foe. + </p> + <p> + Hector soon perceived the deception, but boldly faced Achilles, who sprang + at him, brandishing his awful spear. Quickly stooping, Hector avoided the + weapon and hurled his spear at Achilles. It was an unequal conflict. The + armor of Achilles was weapon proof, and Pallas stood at his elbow to + return to him his weapons. Achilles knew well the weak spots in his old + armor worn by Hector, and selecting a seam unguarded by the shield, he + gave Hector a mortal wound, and insulted him as he lay dying at his feet. + </p> + <p> + Tears and wailing filled the city as the Trojans watched the combat; and + despair fell upon them when they saw the body of Hector fastened to the + chariot of Achilles and dragged thrice around the Trojan walls. From her + chamber where she sat weaving, unaware of the mortal combat waged before + the walls, Andromache came forth to see great Hector fallen and his corpse + insulted by his enemy. + </p> + <p> + While Priam sat in his palace with dust strewn on his head, and the + wailings of the women filled the streets of Troy, the Greeks were + hastening to their camps to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus, + whose body had been saved from corruption by Thetis. A massive funeral + pile was constructed of wood brought from the forests on Mount Ida. The + chiefs in their chariots and thousands of men on foot followed the body of + Patroclus. The comrades of the dead warrior cut off their long hair and + strewed it on the dead, and Achilles sheared his yellow hair and placed + the locks in Patroclus's hands. He had suffered the flowing curls to grow + long because of a vow made by his father to the river Sperchius that he + would sacrifice these locks to him on his son's return home, a useless + vow, since now he was to lose his life by this dark blue sea. + </p> + <p> + Next the sacrifice was offered, many fatlings of the flock, and countless + oxen, noble steeds, dogs, jars of honey, and lastly the bodies of the + twelve Trojan youths were heaped upon the fire. + </p> + <p> + After the flames had consumed the pile, Achilles and his friends quenched + the ashes with red wine, and gathered the bones of Patroclus in a golden + vase which Achilles commanded his friends not to bury until he, too, fell + before Troy, that their ashes might be mingled and buried under one mound + by the remaining Greeks. + </p> + <p> + After the funeral rites were celebrated, the funeral games were held, in + which the warriors vied with each other in chariot racing, boxing, + wrestling, foot racing, throwing the spear, and archery. + </p> + <p> + So ended the funeral of Patroclus, and the gods, looking down from heaven, + sorrowed for Hector, whose corpse Achilles was treating with such + indignity, intending that the dogs should destroy it. The gods had kept + the body unstained, and now they determined to soften Achilles' heart, + that he might restore it to Priam. + </p> + <p> + Iris descended from heaven, and standing at the side of Priam as he sat + with dust-strewn head, in his palace halls, gave him Jove's command that + he should take gifts and visit Achilles, to ransom Hector's body. Heeding + not the prayers of Hecuba, Priam gathered together whatever was most + choice, talents of pure gold, beautiful goblets, handsome robes and + tunics, and seating himself in his polished car, drawn by strong-hoofed + mules, set forth unaccompanied save by an aged herald. Above him soared + Jove's eagle, in token of the god's protection. + </p> + <p> + Priam had not gone far when he met Mercury in the guise of a Greek youth, + who guided him unseen through the slumbering Greek lines to the tent of + Achilles. + </p> + <p> + The hero was just finishing his repast when the old king entered, fell on + his knees, kissed the cruel hands that had slain so many of his sons, and + prayed him to give up the body of his loved Hector in return for the + ransom he had brought with him. Achilles, recognizing the fact that Priam + had made his way there uninjured only by the assistance and protection of + some god, and touched by the thought of his own aged father, whom he + should never again gladden by his return to Phthia, granted the request, + and bade Priam seat himself at the table and banquet with him. He also + granted a twelve days' truce for the celebration of the funeral rites of + Hector, and then invited Priam to pass the night in his tent. Warned by + Mercury, Priam rose early in the morning, and, unseen by the Greeks, + conveyed Hector's body back to Troy. + </p> + <p> + When the polished car of Priam entered the city of Troy, great were the + lamentations and wailings over the body of Hector. Hecuba and Andromache + vied with each other in the bitterness of their grief, and Helen lamented + because the only friend she had in Troy had departed, and no one who + remained would be kind to her. + </p> + <p> + During the twelve days granted as a truce, wood was brought from Ida, and + the funeral rites of Hector were celebrated as befitted the son of a great + king. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE ILIAD. + </h2> + <h3> + HELEN AT THE SCAEAN GATES. + </h3> + <p> + Paris, moved by the reproaches of Hector, proposed that the nine years' + indecisive war be settled by single combat between himself and Menelaus, + the victor to take Helen and the treasure. Greeks and Trojans agreed to + this proposition, and the tidings of the approaching combat were borne to + Helen by Iris. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In the heart of Helen woke + Dear recollections of her former spouse + And of her home and kindred. Instantly + She left her chamber, robed and veiled in white, + And shedding tender tears; yet not alone, + For with her went two maidens,—Aethra, child + Of Pitheus, and the large-eyed Clymene. + Straight to the Scaean gates they walked, by which + Panthoüs, Priam, and Thymoetes sat, + Lampus and Clytius, Hicetaon sprung + From Mars, Antenor and Ucalegon, + Two sages,—elders of the people all. + Beside the gates they sat, unapt, through age, + For tasks of war, but men of fluent speech, + Like the cicadas that within the wood + Sit on the trees and utter delicate sounds. + Such were the nobles of the Trojan race + Who sat upon the tower. But when they marked + The approach of Helen, to each other thus + With winged words, but in low tones, they said:— + + "Small blame is theirs, if both the Trojan knights + And brazen-mailed Achaians have endured + So long so many evils for the sake + Of that one woman. She is wholly like + In feature to the deathless goddesses. + So be it: let her, peerless as she is, + Return on board the fleet, nor stay to bring + Disaster upon us and all our race." + + So spake the elders. Priam meantime called + To Helen: "Come, dear daughter, sit by me. + Thou canst behold thy former husband hence, + Thy kindred and thy friends. I blame thee not; + The blame is with the immortals who have sent + These pestilent Greeks against me. Sit and name + For me this mighty man, the Grecian chief, + Gallant and tall. True, there are taller men; + But of such noble form and dignity + I never saw: in truth, a kingly man." + + And Helen, fairest among women, thus + Answered: "Dear second father, whom at once + I fear and honor, would that cruel death + Had overtaken me before I left, + To wander with thy son, my marriage bed, + And my dear daughter, and the company + Of friends I loved. But that was not to be; + And now I pine and weep. Yet will I tell + What thou dost ask. The hero whom thou seest + Is the wide-ruling Agamemnon, son + Of Atreus, and is both a gracious king + And a most dreaded warrior. He was once + Brother-in-law to me, if I may speak— + Lost as I am to shame—of such a tie." + + She said, the aged man admired, and then + He spake again: "O son of Atreus, born + Under a happy fate, and fortunate + Among the sons of men! A mighty host + Of Grecian youths obey thy rule. I went + To Phrygia once,—that land of vines,—and there + Saw many Phrygians, heroes on fleet steeds, + The troops of Otreus, and of Mygdon, shaped + Like one of the immortals. They encamped + By the Sangarius. I was an ally; + My troops were ranked with theirs upon the day + When came the unsexed Amazons to war. + Yet even there I saw not such a host + As this of black-eyed Greeks who muster here." + Then Priam saw Ulysses, and inquired:— + "Dear daughter, tell me also who is that, + Less tall than Agamemnon, yet more broad + In chest and shoulders. On the teeming earth + His armor lies, but he, from place to place, + Walks round among the ranks of soldiery, + As when the thick-fleeced father of the flocks + Moves through the multitude of his white sheep." + And Jove-descended Helen answered thus:— + "That is Ulysses, man of many arts, + Son of Laertes, reared in Ithaca, + That rugged isle, and skilled in every form + Of shrewd device and action wisely planned." + Then spake the sage Antenor: "Thou hast said + The truth, O lady. This Ulysses once + Came on an embassy, concerning thee, + To Troy with Menelaus, great in war; + And I received them as my guests, and they + Were lodged within my palace, and I learned + The temper and the qualities of both. + When both were standing 'mid the men of Troy, + I marked that Menelaus's broad chest + Made him the more conspicuous, but when both + Were seated, greater was the dignity + Seen in Ulysses. When they both addressed + The council, Menelaus briefly spake + In pleasing tones, though with few words,—as one + Not given to loose and wandering speech,—although + The younger. When the wise Ulysses rose, + He stood with eyes cast down, and fixed on earth, + And neither swayed his sceptre to the right + Nor to the left, but held it motionless, + Like one unused to public speech. He seemed + An idiot out of humor. But when forth + He sent from his full lungs his mighty voice, + And words came like a fall of winter snow, + No mortal then would dare to strive with him + For mastery in speech. We less admired + The aspect of Ulysses than his words." + Beholding Ajax then, the aged king + Asked yet again: "Who is that other chief + Of the Achaians, tall, and large of limb,— + Taller and broader-chested than the rest?" + Helen, the beautiful and richly-robed, + Answered: "Thou seest the might Ajax there, + The bulwark of the Greeks. On the other side, + Among his Cretans, stands Idomeneus, + Of godlike aspect, near to whom are grouped + The leaders of the Cretans. Oftentimes + The warlike Menelaus welcomed him + Within our palace, when he came from Crete. + I could point out and name the other chiefs + Of the dark-eyed Achaians. Two alone, + Princes among their people, are not seen,— + Castor the fearless horseman, and the skilled + In boxing, Pollux,—twins; one mother bore + Both them and me. Came they not with the rest + From pleasant Lacedaemon to the war? + Or, having crossed the deep in their goodships, + Shun they to fight among the valiant ones + Of Greece, because of my reproach and shame?" + She spake; but they already lay in earth + In Lacedaemon, their dear native land. + + <i>Bryants Translation, Book III.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE PARTING OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE. + </h2> + <p> + The single combat between Paris and Menelaus broke up in a general battle + unfavorable to the Trojans, and Hector returned to Troy to order the + Trojan matrons to sacrifice to Pallas. He then sought his dwelling to + greet his wife and child, but learned from one of the maids that + Andromache, on hearing that the Greeks were victorious, had hastened to + the city walls with the child and its nurse, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Hector left in haste + The mansion, and retraced his way between + The rows of stately dwellings, traversing + The mighty city. When at length he reached + The Scaean gates, that issue on the field, + His spouse, the nobly-dowered Andromache, + Came forth to meet him,—daughter of the prince + Eëtion, who among the woody slopes + Of Placos, in the Hypoplacian town + Of Thebč, ruled Cilicia and her sons, + And gave his child to Hector great in arms. + She came attended by a maid, who bore + A tender child—a babe too young to speak— + Upon her bosom,—Hector's only son, + Beautiful as a star, whom Hector called + Scamandrius, but all else Astyanax,— + The city's lord,—since Hector stood the sole + Defence of Troy. The father on his child + Looked with a silent smile. Andromache + Pressed to his side meanwhile, and, all in tears, + Clung to his hand, and, thus beginning, said:— + + "Too brave! thy valor yet will cause thy death. + Thou hast no pity on thy tender child + Nor me, unhappy one, who soon must be + Thy widow. All the Greeks will rush on thee + To take thy life. A happier lot were mine, + If I must lose thee, to go down to earth, + For I shall have no hope when thou art gone,— + Nothing but sorrow. Father have I none, + And no dear mother. Great Achilles slew + My father when he sacked the populous town + Of the Cilicians,—Thebč with high gates. + 'T was there he smote Eëtion, yet forbore + To make his arms a spoil; he dared not that, + But burned the dead with his bright armor on, + And raised a mound above him. Mountain-nymphs, + Daughters of aegis-bearing Jupiter, + Came to the spot and planted it with elms. + Seven brothers had I in my father's house, + And all went down to Hades in one day. + Achilles the swift-footed slew them all + Among their slow-paced bullocks and white sheep. + My mother, princess on the woody slopes + Of Placos, with his spoils he bore away, + And only for large ransom gave her back. + But her Diana, archer-queen, struck down + Within her father's palace. Hector, thou + Art father and dear mother now to me, + And brother and my youthful spouse besides. + In pity keep within the fortress here, + Nor make thy child an orphan nor thy wife + A widow. Post thine army near the place + Of the wild fig-tree, where the city-walls + Are low and may be scaled. Thrice in war + The boldest of the foe have tried the spot,— + The Ajaces and the famed Idomeneus, + The two chiefs born to Atreus, and the brave + Tydides, whether counselled by some seer + Or prompted to the attempt by their own minds." + + Then answered Hector, great in war: "All this + I bear in mind, dear wife; but I should stand + Ashamed before the men and long-robed dames + Of Troy, were I to keep aloof and shun + The conflict, coward-like. Not thus my heart + Prompts me, for greatly have I learned to dare + And strike among the foremost sons of Troy, + Upholding my great father's fame and mine; + Yet well in my undoubting mind I know + The day shall come in which our sacred Troy, + And Priam, and the people over whom + Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all. + But not the sorrows of the Trojan race, + Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those + Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait + My brothers many and brave,—who all at last, + Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,— + Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek + Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee + Thy day of freedom. Thou in Argos then + Shalt at another's bidding ply the loom, + And from the fountain of Messeis draw + Water, or from the Hypereian spring, + Constrained unwilling by thy cruel lot. + And then shall some one say who sees thee weep, + 'This was the wife of Hector, most renowned + Of the horse-taming Trojans, when they fought + Around their city.' So shall some one say, + And thou shalt grieve the more, lamenting him + Who haply might have kept afar the day + Of thy captivity. O let the earth + Be heaped above my head in death before + I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!" + So speaking, mighty Hector stretched his arms + To take the boy; the boy shrank crying back + To his fair nurse's bosom, scared to see + His father helmeted in glittering brass, + And eying with affright the horsehair plume + That grimly nodded from the lofty crest. + At this both parents in their fondness laughed; + And hastily the mighty Hector took + The helmet from his brow and laid it down + Gleaming upon the ground, and, having kissed + His darling son and tossed him up in play, + Prayed thus to Jove and all the gods of heaven:— + "O Jupiter and all ye deities, + Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become + Among the Trojans eminent like me, + And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say, + 'This man is greater than his father was!' + When they behold him from the battle-field + Bring back the bloody spoil of the slain foe,— + That so his mother may be glad at heart." + So speaking, to the arms of his dear spouse + He gave the boy; she on her fragrant breast + Received him, weeping as she smiled. The chief + Beheld, and, moved with tender pity, smoothed + Her forehead gently with his hand, and said:— + "Sorrow not thus, beloved one, for me. + No living man can send me to the shades + Before my time; no man of woman born, + Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. + + But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,— + The web, the distaff,—and command thy maids + To speed the work. The cares of war pertain + To all men born in Troy, and most to me." + Thus speaking, mighty Hector took again + His helmet, shadowed with the horsehair plume, + While homeward his beloved consort went, + Oft looking back, and shedding many tears. + Soon was she in the spacious palace-halls + Of the man-queller Hector. There she found + A troop of maidens,—with them all she shared + Her grief; and all in his own house bewailed + The living Hector, whom they thought no more + To see returning from the battle-field, + Safe from the rage and weapons of the Greeks. + <i>Bryant's Translation, Book VI.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ODYSSEY. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "The surge and thunder of the Odyssey." +</pre> + <p> + The Odyssey relates the adventures of Ulysses on his return to Ithaca + after the Trojan war. + </p> + <p> + It consists of twenty-four books, the first four of which are sometimes + known as the Telemachia, because Telemachus is the principal figure. + </p> + <p> + The difference in style of the Iliad and Odyssey has caused some critics + to assert that the latter is not the work of Homer; this is accounted for, + however, by the difference of subject, and it is probable that the + Odyssey, though of a later date, is the work of the same hand, "the work + of Homer's old age,—an epic bathed in a mellow light of sunset." + </p> + <p> + If the Odyssey alone had come down to us, its authorship would have passed + unquestioned, for the poem is so compact, its plot so carefully planned + and so skilfully carried out, that there can be no doubt that it is the + work of one hand. + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey is as great a work of art as the Iliad, and is even more + popular; for the Odyssey is a domestic romance, and as such appeals to a + larger audience than a tale of war alone,—the romance of the + wandering Ulysses and the faithful Penelope. Interwoven with it are the + ever-popular fairy tales of Ulysses's wanderings and descriptions of home + life. It is marked by the same pagan enjoyment of life, the same freshness + and charm that lend enchantment to the Iliad. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL4" id="link2H_BIBL4"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ODYSSEY. + </h2> + <p> + F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 17-25; + </p> + <p> + A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893, chaps. 8-13; + </p> + <p> + J. A. Symonds's Studies of the Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893; + </p> + <p> + J. E. Harrison's Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature, 1882; + </p> + <p> + W. J. Stillman's On the Track of Ulysses, 1888; + </p> + <p> + F. W. Newman's The Authorship of the Odyssey (in his Miscellanies, vol. + v.); + </p> + <p> + J. Spence's Essay on Pope's Translation of the Odyssey, 1837. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ODYSSEY. + </h2> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871; + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. according to the Greek, with introduction and notes by + George Chapman, ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874; + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. by William Cowper; + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. by G. H. Palmer, 1894 (prose); + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, + n. d.; + </p> + <p> + The Odyssey, Tr. by S. H. Butcher and A. Lang, 1879 (prose). + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY. + </h2> + <p> + After the fall of Troy, Agamemnon returned to Argos, where he was + treacherously slain by Aegisthus, the corrupter of his wife; Menelaus + reached Sparta in safety, laden with spoil and reunited to the beautiful + Helen; Nestor resumed the rule of Pylos, but Ulysses remained absent from + Ithaca, where his wife Penelope still grieved for him, though steadfast in + her belief that he would return. One hundred and fourteen suitors, princes + from Dulichium, Samos, Zacynthus, and Ithaca, determined to wed Penelope + that they might obtain the rich possessions of Ulysses, spent their time + in revelling in his halls and wasting his wealth, thinking in this way to + force Penelope to wed some one of them. + </p> + <p> + Penelope, as rich in resources as was her crafty husband, announced to + them that she would wed when she had woven a funeral garment for Laertes, + the father of Ulysses. During the day she wove industriously, but at night + she unravelled what she had done that day, so that to the expectant + suitors the task seemed interminable. After four years her artifice was + revealed to the suitors by one of her maids, and she was forced to find + other excuses to postpone her marriage. In the mean time, her son + Telemachus, now grown to manhood, disregarded by the suitors on account of + his youth, and treated as a child by his mother, was forced to sit + helpless in his halls, hearing the insults of the suitors and seeing his + rich possessions wasted. + </p> + <p> + Having induced Jove to end the sufferings of Ulysses, Pallas caused Hermes + to be dispatched to Calypso's isle to release the hero, while she herself + descended to Ithaca in the guise of Mentes. There she was received + courteously by the youth, who sat unhappy among the revellers. At a table + apart from the others, Telemachus told the inquiring stranger who they + were who thus wasted his patrimony. + </p> + <p> + "Something must needs be done speedily," said Mentes, "and I shall tell + thee how to thrust them from thy palace gates. Take a ship and go to Pylos + to inquire of the aged and wise Nestor what he knows of thy father's fate. + Thence go to Menelaus, in Sparta; he was the last of all the mailed Greeks + to return home. If thou hear encouraging tidings, wait patiently for a + year. At the end of that time, if thy father come not, celebrate his + funeral rites, let thy mother wed again, and take immediate steps for the + destruction of the suitor band. Thou art no longer a child; the time has + come for thee to assert thyself and be a man." + </p> + <p> + Telemachus, long weary of inactivity, was pleased with this advice, and at + once announced to the incredulous suitors his intention of going to learn + the fate of his father. A boat was procured and provided with a crew by + the aid of Pallas, and provisioned from the secret store-room guarded by + the old and faithful servant Eurycleia. From among the treasures of + Ulysses—garments, heaps of gold and brass, and old and delicate + wines—Telemachus took sweet wine and meal to be conveyed to the ship + at night, and instructing Eurycleia not to tell his mother of his absence + until twelve days had passed, he departed as soon as sleep had overcome + the suitors. Pallas, in the guise of Mentor, accompanied him. + </p> + <p> + His courage failed him, however, as they approached the shore of Pylos, + where Nestor and his people were engaged in making a great sacrifice to + Neptune. "How shall I approach the chief?" he asked. "Ill am I trained in + courtly speech." + </p> + <p> + But, encouraged by Pallas, he greeted the aged Nestor, and after he and + his companion had assisted in the sacrifice and partaken of the banquet + that followed, he revealed his name and asked for tidings of his, father, + boldly and confidently, as befitted the son of Ulysses. The old king could + tell him nothing, however. After Troy had fallen, a dissension had rent + the camp, and part of the Greeks had remained with Agamemnon, part had + sailed with Menelaus. Sailing with Menelaus, Nestor had parted with Diomed + at Argos, and had sailed on to Pylos. Since his return he had heard of the + death of Agamemnon, and of the more recent return of Menelaus, but had + heard no tidings of Ulysses, who had remained with Agamemnon. To Menelaus + he advised Telemachus to go, warning him, however, not to remain long away + from Ithaca, leaving his home in the possession of rude and lawless men. + </p> + <p> + In a car provided by Nestor and driven by his son, Pisistratus, Telemachus + reached Sparta after a day and a night's rapid travel, and found Menelaus + celebrating the nuptial feast of his daughter Hermione, betrothed at Troy + to the son of Achilles, and his son Megapenthes, wedded to the daughter of + Alector. The two young men were warmly welcomed, and were invited to + partake of the banquet without being asked their names. After the feast + they wondered at the splendor of the halls of gold, amber, and ivory, the + polished baths, and the fleecy garments in which they had been arrayed; + but Menelaus assured them that all his wealth was small compensation to + him for the loss of the warriors who had fallen before Troy, and above + all, of the great Ulysses, whose fate he knew not. Though Telemachus's + tears fell at his father's name, Menelaus did not guess to whom he spoke, + until Helen, entering from her perfumed chamber, saw the likeness between + the stranger and the babe whom Ulysses had left when he went to Troy, and + greeted their guest as Telemachus. + </p> + <p> + Then they sat in the splendid hall and talked of Troy,—Menelaus + broken by his many toils, Helen beautiful as when she was rapt away by + Paris, weaving with her golden distaff wound with violet wool, and the two + young men, who said little, but listened to the wondrous tale of the + wanderings of Menelaus. And they spoke of Ulysses: of the times when he + had proved his prudence as well as his craft; of his entering Troy as a + beggar and revealing the Achaian plots to Helen; of how he had prevented + their breaking out of the wooden horse too soon. Then the king told of his + interview with the Ancient of the Deep, in which he had learned the fate + of his comrades; of Agamemnon's death, and of the detention of Ulysses on + Calypso's isle, where he languished, weeping bitterly, because he had no + means of escape. + </p> + <p> + This information gained, Telemachus was anxious to return home; but his + host detained him until he and Helen had descended to their fragrant + treasure-chamber and brought forth rich gifts,—a double cup of + silver and gold wrought by Vulcan, a shining silver beaker, and an + embroidered robe for his future bride. + </p> + <p> + Mercury, dispatched by Jove, descended to the distant isle of Calypso, and + warned the bright-haired nymph, whom he found weaving in her charmed + grotto, that she must let her mortal lover go or brave the wrath of the + gods. The nymph, though loath to part with her lover, sought out the + melancholy Ulysses, where he sat weeping beside the deep, and giving him + tools, led him to the forest and showed him where to fell trees with which + to construct a raft. His labor finished, she provided the hero with + perfumed garments, a full store of provisions, and saw him set forth + joyfully upon the unknown deep. + </p> + <p> + For seventeen days his journey was a prosperous one; but on the eighteenth + day, just as the land of the Phćacians came in sight. Neptune returned + from Ethiopia, and angry at what the gods had contrived to do in his + absence, determined to make the hero suffer as much as possible before he + attained the promised end of his troubles. + </p> + <p> + Soon a great storm arose and washed Ulysses from the raft. Clinging to its + edge, buffeted here and there by the angry waves, he would have suffered + death had not a kind sea nymph urged him to lay aside his heavy garments, + leave the raft, and binding a veil that she gave him about his chest, swim + to the land of the Phćacians. The coast was steep and rocky, but he found + at last a little river, and swimming up it, landed, and fell asleep among + some warm heaps of dried leaves. + </p> + <p> + The Phćacians were a people closely allied to the gods, to whom they were + very dear. They had at one time been neighbors of the Cyclops, from whose + rudeness they had suffered so much that they were compelled to seek a + distant home. They were a civilized people, who had achieved great results + as sailors, having remarkably swift and well-equipped ships. + </p> + <p> + To the Princess Nausicaa, beautiful as a goddess, Pallas appeared in a + dream the night that Ulysses lay sleeping on the isle, warning her that + since her wedding day was near at hand, when all would need fresh + garments, it was fitting that she should ask her father's permission to + take the garments of the household to the river side to wash them. + </p> + <p> + Nausicaa's father willingly granted his permission, and ordered the strong + car in which to carry away the soiled garments. A hamper of food and a + skin of wine were added by her mother, as the princess climbed into the + chariot and drove towards the river, followed by her maids. + </p> + <p> + When the garments had been washed in the lavers hollowed out by the river + side, and the lunch had been eaten, the maids joined in a game of ball. + Joyous they laughed and frolicked, like Dian's nymphs, until they roused + the sleeper under the olive-trees on the hillside. + </p> + <p> + All save Nausicaa fled affrighted as he came forth to speak to them, + covered with sea foam, his nakedness hidden only by a leafy branch woven + round his waist; but she, strengthened by the goddess, heard his story, + and provided him with clothing and materials for the bath. When he + appeared, cleansed from the sea foam, and made more handsome by the art of + Pallas, Nausicaa's pity was changed to admiration, and she wished that she + might have a husband like him. + </p> + <p> + Food and wine were set before the hero, and while he refreshed himself the + dried clothes were folded and placed in the cart. As the princess prepared + to go she advised the stranger to follow the party until they reached a + grove outside the city, and to remain there until she had time to reach + her father's palace, lest some gossip should connect Nausicaa's name with + that of a stranger. She told him how to find her father's palace, and + instructed him to win the favor of her mother, that he might be received + with honor and assisted on his homeward way. + </p> + <p> + Ulysses obeyed, and when he reached the city gates was met by Pallas, in + the guise of a virgin with an urn. She answered his questions, directed + him to the palace, and told him to throw himself first at the feet of + Queen Arete, who was looked on by the people as if she were a goddess. + Wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, the unseen Ulysses admired the spacious + halls of Alcinoüs. Walls of brass supported blue steel cornices, golden + doors guarded by gold and silver mastiffs opened into the vast hall, along + which were ranged thrones covered with delicately woven mantles, for which + the Phćacian women were famous. + </p> + <p> + Around the palace lay a spacious garden filled with pear, pomegranate, + fig, and apple trees, that knew no change of season, but blossomed and + bore fruit throughout the year. Perennially blooming plants scattered + perfume through the garden kept fresh by water from two sparkling + fountains. + </p> + <p> + As Ulysses knelt at the feet of Arete, the cloud enveloping him fell away, + and all were astonished at the sight of the stranger imploring protection. + Arete received Ulysses with favor, and Alcinoüs was so pleased with him + that he offered him his daughter in marriage, if he was unmarried, a + palace and riches if he would remain on the island, and a safe passage + home if he desired to leave them. The king then invited the chiefs of the + isle to a great banquet in honor of his guest. At this banquet Demodocus, + the blind minstrel, sang so touchingly of the heroes of the Trojan war + that Ulysses was moved to tears, a fact observed by the king alone. After + the feast the guests displayed their strength in athletic games; and + Ulysses, provoked by the taunts of the ill-bred Euryalus, cast a broader, + heavier quoit than had yet been used far beyond the mark. The Phćacians + were amazed, and the king confessed that his people were weak in athletic + sports but excelled in the dance,—a statement to which Ulysses + readily agreed when he saw the beautiful and graceful dance of the princes + Laodamas and Halius to the music of Demodocus's silver harp. + </p> + <p> + When the games were over, all the chiefs presented Ulysses with garments + and with talents of gold, for the reception of which Arete gave a + beautiful chest. As he corded up the chest, and stepped forth to the + banquet, refreshed from the bath, Nausicaa, standing beside a pillar, bade + him farewell. + </p> + <p> + "Remember, in thy native land, O stranger, that thou owest thy life to + me." + </p> + <p> + When they sat again in the banqueting hall, Ulysses besought Demodocus to + sing again of the fall of Troy; but when the minstrel sang of the strategy + of the wooden horse which wrought the downfall of Troy, the hero was again + melted to tears,—and this time his host, unable to repress his + curiosity, asked him to reveal his name and history. + </p> + <p> + "Thou hast spoken, O king, and I proceed to tell the story of my + calamitous voyage from Troy; for I am Ulysses, widely known among men for + my cunning devices. Our first stop was among the Ciconians, whose city we + laid waste. Here, in spite of my warning, my men tarried to drink red wine + until the Ciconians had had time to recruit their forces, and, attacking + us, slew six men from each galley. When we who survived reached the land + of the lotus-eaters, some of my men ate of the sweet plant, after which a + man thinks never more of wife, or friends, or home; and it was with the + utmost difficulty that we succeeded in dragging them to the ships. + </p> + <p> + "At the Cyclopean land I myself, with a few of my men, disembarked, and + went up to seek the inhabitants and conciliate them with gifts of food and + wine. The Cyclops were huge one-eyed giants who did not cultivate the + land, had no government, and cared nought for the gods. The first cave to + which we came was empty, and we went in to await the arrival of the owner, + appeasing our appetites, meanwhile, with some of his cheeses. Presently he + arrived, and after he had closed up the entrance of the cave with a huge + stone, and had milked his goats, he questioned us as to who we were. Our + story told, he seized two of my companions, dashed their heads against the + rocks, and devoured them. The next morning, after devouring two others, he + drove out his flocks, leaving us shut up in the huge cave. All that day I + revolved plans for his destruction and our escape; and at last, drawing + lots with my companions to determine who should assist me, I determined, + with their aid, to bore out his great eye with a huge olive-wood stick + that I found in the cave. We spent the day sharpening it and hardening it + in the fire, and at night hid it under a heap of litter. Two more of my + men made his evening meal, after which I plied him with the wine I had + brought, until, softened by the liquor, he inquired my name, assuring me + that as return for my gift, he would devour me last. My name, I told him, + was Noman. + </p> + <p> + "As soon as he had fallen into a drunken slumber I put the stake to heat, + and, strengthening the courage of my men, I drew it forth and plunged it + into his eye. Steadily we spun it round until the monster, screaming with + pain, drew it forth, crying to the other Cyclops to come to his aid. When + they, from without, questioned who hurt him, he replied, 'Noman destroyeth + me by guile.' 'If it is "Noman,"' said they, departing, 'it must be Jove. + Then pray to Neptune.' + </p> + <p> + "During the night I tied together the rams, three and three with osier + twigs, and instructed my comrades, as he drove them out, to cling under + the middle one. I hid myself under the fleecy belly of a huge ram, the + finest of the flock. He touched their backs as he drove them out, but he + did not penetrate my cunning, and we all escaped. After we had driven the + flock on board, however, and had pushed out our galley, I could not + forbear a taunting shout, at which he hurled a huge fragment of rock after + us, just missing our galley. + </p> + <p> + "With Aeolus, King of the Winds, we remained a month, reciting the events + connected with the fall of Troy. So pleased was the king with my story, + that on our departure he presented me with a bag tied up with a silver + cord, which contained the adverse winds. One day, as I slumbered, my + unhappy sailors, suspecting some treasure concealed therein, opened it, + and we were immediately blown back to Aeolus's isle, from which he, + enraged at our folly, indignantly drove us. + </p> + <p> + "At the land of the Laestrygonians all our galleys were lost and our men + devoured by the cannibal inhabitants, with the exception of my own ship, + which by good fortune I had moored without the harbor. Overcome with + grief, we rowed wearily along until we arrived at the land of Circe. With + caution born of experience, we drew lots to see who should venture into + the unknown isle. The lot fell to Eurylochus, who, with twenty-two brave + men, went forward to the fair palace of Circe, around which fawned tamed + mountain lions and wolves. Within sat the bright haired goddess, singing + while she threw her shuttle through the beautiful web she was weaving. + </p> + <p> + "All the men entered the palace at her invitation but Eurylochus, who, + suspecting some guile, remained without. He saw his comrades led within, + seated upon thrones and banqueted; but no sooner was the feast over, than + she touched them with her wand, and transformed them into swine that she + drove scornfully to their cells. + </p> + <p> + "Eurylochus hastened back to our ships with the sorrowful tidings. As soon + as grief had permitted him to tell the story, I flung my sword over my + shoulders and hastened away to the palace. As I entered the valley, not + far from the palace, I was met by a youth, none save the Argus-queller + himself, who revealed to me Circe's guile, and presented me with a plant, + the moly, which would enable me to withstand her charms. + </p> + <p> + "The goddess received me kindly, seated me upon a throne, and invited me + to feast with her. After the feast she struck me with her wand, as she had + done my comrades, ordering me to go to my sty; but when I remained + unchanged, she perceived that her guest was Ulysses, whose coming had long + been foretold to her. + </p> + <p> + "Softened by her entreaties, I sheathed my sword, after having made her + promise to release my friends and do us no further harm. Then the others + were called from the ships, and we banqueted together. + </p> + <p> + "Time passed so happily on Circe's isle that we lingered a whole year, + until, roused by the words of my friends, I announced my intended + departure, and was told by Circe that I must first go to the land of the + dead to get instructions as to my future course from Tiresias. Provided + with the proper sacrifices by Circe, we set sail for the land of the + Cimmerians, on the confines of Oceanus. The sacrifices having been duly + performed, the spirits appeared,—Elpenor, my yet unburied comrade, + whose body lay on Circe's isle, my own dead mother, and the Theban seer, + Tiresias, with his golden wand. 'Neptune is wroth with thee,' he said, + 'but thou mayst yet return if thou and thy comrades leave undisturbed the + cattle of the Sun. If thou do not, destruction awaits thee. If thou escape + and return home it will be after long journeyings and much suffering, and + there thou wilt slay the insolent suitor crew that destroy thy substance + and wrong thy household.' After Tiresias had spoken I lingered to speak + with other spirits,—my mother, Ajax, Antiope, Agamemnon, Achilles, + Patroclus, and Antilochus. Having conversed with all these, we set sail + for Circe's isle, and thence started again on our homeward voyage. + </p> + <p> + "Circe had instructed me to stop the ears of my men with wax as we + approached the isle of the Sirens, and to have myself tied to the boat + that I might not leap into the ocean to go to the beautiful maidens who + sang so entrancingly. We therefore escaped without adding our bones to + those on the isle of the Sirens, and came next to Scylla and Charybdis. + Charybdis is a frightful whirlpool. The sailor who steers too far away in + his anxiety to escape it, is seized by the six arms of the monster Scylla + and lifted to her cavern to be devoured. We avoided Charybdis; but as we + looked down into the abyss, pale with fear, six of my comrades were seized + by Scylla and snatched up to her cave. + </p> + <p> + "As we neared the Island of the Sun I told my comrades again of the + warning of Tiresias, and begged them to sail past without stopping. I was + met, however, by the bitterest reproaches, and at last consented to a + landing if they would bind themselves by a solemn oath not to touch the + cattle of the Sun. They promised, but when adverse winds prolonged our + stay and food became scarce, fools, madmen, they slew the herds, and in + spite of the terrible omens, the meat lowing on the spits, the skins + crawling, they feasted for six days. When, on the seventh, the tempest + ceased and we sailed away, we went to our destruction. I alone was saved, + clinging to the floating timbers for nine long days, until on the tenth I + reached Calypso's isle, Ogygia, where, out of love for me, the mighty + goddess cherished me for seven years." + </p> + <p> + The Phćacians were entranced by this recital, and in addition to their + former gifts, heaped other treasures upon the "master of stratagems" that + he might return home a wealthy man. The swift ship was filled with his + treasures, and after the proper sacrifices and long farewells, the + chieftain embarked. It was morn when the ship arrived in Ithaca, and + Ulysses, worn out from his long labors, was still asleep. Stopping at the + little port of Phorcys, where the steep shores stretch inward and a + spreading olive-tree o'ershadows the grotto of the nymphs, the sailors + lifted out Ulysses, laid him on the ground, and piling up his gifts under + the olive-tree, set sail for Phćacia. But the angry Neptune smote the ship + as it neared the town and changed it to a rock, thus fulfilling an ancient + prophecy that Neptune would some day wreak his displeasure on the + Phćacians for giving to every man who came to them safe escort home. + </p> + <p> + When Ulysses awoke he did not recognize the harbor, and thinking that he + had been treated with deceit, he wept bitterly. Thus Pallas, in the guise + of a young shepherd, found him, and showed him that it was indeed his own + dear land. She helped him to conceal his treasures in the grotto, and told + him that Telemachus was even now away on a voyage of inquiry concerning + him, and his wife was weeping over his absence and the insolence of the + suitors. But he must act with caution. To give him an opportunity to lay + his plans for the destruction of these men without being recognized, she + changed him to a beggar, wrinkled and old, and clad in ragged, soiled + garments. Then directing him to the home of his old herdsman, she hastened + to warn Telemachus to avoid the ship the suitors had stationed to destroy + him on his way home. + </p> + <p> + The old Eumaeus was sitting in his lodge without whose hedge lay the many + sties of swine that were his care. He greeted the beggar kindly, and + spread food before him, lamenting all the while the absence of his noble + master and the wickedness of the suitors. Ulysses told him that he was a + wanderer who had heard of his master, and could speak surely of his + return. Though Eumaeus regarded this as an idle speech spoken to gain food + and clothing, he continued in his kindness to his guest. + </p> + <p> + To this lodge came Telemachus after the landing of his ship, that he might + first hear from Eumaeus the news from the palace,—Telemachus, who + had grown into sudden manliness from his experience among other men. He + also was kind to the beggar, and heard his story. While he remained with + the beggar, Eumaeus having gone to acquaint Penelope of her son's return, + Pallas appearing, touched the beggar with her golden wand, and Ulysses, + with the presence of a god, stood before his awed and wondering son. + </p> + <p> + Long and passionate was their weeping as the father told the son of his + sufferings, and the son told of the arrogance of the one hundred and + fourteen suitors. + </p> + <p> + "There are we two with Pallas and her father Jove against them," replied + his father. "Thinkest thou we need to fear with two such allies?" + </p> + <p> + On the day after Telemachus's return, Ulysses, accompanied by Eumaeus, + visited the palace. No one recognized him except his old dog, Argus, long + neglected and devoured by vermin, who, at the sound of his master's voice, + drew near, wagged his tail, and fell dead. + </p> + <p> + According to their carefully laid plans, Telemachus feigned not to know + his father, but sent to the beggar some food. Ulysses asked the same of + the suitors, but was repulsed with taunts and insults, Antinoüs, the most + insolent, striking him with a footstool. + </p> + <p> + To Penelope, weaving in her chamber, was carried the story of the beggar + at whom the abhorred Antinoüs had thrown a stool, and she sent for him to + ask if he had tidings of Ulysses. He refused to go to her, however, until + the suitors had withdrawn for the night; and as he sat among the + revellers, he caught the first glimpse of his wife, as she came down among + her maids, to reproach her son for exposing himself to danger among the + suitors, and for allowing the beggar to be injured. + </p> + <p> + When darkness fell and the hall was deserted, Telemachus, with the + assistance of his father, removed all the weapons from the walls. After + Telemachus had retired to his chamber, Penelope came down, and sitting + upon her ivory throne conversed with the beggar, questioning him about his + story until he was driven to invent tales that seemed like truth, and + asking about her husband while the tears ran down her fair cheeks. By a + great effort Ulysses kept his tears from falling as he beheld his wife + weeping over him; he assured her that her husband would soon return, but + he would accept no clothing as a reward for his tidings. The aged + Eurycleia, who was called forth to wash his feet, came near betraying her + master when she recognized a scar made by a wild boar's tusk, but he + threatened her into silence. Soon after, Penelope and her maids withdrew, + and left Ulysses to meditate vengeance through the night. + </p> + <p> + The next morning, when the suitors again sat in the banquet-hall, Penelope + descended to them and declared that she had determined to give her hand to + the one of the suitors who could draw the great bow of Ulysses and send + the arrow through twelve rings set on stakes planted in the ground. Up to + the polished treasure-chamber she went, and took down the great bow given + to Ulysses by Iphitus. As she took it from its case her tears fell, but + she dried them and carried it and the steel rings into the hall. Gladly + Ulysses hailed this hour, for he knew the time had come when he should + destroy the suitor band. That morn many omens had warned him, and he had + revealed himself to his faithful men, Eumaeus, and Philoetius the + master-herdsman, that they might assist him. Telemachus, though astonished + at his mother's decision, first took the bow; if he succeeded in bending + it, his mother would not have to leave her home. He would have bent the + bow at the fourth attempt had not his father's glance warned him to yield + it to the suitors. + </p> + <p> + Although the bow was rubbed and softened with oil, all failed in their + attempts to draw it; and when the beggar asked to be allowed to try, their + wrath burst forth. What shame would be theirs if the beggar succeeded in + doing that in which they had failed! But Telemachus, who asserted his + rights more day by day, insisted that the beggar should try to bend the + bow, if he so desired. Sending his mother and her maids to their bower, he + watched his father as he easily bent the mighty bow, snapped the cord with + a sound at which the suitors grew pale, and sent the arrow through the + rings. Then casting aside his rags, the supposed beggar sprang upon the + threshold, and knowing that by his orders, Eumaeus, Philoetius, and + Eurycleia had secured the portals so that escape was impossible, he sent + his next shaft through the throat of Antinoüs. "Dogs! ye thought I never + would return! Ye dreaded not the gods while ye devoured my substance and + pursued my wife! Now vengeance is mine! Destruction awaits you all!" + </p> + <p> + Too late Eurymachus sprang up and besought the monarch to grant them their + lives if they made good their waste and returned to their homes. Ulysses + had brooded too long over his injuries; his wife and son had suffered too + many years from their persecutions for him to think of mercy. Eurymachus + fell by the next brass-tipped shaft, and for every arrow in the quiver a + suitor lay dead until the quiver was empty. Then Telemachus, Philoetius, + and Eumaeus, provided with weapons and armor, stood forth with Ulysses, + and withstood the suitors until all were slain, save Medon the herald and + Phemius the minstrel, for both of whom Telemachus pleaded, since they had + been coerced by the others. Giving the destruction of the false + serving-maids to his three assistants, Ulysses ordered the hall to be + cleansed, and after greeting his faithful servants and weeping with them, + sent Eurycleia up to the bower to tell Penelope that her master had at + last arrived. + </p> + <p> + Penelope was too fearful of deceit to believe instantly that the beggar + sitting beside the lofty column was her husband, though as she looked at + him wonderingly, she sometimes fancied that she saw Ulysses, and again + could not believe that it was he. So long was she silent that Telemachus + reproached her for her hardness of heart; but Ulysses, better guessing the + difficulty, ordered that all should take the bath and array themselves in + fresh garments while the harper played gay melodies, that those passing + should not guess the slaughter that had occurred, but should fancy that a + wedding was being celebrated. When Ulysses again appeared, refreshed and + handsomely attired, Penelope, still uncertain, determined to test his + knowledge of her chamber. "Bear out the bed made by his own hands," she + commanded Eurycleia, "that he may rest for the night." + </p> + <p> + "Who has dared move my bed?" cried Ulysses; "the couch framed upon the + stump of an olive-tree, round which I built a stone chamber! I myself + cunningly fitted it together, and adorned it with gold, silver, and + ivory." + </p> + <p> + Then Penelope, who knew that no one save herself, Ulysses, and one + handmaiden had ever seen the interior of that chamber, fell on his neck + and welcomed the wanderer home. "Pray, be not angry with me, my husband. + Many times my heart has trembled lest some fraud be practised on me, and I + should receive a stranger to my heart." + </p> + <p> + Welcome as land to the shipwrecked mariner was Ulysses to Penelope. Both + wept as he held her in his arms, and the rosy-fingered morn would have + found them thus, weeping, with her fair, white arms encircling his neck, + had not Pallas prolonged the night that he might relate to her the story + of his wanderings. Then, happy in their reunion, the years of sorrow all + forgotten, sleep overcame them. At dawn, bidding a brief farewell to his + wife, Ulysses went forth to visit his father, and settle as best he might + the strife which he knew would result from the slaughter of the suitors. + </p> + <p> + After Ulysses' mother had died of grief at the prolonged absence of her + son, Laertes passed his days wretchedly in a little habitation remote from + the palace. There Ulysses found him and made himself known; and there he, + Laertes, Telemachus, the aged Dolius, and his six sons faced the people + who had been roused to battle by the speech of Eupeithes, whose son + Antinoüs had been the first of the suitors to fall by the hand of Ulysses. + Not heeding the warning of the herald Medon that the suitors had been + slain justly, they attacked Ulysses and his handful of followers. + </p> + <p> + Eupeithes fell first by the spear of Laertes, and a great slaughter would + have ensued, had not the combatants been silenced by the voice of Pallas, + who commanded all strife to cease. Frightened by this divine command, the + enemy fled; and Pallas, descending in the form of Mentor, plighted a + covenant between them that Ulysses might live peacefully among them the + remainder of his life. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE ODYSSEY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PALACE OF ALCINOÜS. + </h3> + <p> + Ulysses, having been directed by Nausicaa, reached the gate of the city, + and was there met by Pallas in the guise of a maiden with an urn, who + instructed him how to approach the king and queen. He passed through the + town, wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, and paused on the threshold of + Alcinoüs's palace. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + For on every side beneath + The lofty roof of that magnanimous king + A glory shone as of the sun or moon. + There from the threshold, on each side, were walls + Of brass that led towards the inner rooms, + With blue steel cornices. The doors within + The massive building were of gold, and posts + Of silver on the brazen threshold stood, + And silver was the lintel, and above + Its architrave was gold; and on each side + Stood gold and silver mastiffs, the rare work + Of Vulcan's practised skill, placed there to guard + The house of great Alcinoüs, and endowed + With deathless life, that knows no touch of age. + Along the walls within, on either side, + And from the threshold to the inner rooms, + Were firmly planted thrones on which were laid + Delicate mantles, woven by the hands + Of women. The Phćacian princes here + Were seated; here they ate and drank, and held + Perpetual banquet. Slender forms of boys + In gold upon the shapely altars stood, + With blazing torches in their hands to light + At eve the palace guests; while fifty maids + Waited within the halls, where some in querns + Ground small the yellow grain; some wove the web + Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick + Light motion, like the aspen's glancing leaves. + The well-wrought tissues glistened as with oil. + As far as the Phćacian race excel + In guiding their swift galleys o'er the deep, + So far the women in their woven work + Surpass all others. Pallas gives them skill + In handiwork and beautiful design. + Without the palace-court and near the gate, + A spacious garden of four acres lay. + A hedge enclosed it round, and lofty trees + Flourished in generous growth within,—the pear + And the pomegranate, and the apple-tree + With its fair fruitage, and the luscious fig + And olive always green. The fruit they bear + Falls not, nor ever fails in winter time + Nor summer, but is yielded all the year. + The ever-blowing west-wind causes some + To swell and some to ripen; pear succeeds + To pear; to apple, apple, grape to grape, + Fig ripens after fig. A fruitful field + Of vines was planted near; in part it lay + Open and basking in the sun, which dried + The soil, and here men gathered in the grapes, + And there they trod the wine-press. Farther on + Were grapes unripened yet, which just had cast + The flower, and others still which just began + To redden. At the garden's furthest bound + Were beds of many plants that all the year + Bore flowers. There gushed two fountains: one of them + Ran wandering through the field; the other flowed + Beneath the threshold to the palace-court, + And all the people filled their vessels there. + Such were the blessings which the gracious gods + Bestowed on King Alcinoüs and his house. + <i>Bryant's Translation, Book VII.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE BENDING OF THE BOW. + </h2> + <p> + Penelope, weary of the importunities of the suitors, determined to end the + contest by giving them the bow of Ulysses and allowing the one who could + successfully send the arrow through the steel rings to become her husband. + Having announced her intention, she ascended the stairs to the treasure + chamber, where the bow was kept. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Now when the glorious lady reached the room, + And stood upon the threshold, wrought of oak + And polished by the workman's cunning hand, + Who stretched the line upon it, and set up + Its posts, and hung its shining doors, she loosed + With a quick touch the thong that held the ring, + Put in the key, and with a careful aim + Struck back the sounding bolts. As when a bull + Roars in the field, such sound the beautiful doors, + Struck with the key, gave forth, and instantly + They opened to her. Up the lofty floor + She stepped, where stood the coffer that contained + The perfumed garments. Reaching forth her hand, + The queen took down the bow, that hung within + Its shining case, and sat her down, and laid + The case upon her knees, and, drawing forth + The monarch's bow, she wept aloud. As soon + As that new gush of tears had ceased to fall, + Back to the hall she went, and that proud throng + Of suitors, bearing in her hand the bow + Unstrung, and quiver, where the arrows lay + Many and deadly. Her attendant maids + Brought also down a coffer, where were laid + Much brass and steel, provided by the king + For games like these. The glorious lady then, + In presence of the suitors, stood beside + The columns that upheld the stately roof. + She held a lustrous veil before her cheeks, + And while on either side of her a maid + Stood modestly, bespake the suitors thus:— + + "Hear, noble suitors! ye who throng these halls, + And eat and drink from day to day, while long + My husband has been gone; your sole excuse + For all this lawlessness the claim ye make + That I become a bride. Come then, for now + A contest is proposed. I bring to you + The mighty bow that great Ulysses bore. + Whoe'er among you he may be whose hand + Shall bend this bow, and send through these twelve rings + An arrow, him I follow hence, and leave + This beautiful abode of my young years, + With all its plenty,—though its memory, + I think, will haunt me even in my dreams." + + She spake, and bade the master of the swine, + The good Eumaeus, place the bow and rings + Of hoary steel before the suitor train. + In tears he bore the bow and laid it down. + The herdsman also wept to see again + His master's bow. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + He (Telemachus) spake and, rising, from his shoulders took + The purple cloak, and laid the trenchant sword + Aside; and first he placed the rings of steel + In order, opening for them in the ground + A long trench by a line, and stamping close + The earth around them. All admired the skill + With which he ranged them, never having seen + The game before. And then he took his place + Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow; + And thrice he made the attempt, and thrice gave o'er, + Yet hoping still to draw the cord, and send + An arrow through the rings. He would have drawn + The bow at the fourth trial, but a nod + Given by his father caused him to forbear, + Though eager for the attempt. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ... And then Eupeithes' son, + Antinoüs, to the crowd of suitors said:— + + "Rise one by one, my friends, from right to left. + Begin where he begins who pours the wine." + So spake Antinoüs, and the rest approved. + Then rose Leiodes, son of Oenops, first. + He was their seer, and always had his seat + Beside the ample bowl. From deeds of wrong + He shrank with hatred, and was sore incensed + Against the suitors all. He took the bow + And shaft, and, going to the threshold, stood + And tried the bow, yet bent it not; it galled + His hands, for they were soft, and all unused + To such a task. + + ... The swineherd went + Forward along the hall, and, drawing near + The wise Ulysses, gave into his hands + The bow. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + ... but when the wary chief + Had poised and shrewdly scanned the mighty bow, + Then, as a singer, skilled to play the harp, + Stretches with ease on its new fastenings + A string, the twisted entrails of a sheep, + Made fast at either end, so easily + Ulysses bent that mighty bow. He took + And drew the cord with his right hand; it twanged + With a clear sound as when a swallow screams. + The suitors were dismayed, and all grew pale. + Jove in loud thunder gave a sign from heaven. + The much-enduring chief, Ulysses, heard + With joy the friendly omen, which the son + Of crafty Saturn sent him. He took up + A winged arrow, that before him lay + Upon a table drawn; the others still + Were in the quiver's womb; the Greeks were yet + To feel them. This he set with care against + The middle of the bow, and toward him drew + The cord and arrow-notch, just where he sat, + And aiming opposite, let fly the shaft. + He missed no ring of all; from first to last + The brass-tipped arrow threaded every one. + Then to Telemachus Ulysses said:— + + "Telemachus, the stranger sitting here + Hath not disgraced thee. I have neither missed + The rings, nor found it hard to bend the bow; + Nor has my manly strength decayed, as these + Who seek to bring me to contempt pretend; + And now the hour is come when we prepare + A supper for the Achaians, while the day + Yet lasts, and after supper the delights + Of song and harp, which nobly grace a feast." + + He spake, and nodded to Telemachus, + His well-beloved son, who girded on + His trenchant sword, and took in hand his spear, + And, armed with glittering brass for battle, came + And took his station by his father's seat. + + Then did Ulysses cast his rags aside, + And, leaping to the threshold, took his stand + On its broad space, with bow and quiver filled + With arrows. At his feet the hero poured + The winged shafts, and to the suitors called:— + + "That difficult strife is ended. Now I take + Another mark, which no man yet has hit. + Now I shall see if I attain my aim, + And, by the aid of Phoebus, win renown." + + He spake; and, turning, at Antinoüs aimed + The bitter shaft—Antinoüs, who just then + Had grasped a beautiful two-eared cup of gold, + About to drink the wine. He little thought + Of wounds and death; for who, when banqueting + Among his fellows, could suspect that one + Alone against so many men would dare, + However bold, to plan his death, and bring + On him the doom of fate? Ulysses struck + The suitor with the arrow at the throat. + The point came through the tender neck behind, + Sideways he sank to earth; his hand let fall + The cup; the dark blood in a thick warm stream + Gushed from the nostrils of the smitten man. + He spurned the table with his feet, and spilled + The viands; bread and roasted meats were flung + To lie polluted on the floor. Then rose + The suitors in a tumult, when they saw + The fallen man; from all their seats they rose + Throughout the hall, and to the massive walls + Looked eagerly; there hung no buckler there, + No sturdy lance for them to wield. They called + Then to Ulysses with indignant words:— + + "Stranger! in evil hour hast thou presumed + To aim at men; and thou shalt henceforth bear + Part in no other contest. Even now + Is thy destruction close to thee. Thy hand + Hath slain the noblest youth in Ithaca. + The vultures shall devour thy flesh for this." + + So each one said; they deemed he had not slain + The suitor wittingly; nor did they see, + Blind that they were, the doom which in that hour + Was closing round them all. Then with a frown + The wise Ulysses looked on them, and said:— + + "Dogs! ye had thought I never would come back + From Ilium's coast, and therefore ye devoured + My substance here, and offered violence + To my maid-servants, and pursued my wife + As lovers, while I lived. Ye dreaded not + The gods who dwell in the great heaven, nor feared + Vengeance hereafter from the hands of men; + And now destruction overhangs you all." + + He spake, and all were pale with fear, and each + Looked round for some escape from death. + + <i>Bryant's Translation, Books XXI., XXII</i>. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE KALEVALA. + </h2> + <h3> + "Songs preserved from distant ages." + </h3> + <p> + The national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, or Place of Heroes, stands + midway between the purely epical structure, as exemplified in Homer, and + the epic songs of certain nations. + </p> + <p> + It is a purely pagan epic, and from its complete silence as to Finland's + neighbors, the Russians, Germans, and Swedes, it is supposed to date back + at least three thousand years. + </p> + <p> + The first attempt to collect Finnish folk-song was made in the seventeenth + century by Palmsköld and Peter Bäng. In 1733, Maxenius published a volume + on Finnish national poetry, and in 1745 Juslenius began a collection of + national poems. Although scholars saw that these collected poems were + evidently fragments of a Finnish epic, it remained for two physicians, + Zacharias Topelius and Elias Lönnrot, to collect the entire poem. + Topelius, though confined to his bed by illness for eleven years, took + down the songs from travelling merchants brought to his bedside. His + collections were published in 1822 and 1831. Lönnrot travelled over + Finland, collecting the songs, which he published, arranged in epical + form, in 1835. A revised edition was published in 1849. + </p> + <p> + The Kalevala consists of fifty parts, or runes, containing twenty-two + thousand seven hundred and ninety-three lines. Its historical foundation + is the contests between the Finns and the Lapps. + </p> + <p> + Its metre is the "eight syllabled trochaic with the part-line echo," + alliteration also being used, a metre familiar to us through Longfellow's + "Hiawatha." + </p> + <p> + The labors of a Wolf are not necessary to show that the Kalevala is + composed of various runes or lays, arranged by a compiler. Topelius and + Lönnrot were conscientious collectors and compilers, but they were no + Homers, who could fuse these disconnected runes into one great poem. The + Kalevala recites many events in the lives of different heroes who are not + types of men, like Rama, or Achilles, or Ulysses, but the rude gods of an + almost savage people, or rather, men in the process of apotheosis, all + alike, save in the varying degrees of magic power possessed by each. + </p> + <p> + The Finnish lays are interesting to us because they are the popular songs + of a people handed down with few changes from one generation to another; + because they would have formed the material for a national epic if a great + poet had arisen; because of their pictures of ancient customs, and + particularly the description of the condition of women, and because of + their frequently beautiful descriptions of nature. But because they are + simply runes "loosely stitched together" we can regard them only with + interest and curiosity, not with admiration. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL5" id="link2H_BIBL5"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE KALEVALA. + </h2> + <p> + Andrew Lang's Homer and the Epic, pp. 412-419; + </p> + <p> + Andrew Lang's Kalevala, or the Finnish National Epic (in his Custom and + Myth), 1885, pp. 156-179; + </p> + <p> + C. J. Billson's Folk-songs, comprised in the Finnish Kalevala, Folk-Lore, + 1895, vi. pp. 317-352; + </p> + <p> + F. C. Cook's Kalevala, Contemporary, 1885, xlvii., pp. 683-702; + </p> + <p> + Preface of J. M. Crawford's Translation of the Kalevala, 1891. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE KALEVALA. + </h2> + <p> + The Kalevala, Tr. by J. M. Crawford, 2 vols., 1891; + </p> + <p> + The Kalevala, Tr. by W. F. Kirby, through the German translation of + Schiefner; + </p> + <p> + Selections from the Kalevala, Tr. from a German version by J. A. Porter, + with an introduction and analysis of the Poem, 1868. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE KALEVALA. + </h2> + <p> + Wainamoinen was born upon the ocean after his mother, Ilmatar, daughter of + the illimitable Ether, had floated upon its surface for more than seven + hundred years. During this time Ilmatar had created the islands, the + rocks, and the continents. After eight years of swimming through the + ocean, studying his surroundings, Wainamoinen left the waters and swam to + a barren promontory, where he could rest himself on dry land and study the + sun, the moon, and the starry skies. At last he called to him + Pellerwoinen, that the slender youth might scatter seeds broadcast upon + the island, sowing in their proper places the birch, the alder, the + linden, the willow, the mountain ash, and the juniper. It was not long + until the eyes of the sower were gladdened by the sight of trees rising + above the hitherto barren soil. + </p> + <p> + But as Wainamoinen cast his eyes over the place he perceived that the oak, + the tree of heaven, was wanting. The acorn planted in the sterile soil + developed not until Tursas, the giant, arose from the ocean, burned some + meadow grasses, and raking together the ashes, planted therein the acorn, + from which soon sprang up a mighty oak-tree whose branches hid the sun + rays and the starlight. + </p> + <p> + The oak-tree must be felled if the land was to prosper, but who could fell + it? "Help me, Kapé, daughter of the Ether, help me, my ancient mother, to + uproot this terrible tree that shuts out the sunshine," cried Wainamoinen. + </p> + <p> + Straightway arose from the ocean a little being clad in copper,—cap, + boots, gloves, and belt. He was no longer than a man's forefinger, and the + blade of the hatchet at his belt was but a finger's breadth. "Art thou + divine, or human?" queried Wainamoinen. "Tell me who thou art. Thou surely + hast the bearing of a hero, though so small. But thou must be of the race + of the pygmies, and therefore useless." + </p> + <p> + "I came here to fell the oak," replied the pygmy. "I am a god and a hero + from the tribes that rule the ocean." + </p> + <p> + "Never canst thou lop the branches of this mighty tree," replied + Wainamoinen. + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, the pygmy became a giant; with one step he left the ocean, + and stood piercing the clouds with his head. He whetted his hatchet on the + great rocks, and with three steps reached the tree; with four blows felled + it. The trunk fell eastward, its tops westward, the leaves to the south, + the hundred branches to the north. Full of magic power were the parts of + this tree, and happy was he who possessed himself of some part of it. + </p> + <p> + Then vegetation flourished, the birds sang happily in the trees, and all + was well except that barley was wanting. On the ocean strand Wainamoinen + discovered the barley seed; and, advised by the birds how to plant it, was + soon gratified by the sight of the growing barley. His next act was to + clear the forest; but he left the slender birch for the birds to nest in, + thus winning the gratitude of the silver-voiced singers. + </p> + <p> + In the land of Kalevala, Wainamoinen passed many happy years, and the fame + of his wonderful songs of wit and wisdom spread even to the land of the + Lapps, in the dismal north, where lived Youkahainen, a young minstrel. + Against the advice of his parents, the youth, filled with jealousy, + visited Kalevala, to hold a singing contest with Wainamoinen. + </p> + <p> + He proudly displayed his wisdom to the old minstrel, who laughed at it as + "women's tales and children's wisdom," and when Youkahainen declared in + song that he was present at the creation, Wainamoinen called him the + prince of liars, and himself began to sing. As he sang, the copper-bearing + mountains, the massive rocks and ledges, trembled, the hills re-echoed, + and the very ocean heaved with rapture. The boaster stood speechless, + seeing his sledge transformed into reed grass and willows, his beautiful + steed changed to a statue, his dog to a block of stone, and he himself + fast sinking in a quicksand. Then comprehending his folly, he begged his + tormentor to free him. Each precious gift he offered for a ransom was + refused, until he named his beautiful sister Aino. Wainamoinen, happy in + the promise of Aino for a wife, freed the luckless youth from his + enchantment, and sent him home. + </p> + <p> + Aino's mother was rejoiced to hear that her daughter had been promised to + the renowned Wainamoinen; but when the beautiful girl learned that she was + tied by her brother's folly to an old man, she wandered weeping through + the fields. In vain her mother and father sought to console her; she wept + for her vanished childhood, for all her happiness and hope and pleasure + forever gone. To console her daughter, the mother told her of a store of + beautiful ornaments that she herself had worn in girlhood; they had been + given her by the daughters of the Moon and Sun,—gold, ribbons, and + jewels. Beautifully arrayed in these long-concealed ornaments, Aino + wandered through the fields for many days, bewailing her sad fate. On the + fourth day, she laid her garments on the sea shore, and swam out to the + standing rock, a little distance from the shore. No sooner had she + clambered on the rainbow-colored rock than it turned and fell to the + bottom of the sea, carrying with it the weeping maiden, chanting a + farewell to her family. The fleet and haughty hare bore the news of her + death to the household, where her unfortunate mother sat weeping, urging + other mothers never to force their daughters to wed against their choice. + The tears that rolled down her cheeks formed three streamlets, that, + growing larger, became torrents with foaming cataracts. From the cataracts + towered three pillared rocks upon which rose three hillocks, and upon each + hillock sprang a birch-tree. On the summit of each tree sat a golden bird + singing; and the first sang, for three moons, his song of "Love! O Love!" + the second called for six moons, "Suitor! Suitor!" but the third bird sang + forever his sad song of "Consolation! Consolation!" + </p> + <p> + Wainamoinen was deeply grieved when he heard of the fate of the lovely + Aino, and he at once went to angle in the deep where dwelt the mermaids, + the daughters of Wellamo. + </p> + <p> + After he had fished many days in vain, he caught a wondrous salmon, larger + and more beautiful than he had ever before caught. But as he took out his + silver knife to cut it, the fish sprang from his hand into the deep, + telling him that it was Aino who had thus come to him, and whom he had now + lost forever by his stupidity. Then indeed the song of the golden bird + seemed sad to Wainamoinen, and he was disconsolate until his mother spoke + to him from her grave: "My son, go north and seek thy wife. Take not a + silly Lapp, but choose one of the daughters of Suomi." + </p> + <p> + Quickly Wainamoinen prepared for his journey, and mounted his magic steed, + that galloped over the plains of Kalevala and crossed the waste of blue + sea-water as though it were land. + </p> + <p> + But the envious Youkahainen was informed of the journey, and had prepared + a cruel cross-bow and three poisoned arrows. In spite of the protests of + his mother, he waited for the hero and shot at him three times. The third + arrow struck Wainamoinen's horse, which sank to the bottom of the ocean, + leaving the hapless rider struggling in the water. "Seven summers must he + tread the waves," chuckled Youkahainen; "eight years ride the billows." + </p> + <p> + For six days Wainamoinen floated on the waters; then he was rescued by a + huge eagle that carried him on its back to Pohyola, the dismal Sariola, + and left him on a barren promontory, where he bemoaned his unhappy fate. + Here he was found by Louhi, the toothless dame of Pohyola, who took him + home and fed him. Then she promised to provide him with a sledge that he + might journey safely home if he would forge for her the Sampo, a magical + jewel that gave success to its possessor. If he could make her this, she + would also give him her daughter in marriage. "I cannot forge the Sampo, + but if thou wilt help me to my distant country I will send thee my brother + Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, who can forge for thee the magic Sampo, and win + thy beautiful daughter." + </p> + <p> + Louhi provided a sledge and horse, and as Wainamoinen seated himself she + warned him, as he journeyed, not to look upward before nightfall, or some + great misfortune would befall him. + </p> + <p> + The maiden of the Rainbow, beautiful daughter of Pohyola, was sitting on + the rainbow weaving, and Wainamoinen, hearing the whizzing of the loom, + forgot the warning, and, looking up, was filled with love for the maiden. + </p> + <p> + "Come to me," he cried. + </p> + <p> + "The birds have told me," she replied, "that a maiden's life, as compared + to a married woman's, is as summer to coldest winter. Wives are as dogs + enchained in kennels." + </p> + <p> + When Wainamoinen further besought her, she told him that she would + consider him a hero when he had split a golden hair with edgeless knives + and snared a bird's egg with an invisible snare. When he had done these + things without difficulty, she demanded that he should peel the sandstone, + and cut her a whipstick from the ice without making a splinter. This done, + she commanded that he should build her a boat from the fragments of her + distaff, and set it floating without the use of his knee, arm, hand, or + foot to propel it. + </p> + <p> + While Wainamoinen was engaged in this task, Hisi, the god of evil, caused + him to cut his knee with the axe. None of his charms availed to stanch the + blood, so he dragged himself to his sledge and sought the nearest village. + In the third cottage he found a graybeard, who caused two maids to dip up + some of the flowing blood, and then commanded Wainamoinen to sing the + origin of iron. The daughters of Ukko the Creator had sprinkled the + mountains with black, white, and red milk,—from this was formed + iron. Fire caught the iron and carried it to its furnace, and later + Ilmarinen worked the unwilling metal into various articles. As he sought + something to harden it, Hisi's bird, the hornet, dropped poison into the + water; and the iron dipped into it, formed the hard steel, which, angry + because it could not be broken, cut its brother, and vowed that it would + ever cause man's blood to flow in torrents. + </p> + <p> + The old man then addressed the crimson stream flowing from the wound, and + prayed to mighty Ukko to stop it. + </p> + <p> + When it ceased to flow at his prayer, he sent forth his son to gather + various charmed plants, steep them, and make a magic balsam. After many + attempts the son was successful; and the balsam, applied to Wainamoinen's + wound, healed it immediately. + </p> + <p> + Wainamoinen returned home and sought Ilmarinen, who refused to go north to + forge the Sampo. Inducing his brother to climb a lofty fir-tree to bring + down the Moon and the Bear he had conjured there, the wizard caused a + great storm-wind to arise and blow Ilmarinen to the woodlands of Pohyola. + </p> + <p> + There the blacksmith at once set up a forge, and after four days' work saw + the Sampo rising from the furnace, its many colored lid rocking and + grinding, every day, many measures of meal. + </p> + <p> + Joyfully Louhi received the magic Sampo and locked it in a secret chamber + under the copper-bearing mountains. But when Ilmarinen asked for the hand + of the Rainbow Maid, he was refused. "Never shall I, in my lifetime, say + farewell to maiden freedom." So the blacksmith was compelled to return + alone to Wainola. + </p> + <p> + While Ilmarinen was forging the Sampo and Wainamoinen was building the + magic boat, Lemminkainen, or Ahti, the reckless wizard, king of the + islands, was longing for a bride from Ehstland. In spite of his mother's + entreaties, Lemminkainen went to Ehstland, and when he found it was + impossible to gain the favor of Kylliki, the Sahri maid of beauty, he + carried her off by force in his sledge. She became reconciled to him when + he promised that he would never go to battle, and she in turn vowed that + she would not visit the village dances. They lived happily together until + Lemminkainen tarried late at the fishing one evening, and Kylliki went to + the village dance. When Lemminkainen returned, his sister told him of + Kylliki's broken vow; and in spite of the prayers of his mother and wife, + the hero declared that he would break his promise and go to war. To the + Northland he would go, and win another wife. "When my brush bleeds, then + you may know that misfortune has overtaken me," he said angrily, flinging + his hairbrush at the wall. + </p> + <p> + Through many dangers he passed unscathed by the aid of his magic, until he + stood in the halls of Louhi and asked for her daughter, the Rainbow + Maiden. + </p> + <p> + "First bring me the wild moose from the Hisi-fields and forests," said + Louhi. + </p> + <p> + From Kauppi, able smith, Lemminkainen procured the wondrous snow-shoes; + but Hisi, who heard the boasts of the hero, fashioned a wild moose that + ran so rapidly that Lemminkainen could not overtake it, but broke his + snow-shoes in the race. He besought Ukko and the mistress of the forest + and her king, and at last, with their aid, the moose was captured and led + home to Louhi. + </p> + <p> + "Now bridle the flaming horse of Hisi," said she. + </p> + <p> + The mighty stallion stood on the Hisi mountain, breathing fire and smoke. + When the hero saw him he prayed to Ukko, "Let the hail and icy rain fall + upon him." His prayer was granted; and, going forward, Lemminkainen prayed + the steed to put its head into the golden head-stall, promising to treat + it with all gentleness. Then he led it to the courts of Sariola. + </p> + <p> + "Now kill for me the swan that swims in Tuoni, the black death-river. One + shot only canst thou have. If thou succeed, then mayst thou claim thy + bride." + </p> + <p> + When Lemminkainen entered Pohyola he had slain all his opponents but one + blind shepherd, whom he spared because he despised his helplessness. This + object of his scorn was waiting for him, and when Lemminkainen approached + the river he fell by a shot from the enemy, regretting, as he died, that + he had not asked his mother's advice before attempting to reach Tuoni. + </p> + <p> + Nasshut, the shepherd, threw the hero's body into the river, where it was + seized and cut in pieces by the son of Tuoni. + </p> + <p> + At home the mother and wife awaited anxiously tidings of their hero. When + they saw blood trickling from the brush, the mother could wait no longer, + but at once set out for the dreary Northland. After repeated threats, she + wrested from Louhi the fact that her son had gone to Tuoni; from the Sun + she learned his fate. + </p> + <p> + Quickly seeking Ilmarinen, the mother bade him forge for her a mighty + rake. With this she raked the deep death-river, collected the pieces of + the hero, bound them together with the aid of the goddess Suonetar, and + making a balsam, the materials for which were brought her by the bee, she + healed her hero son, comforted him, and led him back to Kalevala. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, Wainamoinen, who was building his boat for the Rainbow + Maid, found that he had forgotten three magic words with which to fasten + in the ledges and complete the boat's forecastle. + </p> + <p> + After examining in vain the mouths of the wild animals, he sought the dead + hero Wipunen, forced open his jaws, and accidentally fell into his mouth. + Wipunen quickly swallowed him; but Wainamoinen, setting up a forge in his + body, caused him such discomfort that the giant was glad to give his + information, and get rid of his unwelcome visitor. Having thus learned the + secrets of the ages, and among them the three magic words, Wainamoinen + hastened home and finished his boat. + </p> + <p> + The boat builded, he at once set out for the Northland to woo the Rainbow + Maid. The boat was bedecked with silver and gold, and the linen sails were + blue, white, and scarlet. The sails were merely for ornament, however, for + the boat moved over the ocean without the aid of oars or sails. + Wainamoinen's departure from Kalevala was observed by Anniki, the sister + of Ilmarinen, who at once told her brother. With her assistance, Ilmarinen + cleansed the black from his ruddy countenance, and jumping into his + sledge, was soon on the way to Sariola. The approach of the heroes was + perceived by Louhi. "Daughter," said she, "the old man brings thee a boat + full of treasures; take him. Do not wed the empty-handed youth." + </p> + <p> + "Thy advice is good, but I will not take it. The young man shall be my + husband." + </p> + <p> + When Wainamoinen was refused in spite of his gifts, Louhi addressed + herself to Ilmarinen, and set him, in turn, three tasks: to plough the + serpent field of Hisi, to muzzle Tuoni's bear, and to catch the pike of + Mana, in the river of Tuoni. + </p> + <p> + With the help of his sweetheart, Ilmarinen accomplished these tasks, and + the wedding day was set. Old Wainamoinen, heavy hearted, journeyed + homeward, and sent the edict to his people that in the future old men + should not go wooing, or strive with younger men. + </p> + <p> + Great preparations were made for the wedding feast; the mighty ox of + Karjala was slain, and for the first time, beer was brewed in Pohyola. + Invitations were sent to all the people of Pohyola and the tribes of + Kalevala, to all save Lemminkainen. + </p> + <p> + When Ilmarinen returned for his bride, he was received with honor, and the + wedding feast was merry. But when the time came to take the bride away, + the Rainbow Maid was unwilling, she who before had been so ready to go + with him. Many times had she been told of the miseries of the wife: her + husband's slave, her whole life one of service, one long endeavor to + please her husband's mother and father. After her lament, Osmatar, the + Bride-adviser, instructed her how to please her husband's family, and + admonished Ilmarinen to guard well his Bride of Beauty. Then the two set + forth together, the Rainbow Maid shedding many tears at parting with her + loved ones. + </p> + <p> + The bride and groom were received with joy by Ilmarinen's family, and old + Wainamoinen himself sang at the wedding feast. + </p> + <p> + But Lemminkainen was angry because he had received no invitation to the + wedding, and in spite of his mother's advice, set out to make war against + the Lapps. He successfully overcame all the terrors that beset him, and + reached Sariola, but was so coldly received there that, enraged at such + treatment, he slew his host, the landlord of Pohyola, and fled homeward to + escape the hosts whom Louhi called to defend her. + </p> + <p> + His mother sent him to the isle of refuge to escape the northern hosts. In + the centre of the tenth ocean it rose, the refuge of his father; there he + must abide three years, and must take a vow not to fight again for sixty + summers. + </p> + <p> + The three years passed speedily on the happy isle, where dwelt many + maidens who admired the reckless hero, and he departed just in time to + escape the swords of the jealous heroes of the isle. His ancient home was + in ashes when he returned, his mother missing; but while he mourned for + her, he chanced upon her, hiding from the Lapps in the forest. Again he + determined to seek out his enemies and be revenged on them. Taking with + him his friend Tiera he sought the north, but was met by the Frost-Fiend + and compelled to return. + </p> + <p> + To the house of Ilmarinen the blacksmith, was sold by Untamoinen a slave, + Kullervo. He was a giant who had done naught but evil, until in despair + his master sold him to the blacksmith. Kullervo, or Kullerwoinen, was made + a shepherd and sent forth with the flocks. But rage at the blacksmith's + wife, who baked a stone in his bread on which he broke the magic knife of + his people, caused him to transform the flocks into wolves, who tore the + Rainbow Wife to pieces when she went to milk them. + </p> + <p> + Then Kullerwoinen fled from the blacksmith, and set out to find his + tribe-people, but on the way unknowingly corrupted his sister, and in + despair at his evil deeds, destroyed himself. + </p> + <p> + Ilmarinen was full of grief at the loss of his wife. Unhappy and restless, + he forged for himself a bride of gold; but the image failed to satisfy + him, and Wainamoinen, reproving him, forbade his people in the future to + worship any graven image. Then the blacksmith again sought the north to + win the sister of his former bride, but was met with bitter reproaches for + the sorrow he had brought upon the family. Nevertheless, he seized the + maiden to carry her away, but she was so angry and so unhappy that he + changed her to a seagull and came home wifeless and sad. + </p> + <p> + Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen soon conceived the idea of going to the + Northland to win back the Sampo. On the way they allied to themselves the + wizard Lemminkainen. As they approached the whirlpool near Pohyola, their + vessel stuck on the shoulders of a great pike. When neither Lemminkainen + nor Ilmarinen could slay it, Wainamoinen impaled it on his fire-sword, and + the three banqueted on the great fish. From its bones, Wainamoinen framed + the first harp. No one could win music from it but its creator; but when + he touched its strings and sang, the very trees danced about him, wild + animals lay in peace at his feet, and the hearts of men were ravished. As + his listeners wept at the strains, Wainamoinen's tears rolled down into + the ocean. Thence the duck brought them, changed to pearls, receiving for + a reward its beautiful coat. Such was the origin of sea-pearls. + </p> + <p> + When Wainamoinen had put the inhabitants of Pohyola to sleep with his + magic music, the heroes found the Sampo with little difficulty, and bore + it away from the copper mountain. But as they hastened home, the + discordant voice of Lemminkainen, who sang for joy of their capture, + caused the crane to screech, and the bird's cry roused the people of + Pohyola. Louhi speedily discovered her loss, and started in pursuit of the + heroes. In various ways she attacked them,—with war ships that were + stopped by a reef conjured up by Wainamoinen, by a terrible storm, and by + a giant eagle that perched on their boat. In their struggle with her the + Sampo was broken and its fragments scattered on the ocean. Louhi left + them, uttering dire threats; and Wainamoinen, gathering up what fragments + of the Sampo he could find, buried them where they would bring prosperity + to his people. + </p> + <p> + Now Wainamoinen longed to sing to his harp to rejoice the hearts of his + people, but the magic instrument had been lost in the storm conjured by + Louhi. After raking the sea for it in vain, he constructed a new harp from + the birch-tree, and delighted the people with his songs. + </p> + <p> + In revenge for the theft of the Sampo, Louhi sent nine diseases upon + Wainamoinen's people,—colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague, + consumption, gout, sterility, and cancer, the offspring of the fell + Lowyatar; but by the use of vapor baths and balsams Wainamoinen healed his + people. Then Louhi sent Otso the Bear, the honey-eater, but he was slain + by the hero, who made a banquet of his flesh for the people. Enraged at + her failures, she stole the sun, moon, and fire, and left Kalevala in + darkness. Ukko, taking pity on his people, struck lightning from his + fire-sword and gave the fire-child to a virgin to be cared for. In an + unguarded moment it sprang earthward, fell into the sea, and was swallowed + by a fish, that, in the agonies of torment, was swallowed by another. + Wainamoinen went fishing with Ilmarinen, and at last caught the gray pike,—found + in it the trout, found in the trout the whiting, and in the whiting the + fireball. When he attempted to seize the fireball he burned his fingers, + and dropped it. Ilmarinen did likewise. Then the ball rolled rapidly away + until Wainamoinen caught it in an elm-tree, and took it home to gladden + his people. Still they were cheerless without the sun and moon, and + Wainamoinen was obliged to go to Louhi and compel her to give up the sun + and moon. When he returned there was joy in Kalevala. + </p> + <p> + In the Northland dwelt a happy maiden, Mariatta, who, eating of the magic + berry, as she wandered one day in the fields, bore by it a child which she + called Flower. Her parents cast her off, and as no one would take her in, + she was compelled to go to the flaming steed of Hisi, in whose manger the + child was born. Once when she slumbered the child vanished, and she sought + for it in vain, until told by the sun that it was in Wainola, sleeping + among the reeds and rushes. + </p> + <p> + The child grew in grace and beauty, but no priest would baptize him, all + saying that he was a wizard. Wainamoinen, too, counselled that he be + destroyed; but when the two weeks old babe lifted its head and reproached + him, saying that he had committed many follies but had been spared by his + people, Wainamoinen baptized him, and gave him the right to grow a hero + and become a mighty ruler over Karyala. + </p> + <p> + As Wainamoinen grew feeble with the passing years, he built himself a boat + of copper, and singing a plaintive song in which he said the people of + Suomi would look forward to his return as a time of peace and plenty, he + set forth, sailing through the dusk of evening to the fiery sunset, and + anchored in the purple horizon, leaving behind him for an heritage his + harp, his wondrous songs, and his wisdom sayings. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0032" id="link2H_4_0032"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE KALEVALA. + </h2> + <h3> + ILMARINEN'S WEDDING FEAST. + </h3> + <p> + Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, visited the Northland, won the Rainbow Maid, + and successfully performed the tasks set by her mother Louhi. Great + preparations were made in Pohyola for the wedding, and the coming of the + bridegroom was anxiously expected. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Ancient dame of Sariola, + While at work within her dwelling, + Heard the whips crack on the fenlands, + Heard the rattle of the sledges; + To the northward turned her glances, + Turned her vision to the sunlight, + And her thoughts ran on as follow: + "Who are these in bright apparel, + On the banks of Pohya-waters, + Are they friends or hostile armies?" + + Then the hostess of the Northland + Looked again and well considered, + Drew much nearer to examine, + Found they were not hostile armies, + Found that they were friends and suitors; + In the midst was Ilmarinen, + Son in-law to ancient Louhi. + + When the hostess of Pohyola + Saw the son-in-law approaching, + She addressed the words that follow: + + "I had thought the winds were raging, + That the piles of wood were falling, + Thought the pebbles in commotion, + Or perchance the ocean roaring; + Then I hastened nearer, nearer, + Drew still nearer and examined, + Found the winds were not in battle, + Found the piles of wood unshaken, + Found the ocean was not roaring, + Nor the pebbles in commotion; + Found my son-in-law was coming + With his heroes and attendants, + Heroes counted by the hundreds. + + "Should you ask of me the question, + How I recognized the bridegroom + Mid the host of men and heroes, + I should answer, I should tell you: + 'As the hazel-bush in copses, + As the oak-tree in the forest, + As the moon among the planets; + Drives the groom a coal-black courser, + Running like a famished black-dog, + Flying like the hungry raven, + Graceful as the lark at morning, + Golden cuckoos, six in number, + Twitter on the birchen cross-bow; + There are seven blue-birds singing + On the racer's hame and collar.'" + + Noises hear they in the court-yard, + On the highway hear the sledges. + To the court comes Ilmarinen, + With his body-guard of heroes; + In the midst the chosen suitor, + Not too far in front of others, + Not too far behind his fellows. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Hie ye hither, men and heroes, + Haste, ye watchers, to the stables, + There unhitch the suitor's stallion, + Lower well the racer's breast-plate, + There undo the straps and buckles, + Loosen well the shafts and traces, + And conduct the suitor hither, + Give my son-in-law good welcome!" + + Ilmarinen turned his racer + Into Louhi's yard and stables, + And descended from his snow-sledge + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, thou servant of my bidding, + Best of all my trusted servants, + Take at once the bridegroom's courser + From the shafts adorned with silver, + From the curving arch of willow, + Lift the harness trimmed in copper, + Tie the white-face to the manger, + Treat the suitor's steed with kindness, + Lead him carefully to shelter + By his soft and shining bridle, + By his halter tipped with silver; + Let him roll among the sand-hills, + On the bottoms soft and even, + On the borders of the snow-banks, + In the fields of milky color. + Lead the hero's steed to water, + Lead him to the Pohya-fountains, + Where the living streams are flowing, + Sweet as milk of human kindness, + From the roots of silvery birches, + Underneath the shade of aspens. + + "Feed the courser of the suitor, + With the sweetest corn and barley, + With the summer-wheat and clover, + In the caldron steeped in sweetness; + Feed him at the golden manger, + In the boxes lined with copper, + At my manger richly furnished, + In the warmest of the hurdles; + Tie him with a silk-like halter, + To the golden rings and staples, + To the hooks of purest silver, + Set in beams of birch and oak-wood; + Feed him on the hay the sweetest, + Feed him on the grains nutritious, + Give the best my barns can furnish. + + "Curry well the suitor's courser + With the curry-comb of fish-bone, + Brush his hair with silken brushes, + Put his mane and tail in order, + Cover well with silken blankets, + Blankets wrought in gold and silver, + Buckles forged from shining copper. + + "Come, ye small lads of the village, + Lead the suitor to my chambers, + With your auburn locks uncovered, + From your hands remove your mittens, + See if ye can lead the hero + Through the door without his stooping, + Lifting not the upper cross-bar, + Sinking not the oaken threshold, + Moving not the oaken casings, + Great the hero who must enter. + + "Ilmarinen is too stately, + Cannot enter through the portals, + Not the son-in-law and bridegroom, + Till the portals have been lengthened; + Taller by a head the suitor + Than the doorways of the mansion." + Quick the servants of Pohyola + Tore away the upper cross-bar, + That his cap might not be lifted; + Made the oaken threshold lower + That the hero might not stumble; + Made the birch-wood portals wider, + Opened full the door of welcome, + Easy entrance for the suitor. + + Speaks the hostess of the Northland + As the bridegroom freely passes + Through the doorway of her dwelling: + + "Thanks are due to thee, O Ukko, + That my son-in-law has entered! + Let me now my halls examine; + Make the bridal chambers ready, + Finest linen on my tables, + Softest furs upon my benches, + Birchen flooring scrubbed to whiteness, + All my rooms in perfect order." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Visited her spacious dwelling, + Did not recognize her chambers; + Every room had been remodelled, + Changed by force of mighty magic; + All the halls were newly burnished, + Hedgehog bones were used for ceilings, + Bones of reindeer for foundations, + Bones of wolverine for door-sills, + For the cross-bars bones of roebuck, + Apple-wood were all the rafters, + Alder-wood, the window casings, + Scales of trout adorned the windows, + And the fires were set in flowers. + All the seats were made of silver, + All the floors of copper-tiling, + Gold-adorned were all the tables, + On the floor were silken mattings, + Every fire-place set in copper, + Every hearth-stone cut from marble, + On each shelf were colored sea-shells, + Kalew's tree was their protection. + + To the court-room came the hero, + Chosen suitor from Wainola, + These the words of Ilmarinen: + + "Send, O Ukko, health and pleasure + To this ancient home and dwelling, + To this mansion richly fashioned!" + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Let thy coming be auspicious + To these halls of thee unworthy, + To the home of thy affianced, + To this dwelling lowly fashioned, + Mid the lindens and the aspens. + + "Come, ye maidens that should serve me, + Come, ye fellows from the village, + Bring me fire upon the birch-bark, + Light the fagots of the fir-tree, + That I may behold the bridegroom, + Chosen suitor of my daughter, + Fairy Maiden of the Rainbow, + See the color of his eyeballs, + Whether they are blue or sable, + See if they are warm and faithful." + + Quick the young lads from the village + Brought the fire upon the birch-bark, + Brought it on the tips of pine-wood; + And the fire and smoke commingled + Roll and roar about the hero, + Blackening the suitor's visage, + And the hostess speaks as follows: + + "Bring the fire upon a taper, + On the waxen tapers bring it!" + + Then the maidens did as bidden, + Quickly brought the lighted tapers, + Made the suitor's eyeballs glisten, + Made his cheeks look fresh and ruddy; + Eyes were neither blue nor sable, + Sparkled like the foam of waters, + Like the reed-grass on the margin, + Colored as the ocean-jewels, + Iridescent as the rainbow. + + "Come, ye fellows from the hamlets, + Lead my son-in-law and hero + To the highest seat at table, + To the seat of greatest honor, + With his back upon the blue-wall, + Looking on my bounteous tables, + Facing all the guests of Northland." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Served her guests in great abundance, + Richest drinks and rarest viands, + First of all she served the bridegroom; + On his platters honeyed biscuit, + And the sweetest river-salmon, + Seasoned butter, roasted bacon, + All the dainties of Pohyola. + Then the servants served the others, + Filled the plates of all invited + With the varied food of Northland. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, ye maidens from the village, + Hither bring the beer in pitchers, + In the urns with double handles, + To the many guests in-gathered. + Ere all others, serve the bridegroom." + + Thereupon the merry maidens + Brought the beer in silver pitchers + From the copper-banded vessels, + For the wedding guests assembled; + And the beer, fermenting, sparkled + On the beard of Ilmarinen, + On the beards of many heroes. + + When the guests had all partaken + Of the wondrous beer of barley, + Spake the drink in merry accents + Through the tongues of the magicians, + Through the tongue of many a hero, + Through the tongue of Wainamoinen, + Famed to be the sweetest singer + Of the Northland bards and minstrels. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Grant, O Ukko, my Creator, + God of love, and truth, and justice, + Grant thy blessing on our feasting, + Bless this company assembled, + For the good of Sariola, + For the happiness of Northland! + May this bread and beer bring joyance, + May they come in rich abundance, + May they carry full contentment + To the people of Pohyola, + To the cabin and the mansion; + May the hours we spend in singing, + In the morning, in the evening, + Fill our hearts with joy and gladness! + Hear us in our supplications, + Grant to us thy needed blessings, + Send enjoyment, health, and comfort, + To the people here assembled, + To the host and to the hostess, + To the bride and to the bridegroom, + To the sons upon the waters, + To the daughters at their weavings, + To the hunters on the mountains, + To the shepherds in the fenlands, + That our lives may end in honor, + That we may recall with pleasure + Ilmarinen's magic marriage + To the Maiden of the Rainbow, + Snow-white virgin of the Northland." + + <i>Crawford's Translation, Rune XXI.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0033" id="link2H_4_0033"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE BIRTH OF THE HARP. + </h2> + <p> + Wainamoinen, Ilmarinen, and the wizard Lemminkainen started to the + Northland to win back the Sampo forged for Louhi by Ilmarinen. On the way + their boat stuck on the shoulders of a great pike, which was killed by + Wainamoinen. The three then landed, ordered the pike to be cooked by the + maidens, and feasted until nothing remained of the fish but a heap of + bones. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Looked upon the pile of fragments, + On the fish-bones looked and pondered, + Spake these words in meditation: + + "Wondrous things might be constructed + From the relics of this monster, + Were they in the blacksmith's furnace, + In the hands of the magician, + In the hands of Ilmarinen." + + Spake the blacksmith of Wainola: + + "Nothing fine can be constructed + From the bones and teeth of fishes + By the skilful forger-artist, + By the hands of the magician." + These the words of Wainamoinen: + + "Something wondrous might be builded + From these jaws, and teeth, and fish-bones; + Might a magic harp be fashioned, + Could an artist be discovered + That could shape them to my wishes." + + But he found no fish-bone artist + That could shape the harp of joyance + From the relics of their feasting, + From the jaw-bones of the monster, + To the will of the magician. + Thereupon wise Wainamoinen + Set himself at work designing; + Quick became a fish-bone artist, + Made a harp of wondrous beauty, + Lasting joy and pride of Suomi. + Whence the harp's enchanting arches? + From the jaw-bones of the monster. + Whence the necessary harp-pins? + From the pike-teeth, firmly fastened. + Whence the sweetly singing harp-strings? + From the tail of Lempo's stallion. + Thus was born the harp of magic + From the mighty pike of Northland, + From the relics from the feasting + Of the heroes of Wainola. + All the young men came to view it, + All the aged with their children, + Mothers with their beauteous daughters, + Maidens with their golden tresses; + All the people on the islands + Came to view the harp of joyance, + Pride and beauty of the Northland. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Let the aged try the harp-strings, + Gave it to the young magicians, + To the dames and to their daughters, + To the maidens, silver-tinselled, + To the singers of Wainola. + When the young men touched the harp-strings, + Then arose the notes of discord; + When the aged played upon it, + Dissonance their only music. + Spake the wizard, Lemminkainen: + + "O ye witless, worthless children, + O ye senseless, useless maidens, + O ye wisdom-lacking heroes, + Cannot play this harp of magic, + Cannot touch the notes of concord! + Give to me this thing of beauty, + Hither bring the harp of fish-bones, + Let me try my skillful fingers." + Lemminkainen touched the harp-strings, + Carefully the strings adjusted, + Turned the harp in all directions, + Fingered all the strings in sequence, + Played the instrument of wonder, + But it did not speak in concord, + Did not sing the notes of joyance. + Spake the ancient Wainamoinen: + + "There is none among these maidens, + None among these youthful heroes, + None among the old magicians, + That can play the harp of magic, + Touch the notes of joy and pleasure. + Let us take the harp to Pohya, + There to find a skillful player + That can touch the strings in concord." + + Then they sailed to Sariola, + To Pohyola took the wonder, + There to find the harp a master. + All the heroes of Pohyola, + All the boys and all the maidens, + Ancient dames and bearded minstrels, + Vainly touched the harp of beauty. + + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Took the harp-strings in her fingers; + All the youth of Sariola, + Youth of every tribe and station, + Vainly touched the harp of fish-bone; + Could not find the notes of joyance, + Dissonance their only pleasure; + Shrieked the harp-strings like the whirlwinds, + All the tones were harsh and frightful. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + The eternal wisdom-singer, + Laves his hands to snowy whiteness, + Sits upon the rock of joyance, + On the stone of song he settles, + On the mount of song he settles, + On the mount of silver clearness, + On the summit, golden colored, + Takes the harp by him created, + In his hands the harp of fish-bone, + With his knee the arch supporting, + Takes the harp-strings in his fingers, + Speaks these words to those assembled: + + "Hither come, ye Northland people, + Come and listen to my playing,— + To the harp's entrancing measures, + To my songs of joy and gladness." + + Then the singer of Wainola + Took the harp of his creation, + Quick adjusting, sweetly tuning, + Deftly plied his skillful fingers + To the strings that he had fashioned. + Now was gladness rolled on gladness, + And the harmony of pleasure + Echoed from the hills and mountains; + Added singing to his playing, + Out of joy did joy come welling, + Now resounded marvellous music, + All of Northland stopped and listened. + Every creature in the forest, + All the beasts that haunt the woodlands + On their nimble feet came bounding, + Came to listen to his playing, + Came to hear his songs of joyance. + Leaped the squirrels from the branches, + Merrily from birch to aspen; + Climbed the ermines on the fences, + O'er the plains the elk deer bounded, + And the lynxes purred with pleasure; + Wolves awoke in far-off swamp-lands, + Bounded o'er the marsh and heather, + And the bear his den deserted, + Left his lair within the pine-wood, + Settled by a fence to listen, + Leaned against the listening gate-posts, + But the gate-posts yield beneath him; + Now he climbs the fir-tree branches + That he may enjoy and wonder, + Climbs and listens to the music + Of the harp of Wainamoinen. + + Tapiola's wisest senior, + Metsola's most noble landlord, + And of Tapio, the people, + Young and aged, men and maidens, + Flew like red-deer up the mountains + There to listen to the playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Tapiola's wisest mistress, + Hostess of the glen and forest, + Robed herself in blue and scarlet, + Bound her limbs with silken ribbons, + Sat upon the woodland summit, + On the branches of a birch-tree, + There to listen to the playing, + To the high-born hero's harping, + To the songs of Wainamoinen. + + All the birds that fly in mid-air + Fell like snow-flakes from the heavens, + Flew to hear the minstrel's playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen. + Eagles in their lofty eyrie + Heard the songs of the enchanter; + Swift they left their unfledged young ones, + Flew and perched around the minstrel. + From the heights the hawks descended, + From the clouds down swooped the falcon, + Ducks arose from inland waters, + Swans came gliding from the marshes; + Tiny finches, green and golden, + Flew in flocks that darkened sunlight, + Came in myriads to listen, + Perched upon the head and shoulders + Of the charming Wainamoinen, + Sweetly singing to the playing + Of the ancient bard and minstrel. + And the daughters of the welkin, + Nature's well-beloved daughters, + Listened all in rapt attention; + Some were seated on the rainbow, + Some upon the crimson cloudlets, + Some upon the dome of heaven. + + In their hands the Moon's fair daughters + Held their weaving-combs of silver; + In their hands the Sun's sweet maidens + Grasped the handles of their distaffs, + Weaving with their golden shuttles, + Spinning from their silver spindles, + On the red rims of the cloudlets, + On the bow of many colors. + As they hear the minstrel playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Quick they drop their combs of silver, + Drop the spindles from their fingers, + And the golden threads are broken, + Broken are the threads of silver. + + All the fish in Suomi-waters + Heard the songs of the magician, + Came on flying fins to listen + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Came the trout with graceful motions, + Water-dogs with awkward movements, + From the water-cliffs the salmon, + From the sea-caves came the whiting, + From the deeper caves the bill-fish; + Came the pike from beds of sea-fern, + Little fish with eyes of scarlet, + Leaning on the reeds and rushes, + With their heads above the surface; + Came to hear the harp of joyance, + Hear the songs of the enchanter. + + Ahto, king of all the waters, + Ancient king with beard of sea-grass, + Raised his head above the billows, + In a boat of water-lilies, + Glided to the coast in silence, + Listened to the wondrous singing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + These the words the sea-king uttered: + + "Never have I heard such playing, + Never heard such strains of music, + Never since the sea was fashioned, + As the songs of this enchanter, + This sweet singer, Wainamoinen." + + Satko's daughters from the blue-deep, + Sisters of the wave-washed ledges, + On the colored strands were sitting, + Smoothing out their sea-green tresses + With the combs of molten silver, + With their silver-handled brushes, + Brushes forged with golden bristles. + When they hear the magic playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Fall their brushes on the billows, + Fall their combs with silver handles + To the bottom of the waters, + Unadorned their heads remaining, + And uncombed their sea-green tresses. + + Came the hostess of the waters, + Ancient hostess robed in flowers, + Rising from her deep sea-castle, + Swimming to the shore in wonder, + Listened to the minstrel's playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + As the magic tones re-echoed, + As the singer's song outcircled, + Sank the hostess into slumber, + On the rocks of many colors, + On her watery couch of joyance, + Deep the sleep that settled o'er her. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Played one day and then a second, + Played the third from morn to even. + There was neither man nor hero, + Neither ancient dame nor maiden, + Not in Metsola a daughter, + Whom he did not touch to weeping; + Wept the young and wept the aged, + Wept the mothers, wept the daughters, + At the music of his playing, + At the songs of the magician. + <i>Crawford's Translation, Runes XL.-XLI.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0034" id="link2H_4_0034"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE AENEID. + </h2> + <p> + The Aeneid was written by Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as + Vergil, who was born at Andes, near Mantua, Oct. 15, 70 B. C., and died at + Brundusium, Sept. 22, 19 B.C. + </p> + <p> + He was educated at Cremona, Milan, Naples, and Rome. When the lands near + Cremona and Mantua were assigned by Octavianus to his soldiers after the + battle of Philippi, Vergil lost his estates; but they were afterwards + restored to him through Asinius Pollio. + </p> + <p> + He became a favorite of Augustus, and spent part of his time in Rome, near + his patron, Maecenas, the emperor's minister. + </p> + <p> + Vergil's first work was the Bucolics, in imitation of Theocritus. His + second work, the Georgics, treats of husbandry. The Aeneid relates the + adventures of Aeneas, the legendary ancestor of the Romans. + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid is in twelve books, of which the first six describe the + wanderings of Aeneas, and the last six his wars in Italy. Its metre is the + dactyllic hexameter. + </p> + <p> + Vergil worked for eleven years on the poem, and considered it incomplete + at his death. + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid tells the story of the flight of Aeneas from burning Troy to + Italy, and makes him an ancestor of the Romans. With the story of his + wanderings are interwoven praises of the Caesars and the glory of Rome. + </p> + <p> + It is claimed that because Vergil was essentially a poet of rural life, he + was especially fitted to be the national poet, since the Roman life was + founded on the agricultural country life. He also chose a theme which + particularly appealed to the patriotism of the Romans. For this reason, + the poem was immediately received into popular favor, and was made a + text-book of the Roman youths. It is often said of Vergil by way of + reproach, that his work was an imitation of Homer, and the first six books + of the Aeneid are compared to the Odyssey, the last six to the Iliad. But + while Vergil may be accused of imitation of subject matter, his style is + his own, and is entirely different from that of Homer. There is a tender + grace in the Roman writer which the Greek does not possess. Vergil also + lacks that purely pagan enjoyment of life; in its place there is a tender + melancholy that suggests the passing of the golden age. This difference of + treatment, this added grace and charm, which are always mentioned as + peculiarly Vergil's own, united with his poetical feeling, and skill in + versification, are sufficient to absolve him from the reproach of a mere + imitator. + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid was greatly admired and imitated during the Middle Ages, and + still retains its high place in literature. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL6" id="link2H_BIBL6"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE AENEID. + </h2> + <h3> + R. W. Brown's History of Roman Classical Literature, n. d., pp. 257-265; + </h3> + <p> + John Alfred Church's Story of the Aeneid, 1886; + </p> + <p> + Domenico Comparetti's Virgil in the Middle Ages, Tr. by Benecke, 1895; + </p> + <p> + C. T. Cruttwell's Virgil (see his History of Roman Literature, n. d. pp. + 252-375); + </p> + <p> + John Davis's Observations on the poems of Homer and Virgil, out of the + French, 1672; + </p> + <p> + James Henry's Aeneidea: or Critical, Exegetical, and Aesthetical Remarks + on the Aeneis, 1873; + </p> + <p> + James Henry's Notes of Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the first six + Books of the Aeneid, 1853; + </p> + <p> + J. W. Mackail's Virgil (see his Latin Literature, 1895, pp. 91-106); + </p> + <p> + H. Nettleship's The Aeneid (see his Vergil, 1880, pp. 45-74); + </p> + <p> + H. T. Peck and R. Arrowsmith's Roman Life in Latin Prose and Verse, 1894, + pp. 68-70; + </p> + <p> + Leonhard Schmitz's History of Latin Literature, 1877, pp. 106-108; + </p> + <p> + W. Y. Sellar's Roman Poets of the Augustan Age, Vergil, Ed. 2, 1883; + </p> + <p> + W. S. Teuffel's Aeneis (see his History of Roman Literature, 1891, pp. + 434-439); + </p> + <p> + J. S. Tunison's Master Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, as he seemed in + the Middle Ages, 1888; + </p> + <p> + Robert Y. Tyrrell's Virgil (see his Latin Poetry, 1895, pp. 126-161); + </p> + <p> + A Forgotten Virtue, Macmillan, 1895, xii. 51-56, an article on the Aeneid, + "the epic of piety;" + </p> + <p> + Scene of the last six books of the Aeneid, Blackwood, 1832, xxxii. 76-87; + </p> + <p> + A. A. Knight's The Year in the Aeneid, Education, 1886, vi. 612-616; + </p> + <p> + William C. Cawton's The Underworld in Homer, Virgil, and Dante, Atlantic, + 1884, liv. 99-110. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0036" id="link2H_4_0036"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE AENEID. + </h2> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by J. Conington, 1887; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by C. P. Cranch, 1872; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by John Dryden (1697), 1884; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by William Morris, 1882; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by W. S. Thornhill, 1886; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by J. A. Wilstach, 1884; + </p> + <p> + The Aeneid, Tr. by J. W. Mackail, 1890. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0037" id="link2H_4_0037"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE AENEID. + </h2> + <p> + For many years the heroic Aeneas, who escaped from falling Troy to seek + the shores of Italy, there to found the lofty walls of Rome, was tossed + upon the sea by the wrath of cruel Juno. + </p> + <p> + The fates foretold that these future Romans would overthrow a city dearer + to her than Samos,—Carthage, founded by the Tyrians, opposite Italy, + and far from the Tiberine mouths. For this rich city Juno desired + boundless rule,—hence her hatred of the Trojans. Moreover, she had + not forgotten the judgment of Paris, her slighted charms, and the + supplanting of Hebe by Ganymede. + </p> + <p> + After having tossed the unhappy hero and his men over many seas, Juno, + observing their approach to Italy, hastened to Aeolia, where King Aeolus + ruled over the struggling winds and tempests, chained in vast caves. + </p> + <p> + Bribed by Juno, Aeolus sent forth a tempest that scattered the ships of + Aeneas, and would have destroyed them had it not been for the + interposition of Neptune. + </p> + <p> + Suspecting his sister's treachery, Neptune angrily dismissed the winds, + and hastened to the relief of the Trojans. Cymothoë and Triton pushed the + ships from the rocks, he himself assisting with his trident. Then, driving + over the rough waves in his chariot, he soothed the frenzy of the sea. + </p> + <p> + The wearied Aeneans speedily sought a harbor on the Libyan shore, a long + and deep recess bordered by a dense grove. In the cliffs was a cave, with + sweet waters and seats carved from the living rock,—the abode of the + nymphs. Gathering here the seven ships that survived the fury of the + storm, Aeneas landed, and feasted with his comrades. + </p> + <p> + The next morning Aeneas, accompanied by his friend Achates, sallied forth + from the camp at dawn, to learn, if possible, something of the land on + which they had been thrown. They had gone but a little way in the depths + of the forest when they met Aeneas's mother, Venus, in the guise of a + Spartan maid, her bow hung from her shoulders, her hair flowing to the + wind. + </p> + <p> + "Hast thou seen my sister?" she inquired, "hunting the boar, wrapped in a + spotted lynx hide, her quiver at her back?" + </p> + <p> + "Nay, we have seen no one," replied Aeneas. "But what shall I call thee, + maiden? A goddess, a nymph? Be kind, I pray thee, and tell us among what + people we have fallen, that before thy altars we may sacrifice many a + victim." + </p> + <p> + "I am unworthy of such honors," Venus answered. "This land is Libya, but + the town is Tyrian, founded by Dido, who fled hither from her brother + Pygmalion, who had secretly murdered her husband, Sichaeus, for his gold. + To Dido, sleeping, appeared the wraith of Sichaeus, pallid, his breast + pierced with the impious wound, and revealed to her her brother's crime, + showed where a hoard of gold was concealed, and advised her to leave the + country. + </p> + <p> + "Gathering together a company of those who wished to flee from the tyrant, + Dido seized the ships, loaded them with the gold, and fled to Libya, where + she is now erecting the walls and towers of New Carthage. I would advise + thee to hasten forward and seek our queen. If augury fail me not, I read + from yonder flight of swans the return of thy missing ships and comrades." + </p> + <p> + As she turned to go, her neck shone with a rosy refulgence, ambrosial + fragrance breathed from her, her robe flowed down about her feet and + revealed the goddess. As she vanished, her son stretched longing hands + after her. "Ah, mother, why dost thou thus trifle with me? Why may not I + clasp thy loved hands and exchange true words with thee?" + </p> + <p> + Wrapped in a cloud by Venus, Aeneas and Achates mounted a hill that + overlooked the city, and looked down wondering on the broad roofs and the + paved streets of Carthage. The busy Tyrians worked like the bees in early + summer: some moving the immense masses of stone, some founding the + citadel, others laying off the sites for the law courts and sacred Senate + House. "O happy ye whose walls now rise!" exclaimed Aeneas, as he and + Achates mingled with the crowd, still cloud-wrapped, and entered the vast + temple built to Juno. Here Aeneas's fear fell from him; for as he waited + for the queen's coming, he saw pictured on the walls the fall of his own + dear city, and wept as he gazed upon the white tents of Rhesus, and + Hector's disfigured body. + </p> + <p> + As he wept, the beautiful Dido entered, joyously intent on her great work, + and, seating herself on her throne, proceeded to give laws to the Tyrians, + and assign their work to them. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly, to the amazement of Aeneas and Achates, in burst their lost + comrades, Antheus, Sergestus, Gyas, Cloanthus, and other Trojans, + demanding of Dido a reason for their rough reception. To whom the queen + replied:— + </p> + <p> + "Let fear desert your hearts; I, too, have suffered, and know how to aid + the unfortunate. And whither hath not the fame of Troy penetrated? I will + aid you in leaving this coast, or give you a home with me, treating you as + I treat my Tyrians. Would only that Aeneas's self stood with you!" + </p> + <p> + Then burst Aeneas forth from his cloud-wrapping, made more beautiful by + Venus, the purple bloom of youth on his face, joy in his eyes. "Here am I, + Trojan Aeneas, to render thanks to thee, divine Dido." + </p> + <p> + Dido, charmed with the hero, prepared a banquet for him in her splendid + hall, curtained with rich drapery, and adorned with costly plate, whereon + were pictured the proud deeds of her ancestors. Hither came the Trojans + with gifts for Dido,—a rich robe stiff with gold embroidery, a veil + embroidered with the yellow acanthus, ornaments of Helen, the sceptre of + Ilione, a pearl and gold necklace, and a double crown of gems and gold. + </p> + <p> + Beside Achates tripped Cupid, for Venus, suspecting the craft of the + Tyrians, had hidden Ascanius on Mount Ida, and sent her own son in his + guise, to complete Aeneas's conquest of Dido. + </p> + <p> + After the feast was over, the great beakers were brought in and crowned + with garlands. Dido called for the beaker used by Belus and all his + descendants, and pouring a libation, drank to the happiness of the Trojan + wanderers, and passed the cup around the board. Iopas, the long-haired + minstrel, sang, and the night passed by in various discourse. Dido, + forgetting Sichaeus, hung on the words of Aeneas, questioning him of Priam + and Hector, and at last demanding the story of his wanderings. + </p> + <p> + "Thou orderest me, O queen, to renew my grief, the destruction of Troy by + the Greeks, which deeds I have seen, and a part of which I have been. + </p> + <p> + "Despairing of conquering Troy, the Greeks attempted to take it by + stratagem. By the art of Pallas, they framed a heaven-high horse, within + which were concealed picked men for our destruction. Leaving this behind + them, they sailed, ostensibly for home, in reality for Tenedos. + </p> + <p> + "When we supposed them gone we joyfully went forth to examine the deserted + camp and the giant horse. As we wondered at it, and Laocoön, priest of + Neptune, urged us to destroy it, a crowd of shepherds approached with a + youth whom they had found hiding in the sedges. His name was Sinon. He was + a Greek, but he was hated by Ulysses, and had fled to save his life. The + Greeks had sailed home, he assured us, leaving the horse as a votive + offering to Pallas. They had hoped that its great bulk would prevent the + Trojans from taking it inside their walls, for once within the city, Troy + could never be taken. + </p> + <p> + "We Trojans were credulous, and Sinon's tale was plausible. To increase + our belief in it, while Laocoön was sacrificing a bull to Neptune, we saw + coming over the sea from Tenedos two huge serpents, their crimson crests + towering high, their breasts erect among the waves, their long folds + sweeping over the foaming sea. As we fled affrighted, they seized the two + sons of Laocoön, twining their coils around the wretched boys; and when + their father hastened to their aid, caught him in their huge coils, + staining his fillets with black blood. 'Laocoön suffered for his crime,' + we said, when, the priest slain, the serpents crept to Pallas's altar, and + curled themselves around the feet of the goddess. Then joyfully we made a + breach in the walls, put rollers under the horse, and, with music and + dancing, dragged it within the walls. + </p> + <p> + "That night as we lay sleeping after revelry and feasting, Sinon crept + down, opened the horse, and freed the men, who were soon joined by the + other Greeks, returned from Tenedos. + </p> + <p> + "In a dream Hector's shade appeared to me, and, weeping, bade me fly. + 'Troy falls. Do thou go forth and save her household deities!' As I woke, + sounds of battle penetrated to my palace halls, removed somewhat from the + city, and embowered in trees; and I rushed forth, forgetful of Hector's + warning. I saw the streets swimming in Trojan blood, Trojan women and + children led captive, Cassandra dragged from her shrine. Enraged, I + gathered a band and slew many Greeks. But when I saw the impious Pyrrhus + enter the palace and slay Priam at the altar, I recognized the uselessness + of my struggle, and turned to my home. + </p> + <p> + "Taking my old father Anchises on my back, and leading Iulus by the hand, + I set forth, followed by my wife Creusa. But when I looked behind me at + the city gates, my wife was gone. Mad with despair, I rushed back to the + citadel, crying, 'Creusa! Creusa!' Our homestead was in flames, the + streets filled with Greeks; but as I roamed through the town, I met her + pallid shape. 'O husband, rage not against heaven's decrees! Happy days + will come for thee on the banks of the Tiber. Farewell, and love with me + our boy!' + </p> + <p> + "Without the gates I was joined by other fugitives; and after the + departure of the Greeks we built ships from the timbers of Mount Ida, and + loading these with our household gods and a few spoils from the city, we + departed to seek new homes. + </p> + <p> + "In Thrace, our first stopping-place, I learned that Polydore, Priam's + son, who had been entrusted to the care of the Thracian king, had been + slain by him for his gold, when the fortunes of Troy fell. We hastened to + leave this accursed land, and sought Delos, only to be instructed by + Apollo that we must seek the home from which our forefathers had come. + Anchises, who remembered the legends of our race, thought this must be + Crete; so to Crete we sailed, and there laid the foundations of a city, + only to be driven thence by a plague and a threatened famine. + </p> + <p> + "In a dream my household gods instructed me that Dardanus, the founder of + our race, had come from Hesperia, and thither we must bend our course. + Tempests drove us about the sea for three suns, until, on the fourth, we + landed at the isle of the Harpies,—loathsome monsters, half woman, + half bird, who foul everything they touch. When we had slain the cattle + and prepared to banquet, they drove us from the tables; and when attacked + by us, uttered dire threats of future famine. + </p> + <p> + "At Epirus we heard that Andromache had wed Prince Helenus, who had + succeeded to the rule of Pyrrhus, two Trojans thus being united. As I + landed here, anxious to prove the truth of the rumor, I met Andromache + herself in a grove near the town, sacrificing at an empty tomb dedicated + to Hector. Pyrrhus had made her his slave after the fall of Troy, but + after he wedded Hermione, he had given her to Helenus, himself a slave. + When Pyrrhus died, part of his realm fell to Helenus, and here the two had + set up a little Troy. + </p> + <p> + "Helenus received us kindly, instructed us as to our route, and gave us + rich gifts; and Andromache, remembering her dead Astyanax, wept over lulus + as she parted with him. + </p> + <p> + "As we passed Sicily we took up a Greek, Achemenides, a companion of + Ulysses, who had been left behind, and had since been hiding in deadly + terror from the Cyclops. We ourselves caught sight of the monster + Polyphemus, feeling his way to the shore to bathe his wounded eye. + </p> + <p> + "Instructed by Helenus, we avoided Scylla and Charybdis, and reached + Sicily, where my father died. We were just leaving the island when the + storm arose that brought us hither. The rest thou knowest." + </p> + <p> + The guests departed from the banquet hall; but the unhappy Dido, consumed + with love, imparted her secret to her sister Anna. + </p> + <p> + "Why shouldst thou weep, sister dear? Why regret that thou hast at last + forgotten Sichaeus? Contend not against love, but strive to unite Trojan + and Tyrian. Winter comes on, and thou canst detain him while the sea rages + and the winds are fierce and the rains icy." + </p> + <p> + Her ambitious plans for her city forgotten, Dido wandered through the + streets, mad with love and unable to conceal her passion. She led Ćneas + among the walls and towers, made feasts for him, and begged again and + again to hear the story of his wandering. At other times she fondled + Ascanius, leaving her youths undrilled, and the city works abandoned. + </p> + <p> + Perceiving that Aeneas, well content, seemed to forget that his goal was + Hesperia, Mercury was dispatched by Jupiter to warn him to depart from + Carthage. + </p> + <p> + "Why stoppest thou here?" questioned the herald of the gods. "If thou + carest not for thyself, think of Ascanius, thine heir. His must be the + Italian realms, the Roman world." + </p> + <p> + The horror-stricken Aeneas stood senseless with fear. He longed to escape, + but how leave the unhappy Dido? Quickly calling his comrades, he commanded + them to fit out the fleet in silence, hoping to find a time when he could + break the news to Dido gently. + </p> + <p> + But who can deceive a lover? Rumor bore the report to Dido, who, mad with + grief, reproached Aeneas. "Perfidious one! didst thou think to escape from + me? Does not our love restrain thee, and the thought that I shall surely + die when thou art gone? I have sacrificed all to thee; now leave me not + lonely in my empty palace." + </p> + <p> + Aeneas remained untouched. He would ever retain the kindest memories of + his stay in Carthage. He had never held out the hope of wedlock to her. A + higher power called him, and, bidden by Jove, he must depart, for + Ascanius's sake, to Italy. + </p> + <p> + The fainting Dido was carried to her palace, whence she could watch the + hurried preparations for the departure. As she watched, life became + intolerable to her. Pretending to her sister that she was preparing to + perform a magic spell to release her from the bonds of love, she reared a + mighty pyre in her court, wreathed it with funereal garlands, and placed + thereon Aeneas's couch, garments, and sword. With her hair dishevelled, + she then invoked Hecate, and sprinkling Avernian water and poisons on it, + and casting thereon various love charms, she called the gods to witness + that she was determined to die. As the ships left the harbor, she tore her + hair, one moment accusing herself because she had not torn Aeneas to + pieces when in her power, at another vowing to follow him. Then, anxious + to forget her grief, she mounted, the pyre, and threw herself on the sword + of her faithless, lover. + </p> + <p> + Far out at sea, the Aeneans, looking back, dimly guessed the meaning of + the flames that brightened the stormy skies. + </p> + <p> + Contrary winds compelled Aeneas to seek harbor in Sicily. Its king, + Acestes, was his friend, and there he had buried his father Anchises. A + year had elapsed since his death, and in honor of the anniversary, Aeneas + instituted funeral games, in which there were trials of skill in rowing, + foot-racing, archery, and boxing. + </p> + <p> + While the spectators were applauding the feats of skill, the Trojan women, + at the instigation of Juno, set fire to the ships, that they might compel + Aeneas to remain in Sicily. By Jupiter's aid, some of the vessels were + saved, and Aeneas, acting on the advice of Nautes, allowed the women and + those Trojans who so desired, to remain in Sicily, and himself marked out + for them the foundations of their city. + </p> + <p> + While here Aeneas was urged by Anchises in a dream to visit the Cumaean + Sibyl, that, with her assistance, he might visit Elysium and talk with + him. + </p> + <p> + In the lofty temple, the Sibyl, inspired by the god, encouraged the hero. + "Success will at last be thine, and Juno will be won over to thee. But + great labors must thou undergo." + </p> + <p> + To visit the underworld was no easy task, she assured him. "The gates of + Dis stand open night and day; small trouble it is to descend thereto, but + to retrace one's steps, and regain the upper air, there lies the toil." + Aeneas must first possess a golden branch to present to Proserpina, and + celebrate the funeral rites of his friend, Misenus, who yet lay unburied. + </p> + <p> + While Aeneas worked in the forest, felling trees for Misenus's bier, the + doves of Venus descended and aided him to find the tree, from which he + plucked the gleaming branch. + </p> + <p> + Across the Styx, past the dread Cerberus, Aeneas and the Sibyl went, + through the abode of babes and those who died for deeds they did not do, + and into the mourning fields, where the disappointed in love were hedged + in with myrtle sprays. Here Aeneas descried Dido dimly through the clouds, + and wept to see her fresh wound. Many were his protestations of his + faithfulness, and strong his declaration that he left her only at the + command of the gods. But without raising her eyes, Dido turned coldly away + to where her former husband returned her love for love. Past the chamber + of torture, beyond Phlegethon, guarded by Tisiphone and Tartarus, in whose + depths the wicked were punished, they went, and entered the beautiful + fields of Elysium, where Aeneas found his father. + </p> + <p> + To his son, Anchises explained that the souls that visited the underworld + were punished according to their deserts, and then sent into Elysium. + Cleansed there of all impurities, and with the memories of the past washed + from them by Lethe, they again visited the world in another form. Pointing + out a crowd that passed them, he indicated to Aeneas the illustrious men + who would make his race famous in Italy. First his son Silvius, born of + Lavinia, his Italian wife to be; Numitor, Romulus, the founder of Rome, + Caesar, and greatest of all, Augustus Caesar, who would usher in the + golden age. + </p> + <p> + Comforted by the prophecies of Anchises, Aeneas sought the upper world, + and collecting his companions, set sail for the mouth of the Tiber. + </p> + <p> + Latinus the king welcomed Aeneas, and received his proposals for his + daughter Lavinia's hand with favor, remembering an ancient prophecy that + Lavinia was to wed a foreign prince. But queen Amata, aroused by Juno, + insisted that Lavinia should be espoused to Turnus, chief of the + Rutulians. Stung by the fury Alecto, she stirred up the people until they + demanded that Latinus declare war against Aeneas; and when he hesitated, + Juno herself threw open the gates of the temple of Janus. + </p> + <p> + Leaving part of his forces in Latium with Ascanius, Aeneas, instructed in + a dream by father Tiber, sailed up the river to Pallanteum, the future + site of Rome, to gain the alliance of Evander, an Arcadian king unfriendly + to Turnus. + </p> + <p> + Evander, who was celebrating a solemn feast to Hercules, together with his + only son Pallas, and his senate, welcomed the warriors to his modest home, + promised his alliance, and sent forth with Aeneas his son Pallas and four + hundred knights. He also advised him to go to Argylla, whose people were + stirred up against Turnus because he protected their tyrant king + Mezentius. + </p> + <p> + While Aeneas was thus seeking allies, his troops in Latium had been + attacked and besieged by Turnus, and were greatly in need of the hero's + aid. While the hosts of Turnus were sleeping after their drunken revelry, + Nisus proposed to his beloved Euryalus that they steal through the Latin + line with messages to Aeneas. Their proposal was applauded by the elders, + and Iulus, weeping, promised to cherish them forever for their courage. + </p> + <p> + As the youths passed among the sleeping Latins, the desire for slaughter + overcame them, and they slew Rhamnes, as he lay upon his gorgeous rugs, + Lamus, and many others, Euryalus taking Rhamnes's golden-studded belt and + Messapus's helmet as booty. Unfortunately they had delayed too long in + slaughter; as they neared the camp of Turnus, Volscens, returning with + reinforcements, caught sight of the shining helmet of Euryalus. The youth, + flying, became separated from Nisus, and was captured by the enemy. Nisus, + who returned to rescue his friend, sent weapon after weapon from his + retreat, and when he saw Euryalus about to suffer death from Volscens, + rushed forth to save him, only to fall dead upon the body of his + slaughtered friend. + </p> + <p> + Angry at the slaughter committed by Nisus and Euryalus, Turnus, on his + return, attempted to scale the intrenchments. The fight raged fiercely + around the walls and towers; but just as the victory seemed to be with + Turnus, Aeneas returned with his Tuscan allies, effected a landing, and + began to put the enemy to flight, slaying the tyrant Mezentius and his + son. + </p> + <p> + Turnus, hearing of the danger of his friend Lausus, at the hands of + Pallas, who had already wrought great slaughter, sought him out, amazing + the young warrior by his great size. Pallas faced him bravely; but while + his spear only grazed the shoulder of Turnus, the spear of the Rutulian + crushed the folds of iron, bronze, and hides, the corselet's rings of + steel, and buried itself in Pallas's breast. + </p> + <p> + Turnus took the sword-belt from Pallas's body; but because of the merit of + the young warrior, yielded his body to the Arcadians to be carried to King + Evander. + </p> + <p> + Enraged at the death of his friend, Aeneas fought more fiercely. + Especially anxious was he to meet Turnus; but Juno, determined, if + possible, to save her favorite, decoyed Turnus off the battle-field by + assuming the guise of Aeneas. + </p> + <p> + After a truce, during which the armies buried their dead, and the body of + Pallas was sent home to his father, the armies again came together, the + Latins being reinforced by the Amazons, under the leadership of Camilla. + Camilla had been reared by her father, the exile Metabus, and, early + trained to warlike pursuits, had consecrated herself to Diana. Beautiful + as a goddess was she, and so light of foot that she could fly over the + tops of the tallest wheat without harming the ears. + </p> + <p> + Within the walls of Latium there was quarrelling between the parties, + Drances, leader of the peace party, accusing Turnus of bringing on and + continuing the hostilities. The approach of Aeneas brought these disputes + to an abrupt conclusion, and Camilla, with Turnus, hastened to battle. + Many victims fell by Camilla's hand that day, as she rode about the field, + her breast bare, her hand clasping her double battle-axe, before Aruns + struck her down and fled, frightened at his victory. + </p> + <p> + In Latium the unhappiness increased, and Turnus, enraged at the reproaches + heaped upon him, declared that he would decide the war by single combat + with Aeneas. Latinus made no secret of his regret at having been compelled + to break his compact with Aeneas; but Amata, still furious, raged against + Aeneas, and declared that she would die if he were made her son-in-law. + </p> + <p> + The preparations were made for the single combat, the sacrifices at the + altars, the crowds assembled to witness the combat; but just as the kings + were solemnizing the agreement, Turnus's sister, Juturna, a river goddess, + beloved of Jupiter, renewed the hostilities that Turnus might be saved. A + weapon hurled from the Latin ranks caused the indignant Trojans to rise in + arms, forgetful of the treaty, and the fight raged more fiercely than + before. + </p> + <p> + Juturna, fearful from Juno's words of the fate of Turnus, assumed the + guise of Metiscus, his charioteer, and drove her brother over the field + far from the angry Aeneas, who, weary of waiting for Turnus, turned + towards Latium. The frightened people rushed hither and thither, and the + queen, seeing the approaching foe, the roofs in flames, and no troops of + Turnus in sight, supposed the Rutulian dead, and hanged herself. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, Turnus, remote from the fight, reproached his sister. + "Think'st thou not I recognized thee? Thy deceit is in vain. Is to die so + wretched a thing? Let us go to the battle. At least, I will die not + unworthy of my ancestry." + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, Saces, wounded and bleeding, rushed to him, imploring: + "Turnus, have pity on us; come to our rescue! The Latins call thee, the + queen is dead, the phalanxes crowd thick around the gates, while thou + drivest idly here." + </p> + <p> + Turnus, amazed, confused, and shamed, saw flames consuming the towers of + Latium. + </p> + <p> + "Now, sister, the fates control. Desist! It is too late, I will be shamed + no more!" Leaping from his chariot, he rushed forward, demanding that war + cease in order that he and Aeneas might decide the battle in single + combat. + </p> + <p> + When Turnus's sword broke on the helmet of Aeneas,—the sword of his + charioteer, that he had seized by mistake instead of his own Styx-hardened + blade,—he turned and fled, Aeneas pursuing. + </p> + <p> + Above, in Olympus, Jupiter and Juno quarrelled, as they watched the heroes + circling over the yellow sand. + </p> + <p> + "Give over thy enmity," said the omnipotent father. "Thou hast caused the + treaty to be violated; even now thou hast made Juturna return the lost + sword to Turnus—in vain. Grieve no more, and goad no longer these + suffering men of Troy." + </p> + <p> + Then Juno yielded, stipulating only that the Trojans lay aside their + ancient name, that Latium remain Latium, and the future growth Roman. + </p> + <p> + Juturna, warned by Jove's messenger, a bird of evil omen, tore her locks + and beat her breast, regretting the gift of immortality conferred on her + by Jove. Then wrapping her gray veil about her, she fled to her watery + throne that she might not see the death of her brother. The frightened + Turnus, still fleeing from Aeneas, abandoned his sword and took up instead + a mighty rock, a landmark such as scarce six men could uplift. + </p> + <p> + Hurling this at Aeneas, he stood, his blood running chill, his eyes cast + towards the Rutuli, the town, and the spear of Aeneas, that, shrieking + through the air, doom laden, wrecked his heavy shield and pierced his + thigh. + </p> + <p> + "Mercy!" he prayed. "Fate hath given thee the advantage. Think, thou + duteous son, of my old father, Daunus." + </p> + <p> + As Aeneas stood, softened, and ready to grant the request, the sword-belt + of Pallas caught his eye. + </p> + <p> + "Shalt thou escape, decked out with Pallas's spoils? No, not I slay thee, + but Pallas! His hand immolates thee!" As he spoke he plunged his sword in + Turnus's breast. + </p> + <p> + Chilly death came, and the warrior's spirit fled, groaning to the shades. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0038" id="link2H_4_0038"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTION FROM THE AENEID. + </h2> + <h3> + NISUS AND EURYALUS. + </h3> + <p> + While Aeneas, finding the Latins hostile to him, sailed up the Tiber in + search of allies, the troops he left behind under Ascanius were attacked + by Turnus, and their slight fortifications besieged. They were sorely + pressed, and longed to be able to inform Aeneas of their need. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Nisus was guardian of the gate, + No bolder heart in war's debate, + The son of Hyrtacus, whom Ide + Sent, with his quiver at his side, + From hunting beasts in mountain brake + To follow in Aeneas' wake: + With him Euryalus, fair boy; + None fairer donned the arms of Troy; + His tender cheek as yet unshorn + And blossoming with youth new-born. + Love made them one in every thought: + In battle side by side they fought; + And now in duty at the gate + The twain in common station wait. + "Can it be Heaven," said Nisus then, + "That lends such warmth to hearts of men, + Or passion surging past control + That plays the god to each one's soul? + Long time, impatient of repose, + My swelling heart within me glows, + And yearns its energy to fling + On war, or some yet grander thing. + See there the foe, with vain hope flushed! + Their lights are scant, their stations hushed: + Unnerved by slumber and by wine + Their bravest chiefs are stretched supine. + Now to my doubting thought give heed + And listen where its motions lead. + Our Trojan comrades, one and all, + Cry loud, Aeneas to recall, + And where, they say, the men to go + And let him of our peril know? + Now if the meed I ask they swear + To give you—nay, I claim no share, + Content with bare renown— + Meseems, beside yon grassy heap + The way I well might find and keep, + To Pallanteum's town." + The youth returns, while thirst of praise + Infects him with a strange amaze: + "Can Nisus aim at heights so great, + Nor take his friend to share his fate? + Shall I look on, and let you go + Alone to venture 'mid the foe? + Not thus my sire Opheltes, versed + In war's rude toil, my childhood nursed, + When Argive terror filled the air + And Troy was battling with despair: + Nor such the lot my youth has tried, + In hardship ever at your side, + Since, great Aeneas' liegeman sworn, + I followed Fortune to her bourne: + Here, here within this bosom burns + A soul that mere existence spurns, + And holds the fame you seek to reap, + Though bought with life, were bought full cheap." + + "Not mine the thought," brave Nisus said, + "To wound you with so base a dread: + So may great Jove, or whosoe'er + Marks with just eyes how mortals fare, + Protect me going, and restore + In triumph to your arms once more. + But if—for many a chance, you wis, + Besets an enterprise like this— + If accident or power divine + The scheme to adverse end incline, + Your life at least I would prolong: + Death does your years a deeper wrong. + Leave me a friend to tomb my clay, + Rescued or ransomed, which you may; + Or, e'en that boon should chance refuse, + To pay the absent funeral dues. + Nor let me cause so dire a smart + To that devoted mother's heart, + Who, sole of all the matron train, + Attends her darling o'er the main, + Nor cares like others to sit down + An inmate of Acestes' town." + He answers brief: "Your pleas are naught: + Firm stands the purpose of my thought: + Come, stir we: why so slow?" + Then calls the guards to take their place, + Moves on by Nisus, pace with pace, + And to the prince they go. + All other creatures wheresoe'er + Were stretched in sleep, forgetting care: + Troy's chosen chiefs in high debate + Were pondering o'er the reeling state, + What means to try, or whom to speed + To show Aeneas of their need. + There stand they, midway in the field, + Still hold the spear, still grasp the shield: + When Nisus and his comrade brave + With eager tones admittance crave; + The matter high; though time be lost, + The occasion well were worth the cost, + Iulus hails the impatient pair, + Bids Nisus what they wish declare. + Then spoke the youth: "Chiefs I lend your ears, + Nor judge our proffer by our years. + The Rutules, sunk in wine and sleep, + Have ceased their former watch to keep: + A stealthy passage have we spied + Where on the sea the gate opes wide: + The line of fires is scant and broke, + And thick and murky rolls the smoke. + Give leave to seek, in these dark hours, + Aeneas at Evander's towers, + Soon will you see us here again + Decked with the spoils of slaughtered men. + Nor strange the road: ourselves have seen + The city, hid by valleys green, + Just dimly dawning, and explored + In hunting all the river-board." + Out spoke Aletes, old and gray: + "Ye gods, who still are Ilium's stay, + No, no, ye mean not to destroy + Down to the ground the race of Troy, + When such the spirit of her youth, + And such the might of patriot truth." + Then, as the tears roll down his face, + He clasps them both in strict embrace: + "Brave warriors! what rewards so great, + For worth like yours to compensate? + From Heaven and from your own true heart + Expect the largest, fairest part: + The rest, and at no distant day, + The good Aeneas shall repay, + Nor he, the royal youth, forget + Through all his life the mighty debt." + "Nay, hear me too," Ascanius cried, + "Whose life is with my father's tied: + O Nisus! by the home-god powers + We jointly reverence, yours and ours, + The god of ancient Capys' line, + And Vesta's venerable shrine, + By these dread sanctions I appeal + To you, the masters of my weal; + Oh, bring me back my sire again! + Restore him, and I feel no pain. + Two massy goblets will I give; + Rich sculptures on the silver live; + The plunder of my sire, + What time he took Arisba's hold; + Two chargers, talents twain of gold, + A bowl beside of antique mould + By Dido brought from Tyre. + Then, too, if ours the lot to reign + O'er Italy by conquest ta'en, + And each man's spoil assign,— + Saw ye how Turnus rode yestreen, + His horse and arms of golden sheen? + That horse, that shield and glowing crest + I separate, Nisus, from the rest + And count already thine. + Twelve female slaves, at your desire, + Twelve captives with their arms entire, + My sire shall give you, and the plain + That forms Latinus' own domain. + But you, dear youth, of worth divine, + Whose blooming years are nearer mine, + Here to my heart I take, and choose + My comrade for whate'er ensues. + No glory will I e'er pursue, + Unmotived by the thought of you: + Let peace or war my state befall, + Thought, word, and deed, you share them all." + The youth replied: "No after day + This hour's fair promise shall betray, + Be fate but kind. Yet let me claim + One favor, more than all you name: + A mother in the camp is mine, + Derived from Priam's ancient line: + No home in Sicily or Troy + Has kept her from her darling boy. + She knows not, she, the paths I tread; + I leave her now, no farewell said; + By night and this your hand I swear, + A parent's tears I could not bear. + Vouchsafe your pity, and engage + To solace her unchilded age: + And I shall meet whate'er betide + By such assurance fortified." + With sympathy and tender grief + All melt in tears, Iulus chief, + As filial love in other shown + Recalled the semblance of his own: + And, "Tell your doubting heart," he cries, + "All blessings wait your high emprise: + I take your mother for my own, + Creusa, save in name alone, + Nor lightly deem the affection due + To her who bore a child like you. + Come what come may, I plight my troth + By this my head, my father's oath, + The bounty to yourself decreed + Should favoring gods your journey speed, + The same shall in your line endure, + To parent and to kin made sure." + He spoke, and weeping still, untied + A gilded falchion from his side, + Lycaon's work, the man of Crete, + With sheath of ivory complete: + Brave Mnestheus gives for Nisus' wear + A lion's hide with shaggy hair; + Aletes, old in danger grown, + His helmet takes, and gives his own. + Then to the gates, as forth they fare, + The band of chiefs with many a prayer + The gallant twain attends: + Iulus, manlier than his years, + Oft whispering, for his father's ears + Full many a message sends: + But be it message, be it prayer, + Alike 'tis lost, dispersed in air. + + The trenches past, through night's deep gloom + The hostile camp they near: + Yet many a foe shall meet his doom + Or ere that hour appear. + There see they bodies stretched supine, + O'ercome with slumber and with wine; + The cars, unhorsed, are drawn up high; + 'Twixt wheels and harness warriors lie, + With arms and goblets on the grass + In undistinguishable mass. + "Now," Nisus cried, "for hearts and hands: + This, this the hour our force demands. + Here pass we: yours the rear to mind, + Lest hostile arm be raised behind; + Myself will go before and slay, + While carnage opes a broad highway." + So whispers he with bated breath, + And straight begins the work of death + On Rhamnes, haughty lord; + On rugs he lay, in gorgeous heap, + From all his bosom breathing sleep, + A royal seer by Turnus loved: + But all too weak his seer-craft proved + To stay the rushing sword. + Three servants next the weapon found + Stretched 'mid their armor on the ground: + Then Remus' charioteer he spies + Beneath the coursers as he lies, + And lops his downdropt head; + The ill-starred master next he leaves, + A headless trunk, that gasps and heaves: + Forth spouts the blood from every vein, + And deluges with crimson rain, + Green earth and broidered bed. + Then Lamyrus and Lamus died, + Serranus, too, in youth's fair pride: + That night had seen him long at play: + Now by the dream-god tamed he lay: + Ah, had his play but matched the night, + Nor ended till the dawn of light! + So famished lion uncontrolled + Makes havoc through the teeming fold, + As frantic hunger craves; + Mangling and harrying far and near + The meek, mild victims, mute with fear, + With gory jaws he raves. + Nor less Euryalus performs: + The thirst of blood his bosom warms; + 'Mid nameless multitudes he storms, + Herbesus, Fadus, Abaris kills + Slumbering and witless of their ills, + While Rhoetus wakes and sees the whole, + But hides behind a massy bowl. + There, as to rise the trembler strove, + Deep in his breast the sword he drove, + And bathed in death withdrew. + The lips disgorge the life's red flood, + A mingled stream of wine and blood: + He plies his blade anew. + Now turns he to Messapus' band, + For there the fires he sees + Burnt out, while coursers hard at hand + Are browsing at their ease, + When Nisus marks the excess of zeal, + The maddening fever of the steel, + And checks him thus with brief appeal: + "Forbear we now; 't will soon be day: + Our wrath is slaked, and hewn our way." + Full many a spoil they leave behind + Of solid silver thrice refined, + Armor and bowls of costliest mould + And rugs in rich confusion rolled. + A belt Euryalus puts on + With golden knobs, from Rhamnes won, + Of old by Caedicus 't was sent, + An absent friendship to cement, + To Remulus, fair Tibur's lord, + Who, dying, to his grandson left + The shining prize: the Rutule sword + In after days the trophy reft. + Athwart his manly chest in vain + He binds these trappings of the slain; + Then 'neath his chin in triumph laced + Messapus' helm, with plumage graced, + The camp at length they leave behind, + And round the lake securely wind. + + Meanwhile a troop is on its way, + From Latium's city sped, + An offshoot from the host that lay + Along the host in close array, + Three hundred horsemen, sent to bring + A message back to Turnus, king, + With Volscens at their head. + Now to the camp they draw them nigh, + Beneath the rampart's height, + When from afar the twain they spy, + Still steering from the right; + The helmet through the glimmering shade + At once the unwary boy betrayed, + Seen in the moon's full light. + Not lost the sight on jealous eyes: + "Ho! stand! who are ye?" Volscens cries, + "Whence come, or whither tend?" + No movement deign they of reply, + But swifter to the forest fly, + And make the night their friend. + With fatal speed the mounted foes + Each avenue as with network close, + And every outlet bar. + It was a forest bristling grim + With shade of ilex, dense and dim: + Thick brushwood all the ground o'ergrew: + The tangled ways a path ran through, + Faint glimmering like a star. + The darkling boughs, the cumbering prey + Euryalus's flight delay: + His courage fails, his footsteps stray: + But Nisus onward flees; + No thought he takes, till now at last + The enemy is all o'erpast, + E'en at the grove, since Alban called, + Where then Latinus' herds were stalled: + Sudden he pauses, looks behind + In eager hope his friend to find: + In vain: no friend he sees. + "Euryalus, my chiefest care, + Where left I you, unhappy? where? + What clue may guide my erring tread + This leafy labyrinth back to thread?" + Then, noting each remembered track, + He thrids the wood, dim-seen and black. + Listening, he hears the horse-hoofs' beat, + The clatter of pursuing feet. + A little moment—shouts arise, + And lo! Euryalus he spies, + Whom now the foemen's gathered throng + Is hurrying helplessly along. + While vain resistance he essays, + Trapped by false night and treacherous ways. + What should he do? what force employ + To rescue the beloved boy? + Plunge through the spears that line the wood, + And death and glory win with blood? + Not unresolved, he poises soon + A javelin, looking to the Moon: + "Grant, goddess, grant thy present aid, + Queen of the stars, Latonian maid, + The greenwood's guardian power; + If, grateful for success of mine, + With gifts my sire has graced thy shrine, + If e'er myself have brought thee spoil, + The tribute of my hunter's toil, + To ornament thy roof divine, + Or glitter on thy tower, + These masses give me to confound, + And guide through air my random wound." + He spoke, and hurled with all his might; + The swift spear hurtles through the night: + Stout Sulmo's back the stroke receives: + The wood, though snapped, the midriff cleaves. + He falls, disgorging life's warm tide, + And long-drawn sobs distend his side. + All gaze around: another spear + The avenger levels from his ear, + And launches on the sky. + Tagus lies pierced through temples twain, + The dart deep buried in his brain. + Fierce Volscens storms, yet finds no foe, + Nor sees the hand that dealt the blow, + Nor knows on whom to fly. + "Your heart's warm blood for both shall pay," + He cries, and on his beauteous prey + With naked sword he sprang. + Scared, maddened, Nisus shrieks aloud: + No more he hides in night's dark shroud, + Nor bears the o'erwhelming pang: + "Me, guilty me, make me your aim, + O Rutules! mine is all the blame; + He did no wrong, nor e'er could do; + That sky, those stars attest 't is true; + Love for his friend too freely shown, + This was his crime, and this alone." + In vain he spoke: the sword, fierce driven, + That alabaster breast had riven. + Down falls Euryalus, and lies + In death's enthralling agonies: + Blood trickles o'er his limbs of snow; + "His head sinks gradually low": + Thus, severed by the ruthless plough, + Dim fades a purple flower: + Their weary necks so poppies bow, + O'erladen by the shower. + But Nisus on the midmost flies, + With Volscens, Volscens in his eyes: + In clouds the warriors round him rise, + Thick hailing blow on blow: + Yet on he bears, no stint, no stay, + Like thunderbolt his falchion's sway: + Till as for aid the Rutule shrieks + Plunged in his throat the weapon reeks: + The dying hand has reft away + The life-blood of its foe. + Then, pierced to death, asleep he fell + On the dead breast he loved so well. + + Blest pair! if aught my verse avail, + No day shall make your memory fail + From off the heart of time, + While Capitol abides in place, + The mansion of the Aeneian race, + And throned upon that moveless base + Rome's father sits sublime. + <i>Conington's Translation, Book IX</i>. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0039" id="link2H_4_0039"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BEOWULF. + </h2> + <p> + Beowulf, the only Anglo-Saxon epic preserved entire, was composed in + southwest Sweden probably before the eighth century, and taken to England, + where it was worked over and Christianized by the Northumbrian poets. + </p> + <p> + It is variously attributed to the fifth, seventh, and eighth centuries; + but the seventh is most probably correct, since the Higelac of the poem + has been identified with Chocilaicus of the "Gesta Regum Francorum," a + Danish king who invaded Gaul in the days of Theuderic, son of Clovis, and + died near the close of the sixth century. + </p> + <p> + The only manuscript of the poem in existence is thought to be of the tenth + century. It is preserved in the British Museum. Since 1837 much interest + has been manifested in the poem, and many editions of it have been given + to the public. + </p> + <p> + Beowulf contains three thousand one hundred and eighty-four lines. It is + written in alliterative verse. The lines are written in pairs, and each + perfect line contains three alliterating words,—two in the first + part, and one in the second. + </p> + <p> + The unknown writer of Beowulf cannot be praised for his skill in + composition; the verse is rude, as was the language in which it was + written. But it is of the greatest interest to us because of the pictures + it gives of the everyday lives of the people whose heroic deeds it + relates,—the drinking in the mead-halls, the relation of the king to + his warriors, the description of the armor, the ships, and the halls. The + heroes are true Anglo-Saxon types,—bold, fearless, ready to go to + the assistance of any one in trouble, no matter how great the risk to + themselves; and as ready to drink mead and boast of their valor after the + peril is over. In spite of the attempt to Christianize the poem, it is + purely pagan; the most careless reader can discover the priestly + interpolations. And it has the greater value to us because it refused to + be moulded by priestly hands, but remained the rude but heroic monument of + our Saxon ancestors. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL7" id="link2H_BIBL7"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, BEOWULF. + </h2> + <p> + B. Ten Brink's Early English Literature, Tr. by Kennedy; + </p> + <p> + S. A. Brooke's History of Early English Literature, 1892, p. 12; + </p> + <p> + W. F. Collier's History of English Literature, p. 19; + </p> + <p> + G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, pp. + 382-398; in 1880 ed. pp. 189-201; + </p> + <p> + Isaac Disraeli's Amenities of Literature, i. 65-73; + </p> + <p> + J. Earle's Anglo-Saxon Literature; + </p> + <p> + T. W. Hunt's Ethical Teaching in Beowulf (in his Ethical Teachings in Old + English Literature, 1892, pp. 66-77); + </p> + <p> + H. Morley's English Writers, 1887, pp. 276-354; + </p> + <p> + H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, 1886, i. 62; + </p> + <p> + S. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, iii. 326; in ed. 3, i. 456; + </p> + <p> + J. Harrison's Old Teutonic Life in Beowulf (in the Overland Monthly, July, + 1894); + </p> + <p> + F. A. March's The World of Beowulf (in Proceedings of American + Philological Association, 1882). + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0041" id="link2H_4_0041"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, BEOWULF. + </h2> + <p> + Beowulf, edition with English translation, notes and glossary by Thomas + Arnold, 1876; + </p> + <p> + The Deeds of Beowulf, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Garnett, 1882 (translated line for line); + </p> + <p> + Beowulf, Tr. by J. L. Hall, 1892, metrical translation; + </p> + <p> + Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Kemble, with copious glossary, preface, and + philological notes, 2 vols., 1833-37; + </p> + <p> + Beowulf translated into modern rhymes, by H. W. Lumsden, 1881; + </p> + <p> + Beowulf, Tr. by Benjamin Thorpe, Literal translation, notes and glossary, + 1875. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0042" id="link2H_4_0042"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF BEOWULF. + </h2> + <p> + A mighty man was Scyld, ruler of the Gar-Danes. From far across the + whale-path men paid him tribute and bore witness to his power. Beowulf was + his son, a youth endowed with glory, whose fame spread far and wide + through all the Danish land. + </p> + <p> + When the time came for Scyld to die he ordered his thanes to prepare the + ring-stemmed ship, laden with treasures, battle-weed, and swords, and + place him in the death-chamber. Laden with his people's gifts, and sailing + under a golden banner, he passed from sight, none knew whither. + </p> + <p> + After him ruled Beowulf, and after him Healfdene,—brave warriors and + kind monarchs. When, after Healfdene's death, his son Hrothgar succeeded + him, his fame in war inclined all his kinsmen towards him, and he, too, + became a mighty monarch. + </p> + <p> + To the mind of Hrothgar it came to build a lordly mead-hall where he and + his men could find pleasure in feasting, drinking mead, and hearing the + songs of the minstrels. Heorot it was called, and when its high spires + rose glistening in the air, all hailed it with delight. + </p> + <p> + But, alas! The joy in hall, the melody of the harp, and the shouts of the + warriors penetrated to the dismal fen where lay concealed the monster + Grendel, descendant of sin-cursed Cain. At night came Grendel to the hall, + found sleeping the troop of warriors, and bore away in his foul hands + thirty of the honored thanes. Great was the sorrow in Heorot when in the + morning twilight the deed of Grendel became known. + </p> + <p> + For twelve long winters did this sorrow continue; for so long a time was + Hrothgar plunged in grief; for so many years did this beautiful mead-hall, + destined for joyful things, stand idle. + </p> + <p> + While thus the grief-stricken lord of the Scyldings brooded over his + wrongs, and the people besought their idols vainly for aid, the tidings of + Grendel's ravages were conveyed to the court of the Gothic king, Higelac, + and thus reached the ears of a highborn thane, Beowulf. A strong man was + he, his grasp equal to that of thirty men. + </p> + <p> + Straightway commanded he a goodly ship to be made ready, chose fifteen of + his bravest Goths, and swiftly they sailed over the swan-path to the great + headlands and bright sea-cliffs of the Scyldings. + </p> + <p> + High on the promontory stood the guard of Hrothgar. "What men be ye who + hither come?" cried he. "Not foes, surely. Ye know no pass word, yet + surely ye come on no evil errand. Ne'er saw I a greater lord than he who + leads the band. Who are ye?" + </p> + <p> + "Higelac's man am I," answered the leader. "Ecgtheow, my sire; my name, + Beowulf. Lead me, I pray thee, to thy lord, for I have come over seas to + free him forever from his secret foe, and to lift the cloud that hangs + over the stately mead-hall." + </p> + <p> + Over the stone-paved streets the warder led the warriors, their armor + clanking, their boar-tipped helmets sparkling, to the goodly hall, Heorot. + There were they warmly welcomed, for Hrothgar had known Beowulf's sire; + the fame of the young man's strength had also reached him, and he trusted + that in his strong grasp Grendel should die. + </p> + <p> + All took their seats on the mead-benches, and a thane passed from warrior + to warrior, bearing the chased wine-cup. Sweet was the minstrel's song, + and the warriors were happy in Heorot. + </p> + <p> + But Hunferd sat at the banquet, and envious of Beowulf's fame, taunted him + with his swimming match with Breca. "Seven days and nights thou didst swim + with Breca; but he was stronger, and he won. Worse will befall thee, if + thou dar'st this night await Grendel!" + </p> + <p> + "Easy it is to brag of Breca's deeds when drunk with beer, friend + Hunferd!" replied Beowulf. "Seven days and nights I swam through the + sea-water, slaying the monsters of the deep. Rough was the wave, terrible + were the water beasts; but I reached the Finnish land. Wert thou as brave + as thou claim'st to be, Grendel would ne'er have wrought such havoc in thy + monarch's land." + </p> + <p> + Decked with gold, Queen Waltheow passed through the hall, greeted the + warriors, and proffered the mead-cup to Beowulf, thanking God that she had + found an earl who would deliver them from their enemy. + </p> + <p> + When dusky night fell over Heorot, the king uprose. "To no other man have + I ever entrusted this hall of gold. Have now and keep it! Great reward + shall be thine if thou come forth alive!" + </p> + <p> + The knights left in the lordly hall composed themselves for slumber, all + save Beowulf, who, unarmed, awaited the coming of Grendel. + </p> + <p> + He came, with wrathful step and eyes aflame, bursting open the iron bolts + of the great door, and laughing at the goodly array of men sleeping before + him. On one he laid hands and drank his blood; then he clutched the + watchful Beowulf. + </p> + <p> + Ne'er had he found a foe like this! Fearful, he turned to flee to his home + in the fen, but the grip of Beowulf forbade flight. Strongly was Heorot + builded, but many a gilded mead-bench was torn from the walls as the two + combated within the hall. The sword blade was of no avail, and him must + Beowulf bring to death by the strength of his grip alone. At last, with a + scream that struck terror to every Dane's heart, the monster sprang from + Beowulf and fled, leaving in the warrior's grasp his arm and shoulder. + Great was Beowulf's joy, for he knew that the wound meant death. + </p> + <p> + When the king and queen came forth in the morning with their nobles and + maids, and saw the grisly arm of Grendel fastened upon the roof of Heorot, + they gave themselves up to rejoicing. Gifts were heaped upon Beowulf,—a + golden crest, a banner bright, a great and goodly sword and helm and + corselet, eight steeds with headstalls ornamented with gold plate, and a + richly decorated saddle. Nor were his comrades forgotten, but to each were + given rich gifts. + </p> + <p> + When the mead-hall had been cleansed and refitted, they gathered therein + and listened to the song of the bard who told how Healfdene's knight, + Hnćf, smote Finn. The song over, the queen, crowned with gold, gave gifts + to Beowulf, the liberator from the horrors of Grendel,—two armlets, + a necklace, raiment, and rings. When the drinking and feasting were over, + the king and Beowulf withdrew, leaving many earls to keep the hall. Little + guessed they that one of them was that night doomed to die! + </p> + <p> + The haunt of Grendel was a mile-wide mere. Around it were wolf-haunted + cliffs, windy promontories, mist-covered mountains. Close around the mere + hung the woods, shrouding the water, which, horrible sight, was each night + covered with fire. It was a place accursed; near it no man might dwell; + the deer that plunged therein straightway died. + </p> + <p> + In a palace under the mere dwelt Grendel and his mother; she, a foul + sprite, whom the peasants had sometimes seen walking with her son over the + meadows. From her dwelling-place she now came forth to avenge the death of + her son, and snatched away from the group of sleeping Ring-Danes the good + Ćschere, dearest of all his thanes to Hrothgar. + </p> + <p> + Loud was Hrothgar's wailing when at morning Beowulf came forth from his + bower. + </p> + <p> + "Sorrow not, O wise man," spake Beowulf. "I fear not. I will seek out this + monster and destroy her. If I come not back it will at least be better + than to have lost my glory. She can never hide from me. I ween that I will + this day rid thee of thine enemy." + </p> + <p> + Accompanied by Hrothgar, some of the Ring-Danes and his Goths, Beowulf + sought the dismal mere, on whose brink they found the head of Ćschere. + Among the bloody waves swam horrible shapes, Nicors and sea-drakes, that + fled at a blast of the war-horn. Beowulf slew one of the monsters, and + while his companions were marvelling at the grisly form, he prepared + himself for the combat. His breast was guarded by a coat of mail woven + most cunningly; upon his head shone the gold-adorned helmet, and in his + hand was Hunferd's sword, Hrunting, made of iron steeped in twigs of + bitter poison, annealed in battle blood, and fearful to every foe. + </p> + <p> + "Hearken unto me, O Hrothgar," cried the hero. "If I return not, treat + well my comrades and send my gifts to Higelac, that he may see the deed I + have accomplished, and the generous ring-lord I have gained among the + Scyldings." And without waiting for a reply, he leaped into the waves and + was lost to sight. + </p> + <p> + There was the monster waiting for him; and catching him in her grip, which + bruised him not because of his strong mail-coat, she dragged him to her + cave, in whose lighted hall he could see the horrible features of the + woman of the mere. Strong was Hrunting, but of no avail was its mighty + blade against her. Soon he threw it down, and gripped her, reckless of + peril. Once he threw her on the ground, but the second time she threw him, + and drew her glaive to pierce his breast. Strong was the linked mail, and + Beowulf was safe. Then his quick eye lighted on a sword,—a magic, + giant sword; few men could wield it. Quickly he grasped it, and smote the + neck of the sea-woman. Broken were the bone-rings, and down she fell dead. + Then Ecgtheow's son looked around the hall and saw the body of the dead + Grendel. Thirsting to take his revenge, he smote him with his sword. Off + flew the head; but when the red drops of blood touched the magic blade it + melted, leaving but the massive golden hilt in the hands of the hero. + Beowulf took no treasure from the cave, but rose through the waves, + carrying only the head of the monster and the hilt of the sword. + </p> + <p> + When Hrothgar and his men saw the mere red and boiling with blood they + deemed that Beowulf was dead, and departed to their citadel. Sorrowful sat + the comrades of Beowulf, waiting and hoping against hope for his + reappearance. Up sprang they when they saw him, joyfully greeted him, + relieved him of his bloody armor, and conducted him to Hrothgar, bearing—a + heavy task—the head of Grendel. + </p> + <p> + When Hrothgar saw the hideous head and the mighty sword-hilt, whose + history he read from its Runic inscriptions, he hailed Beowulf with joy, + and proclaimed him the mightiest of men. "But ever temper thy might with + wisdom," advised the king, "that thou suffer not the end of Heremod, or be + punished as I have been, in this my spacious mead-hall." + </p> + <p> + After a night's rest, Beowulf prepared to return to his country. Returning + Hrunting to Hunferd, he praised the sword, saying nothing of its failure + in the fight. Then to Hrothgar: "Farewell. If e'er thou art harried by + foes, but let me know,—a thousand fighting men I'll bring. Higelac, + well I know, will urge me on to honor thee. If e'er thy son seeks Gothic + halls, I will intercede and win friends for him." + </p> + <p> + The old king, weeping, bade Beowulf farewell. "Peace be forever between + the Goths and the Gar-Danes; in common their treasures! May gifts be + interchanged between them!" + </p> + <p> + The bark was filled with the gifts heaped upon Beowulf and his men; and + the warder, who had hailed them so proudly at their coming, now bade them + an affectionate farewell. Over the swan-path sailed they, and soon reached + the Gothic coast, and landed their treasures. + </p> + <p> + Then went Beowulf before Higelac and told him of his adventures. Higelac + was a mighty king; lofty his house and hall, and fair and gentle was his + wife, Hygd. To him, after he had related his adventures, Beowulf presented + the boar-head crest, the battle-mail and sword, four of the steeds, and + much treasure, and upon the wise and modest Hygd bestowed he the wondrous + necklace given him by Waltheow. So should a good thane ever do! + </p> + <p> + There had been a time when Beowulf was accounted a sluggish knight, but + now the land rang with his glory. + </p> + <p> + When Higelac died and Hardred was slain, Beowulf succeeded to the throne, + and for fifty years ruled the people gloriously. + </p> + <p> + At this time a great fire-drake cherished a vast hoard in a cave on a high + cliff, difficult of access, and known to few men. Thither one day fled a + thrall from his master's wrath, and saw the hoard buried by some weary + warrior, and now guarded by the dragon. While the drake slept, the thrall + crept in and stole a cup as a peace-offering to his master. + </p> + <p> + When the drake awoke, he scented the foot-prints of the foe, and + discovered his loss. When even was come, he hastened to wreak his revenge + on the people, spewing out flames of fire, and laying waste the land. + </p> + <p> + Far and near were the lands of the Goths devastated, and ere long, tidings + were borne to Beowulf that his great hall, his gift seat, was destroyed by + fire. Saddened, and fearing that he had in some way angered God, he turned + his mind to vengeance, and girded on his armor. A stout shield of iron he + took, knowing that the dragon's fiery breath would melt the wood, and with + foreboding of his fate, bade farewell to his hearth-mates. "Many times + have I battled, great deeds have I done with sword and with hand-grip; now + must I go forth and battle with hand and sword against the hoard-keeper." + </p> + <p> + Commanding the men who had accompanied him to remain upon the hillside, + leaving him to combat with the dragon alone, Beowulf went proudly forward, + shouting his battle-cry. Out rushed the dragon, full of deadly hate. His + fiery breath was stronger than the king had deemed it. Stroke upon stroke + he gave his enemy, who continued to cast forth his death-fire, so that + Beowulf stood girt with flames. + </p> + <p> + From afar, among the watching thanes, Wiglaf saw his monarch's peril. + "Comrades," he cried, "do you remember our promises to our king? Was it + for this he stirred us up to glorious deeds? Was it for this he heaped + gifts upon us? Let us go to his rescue. It is not right that we should see + our lord fall, and bear away our shields untouched!" + </p> + <p> + Rushing forward, he cried, "Beowulf, here am I! Now strike for thy life! + Thou hast said that thou never wouldst let thy fame depart from thee!" + </p> + <p> + Again the dragon came forth; again it enveloped its foeman in flames. The + linden shield of Wiglaf burned in his hands, and he sought shelter behind + Beowulf's shield of iron. Again and again Wiglaf smote the monster, and + when the flames burnt low, Beowulf seized his dirk and pierced the dragon + so that he fell dead. + </p> + <p> + The dragon lay dead, but Beowulf felt the poison in his wounds and knew + that he had not long to live. He commanded Wiglaf to bring forth the + treasure that he might gaze upon the hoard,—jewel work and twisted + gold,—that he had wrested from the fire-drake. + </p> + <p> + The den was filled with rings of gold, cups, banners, jewels, dishes, and + the arms of the old owner of the treasure. All these did Wiglaf bear forth + to his lord, who surveyed them, and uttered thanks to his Maker, that he + could win such a treasure. Then, turning to Wiglaf, he said, "Now I die. + Build for me upon the lofty shore a bright mound that shall ever remind my + people of me. Far in the distance their ships shall descry it, and they + shall call it Beowulf's mound." Then, giving his arms to Wiglaf, he bade + him enjoy them. "Thou art the last of our race. All save us, fate-driven, + are gone to doom. Thither go I too." + </p> + <p> + Bitterly did Wiglaf denounce his comrades when he saw them steal from + their hiding-places. "Well may it be said of you that he who gave you your + arms threw them away. No thanks deserve ye for the slaughter of the + dragon! I did my little, but it was not in my power to save my kinsman. + Too few helpers stood about him! Now shall your kin be wanting in gifts. + Void are ye of land-rights! Better is it for an earl to die than to live + with a blasted name!" + </p> + <p> + Sorrowful were the people when they heard of the death of Beowulf. Full + well they knew with what joy the tidings would be hailed by their enemies, + who would hasten to harry the land, now that their great leader was gone. + The Frisians, the Merovingians, the Franks, the Swedes,—all had + their grievances, which they would hasten to wreak on the Goths when they + learned that the dreaded king was gone. Dreary would be the land of the + Goths; on its battle-fields the wolves would batten; the ravens would call + to the eagles as they feasted on the slain. + </p> + <p> + Straight to the Eagle's Nest went the band, and found their dead monarch; + there, too, lay the loathsome fire-drake, full fifty feet long, and + between them the great hoard, rust-eaten from long dwelling in the earth. + Ever had that hoard brought ill with it. + </p> + <p> + Down from the cliff they thrust the dragon into the deep, and carried + their chief to Hronesness. There they built a lofty pile, decked it with + his armor, and burned thereon the body of their glorious ruler. According + to his wish, they reared on the cliff a broad, high barrow, surrounded it + with a wall, and laid within it the treasure. There yet it lies, of little + worth to men! + </p> + <p> + Then around the barrow rode twelve of the bravest, boldest nobles, + mourning their king, singing his praises, chanting a dirge, telling of his + glorious deeds, while over the broad land the Gothic folk lamented the + death of their tender prince, their noble king, Beowulf. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0043" id="link2H_4_0043"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTION FROM BEOWULF. + </h2> + <h3> + GRENDEL'S MOTHER. + </h3> + <p> + There was great rejoicing in Heorot when Beowulf slew Grendel, and at + night the earls again slept in the hall as they had not dared to do since + the coming of the fiend. But Grendel's mother came to avenge her son's + death and slew Ćschere, a favorite liegeman of Hrothgar's. In the morning, + Beowulf, who had slept in another part of the palace, was sent for and + greeted Hrothgar, unaware of his loss. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Hrothgar rejoined, helm of the Scyldings: + "Ask not of joyance! Grief is renewed to + The folk of the Danemen. Dead is Ćschere, + Yrmenlaf's brother, older than he, + My true-hearted counsellor, trusty adviser, + Shoulder-companion, when fighting in battle + Our heads we protected, when troopers were clashing, + And heroes were dashing; such an earl should be ever, + An erst-worthy atheling, as Ćschere proved him. + The flickering death-spirit became in Heorot + His hand-to-hand murderer; I cannot tell whither + The cruel one turned, in the carcass exulting, + By cramming discovered. The quarrel she wreaked then, + The last night igone Grendel thou killedst + In grewsomest manner, with grim-holding clutches, + Since too long he had lessened my liege-troop and wasted + My folk-men so foully. He fell in the battle + With forfeit of life, and another has followed, + A mighty crime-worker, her kinsman avenging, + And henceforth hath 'stablished her hatred unyielding, + As it well may appear to many a liegeman, + Who mourneth in spirit the treasure-bestower, + Her heavy heart-sorrow; the hand is now lifeless + Which availed yon in every wish that you cherished. + Land-people heard I, liegemen, this saying, + Dwellers in halls, they had seen very often + A pair of such mighty march-striding creatures, + Far-dwelling spirits, holding the moorlands: + One of them wore, as well they might notice, + The image of woman, the other one wretched + In guise of a man wandered in exile, + Except that he was huger than any of earthmen; + Earth-dwelling people entitled him Grendel + In days of yore; they knew not their father, + Whe'r ill-going spirits any were borne him + Ever before. They guard the wolf-coverts, + Lands inaccessible, wind-beaten nesses, + Fearfullest fen-deeps, where a flood from the mountains + 'Neath mists of the nesses netherward rattles, + The stream under earth: not far is it henceward + Measured by mile-lengths that the mere-water standeth, + Which forests hang over, with frost-whiting covered, + A firm-rooted forest, the floods overshadow. + There ever at night one an ill-meaning portent + A fire-flood may see; 'mong children of men + None liveth so wise that wot of the bottom; + Though harassed by hounds the heath-stepper seek for, + Fly to the forest, firm-antlered he-deer, + Spurred from afar, his spirit he yieldeth, + His life on the shore, ere in he will venture + To cover his head. Uncanny the place is: + Thence upward ascendeth the surging of waters, + Wan to the welkin, when the wind is stirring + The weathers unpleasing, till the air groweth gloomy, + And the heavens lower. Now is help to be gotten + From thee and thee only! The abode thou know'st not, + The dangerous place where thou'rt able to meet with + The sin-laden hero: seek if thou darest! + For the feud I will fully fee thee with money, + With old-time treasure, as erstwhile I did thee, + With well-twisted jewels, if away thou shalt get thee." + + Beowulf answered, Ecgtheow's son: + "Grieve not, O wise one! for each it is better, + His friend to avenge than with vehemence wail him; + Each of us must the end-day abide of + His earthly existence; who is able accomplish + Glory ere death! To battle-thane noble + Lifeless lying, 't is at last most fitting. + Arise, O king, quick let us hasten + To look at the footprint of the kinsman of Grendel! + I promise thee this now: to his place he'll escape not, + To embrace of the earth, nor to mountainous forest, + Nor to depths of the ocean, wherever he wanders. + Practice thou now patient endurance + Of each of thy sorrows, as I hope for thee soothly!" + Then up sprang the old one, the All-Wielder thanked he, + Ruler Almighty, that the man had outspoken. + Then for Hrothgar a war-horse was decked with a bridle, + Curly-maned courser. The clever folk-leader + Stately proceeded: stepped then an earl-troop + Of linden-wood bearers. Her foot-prints were seen then + Widely in wood-paths, her way o'er the bottoms, + Where she far-away fared o'er fen-country murky, + Bore away breathless the best of retainers + Who pondered with Hrothgar the welfare of country. + The son of the athelings then went o'er the stony, + Declivitous cliffs, the close-covered passes, + Narrow passages, paths unfrequented, + Nesses abrupt, nicker-haunts many; + One of a few of wise-mooded heroes, + He onward advanced to view the surroundings, + Till he found unawares woods of the mountain + O'er hoar-stones hanging, holt-wood unjoyful; + The water stood under, welling and gory. + 'T was irksome in spirit to all of the Danemen, + Friends of the Scyldings, to many a liegeman + Sad to be suffered, a sorrow unlittle + To each of the earlmen, when to Ćschere's head they + Came on the cliff. The current was seething + With blood and with gore (the troopers gazed on it). + The horn anon sang the battle-song ready. + The troop were all seated; they saw 'long the water then + Many a serpent, mere-dragons wondrous + Trying the waters, nickers a-lying + On the cliffs of the nesses, which at noonday full often + Go on the sea-deeps their sorrowful journey, + Wild-beasts and worm-kind; away then they hastened + Hot-mooded, hateful, they heard the great clamor, + The war-trumpet winding. One did the Geat-prince + Sunder from earth-joys, with arrow from bowstring, + From his sea-struggle tore him, that the trusty war-missile + Pierced to his vitals; he proved in the currents + Less doughty at swimming whom death had off-carried. + Soon in the waters the wonderful swimmer + Was straitened most sorely and pulled to the cliff-edge; + The liegemen then looked on the loath-fashioned stranger. + Beowulf donned then his battle-equipments, + Cared little for life; inlaid and most ample, + The hand-woven corselet which could cover his body, + Must the wave-deeps explore, that war might be powerless + To harm the great hero, and the hating one's grasp might + Not peril his safety; his head was protected + By the light-flashing helmet that should mix with the bottoms, + Trying the eddies, treasure-emblazoned, + Encircled with jewels, as in seasons long past + The weapon-smith worked it, wondrously made it, + With swine-bodies fashioned it, that thenceforward no longer + Brand might bite it, and battle-sword hurt it. + And that was not least of helpers in prowess + That Hrothgar's spokesman had lent him when straitened; + And the hilted hand-sword was Hrunting entitled, + Old and most excellent 'mong all of the treasures; + Its blade was of iron, blotted with poison, + Hardened with gore; it failed not in battle + Any hero under heaven in hand who it brandished, + Who ventured to take the terrible journeys, + The battle-field sought; not the earliest occasion + That deeds of daring 't was destined to 'complish. + Ecglaf's kinsman minded not soothly, + Exulting in strength, what erst he had spoken + Drunken with wine, when the weapon he lent to + A sword-hero bolder; himself did not venture + 'Neath the strife of the currents his life to endanger, + To fame-deeds perform; there he forfeited glory, + Repute for his strength. Not so with the other + When he, clad in his corselet, had equipped him for battle. + + Beowulf spoke, Ecgtheow's son: + "Recall now, oh, famous kinsman of Healfdene, + Prince very prudent, now to part I am ready, + Gold-friend of earl-men, what erst we agreed on, + Should I lay down my life in lending thee assistance, + When my earth-joys were over, thou wouldst evermore serve me + In stead of a father; my faithful thanemen, + My trusty retainers, protect thou and care for, + Fall I in battle: and, Hrothgar belovčd, + Send unto Higelac the high-valued jewels + Thou to me hast allotted. The lord of the Geatmen + May perceive from the gold, the Hrethling may see it + When he looks on the jewels, that a gem-giver found I + Good over-measure, enjoyed him while able. + And the ancient heirloom Unferth permit thou, + The famed one to have, the heavy-sword splendid, + The hard-edged weapon; with Hrunting to aid me, + I shall gain me glory, or grim death shall take me." + The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and + Heroic did hasten, not any rejoinder + Was willing to wait for; the wave-current swallowed + The doughty-in-battle. Then a day's-length elapsed ere + He was able to see the sea at its bottom. + Early she found then who fifty of winters + The course of the currents kept in her fury, + Grisly and greedy, that the grim one's dominion + Some one of men from above was exploring. + Forth did she grab them, grappled the warrior + With horrible clutches; yet no sooner she injured + His body unscathed: the burnie out-guarded, + That she proved but powerless to pierce through the armor, + The limb-mail locked, with loath-grabbing fingers. + The sea-wolf bare then, when bottomward came she, + The ring-prince homeward, that he after was powerless. + (He had daring to do it) to deal with his weapons, + But many a mere-beast tormented him swimming, + Flood-beasts no few with fierce-biting tusks did + Break through his burnie, the brave one pursued they. + The earl then discovered he was down in some cavern + Where no water whatever anywise harmed him, + And the clutch of the current could not come anear him, + Since the roofed-hall prevented; brightness a-gleaming + Fire-light he saw, flashing, resplendent. + The good one saw then the sea-bottom's monster, + The mighty mere-woman; he made a great onset + With weapon-of-battle, his hand not desisted + From striking, that war-blade struck on her head then + A battle-song greedy. The stranger perceived then + The sword would not bite, her life would not injure, + But the falchion failed the folk prince when straitened: + Erst had it often onsets encountered, + Oft cloven the helmet, the fated one's armor: + 'T was the first time that ever the excellent jewel + Had failed of its fame. Firm-mooded after, + Not heedless of valor, but mindful of glory, + Was Higelac's kinsman; the hero-chief angry + Cast then his carved-sword covered with jewels + That it lay on earth, hard and steel-pointed; + He hoped in his strength, his hand-grapple sturdy. + So any must act whenever he thinketh + To gain him in battle glory unending, + And is reckless of living. The lord of the War-Geats + (He shrank not from battle) seized by the shoulder + The mother of Grendel; then mighty in struggle + Swung he his enemy, since his anger was kindled, + That she fell to the floor. With furious grapple + She gave him requital early thereafter, + And stretched out to grab him; the strongest of warriors + Faint-mooded stumbled, till he fell in his traces, + Foot-going champion. Then she sat on the hall-guest + And wielded her war-knife wide-bladed, flashing, + For her son would take vengeance, her one only bairn. + His breast-armor woven bode on his shoulder; + It guarded his life, the entrance defended + 'Gainst sword-point and edges. Ecgtheow's son there + Had fatally journeyed, champion of Geatmen, + In the arms of the ocean, had the armor not given, + Close-woven corselet, comfort and succor, + And had God most holy not awarded the victory, + All-knowing Lord; easily did heaven's + Ruler most righteous arrange it with justice; + Uprose he erect ready for battle. + + Then he saw 'mid the war-gems a weapon of victory, + An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty, + Glory of warriors: of weapons 't was choicest, + Only 't was larger than any man else was + Able to bear in the battle-encounter, + The good and splendid work of the giants. + He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of the Scyldings, + Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword, + Hopeless of living, hotly he smote her, + That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled, + Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her + Fate-cursčd body, she fell to the ground then: + The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted. + The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered, + Just as from heaven gemlike shineth + The torch of the firmament. He glanced 'long the building, + And turned by the wall then, Higelac's vassal + Raging and wrathful raised his battle-sword + Strong by the handle. The edge was not useless + To the hero-in-battle, but he speedily wished to + Give Grendel requital for the many assaults he + Had worked on the West-Danes not once, but often, + When he slew in slumber the subjects of Hrothgar, + Swallowed down fifteen sleeping retainers + Of the folk of the Danemen, and fully as many + Carried away, a horrible prey. + He gave him requital, grim-raging champion, + When he saw on his rest-place weary of conflict + Grendel lying, of life-joys bereavčd, + As the battle at Heorot erstwhile had scathed him; + His body far bounded, a blow when he suffered, + Death having seized him, sword-smiting heavy, + And he cut off his head then. Early this noticed + The clever carles who as comrades of Hrothgar + Gazed on the sea-deeps, that the surging wave-currents + Were mightily mingled, the mere-flood was gory: + Of the good one the gray-haired together held converse, + The hoary of head, that they hoped not to see again + The atheling ever, that exulting in victory + He'd return there to visit the distinguished folk-ruler: + Then many concluded the mere-wolf had killed him. + The ninth hour came then. From the ness-edge departed + The bold-mooded Scyldings; the gold-friend of heroes + Homeward betook him. The strangers sat down then + Soul-sick, sorrowful, the sea-waves regarding: + They wished and yet weened not their well-loved friend-lord + To see any more. The sword-blade began then, + The blood having touched it, contracting and shrivelling + With battle-icicles; 't was a wonderful marvel + That it melted entirely, likest to ice when + The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and + Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion + Of time and of tides: a truth-firm Creator. + Nor took he of jewels more in the dwelling, + Lord of the Weders, though they lay all around him, + Than the head and the handle handsome with jewels; + The brand early melted, burnt was the weapon: + So hot was the blood, the strange-spirit poisonous + That in it did perish. He early swam off then + Who had bided in combat the carnage of haters, + Went up through the ocean; the eddies were cleansed, + The spacious expanses, when the spirit from farland + His life put aside and this short-lived existence. + The seamen's defender came swimming to land then + Doughty of spirit, rejoiced in his sea-gift, + The bulky burden which he bore in his keeping. + The excellent vassals advanced then to meet him, + To God they were grateful, were glad in their chieftain, + That to see him safe and sound was granted them. + From the high-minded hero, then, helmet and burnie + Were speedily loosened: the ocean was putrid, + The water 'neath welkin weltered with gore. + Forth did they fare, then, their footsteps retracing, + Merry and mirthful, measured the earth-way, + To highway familiar: men very daring + Bare then the head from the sea-cliff, burdening + Each of the earlmen, excellent-valiant. + Four of them had to carry with labor + The head of Grendel to the high towering gold-hall + Upstuck on the spear, till fourteen most-valiant + And battle-brave Geatmen came there going + Straight to the palace: the prince of the people + Measured the mead-ways, their mood-brave companion, + The atheling of earlmen entered the building, + Deed-valiant man, adorned with distinction, + Doughty shield-warrior, to address King Hrothgar: + Then hung by the hair, the head of Grendel + Was borne to the building, where beer-thanes were drinking, + Loth before earlmen and eke 'fore the lady: + The warriors beheld then a wonderful sight. + <i>J. L. Hall's Translation, Parts XXI.-XXIV.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0044" id="link2H_4_0044"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + </h2> + <p> + The Nibelungen Lied, or Song of the Nibelungen, was written about the + beginning of the thirteenth century, though the events it chronicles + belong to the sixth or seventh century. The manuscript poem was discovered + about the middle of the eighteenth century. + </p> + <p> + Lachmann asserts that the Nibelungen Lied consists of twenty songs of + various dates and authorship; other scholars, while agreeing that it is + the work of a single author, ascribe it variously to Conrad von + Kurenburger, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, and Walther + von der Vogelweide. + </p> + <p> + Whoever was its author, he was only a compiler of legends that were the + property of the people for centuries, and are found in many other of the + popular German epics of the Middle Ages. + </p> + <p> + The poem consists of thirty-nine adventures, containing two thousand four + hundred and fifty-nine stanzas of four lines each. The action covers + thirty years. It is based on material obtained from four sources: (1) The + Frankish saga-cycle, whose hero is Siegfried; (2) the saga-cycle of + Burgundy, whose heroes are Günther, king of Worms, and his two brothers; + (3) the Ostrogothic saga-cycle, whose hero is Dietrich of Bern; and (4) + the saga-cycle of Etzel, king of the Huns, with his allies and vassals. + </p> + <p> + Dietrich of Bern is supposed to be Theodoric of Italy, in exile at the + Hunnish court. Etzel is Attila the Hun, and Günther, Gunducarius, king of + the Burgundians, who was destroyed by the Huns with his followers in the + year 436. + </p> + <p> + The Nibelungen Lied very much resembles the Iliad, not only in the + uncertainty of its origin and the impersonality of its author, but also in + its objectivity, its realism, the primitive passions of its heroes, and + the wondrous acts of valor performed by them. It contains many passages of + wonderful beauty, and gives a striking picture of the social customs and + the religious belief of the time. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL8" id="link2H_BIBL8"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + </h2> + <p> + Mary Elizabeth Burt's Story of the German Iliad, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Thomas Carlyle's Nibelungen Lied (see his Miscellaneous Essays, 1869, vol. + iii., pp. 111-162); + </p> + <p> + Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Nibelungen Lied (see their Tales of the + Teutonic Lands, 1872, pp. 79-132); + </p> + <p> + G. T. Dippold's Nibelungenlied (see his Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany, + 1882, pp. 1-117); + </p> + <p> + William T. Dobson's Nibelungenlied Epitomized (see his Classic Poets, + 1878); + </p> + <p> + Auber Forestier's Echoes from Mistland, or the Nibelungen Lay Revealed, + Tr. by A. A. Woodward, 1877; + </p> + <p> + Joseph Gostwick's and Robert Harrison's Nibelungenlied (see their Outlines + of German Literature, n. d., pp. 16-24); + </p> + <p> + Hugh Reginald Haweis's Nibelungenlied (see his Musical Memories, 1887, pp. + 225-250); + </p> + <p> + Frederick Henry Hedge's Nibelungenlied (see his Hours with the German + Classics, 1887, pp. 25-55); + </p> + <p> + James K. Hosmer's Nibelungen Lied (see his Short History of German + Literature, 1891, pp. 23-77); + </p> + <p> + J. P. Jackson's Ring of the Nibelung, Cosmopolitan, 1888, vol. vi. pp. + 415-433; + </p> + <p> + Henry W. Longfellow's Nibelungenlied (see his Poets and Poetry of Europe, + new ed., enlarged, 1882, pp. 217-227); + </p> + <p> + J. M. F. Ludlow's Lay and Lament of the Niblungs (see his Popular Epics of + the Middle Ages, 1865, pp. 105-183); + </p> + <p> + E. Magnusson and William Morris's Völsungs Saga, story of the Völsungs and + Niblungs, 1870; + </p> + <p> + William Morris's Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs, + 1887; + </p> + <p> + F. Max Müller's Das Nibelungenlied (see his German Classics, new ed., + 1893, vol. i., pp. 112-136); + </p> + <p> + Ernst Raupach's Nibelungen Treasure, a tragedy from the German with + remarks, 1847; + </p> + <p> + A. M. Richey's Teutonic and the Celtic Epic, Fraser's Magazine, 1874, vol. + lxxxix., pp. 336-354; + </p> + <p> + Wilhelm Scherer's Nibelungenlied (see his History of German Literature, + 1893, vol. i., pp. 101-115); + </p> + <p> + Leda M. Schoonamaker's Nibelungen Lied, Harper's Magazine, 1877, vol. lv., + pp. 38-51; + </p> + <p> + Bayard Taylor's Nibelungen Lied (see his Studies in German Literature, + 1893, pp. 101-134); + </p> + <p> + Wilhelm Wagner's Nibelungenlied (see his Epics and Romances of the Middle + Ages, 1883, pp. 229-306); + </p> + <p> + Henry Weber's The Song of the Nibelungen (see Weber and Jamieson, + Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, 1874, pp. 167-213). + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0046" id="link2H_4_0046"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE NIBELUNGEN. + </h2> + <p> + The Nibelungen Lied, Tr. by Alfred G. Foster Barham, 1887; + </p> + <p> + The Lay of the Nibelungers, Tr. into English text after Lachman's text by + Jonathan Birch, ed. 3, 1887; + </p> + <p> + The Nibelungenlied, Tr. by Joseph Gostwick (see his Spirit of German + Poetry, 1843); + </p> + <p> + The Fall of the Nibelungers, Tr. by William Nanson Lettsom, ed. 2, 1874. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0047" id="link2H_4_0047"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + </h2> + <p> + In the beautiful city of Worms, in Burgundy, dwelt the maiden Kriemhild, + surpassing all others in beauty. Her father, long since dead, was Dancrat; + her mother, Uta, and her three brothers,—Günther, Gernot, and + Giselher,—puissant princes whose pride it was to guard their lovely + sister. Among the noble lords their liegemen were Hagan of Trony, + Dankwart, his brother, Ortwine of Metz, Eckewart, Gary, Folker, Rumolt the + steward, Sindolt the butler, and Humolt the chamberlain. + </p> + <p> + The peace of the beautiful Kriemhild was one night disturbed by a dream, + in which she saw a young falcon that she had long reared with tender care + torn to pieces by two fierce eagles. When she confided this dream to her + mother, the wise Uta declared that it meant that she would one day wed a + fair prince threatened with a dreadful doom. + </p> + <p> + "Then I will never wed!" cried Kriemhild. "Better to forego the bliss thou + tellest me attends only the wedded state than to taste the anguish + foretold by my dream." Alas! little could she guess of what the future + held in store for her. + </p> + <p> + In the wide country of the Netherlands, in the city of Xanten, dwelt the + great prince Siegmund and his wife Sieglind. Their kingdom was wide, their + wealth great, but nothing gave them so much happiness as the renown of + their glorious son Siegfried. Such mighty deeds of valor had he performed + that his fame was already world-wide, though he was but a youth. To Xanten + the fame of the peerless princess Kriemhild had penetrated, and the young + prince declared to his parents his intention of seeking her out in + Burgundy, and wooing her for his wife. All entreaties were in vain; with + but twelve companions, each fitted out with the most gorgeous vestments, + by the care of the queen mother, the haughty prince advanced into + Burgundy. + </p> + <p> + King Günther, surprised at the sight of the splendidly attired strangers, + called one after another of his knights to inform him who they were. None + knew, until Hagan was at last called because he was familiar with the + warriors of every land. He did not know them. "But," said he, "though I + have never set eyes on him, I'll wager that is the noble Siegfried, the + mighty warrior who slew the Nibelungers. Once, so I have heard the story, + when he was riding alone, he saw the two kings Nibelung and Shilbung + dividing the treasure of the Niblungs. They had just brought it out from + the cavern where it was guarded by the dwarf Albric, and they called + Siegfried to come and divide it for them. The task was so great that he + did not finish it, and when the angry kings set upon him he slew them + both, their giant champions and chiefs, and then overcame the dwarf + Albric, and possessed himself of his wondrous cloud-cloak. So he is now + lord of the Nibelungers and owner of the mighty treasure. Not only this, + my king; he once slew a poison-spitting dragon and bathed in its blood, so + that his skin is invulnerable. Treat the young prince with respect. It + would be ill-advised to arouse his hatred." + </p> + <p> + While the king and his counsellors were admiring his haughty bearing, + Siegfried and his followers advanced to the hall and were fittingly + welcomed. Siegfried haughtily declared that he had come to learn if + Günther's renown for knighthood was correct, and wished to fight with him, + with their respective kingdoms as stakes. Günther had no desire to fight + with such a doughty warrior, and he hastened to soothe Siegfried's wrath + with gentle words, inviting him to remain as his guest. + </p> + <p> + So happy was Siegfried in the tourneys and games enjoyed by Günther's + court, that he remained in Worms for a year, and in all that time never + set eyes on Kriemhild. How enraptured would he have been had he known that + the gentle maiden watched for him daily at her lattice, and came to long + for a glimpse of the handsome stranger! + </p> + <p> + At the end of the year tidings were brought to Worms that the Saxons, led + by King Lüdeger, and Lüdegast, king of Denmark, were marching against + Burgundy. The Burgundians were terrified at the news; but Siegfried, + delighted at the thought of war, begged Günther to give him but a thousand + Burgundians, in addition to the twelve comrades he had brought with him, + and he would pledge himself to defeat, unaided, the presumptuous enemy. + Many were the camps of the foe; full forty thousand were there mustered + out to fight, but Siegfried quickly scattered them, slew many thousands, + and took the two kings prisoners. + </p> + <p> + How joyful the melancholy Kriemhild became when the messenger bore to her + the glad tidings! Ruddy gold and costly garments he gained for his good + news. + </p> + <p> + On Siegfried's return he first met and loved Kriemhild. More blooming than + May, sweeter than summer's pride, she stood by the gallant warrior, who + dared not yet to woo her. The twelve days of revel in celebration of the + victory were one long dream of bliss to the happy lovers. + </p> + <p> + While Siegfried was still lingering at Günther's court, tidings were + brought thither of the beauty, prowess, and great strength of Brunhild, + Queen of Issland, and Günther determined to go thither and woo her. + Siegfried implored him not to go. + </p> + <p> + "Thou knowest not what thou must undertake," he said. "Thou must take part + in her contests, throw the javelin, throw the stone and jump after it, and + if thou fail in even one of these three games thou must lose thy life and + that of thy companions." + </p> + <p> + When Siegfried found that he could not move Günther, he promised to go + with him and assist him, on condition that on their return Günther would + give him the beautiful Kriemhild for his wife. + </p> + <p> + Attired in the most splendid raiment, prepared by the willing fingers of + Kriemhild and her maids, Günther, with only three companions, Siegfried, + Hagan, and Dankwart, set forth to Issland. Siegfried requested his + companions to inform Brunhild that he was Günther's man; and when she + welcomed him first, he himself told her to speak first to his master. The + little party was greatly impressed with the splendor of Brunhild's three + turreted palaces, and with the beauty and prodigious strength of the + queen. When they saw her huge golden shield, steel-studded, beneath whose + weight four chamberlains staggered, and the immense javelin of the + war-like maid, the warriors trembled for their lives, all save Siegfried, + who, wrapped in his cloud-cloak, invisible to all, stood behind the + bewildered Günther. + </p> + <p> + "Give me thy buckler," he whispered. "Now make but the motions, and I will + hurl both spear and stone. But keep this a secret if thou wouldst save + both our lives." + </p> + <p> + To the surprise of every one Günther won the games, and Brunhild, + surprised and mortified, ordered her followers to bow to her better, and + returned to the castle to make ready for the journey to Worms. + </p> + <p> + Siegfried carried the tidings to Worms, and the bridal party was met and + welcomed at the banks of the Rhine by the Queen Uta, Kriemhild, and a + large following. During the wedding feast, Siegfried reminded Günther of + his promise, and the king, calling Kriemhild to him, affianced the two in + the presence of the company. + </p> + <p> + When the suspicious Brunhild saw Siegfried sitting at the table of the + king, she was angered, for she had been told that he was a vassal. + Although she could get no satisfaction from Günther, she suspected some + secret. When she and Günther retired for the night she conquered him, tied + him hand and foot with her magic girdle, and hung him on the wall until + morning. Günther, overcome with wrath and vexation, told his humiliation + to Siegfried the next morning at the minster. "Be comforted," said + Siegfried. "Tonight I will steal into thy chamber wrapped in my + mist-cloak, and when the lights are extinguished I will wrestle with her + until I deprive her of the magic ring and girdle." + </p> + <p> + After some hesitation, Günther assented, and Brunhild, supposing she was + conquered by Günther, yielded herself willingly to her husband and lost + all her former strength. Siegfried carried away her girdle and ring and + gave them to his wife, little suspecting what harm they would do him in + the years to come. + </p> + <p> + The wedding festivities over, Siegfried took his bride home to the + Netherlands, where their arrival was celebrated with the greatest + festivities. Siegmund placed the crown on his son's head, and Siegfried + and Kriemhild ruled happily over the kingdom for ten years, during which + time a son was born to them, christened Günther for his uncle. + </p> + <p> + During these years Brunhild had been fretting that the supposed vassal, + Siegfried, had never come to pay homage to his king. At last, affecting a + great longing to see Kriemhild once more, she induced Günther to invite + his sister and her husband to visit them. This he did gladly, and on their + arrival many days were spent in feasting, merrymaking, and the tourney. + </p> + <p> + But one day, when the two queens were watching the tilting in the castle + court, Kriemhild, excited by the victories of her husband, declared that + Siegfried, because of his might, ought to be ruler of Burgundy. This + angered Brunhild, who reproached the wife of a vassal for such + presumption. + </p> + <p> + "My husband a vassal!" exclaimed the indignant Kriemhild. "He, ruler of + the Netherlands, who holds a higher place than my brother Günther! I + cannot endure thy insolence longer." + </p> + <p> + "I will see," said Brunhild, "this very day whether thou receivest the + public respect and honor paid to me." + </p> + <p> + "I am ready for the test," responded Kriemhild, "and I will show thee + to-day, before our following, that I dare to enter the church before + Günther's queen." + </p> + <p> + When the two queens met on the minster steps, and Brunhild declared that + no vassaless should enter before her, Kriemhild reproached her for being + the leman of Siegfried, and displayed in proof the ring and girdle he had + taken from Brunhild. Rage and fury rendered Brunhild speechless. The kings + were summoned, and both denied the truth of Kriemhild's words. But the two + queens were now bitter enemies, and the followers of Brunhild, among them + the gloomy Hagan of Trony, were deeply angered at Siegfried and his queen. + Hagan laid a plot to destroy Siegfried, and Günther, though at first + unwilling, was at last induced to enter it. + </p> + <p> + Pretended messengers came to announce to Günther that the Saxons again + threatened war against him. Siegfried proposed to take part in the war, + and preparations were at once begun. Hagan, with pretended tenderness, + told Kriemhild of the coming danger, and asked her if her lord had a weak + place, that he might know and guard it for him. Kriemhild confided to him + her husband's secret. When Siegfried was bathing in the dragon's blood, a + leaf fell between his shoulders, and that spot was vulnerable. There she + would embroider a cross on his vesture that Hagan might protect him in the + shock of battle. + </p> + <p> + The war was now abandoned and a great hunt undertaken. Gernot and + Giselher, though they did not see fit to warn Siegfried, refused to take + part in the plot and go to the hunt. Many a lion, elk, and boar fell by + Siegfried's hand that day before the hunters were called together to the + royal breakfast; when they at last sat down in the flowery meadow the wine + was wanting, and the warriors were compelled to quench their thirst at a + brooklet near by. + </p> + <p> + "A race!" cried the hero; and he, Hagan, and Günther ran for the brook, + Siegfried gaining it first. After the king had quenched his thirst, + Siegfried threw down his arms and stooped to drink. Then Hagan, picking up + his ashen spear, threw it at the embroidered cross, and Siegfried fell in + the agonies of death, reproaching his traitorous friends whom he had + served so faithfully. + </p> + <p> + To add cruelty to cruelty, the vindictive Hagan placed the body of + Siegfried outside Kriemhild's chamber door, where she would stumble over + it as she went out to early mass next morning. Down she fell fainting when + she recognized her husband, and reviving, shrieked in her anguish, + "Brunhild planned it; Hagan struck the blow!" + </p> + <p> + Her grief was terrible to see. One moment the unhappy queen was accusing + herself for revealing her husband's secret; again she was vowing revenge + against Hagan, and at another time she reviled the traitorous Günther. + </p> + <p> + When her father-in-law Siegmund returned home, she would not go with him, + but remained near the body of her husband, under the protection of her + brothers Gernot and Giselher and in the company of her mother. + </p> + <p> + Kriemhild, living in joyless state in her lonely palace, was at last + induced to speak to Günther and pardon him. The pardon granted, Günther + and Hagan at once plotted to have the Nibelungen hoard, Siegfried's + morning-gift to Kriemhild, brought to Worms. Never before was such a + treasure seen. Twelve huge wagons, journeying thrice a day, required four + nights and days to carry it from the mountain to the bay. It consisted of + nothing but precious stones and gold, and with it was the magic + wishing-rod. It filled Kriemhild's towers and chambers to overflowing, and + won many friends for the queen, who distributed it liberally. + </p> + <p> + When the envious Hagan could not induce Günther to take the treasure from + Kriemhild, he selected a time when the king and his brothers were away + from home, and seizing the treasure, cast it into the Rhine, hoping to get + it again. In this he failed, so the great treasure was forever lost. + </p> + <p> + Thus ends the first part of the Lay of the Nibelungen. The second part is + sometimes called the Need or Fall of the Nibelungen. + </p> + <p> + While Kriemhild was bewailing her loss and revolving plans for revenge, + Etzel, King of the Huns, who had heard of the charms of Siegfried's widow, + sent the noble Margrave Rüdeger into Burgundy with proposals for her hand. + </p> + <p> + Günther and his brothers begged Kriemhild to accept the offer; their + counsellors advised it; only the sage Hagan protested. He knew too well + how Kriemhild longed for revenge. "When once she gets among the Huns, she + will make us rue the day," said he. + </p> + <p> + But the others laughed at Hagan's scruples. The land of the Huns was far + away, and they need never set foot in it. Moreover, it was their duty to + make Kriemhild happy. + </p> + <p> + Moved by the eloquence of Rüdeger, Kriemhild consented to wed Etzel, and + set out in great state to meet the king. + </p> + <p> + She was splendidly entertained along the way, tarried a short time at the + home of the Margrave Rüdeger, and at Tulna met the great monarch Etzel, + riding to meet her, among his hosts of Russians, Polacks, Greeks, and + Wallachians. + </p> + <p> + The splendid wedding-feast was held at Vienna. Kriemhild was received with + the greatest honor, and so lavish was she of the gold and jewels she had + brought with her, and so gracious to the attendant Huns, that every one + loved her, and willingly worked her will. + </p> + <p> + For seven long years she and Attila lived happy together, and to them was + given a son whom they christened Ortlieb. Then Kriemhild, still + remembering her loss and the cruelties of her Burgundian relatives and + friends, bethought herself of her revenge. + </p> + <p> + Feigning a great desire to see her brothers, she entreated Etzel to invite + them to visit her; and the king, not suspecting her fell purpose, and glad + of an opportunity to welcome her friends, at once despatched messengers + with the invitation. + </p> + <p> + This time other counsellors besides Hagan mistrusted the queen, and + advised King Günther and his brothers to decline the invitation. But the + princes grew angry at their advice; and Hagan, who could not endure to be + laughed at, set forth with them, accompanied with a great train of + warriors. + </p> + <p> + The Rhine was too swollen to ford, and Hagan was sent up the stream to + find a ferryman. As he looked for the boatman, he spied some mermaids + bathing, and seizing their garments, would not restore them until they + told him what would befall the Burgundians in Hungary. + </p> + <p> + "Safe will you ride to Etzel's court, and safe return," said one, as he + returned the garments. But as he turned to go, another called: "My aunt + has lied to thee that she might get back her raiment. Turn now, or you + will never live to see Burgundy. None save the chaplain will return in + safety." + </p> + <p> + Hagan went on gloomily and found the ferryman, who, proud and sullen, + refused to take the party across. Hagan slew him, and, returning with the + boat, threw the unfortunate chaplain into the river, thinking by drowning + him to prove the mermaid's prophecy untrue. But the chaplain escaped to + the other side, and walked back to Burgundy. Then Hagan told the party of + the prophecy and they resolved to go on together, though they realized + that they were going to their doom. + </p> + <p> + Because of the slaughter of the ferryman, they were attacked by Gelfrat, + the ruler of the land; but he was overcome and slain by Dankwart. + </p> + <p> + The Margrave Rüdeger received the travellers hospitably, and betrothed his + fair daughter to Giselher. He then accompanied the Burgundians to Etzel's + court. + </p> + <p> + The Burgundians suspected Kriemhild from the first. Giselher was the only + one of her brothers whom she kissed, and she and Hagan quarrelled over the + treasure at their first meeting. + </p> + <p> + They were warned by Eckewart, who had accompanied Kriemhild from Burgundy, + and by Dietrich of Bern, an exile at the court of Etzel, who told them + that every morning since her stay in Hunland she had moaned and wailed for + Siegfried. By Hagan's advice they all kept on their armor, telling Etzel + that it was the custom in their country to wear it for the first three + days. + </p> + <p> + Kriemhild's design was to destroy Hagan and spare her brothers. But Hagan, + on his guard, drove her warriors away from his room at night, and saved + himself at church from the jostling Hunnish lords, never, in the mean + time, sparing his insults to Kriemhild. + </p> + <p> + The Huns, who were devoted to their queen, were not slow in showing their + anger at Hagan's treatment of her, and the ill feeling between the + warriors increased as the days passed by. + </p> + <p> + As the Burgundians sat at the banquet with Etzel and his wife, in burst + Dankwart, exclaiming that he had been attacked by Bloedel, who had slain + all his followers. + </p> + <p> + "Be stirring, brother Hagan!" he cried. "Help me to avenge my wrongs!" + </p> + <p> + At this moment the little prince Ortlieb had been brought into the hall + and passed around among the guests. + </p> + <p> + "Let us drink to friendship with moody Kriemhild in king's wine!" cried + Hagan, and with one blow of the sword sent the child's head in his + mother's lap. Then arose a fearful clamor. Spear rang against shield, and + the cries of the fierce Huns mingled with the defiant shouts of the + Burgundians. + </p> + <p> + Dietrich of Bern, leaping upon a bench, asked King Günther, that, as a + friend to both parties, he might be permitted to withdraw from the hall + with his friends. When the Burgundians assented, he led forth the king and + queen. The same privilege was accorded to Rüdeger. + </p> + <p> + Then, while the terrible Folker guarded the door with his fiddle bow, one + side of which was a trenchant sword, the battle began. The Burgundians + taunted the Huns with their weakness and cowardice until they ventured + into the hall and were cut down by Hagan and his desperate men. When + evening fell the thousand and four who had entered the hall all lay dead + by the hands of the Burgundians. + </p> + <p> + When Kriemhild's offer to give her brothers their lives if they would + surrender Hagan was refused, she ordered fire to be set to the four + corners of the hall, thinking thus to drive them forth. But the burning + rafters fell into the rivers of blood and were quenched, and the + Burgundians derived new courage and strength from huge draughts of blood + from their fallen foes. + </p> + <p> + Then Kriemhild and Etzel, seeing how their Hunnish men had fallen, and + perceiving that the Burgundians were in no wise injured by the fire, + reproached the Margrave Rüdeger that he did not enter the fight. In vain + he told them of his friendship with the princes; of the betrothal of his + daughter and Giselher. Kriemhild persisted in reminding him of the promise + he had made to serve her to her dying day. At last he reluctantly summoned + his men, and bidding farewell to his cruel king and queen, he entered the + hall. Gladly was he welcomed by the Burgundians, who could not believe + that he came to do battle with them. He explained how he was forced to + fight them, and amid the tears of both sides, he exchanged shields with + Hagan, whose buckler was broken. Then was the grim Hagan moved to tears, + and he vowed not to touch Rüdeger in the fight. Fearful was the clatter of + shield and blade as Rüdeger fought with Gernot, and fell at last by the + blade he had himself given the prince. + </p> + <p> + Great was the wailing of the Huns when they saw the lifeless body of + Rüdeger, and deeply did Etzel regret the loss of the valiant and true + margrave. + </p> + <p> + Dietrich of Bern, who sat afar off, sent some of his best warriors under + his man Hildebrand, to inquire of the truth of the report of Rüdeger's + death. These fiery men disobeyed the orders of their master, and fought + with the Burgundians until none remained save Günther and Hagan on one + side, and Hildebrand on the other. + </p> + <p> + When Dietrich heard of the slaughter of his followers, he was overcome + with sorrow, and himself sought the hall. He promised Günther and Hagan + that if they would surrender, he would himself lead them back in safety to + Burgundy; but to this they would not consent. By this time they were so + worn out, however, from the long battle, that Dietrich easily overpowered + them and led them captive before Kriemhild, who promised to show them fair + treatment. + </p> + <p> + But Kriemhild's mind had become so warped by her desire for revenge, that + she could not think of mercy. She cast her prisoners into separate + dungeons, and visiting Hagan first, demanded her treasure. "But give it to + me again, and thou shalt return living into Burgundy." + </p> + <p> + "Pray not to me, haughty queen," replied Hagan. "I swore that while my + lords were living I would ne'er tell where it lies. Thy prayer is thrown + away." + </p> + <p> + Straightway the savage Kriemhild ordered the head of Günther to be struck + off, and bearing it by the hair, she displayed it to Hagan, asking him now + to tell her the secret. + </p> + <p> + "Now that all my lords are dead," said he, "no one shall know, thou least + of all, she-fiend!" + </p> + <p> + Kriemhild, beside herself with grief and rage, snatched from him the sword + Balmung that he had taken from Siegfried, and ever since carried, and + raising it high with both hands, struck off the head of her hated enemy. + </p> + <p> + At this the grief of Etzel broke forth, and the aged Hildebrand, enraged + to see a woman do such deeds, sprang upon Kriemhild and smote her to death + with his sword. + </p> + <p> + Bitterly wept King Etzel and Dietrich as they gazed on the corpses + scattered round, and the disfigured body of the fair queen. Nothing + remained for the Hunnish people but grief and woe. + </p> + <p> + Here on earth pain ever follows in the steps of pleasure. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0048" id="link2H_4_0048"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + </h2> + <h3> + HOW BRUNHILD WAS RECEIVED AT WORMS. + </h3> + <p> + Brunhild, queen of Issland, was won by Günther of Worms with the aid of + Siegfried, whom Günther sent forward to Worms to announce the coming of + the royal pair. Queen Uta and Princess Kriemhild, with many followers from + the Burgundian court, went forward to the Rhine to meet and welcome the + royal bridal party. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Beyond the Rhine King Günther, with many a well-arm'd rank + And all his guests about him, rode towards the river's bank; + You might see by the bridle led forward many a maid. + Those, who were to receive them, were ready all array'd. + + Soon as the men of Issland came to the shallops down, + And eke the Nibelungers, lieges of Siegfried's crown, + To th' other shore they hasten'd (busy was every hand) + Where them the friends of Günther awaited on the strand. + + Now hear, by wealthy Uta what a device was wrought. + Down with her from the castle a virgin train she brought, + That rode where she was riding in that procession bright; + So many a maid acquainted became with many a knight. + + Kriemhild by the bridle the Margrave Gary led, + But only from the castle; then forward Siegfried sped, + And did that gentle service; fair was the blushing maid; + Full well for that thereafter the warrior she repaid. + + Ortwine, the fearless champion, rode by Dame Uta's rein; + Knights and maids together follow'd, a social train. + At such a stately meeting, all must confess, I ween, + So many lovely ladies were ne'er together seen. + + Full many a famous champion careering you might spy + (Ill there was sloth and idlesse) beneath fair Kriemhild's eye + E'en to the place of landing; by knights of fair renown + There many a high-born lady from steed was lifted down. + + The king was now come over, and many a worthy guest. + Ah, before the ladies what spears were laid in rest! + How many went in shivers at every hurtling close! + Buckler clashed with buckler; ah, what a din arose! + + Now might you see the ladies fast by the haven stand. + With his guests King Günther debark'd upon the strand, + In his hand soft leading the martial maiden fair. + Then each on each flash'd radiance, rich robes and jewels rare. + + With that the smiling Kriemhild forth stepp'd a little space, + And Brunhild and her meiny greeted with gentle grace, + Each with snowy fingers back her headband drew, + And either kiss'd the other lovingly and true. + + Then spoke in courteous manner Kriemhild the fair and free, + "In this our land, dear Brunhild, ever welcome be + To me and to my mother and all by us allow'd + For faithful friends and liegemen." Then each to th' other bow'd. + + Next to greet Dame Brunhild approach'd Dame Uta too; + Oft she and oft her daughter their arms about her threw, + And on her sweet mouth lavish'd many a loving kiss. + Never was known a welcome so kind and frank as this. + + Soon as Brunhild's women were all come to the strand, + Many a courtly warrior took by her lily hand + A lady fair, and gently her mincing steps upstay'd, + Now before Dame Brunhild stood many a noble maid. + + 'T was long before the greeting had gone through all the list. + On either part in plenty rosy mouths were kiss'd. + Still the two fair princesses were standing side by side, + A pair with love and rapture by longing warriors ey'd. + + What erst had been but rumour, was now made clear to sight, + That nought had yet been witness'd so beautiful and bright + As those two lovely damsels; 't was plain to every eye; + None the slightest blemish in either form could spy. + + Whoever look'd on women with but the sight for guide, + Such for her faultless beauty praised Günther's, stately bride; + But those whose thoughts went deeper, and div'd into the mind, + Maintain'd that gentle Kriemhild left Brunhild far behind. + + Now met the dames and damsels in friendly converse free; + Fair robes and fairer beauties were there in store to see; + Many a silk pavilion and many a gorgeous tent + The plain before the city fill'd in its whole extent. + + King Günther's kinsmen ceas'd not to press to that fair show. + And now was begg'd each princess from the sun to go + Close by, with their attendants, where shade was overhead. + By bold Burgundian warriors thither were they led. + + Then clomb to horse the heroes, and scour'd the sounding field; + Many a joust was practis'd with order'd spear and shield; + Right well were prov'd the champions, and o'er the trampled plain, + As though the land were burning, the dust curl'd up amain. + + So all before the ladies display'd their skill and force, + Nor doubt I that Sir Siegfried rode many a knightly course + Before the rich pavilions, and ever as he sped, + His thousand Nibelungers, a stately squadron, led. + + Then came the knight of Trony by the good king's command; + In friendly wise he parted the jousters on the strand, + For fear the dust, now thick'ning, the ladies might molest. + Him with ready reverence obey'd each gentle guest. + + Then spake the noble Gernot, "Let each now rest his steed + Till the air be cooler, 't will then be ours to lead + These lovely ladies homeward e'en to the palace wide. + So keep yourselves all ready till it please the king to ride." + + Thus ended was the tourney, and now the warriors went + To join the dames and damsels beneath each lofty tent, + And there in gentle converse their grace and favor sought; + So flew the hours in pastime till of riding home they thought. + + Now as drew on the twilight, when cooler grew the air + And the sun was setting, they would not linger there, + But up rose lords and ladies to seek the castle high; + Many a fair dame was cherish'd by many a love-lit eye. + + So on the fair they waited as from good knights is due. + Then hardy squires, hot spurring before the nobles' view, + After the country's custom rode for the prize of weed + As far as to the palace, where sprung the king from steed. + + There too the proud queens parted, each taking thence her way. + Dame Uta and her daughter with their handmaids gay + Into a spacious chamber both together went. + There might you see on all sides the sound of merriment. + + In hall the seats were order'd; the king would instant hie + With all his guests to table; beside him you might spy + His lovely bride, Queen Brunhild; her royal crown she wore + There in King Günther's country; so rich was none before. + + Seats were there plac'd unnumber'd with tables broad and good, + As is to us reported, full heap'd with costly food. + How little there was wanted that passes for the best! + There with the king was seated full many a noble guest. + + The chamberlains of Günther in ewers of ruddy gold + Brought to the guests the water; should you be ever told + That at a prince's table service was better done, + 'T were labor lost to say so, 't would be believ'd by none. + + Then, ere the lord of Rhineland touch'd the water bright, + Up to him, as befitted, went Siegfried the good knight, + And brought to his remembrance the promise made him there, + Ere yet afar in Issland he look'd on Brunhild fair. + + Said he, "You must remember what swore to me your hand, + That soon as Lady Brunhild were come into this land, + To me you 'd give your sister, your oaths now where are they? + On me throughout your journey much toil and travail lay." + + "Well did you to remind me," the noble king replied, + "By what my hand has promis'd, I ever will abide, + And in this thing to serve you will do my best, my all." + Then sent he to beg Kriemhild to come into the hall. + + Straight to the hall came Kriemhild begirt with many a maid, + When from the lofty staircase young Giselher thus said, + "Send back your maidens, Kriemhild, this bus'ness is your own; + On this the king, our brother, would speak with you alone." + + Then forward led was Kriemhild, as Günther gave command, + Where stood the king, and round him from many a prince's land + Were noble knights unnumber'd; at once all silence kept; + At that same instant Brunhild had just to table stepp'd. + + Thence came it she knew nothing of what was to be done. + Then to his gather'd kinsmen spoke Dancrat's royal son, + "Help me to move my sister Siegfried for lord to take." + "Such match," they all made answer, "with honour she may make." + + Then spoke the king to Kriemhild, "Sister, I ask of thee + From an oath to set me by thy kindness free. + Thee to a knight I promis'd; if thou become his bride, + Thou 'lt do the will of Günther, and show thy love beside." + + Then spake the noble maiden, "Dearest brother mine, + It needed not to ask me; whate'er command be thine, + I'll willingly perform it; so now, for thy sake, + Whom thou for husband giv'st me, fain I, my lord, will take." + + With love and eke with pleasure redden'd Siegfried's hue; + At once to Lady Kriemhild he pledg'd his service true. + They bade them stand together in the courtly circle bright, + And ask'd her if for husband she took that lofty knight. + + In modest maiden fashion she blush'd a little space, + But such was Siegfried's fortune and his earnest grace. + That not altogether could she deny her hand. + Then her for wife acknowledg'd the noble king of Netherland. + + He thus to her affianc'd, and to him the maid, + Straight round the long-sought damsel in blushing grace array'd + His arms with soft emotion th' enamour'd warrior threw, + And kiss'd the high-born princess before that glitt'ring crew. + <i>Lettsom's Translation, Tenth Adventure.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0049" id="link2H_4_0049"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + HOW MARGRAVE RÜDEGER WAS SLAIN. + </h2> + <p> + The Margrave Rüdeger did not take part in the battle fought in Etzel's + hall between the Burgundians visiting the Hunnish court and the Huns, + because of his friendship for the Burgundians, and the betrothal of his + daughter to Prince Giselher. Because of this, he was taunted by a Hun, who + said to the queen that although Rüdeger had accepted many favors from + Etzel he did not fight for him. When the Hun fell dead under Rüdeger's + blow, Etzel reproached him for slaying one of his followers when he had + need of so many. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Then came the fair Queen Kriemhild; she too had seen full well + What from the hero's anger the luckless Hun befell; + And she too mourn'd it deeply; with tears her eyes were wet. + Thus spake she to Rüdeger, "How have we ever yet + + "Deserv'd that you, good Rüdeger, should make our anguish more? + Now sure to me and Etzel you've promised o'er and o'er, + That you both life and honour would risk to do us right. + That you 're the flower of knighthood is own'd by every knight. + + "Now think upon the homage that once to me you swore, + When to the Rhine, good warrior, King Etzel's suit you bore, + That you would serve me ever to either's dying day. + Ne'er can I need so deeply, that you that vow should pay." + + "'T is true, right noble lady; in this we 're not at strife; + I pledg'd, to do you service, my honour and my life, + But my soul to hazard never did I vow. + I brought the princes hither, and must not harm them now." + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + With that, to beg and pray him the king began as well; + King and queen together both at his feet they fell. + Then might you the good margrave have seen full ill bestead, + And thus in bitterest anguish the faithful hero said:— + + "Woe's me the heaven-abandon'd, that I have liv'd to this! + Farewell to all my honours! woe for my first amiss! + My truth—my God-giv'n innocence—must they be both forgot? + Woe's me, O God in heaven! that death relieves me not!" + + Then thus bespake him Kriemhild, "Right noble Rüdeger, + Take pity on our anguish; thou see'st us kneeling here, + The king and me before thee; both clasp thy honour'd knees. + Sure never host yet feasted such fatal guests as these." + + With that the noble margrave thus to the queen 'gan say, + "Sure must the life of Rüdeger for all the kindness pay, + That you to me, my lady, and my lord the king have done. + For this I'm doomed to perish, and that ere set of sun. + + "Full well I know, this morning my castles and my land + Both will to you fall vacant by stroke of foeman's hand, + And so my wife and daughter I to your grace commend, + And all at Bechelaren, each trusty homeless friend." + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + So to war the margrave under helmet strode; + Sharpest swords his meiny brandished as they rode; + Each in hand, bright-flashing, held his shield before. + That saw the dauntless minstrel, and seeing sorrow'd sore. + + Then too was by young Giselher his lady's father seen + With helm laced as for battle. "What," thought he, "can he mean? + But nought can mean the margrave but what is just and right." + At the thought full joyous wax'd the youthful knight. + + "I know not what you trust in;" thus the stern minstrel spake; + "Where saw you warriors ever for reconcilement's sake + With helmets laced advancing, and naked swords in hand? + On us will earn Sir Rüdeger his castles and his land." + + Scarcely the valiant minstrel his words had utter'd all, + When the noble Rüdeger was close before the hall. + His shield, well proved in battle, before his feet he laid, + But neither proffered service, nor friendly greeting made. + + To those within he shouted, "Look not for succor hence; + Ye valiant Nibelungers, now stand on your defence. + I'd fain have been your comrade; your foe I now must be. + We once were friends together; now from that bond I'm free." + + "Now God forbid," said Günther, "that such a knight as you + To the faith wherein we trusted, should ever prove untrue, + And turn upon his comrades in such an hour as this. + Ne'er can I think that Rüdeger can do so much amiss." + + "I can't go back," said Rüdeger, "the deadly die is cast; + I must with you do battle; to that my word is pass'd. + So each of you defend him as he loves his life. + I must perform my promise; so wills King Etzel's wife." + + * * * * * * * + + "Tarry yet a little, right noble Rüdeger! + I and my lords a moment would yet with you confer; + Thereto hard need compels us, and danger gathering nigh; + What boot were it to Etzel though here forlorn we die? + + "I'm now," pursued Sir Hagan, "beset with grievous care; + The shield that Lady Gotelind gave me late to bear, + Is hewn, and all-to broken by many a Hunnish brand. + I brought it fair and friendly hither to Etzel's land. + + "Ah! that to me this favour heaven would be pleas'd to yield, + That I might to defend me bear so well-prov'd a shield + As that, right noble Rüdeger, before thee now display'd! + No more should I in battle need then the hauberk's aid." + + "Fain with the same I'd serve thee to th' height of thy desire, + But that I fear such proffer might waken Kriemhild's ire. + Still, take it to thee, Hagan, and wield it well in hand. + Ah! might'st thou bring it with thee to thy Burgundian land!" + + While thus with words so courteous so fair a gift he sped, + The eyes of many a champion with scalding tears were red, + 'T was the last gift, that buckler, e'er given to comrade dear + By the lord of Bechelaren, the blameless Rüdeger. + + However stern was Hagan, and of unyielding mood, + Still at the gift he melted, which one so great and good + Gave in his last few moments, e'en on the eve of fight, + And with the stubborn warrior mourn'd many a noble knight. + + "Now God in heaven, good Rüdeger, thy recompenser be! + Your like on earth, I'm certain, we never more shall see, + Who gifts so good and gorgeous to homeless wanderers give. + May God protect your virtue, that it may ever live! + + "Alas! this bloody bus'ness!" Sir Hagan then went on, + "We have had to bear much sorrow, and more shall have anon. + Must friend with friend do battle, nor heaven the conflict part?" + The noble margrave answer'd, "That wounds my inmost heart." + + "Now for thy gift I'll quit thee, right noble Rüdeger! + What e'er may chance between thee and my bold comrades here, + My hand shall touch thee never amidst the heady fight, + Not e'en if thou shouldst slaughter every Burgundian knight." + + For that to him bow'd courteous the blameless Rüdeger. + Then all around were weeping for grief and doleful drear, + Since none th' approaching mischief had hope to turn aside. + The father of all virtue in that good margrave died. + + * * * * * * * + + What a fearful clatter of clashing blades there rang! + From shields beneath the buffets how the plates they sprang, + And precious stones unnumber'd rain'd down into the gore! + They fought so fell and furious as man will never more. + + The lord of Bechelaren went slashing here and there, + As one who well in battle knew how himself to bear. + Well prov'd the noble Rüdeger in that day's bloody fight, + That never handled weapon a more redoubted knight. + + * * * * * * * + + Loud o'er the din of battle stout Gernot shouted then, + "How now, right noble Rüdeger? not one of all my men + Thou 'lt leave me here unwounded; in sooth it grieves me sore + To see my friends thus slaughter'd; bear it can I no more. + + "Now must thy gift too surely the giver harm to-day, + Since of my friends so many thy strength has swept away. + So turn about and face me, thou bold and high-born man! + Thy goodly gift to merit, I'll do the best I can." + + Ere through the press the margrave could come Sir Gernot nigh, + Full many a glittering mail-coat was stain'd a bloody die. + Then those fame-greedy champions each fierce on th' other leapt, + And deadly wounds at distance with wary ward they kept. + + So sharp were both their broadswords, resistless was their dint, + Sudden the good Sir Rüdeger through th' helmet hard as flint + So struck the noble Gernot, that forth the blood it broke; + With death the stern Burgundian repaid the deadly stroke. + + He heaved the gift of Rüdeger with both his hands on high, + And to the death though wounded, a stroke at him let fly + Right through both shield and morion; deep was the gash and wide. + At once the lord of Gotelind beneath the swordcut died. + + In sooth a gift so goodly was worse requited ne'er. + Down dead dropp'd both together, Gernot and Rüdeger. + Each slain by th' other's manhood, then prov'd, alas! too well. + Thereat first Sir Hagan furious wax'd and fell. + + Then cried the knight of Trony, "Sure we with ills are cross'd; + Their country and their people in both these chiefs have lost + More than they'll e'er recover;—woe worth this fatal day! + We have here the margrave's meiny, and they for all shall pay!" + + All struck at one another, none would a foeman spare. + Full many a one, unwounded, down was smitten there, + Who else might have 'scap'd harmless, but now, though whole and sound, + In the thick press was trampled, or in the blood was drown'd. + + "Alas! my luckless brother who here in death lies low! + How every hour I'm living brings some fresh tale of woe! + And ever must I sorrow for the good margrave too. + On both sides dire destruction and mortal ills we rue." + + Soon as the youthful Giselher beheld his brother dead, + Who yet within were lingering by sudden doom were sped. + Death, his pale meiny choosing, dealt each his dreary dole. + Of those of Bechelaren 'scaped not one living soul. + + King Günther and young Giselher, and fearless Hagan too, + Dankwart as well as Folker, the noble knights and true, + Went where they found together out-stretched the valiant twain. + There wept th' assembled warriors in anguish o'er the slain. + + "Death fearfully despoils us," said youthful Giselher, + "But now give over wailing, and haste to th' open air + To cool our heated hauberks, faint as we are with strife. + God, methinks, no longer, will here vouchsafe us life." + + This sitting, that reclining, was seen full many a knight; + They took repose in quiet; around (a fearful sight!) + Lay Rüdeger's dead comrades; all was hush'd and still; + From that long dreary silence King Etzel augur'd ill. + + "Alas for this half friendship!" thus Kriemhild frowning spake, + "If it were true and steadfast, Sir Rüdeger would take + Vengeance wide and sweeping on yonder murderous band; + Now back he'll bring them safely to their Burgundian land. + + "What boot our gifts, King Etzel? was it, my lord, for this + We gave him all he asked us? The chief has done amiss. + He, who should have reveng'd us, will now a treaty make." + Thereto in answer Folker, the gallant minstrel, spake, + + "Not so the truth is, lady! the more the pity too! + If one the lie might venture to give a dame like you, + Most foully against the margrave you've lied, right noble queen! + Sore trick'd in that same treaty he and his men have been. + + "With such good will the margrave his king's commands obey'd, + That he and all his meiny dead on this floor are laid. + Now look about you, Kriemhild! for servants seek anew; + Well were you served by Rüdeger; he to the death was true. + + "The fact if still you're doubting, before your eyes we'll bring." + 'T was done e'en of set purpose her heart the more to wring. + They brought the mangled margrave, where Etzel saw him well. + Th' assembled knights of Hungary such utter anguish ne'er befell. + + When thus held high before them they saw the margrave dead, + Sure by the choicest writer could ne'er be penn'd nor said + The woeful burst of wailing from woman and eke from man, + That from the heart's deep sorrow to strike all ears began. + + Above his weeping people King Etzel sorrow'd sore; + His deep-voic'd wail resounded loud as the lion's roar + In the night-shaded desert; the like did Kriemhild too; + They mourn'd in heart for Rüdeger, the valiant and the true. + + <i>Lettsom's Translation, Thirty-seventh Adventure.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0050" id="link2H_4_0050"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </h2> + <p> + The Song of Roland is one of the many mediaeval romances that celebrate + the deeds of Charlemagne. + </p> + <p> + The oldest text now in existence was written about 1096, but the poem was + current in other forms long before this. + </p> + <p> + The author was a Norman, for the poem is written in the Norman dialect; + but it is uncertain whether the Turoldus or Théroulde named in the last + line of the poem, "Thus endeth here the geste Turoldus sang," was the + author, a copyist, or a <i>jongleur</i>. + </p> + <p> + It is said that Taillefer, the minstrel of Normandy, sang the Song of + Roland at the battle of Hastings. "Taillefer, who right well sang, mounted + on his rapid steed, went before them singing of Charlemagne, and of + Roland, and Olivier, and of the vassals who died in Roncesvalles." + </p> + <p> + The only text of the poem now in existence is one of the thirteenth + century, preserved in the Bodleian library at Oxford. + </p> + <p> + On the fifteenth of August, 778, in the valley of Roncesvalles, in the + Pyrenees, Charlemagne's rear guard, left under the command of Roland, + Prefect of the Marches of Brittany, was attacked and slaughtered by a + large army of Gascons. + </p> + <p> + This incident forms the historical basis of the poem; but the imagination + of the poet has made of Charlemagne, then a young man, the old emperor, + with "beard all blossom white," and transformed his Gascon foes to + Saracens. + </p> + <p> + The Song of Roland is written in the heroic pentameter; it is divided into + "laisses," or stanzas, of irregular length, and contains about three + thousand seven hundred and eight lines. It is written in the assonant, or + vowel rhyme, that was universal among European nations in the early stage + of their civilization. + </p> + <p> + Each stanza ends with the word "aoi," for which no satisfactory + translation has yet been offered, although "away" and "it is done" have + been suggested. + </p> + <p> + The author of the Song of Roland undertook, like Homer, to sing of one + great event about which all the interest of the poem centres; but unlike + Homer, his poem is out of all proportion, the long-drawn out revenge being + in the nature of an anti-climax. The Song of Roland is a fair exponent of + the people among whom it originated. It contains no ornament; it is a + straightforward relation of facts; it lacks passion, and while it + describes fearful slaughter, it never appeals to the emotions. Though the + French army shed many tears, and fell swooning to the ground at the sight + of the fearful slaughter at Roncesvalles, we are rather moved to smile at + the violence of their emotion than to weep over the dead, so little power + has the poet to touch the springs of feeling. However, there are passages + in which the poem rises to sublimity, and which have been pronounced + Homeric by its admirers. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL9" id="link2H_BIBL9"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </h2> + <p> + J. Banquier's Bibliographie de la Chanson de Roland, 1877; + </p> + <p> + T. Bulfinch's Legends of Charlemagne, 1863; + </p> + <p> + Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, + pp. 320-347; + </p> + <p> + Léon Gautier's Les épopées françaises, vol. i., 1878; + </p> + <p> + J. Malcolm Ludlow's Story of Roland (see his Popular Epics of the Middle + Ages, 1865, vol. i., pp. 362-427); + </p> + <p> + Gaston Paris's La poésie épique (see his Histoire poétique de Charlemagne, + 1865, pp. 1-33); + </p> + <p> + Gaston Paris's Les Chansons de Gestes françaises (see his Histoire + poétique de Charlemagne, 1865, pp. 69-72); + </p> + <p> + George Saintsbury's The Chansons de Gestes (see his Short History of + French Literature, 1892, pp. 10-25); + </p> + <p> + Henri Van Laun's The Carlovingian Cycle (see his History of French + Literature, 1876, vol. i., pp. 141-148); + </p> + <p> + Ancient Literature of France, Quarterly Review, 1866, cxx. 283-323; + </p> + <p> + The Chanson de Roland, Westminster Review, 1873, c. 32-44; + </p> + <p> + M. Hayden's The Chansons de Geste, Dublin Review, 1894, cxiv. 346-357; + </p> + <p> + Charles Francis Keary's The Chansons de Geste: the Song of Roland, + Fraser's Magazine, 1881, civ. 777-789; + </p> + <p> + J. M. L.'s The Song of Roland, Macmillan's Magazine, 1862, vi. 486-501; + </p> + <p> + Agnes Lambert's The oldest epic of Christendom, Nineteenth Century, 1882, + xi. 77-101; + </p> + <p> + Andrew Lang's The Song of Roland and the Iliad, National Review, 1892, xx. + 195-205; + </p> + <p> + Legend of Roland, Encyclopćdia Britannica, vol. xx.; + </p> + <p> + Gustave Masson's The Chanson de Roland, Leisure Hour, 1877, xxvi. 618-620; + </p> + <p> + The Song of Roland, Catholic World, 1873 and 1874, xviii. 378-388, + 488-500; + </p> + <p> + The Song of Roland, Harper's Monthly, 1882, lxiv. 505-515; + </p> + <p> + The Month, 1880, xl. 515-527; Temple Bar, 1886, lxxviii. 534-540. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0052" id="link2H_4_0052"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </h2> + <p> + The Song of Roland, as chanted before the Battle of Hastings by the + Minstrel Taillefer, Tr. from the French translation of Vitet by Mrs. Anne + Caldwell Marsh, 1854; + </p> + <p> + The Song of Roland, Tr. into English verse by John O'Hagan, ed. 2, 1883; + </p> + <p> + La Chanson de Roland, Tr. from the seventh ed. of Léon Gautier, by Leonce + Rabillon, 1885. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0053" id="link2H_4_0053"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </h2> + <p> + For full seven years had Charlemagne tarried in Spain, and all the land + lay conquered save the city of Saragossa. There, in an orchard, upon a + terrace paved with blue marble, sat its king, Marsile, taking counsel with + his lords. + </p> + <p> + "No army have I," said the king; "no people to array against the hosts of + the great emperor. Advise me, my lords, what I shall do to save ourselves + from disgrace and shame." + </p> + <p> + The wily Blancandrin, wisest and greatest among the pagans, advanced + before him. "Where might cannot prevail, often craft gains the day. My + lord, send gifts to mighty Carle. Drive forth a long train of camels; heap + many mules with gold; send chariots filled with precious gifts. Advise him + that on the day of Saint Michael's feast you will seek him at Aix, and + there become a Christian, and his vassal. Yea, even send hostages; my own + son shall go, even though he lose his head. Then will Carle depart for + France. The day set by you will come, but he will hear naught from us. The + hostages' heads will fall. What of it? Better this than for us to lose + forever Spain the fair." + </p> + <p> + The king, pleased with the craft of Blancandrin, dismissed his council, + and ordered ten of his fiercest barons to seek Charlemagne at Cordova, + bearing the olive-branch, and make the offer suggested by Blancandrin. + </p> + <p> + Cordova, filled with rich spoils, had been taken, and its surviving + inhabitants given the choice of the sword or Christian baptism. Therefore + the happy emperor sat at his ease in a wide-spreading orchard. Around him + stood Roland, Olivier, Samsun the duke, Anseis, Gefrei d'Anjou, and + Gerier. At least fifteen thousand French knights were diverting themselves + with different games in the beautiful orchard, where, under a pine-tree, + the great King of France sat upon a golden chair. His white hair and + flowing white beard added majesty to his already majestic figure, so that + the olive-bearing messengers needed not to have great Carle pointed out to + them. + </p> + <p> + The emperor heard the message of Marsile in silence, and dismissing the + pagans for the night to a pavilion, called together in council his wisest + barons, Duke Ogier, Archbishop Turpin, Gerier, Roland, Olivier, a thousand + Franks, among them Ganelon, the step-father of Roland, and laid before + them the message of Marsile. + </p> + <p> + "Rich gifts he offers me, but he demands that I return to France; thither + will he follow me, and at Aix will become a Christian and a vassal. A fair + promise, but what is in his heart I cannot tell." + </p> + <p> + After a moment's silence Roland stood forth. + </p> + <p> + "Sire, have no faith in the words of Marsile. When have we found aught but + treachery in the Saracen? For seven years I have been winning victories + for you here in Spain. Once before you yielded to such a message as this, + from this same Marsile, and lost, in consequence, the heads of your Counts + Bazan and Bazile. War on as you have begun. Besiege his city! subdue + Saragossa!" + </p> + <p> + Then strode forth the angry Ganelon. "My king, this young hot-head is a + fool; hearken not unto him. Accept the offer of Marsile, and lose no more + lives by the foolhardiness of one who cares more for his own glory than + for human life." + </p> + <p> + The voice of the others, among them Duke Naimes, Charlemagne's wisest + counsellor and truest vassal, was with Ganelon. The emperor stroked his + white beard. "My lords, whom shall we send to meet Marsile at Saragossa?" + </p> + <p> + "I will go," said Duke Naimes. + </p> + <p> + "Nay, I cannot spare you from my councils," replied the king. + </p> + <p> + "I am here!" cried Roland. + </p> + <p> + "Not you! You are too hot-headed to venture into the court of the enemy!" + cried his friend Olivier. "Let me go instead, sire!" + </p> + <p> + "Nay!" cried the king. "Silence! Not one of the twelve peers sets his foot + in the kingdom of the Moors." + </p> + <p> + "Then let my step-father go," suggested Roland. "No wiser man than he can + be found." + </p> + <p> + "Come forward," said the king, as the Franks murmured assent, "and receive + the staff and glove. The Franks have chosen you." + </p> + <p> + Ganelon rose, wrathful, casting off his fur robe. His eyes were gray, his + face fierce, his form noble. + </p> + <p> + "This is Roland's work. I shall hate him forever, and Olivier, and the + twelve peers, because they love him. Ne'er shall I return; full well I + know it. If e'er I do, it will be to wreak vengeance on my enemy." + </p> + <p> + "Go!" said the king. "You have said enough!" + </p> + <p> + As Ganelon went forward, full of rage, to receive the king's glove, it + fell ere he touched it. "A bad omen!" exclaimed the French. + </p> + <p> + "Sirs, ye shall hear of this!" said Ganelon. + </p> + <p> + On his way to Saragossa with the legates of Marsile, Ganelon laid the + impious plot that was to result in the destruction of Roland and the + peers. It saved his life at Saragossa, where Marsile threatened to kill + him on reading Charlemagne's message. He explained carefully to the + Saracens how the rear guard, left at Roncesvalles under the command of + Roland and the twelve peers, could be destroyed by the pagan forces before + the knowledge of the battle could reach Charlemagne, and that, with these + props of his kingdom gone, the king's power would be so diminished that + Marsile could easily hold out against him. Then the traitor hastened back + to Cordova, laden with rich gifts. + </p> + <p> + When Ganelon rode back, the emperor was preparing to return to sweet + France. "Barons," said Carle, "whom shall I leave in charge of these deep + defiles and narrow passes?" + </p> + <p> + "My step-son Roland is well able to take the command," said Ganelon; "he + your nephew, whom you prize most of all your knights." + </p> + <p> + Rage filled the hearts of both Roland and Carle; but the word was spoken, + and Roland must remain. With him remained the twelve peers, his friends, + Olivier, his devoted comrade, the gallant Archbishop Turpin, and twenty + thousand valiant knights. + </p> + <p> + While Charlemagne's army toiled over the terrible gorges and high + mountains into Gascony, the emperor, ever grieving over the untimely death + his nephew might meet in the defiles of Spain, down came the pagans, who + had been gathering on the high mountains and in the murky valleys,—emirs, + sons of noble counts were they, brave as the followers of Charlemagne. + </p> + <p> + When Olivier descried the pagan horde he at once exclaimed,— + </p> + <p> + "This is the work of Ganelon!" + </p> + <p> + "Hush!" replied Roland. "He is my step-father. Say no more." + </p> + <p> + Then Olivier, when from the hill he saw the one hundred thousand Saracens, + their helmets bedecked with gold, their shields shining in the sun, + besought his friend to sound his horn, the olifant, and summon the king to + their aid. + </p> + <p> + "Never will I so disgrace myself!" exclaimed Roland. "Never shall sweet + France be so dishonored. One hundred thousand blows shall I give with my + sword, my Durendal, and the Moors will fall and die!" + </p> + <p> + When Olivier found his pleading vain, he mounted his steed and rode with + Roland to the front of the lines. + </p> + <p> + Long was the fight and terrible. If gallantry and strength sat with the + twelve peers and their followers, they were with their opponents as well. + No sooner had Roland, or Olivier, or Turpin, or Engelier cleft the body of + a Moorish knight down to the saddle, than down fell a Christian, his + helmet broken, his hauberk torn by the lance of his dreaded foe. The + nephew of Marsile fell by the hand of Roland, who taunted him as he lay in + death; Olivier struck down Marsile's brother. "A noble stroke!" cried + Roland. + </p> + <p> + "A baron's stroke!" exclaimed the archbishop, as Samsun pierced the + Almazour with his lance and he fell dead. Olivier spurred over the field, + crushing the pagans and beating them down with his broken lance. + </p> + <p> + "Comrade, where is thy sword, thy Halteclere?" called Roland to his + friend. + </p> + <p> + "Here, but I lack time to draw it," replied the doughty Olivier. + </p> + <p> + More than a thousand blows struck Turpin; the pagans fell by hundreds and + by thousands, and over the field lay scattered those who would nevermore + see sweet France. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, in France, hail fell and rain; the sky was vivid with lightning + bolts. The earth shook, and the land lay in darkness at noonday. None + understood the portent. Alas! it was Nature's grief at the death of Count + Roland. + </p> + <p> + When Roland perceived that in spite of their mighty efforts the passes + were still filled with heathen knights, and the French ranks were fast + thinning, he said to Olivier, "What think you if we call the king?" + </p> + <p> + "Never!" exclaimed Olivier. "Better death now than shame!" + </p> + <p> + "If I blow, Carle will hear it now and return. I shall blow my olifant," + cried Roland. + </p> + <p> + "When I begged you to blow it," said Olivier, "you refused, when you could + have saved the lives of all of us. You will show no valor if you blow it + now." + </p> + <p> + "Great is the strife," said Roland. "I will blow that Carle may come." + </p> + <p> + "Then," said Olivier, "if I return to France, I pledge you my word my + sister Aude shall never be your wife. Your rashness has been the cause of + our destruction. Now you shall die here, and here ends our friendship." + </p> + <p> + Across the field the archbishop spurred to reconcile the friends. "Carle + will come too late to save our lives," said he, "but he will reach the + field in time to preserve our mangled bodies and wreak vengeance on our + foes." + </p> + <p> + Roland put his horn to his lips and blew with such force that his temples + burst and the crimson blood poured forth from his mouth. Three times he + sounded his horn, and each time the sound brought anguish to the heart of + Carle, who heard it, riding thirty leagues away. "Our men make battle!" + cried he; but this Ganelon hastened to deny, insisting that Roland was but + hunting and blowing the horn, taking sport among the peers. But Duke + Naimes exclaimed, "Your nephew is in sore distress. He who would deceive + you is a traitor. Haste! Shout your war-cry, and let us return to the + battle-field. You yourself hear plainly his call for help!" + </p> + <p> + Commanding Ganelon to be seized and given to the scullions of his house to + be kept for punishment until his return, Carle ordered his men to arm and + return to Roncesvalles, that they might, if possible, save the lives of + the noble peers. All the army wept aloud as they thought of the doom of + Roland. High were the mountains, deep the valleys, swift the rushing + streams. The French rode on, answering the sound of the olifant; the + emperor rode, filled with grief and rage; the barons spurred their horses, + but in vain. + </p> + <p> + After Roland had sounded the horn he again grasped Durendal, and, mounted + on his horse Veillantif, scoured the battle-field, cutting down the + heathen. But still their troops pressed him, and when he saw the Ethiopian + band led by the uncle of Marsile, he knew his doom had come. Olivier, + riding forth to meet the accursed band, received his death-wound from the + Kalif, but lived to cut his enemy down, and call Roland to him. Alas! + sight had forsaken his eyes, and as he sat on his steed he lifted his + bright sword Halteclere, and struck Roland a fearful blow that clove his + crest but did not touch his head. "Was the blow meant for me, my comrade?" + asked Roland softly. "Nay, I can see no more. God pity me! Pardon me, my + friend!" and as the two embraced each other, Olivier fell dead. + </p> + <p> + Then, in the agony of his grief, Roland fainted, sitting firm in his + saddle, and again recovering consciousness, became aware of the terrible + losses of the French. Only himself, the archbishop, and the gallant + Gaultier de l'Hum were left to defend the honor of the French. After + Gaultier fell, Roland, unassisted save by Turpin, who fought transfixed by + four spear shafts, put the enemy to flight. Feeling his death wounds, + Roland besought Turpin to let him bring together the bodies of his fallen + comrades that they might receive the blessing of the archbishop. Weak and + trembling from loss of blood, Roland passed to and fro over the + corpse-bestrewn field, and gathered together his comrades: here, Gerin and + Gerier, Berengier and Otun; there, Anseis, Samsun, and Gerard de + Roussillon, and last of all, his beloved Olivier, and placing them before + the knees of Turpin, he saw them receive his blessing. + </p> + <p> + In his great grief at the sight of the dead Olivier, Roland again fainted, + and Turpin hastened to a little brook near by for water to revive him. But + the strain was too great for his already weakened body, and, when Roland + revived, it was to find the archbishop dead. + </p> + <p> + Then Roland, realizing that his hour, too, had come, sought out a place in + which to die. Upon a hill between two lofty trees, where was a marble + terrace, he placed himself with his head towards the enemy's country; and + there a Saracen, who had feigned death to escape it, tried to wrest from + him his beloved Durendal. + </p> + <p> + Roland crushed the pagan's head with his olifant, but now he was troubled, + for he feared that his sword would fall into other than Christian hands. + Ill could he bear to be parted from his beloved sword. Its golden hilt + contained rare relics,—a tooth of Saint Peter, blood, hair, and + bones of other saints, and by the strength of these holy relics it had + conquered vast realms. Ten and more mighty blows he struck with Durendal + upon the hard rock of the terrace, in the endeavor to break it; but it + neither broke nor blunted. Then, counting over his great victories, he + placed it and the olifant beneath him, and committed his soul to the + Father, who sent down his angels to bear it to Paradise. + </p> + <p> + When the French army, led by Charlemagne, found the passes heaped high + with the bodies of the dead and no living soul to tell the story of the + slaughter, they wept, and many fell swooning to the earth. But the enraged + Charlemagne, unwilling then to give time for mourning, spurred on his + soldiers, overtook the fleeing enemy, and drove them into the Ebro, so + that those who survived the sword, perished by the wave. Then, returning + to the field of Roncesvalles, he wept over his beloved Roland and the + peers. + </p> + <p> + Great was his grief; handfuls of hair he tore from his head, and many + times wished that his soul were in Paradise, and his body beside that of + Roland. He commanded that the hearts of Roland, Olivier, and Turpin be + taken from their bodies, wrapped, and inurned, and the bodies borne home + in chariots. The bodies of the others were gathered together in one tomb, + and assoiled and blessed by the priests who accompanied the army. + </p> + <p> + As Charlemagne prepared to start for France, he saw a new army + approaching. The aged Emir Baligant, from Babylon, who had long ago been + summoned by Marsile, had just arrived in Saragossa, and hastened forth to + meet Charlemagne. The emir's army was countless, and Charlemagne's was + weakened by its great loss. But the thought of the slaughtered peers + spurred on the French, and with great Carle for their leader, they quickly + put the pagans to flight. + </p> + <p> + The Franks pursued the enemy to Saragossa, where the wounded Marsile + expired on hearing of his defeat. The city was taken, its inhabitants + either slain, or converted and baptized, and Queen Bramimunde taken to + France to be won to the true faith by gentler means. + </p> + <p> + When Charlemagne entered his stately palace at Aix, he was met by the fair + lady Aude. + </p> + <p> + "Where is Roland, my betrothed?" + </p> + <p> + Carle wept, tearing his white beard. + </p> + <p> + "Thou askest of one who is no more. But in his place I will give thee my + son. I can do no better." + </p> + <p> + "Nay, God forbid that I should live if Roland is dead;" and so saying, + Aude, the beautiful, fell dead at the feet of the emperor. + </p> + <p> + From all his lands Carle summoned men to Aix for the trial of Ganelon. + </p> + <p> + "Judge him according to the law, my barons," said the king. "He lost me + twenty thousand of my Franks. My nephew Roland, Olivier, my twelve peers, + he sold." + </p> + <p> + "My king," pleaded Ganelon, "call it not treason. I was ever loyal to you. + I thought not of gain, but of revenge against my rebellious and haughty + step-son." + </p> + <p> + The sentiment of many was with Ganelon, and Pinabel offered to fight for + him against Thierri, the champion of the king. Thirty knights of his kin + gave themselves as legal sureties of his pledge, and the combat began. + Pinabel was conquered and slain, and Ganelon was condemned to be torn to + pieces by wild horses. His thirty sureties were also compelled to suffer + death. + </p> + <p> + Ganelon was punished; Bramimunde was made a Christian, and the emperor + thought at last to have peace. But as night fell and he sought rest in his + lofty room, Gabriel appeared to him. + </p> + <p> + "Summon thy hosts and march into Bire to succor King Vivien. The + Christians look to thee for help." + </p> + <p> + The king wept and tore his beard. "So troubled is my life!" said he. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0054" id="link2H_4_0054"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND. + </h2> + <h3> + THE HORN. + </h3> + <p> + The Rear Guard of the French army, left behind at Roncesvalles, under + Roland, was attacked by a great host of Moors. In the beginning of the + battle Olivier besought Roland to recall the emperor by blowing the + olifant, whose sound could be heard for many leagues, but Roland refused. + But when he saw the overwhelming forces of the Moors, and the field strewn + with the corpses of the French, he resolved to blow the horn. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Seeing so many warriors fall'n around, + Rollánd unto his comrade Olivier + Spoke thus: "Companion fair and dear, for God + Whose blessing rests on you, those vassals true + And brave lie corses on the battle-field: + Look! We must mourn for France so sweet and fair, + From henceforth widowed of such valiant knights. + Carle, 'would you were amongst us, King and friend! + What can we do, say, brother Olivier, + To bring him news of this sore strait of ours!" + Olivier answers: "I know not; but this + I know; for us is better death than shame." + Aoi. + + Rollánd says: "I will blow mine olifant, + And Carle will hear it from the pass. I pledge + My word the French at once retrace their steps." + Said Olivier: "This a great shame would be, + One which to all your kindred would bequeathe + A lifetime's stain. When this I asked of you, + You answered nay, and would do naught. Well, now + With my consent you shall not;—if you blow + Your horn, of valor true you show no proof. + Already, both your arms are drenched with blood." + Responds the count: "These arms have nobly struck." + Aoi. + + "The strife is rude," Rollánd says; "I will blow + My horn, that Carle may hear."—Said Olivier: + "This would not courage be. What I desired, + Companion, you disdained. Were the king here, + Safe would we be, but yon brave men are not + To blame."—"By this my beard," said Olivier, + "I swear, if ever I see again sweet Aude, + My sister, in her arms you ne'er shall lie." + Aoi. + + Rollánd asked Olivier—"Why show to me + Your anger, friend?"—"Companion, yours the fault; + True courage means not folly. Better far + Is prudence than your valiant rage. Our French + Their lives have lost, your rashness is the cause. + And now our arms can never more give Carle + Their service good. Had you believed your friend, + Amongst us would he be, and ours the field, + The King Marsile, a captive or a corse. + Rollánd, your valor brought ill fortune, nor + Shall Carle the great e'er more our help receive, + A man unequalled till God's judgment-day. + Here shall you die, and dying, humble France, . . . + This day our loyal friendship ends—ere falls + The Vesper-eve, dolorously we part!" + Aoi. + + The archbishop heard their strife. In haste he drives + Into his horse his spurs of purest gold, + And quick beside them rides. Then chiding them, + Says: "Sire Rollánd, and you, Sire Olivier, + In God's name be no feud between you two; + No more your horn shall save us; nathless't were + Far better Carle should come and soon avenge + Our deaths. So joyous then these Spanish foes + Would not return. But as our Franks alight, + Find us, or slain or mangled on the field, + They will our bodies on their chargers' backs + Lift in their shrouds with grief and pity, all + In tears, and bury us in holy ground: + And neither wolves, nor swine, nor curs shall feed + On us—" Replied Rollánd: "Well have you said." + + Rollánd raised to his lips the olifant, + Drew a deep breath, and blew with all his force. + High are the mountains, and from peak to peak + The sound re-echoes; thirty leagues away + 'T was heard by Carle and all his brave compeers. + Cried the king: "Our men make battle!" Ganelon + Retorts in haste: "If thus another dared + To speak, we should denounce it as a lie." + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd in his great anguish blows + His olifant so mightily, with such + Despairing agony, his mouth pours forth + The crimson blood, and his swol'n temples burst. + Yea, but so far the ringing blast resounds; + Carle hears it, marching through the pass, Naimes harks, + The French all listen with attentive ear. + "That is Rollánd's horn!" Carle cried, "which ne'er yet + Was, save in battle, blown!" But Ganelon + Replies: "No fight is there! you, sire, are old, + Your hair and beard are all bestrewn with gray, + And as a child your speech. Well do you know + Rollánd's great pride. 'Tis marvellous God bears + With him so long. Already took he Noble + Without your leave. The pagans left their walls + And fought Rollánd, your brave knight, in the field; + With his good blade he slew them all, and then + Washed all the plain with water, that no trace + Of blood was left—yea, oftentimes he runs + After a hare all day and blows his horn. + Doubtless he takes his sport now with his peers; + And who 'neath Heav'n would dare attack Rollánd? + None, as I deem. Nay, sire, ride on apace; + Why do you halt? Still far is the Great Land." + Aoi. + + Rollánd with bleeding mouth and temples burst, + Still, in his anguish, blows his olifant; + Carle hears it, and his Franks. The king exclaims: + "That horn has a long breath!" Duke Naimes replies: + "Rollánd it is, and in a sore distress, + Upon my faith a battle rages there! + A traitor he who would deceive you now. + To arms! Your war-cry shout, your kinsman save! + Plainly enough you hear his call for help." + Aoi. + + Carle orders all the trumpeters to sound + The march. The French alight. They arm themselves + With helmets, hauberks and gold-hilted swords, + Bright bucklers, long sharp spears, with pennons white + And red and blue. The barons of the host + Leap on their steeds, all spurring on; while through + The pass they march, each to the other says: + "Could we but reach Rollánd before he dies, + What deadly blows, with his, our swords would strike!" + But what avails? Too late they will arrive. + Aoi. + + The ev'n is clear, the sun its radiant beams + Reflects upon the marching legions, spears, + Hauberks and helms, shields painted with bright flowers, + Gold pennons all ablaze with glitt'ring hues. + Burning with wrath the emperor rides on; + The French with sad and angered looks. None there + But weeps aloud. All tremble for Rollánd. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The king commands Count Ganelon be seized + And given to the scullions of his house. + Their chief, named Bčgue, he calls and bids: "Guard well + This man as one who all my kin betrayed." + Him Bčgue received, and set upon the count + One hundred of his kitchen comrades—best + And worst; they pluck his beard on lip and cheek; + Each deals him with his fist four blows, and falls + On him with lash and stick; they chain his neck + As they would chain a bear, and he is thrown + For more dishonor on a sumpter mule, + There guarded so until to Carle brought back. + Aoi. + + High are the mountains, gloomy, terrible, + The valleys deep, and swift the rushing streams. + In van, in rear, the brazen trumpets blow, + Answering the olifant. With angry look + Rides on the emp'ror; filled with wrath and grief, + Follow the French, each sobbing, each in tears, + Praying that God may guard Rollánd, until + They reach the battle-field. With him what blows + Will they not strike! Alas? what boots it now? + Too late they are and cannot come in time. + Aoi. + + Carle in great anger rides—his snow-white beard + O'erspreads his breast-plate. Hard the barons spur, + For never one but inwardly doth rage + That he is far from their great chief, Rollánd, + Who combats now the Saracens of Spain: + If wounded he, will one of his survive? + O God! What knights those sixty left by him! + Nor king nor captain better ever had.... + Aoi. + <i>Rabillon's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0055" id="link2H_4_0055"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ROLAND'S DEATH. + </h2> + <p> + When all the French lay dead upon the field except Roland and the + Archbishop Turpin, Roland gathered together the bodies of his dead + comrades, the peers, that they might receive the archbishop's blessing. He + then fell fainting from grief, and aroused himself to find the archbishop + dead also. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Rollánd now feels his death is drawing nigh: + From both his ears the brain is oozing fast. + For all his peers he prays that God may call + Their souls to him; to the Angel Gabriel + He recommends his spirit. In one hand + He takes the olifant, that no reproach + May rest upon him; in the other grasps + Durendal, his good sword. Forward he goes, + Far as an arblast sends a shaft, across + A new-tilled ground and toward the land of Spain. + Upon a hill, beneath two lofty trees, + Four terraces of marble spread;—he falls + Prone fainting on the green, for death draws near. + Aoi. + + High are the mounts, and lofty are the trees. + Four terraces are there, of marble bright: + There Count Rollánd lies senseless on the grass. + Him at this moment spies a Saracen + Who lies among the corpses, feigning death, + His face and body all besmeared with blood. + Sudden he rises to his feet, and bounds + Upon the baron. Handsome, brave, and strong + He was, but from his pride sprang mortal rage. + He seized the body of Rollánd, and grasped + His arms, exclaiming thus: "Here vanquished Carle's + Great nephew lies! This sword to Araby + I'll bear." He drew it; this aroused the count. + Aoi. + + Rollánd perceived an alien hand would rob + Him of his sword; his eyes he oped; one word + He spoke: "I trow, not one of us art thou!" + Then with his olifant from which he parts + Never, he smites the golden studded helm, + Crushing the steel, the head, the bones; both eyes + Are from their sockets beaten out—o'erthrown + Dead at the baron's feet he falls;—"O wretch," + He cries, "how durst thou, or for good or ill, + Lay hands upon Rollánd? Who hears of this + Will call thee fool. Mine olifant is cleft, + Its gems and gold all scattered by the blow." + Aoi. + + Now feels Rollánd that death is near at hand + And struggles up with all his force; his face + Grows livid; Durendal, his naked sword, + He holds; beside him rises a gray rock + On which he strikes ten mighty blows through grief + And rage. The steel but grinds; it breaks not, nor + Is notched; then cried the count: "Saint Mary, help! + O Durendal! Good sword! ill starred art thou! + Though we two part, I care not less for thee. + What victories together thou and I + Have gained, what kingdoms conquered, which now holds + White-bearded Carle! No coward's hand shall grasp + Thy hilt: a valiant knight has borne thee long, + Such as none shall e'er bear in France the Free!" + Aoi. + + Rollánd smites hard the rock of Sardonix; + The steel but grinds, it breaks not, nor grows blunt; + Then seeing that he cannot break his sword, + Thus to himself he mourns for Durendal: + "O good my sword, how bright and pure! Against + The sun what flashing light thy blade reflects! + When Carle passed through the valley of Moriane, + The God of Heaven by his Angel sent + Command that he should give thee to a count, + A valiant captain; it was then the great + And gentle king did gird thee to my side. + With thee I won for him Anjou—Bretaigne; + For him with thee I won Poitou, le Maine + And Normandie the free; I won Provence + And Aquitaine, and Lumbardie, and all + The Romanie; I won for him Baviere, + All Flandre—Buguerie—all Puillanie, + Costentinnoble which allegiance paid, + And Saxonie submitted to his power; + For him I won Escoce and Galle, Irlande, + And Engleterre he made his royal seat; + With thee I conquered all the lands and realms + Which Carle, the hoary-bearded monarch, rules. + Now for this sword I mourn. . . . Far better die + Than in the hands of pagans let it fall! + May God, Our Father, save sweet France this shame!" + Aoi. + + Upon the gray rock mightily he smites, + Shattering it more than I can tell; the sword + But grinds. It breaks not—nor receives a notch, + And upward springs more dazzling in the air. + When sees the Count Rollánd his sword can never break, + Softly within himself its fate he mourns: + "O Durendal, how fair and holy thou! + In thy gold-hilt are relics rare; a tooth + Of great Saint Pierre—some blood of Saint Basile, + A lock of hair of Monseigneur Saint Denis, + A fragment of the robe of Sainte-Marie. + It is not right that pagans should own thee; + By Christian hand alone be held. Vast realms + I shall have conquered once that now are ruled + By Carle, the king with beard all blossom-white, + And by them made great emperor and lord. + May thou ne'er fall into a cowardly hand." + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd feels through his limbs the grasp + Of death, and from his head ev'n to his heart + A mortal chill descends. Unto a pine + He hastens, and falls stretched upon the grass. + Beneath him lie his sword and olifant, + And toward the Heathen land he turns his head, + That Carle and all his knightly host may say: + "The gentle count a conqueror has died. . . ." + Then asking pardon for his sins, or great + Or small, he offers up his glove to God. + Aoi. + + The Count Rollánd feels now his end approach. + Against a pointed rock, and facing Spain, + He lies. Three times he beats his breast, and says: + "Mea culpa! Oh, my God, may through thy grace, + Be pardoned all my sins, or great or small, + Until this hour committed since my birth!" + Then his right glove he offers up to God, + And toward him angels from high Heav'n descend. + Aoi. + + Beneath a pine Rollánd doth lie, and looks + Toward Spain. He broods on many things of yore: + On all the lands he conquered, on sweet France, + On all his kinsmen, on great Carle his lord + Who nurtured him;—he sighs, nor can restrain + His tears, but cannot yet himself forget; + Recalls his sins, and for the grace of God + He prays: "Our Father, never yet untrue, + Who Saint-Lazare raised from the dead, and saved + Thy Daniel from the lions' claws,—oh, free + My soul from peril, from my whole life's sins!" + His right hand glove he offered up to God; + Saint Gabriel took the glove.—With head reclined + Upon his arm, with hands devoutly joined + He breathed his last. God sent his cherubim, + Saint-Raphael, <i>Saint Michiel del Peril</i>. + Together with them Gabriel came. All bring + The soul of Count Rollánd to Paradise. + Aoi. + <i>Rabillon's Translation</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0056" id="link2H_4_0056"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </h2> + <p> + The monarchs of ancient Persia made several attempts to collect the + historic annals of their country, but both people and traditions were + scattered by the Arabian conquest. The manuscript annals were carried to + Abyssinia, thence to India, and were taken back to Persia just when the + weakness of the conquerors was beginning to show itself. The various + members of the Persian line, who had declared themselves independent of + their conquerors, determined to rouse the patriotism of their countrymen + by the recital of the stirring deeds of the warriors of old Persia. + </p> + <p> + The fame of Abul Kasin Mansur, born at Thus, in Khorasan, A. D. 920, + reached Mahmoud of Ghaznin, who was searching for a poet to re-cast the + annals of Persia. He called the poet to his court, and, on hearing him + improvise, called him Firdusi (the paradisiacal). The poet was intrusted + with the preparation of the Shah-Nameh, or Epic of Kings, for every one + thousand distichs of which he was to receive a thousand pieces of gold. It + had been the dream of the poet's life to build a bridge and otherwise + improve his native town. He therefore asked that the payment be deferred + until the completion of his work, that he might apply the entire sum to + these improvements. But when the poem was completed, after thirty years' + labor, the king, instigated by the slanders of the jealous prime minister, + sent to the poet sixty thousand silver instead of gold dirhems. The + enraged poet threw the silver to his attendants and fled from the country, + leaving behind him an insulting poem to the sultan. He spent the remainder + of his life at Mazinderan and Bagdad, where he was received with honor, + and in his old age returned to Thus to die. Tradition relates that Mahmoud + at last discovered the villainy of his minister, and sent the gold to + Thus. But the old poet was dead, and his daughter indignantly refused the + money. Mahmoud then applied the sum to the improvements of the town so + long desired by Firdusi. + </p> + <p> + The Shah-Nameh is written in the pure old Persian, that Mohammed declared + would be the language of Paradise. In its sixty thousand couplets are + related the deeds of the Persian kings from the foundation of the world to + the invasion by the Mohammedans; but it is of very little value as a + historical record, the facts it purports to relate being almost lost among + the Oriental exaggerations of the deeds of its heroes. + </p> + <p> + The only complete translation in a foreign language is the elaborate + French translation of Julius Mohl. + </p> + <p> + The Shah-Nameh is still popular in Persia, where it is said that even the + camel drivers are able to repeat long portions of it. Firdusi is sometimes + called the Homer of the East, because he describes rude heroic times and + men, as did Homer; but he is also compared to Ariosto, because of his + wealth of imagery. His heroes are very different from those to whom we + have been wont to pay our allegiance; but they fight for the same + principles and worship as lovely maids, to judge from the hyperbole + employed in their description. The condensation of the Shah-Nameh reads + like a dry chronicle; but in its entirety it reminds one of nothing so + much as a gorgeous Persian web, so light and varied, so brightened is it + by its wealth of episode. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL10" id="link2H_BIBL10"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </h2> + <p> + Samuel Johnson's The Shah-Nameh, or Book of Kings (in his Oriental + Religion, Persia, 1885, pp. 711-782); + </p> + <p> + E. B. Cowell's Persian Literature, Firdusi (in Oxford Essays, 1885, pp. + 164-166); + </p> + <p> + Elizabeth A. Reed's Persian Literature, Ancient and Modern, 1893, pp. + 214-283. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0058" id="link2H_4_0058"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </h2> + <p> + The Shah-Nameh, Tr. and abridged in prose and verse with notes and + illustrations, by James Atkinson, 1832; + </p> + <p> + Abbreviated version taken from a Persian abridgment, half prose, half + verse; The Epic of Kings, Stories re-told from Firdusi, by Helen Zimmern, + 1882. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0059" id="link2H_4_0059"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </h2> + <p> + Kaiumers was the first King of Persia, and against him Ahriman, the evil, + through jealousy of his greatness, sent forth a mighty Deev to conquer + him. By this Deev, Saiamuk, the son of Kaiumers, was slain, and the king + himself died of grief at the loss of his son. + </p> + <p> + Husheng, his grandson, who succeeded Kaiumers, was a great and wise king, + who gave fire to his people, taught them irrigation, instructed them how + to till and sow, and gave names to the beasts. His son and successor, + Tahumers, taught his people the arts of spinning, weaving, and writing, + and when he died left his throne to his son Jemschid. + </p> + <p> + Jemschid was a mighty monarch, who divided men into classes, and the years + into periods, and builded mighty walls and cities; but his heart grew + proud at the thought of his power, and he was driven away from his land by + his people, who called Zohak to the throne of Iran. + </p> + <p> + Zohak, who came from the deserts of Arabia, was a good and wise young man + who had fallen into the power of a Deev. This Deev, in the guise of a + skillful servant, asked permission one day to kiss his monarch between the + shoulders, as a reward for an unusually fine bit of cookery. From the spot + he kissed sprang two black serpents, whose only nourishment was the brains + of the king's subjects. + </p> + <p> + The serpent king, as Zohak was now called, was much feared by his + subjects, who saw their numbers daily lessen by the demands of the + serpents. But when the children of the blacksmith Kawah were demanded as + food for the serpents, the blacksmith defied Zohak, and raising his + leathern apron as a standard,—a banner ever since honored in Persia,—he + called the people to him, and set off in search of Feridoun, an heir of + Jemschid. Under the young leader the oppressed people defeated the tyrant, + and placed Feridoun on the throne. + </p> + <p> + Feridoun had three sons, Irij, Tur, and Silim. Having tested their + bravery, he divided the kingdom among them, giving to Irij the kingdom of + Iran. Although the other brothers had received equal shares of the + kingdom, they were enraged because Iran was not their portion, and when + their complaints to their father were not heeded, they slew their brother. + Irij left a son, a babe named Minuchihr, who was reared carefully by + Feridoun. In time he avenged his father, by defeating the armies of his + uncles and slaying them both. Soon after this, Feridoun died, intrusting + his grandson to Saum, his favorite pehliva, or vassal, who ruled over + Seistan. + </p> + <p> + Saum was a childless monarch, and when at last a son was born to him he + was very happy until he learned that while the child was perfect in every + other way, it had the silver hair of an old man. Fearing the talk of his + enemies, Saum exposed the child on a mountain top to die. There it was + found by the Simurgh, a remarkable animal, part bird, part human, that, + touched by the cries of the helpless infant, carried him to her great nest + of aloes and sandal-wood, and reared him with her little ones. + </p> + <p> + Saum, who had lived to regret his foolish and wicked act, was told in a + dream that his son still lived, and was being cared for by the Simurgh. He + accordingly sought the nest, and carried his son away with great + thanksgiving. The Simurgh parted tenderly with the little Zal, and + presented him with a feather from her wing, telling him that whenever he + was in danger, he had only to throw it on the fire and she would instantly + come to his aid. + </p> + <p> + Saum first presented his son at the court of Minuchihr, and then took him + home to Zaboulistan, where he was carefully instructed in every art and + science. + </p> + <p> + At one time, while his father was invading a neighboring province, Zal + travelled over the kingdom and stopped at the court of Mihrab, a tributary + of Saum, who ruled at Kabul. Though a descendant of the serpent king, + Mihrab was good, just, and wise, and he received the young warrior with + hospitality. Zal had not been long in Kabul before he heard of the + beauties of Rudabeh, the daughter of Mihrab, and she, in turn, of the + great exploits of Zal. By an artifice of the princess they met and vowed + to love one another forever, though they knew their love would meet with + opposition. Saum and Zal both pleaded Zal's cause before Minuchihr, who + relented when he heard from the astrologers that a good and mighty warrior + would come of the union. Rudabeh's mother won the consent of Mihrab, so + that the young people were soon married with great pomp. To them a son was + born named Rustem, who, when one day old, was as large as a year-old + child. When three years old he could ride a horse, and at eight years was + as powerful as any hero of the time. + </p> + <p> + Nauder succeeded the good Minuchihr, and under him Persia was defeated by + the Turanians, and Afrasiyab occupied the Persian throne. But Zal, whose + father, Saum, had died, overthrew him and placed Zew upon the throne. + Zew's reign was short, and Garshasp, his son, succeeded him. When he was + threatened by the Turanians, his people went for aid to Zal, who, because + he was growing old, referred them to Rustem, yet of tender age. Rustem + responded gladly, and his father commanded that all the horses from + Zaboulistan to Kabul be brought forth that his son might select a steed + therefrom. Every horse bent beneath his grasp until he came to the colt + Rakush, which responded to Rustem's voice, and suffered him to mount it. + From that day to his death, this steed was his faithful companion and + preserver. + </p> + <p> + Garshasp was too weak to rule over the kingdom, and Zal despatched Rustem + to Mt. Alberz, where he had been told in a dream a youth dwelt called + Kai-Kobad, descended from Feridoun. Kai-Kobad welcomed Rustem, and the + two, with the noblest of the kingdom, defeated the power of Turan. + </p> + <p> + After a reign of a hundred years, the wise Kai-Kobad died, and was + succeeded by his son, the foolish Kai-Kaus, who, not satisfied with the + wealth and extent of his kingdom, determined to conquer the kingdom of + Mazinderan, ruled by the Deevs. Zal's remonstrances were of no avail: the + headstrong Kai-Kaus marched into Mazinderan, and, together with his whole + army, was conquered, imprisoned, and blinded by the power of the White + Deev. + </p> + <p> + When the news of the monarch's misfortune came to Iran, Rustem immediately + saddled Rakush, and, choosing the shortest and most peril-beset route, set + forth, unaccompanied, for Mazinderan. If he survived the dangers that + lurked by the way, he would reach Mazinderan in seven days. + </p> + <p> + While sleeping in a forest, after his first day's journey, he was saved + from a fierce lion by Rakush, who stood at his head. + </p> + <p> + On the second day, just as he believed himself perishing of thirst, he was + saved by a sheep that he followed to a fountain of water; on the third + night, Rakush, whom he had angrily forbidden to attack any animal without + waking him, twice warned him of the approach of a dragon. The first time + the dragon disappeared when Rustem awoke, and he spoke severely to his + faithful horse. The second time he slew the dragon, and morning having + dawned, proceeded through a desert, where he was offered food and wine by + a sorceress. Not recognizing her, and grateful for the food, he offered + her a cup of wine in the name of God, and she was immediately converted + into a black fiend, whom he slew. + </p> + <p> + He was next opposed by Aulad, whom he defeated, and promised to make ruler + of Mazinderan if he would guide him to the caves of the White Deev. A + stony desert and a wide stream lay between him and the demon; but the + undaunted Rustem passed over them, and choosing the middle of the day, at + which time Aulad told him the Deevs slept, he slew the guards, entered the + cavern, and after a terrible struggle, overcame and slew the great Deev. + </p> + <p> + He then released Kai-Kaus and his army, and restored their sight by + touching their eyes with the blood from the Deev's heart. + </p> + <p> + Kai-Kaus, not satisfied with this adventure, committed many other follies, + from which it taxed his warrior sorely to rescue him. + </p> + <p> + Once he was imprisoned by the King of Hamaveran after he had espoused his + daughter; again he followed the advice of a wicked Deev, and tried to + search the heavens in a flying-machine, that descended and left him in a + desert waste. It was only after this last humiliation that he humbled + himself, lay in the dust many days, and at last became worthy of the + throne of his fathers. + </p> + <p> + At one time Rustem was hunting near the borders of Turan, and, falling + asleep, left Rakush to graze in the forest, where he was espied by the men + of Turan and at once captured. When Rustem awoke he followed his steed by + the traces of its hoofs, until he came to the city of Samengan. The king + received him kindly, and promised to restore the horse if it could be + found. While his messengers went in search of it, he feasted his guest, + and led him for the night to a perfumed couch. + </p> + <p> + In the middle of the night Rustem awoke, to see a beautiful young woman + enter the room, accompanied by a maid. She proved to be the princess, who + had fallen in love with Rustem. She pleaded with him to return her love, + promising, if he did so, to restore his cherished horse. Rustem longed for + his steed; moreover, the maiden was irresistibly beautiful. He accordingly + yielded to her proposals, and the two were wedded the next day, the king + having given his consent. + </p> + <p> + After tarrying some time in Samengan, Rustem was forced to return to Iran. + Bidding his bride an affectionate farewell, he presented her with a + bracelet. + </p> + <p> + "If thou art given a daughter, place this amulet in her hair to guard her + from harm. If a son, bind it on his arm, that he may possess the valor of + Nariman." + </p> + <p> + In the course of time, the princess bore a boy, who was like his father in + beauty and boldness, whom she christened Sohrab. But for fear that she + would be deprived of him, she wrote to Rustem that a daughter had been + born to her. To her son she declared the secret of his birth, and urged + him to be like his father in all things; but she warned him not to + disclose the secret, for she feared that if it came to the ears of + Afrasiyab, he would destroy him because of his hatred of Rustem. + </p> + <p> + Sohrab, who had already cherished dreams of conquest, was elated at the + knowledge of his parentage. "Mother," exclaimed he, "I shall gather an + army of Turks, conquer Iran, dethrone Kai-Kaus, and place my father on the + throne; then both of us will conquer Afrasiyab, and I will mount the + throne of Turan." + </p> + <p> + The mother, pleased with her son's valor, gave him for a horse a foal + sprung from Rakush, and fondly watched his preparations for war. + </p> + <p> + The wicked Afrasiyab well knew that Sohrab was the son of Rustem. He was + also aware that it was very dangerous to have two such mighty warriors + alive, since if they became known to each other, they would form an + alliance. He planned, therefore, to aid Sohrab in the war, keeping him in + ignorance of his father, and to manage in some way to have the two meet in + battle, that one or both might be slain. + </p> + <p> + The armies met and the great battle began. Sohrab asked to have Rustem + pointed out to him, but the soldiers on his side were all instructed to + keep him in ignorance. By some strange mischance the two men whom his + mother had sent to enlighten him, were both slain. Rustem was moved at the + sight of the brave young warrior, but remembering that Tahmineh's + offspring was a daughter, thought nothing more of the thrill he felt at + sight of him. At last Sohrab and Rustem met in single combat. Sohrab was + moved with tenderness for his unknown opponent, and besought him to tell + him if he was Rustem, but Rustem declared that he was only a servant of + that chief. For three days they fought bitterly, and on the fourth day + Rustem overthrew his son. When Sohrab felt that the end had come he + threatened his unknown opponent. "Whoever thou art, know that I came not + out for empty glory but to find my father, and that though I have found + him not, when he hears that thou hast slain his son he will search thee + out and avenge me, no matter where thou hidest thyself. For my father is + the great Rustem." + </p> + <p> + Rustem fell down in agony when he heard his son's words, and realized that + his guile had prevented him from being made known the day before. He + examined the onyx bracelet on Sohrab's arm; it was the same he had given + Tahmineh. Bethinking himself of a magic ointment possessed by Kai-Kaus, he + sent for it that he might heal his dying son; but the foolish king, + jealous of his prowess, refused to send it, and Sohrab expired in the arms + of his father. + </p> + <p> + Rustem's heart was broken. He heaped up his armor, his tent, his + trappings, his treasures, and flung them into a great fire. The house of + Zal was filled with mourning, and when the news was conveyed to Samengan, + he tore his garments, and his daughter grieved herself to death before a + year had passed away. + </p> + <p> + To Kai-Kaus and a wife of the race of Feridoun was born a son called + Saiawush, who was beautiful, noble, and virtuous. But his foolish father + allowed himself to be prejudiced against the youth by slanderous tongues, + so that Saiawush fled from the court and sought shelter with Afrasiyab in + Turan. There he speedily became popular, and took unto himself for a wife + the daughter of Afrasiyab. But when he and Ferandis his wife built a + beautiful city, the hatred and jealousy of Gersiwaz was aroused, so that + he lied to Afrasiyab and said that Saiawush was puffed up with pride, and + at last induced Afrasiyab to slay his son-in-law. + </p> + <p> + Saiawush had a son, Kai-Khosrau, who was saved by Piran, a kind-hearted + nobleman, and given into the care of a goatherd. When Afrasiyab learned of + his existence he summoned him to his presence, but the youth, instructed + by Piran, assumed the manners of an imbecile, and was accordingly freed by + Afrasiyab, who feared no harm from him. + </p> + <p> + When the news of the death of Saiawush was conveyed to Iran there was + great mourning, and war was immediately declared against Turan. For seven + years the contest was carried on, always without success, and at the end + of that time Gudarz dreamed that a son of Saiawush was living called + Kai-Khosrau, and that until he was sought out and placed at the head of + the army, deliverance could not come to Iran. Kai-Khosrau was discovered, + and led the armies on to victory; and when Kai-Kaus found that his + grandson was not only a great warrior, skilled in magic, but also + possessed wisdom beyond his years, he resigned the throne and made + Kai-Khosrau ruler over Iran. + </p> + <p> + Kai-Khosrau ruled many long years, in which time he brought peace and + happiness to his kingdom, avenged the murder of his father, and compassed + the death of the wicked Afrasiyab. Then, fearing that he might become + puffed up with pride like Jemschid, he longed to depart from this world, + and prayed Ormuzd to take him to his bosom. + </p> + <p> + The king; after many prayers to Ormuzd, dreamed that his wish would be + granted if he set the affairs of his kingdom in order and appointed his + successor. Rejoiced, he called his nobles together, divided his treasure + among them, and appointed his successor, Lohurasp, whom he commanded to be + the woof and warp of justice. Accompanied by a few of his faithful + friends, he set out on the long journey to the crest of the mountains. At + his entreaties, some of his friends turned back; those who stayed over + night, in spite of his warnings, found on waking that they were covered by + a heavy fall of snow, and were soon frozen. Afterwards their bodies were + found and received a royal burial. + </p> + <p> + Lohurasp had a son Gushtasp who greatly desired to rule, and was a just + monarch, when he succeeded to the throne. Gushtasp, however, was jealous + of his son, Isfendiyar, who was a great warrior. When Gushtasp was about + to be overcome by the forces of Turan, he promised Isfendiyar the throne, + if he would destroy the enemy; but when the hosts were scattered, and + Isfendiyar reminded his father of his promise, he was cast into a dungeon, + there to remain until his services were again needed. When he had again + gained a victory, he was told that the throne should be his when he had + rescued his sisters from the brazen fortress of Arjasp, where they had + been carried and imprisoned. + </p> + <p> + On his way to this tower Isfendiyar met with as many terrible foes as + Rustem had encountered on his way to the White Deev, and as successfully + overcame them. Wolves, lions, enchantresses, and dragons barred the way to + the impregnable fortress, which rose three farsangs high and forty wide, + and was constructed entirely of brass and iron. But Isfendiyar, assuming + the guise of a merchant and concealing his warriors in chests, won his way + into the castle, gained the favor of its inmates, and made them drunk with + wine. This done, he freed his sisters, slew the guards, and struck down + Arjasp. + </p> + <p> + Instead of keeping his promise, Gushtasp hastened to set his son another + task. Rustem was his Pehliva, but it pleased him to send forth Isfendiyar + against him, commanding him to bring home the mighty warrior in chains. + Isfendiyar pleaded in vain with his father. Then he explained the + situation to Rustem, and begged that he would accompany him home in peace + to gratify his father. Rustem refused to go in chains, so the two heroes + reluctantly began the hardest battle of their lives. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the first day, Rustem and Rakush were severely wounded, and + on his return home Rustem happened to think of the Simurgh. Called by the + burning of the feather, the kind bird healed the wounds of the hero and of + Rakush, and instructed Rustem how to slay his foe. "Seek thou the tamarisk + tree, and make thereof an arrow. Aim at his eye, and there thou canst + blind and slay him." + </p> + <p> + Rustem followed the directions, and laid low the gallant youth. Isfendiyar + died exclaiming, "My father has slain me, not thou, Rustem. I die, the + victim of my father's hate; do thou keep for me and rear my son!" + </p> + <p> + Rustem, who had lived so long and accomplished such great deeds, died at + last by the hand of his half-brother. This brother, Shugdad, stirred up + the king of Kabul, in whose court he was reared, to slay Rustem because he + exacted tribute from Kabul. + </p> + <p> + Rustem was called into Kabul by Shugdad, who claimed that the king + mistreated him. When he arrived, the matter was settled amicably, and the + brothers set out for a hunt with the king. The hunters were led to a spot + where the false king had caused pits to be dug lined with sharp weapons. + Rustem, pleased with his kind reception and suspecting no harm, beat + Rakush severely when he paused and would go no further. Stung by the + blows, the gallant horse sprang forward, and fell into the pit. As he rose + from this, he fell into another, until, clambering from the seventh pit, + he and Rustem fell swooning with pain. + </p> + <p> + "False brother!" cried Rustem; "what hast thou done? Was it for thee to + slay thy father's son? Exult now; but thou wilt yet suffer for this + crime!" Then altering his tone, he said gently: "But give me, I pray thee, + my bow and arrows, that I may have it by my side to slay any wild beast + that may try to devour me." + </p> + <p> + Shugdad gave him the bow; and when he saw the gleam in Rustem's eyes, + concealed himself behind a tree. But the angry Rustem, grasping the bow + with something of his former strength, sent the arrow through tree and + man, transfixing both. Then thanking his Creator that he had been given + the opportunity to slay his murderer, he breathed his last. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0060" id="link2H_4_0060"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH. + </h2> + <h3> + THE RAJA OF INDIA SENDS A CHESSBOARD TO NUSHIRVAN. + </h3> + <p> + "This account of the game of chess, written by Ferdusi more than eight + hundred years ago, is curious as showing the antiquity of the game, its + resemblance to it as now played, and the tradition that it was invented in + India, and came originally from that country." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A Mubid related, how one day the king + Suspended his crown over the ivory throne, + All aloes-wood and ivory, and all ivory and aloes; + Every pavilion a court, and every court a royal one; + All the Hall of Audience crowned with soldiers; + Every pavilion filled with Mubids and Wardens of the Marches, + From Balkh, and Bokhara, and from every frontier— + For the King of the world had received advices + From his vigilant and active emissaries, + That an Ambassador had arrived from a King of India, + With the parasol, and elephants, and cavalry of Sind, + And, accompanied by a thousand laden camels, + Was on his way to visit the Great King. + When the circumspect Monarch heard this news, + Immediately he despatched an escort to receive him. + And when the illustrious and dignified Ambassador + Came into the presence of the Great King, + According to the manner of the great, he pronounced a benediction, + And uttered the praise of the Creator of the world. + Then he scattered before him abundance of jewels, + And presented the parasol, the elephants, and the ear-rings; + The Indian parasol embroidered with gold, + And inwoven with all kinds of precious stones. + Then he opened the packages in the midst of the court, + And displayed each one, article by article, before the King. + Within the chest was much silver, and gold, + And musk, and amber, and fresh wood of aloes, + Of rubies, and diamonds, and Indian swords. + Each Indian sword was beautifully damascened; + Everything which is produced in Kanuj and Mai + Hand and foot were busy to put in its place. + They placed the whole together in front of the throne, + And the Chief, the favored of wakeful Fortune, + Surveyed all that the Raja had painstakingly collected, + And then commanded that it should be sent to his treasury. + Then the Ambassador presented, written on silk, + The letter which the Raja had addressed to Nushirvan; + And a chessboard, wrought with such exceeding labor, + That the pains bestowed upon it might have emptied a treasury. + And the Indian delivered a message from the Raja: + "So long as the heavens revolve, may thou be established in thy place! + All who have taken pains to excel in knowledge, + Command to place this chessboard before them, + And to exert their utmost ingenuity + To discover the secret of this noble game. + Let them learn the name of every piece. + Its proper position, and what is its movement. + Let them make out the foot-soldier of the army, + The elephant, the rook, and the horseman, + The march of the vizier and the procession of the King. + If they discover the science of this noble game, + They will have surpassed the most able in science. + Then the tribute and taxes which the King hath demanded + I will cheerfully send all to his court. + But if the congregated sages, men of Iran, + Should prove themselves completely at fault in this science, + Then, since they are not strong enough to compete with us in knowledge, + Neither should they desire taxes or tribute from this land and country: + Rather ought we to receive tribute from you, + Since knowledge hath a title beyond all else." + + Khosru gave heart and ear to the speaker, + And impressed on his memory the words which he heard. + They placed the chessboard before the King, + Who gazed attentively at the pieces a considerable time. + Half the pieces on the board were of brilliant ivory, + The other half of finely imaged teak-wood. + The nicely-observant King questioned him much + About the figures of the pieces and the beautiful board. + The Indian said in answer: "O thou great Monarch, + All the modes and customs of war thou wilt see, + When thou shalt have found out the way to the game; + The plans, the marches, the array of the battle-field." + He replied: "I shall require the space of seven days; + On the eighth we will encounter thee with a glad mind." + They furnished forthwith a pleasant apartment, + And assigned it to the Ambassador as his dwelling. + + Then the Mubid and the skilful to point out the way + Repaired with one purpose to the presence of the King. + They placed the chessboard before them, + And observed it attentively, time without measure. + They sought out and tried every method, + And played against one another in all possible ways. + One spoke and questioned, and another listened, + But no one succeeded in making out the game. + They departed, each one with wrinkles on his brow; + And Buzarchamahar went forthwith to the king. + + He perceived that he was ruffled and stern about this matter, + And in its beginning foresaw an evil ending. + Then he said to Khosru: "O Sovereign, + Master of the world, vigilant, and worthy to command, + I will reduce to practice this noble game; + All my intelligence will I exert to point out the way." + Then the king said: "This affair is thine affair; + Go thou about it with a clear mind and a sound body, + Otherwise the Raja of Kanuj would say, + 'He hath not one man who can search out the road,' + And this would bring foul disgrace on my Mubids, + On my court, on my throne, and on all my wise men." + Then Buzarchmahar made them place the chessboard before him, + And seated himself, full of thought, and expanded his countenance. + He sought out various ways, and moved the pieces to the right hand and + to the left, + In order that he might discover the position of every piece. + When after a whole day and a whole night, he had found out the game, + He hurried from his own pavilion to that of the King, + And exclaimed: "O King, whom Fortune crowneth with victory, + At last I have made out these figures and this chessboard, + By a happy chance, and by the favor of the Ruler of the world, + The mystery of this game hath found its solution. + Call before thee the Ambassador and all who care about it; + But the King of kings ought to be the first to behold it. + You would say at once without hesitation, + It is the exact image of a battle-field." + The King was right glad to hear the news; + He pronounced him the Fortunate, and the bearer of good tidings. + He commanded that the Mubids, and other counsellors, + And all who were renowned for their wisdom should be assembled; + And ordered that the Ambassador should be summoned to the Presence, + And that he should be placed on a splendid throne. + + Then Buzarchamahar, addressing him, said: + "O Mubid, bright in council as the sun, + Tell us, what said the King about these pieces, + So may intelligence be coupled with thee forever!" + + And this was his answer: "My Master, prosperous in his undertakings, + When I was summoned and appeared before him, + Said to me: 'These pieces of teak and ivory + Place before the throne of him who weareth the crown, + And say to him: Assemble thy Mubids and counsellors, + And seat them, and place the pieces before them. + If they succeed in making out the noble game, + They will win applause and augment enjoyment: + Then slaves and money and tribute and taxes, + I will send to him as far as I have the means; + For a monarch is to be esteemed for his wisdom, + Not for his treasure, or his men, or his lofty throne. + But if the King and his counsellors are not able to do all this + And their minds are not bright enough to comprehend it, + He ought not to desire from us tribute or treasure, + And his wise soul, alas! must come to grief; + And when he seeth our minds and genius to be subtler than theirs. + Rather will he send them to us in greater abundance.'" + + Then Buzarchamahar brought the chess-men and board, + And placed them before the throne of the watchful King, + And said to the Mubids and counsellors: + "O ye illustrious and pure-hearted sages, + Give ear all of you to the words he hath uttered, + And to the observations of his prudent chief." + + Then the knowing-man arranged a battle-field, + Giving to the King the place in the centre; + Right and left he drew up the army, + Placing the foot-soldiers in front of the battle. + A prudent vizier he stationed beside the King, + To give him advice on the plan of the engagement; + On each side he set the elephants of war {our bishops}, + To support one another in the midst of the combat. + Further on he assigned their position to the war-steeds {our knights}, + Placing upon each a horseman eager for battle. + Lastly, right and left, at the extremities of the field, + He stationed the heroes {the rooks} as rivals to each other. + When Buzarchamahar had thus drawn up the army, + The whole assembly was lost in astonishment; + But the Indian Ambassador was exceedingly grieved, + And stood motionless at the sagacity of that Fortune-favored man; + Stupefied with amazement, he looked upon him as a magician, + And his whole soul was absorbed in his reflections. + "For never hath he seen," he said, "a chessboard before, + Nor ever hath he heard about it from the experienced men of India. + I have told him nothing of the action of these pieces, + Not a word have I said about this arrangement and purpose. + How then hath the revelation come down upon him? + No one in the world will ever take his place!" + + And Khosru was so proud of Buzarchamahar, + Thou mightest say that he was looking Fortune in the face. + He was gladdened at his heart, and loaded him with caresses, + And ordered him a more than ordinary dress of honor, + And commanded him to be given a royal cup + Filled to the brim with princely jewels, + And a quantity of money, and a charger and a saddle, + And dismissed him from the Presence overwhelmed with praises. + <i>Robinson's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0061" id="link2H_4_0061"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + ZAL AND RUDABEH. + </h2> + <p> + "Zal, recovered from the care of the Simurgh and arrived at manhood, is + sent to govern the frontier province of Zabul; the adjoining province of + Kabul, though tributary to the Persian emperor, being governed by its own + king, called Mihrab. This episode commences with a visit which Mihrab pays + to Zal, who receives him with distinguished honor, entertains him at a + sumptuous banquet, and they separate with mutual respect." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Then a chief of the great ones around him + Said: "O thou, the hero of the world, + This Mihrab hath a daughter behind the veil, + Whose face is more resplendent than the sun; + From head to foot pure as ivory, + With a cheek like the spring, and in stature like the teak-tree. + Upon her silver shoulders descend two musky tresses, + Which, like nooses, fetter the captive; + Her lip is like the pomegranate, and her cheek like its flower; + Her eyes resemble the narcissus in the garden; + Her eyelashes have borrowed the blackness of the raven; + Her eyebrows are arched like a fringed bow. + Wouldst thou behold the mild radiance of the moon? Look upon her + countenance! + Wouldst thou inhale delightful odors? She is all fragrance! + She is altogether a paradise of sweets, + Decked with all grace, all music, all thou canst desire! + She would be fitting for thee, O warrior of the world; + She is as the heavens above to such as we are." + + When Zal heard this description, + His love leaped to the lovely maiden: + His heart boiled over with the heat of passion, + So that understanding and rest departed from him. + Night came, but he sat groaning, and buried in thought, + And a prey to sorrow for the not-yet-seen. +</pre> + <p> + <i>On returning from a second visit, Mihrab describes Zal to his wife and + his daughter Rudabeh.</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "O beautiful silver-bosomed cypress, + In the wide world not one of the heroes + Will come up to the measure of Zal! + In the pictured palace men will never behold the image + Of a warrior so strong, or so firm in the saddle. + He hath the heart of a lion, the power of an elephant, + And the strength of his arm is as the rush of the Nile. + When he sitteth on the throne, he scattereth gold before him; + In the battle, the heads of his enemies. + His cheek is as ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + Young in years, all alive, and the favorite of fortune; + And though his hair is white as though with age, + Yet in his bravery he could tear to pieces the water-serpent. + + "He rageth in the conflict with the fury of the crocodile, + He fighteth in the saddle like a sharp-fanged dragon. + In his wrath he staineth the earth with blood, + As he wieldeth his bright scimitar around him. + And though his hair is as white as is a fawn's, + In vain would the fault-finder seek another defect! + Nay, the whiteness of his hair even becometh him; + Thou wouldst say that he is born to beguile all hearts!" + + When Rudabeh heard this description, + Her heart was set on fire, and her cheek crimsoned like the pomegranate. + Her whole soul was filled with the love of Zal, + And food, and peace, and quietude were driven far from her. +</pre> + <p> + <i>After a time Rudabeh resolves to reveal her passion to her attendants.</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Then she said to her prudent slaves: + "I will discover what I have hitherto concealed; + Ye are each of you the depositaries of my secrets, + My attendants, and the partners of my griefs. + I am agitated with love like the raging ocean, + Whose billows are heaved to the sky. + My once bright heart is filled with the love of Zal; + My sleep is broken with thoughts of him. + My soul is perpetually filled with my passion; + Night and day my thoughts dwell upon his countenance. + + "Not one except yourselves knoweth my secret; + Ye, my affectionate and faithful servants, + What remedy can ye now devise for my ease? + What will ye do for me? What promise will ye give me? + Some remedy ye must devise, + To free my heart and soul from this unhappiness." + + Astonishment seized the slaves, + That dishonor should come nigh the daughter of kings. + In the anxiety of their hearts they started from their seats, + And all gave answer with one voice: + "O crown of the ladies of the earth! + Maiden pre-eminent amongst the pre-eminent! + Whose praise is spread abroad from Hindustan to China; + The resplendent ring in the circle of the harem; + Whose stature surpasseth every cypress in the garden; + Whose cheek rivalleth the lustre of the Pleiades; + Whose picture is sent by the ruler of Kanuj + Even to the distant monarchs of the West— + Have you ceased to be modest in your own eyes? + Have you lost all reverence for your father, + That whom his own parent cast from his bosom, + Him will you receive into yours? + A man who was nurtured by a bird in the mountains! + A man who was a by-word amongst the people! + You—with your roseate countenance and musky tresses— + Seek a man whose hair is already white with age! + You—who have filled the world with admiration, + Whose portrait hangeth in every palace, + And whose beauty, and ringlets, and stature are such + That you might draw down a husband from the skies!" +</pre> + <p> + <i>To this remonstrance she makes the following indignant answer:</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + When Rudabeh heard their reply, + Her heart blazed up like fire before the wind. + She raised her voice in anger against them, + Her face flushed, but she cast down her eyes. + After a time, grief and anger mingled in her countenance, + And knitting her brows with passion, she exclaimed: + "O unadvised and worthless counsellors, + It was not becoming in me to ask your advice! + Were my eye dazzled by a star, + How could it rejoice to gaze even upon the moon? + He who is formed of worthless clay will not regard the rose, + Although the rose is in nature more estimable than clay! + I wish not for Caesar, nor Emperor of China, + Nor for any one of the tiara-crowned monarchs of Iran; + The son of Saum, Zal, alone is my equal, + With his lion-like limbs, and arms, and shoulders. + You may call him, as you please, an old man, or a young; + To me, he is in the room of heart and of soul. + Except him never shall any one have a place in my heart; + Mention not to me any one except him. + Him hath my love chosen unseen, + Yea, hath chosen him only from description. + For him is my affection, not for face or hair; + And I have sought his love in the way of honor." +</pre> + <p> + <i>The slaves speak</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "May hundreds of thousands such as we are be a sacrifice for thee; + May the wisdom of the creation be thy worthy portion; + May thy dark narcissus-eye be ever full of modesty; + May thy cheek be ever tinged with bashfulness! + If it be necessary to learn the art of the magician, + To sew up the eyes with the bands of enchantment, + We will fly till we surpass the enchanter's bird, + We will run like the deer in search of a remedy. + Perchance we may draw the King nigh unto his moon, + And place him securely at thy side." + + The vermil lip of Rudabeh was filled with smiles; + She turned her saffron-tinted countenance toward the slave, and said: + "If thou shalt bring this matter to a happy issue, + Thou hast planted for thyself a stately and fruitful tree, + Which every day shall bear rubies for its fruit, + And shall pour that fruit into thy lap." +</pre> + <p> + <i>The slaves arrange an interview between the lovers</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Then said the elegant cypress-formed lady to her maidens: + "Other than this were once your words and your counsel! + Is this then the Zal, the nursling of a bird? + This the old man, white-haired and withered? + Now his cheek is ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + His stature is tall, his face beautiful, his presence lordly! + Ye have exalted my charms before him; + Ye have spoken and made me a bargain!" + She said, and her lips were full of smiles, + But her cheek crimsoned like the bloom of pomegranate. +</pre> + <p> + <i>The interview takes place in a private pavilion of the princess.</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + When from a distance the son of the valiant Saum + Became visible to the illustrious maiden, + She opened her gem-like lips, and exclaimed: + "Welcome, thou brave and happy youth! + The blessing of the Creator of the world be upon thee; + On him who is the father of a son like thee! + May destiny ever favor thy wishes! + May the vault of heaven be the ground thou walkest on! + The dark night is turned into day by thy countenance; + The world is soul-enlivened by the fragrance of thy presence! + Thou hast travelled hither on foot from thy palace; + Thou hast pained, to behold me, thy royal footsteps!" + + When the hero heard the voice from the battlement, + He looked up and beheld a face resplendent as the sun, + Irradiating the terrace like a flashing jewel, + And brightening the ground like a naming ruby. + + Then he replied: "O thou who sheddest the mild radiance of the moon, + The blessing of Heaven, and mine, be upon thee! + How many nights hath cold Arcturus beholden me, + Uttering my cry to God, the Pure, + And beseeching the Lord of the universe, + That he would vouchsafe to unveil thy countenance before me! + Now I am made joyful in hearing thy voice, + In listening to thy rich and gracious accents. + But seek, I pray thee, some way to thy presence; + For what converse can we hold, I on the ground, and thou on the + terrace?" + + The Peri-faced maiden heard the words of the hero; + Quickly she unbound her auburn locks, + Coil upon coil, and serpent upon serpent; + And she stooped and dropped down the tresses from the battlement, + And cried: "O hero, child of heroes, + Take now these tresses, they belong to thee, + And I have cherished them that they might prove an aid to my beloved." + + And Zal gazed upward at the lovely maiden, + And stood amazed at the beauty of her hair and of her countenance; + He covered the musky ringlets with his kisses, + And his bride heard the kisses from above. + Then he exclaimed: "That would not be right— + May the bright sun never shine on such a day! + It were to lay my hand on the life of one already distracted; + It were to plunge the arrow-point into my own wounded bosom." + Then he took his noose from his boy, and made a running knot, + And threw it, and caught it on the battlement, + And held his breath, and at one bound + Sprang from the ground, and reached the summit. + + As soon as the hero stood upon the terrace, + The Peri-faced maiden ran to greet him, + And took the hand of the hero in her own, + And they went like those who are overcome with wine. + + Then he descended from the lofty gallery, + His hand in the hand of the tall princess, + And came to the door of the gold-painted pavilion, + And entered that royal assembly, + Which blazed with light like the bowers of Paradise; + And the slaves stood like houris before them: + And Zal gazed in astonishment + On her face, and her hair, and her stately form, and on all that + splendor. + + And Zal was seated in royal pomp + Opposite that mildly-radiant beauty; + And Rudabeh could not rest from looking towards him, + And gazing upon him with all her eyes; + On that arm, and shoulder, and that splendid figure, + On the brightness of that soul-enlightening countenance; + So that the more and more she looked + The more and more was her heart inflamed. + + Then he kissed and embraced her, renewing his vows— + Can the lion help pursuing the wild ass?— + And said: "O sweet and graceful silver-bosomed maiden, + It may not be, that, both of noble lineage, + We should do aught unbecoming our birth; + For from Saum Nariman I received an admonition. + To do no unworthy deed, lest evil should come of it; + For better is the seemly than the unseemly, + That which is lawful than that which is forbidden. + And I fear that Manuchahar, when he shall hear of this affair, + Will not be inclined to give it his approval; + I fear, too, that Saum will exclaim against it, + And will boil over with passion, and lay his hand upon me. + Yet, though soul and body are precious to all men, + Life will I resign, and clothe myself with a shroud— + And this I swear by the righteous God— + Ere I will break the faith which I have pledged thee. + I will bow myself before Him, and offer my adoration, + And supplicate Him as those who worship Him in truth, + That He will cleanse the heart of Saum, king of the earth, + From opposition, and rage, and rancor. + Perhaps the Creator of the world may listen to my prayer, + And thou mayest yet be publicly proclaimed my wife." + + And Rudabeh said: "And I also, in the presence of the righteous God, + Take the same pledge, and swear to thee my faith; + And He who created the world be witness to my words, + That no one but the hero of the world, + The throned, the crowned, the far-famed Zal, + Will I ever permit to be sovereign over me." + + So their love every moment became greater; + Prudence was afar, and passion was predominant, + Till the gray dawn began to show itself, + And the drum to be heard from the royal pavilion. + Then Zal bade adieu to the fair one; + His soul was darkened, and his bosom on fire, + And the eyes of both were filled with tears; + And they lifted up their voices against the sun: + "O glory of the universe, why come so quick? + Couldst thou not wait one little moment" + + Then Zal cast his noose on a pinnacle, + And descended from those happy battlements, + As the sun was rising redly above the mountains, + And the bands of warriors were gathering in their ranks. + <i>Robinson's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0062" id="link2H_4_0062"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE POEM OF THE CID. + </h2> + <p> + Rodrigo Ruy Diaz, El Cid Campeador, was born near Burgos, in Spain, about + 1040. The name Cid was given him by the Moors, and means lord. Campeador + means champion. + </p> + <p> + Ruy Diaz was the trusty lord of Sancho, King of Castile, who at his death + divided his kingdom among his children. He then espoused the cause of the + eldest son, Sancho, and assisted him in wresting their portion of the + kingdom from his brothers Garcia and Alfonso. Sancho having been + treacherously slain while besieging his sister Urraca's town of Zamora, + the Cid attached himself to Alfonso, humiliating him, however, by making + him and his chief lords swear that they had had no hand in Sancho's death. + For this, Alfonso revenged himself by exiling the Cid on the slightest + pretexts, recalling him only when his services were needed in the defence + of the country. + </p> + <p> + This much, and the Cid's victories over the Moors, his occupation of + Valencia, and his army's departure therefrom in 1102, led by his corpse + seated on horseback, "clothed in his habit as he lived", are historical + facts. + </p> + <p> + A great mass of romances, among them the story of his slaying Count Don + Gomez because he had insulted his father, Diego Laynez; of Don Gomez's + daughter Ximena wooing and wedding him; of his assisting the leper and + having his future success foretold by him, and of his embalmed body + sitting many years in the cathedral at Toledo, are related in the + "Chronicle of the Cid" and the "Ballads." + </p> + <p> + The Poem of the Cid narrates only a portion of his career, and "if it had + been named," says Ormsby, "would have been called 'The Triumph of the + Cid.'" + </p> + <p> + The Poem of the Cid was written about 1200 A. D. Its authorship is + unknown. + </p> + <p> + It contains three thousand seven hundred and forty-five lines, and is + divided into two cantares. The versification is careless; when rhyme + hampered the poet he dropped it, and used instead the assonant rhyme. + </p> + <p> + The Poem of the Cid is of peculiar interest because it belongs to the very + dawn of our modern literature, and because its hero was evidently a real + personage, a portion of whose history was recorded in this epic not long + after the events took place. The Cid is one of the most simple and natural + of the epic heroes; he has all a man's weaknesses, and it is difficult to + repress a smile at the perfectly natural manner in which, while he + slaughters enough Moors to secure himself a place in the heavenly kingdom, + he takes good care to lay up gold for the enjoyment of life on earth. The + poem is told with the greatest simplicity, naturalness, and directness, as + well as with much poetic fire. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL11" id="link2H_BIBL11"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE CID. + </h2> + <p> + Robert Southey's Chronicle of the Cid. . . . Appendix contains Poetry of + the Cid by J. H. Frere, 1808, new ed., 1845; + </p> + <p> + Matthew Arnold's Poem of the Cid, MacMillan, 1871, vol. xxiv., pp. + 471-485; + </p> + <p> + George Dennio's The Cid: A short Chronicle founded on the early Poetry of + Spain, 1845; + </p> + <p> + Butler Clarke's The Cid (in his Spanish Literature, 1893, pp. 46-53); E. + E. Hale and Susan Hale's The Cid (in their Story of Spain, 1893, pp. + 248-261); + </p> + <p> + Stanley Lane Poole's The Cid (in his Story of the Moors in Spain, 1891, + pp. 191-213); + </p> + <p> + Sismondi's Poem of the Cid (in his Literature of the South of Europe, + 1884, vol. ii., pp. 95-140); + </p> + <p> + George Ticknor's Poem of the Cid (in his History of Spanish Literature, + ed. 6, 1893, vol. i., pp. 12-26); + </p> + <p> + W. T. Dobson's Classic Poets, (1879, pp. 35-138); + </p> + <p> + J. G. von Herder's Der Cid, nach spanischen Romanzen besungen (in his + works, 1852, vol. xiv.), translated. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0064" id="link2H_4_0064"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE POEM OF THE CID. + </h2> + <p> + The Poem of the Cid, Tr. by John Ormsby, 1879; + </p> + <p> + Translations from the Poem of the Cid by John Hookam Frere (in his works, + 1872, vol. ii., p. 409); + </p> + <p> + Ballads of the Cid, Tr. by Lewis Gerard, 1883; + </p> + <p> + Ancient Spanish Ballads, Tr. by John Gibson Lockhart, 1823. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0065" id="link2H_4_0065"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE POEM OF THE CID. + </h2> + <p> + Tears stood in the eyes of the Cid as he looked at his pillaged castle. + The coffers were empty, even the falcons were gone from their perches. + "Cruel wrong do I suffer from mine enemy!" he exclaimed as they rode into + Burgos. "Alvar Fanez, of a truth we are banished men." + </p> + <p> + From the windows of Burgos town the burghers and their dames looked down + with tearful eyes upon the Cid and his sixty lances. "Would that his lord + were worthy of him," said they. + </p> + <p> + He rode up to the gates of his house in Burgos; the king's seal was upon + them. "My lord," cried a damsel from an upper casement, "thy goods are + forfeited to the king, and he has forbidden that we open door or shelter + thee upon pain of forfeiture of our goods, yea, even of our sight!" + </p> + <p> + Little hope then had the Cid of mercy from King Alfonso; and sooner than + bring suffering on his beloved people of Burgos he betook himself without + the city and sat him down to think of what to do. "Martin Antolinez," said + he, "I have no money with which to pay my troops. Thou must help me to get + it, and if I live I will repay thee double." + </p> + <p> + Then the two together fashioned two stout chests covered with red leather + and studded with gilt nails, and these they filled with sand. Then Martin + Antolinez without delay sought out the money lenders, Rachel and Vidas, + and bargained with them to lend the Cid six hundred marks, and take in + pawn for them the two chests filled with treasure that he dared not at + that time take away with him. For a year they were to keep the chests and + pledge themselves not to look in them. Glad were the hearts of the money + lenders as they lifted the heavy chests, and happy was the Cid when he saw + the six hundred marks counted out before him. + </p> + <p> + Seeking the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena, the Cid embraced his wife + Ximena and his two daughters, and left them in the protection of the + abbot, to whom he promised recompense. Hard was the pain of parting as + when the finger nail is torn away from the flesh, but a banished man has + no choice. And as they passed the night at Higeruela a sweet vision + promising success comforted the Cid in his slumbers; and many from + Castile, who heard of the departure of the hero, sought his banners to + better their fortune. + </p> + <p> + Next day the Cid and his men took Castejon and sold the spoil to the Moors + of Hita and Guadalajara, and then my Cid passed on and planted himself + upon a lofty and strong hill opposite Alcocer, and levied tribute upon the + neighboring peoples. When he had so besieged Alcocer for fifteen weeks he + took it by stratagem, and Pero Bermuez, the slow of speech, planted his + standard on the highest part. When the King of Valencia heard of this, he + determined to capture my Cid, and accordingly sent three thousand Moors to + lay siege to Alcocer. + </p> + <p> + When the water was cut off and bread became scarce, the six hundred + Spanish men, acting upon the advice of Minaya, took the field against the + three thousand Moors; and such was the valor of him that in a good hour + was born, and of his standard bearer, Pero Bermuez, and of the good + Minaya, that the Moors fell to the ground three hundred at a time, their + shields shivered, their mail riven, their white pennons red with blood. + </p> + <p> + "Thanks be to God for victory!" said the Cid. In the Moorish king's camp + was found great spoil,—shields, arms, and horses. Greatly the + Christians rejoiced, for to them fell much spoil, and but fifteen of their + men were missing. Even to the Moors my Cid gave some of his spoil, and + from his share of one hundred horses he sent by Minaya thirty, saddled and + bridled, with as many swords hung at the saddle bows, to King Alfonso. + Also he sent by him a wallet of gold and silver for his wife and + daughters, and to pay for a thousand Masses at Burgos. + </p> + <p> + Alfonso was well pleased to receive this token. "It is too soon to take + him into favor, but I will accept his present, and I am glad he won the + victory. Minaya, I pardon thee; go to the Cid and say that I will permit + any valiant man who so desires to follow him." + </p> + <p> + Upon the hill now called the hill of the Cid, he who girt on the sword in + a good hour, took up his abode and levied tribute on the people for + fifteen weeks. But when he saw that Minaya's return was delayed, he went + even unto Saragossa, levying tribute and doing much damage, insomuch that + the Count of Barcelona, Raymond de Berenger, was provoked into making an + assault upon him in the Pine Wood of Bivar, where he was ingloriously + defeated and taken prisoner. The count was the more shamed at this because + my Cid had sent him a friendly message, saying that he did not want to + fight him, since he owed him no grudge. When Count Raymond had given up + his precious sword, the great Colada, the good one of Bivar endeavored to + make friends with his prisoner, but to no avail. The count refused meat + and drink, and was determined to die, until the Cid assured him that as + soon as he ate a hearty meal he should go free. Then he departed joyfully + from the camp, fearing even to the last lest the Cid should change his + mind, a thing the perfect one never would have done. + </p> + <p> + Cheered by this conquest, the Cid turned to Valencia, and met a great + Moorish army, which was speedily defeated, the Cid's numbers having been + greatly increased by men who flocked to him from Spain. Two Moorish kings + were slain, and the survivors were pursued even to Valencia. Then my Cid + sat down before the city for nine months, and in the tenth month Valencia + surrendered. The spoil—who could count it? All were rich who + accompanied the Cid, and his fifth was thirty thousand marks in money, + besides much other spoil. And my Cid's renown spread throughout Spain. + Wonderful was he to look upon, for his beard had grown very long. For the + love of King Alfonso, who had banished him, he said it should never be + cut, nor a hair of it be plucked, and it should be famous among Moors and + Christians. Then he again called Minaya to him, and to King Alfonso sent a + hundred horses, with the request that his wife and daughters might be + allowed to join him. Also he sent him word that he had been joined by a + good bishop, Don Jerome, and had created for him a bishopric. + </p> + <p> + Now were the enemies of the good one of Bivar incensed in proportion as + the king was pleased with this noble gift. And when the king silenced the + envious ones, and ordered an escort for Ximena and her daughters, and + treated Minaya with consideration, the Infantes of Carrion talked + together, commenting on the growing importance of my Cid. "It would better + our fortunes to marry his daughters, but they are below us in rank." And + so saying they sent their salutations to the Cid. + </p> + <p> + The Cid met his wife and daughters on his new horse, Babieca, the wonder + of all Spain, and great was his joy to clasp them again in his arms. And + he took them up in the highest part of Valencia, and their bright eyes + looked over the city and the sea, and they all thanked God for giving them + so fair a prize. + </p> + <p> + When winter was past and spring had come, the King of Morocco crossed the + sea to Valencia with fifty thousand men, and pitched his tents before the + city. Then the Cid took his wife and daughters up in the Alcazar, and + showed them the vast army. "They bring a gift for us, a dowry against the + marriage of our daughters. Because ye are here, with God's help, I shall + win the battle." + </p> + <p> + He went forth on the good Babieca; four thousand less thirty followed him + to attack the fifty thousand Moors. The Cid's arms dripped with blood to + the elbow; the Moors he slew could not be counted. King Yucef himself he + smote three times, and only the swiftness of the horse he rode saved the + king from death. All fled who were not slain, leaving the spoil behind. + Three thousand marks of gold and silver were found there, and the other + spoil was countless. Then my Cid ordered Minaya and Pero Bermuez to take + to Alfonso the great tent of the King of Morocco, and two hundred horses. + And the king was greatly pleased, and the Infantes of Carrion, counselling + together, said, "The fame of the Cid grows greater; let us ask his + daughters in marriage." And the king gave their request to Minaya and + Bermuez, who were to bear it to the Cid. + </p> + <p> + Said my Cid, when he heard the proposal: "The Infantes of Carrion are + haughty, and have a faction in court. I have no taste for the match; but + since my king desires it, I will be silent." + </p> + <p> + When the king heard his answer, he appointed a meeting, and when he that + in a good hour was born saw his king, he fell at his feet to pay him + homage. But the king said: "Here do I pardon you, and grant you my love + from this day forth." + </p> + <p> + The next day when the king presented to the Cid the offer of the Infantes, + my Cid replied: "My daughters are not of marriageable age, but I and they + are in your hands. Give them as it pleases you." Then the king + commissioned Alvar Fanez to act for him and give the daughters of my Cid + to the Infantes. + </p> + <p> + The Cid hastened home to prepare for the wedding. The palace was + beautifully decorated with hangings of purple and samite. Rich were the + garments of the Infantes, and meek their behavior in the presence of my + Cid. The couples were wedded by the Bishop Don Jerome, and the wedding + festivities lasted for fifteen days. And for wellnigh two years the Cid + and his sons-in-law abode happily in Valencia. + </p> + <p> + One day while my Cid was lying asleep in his palace, a lion broke loose + from its cage, and all the court were sore afraid. The Cid's followers + gathered around his couch to protect him; but Ferran Gonzalez crept + beneath the couch, crying from fear, and Diego ran into the court and + threw himself across a wine-press beam, so that he soiled his mantle. The + Cid, awakened by the noise, arose, took the lion by the mane, and dragged + him to his cage, to the astonishment of all present. Then my Cid asked for + his sons-in-law, and when they were found, pale and frightened, the whole + court laughed at them until my Cid bade them cease. And the Infantes were + deeply insulted. + </p> + <p> + While they were still sulking over their injuries, King Bucar of Morocco + beleagured Valencia with fifty thousand tents. The Cid and his barons + rejoiced at the thought of battle; but the Infantes were sore afraid, for + they were cowards, and feared to be slain in battle. The Cid told them to + remain in Valencia; but stung by shame they went forth with Bermuez, who + reported that both had fleshed their swords in battle with the Moor. + </p> + <p> + Great was the slaughter of the Moors on that field. Alvar Fanez, Minaya, + and the fighting bishop came back dripping with gore, and as for my Cid, + he slew King Bucar himself, and brought home the famous sword, Tizon, + worth full a thousand marks in gold. + </p> + <p> + The Infantes, still wrathful at their humiliation, talked apart: "Let us + take our wealth and our wives and return to Carrion. Once away from the + Campeador, we will punish his daughters, so that we shall hear no more of + the affair of the lion. With the wealth we have gained from the Cid we can + now wed whom we please." + </p> + <p> + Sore was the heart of the Cid when he heard of their determination; but he + gave them rich gifts, and also the priceless swords Colada and Tizon. "I + won them in knightly fashion," said he, "and I give them to you, for ye + are my sons, since I gave you my daughters; in them ye take the core of my + heart." He ordered Feliz Muńoz, his nephew, to accompany them as an + escort, and sent them by way of Molina to salute his friend, Abengalvon + the Moor. + </p> + <p> + The Moor received them in great state, and escorted them as far as the + Salon; but when he overheard the Infantes plotting to destroy him, and + seize his substance, he left them in anger. At night the Infantes pitched + their tents in an oak forest full of tall trees, among which roamed fierce + beasts. During the night they made a great show of love to their wives, + and the next morning ordered the escort to go on, saying that they would + follow alone. As soon as they were alone they stripped the daughters of + the Cid of their garments, beat them with their saddle-girths and spurs, + and left them for dead in the wild forest. "Now we are avenged for the + dishonor of the lion," said they, as they departed for Carrion. But Feliz + Muńoz, who had suspected the Infantes, had gone forward but a little way, + and then crept back, so that from a thicket he perceived the sufferings of + his cousins. Straightway he went to their rescue, found them clothes, and + helped them home again. + </p> + <p> + When the Cid heard of this insult to himself and his daughters, he grasped + his beard and swore a mighty oath that the Infantes would rue the day when + they had thus offended him. All of the Cid's friends strove to comfort the + ladies Elvira and Sol, and Abengalvon the Moor made them a rich supper for + love of the Cid. + </p> + <p> + At the request of my Cid, King Alfonso summoned a Cortes at Toledo, to try + the cause of the Cid and the Infantes. Thither went the Cid, richly clad, + so that all men wondered at his rich garments, his long hair in a scarlet + and gold coif, and his uncut beard bound up with cords. He and his hundred + men wore bright hauberks under their ermines, and trenchant swords under + their mantles, for they feared treachery. + </p> + <p> + The king appointed some of his counts as judges, and announced that he + held this, the third Cortes of his reign, for the love of the Cid. Then my + Cid stood forth. + </p> + <p> + "I am not dishonored because the Infantes deserted my daughters," said the + Cid, "for the king gave them away, not I; but I demand my swords, Colada + and Tizon. When my lords of Carrion gave up my daughters they relinquished + all claims to my property." + </p> + <p> + The Infantes, well pleased that he demanded no more, returned the swords; + and when the blades were unsheathed and placed in the hands of the king, + the eyes of the court were dazzled by their brightness. + </p> + <p> + The Cid presented Tizon to his nephew and Colada to Martin Antolinez. + "Now, my king, I have another grievance. I now demand that the Infantes + restore the three thousand marks in gold and silver they carried from + Valencia. When they ceased to be my sons-in-law they ceased to own my + gold." Then the Infantes were troubled, for they had spent the money; but + the judges gave them no relief, and they were forced to pay it out of + their heritage of Carrion. + </p> + <p> + "So please your grace," said the Cid, "still another grievance, the + greatest of all, I have yet to state. I hold myself dishonored by the + Infantes. Redress by combat they must yield, for I will take no other." + </p> + <p> + The Count Garcia ridiculed the Cid's claim. "The noble lords of Carrion + are of princely birth; your daughters are not fitting mates for them." + Then, while his enemies were taunting him and the court broke into an + uproar, the Cid called on Pero Bermuez, "Dumb Peter," to speak. + </p> + <p> + When Pero spoke he made himself clear. For the first time he told how like + a craven Ferrando had demeaned himself in battle, and how he himself had + slain the Moor on whom the prince had turned his back. He also reminded + Ferrando of the affair of the lion. When Diego attempted to speak, he was + silenced by Martin Antolinez, who told of the figure he cut when he clung + to the wine-press beam in an agony of fear, on the day the lion came forth + from its cage. Then the king, commanding silence, gave them permission to + fight. Martin Antolinez engaged to meet Diego, Pero Bermuez was to combat + with Ferrando, and Muno Gustioz challenged the brawler, Assur Gonzalez. It + was agreed that the combat should be held at the end of three weeks in the + vega of Carrion. + </p> + <p> + When all had been arranged to his satisfaction, the Cid took off his coif, + and released his beard, and all the court wondered at him. Then he offered + some of his wealth to all present, and, kissing the king's hand, besought + him to take Babieca. But this the king refused to do: "Babieca is for the + like of you to keep the Moors off with. If I took him he would not have so + good a lord." + </p> + <p> + When the day for the combat arrived, the king himself went to Carrion to + see that no treachery was used, and he said to the Infantes: "Ye have need + to fight like men. If ye come out successful, ye will receive great honor. + If ye are vanquished, the fault will be on your own heads. Seek to do no + wrong; woe betide him who attempts it!" + </p> + <p> + Then the marshals placed the contestants in the lists and left them face + to face. Each with his gaze fixed on the other, they rushed together and + met midway of the lists. + </p> + <p> + At the thrust of Pero's Lance, Ferrando fell from his horse and yielded, + as he saw the dread Tizon held over him. At the same time Diego fled from + the sword of Martin Antolinez, and Muńo Gustioz's lance pierced Assur + Gonzalez, who begged him to hold his hand, since the Infantes were + vanquished. + </p> + <p> + Thus the battle was won, and Don Roderick's champions gained the victory. + Great was the sorrow in the house of Carrion; but he who wrongs a noble + lady deserves such suffering. + </p> + <p> + Rejoiced were they of Valencia when the champions brought home these + tidings, and ere long, favored by Alfonso himself, the princes of Navarre + and Aragon wooed my Cid's daughters, and were married to them with the + most splendid nuptials. Now was the Cid happy, and happier still he grew + as his honor increased, until upon the feast of Pentecost he passed away. + The grace of Christ be upon him! + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0066" id="link2H_4_0066"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE POEM OF THE CID. + </h2> + <h3> + COUNT RAYMOND AND MY CID. + </h3> + <p> + After one of the victories over the Moors won by the Cid after his + banishment by King Alfonso, he despatched a messenger to the king with a + gift of thirty horses, and while awaiting his return, encamped in the + Pine-wood of Tebar and levied tribute on the surrounding country. This + information was conveyed to the Count of Barcelona, Raymond Berenger, who + prepared to march against the intruder. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Great mustering there is of Moors and Christians through the land, + A mighty host of men-at-arms he hath at his command. + Two days, three nights, they march to seek the Good One of Bivar, + To snare him where he harbors in the Pine-wood of Tebar; + And such the speed of their advance, that, cumbered with his spoils, + And unaware, my Cid wellnigh was taken in the toils. + The tidings reached my Cid as down the sierra side he went, + Then straightway to Count Raymond be a friendly message sent: + "Say to the count that he, meseems, to me no grudge doth owe: + Of him I take no spoil, with him in peace I fain would go." + "Nay," said the count, "for all his deeds he hath to make amends: + This outlaw must be made to know whose honor he offends." + With utmost speed the messenger Count Raymond's answer brought; + Then of a surety knew my Cid a battle must be fought. + "Now, cavaliers," quoth he, "make safe the booty we have won. + Look to your weapons, gentlemen; with speed your armor don. + On battle bent Count Raymond comes; a mighty host hath he + Of Moors and Christians; fight we must if hence we would go free. + Here let us fight our battle out, since fight we must perforce. + On with your harness, cavaliers, quick saddle, and to horse! + Yonder they come, the linen breeks, all down the mountain side, + For saddles they have Moorish pads, with slackened girths they ride: + Our saddles are Galician make, our leggings tough and stout: + A hundred of us gentlemen should scatter such a rout. + Before they gain the level plain, home with the lance charge we, + And then, for every blow we strike, we empty saddles three. + Count Raymond Berenger shall know with whom he has to do; + And dearly in Tebar to-day his raid on me shall rue." + In serried squadron while he speaks they form around my Cid. + Each grasps his lance, and firm and square each sits upon his steed. + Over against them down the hill they watch the Franks descend, + On to the level ground below, where plain and mountain blend. + Then gives my Cid the word to charge—with a good will they go: + Fast ply the lances; some they pierce, and some they overthrow. + And he that in a good hour was born soon hath he won the field; + And the Count Raymond Berenger he hath compelled to yield; + And reaping honor for his beard a noble prize hath made: + A thousand marks of silver worth, the great Colada blade. + + Unto his quarters under guard the captive count he sent, + While his men haste to gather in their spoils in high content. + Then for my Cid Don Roderick a banquet they prepare; + But little doth Count Raymond now for feast or banquet care. + They bring him meat and drink, but he repels them with disdain. + "No morsel will I touch," said he, "for all the wealth of Spain. + Let soul and body perish now; life why should I prolong, + Conquered and captive at the hands of such an ill-breeched throng?" + "Nay," said my Cid; "take bread and wine; eat, and thou goest free; + If not, thy realms in Christendom thou never more shalt see." + "Go thou, Don Roderick," said the Count, "eat if thou wilt, but I + Have no more lust for meat and drink: I only crave to die." + Three days, while they the booty share, for all that they entreat, + The Count his purpose holds unchanged, refusing still to eat. + Then said my Cid, "I pray thee, Count, take food and trust to me; + Thyself and two knights of thy train I promise to set free." + Glad was Count Raymond in his heart when he the promise heard— + "A marvel that will be, my Cid, if thou dost keep thy word." + "Then, Count, take food, and when I see thy hunger satisfied, + My word is pledged to let thee go, thyself and two beside. + But understand, one farthing's worth I render not again + Of what has been in battle lost and won on yonder plain. + I give not back the lawful spoils I fairly win in fight; + But for mine own and vassals' wants I hold them as my right. + My followers are needy men; I cannot if I would; + For spoil from thee and others won is all our livelihood. + And such, while God's good will it is, must be our daily life, + As outcasts forced to wander, with an angry king at strife." + With lighter heart Count Raymond called for water for his hands, + And then with his two gentlemen, sent by the Cid's commands, + He blithely sat him down to meat: God! with what gust ate he! + And glad was the Campeador such heartiness to see. + Quoth he, "Until thou eat thy fill we part not, Count, to-day." + "Nor loth am I," Count Raymond said, "such bidding to obey." + So he and his two cavaliers a hearty meal they made: + It pleased my Cid to watch his hands, how lustily they played. + "Now if thou wilt," Count Raymond said, "that we are satisfied, + Bid them to lead the horses forth, that we may mount and ride. + Never since I have been a Count have I yet broken fast + With such a relish; long shall I remember this repast." + Three palfreys with caparisons of costly sort they bring, + And on the saddles robes of fur and mantles rich they fling. + Thus, with a knight on either hand, away Count Raymond rides; + While to the outposts of the camp his guests the Champion guides. + "Now speed thee, Count; ride on," quoth he, "a free Frank as thou art. + For the brave spoil thou leavest me I thank thee from my heart; + And if to win it back again perchance thou hast a mind, + Come thou and seek me when thou wilt; I am not far to find. + But if it be not to thy taste to try another day, + Still, somewhat, be it mine or thine, thou carriest away." + "Nay! go in peace for me, my Cid: no more I seek of thee; + And thou, I think, for one year's space hast won enough of me." + He spurred his steed, but, as he rode, a backward glance he bent, + Still fearing to the last my Cid his promise would repent: + A thing, the world itself to win, my Cid would not have done: + No perfidy was ever found in him, the Perfect One. + <i>Ormsby's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0067" id="link2H_4_0067"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + MY CID'S TRIUMPH. + </h2> + <p> + In the Cortes called by the King of Spain to hear the cause of the Cid, + whose daughters had been shamefully treated and deserted by their + husbands, the Infantes of Carrion, Ferran and Diego Gonzalez, the Cid + demanded the restitution of his swords and of three thousand marks of gold + and silver he had given the Infantes. These being granted, the Cid spoke + again:— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "So please your grace! once more upon your clemency I call; + A grievance yet remains untold, the greatest grief of all. + And let the court give ear, and weigh the wrong that hath been done. + I hold myself dishonored by the lords of Carrion. + Redress by combat they must yield; none other will I take. + How now, Infantes! what excuse, what answer do ye make? + Why have ye laid my heartstrings bare? In jest or earnest, say, + Have I offended you? and I will make amends to-day. + My daughters in your hands I placed the day that forth ye went, + And rich in wealth and honors from Valencia were you sent. + Why did you carry with you brides ye loved not, treacherous curs? + Why tear their flesh in Corpes wood with saddle-girths and spurs, + And leave them to the beasts of prey? Villains throughout were ye! + What answer ye can make to this 't is for the court to see." + The Count Garcia was the first that rose to make reply. + "So please ye, gracious king, of all the kings of Spain most high; + Strange is the guise in which my Cid before you hath appeared; + To grace your summoned court he comes, with that long straggling beard; + With awe struck dumb, methinks, are some; some look as though they + feared. + The noble lords of Carrion of princely race are born; + To take the daughters of my Cid for lemans they should scorn; + Much more for brides of equal birth: in casting them aside— + We care not for his blustering talk—we hold them justified." + Upstood the Champion, stroked his beard, and grasped it in his hands. + "Thanks be to God above," he cried, "who heaven and earth commands, + A long and lordly growth it is, my pleasure and my pride; + In this my beard, Garcia, say, what find you to deride? + Its nurture since it graced my chin hath ever been my care; + No son of woman born hath dared to lay a finger there; + No son of Christian or of Moor hath ever plucked a hair. + Remember Cabra, Count! of thine the same thou canst not say: + On both thy castle and thy beard I laid my hand that day: + Nay! not a groom was there but he his handful plucked away. + Look, where my hand hath been, my lords, all ragged yet it grows!" + With noisy protest breaking in Ferran Gonzalez rose: + "Cid, let there be an end of this; your gifts you have again, + And now no pretext for dispute between us doth remain. + Princes of Carrion are we, with fitting brides we mate; + Daughters of emperors or kings, not squires of low estate: + We brook not such alliances, and yours we rightly spurned." + My Cid, Ruy Diaz, at the word, quick to Bermuez turned. + "Now is the time, Dumb Peter, speak, O man that sittest mute! + My daughters' and thy cousins' name and fame are in dispute; + To me they speak, to thee they look to answer every word. + If I am left to answer now, thou canst not draw thy sword." + Tongue-tied Bermuez stood, awhile he strove for words in vain, + But, look you, when he once began he made his meaning plain. + "Cid, first I have a word for you: you always are the same, + In Cortes ever jibing me, 'Dumb Peter' is the name: + It never was a gift of mine, and that long since you knew; + But have you found me fail in aught that fell to me to do? + You lie, Ferrando; lie in all you say upon that score. + The honor was to you, not him, the Cid Campeador; + For I know something of your worth, and somewhat I can tell. + That day beneath Valencia wall—you recollect it well— + You prayed the Cid to place you in the forefront of the fray; + You spied a Moor, and valiantly you went that Moor to slay; + And then you turned and fled—for his approach, you would not stay. + Right soon he would have taught you 't was a sorry game to play, + Had I not been in battle there to take your place that day. + I slew him at the first onfall; I gave his steed to you; + To no man have I told the tale from that hour hitherto. + Before the Cid and all his men you got yourself a name, + How you in single combat slew a Moor—a deed of fame; + And all believed in your exploit; they wist not of your shame. + You are a craven at the core; tall, handsome, as you stand: + How dare you talk as now you talk, you tongue without a hand? + Again, Ferrando, call to mind—another tale for you— + That matter of the lion; it was at Valencia too. + My Cid lay sleeping when you saw the unchained lion near; + What did you do, Ferrando, then, in your agony of fear? + Low did you crouch behind the couch whereon the Champion lay: + You did, Ferrando, and by that we rate your worth to-day. + We gathered round to guard our lord, Valencia's conqueror. + He rose, and to the lion went, the brave Campeador; + The lion fawned before his feet and let him grasp its mane; + He thrust it back into its cage; he turned to us again: + His trusty vassals to a man he saw around him there; + Where were his sons-in-law? he asked, and none could tell him where. + Now take thou my defiance as a traitor, trothless knight: + Upon this plea before our King Alfonso will I fight; + The daughters of my lord are wronged, their wrong is mine to right. + That ye those ladies did desert, the baser are ye then; + For what are they?—weak women; and what are ye?—strong men. + On every count I deem their cause to be the holier, + And I will make thee own it when we meet in battle here. + Traitor thou shalt confess thyself, so help me God on high, + And all that I have said to-day my sword shall verify." + + Thus far these two. Diego rose, and spoke as ye shall hear: + "Counts by our birth are we, of stain our lineage is clear. + In this alliance with my Cid there was no parity. + If we his daughters cast aside, no cause for shame we see. + And little need we care if they in mourning pass their lives, + Enduring the reproach that clings to scorned rejected wives. + In leaving them we but upheld our honor and our right, + And ready to the death am I, maintaining this, to fight." + Here Martin Antolinez sprang upon his feet: "False hound! + Will you not silent keep that mouth where truth was never found? + For you to boast! the lion scare have you forgotten too? + How through the open door you rushed, across the court-yard flew; + How sprawling in your terror on the wine-press beam you lay? + Ay! never more, I trow, you wore the mantle of that day. + There is no choice; the issue now the sword alone can try; + The daughters of my Cid ye spurned; that must ye justify. + On every count I here declare their cause the cause of right, + And thou shall own the treachery the day we join in fight." + He ceased, and striding up the hall Assur Gonzalez passed; + His cheek was flushed with wine, for he had stayed to break his fast; + Ungirt his robe, and trailing low his ermine mantle hung; + Rude was his bearing to the court, and reckless was his tongue. + "What a to-do is here, my lords! was the like ever seen? + What talk is this about my Cid—him of Bivar, I mean? + To Riodouirna let him go to take his millers' rent, + And keep his mills agoing there, as once he was content. + He, forsooth, mate his daughters with the Counts of Carrion!" + Up started Muńo Gustioz: "False, foul-mouthed knave, have done! + Thou glutton, wont to break thy fast without a thought of prayer, + Whose heart is plotting mischief when thy lips are speaking fair; + Whose plighted word to friend or lord hath ever proved a lie; + False always to thy fellow-man, falser to God on high. + No share in thy good will I seek; one only boon I pray, + The chance to make thee own thyself the villain that I say." + Then spoke the king: "Enough of words: ye have my leave to fight, + The challenged and the challengers; and God defend the right." + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The marshals leave them face to face and from the lists are gone; + Here stand the champions of my Cid, there those of Carrion; + Each with his gaze intent and fixed upon his chosen foe, + Their bucklers braced before their breasts, their lances pointing low, + Their heads bent down, as each man leans above his saddle-bow. + Then with one impulse every spur is in the charger's side, + And earth itself is felt to shake beneath their furious stride; + Till, midway meeting, three with three, in struggle fierce they lock, + While all account them dead who hear the echo of the shock. + Ferrando and his challenger, Pero Bermuez, close; + Firm are the lances held, and fair the shields receive the blows. + Through Pero's shield Ferrando drove his lance, a bloodless stroke; + The point stopped short in empty space, the shaft in splinters broke. + But on Bermuez, firm of seat, the shock fell all in vain; + And while he took Ferrando's thrust he paid it back again. + The armored buckler shattering, right home his lance he pressed, + Driving the point through boss and plate against his foeman's breast. + Three folds of mail Ferrando wore, they stood him in good stead; + Two yielded to the lance's point, the third held fast the head. + But forced into the flesh it sank a hand's breadth deep or more, + Till bursting from the gasping lips in torrents gushed the gore. + Then, the girths breaking, o'er the croup borne rudely to the ground, + He lay, a dying man it seemed to all who stood around. + Bermuez cast his lance aside, and sword in hand came on; + Ferrando saw the blade he bore, he knew it was Tizon: + Quick ere the dreaded brand could fall, "I yield me," came the cry. + Vanquished the marshals granted him, and Pero let him lie. + + And Martin Antolinez and Diego—fair and true + Each struck upon the other's shield, and wide the splinters flew. + Then Antolinez seized his sword, and as he drew the blade, + A dazzling gleam of burnished steel across the meadow played; + And at Diego striking full, athwart the helmet's crown, + Sheer through the steel plates of the casque he drove the falchion down, + Through coif and scarf, till from the scalp the locks it razed away, + And half shorn off and half upheld the shattered head-piece lay. + Reeling beneath the blow that proved Colada's cruel might, + Diego saw no chance but one, no safety save in flight: + He wheeled and fled, but close behind him Antolinez drew; + With the flat blade a hasty blow he dealt him as he flew; + But idle was Diego's sword; he shrieked to Heaven for aid: + "O God of glory, give me help! save me from yonder blade!" + Unreined, his good steed bore him safe and swept him past the bound, + And Martin Antolinez stood alone upon the ground. + "Come hither," said the king; "thus far the conquerors are ye." + And fairly fought and won the field the marshals both agree. + So much for these, and how they fought: remains to tell you yet + How meanwhile Muńo Gustioz Assur Gonzalez met. + With a strong arm and steady aim each struck the other's shield, + And under Assur's sturdy thrusts the plates of Muńo's yield; + But harmless passed the lance's point, and spent its force in air. + Not so Don Muńo's; on the shield of Assur striking fair, + Through plate and boss and foeman's breast his pennoned lance he sent, + Till out between the shoulder blades a fathom's length it went. + Then, as the lance he plucked away, clear from the saddle swung, + With one strong wrench of Muno's wrist to earth was Assur flung; + And back it came, shaft, pennon, blade, all stained a gory red; + Nor was there one of all the crowd but counted Assur sped, + While o'er him Muńo Gustioz stood with uplifted brand. + Then cried Gonzalo Assurez: "In God's name hold thy hand! + Already have ye won the field; no more is needed now." + And said the marshals, "It is just, and we the claim allow." + And then the King Alfonso gave command to clear the ground, + And gather in the relics of the battle strewed around. + And from the field in honor went Don Roderick's champions three. + Thanks be to God, the Lord of all, that gave the victory. + + But fearing treachery, that night upon their way they went, + As King Alfonso's honored guests in safety homeward sent, + And to Valencia city day and night they journeyed on, + To tell my Cid Campeador that his behest was done. + But in the lands of Carrion it was a day of woe, + And on the lords of Carrion it fell a heavy blow. + He who a noble lady wrongs and casts aside—may he + Meet like requital for his deeds, or worse, if worse there be. + But let us leave them where they lie—their meed is all men's scorn. + + Turn we to speak of him that in a happy hour was born. + Valencia the Great was glad, rejoiced at heart to see + The honored champions of her lord return in victory: + And Ruy Diaz grasped his beard: "Thanks be to God," said he, + "Of part or lot in Carrion now are my daughters free; + Now may I give them without shame whoe'er the suitors be." + And favored by the king himself, Alfonso of Leon, + Prosperous was the wooing of Navarre and Aragon, + The bridals of Elvira and of Sol in splendor passed; + Stately the former nuptials were, but statelier far the <i>hast</i>. + And he that in a good hour was born, behold how he <i>hath</i> sped! + His daughters now to higher rank and greater honor wed: + Sought by Navarre and Aragon for queens his daughters twain; + And monarchs of his blood to-day upon the thrones of Spain. + And so his honor in the land grows greater day by day. + Upon the feast of Pentecost from life he passed away. + For him and all of us the Grace of Christ let us implore. + And here ye have the story of my Cid Campeador. + <i>Ormsby's Translation.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0068" id="link2H_4_0068"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "This Poem of the earth and air, + This mediaeval miracle of song." +</pre> + <p> + Dante Alighieri was born at Florence, in May, 1265. His family belonged to + the Guelph, or Papal faction, and he early took part in the struggle + between the parties. In 1274 he first saw Beatrice Portinari, and he says + of this meeting in the "Vita Nuova," "I say that thenceforward Love swayed + my soul, which was even then espoused to him." Beatrice died in 1290, and + Dante married Gemma Donati, between 1291 and 1294. In 1295 he joined the + Art of Druggists, in order to become a member of the Administrative + Council. In 1300 he was made Prior, and in 1301, when the Neri entered + Florence, he was exiled, his property confiscated, and himself sentenced + to be burned, if found within the republic. After this he became a + Ghibeline, and took up arms against the city with his fellow-exiles, but + withdrew from their council at last because of disagreements, and + separating from them, spent his time at Verona, Padua, Sunigianda, and in + the monastery of Gubbio. In 1316 the government of Florence issued a + decree allowing the exiles to return on payment of a fine; but Dante + indignantly refused to acknowledge thus that he had been in the wrong. He + was in Ravenna in 1320, and died there Sept. 14, 1321, on his return from + an embassy to Venice. + </p> + <p> + The "Commedia" was written during Dante's nineteen years of exile. The + three parts, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, are emblematic of the + threefold state of man,—sin, grace, and beatitude. The thirty-three + cantos into which each part is divided, are in allusion to the years of + the Saviour's life, and the triple rhyme suggests the Trinity. + </p> + <p> + The Divine Comedy is written in the <i>terza rima</i>, which consists of + three verses arranged in such a way that the middle line of each triplet + rhymes with the first or third verse of the succeeding triplet. + </p> + <p> + The entire time occupied in the "Commedia" is eleven days, from March 25 + to April 5, 1300. + </p> + <p> + Dante called the poem a comedy because of its prosperous ending. The + prefix "divine" was given it later by its admirers. + </p> + <p> + The Divine Comedy is sometimes called the epic of mediaevalism, and again, + the epic of man. Dante himself said: "The subject of the whole work, then, + taken literally, is the state of the soul after death, regarded as a + matter of fact; for the action of the whole work deals with this and is + about this. But if the work be taken allegorically, its subject is man, in + so far as by merit or demerit in the exercise of free will, he is exposed + to the rewards or punishment of justice." + </p> + <p> + For a time the Divine Comedy was neglected, and even in comparatively + recent times the Inferno was the only portion read; but of late years + there has been a re-awakening of interest in regard to the whole poem. + </p> + <p> + In no other of the epics has the author put so much of himself as Dante + has in the "Commedia." It was he himself who saw this vision; he himself, + proud, tortured, who carried the sense of his wrongs with him through Hell + and Purgatory, even into Paradise. We learn the history of his times, all + the crimes committed by men in high position, and we also learn the + history of the unhappy Florentine, of whose poem it has been said, "none + other in the world is so deeply and universally sorrowful." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL12" id="link2H_BIBL12"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <p> + J. Colomb de Batines's Bibliografia Dantesca, 2 vols., 1846; + </p> + <p> + William Coolidge Lane's The Dante collections in the Harvard College and + Boston Public Libraries (Bibliographical contributions of the library of + Harvard University, 1885); + </p> + <p> + William Coolidge Lane's Additions to the Dante collection in the Harvard + Library (see the Annual Reports of the Dante Society of Cambridge, Mass., + 1887); + </p> + <p> + Brother Azarius's Spiritual Sense of the Divina Commedia (in his Phases of + Thought and Criticism, 1892, pp. 125-182); + </p> + <p> + Henry Clark Barlow's Critical Contributions to the Study of the Divine + Comedy, 1865; + </p> + <p> + Herbert Baynes's Dante and his Ideal, 1891; + </p> + <p> + Vincenzo Botta's Introduction to the Study of Dante, 1887; + </p> + <p> + Oscar Browning's Dante, his Life and Writing, 1890, pp. 70-104; + </p> + <p> + A. J. Butler's Dante, his Time and Work, 1895; + </p> + <p> + Richard William Church's Dante and Other Essays, 1888, pp. 1-191; + </p> + <p> + J. Farrazzi's Manuale Dantesco, 5 vols., 1865-77; + </p> + <p> + William Torrey Harris's Spiritual Sense of Dante's Divina Commedia, 1890; + </p> + <p> + Francis Hettinger's Dante's Divina Commedia, its Scope and Value, Tr. by + H. S. Bowden, 1887 (Roman Catholic standpoint); + </p> + <p> + J. R. Lowell's Essay on Dante (in his Among my Books, 1876); + </p> + <p> + Lewis E. Mott's Dante and Beatrice, an Essay on Interpretation, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Giovanni Andrea Scartazzini's A Companion to Dante, from the German, by A. + J. Butler, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Denton J. Snider's Dante's Inferno: a Commentary, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Augustus Hopkins Strong's Dante and the Divine Comedy (in his Philosophy + and Religion, 1888, pp. 501-524); + </p> + <p> + John Addington Symonds's An Introduction to the Study of Dante, Ed. 2, + 1890; + </p> + <p> + Paget Toynbee's Dictionary of the Divina Commedia, 2 parts; + </p> + <p> + William Warren Vernon's Readings on the Purgatorio of Dante, chiefly based + on the Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola; Intro. by the Dean of St. Paul's, + 2 vols., 1889; + </p> + <p> + Dr. Edward Moore's Time References in the Divina Commedia, London, 1887; + </p> + <p> + Dr. E. Moore's Contributions to the Textual Criticism of the Divina + Commedia, Cambridge, 1889. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0070" id="link2H_4_0070"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <p> + The Divine Comedy, the Inferno, a literal prose translation with the text + of the original collated from the best editions, with explanatory notes by + J. A. Carlyle, Ed. 6, 1891 (contains valuable chapters on manuscripts, + translations, etc.); + </p> + <p> + Divina Commedia, edited with translation and notes by A. J. Butler, 1892; + </p> + <p> + Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, Tr. by H. F. Cary, 1888; + </p> + <p> + The Divine Comedy, Tr. by H. W. Longfellow, 1887; + </p> + <p> + The Divine Comedy, Tr. by C. E. Norton, 1891-92 (rhythmical prose + translation); + </p> + <p> + The Divine Comedy, Tr. of the Commedia and Lanzoniere, notes, essays, and + biographical introduction by E. H. Plumptre, 1887; + </p> + <p> + Divina Commedia, Tr. into English verse with notes and illustrations by J. + A. Wilstach, 2 vols., 1888. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0071" id="link2H_4_0071"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE HELL. + </h3> + <p> + The Hell conceived by Dante was made by the falling of Lucifer to the + centre of the earth. It was directly under Jerusalem. The earth, displaced + by Lucifer's fall, made the Mount of Purgatory, which was the antipodes of + Jerusalem. + </p> + <p> + The unbarred entrance gate, over which stands the inscription, "Leave hope + behind, all ye who enter here," leads into a Vestibule, or Ante-Hell, a + dark plain separated from Hell proper by the river Acheron. Hell proper + then falls into three great divisions for the punishment of the sins of + Incontinence, Bestiality, and Malice, which are punished in nine circles, + each circle sub-divided. Circle One is the Limbo of the Unbaptized. + Circles Two, Three, Four, and Five are reserved for the punishment of the + sins of Incontinence, Lasciviousness, Gluttony, Avarice with Prodigality, + and Anger with Melancholy. In Circle Six is punished the sin of + Bestiality, under which fall Infidelity and Heresiarchy, Bestiality having + here its Italian meaning of folly. In Circles Seven and Eight is punished + Malice, subdivided into Violence and Fraud. There are three divisions of + Violence,—the Violent against their neighbors (Tyrants, Murderers, + etc.); the Violent against themselves (Suicides); and the violent against + God (Blasphemers, etc.); and ten divisions of Circle Eight,—Fraud, + <i>i.e.</i>, Seducers, Flatterers, Simoniacs, Soothsayers, Barrators, + Hypocrites, Thieves, False Counsellors, Schismatics, and Forgers and + Falsifiers. Below these ten pits yawns the well of the giants, above which + the giants tower so that half their persons is visible. Within this well + in Circle Nine is Cocytus, a lake of ice divided into four belts,—Caina, + Antenora, Ptolemaea, and Judecca, where are punished, respectively, the + Betrayers of their kindred, of their country, of their friends and guests, + and of their benefactors. At the bottom of the pit is Lucifer, half above + the ice and half below it, the centre of his body being the centre of + gravity. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0072" id="link2H_4_0072"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE HELL. + </h3> + <p> + The poet Dante, in the thirty-fifth year of his life, this being the year + 1300 A. D., on New Year's day of the old reckoning, lost his way in a + rough and thorny forest, and when he attempted to regain it by mounting a + hill that rose before him resplendent in sunshine, encountered a leopard, + a lion, and a wolf. Driven back by these, and utterly despairing of + rescue, he met one who declared himself to be that Vergil who had sung the + fall of Troy and the flight of Aeneas, and who promised to take him + through the lower world and Purgatory, even unto Paradise. Dante + questioned why it was permitted to him to take the journey denied to so + many others, and was told that Vergil had been sent to his rescue by the + beauteous Beatrice, long since in Paradise. When the poet, trembling with + fear, heard that the shining eyes of Beatrice had wept over his danger in + the forest, and that she had sought the gates of hell to effect his + rescue, his strength was renewed, even as the flowers, chilled by the + frosts of night, uplift themselves in the bright light of the morning sun; + and he entered without fear on the deep and savage way. + </p> + <p> + This allegory, being interpreted, probably means that the poet, entangled + in the dark forest of political anarchy, was driven from the hill of civil + order by the Leopard of Pleasure (Florence), the Lion of Ambition + (France), and the Wolf of Avarice (Rome), and was by divine grace granted + a vision of the three worlds that he might realize what comes after death, + and be the more firmly established in the right political faith,—Ghibellinism. + </p> + <p> + "Through me is the way into the sorrowful city; into eternal dole among + the lost people. Justice incited my sublime Creator. Divine Omnipotence, + the highest wisdom, and the Primal Love created me. Before me, there were + no created things. Only eternal, and I eternal, last. Abandon hope, all ye + who enter here!" + </p> + <p> + Such was the inscription over the doorway, after the reading of which + Dante's ears were assailed by words of agony and heart-rending cries. + "This," said Vergil, "is the home of those melancholy souls who lived + without infamy and without praise. Cowards and selfish in life, they are + denied even entrance to hell." As they looked, a long train passed by, + stung by gadflies and following a whirling standard. + </p> + <p> + Charon, about whose eyes were wheels of flame, endeavored to drive the + poet and his guide away as they stood among the weary and naked souls that + gathered shivering on the margin of Acheron; but as a blast of wind and a + burst of crimson light caused a deep sleep to fall on the poet, he was + wafted across the river, and awaking he found himself in the Limbo of the + Unbaptized, the first of the nine circles of hell, where were the souls of + many men, women, and infants, whose only punishment was, without hope, to + live on in desire. Here was no torment, only the sadness caused by the + ever-unsatisfied longing for the ever-denied divine grace. This was + Vergil's abode, and in the noble castles set among the green enamelled + meadows dwelt Homer, Horace, and Ovid, Electra, Hector, and Camilla. + </p> + <p> + Passing down a narrow walk into a region of semi-darkness, they entered + the second circle, where Minos stood, judging the sinners and girding + himself with his tail as many times as was the number of the circle to + which the spirit was to go. Here in darkness and storm were the carnal + sinners, whose punishment was to be beaten hither and thither by the + winds,—Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Paris, Tristan, and all those who + had sinned for love, and here Dante conversed with the spirit of Francesca + da Rimini, whom he had known in life, and her lover Paolo, slain for their + sin by her husband. Though there is no greater sorrow than to be mindful + of the happy time in misery, she assured Dante that the sorrows of Hell + were lightened by the presence of Paolo. + </p> + <p> + At the sight of Paolo's grief Dante fell swooning with pity, and awoke to + find himself in the circle where a cold rain fell forever on the gluttons. + Cerberus guarded the entrance, and now and again devoured the unhappy ones + who lay prone on their faces in the murk and mire. Here Ciacco of Florence + recognized and spoke with Dante, falling back in the mire as the poet + passed on, to rise no more until the Day of Judgment. + </p> + <p> + Plutus guarded the fourth circle, where were confined the avaricious and + prodigal, who, divided into two bands, rolled weights against each other, + uttering wretched insults. Down the sloping banks to the marsh of the Styx + the poets went, past the sullen and angry, who in life refused the comfort + of the sweet air and gladdening sun, and were in consequence doomed + forever to remain buried in the sullen mire. As Dante and Vergil passed + over the Styx in the boat of the vile Phlegyas, Dante was saluted by the + spirit of the once haughty and arrogant Philippo Argenti, whom he + repulsed, and gladly saw set upon and torn by the people of the mire. + </p> + <p> + Then appeared to him the mosques of the city of Dis, within the valley, + vermilion-hued from the fire eternal. Deep were the moats; the walls + appeared to be of iron. Upon the flaming summit sat the Furies, stained + with blood, begirt with Hydras. Here even Vergil trembled as they waited + the arrival of one sent from Heaven to open the gate and admit them. + </p> + <p> + Within, over the plain, were scattered sepulchres heated red hot, with + uplifted coverings, from which issued forth dire laments from the Infidels + and Heresiarchs tormented within. To Farinata degli Uberti, who rose from + his tomb to ask the news of Florence, Dante spoke, observing in the mean + time a shade that, on hearing the Tuscan tongue, rose next Uberti, + questioning, "Where is my son, my Guido?" Fancying from the poet's delay + in answering, and his use of the past tense, that his beloved child no + longer enjoyed the sweet light, Cavalcante fell back and appeared no more. + </p> + <p> + Leaving the dismal plain, whose countless tombs would remain open until + the Judgment Day, the poets entered upon the next and seventh circle, + composed of three smaller circles in which were punished the Violent + against their neighbors, against nature, and against God. The steep banks + of the ravine were guarded by the huge Minotaur, from which Dante and + Vergil escaped only by running. + </p> + <p> + Within Phlegethon, the boiling river of blood, stood the tyrants, among + whom were Dionysius, Azzolin, and Attila, uttering loud laments. If they + ventured to stir from their place of torment they were pierced by the + arrows of the Centaurs that guarded the banks. The Centaur Nessus conveyed + Dante across the river into the second circle, the dolorous forest, where + the Violent against nature, the Suicides, were transformed into closely + set, twisted thorn-trees, infested with harpies that fed on their leaves, + inflicting perpetual pain; thence into the third circle, where the Violent + against God, chief among whom was the arrogant Capaneus, dwelt in a sandy + plain surrounded by the dolorous forest. Upon the naked souls, some of + whom were lying supine, some crouching, others moving about continually, + fell a perpetual shower of flakes of fire. + </p> + <p> + Picking their way along the edge of the forest, not daring to step on the + sand waste, the poets came upon a little blood-red rivulet quenching the + flames above it, Phlegethon again, formed by the rivers Acheron and Styx, + whose source is the tears of Time. As they skirted the forest they saw a + troop of spirits hastening past, one of whom, after a sharp look, grasped + Dante's garment exclaiming, "What a wonder!" The baked countenance, the + ghastly face, was that of his old teacher Ser Brunetto, who not daring to + stop for fear of increasing his punishment, followed him, questioning him + on his appearance below, and comforting him by the assurance of his future + greatness. Deep were the burns in the limbs of the other Florentines Dante + met below, to whom he gave tidings of the state of affairs in their former + home. + </p> + <p> + Mounting on the shoulders of the hideous monster Geryon, the poets were + carried into a fearful abyss whose sides were Alp-like in steepness. This + was the eighth circle, Malebolge, or Evil pits, consisting of ten + concentric bolge, or ditches of stone with dikes between and rough bridges + running across them to the centre. + </p> + <p> + In the first pit Jason and other deceivers of women were being lashed by + horned demons. In pit two, a Florentine friend of Dante's was submerged + with others in filth as a punishment for flattery. In pit three the + Simoniacs were placed head down in purses in the earth, their projecting + feet tortured with flames. The poets crossed the bridge, and Vergil + carried Dante down the sloping bank so that he could speak to one who + proved to be the unhappy Nicholas III., who accused Boniface for his evil + deeds and expressed a longing for his arrival in this place of torture. + From the next bridge-top Dante dimly perceived the slow procession of + weeping soothsayers with heads reversed on their shoulders. There walked + Amphiarus, Tiresias, Manto, and Michael Scott. So great was Dante's sorrow + on beholding the misery of these men who had once been held in such great + esteem, that he leaned against a crag and wept until reproved by Vergil as + a reprobate for feeling compassion at the doom divine. Through the + semi-darkness the poets looked down into pit five, where devils with + fantastic names pitched barrators into a lake of boiling pitch and speared + those who dared to raise their heads above the surface. From these Evil + Claws Dante and Vergil escaped only by running into the sixth pit, where + walked the hypocrites in richly gilded mantles. When Dante wondered at + their weary faces and their tears, he was told by two of the Frati + Gaudenti (Jolly Friars) of Florence who suffered here, that the cloaks and + hoods were of heaviest lead, a load that grew more irksome with the ages. + Caiaphas, Annas, and the members of the council that condemned Christ lay + on the ground transfixed with stakes, and over their bodies passed the + slow moving train of the hypocrites. The next bridge lay in ruins as a + result of the earthquake at the Crucifixion, and Vergil experienced the + utmost difficulty in conveying Dante up the crags to a point where he + could look down into the dark dungeon of thieves, where the naked throng + were entwined with serpents and at their bite changed from man to serpent + and back again. Some burned and fell into ashes at the venomous bite, only + to rise again and suffer new tortures. Here Dante spoke with Vanni Fucci + of Pistoja, who robbed the sacristy of Florence, and whose face "was + painted with a melancholy shame" at being seen in his misery. The eighth + pit was brightly lighted by the flames that moved back and forth, each + concealing within an evil counsellor. Ulysses and Diomed walked together + in a flame cleft at the top, for the crime of robbing Deidamia of + Achilles, of stealing the Palladium, and of fabricating the Trojan horse. + As Dante looked into pit nine he saw a troop compelled to pass continually + by a demon with a sharp sword who mutilated each one each time he made the + round of the circle, so that the wounds never healed. These were the evil + counsellors. Mahomet was there; there too was Ali. But ghastliest of + sights was that of a headless trunk walking through the grim plain, + holding its severed head by the hair like a lantern, and exclaiming "O + me!" This was the notorious Bertrand de Born, the Troubadour, who had + caused dissension between Henry II. of England and his son. Among this + throng Dante recognized his kinsman Geri del Bello, who gave him a + disdainful look because he had not yet avenged his death. From the tenth + and last pit of Malebolge came a stench as great as though it came from + all the hospitals of Valdichiana, Maremma, and Sardinia, between July and + September. All the loathsome diseases were gathered into this moat to + afflict the forgers and falsifiers. Here Dante saw Athamas, mad king of + Thebes, the mad Gianni Schicchi, and Messer Adam of Brescia, the false + coiner, who, distorted with dropsy, was perishing of thirst, and thinking + constantly of the cool rivulets that descended from the verdant hills of + Casentino. + </p> + <p> + As Dante and his guide turned their backs on the wretched valley and + ascended the bank that surrounded it, the blare of a loud horn fell upon + their ears, louder than Roland's blast at Roncesvalles. This came from the + plain of the giants between Malebolge and the mouth of the infernal pit. + All around the pit, or well, were set the giants with half their bodies + fixed in earth. Nimrod, as a punishment for building the tower of Babel, + could speak no language, but babbled some gibberish. Ephialtes, Briareus, + and Antaeus were here, all horrible in aspect; Antaeus, less savage than + the others, lifted the two poets, and stooping set them down in the pit + below. This was the last and ninth circle, a dismal pit for the punishment + of traitors, who were frozen in the vast lake that Cocytus formed here. In + Caina were the brothers Alessandro and Napoleone degli Alberti, mutual + fratricides, their heads frozen together. In Antenora was that Guelph + Bocca who had caused his party's defeat; but the most horrible sight they + encountered was in Ptolemaea, where Count Ugolino, who had been shut up + with his sons and grandsons in a tower to starve by the Archbishop + Ruggieri, was now revenging himself in their place of torture by + continually gnawing the archbishop's head, frozen in the ice next his own. + Farther down they walked among those who, when they shed tears over their + woe had their teardrops frozen, so that even this solace was soon denied + them. Dante promised to break the frozen veil from the eyes of one who + prayed for aid, but when he learned that it was the Friar Alberigo, whose + body was still on earth, and whose soul was already undergoing punishment, + he refused, "for to be rude to him was courtesy." + </p> + <p> + In the fourth and last division of the ninth circle, the Judecca, a strong + wind was blowing. Then Dante saw the emperor of the kingdom frozen in the + ice, a mighty giant foul to look upon, with three faces, vermilion, white + and yellow, and black. The waving of his two featherless wings caused the + great winds that froze Cocytus. Teardrops fell from his six eyes; in each + mouth he was crunching a sinner, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. + </p> + <p> + Being warned by Vergil that it was time to depart, Dante clasped his guide + around his neck, and Vergil began to climb down the huge monster until + they reached his middle, the centre of gravity, where with much difficulty + they turned and climbed upward along the subterranean course of Lethe, + until they again beheld the stars. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0073" id="link2H_4_0073"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PURGATORY. + </h3> + <p> + The Purgatory of Dante is situated on a mountain top on the opposite side + of the earth from Jerusalem, and is surrounded by the western ocean. The + souls of those who go there collect on the banks of the Tiber, and are + taken to the mountain in a boat by an angel pilot. The shores of the + island are covered with the reeds of humility. Around the base of the + mount dwell the souls that, repenting late, must "expiate each year of + deferred penitence with thirty years of deferred Purgatory" unless the + time be shortened by the prayers of their friends on earth. There are + three stages of this Ante-Purgatory: the first, for those who put off + conversion through negligence; the second, for those who died by violence + and repented while dying; the third, for those monarchs who were too much + absorbed in earthly greatness to give much thought to the world to come. + The ascent of the terraces, as also those of Purgatory proper, is very + difficult, and is not allowed to be made after sunset. The gate of St. + Peter separates Ante-Purgatory from Purgatory proper. Three steps, the + first of polished white marble, the second of purple, rough and cracked, + and the third of blood-red porphyry, signifying confession, contrition, + and penance, lead to the gate where sits the angel clad in a penitential + robe, with the gold and silver keys with which to unlock the outer and + inner gates. Purgatory proper consists of seven terraces, in each of which + one of the seven capital sins, Pride, Anger, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and + Lasciviousness are punished; Pride first, because no other sin can be + purged from the body until this deepest sin is eliminated. The soul, + cleansed of these sins, mounts to the terrestrial paradise, which, above + the sphere of air, crowns the Mount of Purgatory. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0074" id="link2H_4_0074"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PURGATORY. + </h3> + <p> + As morning dawned and the poets slowly climbed out of the infernal region + and stepped upon the isle from which the Mount of Purgatory rises, they + were accosted by an old man with long white hair and beard, Cato of Utica, + who demanded the reason of their coming, and only permitted them to remain + when he heard that a lady from Heaven had given the command. Then he + ordered Vergil to lave the smoke of Hell from Dante's face in the waves of + the sea, and to gird him with the reed of humility. As the sun rose a + radiant angel, guiding a boat laden with souls, appeared, and the poets + fell on their knees until he departed. + </p> + <p> + As the newly-landed spirits questioned Vergil of the way up the mountain, + Dante recognized among them his beloved friend Casella, the musician, and + tried in vain to embrace his spirit body. At Dante's request, Casella + began to sing, and the enchanted spirits were scattered only by the + chiding voice of Cato. + </p> + <p> + Vergil surveyed the insurmountable height before them, and hastened with + Dante to inquire the way of a troop of souls coming towards them. As they + talked, Dante recognized one, blond and smiling, with a gash over one + eyebrow and another over his heart. It was Manfredi, King of Apulia and + Sicily, who was slain at Benevento by Charles of Anjou, and, being under + excommunication, was not allowed Christian burial. He asked Dante to make + him happy by telling his daughter that by faith he was saved from eternal + destruction, but because of his sins he must spend thirty times the time + that his presumption had endured at the foot of the mount, unless his time + was shortened by the righteous prayers of his friends on earth. + </p> + <p> + It was with the greatest difficulty that the poets clambered up the steep + and narrow path to the next terrace, and only the assurance that the + ascent would grow easier as he neared the summit sustained Dante. As + Vergil explained to him while resting on the next terrace that the sun + appeared on his left because Purgatory and Jerusalem were in different + hemispheres, some one spoke, and turning they saw a group of persons in an + attitude of indolence, among them a Florentine acquaintance, Belacqua, a + maker of musical instruments, who sat waiting the length of another + lifetime for admission above because he had postponed conversion from time + to time, through negligence. + </p> + <p> + Proceeding, the poets met a concourse of souls who had suffered violent + death, chanting the Miserere, who perceiving Dante to be living, sent + messages to their friends on earth. Among these were Giacopo del Cassero + and Buonconte di Montefeltro, son of Dante's friend, Guido di Montefeltro, + who fell in the battle of Campaldino, in which Dante had taken part. + Wounded in the neck, he fell, and had just time to breathe a prayer to + Mary, thus saving his soul from the Evil One, who was so incensed that, + raising a great storm, he caused the rivers to overflow and sweep away the + lifeless body, tearing from it the cross he had made with his arms in his + last agony, and burying it in the mire of the Arno. The third shade bade + him think of her when, returned home, he sang of his journey. She was Pia, + born at Sienna, who died at Maremma, by the hand of her husband. + </p> + <p> + Dante at last managed to escape from these shades, who implored him to ask + for prayers for them on earth, and moved on with Vergil until they met the + haughty shade of Sordello, who clasped Vergil in his arms when he learned + he was a Mantuan. Touched by this expression of love for his native land, + Dante launched into an apostrophe to degenerate Italy, to that German + Albert who refused to save the country groaning under oppression, and to + lost Florence, torn by internecine wars. + </p> + <p> + When Sordello learned that the Mantuan shade was Vergil, he humbled + himself before him, and paid him reverence, asking eagerly in what part of + the underworld he dwelt. The sun was sinking, and as the poets could not + ascend by night, he urged them to pass the night with him. Leading them to + a vale carpeted with emerald grass and brilliant with flowers, he pointed + out the shades singing "Salve Regina" as the Emperor Rudolph,—he who + made an effort to heal sick Italy,—Philip III. of France, Charles I. + of Naples, and Henry III. of England. As the hour of twilight approached, + that hour in which the sailor thinks of home, and the pilgrim thrills at + the sound of vesper bells, Dante beheld a shade arise, and lifting its + palms begin to sing the vesper hymn. Soon two radiant angels clad in + delicate green descended from Heaven, holding flaming swords. These, + Sordello explained, were to keep off the serpent that threatened this fair + vale at night. + </p> + <p> + As the hour of night approached in which the swallow laments its woes, + Dante fell asleep on the grass and dreamed that he was Ganymede snatched + from Mt. Ida by Jove's eagle. Awaking, he found himself alone with Vergil + in a strange place, with the sun two hours high. Lucia, symbolical of the + enlightening grace of Heaven, had conveyed him to the spot and pointed out + to Vergil the gate of Purgatory. Cheered and confident, he rose, and they + went together to the portal and mounted the three steps, the first of + shining white marble, the second of purple stone, cracked and burnt, and + the third of flaming red porphyry. There, on the diamond threshold, sat an + angel with a naked sword, clad in a robe of ashen gray, whose face was too + bright to look upon. When Dante fell on his knees and implored entrance, + the angel imprinted on his forehead seven "P"'s for the seven sins + (Peccata), and opening the gate with the gold and silver keys, ushered + them into the mighty portals. "From Peter I have these keys. Me he + instructed to err rather in opening than in keeping shut. But see that ye + look not behind, or ye will at once return." + </p> + <p> + With much difficulty the two poets ascended the steep and winding path, + and paused to view the wonderful sculptures on the embankment, that would + put Nature herself to shame, so natural were they. Many examples of + Humility were there portrayed,—the Virgin Mary, the Holy Ark, drawn + by oxen, the Psalmist dancing before the Lord, while Michal looked forth + in scorn from her palace window, and Trajan, yielding to the widow's + prayer. As they stood there, the souls came in sight. "Reader, attend not + to the fashion of the torment, but think of what follows." The unhappy + ones crept around the terrace, bowed under a heavy burden of stones, and + the most patient, as he bent under his burden, exclaimed, with tears, "I + can do no more!" As they walked they repeated the Lord's Prayer, and kept + their eyes fixed on the life-like sculptures on the floor of those who had + suffered before them for the sins of pride: Lucifer, falling from Heaven; + Briareus and Nimrod overcome by the bolts of Jove; Niobe, weeping among + her dead children; Cyrus's head taunted by Tomyris; Troy humbled in ashes. + </p> + <p> + As Vergil approached the penitents to inquire the way to the next terrace, + he and Dante were invited to join the procession and talk with one who + could not lift his face enough to see them. This was Omberto, who had been + slain by the Siennese for his unbearable pride. Dante also talked with his + friend Oderigi, an illuminator of manuscript, who now humbly acknowledged + that he was far surpassed by Franco Bolognese. "What is mundane glory?" he + exclaimed, as he pointed out Provenzano Salvani, with whose fame Tuscany + once rang, but who barely escaped Hell by his voluntary humiliation for a + friend. "Lift up thy face!" commanded Vergil, as Dante walked with his + head bowed, absorbed in the floor-sculptures; and as he looked, the + white-robed angel whose face was like "a tremulous flame" approached, and + struck Dante's forehead with his wings. Dante marvelled at the ease with + which he mounted, until his master explained that the heaviest sin, the + sin that underlies all others, had fallen from him when the angel struck + the "P" from his forehead, and that the ascent would grow still lighter + from terrace to terrace. "Blessed are the poor in spirit!" sung by sweet + voices, greeted the mounting poets. + </p> + <p> + The second terrace was of livid stone unrelieved by any sculpture. The air + was full of voices inculcating charity and self-denial, and others + lamenting the sin of envy. Here envy was punished, and here the sharpest + pain pierced Dante's heart as he saw the penitents sit shoulder to + shoulder against the cliff, robed in sackcloth of the same livid color, + their eyelids, through which bitter tears trickled, sewed together with + wire. Sapia of Sienna first greeted Dante and entreated him to pray for + her. When she had told how, after having been banished from her city, she + had prayed that her townsman might be defeated by the Florentines, Dante + passed on and spoke with Guido of Duca, who launched into an invective + against Florence to his companion Rinieri. "The whole valley of the Arno + is so vile that its very name should die. Wonder not at my tears, Tuscan, + when I recall the great names of the past, and compare them with the curs + who have fallen heir to them. Those counts are happiest who have left no + families." Guido himself was punished on this terrace because of his envy + of every joyous man, and the spirit with whom he talked was Rinieri, whose + line had once been highly honored. "Go, Tuscan," exclaimed Guido, "better + now I love my grief than speech." As the poets passed on, the air was + filled with the lamentations of sinful but now repentant spirits. + </p> + <p> + Dazzled by the Angel's splendor, the poets passed up the stairs to the + third terrace, Dante in the mean time asking an explanation of Guido's + words on joint resolve and trust. + </p> + <p> + "The less one thinks of another's possessions," replied his guide, "and + the more he speaks of 'our' instead of 'my,' the more of the Infinite Good + flows towards him. If you thirst for further instruction, await the coming + of Beatrice." + </p> + <p> + As they attained the next height, Dante, rapt in vision, saw the sweet + Mother questioning her Son in the Temple, saw Pisistratus, his queen, and + the martyred Stephen blessing his enemies in death. As he awoke, they + passed on, to become involved in a thick cloud of smoke, through which it + was impossible to distinguish any object, and whose purpose was to purge + away anger, the sin-cloud that veils the mortal eye. + </p> + <p> + As they passed from the thick smoke into the sunset, Dante fell into a + trance, and saw Itys, Haman, and other notable examples of unbridled + angers, and as the visions faded away, was blinded by the splendor of the + angel guide who directed them to the fourth terrace. As they waited for + the dawn, Vergil answered Dante's eager questions. "Love," he said, "is + the seed of every virtue, and also of every act for which God punished + man. Natural love is without error; but if it is bent on evil aims, if it + lacks sufficiency, or if it overleaps its bounds and refuses to be + governed by wise laws, it causes those sins that are punished on this + mount. The defective love which manifests itself as slothfulness is + punished on this terrace." + </p> + <p> + A troop of spirits rushed past them as morning broke, making up by their + haste for the sloth that had marked their lives on earth. As they hurried + on they urged themselves to diligence by cries of "In haste the mountains + blessed Mary won!" "Caesar flew to Spain!" "Haste! Grace grows best in + those who ardor feel!" As the poet meditated on their words, he lapsed + into a dream in which he saw the Siren who drew brave mariners from their + courses; and even as he listened to her melodious song, he beheld her + exposed by a saint-like lady, Lucia, or Illuminating Grace. Day dawned, + the Angel fanned the fourth "P" from his forehead, and the poet ascended + to the fifth terrace, where lay the shades of the avaricious, prostrate on + the earth, weeping over their sins. They who in life had resolutely turned + their gaze from Heaven and fixed it on the things of the earth, must now + grovel in the dust, denouncing avarice, and extolling the poor and liberal + until the years have worn away their sin. + </p> + <p> + Bending over Pope Adrian the Fifth, Dante heard his confession that he was + converted while he held the Roman shepherd's staff. Then he learned how + false a dream was life, but too late, alas! to escape this punishment. As + Dante spoke with the shade of Capet the elder, a mighty trembling shook + the mountain, which chilled his heart until he learned from the shade of + Statius, whom they next met, that it was caused by the moving upward of a + purified soul, his own, that had been undergoing purgation on this terrace + five hundred years and more. "Statius was I," said the shade, "and my + inspiration came from that bright fountain of heavenly fire, the Aeneid; + it was my mother; to it I owe my fame. Gladly would I have added a year to + my banishment here, could I have known the Mantuan." Vergil's glance said + "Be mute!" but Dante's smile betrayed the secret, and Statius fell at + Vergil's feet adoring. Statius had suffered for the sin of prodigality, + which was punished, together with avarice, on this terrace. + </p> + <p> + The three proceeded upward to the sixth terrace, the ascent growing easier + on the disappearance of the "P" of avarice from Dante's forehead. Vergil + and Statius moved on in loving conversation, Dante reverently following. + "Your Pollio led me to Christianity," said Statius, "but my cowardice + caused me long to conceal it. Prodigality brought me hither." + </p> + <p> + On the sixth terrace two trees stood in opposite parts of the pathway that + the gluttons were compelled to tread, the first with branches broad at the + top and tapering downward, so that it was impossible to mount it; upon it + fell a fount of limpid water. From its branches a voice cried, "Of this + food ye shall have a scarcity. In the primal age, acorns furnished sweet + food and each rivulet seemed nectar." Towards the next tree, grown from a + twig of the tree of knowledge, the gluttons stretched eager hands, but a + voice cried, "Pass on; approach not!" Such desire for food was excited by + these tempting fruits, that the gluttons were emaciated beyond + recognition. By his voice alone did Dante recognize his kinsman Forese, + whose time in Purgatory had been shortened by the prayers of his wife + Nella. Forese talked with Dante for a while on the affairs of Florence, + and predicted the fall of his brother Corso Donati. + </p> + <p> + The dazzling splendor of the angel of the seventh terrace warned them of + his approach, and, lightened of one more "P," Dante and his companions + climbed to where two bands of spirits, lascivious on earth, moved through + paths of purifying flames, stopping as they passed to greet each other, + and singing penitential hymns. Here, Statius explained to Dante why the + shades of the sixth terrace were lean from want of food when they + possessed no longer their physical bodies. "After death the soul keeps its + memory, intelligence, and will more active than before, and as soon as it + reaches either the banks of Acheron or the Tiber, a shade form is attached + to it which acquires the soul's semblance, and has every sense given it, + even that of sight." + </p> + <p> + Guido Guinicelli, from out the flame-furnace, explained to Dante the + punishments of the terrace: "Thus are our base appetites burned out that + we may enjoy future happiness," and Arnaud the Troubadour, hating his past + follies, weeping and singing, implored Dante's prayers. It was only by + telling him that the fire lay between him and Beatrice that Vergil + prevailed on Dante to walk into the flames, which, though they tortured + him by the intensity of their heat, did not consume even his garments. As + they left the fire, the sun was setting, and they passed the night on the + steps of the next terrace, Statius and Vergil watching Dante as the + goatherds watch their flocks. In a dream the sleeping poet saw Leah, + symbolical of the active life, in contrast to her sister Rachel, of + contemplative life. On waking, Vergil told him that he would accompany him + further, but not as a guide; henceforth his own free will must lead him. + "Crowned, mitred, now thyself thou 'lt rule aright." + </p> + <p> + Dense green were the heavenly woodlands of the terrestrial paradise; sweet + were the bird songs, as sweet the songs of the whispering foliage; and on + the pleasant mead, beyond the dimpling waters of a stream so small that + three paces would span it, walked a beautiful lady, Matilda, gathering + flowers and singing an enchanting melody. At Dante's request, she came + nearer, and explained to him that God had created the terrestrial paradise + from which man was banished by his fault alone. To vex him it was raised + to this height. Its atmosphere was not that of the earth below, but given + it from the free sphere of ether. Here every plant had its origin; here + each river had its virtue; Lethe destroyed the memory of sin; Eunoë + restored to the mind the memory of things good. + </p> + <p> + As they talked, Hosannas were heard, and in the greatest splendor appeared + the Car of the Church Triumphant. First came the seven golden + candlesticks; following them, many people in resplendent white garments; + next, the four and twenty elders, lily crowned—the twenty-four books + of the Old Testament—singing to Beatrice "O blessed Thou!" Then four + six-winged, many-eyed living creatures described both by Ezekiel and John + surrounded the massive car drawn by the Gryphon, emblem of our Lord in his + divine and human nature, white, gold, and vermilion-hued, part lion, part + eagle, whose wings pierced the heavens. + </p> + <p> + Three maidens, red, emerald, and white, the Theological Virtues, Faith, + Hope, and Charity, danced at the right wheel of the car; four clad in + purple, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance, walked at the left + wheel. With them came two old men, Luke and Paul; then four together, + James, Peter, John, and Jude, and last an aged man walking in slumber, + Saint John, writer of the Revelation. These last were crowned with red + roses and other tinted flowers. With a crash as of thunder, the car + stopped before Dante, and a hundred angels, chanting, showered on it roses + and lilies. In the midst of the shower, Beatrice descended, clad in a + crimson robe, with a green mantle and a white veil, and crowned with an + olive wreath. Thrilling with his ancient love, Dante turned to Vergil to + sustain him, but Vergil was gone. As he looked again, her eyes, less + severe from the veil that enveloped her, were fixed on him as she rebuked + him, and he was sustained only by the compassion in the sweet voices of + the angels, which soothed him until the tears rained down his cheeks. + </p> + <p> + After her death, when she had arisen from flesh to spirit, Beatrice + complained that her influence was dimmed, and that he had sought such + depths that she had been compelled to go to the gates of hell to implore + Vergil to bring him hither that he might learn his future sufferings if he + did not repent. As he answered her, blaming the things that had led him + aside with joys deceitful, he tried to gaze into her eyes, but stung with + penitential thorns, fell senseless to the ground. Matilda, who stood by, + seized him and plunged him into the river Lethe, that he might forget his + past sin. Dripping, he was given to the four lovely maidens, who led him + before Beatrice that he might look into her eyes, fixed on the Gryphon. A + thousand longings held him fast while, "weary from ten years' thirsting," + he gazed upon her lovely eyes, now unveiled in their full splendor. + Reproached at last by the seven virtues for his too intent gaze, Dante + watched the car move on to the Tree of Knowledge, to which its pole was + attached by the Gryphon. Dante, lulled to sleep by the hymn, was aroused + by Matilda, who pointed out to him the radiant Beatrice, sitting under a + tree surrounded by the bright forms of her attendants. The other + attendants of the car had followed the Gryphon to the skies. + </p> + <p> + "Observe the car," said Beatrice, "and write what thou hast seen when thou + returnest home." As she spoke, the car was attacked in turn by the eagle + of persecution, the fox of heresy, and the dragon of Islamism; these + driven away, it was disturbed by inward dissensions, the alliance between + Boniface and Philip the Fair. + </p> + <p> + Rising, Beatrice called Dante, Statius, and Matilda to her, and as they + walked upon that pleasant mead, she asked Dante the meaning of his + continued silence. She explained the attacks on the chariot to him, but he + declared that he could not understand her language. Then, at Beatrice's + nod, Matilda called him and Statius, and plunged them into Eunoë, whence + he rose regenerate, and prepared to mount to the stars. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0075" id="link2H_4_0075"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PARADISE. + </h3> + <p> + The Paradise of Dante consists of nine heavens, each a revolving + crystalline sphere, enclosed in another; without them, the boundless + Empyrean. The first or innermost heaven, of the Moon, revolved by the + angels, is the habitat of wills imperfect through instability. The second, + of Mercury, revolved by the Archangels, is the abode of wills imperfect + through love of fame. The third, of Venus, revolved by the Principalities, + is the abode of wills imperfect through excess of human love. The fourth, + of the Sun, revolved by the Powers, is the abode of the great intellectual + lights, the doctors of the Church. The fifth heaven, of Mars, revolved by + the Virtues, is the abode of the martyrs, warriors, and confessors, and is + sacred to the Faith. The sixth, of Jupiter, revolved by the Dominations, + is inhabited by just rulers. The seventh, of Saturn, revolved by the + Thrones, is inhabited by monks and hermits. The eighth, of the Fixed + Stars, revolved by the Cherubim, is inhabited by the apostles and saints. + The ninth, or Primum Mobile, revolved by the Seraphim, is the abode of the + moral philosophers. These abodes, however, are not real, but + representative, to illustrate the differences in glory of the inhabitants + of Paradise, for the real seat of each is in the Rose of the Blessed. In + the heavens, the saints appear swathed in cocoons of light; in the Rose + they are seen in their own forms. They know all because they behold God + continually. In the Empyrean is the Rose of the Blessed, whose myriad + leaves form the thrones of the spirits, and whose centre of light is the + Father himself. Dividing the Rose horizontally, the lower thrones are held + by those who died in infancy; among them are varying degrees of glory. + Above it, are those who died adults. Supposing a vertical division, the + thrones to the left are for those who looked forward to Christ's coming; + those to the right, not yet all occupied, by those who died after Christ's + coming. Along the division lines are the holy women, the Virgin, Eve, + Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and Ruth, Saint Anne and Saint + Lucia, and the saints, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Adam, Moses, + Saint Francis, Saint Benedict, Saint Augustine, Saint Peter, and in the + midst, the Everlasting Glory of the Universe, whose light so fills the + Rose that "naught can form an obstacle against it." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0076" id="link2H_4_0076"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + THE PARADISE. + </h3> + <p> + The ascent to Paradise was accomplished by a fixed gaze into Beatrice's + eyes, by which Dante, like Glaucus, was made divine, and by which he was + lifted, with incredible swiftness, through the heavens. As soon as he had + fixed his eyes on Beatrice's, who in turn looked towards heaven, they + found themselves in the Heaven of the Moon, whose luminous yet pearl-like + light enfolded them. While Beatrice was explaining to him that the spots + on the moon were not caused by the varying degrees of atmospheric density, + as he had supposed, but by the Divine Virtue infused in divine measure + through the angelic dwellers in the first heaven, he met Piccarda, his + sister-in-law, whose brother, Corso Donati, had torn her from her convent + to wed her to Rosselin della Tosa, soon after which she died. Here also + was Costanza, daughter of Roger I. of Sicily, grandmother of that Manfredi + whom he had seen in Purgatory. Here Beatrice instructed Dante as to the + imperfection of those wills that held not to their vows, but allowed + violence to thwart them. + </p> + <p> + Another look into the smiling eyes, and the two were in the Heaven of + Mercury, where those wills abide in whom love of fame partly extinguished + love of God. One of the thousand splendors that advanced towards them was + the soul of the Emperor Justinian, who reviewed the Empire, the Church, + condemning severely the behavior of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and told + of the spirits who inhabited the little planet, whose lives were sweetened + by living justice, and whose ears were gladdened by the sweetest + harmonies. + </p> + <p> + Dante was unaware of his ascent into, Venus, where dwelt those souls who + were lovers on earth, until he perceived Beatrice's added beauty. Amid + revolving lights Charles Martel of Hungary appeared, denounced his brother + Robert of Sicily, and instructed Dante on the subjects of heredity and + degeneracy; that "sweet seed can come bitter" because the influence of the + star under which the child is born can counteract that of the parent, and + because his state is not always adapted to him by his parents and + advisers. + </p> + <p> + In the sphere of the Sun, consecrated to the great doctors of divinity, + Beatrice became still more beautiful; but so absorbed was the poet in the + love for the Eternal Source of all this splendor that for the first time + he forgot her. Out of the whirling lights, shining like precious jewels, + came Saint Thomas Aquinas, who pointed out to Dante his noted companions, + Gratian, Peter Lombard, Solomon, Dionysius, Boethius, and Baeda. Thomas + then related the story of Saint Francis of Assisi and the founding of his + order of the Franciscans, upon which Saint Bonaventura of the Franciscans, + from the next flame garland, told of Saint Dominic and the Dominican + order. Alas! while both orders were great in the beginning, both narrators + had to censure their present corruption. + </p> + <p> + The array of brilliant lights, dividing itself, formed into two disks + which, revolving oppositely, sang the praises of the Trinity. The song of + praise finished, Saint Thomas explained that Solomon was elevated to this + sphere for his wisdom and his regal prudence, and warned Dante against the + error of rash judgment. + </p> + <p> + The splendor of Mars was almost blinding; it was ruddier than the others, + and in it dwelt the souls of the crusaders and martyrs. While Dante's ears + were ravished by exquisite music, his eyes were dazzled by the lights, + which had arranged themselves in the form of a cross. From out the + splendor, one star saluted Dante. It was the soul of his ancestor + Cacciaguida, who had waited long for the coming of his descendant. He + related to Dante the story of his life, commenting on the difference + between the simple life of the Florentines of his day and the corrupt + practices of Dante's time, and broke to the poet what had already been + darkly hinted to him in Hell and Purgatory,—his banishment; how he + must depart from Florence and learn how salt is the bread of charity, how + wearisome the stairs in the abode of the stranger. + </p> + <p> + As Cacciaguida ceased and pointed out the other well-known dwellers in + Mars, each one on the cross flashed as his name was called,—Joshua, + Judas Maccabeus, Charlemagne and Roland, Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert + Guiscard, and others. + </p> + <p> + In Jupiter, whose whiteness contrasted with the ruddiness of Mars, dwelt + the souls of great rulers, certain of whom arranged themselves first to + form the golden letters of <i>Diligite Justitiam qui judicatis terram</i> + ("Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth"), and then formed + themselves into the Roman eagle and sang of the justice and mercy that + caused their elevation to this position, and of events about to occur in + history. + </p> + <p> + Had Beatrice smiled as they ascended to Saturn, Dante would have perished + as did Semele, from excess of light. In Saturn dwelt the spirits of the + contemplative, the monks and hermits, and here was Jacob's ladder, up and + down whose bars of gold sparkled the spirits of the saints, silent for the + same reason that Beatrice smiled not. By divine election, Saint Peter + Damian descended and spoke with Dante, accusing the churchmen of the time + of worldliness and luxury. "Cephas and our Lord came on earth barefoot and + poorly clad, but these men are covered with gorgeous raiment and ride upon + sleek palfreys." As he closed, a thunder cry of approval went up from the + other saints. + </p> + <p> + Up the wonderful ladder passed Dante and his lady into the eighth heaven + of the Fixed Stars, and looking down saw the little earth and the starry + heavens through which they had passed. Then, as Beatrice paused with her + face all aflame, and her eyes full of ecstasy, down came the hosts of + Christ's triumphal march, and within the living light, which dazzled + Dante's eyes until he could not see, also appeared Mary, mother of God, + crowned by Gabriel, rising into the Empyrean. Of those who remained + behind, Beatrice asked that Dante be sprinkled with the waters of the + living Fountain; and while they gave their consent, Saint Peter appeared + as a fire whirling ecstatically, and singing a divine song. He examined + the trembling poet on faith, and his questions being answered + satisfactorily, encircled him thrice with his light. Saint James, who next + came forth, was likewise pleased with his response on Hope, and he was + then blinded by the effulgence of John, so that for a time he could not + see the face of his lady. + </p> + <p> + Of Love he spoke with John, and then talked with Adam. As he listened to + the strains of richest melody, he noticed one of the lights—Saint + Peter—change from white to red, and then, as silence fell, speak, + enraged at the worldliness of the Holy See. "My cemetery has been made a + sewer of blood and stench. When thou returnest to earth, reveal what thou + hast heard. Do not thou conceal what I have not concealed." + </p> + <p> + Commanded by Beatrice, Dante looked back at earth once more, and as he + looked, was carried up into the heaven of the Primum Mobile, where dwelt + the moral philosophers. Here the angelic spirits circled round the point + of intense light, the divine centre. The nearer God was the circle, the + greater virtue it possessed. This order was inverse to that of the + heavens, but Dante learned from Beatrice that the orbs revolved through + narrow paths or wide according to the virtue of their parts, and that a + strict agreement of harmony prevailed between the great and the small. The + angel and the heavens were created simultaneously, and, as direct + emanations from God, know no decay. Of this and many things concerning the + Creation, did Beatrice enlighten Dante before the beauty of her smile told + him that they were in the Empyrean. "Now shall thou look upon the mighty + hosts of Paradise." + </p> + <p> + The poet's dazzled eyes saw then a river of light from which issued living + sparks sunk down into the flowers like rubies set in gold. Instructed by + Beatrice he drank of the stream and the river changed into a lake; then he + saw the Courts of Heaven made manifest, and the splendor of God. The ample + Rose unfolded its leaves before him, breathing praise and perfume, and as + he gazed into it Beatrice pointed out the radiant spirits and the thronged + seats, one of which was reserved for the Emperor Henry of Luxembourg, from + whom Dante expected so much, and who died before aught was accomplished. + As Dante gazed, the hosts with wings of gold and faces of living flame, + singing anthems, alternately sank into the Rose, like a swarm of bees + sinking into summer flowers, and rose again to view the Divine splendor. + Turning to question Beatrice again, Dante found in her place Saint Bernard + of Clairvaux, an old man full of the tenderest pity, who pointed out to + him Beatrice in her own place, the third round of the first rank. As from + afar, Dante pleaded with the beautiful lady who had left her place in + heaven to go even unto the gates of hell for his sake, to aid him still; + she seemed to smile upon him before she again turned her gaze upon the + Eternal Fountain of Light. Saint Bernard explained to the poet the + divisions of the Rose and the seats of the saints, and then addressed a + prayer to the Virgin, asking that Dante be permitted to look upon the + Almighty Father. As he prayed, Beatrice and all the blessed ones clasped + their hands to her who likes so well prayers of divine fervor. At a + gesture from Bernard, the poet looked upward. Then what a radiant vision + met his eyes! Three circles he saw of threefold color and one dimension. + As he looked, one seemed to take our image, and again was lost in the + infinite glory of the Light Divine. As he tried to describe it, + imagination failed him, though his will remained, moving on with the even + motion of the sun and stars. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0077" id="link2H_4_0077"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY. + </h2> + <h3> + COUNT UGOLINO. + </h3> + <p> + In the frozen lake of Cocytus in the ninth circle of the Inferno, where + were punished the traitors to kindred, country, friends, or benefactors, + the poets beheld Count Ugolino, a Guelph, who, because of his treachery, + was taken prisoner by the people with his sons and grandsons and thrust + into a tower, where they were left to starve. Ugolino was frozen in the + ice, where he forever gnawed the head of the Archbishop Ruggieri, his + enemy. At the request of Dante he stopped to tell his story. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Thy will 'tis I renew + A desperate sorrow that doth crush my heart + Even before my lips its tale impart. + But if my words may be a seed that, sowed, + Shall fruit of infamy to this traitor bear, + Then, though I weep, speech too shall be my care. + + "Who thou may'st be I know not, nor what mode + Hath brought thee here below, but then I glean, + From words of thine, thou art a Florentine. + That I Count Ugolino was, know thou, + And this the Archbishop Ruggieri. Why + I will thee tell we are such neighbors nigh. + Needs not to say that him I did allow + A friend's own trusts, but so his treachery wrought; + That first my liberty, then my life, it sought. + + "But that which thou canst not have hitherto learned + That is, how cruel was my death, I thee + Will tell; judge thou if he offended me. + Within the Mew, a tower which well hath earned + From me its name of Famine, and where wrath + Yet others waits, a narrow opening hath, + Through which of several moons the broken light + Had strayed, when unto me in sleep was sent + A dream whereby the future's veil was rent. + + "This ill dream me this man set forth in might: + He wolf and whelps upon those mounts pursued + Which Pisa 'twixt and Lucca's domes obtrude. + Hounds had he with him, lank and shrewd and keen, + And in their front Gualandi's sword had place, + Sismondi's lash and sour Lanfranchi's mace. + Father and sons' undoing soon was seen; + Methought the sharp fangs on them closed, and tore + Their flanks, which now the hue of crimson wore. + + "Before the dawn I woke and heard my sons, + The helpless children with me, in their sleep, + Cry out for bread, cries pushed from sobbings deep. + Right cruel art thou, if not e'en now runs + To tears thy grief at what my heart forbode, + If tears of thine at misery's tale e'er flowed. + And then they woke, and came the hour around + Which had been wont our scanty meal to bring; + But from our dreams dumb terrors seemed to spring; + + "When from below we heard the dreadful sound + Of nails; the horrible tower was closed; all dumb + I let my gaze into my sons' eyes come. + Weep I did not, like stone my feelings lay. + They wept, and spoke my little Anselm: 'Pray + Why lookest so? Father, what ails thee, say?' + Shed I no tear, nor answered all that day + Nor the next night, until another sun + His journey through the wide world had begun. + + "Then came a small ray into our sad, sad den, + And when in their four faces I beheld + That carking grief which mine own visage held, + Mine hands for grief I bit, and they, who then + Deemed that I did it from desire to eat, + Stood up each one at once upon his feet, + And said: 'Father, 'twill give us much less pain + If thou wilt eat of us: of thee was born + This hapless flesh, and be it by thee torn.' + + "Myself I calmed that they might not so grieve; + Mute that day and the next we were; O thou + Most cruel earth, that didst not open now! + When we the fourth day's agony did receive + Stretched at my feet himself my Gaddo threw, + And said: 'My father, canst thou nothing do?' + There died he, and, as now sees me thy sight, + The three I saw fall one by one; first died + One on the fifth; deaths two the sixth me tried. + + "Then blind, I groped o'er them to left and right, + And for three days called on their spirits dead; + Then grief before the power of fasting fled." + <i>Wilstach's Translation, Inferno. Canto XXXIII.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0078" id="link2H_4_0078"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BUONCONTE DI MONTEFELTRO. + </h2> + <p> + On the second terrace of the Ante-Purgatory, on the Purgatorial Mount, + were the spirits of those whose lives were ended by violence. Among those + who here addressed Dante was Buonconte di Montefeltro, who was slain in + the battle of Campaldino, and whose body was never found. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Another then: "Ah, be thy cherished aim + Attained that to the lofty Mount thee draws, + As thou with pity shalt advance my cause. + Of Montefeltro I Buonconte am; + Giovanna, and she only, for me cares; + Hence among those am I whom waiting wears." + + "What violence or what chance led thee so wide + From Campaldino," I of him inquired, + "That's still unknown thy burial-place retired?" + "Oh, Casentino's foot," he thus replied, + "Archiano's stream o'erflows, which hath its rise + Above the Hermitage under Apennine skies. + There where its name is lost did I arrive, + Pierced through and through the throat, in flight, + Upon the plain made with my life-blood bright; + + "There sight I lost, and did for speech long strive; + At last I uttered Mary's name, and fell + A lifeless form, mine empty flesh a shell. + Truth will I speak, below do thou it hymn; + Took me God's Angel up, and he of Hell + Cried out: 'O thou from Heaven, thou doest well + To rob from me the eternal part of him + For one poor tear, that me of him deprives; + In other style I'll deal with other lives!' + + "Well know'st thou how in air is gathered dim + That humid vapor which to water turns + Soon as the cold its rising progress learns. + The fiend that ill-will joined (which aye seeks ill) + To intellectual power, which mist and wind + Moved by control which faculties such can find, + And afterwards, when the day was spent, did fill + The space from Protomagno to where tower + The Mounts with fog; and high Heaven's covering power + + "The pregnant atmosphere moist to water changed. + Down fell the rain, and to the ditches fled, + Whate'er of it the soil's thirst had not sped; + And, as it with the mingling torrents ranged + Towards the royal river, so it flowed + That over every obstacle wild it rode. + The robust river found my stiffened frame + Near to its outlet, and it gave a toss + To Arno, loosening from my breast the cross + + "I made of me when agony me o'ercame; + Along his banks and bottoms he me lapped, + Then in his muddy spoils he me enwrapped." + <i>Wilstach's Translation, Purgatorio, Canto V.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0079" id="link2H_4_0079"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BEATRICE DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN. + </h2> + <p> + Dante and Vergil mounted to the Terrestial Paradise, where, while they + talked with Matilda, the Car of the Church Triumphant appeared in the + greatest splendor. As it stopped before Dante it was enveloped in a shower + of roses from the hands of a hundred angels. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I have beheld ere now, when dawn would pale, + The eastern hemisphere's tint of roseate sheen, + And all the opposite heaven one gem serene, + And the uprising sun, beneath such powers + Of vapory influence tempered, that the eye + For a long space its fiery shield could try: + + E'en so, embosomed in a cloud of flowers, + Which from those hands angelical upward played, + And roseate all the car triumphal made, + And showered a snow-white veil with olive bound, + Appeared a Lady, green her mantle, name + Could not describe her robe unless 't were flame. + And mine own spirit, which the past had found + Often within her presence, free from awe, + And which could never from me trembling draw, + And sight no knowledge giving me at this time, + Through hidden virtue which from her came forth, + Of ancient love felt now the potent worth. + As soon as on my vision smote sublime + The heavenly influence that, ere boyhood's days + Had fled, had thrilled me and awoke my praise, + Unto the leftward turned I, with that trust + Wherewith a little child his mother seeks, + When fear his steps controls, and tear-stained cheeks, + + To say to Vergil: "All my blood such gust + Of feeling moves as doth man's bravery tame; + I feel the traces of the ancient flame." + <i>Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0080" id="link2H_4_0080"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE EXQUISITE BEAUTY OF BEATRICE. + </h2> + <p> + While Dante and Beatrice rose from the Heaven of Primal Motion to the + Empyrean, the poet turned his dazzled eyes from the heavens, whose sight + he could no longer bear, to the contemplation of Beatrice. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Wherefore my love, and loss of other view, + Me back to Beatrice and her homage drew. + If what of her hath been already said + Were in one single eulogy grouped, 't would ill + Her meed of merit at this moment fill. + + The beauty which in her I now beheld + B'yond mortals goes; her Maker, I believe, + Hath power alone its fulness to receive. + Myself I own by obstacles stronger spelled + Than in his labored theme was ever bard + Whose verses, light or grave, brought problems hard; + For, as of eyes quelled by the sun's bright burst, + E'en so the exquisite memory of that smile + Doth me of words and forming mind beguile. + + Not from that day when on this earth I first + Her face beheld, up to this moment, song + Have I e'er failed to strew her path along, + But now I own my limping numbers lame; + An artist sometimes finds his powers surpassed, + And mine succumbs to beauty's lance at last. + And I must leave her to a greater fame + Than any that my trumpet gives, which sounds, + Now, hastening notes, which mark this labor's bounds. + <i>Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0081" id="link2H_4_0081"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </h2> + <p> + Ludovico Ariosto, author of the Orlando Furioso was born in Reggio, Italy, + Sept. 8, 1474. In 1503 he was taken into the service of the Cardinal + Hippolito d'Este, and soon after began the composition of the Orlando + Furioso, which occupied him for eleven years. It was published in 1516, + and brought him immediate fame. Ariosto was so unkindly treated by his + patron that he left him and entered the service of the cardinal's brother, + Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. By him he was appointed governor of a province, + in which position he repressed the banditti by whom it was infested, and + after a successful administration of three years, returned to Ferrara to + reside. The latter part of his life was spent in writing comedies and + satires, and in revising the Orlando Furioso. He died in Ferrara, June 6, + 1533. + </p> + <p> + The Orlando Furioso is a sequel to Boiardo's Orlando Innamorata, Ariosto + taking up the story at the end of that poem. Its historical basis is the + wars of Charlemagne with the Moors, which were probably confused with + those of Charles Martel. As the Orlando of the poem is the same Roland + whose fall at Roncesvalles in 778 is celebrated in the Song of Roland, its + events must have occurred before that time. + </p> + <p> + Although the poem is called Orlando Furioso, Orlando's madness occupies a + very small part of it, the principal threads of the story being Orlando's + love for Angelica and his consequent madness, the wars of Charlemagne, and + the loves of Bradamant and Rogero. From this Rogero the family of Este + claimed to be derived, and for this reason Ariosto made Rogero the real + hero of the poem, and took occasion to lavish the most extravagant praises + upon his patron and his family. + </p> + <p> + With these principal threads are interwoven innumerable episodes which are + not out of place in the epic, and lend variety to a story which would + otherwise have become tiresome. The lightness of treatment, sometimes + approaching ridicule, the rapidity of movement, the grace of style, and + the clearness of language, the atmosphere created by the poet which so + successfully harmonizes all his tales of magic and his occasional + inconsistencies, and the excellent descriptions, have all contributed to + the popularity of the poem, which is said to be the most widely read of + the epics. These descriptions outweigh its faults,—the taking up the + story of Boiardo without an explanation of the situation, the lack of + unity, and the failure to depict character; for with the exception of + Bradamant and Rogero, Ariosto's heroes and heroines are very much alike, + and their conversation is exceedingly tiresome. + </p> + <p> + The Furioso is written in the octave stanza, and originally consisted of + forty cantos, afterwards increased to forty-six. + </p> + <p> + The poem is the work of a practical poet, one who could govern a province. + It is marred by an over-profusion of ornament, and contains no such lofty + flights of fancy as are to be found in the Jerusalem Delivered. To this, + no doubt, it owes, in part at least, its great popularity, for the poet's + poem is never the people's poem. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL13" id="link2H_BIBL13"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </h2> + <p> + Dublin University Magazine, 1845, xxvi., 187-201, 581-601, xxvii., 90-104; + </p> + <p> + Retrospective Review, 1823, viii., 145-170, ix., 263-291; + </p> + <p> + William T. Dobson's Classic Poets, 1879, pp. 186-238; + </p> + <p> + Leigh Hunt's Stories from the Italian Poets, n. d. vol. ii., pp. 134-151; + </p> + <p> + William Hickling Prescott's Italian Narrative Poetry. (See his + Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, 1873, pp. 441-454); + </p> + <p> + M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most eminent Literary and Scientific Men of + Italy, Spain, and Portugal, 1835, pp. 239-255. (In Lardner's Cabinet + Cyclopedia, vol. i.); + </p> + <p> + John Addington Symonds's Italian Literature, 1888, vol. i., pp. 493-522, + vol. ii. pp. 1-50. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0083" id="link2H_4_0083"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </h2> + <p> + Orlando Furioso, Tr. from the Italian by Sir James Harrington, 1724; + </p> + <p> + Orlando Furioso, Tr. by John Hoole, 1819; + </p> + <p> + Orlando Furioso, Tr. into English verse by W. S. Rose, 2 vols., 1864-5. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0084" id="link2H_4_0084"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </h2> + <p> + The Emperor Charlemagne was at war with the Moors and had camped near the + Pyrenees with his host, determined to conquer their leaders, Marsilius of + Spain and Agramant of Africa. To his camp came Orlando, the great paladin, + with the beautiful Angelica, princess of Cathay, in search of whom he had + roamed the world over. Orlando's cousin, Rinaldo, another of the great + lords of Charlemagne, also loved Angelica, for he had seen her immediately + after drinking of the Fountain of Love in the forest of Arden, and + Charlemagne, fearing trouble between the cousins on her account, took + Angelica from Orlando's tent and placed her in the care of Duke Namus of + Bavaria. + </p> + <p> + Angelica did not like Orlando and she loathed Rinaldo, for he had been the + first to meet her after she had tasted the waters of the Fountain of Hate. + So when the Christian forces were one day routed in battle and the tents + forsaken, she leaped on her palfrey and fled into the forest. Here the + first person she met was the hated Rinaldo; and fleeing from him she + encountered the fierce Moor Ferrau, who, being also in love with her, drew + his sword and attacked the pursuing paladin. But when the two discovered + that Angelica had taken advantage of their duel to flee, they made peace + and went in search of her. + </p> + <p> + As she fled, Angelica met Sacripant, an eastern lover who had followed her + to France, and put herself under his protection. But when Sacripant was + first defeated by Bradamant and then engaged in battle with the pursuing + Rinaldo, she deemed herself safer without him and fled; and presently a + page appeared, a shade conjured there by a hermit magician whom Angelica + had met, and announced to the warriors that Orlando had appeared and + carried the maid to Paris. + </p> + <p> + Rinaldo immediately hastened to Paris, to find Orlando absent and + Charlemagne, defeated by the Moors, entrenching himself in the city and + preparing to send to England for aid. Rinaldo must be his ambassador, and + that without a day's delay. + </p> + <p> + Frantic with jealousy, Rinaldo leaped into a ship in the midst of a storm, + and hastened on his errand. Driven upon the coast of Scotland, he won the + king's gratitude by saving his daughter Ginevra from shame and death, and + secured from him a promise of all the horsemen and arms that could be + spared. He was equally successful in England, and was soon reviewing the + troops preparatory to their embarkation. + </p> + <p> + The warrior maid, Bradamant, sister of Rinaldo, after overthrowing + Sacripant, pursued her way through the forest in search of Rogero the + pagan. They had met once in battle and had loved, and since then she had + ever roamed through the land in search of him. In the forest she found + Pinabel, lamenting because his beloved lady had been snatched from him by + a wizard on a winged steed, and carried to an impregnable castle. Thither + he had seen many warriors conveyed, among them Rogero and Gradasso, + conquered first by the lance and then thrown into profound slumber by the + glare of a magic shield carried by the wizard. + </p> + <p> + Bradamant, anxious to save Rogero, offered to rescue Pinabel's lady if he + would guide her to the castle. But when the treacherous knight learned + that she was Bradamant, between whose house and his there was a deadly + feud, he planned to slay her, and soon, by his treachery, managed to hurl + her down a precipice. + </p> + <p> + Bradamant was only stunned by the fall, however, and soon awoke, to find + herself at the entrance of a cave, which was the tomb of Merlin. Melissa, + the prophetess maid, welcomed her, assured her that Rogero should be her + spouse, and showed her their phantom descendants, brave princes and + beautiful princesses of the house of Este. She then told her that + Brunello, a knight of King Agramant, was hastening to the castle to + release the prisoners by means of a magic ring, formerly the property of + Angelica, which when put in the mouth would render one invisible, and, + worn on the finger, made one proof against magic spells. Bradamant must + overcome Brunello, wrest the ring from him, and herself free Rogero. + </p> + <p> + Following Melissa's advice, Bradamant overtook Brunello, seized the ring, + and hastening to the castle, challenged Atlantes to battle. When he + displayed the shield she pretended to become unconscious; but when he ran + up to bind her she sprang up and seized him. He declared that he had + imprisoned Rogero, his nephew, only to save him from the fate foretold by + the stars, death by treachery at the hands of the Christians, and had + brought the other knights and ladies there for his entertainment. Then + Atlantes broke the spell and disappeared, together with the castle, and + the prisoners trooped forth, Rogero among them. + </p> + <p> + Bradamant was happy, but alas! only for a moment; for as she and Rogero + went down the mountain together he thoughtlessly leaped on the hippogrif, + which alighted near him, and the winged steed, refusing his control, rose + in the air, leaving the tearful Bradamant behind. The hippogrif flew + rapidly over land and sea until it was directly above a small island, upon + which it descended. Rogero sprang from its back, tied it to a myrtle tree, + and, weary from his three thousand mile ride in heavy armor, prepared to + drink from a rippling spring. The groves were of cedar, laurel, palm, and + myrtle; roses and lilies filled the air with their perfume, and the wild + stag and timid hare ran fearlessly through the groves. As he stooped to + drink he heard a voice issuing from the myrtle to which he had tied the + hippogrif. It was that of Astolpho, the English knight, who told him that + the greater part of the island was under the control of Alcina the + enchantress, who had left only a small portion to her sister Logistilla, + to whom it all rightfully belonged. He himself had been enticed thither by + Alcina, who had loved him for a few weeks, and then, serving him as she + did all her lovers, had transformed him to a tree. + </p> + <p> + Rogero determined to profit by this advice; but when he was driven from + the narrow path to Logistilla's domain and met Alcina he fell under the + power of her beauty, and thought Astolpho a traducer. The days passed so + gayly in her beautiful home that Rogero forgot the pagan cause, forgot his + duty, forgot Bradamant, and was roused from his lethargy only by Melissa, + to whom Bradamant had given the magic ring to enable her to find and + rescue her lover. Melissa found the young knight when apart from Alcina, + and gave him the ring that he might with it be enabled to see the + enchantress in her true form. She then instructed him how to escape and + seek the kingdom of Logistilla. Rogero was disgusted when the beautiful + enchantress appeared as a hideous, wrinkled old woman, but concealing his + change of feeling, waited until the opportunity presented itself to get + his armor, take a steed, and pass by the warders of the gate. With great + difficulty he reached a stream which separated Alcina's lands from those + of Logistilla, and while ferrying across was overtaken by the boats of + Alcina. With the help of Atlantes' shield, they were overcome, and Alcina + was forced to depart, weeping, with only one boat, while Rogero entered + the castle of the fairy Logistilla, from whom he learned many noble + lessons. + </p> + <p> + Here came the other knights freed from Alcina's enchantment by Melissa, + and Melissa herself with Astolpho, on the hippogrif, which she had learned + to control. Astolpho was in his own armor and bore his wondrous spear, + which had the power of overthrowing every one whom it so much as touched. + </p> + <p> + After a short rest among the pleasant gardens of Logistilla, Rogero + departed on the hippogrif, and although anxious to see his Bradamant + again, took the opportunity to pass over all the known world by this novel + method of travel. He saw the troops in England gathering to go to the aid + of Charlemagne, and rescued the beautiful Angelica, who had been taken by + pirates and sold to the people of Ebuda, who chained her upon a rock as a + victim for the orc. Rogero put the orc to sleep with his magic shield, + giving Angelica the ring that the sight of the shield might not affect her + as well. But when, charmed by the maid, he became too lover-like in his + attentions, she put the ring in her mouth and disappeared. The angry + Rogero turned, only to find that his hippogrif had broken its rein and was + gone. Hastening through the forest, vexed with himself and the maiden, he + fancied he saw 'Bradamant carried off by a giant, and following her, + entered a magic castle of Atlantes, where he spent his days vainly trying + to overtake his beloved and her captor. + </p> + <p> + Orlando could think only of his lost Angelica; and forgetful of the fact + that his uncle Charlemagne was sorely pressed by the heathen, he stole + from the camp one night in disguise, and went in search of her. Passing + the isle of Ebuda he slew the ore, rescued Olympia, who was exposed as its + victim, avenged her wrongs, and continued on his way until he reached the + castle of Atlantes, and, fancying he saw Angelica, entered, and began the + mad round of pursuit with many other Christian and pagan knights who were + rendered unconscious of one another's presence by the magic of the wizard. + </p> + <p> + Hither came Angelica, invisible by means of the ring, to find a knight to + protect her on her way to Cathay. Unfortunately as she showed herself to + Sacripant, she was seen by Ferrau and Orlando, and all three pursued her + from the castle. When they were sufficiently removed from it Angelica + slipped the ring in her mouth and disappeared, and Ferrau and Orlando + began to quarrel about Orlando's helmet, which the Moor was determined to + win and wear. As Ferrau wore no helm until he could win Orlando's, that + paladin hung his on a tree while they fought. Unseen by them, Angelica + took it down, intending to restore it to Orlando later, and slipped away. + When the knights discovered her absence they went in search of her, and + Ferrau, coming upon her, took the helmet as she disappeared in fright. + Orlando, assuming another crest, which he did not need, as his body was + charmed and could not be hurt by any weapon, went forward, still in search + of his love, and on the way encountered and almost totally destroyed two + squadrons of Moors, and rescued from a robber's cave the beautiful Isabel, + betrothed of Zerbino. + </p> + <p> + Melissa returned to Bradamant with the news that while Rogero was freed + from the enchantment of Aleina, he was imprisoned in Atlantes' castle, + from which she herself could rescue him by slaying the wizard, who would + appear to her in the form of her lover. Bradamant resolved to do so; but + when she saw the seeming Rogero set upon by two giants, she forgot her + resolution, believed Melissa to be false, and spurring after him, became a + prisoner in that wondrous castle, through which day and night she pursued + her ever-fleeing lover. + </p> + <p> + When the Moors discovered the destruction of the two squadrons, + Mandricardo, the Tartar king, determined to seek and do battle with the + knight (unknown to him by name) who had wrought such destruction. The + Tartar wore the arms of Hector save the sword, which was the property of + Orlando, and until he gained it, he bore no weapon save the lance. With + this, however, he stormed through the battlefield, striking terror to the + hearts of all. With it alone, he destroyed a band of men conveying to + Rodomont, the Saracen chief, his betrothed bride, Doralice, and won the + maid for himself. + </p> + <p> + Outside Paris raged the infidel, chief among them the giant King Rodomont. + Smiting those of his troops who hesitated to mount the scaling ladders, he + waded through the wet moat, scaled the first wall, leaped the dry ditch, + mounted the second wall, and ran alone through the city, spreading terror, + death, and fire, while Charlemagne, ignorant of his presence, was busied + in the defence of one of the gates against Agramant. + </p> + <p> + Now Rinaldo's army approached, unsuspected by the heathen, because of the + aid of Silence, summoned by Saint Michael. Through these, welcomed by + Charlemagne, Rodomont cut his way, hewing down fifteen or twenty foes at + once, and, casting himself into the Seine, escaped, angry that he had not + succeeded in destroying the city. + </p> + <p> + Discord, also summoned by Michael to the aid of the Christians, informed + Rodomont on his return to the camp of the capture of Doralice, and the + chief set forth raging, in search of Mandricardo, thoughtlessly abandoning + King Agramant, struggling against the English re-inforcements. As night + fell on a furious battle, the Moors were driven back, and Charlemagne + pitched his tents without the city, opposite those of the Moors. + </p> + <p> + In the Moorish camp were two youths who loved one another with a love + passing wonderful, Medoro and Cloridan. Both served Dardinello, and had + crossed the sea with him. As they stood on guard that night they talked of + their lord's death on the field that day, and Medoro suggested that they + go in search of his body and bury it. Cloridan agreed, and they crept + through the sleeping lines of the Christians, slaughtering many, found the + body, and were hurrying into the forest when they heard the troops of + Zerbino. Cloridan fled, fancying that Medoro would do the same, but on + finding himself unaccompanied, retraced his footsteps, only to see his + friend surrounded by a troop of horsemen. From his ambush he shot his + arrows at the foe, until Zerbino in wrath seized Medoro by the throat, + exclaiming, "Thou shall die for this!" But when Medoro prayed to be + allowed first to bury his lord, pity touched Zerbino, and he freed the + youth, who fell, however, wounded by a thrust from a churlish horseman, in + pursuit of whom Zerbino at once fled. Cloridan sprang in among the + horsemen and fell dead by their thrusts at the side of the unconscious + Medoro. + </p> + <p> + The bleeding youth was found by Angelica, who passed by, clad in rustic + raiment; and the maid, struck with his beauty, recalled her knowledge of + chirturgery and revived him. After Dardinello was buried, she and a + shepherd assisted Medoro to a neighboring cottage, where she attended him + until his wound was healed. But as he grew well, Angelica, who had scorned + the suit of the proudest knights, fell sick of love for the humble youth, + and resolved to take him with her to Cathay. + </p> + <p> + When Astolpho left the castle of Logistilla he carried with him as her + gift a book from which he could learn to overcome all magic cheats, and a + horn whose sound would put the boldest man to flight. Following her + directions, he sailed past Scythia and India into the Persian Gulf, and + there disembarking, passed through Arabia and along the Red Sea. There he + overcame the giant Caligorantes, slew Orillo, who guarded the outlet of + the Nile, and met there the brother knights Gryphon and Aquilant. Gryphon, + led astray by an unworthy love, stole away from his brother, but was found + again after many adventures, and the three, together with Sansonet and + Marphisa, a warlike virgin, embarked for France. A great storm arose, and + the vessel was forced to land in Syria. This was the land of the Amazons, + and the troop escaped only by the warning and assistance of Guido, the + savage, who was a bondsman in the land. + </p> + <p> + Astolpho became separated from the rest of the party and reached Europe + alone. One day, while he was stooping to drink at a spring in the forest, + a rustic sprang from a thicket, and leaping upon Rabican, rode him away. + Astolpho, hastening after him, entered the enchanted castle of Atlantes, + and soon recognized it as a house of magic. He broke the spell by the aid + of his book, freed the captive knights, and finding the hippogrif, which + he had learned to guide from Melissa, mounted it and rode away. + </p> + <p> + When the castle was destroyed, Rogero recognized Bradamant and clasped her + in his arms, rejoicing to find her again. The maid, anxious to avoid + further separation, promised to wed him if he would become a Christian, + and demand her of her father, Duke Aymon. Rogero gladly promised to do so. + and the two were hastening to Vallombrosa that he might be baptized when + they encountered a maid, who prayed them to hasten to the relief of a + youth doomed to death by fire. They hurried on, but paused to free Guido + the savage, Gryphon. Aquilant, and Sansonet, who had been imprisoned by + Pinabel, and Bradamant, pursuing Pinabel into the forest, slew him. But + there, unfortunately, she lost her way, and while she was wandering about, + Rogero, ignorant of her whereabouts, pushed on and freed the youth, who + proved to be Bradamant's brother. + </p> + <p> + As Bradamant wandered through the forest she found Astolpho, who had just + made a bridle for the hippogrif, and recognizing him, took his horse and + spear in charge. A long time she wandered forlorn. She did not know the + way to Vallombrosa; she did not know the whereabouts of Rogero. Her home + was in sight, but if her mother saw her she would not again be suffered to + depart. As she stood debating with herself, she was recognized by one of + her brothers, and was forced to accompany him home. Thence she secretly + sent her maid Hippalca to Vallombrosa with Rogero's horse Frontino, and a + message explaining her absence. + </p> + <p> + After the capture of Doralice, Mandricardo hastened on, and overtook + Orlando just as he had freed Zerbino and united him to Isabel. Recognizing + Orlando by his crest as the chief who had destroyed the squadrons, the + Tartar challenged him to combat. In courtesy to his foe, who would bear no + sword until he could have Durindana, Orlando hung the blade on a tree, and + the two knights spurred their steeds and broke their lances together. Then + grappling, each endeavored to unhorse the other. The breaking of Orlando's + saddle girth caused his fall just as he had slipped the bridle from the + head of his enemy's horse, and the frightened steed, freed from its rein, + ran madly through the wood, followed by Doralice. + </p> + <p> + Orlando told Zerbino to inform Mandricardo if he overtook him that he + would wait in that spot three days for him to return and renew the combat, + and bade the lovers farewell. As he wandered through the region while + waiting, he found a peaceful little spot where a limpid rill rippled + through a meadow dotted here and there with trees. Here the weary warrior + sought repose; but as he looked about him he espied the name of Angelica + carved on the trees, entwined with that of Medoro. Persuading himself that + this was a fanciful name by which the maid intended to signify himself, he + entered a little ivy-covered grotto, arching over a fountain, and there + discovered on the rocky wall some verses in which Medoro celebrated his + union with Angelica. For a moment he stood as if turned to stone. Unable + to weep, he again mounted his horse and sought a peasant's house to pass + the night. There he heard the story of Angelica's infatuation, and saw the + bracelet she had left them in return for their hospitality. The unhappy + Orlando passed a sleepless night, weeping and groaning, and the next + morning hastened to the forest that he might give way to his grief + unobserved. There madness came upon him, and he uprooted the hateful + trees, cut the solid stone of the grotto with his sword, making a + desolation of the beautiful spot, and, casting off his armor, ran naked + through the country, pillaging, burning, and slaying. + </p> + <p> + Zerbino and Isabel sought the spot in a few days to learn if Mandricardo + had returned, found the scattered armor, and heard of Orlando's madness + from a shepherd. Lamenting over their protector's misfortune, they + gathered up the armor, hung it on a sapling, and wrote thereon Orlando's + name. But while they were thus engaged, Mandricardo arrived, took the long + coveted sword, and gave Zerbino, who attempted to prevent the theft, a + mortal wound. The unhappy Isabel, intent on self-destruction, was + comforted by a hermit, who promised to take her to a monastery near + Marseilles. + </p> + <p> + Mandricardo had had but a few moments for repose after this combat with + Zerbino, when the furious Rodomont overtook him and a terrible combat + between the two began, the beautiful cause of it looking on with interest. + But so strong were the champions that the struggle might have been + prolonged indefinitely had not a messenger announced to the knights that + they must postpone their private quarrels for a moment and hasten to the + relief of King Agramant. + </p> + <p> + After Rogero had freed Richardetto, Bradamant's brother, and had attempted + in vain to find Bradamant, he was troubled by the thought of King + Agramant. He was determined to wed the warrior maid and become a + Christian, but first came his vow to the pagan king. He therefore wrote + her a note, saying that honor required his presence with Agramant for at + least fifteen or twenty days, but after that time he would find means to + justify himself with Agramant and would meet her at Vallombrosa to be + baptized. + </p> + <p> + He, with Richardetto, Aldigier, and Marphisa, whom they met on her way to + the pagan camp, rode on together, and freed Vivian and Malagigi from the + Moors and Manganese. While they rested at a little fountain, Hippalca rode + up, and told them that she had just met Rodomont, who took Frontino from + her. She also managed secretly to give Rogero Bradamant's message and + receive his letter in return. + </p> + <p> + While the party still remained at the fountain, Rodomont came up with + Mandricardo and Doralice, and all engaged in a fierce battle, which was at + last interrupted by Malagigi, who, versed in wizard arts, conjured a demon + into Doralice's horse so that it ran away; and Rodomont and Mandricardo, + frightened by her screams, started in pursuit. + </p> + <p> + With the assistance of Rogero, Marphisa, Rodomont, and Mandricardo, + Agramant was enabled to drive Charlemagne back into Paris, where he was + saved only by the interposition of Discord, who stirred up the old + quarrels between Rodomont, Mandricardo, Rogero, and Gradasso over weapons, + bearings, and horses, until Agramant announced that they should settle + their difficulties by single combat, drawing lots to see who should first + engage in battle. But when they were ready for the lists, fresh quarrels + broke out, until the king despaired of ever having peace in his ranks. + Finally, at his command, Doralice publicly declared Mandricardo her + choice, and the furious Rodomont fled from the camp. On his way to Africa + he found a little abandoned church between France and Spain, and decided + to remain there instead of returning home. From this spot he saw Isabel on + her way to Marseilles, and falling in love with her, he slew the hermit, + dragged her to his retreat, and tried to win her. But she, loathing him + and faithful to Zerbino, caused him to slay her, pretending that she was + rendered invulnerable by an ointment which she had prepared, and the + secret of which she would impart to him. The unhappy Rodomont walled up + the church to form her tomb, and threw a narrow bridge across the stream. + On this bridge he met every knight who came thither, and having overthrown + him, took his arms to deck the tomb, on which he determined to hang a + thousand such trophies. If the vanquished knight was a Moor he was set + free without his arms; if a Christian he was imprisoned. Thither came the + mad Orlando, and wrestled with Rodomont on the bridge until both fell into + the stream. The madman then passed on through the country and met Medoro + and Angelica on their way to India. They escaped with difficulty, Medoro's + horse falling a victim to the madman, who continued to lay waste the land + until he reached Zizera on the bay of Gibraltar, and, plunging into the + sea, swam to Africa. + </p> + <p> + After Doralice had decided the quarrel between Mandricardo and Rodomont, + Rogero and the Tartar met in the lists to decide their quarrel over their + bearings. The battle was fearful, and when both fell to the ground it was + supposed that Mandricardo was the victor. But when the crowd rushed to the + lists they found the Tartar dead and Rogero only wounded. But the cheers + of the crowd gave little pleasure to the hero, who grieved that he must + lie on a sick-bed instead of seeking Bradamant, according to his promise. + Bradamant too, who had looked forward so eagerly to the day he had set, + wept when it came without her lover. Soon she heard that Rogero's coming + was prevented by his wounds; but when she also heard that he was attended + by the warrior maid Marphisa, and that their names were frequently coupled + in the pagan camp, she at once felt the pangs of jealousy. Unable to + endure it longer, she armed herself, changing her usual vest for one whose + colors denoted her desperation and desire to die, and set forth to meet + and slay Marphisa, taking with her the spear left her by Astolpho, whose + magic properties she did not know. With this she overthrew Rodomont and + caused him to depart from his tomb and free his captives, and then, + proceeding to Aries, challenged Rogero, who was sadly puzzled, not + recognizing his challenger on account of her changed vest. Several knights + attacked her before Rogero came forth, only to be overthrown by the spear, + and then Marphisa, who had rushed forth before Rogero could arm, met her, + and the two women fought like tigers. When Rogero at last went forth he + recognized Bradamant's voice, and suspecting the cause of her hostility, + implored her to withdraw with him to a wood near by to hear his + explanation. Marphisa followed them and attacked Bradamant so fiercely + that Rogero was forced to her rescue, and lifting his sword would have + struck the maid had he not been stopped by a voice from a tomb near by. It + was that of Atlatites, who announced to Rogero and Marphisa that they were + brother and sister, children of Rogero of Pisa and Galiciella; that Rogero + had been treacherously slain and his town betrayed to Almontes, who cast + Galiciella adrift on the sea. Atlantes rescued her, and took her children + when she died; but Marphisa was stolen from him by a band of Arabs. + </p> + <p> + From this speech it was plainly the duty of Rogero and Marphisa to espouse + the cause of Charlemagne and take arms against Agramant, who was their + enemy. Bradamant and Marphisa then embraced, bade Rogero farewell, and + proceeded to Charlemagne's camp, where Marphisa was received with honor + and baptized, while Rogero promised to follow them as soon as he could + find an excuse to leave Agramant. + </p> + <p> + When Astolpho left Bradamant in the forest, he quickly rose in the air and + passed rapidly over the kingdoms of the world, Aragon, Navarre, Cadiz, + Egypt, Morocco, Fez, over the sandy desert until he reached the kingdom of + Nubia, whose king he rescued from the harpies by the sound of his magic + horn. Then, mounted on his hippogrif again, he rose to the terrestrial + Paradise, where he was welcomed by John, who informed him that he was sent + thither by the grace of God that he might get instruction how to furnish + aid to Charles and the Church, who were sorely in need of it. With John he + rose in a chariot to the Heaven of the Moon, where, after seeing many + strange things, he was given the wits of Orlando enclosed in a vial. They + had been taken from him as a punishment for his loving a pagan, but were + now to be restored to him that he might aid Charlemagne in conquering the + Moors. Astolpho then descended to Nubia, restored sight to its king, and + asking for his forces, went with them into Africa and attacked Biserta, + the city of Agramant. + </p> + <p> + When these tidings were borne to Agramant he was greatly troubled, and + desiring to end the war in Europe and hasten to his own country, he + proposed to Charlemagne that the war be decided by single combat between + two champions. Great was the agony of Rogero, the pagan champion, when he + recognized in his opponent Rinaldo, the brother of Bradamant. He would + never dare to slay him, so he parried the blows rained upon him, and + struck back so feebly that the spectators, not understanding his motives, + deemed him unable to cope with Rinaldo. But Melissa, determined that + Merlin's prophecy should come true, appeared to Agramant in the guise of + Rodomont, and urged him to break the compact and fall upon the Christians. + Delighted to have the mighty king with him again, Agramant did not scruple + to break his word, and rushed upon the Christian forces, breaking up the + combat. After a sharp conflict, the Saracens were put to flight and + Agramant hastened into Africa. + </p> + <p> + His people in Biserta, their strength drained by the long war, were unable + to withstand the Christian foe, soon re-enforced by a powerful enemy. One + day, as Astolpho and his friends were standing on the beach, a madman came + raging towards them, whom Astolpho recognized as Orlando. The warriors + attempted in vain to hold him until Astolpho ordered the ship's hawsers to + be brought, and knotting them flung them at the count's limbs, and so + threw him down and tied him. Then, after having had his body cleansed from + mud and filth, he stopped his mouth with herbs so that he could breathe + only through his nostrils, and holding the vial there, the lost senses + were quickly inhaled, and Orlando was himself again, astonished and + delighted to find himself with his friends. + </p> + <p> + With Orlando's help, Biserta was soon taken, and Agramant, who had met the + Christian fleet under the leadership of Dudon and had barely escaped with + his life, saw from afar the flames devouring his beloved city. + </p> + <p> + Landing with Sobrino upon a little isle, he found there King Sericane, who + advised him to challenge the Christians to single combat in order to + decide the outcome of the war, he, Gradasso, and Sobrino to stand in the + lists against three Christian champions. Orlando agreed to do so, and + selected for his companions in the fight Brandimart and Olivier. But the + pagans were no match for Orlando, whom no weapon could injure, and + Agramant and Gradasso soon fell, while Sobrino was wounded. But the joy + over the Christian victory was not unalloyed by sorrow, for Olivier was + severely wounded and the beloved Brandimart was slain. + </p> + <p> + The champions were now joined by Rinaldo, who after the breaking of the + pact by Agramant, had set off for India in search of Angelica, whom he + still madly loved. But Disdain guided his steps to the Fountain of Hate, + one draught of which changed his love to loathing, so that he abandoned + his undertaking and hastened to join the Christian forces in Africa. + </p> + <p> + Olivier's wound proved slow to heal, and when at last the warriors heard + of a hermit on a lonely isle who could help him, they hastened to take + their wounded comrade thither. There they found Rogero, who had been + shipwrecked while sailing to Africa, and had been baptized by the hermit, + who was warned in a dream of his coming. The Christian warriors gladly + welcomed Rogero to their ranks, for they knew of his valor; and Rinaldo, + who had learned how the young hero had saved the life of Richardetto and + had preserved Vivian and Malagigi, embraced him, and at the suggestion of + the hermit, plighted him to his sister. Before they left the isle, Sobrino + was converted by the pious hermit, and Olivier's wound was healed. + </p> + <p> + The knights were received with the greatest honor by Charlemagne, + especially Rogero, the new convert. But what unhappiness awaited him! In + his absence Bradamant's father had promised the maid to Leo, the son of + the Greek emperor, Constantine, in spite of her prayers and entreaties. + </p> + <p> + Although Bradamant declared that she would die sooner than wed another, + the heart-broken Rogero hastily departed for Constantinople to slay his + rival. In his absence, Bradamant besought Charlemagne not to compel her to + marry Leo unless he could defeat her in single combat; and her angry + parents, on learning of this, took her from the court and shut her up in + the tower of Rocca Forte. Rogero, in the mean time, reached Leo's realms + just as the Greeks engaged in battle with the Bulgarians. Because of his + hatred for Leo, he fought with the Bulgarians, and when their king fell he + rallied their scattered troops and put the Greeks to flight. Rogero then + followed the fleeing Greeks unaccompanied, and being recognized, was taken + captive that night as he slept in a hostelry. At the entreaty of a + kinswoman whose son Rogero had slain that day, the emperor surrendered his + captive to her, and he was thrust into a gloomy dungeon, where he suffered + agonies from hunger and cold. But Leo, who had admired his valor in battle + and had longed to know him, rescued him, recovered his horse and armor, + and by his generosity compelled Rogero to admire him as much as he had + before hated him. The news of Charlemagne's decree now reached Leo, and + he, fearing to fight Bradamant, asked the unknown knight of the unicorn to + take his place. Rogero's heart sank within him, but he dared not refuse. + His life was Leo's, and he must sacrifice himself for him, must either + slay Bradamant, or be slain by her for his deliverer's sake. He + accompanied Leo to France, and feigning a cheerfulness he did not feel, + changed armor and steed that he might not be known, and, while Leo + remained in his tent outside the city, entered the lists and encountered + Bradamant, who was determined to slay her hated suitor. Rogero was equally + determined not to slay her nor to allow himself to be conquered. When + twilight fell and king and court saw that while the young knight had not + overcome the maid, he had not allowed himself to be overcome, they + declared that the couple were well matched and that they should wed. + </p> + <p> + The hopeless Rogero hastened back to Leo's camp, changed armor and steed, + and during the night stole away from the hateful place to the greenwood + that he might die there, since he could never possess his beloved. At the + same time, Bradamant gave way to her grief in such a manner that Marphisa, + already indignant at the treatment of her brother, appeared before the + king in his behalf. She declared that Rogero and Bradamant had already + exchanged all the vows of those who marry and therefore she was not free + to wed another. She then suggested that since the matter had gone so far, + Leo and Rogero should meet in the lists to decide to whom the lady + belonged. + </p> + <p> + Leo at once set out in search of his knight of the unicorn, who he + believed would defend him from all peril, and found him in the forest, + almost fainting from fasting and sleeplessness. The Greek embraced Rogero + tenderly and implored him to betray the cause of his grief, and so tender + were his words and so gracious his manner that Rogero could not but + unbosom himself. And when Leo learned that his unknown champion was no + other than Rogero himself he declared that he would gladly forego + Bradamant for him, and would rather have forfeited his life than caused + such grief to such a faithful friend. + </p> + <p> + Joy filled the court when the story of Rogero's fidelity was made known, + and the joy was increased when ambassadors came from Bulgaria, seeking the + unknown knight of the unicorn that they might offer their throne to him. + Duke Aymon and his wife were reconciled when they found that Rogero was to + be a king, and the wedding was celebrated with the greatest splendor, + Charlemagne providing for Bradamant as though she were his daughter. + </p> + <p> + In the midst of the celebrations Rodomont appeared to defy Rogero, and + that knight, nothing loath, met him in the lists. The Moor fell under + Rogero's blows, and all the Christian court rejoiced to see the last of + the pagan knights fall by the hand of their champion. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0085" id="link2H_4_0085"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTION FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + </h2> + <h3> + THE DEATH OF ZERBINO. + </h3> + <p> + As Orlando talked with Zerbino, whose life he had saved and to whom he had + given his lady Isabel, also rescued by him, Mandricardo the Tartar king + came up and challenged Orlando to single combat. While they fought, + Mandricardo's steed, from which Orlando had slipped the rein, became + unmanageable, and fled with its rider. Orlando asked Zerbino and Isabel to + tell Mandricardo, if they overtook him, that he would wait for him in that + place for three days to renew the battle. But while waiting, Orlando + learned of Angelica's love for Medoro, and losing his senses from grief, + threw away his armor, and went wandering through France. Zerbino and + Isabel returned to the place to see if Mandricardo had returned, and there + learned of Orlando's condition. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Far off, he {Zerbino} saw that something shining lay, + And spied Orlando's corselet on the ground; + And next his helm; but not that head-piece gay + Which whilem African Almontes crowned: + He in the thicket heard a courser neigh, + And, lifting up his visage at the sound, + Saw Brigliadoro the green herbage browse, + With rein yet hanging at his saddle-bows, + + For Durindane, he sought the greenwood, round, + Which separate from the scabbard met his view; + And next the surcoat, but in tatters, found; + That, in a hundred rags, the champaign strew, + Zerbino and Isabel, in grief profound, + Stood looking on, nor what to think they knew: + They of all matters else might think, besides + The fury which the wretched count misguides. + + Had but the lovers seen a drop of blood, + They might have well believed Orlando dead: + This while the pair, beside the neighboring flood, + Beheld a shepherd coming, pale with dread. + He just before, as on a rock he stood, + Had seen the wretch's fury; how he shed + His arms about the forest, tore his clothes, + Slew hinds, and caused a thousand other woes. + + Questioned by good Zerbino, him the swain + Of all which there had chanced, informed aright. + Zerbino marvelled, and believed with pain, + Although the proofs were clear: This as it might, + He from his horse dismounted on the plain, + Full of compassion, in afflicted plight; + And went about, collecting from the ground + The various relics which were scattered round. + + Isabel lights as well; and, where they lie + Dispersed, the various arms uniting goes. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Here Prince Zerbino all the arms unites, + And hangs like a fair trophy, on a pine. + And, to preserve them safe from errant knights, + Natives or foreigners, in one short line + Upon the sapling's verdant surface writes, + ORLANDO'S ARMS, KING CHARLES'S PALADINE. + As he would say, "Let none this harness move, + Who cannot with its lord his prowess prove!" + + Zerbino having done the pious deed, + Is bowning him to climb his horse; when, lo! + The Tartar king arrives upon the mead. + He at the trophied pine-tree's gorgeous show, + Beseeches him the cause of this to read; + Who lets him (as rehearsed) the story know. + When, without further pause, the paynim lord + Hastes gladly to the pine, and takes the sword. + + "None can (he said) the action reprehend, + Nor first I make the faulchion mine to-day; + And to its just possession I pretend + Where'er I find it, be it where it may. + Orlando, this not daring to defend, + Has feigned him mad, and cast the sword away; + But if the champion so excuse his shame, + This is no cause I should forego my claim." + + "Take it not thence," to him Zerbino cried, + "Nor think to make it thine without a fight: + If so thou tookest Hector's arms of pride, + By theft thou hadst them, rather than by right." + Without more parley spurred upon each side, + Well matched in soul and valor, either knight. + Already echoed are a thousand blows; + Nor yet well entered are the encountering foes. + + In 'scaping Durindane, a flame in show + (He shifts so swiftly), is the Scottish lord. + He leaps about his courser like a doe, + Where'er the road best footing does afford. + And well it is that he should not forego + An inch of vantage; who, if once that sword + Smite him, will join the enamored ghosts, which rove + Amid the mazes of the myrtle grove. + + As the swift-footed dog, who does espy + Swine severed from his fellows, hunts him hard, + And circles round about; but he lies by + Till once the restless foe neglect his guard; + So, while the sword descends, or hangs on high, + Zerbino stands, attentive how to ward, + How to save life and honor from surprise; + And keeps a wary eye, and smites and flies. + + On the other side, where'er the foe is seen + To threaten stroke in vain, or make it good, + He seems an Alpine wind, two hills between, + That in the month of March shakes leafy wood; + Which to the ground now bends the forest green, + Now whirls the broken boughs, at random strewed. + Although the prince wards many, in the end + One mighty stroke he cannot 'scape or fend. + + In the end he cannot 'scape one downright blow, + Which enters, between sword and shield, his breast. + As perfect was the plate and corselet, so + Thick was the steel wherein his paunch was drest: + But the destructive weapon, falling low, + Equally opened either iron vest; + And cleft whate'er it swept in its descent, + And to the saddle-bow, through cuirass, went. + + And, but that somewhat short the blow descends + It would Zerbino like a cane divide; + But him so little in the quick offends, + This scarce beyond the skin is scarified. + More than a span in length the wound extends; + Of little depth: of blood a tepid tide + To his feet descending, with a crimson line, + Stains the bright arms which on the warrior shine. + + 'T is so, I sometimes have been wont to view + A hand more white than alabaster, part + The silver cloth with ribbon red of hue; + A hand I often feel divide my heart. + Here little vantage young Zerbino drew + From strength and greater daring, and from art; + For in the temper of his arms and might, + Too much the Tartar king excelled the knight. + + The fearful stroke was mightier in show, + Than in effect, by which the prince was prest; + So that poor Isabel, distraught with woe, + Felt her heart severed in her frozen breast. + The Scottish prince, all over in a glow, + With anger and resentment was possest, + And putting all his strength in either hand, + Smote full the Tartar's helmet with his brand. + + Almost on his steed's neck the Tartar fell, + Bent by the weighty blow Zerbino sped; + And, had the helmet been unfenced by spell + The biting faulchion would have cleft his head. + The king, without delay, avenged him well, + "Nor I for you till other season," said, + "Will keep this gift;" and levelled at his crest, + Hoping to part Zerbino to the chest. + + Zerbino, on the watch, whose eager eye + Waits on his wit, wheels quickly to the right; + But not withal so quickly, as to fly + The trenchant sword, which smote the shield outright, + And cleft from top to bottom equally; + Shearing the sleeve beneath it, and the knight + Smote on his arm; and next the harness rended, + And even to the champion's thigh descended. + + Zerbino, here and there, seeks every way + By which to wound, nor yet his end obtains; + For, while he smites upon that armor gay, + Not even a feeble dint the coat retains. + On the other hand, the Tartar in the fray + Such vantage o'er the Scottish prince obtains, + Him he has wounded in seven parts or eight, + And reft his shield and half his helmet's plate. + + He ever wastes his blood; his energies + Fail, though he feels it not, as't would appear; + Unharmed, the vigorous heart new force supplies + To the weak body of the cavalier. + His lady, during this, whose crimson dyes + Were chased by dread, to Doralice drew near, + And for the love of Heaven, the damsel wooed + To stop that evil and disastrous feud. + + Doralice, who as courteous was as fair, + And ill-assured withal, how it would end, + Willingly granted Isabella's prayer, + And straight to truce and peace disposed her friend. + As well Zerbino, by the other's care, + Was brought his vengeful anger to suspend; + And, wending where she willed, the Scottish lord, + Left unachieved the adventure of the sword. + + For to leave Durindana such misdeed + To him appeared, it past all other woes; + Though he could hardly sit upon his steed, + Through mighty loss of life-blood, which yet flows. + Now, when his anger and his heat secede, + After short interval, his anguish grows; + His anguish grows, with such impetuous pains, + He feels that life is ebbing from his veins. + + For weakness can the prince no further hie, + And so beside a fount is forced to stay: + Him to assist the pitying maid would try, + But knows not what to do, nor what to say. + For lack of comfort she beholds him die; + Since every city is too far away, + Where in this need she could resort to leech, + Whose succor she might purchase or beseech. + + She, blaming fortune, and the cruel sky, + Can only utter fond complaints and vain. + "Why sank I not in ocean," (was her cry), + "When first I reared my sail upon the main?" + Zerbino, who on her his languid eye + Had fixt, as she bemoaned her, felt more pain + Than that enduring and strong anguish bred, + Through which the suffering youth was well-nigh dead. + + "So be thou pleased, my heart," (Zerbino cried), + "To love me yet, when I am dead and gone, + As to abandon thee without a guide, + And not to die, distresses me alone. + For did it me in place secure betide + To end my days, this earthly journey done, + I cheerful, and content, and fully blest + Would die, since I should die upon thy breast + + "But since to abandon thee, to whom a prize + I know not, my sad fate compels, I swear, + My Isabella, by that mouth, those eyes, + By what enchained me first, that lovely hair; + My spirit, troubled and despairing, hies + Into hell's deep and gloomy bottom; where + To think, thou wert abandoned so by me, + Of all its woes the heaviest pain will be." + + At this the sorrowing Isabel, declining + Her mournful face, which with her tears o'erflows, + Towards the sufferer, and her mouth conjoining + To her Zerbino's, languid as a rose; + Rose gathered out of season, and which, pining + Fades where it on the shadowy hedgerow grows, + Exclaims, "Without me think not so, my heart, + On this your last, long journey to depart. + + "Of this, my heart, conceive not any fear. + For I will follow thee to heaven or hell; + It fits our souls together quit this sphere, + Together go, for aye together dwell. + No sooner closed thine eyelids shall appear, + Than either me internal grief will quell, + Or, has it not such power, I here protest, + I with this sword to-day will pierce my breast. + + "I of our bodies cherish hope not light, + That they shall have a happier fate when dead; + Together to entomb them, may some wight, + Haply by pity moved, be hither led." + She the poor remnants of his vital sprite + Went on collecting, as these words she said; + And while yet aught remains, with mournful lips, + The last faint breath of life devoutly sips. + + 'T was here his feeble voice Zerbino manned, + Crying, "My deity, I beg and pray, + By that love witnessed, when thy father's land + Thou quittedst for my sake; and, if I may + In anything command thee, I command, + That, with God's pleasure, thou live-out thy day; + Nor ever banish from thy memory, + That, well as man can love, have I loved thee. + + "God haply will provide thee with good aid, + To free thee from each churlish deed I fear; + As when in the dark cavern thou wast stayed, + He sent, to rescue thee. Andante's peer; + So he (grammercy!) succored thee dismayed + At sea, and from the wicked Biscayneer. + And, if thou must choose death, in place of worse, + Then only choose it as a leaser curse." + + I think not these last words of Scotland's knight + Were so exprest, that he was understood: + With these, he finished, like a feeble light, + Which needs supply of wax, or other food. + —Who is there, that has power to tell aright + The gentle Isabella's doleful mood? + When stiff, her loved Zerbino, with pale face, + And cold as ice, remained in her embrace. + + On the ensanguined corse, in sorrow drowned, + The damsel throws herself, in her despair, + And shrieks so loud that wood and plain resound + For many miles about; nor does she spare + Bosom or cheek; but still, with cruel wound, + One and the other smites the afflicted fair; + And wrongs her curling locks of golden grain, + Aye calling on the well-loved youth in vain. + + She with such rage, such fury, was possest, + That, in her transport, she Zerbino's glaive + Would easily have turned against her breast, + Ill keeping the command her lover gave; + But that a hermit, from his neighboring rest, + Accustomed oft to seek the fountain-wave, + His flagon at the cooling stream to fill, + Opposed him to the damsel's evil will. + + The reverend father, who with natural sense + Abundant goodness happily combined, + And, with ensamples fraught and eloquence, + Was full of charity towards mankind, + With efficacious reasons her did fence, + And to endurance Isabel inclined; + Placing, from ancient Testament and new, + Women, as in a mirror, for her view. + + The holy man next made the damsel see, + That save in God there was no true content, + And proved all other hope was transitory, + Fleeting, of little worth, and quickly spent; + And urged withal so earnestly his plea, + He changed her ill and obstinate intent; + And made her, for the rest of life, desire + To live devoted to her heavenly sire. + + Not that she would her mighty love forbear + For her dead lord, nor yet his relics slight; + These, did she halt or journey, everywhere + Would Isabel have with her, day and night. + The hermit therefore seconding her care, + Who, for his age, was sound and full of might, + They on his mournful horse Zerbino placed, + And traversed many a day that woodland waste. + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + He thought to bear her to Provence, where, near + The city of Marseilles, a borough stood, + Which had a sumptuous monastery; here + Of ladies was a holy sisterhood. + + <i>Rose's Translation, Canto XXIV</i>. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0086" id="link2H_4_0086"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE LUSIAD. + </h2> + <p> + "The discovery of Mozambique, of Melinda, and of Calcutta has been sung by + Camoens, whose poem has something of the charm of the Odyssey and of the + magnificence of the Aeneid." + </p> + <h3> + MONTESQUIEU. + </h3> + <p> + The Portuguese epic, the Lusiad, so-called from Lusitania, the Latin name + for Portugal, was written by Luis de Camoens. + </p> + <p> + He was born in Lisbon in 1524, lost his father by shipwreck in infancy, + and was educated by his mother at the University of Coimbra. On leaving + the university he appeared at court, where his graces of person and mind + soon rendered him a favorite. Here a love affair with the Donna Catarina + de Atayde, whom the king also loved, caused his banishment to Santarem. At + this place he began the Lusiad, and continued it on the expedition against + the Moors in Africa sent out by John III., an expedition on which he + displayed much valor and lost an eye. He was recalled to court, but + jealousies soon drove him thence to India, whither he sailed in 1553, + exclaiming, "Ungrateful country, thou shall not possess my bones." In + India his bravery and accomplishments won him friends, but his imprudences + soon caused his exile to China, where he accumulated a small fortune and + finished his poem. Happier circumstances permitted him to return to Goa; + but on the way the ship laden with his fortune sank, and he escaped, + saving only his poem. After sixteen years of misfortune abroad, Camoens + returned to Lisbon in 1569. The pestilence that was then raging delayed + the publication of the Lusiad until 1572. The poem received little + attention; a small pension was bestowed on the poet, but was soon + withdrawn, and the unfortunate Camoens was left to die in an almshouse. On + his death-bed he deplored the impending fate of his country, which he + alone could see. "I have loved my country. I have returned not only to die + on her bosom, but to die with her." + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad tells the story of the voyage of Vasco da Gama. The sailors of + Prince Henry of Portugal, commander of the Portuguese forces in Africa, + had passed Cape Nam and discovered the Cape of Storms, which the prince + renamed the Cape of Good Hope. His successor Emmanuel, determined to carry + out the work of his predecessor by sending out da Gama to undertake the + discovery of the southern passage to India. The Portuguese were generally + hostile to the undertaking, but da Gama, his brother, and his friend + Coello gathered a company, part of which consisted of malefactors whose + sentence of death was reversed on condition that they undertake the + voyage, and reached India. + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad is divided into ten cantos, containing one thousand one hundred + and two stanzas. Its metre is the heroic iambic, in rhymed octave stanzas. + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad is marred by its mythological allusions in imitation of Homer + and Virgil, but these are forgotten when the poet sings in impassioned + strains of his country's past glory. + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad is simple in style; its subject is prosaic; it is a constant + wonder that out of such unpromising materials Camoens could construct a + poem of such interest. He could not have done so had he not been so great + a poet, so impassioned a patriot. + </p> + <p> + Camoens was in one sense of the word a practical man, like Ariosto; he had + governed a province, and governed it successfully. But he had also taken + up arms for his country, and after suffering all the slights that could be + put upon him by an ungrateful and forgetful monarch, still loved his + native land, loved it the more, perhaps, that he had suffered for it and + was by it neglected. He foresaw, also, as did no one else, the future ruin + of his country, and loved it the more intensely, as a parent lavishes the + fondest, most despairing affection on a child he knows doomed to early + death. + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad is sometimes called the epic of commerce; it could be called + far more appropriately the epic of patriotism. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL14" id="link2H_BIBL14"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE LUSIAD. + </h2> + <p> + J. Adamson's Memoirs of Life and Writing of Camoens, 2 vols., 1820 (vol. + 2, account of works of Camoens in Portuguese and other languages, and of + the works founded on his life or suggested by his writings); + </p> + <p> + R. F. Burton's Camoens, his Life and his Lusiad, 2 vols., 1881; + </p> + <p> + M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of + Italy, Spain, and Portugal, vol. 3; + </p> + <p> + F. Bouterwek's History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature, 1823 (Tr. by + T. Ross); + </p> + <p> + Chambers's Repository, no. 32, Spirit of Camoens's Lusiad; W. T. Dobson's + Classic Poets, pp. 240-278; + </p> + <p> + Montgomery's Men of Italy, iii., 295; + </p> + <p> + Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, ii., 475-528; + </p> + <p> + Southey's Sketch of Portuguese Literature in vol. i. of Quarterly Review, + 1809; + </p> + <p> + Fortnightly Review, i., 184; + </p> + <p> + Quarterly, i., 235; + </p> + <p> + Monthly Review, clx., 505; + </p> + <p> + Edinburgh Review, 1805, vi., 43; + </p> + <p> + New England Magazine, liii., 542; + </p> + <p> + Revue de Deux Mondes, 1832, vi., 145. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0088" id="link2H_4_0088"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE LUSIAD. The Lusiad, Tr. by J. J. + </h2> + <p> + Aubertin, 2 vols., 1881 (Portuguese text and English Tr., in verse); + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Englished by R. F. Burton, 2 vols., 1881; + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Tr. into Spenserian verse by R. F. Duff, 1880; + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Tr. by Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1655; + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Tr. by W. J. Mickle, 3 vols., Ed. 5, 1807; + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Tr. by T. M. Musgrave (blank verse), 1826; + </p> + <p> + The Lusiad, Tr. by Edward Quillinan, with notes by John Adamson, 1853. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0089" id="link2H_4_0089"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE LUSIAD. + </h2> + <p> + When Jupiter, looking down from Olympus, saw the Lusitanian fleet sailing + over the heretofore untravelled seas, he called the gods together, and + reviewing the past glory of the Portuguese, their victories over the + Castilians, their stand against the Romans, under their shepherd-hero + Viriatus, and their conquest of Africa, he foretold their future glories + and their discovery and conquest of India. + </p> + <p> + Bacchus, who had long since made conquests in India, fearful lest his + ancient honors should be forgotten, bitterly opposed the scheme of the + Portuguese; Venus, however, was favorable to them, and Mars interceded, + counselling Jove not to heed Bacchus, but to permit the Lusitanians to + reach India's shore in safety. + </p> + <p> + When the council of the gods was dismissed, Mercury was sent to guide the + Armada, which made its first landing at Mozambique. Canoes with curious + palm-leaf sails, laden with dark-skinned natives, swarmed round the ships + and were hailed with joy by Gama and his men, who invited them on board. A + feast was spread for them, and to them Gama declared his intention of + seeking India. Among them was a Moor who had at first thought the + Portuguese Moors, on account of their dark skins. Feigning cordiality + while plotting their ruin, he offered them a pilot to Quiloa, where, he + assured them, they would find a Christian colony. He and his friends also + laid a plot to place some soldiers in ambush to attack Gama's men when + they landed next day to get water; in this way many would be destroyed, + and certain death awaited the survivors at Quiloa, whither the promised + pilot would conduct them. But the Moors had not counted on the strength of + the Portuguese. Gama's vengeance was swift and certain. The thunder of his + guns terrified the Moors, and the regent implored his pardon, and with + make-believe tears insisted on his receiving at his hands the promised + pilot. + </p> + <p> + Many questions were asked by Gama concerning the spicy shores of India, of + the African coasts, and of the island to the north. "Quiloa, that," + replied the Moor, "where from ancient times, the natives have worshipped + the blood-stained image of the Christ." He knew how the Moorish + inhabitants hated the Christians, and was secretly delighted when Gama + directed him to steer thither. + </p> + <p> + A storm swept the fleet past Quiloa, but the pilot, still determined on + revenge, pointed out the island town of Mombaça, as a stronghold of the + Christians, and steering the fleet thither, anchored just outside the bar. + Bacchus, now intent on the destruction of the Lusitanians, assumed the + character of a priest to deceive the heralds sent ashore by Gama, who + assured their commander that they saw a Christian priest performing divine + rites at an altar above which fluttered the banner of the Holy Ghost. In a + few moments the Christian fleet would have been at the mercy of the Moors, + but Cytherea, beholding from above the peril of her favorites, hastily + descended, gathered together her nymphs, and formed an obstruction, past + which the vessels strove in vain to pass. As Gama, standing high on the + poop, saw the huge rock in the channel, he cried out, and the Moorish + pilots, thinking their treason discovered, leaped into the waves. + </p> + <p> + Warned in a dream by Mercury that the Moors were preparing to cut his + cables, De Gama roused his fleet and set sail for Melinda, whose monarch, + Mercury had told him, was both powerful and good. + </p> + <p> + The fleet, decorated with purple streamers and gold and scarlet tapestry + in honor of Ascension Day sailed with drums beating and trumpets sounding, + into the harbor of Melinda, where they were welcomed by the kind and + truthful people. The fame of the Lusitanians had reached Melinda, and the + monarch gladly welcomed them to his land. His herald entreated them to + remain with him, and brought them sheep, fowls, and the fruits of the + earth, welcome gifts to the mariners. Gama had vowed not to leave the ship + until he could step on Indian ground, so the next day the king and the + commander, clad in their most splendid vestments, met in barges, and the + monarch of Melinda asked Gama to tell him of the Lusian race, its origin + and climate, and of all his adventures up to the time of his arrival at + Melinda. + </p> + <p> + "O king," said Gama, "between the zones of endless winter and eternal + summer lies beautiful Europe, surrounded by the sea. To the north are the + bold Swede, the Prussian, and the Dane; on her south-eastern line dwelt + the Grecian heroes, world-renowned, and farther south are the ruins of + proud Rome. Among the beauteous landscapes of Italy lies proud Venice, + queen of the sea, and north of her tower the lofty Alps. The olive groves + and vineyards of fair Gallia next greet the eye, and then the valorous + fields of Spain, Aragon, Granada, and—the pride of Spain—Castile. + On the west, a crown to it, lies Lusitania, on whom last smiles the + setting sun,—against whose shores roll the waves of the western sea. + </p> + <p> + "Noble are the heroes of my country. They were the first to rise against + the Moors and expel them from the kingdom. The forces of Rome were routed + by our shepherd-hero, Viriatus. After his death our country languished + until Alonzo of Spain arose, whose renown spread far and wide because of + his battles against the Moors. + </p> + <p> + "Alonzo rewarded generously the heroes who fought under him, and to Prince + Henry of Hungaria he gave the fields through which the Tagus flows and the + hand of his daughter. To them was born a son, Alfonso, the founder of the + Lusian throne. After the death of his father Henry, Alfonso's mother + became regent, and ere long wedded her minister Perez and plotted to + deprive her young son of his inheritance. The eighteen year old son arose, + won the nobility to his side, and defeated his guilty mother and her + husband in the battle of Guimaraens. Forgetful of the reverence due to + parents, he cruelly imprisoned his mother, whose father, the king of + Spain, indignant at such treatment of his daughter, now marched against + the young prince and defeated him. As he lay in prison, his faithful + guardian Egas knelt before the king, and vowed that his master, if + released, would pay homage to him. Well he knew that his master would + never bow his proud head to pay homage to Castile. So when the day + arrived, Egas, and all his family, clad in gowns of white like sentenced + felons, with unshod feet, and with the halter around their necks, sought + Castile. 'O king, take us as a sacrifice for my perjured honor. Turn in + friendship to the prince thy grandson, and wreak thy vengeance on us + alone.' + </p> + <p> + "Fortunately Alonzo was noble enough to release the self-sacrificing Egas, + and to forgive his grandson. + </p> + <p> + "The young Alfonso, pardoned by his grandfather, proceeded to Ourique, + whither marched five Moorish kings. Over his head appeared the sacred + cross; but he prayed heaven to show it to his army instead, that they + might be inspired with the hope of victory. Filled with joy at the token, + the Portuguese defeated the Moors, and on the bloody battle-field Alfonso + was proclaimed King of Portugal, and from that day placed on his hitherto + unadorned buckler five azure shields, arranged as a cross. He continued + the wars with the Moors until, wounded and taken prisoner at Badajoz, he + resigned the throne to his son, Don Sancho, who in turn won many + victories. Alfonso II., Sancho II., Alfonso III., and Alfonso the Brave + succeeded him. At the court of the latter was a beautiful maiden, Inez de + Castro, whom Alfonso's son Don Pedro had married secretly. The courtiers, + fearful lest Pedro should show favor to the Castilians because Inez was + the daughter of a Castilian, told the king of his son's amour. In the + absence of Pedro, Inez was led before the king, bringing with her her + children, to help her to plead for mercy. But the king was merciless, his + counsellors, brutal, and at his signal they stabbed her. Pedro never + recovered from the shock given him by the fate of his beautiful wife, and + after his succession to the throne, as a partial atonement for her + suffering, he had her body taken from the grave and crowned Queen of + Portugal. + </p> + <p> + "The weak Fernando, who took his wife Eleanora from her lawful husband, + succeeded Pedro, and their daughter Beatrice not being recognized by the + Portuguese, at his death Don John, a natural brother, came to the throne. + In the mean time a Spanish prince had married Beatrice and invaded + Portugal, claiming it as his right. The Portuguese were divided until Nuńo + Alvarez Pereyra came forward. 'Has one weak reign so corrupted you?' he + cried. 'Have you so soon forgotten our brave sires? Fernando was weak, but + John, our godlike king, is strong. Come, follow him! Or, if you stay, I + myself will go alone; never will I yield to a vassal's yoke; my native + land shall remain unconquered, and my monarch's foes, Castilian or + Portuguese, shall heap the plain!' + </p> + <p> + "Inspired by Nuńo's eloquence the Lusians took the field and defeated the + Spanish in the battle of Aljubarota. Still dissatisfied, Nuńo pressed into + Spain and dictated the terms of peace at Seville. Having established + himself upon the throne of Portugal, John carried the war into Africa, + which wars were continued after his death by his son Edward. While laying + siege to Tangier, Edward and his brother Fernando were taken prisoners, + and were allowed to return home only on promise to surrender Ceuta. Don + Fernando remained as the hostage they demanded. The Portuguese would not + agree to surrender Ceuta, and Don Fernando was forced to languish in + captivity, since the Moors would accept no other ransom. He was a + patriotic prince than whom were none greater in the annals of Lusitania. + </p> + <p> + "Alfonso V., victorious over the Moors, dreamed of conquering Castile, but + was defeated, and on his death was succeeded by John II., who designed to + gain immortal fame in a way tried by no other king. His sailors sought a + path to India, but 'though enriched with knowledge' they perished at the + mouth of the Indus. To his successor, Emmanuel, in a dream appeared the + rivers Ganges and Indus, hoary fathers, rustic in aspect, yet with a + majestic grace of bearing, their long, uncombed beards dripping with + water, their heads wreathed with strange flowers, and proclaimed to him + that their countries were ordained by fate to yield to him; that the fight + would be great, and the fields would stream with blood, but that at last + their shoulders would bend beneath the yoke. Overjoyed at this dream, + Emmanuel proclaimed it to his people. I, O king, felt my bosom burn, for + long had I aspired to this work. Me the king singled out, to me the dread + toil he gave of seeking unknown seas. Such zeal felt I and my youths as + inspired the Mynian youths when they ventured into unknown seas in the + Argo, in search of the golden fleece. + </p> + <p> + "On the shore was reared a sacred fane, and there at the holy shrine my + comrades and I knelt and joined in the solemn rites. Prostrate we lay + before the shrine until morning dawned; then, accompanied by the 'woful, + weeping, melancholy throng' that came pressing from the gates of the city, + we sought our ships. + </p> + <p> + "Then began the tears to flow; then the shrieks of mothers, sisters, and + wives rent the air, and as we waved farewell an ancient man cried out to + us on the thirst for honor and for fame that led us to undertake such a + voyage. + </p> + <p> + "Soon our native mountains mingled with the skies, and the last dim speck + of land having faded, we set our eyes to scan the waste of sea before us. + From Madeira's fair groves we passed barren Masilia, the Cape of Green, + the Happy Isles, Jago, Jalofo, and vast Mandinga, the hated shore of the + Gorgades, the jutting cape called by us the Cape of Palms, and southward + sailed through the wild waves until the stars changed and we saw + Callisto's star no longer, but fixed our eyes on another pole star that + rises nightly over the waves. The shining cross we beheld each night in + the heavens was to us a good omen. + </p> + <p> + "While thus struggling through the untried waves, and battling with the + tempests, now viewing with terror the waterspouts, and the frightful + lightnings, now comforted by the sight of mysterious fire upon our masts, + we came in sight of land, and gave to the trembling negro who came to us + some brass and bells. Five days after this event, as we sailed through the + unknown seas, a sudden darkness o'erspread the sky, unlighted by moon or + star. Questioning what this portent might mean, I saw a mighty phantom + rise through the air. His aspect was sullen, his cheeks were pale, his + withered hair stood erect, his yellow teeth gnashed; his whole aspect + spoke of revenge and horror. + </p> + <p> + "'Bold are you,' cried he, 'to venture hither, but you shall suffer for + it. The next proud fleet that comes this way shall perish on my coast, and + he who first beheld me shall float on the tide a corpse. Often, O Lusus, + shall your children mourn because of me!' 'Who art thou?' I cried. 'The + Spirit of the Cape,' he replied, 'oft called the Cape of Tempests.'" + </p> + <p> + The king of Melinda interrupted Gama. He had often heard traditions among + his people of the Spirit of the Cape. He was one of the race of Titans who + loved Thetis, and was punished by Jove by being transformed into this + promontory. + </p> + <p> + Gama continued: "Again we set forth, and stopped at a pleasant coast to + clean our barks of the shell-fish. At this place we left behind many + victims of the scurvy in their lonely graves. Of the treason we met with + at Mozambique and the miracle that saved us at Quiloa and Mombas, you know + already, as well as of your own bounty." + </p> + <p> + Charmed with the recital of Gama, the King of Melinda had forgotten how + the hours passed away. After the story was told the company whiled away + the hours with dance, song, the chase, and the banquet, until Gama + declared that he must go on to India, and was furnished with a pilot by + the friendly king. + </p> + <p> + Bacchus, enraged at seeing the voyage so nearly completed, descended to + the palace of Neptune, with crystal towers, lofty turrets, roofs of gold, + and beautiful pillars inwrought with pearls. The sculptured walls were + adorned with old Chaos's troubled face, the four fair elements, and many + scenes in the history of the earth. Roused by Bacchus, the gods of the sea + consented to let loose the winds and the waves against the Portuguese. + </p> + <p> + During the night, the Lusians spent the time in relating stories of their + country. As they talked, the storm came upon them, and the vessels rose + upon the giant waves, so that the sailors saw the bottom of the sea swept + almost bare by the violence of the storm. But the watchful Venus perceived + the peril of her Lusians, and calling her nymphs together, beguiled the + storm gods until the storm ceased. While the sailors congratulated + themselves on the returning calm, the cry of "Land!" was heard, and the + pilot announced to Gama that Calicut was near. + </p> + <p> + Hail to the Lusian heroes who have won such honors, who have forced their + way through untravelled seas to the shores of India! Other nations of + Europe have wasted their time in a vain search for luxury and fame instead + of reclaiming to the faith its enemies! Italy, how fallen, how lost art + thou! and England and Gaul, miscalled "most Christian!" While ye have + slept, the Lusians, though their realms are small, have crushed the + Moslems and made their name resound throughout Africa, even to the shores + of Asia. + </p> + <p> + At dawn Gama sent a herald to the monarch; in the mean time, a friendly + Moor, Monçaide, boarded the vessel, delighted to hear his own tongue once + more. Born at Tangiers, he considered himself a neighbor of the Lusians; + well he knew their valorous deeds, and although a Moor, he now allied + himself to them as a friend. He described India to the eager Gama: its + religions, its idolaters, the Mohammedans, the Buddhists, the Brahmins. At + Calicut, queen of India, lived the Zamorin, lord of India, to whom all + subject kings paid their tribute. + </p> + <p> + His arrival having been announced, Gama, adorned in his most splendid + garments, and accompanied by his train, also in bright array, entered the + gilded barges and rowed to the shore, where stood the Catual, the + Zamorin's minister. Monçaide acted as an interpreter. The company passed + through a temple on their way to the palace, in which the Christians were + horrified at the graven images there worshipped. On the palace walls were + the most splendid pictures, relating the history of India. One wall, + however, bore no sculptures; the Brahmins had foretold that a foreign foe + would at some time conquer India, and that space was reserved for scenes + from those wars. + </p> + <p> + Into the splendid hall adorned with tapestries of cloth of gold and + carpets of velvet, Gama passed, and stood before the couch on which sat + the mighty monarch. The room blazed with gems and gold; the monarch's + mantle was of cloth of gold, and his turban shone with gems. His manner + was majestic and dignified; he received Gama in silence, only nodding to + him to tell his story. + </p> + <p> + Gama proclaimed that he came in friendship from a valorous nation that + wished to unite its shores with his by commerce. The monarch responded + that he and his council would weigh the proposal, and in the mean time + Gama should remain and feast with them. + </p> + <p> + The next day the Indians visited the fleet, and after the banquet Gama + displayed to his guests a series of banners on which were told the history + of Portugal and her heroes. First came Lusus, the friend of Bacchus, the + hero-shepherd Viriatus, the first Alonzo, the self-sacrificing Egas, the + valiant Fuaz, every hero who had strengthened Lusitania and driven out her + foes, down to the gallant Pedro and the glorious Henry. + </p> + <p> + Awed and wondering at the deeds of the mighty heroes, the Indians returned + home. In the night Bacchus appeared to the king, warning him against the + Lusians and urging him to destroy them while in his power. The Moors + bought the Catual with their gold. They also told the king that they would + leave his city as soon as he allied himself with the odious strangers. + When Gama was next summoned before the king he was received with a frown. + </p> + <p> + "You are a pirate! Your first words were lies. Confess it; then you may + stay with me and be my captain." + </p> + <p> + "I know the Moors," replied Gama. "I know their lies that have poisoned + your ears. Am I mad that I should voluntarily leave my pleasant home and + dare the terrors of an unknown sea? Ah, monarch, you know not the Lusian + race! Bold, dauntless, the king commands, and we obey. Past the dread Cape + of Storms have I ventured, bearing no gift save friendly peace, and that + noblest gift of all, the friendship of my king. I have spoken the truth. + Truth is everlasting!" + </p> + <p> + A day passed and still Gama was detained by the power of the Catual, who + ordered him to call his fleets ashore if his voyage was really one of + friendship. + </p> + <p> + "Never!" exclaimed Gama. "My fleet is free, though I am chained, and they + shall carry to Lisbon the news of my discovery." + </p> + <p> + As he spoke, at a sign from the Catual, hostile ships were seen + surrounding the Lusian vessels. "Not one shall tell on Lisbon's shores + your fate." + </p> + <p> + Gama smiled scornfully, as the fleet swept on towards his vessels. Loud + sounded the drums, shrill the trumpets. The next moment sudden lightning + flashed from Gama's ships and the skies echoed with the thunder of the + guns. + </p> + <p> + No word fell from Gama's lips as, the battle over, they saw the sea + covered with the torn hulks and floating masts; but the populace raged + around the palace gates, demanding justice to the strangers. + </p> + <p> + The troubled king sought to make peace with Gama. + </p> + <p> + "My orders have been given. To-day, when the sun reaches its meridian, + India shall bleed and Calicut shall fall. The time is almost here. I make + no terms. You have deceived me once." + </p> + <p> + The Moors fell fainting on the floor; the monarch trembled. "What can save + us?" he cried. + </p> + <p> + "Convey me and my train to the fleet. Command at once; it is even now + noon." + </p> + <p> + Once more safe within his ship, with him the faithful Monçaide, who had + kept him informed of the treason of the Moors, his ships laden with + cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and gems, proofs of his visit, Gama, rejoicing, + set sail for home. + </p> + <p> + Venus saw the fleet setting out, and planned a resting-place for the weary + sailors, a floating isle with golden sands, bowers of laurel and myrtle, + beautiful flowers and luscious fruits. Here the sea nymphs gathered, + Thetis, the most beautiful, being reserved for Gama, and here days were + spent in joyance. + </p> + <p> + At the banquet the nymphs sang the future glories of the Lusians, and + taking Gama by the hand, led him and his men to a mountain height, whence + they could look upon a wondrous globe, the universe. The crystal spheres + whirled swiftly, making sweet music, and as they listened to this, they + saw the sun go by, the stars, Apollo, the Queen of Love, Diana, and the + "yellow earth, the centre of the whole." Asia and Africa were unrolled to + their sight, and the future of India, conquered by the Lusians, Cochin + China, China, Japan, Sumatra,—all these countries given to the world + by their voyage around the terrible cape. + </p> + <p> + "Spread thy sails!" cried the nymphs; "the time has come to go!" + </p> + <p> + The ships departed on their homeward way, and the heroes were received + with the wildest welcome by the dwellers on Tago's bosom. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0090" id="link2H_4_0090"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM THE LUSIAD. + </h2> + <h3> + INEZ DE CASTRO. + </h3> + <p> + During the reign of Alfonso the Brave, his son Don Pedro secretly wedded a + beautiful maiden of the court, Inez de Castro. The courtiers, jealous + because Inez was a Castilian, betrayed Pedro's secret to the king, who, in + the absence of his son, had Inez brought before him and slain by hired + ruffians. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + While glory, thus, Alonzo's name adorn'd, + To Lisbon's shores the happy chief return'd, + In glorious peace and well-deserv'd repose, + His course of fame, and honor'd age to close. + When now, O king, a damsel's fate severe, + A fate which ever claims the woful tear, + Disgraced his honors—On the nymph's 'lorn head + Relentless rage its bitterest rancor shed: + Yet, such the zeal her princely lover bore, + Her breathless corse the crown of Lisbon wore. + 'Twas thou, O Love, whose dreaded shafts control + The hind's rude heart, and tear the hero's soul; + Thou, ruthless power, with bloodshed never cloy'd, + 'Twas thou thy lovely votary destroy'd. + Thy thirst still burning for a deeper woe, + In vain to thee the tears of beauty flow; + The breast that feels thy purest flames divine, + With spouting gore must bathe thy cruel shrine. + Such thy dire triumphs!—Thou, O nymph, the while, + Prophetic of the god's unpitying guile, + In tender scenes by love-sick fancy wrought, + By fear oft shifted, as by fancy brought, + In sweet Mondego's ever-verdant bowers, + Languish'd away the slow and lonely hours: + While now, as terror wak'd thy boding fears, + The conscious stream receiv'd thy pearly tears; + And now, as hope reviv'd the brighter flame, + Each echo sigh'd thy princely lover's name. + Nor less could absence from thy prince remove + The dear remembrance of his distant love: + Thy looks, thy smiles, before him ever glow, + And o'er his melting heart endearing flow: + By night his slumbers bring thee to his arms, + By day his thoughts still wander o'er thy charms: + By night, by day, each thought thy loves employ, + Each thought the memory, or the hope, of joy. + Though fairest princely dames invok'd his love, + No princely dame his constant faith could move: + For thee, alone, his constant passion burn'd, + For thee the proffer'd royal maids he scorn'd. + Ah, hope of bliss too high—the princely dames + Refus'd, dread rage the father's breast inflames; + He, with an old man's wintry eye, surveys + The youth's fond love, and coldly with it weighs + The people's murmurs of his son's delay + To bless the nation with his nuptial day. + (Alas, the nuptial day was past unknown, + Which, but when crown'd, the prince could dare to own.) + And, with the fair one's blood, the vengeful sire + Resolves to quench his Pedro's faithful fire. + Oh, thou dread sword, oft stain'd with heroes' gore, + Thou awful terror of the prostrate Moor, + What rage could aim thee at a female breast, + Unarm'd, by softness and by love possess'd! + + Dragg'd from her bower, by murd'rous ruffian hands, + Before the frowning king fair Inez stands; + Her tears of artless innocence, her air + So mild, so lovely, and her face so fair, + Mov'd the stern monarch; when, with eager zeal, + Her fierce destroyers urg'd the public weal; + Dread rage again the tyrant's soul possess'd, + And his dark brow his cruel thoughts confess'd; + O'er her fair face a sudden paleness spread, + Her throbbing heart with gen'rous anguish bled, + Anguish to view her lover's hopeless woes, + + And all the mother in her bosom rose. + Her beauteous eyes, in trembling tear-drops drown'd, + To heaven she lifted (for her hands were bound); + Then, on her infants turn'd the piteous glance, + The look of bleeding woe; the babes advance, + Smiling in innocence of infant age, + Unaw'd, unconscious of their grandsire's rage; + To whom, as bursting sorrow gave the flow, + The native heart-sprung eloquence of woe, + The lovely captive thus:—"O monarch, hear, + If e'er to thee the name of man was dear, + If prowling tigers, or the wolf's wild brood + (Inspired by nature with the lust of blood), + Have yet been mov'd the weeping babe to spare, + Nor left, but tended with a nurse's care, + As Rome's great founders to the world were given; + Shall thou, who wear'st the sacred stamp of Heaven + The human form divine, shalt thou deny + That aid, that pity, which e'en beasts supply! + Oh, that thy heart were, as thy looks declare, + Of human mould, superfluous were my prayer; + Thou couldst not, then, a helpless damsel slay, + Whose sole offence in fond affection lay, + In faith to him who first his love confess'd, + Who first to love allur'd her virgin breast. + In these my babes shalt thou thine image see, + And, still tremendous, hurl thy rage on me? + Me, for their sakes, if yet thou wilt not spare, + Oh, let these infants prove thy pious care! + Yet, Pity's lenient current ever flows + From that brave breast where genuine valor glows; + That thou art brave, let vanquish'd Afric tell, + Then let thy pity o'er my anguish swell; + Ah, let my woes, unconscious of a crime, + Procure mine exile to some barb'rous clime: + Give me to wander o'er the burning plains + Of Libya's deserts, or the wild domains + Of Scythia's snow-clad rocks, and frozen shore; + There let me, hopeless of return, deplore: + Where ghastly horror fills the dreary vale, + Where shrieks and howlings die on every gale, + The lion's roaring, and the tiger's yell, + There with my infant race, consigned to dwell, + There let me try that piety to find, + In vain by me implor'd from human kind: + There, in some dreary cavern's rocky womb, + Amid the horrors of sepulchral gloom, + For him whose love I mourn, my love shall glow, + The sigh shall murmur, and the tear shall flow: + All my fond wish, and all my hope, to rear + These infant pledges of a love so dear, + Amidst my griefs a soothing glad employ, + Amidst my fears a woful, hopeless joy." + + In tears she utter'd—as the frozen snow + Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow, + So just began to melt his stubborn soul, + As mild-ray'd Pity o'er the tyrant stole; + But destiny forbade: with eager zeal + (Again pretended for the public weal), + Her fierce accusers urg'd her speedy doom; + Again, dark rage diffus'd its horrid gloom + O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign, + Their swords, unsheath'd, around her brandish'd shine. + O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain, + By men of arms a helpless lady slain! + + Thus Pyrrhus, burning with unmanly ire, + Fulfilled the mandate of his furious sire; + Disdainful of the frantic matron's prayer, + On fair Polyxena, her last fond care, + He rush'd, his blade yet warm with Priam's gore, + And dash'd the daughter on the sacred floor; + While mildly she her raving mother eyed, + Resigned her bosom to the sword, and died. + Thus Inez, while her eyes to heaven appeal, + Resigns her bosom to the murd'ring steel: + That snowy neck, whose matchless form sustain'd + The loveliest face, where all the graces reign'd, + Whose charms so long the gallant prince enflam'd, + That her pale corse was Lisbon's queen proclaim'd, + That snowy neck was stain'd with spouting gore, + Another sword her lovely bosom tore. + The flowers that glisten'd with her tears bedew'd, + Now shrunk and languished with her blood embru'd. + As when a rose ere-while of bloom so gay, + Thrown from the careless virgin's breast away, + Lies faded on the plain, the living red, + The snowy white, and all its fragrance fled; + So from her cheeks the roses died away, + And pale in death the beauteous Inez lay: + With dreadful smiles, and crimson'd with her blood, + Round the wan victim the stern murd'rers stood, + Unmindful of the sure, though future hour, + Sacred to vengeance and her lover's power. + + O Sun, couldst thou so foul a crime behold, + Nor veil thine head in darkness, as of old + A sudden night unwonted horror cast + O'er that dire banquet, where the sire's repast + The son's torn limbs supplied!—Yet you, ye vales! + Ye distant forests, and ye flow'ry dales! + When pale and sinking to the dreadful fall, + You heard her quiv'ring lips on Pedro call; + Your faithful echoes caught the parting sound, + And Pedro! Pedro! mournful, sigh'd around. + Nor less the wood-nymphs of Mondego's groves + Bewail'd the memory of her hapless loves: + Her griefs they wept, and, to a plaintive rill + Transform'd their tears, which weeps and murmurs still. + To give immortal pity to her woe + They taught the riv'let through her bowers to flow, + And still, through violet-beds, the fountain pours + Its plaintive wailing, and is named Amours. + Nor long her blood for vengeance cried in vain: + Her gallant lord begins his awful reign, + In vain her murderers for refuge fly, + Spain's wildest hills no place of rest supply. + The injur'd lover's and the monarch's ire, + And stern-brow'd Justice in their doom conspire: + In hissing flames they die, and yield their souls in fire. + <i>Mickle's Translation, Canto III.</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0091" id="link2H_4_0091"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE SPIRIT OF THE CAPE. + </h2> + <p> + Vasco de Gama relates the incidents of his voyage from Portugal to the + King of Melinda. The southern cross had appeared in the heavens and the + fleet was approaching the southern point of Africa. While at anchor in a + bay the Portuguese aroused the hostility of the savages, and hastily set + sail. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Now, prosp'rous gales the bending canvas swell'd; + From these rude shores our fearless course we held: + Beneath the glist'ning wave the god of day + Had now five times withdrawn the parting ray, + When o'er the prow a sudden darkness spread, + And, slowly floating o'er the mast's tall head + A black cloud hover'd: nor appear'd from far + The moon's pale glimpse, nor faintly twinkling star; + So deep a gloom the low'ring vapor cast, + Transfix'd with awe the bravest stood aghast. + Meanwhile, a hollow bursting roar resounds, + As when hoarse surges lash their rocky mounds; + Nor had the black'ning wave nor frowning heav'n + The wonted signs of gath'ring tempest giv'n. + Amazed we stood. 'O thou, our fortune's guide, + Avert this omen, mighty God!' I cried; + 'Or, through forbidden climes adventurous stray'd, + Have we the secrets of the deep survey'd, + Which these wide solitudes of seas and sky + Were doom'd to hide from man's unhallow'd eye? + Whate'er this prodigy, it threatens more + Than midnight tempests, and the mingled roar, + When sea and sky combine to rock the marble shore.' + + "I spoke, when rising through the darken'd air, + Appall'd, we saw a hideous phantom glare; + High and enormous o'er the flood he tower'd, + And 'thwart our way with sullen aspect lower'd: + An earthy paleness o'er his cheeks was spread, + Erect uprose his hairs of wither'd red; + Writhing to speak, his sable lips disclose, + Sharp and disjoin'd, his gnashing teeth's blue rows; + His haggard beard flow'd quiv'ring on the wind, + Revenge and horror in his mien combin'd; + His clouded front, by with'ring lightnings scar'd, + The inward anguish of his soul declar'd. + His red eyes, glowing from their dusky caves, + Shot livid fires: far echoing o'er the waves + His voice resounded, as the cavern'd shore + With hollow groan repeats the tempest's roar. + Cold gliding horrors thrill'd each hero's breast, + Our bristling hair and tott'ring knees confess'd + Wild dread, the while with visage ghastly wan, + His black lips trembling, thus the fiend began:— + + "'O you, the boldest of the nations, fir'd + By daring pride, by lust of fame inspir'd, + Who, scornful of the bow'rs of sweet repose, + Through these my waves advance your fearless prows, + Regardless of the length'ning wat'ry way, + And all the storms that own my sov'reign sway, + Who, mid surrounding rocks and shelves explore + Where never hero brav'd my rage before; + Ye sons of Lusus, who with eyes profane + Have view'd the secrets of my awful reign, + Have passed the bounds which jealous Nature drew + To veil her secret shrine from mortal view; + Hear from my lips what direful woes attend, + And, bursting soon, shall o'er your race descend. + + "'With every bounding keel that dares my rage, + Eternal war my rocks and storms shall wage, + The next proud fleet that through my drear domain, + With daring search shall hoist the streaming vane, + That gallant navy, by my whirlwinds toss'd, + And raging seas, shall perish on my coast: + Then he, who first my secret reign descried, + A naked corpse, wide floating o'er the tide, + Shall drive—Unless my heart's full raptures fail, + O Lusus! oft shall thou thy children wail; + Each year thy shipwreck'd sons thou shalt deplore, + Each year thy sheeted masts shall strew my shore. + + "'With trophies plum'd behold a hero come, + Ye dreary wilds, prepare his yawning tomb. + Though smiling fortune bless'd his youthful morn, + Though glory's rays his laurell'd brows adorn, + Full oft though he beheld with sparkling eye + The Turkish moons in wild confusion fly, + While he, proud victor, thunder'd in the rear, + All, all his mighty fame shall vanish here. + Quiloa's sons, and thine, Mombaz, shall see + Their conqueror bend his laurell'd head to me; + While, proudly mingling with the tempest's sound, + Their shouts of joy from every cliff rebound. + + "'The howling blast, ye slumb'ring storms prepare, + A youthful lover and his beauteous fair + Triumphant sail from India's ravag'd land; + His evil angel leads him to my strand. + Through the torn hulk the dashing waves shall roar, + The shatter'd wrecks shall blacken all my shore. + Themselves escaped, despoil'd by savage hands, + Shall, naked, wander o'er the burning sands, + Spar'd by the waves far deeper woes to bear, + Woes, e'en by me, acknowledg'd with a tear. + Their infant race, the promis'd heirs of joy, + Shall now, no more, a hundred hands employ; + By cruel want, beneath the parents' eye, + In these wide wastes their infant race shall die; + Through dreary wilds, where never pilgrim trod + Where caverns yawn, and rocky fragments nod, + The hapless lover and his bride shall stray, + By night unshelter'd, and forlorn by day. + In vain the lover o'er the trackless plain + Shall dart his eyes, and cheer his spouse in vain. + Her tender limbs, and breast of mountain snow, + Where, ne'er before, intruding blast might blow, + Parch'd by the sun, and shrivell'd by the cold + Of dewy night, shall he, fond man, behold. + Thus, wand'ring wide, a thousand ills o'er past, + In fond embraces they shall sink at last; + While pitying tears their dying eyes o'erflow, + And the last sigh shall wail each other's woe. + + "'Some few, the sad companions of their fate, + Shall yet survive, protected by my hate, + On Tagus' banks the dismal tale to tell, + How, blasted by my frown, your heroes fell.' + + "He paus'd, in act still further to disclose + A long, a dreary prophecy of woes: + When springing onward, loud my voice resounds, + And midst his rage the threat'ning shade confounds. + + "'What art thou, horrid form that rid'st the air? + By Heaven's eternal light, stern fiend, declare.' + His lips he writhes, his eyes far round he throws, + And, from his breast, deep hollow groans arose, + Sternly askance he stood: with wounded pride + And anguish torn, 'In me, behold,' he cried, + While dark-red sparkles from his eyeballs roll'd, + 'In me the Spirit of the Cape behold, + That rock, by you the Cape of Tempests nam'd, + By Neptune's rage, in horrid earthquakes fram'd, + When Jove's red bolts o'er Titan's offspring flam'd. + With wide-stretch'd piles I guard the pathless strand, + And Afric's southern mound, unmov'd, I stand: + Nor Roman prow, nor daring Tyrian oar + Ere dash'd the white wave foaming to my shore; + Nor Greece nor Carthage ever spread the sail + On these my seas, to catch the trading gale. + You, you alone have dar'd to plough my main, + And with the human voice disturb my lonesome reign." + + "He spoke, and deep a lengthen'd sigh he drew, + A doleful sound, and vanish'd from the view: + The frighten'd billows gave a rolling swell, + And, distant far, prolong'd the dismal yell, + Faint and more faint the howling echoes die, + And the black cloud dispersing, leaves the sky. + High to the angel-host, whose guardian care + Had ever round us watch'd, my hands I rear, + And Heaven's dread King implore: 'As o'er our head + The fiend dissolv'd, an empty shadow fled; + So may his curses, by the winds of heav'n, + Far o'er the deep, their idle sport, be driv'n!'" + + With sacred horror thrill'd, Melinda's lord + Held up the eager hand, and caught the word. + "Oh, wondrous faith of ancient days," he cries, + "Concealed in mystic lore and dark disguise! + Taught by their sires, our hoary fathers tell, + On these rude shores a giant spectre fell, + What time from heaven the rebel band were thrown: + And oft the wand'ring swain has heard his moan. + While o'er the wave the clouded moon appears + To hide her weeping face, his voice he rears + O'er the wild storm. Deep in the days of yore, + A holy pilgrim trod the nightly shore; + Stern groans he heard; by ghostly spells controll'd, + His fate, mysterious, thus the spectre told: + + "'By forceful Titan's warm embrace compress'd, + The rock-ribb'd mother, Earth, his love confess'd: + The hundred-handed giant at a birth, + And me, she bore, nor slept my hopes on earth; + My heart avow'd my sire's ethereal flame; + Great Adamastor, then, my dreaded name. + In my bold brother's glorious toils engaged, + Tremendous war against the gods I waged: + Yet, not to reach the throne of heaven I try, + With mountain pil'd on mountain to the sky; + To me the conquest of the seas befell, + In his green realm the second Jove to quell. + Nor did ambition all my passions hold, + 'Twas love that prompted an attempt so bold. + Ah me, one summer in the cool of day, + I saw the Nereids on the sandy bay, + With lovely Thetis from the wave advance + In mirthful frolic, and the naked dance. + In all her charms reveal'd the goddess trod, + With fiercest fires my struggling bosom glow'd; + Yet, yet I feel them burning in my heart, + And hopeless, languish with the raging smart. + For her, each goddess of the heavens I scorn'd, + For her alone my fervent ardor burn'd. + In vain I woo'd her to the lover's bed, + From my grim form, with horror, mute she fled. + Madd'ning with love, by force I ween to gain + The silver goddess of the blue domain; + To the hoar mother of the Nereid band + I tell my purpose, and her aid command: + By fear impell'd, old Doris tried to move, + And win the spouse of Peleus to my love. + The silver goddess with a smile replies, + 'What nymph can yield her charms a giant's prize! + Yet, from the horrors of a war to save, + And guard in peace our empire of the wave, + Whate'er with honor he may hope to gain, + That, let him hope his wish shall soon attain.' + The promis'd grace infus'd a bolder fire, + And shook my mighty limbs with fierce desire. + But ah, what error spreads its dreadful night, + What phantoms hover o'er the lover's sight! + + "The war resign'd, my steps by Doris led, + While gentle eve her shadowy mantle spread, + Before my steps the snowy Thetis shone + In all her charms, all naked, and alone. + Swift as the wind with open arms I sprung, + And, round her waist with joy delirious clung: + In all the transports of the warm embrace, + A hundred kisses on her angel face, + On all its various charms my rage bestows, + And, on her cheek, my cheek enraptur'd glows. + When oh, what anguish while my shame I tell! + What fix'd despair, what rage my bosom swell! + Here was no goddess, here no heavenly charms, + A rugged mountain fill'd my eager arms, + Whose rocky top, o'erhung with matted brier, + Received the kisses of my am'rous fire. + Wak'd from my dream, cold horror freez'd my blood; + Fix'd as a rock, before the rock I stood; + 'O fairest goddess of the ocean train, + Behold the triumph of thy proud disdain; + Yet why,' I cried, 'with all I wish'd decoy, + And, when exulting in the dream of joy, + A horrid mountain to mine arms convey?' + Madd'ning I spoke, and furious sprung away. + Far to the south I sought the world unknown, + Where I, unheard, unscorn'd, might wail alone, + My foul dishonor, and my tears to hide, + And shun the triumph of the goddess' pride. + My brothers, now, by Jove's red arm o'erthrown, + Beneath huge mountains pil'd on mountains groan; + And I, who taught each echo to deplore, + And tell my sorrows to the desert shore, + I felt the hand of Jove my crimes pursue, + My stiff'ning flesh to earthy ridges grew, + And my huge bones, no more by marrow warm'd, + To horrid piles, and ribs of rock transform'd, + Yon dark-brow'd cape of monstrous size became, + Where, round me still, in triumph o'er my shame, + The silv'ry Thetis bids her surges roar, + And waft my groans along the dreary shore.'" + + <i>Mickle's Translation, Canto V</i>. +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0092" id="link2H_4_0092"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + </h2> + <p> + The Gerusalemme Liberata, or Jerusalem Delivered, was written by Torquato + Tasso, who was born at Sorrento, March 11, 1544. He was educated at + Naples, Urbino, Rome, Venice, Padua, and Bologna. In 1572 he attached + himself to the court of Ferrara, which he had visited in 1565 in the suite + of the Cardinal d'Este, and by whose duke he had been treated with great + consideration. Here his pastoral drama "Aminta" was written and performed, + and here he began to write his epic. The duke, angry because of Tasso's + affection for his sister Eleanora, and fearful lest the poet should + dedicate his poem to the Medicis, whom he visited in 1575, and into whose + service he was asked to enter, kept him under strict surveillance, and + pretended to regard him as insane. Feigning sympathy and a desire to + restore his mind, he had the unfortunate poet confined in a mad-house. + Tasso escaped several times, but each time returned in the hope of a + reconciliation with the duke. During his confinement his poem was + published without his permission: first in 1580, a very imperfect version; + in 1581, a genuine one. This at once brought him great fame; but while its + publishers made a fortune, Tasso received nothing. Neither did the duke + relent, although powerful influences were brought to bear on him. Tasso + was not released until 1586, and then, broken in health, he passed the + rest of his life in Rome and Naples, living on charity, though treated + with great honor. He died in Rome, April 25, 1595, just before he was to + have been crowned at the capitol. + </p> + <p> + The Jerusalem Delivered has for its subject the first Crusade, and the + events recorded in its twenty cantos comprise the happenings in the camp + of the Crusaders during forty days of the campaign of 1099. Its metre is + the <i>octava rima</i>, the eight lined rhymed stanza. + </p> + <p> + Tasso was not so successful in the delineation of character and in the + description of actions as in the interpretation of feeling, being by + nature a lyric rather than an epic poet. But his happy choice of subject,—for + the Crusades were still fresh in the memory of the people, and chivalry + was a thing of the present—his zeal for the Christian cause, his + impassioned delineations of love, and his exquisitely poetical treatment + of his whole theme, rendered his epic irresistible. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL15" id="link2H_BIBL15"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + </h2> + <p> + J. Black's Life of Tasso (with a historical and critical account of his + writings), 2 vols. 1810; + </p> + <p> + E. J. Hasell's Tasso, 1882; + </p> + <p> + Rev. Robert Milman's Life of Tasso, 2 vols. 1850; + </p> + <p> + Dennistown's Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, 1851, iii., 292-316; + </p> + <p> + Hallam's Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the 15th, 16th, and + 17th Centuries, 1839, ii., 192-199; + </p> + <p> + Leigh Hunt's Stories from Italian Poets, 1888, ii., 289-474; + </p> + <p> + Longfellow's Poets and Poetry of Europe, 1845, pp. 568-577; + </p> + <p> + Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, Ed. 2, 1846, i., 359-391; + </p> + <p> + J. A. Symonds's Renaissance in Italy, 1886, vol. 2, chapters 7-8; + </p> + <p> + Edin. Rev., Oct. 1850, xcii., 294-302; + </p> + <p> + Blackwood, 1845, lvii., 401-414; + </p> + <p> + Quarterly Review, Jan. 1857, ci., 59-68. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0094" id="link2H_4_0094"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + </h2> + <p> + Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. from the Italian by John Hoole. First American + from Eighth London Edition, 2 vols., 1810; + </p> + <p> + Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into English Spenserian verse with life of the + author by J. H. Wiffen. New ed., 1883; + </p> + <p> + Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir John Kingston James, 2 vols., 1884; + </p> + <p> + Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into the metre of the original by C. L. Smith, + 1876-79; + </p> + <p> + Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir Edward Fairfax and edited by Prof. Henry + Morley, 1889. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0095" id="link2H_4_0095"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + </h2> + <p> + The Eternal Father looked down from His lofty throne upon the Christian + powers in Syria. In the six years they had spent in the East they had + taken Nice and Antioch. Now, while inactive in winter quarters, Bohemond + was strengthening himself in Antioch, and the other chiefs were thinking + of glory or love; but Godfrey, to whom renown was the meanest of glories, + was burning to win Jerusalem and restore it to the faith. Inspired by + Gabriel, despatched by the Eternal Father, Godfrey called a council, and + with an eloquence and fire more than mortal, roused the Christians to + action. "We came not here to raise empires; the period has come when all + the world is waiting for our next step. Now is the propitious moment. If + we delay longer, Egypt will step in to the aid of our Syrian foe!" + </p> + <p> + Godfrey was unanimously elected chief, and immediate arrangements were + made for the setting out to Jerusalem. Godfrey first reviewed the army. A + thousand men marched under the lilied banner of Clotharius; a thousand + more from the Norman meads under Robert; from Orange and Puy, troops came + under the priests William and Ademar. Baldwin led his own and Godfrey's + bands, and Guelpho, allied to the house of Este, brought his strong + Carinthians. Other troops of horse and foot were led by William of + England. After him came the young Tancred, the flower of chivalry, + blighted now, alas! by unrequited love. He had seen by chance the pagan + maid Clorinda, the Amazon, drinking at a pool in the forest, and had + forgot all else in his love for her. After him came the small Greek force + under Tatine; next, the invincible Adventurers under Dudon, bravest of + men. Following these were Otho, Edward and his sweet bride Gildippe, who, + unwilling to be separated from her husband, fought at his side, and, + excellent above all others, the young Rinaldo, whose glorious deeds were + yet but a promise of his great future. While but a boy he had escaped from + the care of his foster mother, Queen Matilda, and hastened to join the + Crusaders. The review was closed by the array of foot soldiers led by + Raymond, Stephen of Amboise, Alcasto, and Camillus. The pageant having + passed by, Godfrey despatched a messenger to summon Sweno the Dane, who + with his forces was still tarrying in Greece, and at once set out for + Jerusalem. + </p> + <p> + Swift rumor had conveyed the tidings of his approach to Aladine, King of + Jerusalem, a merciless tyrant, who, enraged, immediately laid heavier + taxes upon the unfortunate Christians in his city. Ismeno, a sorcerer, + once a Christian, but now a pagan who practised all black arts, penetrated + to the presence of the king and advised him to steal from the temple of + the Christians an image of the Virgin and put it in his mosque, assuring + him that he would thus render his city impregnable. This was done, and + Ismeno wrought his spells about the image, but the next morning it had + disappeared. After a fruitless search for the image and the offender, the + angry king sentenced all the Franks to death. The beautiful maid + Sophronia, determined to save her people, assumed the guilt, and was + sentenced to be burned. As she stood chained to the stake, her lover, + Olindo, to whom she had ever been cold, saw her, and in agony at her + sacrifice, declared to the king that Sophronia had lied and that he was + the purloiner of the image. The cruel monarch ordered him also to be tied + to the stake, that they might die together; and the flames had just been + applied when the two were saved by the Amazon Clorinda, who convinced the + king that the Christians were innocent and that Allah himself, incensed at + the desecration, had snatched away the image. + </p> + <p> + To the camp of Godfrey at Emmaus came two ambassadors from the king of + Egypt, Alethes, a supple crafty courtier of low lineage, and Argantes, a + haughty and powerful warrior. But their efforts to keep Godfrey from + Jerusalem, first by persuasion, and then by threats, were in vain. They + were dismissed from the camp, and the army proceeded on its way. + </p> + <p> + When the walls and towers of the city where Messias died came in sight, + the Christian army, crying "All Hail, Jerusalem!" laid aside their + casques, and, shedding tears, trod barefoot the consecrated way. + </p> + <p> + At sight of the Franks, the pagans hastened to strengthen the + fortifications of their city, and Aladine from a lofty tower watched + Clorinda attack a band of Franks returning from a foray. At his side was + the lovely Erminia, daughter of the King of Antioch, who had sought + Jerusalem after the downfall of her city. + </p> + <p> + Erminia instructed Aladine of the various crusaders, and when she pointed + out the noble Tancred, who had treated her with such consideration in + Antioch, she felt her love for him revive, though she pretended to the + king to hate him for his cruelty. Tancred recognized among the leaders of + the pagans Clorinda, bereft of her helmet, and for love of her, refused to + fight her. The pagans, driven back by the Christians, were rallied by + Argantes, but only to be met by the matchless Adventurers under Dudon. + When Dudon fell, the troops under Rinaldo, burning for revenge, + reluctantly obeyed Godfrey's summons to return. + </p> + <p> + The funeral rites over, the artificers were sent to the forest to fell the + trees, that engines might be fabricated for the destruction of the city + walls. + </p> + <p> + Angry at the success of the Franks, Satan stirred up the infernal regions, + and set loose his friends to work destruction to the Christians. One he + despatched to the wizard Idraotes, at Damascus, who conceived the scheme + of sending his beautiful niece Armida to ensnare the Christians. In a few + days Armida appeared among the white pavilions of the Franks, attracting + the attention and winning the love of all who saw her. Her golden locks + appeared through her veil as the sunshine gleams through the stormy skies; + her charms were sufficiently hidden to make them the more alluring. So + attired, modestly seeking the camp of Godfrey, she was met by Eustace, his + young brother, and taken to the prince. + </p> + <p> + With many tears and sighs, she told her pitiful story. She had been driven + from her kingdom, an orphan, by the envy and wickedness of her uncle, and + had come to ask the Christians to aid her in regaining her rights. + Unfortunately for her success, she and her uncle had not calculated on + Godfrey's absorption in his divine undertaking. He was proof against her + charms, and was determined not to be delayed longer in laying siege to the + city. It required the utmost persuasion of Eustace to induce him to permit + ten of the Adventurers to accompany her. Armida, though disappointed in + Godfrey's lack of susceptibility, employed her time so well while in camp + that when she departed with the ten Adventurers chosen by lot, she was + followed secretly by Eustace and many others who had not been chosen, but + who were madly in love with her. + </p> + <p> + Before his departure, Eustace, jealous of Rinaldo, whom he was fearful + Armida might admire, had persuaded him to aspire to the place of Dudon, to + whom a successor must be elected. Gernando of Norway desired the same + place, and, angry that the popular Rinaldo should be his rival, scattered + through the camp rumors disparaging to his character: Rinaldo was vain and + arrogant; Rinaldo was rash, not brave; Rinaldo's virtues were all vices. + At last, stung past endurance by his taunts and insinuations, Rinaldo gave + the lie to his traducer, and slew him in fair fight. False reports were + taken to Godfrey by Rinaldo's enemies; and the ruler determined to punish + the youth severely; but he, warned by his friends, escaped from camp and + fled to Antioch. To Godfrey, deprived thus of Rinaldo and many of his + brave Adventurers, was brought the tidings that the Egyptian expedition + was on its way, and that a ship laden with provisions had been intercepted + on its way to his camp. + </p> + <p> + The bold Argantes, weary of the restraint of the siege, sent a challenge + to the Christians, saying he would meet any Frank, high-born or low, in + single combat, the conditions being that the vanquished should serve the + victor. A thousand knights burned to accept the challenge, but Godfrey + named Tancred, who proudly buckled on his armor and called for his steed. + As he approached the field, he saw among the pagan hosts, who stood around + to view the combat, the fair face of Clorinda, and stood gazing at her, + forgetful of all else. Otho, seeing his delay, spurred on his horse, and + fought till vanquished. Then Tancred woke from his stupor, and, burning + with shame, rushed forward. The battle raged until night fell, and the + weary warriors ceased, pledging themselves to return on the morrow. + </p> + <p> + Erminia, shut up in Jerusalem, mourned over the wounds of Tancred. She + knew many healing balms, by which, were she with him, she might heal him + and make him ready for the morrow's fight; but she was forced to + administer them to his enemy instead. Unable to endure the suspense + longer, she put on her friend Clorinda's armor and fled to the Christian + camp to find her beloved. The Franks, who spied her, supposed her + Clorinda, and pursued her; but she succeeded in reaching a woodland + retreat, where she determined to remain with the kind old shepherd and his + wife who had fled from the disappointments of the court and had here + sought and found peace in their humble home. When Tancred heard from his + followers that they had driven Clorinda from the camps, he determined to + pursue and speak with her. Rising from his bed he sought the forest only + to fall into the wiles of Armida, and be lured into a castle, in whose + dungeon he lay, consumed with shame at the thought of his unexplained + absence from the morrow's combat. + </p> + <p> + When morning dawned and Tancred did not appear, the good old Count Raymond + went forth to meet Argantes. When he was about to overcome his antagonist, + an arrow shot from the pagan ranks brought on a general conflict, in which + the Christians were successful until a storm, summoned by the powers of + darkness, put an end to the battle. The next morning a knight came to the + camp of Godfrey to tell of Sweno's defeat and slaughter. He, the sole + survivor of the band, had been commissioned by some supernatural visitants + to bring Sweno's sword to Rinaldo. + </p> + <p> + While Godfrey's heart was wrung by this disaster, the camp of Italians, + led to suppose by some bloody armor found in a wood that Rinaldo had been + treacherously slain with the connivance of Godfrey, accused the chief and + stirred up the camp to revolt; but Godfrey, praying to Heaven for strength + to meet his enemies, walked through the camp firmly and unfalteringly, + unarmed and with head bare, his face still bright with the heavenly light + left there by spiritual communion, and silenced the tumult by a few + well-chosen words. His arch-accuser Argillan he sentenced to death; the + others crept back to their tents in shame. + </p> + <p> + The Soldan Solyman, driven from Nice at its capture, had joined the Turks, + and, spurred on by hate and fury, made a night attack on the Frankish + camp. The Franks, saved only by the interposition of the angel Michael, + and by the troops just returned, released from Armida's enchantment, + fought fiercely, and at dawn put Solyman to flight. By the arts of Ismeno + he was conveyed to Jerusalem by a secret way, where he cheered the + discouraged Aladine. + </p> + <p> + Before attempting to storm the city, the Christian troops, by the advice + of Peter the Hermit, walked in a long procession to Mt. Olivet, filling + the heavens with melody, and there partook of the communion administered + by the warrior priests, William and Ademar. The next morning, Godfrey, in + the light armor of a foot-soldier, appeared with his barons, prepared for + the storm. The troops were arranged carefully, the huge engines were moved + forward, and the Franks made a bold attempt against the walls, from the + top of which Clorinda aimed her arrows, wounding and slaying many men. + Godfrey himself was wounded, but was healed by divine aid, and immediately + returned to the field to rally his troops. Night fell, and the contest was + deferred until another day. + </p> + <p> + Clorinda, burning to distinguish herself, determined to fire the huge + towers of the Christians. Her eunuch tried to dissuade her because he had + been warned in a dream that she would this night meet her death. He told + her her history. Her mother was a Christian who had been compelled to put + her infant away from her. This eunuch had rescued her from death and + brought her up, failing, however, to obey an angel's command to have her + baptized a Christian. + </p> + <p> + Clorinda would not heed his caution, but went forth and fired the Frankish + machines. She and the fleeing pagans were pursued by the Christians; and + while her companions reached the city in safety, she was accidentally shut + out and met Tancred in mortal combat. She refused to tell her name until + she felt her death-wound, and then she prayed her enemy to baptize her, + that she might die a Christian. The broken-hearted Tancred fell fainting + on her corpse, and was found there the next morning by the Franks. Neither + his comrades, nor Godfrey and Peter the Hermit, were able to rouse him + from his melancholy. + </p> + <p> + Their machines destroyed, timbers were needed by the Franks to construct + new ones. Knowing this, Ismeno laid spells on the forest, so that the + warriors sent thither by Godfrey were frightened away by the sights they + saw therein. Even Tancred was put to flight when one of the demons took + the form of his beloved Clorinda. To add to the discomfort of the Franks, + excessive heat overpowered them, and they suffered tortures from lack of + water until the prayers of Godfrey moved the Ruler of the Earth with pity, + and He sent down the longed-for showers. + </p> + <p> + Delighted with the piety of Godfrey, the Great King sent him a dream by + which he might know the will of Heaven. Lifted through the whirling + spheres, his ears charmed with their music, his eyes dazzled by the + brilliancy of the stars, he saw Duke Hugo, who told him that Rinaldo must + be sought out before the conquest of Jerusalem could be accomplished. The + same Power influenced the princes in council so that by the will of all, + two knights, one of them him to whom Sweno's sword had been given, were + despatched to seek Rinaldo. Instructed by Peter the Hermit, they sought + the sea-coast, and found a wizard, who, after showing them the splendor of + his underground abode beneath the river's bed, revealed to them the way in + which they were to overcome the wiles of Armida. + </p> + <p> + A beautiful maid with dove-like eyes and radiant smile received them in + her small bark, and they were soon flying over the sea, marvelling at the + rich cities and vast fleets by which they passed. Leaving rich Cadiz and + the Pillars of Hercules, they sped out into the unknown sea, while the + maiden told them of how some day Columbus would venture into unknown seas + to find a new continent. On, on they flew, past the Happy Isles, the + Fortunate, long the song of the poet; where the olive and honey made happy + the land, and the rivers swept down from the mountains in silver + streamlets; where every bird-song was heavenly music, a place so divine + that there were placed of old the Elysian fields. To one of these islands + the lady steered, and the knights disembarked, and started on their + perilous journey up the mountain. Following the wizard's instructions, + they waved the golden rod at the monstrous serpents hissing in their + pathway, and they vanished; they steeled their hearts against the charms + of the voluptuous maids bathing in the lake, and passed without tasting + the fountain of laughter. Then the spacious palace met their eyes. Built + round a garden, its marble courts and unnumbered galleries formed a + trackless maze through which they could never have found their way without + the aid of the wizard's map. As they trod the marble floors they paused + many times to view the matchless carvings on the silver doors, which told + anew the beautiful old stories of love triumphant. + </p> + <p> + Once through the winding ways, they entered the wonderful garden which art + and nature combined to render the most beautiful spot on earth. The same + trees bore ripe fruit, buds, and blossoms; the birds sang joyfully in the + green bowers; and the faint breezes echoed their song. One bird sang a + song of love, and when the tender melody was done the other birds took it + up and sang until the forest rang with melody, and all was love, love, + love. Then the knights saw Rinaldo, lying in the grove, his head in the + lap of the enchantress. His sword was gone from his side, and in its place + hung a mirror in which he sometimes gazed at Armida's reflection. When + Armida left him alone for a few hours, the knights surprised Rinaldo, and + turned the wizard's diamond shield upon him. For the first time he saw + himself as others saw him, and, blushing with shame, announced himself + ready to return with them to rescue Jerusalem. Tearing off his ornaments, + he hastened down the mountain, but not soon enough to escape Armida. + Tears, prayers, threats she used in vain. She had captured him when he + fled from the camp, intending to slay him; but moved by his beauty, she + had spared him, and falling in love with him, had reared this palace that + they might in it revel in love's pleasures. Now, miserable, she saw him + desert her, and destroying the beautiful haunt, she drove her swift + chariot across the seas to the camp of the Egyptian king, who was + hastening towards Jerusalem. Intent on the slaughter of Rinaldo, her love + for whom had changed to bitter hate, she offered the warriors of the + Egyptian king, all of whom had fallen victims to her charms, her hand as a + reward to the slayer of Rinaldo. + </p> + <p> + When Rinaldo and his rescuers reached the abode of the wizard they found + him waiting with new arms for the young hero. The sage reproached him + gently for his dalliance, and then, seeing the blush of shame upon his + countenance, showed him the shield, which bore the illustrious deeds of + his ancestors of the house of Este. Great as were their past glories, + still greater would be those of the family which he should found, greatest + of whom would be the Duke Alphonso. + </p> + <p> + Rinaldo, having told his story to Godfrey, and confessed his wrong-doing + to Peter the Hermit, proceeded to the enchanted forest; and though as + beauteous scenes, and as voluptuous sirens displayed themselves to him as + dwelt in Armida's garden, yea, though one tree took the semblance of + Armida herself, he boldly hacked the trunk and broke the magic spell. + Joyfully the Franks set to work to fell the huge trees and construct + vaster, stronger engines than before, under the direction of a master + mechanic. At the same time, Vafrino, a cunning squire of Tancred, was + commissioned to go forth in disguise and inspect the camp of the coming + Egyptian king. Even before he departed, a carrier pigeon, driven back by a + hawk, fell into Godfrey's hands, bearing a message to Aladine from Egypt, + saying that in four or five days he would be with him in Jerusalem. + </p> + <p> + Godfrey, determined to take the city before that day should come, made the + utmost exertions to have the machines completed. In Jerusalem, also, great + preparations were made, machines built, and a fearful fire concocted by + Ismeno with which to drive the assaulters from the wall. + </p> + <p> + Shriven by the priests, the Christian army went forth to battle. Godfrey + took his stand against the northern gate; Raymond was assigned to the + steep sharp crags at the southwest walls, and Guelph and the two Roberts + were stationed on the track to Gaza to watch for the Egyptians. + </p> + <p> + The pagans fought with great fury, bringing out new instruments to oppose + the huge battering rams, raining down arrows, and throwing the suffocating + fire. But Rinaldo, to whom all this work appeared too slow, urged on his + bold Adventurers to form a tortoise, hastened to the wall, seized a + scaling ladder, and, unmoved by any missile, mounted the wall and assisted + his followers, in spite of the multitudes who surrounded him, attempting + to hurl him down. But as Godfrey advanced, Ismeno launched his terrible + fire-balls, more horrible than the flames of Mt. Etna; they affected even + the vast tower, swelling and drying the heavy skins that covered its sides + until protecting Heaven sent a breeze that drove the flames back to the + city. Ismeno, accompanied by two witches, hurried to the wall, but was + crushed by a stone that ground his and their bones to powder. Godfrey, + inspired by a vision of the slain soldiery fighting in his ranks, leaped + upon the wall and planted the red-cross flag. Raymond was also successful, + and the Christians rushed over the walls into the town, following Aladine, + who hastened to shut himself up in the citadel. + </p> + <p> + While the battle was raging, but success was assured to the Christians, + Tancred and the terrible Argantes met, and glad of an opportunity to + settle their quarrel, withdrew to a glade in the forest. Tancred, stung by + the taunts of cowardice for his former failure to keep his appointment, + fought bitterly. He had not the sheer strength of his antagonist, but his + sleight at last overcame, and Argantes fell. Weakened by pain and loss of + blood, Tancred fell senseless, and was thus found by Erminia, who had met + Vafrino the spy in the camp of the Egyptians and had fled with him. They + revived Tancred, and carried him home to be nursed by the delighted + Erminia. + </p> + <p> + Vafrino had seen Armida in the camp and had learned through Erminia not + only the princes' designs on Rinaldo, but also that they meant to assume + the signs of the red-cross knights and thus reach the neighborhood of + Godfrey and slay him. On this intelligence Godfrey changed the signs of + his men that they might recognize the Egyptians on the following day and + put them to death. + </p> + <p> + Terrible to the Franks was the sight of the Egyptian army when they opened + their eyes upon it next morning. Clouds of dust obscured all the heavens, + hills, and valleys, so great was the coming host. But Godfrey, with an + eloquence that fired each soul, told them of the helplessness of the + enemy, of how many of them were slaves, scourged to the battle, and + reminded them of the great undertaking before them, the saving of the + Sepulchre, until fired with zeal, and burning to fight, they rushed into + battle and dispersed the Egyptians. Many of the Christians fell by the + sword of the terrible Soldan, among them Gildippe and her husband, united + in death as in life. Rinaldo, hearing of their slaughter, speedily avenged + it by laying the Soldan low on the battle-field. + </p> + <p> + One after another of Armida's champions attacked Rinaldo, determined to + win the prize, but his good sword sent them to earth, and Armida was left + alone and unprotected. Rinaldo, having seen her fly away over the plain + and knowing the victory achieved, followed and found her ready to put + herself to death in a lonely glade. He snatched the sword from her hand + and speedily changed back her hate to love. She fell upon his breast, and + with the promise to become a Christian and give her life to him, + accompanied him back to the city. + </p> + <p> + During the battle, Aladine and those who were imprisoned in the citadel + overpowered Count Raymond, and rushed out to battle, only to be overcome + and slain. Prince Altamore, who, covered with blood, remained alone on the + field, yielded himself to Godfrey, and was given his life and his kingdom. + </p> + <p> + Then, from the field covered with spoil and floating with blood, the + conquering troops, clad in their bloody armor, marched in solemn cavalcade + to the Temple and paid their vowed devotions at the sacred tomb. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0096" id="link2H_4_0096"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTION FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + </h2> + <h3> + SOPHRONIA AND OLINDO. + </h3> + <p> + At the instigation of the wizard Ismeno, Aladine, king of Jerusalem, stole + an image of the Virgin from the temple of the Christians and put it in his + mosque in order to render the city impregnable. When morning dawned the + image was gone, and no search could reveal any clue to the theft. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + In every temple, hermitage, and hall, + A long and eager search the monarch made, + And tortures or rewards decreed to all + Who screened the guilty, or the guilt betrayed; + Nor ceased the Sorcerer to employ in aid + Of the inquiry all his arts, but still + Without success; for whether Heaven conveyed + The prize away, or power of human will, + Heaven close the secret kept, and shamed his vaunted skill. + + But when the king found all expedients vain + To trace th' offender, then, beyond disguise, + Flamed forth his hatred to the Christians; then, + Fed by wild jealousies and sharp surmise, + Immoderate fury sparkled in his eyes; + Follow what may, he will revenge the deed, + And wreak his rage: "Our wrath shall not," he cries, + "Fall void, but root up all th' accursed seed; + Thus in the general doom the guilty yet shall bleed! + + "So that he 'scapes not, let the guiltless die! + But wherefore thus of guiltlessness debate? + Each guilty is, nor 'mongst them all know I + One, well-affected to the faith and state; + And what if some be unparticipate + In this new crime, new punishment shall pay + For old misdeeds; why longer do ye wait, + My faithful Mussulmans? up! up! away! + Hence with the torch and sword: seize, fire, lay waste, and slay!" + + Thus to the crowd he spake, the mandate flew, + And in the bosoms of the Faithful shed + Astonishment and stupor; stupor threw + On every face the paleness of the dead; + None dared, none sought to make defence; none fled, + None used entreaty, none excuse; but there + They stood, like marble monuments of dread, + Irresolute,—but Heaven conceived their prayer, + And whence they least had hope, brought hope to their despair. + + Of generous thoughts and principles sublime + Amongst them in the city lived a maid, + The flower of virgins in her ripest prime, + Supremely beautiful! but that she made + Never her care, or beauty only weighed + In worth with virtue; and her worth acquired + A deeper charm from blooming in the shade; + Lovers she shunned, nor loved to be admired, + But from their praises turned, and lived a life retired. + + Yet could not this coy secrecy prevent + Th' admiring gaze and warm desires of one + Tutored by Love, nor yet would Love consent + To hide such lustrous beauty from the sun; + Love! that through every change delight'st to run, + The Proteus of the heart I who now dost blind, + Now roll the Argus eyes that nought can shun! + Thou through a thousand guards unseen dost wind, + And to the chastest maids familiar access find. + + Sophronia hers, Olindo was his name; + Born in one town, by one pure faith illumed; + Modest—as she was beautiful, his flame + Feared much, hoped little, and in nought presumed; + He could not, or he durst not speak, but doomed + To voiceless thought his passion; him she slighted, + Saw not, or would not see; thus he consumed + Beneath the vivid fire her beauty lighted; + Either not seen ill known, or, known, but ill requited. + + And thus it was, when like an omen drear + That summoned all her kindred to the grave, + The cruel mandate reached Sophronia's ear, + Who, brave as bashful, yet discreet as brave, + Mused how her people she from death might save; + Courage inspired, but virginal alarm + Repressed the thought, till maiden shyness gave + Place to resolve, or joined to share the harm; + Boldness awoke her shame, shame made her boldness charm. + + Alone amidst the crowd the maid proceeds, + Nor seeks to hide her beauty, nor display; + Downcast her eyes, close veiled in simple weeds, + With coy and graceful steps she wins her way: + So negligently neat, one scarce can say + If she her charms disdains, or would improve,— + If chance or taste disposes her array; + Neglects like hers, if artifices, prove + Arts of the friendly Heavens, of Nature, and of Love. + + All, as she passed unheeding, all, admire + The noble maid; before the king she stood; + Not for his angry frown did she retire, + But his indignant aspect coolly viewed: + "To give,"—she said, "but calm thy wrathful mood, + And check the tide of slaughter in its spring,— + To give account of that thou hast pursued + So long in vain, seek I thy face, O king! + The urged offence I own, the doomed offender bring!" + + The modest warmth, the unexpected light + Of high and holy beauty, for a space + O'erpowered him,—conquered of his fell despite, + He stood, and of all fierceness lost the trace. + Were his a spirit, or were hers a face + Of less severity, the sweet surprise + Had melted him to love; but stubborn grace + Subdues not stubborn pride; Love's potent ties + Are flattering fond regards, kind looks, and smiling eyes. + + If 't were not Love that touched his flinty soul, + Desire it was, 't was wonder, 't was delight: + "Safe be thy race!" he said, "reveal the whole, + And not a sword shall on thy people light." + Then she: "The guilty is before thy sight,— + The pious robbery was my deed; these hands + Bore the blest Image from its cell by night; + The criminal thou seek'st before thee stands,— + Justice from none but me her penalty demands." + + Thus she prepares a public death to meet, + A people's ransom at a tyrant's shrine: + Oh glorious falsehood! beautiful deceit! + Can Truth's own light thy loveliness outshine? + To her bold speech misdoubting Aladine + With unaccustomed temper calm replied: + "If so it were, who planned the rash design, + Advised thee to it, or became thy guide? + Say, with thyself who else his ill-timed zeal allied?" + + "Of this my glory not the slightest part + Would I," said she, "with one confederate share; + I needed no adviser; my full heart + Alone sufficed to counsel, guide and dare." + "If so," he cried, "then none but thou must bear + The weight of my resentment, and atone + For the misdeed." "Since it has been my care," + She said, "the glory to enjoy alone, + 'T is just none share the pain; it should be all mine own." + + To this the tyrant, now incensed, returned, + "Where rests the Image?" and his face became + Dark with resentment: she replied, "I burned + The holy Image in the holy flame, + And deemed it glory; thus at least no shame + Can e'er again profane it—it is free + From farther violation: dost thou claim + The spoil or spoiler? this behold in me; + But that, whilst time rolls round, thou never more shall see. + + "Albeit no spoiler I; it was no wrong + To repossess what was by force obtained:" + At this the tyrant loosed his threatening tongue, + Long-stifled passion raging unrestrained: + No longer hope that pardon may be gained, + Beautiful face, high spirit, bashful heart! + Vainly would Love, since mercy is disdained, + And Anger flings his most envenomed dart, + In aid of you his else protecting shield impart! + + Doomed in tormenting fire to die, they lay + Hands on the maid; her arms with rough cords twining. + Rudely her mantle chaste they tear away, + And the white veil that o'er her drooped declining: + This she endured in silence unrepining, + Yet her firm breast some virgin tremors shook; + And her warm cheek, Aurora's late outshining, + Waned into whiteness, and a color took, + Like that of the pale rose, or lily of the brook. + + The crowd collect; the sentence is divulged; + With them Olindo comes, by pity swayed; + It might be that the youth the thought indulged, + What if his own Sophronia were the maid! + There stand the busy officers arrayed + For the last act, here swift the flames arise; + But when the pinioned beauty stands displayed + To the full gaze of his inquiring eyes,— + '<i>T is</i> she! he bursts through all, the crowd before him flies. + + Aloud he cries: "To her, oh not to her + The crime belongs, though frenzy may misplead! + She planned not, dared not, could not, king, incur + Sole and unskilled the guilt of such a deed! + How lull the guards, or by what process speed + The sacred Image from its vaulted cell? + The theft was mine! and 't is my right to bleed!" + Alas for him! how wildly and how well + He loved the unloving maid, let this avowal tell. + + "I marked where your high Mosque receives the air + And light of heaven; I climbed the dizzy steep; + I reached a narrow opening; entered there, + And stole the Saint whilst all were hushed in sleep: + Mine was the crime, and shall another reap + The pain and glory? Grant not her desire! + The chains are mine; for me the guards may heap + Around the ready stake the penal fire; + For me the flames ascend; 't is mine, that funeral pyre!" + + Sophronia raised to him her face,—her eye + Was filled with pity and a starting tear: + She spoke—the soul of sad humanity + Was in her voice, "What frenzy brings thee here, + Unhappy innocent! is death so dear, + Or am I so ill able to sustain + A mortal's wrath, that thou must needs appear? + I have a heart, too, that can death disdain, + Nor ask for life's last hour companionship in pain." + + Thus she appeals to him; but scorning life, + His settled soul refuses to retreat: + Oh glorious scene, where in sublimest strife + High-minded Virtue and Affection meet! + Where death's the prize of conquest, and defeat + Seals its own safety, yet remains unblest! + But indignation at their fond deceit, + And rage, the more inflames the tyrant's breast, + The more this constant pair the palm of guilt contest. + + He deems his power despised, and that in scorn + Of him they spurn the punishment assigned: + "Let," he exclaimed, "the fitting palm adorn + The brows of both! both pleas acceptance find!" + Beckoning he bids the prompt tormentors bind + Their galling chains around the youth—'t is done; + Both to one stake are, back to back, consigned, + Like sunflowers twisted from their worshipped sun, + Compelled the last fond looks of sympathy to shun. + + Around them now the unctuous pyre was piled, + And the fanned flame was rising in the wind, + When, full of mournful thoughts, in accents wild, + The lover to his mate in death repined: + "Is this the bond, then, which I hoped should bind + Our lives in blissful marriage? this the fire + Of bridal faith, commingling mind with mind, + Which, I believed, should in our hearts inspire + Like warmth of sacred zeal and delicate desire? + + "For other flames Love promised to impart, + Than those our envious planets here prepare; + Too, ah too long they kept our hands apart, + But harshly now they join them in despair! + Yet does it soothe, since by a mode so rare + Condemned to die, thy torments to partake, + Forbid by fate thy sweetnesses to share; + If tears I shed, 't is but for thy dear sake, + Not mine,—with thee beside, I bless the burning stake! + + "And oh! this doom would be indeed most blest, + My sharpest sufferings blandishments divine, + Might I but be permitted, breast to breast, + On thy sweet lips my spirit to resign; + If thou too, panting toward one common shrine, + Wouldst the next happy instant parting spend + Thy latest sighs in sympathy on mine!" + Sorrowing he spake; she, when his plaints had end, + Did thus his fond discourse most sweetly reprehend. + + "Far other aspirations, other plaints + Than these, dear friend, the solemn hour should claim. + Think what reward God offers to his saints; + Let meek repentance raise a loftier aim: + These torturing fires, if suffered in his name, + Will, bland as zephyrs, waft us to the blest; + Regard the sun, how beautiful his flame! + How fine a sky invites him to the west! + These seem to soothe our pangs, and summon us to rest." + + The Pagans lifting up their voices, wept; + In stifled sorrow wept the Faithful too; + E'en the stern king was touched,—a softness crept + O'er his fierce heart, ennobling, pure, and new; + He felt, he scorned it, struggled to subdue, + And lest his wavering firmness should relent, + His eyes averted, and his steps withdrew; + Sophronia's spirit only was unbent; + She yet lamented not, for whom all else lament. + + In midst of their distress, a knight behold, + (So would it seem) of princely port! whose vest + And arms of curious fashion, grained with gold, + Bespeak some foreign and distinguished guest; + The silver tigress on the helm impressed, + Which for a badge is borne, attracts all eyes,— + A noted cognizance, th' accustomed crest + Used by Clorinda, whence conjectures rise, + Herself the stranger is,—nor false is their surmise. + + All feminine attractions, aims, and parts, + She from her childhood cared not to assume; + Her haughty hand disdained all servile arts, + The needle, distaff, and Arachne's loom; + Yet, though she left the gay and gilded room + For the free camp, kept spotless as the light + Her virgin fame, and proud of glory's plume, + With pride her aspect armed, she took delight + Stern to appear, and stern, she charmed the gazer's sight. + + Whilst yet a girl, she with her little hand + Lashed and reined in the rapid steed she raced, + Tossed the huge javelin, wrestled on the sand, + And by gymnastic toils her sinews braced; + Then through the devious wood and mountain-waste + Tracked the struck lion to his entered den, + Or in fierce wars a nobler quarry chased; + And thus in fighting field and forest glen, + A man to savage beasts, a savage seemed to men. + + From Persia now she comes, with all her skill + The Christians to resist, though oft has she + Strewed with their blood the field, till scarce a rill + Remained, that ran not purple to the sea. + Here now arrived, the dreadful pageantry + Of death presents itself,—the crowd—the pyre— + And the bound pair; solicitous to see, + And know what crime condemns them to the fire, + Forward she spurs her steed and hastens to inquire. + + The throng falls back, and she awhile remains, + The fettered pair more closely to survey; + One she sees silent, one she sees complains, + The stronger spirit nerves the weaker prey; + She sees him mourn like one whom the sad sway + Of powerful pity doth to tears chastise, + Not grief, or grief not for himself; but aye + Mute kneels the maid, her blue beseeching eyes + So fixed on heaven, she seems in heaven ere yet she dies. + + Clorinda melts, and with them both condoles; + Some tears she sheds, but greater tenderness + Feels for her grief who most her grief controls,— + The silence moves her much, the weeping less; + No longer now does she delay to press + For information; turning towards one + Of reverend years, she said with eagerness, + "Who are they? speak! and oh, what crime has won + This death? in Mercy's name, declare the deed they've done!" + + Thus she entreats; a brief reply he gives, + But such as well explains the whole event: + Amazed she heard it, and as soon conceives + That they are both sincerely innocent; + Her heart is for them, she is wholly bent + To avert their fate, if either arms can aid, + Or earnest prayers secure the king's consent; + The fire she nears, commands it to be stayed, + That now approached them fast, and to th' attendants said: + + "Let none of you presume to prosecute + Your barbarous office, till the king I see; + My word I pledge that at Clorinda's suit, + Your fault he will forgive, if fault it be." + Moved by her speech and queenlike dignity + The guards obey, and she departs in quest + Of the stern monarch, urgent of her plea: + Midway they met; the monarch she addressed + And in this skilful mode her generous purpose pressed. + + "I am Clorinda; thou wilt know perchance + The name, from vague remembrance or renown; + And here I come to save with sword and lance + Our common Faith, and thy endangered crown, + Impose the labor, lay th' adventure down, + Sublime, I fear it not, nor low despise; + In open field or in the straitened town, + Prepared I stand for every enterprise, + Where'er the danger calls, where'er the labor lies!" + + "'T would be assuredly a thing most rare, + If the reward the service should precede; + But of thy bounty confident, I dare + For future toils solicit, as my meed, + Yon lovers' pardon; since the charge indeed + Rests on no evidence, 't was hard to press + The point at all, but this I waive, nor plead + On those sure signs which, urged, thou must confess + Their hands quite free from crime, or own their guilt far less. + + "Yet will I say, though here the common mind + Condemns the Christians of the theft, for me, + Sufficient reasons in mine own I find + To doubt, dispute, disparage the decree; + To set their idols in our sanctuary + Was an irreverence to our laws, howe'er + Urged by the sorcerer; should the Prophet see + E'en idols of our own established there? + Much less then those of men whose lips his faith forswear: + + "The Christian statue ravished from your sight + To Allah therefore rather I impute, + In sign that he will let no foreign rite + Of superstition his pure place pollute: + Spells and enchantments may Ismeno suit, + Leave him to use such weapons at his will; + But shall we warriors by a wand dispute? + No! no! our talisman, our hope, our skill, + Lie in our swords alone, and they shall serve us still!" + + She ceased; and he, though mercy could with pain + Subdue a heart so full of rage and pride, + Relents, her reasons move, her prayers constrain.— + Such intercessor must not be denied; + Thus, though reluctant, he at length complied: + "The plea for the fair pleader I receive; + I can refuse thee nothing; this," he cried, + "May justice be or mercy,—let them live; + Guiltless—I set them free, or guilty I forgive!" + + Restored to life and liberty, how blest. + How truly blest was young Olindo's fate! + For sweet Sophronia's blushes might attest, + That Love at length has touched her delicate + And generous bosom; from the stake in state + They to the altar pass; severely tried, + In doom and love, already made his mate, + She now objects not to become his bride. + And grateful live with him who would for her have died. + + <i>Wiffen's Translation, Canto</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0097" id="link2H_4_0097"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PARADISE LOST. + </h2> + <p> + Paradise Lost was written by John Milton, who was born in London, Dec. 9, + 1608, and died Nov. 8, 1674. After leaving college, he spent five years in + study at home, during which time he wrote L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, + Arcades, Comus, and Lycidas. In 1638 he travelled on the continent and in + Italy, where he met Galileo. He hastened home in 1639 on account of the + political disturbances in England, and espousing the Puritan cause, + devoted the next twenty years of his life to the writing of pamphlets in + its defence. In 1649 he was appointed Latin Secretary under Cromwell. In + 1652 he lost his sight in consequence of overwork. At the age of + twenty-nine, Milton had decided to make an epic poem his life work, and + had noted many historical subjects. By 1641 he had decided on a Biblical + subject. He had probably conceived Paradise Lost at the age of thirty-two, + although the poem was not composed until he was over fifty. It was written + after his blindness and dictated in small portions to various persons, the + work being collected and revised by Milton and Aubrey Phillips. It was + completed, according to the authority of Phillips, in 1663, but on account + of the Plague and the Great Fire, it was not published until 1667. + </p> + <p> + Paradise Lost is divided into twelve books and is written, to use Milton's + own words, "In English heroic verse without rhyme, as that of Homer in + Greek and of Virgil in Latin, rhyme being no necessary adjunct or true + ornament of poem or good verse." + </p> + <p> + Paradise Lost was neglected until the time of the Whig supremacy in + England. In 1688 Lord Somers, the Whig leader, published an <i>édition de + luxe</i> of the poem; Addison's papers on it, in 1712, increased its + popularity, and through the influence of the Whigs a bust of the poet was + placed in Westminster Abbey in 1737. + </p> + <p> + There is no better proof of the greatness of Paradise Lost than the way in + which it has survived hostile criticism. It has been criticised for the + lengthy conversations and "arguments" of its characters; for its + materialization of the Divine Being; because of its subject; because of + Milton's vagueness of description of things awesome and terrible, in + comparison with Dante's minute descriptions. But the earnest spirit in + which it was conceived and written; the subject, giving it a "higher + argument" than any merely national epic, even though many of Milton's, and + his age's, special beliefs are things of the past, and its lofty and + poetical style, have rendered unassailable its rank among the noblest of + the epics. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL16" id="link2H_BIBL16"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE LOST. + </h2> + <p> + Joseph Addison's Notes upon the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost; by Albert + S. Cook, 1892. (In the Spectator from Dec. 31, 1711-May 3, 1712); + </p> + <p> + Samuel Austin Allibone's Dictionary of Authors, 1891, vol. ii., pp. + 1301-1311; + </p> + <p> + Matthew Arnold's A French Critic on Milton (see his Mixed Essays, 1880, + pp. 260-273); + </p> + <p> + Walter Bagehot's Literary Studies, by Richard Holt Hutton, 1879, vol. i., + 202-219; + </p> + <p> + Richard Bentley's Emendations on the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost, 1732; + </p> + <p> + E. H. Bickersteth's Milton's Paradise Lost, 1876. (St. James Lectures, 2d + series. Another edition, 1877); + </p> + <p> + Hugh Blair's Paradise Lost (see his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles + Lettres, 1783, vol. ii., 471-476); + </p> + <p> + Miss Christian Cann's A Scriptural and Allegorical Glossary to Paradise + Lost, 1828; + </p> + <p> + Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical + Works, 1867; + </p> + <p> + Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Lectures and Notes on Shakespeare and other + English Poets collected by T. Ashe, 1893, pp. 518-529; + </p> + <p> + William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their lives and times etc., 1879; + </p> + <p> + Charles Eyre's Fall of Adam, from Milton's Paradise Lost, 1852; + </p> + <p> + George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 17-25; + </p> + <p> + S. Humphreys Gurteen's The Epic of the Fall of Man; a comparative Study of + Caedmon, Dante, and Milton, 1896; + </p> + <p> + William Hazlitt On the Character of Milton's Eve (see his Round Table ed. + by W. Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 150-158); + </p> + <p> + William Hazlitt On Milton's Versification (see his Round Table, ed. by W. + Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 51-57); + </p> + <p> + John A. Himes's Study of Milton's Paradise Lost, 1878; + </p> + <p> + Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets; ed. by Mrs. Alexander + Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + </p> + <p> + Thomas Keightley's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his An account of + the Life, Opinions, and Writings of John Milton, 1855, pp. 397-484); + </p> + <p> + Walter Savage Landor's Imaginary Conversations, Southey and Landor, 1853, + vol. ii., 57-74, 156-159; + </p> + <p> + Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical + Essays, ed. 10, 1860, vol. i., pp. 1-61); + </p> + <p> + William Massey's Remarks upon Milton's Paradise Lost, 1761; + </p> + <p> + David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his edition of Milton's + Poetical Works, 1893, vol. ii., pp. 1-57); + </p> + <p> + David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 505-558, 621-636; + </p> + <p> + David Masson's Three Devils (Luther's, Goethe's, and Milton's), (see his + Three Devils and other Essays, 1874); + </p> + <p> + James Peterson's A complete Commentary on Paradise Lost, 1744; + </p> + <p> + Jonathan Richardson's Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Paradise Lost, + 1734; + </p> + <p> + Edmond Scherer's Milton and Paradise Lost (see his essays on English + Literature; Tr. by George Saintsbury, 1891, pp. 134-149); + </p> + <p> + John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures + and Essays), 1871, pp. 142-152; + </p> + <p> + First Edition of Paradise Lost, Book Lore, 1886, iii., 72-75; + </p> + <p> + J. A. Himes's Cosmology of Paradise Lost, Lutheran Quarterly, 1876, vi., + 187-204; + </p> + <p> + J. A. Himes's Plan of Paradise Lost, New Englander, 1883, xlii., 196-211; + </p> + <p> + Satan of Milton and the Lucifer of Byron compared, Knickerbocker, 1847, + xxx., 150-155; + </p> + <p> + Satan of Paradise Lost, Dublin University Magazine, 1876, lxxxviii., + 707-714; + </p> + <p> + Augustine Birrell's Obiter Dicta (2d series 1887, pp. 42-51); + </p> + <p> + Isaac Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature; Bentley's Milton, 1867, pp. + 138-139; + </p> + <p> + Henry Hallam's Literary History of Europe, 1873, ed. 5, vol. iii., pp. + 475-483; + </p> + <p> + Mark Pattison's John Milton, n. d. (English Men of Letters Series); + </p> + <p> + H. A. Taine's History of English Literature; Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, + vol. ii., pp. 106-124. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0099" id="link2H_4_0099"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF PARADISE LOST. + </h2> + <p> + When that bright spirit, afterwards known as Satan, rose in rebellion + against the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, presumptuously thinking + himself equal to him in strength and following, he was overthrown by the + Great Power and cast with his followers out of Heaven down to his future + dwelling, flaming Hell. + </p> + <p> + Nine days he and his horrid crew fell through Chaos into the flaming pit + yawning to receive them, and there lay for nine days,—rendered still + more miserable by the thought of their immortality and the eternal bliss + they had forfeited. Then Satan, rousing himself from the stupor consequent + upon the fall, half rose and addressed the next in power to himself, + Beelzebub. + </p> + <p> + "Thou art the same, yet not the same," said he; "changed, lost is some of + thy former brightness. Yet why repine? While we live, while we have so + large a following, all is not lost. Our hate still lives, and have we but + strength enough, we may still revenge ourselves upon him who thrust us + into this accursed place." + </p> + <p> + Rising from the lake, his great shield slung over his shoulders, the + unconquered archangel walked over the burning marl to the beach of that + fiery sea, and there with chiding words addressed the legions strewn + around him. The great army rose hastily at the voice of its chief and + passed before him, spirits whose heavenly names were now forever lost, who + later became the gods of the idolaters. There was mighty Moloch, Chemos, + those who later went by the general names of Baalim and Ashtaroth,—Thammuz, + Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Orus and their train, Belial, and last of + all, the Ionian gods. + </p> + <p> + His despair in part dissipated by the sight of this heroic array, their + prince, towering high above all, addressed them. No one had foreseen the + calamity that had overtaken them. Who could have guessed the power of the + Almighty? But though overthrown they were not totally defeated. A rumor + had long since been rife of the creation of another world with which they + could interfere. At any rate, there must never be peace between them and + the heavenly Powers. War there must be, war in secret, or war waged + openly. As he ended, shield clashed against shield, and swords, quickly + drawn, flashed before his eyes, and loud cries hurled defiance to Heaven. + </p> + <p> + The legions, led by Mammon, who in Heaven had been an honored architect, + sought a hill near by, and quickly emptying it of its rich store of gold + and jewels, built a massive structure. Like a temple in form was it, and + round about it stood Doric columns overlaid with gold. No king of any + future state could boast of a grander hall than this palace of Pandemonium + which was so quickly reared upon a hill in Hell, and to which the heralds' + trumpets now summoned all the host. + </p> + <p> + On the massive throne, blazing with jewels, sat the fallen spirit, and + thus addressed his followers: "Our success is sure in whatever we + undertake. We shall never be riven with internecine warfare, for surely no + one will quarrel over precedence in Hell. Therefore, united, we can, sure + of our success, debate of the way in which we shall take up our warfare + with the powers that have overthrown us." + </p> + <p> + Moloch, Belial, Mammon, and Beelzebub spoke. Moloch was in favor of open + war, since nothing could be worse than Hell, and continued assault against + the Most High would, in annoying him, be a sweet revenge. Belial, who + though timorous and slothful, was a persuasive orator, denounced Moloch's + plan. Since the ruler of Heaven was all-powerful, and they immortal, no + one knew to what greater misery he could push them; perhaps he would bury + them in boiling pitch to eternity, or inflict a thousand undreamed-of + tortures. War, open and secret, he disliked, since it was impossible to + conceal aught from the eye of the Most High. To make the best of Hell + seemed all that was possible; in time they might become inured to its + flames and better days might come, if they but accepted their doom + patiently. + </p> + <p> + Mammon also considered war impossible. They could never hope to overcome + the Almighty; neither could they hope nor wish for a reconciliation, for + how hateful would be an eternity spent in cringing to one whom they hated. + The desert soil of Hell teemed with riches, they could find peaceful + pursuits, and it was his advice to continue there in quiet, untroubled by + any thoughts of revenge. + </p> + <p> + Amid the murmur of applause that followed Mammon's speech, Beelzebub, than + whom none towered higher save Satan, arose, his face grave, his attitude + majestic. "Would you, Thrones and Imperial Powers," he cried, "think to + build up a kingdom here, secure from the arm of Heaven? Have you so soon + forgotten that this is not a kingdom ceded to you by the Most High, but a + dungeon in which he has shut you for your everlasting punishment? Never + will he forget that you are his prisoners; your lot will not be peace, but + custody and stripes. What return can we make, then, but to think out some + slow but sure and sweet revenge? It is not necessary to attempt to scale + the walls of Heaven. Other things remain. There is this new world, his + plaything. It may lie exposed, and we can at least make the attempt to + seize it and lay it waste, and thus vex him." As he saw their eyes + sparkle, he continued: "We may in this attempt come near to the steps of + our old abode and breathe again its delicious airs instead of these + hellish flames. But first we must find some one, strong, wary, and + watchful, to send in search of it." + </p> + <p> + Satan strode forth, his courage and his consciousness of it making his + face shine with transcendent glory. "Long is the way and hard; its dangers + unknown and terrible, but I should be a poor sovereign did I hesitate in + the attempt to seek it out. I do not refuse the sovereignty, for I fear + not to accept as great a share of hazard as of honor. Stay here; charm + away your time, and I will seek deliverance abroad for all of us." + </p> + <p> + As he spoke he rose to depart, fearful lest others might now offer to go + and share the glory with him. + </p> + <p> + The legions rose with a sound like thunder, bowed in deepest reverence and + went forth, some, to explore their dismal abode, others to amuse + themselves at games, others to discuss Free Will and Fate, while their + leader pursued his way toward the gate of Hell. + </p> + <p> + The nine-fold gates were of brass, iron, and adamantine rock, reaching + high to the mighty roof, and most horrible were the Shapes that guarded + it. + </p> + <p> + On one side sat a creature, woman to the waist, below, a serpent, + surrounded by a crew of hell hounds, forever barking and then seeking + refuge within her. On the other, a Shape, black, fierce, terrible, crowned + with the likeness of a kingly crown, and shaking in its hands a dreadful + dart. As he strode, Hell trembled. Satan, undaunted, met him with fierce + words. As the two stood, their lances pointed at each other, the woman + shrieked and ran between them. + </p> + <p> + "Father, rush not upon thy son! Son, raise not thy hand against thy + father!" She then explained that she was Satan's daughter, Sin, who had + sprung from his head full grown, and that she later became by him the + mother of the creature called Death who sat with her to guard the gates. + </p> + <p> + Satan at once unfolded to them his plan of seeking the new world and + making a happy home for both Sin and Death, where they could forever find + food to gratify their hideous cravings. Charmed by his highly-colored + pictures, and forgetful of the commands from above, Sin opened the mighty + doors, so that the flames of Hell spread far out into Chaos, but her + strength failed her when she attempted to close them again. + </p> + <p> + For a moment Satan looked out into the mixture of Hot and Cold and Moist + and Dry that formed Chaos, and then started forth, now rising, now + falling, his wings heavy with the dense masses, now wading, now creeping, + until at last he reached the spot where was fixed the throne of Chaos and + of Night. Here Satan learned of the situation of the new world and soon + caught a glimpse of it, hanging like a star, by a golden chain, from + Heaven. + </p> + <p> + Sitting in Heaven, high throned above all, God, all-seeing, all-knowing, + was conscious of Satan's escape from Hell and his approach to the new + world. To his Son, sitting on his right hand, he pointed out the fallen + spirit. "No prescribed bounds can shut our Adversary in; nor can the + chains of hell hold him. To our new world he goes, and there, by no fault + of mine, will pervert man, whom I have placed therein, with a free will; + so to remain until he enthralls himself. Man will fall as did Satan, but + as Satan was self-tempted, and man will be deceived by another, the latter + shall find grace where his tempter did not." + </p> + <p> + Great was the joy of the Son when he learned that man would receive mercy + for his transgression. "Pardon and mercy he shall receive," declared the + Father, "but some one must be willing to expiate his sin for him; the just + must die for the unjust. Who in Heaven is willing to make the sacrifice?" + </p> + <p> + For a moment all the Heavenly quire stood mute; then the Son of God spoke + and implored his Father to let his anger fall on him, since he could not + wholly die, but could arise from death and subdue his vanquisher. + </p> + <p> + When his Father accepted the sacrifice, and named him Son of God and Man + who should hereafter be Universal King, Ruler of Heaven and Earth, Heaven + rang with the shouts of the Angels, who, casting down their amaranthine + wreaths until the golden pavement was covered with the garlands, took + their golden harps and sang the praises of the Father and the Son. + </p> + <p> + While they sang, Satan walked over the vast globe on which he had + alighted, through what in after years, when the world was peopled, was to + be the Paradise of Fools, the spot to which the spirits of all things + transitory and vain, of those who had worked for their reward in life + instead of in Heaven, would come. He walked around the dark globe until, + directed by a gleam of light, he found the spot where a ladder led up to + Heaven. Just below it, down through the spheres, was the seat of Paradise + to which he was bending his way. + </p> + <p> + Down through the crystal spheres he bent his way toward the Sun, which + attracted him by its superior splendor. Espying Uriel, the Angel of the + Sun, he quickly took the form of a youthful Cherub, and, approaching + Uriel, told him that having heard of the new world he had been seized by a + longing to quit the bands of Cherubim and see for himself the wonderful + work of the Creator. + </p> + <p> + Directed by the unsuspecting Uriel, Satan sped downward and standing upon + the top of Niphates, surveyed Eden. + </p> + <p> + As he looked, his spirit was troubled. He had brought Hell with him, and + his unhappy thoughts boiled and surged in his troubled mind. "Sun, I hate + thee, because thy beams recall to me what I was and how I fell. The + matchless King of Heaven deserved no such return from me. His service was + easy. Had I only been created a lower Power!—But even then, might + not some higher one have led me into temptation? What shall I do, whither + shall I fly, to escape infinite wrath, and infinite despair? Hell is + around me, I myself am Hell! There is no hope for me. Submission is the + only way left, and I could not unsay what I have said; I could never + bridge the gulf made by my revolt. Farewell to remorse! Good is forever + lost to me, and I must now make Evil my good. I can at least divide the + empire of the world with the King of Heaven." + </p> + <p> + As he realized how his bitter thoughts had dimmed his countenance he + smoothed it over with outward calm, but not before Uriel, from the Sun, + had noted and wondered over his strange gestures. + </p> + <p> + Leaping over the high natural walls of Paradise, Satan, in the form of a + cormorant, perched himself on the Tree of Life. Beautiful was the scene + before him. All the trees and plants were of the noblest kind. In the + midst of them stood the Tree of Life with its golden fruit, and not far + off the Tree of Knowledge. Southward through Eden ran a river, which, + passing under a huge hill, emerged into four great streams wandering + through many afterwards famous realms. Between the rows of trees stretched + level lawns where grazed the happy flocks, and over the green mead were + sprinkled flowers of every hue. No fairer scene ever met living eyes, and + fairest of all were the two stately forms, in whose looks shone the + divinity of their Maker. Hand in hand they passed through the garden, + refreshed themselves with the delicious fruits, and were happy in each + other. + </p> + <p> + As he gazed on them while the animals fell asleep and the sun sank below + the horizon, Satan, still torn with conflicting emotions, ruminated over + the unhappiness he was to bring the lovely pair. He admired them, he could + love them; they had not harmed him, but he must bring unhappiness upon + them because of their likeness to their Creator. Through them only could + he obtain his longed-for revenge. + </p> + <p> + Anxious to learn where to attack them, he prowled about them, now as a + lion, now as a tiger, listening to their conversation. They spoke of their + garden, of the Tree of Life, and of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. "In + the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die," had been their warning. Eve + recalled the day of her creation, when she had first fled from Adam, and + then yielded to his embraces, and Satan, watching their caresses, envied + and hardened his heart. "Live while ye may!" he muttered. "Soon will I + return and offer you new woes for your present pleasures." + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, Gabriel, warned by Uriel, who suspected that an evil + spirit had crept into Paradise, had set watches around the garden. + Ithuriel and Zephon, sent to search for him, spied Satan in the form of a + toad, sitting near the ear of Eve, tainting her dreams with foul whispers. + Touched by Ithuriel's spear, he was forced to resume his own shape and was + taken to Gabriel. The angry Satan attempted to use force, but warned by a + sign from Heaven that his strength was insufficient, fled, murmuring, + through the night. + </p> + <p> + When morning dawned on Eden, a morn of unimaginable beauty, Adam waked Eve + from her restless slumbers, and heard her troubled dreams, in which she + had been tempted to taste of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He + comforted her, and after their morning hymn, in which they glorified their + Creator, they set about their pleasant work of pruning the too luxuriant + vines of their Paradise. In the mean time, the Father above, knowing the + design of Satan, and determined that man should not fall without warning, + sent Raphael down to Adam to tell him that he was threatened by an enemy, + and that, as a free agent, if he fell, his sin would be upon his own head. + </p> + <p> + Six-winged Raphael swept down through the spheres and stood in Paradise, + welcomed by Adam. Eve hastened to set before their guest every delicacy + that Eden knew, and while she was preparing these Adam listened to the + Angel's warning. + </p> + <p> + To emphasize the sin of disobedience, Raphael related to the pair the + story of Satan's conspiracy with the other powers because the Father had + proclaimed the power of his Son. The Father, knowing Satan's confidence in + himself, had allowed him for two days to fight an equal number of his + legions of angels, among whom was Abdiel who had fled, indignant, from + Satan's ranks, and on the third day, when the legions of evil lay crushed + beneath the mountains which the shining angels had heaped upon them, the + Son of God drove forth in his chariot, and single-handed, forced them + before him, terror-stricken, until, Heaven's wall having opened, they fell + downward for nine days, in horror and confusion into the depths of Hell. + The Messiah, returning home in triumph in his chariot, was welcomed by the + bright orders into the home of his Father. + </p> + <p> + Delighted by the recital of Raphael, Adam asked him to relate the story of + the Creation, and explain to him the motion of the celestial bodies. He + then told Raphael of his own creation; how he awoke as from a sleep and + found the Sun above him and around him the pleasant groves of Paradise; + how he named the animals as they passed before him, according to the will + of God, and how he had pleaded with his Maker for a companion and equal, + until the Creator, casting him into a sound sleep, took from his side a + rib and formed from it his beauteous Eve. As Adam concluded, the setting + sun warned Raphael to depart. + </p> + <p> + Satan, after fleeing from Gabriel, had hidden in the dark parts of the + earth, so that he could creep in at night unseen of Uriel. After the + eighth night, he crept in past the watchful Cherubim, and stealing into + Paradise, wrapped in the mist rising over the river that, shooting + underground, rose up as a fountain near the Tree of Life, he crept, though + not without loathing, into the serpent, in which form he could best evade + the watchful eyes of the heavenly guards and accomplish his purpose. + </p> + <p> + When morning dawned, Eve asked Adam for once to permit her to work alone, + so that they might accomplish more. Adam, who constantly desired her + presence, prayed her to remain, warning her of the enemy of whom Raphael + had spoken, and telling her that they could resist temptation more easily + together than when separated. But Eve was obdurate, and Adam finally + consented that she should go alone to work. + </p> + <p> + As she moved among the groves, tying up the drooping flowers, like to + Pomona in her prime, or to Ceres, the sight of so much beauty, goodness, + and innocence moved even the serpent, as he approached, intent on the + destruction of her happiness. But as he looked, the thought of her joy but + tortured him the more, since happiness was no longer possible for him. + </p> + <p> + This was before the serpent had been compelled to crawl his whole length + on the ground, and as he moved on, fold on fold, his head proudly reared, + his scales brilliant in color, he was not an unpleasant object to look + upon. He circled about Eve as though lost in admiration, until her + attention was attracted, and then astounded her by addressing her in her + own language. When she demanded by what means he had acquired speech, he + told her by the plucking and eating of a certain tree in the garden, which + he had no sooner tasted than he felt his inward powers to develop until he + found himself capable of speech. + </p> + <p> + Eve at once asked him to take her to the tree, but when she recognized the + forbidden Tree of Knowledge, she demurred, assuring the serpent that God + had commanded them not to touch it, for if they ate of it, they should + surely die. "Am I not alive?" asked her tempter, "and have I not eaten of + it? Is it not a rank injustice that you should be forbidden to taste it + and to lack the Knowledge of Good and Evil which it would give you? Where + can the offence lie? It must be envy that causes such a prohibition." + </p> + <p> + His words, the sight of the fruit, and natural hunger all prevailed on + Eve, and she plucked a branch from the tree and tasted the fruit. As she + ate she saw Adam coming in search of her, holding a garland which he had + been binding to crown her. To his reproaches, she replied with the + arguments of her tempter, until Adam, in despair, determined to taste the + apple that he might not lose Eve. Paradise without her would not be + Paradise, and no new wife could make him forget her. + </p> + <p> + After the first exhilaration of the food was past they began to reproach + each other, mindful of their destiny, of which they had been warned by + Raphael, and, engaged in this fruitless chiding, they were found by the + Son, who, informed of their transgression by the angels, sought them out + in their place of concealment. Adam and Eve he sentenced to a life of + sorrow and labor, the serpent to go despised and ever at enmity with man. + Then, pitying the unhappy pair, he clad them in skins and re-ascended to + Heaven. + </p> + <p> + While this was occurring in Eden, Sin and Death, feeling in some + mysterious way the success of their parent, determined to leave Hell and + seek their new home. Passing through Chaos, they pushed the heavy elements + this way and that, cementing them with Death's mace until they constructed + of them a bridge from the gates of Hell to the point on earth at which + Satan had first alighted, and here met him, just returning, flushed with + success, to Hell. + </p> + <p> + All the followers of Satan were gathered in Pandemonium to hear the news + of his success, which he related, overjoyed at having wrought the ruin of + mankind and revenged himself on God by so small a thing as the eating of + an apple. As he concluded and stood waiting their applause, he heard a + universal hiss, and saw himself surrounded by serpents, and himself + changing into an enormous dragon. The great hall was filled with the + monsters, scorpions, asps, hydras, and those who stood waiting without + with applause for their leader were likewise changed into loathsome + reptiles. Without the hall a grove sprang up, loaded with tempting fruit, + but when, tortured with thirst, they tried to eat, it turned in their + mouths to bitter ashes. After a time they were permitted to take again + their own shapes, but were compelled to resume this serpent-form for a + certain number of days each year, to crush their pride. + </p> + <p> + When God saw the entrance of Sin and Death into the world, he proclaimed + to his Saints that their seeming victory was but temporary, and that + eventually his Son would defeat Sin, Death, and the Grave, and seal up the + mouth of Hell. Then, as the Halleluias rang out, he ordered the angels to + make certain changes in the universe as a punishment to man. The Sun was + so to move as to affect the earth alternately with a cold and heat almost + unbearable; to the Moon were assigned her motions; the other planets were + to join in various ways, often "unbenign." The winds were assigned their + stations to torment the earth and sea, and the thunder was set to strike + terror to the heart of man. The poles of the earth were pushed aslant, and + soon the effects of the changes were felt in heat, cold, wind, and storm. + </p> + <p> + Adam, though absorbed in his own misery and momentarily expecting Death, + saw the changes, and bemoaned his woes the more. How would his mysterious + progeny despise him, since he was the cause of their being brought into + the world of woe! When Eve attempted to comfort him he drove her from him + with harsh words, saying that in time to come women would be the unhappy + cause of all man's misery, as she had been of his. At last, seeing the + futility of his outcries Adam began to cheer his wife, recalling the + promise that their offspring should crush the head of the serpent, and + suggested to her that they go to their former place of prayer and pour + forth to God their true contrition and repentance. + </p> + <p> + The glad Son, presenting these prayers at his Father's throne, interceded + with him for them, since their contrition now was worth more than their + worship in a state of innocence. His intercession was accepted, but since + they had lost the two gifts of Happiness and Immortality, they must leave + the garden lest they be tempted to taste next of the Tree of Life and make + their woe eternal. + </p> + <p> + Michael was sent down to drive them from the garden, and if the pair + seemed repentant and disconsolate he was ordered to comfort them with the + promise of better days and to reveal to them somewhat of the future. In + habit as a man Michael descended and declared to Adam and Eve that they + could no longer abide in Paradise. When Adam, himself broken with grief, + attempted to console the heart-broken Eve, the Angel comforted her also, + and causing a sleep to fall upon her, led Adam to a hill-top, whence could + be seen the hemisphere of the earth, soon to be covered by the seats of + empires. + </p> + <p> + Touching Adam's eyes with three drops from the well of life, the Angel + showed him a long panorama, beginning with the crime of Cain, and showing + the building of the Ark and its landing on Ararat. When he perceived that + Adam's eyes were weary, he recited to him the story of Abraham, of the + deliverance from Egypt, the wandering in the Wilderness, of the royal + stock of David from which would spring the seed so often promised Adam, + who should ascend the hereditary throne, and whose glory should be + universal. + </p> + <p> + Overjoyed, Adam inquired when would take place the final death stroke to + Satan, the bruising with the Victor's heel. Michael responded that Satan + was not to be destroyed, but his works in Adam and his seed, and that the + sacrifice of the Son's life for man would forever crush the strength of + Satan's progeny, Sin and Death. Then, to that Heaven to which he would + reascend, the faithful would go when the time came for the world's + dissolution, and there would be received into the bliss eternal. + </p> + <p> + Strengthened and sustained, Adam went down from the mount and met Eve, + just awaking from comforting dreams. + </p> + <p> + The Cherubim descended, and, urged by the Angel, the two took their way + into the wide world that lay before them, and looking back beheld the + flaming swords of the Cherubim at the gates of their lost Paradise. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0100" id="link2H_4_0100"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTIONS FROM PARADISE LOST. + </h2> + <h3> + SATAN. + </h3> + <p> + After having been thrown out of Heaven with his crew, Satan lay nine days + in the burning lake into which he fell. Then, rousing himself, he rose + from the liquid flames, flew over the lake, and alighting upon the solid + though burning land, thus addressed Beelzebub, who had accompanied him. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Is this the region, this the soil, the clime," + Said then the lost Archangel, "this the seat + That we must change for Heaven?—this mournful gloom + For that celestial light? Be it so, since He + Who now is sovran can dispose and bid + What shall be right: farthest from Him is best, + Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme + Above his equals. Farewell, happy fields, + Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail, + Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hell, + Receive thy new possessor—one who brings + A mind not to be changed by place or time. + The mind is its own place, and in itself + Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. + What matter where, if I be still the same, + And what I should be, all but less than he + Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least + We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built + Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: + Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice, + To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: + Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. + But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, + The associates and co-partners of our loss, + Lie thus astonished on the oblivious pool, + And call them not to share with us their part + In this unhappy mansion, or once more + With rallied arms to try what may be yet + Regained in Heaven, or what more lost in Hell?" + + So Satan spake; and him Beelzebub + Thus answered:—"Leader of those armies bright + Which, but the Omnipotent, none could have foiled! + If once they hear that voice, their liveliest pledge + Of hope in fears and dangers—heard so oft + In worst extremes, and on the perilous edge + Of battle, when it raged, in all assaults + Their surest signal—they will soon resume + New courage and revive, though now they lie + Grovelling and prostrate on yon lake of fire, + As we erewhile, astounded and amazed; + No wonder, fallen from such pernicious highth!" + + He scarce had ceased when the superior Fiend + Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield, + Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round, + Behind him cast. The broad circumference + Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb + Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views + At evening, from the top of Fesolč, + Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, + Rivers, or mountains, in her spotty globe. + His spear—to equal which the tallest pine + Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast + Of some great ammiral, were but a wand— + He walked with, to support uneasy steps + Over the burning marle, not like those steps + On Heaven's azure; and the torrid clime + Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with fire. + Nathless he so endured, till on the beach + Of that inflamčd sea he stood, and called + His legions—Angel Forms, who lay entranced + Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks + In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades + High over-arched embower; or scattered sedge + Afloat, when the fierce winds Orion armed + Hath vexed the Red-Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew + Busiris and his Memphian chivalry, + While with perfidious hatred they pursued + The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld + From the safe shore their floating carcases + And broken chariot wheels. So thick bestrewn, + Abject and lost, lay these, covering the flood, + Under amazement of their hideous change. + He called so loud that all the hollow deep + Of Hell resounded:—"Princes, Potentates, + Warriors, the Flower of Heaven—once yours; now lost, + If such astonishment as this can seize + Eternal Spirits! Or have ye chosen this place + After the toil of battle to repose + Your wearied virtue, for the ease you find + To slumber here, as in the vales of Heaven? + Or in this abject posture have ye sworn + To adore the Conqueror, who now beholds + Cherub and Seraph rolling in the flood + With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon + His swift pursuers from Heaven-gates discern + The advantage, and descending, tread us down + Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts + Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf?— + Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen!" + <i>Book I.</i>, 240-330. +</pre> + <h3> + APOSTROPHE TO LIGHT. + </h3> + <p> + This passage forms the beginning of Book III., in which the poet visits + the realms of light after having described Hell and its inhabitants. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Hail, holy Light, offspring of Heaven first-born! + Or of the Eternal coeternal beam + May I express thee unblamed? since God is light, + And never but in unapproachčd light + Dwelt from eternity—dwelt then in thee, + Bright effluence of bright essence increate! + Or hear'st thou rather pure Ethereal stream, + Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the Sun, + Before the Heavens, thou wert, and at the voice + Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest + The rising World of waters dark and deep, + Won from the void and formless Infinite! + Thee I revisit now with bolder wing, + Escaped the Stygian Pool, though long detained + In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight, + Through utter and through middle Darkness borne, + With other notes than to the Orphean lyre + I sung of Chaos and eternal Night, + Taught by the Heavenly Muse to venture down + The dark descent, and up to re-ascend, + Though hard and rare. Thee I revisit safe, + And feel thy sovran vital lamp; but thou + Revisit'st not these eyes, that roll in vain + To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn; + So thick a drop serene hath quenched their orbs, + Or dim suffusion veiled. Yet not the more + Cease I to wander where the Muses haunt + Clear spring, or shady grove, or sunny hill, + Smit with the love of sacred song; but chief + Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath, + That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, + Nightly I visit: nor sometimes forget + Those other two equalled with me in fate, + So were I equalled with them in renown, + Blind Thamyris and blind Mćonides, + And Tiresias and Phineus, prophets old: + Then feed on thoughts that voluntary move + Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful bird + Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid, + Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year + Seasons return; but not to me returns + Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, + Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, + Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; + But cloud instead and ever-during dark + Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men + Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair, + Presented with a universal blank + Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased, + And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. + So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, + Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers + Irradiate; there plant eyes; all mist from thence + Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell + Of things invisible to mortal sight. + <i>Book III</i> +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0101" id="link2H_4_0101"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PARADISE REGAINED. + </h2> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "A cold and noble epic."—TAINE. +</pre> + <p> + Paradise regained was written by Milton, judging from a passage in the + Autobiography of Thomas Ellwood, in the winter of 1665-6, but was not + published until 1671. It was printed at Milton's expense in a small volume + together with Samson Agonistes. + </p> + <p> + Paradise Regained tells the story of Christ's temptation in the + Wilderness, and the material was taken from the accounts of Matthew and + Luke, which the poet, with great skill, expanded without essentially + deviating from them. + </p> + <p> + The title has been criticised on the ground that the poem should have + extended over the whole of Christ's life on earth. But Paradise Regained + was written as a sequel to Paradise Lost, and, as in the first poem the + poet showed that Paradise was lost by the yielding of Adam and Eve to + Satan, so in the second, he wished to show that Paradise was regained by + the resistance of Christ to temptation, Satan's defeat signifying the + regaining of Paradise for men by giving them the hope of Christ's second + coming. Therefore the poem naturally ends with Satan's rebuff and his + final abandonment of the attempt on the pinnacle of the Temple. + </p> + <p> + The poem has been criticised for its shortness, some scholars even + affecting to believe it unfinished; its lack of variety, in that it has + but two characters, its lack of action, and the absence of figurative + language. + </p> + <p> + But with all these faults, it has a charm of its own, entirely different + from that of Paradise Lost. Satan has degenerated during his years of + "roaming up and down the earth;" he is no longer the fallen angel of + Paradise Lost, who struggled with himself before making evil his good. He + is openly given over to evil practices, and makes little effort to play + the hypocrite. His temptations are worked up from that of hunger to that + of the vision of the kingdoms of the earth with a wonderful power of + description which makes up for the lack of action and the few actors. The + pathless, rockbound desert, the old man, poorly clad, who accosts the + Christ, the mountain-top from which all the earth was visible, the night + of horror in the desert, and the sublime figure of the Savior, are all + enduring pictures which compensate for any rigidity of treatment. If + figurative language is omitted it is because the theme does not need it, + and does not show that the poem is less carefully finished than Paradise + Lost. Its lack of action and similarity of subject to the longer poem + sufficiently account for its not meeting with popular favor. Johnson was + correct when he said, "had this poem been written not by Milton, but by + some imitator, it would have claimed and received universal praise." + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_BIBL17" id="link2H_BIBL17"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE REGAINED. + </h2> + <p> + H. C. Beeching, On the Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, + 1889; + </p> + <p> + Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical + Works, 1867; + </p> + <p> + William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their Lives and Times etc., 1879; + </p> + <p> + George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 15-16; + </p> + <p> + Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets, ed. by Mrs. Alexander + Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + </p> + <p> + Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical + Essays, ed, 10, 1860, vol. i.); + </p> + <p> + David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Regained (see his ed. of Milton's + Poetical works, 1893, vol. iii., pp. 1-14); + </p> + <p> + David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 651-661; + </p> + <p> + Richard Meadowcourt's Critique on Milton's Paradise Regained, 1732; + </p> + <p> + A Critical Dissertation on Paradise Regained with Notes, 2d ed. 1748; + </p> + <p> + John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures + and Essays, 1871, pp. 152-157); + </p> + <p> + Mark Pattison's John Milton (English Men of Letters Series), n. d.; + </p> + <p> + H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, + vol. ii. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0103" id="link2H_4_0103"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE STORY OF PARADISE REGAINED. + </h2> + <p> + After the expulsion from Paradise of Adam and Eve, Satan and his followers + did not return to Hell, but remained on earth, the fallen angels becoming + the evil gods of various idolatrous nations and Satan engaging in every + kind of evildoing which he knew would vex the Powers of Heaven. All the + time he was troubled by the thought of the heavenly foe who he had been + told would one day appear on earth to crush him and his rebel angels. + </p> + <p> + Now John had come out of the wilderness, proclaiming his mission, and + among those who came to him to be baptized was one who was deemed the son + of Joseph of Nazareth. John recognized in the obscure carpenter's son the + one "mightier than he" whose coming he was to proclaim, and this fact was + further made clear to the multitude and the observant Satan by the opening + of the Heavens and the descent therefrom on Christ's head of the Dove, + while a voice was heard declaring, "This is my beloved Son." + </p> + <p> + Satan, enraged, fled to the council of the fiends to announce to them the + presence on earth of their long-dreaded enemy. He was empowered by them to + attempt his overthrow, and they were the more confident because of his + success with Adam and Eve. + </p> + <p> + Satan's purpose was known to the Eternal Father, who smiled to see him + unwittingly fulfilling the plan so long foreordained for his destruction. + </p> + <p> + After his baptism, the Father had sent his Son into the wilderness to gain + strength for his struggle with Sin and Death, and there Satan, in the + guise of an old, poorly clad rustic, found him. Although the Son of God + had wandered through the rock-bound, pathless desert, among wild beasts, + without food for forty days, he had no fear, believing that some impulse + from above had guided him thither before he should go out among men to do + his divinely appointed task. + </p> + <p> + Then, when hunger came upon him as he wandered, thinking of past events + and those to come, he met the aged man and was addressed by him. + </p> + <p> + "Sir, how came you hither, where none who ventures alone escapes alive? I + ask because you look not unlike the man I lately saw baptized by John and + declared the Son of God." + </p> + <p> + "I need no guide," replied the Son. "The Power who brought me here will + bring me forth." + </p> + <p> + "Not otherwise than by miracle. Here we subsist only upon dry roots and + must often endure parching thirst. If thou art indeed the Son of God, save + thyself and relieve us wretched people by changing these stones to bread." + </p> + <p> + "Men live not by bread alone," replied the Son, "but by the word of God. + Moses in the Mount was without food and drink for forty days. Elijah also + wandered fasting in the wilderness. Thou knowest who I am as I know who + thou art; why shouldest thou suggest distrust to me?" + </p> + <p> + "'Tis true that I am that unfortunate spirit who fell from Heaven, but I + have been permitted to roam around the earth and have not been altogether + excluded from Heaven. God allowed me to test Job and prove his worth and + to draw Ahab into fraud. Though I have lost much of my original brightness + I can still admire all that is illustrious and good. The sons of men + should not regard me as an enemy, for I have oft given them aid by + oracles, dreams, and portents. My loss was not through them, so their + restoration does not grieve me; only that fallen man will be restored and + not I." + </p> + <p> + "Thou deservest to grieve, tissue of lies that thou art!" exclaimed our + Savior. "Thou boastest of being released from Hell and permitted to come + into Heaven. No joy hast thou there! Thy own malice moved thee to torture + Job. Brag not of thy lies, thy oracles for men. Henceforth oracles are + dumb, since God has sent his living oracle into the world to teach the + truth." + </p> + <p> + Satan, though angry, still dissembled. + </p> + <p> + "Accuse me, reprove me, if thou wilt. Fallen as I am, I still love to hear + the truth fall from thy lips." + </p> + <p> + Unmoved by his false words the Savior of men declared that he neither + forbade nor invited his presence, and Satan, bowing low, disappeared as + night fell over the desert. + </p> + <p> + In the mean time, those at Bethabara who had rejoiced at the declaration + of John and had talked with the Messiah, were deeply grieved to find him + gone and with him their hope of deliverance. His mother, too, was troubled + at his absence, but comforted herself with the thought of his former + absences, afterwards explained. + </p> + <p> + Satan, hastening from the desert, sought his troop of evil spirits to warn + them that his undertaking was no easy one, and to summon them to his + assistance. + </p> + <p> + Night fell on the Son of God, still fasting, wondering what would be the + end. In sleep he was visited by dreams of Elijah, raven-fed, and of the + same prophet fed by the angel in the desert, and as he dreamed that he ate + with them, the lark's song awoke him and he wandered into a pleasant + grove. As he viewed it, charmed by its beauty, a man appeared before him, + no rustic this time, but one attired in the apparel of city or court. + </p> + <p> + "I have returned, wondering that thou still remainest here, hungering. + Hagar once wandered here; the children of Israel, and the Prophet, but all + these were fed by the hand of Heaven. Thou alone art forgotten and goest + tormented by hunger." + </p> + <p> + Though the Son of God declared that he had no need to eat, Satan invited + his attention to a table, set under a spreading tree. Upon it was heaped + every known delicacy; by it waited youths handsome as Ganymede, and among + the trees tripped naiads and nymphs of Diana, with fruits and flowers. + Exquisite music was heard, and the perfumes of Araby filled the air. + </p> + <p> + "Why not sit and eat?" continued Satan. "These foods are not forbidden, + and all these gentle ministers are ready to do thee homage." + </p> + <p> + "What hast thou to do with my hunger?" demanded Jesus. "Should I receive + as a gift from thee what I myself could command if I so desired? I too + could bring a table here, and swift-winged angels to attend me. Thy gifts + are but guiles." + </p> + <p> + "I am forever suspected," responded Satan, as the table vanished. "Hunger + cannot move thee, set on high designs. But what canst thou, a lowly + carpenter's son, accomplish without aid? Where wilt thou find authority, + where followers? First get riches; hearken to me, for fortune is in my + hand. Wealth will win, while virtue, valor, and wisdom sit and wait in + vain." + </p> + <p> + "Yet what can wealth do without these?" replied Jesus patiently. "How can + it gain dominion, and keep it when gained? Gideon, Jephtha, David, and + among the heathen (for I am not ignorant of history) Quinctius, Fabricius, + Curius, Regulus, all these have risen from the depths and achieved the + highest deeds. Then, why may not I accomplish as much, even more, without + wealth, which but cumbers the wise man, and slackens virtue, rather than + prompts it to worthy deeds? Suppose I reject both riches and realms? Not + because the regal diadem is a wreath of thorns and he who wears it bears + each man's burden, for the king's chief praise is the manner in which he + bears this burden for the public. But he who rules himself is greater than + a king, and he who cannot do this should not aspire to royal power. But it + is surely more kingly to lead nations blinded by error into the light of + God's truth. This dominion is over the nobler part of man. And it has ever + been thought greater and nobler to give a kingdom and to lay down + authority than to assume it. Therefore thy riches are needless both in + themselves, and to gain a kingdom which would better be missed than + gained." + </p> + <p> + Satan, though for a moment struck dumb by this answer to his arguments, + soon collected himself and suggested that while the Savior knew so well + what was best to know, say, and do, that if known he would be regarded as + an oracle, still he did wrong to despise glory and deprive earth of his + great deeds, citing as examples of more active spirits accomplishing much + when younger than he, the young Alexander, Scipio, Pompey, and Caesar. But + the Savior replied that the glory which consisted of the approval of the + rabble was only to be despised. The true glory was that of the man who + dared to be truly good, who though little known on earth, was famous in + Heaven. Such men did not lay waste fields, sack, pillage, and slay, but by + deeds of peace won the approval of the Father. Such was Job, oft tempted + by Satan; such was Socrates, who suffered unjust death for teaching truth. + And the Son of God had come upon earth not to win glory for himself as + vain men do, but for Him who sent him. + </p> + <p> + "Thy Father does not despise glory," sneered Satan. "He demands it from + his angels, from men, even from us, his foes." + </p> + <p> + "With reason," answered the Son, "since he created all things, though not + for glory. And what slighter recompense could he expect from men who could + return nothing else?" + </p> + <p> + Satan, remembering his own ambition and his fall, was silent for a moment, + and then spoke to remind the Savior that he was born to the throne of + David, but that it must be wrested from the Roman by force of arms. It was + his duty to do this and save his people from oppression. + </p> + <p> + "All things in due time," replied the Savior. "If the Writ tells of my + sufferings, my tribulations, of violence done unto me, it also tells of my + reign without end. I can wait. He who suffers best, can do best; he who + obeys first, reigns best; and why shouldest thou be so anxious to hasten + my rule when it means thy destruction?" + </p> + <p> + "When hope is gone, what is there left to fear? My punishment will come + whether thou reign or no. I could hope that thy reign would stand between + me and the anger of thy Father. And if I haste to the worst that can be, + why shouldest thou go so slowly to the best? Perhaps thou fearest the + dangerous enterprise, thou who, pent up in Galilean towns, hast seen so + little." + </p> + <p> + So saying, he took the Son up into a high mountain at the foot of which + stretched a vast plain. Two rivers watered the fertile land. The hills + were covered with flocks; vast cities could be seen, and here and there, + so wide was the land, a barren desert. Then the Tempter pointed out the + vast cities of Assyria, Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Bactra, and the vast + host of the Parthian king, even then marching against the Scythians. As + they watched the great host of mailed warriors, accompanied by chariots, + elephants, archers, engineers, Satan pursued his argument. Suppose the Son + should take possession of his kingdom; how should he hope to keep it in + peace between two such powerful enemies as the Parthians and the Romans? + It would be better to conquer first the nearest, the Parthians, and this + could be done with Satan's help. In doing this he would not only be able + to occupy his throne but would deliver the offspring of the Ten Tribes of + Israel, who, scattered among the Medes, still served as slaves. + </p> + <p> + But the Savior, in response, only questioned Satan as to why he had + suddenly become so solicitous for the salvation of the Tribes when he + himself had once tempted David to number Israel and had thus brought + pestilence upon them. And as to the Ten Tribes, they had brought their + punishment upon themselves, and must serve the enemy and their idols until + the Father should see fit to release them. + </p> + <p> + Though embarrassed by the failure of his wiles, Satan could not yet yield. + Turning to the western side of the mountain, he pointed out to the Savior + a long, narrow plain, bordered on the south by the sea and protected from + northern blasts by a mountain range. There, crowning the seven hills stood + the imperial city adorned with porches, theatres, baths, aqueducts, and + palaces. Satan pointed out the different objects of interest in splendid + Rome, the Capitol, Mt. Palatine, crowned by the imperial palace, and the + great gates, through which issued or entered a continuous stream of + praetors, proconsuls, lictors, legions, embassies, on all the roads which + led through the far-stretching empire, even to those of the Asian kings, + and remote Britain. All the glory of the world, he argued, lay in Parthia + and Rome, and Rome was greater. He who ruled her was indeed ruler of the + world, and yet its present emperor was old, weak, lascivious, without + heir, and lived at Capreae, his public cares entrusted to his favorite. + How easily could the Son of God force from him the power and lift the yoke + from his people! + </p> + <p> + But the splendor of the scene allured neither the eye nor the mind of the + Son. The gluttonies, the gorgeous feasts, the hollow compliments and lies + of the people did not attract him. His mission, he told his Tempter, was + not yet to free that people, once just and frugal, now debased by their + insatiable ambition. When the time came for him to sit on David's throne, + this with all other kingdoms of the earth would be shattered while his + kingdom would be eternal. + </p> + <p> + "Though thou despisest my offers," cried Satan, "thou knowest that I + esteem them highly, and will not part with them for nought. This is the + condition; Wilt thou fall down and worship me as thy superior lord?" + </p> + <p> + "It is written, thou accursed one," responded the Savior in disdain, "that + thou shouldst worship and serve the Lord thy God alone. Who gave thee the + kingdoms of the earth if He did not? And what gratitude thou showest! Get + thee behind me! Truly thou art Satan!" + </p> + <p> + Satan, abashed but not silenced, pointed southwest toward Athens. Since + the Savior seemed to prefer a contemplative life, why should he not seek + that seat of learning? All wisdom was not contained in Moses' law and the + writings of the prophets. Let him master the learning of the great + Athenian teachers, philosophers and orators, and he would be a king within + himself. + </p> + <p> + But the Savior assured Satan that, having received light from above, he + knew how false and fallacious were the boasted philosophies of the Greeks. + Their philosophers, ignorant of themselves and of God, and arrogating all + glory to themselves and ascribing none to Him, were unable to impart + wisdom to any one. From Hebrew psalm and hymn, and captive harps in + Babylon, the Greeks derived their arts, and the results, the odious + praises of their vicious gods, could not compare with the songs of Sion in + praise of the Father. Their orators, too, were far below the Hebrew + prophets. "Stay in the wilderness, then," thundered Satan, wroth at this + failure. "Since neither riches nor arms, nor power, nor yet the + contemplative life please thee, it is for thee the fittest place! But the + time will yet come when violence, stripes, and a cruel death will make + thee long for me and my proffered power. Truly the stars promise thee a + kingdom, but of what kind and when I cannot read." + </p> + <p> + As he disappeared, darkness fell, and the Son of God, still hungry and + cold, sought rest under a sheltering tree. But Satan watched near, and + forbade rest. Thunder and lightning shook the Heavens; rain drenched the + earth; the fury of the winds was loosed, and in their path the sturdiest + trees were uprooted. Ghosts, furies, raved around the holy one, but, + unshaken by fear, he endured all calmly, and came forth, as the bright sun + shone upon the earth, to meet again the Prince of Darkness. + </p> + <p> + Enraged that the terrors of the night had had no effect upon his enemy, + Satan cried out that he still doubted that the wanderer in the wilderness + was the Son of God in the true sense, and would therefore try him another + way. + </p> + <p> + So speaking, he caught him up and bore him through the air unto Jerusalem, + and setting him on the highest pinnacle of the glorious Temple, said + scornfully:— + </p> + <p> + "Stand there, if thou canst; I have placed thee highest in thy Father's + house. Now show if thou art indeed the Son of God. Cast thyself down, for + it is written that He will command his angels concerning thee, so that + they in their hands shall uplift thee." + </p> + <p> + "It is also written," said Jesus, "'Tempt not the Lord thy God.'" And as + he so spoke and stood, Satan, overcome with amazement, fell whence he had + expected to see his conqueror fall, and, struck with dread and anguish at + his certain defeat, fled to his rebel angels. + </p> + <p> + Straightway, a "fiery globe" of angels received the Son on their pinions, + bore him from the pinnacle into a flowery vale, and there refreshed him + with ambrosial food and water from the Fount of Life, while all around him + the angelic choir sang his praises for the conquest of his enemy, and + encouraged him to go forth on his work of saving mankind. Thence, rested + and refreshed, he arose, and went, unobserved, home to his mother's house. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0104" id="link2H_4_0104"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + SELECTION FROM PARADISE REGAINED. + </h2> + <h3> + THE TEMPTATION OF THE VISION OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH. + </h3> + <p> + Satan, meeting the Savior in the wilderness, tempted him to change the + stones to bread, and then, after endeavoring to awake in him a longing for + wealth and power, appealed to his ambition by leading him to a mountain + top, and displaying to him the kingdoms of the earth. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + With that (such power was given him then), he {Satan} took + The Son of God up to a mountain high. + It was a mountain at whose verdant feet + A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide + Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flowed, + The one winding, the other straight, and left between + Fair champaign, with less rivers interveined, + Then meeting joined their tribute to the sea. + Fertile of corn the glebe, of oil, and wine; + With herds the pasture thronged, with flocks the hills; + Huge cities and high-towered, that well might seem + The seats of mightiest monarchs; and so large + The prospect was that here and there was room + For barren desert, fountainless and dry. + To this high mountain-top the Tempter brought + Our Saviour, and new train of words began:— + + "Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale, + Forest, and field, and flood, temples and towers, + Cut shorter many a league. Here thou behold'st + Assyria, and her empire's ancient bounds, + Araxes and the Caspian lake; thence on + As far as Indus east, Euphrates west, + And oft beyond; to south the Persian bay, + And, inaccessible, the Arabian drouth: + Here, Nineveh, of length within her wall + Several days' journey, built by Ninus old, + Of that first golden monarchy the seat, + And seat of Salmanassar, whose success + Israel in long captivity still mourns; + There Babylon, the wonder of all tongues, + As ancient, but rebuilt by him who twice + Judah and all thy father David's house + Led captive, and Jerusalem laid waste, + Till Cyrus set them free; Persepolis, + His city, there thou seest, and Bactra there; + Ecbatana her structure vast there shows, + And Hecatompylos her hundred gates; + There Susa by Choaspes, amber stream, + The drink of none but kings; of later fame, + Built by Emathian or by Parthian hands, + The great Seleucia, Nisibis, and there + Artaxata, Teredon, Ctesiphon, + Turning with easy eye, thou may'st behold. + All these the Parthian (now some ages past + By great Arsaces led, who founded first + That empire) under his dominion holds, + From the luxurious kings of Antioch won. + And just in time thou com'st to have a view + Of his great power; for now the Parthian king + In Ctesiphon hath gathered all his host + Against the Scythian, whose incursions wild + Have wasted Sogdiana; to her aid + He marches now in haste. See though from far, + His thousands, in what martial equipage + They issue forth, steel bows and shafts their arms, + Of equal dread in flight or in pursuit— + All horsemen, in which fight they most excel; + See how in warlike muster they appear, + In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings." + + He looked, and saw what numbers numberless + The city gates outpoured, light-armed troops + In coats of mail and military pride. + In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong, + Prancing their riders bore, the flower and choice + Of many provinces from bound to bound— + From Arachosia, from Candaor east, + And Margiana, to the Hyrcanian cliffs + Of Caucasus, and dark Iberian dales; + From Atropatia, and the neighboring plains + Of Adiabene, Media, and the south + Of Susiana, to Balsara's haven. + He saw them in their forms of battle ranged, + How quick they wheeled, and flying behind them shot + Sharp sleet of arrowy showers against the face + Of their pursuers, and overcame by flight; + The field all iron cast a gleaming brown. + Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor, on each horn, + Cuirassiers all in steel for standing fight, + Chariots, or elephants indorsed with towers + Of archers; nor of labouring pioneers + A multitude, with spades and axes armed, + To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys fill, + Or where plain was raise hill, or overlay + With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke: + Mules after these, camels and dromedaries, + And waggons fraught with utensils of war. + Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp, + When Agrican, with all his northern powers, + Besieged Albracca, as romances tell, + The city of Gallaphrone, from thence to win + The fairest of her sex, Angelica, + His daughter, sought by many prowest knights, + Both Paynim and the peers of Charlemain. + Such and so numerous was their chivalry. + <i>Book III.</i> + + He brought our Saviour to the western side + Of that high mountain, whence he might behold + Another plain, long, but in breadth not wide, + Washed by the southern sea, and on the north + To equal length backed with a ridge of hills + That screened the fruits of the earth and seats of men + From cold Septentrion blasts; thence in the midst + Divided by a river, off whose banks + On each side an imperial city stood, + With towers and temples proudly elevate + On seven small hills, with palaces adorned, + Porches and theatres, baths, aqueducts, + Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs, + Gardens and groves, presented to his eyes + Above the highth of mountains interposed— + By what strange parallax, or optic skill + Of vision, multiplied through air, or glass + Of telescope, were curious to inquire. + And now the Tempter thus his silence broke:— + "The city which thou seest no other deem + Than great and glorious Rome Queen of the Earth + So far renowned, and with the spoils enriched + Of nations. There the Capitol thou seest, + Above the rest lifting his stately head + On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel + Impregnable; and there Mount Palatine, + The imperial palace, compass huge, and high + The structure, skill of noblest architects, + With gilded battlements, conspicuous far, + Turrets, and terraces, and glittering spires. + Many a fair edifice besides, more like + Houses of gods—so well have I disposed + My aery microscope—thou may'st behold, + Outside and inside both, pillars and roofs + Carved work, the hand of famed artificers + In cedar, marble, ivory, or gold. + Thence to the gates cast round thine eye, and see + What conflux issuing forth, or entering in: + Praetors, proconsuls to their provinces + Hasting, or on return, in robes of state; + Lictors and rods, the ensigns of their power; + Legions and cohorts, turms of horse and wings; + Or embassies from regions far remote, + In various habits, on the Appian road, + Or on the Aemilian—some from farthest south, + Syene, and where the shadow both way falls, + Meroe, Nilotic isle, and, more to west, + The realm of Bocchus to the Blackmoor sea; + From the Asian kings (and Parthian among these), + From India and the Golden Chersoness, + And utmost Indian isle Taprobane, + Dusk faces with white silken turbants wreathed; + From Gallia, Gades, and the British west; + Germans, and Scythians, and Sarmatians north + Beyond Danubius to the Tauric pool. + All nations now to Rome obedience pay— + To Rome's great Emperor, whose wide domain, + In ample territory, wealth and power, + Civility of manners, arts and arms, + And long renown, thou justly may'st prefer + Before the Parthian. These two thrones except, + The rest are barbarous, and scarce worth the sight, + Shared among petty kings too far removed; + These having shown thee, I have shown thee all + The kingdoms of the world, and all their glory". + <i>Book IV.</i> +</pre> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of National Epics, by Kate Milner Rabb + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + +***** This file should be named 8072-h.htm or 8072-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/0/7/8072/ + + +Text file produced by David Starner, S.R. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: National Epics + +Author: Kate Milner Rabb + + +Release Date: May, 2005 [EBook #8072] +This file was first posted on June 11, 2003 +Last Updated: June 5, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + + + + +Produced by David Starner, S.R. Ellison, and the Online +Distributed Proofing Team + + + + + + + + +NATIONAL EPICS + +By Kate Milner Rabb + +1896 + + + +TO MY MOTHER. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +This volume is intended for an introduction to the study of the epics. +While the simplicity and directness of the epic style seem to make such a +book unnecessary, the fact that to many persons of literary tastes some of +these great poems are inaccessible, and that to many more the pleasure of +exploring for themselves "the realms of gold" is rendered impossible by +the cares of business, has seemed sufficient excuse for its being. Though +the beauty of the original is of necessity lost in a condensation of this +kind, an endeavor has been made to preserve the characteristic epithets, +and to retain what Mr. Arnold called "the simple truth about the matter of +the poem." It is believed that the sketch prefacing each story, giving +briefly the length, versification, and history of the poem, will have its +value to those readers who have not access to the epics, and that the +selections following the story, each recounting a complete incident, will +give a better idea of the epic than could be formed from passages +scattered through the text. + +The epic originated among tribes of barbarians, who deified departed +heroes and recited legends in praise of their deeds. As the hymn +developed, the chorus and strophe were dropped, and the narrative only was +preserved. The word "epic" was used simply to distinguish the narrative +poem, which was recited, from the lyric, which was sung, and from the +dramatic, which was acted. + +As the nation passed from childhood to youth, the legends of the hero that +each wandering minstrel had changed to suit his fancy, were collected and +fused into one by some great poet, who by his power of unification made +this written epic his own. + +This is the origin of the Hindu epics, the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," the +"Kalevala," the "Shah-Nameh," "Beowulf," the "Nibelungen Lied," the "Cid," +and the "Song of Roland." + +The conditions for the production of the primitive epic exist but once in +a nation's growth. Its later epics must be written on subjects of national +importance, chosen by the poet, who arranges and embellishes his material +according to the rules of the primitive epic. To this class belong the +"Aeneid," the "Jerusalem Delivered," and the "Lusiad." Dante's poem is +broader, for it is the epic of mediaeval Christianity. Milton likewise +sought "higher argument" than + + "Wars, hitherto the only argument + Heroic deemed," + +and crystallized the religious beliefs of his time in "Paradise Lost." + +The characteristics both of the primitive and the modern epic are their +uniform metre, simplicity of construction, concentration of action into a +short time, and the use of episode and dialogue. The main difference lies +in the impersonality of the primitive epic, whose author has so skillfully +hidden himself behind his work that, as some one has said of Homer, "his +heroes are immortal, but his own existence is doubtful." + +Although the historical events chronicled in the epics have in every case +been so distorted by the fancy of the poets that they cannot be accepted +as history, the epics are storehouses of information concerning ancient +manners and customs, religious beliefs, forms of government, treatment of +women, and habits of feeling. + +Constructed upon the noblest principles of art, and pervaded by the +eternal calm of the immortals, these poems have an especial value to us, +who have scarcely yet realized that poetry is an art, and are feverish +from the unrest of our time. If by the help of this volume any reader be +enabled to find a portion of the wisdom that is hidden in these mines, its +purpose will have been accomplished. + +My thanks are due to Mr. John A. Wilstach for the use of selections from +his translation of the "Divine Comedy;" to Prof. J. M. Crawford, for the +use of selections from his translation of the "Kalevala;" to Henry Holt & +Co., for the use of selections from Rabillon's translation of "La Chanson +de Roland;" to Roberts Brothers, for the use of selections from Edwin +Arnold's "Indian Idylls;" to Prof. J. C. Hall, for the use of selections +from his translation of "Beowulf;" and to A. C. Armstrong & Son, for the +use of selections from Conington's Translation of the "Aeneid." The +selections from the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" are used with the permission +of and by special arrangement with Houghton, Mifflin & Co., publishers of +Bryant's translations of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey." Special thanks are +due to Miss Eliza G. Browning of the Public Library of Indianapolis, to +Miss Florence Hughes of the Library of Indiana University, and to Miss +Charity Dye, of Indianapolis. + +K. M. R. + +INDIANAPOLIS, IND., September, 1896. + + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +THE HINDU EPIC: THE RAMAYANA + +THE HINDU EPIC: THE MAHA-BHARATA + +THE GREEK EPIC: THE ILIAD + +THE GREEK EPIC: THE ODYSSEY + +THE FINNISH EPIC: THE KALEVALA + +THE ROMAN EPIC: THE AENEID + +THE SAXON EPIC: BEOWULF + +THE GERMAN EPIC: THE NIBELUNGEN LIED + +THE FRENCH EPIC: THE SONG OF ROLAND + +THE PERSIAN EPIC: THE SHAH-NAMEH + +THE SPANISH EPIC: THE POEM OF THE CID + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE DIVINE COMEDY + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE ORLANDO FURIOSO + +THE PORTUGUESE EPIC: THE LUSIAD + +THE ITALIAN EPIC: THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED + +THE ENGLISH EPIC: PARADISE LOST + +THE ENGLISH EPIC: PARADISE REGAINED + + + + +SELECTIONS. + + +FROM THE RAMAYANA: TRANSLATOR + The Descent of the Ganges ... _Milman_ + The Death of Yajnadatta ... " + +FROM THE MAHA-BHARATA: + Savitri; or, Love and Death ... _Arnold_ + The Great Journey ... " + +FROM THE ILIAD: + Helen at the Scaean Gates ... _Bryant_ + The Parting of Hector and Andromache ... " + +FROM THE ODYSSEY: + The Palace of Alcinoues ... _Bryant_ + The Bending of the Bow ... " + +FROM THE KALEVALA: + Ilmarinen's Wedding Feast ... _Crawford_ + The Birth of the Harp ... " + +FROM THE AENEID: + Nisus and Euryalus ... _Conington_ + +FROM BEOWULF: + Grendel's Mother ... _Hall_ + +FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED: + How Brunhild was received at Worms ... _Lettsom_ + How Margrave Ruedeger was slain ... " + +FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND: + The Horn ... _Rabillon_ + Roland's Death ... " + +FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH: + The Rajah of India sends a Chessboard + to Nushirvan _Robinson_ + Zal and Rudabeh " + +FROM THE POEM OF THE CID: + Count Raymond and My Cid _Ormsby_ + My Cid's Triumph " + +FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY: + Count Ugolino _Wilstach_ + Buonconte di Montefeltro " + Beatrice descending from Heaven " + The Exquisite Beauty of Beatrice " + +FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO: + The Death of Zerbino _Rose_ + +FROM THE LUSIAD: + Inez de Castro _Mickle_ + The Spirit of the Cape " + +FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED: + Sophronia and Olindo _Wiffen_ + +FROM PARADISE LOST: + Satan + Apostrophe to Light + +FROM PARADISE REGAINED: + The Temptation of the Vision of the Kingdoms of the Earth + + + + +NATIONAL EPICS. + + + +THE RAMAYANA. + + + "He who sings and hears this poem continually has attained to the + highest state of enjoyment, and will finally be equal to the gods." + + +The Ramayana, the Hindu Iliad, is variously ascribed to the fifth, third, +and first centuries B.C., its many interpolations making it almost +impossible to determine its age by internal evidence. Its authorship is +unknown, but according to legend it was sung by Kuca and Lava, the sons of +Rama, to whom it was taught by Valmiki. Of the three versions now extant, +one is attributed to Valmiki, another to Tuli Das, and a third to Vyasa. + +Its historical basis, almost lost in the innumerable episodes and +grotesque imaginings of the Hindu, is probably the conquest of southern +India and Ceylon by the Aryans. + +The Ramayana is written in the Sanskrit language, is divided into seven +books, or sections, and contains fifty thousand lines, the English +translation of which, by Griffith, occupies five volumes. + +The hero, Rama, is still an object of worship in India, the route of his +wanderings being, each year, trodden by devout pilgrims. The poem is not a +mere literary monument,--it is a part of the actual religion of the Hindu, +and is held in such reverence that the mere reading or hearing of it, or +certain passages of it, is believed to free from sin and grant his every +desire to the reader or hearer. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE RAMAYANA. + + +G. W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + +John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, +Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + +Sir William Jones on the Literature of the Hindus (in his Works, vol. iv.); + +Maj.-Gen. Vans Kennedy's Researches into Hindu Mythology, 1831; + +James Mill's History of British India, 1840, vol. ii., pp. 47-123; + +F. Max Mueller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859; + +E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 153-271; + +Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 191-195; + +J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + +Sir Monier Williams's Indian Wisdom, 1863, Indian Epic Poetry, 1863; + +Article on Sanskrit Literature in Encyclopaedia Britannica; + +R. M. Gust's The Ramayana: a Sanskrit Epic (in his Linguistic and Oriental +Essays, 1880, p. 56); + +T. Goldstuecker's Ramayana (in his Literary Remains, 1879, vol. i., +p. 155); + +C. J. Stone's Cradleland of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 11-21; + +Albrecht Weber's On the Ramayana, 1870; Westminster Review, +1849, vol. 1., p. 34; + +J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 13-81. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE RAMAYANA. + + +The Ramayana, Tr. by R. T. H. Griffith, 5 vols., 1870-1874 (Follows Bombay +ed., Translated into metre of "Lady of the Lake"); + +Extracts from the Ramayana, Tr. by Sir William Jones (in his Works, +vol. 13); + +Iliad of the East, F. Richardson, 1873 (Popular translations of a set of +legends from the Ramayana); + +The Ramayana translated into English Prose, edited and published by +Naumatha Nath Dutt, 7 vols., Calcutta, 1890-1894. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE RAMAYANA. + + +Brahma, creator of the universe, though all powerful, could not revoke a +promise once made. For this reason, Ravana, the demon god of Ceylon, stood +on his head in the midst of five fires for ten thousand years, and at the +end of that time boldly demanded of Brahma as a reward that he should not +be slain by gods, demons, or genii. He also requested the gift of nine +other heads and eighteen additional arms and hands. + +These having been granted, he began by the aid of his evil spirits, the +Rakshasas, to lay waste the earth and to do violence to the good, +especially to the priests. + +At the time when Ravana's outrages were spreading terror throughout the +land, and Brahma, looking down from his throne, shuddered to see the +monster he had gifted with such fell power, there reigned in Ayodhya, now +the city of Oude, a good and wise raja, Dasaratha, who had reigned over +the splendid city for nine thousand years without once growing weary. He +had but one grief,--that he was childless,--and at the opening of the +story he was preparing to make the great sacrifice, Asva-medha, to +propitiate the gods, that they might give him a son. + +The gods, well pleased, bore his request to Brahma in person, and +incidentally preferred a request that he provide some means of destroying +the monster Ravana that was working such woe among their priests, and +disturbing their sacrifices. + +Brahma granted the first request, and, cudgeling his brains for a device +to destroy Ravana, bethought himself that while he had promised that +neither gods, genii, nor demons should slay him, he had said nothing of +man. He accordingly led the appealing gods to Vishnu, who proclaimed that +the monster should be slain by men and monkeys, and that he would himself +be re-incarnated as the eldest son of Dasaratha and in this form compass +the death of Ravana. + +In course of time, as a reward for his performance of the great sacrifice, +four sons were born to Dasaratha, Rama by Kausalya, his oldest wife, +Bharata, whose mother was Kaikeyi, and twin sons, Lakshmana and Satrughna, +whose mother was Sumitra. + +Rama, the incarnation of Vishnu, destined to destroy Ravana, grew daily in +grace, beauty, and strength. When he was but sixteen years old, having +been sent for by a sage to destroy the demons who were disturbing the +forest hermits in their religious rites, he departed unattended, save by +his brother Lakshmana and a guide, into the pathless forests, where he +successfully overcame the terrible Rakshasa, Tarika, and conveyed her body +to the grateful sage. + +While he was journeying through the forests, destroying countless +Rakshasas, he chanced to pass near the kingdom of Mithila and heard that +its king, Janaka, had offered his peerless daughter, Sita, in marriage to +the man who could bend the mighty bow of Siva the destroyer, which, since +its owner's death, had been kept at Janaka's court. + +Rama at once determined to accomplish the feat, which had been essayed in +vain by so many suitors. When he presented himself at court Janaka was at +once won by his youth and beauty; and when the mighty bow, resting upon an +eight-wheeled car, was drawn in by five thousand men, and Rama without +apparent effort bent it until it broke, he gladly gave him his beautiful +daughter, and after the splendid wedding ceremonies were over, loaded the +happy pair with presents to carry back to Ayodhya. + +When Dasaratha, who had attended the marriage of his son at Mithila, +returned home, he began to feel weary of reigning, and bethought himself +of the ancient Hindu custom of making the eldest son and heir apparent a +Yuva-Raja,--that is appointing him assistant king. Rama deserved this +honor, and would, moreover, be of great assistance to him. + +His happy people received the announcement of his intention with delight; +the priests approved of it as well, and the whole city was in the midst of +the most splendid preparations for the ceremony, when it occurred to +Dasaratha that all he lacked was the congratulations of his youngest and +favorite wife, Kaikeyi, on this great event. The well-watered streets and +the garlanded houses had already aroused the suspicions of +Kaikeyi,--suspicions speedily confirmed by the report of her maid. Angered +and jealous because the son of Kausalya and not her darling Bharata, at +that time absent from the city, was to be made Yuva-Raja, she fled to the +"Chamber of Sorrows," and was there found by the old Raja. + +Though Kaikeyi was his youngest and most beautiful wife, her tears, +threats, and entreaties would have been of no avail had she not recalled +that, months before, the old Raja, in gratitude for her devoted nursing +during his illness, had granted her two promises. She now demanded the +fulfilment of these before she would consent to smile upon him, and the +consent won, she required him, first, to appoint Bharata Yuva-Raja; and, +second, to exile Rama for fourteen years to the terrible forest of +Dandaka. + +The promise of a Hindu, once given, cannot be revoked. In spite of the +grief of the old Raja, of Kausalya, his old wife, and of all the people, +who were at the point of revolt at the sudden disgrace of their favorite +prince, the terrible news was announced to Rama, and he declared himself +ready to go, to save his father from dishonor. + +He purposed to go alone, but Sita would not suffer herself to be thus +deserted. Life without him, she pleaded, was worse than death; and so +eloquent was her grief at the thought of parting that she was at last +permitted to don the rough garment of bark provided by the malicious +Kaikeyi. + +The people of Ayodhya, determined to share the fate of their favorites, +accompanied them from the city, their tears laying the dust raised by +Rama's chariot wheels. But when sleep overcame them, Rama, Sita, and +Lakshmana escaped from them, dismissed their charioteer, and, crossing the +Ganges, made their way to the mountain of Citra-kuta, where they took up +their abode. + +No more beautiful place could be imagined. Flowers of every kind, +delicious fruits, and on every side the most pleasing prospects, together +with perfect love, made their hermitage a paradise on earth. Here the +exiles led an idyllic existence until sought out by Bharata, who, learning +from his mother on his return home the ruin she had wrought in the Raj, +had indignantly spurned her, and hastened to Dandaka. The old Raja had +died from grief soon after the departure of the exiles, and Bharata now +demanded that Rama should return to Ayodhya and become Raja, as was his +right, as eldest son. + +When Rama refused to do this until the end of his fourteen years of exile, +Bharata vowed that for fourteen years he would wear the garb of a devotee +and live outside the city, committing the management of the Raj to a pair +of golden sandals which he took from Rama's feet. All the affairs of state +would be transacted under the authority of the sandals, and Bharata, while +ruling the Raj, would pay homage to them. + +Soon after the departure of Bharata the exiles were warned to depart from +their home on Citra-kuta and seek a safer hermitage, for terrible +rakshasas filled this part of the forest. They accordingly sought the +abode of Atri the hermit, whose wife Anasuya was so pleased with Sita's +piety and devotion to her husband that she bestowed upon her the crown of +immortal youth and beauty. They soon found a new abode in the forest of +Pancarati, on the banks of the river Godavari, where Lakshmana erected a +spacious bamboo house. + +Their happiness in this elysian spot was destined to be short-lived. Near +them dwelt a horrible rakshasa, Surpanakha by name, who fell in love with +Rama. When she found that he did not admire the beautiful form she assumed +to win him, and that both he and Lakshmana laughed at her advances, she +attempted to destroy Sita, only to receive in the attempt a disfiguring +wound from the watchful Lakshmana. Desiring revenge for her disfigured +countenance and her scorned love, she hastened to the court of her brother +Ravana, in Ceylon, and in order to induce him to avenge her wrongs, dwelt +upon the charms of the beautiful wife of Rama. + +Some days after, Sita espied a golden fawn, flecked with silver, among the +trees near their home. Its shining body, its jewel-like horns, so +captivated her fancy that she implored Rama, if possible, to take it alive +for her; if not, at least to bring her its skin for a couch. As Rama +departed, he warned Lakshmana not to leave Sita for one moment; he would +surely return, since no weapon could harm him. In the depths of the forest +the fawn fell by his arrow, crying as it fell, "O Sita! O Lakshmana!" in +Rama's very tones. + +When Sita heard the cry she reproached Lakshmana for not going to his +brother's aid, until he left her to escape her bitter words. He had no +sooner disappeared in the direction of the cry than a hermit appeared and +asked her to minister unto his wants. + +Sita carried him food, bathed his feet, and conversed with him until, able +no longer to conceal his admiration for her, he revealed himself in his +true form as the demon god of Ceylon. + +When she indignantly repulsed him he seized her, and mounting his chariot +drove rapidly towards Ceylon. + +When Rama and Lakshmana returned home, soon after, they found the house +empty. As they searched through the forest for traces of her they found a +giant vulture dying from wounds received while endeavoring to rescue the +shrieking Sita. Going farther, they encountered the monkey king Sugriva +and his chiefs, among whom Sita had dropped from the chariot her scarf and +ornaments. + +Sugriva had been deposed from his kingdom by his brother Bali, who had +also taken his wife from him. Rama agreed to conquer Bali if Sugriva would +assist in the search for Sita; and, the agreement made, they at once +marched upon Kishkindha, together slew Bali, and gained possession of the +wealthy city and the queen Tara. They were now ready to search for the +lost Sita. + +In his quest through every land, Hanuman, the monkey general, learned from +the king of the vultures that she had been carried to Ceylon. He +immediately set out for the coast with his army, only to find a bridgeless +ocean stretching between them and the island. Commanding his soldiers to +remain where they were, Hanuman expanded his body to enormous proportions, +leaped the vast expanse of water, and alighted upon a mountain, from which +he could look down upon Lanka, the capital city of Ceylon. Perceiving the +city to be closely guarded, he assumed the form of a cat, and thus, +unsuspected, crept through the barriers and examined the city. He found +the demon god in his apartments, surrounded by beautiful women, but Sita +was not among them. Continuing his search, he at last discovered her, her +beauty dimmed by grief, seated under a tree in a beautiful asoka grove, +guarded by hideous rakshasas with the faces of buffaloes, dogs, and swine. + +Assuming the form of a tiny monkey, Hanuman crept down the tree, and +giving her the ring of Rama, took one from her. He offered to carry her +away with him, but Sita declared that Rama must himself come to her +rescue. While they were talking together, the demon god appeared, and, +after fruitless wooing, announced that if Sita did not yield herself to +him in two months he would have her guards "mince her limbs with steel" +for his morning repast. + +In his rage, Hanuman destroyed a mango grove and was captured by the +demon's guards, who were ordered to set his tail on fire. As soon as this +was done, Hanuman made himself so small that he slipped from his bonds, +and, jumping upon the roofs, spread a conflagration through the city of +Lanka. + +He leaped back to the mainland, conveyed the news of Sita's captivity to +Rama and Sugriva, and was soon engaged in active preparations for the +campaign. + +As long as the ocean was unbridged it was impossible for any one save +Hanuman to cross it. In his anger at being so thwarted, Rama turned his +weapons against it, until from the terrified waves rose the god of the +ocean, who promised him that if Nala built a bridge, the waves should +support the materials as firmly as though it were built on land. + +Terror reigned in Lanka at the news of the approach of Rama. Vibishana, +Ravana's brother, deserted to Rama, because of the demon's rage when he +advised him to make peace with Rama. Fiercely fought battles ensued, in +which even the gods took part, Vishnu and Indra taking sides with Rama, +and the evil spirits fighting with Ravana. + +After the war had been carried on for some time, with varying results, it +was decided to determine it by single combat between Ravana and Rama. Then +even the gods were terrified at the fierceness of the conflict. At each +shot Rama's mighty bow cut off a head of the demon, which at once grew +back, and the hero was in despair until he remembered the all-powerful +arrow given him by Brahma. + +As the demon fell by this weapon, flowers rained from heaven upon the +happy victor, and his ears were ravished with celestial music. + +Touched by the grief of Ravana's widows, Rama ordered his foe a splendid +funeral, and then sought the conquered city. + +Sita was led forth, beaming with happiness at finding herself re-united to +her husband; but her happiness was destined to be of short duration. Rama +received her with coldness and with downcast eyes, saying that she could +no longer be his wife, after having dwelt in the zenana of the demon. Sita +assured him of her innocence; but on his continuing to revile her, she +ordered her funeral pyre to be built, since she would rather die by fire +than live despised by Rama. The sympathy of all the bystanders was with +Sita, but Rama saw her enter the flames without a tremor. Soon Agni, the +god of fire, appeared, bearing the uninjured Sita in his arms. Her +innocence thus publicly proved by the trial by fire, she was welcomed by +Rama, whose treatment she tenderly forgave. + +The conquest made, the demon destroyed, and Sita restored, Rama returned +in triumph to Ayodhya, and assumed the government. The city was +prosperous, the people were happy, and for a time all went well. It was +not long, however, before whispers concerning Sita's long abode in Ceylon +spread abroad, and some one whispered to Rama that a famine in the country +was due to the guilt of Sita, who had suffered the caresses of the demon +while in captivity in Ceylon. Forgetful of the trial by fire, forgetful of +Sita's devotion to him through weal and woe, the ungrateful Rama +immediately ordered her to the forest in which they had spent together the +happy years of their exile. + +Without a murmur the unhappy Sita, alone and unbefriended, dragged herself +to the forest, and, torn with grief of body and spirit, found the +hermitage of Valmiki, where she gave birth to twin sons, Lava and Kuca. +Here she reared them, with the assistance of the hermit, who was their +teacher, and under whose care they grew to manhood, handsome and strong. + +It chanced about the time the youths were twenty years old, that Rama, who +had grown peevish and disagreeable with age, began to think the gods were +angered with him because he had killed Ravana, who was the son of a +Brahman. Determined to propitiate them by means of the great sacrifice, he +caused a horse to be turned loose in the forest. When his men went to +retake it, at the end of the year, it was caught by two strong and +beautiful youths who resisted all efforts to capture them. In his rage +Rama went to the forest in person, only to learn that the youths were his +twin sons, Lava and Kuca. Struck with remorse, Rama recalled the +sufferings of his wife Sita, and on learning that she was at the hermitage +of Valmiki, ordered her to come to him, that he might take her to him +again, having first caused her to endure the trial by fire to prove her +innocence to all his court. + +Sita had had time to recover from the love of her youth, and the prospect +of life with Rama, without the _couleur de rose_ of youthful love, was +not altogether pleasant. At first, she even refused to see him; but +finally, moved by the appeals of Valmiki and his wife, she clad herself in +her richest robes, and, young and beautiful as when first won by Rama, she +stood before him. Not deigning to look in his face, she appealed to the +earth. If she had never loved any man but Rama, if her truth and purity +were known to the earth, let it open its bosom and take her to it. While +the armies stood trembling with horror, the earth opened, a gorgeous +throne appeared, and the goddess of earth, seated upon it, took Sita +beside her and conveyed her to the realms of eternal happiness, leaving +the too late repentant Rama to wear out his remaining years in shame and +penitence. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE RAMAYANA. + +THE DESCENT OF THE GANGES. + + +Sagara, an early king of Ayodhya, had sixty thousand sons, whom he sent +out one day to recover a horse that had been designed for the great +sacrifice, but had been stolen by a rakshasa. Having searched the earth +unsuccessfully, they proceeded to dig into the lower regions. + + Cloven with shovel and with hoe, pierced by axes and by spades, + Shrieked the earth in frantic woe; rose from out the yawning shades + Yells of anguish, hideous roars from the expiring brood of hell,-- + Serpents, giants, and asoors, in the deep abyss that dwell. + Sixty thousand leagues in length, all unweary, full of wrath, + Through the centre, in their strength, clove they down their hellward + path. + And downward dug they many a rood, and downward till they saw aghast, + Where the earth-bearing elephant stood, ev'n like a mountain tall and + vast. + 'T is he whose head aloft sustains the broad earth's forest-clothed + round, + With all its vast and spreading plains, and many a stately city crowned. + If underneath the o'erbearing load bows down his weary head, 't is then + The mighty earthquakes are abroad, and shaking down the abodes of men. + Around earth's pillar moved they slowly, and thus in humble accents + blest + Him the lofty and the holy, that bears the region of the East. + And southward dug they many a rood, until before their shuddering sight + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Mahapadmas' mountain height. + Upon his head earth's southern bound, all full of wonder, saw they rest. + Slow and awe-struck paced they round, and him, earth's southern + pillar, blest. + Westward then their work they urge, king Sagara's six myriad race, + Unto the vast earth's western verge, and there in his appointed place + The next earth-bearing elephant stood, huge Saumanasa's mountain crest; + Around they paced in humble mood, and in like courteous phrase addrest, + And still their weary toil endure, and onward dig until they see + Last earth-bearing Himapandure, glorying in his majesty. + +_At last they reach the place where Vishnu appears with the horse. A flame +issues from the mouth of the indignant deity and destroys the six myriad +sons of Sagara, The adventure devolves on their brother Ansuman, who +achieves it with perfect success. He is permitted to lead away the horse, +but the ashes of his brothers cannot be purified by earthly water; the +goddess Ganga must first be brought to earth, and having undergone +lustration from that holy flood, the race of Sagara are to ascend to +heaven. Brahma at last gives his permission to Ganga to descend. King +Bhagiratha takes his stand on the top of Gokarna, the sacred peak of +Himavan (the Himalaya), and here_-- + + Stands with arms outstretch'd on high, amid five blazing fires, the one + Towards each quarter of the sky, the fifth the full meridian sun. + Mid fiercest frosts on snow he slept, the dry and withered leaves his + food, + Mid rains his roofless vigil kept, the soul and sense alike subdued. + High on the top of Himavan the mighty Mashawara stood; + And "Descend," he gave the word to the heaven-meandering water-- + Full of wrath the mandate heard Himavan's majestic daughter. + To a giant's stature soaring and intolerable speed, + From heaven's height down rushed she, pouring upon Siva's sacred head, + Him the goddess thought in scorn with her resistless might to sweep + By her fierce waves overborne, down to hell's remotest deep. + + Down on Sankara's holy head, down the holy fell, and there, + Amid the entangling meshes spread, of his loose and flowing hair, + Vast and boundless as the woods upon the Himalaya's brow, + Nor ever may the struggling floods rush headlong to the earth below. + Opening, egress was not there, amid those winding, long meanders. + Within that labyrinthine hair, for many an age, the goddess wanders. + +_By the penances of the king, Siva is propitiated, and the stream, by +seven channels, finds its way to the plains of India_. + + Up the Raja at the sign upon his glittering chariot leaps, + Instant Ganga the divine follows his majestic steps. + From the high heaven burst she forth first on Siva's lofty crown, + Headlong then, and prone to earth thundering rushed the cataract down, + Swarms of bright-hued fish came dashing; turtles, dolphins in their + mirth, + Fallen or falling, glancing, flashing, to the many-gleaming earth. + And all the host of heaven came down, spirits and genii, in amaze, + And each forsook his heavenly throne, upon that glorious scene to gaze. + On cars, like high-towered cities, seen, with elephants and coursers + rode, + Or on soft swinging palanquin, lay wondering each observant god. + As met in bright divan each god, and flashed their jewell'd vestures' + rays, + The coruscating aether glow'd, as with a hundred suns ablaze. + And with the fish and dolphins gleaming, and scaly crocodiles and + snakes, + Glanc'd the air, as when fast streaming the blue lightning shoots and + breaks: + And in ten thousand sparkles bright went flashing up the cloudy spray, + The snowy flocking swans less white, within its glittering mists at + play. + And headlong now poured down the flood, and now in silver circlets + wound, + Then lake-like spread all bright and broad, then gently, gently flowed + around, + Then 'neath the caverned earth descending, then spouted up the boiling + tide, + Then stream with stream harmonious blending, swell bubbling up and + smooth subside. + By that heaven-welling water's breast, the genii and the sages stood, + Its sanctifying dews they blest, and plung'd within the lustral flood. + Whoe'er beneath the curse of heaven from that immaculate world had fled, + To th' impure earth in exile driven, to that all-holy baptism sped; + And purified from every sin, to the bright spirit's bliss restor'd, + Th' ethereal sphere they entered in, and through th' empyreal mansions + soar'd. + The world in solemn jubilee beheld those heavenly waves draw near, + From sin and dark pollution free, bathed in the blameless waters clear. + Swift king Bhagiratha drave upon his lofty glittering car, + And swift with her obeisant wave bright Ganga followed him afar. + _Milman's Translation._ + + + + +THE DEATH OF YAJNADATTA. + + +The Raja Dasaratha was compelled to banish his favorite son Rama, +immediately after his marriage to Sita, because his banishment was +demanded by the Raja's wife Kaikeyi, to whom he had once promised to grant +any request she might make. His grief at the loss of his son is described +in this selection. + + Scarce Rama to the wilderness had with his younger brother gone, + Abandoned to his deep distress, king Dasaratha sate alone. + Upon his sons to exile driven when thought that king, as Indra bright, + Darkness came o'er him, as in heaven when pales th' eclipsed sun his + light. + Six days he sate, and mourned and pined for Rama all that weary time. + At midnight on his wandering mind rose up his old forgotten crime. + His queen, Kausalya, the divine, addressed he, as she rested near: + "Kausalya, if thou wakest, incline to thy lord's speech thy ready ear. + Whatever deed, or good or ill, by man, O blessed queen, is wrought. + Its proper fruit he gathers still, by time to slow perfection brought. + He who the opposing counsel's weight compares not in his judgment cool, + Or misery or bliss his fate, among the sage is deemed a fool. + As one that quits the Amra bower, the bright Palasa's pride to gain + Mocked by the promise of its flower, seeks its unripening fruit in vain, + So I the lovely Amra left for the Palasa's barren bloom, + Through mine own fatal error 'reft of banished Rama, mourn in gloom. + Kausalya! in my early youth by my keen arrow, at his mark + Aimed with too sure and deadly truth, was wrought a deed most fell and + dark. + At length, the evil that I did, hath fallen upon my fated head, + As when on subtle poison hid an unsuspecting child hath fed; + Even as that child unwittingly hath made the poisonous fare his food, + Even so, in ignorance by me was wrought that deed of guilt and blood. + Unwed wert thou in virgin bloom, and I in youth's delicious prime, + The season of the rains had come,--that soft and love enkindling time. + Earth's moisture all absorbed, the sun through all the world its warmth + had spread, + Turned from the north, its course begun, where haunt the spirits of the + dead: + Gathering o'er all the horizon's bound on high the welcome clouds + appeared, + Exulting, all the birds flew round,--cranes, cuckoos, peacocks, flew and + veered. + And all down each wide-watered shore the troubled, yet still limpid + floods, + Over their banks began to pour, as o'er them hung the bursting clouds. + And, saturate with cloud-born dew, the glittering verdant-mantled earth, + The cuckoos and the peacocks flew, disputing as in drunken mirth.-- + + "In such a time, so soft, so bland, oh beautiful! I chanced to go. + With quiver and with bow in hand, where clear Sarayu's waters flow, + If haply to the river's brink at night the buffalo might stray, + Or elephant, the stream to drink,--intent my savage game to slay. + Then of a water cruse, as slow it filled, the gurgling sound I heard, + Nought saw I, but the sullen low of elephant that sound appeared. + The swift well-feathered arrow I upon the bowstring fitting straight, + Towards the sound the shaft let fly, ah, cruelly deceived by fate! + The winged arrow scarce had flown, and scarce had reached its destined + aim, + 'Ah me, I'm slain,' a feeble moan in trembling human accents came. + 'Ah, whence hath come this fatal shaft against a poor recluse like me, + Who shot that bolt with deadly craft,--alas! what cruel man is he? + At the lone midnight had I come to draw the river's limpid flood, + And here am struck to death, by whom? ah whose this wrongful deed of + blood? + Alas! and in my parents' heart, the old, the blind, and hardly fed, + In the wild wood, hath pierced the dart, that here hath struck their + offspring dead. + Ah, deed most profitless as worst, a deed of wanton useless guilt: + As though a pupil's hand accurs'd his holy master's blood had spilt. + But not mine own untimely fate,--it is not that which I deplore. + My blind, my aged parents' state--'tis their distress afflicts me more. + That sightless pair, for many a day, from me their scanty food have + earned; + What lot is theirs when I'm away, to the five elements returned? + Alike, all wretched they, as I--ah, whose this triple deed of blood? + For who the herbs will now supply,--the roots, the fruit, their + blameless food?' + My troubled soul, that plaintive moan no sooner heard, so faint and low, + Trembled to look on what I'd done, fell from my shuddering hand my bow. + Swift I rushed up, I saw him there, heart-pierced, and fallen the stream + beside, + The hermit boy with knotted hair,--his clothing was the black deer's + hide. + On me most piteous turned his look, his wounded breast could scarce + respire, + And these the words, O queen, he spoke, as to consume me in his ire: + 'What wrong, O Kshatriya, have I done, to be thy deathful arrow's aim, + The forest's solitary son, to draw the limpid stream I came. + Both wretched and both blind they lie, in the wildwood all destitute, + My parents, listening anxiously to hear my home-returning foot. + By this, thy fatal shaft, this one, three miserable victims fall, + The sire, the mother, and the son--ah why? and unoffending all. + How vain my father's life austere, the Veda's studied page how vain, + He knew not with prophetic fear his son would fall untimely slain. + But had he known, to one as he, so weak, so blind, 't were bootless all, + No tree can save another tree by the sharp hatchet marked to fall. + But to my father's dwelling haste, O Raghu's son, lest in his ire + Thy head with burning curse he blast, as the dry forest tree the fire. + Thee to my father's lone retreat will quickly lead yon onward path, + Oh, haste his pardon to entreat, or ere he curse thee in his wrath. + Yet first that gently I may die, draw forth the barbed steel from hence, + Allay thy fears, no Brahmin I, not thine of Brahmin blood the offence. + My sire, a Brahmin hermit he, my mother was of Sudra race.' + So spake the wounded boy, on me while turned his unreproaching face. + As from his palpitating breast I gently drew the mortal dart, + He saw me trembling stand, and blest that boy's pure spirit seemed to + part. + As died that holy hermit's son, from me my glory seemed to go, + With troubled mind I stood, cast down t' inevitable endless woe. + That shaft that seemed his life to burn like serpent venom, thus drawn + out, + I, taking up his fallen urn, t' his father's dwelling took my route. + There miserable, blind, and old, of their sole helpmate thus forlorn, + His parents did these eyes behold, like two sad birds with pinions + shorn. + Of him in fond discourse they sate, lone, thinking only of their son, + For his return so long, so late, impatient, oh by me undone. + My footsteps' sound he seemed to know, and thus the aged hermit said, + 'O Yajnadatta, why so slow?--haste, let the cooling draught be shed. + Long on the river's cooling brink hast thou been sporting in thy joy. + Thy mother's fainting spirits sink in fear for thee; but thou, my boy, + If aught to grieve thy gentle heart thy mother or thy sire do wrong, + Bear with us, nor, when next we part, on the slow way thus linger long, + The feet of those that cannot move, of those that cannot see the eye, + Our spirits live but in thy love,--oh wherefore, dearest, no reply?' + + "My throat thick swollen with bursting tears, my power of speech that + seemed to choke, + With hands above my head, my fears breaking my quivering voice, I spoke: + The Kshatriya Dasaratha I, O hermit sage, 't is not thy son! + Most holy ones, unknowingly a deed of awful guilt I've done. + With bow in hand I took my way along Sarayu's pleasant brink, + The savage buffalo to slay, or elephant come down to drink. + + "A sound came murmuring to my ear,--'twas of the urn that slowly filled, + I deemed some savage wild-beast near,--my erring shaft thy son had + killed. + A feeble groan I heard, his breast was pierced by that dire arrow keen: + All trembling to the spot I pressed, lo there thy hermit boy was seen. + Flew to the sound my arrow, meant the wandering elephant to slay, + Toward the river brink it went,--and there thy son expiring lay. + The fatal shaft when forth I drew, to heaven his parting spirit soared, + Dying he only thought of you, long, long, your lonely lot deplored. + Thus ignorantly did I slay your child beloved, O hermit sage! + Turn thou on me, whose fated day is come, thy all-consuming rage!' + He heard my dreadful tale at length, he stood all lifeless, motionless; + Then deep he groaned, and gathering strength, me the meek suppliant did + address. + 'Kshatriya, 't is well that thou hast turned, thy deed of murder to + rehearse, + Else over all thy land had burned the fire of my wide-wasting curse. + If with premeditated crime the unoffending blood thou 'dst spilt, + The Thunderer on his throne sublime had shaken at such tremendous guilt. + Against the anchorite's sacred head, hadst, knowing, aimed thy shaft + accursed, + In th' holy Vedas deeply read, thy skull in seven wide rents had burst. + But since, unwitting, thou hast wrought that deed of death, thou livest + still, + O son of Taghu, from thy thought dismiss all dread of instant ill. + Oh lead me to that doleful spot where my poor boy expiring lay, + Beneath the shaft thy fell hand shot, of my blind age the staff, the + stay. + On the cold earth 'twere yet a joy to touch my perished child again, + (So long if I may live) my boy in one last fond embrace to strain + His body all bedewed with gore, his locks in loose disorder thrown, + Let me, let her but touch once more, to the dread realm of Yama gone.' + Then to that fatal place I brought alone that miserable pair; + His sightless hands and hers I taught to touch their boy that slumbered + there. + Nor sooner did they feel him lie, on the moist herbage coldly thrown, + But with a shrill and feeble cry upon the body cast them down. + The mother as she lay and groaned, addressed her boy with quivering + tongue, + And like a heifer sadly moaned, just plundered of her new-dropped young: + + "'Was not thy mother once, my son, than life itself more dear to thee? + Why the long way thou hast begun, without one gentle word to me? + One last embrace, and then, beloved, upon thy lonely journey go! + Alas! with anger art thou moved, that not a word thou wilt bestow?' + + "The miserable father now with gentle touch each cold limb pressed, + And to the dead his words of woe, as to his living son addressed: + 'I too, my son, am I not here?--thy sire with thy sad mother stands; + Awake, arise, my child, draw near, and clasp each neck with loving + hands. + Who now, 'neath the dark wood by night, a pious reader shall be heard? + Whose honeyed voice my ear delight with th' holy Veda's living word? + The evening prayer, th' ablution done, the fire adored with worship + meet, + Who now shall soothe like thee, my son, with fondling hand, my aged + feet? + And who the herb, the wholesome root, or wild fruit from the wood shall + bring? + To us the blind, the destitute, with helpless hunger perishing? + Thy blind old mother, heaven-resigned, within our hermit-dwelling lone, + How shall I tend, myself as blind, now all my strength of life is gone? + Oh, stay, my child, oh. Part not yet, to Yama's dwelling go not now, + To-morrow forth we all will set,--thy mother and myself and thou: + For both, in grief for thee, and both so helpless, ere another day, + From this dark world, but little loath, shall we depart, death's easy + prey! + And I myself, by Yama's seat, companion of thy darksome way, + The guerdon to thy virtues meet from that great Judge of men will pray. + Because, my boy, in innocence, by wicked deed thou hast been slain, + Rise, where the heroes dwell, who thence ne'er stoop to this dark world + again. + Those that to earth return no more, the sense-subdued, the hermits wise, + Priests their sage masters that adore, to their eternal seats arise. + Those that have studied to the last the Veda's, the Vedanga's page, + Where saintly kings of earth have passed, Nahusa and Yayati sage; + The sires of holy families, the true to wedlock's sacred vow; + And those that cattle, gold, or rice, or lands, with liberal hands + bestow; + That ope th' asylum to th' oppressed, that ever love, and speak the + truth; + Up to the dwellings of the blest, th' eternal, soar thou, best-loved + youth. + For none of such a holy race within the lowest seat may dwell; + But that will be his fatal place by whom my only offspring fell.' + + "So groaning deep, that wretched pair, the hermit and his wife, essayed + The meet ablution to prepare, their hands their last faint effort made. + Divine, with glorious body bright, in splendid car of heaven elate, + Before them stood their son in light, and thus consoled their helpless + state: + 'Meed of my duteous filial care, I've reached the wished for realms of + joy; + And ye, in those glad realms, prepare to meet full soon your dear-loved + boy. + My parents, weep no more for me, yon warrior monarch slew me not, + My death was thus ordained to be, predestined was the shaft he shot.' + Thus as he spoke, the anchorite's son soared up the glowing heaven afar, + In air his heavenly body shone, while stood he in his gorgeous car. + But they, of that lost boy so dear the last ablution meetly made, + Thus spoke to me that holy seer, with folded hands above his head. + 'Albeit by thy unknowing dart my blameless boy untimely fell, + A curse I lay upon thy heart, whose fearful pain I know too well. + As sorrowing for my son I bow, and yield up my unwilling breath, + So, sorrowing for thy son shalt thou at life's last close repose in + death.' + That curse dread sounding in mine ear, to mine own city forth I set, + Nor long survived that hermit seer, to mourn his child in lone regret. + This day that Brahmin curse fulfilled hath fallen on my devoted head, + In anguish for my parted child have all my sinking spirits fled. + No more my darkened eyes can see, my clouded memory is o'ercast, + Dark Yama's heralds summon me to his deep, dreary realm to haste. + Mine eye no more my Rama sees, and grief-o'erborne, my spirits sink, + As the swoln stream sweeps down the trees that grow upon the crumbling + brink. + Oh, felt I Rama's touch, or spake one word his home-returning voice, + Again to life I should awake, as quaffing nectar draughts, rejoice, + But what so sad could e'er have been, celestial partner of my heart, + As Rama's beauteous face unseen, from life untimely to depart? + His exile in the forest o'er, him home returned to Oude's high town, + Oh happy those, that see once more, like Indra from the sky come down. + No mortal men, but gods I deem,--moonlike, before whose wondering sight + My Rama's glorious face shall beam, from the dark forest bursting + bright. + Happy that gaze on Rama's face with beauteous teeth and smile of love, + Like the blue lotus in its grace, and like the starry king above. + Like to the full autumnal moon, and like the lotus in its bloom, + That youth who sees returning soon,--how blest shall be that mortal's + doom." + Dwelling in that sweet memory, on his last bed the monarch lay, + And slowly, softly seemed to die, as fades the moon at dawn away. + "Ah, Rama! ah, my son!" thus said, or scarcely said, the king of men, + His gentle hapless spirit fled in sorrow for his Rama then, + The shepherd of his people old at midnight on his bed of death, + The tale of his son's exile told, and breathed away his dying breath. + _Milman's Translation._ + + + + + +THE MAHA-BHARATA. + + +"It is a deep and noble forest, abounding in delicious fruits and fragrant +flowers, shaded and watered by perennial springs." + +Though parts of the Maha-Bharata, or story of the great war, are of great +antiquity, the entire poem was undoubtedly collected and re-written in the +first or second century A. D. Tradition ascribes the Maha-Bharata to the +Brahman Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa. + +The Maha-Bharata, unlike the Ramayana, is not the story of some great +event, but consists of countless episodes, legends, and philosophical +treatises, strung upon the thread of a single story. These episodes are +called Upakhyanani, and the five most beautiful are called, in India, the +five precious stones. + +Its historical basis is the strife between the Aryan invaders of India and +the original inhabitants, illustrated in the strife between the sons of +the Raja Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhrita-rashtra, which forms the main +story of the poem. + +Though marred by the exaggerations peculiar to the Hindu, the poem is a +great treasure house of Indian history, and from it the Indian poets, +historical writers, and philosophers have drawn much of their material. + +The Maha-Bharata is written in the Sanskrit language; it is the longest +poem ever written, its eighteen cantos containing two hundred thousand +lines. + +It is held in even higher regard than the Ramayana, and the reading of it +is supposed to confer upon the happy reader every good and perfect gift. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE MAHA-BHARATA. + + +G.W. Cox's Mythology and Folklore, 1881, p. 313; + +John Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology, Religion, +Geography, History, and Literature, 1879; + +F. Max Mueller's Ancient Sanskrit Literature, 1859 (Introduction); + +E. A. Reed's Hindu Literature, 1891, pp. 272-352; + +Albrecht Weber's History of Indian Literature, 1878, pp. 184-191; + +J. T. Wheeler's History of India, 4 vols., 1876, vol. ii.; + +J. C. Oman's Great Indian Epics, 1874, pp. 87-231; + +T. Goldstuecker's Hindu Epic Poetry; the Maha-Bharata Literary Remains, +1879, (vol. ii., pp. 86-145); + +M. Macmillan's Globe-trotter in India, 1815, p. 193; + +J. Peile's Notes on the Tales of Nala, 1882; + +C. J. Stone's Cradle-land of Arts and Creeds, 1880, pp. 36-49; + +H. H. Wilson's Introduction to the Maha-Bharata and a Translation of three +Extracts (in his Works, vol. iii., p. 277); Westminster Review, 1868, vol. +xxxiii., p. 380. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE MAHA-BHARATA. + + +The Maha-Bharata, Selections from the Tr. by Sir Edwin Arnold, in his +Indian Poetry, 1886; in his Indian Idylls, 1883; + +Nala and Damayanti and other Poems, Tr. from the Maha-Bharata by +H. H. Milman, (his translation of the Story of Nala is edited with notes by +Monier Williams, 1879); + +Metrical translations from Sanskrit writers by John Muir, 1879, pp. 13-37; + +Last Days of Krishna, Tr. from the Maha-Bharata Price (Oriental +Translation Fund: Miscellaneous Translations); + +The Maha-Bharata, an English Prose Translation with notes, by Protap +Chandra Roy, Published in one hundred parts, 1883-1890; + +Asiatic Researches, Tr. by H. H. Wilson, from the Maha-Bharata vol. xv., +p. 101; + +Translations of episodes from the Maha-Bharata, in Scribner's Monthly, +1874, vol. vii., p. 385; + +International Review, vol. x., pp. 36, 297; Oriental Magazine, Dec., 1824, +March, Sept., 1825, Sept., 1826. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE MAHA-BHARATA. + + +Long ago there dwelt in India two great Rajas who were brothers, the Raja +Pandu and the blind Raja, Dhritarashtra. The former had five noble sons +called the Pandavas, the eldest of whom was Yudhi-sthira, the second +Bhima, the third Arjuna, and the youngest, twin sons, Nakalu and Sahadeva. +All were girted in every way, but Arjuna was especially noble in form and +feature. + +The blind Raja had a family of one hundred sons, called the Kauravas from +their ancestor, Kura. The oldest of these was Duryodhana, and the bravest, +Dhusasana. + +Before the birth of Pandu's sons, he had left his kingdom in charge of +Dhrita-rashtra, that he might spend his time in hunting in the forests on +the slopes of the Himalayas. After his death Dhrita-rashtra continued to +rule the kingdom; but on account of their claim to the throne, he invited +the Pandavas and their mother to his court, where they were trained, +together with his sons, in every knightly exercise. + +There was probably jealousy between the cousins from the beginning, and +when their teacher, Drona, openly expressed his pride in the wonderful +archery of Arjuna, the hatred of the Kauravas was made manifest. No +disturbance occurred, however, until the day when Drona made a public +tournament to display the prowess of his pupils. + +The contests were in archery and the use of the noose and of clubs. Bhima, +who had been endowed by the serpent king with the strength of ten thousand +elephants, especially excelled in the use of the club, Nakalu was most +skillful in taming and driving the horse, and the others in the use of the +sword and spear. When Arjuna made use of the bow and the noose the +plaudits with which the spectators greeted his skill so enraged the +Kauravas that they turned the contest of clubs, which was to have been a +friendly one, into a degrading and blood-shedding battle. The spectators +left the splendid lists in sorrow, and the blind Raja determined to +separate the unfriendly cousins before further harm could come from their +rivalry. + +Before this could be done, another event increased their hostility. Drona +had agreed to impart to the Kauravas and the Pandavas his skill in +warfare, on condition that they would conquer for him his old enemy, the +Raja of Panchala. On account of their quarrel the cousins would not fight +together, and the Kauravas, marching against the Raja, were defeated. On +their return, the Pandavas went to Panchala, and took the Raja prisoner. + +After Yudhi-sthira had been appointed Yuva-Raja, a step Dhrita-rashtra was +compelled by the people of Hastinapur to take, the Kauravas declared that +they could no longer remain in the same city with their cousins. + +A plot was laid to destroy the Pandavas, the Raja's conscience having been +quieted by the assurances of his Brahman counsellor that it was entirely +proper to slay one's foe, be he father, brother, or friend, openly or by +secret means. The Raja accordingly pretended to send his nephews on a +pleasure-trip to a distant province, where he had prepared for their +reception a "house of lac," rendered more combustible by soaking in +clarified butter, in which he had arranged to have them burned as if by +accident, as soon as possible after their arrival. + +All Hastinapur mourned at the departure of the Pandavas, and the princes +themselves were sad, for they had been warned by a friend that +Dhrita-rashtra had plotted for their destruction. They took up their abode +in the house of lac, to which they prudently constructed a subterranean +outlet, and one evening, when a woman with five sons attended a feast of +their mother's, uninvited, and fell into a drunken sleep, they made fast +the doors, set fire to the house, and escaped to the forest. The bodies of +the five men and their mother were found next day, and the assurance was +borne to Hastinapur that the Pandavas and their mother Kunti had perished +by fire. + +The five princes, with their mother, disguised as Brahmans, spent several +years wandering through the forests, having many strange adventures and +slaying many demons. While visiting Ekachakra, which city they freed from +a frightful rakshasa, they were informed by the sage Vyasa that Draupadi, +the lovely daughter of the Raja Draupada of Panchala, was going to hold a +Svayamvara in order to select a husband. The suitors of a princess +frequently attended a meeting of this sort and took part in various +athletic contests, at the end of which the princess signified who was most +pleasing to her, usually the victor in the games, by hanging around his +neck a garland of flowers. + +Vyasa's description of the lovely princess, whose black eyes were large as +lotus leaves, whose skin was dusky, and her locks dark and curling, so +excited the curiosity of the Pandavas that they determined to attend the +Svayamvara. They found the city full of princes and kings who had come to +take part in the contest for the most beautiful woman in the world. The +great amphitheatre in which the games were to take place was surrounded by +gold and jewelled palaces for the accommodation of the princes, and with +platforms for the convenience of the spectators. + +After music, dancing, and various entertainments, which occupied sixteen +days, the contest of skill began. On the top of a tall pole, erected in +the plain, was placed a golden fish, below which revolved a large wheel. +He who sent his arrow through the spokes of the wheel and pierced the eye +of the golden fish was to be the accepted suitor of Draupadi. + +When the princes saw the difficulty of the contest, many of them refused +to enter it; as many tried it only to fail, among them, the Kaurava +Duryodhana. At last Arjuna, still in his disguise, stepped forward, drew +his bow, and sent his arrow through the wheel into the eye of the golden +fish. + +Immediately a great uproar arose among the spectators because a Brahman +had entered a contest limited to members of the Kshatriya, or warrior +class. In the struggle which ensued, however, Arjuna, assisted by his +brothers, especially Bhima, succeeded in carrying off the princess, whose +father did not demur. + +When the princes returned to their hut they went into the inner room and +informed their mother that they had brought home a prize. Supposing that +it was some game, she told them it would be well to share it equally. The +mother's word was law, but would the gods permit them to share Draupadi? +Their troubled minds were set at rest by Vyasa, who assured them that +Draupadi had five different times in former existences besought Siva for a +good husband. He had refused her requests then, but would now allow her +five husbands at once. The princes were well satisfied, and when the Raja +Draupada learned that the Brahmans were great princes in disguise, he +caused the five weddings to be celebrated in great state. + +Not satisfied with this, the Raja at once endeavored to make peace between +the Pandavas and their hostile cousins, and succeeded far enough to induce +Dhrita-rashtra to cede to his nephews a tract of land in the farthest part +of his kingdom, on the river Jumna, where they set about founding a most +splendid city, Indra-prastha. + +Here they lived happily with Draupadi, conquering so many kingdoms and +accumulating so much wealth that they once more aroused the jealousy of +their old enemies, the Kauravas. The latter, knowing that it would be +impossible to gain the advantage of them by fair means, determined to +conquer them by artifice, and accordingly erected a large and magnificent +hall and invited their cousins thither, with a great show of friendliness, +to a gambling match. + +The Pandavas knew they would not be treated fairly, but as such an +invitation could not be honorably declined by a Kshatriya, they went to +Hastinapur. Yudhi-sthira's opponent was Shakuni, the queen's brother, an +unprincipled man, by whom he was defeated in every game. + +Yudhi-sthira staked successively his money, his jewels, and his slaves; +and when these were exhausted, he continued to play, staking his kingdom, +his brothers, and last of all his peerless wife, Draupadi. + +At this point, when the excitement was intense, the brutal Dhusasana +commanded Draupadi to be brought into the hall, and insulted her in every +way, to the great rage of the helpless Pandavas, until Dhrita-rashtra, +affrighted by the evil omens by which the gods signified their +disapproval, rebuked Dhusasana for his conduct, and giving Draupadi her +wish, released her husbands and herself and sent them back to their +kingdom. + +To prevent the Pandavas from gaining time to avenge their insult, the +Kauravas induced their father to invite their cousins to court to play a +final game, this time the conditions being that the losing party should go +into exile for thirteen years, spending twelve years in the forest and the +thirteenth in some city. If their disguise was penetrated by their enemies +during the thirteenth year, the exile was to be extended for another +thirteen years. + +Though they knew the outcome, the Pandavas accepted the second invitation, +and in consequence again sought the forest, not departing without the most +terrible threats against their cousins. + +In the forest of Kamyaka, Yudhi-sthira studied the science of dice that he +might not again be defeated so disastrously, and journeyed pleasantly from +one point of interest to another with Draupadi and his brothers, with the +exception of Arjuna, who had sought the Himalayas to gain favor with the +god Siva, that he might procure from him a terrible weapon for the +destruction of his cousins. + +After he had obtained the weapon he was lifted into the heaven of the god +Indra, where he spent five happy years. When he rejoined his wife and +brothers, they were visited by the god Krishna and by the sage Markandeya, +who told them the story of the creation and destruction of the universe, +of the flood, and of the doctrine of Karma, which instructs one that man's +sufferings here below are due to his actions in former and forgotten +existences. He also related to them the beautiful story of how the +Princess Savitri had wedded the Prince Satyavan, knowing that the gods had +decreed that he should die within a year; how on the day set for his death +she had accompanied him to the forest, had there followed Yama, the awful +god of death, entreating him until, for very pity of her sorrow and +admiration of her courage and devotion, he yielded to her her husband's +soul. + +Near the close of the twelfth year of their exile, the princes, fatigued +from a hunt, sent Nakalu to get some water from a lake which one had +discovered from a tree-top. As the prince approached the lake he was +warned by a voice not to touch it, but thirst overcoming fear, he drank +and fell dead. The same penalty was paid by Sahadeva, Arjuna, and Bhima, +who in turn followed him. Yudhi-sthira, who went last, obeyed the voice, +which, assuming a terrible form, asked the king questions on many subjects +concerning the universe. These being answered satisfactorily, the being +declared himself to be Dharma, the god of justice, Yudhi-sthira's father, +and in token of his affection for his son, restored the princes to life, +and granted them the boon of being unrecognizable during the remaining +year of their exile. + +The thirteenth year of their exile they spent in the city of Virata, where +they entered the service of the Raja,--Yudhi-sthira as teacher of +dice-playing, Bhima as superintendent of the cooks, Arjuna as a teacher of +music and dancing to the ladies, Nakalu as master of horse, and Sahadeva +as superintendent of the cattle. Draupadi, who entered the service of the +queen, was so attractive, even in disguise, that Bhima was forced to kill +the queen's brother, Kechaka, for insulting her. This would have caused +the Pandavas' exile from Virata had not their services been needed in a +battle between Virata and the king of the Trigartas. + +The Kauravas assisted the Trigartas in this battle, and the recognition, +among the victors, of their cousins, whose thirteenth year of exile was +now ended, added to the bitterness of their defeat. + +Their exile over, the Pandavas were free to make preparations for the +great war which they had determined to wage against the Kauravas. Both +parties, anxious to enlist the services of Krishna, sent envoys to him at +the same time. When Krishna gave them the choice of himself or his armies, +Arjuna was shrewd enough to choose the god, leaving his hundreds of +millions of soldiers to swell the forces of the Kauravas. + +When their preparations were completed, and the time had come to wreak +vengeance on their cousins, the Pandavas were loath to begin the conflict. +They seemed to understand that, war once declared, there could be no +compromise, but that it must be a war for extinction. But the Kauravas +received their proposals of peace with taunts, and heaped insults upon +their emissary. + +When the Pandavas found that there was no hope of peace, they endeavored +to win to their side Karna, who was really a son of Kunti, and hence their +half-brother, though this fact had not been made known to him until he had +long been allied with the Kauravas. In anticipation of this war, the gods, +by a bit of trickery, had robbed Karna of his god-given armor and weapons. +However, neither celestial artifice, the arguments of Krishna, nor the +entreaties of Kunti were able to move Karna from what he considered the +path of duty, though he promised that while he would fight with all his +strength, he would not slay Yudhi-sthira, Bhima, and the twins. + +The forces of the two armies were drawn up on the plain of Kuruk-shetra. +The army of the Kauravas was under the command of the terrible Bhishma, +the uncle of Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who had governed the country during +the minority of Pandu. + +Each side was provided with billions and billions of infantry, cavalry, +and elephants; the warriors were supplied with weapons of the most +dangerous sort. The army of the Kauravas was surrounded by a deep trench +fortified by towers, and further protected by fireballs and jars full of +scorpions to be thrown at the assailants. + +As night fell, before the battle, the moon's face was stained with blood, +earthquakes shook the land, and the images of the gods fell from their +places. + +The next morning, when Arjuna, from his chariot, beheld the immense army, +he was appalled at the thought of the bloodshed to follow, and hesitated +to advance. Krishna insisted that it was unnecessary for him to lament, +setting forth his reasons in what is known as the Bhagavat-gita, the +divine song, in which he said it was no sin to slay a foe, since death is +but a transmigration from one form to another. The soul can never cease to +be; who then can destroy it? Therefore, when Arjuna slew his cousins he +would merely remove their offensive bodies; their souls, unable to be +destroyed, would seek other habitations. To further impress Arjuna, +Krishna boasted of himself as embodying everything, and as having passed +through many forms. Faith in Krishna was indispensable, for the god placed +faith above either works or contemplation. He next exhibited himself in +his divine form to Arjuna, and the warrior was horror-stricken at the +terrible divinity with countless arms, hands, and heads, touching the +skies. Having been thus instructed by Krishna, Arjuna went forth, and the +eighteen days' battle began. + +The slaughter was wholesale; no quarter was asked or given, since each +side was determined to exterminate the other. Flights of arrows were +stopped in mid-air by flights of arrows from the other side. Great maces +were cut in pieces by well-directed darts. Bhima, wielding his great club +with his prodigious strength, wiped out thousands of the enemy at one +stroke, and Arjuna did the same with his swift arrows. Nor were the +Kauravas to be despised. Hundreds of thousands of the Pandavas' followers +fell, and the heroic brothers were themselves struck by many arrows. + +Early in the battle the old Bhishma was pierced by so many arrows that, +falling from his chariot, he rested upon their points as on a couch, and +lay there living by his own desire, until long after the battle. + +After eighteen days of slaughter, during which the field reeked with blood +and night was made horrible by the cries of the jackals and other beasts +of prey that devoured the bodies of the dead, the Kauravas were all slain, +and the five Pandavas, reconciled to the blind Raja, accompanied him back +to Hastinapur, where Yudhi-sthira was crowned Raja, although the Raj was +still nominally under the rule of his old uncle. + +Yudhi-sthira celebrated his accession to the throne by the performance of +the great sacrifice, which was celebrated with the utmost splendor. After +several years the unhappy Dhrita-rashtra retired with his wife to a jungle +on the banks of the Ganges, leaving Yudhi-sthira in possession of the +kingdom. There the Pandavas visited him, and talked over the friends who +had fallen in the great war. One evening the sage Vyasa instructed them to +bathe in the Ganges and then stand on the banks of the river. He then went +into the water and prayed, and coming out stood by Yudhi-sthira and called +the names of all those persons who had been slain at Kuruk-shetra. +Immediately the water began to foam and boil, and to the great surprise +and terror of all, the warriors lost in the great battle appeared in their +chariots, at perfect peace with one another, and cleansed of all earthly +stain. Then the living were happy with the dead; long separated families +were once more united, and the hearts that had been desolate for fifteen +long years were again filled with joy. The night sped quickly by in tender +conversation, and when morning came, all the dead mounted into their +chariots and disappeared. Those who had come to meet them prepared to +leave the river, but with the permission of Vyasa, the widows drowned +themselves that they might rejoin their husbands. + +Not long after his return to Hastinapur, Yudhi-sthira heard that the old +Raja and his wife had lost their lives in a jungle-fire; and soon after +this, tidings came to him of the destruction of the city of the Yadavas, +the capital of Krishna, in punishment for the dissipation of its +inhabitants. + +Yudhi-sthira's reign of thirty-six years had been a succession of gloomy +events, and he began to grow weary of earth and to long for the blessings +promised above. He therefore determined to make the long and weary +pilgrimage to Heaven without waiting for death. According to the +Maha-Bharata, the earth was divided into seven concentric rings, each of +which was surrounded by an ocean or belt separating it from the next +annular continent. The first ocean was of salt water; the second, of the +juice of the sugar-cane; the third, of wine; the fourth, of clarified +butter; the fifth, of curdled milk; the sixth, of sweet milk; the seventh, +of fresh water. In the centre of this vast annular system Mount Meru rose +to the height of sixty-four thousand miles. + +Upon this mountain was supposed to rest the heaven of the Hindus, and +thither Yudhi-sthira proposed to make his pilgrimage. His brothers and +their wife Draupadi insisted on going with him, for all were equally weary +of the world. Their people would fain have accompanied them, but the +princes sent them back and went unaccompanied save by their faithful dog. +They kept on, fired by their high resolves, until they reached the long +and dreary waste of sand that stretched before Mount Meru. There Draupadi +fell and yielded up her life, and Yudhi-sthira, never turning to look +back, told the questioning Bhima that she died because she loved her +husbands better than all else, better than heaven. Next Sahadeva fell, +then Nakalu, and afterwards Arjuna and Bhima. Yudhi-sthira, still striding +on, informed Bhima that pride had slain the first, self-love the second, +the sin of Arjuna was a lie, and Bhima had loved too well the good things +of earth. + +Followed by the dog, Yudhi-sthira pushed across the barren sand until he +reached the mount and stood in the presence of the god. Well pleased with +his perseverance, the god promised him the reward of entering into heaven +in his own form, but he refused to go unless the dog could accompany him. +After vainly attempting to dissuade him, the god allowed the dog to assume +its proper form, and lo! it was Dharma, the god of justice, and the two +entered heaven together. + +But where were Draupadi and the gallant princes, her husbands? +Yudhi-sthira could see them nowhere, and he questioned only to learn that +they were in hell. His determination was quickly taken. There could be no +heaven for him unless his brothers and their wife could share it with him. +He demanded to be shown the path to hell, to enter which he walked over +razors, and trod under foot mangled human forms. But joy of joys! The +lotus-eyed Draupadi called to him, and his brothers cried that his +presence in hell brought a soothing breeze that gave relief to all the +tortured souls. + +Yudhi-sthira's self-sacrifice sufficiently tested, the gods proclaimed +that it was all but an illusion shown to make him enjoy the more, by +contrast, the blisses of heaven. The king Yudhi-sthira then bathed in the +great river flowing through three worlds, and, washed from all sins and +soils, went up, hand in hand with the gods, to his brothers, the Pandavas, +and + + "Lotus-eyed and loveliest Draupadi, + Waiting to greet him, gladdening and glad." + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE MAHA-BHARATA. + +SAVITRI, OR LOVE AND DEATH. + + +The beautiful princess Savitri of her own choice wedded the prince +Satyavan, son of a blind and exiled king, although she knew that he was +doomed by the gods to die within a year. When the year was almost gone, +she sat for several days beneath a great tree, abstaining from food and +drink, and imploring the gods to save him from death. On the fateful day +she accompanied him to the forest to gather the sacred wood for the +evening sacrifice. As he struck the tree with the axe he reeled in pain, +and exclaiming, "I cannot work!" fell fainting. + + Thereon that noble lady, hastening near. + Stayed him that would have fallen, with quick arms; + And, sitting on the earth, laid her lord's head + Tenderly in her lap. So bent she, mute, + Fanning his face, and thinking 't was the day-- + The hour--which Narad named--the sure fixed date + Of dreadful end--when, lo! before her rose + A shade majestic. Red his garments were, + His body vast and dark; like fiery suns + The eyes which burned beneath his forehead-cloth; + Armed was he with a noose, awful of mien. + This Form tremendous stood by Satyavan, + Fixing its gaze upon him. At the sight + The fearful Princess started to her feet. + Heedfully laying on the grass his head, + + Up started she, with beating heart, and joined + Her palms for supplication, and spake thus + In accents tremulous: "Thou seem'st some God; + Thy mien is more than mortal; make me know + What god thou art, and what thy purpose here." + + And Yama said (the dreadful god of death): + "Thou art a faithful wife, O Savitri, + True to thy vows, pious, and dutiful; + Therefore I answer thee. Yama I am! + This Prince thy lord lieth at point to die; + Him will I straightway bind and bear from life; + This is my office, and for this I come." + + Then Savitri spake sadly: "It is taught + Thy messengers are sent to fetch the dying; + Why is it, Mightiest, thou art come thyself?" + + In pity of her love, the Pityless + Answered--the King of all the Dead replied: + "This was a Prince unparalleled, thy lord; + Virtuous as fair, a sea of goodly gifts, + Not to be summoned by a meaner voice + Than Yama's own: therefore is Yama come." + + With that the gloomy God fitted his noose + And forced forth from the Prince the soul of him-- + Subtile, a thumb in length--which being reft, + Breath stayed, blood stopped, the body's grace was gone, + And all life's warmth to stony coldness turned. + Then, binding it, the Silent Presence bore + Satyavan's soul away toward the South. + + But Savitri the Princess followed him; + Being so bold in wifely purity, + So holy by her love; and so upheld, + She followed him. + + Presently Yama turned. + "Go back," quoth he. "Pay for him funeral dues. + Enough, O Savitri, is wrought for love; + Go back! Too far already hast thou come." + + Then Savitri made answer: "I must go + Where my lord goes, or where my lord is borne; + Naught other is my duty. Nay, I think, + By reason of my vows, my services, + Done to the Gurus, and my faultless love, + Grant but thy grace, I shall unhindered go. + The sages teach that to walk seven steps + One with another, maketh good men friends; + Beseech thee, let me say a verse to thee:-- + + _"Be master of thyself, if thou wilt be + Servant of Duty. Such as thou shall see + Not self-subduing, do no deeds of good + In youth or age, in household or in wood. + But wise men know that virtue is best bliss, + And all by some one way may reach to this. + It needs not men should pass through orders four + To come to knowledge: doing right is more + Than any learning; therefore sages say + Best and most excellent is Virtue's way."_ + + Spake Yama then: "Return! yet I am moved + By those soft words; justly their accents fell, + And sweet and reasonable was their sense. + See now, thou faultless one. Except this life + I bear away, ask any boon from me; + It shall not be denied." + + Savitri said: + "Let, then, the King, my husband's father, have + His eyesight back, and be his strength restored, + And let him live anew, strong as the sun." + + "I give this gift," Yama replied. "Thy wish, + Blameless, shall be fulfilled. But now go back; + Already art thou wearied, and our road + Is hard and long. Turn back, lest thou, too, die." + + The Princess answered: "Weary am I not, + So I walk near my lord. Where he is borne, + Thither wend I. Most mighty of the Gods, + I follow wheresoe'er thou takest him. + A verse is writ on this, if thou wouldst hear:-- + + _"There is naught better than to be + With noble souls in company: + There is naught better than to wend + With good friends faithful to the end. + This is the love whose fruit is sweet, + Therefore to bide within is meet."_ + + Spake Yama, smiling: "Beautiful! thy words + Delight me; they are excellent, and teach + Wisdom unto the wise, singing soft truth. + Look, now! Except the life of Satyavan, + Ask yet another--any--boon from me." + + Savitri said: "Let, then, the pious King, + My husband's father, who hath lost his throne, + Have back the Raj; and let him rule his realm + In happy righteousness. This boon I ask." + + "He shall have back the throne," Yama replied, + "And he shall reign in righteousness: these things + Will surely fall. But thou, gaining thy wish, + Return anon; so shalt thou 'scape sore ill." + + "Ah, awful God! who hold'st the world in leash," + The Princess said, "restraining evil men, + And leading good men--even unconscious--there, + Where they attain, hear yet those famous words:-- + + _"The constant virtues of the good are tenderness and love + To all that lives--in earth, air, sea--great, small--below, above; + Compassionate of heart, they keep a gentle thought for each, + Kind in their actions, mild in will, and pitiful of speech; + Who pitieth not, he hath not faith; full many an one so lives, + But when an enemy seeks help, a good man gladly gives."_ + + "As water to the thirsty," Yama said, + "Princess, thy words melodious are to me. + Except the life of Satyavan, thy lord, + Ask one boon yet again, for I will grant." + + Answer made Savitri: "The King, my sire, + Hath no male child. Let him see many sons + Begotten of his body, who may keep + The royal line long regnant. This I ask." + + "So shall it be," the Lord of Death replied; + "A hundred fair preservers of his race + Thy sire shall boast. But this wish being won, + Return, dear Princess; thou hast come too far." + + "It is not far for me," quoth Savitri, + "Since I am near my husband; nay, my heart + Is set to go as far as to the end; + But hear these other verses, if thou wilt:-- + + _"By that sunlit name thou bearest, + Thou, Vaivaswata! art dearest; + Those that as their Lord proclaim thee, + King of Righteousness do name thee: + Better than themselves the wise + Trust the righteous. Each relies + Most upon the good, and makes + Friendship with them. Friendship takes + Fear from hearts; yet friends betray, + In good men we may trust alway."_ + + "Sweet lady," Yama said, "never were words + Spoke better; never truer heard by ear; + Lo! I am pleased with thee. Except this soul, + Ask one gift yet again, and get thee home." + + "I ask thee then," quickly the Princess cried, + "Sons, many sons, born of my body; boys; + Satyavan's children; lovely, valiant, strong; + Continuers of their line. Grant this, kind God." + + "I grant it," Yama answered; "thou shalt bear + These sons thy heart desireth, valiant, strong. + Therefore go back, that years be given thee. + Too long a path thou treadest, dark and rough." + + But sweeter than before, the Princess sang:-- + + _"In paths of peace and virtue + Always the good remain; + And sorrow shall not stay with them, + Nor long access of pain; + At meeting or at parting + Joys to their bosom strike; + For good to good is friendly, + And virtue loves her like. + The great sun goes his journey + By their strong truth impelled; + By their pure lives and penances + Is earth itself upheld; + Of all which live and shall live + Upon its hills and fields, + Pure hearts are the protectors, + For virtue saves and shields. + + "Never are noble spirits + Poor while their like survive; + True love has gems to render, + And virtue wealth to give. + Never is lost or wasted + The goodness of the good; + Never against a mercy, + Against a right, it stood; + And seeing this, that virtue + Is always friend to all, + The virtuous and true-hearted, + Men their protectors call."_ + + "Line for line, Princess, as thou sangest so," + Quoth Yama, "all that lovely praise of good, + Grateful to hallowed minds, lofty in sound, + And couched in dulcet numbers--word by word-- + Dearer thou grew'st to me. O thou great heart, + Perfect and firm! ask any boon from me,-- + Ask an incomparable boon!" + + She cried + Swiftly, no longer stayed: "Not Heaven I crave, + Nor heavenly joys, nor bliss incomparable, + Hard to be granted, even by thee; but him, + My sweet lord's life, without which I am dead; + Give me that gift of gifts! I will not take + Aught less without him,--not one boon--no praise, + No splendors, no rewards,--not even those sons + Whom thou didst promise. Ah, thou wilt not now + Bear hence the father of them and my hope! + Make thy free word good; give me Satyavan + Alive once more." + + And thereupon the God-- + The Lord of Justice, high Vaivaswata-- + Loosened the noose and freed the Prince's soul, + And gave it to the lady, saying this, + With eyes grown tender: "See, thou sweetest queen + Of women, brightest jewel of thy kind! + Here is thy husband. He shall live and reign + Side by side with thee, saved by thee,--in peace + And fame and wealth, and health, many long years, + For pious sacrifices world-renowned. + Boys shalt thou bear to him, as I did grant,-- + Kshatriya kings, fathers of kings to be, + Sustainers of thy line. Also thy sire + Shall see his name upheld by sons of sons, + Like the immortals, valiant, Malavas." + + ARNOLD: _Indian Idylls._ + + + + +FROM "THE GREAT JOURNEY." + + +The shadow of the Great War hung over King Yudhi-sthira, whose reign was +one long succession of gloomy events, culminating in the death of the +blind Raja and his wife in a jungle fire, and the destruction of the +capital city of Krishna because of the dissipation of its inhabitants. + + On tidings of the wreck of Vrishni's race, + King Yudhi-sthira of the Pandavas + Was minded to be done with earthly things, + And to Arjuna spake: "O noble prince, + Time endeth all; we linger, noose on neck, + Till the last day tightens the line, and kills. + Let us go forth to die, being yet alive." + And Kunti's son, the great Arjuna, said: + "Let us go forth! Time slayeth all. + We will find Death, who seeketh other men." + And Bhimasena, hearing, answered: "Yea, + We will find Death!" and Sahadev cried: "Yea!" + And his twin brother Nakalu; whereat + The princes set their faces for the Mount. + + * * * * * + + So ordering ere he went, the righteous King + Made offering of white water, heedfully, + To Vasudev, to Rama, and the rest,-- + All funeral rites performing; next he spread + A funeral feast.... + + And all the people cried, "Stay with us, Lord!" + But Yudhi-sthira knew his time was come, + Knew that life passes and that virtue lasts, + And put aside their love.... + + So, with farewells + Tenderly took of lieges and of lords, + Girt he for travel with his princely kin, + Great Yudhi-sthira, Dharma's royal son. + Crest-gem and belt and ornaments he stripped + From off his body, and for broidered robe + A rough dress donned, woven of jungle bark; + And what he did--O Lord of men!--so did + Arjuna, Bhima, and the twin-born pair, + Nakalu with Sahadev, and she,--in grace + The peerless,--Draupadi. Lastly those six,-- + Thou son of Bharata!--in solemn form + Made the high sacrifice of Naishtiki, + Quenching their flames in water at the close; + And so set forth, midst wailing of all folk + And tears of women, weeping most to see + The Princess Draupadi--that lovely prize + Of the great gaming, Draupadi the Bright-- + Journeying afoot; but she and all the five + Rejoiced because their way lay heavenward. + + Seven were they, setting forth,--Princess and King, + The King's four brothers and a faithful dog. + Those left Hastinapur; but many a man, + And all the palace household, followed them + The first sad stage: and ofttimes prayed to part, + + Put parting off for love and pity, still + Sighing, "A little farther!" till day waned; + Then one by one they turned. + + * * * * * + + Thus wended they, + Pandu's five sons and loveliest Draupadi, + Taking no meat and journeying due east, + On righteousness their high hearts fed, to heaven + Their souls assigned; and steadfast trod their feet-- + By faith upborne--past nullah ran, and wood, + River and jheel and plain. King Yudhi-sthir + Walked foremost, Bhima followed, after him + Arjuna, and the twin-born brethren next, + Nakalu with Sahadev; in whose still steps-- + O Best of Bharat's offspring!--Draupadi, + That gem of women paced, with soft dark face,-- + Clear-edged like lotus petals; last the dog + Following the Pandavas. + + * * * * * + + While yet those heroes walked, + Now to the northward banding, where long coasts + Shut in the sea of salt, now to the north, + Accomplishing all quarters, journeyed they; + The earth their altar of high sacrifice, + Which these most patient feet did pace around + Till Meru rose. + + At last it rose! These Six, + Their senses subjugate, their spirits pure, + Wending along, came into sight--far off + In the eastern sky--of awful Himavat; + And midway in the peaks of Himavat, + Meru, the mountain of all mountains, rose, + Whose head is heaven; and under Himavat + Glared a wide waste of sand, dreadful as death. + + Then, as they hastened o'er the deathly waste, + Aiming for Meru, having thoughts at soul + Infinite, eager,--lo! Draupadi reeled, + With faltering heart and feet; and Bhima turned, + Gazing upon her; and that hero spake + To Yudhi-sthira: "Master, Brother, King! + Why doth she fail? For never all her life + Wrought our sweet lady one thing wrong, I think. + Thou knowest; make us know, why hath she failed?" + + Then Yudhi-sthira answered: "Yea, one thing. + She loved our brothers better than all else,-- + Better than Heaven: that was her tender sin, + Fault of a faultless soul: she pays for that." + + So spake the monarch, turning not his eyes, + Though Draupadi lay dead,--striding straight on + For Meru, heart-full of the things of Heaven, + Perfect and firm. But yet a little space + And Sahadev fell down; which Bhima seeing, + Cried once again: "O King, great Madri's son + Stumbles and sinks. Why hath he sunk?--so true, + So brave and steadfast, and so free from pride!" + + "He was not free," with countenance still fixed, + Quoth Yudhi-sthira; "he was true and fast + And wise; yet wisdom made him proud; he hid + One little hurt of soul, but now it kills." + + So saying, he strode on, Kunti's strong son, + And Bhima; and Arjuna followed him, + And Nakalu and the hound; leaving behind + Sahadev in the sands. But Nakalu, + Weakened and grieved to see Sahadev fall-- + His dear-loved brother--lagged and stayed; and then + Prone on his face he fell, that noble face + Which had no match for beauty in the land,-- + Glorious and godlike Nakalu! Then sighed + Bhima anew: "Brother and Lord! the man + Who never erred from virtue, never broke + Our fellowship, and never in the world + Was matched for goodly perfectness of form + Or gracious feature,--Nakalu has fallen!" + + But Yudhi-sthira, holding fixed his eyes,-- + That changeless, faithful, all-wise king,--replied: + "Yea, but he erred! The god-like form he wore + Beguiled him to believe none like to him, + And he alone desirable, and things + Unlovely, to be slighted. Self-love slays + Our noble brother. Bhima, follow! Each + Pays what his debt was." + + Which Arjuna heard, + Weeping to see them fall; and that stout son + Of Pandu, that destroyer of his foes, + That Prince, who drove through crimson waves of war, + In old days, with his milk-white chariot-steeds, + Him, the arch hero, sank! Beholding this,-- + The yielding of that soul unconquerable, + + Fearless, divine, from Sakra's self derived, + Arjuna's--Bhima cried aloud: "O King! + This man was surely perfect. Never once, + Not even in slumber, when the lips are loosed, + Spake he one word that was not true as truth. + Ah, heart of gold! why art thou broke? O King! + Whence falleth he?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said, + Not pausing: "Once he lied, a lordly lie! + He bragged--our brother--that a single day + Should see him utterly consume, alone, + All those his enemies,--which could not be. + Yet from a great heart sprang the unmeasured speech, + Howbeit a finished hero should not shame + Himself in such a wise, nor his enemy, + If he will faultless fight and blameless die: + This was Arjuna's sin. Follow thou me!" + + So the King still went on. But Bhima next + Fainted, and stayed upon the way, and sank; + But, sinking, cried behind the steadfast Prince: + "Ah, Brother, see! I die! Look upon me, + Thy well beloved! Wherefore falter I, + Who strove to stand?" + + And Yudhi-sthira said: + "More than was well the goodly things of earth + Pleased thee, my pleasant brother! Light the offence + And large thy spirit; but the o'erfed soul + Plumed itself over others. Pritha's son, + For this thou fallest, who so near didst gain." + + Thenceforth alone the long-armed monarch strode, + Not looking back,--nay, not for Bhima's sake,-- + But walking with his face set for the Mount; + And the hound followed him,--only the hound. + + After the deathly sands, the Mount! and lo! + Sakra shone forth,--the God,--filling the earth + And Heavens with the thunders of his chariot wheels. + "Ascend," he said, "with me, Pritha's great son!" + But Yudhi-sthira answered, sore at heart + For those his kinsfolk, fallen on the way: + "O Thousand-eyed, O Lord of all the gods, + Give that my brothers come with me, who fell! + Not without them is Swarga sweet to me. + She too, the dear and kind and queenly,--she + Whose perfect virtue Paradise must crown,-- + Grant her to come with us! Dost thou grant this?" + + The God replied: "In Heaven thou shalt see + Thy kinsmen and the Queen--these will attain-- + And Krishna. Grieve no longer for thy dead, + Thou chief of men! their mortal coverings stripped, + These have their places; but to thee, the gods + Allow an unknown grace: thou shalt go up, + Living and in thy form, to the immortal homes." + + But the King answered: "O thou wisest One, + Who know'st what was, and is, and is to be, + Still one more grace! This hound hath ate with me, + Followed me, loved me; must I leave him now?" + + "Monarch," spake Indra, "thou art now as we,-- + Deathless, divine; thou art become a god; + Glory and power and gifts celestial, + And all the joys of heaven are thine for aye: + What hath a beast with these? Leave here thy hound." + + Yet Yudhi-sthira answered: "O Most High, + O Thousand-Eyed and Wisest! can it be + That one exalted should seem pitiless? + Nay, let me lose such glory: for its sake + I cannot leave one living thing I loved." + + Then sternly Indra spake: "He is unclean, + And into Swarga such shall enter not. + The Krodhavasha's wrath destroys the fruits + Of sacrifice, if dog defile the fire. + Bethink thee, Dharmaraj; quit now this beast! + That which is seemly is not hard of heart." + + Still he replied: "'Tis written that to spurn + A suppliant equals in offence to slay + A twice-born; wherefore, not for Swarga's bliss + Quit I, Mahendra, this poor clinging dog,-- + So without any hope or friend save me. + So wistful, fawning for my faithfulness; + So agonized to die, unless I help + Who among men was called steadfast and just." + + Quoth Indra: "Nay, the altar flame is foul + Where a dog passeth; angry angels sweep + The ascending smoke aside, and all the fruits + Of offering, and the merit of the prayer + Of him whom a hound toucheth. Leave it here! + He that will enter Heaven must enter pure. + Why didst thou quit thy brethren on the way, + And Krishna, and the dear-loved Draupadi, + Attaining firm and glorious to this Mount + Through perfect deeds, to linger for a brute? + Hath Yudhi-sthira vanquished self, to melt + With one pure passion at the door of bliss? + Stay'st thou for this, who did not stay for them,-- + Draupadi, Bhima?" + + But the King yet spake: + "'T is known that none can hurt or help the dead. + They, the delightful ones, who sank and died. + Following my footsteps, could not live again + Though I had turned--therefore I did not turn; + But could help profit, I had stayed to help. + There be four sins, O Sakra, grievous sins: + The first is making suppliants despair, + The second is to slay a nursing wife, + The third is spoiling Brahmans' goods by force, + The fourth is injuring an ancient friend. + These four I deem not direr than the crime, + If one, in coming forth from woe to weal, + Abandon any meanest comrade then." + + Straight as he spake, brightly great Indra smiled; + Vanished the hound, and in its stead stood there + The Lord of Death and Justice, Dharma's self! + Sweet were the words which fell from those dread lips, + Precious the lovely praise: "O thou true King, + Thou that dost bring to harvest the good seed + Of Pandu's righteousness; thou that hast ruth + As he before, on all which lives!--O Son! + + "Hear thou my word! Because thou didst not mount + This car divine, lest the poor hound be shent + Who looked to thee, lo! there is none in heaven + Shall sit above thee, King! Bharata's son! + Enter thou now to the eternal joys, + Living and in thy form. Justice and Love + Welcome thee, Monarch! thou shalt throne with us!" + ARNOLD: _Indian Idylls_. + + + + + +THE ILIAD. + + +The Iliad, or story of the fall of Ilium (Troy), is supposed to have been +written by Homer, about the tenth century B. C. The legendary history of +Homer represents him as a schoolmaster and poet of Smyrna, who while +visiting in Ithaca became blind, and afterwards spent his life travelling +from place to place reciting his poems, until he died in Ios. Seven +cities, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argos, and Athens, claimed +to be his birthplace. + +In 1795, Wolf, a German scholar, published his "Prolegomena," which set +forth his theory that Homer was a fictitious character, and that the Iliad +was made up of originally unconnected poems, collected and combined by +Pisistratus. + +Though for a time the Wolfian theory had many advocates, it is now +generally conceded that although the stories of the fall of Troy were +current long before Homer, they were collected and recast into one poem by +some great poet. That the Iliad is the work of one man is clearly shown by +its unity, its sustained simplicity of style, and the centralization of +interest in the character of Achilles. + +The destruction of Troy, for a time regarded as a poetic fiction, is now +believed by many scholars to be an actual historical event which took +place about the time of the AEolian migration. + +The whole story of the fall of Troy is not related in the Iliad, the poem +opening nine years after the beginning of the war, and closing with the +death of Hector. + +The Iliad is divided into twenty-four books, and contains nineteen +thousand four hundred and sixty-five lines. + +As a work of art the Iliad has never been excelled; moreover, it possesses +what all works of art do not,--"the touches of things human" that make it +ours, although the centuries lie between us and its unknown author, who +told his stirring story in such swift-moving verses, with such touches of +pathos and humor, and with such evident joy of living. Another evidence of +the perfection of Homer's art is that while his heroes are perfect types +of Greeks and Trojans, they are also typical men, and for that reason, +still keep their hold upon us. It is this human interest, simplicity of +style, and grandeur of treatment that have rendered Homer immortal and his +work imperishable. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ILIAD. + +M. Arnold's Essay on Homer, 1876, pp. 284-425; + +H. Bonitz's Origin of the Homeric Poems, tr. 1880; + +R. C. Jebb's Introduction to Homer, 1887; + +F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 7-17; + +A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893; + +W. Leaf's Companion to the Iliad for English Readers, 1892; + +J. A. Symonds's Studies in Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ILIAD. + +The Iliad, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871 +(Primitive in spirit, like Homer. Union of literalness with simplicity); + +The Iliad, Tr. according to the Greek with introduction and notes by +George Chapman [1615], Ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874 (Written in verse. Pope says a +daring and fiery spirit animates this translation, something like that in +which one might imagine Homer would have written before he came to years +of discretion); + +The Iliad, Tr. by William Cowper (Very literal and inattentive to melody, +but has more of simple majesty and manner of Homer than Pope); + +The Iliad, rendered into English blank verse by the Earl of Derby, 2 +vols., 1864; + +The Iliad, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by the Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, +n. d. (Written in couplets. Highly ornamented paraphrase). + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ILIAD. + + +For nine years a fleet of one thousand one hundred and eighty-six ships +and an army of more than one hundred thousand Greeks, under the command of +Agamemnon, lay before King Priam's city of Troy to avenge the wrongs of +Menelaus, King of Sparta, and to reclaim Helen, his wife, who had been +carried away by Priam's son Paris, at the instigation of Venus. + +Though they had not succeeded in taking Troy, the Greeks had conquered +many of the surrounding cities. From one of these, Agamemnon had taken as +his share of the booty Chryseis, the beautiful daughter of the priest +Chryses; and when her father had come to ransom her, he had been insulted +and driven away by the king. Chryses had prayed to Apollo for revenge, and +the god had sent upon the Greeks a pestilence which was slaying so many +thousands that a meeting was called to consult upon what to do to check +the plague and conciliate the god. + +Calchas the seer had declared that the plague was sent because of the +detention of Chryseis, and Agamemnon, though indignant with the priest, +announced that he would send her back to save his army from destruction. +"Note, however," said he, "that I have now given up my booty. See that I +am recompensed for what I lose." + +Then rose the leader of the Myrmidons, swift-footed Achilles, in his +wrath, and denounced Agamemnon for his greediness. + +"Thou hast ever had thy share and more of all the booty, and thou knowest +well that there is now no common store from which to give thee spoil. But +wait until Troy town is sacked, and we will gladly give thee three and +fourfold thy recompense." + +The angry Agamemnon declared that if he were not given the worth of what +he had lost he would seize the maidens of Ajax and Ulysses, or Achilles' +maid, Briseis. + +Achilles was beside himself with rage. He had not come to Troy to +contribute to Agamemnon's glory. He and his followers had long borne the +brunt of battle only to see the largest share of booty given to Agamemnon, +who lay idle in his ships. Sooner than endure longer such indignity he +would return home to Phthia. + +"Go!" replied Agamemnon. "I detest thee and thy ways. Go back over the sea +and rule over thy Myrmidons. But since Phoebus has taken away my maid, I +will carry off thy prize, thy rosy-cheeked Briseis, that thou may'st learn +that I am indeed king." + +Warned by Pallas Athene, Achilles took his hand from his sword hilt, and +contented himself with telling Agamemnon that he would see the day when he +would fret to think he had driven Achilles from the Grecian ranks. + +Though the persuasive orator, Nestor, endeavored to make peace between the +chiefs, Agamemnon could not be softened. As soon as the black ship bearing +Chryseis set sail, he sent his unwilling men to where Achilles sat by his +tent, beside the barren deep, to take the fair Briseis, whom Achilles +ordered to be led forth to them. Then the long days dragged by in the tent +where the chief sat eating his heart out in idleness, while his men +engaged in athletic sports, and the rest of the Greeks fought before Troy. + +Both armies, worn out with indecisive battles, gladly hailed Hector's +proposal that a combat between Paris and Menelaus should decide the war. + +As the armies stood in silence, watching the preparations for the combat, +Helen, summoned by Iris, left her room in Priam's palace, where she was +weaving among her maidens, and, robed and veiled in white, and shedding +tears at the recollection of her former home and husband, went down to the +Scaean gates, where sat Priam and the men too old for war. When they saw +bright-haired Helen they whispered among themselves that it was little +wonder that men warred for her sake, so fair was she, so like unto the +deathless goddesses. + +In response to Priam's tender greeting she seated herself beside him and +pointed out the Greek heroes,--Agamemnon, ruler over wide lands, crafty +Ulysses, and the mighty Ajax; but she strained her eyes in vain for a +sight of her dearly loved brothers, Castor and Pollux, not knowing that +they already lay dead in pleasant Lacedaemon. + +In the single combat between Paris and Menelaus, the spear of the Greek +was fixed in Paris's buckler, and his sword was shivered on his helmet +without injury to the Trojan. But, determined to overcome his hateful foe, +Menelaus seized Paris by the helm and dragged him towards the Grecian +ranks. Great glory would have been his had not the watchful Venus loosed +the helm and snatched away the god-like Paris in a cloud. While the Greeks +demanded Helen and her wealth as the price of Menelaus's victory, +Pandarus, prompted by Pallas, broke the truce by a shot aimed at Menelaus, +and the battle soon raged with greater fury than before. + +Diomed, having received new strength and courage from Pallas, rushed madly +over the field, falling upon the affrighted Trojans like a lion in the +sheepfold; then, made more presumptuous by his success, and forgetful of +the few years promised the man who dares to meet the gods in battle, the +arrogant warrior struck at Venus and wounded her in the wrist, so that, +shrieking with pain, she yielded AEneas to Apollo, and fled to Olympus. + +Perceiving that the Trojans were unable to withstand the fury of Diomed, +assisted as he was by Pallas and Juno, Hector hastened homeward to order a +sacrifice to Pallas that she might look with more favor upon their cause. + +Having instructed his mother to lay her richest robe on Pallas's shrine, +Hector sought his wife, the white-armed Andromache, and their babe, +Astyanax. Andromache entreated Hector to go forth no more to battle, to +lose his life and leave their babe fatherless; but Hector, upon whom the +cares of war sat heavily, bade her a tender farewell, and kissing the +babe, returned with Paris to the field. + +Incited by Pallas and Apollo, Helenus suggested to his brother Hector that +he should challenge the bravest of the Greeks to single combat. The lot +fell to Ajax the Greater, and the two mighty heroes contested with spears +and stones until twilight fell, and they were parted by a herald. + +That night the Greeks feasted, and when, the next morning, a Trojan +messenger offered them the treasures of Helen if they would withdraw from +Troy, and proposed a truce, they indignantly rejected the offer, declaring +that they would not even accept Helen herself, but agreed upon a truce in +which to bury the dead. + +When the battle was renewed, Jupiter forbade the gods to take part. +Opposed by no celestial foes, the Trojans were this day successful, and +having pursued the Greeks to the ships, sat all night, full of hope, +around their thousand watch fires, waiting for the morn. + +In the Grecian camp, however, a different scene was being enacted. +Disheartened by their defeat, Agamemnon proposed that the armies give up +the siege and return to Greece. + +Angry at his weakness, Diomed thus reproached him:-- + +"The gods have granted thee high rank and rule, but thou hast no +fortitude. Return if thou desirest. Still enough long-haired Achaians will +remain to take the city. If they desire to go as well, at least Sthenelus +and I will remain until Troy is ours. We have the gods with us." + +At the suggestion of Nestor a banquet was spread, and after the hunger of +all was appeased, the peril of the Greeks was discussed in the Council of +the Elders. Here Nestor showed Agamemnon that the trouble began at the +hour when he drove Achilles from their ranks by appropriating Briseis. + +Ill fortune had humbled the haughty Agamemnon, and he confessed that he +had done wrong. "For this wrong, however," said he, "I am ready to make +ample amends. Priceless gifts I will send to Achilles: seven tripods, six +talents of pure gold, twenty shining caldrons, twelve steeds, seven +damsels, among them Briseis; not only this, when Priam's citadel falls, he +shall be the first to load his galley down with gold and silver and with +Trojan maidens. Better yet, I will unite him to me by the ties of +marriage. I will give him my daughter for a wife, and with her for a dower +will go seven cities near the sea, rich in flocks and herds. Then let him +yield, and join us in taking Troy." + +Joyfully the messengers--Ajax, Ulysses, and the aged Phoenix, carefully +instructed by Nestor--set forth on their embassy. As they neared the tents +of the Myrmidons their ears were struck by the notes of a silver harp +touched by Achilles to solace him in his loneliness. His friend Patroclus +sat beside him in silence. Achilles and Patroclus greeted the messengers +warmly, mingled the pure wine, and spread a feast for them. This over, +Ulysses, at a nod from Ajax, drank to Achilles' health, and then told him +of the sore need of the Greeks, pressed by the Trojans. If he did not come +to their aid, he whose very name frightened the enemy, the time would +surely come when he would greatly lament his idleness. + +Achilles' passion, the greater for its fifteen days' repression, burst +forth in his reply: "I will say what I have in my heart," he cried, "since +concealment is hateful to me. What thanks does the victor in countless +battles gain? He and the idler are equally honored, and die the same +death. Many nights' slumber have I lost on the battle field; many cities +have I conquered, abroad and here upon the Trojan coast, and of the spoil, +the greater part has gone to Agamemnon, who sat idle in his fleet; yet +from me, who suffered much in fighting, he took my prize, my dearly loved +Briseis; now let him keep her. Let him learn for himself how to conquer +Hector,--this Hector, who, when I went out against him, was afraid to +leave the shelter of the Scaean gates. To-morrow, if you but watch, you +will see my galleys sailing upon the Hellespont on our return to Phthia. +Evil was the hour in which I left its fertile coasts for this barren +shore, where my mother Thetis foretold I should win deathless renown but +bitter death. + +"Tell Agamemnon that I will never wed a child of his. On my return to +Phthia my father will select a bride for me with whom, on his broad +fields, I can live the life I have dreamed of." + +The entreaties of the aged Phoenix, who had helped to rear Achilles, and +his arguments against his mercilessness, were of no avail; neither were +the words of Ajax. However, he at last sent the message that he would +remain by the sea watching the course of the war, and that he would +encounter Hector whenever he approached to set fire to the galleys of the +Myrmidons. + +That night sleep did not visit the eyes of Agamemnon. Long he reflected on +the reply of Achilles, and wondered at the watch fires on the plain before +Troy. The other chiefs were likewise full of anxiety, and when Nestor +offered a reward to any one who would go as a spy to the Trojan camp, +Diomed quickly volunteered. Selecting the wary Ulysses as his companion, +he stole forth to where the Trojans sat around their camp fires. The pair +intercepted and slew Dolon the spy, and finding Rhesus and his Thracian +band wrapped in slumber, slew the king with twelve of his chiefs, and +carried away his chariot and horses. + +Encouraged by this bold deed, the Greeks went forth to battle the next +morning. Fortune still favored the Trojans, however, and many Greeks fell +by the hand of Hector, until he was checked by Ulysses and Diomed. In the +fight, Agamemnon was wounded, and Diomed, Ulysses, and Machaon. And when +Achilles from his tent saw the physician borne back from battle wounded, +in the chariot of Nestor, he sent Patroclus to inquire of his injury. +Nestor sent word that Ulysses, Agamemnon, Diomed, Machaon, and Eurypylus +were wounded; perhaps these tidings would induce Achilles to forget his +grievances, and once more go forth to battle. If not, he urged Patroclus +to beseech Achilles to permit him, Patroclus, to go forth with the +Myrmidons, clad in Achilles' armor, and strike terror to the hearts of the +Trojans. + +The Trojans, encouraged by their success, pushed forward to the trench +which the Greeks had dug around the wall thrown up before the ships, and, +leaving their chariots on the brink, went on foot to the gates. After a +long struggle,--because the Trojans could not break down the wall and the +Greeks could not drive back the Trojans,--Hector seized a mighty stone, so +large that two men could scarcely lift it, and bearing it in one hand, +battered the bolted gates until they gave way with a crash; and the +Trojans sprang within, pursuing the affrighted Greeks to the ships. + +From the heights of Olympus the gods kept a strict watch on the battle; +and as soon as Neptune discovered that Jove, secure in the belief that no +deity would interfere with the successful Trojans, had turned away his +eyes, he went to the aid of the Greeks. Juno, also, furious at the sight +of the Greeks who had fallen before the mighty Hector, determined to turn +the attention of Jove until Neptune had had an opportunity to assist the +Greeks. Jove sat upon the peaks of Mount Ida, and thither went Juno, after +rendering herself irresistible by borrowing the cestus of Venus. Jove, +delighted with the appearance of his wife, and still further won by her +tender words and caresses, thought no longer of the armies fighting at the +Grecian wall. + +Great was his anger when, after a time, he again looked towards Troy and +saw that Neptune had employed his time in aiding the Greeks, and that +Hector had been wounded by Ajax. By his orders Neptune was quickly +recalled, Hector was healed by Apollo, and the Trojans, strengthened again +by Jupiter, drove back the Greeks to the ships, and attempted to set fire +to the fleet. + +Seeing the Greeks in such desperate straits, Achilles at last gave his +consent that Patroclus should put on his armor, take his Myrmidons, and +drive the Trojans from the ships, stipulating, however, that he should +return when this was done, and not follow the Trojans in their flight to +Troy. + +The appearance of the supposed Achilles struck fear to the hearts of the +Trojans, and Patroclus succeeded in driving them from the fleet and in +slaying Sarpedon. Intoxicated by his success, he forgot Achilles' warning, +and pursued the fleeing Trojans to the walls of Troy. The strength of the +Trojans was not sufficient to cope with that of Patroclus; and Troy would +have been taken had not Apollo stood upon a tower to thrust him down each +time he attempted to scale the walls. At last Hector and Patroclus +encountered each other, and fought furiously. Seeing the peril of Hector, +Apollo smote Patroclus's helmet off, broke his spear, and loosed his +buckler. Still undaunted, the hero fought until he fell, and died with the +boasting words of Hector in his ears. + +Speedily the swift-footed Antilochus conveyed to Achilles the tidings of +his friend's death. Enveloped in "a black cloud of sorrow," Achilles +rolled in the dust and lamented for his friend until warned by Iris that +the enemy were about to secure Patroclus's body. Then, without armor,--for +Hector had secured that of Patroclus and put it on,--he hastened to the +trench, apart from the other Greeks, and shouted thrice, until the men of +Troy, panic-stricken, fell back in disorder, and the body of his friend +was carried away by the triumphant Greeks. + +Through the long night the Achaians wept over Patroclus; but deeper than +their grief was the sorrow of Achilles, for he had promised Menoetius to +bring back his son in honor, laden with spoils, and now the barren coast +of Troy would hold the ashes of both. Then Achilles made a solemn vow not +to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus until he brought to him the +head and arms of Hector, and had captured on the field twelve Trojan +youths to slaughter on his funeral pile. The hated Hector slain and +Patroclus's funeral rites celebrated, he cared not for the future. The +fate his mother had foretold did not daunt him. Since, by his own folly, +his dearest friend had been taken from him, the sooner their ashes rested +together the better. If he was not to see the rich fields of Phthia, his +was to be, at least, a deathless renown. + +To take the place of the arms which Hector had taken from Patroclus, +Vulcan, at Thetis's request, had fashioned for Achilles the most beautiful +armor ever worn by man. Brass, tin, silver, and gold composed the bright +corselet, the solid helm, and the wondrous shield, adorned with such +pictures as no mortal artist ever wrought. + +After having feasted his eyes on this beautiful armor, whose clanking +struck terror even to the hearts of the Myrmidons, Achilles sought out the +Greeks and Agamemnon, and in the assembly acknowledged his fault. "Let +these things belong to the dead past," said he. "My wrath is done. Let us +now stir the long-haired Greeks to war." + +"Fate, not I, was the cause of our trouble," replied Agamemnon. "The +goddess of discord created the dissension, that Ate who troubled even the +gods on Olympus until expelled by Jupiter. But I will make amends with +liberal gifts." + +Peace having been made between the chiefs, Achilles returned to his tent +without partaking of the banquet spread by Agamemnon, as he had vowed not +to break his fast until he had avenged his friend. Agamemnon's gifts were +carried to the tents of Achilles by the Myrmidons, and with them went +Briseis, who, when she saw the body of Patroclus, threw herself upon it +and wept long for the one whose kindness to her--whose lot had been sorrow +upon sorrow--she could never forget. All the women mourned, seemingly for +Patroclus, really for their own griefs. Achilles likewise wept, until, +strengthened by Pallas, he hastened to put his armor on and urge the +Greeks to battle. + +As he mounted his chariot he spoke thus to his fleet steeds, Xanthus and +Balius: "Bring me back when the battle is over, I charge you, my noble +steeds. Leave me not on the field, as you left Patroclus." + +Then Xanthus, with the long-flowing mane, endowed with power of speech by +Juno, thus spake: "This day, at least, we will bring thee home, Achilles; +but the hour of thy death is nigh, and, since the fates have decreed it, +we could not save thee, were we swift as the winged winds. Nor was it +through fault of ours that Patroclus fell." + +Angry at the reminder of his doom, Achilles drove hurriedly to the field, +determined to fight until he had made the Trojans sick of war. + +Knowing that the war was drawing rapidly to a close, Jupiter gave +permission to the gods to take part in it, and a terrible combat ensued. +Juno, Pallas, Neptune, Hermes, and Vulcan went to the fleet of the Greeks, +while Mars, Apollo, Diana, Latona, Venus, and Xanthus arrayed themselves +with the Trojans. When the gods joined in the combat and Neptune shook the +earth and Jupiter thundered from above, there was such tumult in the air +that even the dark god of the underworld was terrified. In the battle of +the gods, Apollo encountered Neptune, Pallas fought against Mars, Diana +and Juno opposed each other, Hermes was pitted against Latona, and Xanthus +or Scamander, the river god, strove against Vulcan. It was not long before +Jupiter's fear was realized, and the mortals needed the aid of the gods. +AEneas, encouraged by Apollo to confront Achilles, was rescued only by the +intervention of Neptune, who, remembering that it was the will of fate +that AEneas should be spared to perpetuate the Dardan race, snatched him +away in a cloud, although he was himself aiding the Greeks. + +Mad with rage and spattered with blood, Achilles pursued the flying +Trojans about the plain, sparing none except the twelve youths who were to +be butchered on the funeral pile of Patroclus. He stood in the river, +filling it with slaughtered bodies until, indignant at the insults offered +him, the river god Scamander caused his waters to rush after Achilles so +that he fled for his life. Far across the plain it chased him, and was +only stopped by the fires of Vulcan, summoned by Juno. + +By an artifice of Apollo, Achilles was decoyed away from the gates of Troy +long enough to allow the Trojans to enter. Hector, however, stayed +without, unmoved by the prayers of Priam and Hecuba. Too late he saw his +error in not heeding the advice of Polydamas to keep within the walls +after the re-appearance of Achilles; he feared the reproaches of the +Trojan warriors and dames, and determined to meet his fate, whatever it +might be. Even death at the hands of Achilles would be preferable to the +insults and reproaches that might await him within the walls. + +When he saw Achilles approach in his god-given armor, fear seized the +noble Hector, and he fled from his enemy. Thrice around the walls he fled, +Achilles pursuing, and the gods looked down from heaven in sorrow, for, +according to the decrees of fate, Hector must fall this day by the hand of +Achilles. To hasten the combat, Pallas assumed the form of Hector's +brother Deiphobus, and stood by his side, encouraging him to turn and meet +his foe. + +Hector soon perceived the deception, but boldly faced Achilles, who sprang +at him, brandishing his awful spear. Quickly stooping, Hector avoided the +weapon and hurled his spear at Achilles. It was an unequal conflict. The +armor of Achilles was weapon proof, and Pallas stood at his elbow to +return to him his weapons. Achilles knew well the weak spots in his old +armor worn by Hector, and selecting a seam unguarded by the shield, he +gave Hector a mortal wound, and insulted him as he lay dying at his feet. + +Tears and wailing filled the city as the Trojans watched the combat; and +despair fell upon them when they saw the body of Hector fastened to the +chariot of Achilles and dragged thrice around the Trojan walls. From her +chamber where she sat weaving, unaware of the mortal combat waged before +the walls, Andromache came forth to see great Hector fallen and his corpse +insulted by his enemy. + +While Priam sat in his palace with dust strewn on his head, and the +wailings of the women filled the streets of Troy, the Greeks were +hastening to their camps to celebrate the funeral rites of Patroclus, +whose body had been saved from corruption by Thetis. A massive funeral +pile was constructed of wood brought from the forests on Mount Ida. The +chiefs in their chariots and thousands of men on foot followed the body of +Patroclus. The comrades of the dead warrior cut off their long hair and +strewed it on the dead, and Achilles sheared his yellow hair and placed +the locks in Patroclus's hands. He had suffered the flowing curls to grow +long because of a vow made by his father to the river Sperchius that he +would sacrifice these locks to him on his son's return home, a useless +vow, since now he was to lose his life by this dark blue sea. + +Next the sacrifice was offered, many fatlings of the flock, and countless +oxen, noble steeds, dogs, jars of honey, and lastly the bodies of the +twelve Trojan youths were heaped upon the fire. + +After the flames had consumed the pile, Achilles and his friends quenched +the ashes with red wine, and gathered the bones of Patroclus in a golden +vase which Achilles commanded his friends not to bury until he, too, fell +before Troy, that their ashes might be mingled and buried under one mound +by the remaining Greeks. + +After the funeral rites were celebrated, the funeral games were held, in +which the warriors vied with each other in chariot racing, boxing, +wrestling, foot racing, throwing the spear, and archery. + +So ended the funeral of Patroclus, and the gods, looking down from heaven, +sorrowed for Hector, whose corpse Achilles was treating with such +indignity, intending that the dogs should destroy it. The gods had kept +the body unstained, and now they determined to soften Achilles' heart, +that he might restore it to Priam. + +Iris descended from heaven, and standing at the side of Priam as he sat +with dust-strewn head, in his palace halls, gave him Jove's command that +he should take gifts and visit Achilles, to ransom Hector's body. Heeding +not the prayers of Hecuba, Priam gathered together whatever was most +choice, talents of pure gold, beautiful goblets, handsome robes and +tunics, and seating himself in his polished car, drawn by strong-hoofed +mules, set forth unaccompanied save by an aged herald. Above him soared +Jove's eagle, in token of the god's protection. + +Priam had not gone far when he met Mercury in the guise of a Greek youth, +who guided him unseen through the slumbering Greek lines to the tent of +Achilles. + +The hero was just finishing his repast when the old king entered, fell on +his knees, kissed the cruel hands that had slain so many of his sons, and +prayed him to give up the body of his loved Hector in return for the +ransom he had brought with him. Achilles, recognizing the fact that Priam +had made his way there uninjured only by the assistance and protection of +some god, and touched by the thought of his own aged father, whom he +should never again gladden by his return to Phthia, granted the request, +and bade Priam seat himself at the table and banquet with him. He also +granted a twelve days' truce for the celebration of the funeral rites of +Hector, and then invited Priam to pass the night in his tent. Warned by +Mercury, Priam rose early in the morning, and, unseen by the Greeks, +conveyed Hector's body back to Troy. + +When the polished car of Priam entered the city of Troy, great were the +lamentations and wailings over the body of Hector. Hecuba and Andromache +vied with each other in the bitterness of their grief, and Helen lamented +because the only friend she had in Troy had departed, and no one who +remained would be kind to her. + +During the twelve days granted as a truce, wood was brought from Ida, and +the funeral rites of Hector were celebrated as befitted the son of a great +king. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE ILIAD. + +HELEN AT THE SCAEAN GATES. + + +Paris, moved by the reproaches of Hector, proposed that the nine years' +indecisive war be settled by single combat between himself and Menelaus, +the victor to take Helen and the treasure. Greeks and Trojans agreed to +this proposition, and the tidings of the approaching combat were borne to +Helen by Iris. + + In the heart of Helen woke + Dear recollections of her former spouse + And of her home and kindred. Instantly + She left her chamber, robed and veiled in white, + And shedding tender tears; yet not alone, + For with her went two maidens,--Aethra, child + Of Pitheus, and the large-eyed Clymene. + Straight to the Scaean gates they walked, by which + Panthoues, Priam, and Thymoetes sat, + Lampus and Clytius, Hicetaon sprung + From Mars, Antenor and Ucalegon, + Two sages,--elders of the people all. + Beside the gates they sat, unapt, through age, + For tasks of war, but men of fluent speech, + Like the cicadas that within the wood + Sit on the trees and utter delicate sounds. + Such were the nobles of the Trojan race + Who sat upon the tower. But when they marked + The approach of Helen, to each other thus + With winged words, but in low tones, they said:-- + + "Small blame is theirs, if both the Trojan knights + And brazen-mailed Achaians have endured + So long so many evils for the sake + Of that one woman. She is wholly like + In feature to the deathless goddesses. + So be it: let her, peerless as she is, + Return on board the fleet, nor stay to bring + Disaster upon us and all our race." + + So spake the elders. Priam meantime called + To Helen: "Come, dear daughter, sit by me. + Thou canst behold thy former husband hence, + Thy kindred and thy friends. I blame thee not; + The blame is with the immortals who have sent + These pestilent Greeks against me. Sit and name + For me this mighty man, the Grecian chief, + Gallant and tall. True, there are taller men; + But of such noble form and dignity + I never saw: in truth, a kingly man." + + And Helen, fairest among women, thus + Answered: "Dear second father, whom at once + I fear and honor, would that cruel death + Had overtaken me before I left, + To wander with thy son, my marriage bed, + And my dear daughter, and the company + Of friends I loved. But that was not to be; + And now I pine and weep. Yet will I tell + What thou dost ask. The hero whom thou seest + Is the wide-ruling Agamemnon, son + Of Atreus, and is both a gracious king + And a most dreaded warrior. He was once + Brother-in-law to me, if I may speak-- + Lost as I am to shame--of such a tie." + + She said, the aged man admired, and then + He spake again: "O son of Atreus, born + Under a happy fate, and fortunate + Among the sons of men! A mighty host + Of Grecian youths obey thy rule. I went + To Phrygia once,--that land of vines,--and there + Saw many Phrygians, heroes on fleet steeds, + The troops of Otreus, and of Mygdon, shaped + Like one of the immortals. They encamped + By the Sangarius. I was an ally; + My troops were ranked with theirs upon the day + When came the unsexed Amazons to war. + Yet even there I saw not such a host + As this of black-eyed Greeks who muster here." + Then Priam saw Ulysses, and inquired:-- + "Dear daughter, tell me also who is that, + Less tall than Agamemnon, yet more broad + In chest and shoulders. On the teeming earth + His armor lies, but he, from place to place, + Walks round among the ranks of soldiery, + As when the thick-fleeced father of the flocks + Moves through the multitude of his white sheep." + And Jove-descended Helen answered thus:-- + "That is Ulysses, man of many arts, + Son of Laertes, reared in Ithaca, + That rugged isle, and skilled in every form + Of shrewd device and action wisely planned." + Then spake the sage Antenor: "Thou hast said + The truth, O lady. This Ulysses once + Came on an embassy, concerning thee, + To Troy with Menelaus, great in war; + And I received them as my guests, and they + Were lodged within my palace, and I learned + The temper and the qualities of both. + When both were standing 'mid the men of Troy, + I marked that Menelaus's broad chest + Made him the more conspicuous, but when both + Were seated, greater was the dignity + Seen in Ulysses. When they both addressed + The council, Menelaus briefly spake + In pleasing tones, though with few words,--as one + Not given to loose and wandering speech,--although + The younger. When the wise Ulysses rose, + He stood with eyes cast down, and fixed on earth, + And neither swayed his sceptre to the right + Nor to the left, but held it motionless, + Like one unused to public speech. He seemed + An idiot out of humor. But when forth + He sent from his full lungs his mighty voice, + And words came like a fall of winter snow, + No mortal then would dare to strive with him + For mastery in speech. We less admired + The aspect of Ulysses than his words." + Beholding Ajax then, the aged king + Asked yet again: "Who is that other chief + Of the Achaians, tall, and large of limb,-- + Taller and broader-chested than the rest?" + Helen, the beautiful and richly-robed, + Answered: "Thou seest the might Ajax there, + The bulwark of the Greeks. On the other side, + Among his Cretans, stands Idomeneus, + Of godlike aspect, near to whom are grouped + The leaders of the Cretans. Oftentimes + The warlike Menelaus welcomed him + Within our palace, when he came from Crete. + I could point out and name the other chiefs + Of the dark-eyed Achaians. Two alone, + Princes among their people, are not seen,-- + Castor the fearless horseman, and the skilled + In boxing, Pollux,--twins; one mother bore + Both them and me. Came they not with the rest + From pleasant Lacedaemon to the war? + Or, having crossed the deep in their goodships, + Shun they to fight among the valiant ones + Of Greece, because of my reproach and shame?" + She spake; but they already lay in earth + In Lacedaemon, their dear native land. + + _Bryants Translation, Book III._ + + + + +THE PARTING OF HECTOR AND ANDROMACHE. + + +The single combat between Paris and Menelaus broke up in a general battle +unfavorable to the Trojans, and Hector returned to Troy to order the +Trojan matrons to sacrifice to Pallas. He then sought his dwelling to +greet his wife and child, but learned from one of the maids that +Andromache, on hearing that the Greeks were victorious, had hastened to +the city walls with the child and its nurse, + + Hector left in haste + The mansion, and retraced his way between + The rows of stately dwellings, traversing + The mighty city. When at length he reached + The Scaean gates, that issue on the field, + His spouse, the nobly-dowered Andromache, + Came forth to meet him,--daughter of the prince + Eetion, who among the woody slopes + Of Placos, in the Hypoplacian town + Of Thebe, ruled Cilicia and her sons, + And gave his child to Hector great in arms. + She came attended by a maid, who bore + A tender child--a babe too young to speak-- + Upon her bosom,--Hector's only son, + Beautiful as a star, whom Hector called + Scamandrius, but all else Astyanax,-- + The city's lord,--since Hector stood the sole + Defence of Troy. The father on his child + Looked with a silent smile. Andromache + Pressed to his side meanwhile, and, all in tears, + Clung to his hand, and, thus beginning, said:-- + + "Too brave! thy valor yet will cause thy death. + Thou hast no pity on thy tender child + Nor me, unhappy one, who soon must be + Thy widow. All the Greeks will rush on thee + To take thy life. A happier lot were mine, + If I must lose thee, to go down to earth, + For I shall have no hope when thou art gone,-- + Nothing but sorrow. Father have I none, + And no dear mother. Great Achilles slew + My father when he sacked the populous town + Of the Cilicians,--Thebe with high gates. + 'T was there he smote Eetion, yet forbore + To make his arms a spoil; he dared not that, + But burned the dead with his bright armor on, + And raised a mound above him. Mountain-nymphs, + Daughters of aegis-bearing Jupiter, + Came to the spot and planted it with elms. + Seven brothers had I in my father's house, + And all went down to Hades in one day. + Achilles the swift-footed slew them all + Among their slow-paced bullocks and white sheep. + My mother, princess on the woody slopes + Of Placos, with his spoils he bore away, + And only for large ransom gave her back. + But her Diana, archer-queen, struck down + Within her father's palace. Hector, thou + Art father and dear mother now to me, + And brother and my youthful spouse besides. + In pity keep within the fortress here, + Nor make thy child an orphan nor thy wife + A widow. Post thine army near the place + Of the wild fig-tree, where the city-walls + Are low and may be scaled. Thrice in war + The boldest of the foe have tried the spot,-- + The Ajaces and the famed Idomeneus, + The two chiefs born to Atreus, and the brave + Tydides, whether counselled by some seer + Or prompted to the attempt by their own minds." + + Then answered Hector, great in war: "All this + I bear in mind, dear wife; but I should stand + Ashamed before the men and long-robed dames + Of Troy, were I to keep aloof and shun + The conflict, coward-like. Not thus my heart + Prompts me, for greatly have I learned to dare + And strike among the foremost sons of Troy, + Upholding my great father's fame and mine; + Yet well in my undoubting mind I know + The day shall come in which our sacred Troy, + And Priam, and the people over whom + Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all. + But not the sorrows of the Trojan race, + Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those + Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait + My brothers many and brave,--who all at last, + Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,-- + Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek + Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee + Thy day of freedom. Thou in Argos then + Shalt at another's bidding ply the loom, + And from the fountain of Messeis draw + Water, or from the Hypereian spring, + Constrained unwilling by thy cruel lot. + And then shall some one say who sees thee weep, + 'This was the wife of Hector, most renowned + Of the horse-taming Trojans, when they fought + Around their city.' So shall some one say, + And thou shalt grieve the more, lamenting him + Who haply might have kept afar the day + Of thy captivity. O let the earth + Be heaped above my head in death before + I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!" + So speaking, mighty Hector stretched his arms + To take the boy; the boy shrank crying back + To his fair nurse's bosom, scared to see + His father helmeted in glittering brass, + And eying with affright the horsehair plume + That grimly nodded from the lofty crest. + At this both parents in their fondness laughed; + And hastily the mighty Hector took + The helmet from his brow and laid it down + Gleaming upon the ground, and, having kissed + His darling son and tossed him up in play, + Prayed thus to Jove and all the gods of heaven:-- + "O Jupiter and all ye deities, + Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become + Among the Trojans eminent like me, + And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say, + 'This man is greater than his father was!' + When they behold him from the battle-field + Bring back the bloody spoil of the slain foe,-- + That so his mother may be glad at heart." + So speaking, to the arms of his dear spouse + He gave the boy; she on her fragrant breast + Received him, weeping as she smiled. The chief + Beheld, and, moved with tender pity, smoothed + Her forehead gently with his hand, and said:-- + "Sorrow not thus, beloved one, for me. + No living man can send me to the shades + Before my time; no man of woman born, + Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. + + But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,-- + The web, the distaff,--and command thy maids + To speed the work. The cares of war pertain + To all men born in Troy, and most to me." + Thus speaking, mighty Hector took again + His helmet, shadowed with the horsehair plume, + While homeward his beloved consort went, + Oft looking back, and shedding many tears. + Soon was she in the spacious palace-halls + Of the man-queller Hector. There she found + A troop of maidens,--with them all she shared + Her grief; and all in his own house bewailed + The living Hector, whom they thought no more + To see returning from the battle-field, + Safe from the rage and weapons of the Greeks. + _Bryant's Translation, Book VI._ + + + + + +THE ODYSSEY. + + "The surge and thunder of the Odyssey." + + +The Odyssey relates the adventures of Ulysses on his return to Ithaca +after the Trojan war. + +It consists of twenty-four books, the first four of which are sometimes +known as the Telemachia, because Telemachus is the principal figure. + +The difference in style of the Iliad and Odyssey has caused some critics +to assert that the latter is not the work of Homer; this is accounted for, +however, by the difference of subject, and it is probable that the +Odyssey, though of a later date, is the work of the same hand, "the work +of Homer's old age,--an epic bathed in a mellow light of sunset." + +If the Odyssey alone had come down to us, its authorship would have passed +unquestioned, for the poem is so compact, its plot so carefully planned +and so skilfully carried out, that there can be no doubt that it is the +work of one hand. + +The Odyssey is as great a work of art as the Iliad, and is even more +popular; for the Odyssey is a domestic romance, and as such appeals to a +larger audience than a tale of war alone,--the romance of the wandering +Ulysses and the faithful Penelope. Interwoven with it are the ever-popular +fairy tales of Ulysses's wanderings and descriptions of home life. It is +marked by the same pagan enjoyment of life, the same freshness and charm +that lend enchantment to the Iliad. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ODYSSEY. + + +F. B. Jevons's History of Greek Literature, 1886, pp. 17-25; + +A. Lang's Homer and the Epic, 1893, chaps. 8-13; + +J. A. Symonds's Studies of the Greek Poets, ed. 3, 1893; + +J. E. Harrison's Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature, 1882; + +W. J. Stillman's On the Track of Ulysses, 1888; + +F. W. Newman's The Authorship of the Odyssey (in his Miscellanies, vol. +v.); + +J. Spence's Essay on Pope's Translation of the Odyssey, 1837. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ODYSSEY. + + +The Odyssey, Tr. into English blank verse by W. C. Bryant, 2 vols., 1871; + +The Odyssey, Tr. according to the Greek, with introduction and notes by +George Chapman, ed. 2, 2 vols., 1874; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by William Cowper; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by G. H. Palmer, 1894 (prose); + +The Odyssey, Tr. by Alexander Pope, with notes by Rev. T. W. A. Buckley, +n. d.; + +The Odyssey, Tr. by S. H. Butcher and A. Lang, 1879 (prose). + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ODYSSEY. + + +After the fall of Troy, Agamemnon returned to Argos, where he was +treacherously slain by Aegisthus, the corrupter of his wife; Menelaus +reached Sparta in safety, laden with spoil and reunited to the beautiful +Helen; Nestor resumed the rule of Pylos, but Ulysses remained absent from +Ithaca, where his wife Penelope still grieved for him, though steadfast in +her belief that he would return. One hundred and fourteen suitors, princes +from Dulichium, Samos, Zacynthus, and Ithaca, determined to wed Penelope +that they might obtain the rich possessions of Ulysses, spent their time +in revelling in his halls and wasting his wealth, thinking in this way to +force Penelope to wed some one of them. + +Penelope, as rich in resources as was her crafty husband, announced to +them that she would wed when she had woven a funeral garment for Laertes, +the father of Ulysses. During the day she wove industriously, but at night +she unravelled what she had done that day, so that to the expectant +suitors the task seemed interminable. After four years her artifice was +revealed to the suitors by one of her maids, and she was forced to find +other excuses to postpone her marriage. In the mean time, her son +Telemachus, now grown to manhood, disregarded by the suitors on account of +his youth, and treated as a child by his mother, was forced to sit +helpless in his halls, hearing the insults of the suitors and seeing his +rich possessions wasted. + +Having induced Jove to end the sufferings of Ulysses, Pallas caused Hermes +to be dispatched to Calypso's isle to release the hero, while she herself +descended to Ithaca in the guise of Mentes. There she was received +courteously by the youth, who sat unhappy among the revellers. At a table +apart from the others, Telemachus told the inquiring stranger who they +were who thus wasted his patrimony. + +"Something must needs be done speedily," said Mentes, "and I shall tell +thee how to thrust them from thy palace gates. Take a ship and go to Pylos +to inquire of the aged and wise Nestor what he knows of thy father's fate. +Thence go to Menelaus, in Sparta; he was the last of all the mailed Greeks +to return home. If thou hear encouraging tidings, wait patiently for a +year. At the end of that time, if thy father come not, celebrate his +funeral rites, let thy mother wed again, and take immediate steps for the +destruction of the suitor band. Thou art no longer a child; the time has +come for thee to assert thyself and be a man." + +Telemachus, long weary of inactivity, was pleased with this advice, and at +once announced to the incredulous suitors his intention of going to learn +the fate of his father. A boat was procured and provided with a crew by +the aid of Pallas, and provisioned from the secret store-room guarded by +the old and faithful servant Eurycleia. From among the treasures of +Ulysses--garments, heaps of gold and brass, and old and delicate +wines--Telemachus took sweet wine and meal to be conveyed to the ship at +night, and instructing Eurycleia not to tell his mother of his absence +until twelve days had passed, he departed as soon as sleep had overcome +the suitors. Pallas, in the guise of Mentor, accompanied him. + +His courage failed him, however, as they approached the shore of Pylos, +where Nestor and his people were engaged in making a great sacrifice to +Neptune. "How shall I approach the chief?" he asked. "Ill am I trained in +courtly speech." + +But, encouraged by Pallas, he greeted the aged Nestor, and after he and +his companion had assisted in the sacrifice and partaken of the banquet +that followed, he revealed his name and asked for tidings of his, father, +boldly and confidently, as befitted the son of Ulysses. The old king could +tell him nothing, however. After Troy had fallen, a dissension had rent +the camp, and part of the Greeks had remained with Agamemnon, part had +sailed with Menelaus. Sailing with Menelaus, Nestor had parted with Diomed +at Argos, and had sailed on to Pylos. Since his return he had heard of the +death of Agamemnon, and of the more recent return of Menelaus, but had +heard no tidings of Ulysses, who had remained with Agamemnon. +To Menelaus he advised Telemachus to go, warning him, however, not to +remain long away from Ithaca, leaving his home in the possession of rude +and lawless men. + +In a car provided by Nestor and driven by his son, Pisistratus, Telemachus +reached Sparta after a day and a night's rapid travel, and found Menelaus +celebrating the nuptial feast of his daughter Hermione, betrothed at Troy +to the son of Achilles, and his son Megapenthes, wedded to the daughter of +Alector. The two young men were warmly welcomed, and were invited to +partake of the banquet without being asked their names. After the feast +they wondered at the splendor of the halls of gold, amber, and ivory, the +polished baths, and the fleecy garments in which they had been arrayed; +but Menelaus assured them that all his wealth was small compensation to +him for the loss of the warriors who had fallen before Troy, and above +all, of the great Ulysses, whose fate he knew not. Though Telemachus's +tears fell at his father's name, Menelaus did not guess to whom he spoke, +until Helen, entering from her perfumed chamber, saw the likeness between +the stranger and the babe whom Ulysses had left when he went to Troy, and +greeted their guest as Telemachus. + +Then they sat in the splendid hall and talked of Troy,--Menelaus broken by +his many toils, Helen beautiful as when she was rapt away by Paris, +weaving with her golden distaff wound with violet wool, and the two young +men, who said little, but listened to the wondrous tale of the wanderings +of Menelaus. And they spoke of Ulysses: of the times when he had proved +his prudence as well as his craft; of his entering Troy as a beggar and +revealing the Achaian plots to Helen; of how he had prevented their +breaking out of the wooden horse too soon. Then the king told of his +interview with the Ancient of the Deep, in which he had learned the fate +of his comrades; of Agamemnon's death, and of the detention of Ulysses on +Calypso's isle, where he languished, weeping bitterly, because he had no +means of escape. + +This information gained, Telemachus was anxious to return home; but his +host detained him until he and Helen had descended to their fragrant +treasure-chamber and brought forth rich gifts,--a double cup of silver and +gold wrought by Vulcan, a shining silver beaker, and an embroidered robe +for his future bride. + +Mercury, dispatched by Jove, descended to the distant isle of Calypso, and +warned the bright-haired nymph, whom he found weaving in her charmed +grotto, that she must let her mortal lover go or brave the wrath of the +gods. The nymph, though loath to part with her lover, sought out the +melancholy Ulysses, where he sat weeping beside the deep, and giving him +tools, led him to the forest and showed him where to fell trees with which +to construct a raft. His labor finished, she provided the hero with +perfumed garments, a full store of provisions, and saw him set forth +joyfully upon the unknown deep. + +For seventeen days his journey was a prosperous one; but on the eighteenth +day, just as the land of the Phaeacians came in sight. Neptune returned +from Ethiopia, and angry at what the gods had contrived to do in his +absence, determined to make the hero suffer as much as possible before he +attained the promised end of his troubles. + +Soon a great storm arose and washed Ulysses from the raft. Clinging to its +edge, buffeted here and there by the angry waves, he would have suffered +death had not a kind sea nymph urged him to lay aside his heavy garments, +leave the raft, and binding a veil that she gave him about his chest, swim +to the land of the Phaeacians. The coast was steep and rocky, but he found +at last a little river, and swimming up it, landed, and fell asleep among +some warm heaps of dried leaves. + +The Phaeacians were a people closely allied to the gods, to whom they were +very dear. They had at one time been neighbors of the Cyclops, from whose +rudeness they had suffered so much that they were compelled to seek a +distant home. They were a civilized people, who had achieved great results +as sailors, having remarkably swift and well-equipped ships. + +To the Princess Nausicaa, beautiful as a goddess, Pallas appeared in a +dream the night that Ulysses lay sleeping on the isle, warning her that +since her wedding day was near at hand, when all would need fresh +garments, it was fitting that she should ask her father's permission to +take the garments of the household to the river side to wash them. + +Nausicaa's father willingly granted his permission, and ordered the strong +car in which to carry away the soiled garments. A hamper of food and a +skin of wine were added by her mother, as the princess climbed into the +chariot and drove towards the river, followed by her maids. + +When the garments had been washed in the lavers hollowed out by the river +side, and the lunch had been eaten, the maids joined in a game of ball. +Joyous they laughed and frolicked, like Dian's nymphs, until they roused +the sleeper under the olive-trees on the hillside. + +All save Nausicaa fled affrighted as he came forth to speak to them, +covered with sea foam, his nakedness hidden only by a leafy branch woven +round his waist; but she, strengthened by the goddess, heard his story, +and provided him with clothing and materials for the bath. When he +appeared, cleansed from the sea foam, and made more handsome by the art of +Pallas, Nausicaa's pity was changed to admiration, and she wished that she +might have a husband like him. + +Food and wine were set before the hero, and while he refreshed himself the +dried clothes were folded and placed in the cart. As the princess prepared +to go she advised the stranger to follow the party until they reached a +grove outside the city, and to remain there until she had time to reach +her father's palace, lest some gossip should connect Nausicaa's name with +that of a stranger. She told him how to find her father's palace, and +instructed him to win the favor of her mother, that he might be received +with honor and assisted on his homeward way. + +Ulysses obeyed, and when he reached the city gates was met by Pallas, in +the guise of a virgin with an urn. She answered his questions, directed +him to the palace, and told him to throw himself first at the feet of +Queen Arete, who was looked on by the people as if she were a goddess. +Wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, the unseen Ulysses admired the spacious +halls of Alcinoues. Walls of brass supported blue steel cornices, golden +doors guarded by gold and silver mastiffs opened into the vast hall, along +which were ranged thrones covered with delicately woven mantles, for which +the Phaeacian women were famous. + +Around the palace lay a spacious garden filled with pear, pomegranate, +fig, and apple trees, that knew no change of season, but blossomed and +bore fruit throughout the year. Perennially blooming plants scattered +perfume through the garden kept fresh by water from two sparkling +fountains. + +As Ulysses knelt at the feet of Arete, the cloud enveloping him fell away, +and all were astonished at the sight of the stranger imploring protection. +Arete received Ulysses with favor, and Alcinoues was so pleased with him +that he offered him his daughter in marriage, if he was unmarried, a +palace and riches if he would remain on the island, and a safe passage +home if he desired to leave them. The king then invited the chiefs of the +isle to a great banquet in honor of his guest. At this banquet Demodocus, +the blind minstrel, sang so touchingly of the heroes of the Trojan war +that Ulysses was moved to tears, a fact observed by the king alone. After +the feast the guests displayed their strength in athletic games; and +Ulysses, provoked by the taunts of the ill-bred Euryalus, cast a broader, +heavier quoit than had yet been used far beyond the mark. The Phaeacians +were amazed, and the king confessed that his people were weak in athletic +sports but excelled in the dance,--a statement to which Ulysses readily +agreed when he saw the beautiful and graceful dance of the princes +Laodamas and Halius to the music of Demodocus's silver harp. + +When the games were over, all the chiefs presented Ulysses with garments +and with talents of gold, for the reception of which Arete gave a +beautiful chest. As he corded up the chest, and stepped forth to the +banquet, refreshed from the bath, Nausicaa, standing beside a pillar, bade +him farewell. + +"Remember, in thy native land, O stranger, that thou owest thy life to +me." + +When they sat again in the banqueting hall, Ulysses besought Demodocus to +sing again of the fall of Troy; but when the minstrel sang of the strategy +of the wooden horse which wrought the downfall of Troy, the hero was again +melted to tears,--and this time his host, unable to repress his curiosity, +asked him to reveal his name and history. + +"Thou hast spoken, O king, and I proceed to tell the story of my +calamitous voyage from Troy; for I am Ulysses, widely known among men for +my cunning devices. Our first stop was among the Ciconians, whose city we +laid waste. Here, in spite of my warning, my men tarried to drink red wine +until the Ciconians had had time to recruit their forces, and, attacking +us, slew six men from each galley. When we who survived reached the land +of the lotus-eaters, some of my men ate of the sweet plant, after which a +man thinks never more of wife, or friends, or home; and it was with the +utmost difficulty that we succeeded in dragging them to the ships. + +"At the Cyclopean land I myself, with a few of my men, disembarked, and +went up to seek the inhabitants and conciliate them with gifts of food and +wine. The Cyclops were huge one-eyed giants who did not cultivate the +land, had no government, and cared nought for the gods. The first cave to +which we came was empty, and we went in to await the arrival of the owner, +appeasing our appetites, meanwhile, with some of his cheeses. Presently he +arrived, and after he had closed up the entrance of the cave with a huge +stone, and had milked his goats, he questioned us as to who we were. Our +story told, he seized two of my companions, dashed their heads against the +rocks, and devoured them. The next morning, after devouring two others, he +drove out his flocks, leaving us shut up in the huge cave. All that day I +revolved plans for his destruction and our escape; and at last, drawing +lots with my companions to determine who should assist me, I determined, +with their aid, to bore out his great eye with a huge olive-wood stick +that I found in the cave. We spent the day sharpening it and hardening it +in the fire, and at night hid it under a heap of litter. Two more of my +men made his evening meal, after which I plied him with the wine I had +brought, until, softened by the liquor, he inquired my name, assuring me +that as return for my gift, he would devour me last. My name, I told him, +was Noman. + +"As soon as he had fallen into a drunken slumber I put the stake to heat, +and, strengthening the courage of my men, I drew it forth and plunged it +into his eye. Steadily we spun it round until the monster, screaming with +pain, drew it forth, crying to the other Cyclops to come to his aid. When +they, from without, questioned who hurt him, he replied, 'Noman destroyeth +me by guile.' 'If it is "Noman,"' said they, departing, 'it must be Jove. +Then pray to Neptune.' + +"During the night I tied together the rams, three and three with osier +twigs, and instructed my comrades, as he drove them out, to cling under +the middle one. I hid myself under the fleecy belly of a huge ram, the +finest of the flock. He touched their backs as he drove them out, but he +did not penetrate my cunning, and we all escaped. After we had driven the +flock on board, however, and had pushed out our galley, I could not +forbear a taunting shout, at which he hurled a huge fragment of rock after +us, just missing our galley. + +"With Aeolus, King of the Winds, we remained a month, reciting the events +connected with the fall of Troy. So pleased was the king with my story, +that on our departure he presented me with a bag tied up with a silver +cord, which contained the adverse winds. One day, as I slumbered, my +unhappy sailors, suspecting some treasure concealed therein, opened it, +and we were immediately blown back to Aeolus's isle, from which he, +enraged at our folly, indignantly drove us. + +"At the land of the Laestrygonians all our galleys were lost and our men +devoured by the cannibal inhabitants, with the exception of my own ship, +which by good fortune I had moored without the harbor. Overcome with +grief, we rowed wearily along until we arrived at the land of Circe. With +caution born of experience, we drew lots to see who should venture into +the unknown isle. The lot fell to Eurylochus, who, with twenty-two brave +men, went forward to the fair palace of Circe, around which fawned tamed +mountain lions and wolves. Within sat the bright haired goddess, singing +while she threw her shuttle through the beautiful web she was weaving. + +"All the men entered the palace at her invitation but Eurylochus, who, +suspecting some guile, remained without. He saw his comrades led within, +seated upon thrones and banqueted; but no sooner was the feast over, than +she touched them with her wand, and transformed them into swine that she +drove scornfully to their cells. + +"Eurylochus hastened back to our ships with the sorrowful tidings. As soon +as grief had permitted him to tell the story, I flung my sword over my +shoulders and hastened away to the palace. As I entered the valley, not +far from the palace, I was met by a youth, none save the Argus-queller +himself, who revealed to me Circe's guile, and presented me with a plant, +the moly, which would enable me to withstand her charms. + +"The goddess received me kindly, seated me upon a throne, and invited me +to feast with her. After the feast she struck me with her wand, as she had +done my comrades, ordering me to go to my sty; but when I remained +unchanged, she perceived that her guest was Ulysses, whose coming had long +been foretold to her. + +"Softened by her entreaties, I sheathed my sword, after having made her +promise to release my friends and do us no further harm. Then the others +were called from the ships, and we banqueted together. + +"Time passed so happily on Circe's isle that we lingered a whole year, +until, roused by the words of my friends, I announced my intended +departure, and was told by Circe that I must first go to the land of the +dead to get instructions as to my future course from Tiresias. Provided +with the proper sacrifices by Circe, we set sail for the land of the +Cimmerians, on the confines of Oceanus. The sacrifices having been duly +performed, the spirits appeared,--Elpenor, my yet unburied comrade, whose +body lay on Circe's isle, my own dead mother, and the Theban seer, +Tiresias, with his golden wand. 'Neptune is wroth with thee,' he said, +'but thou mayst yet return if thou and thy comrades leave undisturbed the +cattle of the Sun. If thou do not, destruction awaits thee. If thou escape +and return home it will be after long journeyings and much suffering, and +there thou wilt slay the insolent suitor crew that destroy thy substance +and wrong thy household.' After Tiresias had spoken I lingered to speak +with other spirits,--my mother, Ajax, Antiope, Agamemnon, Achilles, +Patroclus, and Antilochus. Having conversed with all these, we set sail +for Circe's isle, and thence started again on our homeward voyage. + +"Circe had instructed me to stop the ears of my men with wax as we +approached the isle of the Sirens, and to have myself tied to the boat +that I might not leap into the ocean to go to the beautiful maidens who +sang so entrancingly. We therefore escaped without adding our bones to +those on the isle of the Sirens, and came next to Scylla and Charybdis. +Charybdis is a frightful whirlpool. The sailor who steers too far away in +his anxiety to escape it, is seized by the six arms of the monster Scylla +and lifted to her cavern to be devoured. We avoided Charybdis; but as we +looked down into the abyss, pale with fear, six of my comrades were seized +by Scylla and snatched up to her cave. + +"As we neared the Island of the Sun I told my comrades again of the +warning of Tiresias, and begged them to sail past without stopping. I was +met, however, by the bitterest reproaches, and at last consented to a +landing if they would bind themselves by a solemn oath not to touch the +cattle of the Sun. They promised, but when adverse winds prolonged our +stay and food became scarce, fools, madmen, they slew the herds, and in +spite of the terrible omens, the meat lowing on the spits, the skins +crawling, they feasted for six days. When, on the seventh, the tempest +ceased and we sailed away, we went to our destruction. I alone was saved, +clinging to the floating timbers for nine long days, until on the tenth I +reached Calypso's isle, Ogygia, where, out of love for me, the mighty +goddess cherished me for seven years." + +The Phaeacians were entranced by this recital, and in addition to their +former gifts, heaped other treasures upon the "master of stratagems" that +he might return home a wealthy man. The swift ship was filled with his +treasures, and after the proper sacrifices and long farewells, the +chieftain embarked. It was morn when the ship arrived in Ithaca, and +Ulysses, worn out from his long labors, was still asleep. Stopping at the +little port of Phorcys, where the steep shores stretch inward and a +spreading olive-tree o'ershadows the grotto of the nymphs, the sailors +lifted out Ulysses, laid him on the ground, and piling up his gifts under +the olive-tree, set sail for Phaeacia. But the angry Neptune smote the +ship as it neared the town and changed it to a rock, thus fulfilling an +ancient prophecy that Neptune would some day wreak his displeasure on the +Phaeacians for giving to every man who came to them safe escort home. + +When Ulysses awoke he did not recognize the harbor, and thinking that he +had been treated with deceit, he wept bitterly. Thus Pallas, in the guise +of a young shepherd, found him, and showed him that it was indeed his own +dear land. She helped him to conceal his treasures in the grotto, and told +him that Telemachus was even now away on a voyage of inquiry concerning +him, and his wife was weeping over his absence and the insolence of the +suitors. But he must act with caution. To give him an opportunity to lay +his plans for the destruction of these men without being recognized, she +changed him to a beggar, wrinkled and old, and clad in ragged, soiled +garments. Then directing him to the home of his old herdsman, she hastened +to warn Telemachus to avoid the ship the suitors had stationed to destroy +him on his way home. + +The old Eumaeus was sitting in his lodge without whose hedge lay the many +sties of swine that were his care. He greeted the beggar kindly, and +spread food before him, lamenting all the while the absence of his noble +master and the wickedness of the suitors. Ulysses told him that he was a +wanderer who had heard of his master, and could speak surely of his +return. Though Eumaeus regarded this as an idle speech spoken to gain food +and clothing, he continued in his kindness to his guest. + +To this lodge came Telemachus after the landing of his ship, that he might +first hear from Eumaeus the news from the palace,--Telemachus, who had +grown into sudden manliness from his experience among other men. He also +was kind to the beggar, and heard his story. While he remained with the +beggar, Eumaeus having gone to acquaint Penelope of her son's return, +Pallas appearing, touched the beggar with her golden wand, and Ulysses, +with the presence of a god, stood before his awed and wondering son. + +Long and passionate was their weeping as the father told the son of his +sufferings, and the son told of the arrogance of the one hundred and +fourteen suitors. + +"There are we two with Pallas and her father Jove against them," replied +his father. "Thinkest thou we need to fear with two such allies?" + +On the day after Telemachus's return, Ulysses, accompanied by Eumaeus, +visited the palace. No one recognized him except his old dog, Argus, long +neglected and devoured by vermin, who, at the sound of his master's voice, +drew near, wagged his tail, and fell dead. + +According to their carefully laid plans, Telemachus feigned not to know +his father, but sent to the beggar some food. Ulysses asked the same of +the suitors, but was repulsed with taunts and insults, Antinoues, the most +insolent, striking him with a footstool. + +To Penelope, weaving in her chamber, was carried the story of the beggar +at whom the abhorred Antinoues had thrown a stool, and she sent for him to +ask if he had tidings of Ulysses. He refused to go to her, however, until +the suitors had withdrawn for the night; and as he sat among the +revellers, he caught the first glimpse of his wife, as she came down among +her maids, to reproach her son for exposing himself to danger among the +suitors, and for allowing the beggar to be injured. + +When darkness fell and the hall was deserted, Telemachus, with the +assistance of his father, removed all the weapons from the walls. After +Telemachus had retired to his chamber, Penelope came down, and sitting +upon her ivory throne conversed with the beggar, questioning him about his +story until he was driven to invent tales that seemed like truth, and +asking about her husband while the tears ran down her fair cheeks. By a +great effort Ulysses kept his tears from falling as he beheld his wife +weeping over him; he assured her that her husband would soon return, but +he would accept no clothing as a reward for his tidings. The aged +Eurycleia, who was called forth to wash his feet, came near betraying her +master when she recognized a scar made by a wild boar's tusk, but he +threatened her into silence. Soon after, Penelope and her maids withdrew, +and left Ulysses to meditate vengeance through the night. + +The next morning, when the suitors again sat in the banquet-hall, Penelope +descended to them and declared that she had determined to give her hand to +the one of the suitors who could draw the great bow of Ulysses and send +the arrow through twelve rings set on stakes planted in the ground. Up to +the polished treasure-chamber she went, and took down the great bow given +to Ulysses by Iphitus. As she took it from its case her tears fell, but +she dried them and carried it and the steel rings into the hall. Gladly +Ulysses hailed this hour, for he knew the time had come when he should +destroy the suitor band. That morn many omens had warned him, and he had +revealed himself to his faithful men, Eumaeus, and Philoetius the +master-herdsman, that they might assist him. Telemachus, though astonished +at his mother's decision, first took the bow; if he succeeded in bending +it, his mother would not have to leave her home. He would have bent the +bow at the fourth attempt had not his father's glance warned him to yield +it to the suitors. + +Although the bow was rubbed and softened with oil, all failed in their +attempts to draw it; and when the beggar asked to be allowed to try, their +wrath burst forth. What shame would be theirs if the beggar succeeded in +doing that in which they had failed! But Telemachus, who asserted his +rights more day by day, insisted that the beggar should try to bend the +bow, if he so desired. Sending his mother and her maids to their bower, he +watched his father as he easily bent the mighty bow, snapped the cord with +a sound at which the suitors grew pale, and sent the arrow through the +rings. Then casting aside his rags, the supposed beggar sprang upon the +threshold, and knowing that by his orders, Eumaeus, Philoetius, and +Eurycleia had secured the portals so that escape was impossible, he sent +his next shaft through the throat of Antinoues. "Dogs! ye thought I never +would return! Ye dreaded not the gods while ye devoured my substance and +pursued my wife! Now vengeance is mine! Destruction awaits you all!" + +Too late Eurymachus sprang up and besought the monarch to grant them their +lives if they made good their waste and returned to their homes. Ulysses +had brooded too long over his injuries; his wife and son had suffered too +many years from their persecutions for him to think of mercy. Eurymachus +fell by the next brass-tipped shaft, and for every arrow in the quiver a +suitor lay dead until the quiver was empty. Then Telemachus, Philoetius, +and Eumaeus, provided with weapons and armor, stood forth with Ulysses, +and withstood the suitors until all were slain, save Medon the herald and +Phemius the minstrel, for both of whom Telemachus pleaded, since they had +been coerced by the others. Giving the destruction of the false +serving-maids to his three assistants, Ulysses ordered the hall to be +cleansed, and after greeting his faithful servants and weeping with them, +sent Eurycleia up to the bower to tell Penelope that her master had at +last arrived. + +Penelope was too fearful of deceit to believe instantly that the beggar +sitting beside the lofty column was her husband, though as she looked at +him wonderingly, she sometimes fancied that she saw Ulysses, and again +could not believe that it was he. So long was she silent that Telemachus +reproached her for her hardness of heart; but Ulysses, better guessing the +difficulty, ordered that all should take the bath and array themselves in +fresh garments while the harper played gay melodies, that those passing +should not guess the slaughter that had occurred, but should fancy that a +wedding was being celebrated. When Ulysses again appeared, refreshed and +handsomely attired, Penelope, still uncertain, determined to test his +knowledge of her chamber. "Bear out the bed made by his own hands," she +commanded Eurycleia, "that he may rest for the night." + +"Who has dared move my bed?" cried Ulysses; "the couch framed upon the +stump of an olive-tree, round which I built a stone chamber! I myself +cunningly fitted it together, and adorned it with gold, silver, and +ivory." + +Then Penelope, who knew that no one save herself, Ulysses, and one +handmaiden had ever seen the interior of that chamber, fell on his neck +and welcomed the wanderer home. "Pray, be not angry with me, my husband. +Many times my heart has trembled lest some fraud be practised on me, and I +should receive a stranger to my heart." + +Welcome as land to the shipwrecked mariner was Ulysses to Penelope. Both +wept as he held her in his arms, and the rosy-fingered morn would have +found them thus, weeping, with her fair, white arms encircling his neck, +had not Pallas prolonged the night that he might relate to her the story +of his wanderings. Then, happy in their reunion, the years of sorrow all +forgotten, sleep overcame them. At dawn, bidding a brief farewell to his +wife, Ulysses went forth to visit his father, and settle as best he might +the strife which he knew would result from the slaughter of the suitors. + +After Ulysses' mother had died of grief at the prolonged absence of her +son, Laertes passed his days wretchedly in a little habitation remote from +the palace. There Ulysses found him and made himself known; and there he, +Laertes, Telemachus, the aged Dolius, and his six sons faced the people +who had been roused to battle by the speech of Eupeithes, whose son +Antinoues had been the first of the suitors to fall by the hand of Ulysses. +Not heeding the warning of the herald Medon that the suitors had been +slain justly, they attacked Ulysses and his handful of followers. + +Eupeithes fell first by the spear of Laertes, and a great slaughter would +have ensued, had not the combatants been silenced by the voice of Pallas, +who commanded all strife to cease. Frightened by this divine command, the +enemy fled; and Pallas, descending in the form of Mentor, plighted a +covenant between them that Ulysses might live peacefully among them the +remainder of his life. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE ODYSSEY. + +THE PALACE OF ALCINOUeS. + + +Ulysses, having been directed by Nausicaa, reached the gate of the city, +and was there met by Pallas in the guise of a maiden with an urn, who +instructed him how to approach the king and queen. He passed through the +town, wrapped in a cloud by Pallas, and paused on the threshold of +Alcinoues's palace. + + For on every side beneath + The lofty roof of that magnanimous king + A glory shone as of the sun or moon. + There from the threshold, on each side, were walls + Of brass that led towards the inner rooms, + With blue steel cornices. The doors within + The massive building were of gold, and posts + Of silver on the brazen threshold stood, + And silver was the lintel, and above + Its architrave was gold; and on each side + Stood gold and silver mastiffs, the rare work + Of Vulcan's practised skill, placed there to guard + The house of great Alcinoues, and endowed + With deathless life, that knows no touch of age. + Along the walls within, on either side, + And from the threshold to the inner rooms, + Were firmly planted thrones on which were laid + Delicate mantles, woven by the hands + Of women. The Phaeacian princes here + Were seated; here they ate and drank, and held + Perpetual banquet. Slender forms of boys + In gold upon the shapely altars stood, + With blazing torches in their hands to light + At eve the palace guests; while fifty maids + Waited within the halls, where some in querns + Ground small the yellow grain; some wove the web + Or twirled the spindle, sitting, with a quick + Light motion, like the aspen's glancing leaves. + The well-wrought tissues glistened as with oil. + As far as the Phaeacian race excel + In guiding their swift galleys o'er the deep, + So far the women in their woven work + Surpass all others. Pallas gives them skill + In handiwork and beautiful design. + Without the palace-court and near the gate, + A spacious garden of four acres lay. + A hedge enclosed it round, and lofty trees + Flourished in generous growth within,--the pear + And the pomegranate, and the apple-tree + With its fair fruitage, and the luscious fig + And olive always green. The fruit they bear + Falls not, nor ever fails in winter time + Nor summer, but is yielded all the year. + The ever-blowing west-wind causes some + To swell and some to ripen; pear succeeds + To pear; to apple, apple, grape to grape, + Fig ripens after fig. A fruitful field + Of vines was planted near; in part it lay + Open and basking in the sun, which dried + The soil, and here men gathered in the grapes, + And there they trod the wine-press. Farther on + Were grapes unripened yet, which just had cast + The flower, and others still which just began + To redden. At the garden's furthest bound + Were beds of many plants that all the year + Bore flowers. There gushed two fountains: one of them + Ran wandering through the field; the other flowed + Beneath the threshold to the palace-court, + And all the people filled their vessels there. + Such were the blessings which the gracious gods + Bestowed on King Alcinoues and his house. + _Bryant's Translation, Book VII._ + + + + +THE BENDING OF THE BOW. + + +Penelope, weary of the importunities of the suitors, determined to end the +contest by giving them the bow of Ulysses and allowing the one who could +successfully send the arrow through the steel rings to become her husband. +Having announced her intention, she ascended the stairs to the treasure +chamber, where the bow was kept. + + Now when the glorious lady reached the room, + And stood upon the threshold, wrought of oak + And polished by the workman's cunning hand, + Who stretched the line upon it, and set up + Its posts, and hung its shining doors, she loosed + With a quick touch the thong that held the ring, + Put in the key, and with a careful aim + Struck back the sounding bolts. As when a bull + Roars in the field, such sound the beautiful doors, + Struck with the key, gave forth, and instantly + They opened to her. Up the lofty floor + She stepped, where stood the coffer that contained + The perfumed garments. Reaching forth her hand, + The queen took down the bow, that hung within + Its shining case, and sat her down, and laid + The case upon her knees, and, drawing forth + The monarch's bow, she wept aloud. As soon + As that new gush of tears had ceased to fall, + Back to the hall she went, and that proud throng + Of suitors, bearing in her hand the bow + Unstrung, and quiver, where the arrows lay + Many and deadly. Her attendant maids + Brought also down a coffer, where were laid + Much brass and steel, provided by the king + For games like these. The glorious lady then, + In presence of the suitors, stood beside + The columns that upheld the stately roof. + She held a lustrous veil before her cheeks, + And while on either side of her a maid + Stood modestly, bespake the suitors thus:-- + + "Hear, noble suitors! ye who throng these halls, + And eat and drink from day to day, while long + My husband has been gone; your sole excuse + For all this lawlessness the claim ye make + That I become a bride. Come then, for now + A contest is proposed. I bring to you + The mighty bow that great Ulysses bore. + Whoe'er among you he may be whose hand + Shall bend this bow, and send through these twelve rings + An arrow, him I follow hence, and leave + This beautiful abode of my young years, + With all its plenty,--though its memory, + I think, will haunt me even in my dreams." + + She spake, and bade the master of the swine, + The good Eumaeus, place the bow and rings + Of hoary steel before the suitor train. + In tears he bore the bow and laid it down. + The herdsman also wept to see again + His master's bow. + + * * * * * + + He (Telemachus) spake and, rising, from his shoulders took + The purple cloak, and laid the trenchant sword + Aside; and first he placed the rings of steel + In order, opening for them in the ground + A long trench by a line, and stamping close + The earth around them. All admired the skill + With which he ranged them, never having seen + The game before. And then he took his place + Upon the threshold, and essayed the bow; + And thrice he made the attempt, and thrice gave o'er, + Yet hoping still to draw the cord, and send + An arrow through the rings. He would have drawn + The bow at the fourth trial, but a nod + Given by his father caused him to forbear, + Though eager for the attempt. + + * * * * * + + ... And then Eupeithes' son, + Antinoues, to the crowd of suitors said:-- + + "Rise one by one, my friends, from right to left. + Begin where he begins who pours the wine." + So spake Antinoues, and the rest approved. + Then rose Leiodes, son of Oenops, first. + He was their seer, and always had his seat + Beside the ample bowl. From deeds of wrong + He shrank with hatred, and was sore incensed + Against the suitors all. He took the bow + And shaft, and, going to the threshold, stood + And tried the bow, yet bent it not; it galled + His hands, for they were soft, and all unused + To such a task. + + ... The swineherd went + Forward along the hall, and, drawing near + The wise Ulysses, gave into his hands + The bow. + + * * * * * + + ... but when the wary chief + Had poised and shrewdly scanned the mighty bow, + Then, as a singer, skilled to play the harp, + Stretches with ease on its new fastenings + A string, the twisted entrails of a sheep, + Made fast at either end, so easily + Ulysses bent that mighty bow. He took + And drew the cord with his right hand; it twanged + With a clear sound as when a swallow screams. + The suitors were dismayed, and all grew pale. + Jove in loud thunder gave a sign from heaven. + The much-enduring chief, Ulysses, heard + With joy the friendly omen, which the son + Of crafty Saturn sent him. He took up + A winged arrow, that before him lay + Upon a table drawn; the others still + Were in the quiver's womb; the Greeks were yet + To feel them. This he set with care against + The middle of the bow, and toward him drew + The cord and arrow-notch, just where he sat, + And aiming opposite, let fly the shaft. + He missed no ring of all; from first to last + The brass-tipped arrow threaded every one. + Then to Telemachus Ulysses said:-- + + "Telemachus, the stranger sitting here + Hath not disgraced thee. I have neither missed + The rings, nor found it hard to bend the bow; + Nor has my manly strength decayed, as these + Who seek to bring me to contempt pretend; + And now the hour is come when we prepare + A supper for the Achaians, while the day + Yet lasts, and after supper the delights + Of song and harp, which nobly grace a feast." + + He spake, and nodded to Telemachus, + His well-beloved son, who girded on + His trenchant sword, and took in hand his spear, + And, armed with glittering brass for battle, came + And took his station by his father's seat. + + Then did Ulysses cast his rags aside, + And, leaping to the threshold, took his stand + On its broad space, with bow and quiver filled + With arrows. At his feet the hero poured + The winged shafts, and to the suitors called:-- + + "That difficult strife is ended. Now I take + Another mark, which no man yet has hit. + Now I shall see if I attain my aim, + And, by the aid of Phoebus, win renown." + + He spake; and, turning, at Antinoues aimed + The bitter shaft--Antinoues, who just then + Had grasped a beautiful two-eared cup of gold, + About to drink the wine. He little thought + Of wounds and death; for who, when banqueting + Among his fellows, could suspect that one + Alone against so many men would dare, + However bold, to plan his death, and bring + On him the doom of fate? Ulysses struck + The suitor with the arrow at the throat. + The point came through the tender neck behind, + Sideways he sank to earth; his hand let fall + The cup; the dark blood in a thick warm stream + Gushed from the nostrils of the smitten man. + He spurned the table with his feet, and spilled + The viands; bread and roasted meats were flung + To lie polluted on the floor. Then rose + The suitors in a tumult, when they saw + The fallen man; from all their seats they rose + Throughout the hall, and to the massive walls + Looked eagerly; there hung no buckler there, + No sturdy lance for them to wield. They called + Then to Ulysses with indignant words:-- + + "Stranger! in evil hour hast thou presumed + To aim at men; and thou shalt henceforth bear + Part in no other contest. Even now + Is thy destruction close to thee. Thy hand + Hath slain the noblest youth in Ithaca. + The vultures shall devour thy flesh for this." + + So each one said; they deemed he had not slain + The suitor wittingly; nor did they see, + Blind that they were, the doom which in that hour + Was closing round them all. Then with a frown + The wise Ulysses looked on them, and said:-- + + "Dogs! ye had thought I never would come back + From Ilium's coast, and therefore ye devoured + My substance here, and offered violence + To my maid-servants, and pursued my wife + As lovers, while I lived. Ye dreaded not + The gods who dwell in the great heaven, nor feared + Vengeance hereafter from the hands of men; + And now destruction overhangs you all." + + He spake, and all were pale with fear, and each + Looked round for some escape from death. + + _Bryant's Translation, Books XXI., XXII_. + + + + + +THE KALEVALA. + +"Songs preserved from distant ages." + + +The national epic of Finland, the Kalevala, or Place of Heroes, stands +midway between the purely epical structure, as exemplified in Homer, and +the epic songs of certain nations. + +It is a purely pagan epic, and from its complete silence as to Finland's +neighbors, the Russians, Germans, and Swedes, it is supposed to date back +at least three thousand years. + +The first attempt to collect Finnish folk-song was made in the seventeenth +century by Palmskoeld and Peter Baeng. In 1733, Maxenius published a volume +on Finnish national poetry, and in 1745 Juslenius began a collection of +national poems. Although scholars saw that these collected poems were +evidently fragments of a Finnish epic, it remained for two physicians, +Zacharias Topelius and Elias Loennrot, to collect the entire poem. +Topelius, though confined to his bed by illness for eleven years, took +down the songs from travelling merchants brought to his bedside. His +collections were published in 1822 and 1831. Loennrot travelled over +Finland, collecting the songs, which he published, arranged in epical +form, in 1835. A revised edition was published in 1849. + +The Kalevala consists of fifty parts, or runes, containing twenty-two +thousand seven hundred and ninety-three lines. Its historical foundation +is the contests between the Finns and the Lapps. + +Its metre is the "eight syllabled trochaic with the part-line echo," +alliteration also being used, a metre familiar to us through Longfellow's +"Hiawatha." + +The labors of a Wolf are not necessary to show that the Kalevala is +composed of various runes or lays, arranged by a compiler. Topelius and +Loennrot were conscientious collectors and compilers, but they were no +Homers, who could fuse these disconnected runes into one great poem. The +Kalevala recites many events in the lives of different heroes who are not +types of men, like Rama, or Achilles, or Ulysses, but the rude gods of an +almost savage people, or rather, men in the process of apotheosis, all +alike, save in the varying degrees of magic power possessed by each. + +The Finnish lays are interesting to us because they are the popular songs +of a people handed down with few changes from one generation to another; +because they would have formed the material for a national epic if a great +poet had arisen; because of their pictures of ancient customs, and +particularly the description of the condition of women, and because of +their frequently beautiful descriptions of nature. But because they are +simply runes "loosely stitched together" we can regard them only with +interest and curiosity, not with admiration. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE KALEVALA. + + +Andrew Lang's Homer and the Epic, pp. 412-419; + +Andrew Lang's Kalevala, or the Finnish National Epic (in his Custom and +Myth), 1885, pp. 156-179; + +C. J. Billson's Folk-songs, comprised in the Finnish Kalevala, Folk-Lore, +1895, vi. pp. 317-352; + +F. C. Cook's Kalevala, Contemporary, 1885, xlvii., pp. 683-702; + +Preface of J. M. Crawford's Translation of the Kalevala, 1891. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE KALEVALA. + + +The Kalevala, Tr. by J. M. Crawford, 2 vols., 1891; + +The Kalevala, Tr. by W. F. Kirby, through the German translation of +Schiefner; + +Selections from the Kalevala, Tr. from a German version by J. A. Porter, +with an introduction and analysis of the Poem, 1868. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE KALEVALA. + + +Wainamoinen was born upon the ocean after his mother, Ilmatar, daughter of +the illimitable Ether, had floated upon its surface for more than seven +hundred years. During this time Ilmatar had created the islands, the +rocks, and the continents. After eight years of swimming through the +ocean, studying his surroundings, Wainamoinen left the waters and swam to +a barren promontory, where he could rest himself on dry land and study the +sun, the moon, and the starry skies. At last he called to him +Pellerwoinen, that the slender youth might scatter seeds broadcast upon +the island, sowing in their proper places the birch, the alder, the +linden, the willow, the mountain ash, and the juniper. It was not long +until the eyes of the sower were gladdened by the sight of trees rising +above the hitherto barren soil. + +But as Wainamoinen cast his eyes over the place he perceived that the oak, +the tree of heaven, was wanting. The acorn planted in the sterile soil +developed not until Tursas, the giant, arose from the ocean, burned some +meadow grasses, and raking together the ashes, planted therein the acorn, +from which soon sprang up a mighty oak-tree whose branches hid the sun +rays and the starlight. + +The oak-tree must be felled if the land was to prosper, but who could fell +it? "Help me, Kape, daughter of the Ether, help me, my ancient mother, to +uproot this terrible tree that shuts out the sunshine," cried Wainamoinen. + +Straightway arose from the ocean a little being clad in copper,--cap, +boots, gloves, and belt. He was no longer than a man's forefinger, and the +blade of the hatchet at his belt was but a finger's breadth. "Art thou +divine, or human?" queried Wainamoinen. "Tell me who thou art. Thou surely +hast the bearing of a hero, though so small. But thou must be of the race +of the pygmies, and therefore useless." + +"I came here to fell the oak," replied the pygmy. "I am a god and a hero +from the tribes that rule the ocean." + +"Never canst thou lop the branches of this mighty tree," replied +Wainamoinen. + +As he spoke, the pygmy became a giant; with one step he left the ocean, +and stood piercing the clouds with his head. He whetted his hatchet on the +great rocks, and with three steps reached the tree; with four blows felled +it. The trunk fell eastward, its tops westward, the leaves to the south, +the hundred branches to the north. Full of magic power were the parts of +this tree, and happy was he who possessed himself of some part of it. + +Then vegetation flourished, the birds sang happily in the trees, and all +was well except that barley was wanting. On the ocean strand Wainamoinen +discovered the barley seed; and, advised by the birds how to plant it, was +soon gratified by the sight of the growing barley. His next act was to +clear the forest; but he left the slender birch for the birds to nest in, +thus winning the gratitude of the silver-voiced singers. + +In the land of Kalevala, Wainamoinen passed many happy years, and the fame +of his wonderful songs of wit and wisdom spread even to the land of the +Lapps, in the dismal north, where lived Youkahainen, a young minstrel. +Against the advice of his parents, the youth, filled with jealousy, +visited Kalevala, to hold a singing contest with Wainamoinen. + +He proudly displayed his wisdom to the old minstrel, who laughed at it as +"women's tales and children's wisdom," and when Youkahainen declared in +song that he was present at the creation, Wainamoinen called him the +prince of liars, and himself began to sing. As he sang, the copper-bearing +mountains, the massive rocks and ledges, trembled, the hills re-echoed, +and the very ocean heaved with rapture. The boaster stood speechless, +seeing his sledge transformed into reed grass and willows, his beautiful +steed changed to a statue, his dog to a block of stone, and he himself +fast sinking in a quicksand. Then comprehending his folly, he begged his +tormentor to free him. Each precious gift he offered for a ransom was +refused, until he named his beautiful sister Aino. Wainamoinen, happy in +the promise of Aino for a wife, freed the luckless youth from his +enchantment, and sent him home. + +Aino's mother was rejoiced to hear that her daughter had been promised to +the renowned Wainamoinen; but when the beautiful girl learned that she was +tied by her brother's folly to an old man, she wandered weeping through +the fields. In vain her mother and father sought to console her; she wept +for her vanished childhood, for all her happiness and hope and pleasure +forever gone. To console her daughter, the mother told her of a store of +beautiful ornaments that she herself had worn in girlhood; they had been +given her by the daughters of the Moon and Sun,--gold, ribbons, and +jewels. Beautifully arrayed in these long-concealed ornaments, Aino +wandered through the fields for many days, bewailing her sad fate. On the +fourth day, she laid her garments on the sea shore, and swam out to the +standing rock, a little distance from the shore. No sooner had she +clambered on the rainbow-colored rock than it turned and fell to the +bottom of the sea, carrying with it the weeping maiden, chanting a +farewell to her family. The fleet and haughty hare bore the news of her +death to the household, where her unfortunate mother sat weeping, urging +other mothers never to force their daughters to wed against their choice. +The tears that rolled down her cheeks formed three streamlets, that, +growing larger, became torrents with foaming cataracts. From the cataracts +towered three pillared rocks upon which rose three hillocks, and upon each +hillock sprang a birch-tree. On the summit of each tree sat a golden bird +singing; and the first sang, for three moons, his song of "Love! O Love!" +the second called for six moons, "Suitor! Suitor!" but the third bird sang +forever his sad song of "Consolation! Consolation!" + +Wainamoinen was deeply grieved when he heard of the fate of the lovely +Aino, and he at once went to angle in the deep where dwelt the mermaids, +the daughters of Wellamo. + +After he had fished many days in vain, he caught a wondrous salmon, larger +and more beautiful than he had ever before caught. But as he took out his +silver knife to cut it, the fish sprang from his hand into the deep, +telling him that it was Aino who had thus come to him, and whom he had now +lost forever by his stupidity. Then indeed the song of the golden bird +seemed sad to Wainamoinen, and he was disconsolate until his mother spoke +to him from her grave: "My son, go north and seek thy wife. Take not a +silly Lapp, but choose one of the daughters of Suomi." + +Quickly Wainamoinen prepared for his journey, and mounted his magic steed, +that galloped over the plains of Kalevala and crossed the waste of blue +sea-water as though it were land. + +But the envious Youkahainen was informed of the journey, and had prepared +a cruel cross-bow and three poisoned arrows. In spite of the protests of +his mother, he waited for the hero and shot at him three times. The third +arrow struck Wainamoinen's horse, which sank to the bottom of the ocean, +leaving the hapless rider struggling in the water. "Seven summers must he +tread the waves," chuckled Youkahainen; "eight years ride the billows." + +For six days Wainamoinen floated on the waters; then he was rescued by a +huge eagle that carried him on its back to Pohyola, the dismal Sariola, +and left him on a barren promontory, where he bemoaned his unhappy fate. +Here he was found by Louhi, the toothless dame of Pohyola, who took him +home and fed him. Then she promised to provide him with a sledge that he +might journey safely home if he would forge for her the Sampo, a magical +jewel that gave success to its possessor. If he could make her this, she +would also give him her daughter in marriage. "I cannot forge the Sampo, +but if thou wilt help me to my distant country I will send thee my brother +Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, who can forge for thee the magic Sampo, and win +thy beautiful daughter." + +Louhi provided a sledge and horse, and as Wainamoinen seated himself she +warned him, as he journeyed, not to look upward before nightfall, or some +great misfortune would befall him. + +The maiden of the Rainbow, beautiful daughter of Pohyola, was sitting on +the rainbow weaving, and Wainamoinen, hearing the whizzing of the loom, +forgot the warning, and, looking up, was filled with love for the maiden. + +"Come to me," he cried. + +"The birds have told me," she replied, "that a maiden's life, as compared +to a married woman's, is as summer to coldest winter. Wives are as dogs +enchained in kennels." + +When Wainamoinen further besought her, she told him that she would +consider him a hero when he had split a golden hair with edgeless knives +and snared a bird's egg with an invisible snare. When he had done these +things without difficulty, she demanded that he should peel the sandstone, +and cut her a whipstick from the ice without making a splinter. This done, +she commanded that he should build her a boat from the fragments of her +distaff, and set it floating without the use of his knee, arm, hand, or +foot to propel it. + +While Wainamoinen was engaged in this task, Hisi, the god of evil, caused +him to cut his knee with the axe. None of his charms availed to stanch the +blood, so he dragged himself to his sledge and sought the nearest village. +In the third cottage he found a graybeard, who caused two maids to dip up +some of the flowing blood, and then commanded Wainamoinen to sing the +origin of iron. The daughters of Ukko the Creator had sprinkled the +mountains with black, white, and red milk,--from this was formed iron. +Fire caught the iron and carried it to its furnace, and later Ilmarinen +worked the unwilling metal into various articles. As he sought something +to harden it, Hisi's bird, the hornet, dropped poison into the water; and +the iron dipped into it, formed the hard steel, which, angry because it +could not be broken, cut its brother, and vowed that it would ever cause +man's blood to flow in torrents. + +The old man then addressed the crimson stream flowing from the wound, and +prayed to mighty Ukko to stop it. + +When it ceased to flow at his prayer, he sent forth his son to gather +various charmed plants, steep them, and make a magic balsam. After many +attempts the son was successful; and the balsam, applied to Wainamoinen's +wound, healed it immediately. + +Wainamoinen returned home and sought Ilmarinen, who refused to go north to +forge the Sampo. Inducing his brother to climb a lofty fir-tree to bring +down the Moon and the Bear he had conjured there, the wizard caused a +great storm-wind to arise and blow Ilmarinen to the woodlands of Pohyola. + +There the blacksmith at once set up a forge, and after four days' work saw +the Sampo rising from the furnace, its many colored lid rocking and +grinding, every day, many measures of meal. + +Joyfully Louhi received the magic Sampo and locked it in a secret chamber +under the copper-bearing mountains. But when Ilmarinen asked for the hand +of the Rainbow Maid, he was refused. "Never shall I, in my lifetime, say +farewell to maiden freedom." So the blacksmith was compelled to return +alone to Wainola. + +While Ilmarinen was forging the Sampo and Wainamoinen was building the +magic boat, Lemminkainen, or Ahti, the reckless wizard, king of the +islands, was longing for a bride from Ehstland. In spite of his mother's +entreaties, Lemminkainen went to Ehstland, and when he found it was +impossible to gain the favor of Kylliki, the Sahri maid of beauty, he +carried her off by force in his sledge. She became reconciled to him when +he promised that he would never go to battle, and she in turn vowed that +she would not visit the village dances. They lived happily together until +Lemminkainen tarried late at the fishing one evening, and Kylliki went to +the village dance. When Lemminkainen returned, his sister told him of +Kylliki's broken vow; and in spite of the prayers of his mother and wife, +the hero declared that he would break his promise and go to war. To the +Northland he would go, and win another wife. "When my brush bleeds, then +you may know that misfortune has overtaken me," he said angrily, flinging +his hairbrush at the wall. + +Through many dangers he passed unscathed by the aid of his magic, until he +stood in the halls of Louhi and asked for her daughter, the Rainbow +Maiden. + +"First bring me the wild moose from the Hisi-fields and forests," said +Louhi. + +From Kauppi, able smith, Lemminkainen procured the wondrous snow-shoes; +but Hisi, who heard the boasts of the hero, fashioned a wild moose that +ran so rapidly that Lemminkainen could not overtake it, but broke his +snow-shoes in the race. He besought Ukko and the mistress of the forest +and her king, and at last, with their aid, the moose was captured and led +home to Louhi. + +"Now bridle the flaming horse of Hisi," said she. + +The mighty stallion stood on the Hisi mountain, breathing fire and smoke. +When the hero saw him he prayed to Ukko, "Let the hail and icy rain fall +upon him." His prayer was granted; and, going forward, Lemminkainen prayed +the steed to put its head into the golden head-stall, promising to treat +it with all gentleness. Then he led it to the courts of Sariola. + +"Now kill for me the swan that swims in Tuoni, the black death-river. One +shot only canst thou have. If thou succeed, then mayst thou claim thy +bride." + +When Lemminkainen entered Pohyola he had slain all his opponents but one +blind shepherd, whom he spared because he despised his helplessness. This +object of his scorn was waiting for him, and when Lemminkainen approached +the river he fell by a shot from the enemy, regretting, as he died, that +he had not asked his mother's advice before attempting to reach Tuoni. + +Nasshut, the shepherd, threw the hero's body into the river, where it was +seized and cut in pieces by the son of Tuoni. + +At home the mother and wife awaited anxiously tidings of their hero. When +they saw blood trickling from the brush, the mother could wait no longer, +but at once set out for the dreary Northland. After repeated threats, she +wrested from Louhi the fact that her son had gone to Tuoni; from the Sun +she learned his fate. + +Quickly seeking Ilmarinen, the mother bade him forge for her a mighty +rake. With this she raked the deep death-river, collected the pieces of +the hero, bound them together with the aid of the goddess Suonetar, and +making a balsam, the materials for which were brought her by the bee, she +healed her hero son, comforted him, and led him back to Kalevala. + +In the mean time, Wainamoinen, who was building his boat for the Rainbow +Maid, found that he had forgotten three magic words with which to fasten +in the ledges and complete the boat's forecastle. + +After examining in vain the mouths of the wild animals, he sought the dead +hero Wipunen, forced open his jaws, and accidentally fell into his mouth. +Wipunen quickly swallowed him; but Wainamoinen, setting up a forge in his +body, caused him such discomfort that the giant was glad to give his +information, and get rid of his unwelcome visitor. Having thus learned the +secrets of the ages, and among them the three magic words, Wainamoinen +hastened home and finished his boat. + +The boat builded, he at once set out for the Northland to woo the Rainbow +Maid. The boat was bedecked with silver and gold, and the linen sails were +blue, white, and scarlet. The sails were merely for ornament, however, for +the boat moved over the ocean without the aid of oars or sails. +Wainamoinen's departure from Kalevala was observed by Anniki, the sister +of Ilmarinen, who at once told her brother. With her assistance, Ilmarinen +cleansed the black from his ruddy countenance, and jumping into his +sledge, was soon on the way to Sariola. The approach of the heroes was +perceived by Louhi. "Daughter," said she, "the old man brings thee a boat +full of treasures; take him. Do not wed the empty-handed youth." + +"Thy advice is good, but I will not take it. The young man shall be my +husband." + +When Wainamoinen was refused in spite of his gifts, Louhi addressed +herself to Ilmarinen, and set him, in turn, three tasks: to plough the +serpent field of Hisi, to muzzle Tuoni's bear, and to catch the pike of +Mana, in the river of Tuoni. + +With the help of his sweetheart, Ilmarinen accomplished these tasks, and +the wedding day was set. Old Wainamoinen, heavy hearted, journeyed +homeward, and sent the edict to his people that in the future old men +should not go wooing, or strive with younger men. + +Great preparations were made for the wedding feast; the mighty ox of +Karjala was slain, and for the first time, beer was brewed in Pohyola. +Invitations were sent to all the people of Pohyola and the tribes of +Kalevala, to all save Lemminkainen. + +When Ilmarinen returned for his bride, he was received with honor, and the +wedding feast was merry. But when the time came to take the bride away, +the Rainbow Maid was unwilling, she who before had been so ready to go +with him. Many times had she been told of the miseries of the wife: her +husband's slave, her whole life one of service, one long endeavor to +please her husband's mother and father. After her lament, Osmatar, the +Bride-adviser, instructed her how to please her husband's family, and +admonished Ilmarinen to guard well his Bride of Beauty. Then the two set +forth together, the Rainbow Maid shedding many tears at parting with her +loved ones. + +The bride and groom were received with joy by Ilmarinen's family, and old +Wainamoinen himself sang at the wedding feast. + +But Lemminkainen was angry because he had received no invitation to the +wedding, and in spite of his mother's advice, set out to make war against +the Lapps. He successfully overcame all the terrors that beset him, and +reached Sariola, but was so coldly received there that, enraged at such +treatment, he slew his host, the landlord of Pohyola, and fled homeward to +escape the hosts whom Louhi called to defend her. + +His mother sent him to the isle of refuge to escape the northern hosts. In +the centre of the tenth ocean it rose, the refuge of his father; there he +must abide three years, and must take a vow not to fight again for sixty +summers. + +The three years passed speedily on the happy isle, where dwelt many +maidens who admired the reckless hero, and he departed just in time to +escape the swords of the jealous heroes of the isle. His ancient home was +in ashes when he returned, his mother missing; but while he mourned for +her, he chanced upon her, hiding from the Lapps in the forest. Again he +determined to seek out his enemies and be revenged on them. Taking with +him his friend Tiera he sought the north, but was met by the Frost-Fiend +and compelled to return. + +To the house of Ilmarinen the blacksmith, was sold by Untamoinen a slave, +Kullervo. He was a giant who had done naught but evil, until in despair +his master sold him to the blacksmith. Kullervo, or Kullerwoinen, was made +a shepherd and sent forth with the flocks. But rage at the blacksmith's +wife, who baked a stone in his bread on which he broke the magic knife of +his people, caused him to transform the flocks into wolves, who tore the +Rainbow Wife to pieces when she went to milk them. + +Then Kullerwoinen fled from the blacksmith, and set out to find his +tribe-people, but on the way unknowingly corrupted his sister, and in +despair at his evil deeds, destroyed himself. + +Ilmarinen was full of grief at the loss of his wife. Unhappy and restless, +he forged for himself a bride of gold; but the image failed to satisfy +him, and Wainamoinen, reproving him, forbade his people in the future to +worship any graven image. Then the blacksmith again sought the north to +win the sister of his former bride, but was met with bitter reproaches for +the sorrow he had brought upon the family. Nevertheless, he seized the +maiden to carry her away, but she was so angry and so unhappy that he +changed her to a seagull and came home wifeless and sad. + +Wainamoinen and Ilmarinen soon conceived the idea of going to the +Northland to win back the Sampo. On the way they allied to themselves the +wizard Lemminkainen. As they approached the whirlpool near Pohyola, their +vessel stuck on the shoulders of a great pike. When neither Lemminkainen +nor Ilmarinen could slay it, Wainamoinen impaled it on his fire-sword, and +the three banqueted on the great fish. From its bones, Wainamoinen framed +the first harp. No one could win music from it but its creator; but when +he touched its strings and sang, the very trees danced about him, wild +animals lay in peace at his feet, and the hearts of men were ravished. As +his listeners wept at the strains, Wainamoinen's tears rolled down into +the ocean. Thence the duck brought them, changed to pearls, receiving for +a reward its beautiful coat. Such was the origin of sea-pearls. + +When Wainamoinen had put the inhabitants of Pohyola to sleep with his +magic music, the heroes found the Sampo with little difficulty, and bore +it away from the copper mountain. But as they hastened home, the +discordant voice of Lemminkainen, who sang for joy of their capture, +caused the crane to screech, and the bird's cry roused the people of +Pohyola. Louhi speedily discovered her loss, and started in pursuit of the +heroes. In various ways she attacked them,--with war ships that were +stopped by a reef conjured up by Wainamoinen, by a terrible storm, and by +a giant eagle that perched on their boat. In their struggle with her the +Sampo was broken and its fragments scattered on the ocean. Louhi left +them, uttering dire threats; and Wainamoinen, gathering up what fragments +of the Sampo he could find, buried them where they would bring prosperity +to his people. + +Now Wainamoinen longed to sing to his harp to rejoice the hearts of his +people, but the magic instrument had been lost in the storm conjured by +Louhi. After raking the sea for it in vain, he constructed a new harp from +the birch-tree, and delighted the people with his songs. + +In revenge for the theft of the Sampo, Louhi sent nine diseases upon +Wainamoinen's people,--colic, pleurisy, fever, ulcer, plague, consumption, +gout, sterility, and cancer, the offspring of the fell Lowyatar; but by +the use of vapor baths and balsams Wainamoinen healed his people. Then +Louhi sent Otso the Bear, the honey-eater, but he was slain by the hero, +who made a banquet of his flesh for the people. Enraged at her failures, +she stole the sun, moon, and fire, and left Kalevala in darkness. Ukko, +taking pity on his people, struck lightning from his fire-sword and gave +the fire-child to a virgin to be cared for. In an unguarded moment it +sprang earthward, fell into the sea, and was swallowed by a fish, that, in +the agonies of torment, was swallowed by another. Wainamoinen went fishing +with Ilmarinen, and at last caught the gray pike,--found in it the trout, +found in the trout the whiting, and in the whiting the fireball. When he +attempted to seize the fireball he burned his fingers, and dropped it. +Ilmarinen did likewise. Then the ball rolled rapidly away until +Wainamoinen caught it in an elm-tree, and took it home to gladden his +people. Still they were cheerless without the sun and moon, and +Wainamoinen was obliged to go to Louhi and compel her to give up the sun +and moon. When he returned there was joy in Kalevala. + +In the Northland dwelt a happy maiden, Mariatta, who, eating of the magic +berry, as she wandered one day in the fields, bore by it a child which she +called Flower. Her parents cast her off, and as no one would take her in, +she was compelled to go to the flaming steed of Hisi, in whose manger the +child was born. Once when she slumbered the child vanished, and she sought +for it in vain, until told by the sun that it was in Wainola, sleeping +among the reeds and rushes. + +The child grew in grace and beauty, but no priest would baptize him, all +saying that he was a wizard. Wainamoinen, too, counselled that he be +destroyed; but when the two weeks old babe lifted its head and reproached +him, saying that he had committed many follies but had been spared by his +people, Wainamoinen baptized him, and gave him the right to grow a hero +and become a mighty ruler over Karyala. + +As Wainamoinen grew feeble with the passing years, he built himself a boat +of copper, and singing a plaintive song in which he said the people of +Suomi would look forward to his return as a time of peace and plenty, he +set forth, sailing through the dusk of evening to the fiery sunset, and +anchored in the purple horizon, leaving behind him for an heritage his +harp, his wondrous songs, and his wisdom sayings. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE KALEVALA. + +ILMARINEN'S WEDDING FEAST. + + +Ilmarinen, the blacksmith, visited the Northland, won the Rainbow Maid, +and successfully performed the tasks set by her mother Louhi. Great +preparations were made in Pohyola for the wedding, and the coming of the +bridegroom was anxiously expected. + + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Ancient dame of Sariola, + While at work within her dwelling, + Heard the whips crack on the fenlands, + Heard the rattle of the sledges; + To the northward turned her glances, + Turned her vision to the sunlight, + And her thoughts ran on as follow: + "Who are these in bright apparel, + On the banks of Pohya-waters, + Are they friends or hostile armies?" + + Then the hostess of the Northland + Looked again and well considered, + Drew much nearer to examine, + Found they were not hostile armies, + Found that they were friends and suitors; + In the midst was Ilmarinen, + Son in-law to ancient Louhi. + + When the hostess of Pohyola + Saw the son-in-law approaching, + She addressed the words that follow: + + "I had thought the winds were raging, + That the piles of wood were falling, + Thought the pebbles in commotion, + Or perchance the ocean roaring; + Then I hastened nearer, nearer, + Drew still nearer and examined, + Found the winds were not in battle, + Found the piles of wood unshaken, + Found the ocean was not roaring, + Nor the pebbles in commotion; + Found my son-in-law was coming + With his heroes and attendants, + Heroes counted by the hundreds. + + "Should you ask of me the question, + How I recognized the bridegroom + Mid the host of men and heroes, + I should answer, I should tell you: + 'As the hazel-bush in copses, + As the oak-tree in the forest, + As the moon among the planets; + Drives the groom a coal-black courser, + Running like a famished black-dog, + Flying like the hungry raven, + Graceful as the lark at morning, + Golden cuckoos, six in number, + Twitter on the birchen cross-bow; + There are seven blue-birds singing + On the racer's hame and collar.'" + + Noises hear they in the court-yard, + On the highway hear the sledges. + To the court comes Ilmarinen, + With his body-guard of heroes; + In the midst the chosen suitor, + Not too far in front of others, + Not too far behind his fellows. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Hie ye hither, men and heroes, + Haste, ye watchers, to the stables, + There unhitch the suitor's stallion, + Lower well the racer's breast-plate, + There undo the straps and buckles, + Loosen well the shafts and traces, + And conduct the suitor hither, + Give my son-in-law good welcome!" + + Ilmarinen turned his racer + Into Louhi's yard and stables, + And descended from his snow-sledge + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, thou servant of my bidding, + Best of all my trusted servants, + Take at once the bridegroom's courser + From the shafts adorned with silver, + From the curving arch of willow, + Lift the harness trimmed in copper, + Tie the white-face to the manger, + Treat the suitor's steed with kindness, + Lead him carefully to shelter + By his soft and shining bridle, + By his halter tipped with silver; + Let him roll among the sand-hills, + On the bottoms soft and even, + On the borders of the snow-banks, + In the fields of milky color. + Lead the hero's steed to water, + Lead him to the Pohya-fountains, + Where the living streams are flowing, + Sweet as milk of human kindness, + From the roots of silvery birches, + Underneath the shade of aspens. + + "Feed the courser of the suitor, + With the sweetest corn and barley, + With the summer-wheat and clover, + In the caldron steeped in sweetness; + Feed him at the golden manger, + In the boxes lined with copper, + At my manger richly furnished, + In the warmest of the hurdles; + Tie him with a silk-like halter, + To the golden rings and staples, + To the hooks of purest silver, + Set in beams of birch and oak-wood; + Feed him on the hay the sweetest, + Feed him on the grains nutritious, + Give the best my barns can furnish. + + "Curry well the suitor's courser + With the curry-comb of fish-bone, + Brush his hair with silken brushes, + Put his mane and tail in order, + Cover well with silken blankets, + Blankets wrought in gold and silver, + Buckles forged from shining copper. + + "Come, ye small lads of the village, + Lead the suitor to my chambers, + With your auburn locks uncovered, + From your hands remove your mittens, + See if ye can lead the hero + Through the door without his stooping, + Lifting not the upper cross-bar, + Sinking not the oaken threshold, + Moving not the oaken casings, + Great the hero who must enter. + + "Ilmarinen is too stately, + Cannot enter through the portals, + Not the son-in-law and bridegroom, + Till the portals have been lengthened; + Taller by a head the suitor + Than the doorways of the mansion." + Quick the servants of Pohyola + Tore away the upper cross-bar, + That his cap might not be lifted; + Made the oaken threshold lower + That the hero might not stumble; + Made the birch-wood portals wider, + Opened full the door of welcome, + Easy entrance for the suitor. + + Speaks the hostess of the Northland + As the bridegroom freely passes + Through the doorway of her dwelling: + + "Thanks are due to thee, O Ukko, + That my son-in-law has entered! + Let me now my halls examine; + Make the bridal chambers ready, + Finest linen on my tables, + Softest furs upon my benches, + Birchen flooring scrubbed to whiteness, + All my rooms in perfect order." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Visited her spacious dwelling, + Did not recognize her chambers; + Every room had been remodelled, + Changed by force of mighty magic; + All the halls were newly burnished, + Hedgehog bones were used for ceilings, + Bones of reindeer for foundations, + Bones of wolverine for door-sills, + For the cross-bars bones of roebuck, + Apple-wood were all the rafters, + Alder-wood, the window casings, + Scales of trout adorned the windows, + And the fires were set in flowers. + All the seats were made of silver, + All the floors of copper-tiling, + Gold-adorned were all the tables, + On the floor were silken mattings, + Every fire-place set in copper, + Every hearth-stone cut from marble, + On each shelf were colored sea-shells, + Kalew's tree was their protection. + + To the court-room came the hero, + Chosen suitor from Wainola, + These the words of Ilmarinen: + + "Send, O Ukko, health and pleasure + To this ancient home and dwelling, + To this mansion richly fashioned!" + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Let thy coming be auspicious + To these halls of thee unworthy, + To the home of thy affianced, + To this dwelling lowly fashioned, + Mid the lindens and the aspens. + + "Come, ye maidens that should serve me, + Come, ye fellows from the village, + Bring me fire upon the birch-bark, + Light the fagots of the fir-tree, + That I may behold the bridegroom, + Chosen suitor of my daughter, + Fairy Maiden of the Rainbow, + See the color of his eyeballs, + Whether they are blue or sable, + See if they are warm and faithful." + + Quick the young lads from the village + Brought the fire upon the birch-bark, + Brought it on the tips of pine-wood; + And the fire and smoke commingled + Roll and roar about the hero, + Blackening the suitor's visage, + And the hostess speaks as follows: + + "Bring the fire upon a taper, + On the waxen tapers bring it!" + + Then the maidens did as bidden, + Quickly brought the lighted tapers, + Made the suitor's eyeballs glisten, + Made his cheeks look fresh and ruddy; + Eyes were neither blue nor sable, + Sparkled like the foam of waters, + Like the reed-grass on the margin, + Colored as the ocean-jewels, + Iridescent as the rainbow. + + "Come, ye fellows from the hamlets, + Lead my son-in-law and hero + To the highest seat at table, + To the seat of greatest honor, + With his back upon the blue-wall, + Looking on my bounteous tables, + Facing all the guests of Northland." + + Then the hostess of Pohyola + Served her guests in great abundance, + Richest drinks and rarest viands, + First of all she served the bridegroom; + On his platters honeyed biscuit, + And the sweetest river-salmon, + Seasoned butter, roasted bacon, + All the dainties of Pohyola. + Then the servants served the others, + Filled the plates of all invited + With the varied food of Northland. + Spake the hostess of Pohyola: + + "Come, ye maidens from the village, + Hither bring the beer in pitchers, + In the urns with double handles, + To the many guests in-gathered. + Ere all others, serve the bridegroom." + + Thereupon the merry maidens + Brought the beer in silver pitchers + From the copper-banded vessels, + For the wedding guests assembled; + And the beer, fermenting, sparkled + On the beard of Ilmarinen, + On the beards of many heroes. + + When the guests had all partaken + Of the wondrous beer of barley, + Spake the drink in merry accents + Through the tongues of the magicians, + Through the tongue of many a hero, + Through the tongue of Wainamoinen, + Famed to be the sweetest singer + Of the Northland bards and minstrels. + + * * * * * + + "Grant, O Ukko, my Creator, + God of love, and truth, and justice, + Grant thy blessing on our feasting, + Bless this company assembled, + For the good of Sariola, + For the happiness of Northland! + May this bread and beer bring joyance, + May they come in rich abundance, + May they carry full contentment + To the people of Pohyola, + To the cabin and the mansion; + May the hours we spend in singing, + In the morning, in the evening, + Fill our hearts with joy and gladness! + Hear us in our supplications, + Grant to us thy needed blessings, + Send enjoyment, health, and comfort, + To the people here assembled, + To the host and to the hostess, + To the bride and to the bridegroom, + To the sons upon the waters, + To the daughters at their weavings, + To the hunters on the mountains, + To the shepherds in the fenlands, + That our lives may end in honor, + That we may recall with pleasure + Ilmarinen's magic marriage + To the Maiden of the Rainbow, + Snow-white virgin of the Northland." + + _Crawford's Translation, Rune XXI._ + + + + +THE BIRTH OF THE HARP. + + +Wainamoinen, Ilmarinen, and the wizard Lemminkainen started to the +Northland to win back the Sampo forged for Louhi by Ilmarinen. On the way +their boat stuck on the shoulders of a great pike, which was killed by +Wainamoinen. The three then landed, ordered the pike to be cooked by the +maidens, and feasted until nothing remained of the fish but a heap of +bones. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Looked upon the pile of fragments, + On the fish-bones looked and pondered, + Spake these words in meditation: + + "Wondrous things might be constructed + From the relics of this monster, + Were they in the blacksmith's furnace, + In the hands of the magician, + In the hands of Ilmarinen." + + Spake the blacksmith of Wainola: + + "Nothing fine can be constructed + From the bones and teeth of fishes + By the skilful forger-artist, + By the hands of the magician." + These the words of Wainamoinen: + + "Something wondrous might be builded + From these jaws, and teeth, and fish-bones; + Might a magic harp be fashioned, + Could an artist be discovered + That could shape them to my wishes." + + But he found no fish-bone artist + That could shape the harp of joyance + From the relics of their feasting, + From the jaw-bones of the monster, + To the will of the magician. + Thereupon wise Wainamoinen + Set himself at work designing; + Quick became a fish-bone artist, + Made a harp of wondrous beauty, + Lasting joy and pride of Suomi. + Whence the harp's enchanting arches? + From the jaw-bones of the monster. + Whence the necessary harp-pins? + From the pike-teeth, firmly fastened. + Whence the sweetly singing harp-strings? + From the tail of Lempo's stallion. + Thus was born the harp of magic + From the mighty pike of Northland, + From the relics from the feasting + Of the heroes of Wainola. + All the young men came to view it, + All the aged with their children, + Mothers with their beauteous daughters, + Maidens with their golden tresses; + All the people on the islands + Came to view the harp of joyance, + Pride and beauty of the Northland. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Let the aged try the harp-strings, + Gave it to the young magicians, + To the dames and to their daughters, + To the maidens, silver-tinselled, + To the singers of Wainola. + When the young men touched the harp-strings, + Then arose the notes of discord; + When the aged played upon it, + Dissonance their only music. + Spake the wizard, Lemminkainen: + + "O ye witless, worthless children, + O ye senseless, useless maidens, + O ye wisdom-lacking heroes, + Cannot play this harp of magic, + Cannot touch the notes of concord! + Give to me this thing of beauty, + Hither bring the harp of fish-bones, + Let me try my skillful fingers." + Lemminkainen touched the harp-strings, + Carefully the strings adjusted, + Turned the harp in all directions, + Fingered all the strings in sequence, + Played the instrument of wonder, + But it did not speak in concord, + Did not sing the notes of joyance. + Spake the ancient Wainamoinen: + + "There is none among these maidens, + None among these youthful heroes, + None among the old magicians, + That can play the harp of magic, + Touch the notes of joy and pleasure. + Let us take the harp to Pohya, + There to find a skillful player + That can touch the strings in concord." + + Then they sailed to Sariola, + To Pohyola took the wonder, + There to find the harp a master. + All the heroes of Pohyola, + All the boys and all the maidens, + Ancient dames and bearded minstrels, + Vainly touched the harp of beauty. + + Louhi, hostess of the Northland, + Took the harp-strings in her fingers; + All the youth of Sariola, + Youth of every tribe and station, + Vainly touched the harp of fish-bone; + Could not find the notes of joyance, + Dissonance their only pleasure; + Shrieked the harp-strings like the whirlwinds, + All the tones were harsh and frightful. + + * * * * * + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + The eternal wisdom-singer, + Laves his hands to snowy whiteness, + Sits upon the rock of joyance, + On the stone of song he settles, + On the mount of song he settles, + On the mount of silver clearness, + On the summit, golden colored, + Takes the harp by him created, + In his hands the harp of fish-bone, + With his knee the arch supporting, + Takes the harp-strings in his fingers, + Speaks these words to those assembled: + + "Hither come, ye Northland people, + Come and listen to my playing,-- + To the harp's entrancing measures, + To my songs of joy and gladness." + + Then the singer of Wainola + Took the harp of his creation, + Quick adjusting, sweetly tuning, + Deftly plied his skillful fingers + To the strings that he had fashioned. + Now was gladness rolled on gladness, + And the harmony of pleasure + Echoed from the hills and mountains; + Added singing to his playing, + Out of joy did joy come welling, + Now resounded marvellous music, + All of Northland stopped and listened. + Every creature in the forest, + All the beasts that haunt the woodlands + On their nimble feet came bounding, + Came to listen to his playing, + Came to hear his songs of joyance. + Leaped the squirrels from the branches, + Merrily from birch to aspen; + Climbed the ermines on the fences, + O'er the plains the elk deer bounded, + And the lynxes purred with pleasure; + Wolves awoke in far-off swamp-lands, + Bounded o'er the marsh and heather, + And the bear his den deserted, + Left his lair within the pine-wood, + Settled by a fence to listen, + Leaned against the listening gate-posts, + But the gate-posts yield beneath him; + Now he climbs the fir-tree branches + That he may enjoy and wonder, + Climbs and listens to the music + Of the harp of Wainamoinen. + + Tapiola's wisest senior, + Metsola's most noble landlord, + And of Tapio, the people, + Young and aged, men and maidens, + Flew like red-deer up the mountains + There to listen to the playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Tapiola's wisest mistress, + Hostess of the glen and forest, + Robed herself in blue and scarlet, + Bound her limbs with silken ribbons, + Sat upon the woodland summit, + On the branches of a birch-tree, + There to listen to the playing, + To the high-born hero's harping, + To the songs of Wainamoinen. + + All the birds that fly in mid-air + Fell like snow-flakes from the heavens, + Flew to hear the minstrel's playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen. + Eagles in their lofty eyrie + Heard the songs of the enchanter; + Swift they left their unfledged young ones, + Flew and perched around the minstrel. + From the heights the hawks descended, + From the clouds down swooped the falcon, + Ducks arose from inland waters, + Swans came gliding from the marshes; + Tiny finches, green and golden, + Flew in flocks that darkened sunlight, + Came in myriads to listen, + Perched upon the head and shoulders + Of the charming Wainamoinen, + Sweetly singing to the playing + Of the ancient bard and minstrel. + And the daughters of the welkin, + Nature's well-beloved daughters, + Listened all in rapt attention; + Some were seated on the rainbow, + Some upon the crimson cloudlets, + Some upon the dome of heaven. + + In their hands the Moon's fair daughters + Held their weaving-combs of silver; + In their hands the Sun's sweet maidens + Grasped the handles of their distaffs, + Weaving with their golden shuttles, + Spinning from their silver spindles, + On the red rims of the cloudlets, + On the bow of many colors. + As they hear the minstrel playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Quick they drop their combs of silver, + Drop the spindles from their fingers, + And the golden threads are broken, + Broken are the threads of silver. + + All the fish in Suomi-waters + Heard the songs of the magician, + Came on flying fins to listen + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + Came the trout with graceful motions, + Water-dogs with awkward movements, + From the water-cliffs the salmon, + From the sea-caves came the whiting, + From the deeper caves the bill-fish; + Came the pike from beds of sea-fern, + Little fish with eyes of scarlet, + Leaning on the reeds and rushes, + With their heads above the surface; + Came to hear the harp of joyance, + Hear the songs of the enchanter. + + Ahto, king of all the waters, + Ancient king with beard of sea-grass, + Raised his head above the billows, + In a boat of water-lilies, + Glided to the coast in silence, + Listened to the wondrous singing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + These the words the sea-king uttered: + + "Never have I heard such playing, + Never heard such strains of music, + Never since the sea was fashioned, + As the songs of this enchanter, + This sweet singer, Wainamoinen." + + Satko's daughters from the blue-deep, + Sisters of the wave-washed ledges, + On the colored strands were sitting, + Smoothing out their sea-green tresses + With the combs of molten silver, + With their silver-handled brushes, + Brushes forged with golden bristles. + When they hear the magic playing, + Hear the harp of Wainamoinen, + Fall their brushes on the billows, + Fall their combs with silver handles + To the bottom of the waters, + Unadorned their heads remaining, + And uncombed their sea-green tresses. + + Came the hostess of the waters, + Ancient hostess robed in flowers, + Rising from her deep sea-castle, + Swimming to the shore in wonder, + Listened to the minstrel's playing, + To the harp of Wainamoinen. + As the magic tones re-echoed, + As the singer's song outcircled, + Sank the hostess into slumber, + On the rocks of many colors, + On her watery couch of joyance, + Deep the sleep that settled o'er her. + + Wainamoinen, ancient minstrel, + Played one day and then a second, + Played the third from morn to even. + There was neither man nor hero, + Neither ancient dame nor maiden, + Not in Metsola a daughter, + Whom he did not touch to weeping; + Wept the young and wept the aged, + Wept the mothers, wept the daughters, + At the music of his playing, + At the songs of the magician. + _Crawford's Translation, Runes XL.-XLI._ + + + + + +THE AENEID. + + +The Aeneid was written by Publius Vergilius Maro, commonly known as +Vergil, who was born at Andes, near Mantua, Oct. 15, 70 B. C., and died at +Brundusium, Sept. 22, 19 B.C. + +He was educated at Cremona, Milan, Naples, and Rome. When the lands near +Cremona and Mantua were assigned by Octavianus to his soldiers after the +battle of Philippi, Vergil lost his estates; but they were afterwards +restored to him through Asinius Pollio. + +He became a favorite of Augustus, and spent part of his time in Rome, near +his patron, Maecenas, the emperor's minister. + +Vergil's first work was the Bucolics, in imitation of Theocritus. His +second work, the Georgics, treats of husbandry. The Aeneid relates the +adventures of Aeneas, the legendary ancestor of the Romans. + +The Aeneid is in twelve books, of which the first six describe the +wanderings of Aeneas, and the last six his wars in Italy. Its metre is the +dactyllic hexameter. + +Vergil worked for eleven years on the poem, and considered it incomplete +at his death. + +The Aeneid tells the story of the flight of Aeneas from burning Troy to +Italy, and makes him an ancestor of the Romans. With the story of his +wanderings are interwoven praises of the Caesars and the glory of Rome. + +It is claimed that because Vergil was essentially a poet of rural life, he +was especially fitted to be the national poet, since the Roman life was +founded on the agricultural country life. He also chose a theme which +particularly appealed to the patriotism of the Romans. For this reason, +the poem was immediately received into popular favor, and was made a +text-book of the Roman youths. It is often said of Vergil by way of +reproach, that his work was an imitation of Homer, and the first six books +of the Aeneid are compared to the Odyssey, the last six to the Iliad. But +while Vergil may be accused of imitation of subject matter, his style is +his own, and is entirely different from that of Homer. There is a tender +grace in the Roman writer which the Greek does not possess. Vergil also +lacks that purely pagan enjoyment of life; in its place there is a tender +melancholy that suggests the passing of the golden age. This difference of +treatment, this added grace and charm, which are always mentioned as +peculiarly Vergil's own, united with his poetical feeling, and skill in +versification, are sufficient to absolve him from the reproach of a mere +imitator. + +The Aeneid was greatly admired and imitated during the Middle Ages, and +still retains its high place in literature. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE AENEID. + +R. W. Brown's History of Roman Classical Literature, n. d., pp. 257-265; + +John Alfred Church's Story of the Aeneid, 1886; + +Domenico Comparetti's Virgil in the Middle Ages, Tr. by Benecke, 1895; + +C. T. Cruttwell's Virgil (see his History of Roman Literature, n. d. pp. +252-375); + +John Davis's Observations on the poems of Homer and Virgil, out of the +French, 1672; + +James Henry's Aeneidea: or Critical, Exegetical, and Aesthetical Remarks +on the Aeneis, 1873; + +James Henry's Notes of Twelve Years' Voyage of Discovery in the first six +Books of the Aeneid, 1853; + +J. W. Mackail's Virgil (see his Latin Literature, 1895, pp. 91-106); + +H. Nettleship's The Aeneid (see his Vergil, 1880, pp. 45-74); + +H. T. Peck and R. Arrowsmith's Roman Life in Latin Prose and Verse, 1894, +pp. 68-70; + +Leonhard Schmitz's History of Latin Literature, 1877, pp. 106-108; + +W. Y. Sellar's Roman Poets of the Augustan Age, Vergil, Ed. 2, 1883; + +W. S. Teuffel's Aeneis (see his History of Roman Literature, 1891, pp. +434-439); + +J. S. Tunison's Master Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, as he seemed in +the Middle Ages, 1888; + +Robert Y. Tyrrell's Virgil (see his Latin Poetry, 1895, pp. 126-161); + +A Forgotten Virtue, Macmillan, 1895, xii. 51-56, an article on the Aeneid, +"the epic of piety;" + +Scene of the last six books of the Aeneid, Blackwood, 1832, xxxii. 76-87; + +A. A. Knight's The Year in the Aeneid, Education, 1886, vi. 612-616; + +William C. Cawton's The Underworld in Homer, Virgil, and Dante, Atlantic, +1884, liv. 99-110. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE AENEID. + + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. Conington, 1887; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by C. P. Cranch, 1872; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by John Dryden (1697), 1884; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by William Morris, 1882; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by W. S. Thornhill, 1886; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. A. Wilstach, 1884; + +The Aeneid, Tr. by J. W. Mackail, 1890. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE AENEID. + + +For many years the heroic Aeneas, who escaped from falling Troy to seek the +shores of Italy, there to found the lofty walls of Rome, was tossed upon +the sea by the wrath of cruel Juno. + +The fates foretold that these future Romans would overthrow a city dearer +to her than Samos,--Carthage, founded by the Tyrians, opposite Italy, and +far from the Tiberine mouths. For this rich city Juno desired boundless +rule,--hence her hatred of the Trojans. Moreover, she had not forgotten +the judgment of Paris, her slighted charms, and the supplanting of Hebe by +Ganymede. + +After having tossed the unhappy hero and his men over many seas, Juno, +observing their approach to Italy, hastened to Aeolia, where King Aeolus +ruled over the struggling winds and tempests, chained in vast caves. + +Bribed by Juno, Aeolus sent forth a tempest that scattered the ships of +Aeneas, and would have destroyed them had it not been for the interposition +of Neptune. + +Suspecting his sister's treachery, Neptune angrily dismissed the winds, +and hastened to the relief of the Trojans. Cymothoe and Triton pushed the +ships from the rocks, he himself assisting with his trident. Then, driving +over the rough waves in his chariot, he soothed the frenzy of the sea. + +The wearied Aeneans speedily sought a harbor on the Libyan shore, a long +and deep recess bordered by a dense grove. In the cliffs was a cave, with +sweet waters and seats carved from the living rock,--the abode of the +nymphs. Gathering here the seven ships that survived the fury of the +storm, Aeneas landed, and feasted with his comrades. + +The next morning Aeneas, accompanied by his friend Achates, sallied forth +from the camp at dawn, to learn, if possible, something of the land on +which they had been thrown. They had gone but a little way in the depths +of the forest when they met Aeneas's mother, Venus, in the guise of a +Spartan maid, her bow hung from her shoulders, her hair flowing to the +wind. + +"Hast thou seen my sister?" she inquired, "hunting the boar, wrapped in a +spotted lynx hide, her quiver at her back?" + +"Nay, we have seen no one," replied Aeneas. "But what shall I call thee, +maiden? A goddess, a nymph? Be kind, I pray thee, and tell us among what +people we have fallen, that before thy altars we may sacrifice many a +victim." + +"I am unworthy of such honors," Venus answered. "This land is Libya, but +the town is Tyrian, founded by Dido, who fled hither from her brother +Pygmalion, who had secretly murdered her husband, Sichaeus, for his gold. +To Dido, sleeping, appeared the wraith of Sichaeus, pallid, his breast +pierced with the impious wound, and revealed to her her brother's crime, +showed where a hoard of gold was concealed, and advised her to leave the +country. + +"Gathering together a company of those who wished to flee from the tyrant, +Dido seized the ships, loaded them with the gold, and fled to Libya, where +she is now erecting the walls and towers of New Carthage. I would advise +thee to hasten forward and seek our queen. If augury fail me not, I read +from yonder flight of swans the return of thy missing ships and comrades." + +As she turned to go, her neck shone with a rosy refulgence, ambrosial +fragrance breathed from her, her robe flowed down about her feet and +revealed the goddess. As she vanished, her son stretched longing hands +after her. "Ah, mother, why dost thou thus trifle with me? Why may not I +clasp thy loved hands and exchange true words with thee?" + +Wrapped in a cloud by Venus, Aeneas and Achates mounted a hill that +overlooked the city, and looked down wondering on the broad roofs and the +paved streets of Carthage. The busy Tyrians worked like the bees in early +summer: some moving the immense masses of stone, some founding the +citadel, others laying off the sites for the law courts and sacred Senate +House. "O happy ye whose walls now rise!" exclaimed Aeneas, as he and +Achates mingled with the crowd, still cloud-wrapped, and entered the vast +temple built to Juno. Here Aeneas's fear fell from him; for as he waited +for the queen's coming, he saw pictured on the walls the fall of his own +dear city, and wept as he gazed upon the white tents of Rhesus, and +Hector's disfigured body. + +As he wept, the beautiful Dido entered, joyously intent on her great work, +and, seating herself on her throne, proceeded to give laws to the Tyrians, +and assign their work to them. + +Suddenly, to the amazement of Aeneas and Achates, in burst their lost +comrades, Antheus, Sergestus, Gyas, Cloanthus, and other Trojans, +demanding of Dido a reason for their rough reception. To whom the queen +replied:-- + +"Let fear desert your hearts; I, too, have suffered, and know how to aid +the unfortunate. And whither hath not the fame of Troy penetrated? I will +aid you in leaving this coast, or give you a home with me, treating you as +I treat my Tyrians. Would only that Aeneas's self stood with you!" + +Then burst Aeneas forth from his cloud-wrapping, made more beautiful by +Venus, the purple bloom of youth on his face, joy in his eyes. "Here am I, +Trojan Aeneas, to render thanks to thee, divine Dido." + +Dido, charmed with the hero, prepared a banquet for him in her splendid +hall, curtained with rich drapery, and adorned with costly plate, whereon +were pictured the proud deeds of her ancestors. Hither came the Trojans +with gifts for Dido,--a rich robe stiff with gold embroidery, a veil +embroidered with the yellow acanthus, ornaments of Helen, the sceptre of +Ilione, a pearl and gold necklace, and a double crown of gems and gold. + +Beside Achates tripped Cupid, for Venus, suspecting the craft of the +Tyrians, had hidden Ascanius on Mount Ida, and sent her own son in his +guise, to complete Aeneas's conquest of Dido. + +After the feast was over, the great beakers were brought in and crowned +with garlands. Dido called for the beaker used by Belus and all his +descendants, and pouring a libation, drank to the happiness of the Trojan +wanderers, and passed the cup around the board. Iopas, the long-haired +minstrel, sang, and the night passed by in various discourse. Dido, +forgetting Sichaeus, hung on the words of Aeneas, questioning him of Priam +and Hector, and at last demanding the story of his wanderings. + +"Thou orderest me, O queen, to renew my grief, the destruction of Troy by +the Greeks, which deeds I have seen, and a part of which I have been. + +"Despairing of conquering Troy, the Greeks attempted to take it by +stratagem. By the art of Pallas, they framed a heaven-high horse, within +which were concealed picked men for our destruction. Leaving this behind +them, they sailed, ostensibly for home, in reality for Tenedos. + +"When we supposed them gone we joyfully went forth to examine the deserted +camp and the giant horse. As we wondered at it, and Laocooen, priest of +Neptune, urged us to destroy it, a crowd of shepherds approached with a +youth whom they had found hiding in the sedges. His name was Sinon. He was +a Greek, but he was hated by Ulysses, and had fled to save his life. The +Greeks had sailed home, he assured us, leaving the horse as a votive +offering to Pallas. They had hoped that its great bulk would prevent the +Trojans from taking it inside their walls, for once within the city, Troy +could never be taken. + +"We Trojans were credulous, and Sinon's tale was plausible. To increase +our belief in it, while Laocooen was sacrificing a bull to Neptune, we saw +coming over the sea from Tenedos two huge serpents, their crimson crests +towering high, their breasts erect among the waves, their long folds +sweeping over the foaming sea. As we fled affrighted, they seized the two +sons of Laocooen, twining their coils around the wretched boys; and when +their father hastened to their aid, caught him in their huge coils, +staining his fillets with black blood. 'Laocooen suffered for his crime,' +we said, when, the priest slain, the serpents crept to Pallas's altar, and +curled themselves around the feet of the goddess. Then joyfully we made a +breach in the walls, put rollers under the horse, and, with music and +dancing, dragged it within the walls. + +"That night as we lay sleeping after revelry and feasting, Sinon crept +down, opened the horse, and freed the men, who were soon joined by the +other Greeks, returned from Tenedos. + +"In a dream Hector's shade appeared to me, and, weeping, bade me fly. +'Troy falls. Do thou go forth and save her household deities!' As I woke, +sounds of battle penetrated to my palace halls, removed somewhat from the +city, and embowered in trees; and I rushed forth, forgetful of Hector's +warning. I saw the streets swimming in Trojan blood, Trojan women and +children led captive, Cassandra dragged from her shrine. Enraged, I +gathered a band and slew many Greeks. But when I saw the impious Pyrrhus +enter the palace and slay Priam at the altar, I recognized the uselessness +of my struggle, and turned to my home. + +"Taking my old father Anchises on my back, and leading Iulus by the hand, +I set forth, followed by my wife Creusa. But when I looked behind me at +the city gates, my wife was gone. Mad with despair, I rushed back to the +citadel, crying, 'Creusa! Creusa!' Our homestead was in flames, the +streets filled with Greeks; but as I roamed through the town, I met her +pallid shape. 'O husband, rage not against heaven's decrees! Happy days +will come for thee on the banks of the Tiber. Farewell, and love with me +our boy!' + +"Without the gates I was joined by other fugitives; and after the +departure of the Greeks we built ships from the timbers of Mount Ida, and +loading these with our household gods and a few spoils from the city, we +departed to seek new homes. + +"In Thrace, our first stopping-place, I learned that Polydore, Priam's +son, who had been entrusted to the care of the Thracian king, had been +slain by him for his gold, when the fortunes of Troy fell. We hastened to +leave this accursed land, and sought Delos, only to be instructed by +Apollo that we must seek the home from which our forefathers had come. +Anchises, who remembered the legends of our race, thought this must be +Crete; so to Crete we sailed, and there laid the foundations of a city, +only to be driven thence by a plague and a threatened famine. + +"In a dream my household gods instructed me that Dardanus, the founder of +our race, had come from Hesperia, and thither we must bend our course. +Tempests drove us about the sea for three suns, until, on the fourth, we +landed at the isle of the Harpies,--loathsome monsters, half woman, half +bird, who foul everything they touch. When we had slain the cattle and +prepared to banquet, they drove us from the tables; and when attacked by +us, uttered dire threats of future famine. + +"At Epirus we heard that Andromache had wed Prince Helenus, who had +succeeded to the rule of Pyrrhus, two Trojans thus being united. As I +landed here, anxious to prove the truth of the rumor, I met Andromache +herself in a grove near the town, sacrificing at an empty tomb dedicated +to Hector. Pyrrhus had made her his slave after the fall of Troy, but +after he wedded Hermione, he had given her to Helenus, himself a slave. +When Pyrrhus died, part of his realm fell to Helenus, and here the two had +set up a little Troy. + +"Helenus received us kindly, instructed us as to our route, and gave us +rich gifts; and Andromache, remembering her dead Astyanax, wept over lulus +as she parted with him. + +"As we passed Sicily we took up a Greek, Achemenides, a companion of +Ulysses, who had been left behind, and had since been hiding in deadly +terror from the Cyclops. We ourselves caught sight of the monster +Polyphemus, feeling his way to the shore to bathe his wounded eye. + +"Instructed by Helenus, we avoided Scylla and Charybdis, and reached +Sicily, where my father died. We were just leaving the island when the +storm arose that brought us hither. The rest thou knowest." + +The guests departed from the banquet hall; but the unhappy Dido, consumed +with love, imparted her secret to her sister Anna. + +"Why shouldst thou weep, sister dear? Why regret that thou hast at last +forgotten Sichaeus? Contend not against love, but strive to unite Trojan +and Tyrian. Winter comes on, and thou canst detain him while the sea rages +and the winds are fierce and the rains icy." + +Her ambitious plans for her city forgotten, Dido wandered through the +streets, mad with love and unable to conceal her passion. She led AEneas +among the walls and towers, made feasts for him, and begged again and +again to hear the story of his wandering. At other times she fondled +Ascanius, leaving her youths undrilled, and the city works abandoned. + +Perceiving that Aeneas, well content, seemed to forget that his goal was +Hesperia, Mercury was dispatched by Jupiter to warn him to depart from +Carthage. + +"Why stoppest thou here?" questioned the herald of the gods. "If thou +carest not for thyself, think of Ascanius, thine heir. His must be the +Italian realms, the Roman world." + +The horror-stricken Aeneas stood senseless with fear. He longed to escape, +but how leave the unhappy Dido? Quickly calling his comrades, he commanded +them to fit out the fleet in silence, hoping to find a time when he could +break the news to Dido gently. + +But who can deceive a lover? Rumor bore the report to Dido, who, mad with +grief, reproached Aeneas. "Perfidious one! didst thou think to escape from +me? Does not our love restrain thee, and the thought that I shall surely +die when thou art gone? I have sacrificed all to thee; now leave me not +lonely in my empty palace." + +Aeneas remained untouched. He would ever retain the kindest memories of his +stay in Carthage. He had never held out the hope of wedlock to her. A +higher power called him, and, bidden by Jove, he must depart, for +Ascanius's sake, to Italy. + +The fainting Dido was carried to her palace, whence she could watch the +hurried preparations for the departure. As she watched, life became +intolerable to her. Pretending to her sister that she was preparing to +perform a magic spell to release her from the bonds of love, she reared a +mighty pyre in her court, wreathed it with funereal garlands, and placed +thereon Aeneas's couch, garments, and sword. With her hair dishevelled, she +then invoked Hecate, and sprinkling Avernian water and poisons on it, and +casting thereon various love charms, she called the gods to witness that +she was determined to die. As the ships left the harbor, she tore her +hair, one moment accusing herself because she had not torn Aeneas to pieces +when in her power, at another vowing to follow him. Then, anxious to +forget her grief, she mounted, the pyre, and threw herself on the sword of +her faithless, lover. + +Far out at sea, the Aeneans, looking back, dimly guessed the meaning of the +flames that brightened the stormy skies. + +Contrary winds compelled Aeneas to seek harbor in Sicily. Its king, +Acestes, was his friend, and there he had buried his father Anchises. A +year had elapsed since his death, and in honor of the anniversary, Aeneas +instituted funeral games, in which there were trials of skill in rowing, +foot-racing, archery, and boxing. + +While the spectators were applauding the feats of skill, the Trojan women, +at the instigation of Juno, set fire to the ships, that they might compel +Aeneas to remain in Sicily. By Jupiter's aid, some of the vessels were +saved, and Aeneas, acting on the advice of Nautes, allowed the women and +those Trojans who so desired, to remain in Sicily, and himself marked out +for them the foundations of their city. + +While here Aeneas was urged by Anchises in a dream to visit the Cumaean +Sibyl, that, with her assistance, he might visit Elysium and talk with +him. + +In the lofty temple, the Sibyl, inspired by the god, encouraged the hero. +"Success will at last be thine, and Juno will be won over to thee. But +great labors must thou undergo." + +To visit the underworld was no easy task, she assured him. "The gates of +Dis stand open night and day; small trouble it is to descend thereto, but +to retrace one's steps, and regain the upper air, there lies the toil." +Aeneas must first possess a golden branch to present to Proserpina, and +celebrate the funeral rites of his friend, Misenus, who yet lay unburied. + +While Aeneas worked in the forest, felling trees for Misenus's bier, the +doves of Venus descended and aided him to find the tree, from which he +plucked the gleaming branch. + +Across the Styx, past the dread Cerberus, Aeneas and the Sibyl went, +through the abode of babes and those who died for deeds they did not do, +and into the mourning fields, where the disappointed in love were hedged +in with myrtle sprays. Here Aeneas descried Dido dimly through the clouds, +and wept to see her fresh wound. Many were his protestations of his +faithfulness, and strong his declaration that he left her only at the +command of the gods. But without raising her eyes, Dido turned coldly away +to where her former husband returned her love for love. Past the chamber +of torture, beyond Phlegethon, guarded by Tisiphone and Tartarus, in whose +depths the wicked were punished, they went, and entered the beautiful +fields of Elysium, where Aeneas found his father. + +To his son, Anchises explained that the souls that visited the underworld +were punished according to their deserts, and then sent into Elysium. +Cleansed there of all impurities, and with the memories of the past washed +from them by Lethe, they again visited the world in another form. Pointing +out a crowd that passed them, he indicated to Aeneas the illustrious men +who would make his race famous in Italy. First his son Silvius, born of +Lavinia, his Italian wife to be; Numitor, Romulus, the founder of Rome, +Caesar, and greatest of all, Augustus Caesar, who would usher in the +golden age. + +Comforted by the prophecies of Anchises, Aeneas sought the upper world, and +collecting his companions, set sail for the mouth of the Tiber. + +Latinus the king welcomed Aeneas, and received his proposals for his +daughter Lavinia's hand with favor, remembering an ancient prophecy that +Lavinia was to wed a foreign prince. But queen Amata, aroused by Juno, +insisted that Lavinia should be espoused to Turnus, chief of the +Rutulians. Stung by the fury Alecto, she stirred up the people until they +demanded that Latinus declare war against Aeneas; and when he hesitated, +Juno herself threw open the gates of the temple of Janus. + +Leaving part of his forces in Latium with Ascanius, Aeneas, instructed in a +dream by father Tiber, sailed up the river to Pallanteum, the future site +of Rome, to gain the alliance of Evander, an Arcadian king unfriendly to +Turnus. + +Evander, who was celebrating a solemn feast to Hercules, together with his +only son Pallas, and his senate, welcomed the warriors to his modest home, +promised his alliance, and sent forth with Aeneas his son Pallas and four +hundred knights. He also advised him to go to Argylla, whose people were +stirred up against Turnus because he protected their tyrant king +Mezentius. + +While Aeneas was thus seeking allies, his troops in Latium had been +attacked and besieged by Turnus, and were greatly in need of the hero's +aid. While the hosts of Turnus were sleeping after their drunken revelry, +Nisus proposed to his beloved Euryalus that they steal through the Latin +line with messages to Aeneas. Their proposal was applauded by the elders, +and Iulus, weeping, promised to cherish them forever for their courage. + +As the youths passed among the sleeping Latins, the desire for slaughter +overcame them, and they slew Rhamnes, as he lay upon his gorgeous rugs, +Lamus, and many others, Euryalus taking Rhamnes's golden-studded belt and +Messapus's helmet as booty. Unfortunately they had delayed too long in +slaughter; as they neared the camp of Turnus, Volscens, returning with +reinforcements, caught sight of the shining helmet of Euryalus. The youth, +flying, became separated from Nisus, and was captured by the enemy. Nisus, +who returned to rescue his friend, sent weapon after weapon from his +retreat, and when he saw Euryalus about to suffer death from Volscens, +rushed forth to save him, only to fall dead upon the body of his +slaughtered friend. + +Angry at the slaughter committed by Nisus and Euryalus, Turnus, on his +return, attempted to scale the intrenchments. The fight raged fiercely +around the walls and towers; but just as the victory seemed to be with +Turnus, Aeneas returned with his Tuscan allies, effected a landing, and +began to put the enemy to flight, slaying the tyrant Mezentius and his +son. + +Turnus, hearing of the danger of his friend Lausus, at the hands of +Pallas, who had already wrought great slaughter, sought him out, amazing +the young warrior by his great size. Pallas faced him bravely; but while +his spear only grazed the shoulder of Turnus, the spear of the Rutulian +crushed the folds of iron, bronze, and hides, the corselet's rings of +steel, and buried itself in Pallas's breast. + +Turnus took the sword-belt from Pallas's body; but because of the merit of +the young warrior, yielded his body to the Arcadians to be carried to King +Evander. + +Enraged at the death of his friend, Aeneas fought more fiercely. Especially +anxious was he to meet Turnus; but Juno, determined, if possible, to save +her favorite, decoyed Turnus off the battle-field by assuming the guise of +Aeneas. + +After a truce, during which the armies buried their dead, and the body of +Pallas was sent home to his father, the armies again came together, the +Latins being reinforced by the Amazons, under the leadership of Camilla. +Camilla had been reared by her father, the exile Metabus, and, early +trained to warlike pursuits, had consecrated herself to Diana. Beautiful +as a goddess was she, and so light of foot that she could fly over the +tops of the tallest wheat without harming the ears. + +Within the walls of Latium there was quarrelling between the parties, +Drances, leader of the peace party, accusing Turnus of bringing on and +continuing the hostilities. The approach of Aeneas brought these disputes +to an abrupt conclusion, and Camilla, with Turnus, hastened to battle. +Many victims fell by Camilla's hand that day, as she rode about the field, +her breast bare, her hand clasping her double battle-axe, before Aruns +struck her down and fled, frightened at his victory. + +In Latium the unhappiness increased, and Turnus, enraged at the reproaches +heaped upon him, declared that he would decide the war by single combat +with Aeneas. Latinus made no secret of his regret at having been compelled +to break his compact with Aeneas; but Amata, still furious, raged against +Aeneas, and declared that she would die if he were made her son-in-law. + +The preparations were made for the single combat, the sacrifices at the +altars, the crowds assembled to witness the combat; but just as the kings +were solemnizing the agreement, Turnus's sister, Juturna, a river goddess, +beloved of Jupiter, renewed the hostilities that Turnus might be saved. A +weapon hurled from the Latin ranks caused the indignant Trojans to rise in +arms, forgetful of the treaty, and the fight raged more fiercely than +before. + +Juturna, fearful from Juno's words of the fate of Turnus, assumed the +guise of Metiscus, his charioteer, and drove her brother over the field +far from the angry Aeneas, who, weary of waiting for Turnus, turned towards +Latium. The frightened people rushed hither and thither, and the queen, +seeing the approaching foe, the roofs in flames, and no troops of Turnus +in sight, supposed the Rutulian dead, and hanged herself. + +In the mean time, Turnus, remote from the fight, reproached his sister. +"Think'st thou not I recognized thee? Thy deceit is in vain. Is to die so +wretched a thing? Let us go to the battle. At least, I will die not +unworthy of my ancestry." + +As he spoke, Saces, wounded and bleeding, rushed to him, imploring: +"Turnus, have pity on us; come to our rescue! The Latins call thee, the +queen is dead, the phalanxes crowd thick around the gates, while thou +drivest idly here." + +Turnus, amazed, confused, and shamed, saw flames consuming the towers of +Latium. + +"Now, sister, the fates control. Desist! It is too late, I will be shamed +no more!" Leaping from his chariot, he rushed forward, demanding that war +cease in order that he and Aeneas might decide the battle in single combat. + +When Turnus's sword broke on the helmet of Aeneas,--the sword of his +charioteer, that he had seized by mistake instead of his own Styx-hardened +blade,--he turned and fled, Aeneas pursuing. + +Above, in Olympus, Jupiter and Juno quarrelled, as they watched the heroes +circling over the yellow sand. + +"Give over thy enmity," said the omnipotent father. "Thou hast caused the +treaty to be violated; even now thou hast made Juturna return the lost +sword to Turnus--in vain. Grieve no more, and goad no longer these +suffering men of Troy." + +Then Juno yielded, stipulating only that the Trojans lay aside their +ancient name, that Latium remain Latium, and the future growth Roman. + +Juturna, warned by Jove's messenger, a bird of evil omen, tore her locks +and beat her breast, regretting the gift of immortality conferred on her +by Jove. Then wrapping her gray veil about her, she fled to her watery +throne that she might not see the death of her brother. The frightened +Turnus, still fleeing from Aeneas, abandoned his sword and took up instead +a mighty rock, a landmark such as scarce six men could uplift. + +Hurling this at Aeneas, he stood, his blood running chill, his eyes cast +towards the Rutuli, the town, and the spear of Aeneas, that, shrieking +through the air, doom laden, wrecked his heavy shield and pierced his +thigh. + +"Mercy!" he prayed. "Fate hath given thee the advantage. Think, thou +duteous son, of my old father, Daunus." + +As Aeneas stood, softened, and ready to grant the request, the sword-belt +of Pallas caught his eye. + +"Shalt thou escape, decked out with Pallas's spoils? No, not I slay thee, +but Pallas! His hand immolates thee!" As he spoke he plunged his sword in +Turnus's breast. + +Chilly death came, and the warrior's spirit fled, groaning to the shades. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE AENEID. + +NISUS AND EURYALUS. + + +While Aeneas, finding the Latins hostile to him, sailed up the Tiber in +search of allies, the troops he left behind under Ascanius were attacked +by Turnus, and their slight fortifications besieged. They were sorely +pressed, and longed to be able to inform Aeneas of their need. + + Nisus was guardian of the gate, + No bolder heart in war's debate, + The son of Hyrtacus, whom Ide + Sent, with his quiver at his side, + From hunting beasts in mountain brake + To follow in Aeneas' wake: + With him Euryalus, fair boy; + None fairer donned the arms of Troy; + His tender cheek as yet unshorn + And blossoming with youth new-born. + Love made them one in every thought: + In battle side by side they fought; + And now in duty at the gate + The twain in common station wait. + "Can it be Heaven," said Nisus then, + "That lends such warmth to hearts of men, + Or passion surging past control + That plays the god to each one's soul? + Long time, impatient of repose, + My swelling heart within me glows, + And yearns its energy to fling + On war, or some yet grander thing. + See there the foe, with vain hope flushed! + Their lights are scant, their stations hushed: + Unnerved by slumber and by wine + Their bravest chiefs are stretched supine. + Now to my doubting thought give heed + And listen where its motions lead. + Our Trojan comrades, one and all, + Cry loud, Aeneas to recall, + And where, they say, the men to go + And let him of our peril know? + Now if the meed I ask they swear + To give you--nay, I claim no share, + Content with bare renown-- + Meseems, beside yon grassy heap + The way I well might find and keep, + To Pallanteum's town." + The youth returns, while thirst of praise + Infects him with a strange amaze: + "Can Nisus aim at heights so great, + Nor take his friend to share his fate? + Shall I look on, and let you go + Alone to venture 'mid the foe? + Not thus my sire Opheltes, versed + In war's rude toil, my childhood nursed, + When Argive terror filled the air + And Troy was battling with despair: + Nor such the lot my youth has tried, + In hardship ever at your side, + Since, great Aeneas' liegeman sworn, + I followed Fortune to her bourne: + Here, here within this bosom burns + A soul that mere existence spurns, + And holds the fame you seek to reap, + Though bought with life, were bought full cheap." + + "Not mine the thought," brave Nisus said, + "To wound you with so base a dread: + So may great Jove, or whosoe'er + Marks with just eyes how mortals fare, + Protect me going, and restore + In triumph to your arms once more. + But if--for many a chance, you wis, + Besets an enterprise like this-- + If accident or power divine + The scheme to adverse end incline, + Your life at least I would prolong: + Death does your years a deeper wrong. + Leave me a friend to tomb my clay, + Rescued or ransomed, which you may; + Or, e'en that boon should chance refuse, + To pay the absent funeral dues. + Nor let me cause so dire a smart + To that devoted mother's heart, + Who, sole of all the matron train, + Attends her darling o'er the main, + Nor cares like others to sit down + An inmate of Acestes' town." + He answers brief: "Your pleas are naught: + Firm stands the purpose of my thought: + Come, stir we: why so slow?" + Then calls the guards to take their place, + Moves on by Nisus, pace with pace, + And to the prince they go. + All other creatures wheresoe'er + Were stretched in sleep, forgetting care: + Troy's chosen chiefs in high debate + Were pondering o'er the reeling state, + What means to try, or whom to speed + To show Aeneas of their need. + There stand they, midway in the field, + Still hold the spear, still grasp the shield: + When Nisus and his comrade brave + With eager tones admittance crave; + The matter high; though time be lost, + The occasion well were worth the cost, + Iulus hails the impatient pair, + Bids Nisus what they wish declare. + Then spoke the youth: "Chiefs I lend your ears, + Nor judge our proffer by our years. + The Rutules, sunk in wine and sleep, + Have ceased their former watch to keep: + A stealthy passage have we spied + Where on the sea the gate opes wide: + The line of fires is scant and broke, + And thick and murky rolls the smoke. + Give leave to seek, in these dark hours, + Aeneas at Evander's towers, + Soon will you see us here again + Decked with the spoils of slaughtered men. + Nor strange the road: ourselves have seen + The city, hid by valleys green, + Just dimly dawning, and explored + In hunting all the river-board." + Out spoke Aletes, old and gray: + "Ye gods, who still are Ilium's stay, + No, no, ye mean not to destroy + Down to the ground the race of Troy, + When such the spirit of her youth, + And such the might of patriot truth." + Then, as the tears roll down his face, + He clasps them both in strict embrace: + "Brave warriors! what rewards so great, + For worth like yours to compensate? + From Heaven and from your own true heart + Expect the largest, fairest part: + The rest, and at no distant day, + The good Aeneas shall repay, + Nor he, the royal youth, forget + Through all his life the mighty debt." + "Nay, hear me too," Ascanius cried, + "Whose life is with my father's tied: + O Nisus! by the home-god powers + We jointly reverence, yours and ours, + The god of ancient Capys' line, + And Vesta's venerable shrine, + By these dread sanctions I appeal + To you, the masters of my weal; + Oh, bring me back my sire again! + Restore him, and I feel no pain. + Two massy goblets will I give; + Rich sculptures on the silver live; + The plunder of my sire, + What time he took Arisba's hold; + Two chargers, talents twain of gold, + A bowl beside of antique mould + By Dido brought from Tyre. + Then, too, if ours the lot to reign + O'er Italy by conquest ta'en, + And each man's spoil assign,-- + Saw ye how Turnus rode yestreen, + His horse and arms of golden sheen? + That horse, that shield and glowing crest + I separate, Nisus, from the rest + And count already thine. + Twelve female slaves, at your desire, + Twelve captives with their arms entire, + My sire shall give you, and the plain + That forms Latinus' own domain. + But you, dear youth, of worth divine, + Whose blooming years are nearer mine, + Here to my heart I take, and choose + My comrade for whate'er ensues. + No glory will I e'er pursue, + Unmotived by the thought of you: + Let peace or war my state befall, + Thought, word, and deed, you share them all." + The youth replied: "No after day + This hour's fair promise shall betray, + Be fate but kind. Yet let me claim + One favor, more than all you name: + A mother in the camp is mine, + Derived from Priam's ancient line: + No home in Sicily or Troy + Has kept her from her darling boy. + She knows not, she, the paths I tread; + I leave her now, no farewell said; + By night and this your hand I swear, + A parent's tears I could not bear. + Vouchsafe your pity, and engage + To solace her unchilded age: + And I shall meet whate'er betide + By such assurance fortified." + With sympathy and tender grief + All melt in tears, Iulus chief, + As filial love in other shown + Recalled the semblance of his own: + And, "Tell your doubting heart," he cries, + "All blessings wait your high emprise: + I take your mother for my own, + Creusa, save in name alone, + Nor lightly deem the affection due + To her who bore a child like you. + Come what come may, I plight my troth + By this my head, my father's oath, + The bounty to yourself decreed + Should favoring gods your journey speed, + The same shall in your line endure, + To parent and to kin made sure." + He spoke, and weeping still, untied + A gilded falchion from his side, + Lycaon's work, the man of Crete, + With sheath of ivory complete: + Brave Mnestheus gives for Nisus' wear + A lion's hide with shaggy hair; + Aletes, old in danger grown, + His helmet takes, and gives his own. + Then to the gates, as forth they fare, + The band of chiefs with many a prayer + The gallant twain attends: + Iulus, manlier than his years, + Oft whispering, for his father's ears + Full many a message sends: + But be it message, be it prayer, + Alike 'tis lost, dispersed in air. + + The trenches past, through night's deep gloom + The hostile camp they near: + Yet many a foe shall meet his doom + Or ere that hour appear. + There see they bodies stretched supine, + O'ercome with slumber and with wine; + The cars, unhorsed, are drawn up high; + 'Twixt wheels and harness warriors lie, + With arms and goblets on the grass + In undistinguishable mass. + "Now," Nisus cried, "for hearts and hands: + This, this the hour our force demands. + Here pass we: yours the rear to mind, + Lest hostile arm be raised behind; + Myself will go before and slay, + While carnage opes a broad highway." + So whispers he with bated breath, + And straight begins the work of death + On Rhamnes, haughty lord; + On rugs he lay, in gorgeous heap, + From all his bosom breathing sleep, + A royal seer by Turnus loved: + But all too weak his seer-craft proved + To stay the rushing sword. + Three servants next the weapon found + Stretched 'mid their armor on the ground: + Then Remus' charioteer he spies + Beneath the coursers as he lies, + And lops his downdropt head; + The ill-starred master next he leaves, + A headless trunk, that gasps and heaves: + Forth spouts the blood from every vein, + And deluges with crimson rain, + Green earth and broidered bed. + Then Lamyrus and Lamus died, + Serranus, too, in youth's fair pride: + That night had seen him long at play: + Now by the dream-god tamed he lay: + Ah, had his play but matched the night, + Nor ended till the dawn of light! + So famished lion uncontrolled + Makes havoc through the teeming fold, + As frantic hunger craves; + Mangling and harrying far and near + The meek, mild victims, mute with fear, + With gory jaws he raves. + Nor less Euryalus performs: + The thirst of blood his bosom warms; + 'Mid nameless multitudes he storms, + Herbesus, Fadus, Abaris kills + Slumbering and witless of their ills, + While Rhoetus wakes and sees the whole, + But hides behind a massy bowl. + There, as to rise the trembler strove, + Deep in his breast the sword he drove, + And bathed in death withdrew. + The lips disgorge the life's red flood, + A mingled stream of wine and blood: + He plies his blade anew. + Now turns he to Messapus' band, + For there the fires he sees + Burnt out, while coursers hard at hand + Are browsing at their ease, + When Nisus marks the excess of zeal, + The maddening fever of the steel, + And checks him thus with brief appeal: + "Forbear we now; 't will soon be day: + Our wrath is slaked, and hewn our way." + Full many a spoil they leave behind + Of solid silver thrice refined, + Armor and bowls of costliest mould + And rugs in rich confusion rolled. + A belt Euryalus puts on + With golden knobs, from Rhamnes won, + Of old by Caedicus 't was sent, + An absent friendship to cement, + To Remulus, fair Tibur's lord, + Who, dying, to his grandson left + The shining prize: the Rutule sword + In after days the trophy reft. + Athwart his manly chest in vain + He binds these trappings of the slain; + Then 'neath his chin in triumph laced + Messapus' helm, with plumage graced, + The camp at length they leave behind, + And round the lake securely wind. + + Meanwhile a troop is on its way, + From Latium's city sped, + An offshoot from the host that lay + Along the host in close array, + Three hundred horsemen, sent to bring + A message back to Turnus, king, + With Volscens at their head. + Now to the camp they draw them nigh, + Beneath the rampart's height, + When from afar the twain they spy, + Still steering from the right; + The helmet through the glimmering shade + At once the unwary boy betrayed, + Seen in the moon's full light. + Not lost the sight on jealous eyes: + "Ho! stand! who are ye?" Volscens cries, + "Whence come, or whither tend?" + No movement deign they of reply, + But swifter to the forest fly, + And make the night their friend. + With fatal speed the mounted foes + Each avenue as with network close, + And every outlet bar. + It was a forest bristling grim + With shade of ilex, dense and dim: + Thick brushwood all the ground o'ergrew: + The tangled ways a path ran through, + Faint glimmering like a star. + The darkling boughs, the cumbering prey + Euryalus's flight delay: + His courage fails, his footsteps stray: + But Nisus onward flees; + No thought he takes, till now at last + The enemy is all o'erpast, + E'en at the grove, since Alban called, + Where then Latinus' herds were stalled: + Sudden he pauses, looks behind + In eager hope his friend to find: + In vain: no friend he sees. + "Euryalus, my chiefest care, + Where left I you, unhappy? where? + What clue may guide my erring tread + This leafy labyrinth back to thread?" + Then, noting each remembered track, + He thrids the wood, dim-seen and black. + Listening, he hears the horse-hoofs' beat, + The clatter of pursuing feet. + A little moment--shouts arise, + And lo! Euryalus he spies, + Whom now the foemen's gathered throng + Is hurrying helplessly along. + While vain resistance he essays, + Trapped by false night and treacherous ways. + What should he do? what force employ + To rescue the beloved boy? + Plunge through the spears that line the wood, + And death and glory win with blood? + Not unresolved, he poises soon + A javelin, looking to the Moon: + "Grant, goddess, grant thy present aid, + Queen of the stars, Latonian maid, + The greenwood's guardian power; + If, grateful for success of mine, + With gifts my sire has graced thy shrine, + If e'er myself have brought thee spoil, + The tribute of my hunter's toil, + To ornament thy roof divine, + Or glitter on thy tower, + These masses give me to confound, + And guide through air my random wound." + He spoke, and hurled with all his might; + The swift spear hurtles through the night: + Stout Sulmo's back the stroke receives: + The wood, though snapped, the midriff cleaves. + He falls, disgorging life's warm tide, + And long-drawn sobs distend his side. + All gaze around: another spear + The avenger levels from his ear, + And launches on the sky. + Tagus lies pierced through temples twain, + The dart deep buried in his brain. + Fierce Volscens storms, yet finds no foe, + Nor sees the hand that dealt the blow, + Nor knows on whom to fly. + "Your heart's warm blood for both shall pay," + He cries, and on his beauteous prey + With naked sword he sprang. + Scared, maddened, Nisus shrieks aloud: + No more he hides in night's dark shroud, + Nor bears the o'erwhelming pang: + "Me, guilty me, make me your aim, + O Rutules! mine is all the blame; + He did no wrong, nor e'er could do; + That sky, those stars attest 't is true; + Love for his friend too freely shown, + This was his crime, and this alone." + In vain he spoke: the sword, fierce driven, + That alabaster breast had riven. + Down falls Euryalus, and lies + In death's enthralling agonies: + Blood trickles o'er his limbs of snow; + "His head sinks gradually low": + Thus, severed by the ruthless plough, + Dim fades a purple flower: + Their weary necks so poppies bow, + O'erladen by the shower. + But Nisus on the midmost flies, + With Volscens, Volscens in his eyes: + In clouds the warriors round him rise, + Thick hailing blow on blow: + Yet on he bears, no stint, no stay, + Like thunderbolt his falchion's sway: + Till as for aid the Rutule shrieks + Plunged in his throat the weapon reeks: + The dying hand has reft away + The life-blood of its foe. + Then, pierced to death, asleep he fell + On the dead breast he loved so well. + + Blest pair! if aught my verse avail, + No day shall make your memory fail + From off the heart of time, + While Capitol abides in place, + The mansion of the Aeneian race, + And throned upon that moveless base + Rome's father sits sublime. + _Conington's Translation, Book IX_. + + + + + +BEOWULF. + + +Beowulf, the only Anglo-Saxon epic preserved entire, was composed in +southwest Sweden probably before the eighth century, and taken to England, +where it was worked over and Christianized by the Northumbrian poets. + +It is variously attributed to the fifth, seventh, and eighth centuries; +but the seventh is most probably correct, since the Higelac of the poem +has been identified with Chocilaicus of the "Gesta Regum Francorum," a +Danish king who invaded Gaul in the days of Theuderic, son of Clovis, and +died near the close of the sixth century. + +The only manuscript of the poem in existence is thought to be of the tenth +century. It is preserved in the British Museum. Since 1837 much interest +has been manifested in the poem, and many editions of it have been given +to the public. + +Beowulf contains three thousand one hundred and eighty-four lines. It is +written in alliterative verse. The lines are written in pairs, and each +perfect line contains three alliterating words,--two in the first part, +and one in the second. + +The unknown writer of Beowulf cannot be praised for his skill in +composition; the verse is rude, as was the language in which it was +written. But it is of the greatest interest to us because of the pictures +it gives of the everyday lives of the people whose heroic deeds it +relates,--the drinking in the mead-halls, the relation of the king to his +warriors, the description of the armor, the ships, and the halls. The +heroes are true Anglo-Saxon types,--bold, fearless, ready to go to the +assistance of any one in trouble, no matter how great the risk to +themselves; and as ready to drink mead and boast of their valor after the +peril is over. In spite of the attempt to Christianize the poem, it is +purely pagan; the most careless reader can discover the priestly +interpolations. And it has the greater value to us because it refused to +be moulded by priestly hands, but remained the rude but heroic monument of +our Saxon ancestors. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, BEOWULF. + + +B. Ten Brink's Early English Literature, Tr. by Kennedy; + +S. A. Brooke's History of Early English Literature, 1892, p. 12; + +W. F. Collier's History of English Literature, p. 19; + +G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, pp. +382-398; in 1880 ed. pp. 189-201; + +Isaac Disraeli's Amenities of Literature, i. 65-73; + +J. Earle's Anglo-Saxon Literature; + +T. W. Hunt's Ethical Teaching in Beowulf (in his Ethical Teachings in Old +English Literature, 1892, pp. 66-77); + +H. Morley's English Writers, 1887, pp. 276-354; + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, 1886, i. 62; + +S. Turner's Anglo-Saxons, iii. 326; in ed. 3, i. 456; + +J. Harrison's Old Teutonic Life in Beowulf (in the Overland Monthly, July, +1894); + +F. A. March's The World of Beowulf (in Proceedings of American +Philological Association, 1882). + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, BEOWULF. + + +Beowulf, edition with English translation, notes and glossary by Thomas +Arnold, 1876; + +The Deeds of Beowulf, 1892; + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Garnett, 1882 (translated line for line); + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. L. Hall, 1892, metrical translation; + +Beowulf, Tr. by J. M. Kemble, with copious glossary, preface, and +philological notes, 2 vols., 1833-37; + +Beowulf translated into modern rhymes, by H. W. Lumsden, 1881; + +Beowulf, Tr. by Benjamin Thorpe, Literal translation, notes and glossary, +1875. + + + + +THE STORY OF BEOWULF. + + +A mighty man was Scyld, ruler of the Gar-Danes. From far across the +whale-path men paid him tribute and bore witness to his power. Beowulf was +his son, a youth endowed with glory, whose fame spread far and wide +through all the Danish land. + +When the time came for Scyld to die he ordered his thanes to prepare the +ring-stemmed ship, laden with treasures, battle-weed, and swords, and +place him in the death-chamber. Laden with his people's gifts, and sailing +under a golden banner, he passed from sight, none knew whither. + +After him ruled Beowulf, and after him Healfdene,--brave warriors and kind +monarchs. When, after Healfdene's death, his son Hrothgar succeeded him, +his fame in war inclined all his kinsmen towards him, and he, too, became +a mighty monarch. + +To the mind of Hrothgar it came to build a lordly mead-hall where he and +his men could find pleasure in feasting, drinking mead, and hearing the +songs of the minstrels. Heorot it was called, and when its high spires +rose glistening in the air, all hailed it with delight. + +But, alas! The joy in hall, the melody of the harp, and the shouts of the +warriors penetrated to the dismal fen where lay concealed the monster +Grendel, descendant of sin-cursed Cain. At night came Grendel to the hall, +found sleeping the troop of warriors, and bore away in his foul hands +thirty of the honored thanes. Great was the sorrow in Heorot when in the +morning twilight the deed of Grendel became known. + +For twelve long winters did this sorrow continue; for so long a time was +Hrothgar plunged in grief; for so many years did this beautiful mead-hall, +destined for joyful things, stand idle. + +While thus the grief-stricken lord of the Scyldings brooded over his +wrongs, and the people besought their idols vainly for aid, the tidings of +Grendel's ravages were conveyed to the court of the Gothic king, Higelac, +and thus reached the ears of a highborn thane, Beowulf. A strong man was +he, his grasp equal to that of thirty men. + +Straightway commanded he a goodly ship to be made ready, chose fifteen of +his bravest Goths, and swiftly they sailed over the swan-path to the great +headlands and bright sea-cliffs of the Scyldings. + +High on the promontory stood the guard of Hrothgar. "What men be ye who +hither come?" cried he. "Not foes, surely. Ye know no pass word, yet +surely ye come on no evil errand. Ne'er saw I a greater lord than he who +leads the band. Who are ye?" + +"Higelac's man am I," answered the leader. "Ecgtheow, my sire; my name, +Beowulf. Lead me, I pray thee, to thy lord, for I have come over seas to +free him forever from his secret foe, and to lift the cloud that hangs +over the stately mead-hall." + +Over the stone-paved streets the warder led the warriors, their armor +clanking, their boar-tipped helmets sparkling, to the goodly hall, Heorot. +There were they warmly welcomed, for Hrothgar had known Beowulf's sire; +the fame of the young man's strength had also reached him, and he trusted +that in his strong grasp Grendel should die. + +All took their seats on the mead-benches, and a thane passed from warrior +to warrior, bearing the chased wine-cup. Sweet was the minstrel's song, +and the warriors were happy in Heorot. + +But Hunferd sat at the banquet, and envious of Beowulf's fame, taunted him +with his swimming match with Breca. "Seven days and nights thou didst swim +with Breca; but he was stronger, and he won. Worse will befall thee, if +thou dar'st this night await Grendel!" + +"Easy it is to brag of Breca's deeds when drunk with beer, friend +Hunferd!" replied Beowulf. "Seven days and nights I swam through the +sea-water, slaying the monsters of the deep. Rough was the wave, terrible +were the water beasts; but I reached the Finnish land. Wert thou as brave +as thou claim'st to be, Grendel would ne'er have wrought such havoc in thy +monarch's land." + +Decked with gold, Queen Waltheow passed through the hall, greeted the +warriors, and proffered the mead-cup to Beowulf, thanking God that she had +found an earl who would deliver them from their enemy. + +When dusky night fell over Heorot, the king uprose. "To no other man have +I ever entrusted this hall of gold. Have now and keep it! Great reward +shall be thine if thou come forth alive!" + +The knights left in the lordly hall composed themselves for slumber, all +save Beowulf, who, unarmed, awaited the coming of Grendel. + +He came, with wrathful step and eyes aflame, bursting open the iron bolts +of the great door, and laughing at the goodly array of men sleeping before +him. On one he laid hands and drank his blood; then he clutched the +watchful Beowulf. + +Ne'er had he found a foe like this! Fearful, he turned to flee to his home +in the fen, but the grip of Beowulf forbade flight. Strongly was Heorot +builded, but many a gilded mead-bench was torn from the walls as the two +combated within the hall. The sword blade was of no avail, and him must +Beowulf bring to death by the strength of his grip alone. At last, with a +scream that struck terror to every Dane's heart, the monster sprang from +Beowulf and fled, leaving in the warrior's grasp his arm and shoulder. +Great was Beowulf's joy, for he knew that the wound meant death. + +When the king and queen came forth in the morning with their nobles and +maids, and saw the grisly arm of Grendel fastened upon the roof of Heorot, +they gave themselves up to rejoicing. Gifts were heaped upon Beowulf,--a +golden crest, a banner bright, a great and goodly sword and helm and +corselet, eight steeds with headstalls ornamented with gold plate, and a +richly decorated saddle. Nor were his comrades forgotten, but to each were +given rich gifts. + +When the mead-hall had been cleansed and refitted, they gathered therein +and listened to the song of the bard who told how Healfdene's knight, +Hnaef, smote Finn. The song over, the queen, crowned with gold, gave gifts +to Beowulf, the liberator from the horrors of Grendel,--two armlets, a +necklace, raiment, and rings. When the drinking and feasting were over, +the king and Beowulf withdrew, leaving many earls to keep the hall. Little +guessed they that one of them was that night doomed to die! + +The haunt of Grendel was a mile-wide mere. Around it were wolf-haunted +cliffs, windy promontories, mist-covered mountains. Close around the mere +hung the woods, shrouding the water, which, horrible sight, was each night +covered with fire. It was a place accursed; near it no man might dwell; +the deer that plunged therein straightway died. + +In a palace under the mere dwelt Grendel and his mother; she, a foul +sprite, whom the peasants had sometimes seen walking with her son over the +meadows. From her dwelling-place she now came forth to avenge the death of +her son, and snatched away from the group of sleeping Ring-Danes the good +AEschere, dearest of all his thanes to Hrothgar. + +Loud was Hrothgar's wailing when at morning Beowulf came forth from his +bower. + +"Sorrow not, O wise man," spake Beowulf. "I fear not. I will seek out this +monster and destroy her. If I come not back it will at least be better +than to have lost my glory. She can never hide from me. I ween that I will +this day rid thee of thine enemy." + +Accompanied by Hrothgar, some of the Ring-Danes and his Goths, Beowulf +sought the dismal mere, on whose brink they found the head of AEschere. +Among the bloody waves swam horrible shapes, Nicors and sea-drakes, that +fled at a blast of the war-horn. Beowulf slew one of the monsters, and +while his companions were marvelling at the grisly form, he prepared +himself for the combat. His breast was guarded by a coat of mail woven +most cunningly; upon his head shone the gold-adorned helmet, and in his +hand was Hunferd's sword, Hrunting, made of iron steeped in twigs of +bitter poison, annealed in battle blood, and fearful to every foe. + +"Hearken unto me, O Hrothgar," cried the hero. "If I return not, treat +well my comrades and send my gifts to Higelac, that he may see the deed I +have accomplished, and the generous ring-lord I have gained among the +Scyldings." And without waiting for a reply, he leaped into the waves and +was lost to sight. + +There was the monster waiting for him; and catching him in her grip, which +bruised him not because of his strong mail-coat, she dragged him to her +cave, in whose lighted hall he could see the horrible features of the +woman of the mere. Strong was Hrunting, but of no avail was its mighty +blade against her. Soon he threw it down, and gripped her, reckless of +peril. Once he threw her on the ground, but the second time she threw him, +and drew her glaive to pierce his breast. Strong was the linked mail, and +Beowulf was safe. Then his quick eye lighted on a sword,--a magic, giant +sword; few men could wield it. Quickly he grasped it, and smote the neck +of the sea-woman. Broken were the bone-rings, and down she fell dead. Then +Ecgtheow's son looked around the hall and saw the body of the dead +Grendel. Thirsting to take his revenge, he smote him with his sword. Off +flew the head; but when the red drops of blood touched the magic blade it +melted, leaving but the massive golden hilt in the hands of the hero. +Beowulf took no treasure from the cave, but rose through the waves, +carrying only the head of the monster and the hilt of the sword. + +When Hrothgar and his men saw the mere red and boiling with blood they +deemed that Beowulf was dead, and departed to their citadel. Sorrowful sat +the comrades of Beowulf, waiting and hoping against hope for his +reappearance. Up sprang they when they saw him, joyfully greeted him, +relieved him of his bloody armor, and conducted him to Hrothgar, +bearing--a heavy task--the head of Grendel. + +When Hrothgar saw the hideous head and the mighty sword-hilt, whose +history he read from its Runic inscriptions, he hailed Beowulf with joy, +and proclaimed him the mightiest of men. "But ever temper thy might with +wisdom," advised the king, "that thou suffer not the end of Heremod, or be +punished as I have been, in this my spacious mead-hall." + +After a night's rest, Beowulf prepared to return to his country. Returning +Hrunting to Hunferd, he praised the sword, saying nothing of its failure +in the fight. Then to Hrothgar: "Farewell. If e'er thou art harried by +foes, but let me know,--a thousand fighting men I'll bring. Higelac, well +I know, will urge me on to honor thee. If e'er thy son seeks Gothic halls, +I will intercede and win friends for him." + +The old king, weeping, bade Beowulf farewell. "Peace be forever between +the Goths and the Gar-Danes; in common their treasures! May gifts be +interchanged between them!" + +The bark was filled with the gifts heaped upon Beowulf and his men; and +the warder, who had hailed them so proudly at their coming, now bade them +an affectionate farewell. Over the swan-path sailed they, and soon reached +the Gothic coast, and landed their treasures. + +Then went Beowulf before Higelac and told him of his adventures. Higelac +was a mighty king; lofty his house and hall, and fair and gentle was his +wife, Hygd. To him, after he had related his adventures, Beowulf presented +the boar-head crest, the battle-mail and sword, four of the steeds, and +much treasure, and upon the wise and modest Hygd bestowed he the wondrous +necklace given him by Waltheow. So should a good thane ever do! + +There had been a time when Beowulf was accounted a sluggish knight, but +now the land rang with his glory. + +When Higelac died and Hardred was slain, Beowulf succeeded to the throne, +and for fifty years ruled the people gloriously. + +At this time a great fire-drake cherished a vast hoard in a cave on a high +cliff, difficult of access, and known to few men. Thither one day fled a +thrall from his master's wrath, and saw the hoard buried by some weary +warrior, and now guarded by the dragon. While the drake slept, the thrall +crept in and stole a cup as a peace-offering to his master. + +When the drake awoke, he scented the foot-prints of the foe, and +discovered his loss. When even was come, he hastened to wreak his revenge +on the people, spewing out flames of fire, and laying waste the land. + +Far and near were the lands of the Goths devastated, and ere long, tidings +were borne to Beowulf that his great hall, his gift seat, was destroyed by +fire. Saddened, and fearing that he had in some way angered God, he turned +his mind to vengeance, and girded on his armor. A stout shield of iron he +took, knowing that the dragon's fiery breath would melt the wood, and with +foreboding of his fate, bade farewell to his hearth-mates. "Many times +have I battled, great deeds have I done with sword and with hand-grip; now +must I go forth and battle with hand and sword against the hoard-keeper." + +Commanding the men who had accompanied him to remain upon the hillside, +leaving him to combat with the dragon alone, Beowulf went proudly forward, +shouting his battle-cry. Out rushed the dragon, full of deadly hate. His +fiery breath was stronger than the king had deemed it. Stroke upon stroke +he gave his enemy, who continued to cast forth his death-fire, so that +Beowulf stood girt with flames. + +From afar, among the watching thanes, Wiglaf saw his monarch's peril. +"Comrades," he cried, "do you remember our promises to our king? Was it +for this he stirred us up to glorious deeds? Was it for this he heaped +gifts upon us? Let us go to his rescue. It is not right that we should see +our lord fall, and bear away our shields untouched!" + +Rushing forward, he cried, "Beowulf, here am I! Now strike for thy life! +Thou hast said that thou never wouldst let thy fame depart from thee!" + +Again the dragon came forth; again it enveloped its foeman in flames. The +linden shield of Wiglaf burned in his hands, and he sought shelter behind +Beowulf's shield of iron. Again and again Wiglaf smote the monster, and +when the flames burnt low, Beowulf seized his dirk and pierced the dragon +so that he fell dead. + +The dragon lay dead, but Beowulf felt the poison in his wounds and knew +that he had not long to live. He commanded Wiglaf to bring forth the +treasure that he might gaze upon the hoard,--jewel work and twisted +gold,--that he had wrested from the fire-drake. + +The den was filled with rings of gold, cups, banners, jewels, dishes, and +the arms of the old owner of the treasure. All these did Wiglaf bear forth +to his lord, who surveyed them, and uttered thanks to his Maker, that he +could win such a treasure. Then, turning to Wiglaf, he said, "Now I die. +Build for me upon the lofty shore a bright mound that shall ever remind my +people of me. Far in the distance their ships shall descry it, and they +shall call it Beowulf's mound." Then, giving his arms to Wiglaf, he bade +him enjoy them. "Thou art the last of our race. All save us, fate-driven, +are gone to doom. Thither go I too." + +Bitterly did Wiglaf denounce his comrades when he saw them steal from +their hiding-places. "Well may it be said of you that he who gave you your +arms threw them away. No thanks deserve ye for the slaughter of the +dragon! I did my little, but it was not in my power to save my kinsman. +Too few helpers stood about him! Now shall your kin be wanting in gifts. +Void are ye of land-rights! Better is it for an earl to die than to live +with a blasted name!" + +Sorrowful were the people when they heard of the death of Beowulf. Full +well they knew with what joy the tidings would be hailed by their enemies, +who would hasten to harry the land, now that their great leader was gone. +The Frisians, the Merovingians, the Franks, the Swedes,--all had their +grievances, which they would hasten to wreak on the Goths when they +learned that the dreaded king was gone. Dreary would be the land of the +Goths; on its battle-fields the wolves would batten; the ravens would call +to the eagles as they feasted on the slain. + +Straight to the Eagle's Nest went the band, and found their dead monarch; +there, too, lay the loathsome fire-drake, full fifty feet long, and +between them the great hoard, rust-eaten from long dwelling in the earth. +Ever had that hoard brought ill with it. + +Down from the cliff they thrust the dragon into the deep, and carried +their chief to Hronesness. There they built a lofty pile, decked it with +his armor, and burned thereon the body of their glorious ruler. According +to his wish, they reared on the cliff a broad, high barrow, surrounded it +with a wall, and laid within it the treasure. There yet it lies, of little +worth to men! + +Then around the barrow rode twelve of the bravest, boldest nobles, +mourning their king, singing his praises, chanting a dirge, telling of his +glorious deeds, while over the broad land the Gothic folk lamented the +death of their tender prince, their noble king, Beowulf. + + + + +SELECTION FROM BEOWULF. + +GRENDEL'S MOTHER. + + +There was great rejoicing in Heorot when Beowulf slew Grendel, and at +night the earls again slept in the hall as they had not dared to do since +the coming of the fiend. But Grendel's mother came to avenge her son's +death and slew AEschere, a favorite liegeman of Hrothgar's. In the morning, +Beowulf, who had slept in another part of the palace, was sent for and +greeted Hrothgar, unaware of his loss. + + Hrothgar rejoined, helm of the Scyldings: + "Ask not of joyance! Grief is renewed to + The folk of the Danemen. Dead is AEschere, + Yrmenlaf's brother, older than he, + My true-hearted counsellor, trusty adviser, + Shoulder-companion, when fighting in battle + Our heads we protected, when troopers were clashing, + And heroes were dashing; such an earl should be ever, + An erst-worthy atheling, as AEschere proved him. + The flickering death-spirit became in Heorot + His hand-to-hand murderer; I cannot tell whither + The cruel one turned, in the carcass exulting, + By cramming discovered. The quarrel she wreaked then, + The last night igone Grendel thou killedst + In grewsomest manner, with grim-holding clutches, + Since too long he had lessened my liege-troop and wasted + My folk-men so foully. He fell in the battle + With forfeit of life, and another has followed, + A mighty crime-worker, her kinsman avenging, + And henceforth hath 'stablished her hatred unyielding, + As it well may appear to many a liegeman, + Who mourneth in spirit the treasure-bestower, + Her heavy heart-sorrow; the hand is now lifeless + Which availed yon in every wish that you cherished. + Land-people heard I, liegemen, this saying, + Dwellers in halls, they had seen very often + A pair of such mighty march-striding creatures, + Far-dwelling spirits, holding the moorlands: + One of them wore, as well they might notice, + The image of woman, the other one wretched + In guise of a man wandered in exile, + Except that he was huger than any of earthmen; + Earth-dwelling people entitled him Grendel + In days of yore; they knew not their father, + Whe'r ill-going spirits any were borne him + Ever before. They guard the wolf-coverts, + Lands inaccessible, wind-beaten nesses, + Fearfullest fen-deeps, where a flood from the mountains + 'Neath mists of the nesses netherward rattles, + The stream under earth: not far is it henceward + Measured by mile-lengths that the mere-water standeth, + Which forests hang over, with frost-whiting covered, + A firm-rooted forest, the floods overshadow. + There ever at night one an ill-meaning portent + A fire-flood may see; 'mong children of men + None liveth so wise that wot of the bottom; + Though harassed by hounds the heath-stepper seek for, + Fly to the forest, firm-antlered he-deer, + Spurred from afar, his spirit he yieldeth, + His life on the shore, ere in he will venture + To cover his head. Uncanny the place is: + Thence upward ascendeth the surging of waters, + Wan to the welkin, when the wind is stirring + The weathers unpleasing, till the air groweth gloomy, + And the heavens lower. Now is help to be gotten + From thee and thee only! The abode thou know'st not, + The dangerous place where thou'rt able to meet with + The sin-laden hero: seek if thou darest! + For the feud I will fully fee thee with money, + With old-time treasure, as erstwhile I did thee, + With well-twisted jewels, if away thou shalt get thee." + + Beowulf answered, Ecgtheow's son: + "Grieve not, O wise one! for each it is better, + His friend to avenge than with vehemence wail him; + Each of us must the end-day abide of + His earthly existence; who is able accomplish + Glory ere death! To battle-thane noble + Lifeless lying, 't is at last most fitting. + Arise, O king, quick let us hasten + To look at the footprint of the kinsman of Grendel! + I promise thee this now: to his place he'll escape not, + To embrace of the earth, nor to mountainous forest, + Nor to depths of the ocean, wherever he wanders. + Practice thou now patient endurance + Of each of thy sorrows, as I hope for thee soothly!" + Then up sprang the old one, the All-Wielder thanked he, + Ruler Almighty, that the man had outspoken. + Then for Hrothgar a war-horse was decked with a bridle, + Curly-maned courser. The clever folk-leader + Stately proceeded: stepped then an earl-troop + Of linden-wood bearers. Her foot-prints were seen then + Widely in wood-paths, her way o'er the bottoms, + Where she far-away fared o'er fen-country murky, + Bore away breathless the best of retainers + Who pondered with Hrothgar the welfare of country. + The son of the athelings then went o'er the stony, + Declivitous cliffs, the close-covered passes, + Narrow passages, paths unfrequented, + Nesses abrupt, nicker-haunts many; + One of a few of wise-mooded heroes, + He onward advanced to view the surroundings, + Till he found unawares woods of the mountain + O'er hoar-stones hanging, holt-wood unjoyful; + The water stood under, welling and gory. + 'T was irksome in spirit to all of the Danemen, + Friends of the Scyldings, to many a liegeman + Sad to be suffered, a sorrow unlittle + To each of the earlmen, when to AEschere's head they + Came on the cliff. The current was seething + With blood and with gore (the troopers gazed on it). + The horn anon sang the battle-song ready. + The troop were all seated; they saw 'long the water then + Many a serpent, mere-dragons wondrous + Trying the waters, nickers a-lying + On the cliffs of the nesses, which at noonday full often + Go on the sea-deeps their sorrowful journey, + Wild-beasts and worm-kind; away then they hastened + Hot-mooded, hateful, they heard the great clamor, + The war-trumpet winding. One did the Geat-prince + Sunder from earth-joys, with arrow from bowstring, + From his sea-struggle tore him, that the trusty war-missile + Pierced to his vitals; he proved in the currents + Less doughty at swimming whom death had off-carried. + Soon in the waters the wonderful swimmer + Was straitened most sorely and pulled to the cliff-edge; + The liegemen then looked on the loath-fashioned stranger. + Beowulf donned then his battle-equipments, + Cared little for life; inlaid and most ample, + The hand-woven corselet which could cover his body, + Must the wave-deeps explore, that war might be powerless + To harm the great hero, and the hating one's grasp might + Not peril his safety; his head was protected + By the light-flashing helmet that should mix with the bottoms, + Trying the eddies, treasure-emblazoned, + Encircled with jewels, as in seasons long past + The weapon-smith worked it, wondrously made it, + With swine-bodies fashioned it, that thenceforward no longer + Brand might bite it, and battle-sword hurt it. + And that was not least of helpers in prowess + That Hrothgar's spokesman had lent him when straitened; + And the hilted hand-sword was Hrunting entitled, + Old and most excellent 'mong all of the treasures; + Its blade was of iron, blotted with poison, + Hardened with gore; it failed not in battle + Any hero under heaven in hand who it brandished, + Who ventured to take the terrible journeys, + The battle-field sought; not the earliest occasion + That deeds of daring 't was destined to 'complish. + Ecglaf's kinsman minded not soothly, + Exulting in strength, what erst he had spoken + Drunken with wine, when the weapon he lent to + A sword-hero bolder; himself did not venture + 'Neath the strife of the currents his life to endanger, + To fame-deeds perform; there he forfeited glory, + Repute for his strength. Not so with the other + When he, clad in his corselet, had equipped him for battle. + + Beowulf spoke, Ecgtheow's son: + "Recall now, oh, famous kinsman of Healfdene, + Prince very prudent, now to part I am ready, + Gold-friend of earl-men, what erst we agreed on, + Should I lay down my life in lending thee assistance, + When my earth-joys were over, thou wouldst evermore serve me + In stead of a father; my faithful thanemen, + My trusty retainers, protect thou and care for, + Fall I in battle: and, Hrothgar beloved, + Send unto Higelac the high-valued jewels + Thou to me hast allotted. The lord of the Geatmen + May perceive from the gold, the Hrethling may see it + When he looks on the jewels, that a gem-giver found I + Good over-measure, enjoyed him while able. + And the ancient heirloom Unferth permit thou, + The famed one to have, the heavy-sword splendid, + The hard-edged weapon; with Hrunting to aid me, + I shall gain me glory, or grim death shall take me." + The atheling of Geatmen uttered these words and + Heroic did hasten, not any rejoinder + Was willing to wait for; the wave-current swallowed + The doughty-in-battle. Then a day's-length elapsed ere + He was able to see the sea at its bottom. + Early she found then who fifty of winters + The course of the currents kept in her fury, + Grisly and greedy, that the grim one's dominion + Some one of men from above was exploring. + Forth did she grab them, grappled the warrior + With horrible clutches; yet no sooner she injured + His body unscathed: the burnie out-guarded, + That she proved but powerless to pierce through the armor, + The limb-mail locked, with loath-grabbing fingers. + The sea-wolf bare then, when bottomward came she, + The ring-prince homeward, that he after was powerless. + (He had daring to do it) to deal with his weapons, + But many a mere-beast tormented him swimming, + Flood-beasts no few with fierce-biting tusks did + Break through his burnie, the brave one pursued they. + The earl then discovered he was down in some cavern + Where no water whatever anywise harmed him, + And the clutch of the current could not come anear him, + Since the roofed-hall prevented; brightness a-gleaming + Fire-light he saw, flashing, resplendent. + The good one saw then the sea-bottom's monster, + The mighty mere-woman; he made a great onset + With weapon-of-battle, his hand not desisted + From striking, that war-blade struck on her head then + A battle-song greedy. The stranger perceived then + The sword would not bite, her life would not injure, + But the falchion failed the folk prince when straitened: + Erst had it often onsets encountered, + Oft cloven the helmet, the fated one's armor: + 'T was the first time that ever the excellent jewel + Had failed of its fame. Firm-mooded after, + Not heedless of valor, but mindful of glory, + Was Higelac's kinsman; the hero-chief angry + Cast then his carved-sword covered with jewels + That it lay on earth, hard and steel-pointed; + He hoped in his strength, his hand-grapple sturdy. + So any must act whenever he thinketh + To gain him in battle glory unending, + And is reckless of living. The lord of the War-Geats + (He shrank not from battle) seized by the shoulder + The mother of Grendel; then mighty in struggle + Swung he his enemy, since his anger was kindled, + That she fell to the floor. With furious grapple + She gave him requital early thereafter, + And stretched out to grab him; the strongest of warriors + Faint-mooded stumbled, till he fell in his traces, + Foot-going champion. Then she sat on the hall-guest + And wielded her war-knife wide-bladed, flashing, + For her son would take vengeance, her one only bairn. + His breast-armor woven bode on his shoulder; + It guarded his life, the entrance defended + 'Gainst sword-point and edges. Ecgtheow's son there + Had fatally journeyed, champion of Geatmen, + In the arms of the ocean, had the armor not given, + Close-woven corselet, comfort and succor, + And had God most holy not awarded the victory, + All-knowing Lord; easily did heaven's + Ruler most righteous arrange it with justice; + Uprose he erect ready for battle. + + Then he saw 'mid the war-gems a weapon of victory, + An ancient giant-sword, of edges a-doughty, + Glory of warriors: of weapons 't was choicest, + Only 't was larger than any man else was + Able to bear in the battle-encounter, + The good and splendid work of the giants. + He grasped then the sword-hilt, knight of the Scyldings, + Bold and battle-grim, brandished his ring-sword, + Hopeless of living, hotly he smote her, + That the fiend-woman's neck firmly it grappled, + Broke through her bone-joints, the bill fully pierced her + Fate-cursed body, she fell to the ground then: + The hand-sword was bloody, the hero exulted. + The brand was brilliant, brightly it glimmered, + Just as from heaven gemlike shineth + The torch of the firmament. He glanced 'long the building, + And turned by the wall then, Higelac's vassal + Raging and wrathful raised his battle-sword + Strong by the handle. The edge was not useless + To the hero-in-battle, but he speedily wished to + Give Grendel requital for the many assaults he + Had worked on the West-Danes not once, but often, + When he slew in slumber the subjects of Hrothgar, + Swallowed down fifteen sleeping retainers + Of the folk of the Danemen, and fully as many + Carried away, a horrible prey. + He gave him requital, grim-raging champion, + When he saw on his rest-place weary of conflict + Grendel lying, of life-joys bereaved, + As the battle at Heorot erstwhile had scathed him; + His body far bounded, a blow when he suffered, + Death having seized him, sword-smiting heavy, + And he cut off his head then. Early this noticed + The clever carles who as comrades of Hrothgar + Gazed on the sea-deeps, that the surging wave-currents + Were mightily mingled, the mere-flood was gory: + Of the good one the gray-haired together held converse, + The hoary of head, that they hoped not to see again + The atheling ever, that exulting in victory + He'd return there to visit the distinguished folk-ruler: + Then many concluded the mere-wolf had killed him. + The ninth hour came then. From the ness-edge departed + The bold-mooded Scyldings; the gold-friend of heroes + Homeward betook him. The strangers sat down then + Soul-sick, sorrowful, the sea-waves regarding: + They wished and yet weened not their well-loved friend-lord + To see any more. The sword-blade began then, + The blood having touched it, contracting and shrivelling + With battle-icicles; 't was a wonderful marvel + That it melted entirely, likest to ice when + The Father unbindeth the bond of the frost and + Unwindeth the wave-bands, He who wieldeth dominion + Of time and of tides: a truth-firm Creator. + Nor took he of jewels more in the dwelling, + Lord of the Weders, though they lay all around him, + Than the head and the handle handsome with jewels; + The brand early melted, burnt was the weapon: + So hot was the blood, the strange-spirit poisonous + That in it did perish. He early swam off then + Who had bided in combat the carnage of haters, + Went up through the ocean; the eddies were cleansed, + The spacious expanses, when the spirit from farland + His life put aside and this short-lived existence. + The seamen's defender came swimming to land then + Doughty of spirit, rejoiced in his sea-gift, + The bulky burden which he bore in his keeping. + The excellent vassals advanced then to meet him, + To God they were grateful, were glad in their chieftain, + That to see him safe and sound was granted them. + From the high-minded hero, then, helmet and burnie + Were speedily loosened: the ocean was putrid, + The water 'neath welkin weltered with gore. + Forth did they fare, then, their footsteps retracing, + Merry and mirthful, measured the earth-way, + To highway familiar: men very daring + Bare then the head from the sea-cliff, burdening + Each of the earlmen, excellent-valiant. + Four of them had to carry with labor + The head of Grendel to the high towering gold-hall + Upstuck on the spear, till fourteen most-valiant + And battle-brave Geatmen came there going + Straight to the palace: the prince of the people + Measured the mead-ways, their mood-brave companion, + The atheling of earlmen entered the building, + Deed-valiant man, adorned with distinction, + Doughty shield-warrior, to address King Hrothgar: + Then hung by the hair, the head of Grendel + Was borne to the building, where beer-thanes were drinking, + Loth before earlmen and eke 'fore the lady: + The warriors beheld then a wonderful sight. + _J. L. Hall's Translation, Parts XXI.-XXIV._ + + + + + +THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +The Nibelungen Lied, or Song of the Nibelungen, was written about the +beginning of the thirteenth century, though the events it chronicles +belong to the sixth or seventh century. The manuscript poem was discovered +about the middle of the eighteenth century. + +Lachmann asserts that the Nibelungen Lied consists of twenty songs of +various dates and authorship; other scholars, while agreeing that it is +the work of a single author, ascribe it variously to Conrad von +Kurenburger, Wolfram von Eschenbach, Heinrich von Ofterdingen, and Walther +von der Vogelweide. + +Whoever was its author, he was only a compiler of legends that were the +property of the people for centuries, and are found in many other of the +popular German epics of the Middle Ages. + +The poem consists of thirty-nine adventures, containing two thousand four +hundred and fifty-nine stanzas of four lines each. The action covers +thirty years. It is based on material obtained from four sources: (1) The +Frankish saga-cycle, whose hero is Siegfried; (2) the saga-cycle of +Burgundy, whose heroes are Guenther, king of Worms, and his two brothers; +(3) the Ostrogothic saga-cycle, whose hero is Dietrich of Bern; and (4) +the saga-cycle of Etzel, king of the Huns, with his allies and vassals. + +Dietrich of Bern is supposed to be Theodoric of Italy, in exile at the +Hunnish court. Etzel is Attila the Hun, and Guenther, Gunducarius, king of +the Burgundians, who was destroyed by the Huns with his followers in the +year 436. + +The Nibelungen Lied very much resembles the Iliad, not only in the +uncertainty of its origin and the impersonality of its author, but also in +its objectivity, its realism, the primitive passions of its heroes, and +the wondrous acts of valor performed by them. It contains many passages of +wonderful beauty, and gives a striking picture of the social customs and +the religious belief of the time. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +Mary Elizabeth Burt's Story of the German Iliad, 1892; + +Thomas Carlyle's Nibelungen Lied (see his Miscellaneous Essays, 1869, vol. +iii., pp. 111-162); + +Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Nibelungen Lied (see their Tales of the +Teutonic Lands, 1872, pp. 79-132); + +G. T. Dippold's Nibelungenlied (see his Great Epics of Mediaeval Germany, +1882, pp. 1-117); + +William T. Dobson's Nibelungenlied Epitomized (see his Classic Poets, +1878); + +Auber Forestier's Echoes from Mistland, or the Nibelungen Lay Revealed, +Tr. by A. A. Woodward, 1877; + +Joseph Gostwick's and Robert Harrison's Nibelungenlied (see their Outlines +of German Literature, n. d., pp. 16-24); + +Hugh Reginald Haweis's Nibelungenlied (see his Musical Memories, 1887, pp. +225-250); + +Frederick Henry Hedge's Nibelungenlied (see his Hours with the German +Classics, 1887, pp. 25-55); + +James K. Hosmer's Nibelungen Lied (see his Short History of German +Literature, 1891, pp. 23-77); + +J. P. Jackson's Ring of the Nibelung, Cosmopolitan, 1888, vol. vi. pp. +415-433; + +Henry W. Longfellow's Nibelungenlied (see his Poets and Poetry of Europe, +new ed., enlarged, 1882, pp. 217-227); + +J. M. F. Ludlow's Lay and Lament of the Niblungs (see his Popular Epics of +the Middle Ages, 1865, pp. 105-183); + +E. Magnusson and William Morris's Voelsungs Saga, story of the Voelsungs and +Niblungs, 1870; + +William Morris's Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs, +1887; + +F. Max Mueller's Das Nibelungenlied (see his German Classics, new ed., +1893, vol. i., pp. 112-136); + +Ernst Raupach's Nibelungen Treasure, a tragedy from the German with +remarks, 1847; + +A. M. Richey's Teutonic and the Celtic Epic, Fraser's Magazine, 1874, vol. +lxxxix., pp. 336-354; + +Wilhelm Scherer's Nibelungenlied (see his History of German Literature, +1893, vol. i., pp. 101-115); + +Leda M. Schoonamaker's Nibelungen Lied, Harper's Magazine, 1877, vol. lv., +pp. 38-51; + +Bayard Taylor's Nibelungen Lied (see his Studies in German Literature, +1893, pp. 101-134); + +Wilhelm Wagner's Nibelungenlied (see his Epics and Romances of the Middle +Ages, 1883, pp. 229-306); + +Henry Weber's The Song of the Nibelungen (see Weber and Jamieson, +Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, 1874, pp. 167-213). + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE NIBELUNGEN. + + +The Nibelungen Lied, Tr. by Alfred G. Foster Barham, 1887; + +The Lay of the Nibelungers, Tr. into English text after Lachman's text by +Jonathan Birch, ed. 3, 1887; + +The Nibelungenlied, Tr. by Joseph Gostwick (see his Spirit of German +Poetry, 1843); + +The Fall of the Nibelungers, Tr. by William Nanson Lettsom, ed. 2, 1874. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + + +In the beautiful city of Worms, in Burgundy, dwelt the maiden Kriemhild, +surpassing all others in beauty. Her father, long since dead, was Dancrat; +her mother, Uta, and her three brothers,--Guenther, Gernot, and +Giselher,--puissant princes whose pride it was to guard their lovely +sister. Among the noble lords their liegemen were Hagan of Trony, +Dankwart, his brother, Ortwine of Metz, Eckewart, Gary, Folker, Rumolt the +steward, Sindolt the butler, and Humolt the chamberlain. + +The peace of the beautiful Kriemhild was one night disturbed by a dream, +in which she saw a young falcon that she had long reared with tender care +torn to pieces by two fierce eagles. When she confided this dream to her +mother, the wise Uta declared that it meant that she would one day wed a +fair prince threatened with a dreadful doom. + +"Then I will never wed!" cried Kriemhild. "Better to forego the bliss thou +tellest me attends only the wedded state than to taste the anguish +foretold by my dream." Alas! little could she guess of what the future +held in store for her. + +In the wide country of the Netherlands, in the city of Xanten, dwelt the +great prince Siegmund and his wife Sieglind. Their kingdom was wide, their +wealth great, but nothing gave them so much happiness as the renown of +their glorious son Siegfried. Such mighty deeds of valor had he performed +that his fame was already world-wide, though he was but a youth. To Xanten +the fame of the peerless princess Kriemhild had penetrated, and the young +prince declared to his parents his intention of seeking her out in +Burgundy, and wooing her for his wife. All entreaties were in vain; with +but twelve companions, each fitted out with the most gorgeous vestments, +by the care of the queen mother, the haughty prince advanced into +Burgundy. + +King Guenther, surprised at the sight of the splendidly attired strangers, +called one after another of his knights to inform him who they were. None +knew, until Hagan was at last called because he was familiar with the +warriors of every land. He did not know them. "But," said he, "though I +have never set eyes on him, I'll wager that is the noble Siegfried, the +mighty warrior who slew the Nibelungers. Once, so I have heard the story, +when he was riding alone, he saw the two kings Nibelung and Shilbung +dividing the treasure of the Niblungs. They had just brought it out from +the cavern where it was guarded by the dwarf Albric, and they called +Siegfried to come and divide it for them. The task was so great that he +did not finish it, and when the angry kings set upon him he slew them +both, their giant champions and chiefs, and then overcame the dwarf +Albric, and possessed himself of his wondrous cloud-cloak. So he is now +lord of the Nibelungers and owner of the mighty treasure. Not only this, +my king; he once slew a poison-spitting dragon and bathed in its blood, so +that his skin is invulnerable. Treat the young prince with respect. It +would be ill-advised to arouse his hatred." + +While the king and his counsellors were admiring his haughty bearing, +Siegfried and his followers advanced to the hall and were fittingly +welcomed. Siegfried haughtily declared that he had come to learn if +Guenther's renown for knighthood was correct, and wished to fight with him, +with their respective kingdoms as stakes. Guenther had no desire to fight +with such a doughty warrior, and he hastened to soothe Siegfried's wrath +with gentle words, inviting him to remain as his guest. + +So happy was Siegfried in the tourneys and games enjoyed by Guenther's +court, that he remained in Worms for a year, and in all that time never +set eyes on Kriemhild. How enraptured would he have been had he known that +the gentle maiden watched for him daily at her lattice, and came to long +for a glimpse of the handsome stranger! + +At the end of the year tidings were brought to Worms that the Saxons, led +by King Luedeger, and Luedegast, king of Denmark, were marching against +Burgundy. The Burgundians were terrified at the news; but Siegfried, +delighted at the thought of war, begged Guenther to give him but a thousand +Burgundians, in addition to the twelve comrades he had brought with him, +and he would pledge himself to defeat, unaided, the presumptuous enemy. +Many were the camps of the foe; full forty thousand were there mustered +out to fight, but Siegfried quickly scattered them, slew many thousands, +and took the two kings prisoners. + +How joyful the melancholy Kriemhild became when the messenger bore to her +the glad tidings! Ruddy gold and costly garments he gained for his good +news. + +On Siegfried's return he first met and loved Kriemhild. More blooming than +May, sweeter than summer's pride, she stood by the gallant warrior, who +dared not yet to woo her. The twelve days of revel in celebration of the +victory were one long dream of bliss to the happy lovers. + +While Siegfried was still lingering at Guenther's court, tidings were +brought thither of the beauty, prowess, and great strength of Brunhild, +Queen of Issland, and Guenther determined to go thither and woo her. +Siegfried implored him not to go. + +"Thou knowest not what thou must undertake," he said. "Thou must take part +in her contests, throw the javelin, throw the stone and jump after it, and +if thou fail in even one of these three games thou must lose thy life and +that of thy companions." + +When Siegfried found that he could not move Guenther, he promised to go +with him and assist him, on condition that on their return Guenther would +give him the beautiful Kriemhild for his wife. + +Attired in the most splendid raiment, prepared by the willing fingers of +Kriemhild and her maids, Guenther, with only three companions, Siegfried, +Hagan, and Dankwart, set forth to Issland. Siegfried requested his +companions to inform Brunhild that he was Guenther's man; and when she +welcomed him first, he himself told her to speak first to his master. +The little party was greatly impressed with the splendor of Brunhild's +three turreted palaces, and with the beauty and prodigious strength of the +queen. When they saw her huge golden shield, steel-studded, beneath whose +weight four chamberlains staggered, and the immense javelin of the +war-like maid, the warriors trembled for their lives, all save Siegfried, +who, wrapped in his cloud-cloak, invisible to all, stood behind the +bewildered Guenther. + +"Give me thy buckler," he whispered. "Now make but the motions, and I will +hurl both spear and stone. But keep this a secret if thou wouldst save +both our lives." + +To the surprise of every one Guenther won the games, and Brunhild, +surprised and mortified, ordered her followers to bow to her better, and +returned to the castle to make ready for the journey to Worms. + +Siegfried carried the tidings to Worms, and the bridal party was met and +welcomed at the banks of the Rhine by the Queen Uta, Kriemhild, and a +large following. During the wedding feast, Siegfried reminded Guenther of +his promise, and the king, calling Kriemhild to him, affianced the two in +the presence of the company. + +When the suspicious Brunhild saw Siegfried sitting at the table of the +king, she was angered, for she had been told that he was a vassal. +Although she could get no satisfaction from Guenther, she suspected some +secret. When she and Guenther retired for the night she conquered him, tied +him hand and foot with her magic girdle, and hung him on the wall until +morning. Guenther, overcome with wrath and vexation, told his humiliation +to Siegfried the next morning at the minster. "Be comforted," said +Siegfried. "Tonight I will steal into thy chamber wrapped in my +mist-cloak, and when the lights are extinguished I will wrestle with her +until I deprive her of the magic ring and girdle." + +After some hesitation, Guenther assented, and Brunhild, supposing she was +conquered by Guenther, yielded herself willingly to her husband and lost +all her former strength. Siegfried carried away her girdle and ring and +gave them to his wife, little suspecting what harm they would do him in +the years to come. + +The wedding festivities over, Siegfried took his bride home to the +Netherlands, where their arrival was celebrated with the greatest +festivities. Siegmund placed the crown on his son's head, and Siegfried +and Kriemhild ruled happily over the kingdom for ten years, during which +time a son was born to them, christened Guenther for his uncle. + +During these years Brunhild had been fretting that the supposed vassal, +Siegfried, had never come to pay homage to his king. At last, affecting a +great longing to see Kriemhild once more, she induced Guenther to invite +his sister and her husband to visit them. This he did gladly, and on their +arrival many days were spent in feasting, merrymaking, and the tourney. + +But one day, when the two queens were watching the tilting in the castle +court, Kriemhild, excited by the victories of her husband, declared that +Siegfried, because of his might, ought to be ruler of Burgundy. This +angered Brunhild, who reproached the wife of a vassal for such +presumption. + +"My husband a vassal!" exclaimed the indignant Kriemhild. "He, ruler of +the Netherlands, who holds a higher place than my brother Guenther! I +cannot endure thy insolence longer." + +"I will see," said Brunhild, "this very day whether thou receivest the +public respect and honor paid to me." + +"I am ready for the test," responded Kriemhild, "and I will show thee +to-day, before our following, that I dare to enter the church before +Guenther's queen." + +When the two queens met on the minster steps, and Brunhild declared that +no vassaless should enter before her, Kriemhild reproached her for being +the leman of Siegfried, and displayed in proof the ring and girdle he had +taken from Brunhild. Rage and fury rendered Brunhild speechless. The kings +were summoned, and both denied the truth of Kriemhild's words. But the two +queens were now bitter enemies, and the followers of Brunhild, among them +the gloomy Hagan of Trony, were deeply angered at Siegfried and his queen. +Hagan laid a plot to destroy Siegfried, and Guenther, though at first +unwilling, was at last induced to enter it. + +Pretended messengers came to announce to Guenther that the Saxons again +threatened war against him. Siegfried proposed to take part in the war, +and preparations were at once begun. Hagan, with pretended tenderness, +told Kriemhild of the coming danger, and asked her if her lord had a weak +place, that he might know and guard it for him. Kriemhild confided to him +her husband's secret. When Siegfried was bathing in the dragon's blood, a +leaf fell between his shoulders, and that spot was vulnerable. There she +would embroider a cross on his vesture that Hagan might protect him in the +shock of battle. + +The war was now abandoned and a great hunt undertaken. Gernot and +Giselher, though they did not see fit to warn Siegfried, refused to take +part in the plot and go to the hunt. Many a lion, elk, and boar fell by +Siegfried's hand that day before the hunters were called together to the +royal breakfast; when they at last sat down in the flowery meadow the wine +was wanting, and the warriors were compelled to quench their thirst at a +brooklet near by. + +"A race!" cried the hero; and he, Hagan, and Guenther ran for the brook, +Siegfried gaining it first. After the king had quenched his thirst, +Siegfried threw down his arms and stooped to drink. Then Hagan, picking up +his ashen spear, threw it at the embroidered cross, and Siegfried fell in +the agonies of death, reproaching his traitorous friends whom he had +served so faithfully. + +To add cruelty to cruelty, the vindictive Hagan placed the body of +Siegfried outside Kriemhild's chamber door, where she would stumble over +it as she went out to early mass next morning. Down she fell fainting when +she recognized her husband, and reviving, shrieked in her anguish, +"Brunhild planned it; Hagan struck the blow!" + +Her grief was terrible to see. One moment the unhappy queen was accusing +herself for revealing her husband's secret; again she was vowing revenge +against Hagan, and at another time she reviled the traitorous Guenther. + +When her father-in-law Siegmund returned home, she would not go with him, +but remained near the body of her husband, under the protection of her +brothers Gernot and Giselher and in the company of her mother. + +Kriemhild, living in joyless state in her lonely palace, was at last +induced to speak to Guenther and pardon him. The pardon granted, Guenther +and Hagan at once plotted to have the Nibelungen hoard, Siegfried's +morning-gift to Kriemhild, brought to Worms. Never before was such a +treasure seen. Twelve huge wagons, journeying thrice a day, required four +nights and days to carry it from the mountain to the bay. It consisted of +nothing but precious stones and gold, and with it was the magic +wishing-rod. It filled Kriemhild's towers and chambers to overflowing, and +won many friends for the queen, who distributed it liberally. + +When the envious Hagan could not induce Guenther to take the treasure from +Kriemhild, he selected a time when the king and his brothers were away +from home, and seizing the treasure, cast it into the Rhine, hoping to get +it again. In this he failed, so the great treasure was forever lost. + +Thus ends the first part of the Lay of the Nibelungen. The second part is +sometimes called the Need or Fall of the Nibelungen. + +While Kriemhild was bewailing her loss and revolving plans for revenge, +Etzel, King of the Huns, who had heard of the charms of Siegfried's widow, +sent the noble Margrave Ruedeger into Burgundy with proposals for her hand. + +Guenther and his brothers begged Kriemhild to accept the offer; their +counsellors advised it; only the sage Hagan protested. He knew too well +how Kriemhild longed for revenge. "When once she gets among the Huns, she +will make us rue the day," said he. + +But the others laughed at Hagan's scruples. The land of the Huns was far +away, and they need never set foot in it. Moreover, it was their duty to +make Kriemhild happy. + +Moved by the eloquence of Ruedeger, Kriemhild consented to wed Etzel, and +set out in great state to meet the king. + +She was splendidly entertained along the way, tarried a short time at the +home of the Margrave Ruedeger, and at Tulna met the great monarch Etzel, +riding to meet her, among his hosts of Russians, Polacks, Greeks, and +Wallachians. + +The splendid wedding-feast was held at Vienna. Kriemhild was received with +the greatest honor, and so lavish was she of the gold and jewels she had +brought with her, and so gracious to the attendant Huns, that every one +loved her, and willingly worked her will. + +For seven long years she and Attila lived happy together, and to them was +given a son whom they christened Ortlieb. Then Kriemhild, still +remembering her loss and the cruelties of her Burgundian relatives and +friends, bethought herself of her revenge. + +Feigning a great desire to see her brothers, she entreated Etzel to invite +them to visit her; and the king, not suspecting her fell purpose, and glad +of an opportunity to welcome her friends, at once despatched messengers +with the invitation. + +This time other counsellors besides Hagan mistrusted the queen, and +advised King Guenther and his brothers to decline the invitation. But the +princes grew angry at their advice; and Hagan, who could not endure to be +laughed at, set forth with them, accompanied with a great train of +warriors. + +The Rhine was too swollen to ford, and Hagan was sent up the stream to +find a ferryman. As he looked for the boatman, he spied some mermaids +bathing, and seizing their garments, would not restore them until they +told him what would befall the Burgundians in Hungary. + +"Safe will you ride to Etzel's court, and safe return," said one, as he +returned the garments. But as he turned to go, another called: "My aunt +has lied to thee that she might get back her raiment. Turn now, or you +will never live to see Burgundy. None save the chaplain will return in +safety." + +Hagan went on gloomily and found the ferryman, who, proud and sullen, +refused to take the party across. Hagan slew him, and, returning with the +boat, threw the unfortunate chaplain into the river, thinking by drowning +him to prove the mermaid's prophecy untrue. But the chaplain escaped to +the other side, and walked back to Burgundy. Then Hagan told the party of +the prophecy and they resolved to go on together, though they realized +that they were going to their doom. + +Because of the slaughter of the ferryman, they were attacked by Gelfrat, +the ruler of the land; but he was overcome and slain by Dankwart. + +The Margrave Ruedeger received the travellers hospitably, and betrothed his +fair daughter to Giselher. He then accompanied the Burgundians to Etzel's +court. + +The Burgundians suspected Kriemhild from the first. Giselher was the only +one of her brothers whom she kissed, and she and Hagan quarrelled over the +treasure at their first meeting. + +They were warned by Eckewart, who had accompanied Kriemhild from Burgundy, +and by Dietrich of Bern, an exile at the court of Etzel, who told them +that every morning since her stay in Hunland she had moaned and wailed for +Siegfried. By Hagan's advice they all kept on their armor, telling Etzel +that it was the custom in their country to wear it for the first three +days. + +Kriemhild's design was to destroy Hagan and spare her brothers. But Hagan, +on his guard, drove her warriors away from his room at night, and saved +himself at church from the jostling Hunnish lords, never, in the mean +time, sparing his insults to Kriemhild. + +The Huns, who were devoted to their queen, were not slow in showing their +anger at Hagan's treatment of her, and the ill feeling between the +warriors increased as the days passed by. + +As the Burgundians sat at the banquet with Etzel and his wife, in burst +Dankwart, exclaiming that he had been attacked by Bloedel, who had slain +all his followers. + +"Be stirring, brother Hagan!" he cried. "Help me to avenge my wrongs!" + +At this moment the little prince Ortlieb had been brought into the hall +and passed around among the guests. + +"Let us drink to friendship with moody Kriemhild in king's wine!" cried +Hagan, and with one blow of the sword sent the child's head in his +mother's lap. Then arose a fearful clamor. Spear rang against shield, and +the cries of the fierce Huns mingled with the defiant shouts of the +Burgundians. + +Dietrich of Bern, leaping upon a bench, asked King Guenther, that, as a +friend to both parties, he might be permitted to withdraw from the hall +with his friends. When the Burgundians assented, he led forth the king and +queen. The same privilege was accorded to Ruedeger. + +Then, while the terrible Folker guarded the door with his fiddle bow, one +side of which was a trenchant sword, the battle began. The Burgundians +taunted the Huns with their weakness and cowardice until they ventured +into the hall and were cut down by Hagan and his desperate men. When +evening fell the thousand and four who had entered the hall all lay dead +by the hands of the Burgundians. + +When Kriemhild's offer to give her brothers their lives if they would +surrender Hagan was refused, she ordered fire to be set to the four +corners of the hall, thinking thus to drive them forth. But the burning +rafters fell into the rivers of blood and were quenched, and the +Burgundians derived new courage and strength from huge draughts of blood +from their fallen foes. + +Then Kriemhild and Etzel, seeing how their Hunnish men had fallen, and +perceiving that the Burgundians were in no wise injured by the fire, +reproached the Margrave Ruedeger that he did not enter the fight. In vain +he told them of his friendship with the princes; of the betrothal of his +daughter and Giselher. Kriemhild persisted in reminding him of the promise +he had made to serve her to her dying day. At last he reluctantly summoned +his men, and bidding farewell to his cruel king and queen, he entered the +hall. Gladly was he welcomed by the Burgundians, who could not believe +that he came to do battle with them. He explained how he was forced to +fight them, and amid the tears of both sides, he exchanged shields with +Hagan, whose buckler was broken. Then was the grim Hagan moved to tears, +and he vowed not to touch Ruedeger in the fight. Fearful was the clatter of +shield and blade as Ruedeger fought with Gernot, and fell at last by the +blade he had himself given the prince. + +Great was the wailing of the Huns when they saw the lifeless body of +Ruedeger, and deeply did Etzel regret the loss of the valiant and true +margrave. + +Dietrich of Bern, who sat afar off, sent some of his best warriors under +his man Hildebrand, to inquire of the truth of the report of Ruedeger's +death. These fiery men disobeyed the orders of their master, and fought +with the Burgundians until none remained save Guenther and Hagan on one +side, and Hildebrand on the other. + +When Dietrich heard of the slaughter of his followers, he was overcome +with sorrow, and himself sought the hall. He promised Guenther and Hagan +that if they would surrender, he would himself lead them back in safety to +Burgundy; but to this they would not consent. By this time they were so +worn out, however, from the long battle, that Dietrich easily overpowered +them and led them captive before Kriemhild, who promised to show them fair +treatment. + +But Kriemhild's mind had become so warped by her desire for revenge, that +she could not think of mercy. She cast her prisoners into separate +dungeons, and visiting Hagan first, demanded her treasure. "But give it to +me again, and thou shalt return living into Burgundy." + +"Pray not to me, haughty queen," replied Hagan. "I swore that while my +lords were living I would ne'er tell where it lies. Thy prayer is thrown +away." + +Straightway the savage Kriemhild ordered the head of Guenther to be struck +off, and bearing it by the hair, she displayed it to Hagan, asking him now +to tell her the secret. + +"Now that all my lords are dead," said he, "no one shall know, thou least +of all, she-fiend!" + +Kriemhild, beside herself with grief and rage, snatched from him the sword +Balmung that he had taken from Siegfried, and ever since carried, and +raising it high with both hands, struck off the head of her hated enemy. + +At this the grief of Etzel broke forth, and the aged Hildebrand, enraged +to see a woman do such deeds, sprang upon Kriemhild and smote her to death +with his sword. + +Bitterly wept King Etzel and Dietrich as they gazed on the corpses +scattered round, and the disfigured body of the fair queen. Nothing +remained for the Hunnish people but grief and woe. + +Here on earth pain ever follows in the steps of pleasure. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE NIBELUNGEN LIED. + +HOW BRUNHILD WAS RECEIVED AT WORMS. + + +Brunhild, queen of Issland, was won by Guenther of Worms with the aid of +Siegfried, whom Guenther sent forward to Worms to announce the coming of +the royal pair. Queen Uta and Princess Kriemhild, with many followers from +the Burgundian court, went forward to the Rhine to meet and welcome the +royal bridal party. + + Beyond the Rhine King Guenther, with many a well-arm'd rank + And all his guests about him, rode towards the river's bank; + You might see by the bridle led forward many a maid. + Those, who were to receive them, were ready all array'd. + + Soon as the men of Issland came to the shallops down, + And eke the Nibelungers, lieges of Siegfried's crown, + To th' other shore they hasten'd (busy was every hand) + Where them the friends of Guenther awaited on the strand. + + Now hear, by wealthy Uta what a device was wrought. + Down with her from the castle a virgin train she brought, + That rode where she was riding in that procession bright; + So many a maid acquainted became with many a knight. + + Kriemhild by the bridle the Margrave Gary led, + But only from the castle; then forward Siegfried sped, + And did that gentle service; fair was the blushing maid; + Full well for that thereafter the warrior she repaid. + + Ortwine, the fearless champion, rode by Dame Uta's rein; + Knights and maids together follow'd, a social train. + At such a stately meeting, all must confess, I ween, + So many lovely ladies were ne'er together seen. + + Full many a famous champion careering you might spy + (Ill there was sloth and idlesse) beneath fair Kriemhild's eye + E'en to the place of landing; by knights of fair renown + There many a high-born lady from steed was lifted down. + + The king was now come over, and many a worthy guest. + Ah, before the ladies what spears were laid in rest! + How many went in shivers at every hurtling close! + Buckler clashed with buckler; ah, what a din arose! + + Now might you see the ladies fast by the haven stand. + With his guests King Guenther debark'd upon the strand, + In his hand soft leading the martial maiden fair. + Then each on each flash'd radiance, rich robes and jewels rare. + + With that the smiling Kriemhild forth stepp'd a little space, + And Brunhild and her meiny greeted with gentle grace, + Each with snowy fingers back her headband drew, + And either kiss'd the other lovingly and true. + + Then spoke in courteous manner Kriemhild the fair and free, + "In this our land, dear Brunhild, ever welcome be + To me and to my mother and all by us allow'd + For faithful friends and liegemen." Then each to th' other bow'd. + + Next to greet Dame Brunhild approach'd Dame Uta too; + Oft she and oft her daughter their arms about her threw, + And on her sweet mouth lavish'd many a loving kiss. + Never was known a welcome so kind and frank as this. + + Soon as Brunhild's women were all come to the strand, + Many a courtly warrior took by her lily hand + A lady fair, and gently her mincing steps upstay'd, + Now before Dame Brunhild stood many a noble maid. + + 'T was long before the greeting had gone through all the list. + On either part in plenty rosy mouths were kiss'd. + Still the two fair princesses were standing side by side, + A pair with love and rapture by longing warriors ey'd. + + What erst had been but rumour, was now made clear to sight, + That nought had yet been witness'd so beautiful and bright + As those two lovely damsels; 't was plain to every eye; + None the slightest blemish in either form could spy. + + Whoever look'd on women with but the sight for guide, + Such for her faultless beauty praised Guenther's, stately bride; + But those whose thoughts went deeper, and div'd into the mind, + Maintain'd that gentle Kriemhild left Brunhild far behind. + + Now met the dames and damsels in friendly converse free; + Fair robes and fairer beauties were there in store to see; + Many a silk pavilion and many a gorgeous tent + The plain before the city fill'd in its whole extent. + + King Guenther's kinsmen ceas'd not to press to that fair show. + And now was begg'd each princess from the sun to go + Close by, with their attendants, where shade was overhead. + By bold Burgundian warriors thither were they led. + + Then clomb to horse the heroes, and scour'd the sounding field; + Many a joust was practis'd with order'd spear and shield; + Right well were prov'd the champions, and o'er the trampled plain, + As though the land were burning, the dust curl'd up amain. + + So all before the ladies display'd their skill and force, + Nor doubt I that Sir Siegfried rode many a knightly course + Before the rich pavilions, and ever as he sped, + His thousand Nibelungers, a stately squadron, led. + + Then came the knight of Trony by the good king's command; + In friendly wise he parted the jousters on the strand, + For fear the dust, now thick'ning, the ladies might molest. + Him with ready reverence obey'd each gentle guest. + + Then spake the noble Gernot, "Let each now rest his steed + Till the air be cooler, 't will then be ours to lead + These lovely ladies homeward e'en to the palace wide. + So keep yourselves all ready till it please the king to ride." + + Thus ended was the tourney, and now the warriors went + To join the dames and damsels beneath each lofty tent, + And there in gentle converse their grace and favor sought; + So flew the hours in pastime till of riding home they thought. + + Now as drew on the twilight, when cooler grew the air + And the sun was setting, they would not linger there, + But up rose lords and ladies to seek the castle high; + Many a fair dame was cherish'd by many a love-lit eye. + + So on the fair they waited as from good knights is due. + Then hardy squires, hot spurring before the nobles' view, + After the country's custom rode for the prize of weed + As far as to the palace, where sprung the king from steed. + + There too the proud queens parted, each taking thence her way. + Dame Uta and her daughter with their handmaids gay + Into a spacious chamber both together went. + There might you see on all sides the sound of merriment. + + In hall the seats were order'd; the king would instant hie + With all his guests to table; beside him you might spy + His lovely bride, Queen Brunhild; her royal crown she wore + There in King Guenther's country; so rich was none before. + + Seats were there plac'd unnumber'd with tables broad and good, + As is to us reported, full heap'd with costly food. + How little there was wanted that passes for the best! + There with the king was seated full many a noble guest. + + The chamberlains of Guenther in ewers of ruddy gold + Brought to the guests the water; should you be ever told + That at a prince's table service was better done, + 'T were labor lost to say so, 't would be believ'd by none. + + Then, ere the lord of Rhineland touch'd the water bright, + Up to him, as befitted, went Siegfried the good knight, + And brought to his remembrance the promise made him there, + Ere yet afar in Issland he look'd on Brunhild fair. + + Said he, "You must remember what swore to me your hand, + That soon as Lady Brunhild were come into this land, + To me you 'd give your sister, your oaths now where are they? + On me throughout your journey much toil and travail lay." + + "Well did you to remind me," the noble king replied, + "By what my hand has promis'd, I ever will abide, + And in this thing to serve you will do my best, my all." + Then sent he to beg Kriemhild to come into the hall. + + Straight to the hall came Kriemhild begirt with many a maid, + When from the lofty staircase young Giselher thus said, + "Send back your maidens, Kriemhild, this bus'ness is your own; + On this the king, our brother, would speak with you alone." + + Then forward led was Kriemhild, as Guenther gave command, + Where stood the king, and round him from many a prince's land + Were noble knights unnumber'd; at once all silence kept; + At that same instant Brunhild had just to table stepp'd. + + Thence came it she knew nothing of what was to be done. + Then to his gather'd kinsmen spoke Dancrat's royal son, + "Help me to move my sister Siegfried for lord to take." + "Such match," they all made answer, "with honour she may make." + + Then spoke the king to Kriemhild, "Sister, I ask of thee + From an oath to set me by thy kindness free. + Thee to a knight I promis'd; if thou become his bride, + Thou 'lt do the will of Guenther, and show thy love beside." + + Then spake the noble maiden, "Dearest brother mine, + It needed not to ask me; whate'er command be thine, + I'll willingly perform it; so now, for thy sake, + Whom thou for husband giv'st me, fain I, my lord, will take." + + With love and eke with pleasure redden'd Siegfried's hue; + At once to Lady Kriemhild he pledg'd his service true. + They bade them stand together in the courtly circle bright, + And ask'd her if for husband she took that lofty knight. + + In modest maiden fashion she blush'd a little space, + But such was Siegfried's fortune and his earnest grace. + That not altogether could she deny her hand. + Then her for wife acknowledg'd the noble king of Netherland. + + He thus to her affianc'd, and to him the maid, + Straight round the long-sought damsel in blushing grace array'd + His arms with soft emotion th' enamour'd warrior threw, + And kiss'd the high-born princess before that glitt'ring crew. + _Lettsom's Translation, Tenth Adventure._ + + + + +HOW MARGRAVE RUeDEGER WAS SLAIN. + + +The Margrave Ruedeger did not take part in the battle fought in Etzel's +hall between the Burgundians visiting the Hunnish court and the Huns, +because of his friendship for the Burgundians, and the betrothal of his +daughter to Prince Giselher. Because of this, he was taunted by a Hun, who +said to the queen that although Ruedeger had accepted many favors from +Etzel he did not fight for him. When the Hun fell dead under Ruedeger's +blow, Etzel reproached him for slaying one of his followers when he had +need of so many. + + Then came the fair Queen Kriemhild; she too had seen full well + What from the hero's anger the luckless Hun befell; + And she too mourn'd it deeply; with tears her eyes were wet. + Thus spake she to Ruedeger, "How have we ever yet + + "Deserv'd that you, good Ruedeger, should make our anguish more? + Now sure to me and Etzel you've promised o'er and o'er, + That you both life and honour would risk to do us right. + That you 're the flower of knighthood is own'd by every knight. + + "Now think upon the homage that once to me you swore, + When to the Rhine, good warrior, King Etzel's suit you bore, + That you would serve me ever to either's dying day. + Ne'er can I need so deeply, that you that vow should pay." + + "'T is true, right noble lady; in this we 're not at strife; + I pledg'd, to do you service, my honour and my life, + But my soul to hazard never did I vow. + I brought the princes hither, and must not harm them now." + + * * * * * + + With that, to beg and pray him the king began as well; + King and queen together both at his feet they fell. + Then might you the good margrave have seen full ill bestead, + And thus in bitterest anguish the faithful hero said:-- + + "Woe's me the heaven-abandon'd, that I have liv'd to this! + Farewell to all my honours! woe for my first amiss! + My truth--my God-giv'n innocence--must they be both forgot? + Woe's me, O God in heaven! that death relieves me not!" + + Then thus bespake him Kriemhild, "Right noble Ruedeger, + Take pity on our anguish; thou see'st us kneeling here, + The king and me before thee; both clasp thy honour'd knees. + Sure never host yet feasted such fatal guests as these." + + With that the noble margrave thus to the queen 'gan say, + "Sure must the life of Ruedeger for all the kindness pay, + That you to me, my lady, and my lord the king have done. + For this I'm doomed to perish, and that ere set of sun. + + "Full well I know, this morning my castles and my land + Both will to you fall vacant by stroke of foeman's hand, + And so my wife and daughter I to your grace commend, + And all at Bechelaren, each trusty homeless friend." + + * * * * * + + So to war the margrave under helmet strode; + Sharpest swords his meiny brandished as they rode; + Each in hand, bright-flashing, held his shield before. + That saw the dauntless minstrel, and seeing sorrow'd sore. + + Then too was by young Giselher his lady's father seen + With helm laced as for battle. "What," thought he, "can he mean? + But nought can mean the margrave but what is just and right." + At the thought full joyous wax'd the youthful knight. + + "I know not what you trust in;" thus the stern minstrel spake; + "Where saw you warriors ever for reconcilement's sake + With helmets laced advancing, and naked swords in hand? + On us will earn Sir Ruedeger his castles and his land." + + Scarcely the valiant minstrel his words had utter'd all, + When the noble Ruedeger was close before the hall. + His shield, well proved in battle, before his feet he laid, + But neither proffered service, nor friendly greeting made. + + To those within he shouted, "Look not for succor hence; + Ye valiant Nibelungers, now stand on your defence. + I'd fain have been your comrade; your foe I now must be. + We once were friends together; now from that bond I'm free." + + "Now God forbid," said Guenther, "that such a knight as you + To the faith wherein we trusted, should ever prove untrue, + And turn upon his comrades in such an hour as this. + Ne'er can I think that Ruedeger can do so much amiss." + + "I can't go back," said Ruedeger, "the deadly die is cast; + I must with you do battle; to that my word is pass'd. + So each of you defend him as he loves his life. + I must perform my promise; so wills King Etzel's wife." + + * * * * * * * + + "Tarry yet a little, right noble Ruedeger! + I and my lords a moment would yet with you confer; + Thereto hard need compels us, and danger gathering nigh; + What boot were it to Etzel though here forlorn we die? + + "I'm now," pursued Sir Hagan, "beset with grievous care; + The shield that Lady Gotelind gave me late to bear, + Is hewn, and all-to broken by many a Hunnish brand. + I brought it fair and friendly hither to Etzel's land. + + "Ah! that to me this favour heaven would be pleas'd to yield, + That I might to defend me bear so well-prov'd a shield + As that, right noble Ruedeger, before thee now display'd! + No more should I in battle need then the hauberk's aid." + + "Fain with the same I'd serve thee to th' height of thy desire, + But that I fear such proffer might waken Kriemhild's ire. + Still, take it to thee, Hagan, and wield it well in hand. + Ah! might'st thou bring it with thee to thy Burgundian land!" + + While thus with words so courteous so fair a gift he sped, + The eyes of many a champion with scalding tears were red, + 'T was the last gift, that buckler, e'er given to comrade dear + By the lord of Bechelaren, the blameless Ruedeger. + + However stern was Hagan, and of unyielding mood, + Still at the gift he melted, which one so great and good + Gave in his last few moments, e'en on the eve of fight, + And with the stubborn warrior mourn'd many a noble knight. + + "Now God in heaven, good Ruedeger, thy recompenser be! + Your like on earth, I'm certain, we never more shall see, + Who gifts so good and gorgeous to homeless wanderers give. + May God protect your virtue, that it may ever live! + + "Alas! this bloody bus'ness!" Sir Hagan then went on, + "We have had to bear much sorrow, and more shall have anon. + Must friend with friend do battle, nor heaven the conflict part?" + The noble margrave answer'd, "That wounds my inmost heart." + + "Now for thy gift I'll quit thee, right noble Ruedeger! + What e'er may chance between thee and my bold comrades here, + My hand shall touch thee never amidst the heady fight, + Not e'en if thou shouldst slaughter every Burgundian knight." + + For that to him bow'd courteous the blameless Ruedeger. + Then all around were weeping for grief and doleful drear, + Since none th' approaching mischief had hope to turn aside. + The father of all virtue in that good margrave died. + + * * * * * * * + + What a fearful clatter of clashing blades there rang! + From shields beneath the buffets how the plates they sprang, + And precious stones unnumber'd rain'd down into the gore! + They fought so fell and furious as man will never more. + + The lord of Bechelaren went slashing here and there, + As one who well in battle knew how himself to bear. + Well prov'd the noble Ruedeger in that day's bloody fight, + That never handled weapon a more redoubted knight. + + * * * * * * * + + Loud o'er the din of battle stout Gernot shouted then, + "How now, right noble Ruedeger? not one of all my men + Thou 'lt leave me here unwounded; in sooth it grieves me sore + To see my friends thus slaughter'd; bear it can I no more. + + "Now must thy gift too surely the giver harm to-day, + Since of my friends so many thy strength has swept away. + So turn about and face me, thou bold and high-born man! + Thy goodly gift to merit, I'll do the best I can." + + Ere through the press the margrave could come Sir Gernot nigh, + Full many a glittering mail-coat was stain'd a bloody die. + Then those fame-greedy champions each fierce on th' other leapt, + And deadly wounds at distance with wary ward they kept. + + So sharp were both their broadswords, resistless was their dint, + Sudden the good Sir Ruedeger through th' helmet hard as flint + So struck the noble Gernot, that forth the blood it broke; + With death the stern Burgundian repaid the deadly stroke. + + He heaved the gift of Ruedeger with both his hands on high, + And to the death though wounded, a stroke at him let fly + Right through both shield and morion; deep was the gash and wide. + At once the lord of Gotelind beneath the swordcut died. + + In sooth a gift so goodly was worse requited ne'er. + Down dead dropp'd both together, Gernot and Ruedeger. + Each slain by th' other's manhood, then prov'd, alas! too well. + Thereat first Sir Hagan furious wax'd and fell. + + Then cried the knight of Trony, "Sure we with ills are cross'd; + Their country and their people in both these chiefs have lost + More than they'll e'er recover;--woe worth this fatal day! + We have here the margrave's meiny, and they for all shall pay!" + + All struck at one another, none would a foeman spare. + Full many a one, unwounded, down was smitten there, + Who else might have 'scap'd harmless, but now, though whole and sound, + In the thick press was trampled, or in the blood was drown'd. + + "Alas! my luckless brother who here in death lies low! + How every hour I'm living brings some fresh tale of woe! + And ever must I sorrow for the good margrave too. + On both sides dire destruction and mortal ills we rue." + + Soon as the youthful Giselher beheld his brother dead, + Who yet within were lingering by sudden doom were sped. + Death, his pale meiny choosing, dealt each his dreary dole. + Of those of Bechelaren 'scaped not one living soul. + + King Guenther and young Giselher, and fearless Hagan too, + Dankwart as well as Folker, the noble knights and true, + Went where they found together out-stretched the valiant twain. + There wept th' assembled warriors in anguish o'er the slain. + + "Death fearfully despoils us," said youthful Giselher, + "But now give over wailing, and haste to th' open air + To cool our heated hauberks, faint as we are with strife. + God, methinks, no longer, will here vouchsafe us life." + + This sitting, that reclining, was seen full many a knight; + They took repose in quiet; around (a fearful sight!) + Lay Ruedeger's dead comrades; all was hush'd and still; + From that long dreary silence King Etzel augur'd ill. + + "Alas for this half friendship!" thus Kriemhild frowning spake, + "If it were true and steadfast, Sir Ruedeger would take + Vengeance wide and sweeping on yonder murderous band; + Now back he'll bring them safely to their Burgundian land. + + "What boot our gifts, King Etzel? was it, my lord, for this + We gave him all he asked us? The chief has done amiss. + He, who should have reveng'd us, will now a treaty make." + Thereto in answer Folker, the gallant minstrel, spake, + + "Not so the truth is, lady! the more the pity too! + If one the lie might venture to give a dame like you, + Most foully against the margrave you've lied, right noble queen! + Sore trick'd in that same treaty he and his men have been. + + "With such good will the margrave his king's commands obey'd, + That he and all his meiny dead on this floor are laid. + Now look about you, Kriemhild! for servants seek anew; + Well were you served by Ruedeger; he to the death was true. + + "The fact if still you're doubting, before your eyes we'll bring." + 'T was done e'en of set purpose her heart the more to wring. + They brought the mangled margrave, where Etzel saw him well. + Th' assembled knights of Hungary such utter anguish ne'er befell. + + When thus held high before them they saw the margrave dead, + Sure by the choicest writer could ne'er be penn'd nor said + The woeful burst of wailing from woman and eke from man, + That from the heart's deep sorrow to strike all ears began. + + Above his weeping people King Etzel sorrow'd sore; + His deep-voic'd wail resounded loud as the lion's roar + In the night-shaded desert; the like did Kriemhild too; + They mourn'd in heart for Ruedeger, the valiant and the true. + + _Lettsom's Translation, Thirty-seventh Adventure._ + + + + + +THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +The Song of Roland is one of the many mediaeval romances that celebrate +the deeds of Charlemagne. + +The oldest text now in existence was written about 1096, but the poem was +current in other forms long before this. + +The author was a Norman, for the poem is written in the Norman dialect; +but it is uncertain whether the Turoldus or Theroulde named in the last +line of the poem, "Thus endeth here the geste Turoldus sang," was the +author, a copyist, or a _jongleur_. + +It is said that Taillefer, the minstrel of Normandy, sang the Song of +Roland at the battle of Hastings. "Taillefer, who right well sang, mounted +on his rapid steed, went before them singing of Charlemagne, and of +Roland, and Olivier, and of the vassals who died in Roncesvalles." + +The only text of the poem now in existence is one of the thirteenth +century, preserved in the Bodleian library at Oxford. + +On the fifteenth of August, 778, in the valley of Roncesvalles, in the +Pyrenees, Charlemagne's rear guard, left under the command of Roland, +Prefect of the Marches of Brittany, was attacked and slaughtered by a +large army of Gascons. + +This incident forms the historical basis of the poem; but the imagination +of the poet has made of Charlemagne, then a young man, the old emperor, +with "beard all blossom white," and transformed his Gascon foes to +Saracens. + +The Song of Roland is written in the heroic pentameter; it is divided into +"laisses," or stanzas, of irregular length, and contains about three +thousand seven hundred and eight lines. It is written in the assonant, or +vowel rhyme, that was universal among European nations in the early stage +of their civilization. + +Each stanza ends with the word "aoi," for which no satisfactory +translation has yet been offered, although "away" and "it is done" have +been suggested. + +The author of the Song of Roland undertook, like Homer, to sing of one +great event about which all the interest of the poem centres; but unlike +Homer, his poem is out of all proportion, the long-drawn out revenge being +in the nature of an anti-climax. The Song of Roland is a fair exponent of +the people among whom it originated. It contains no ornament; it is a +straightforward relation of facts; it lacks passion, and while it +describes fearful slaughter, it never appeals to the emotions. Though the +French army shed many tears, and fell swooning to the ground at the sight +of the fearful slaughter at Roncesvalles, we are rather moved to smile at +the violence of their emotion than to weep over the dead, so little power +has the poet to touch the springs of feeling. However, there are passages +in which the poem rises to sublimity, and which have been pronounced +Homeric by its admirers. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +J. Banquier's Bibliographie de la Chanson de Roland, 1877; + +T. Bulfinch's Legends of Charlemagne, 1863; + +Sir G. W. Cox and E. H. Jones's Popular Romances of the Middle Ages, 1871, +pp. 320-347; + +Leon Gautier's Les epopees francaises, vol. i., 1878; + +J. Malcolm Ludlow's Story of Roland (see his Popular Epics of the Middle +Ages, 1865, vol. i., pp. 362-427); + +Gaston Paris's La poesie epique (see his Histoire poetique de Charlemagne, +1865, pp. 1-33); + +Gaston Paris's Les Chansons de Gestes francaises (see his Histoire +poetique de Charlemagne, 1865, pp. 69-72); + +George Saintsbury's The Chansons de Gestes (see his Short History of +French Literature, 1892, pp. 10-25); + +Henri Van Laun's The Carlovingian Cycle (see his History of French +Literature, 1876, vol. i., pp. 141-148); + +Ancient Literature of France, Quarterly Review, 1866, cxx. 283-323; + +The Chanson de Roland, Westminster Review, 1873, c. 32-44; + +M. Hayden's The Chansons de Geste, Dublin Review, 1894, cxiv. 346-357; + +Charles Francis Keary's The Chansons de Geste: +the Song of Roland, Fraser's Magazine, 1881, civ. 777-789; + +J. M. L.'s The Song of Roland, Macmillan's Magazine, 1862, vi. 486-501; + +Agnes Lambert's The oldest epic of Christendom, Nineteenth Century, 1882, +xi. 77-101; + +Andrew Lang's The Song of Roland and the Iliad, National Review, 1892, xx. +195-205; + +Legend of Roland, Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. xx.; + +Gustave Masson's The Chanson de Roland, Leisure Hour, 1877, xxvi. 618-620; + +The Song of Roland, Catholic World, 1873 and 1874, xviii. 378-388, +488-500; + +The Song of Roland, Harper's Monthly, 1882, lxiv. 505-515; + +The Month, 1880, xl. 515-527; Temple Bar, 1886, lxxviii. 534-540. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +The Song of Roland, as chanted before the Battle of Hastings by the +Minstrel Taillefer, Tr. from the French translation of Vitet by Mrs. Anne +Caldwell Marsh, 1854; + +The Song of Roland, Tr. into English verse by John O'Hagan, ed. 2, 1883; + +La Chanson de Roland, Tr. from the seventh ed. of Leon Gautier, by Leonce +Rabillon, 1885. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE SONG OF ROLAND. + + +For full seven years had Charlemagne tarried in Spain, and all the land +lay conquered save the city of Saragossa. There, in an orchard, upon a +terrace paved with blue marble, sat its king, Marsile, taking counsel with +his lords. + +"No army have I," said the king; "no people to array against the hosts of +the great emperor. Advise me, my lords, what I shall do to save ourselves +from disgrace and shame." + +The wily Blancandrin, wisest and greatest among the pagans, advanced +before him. "Where might cannot prevail, often craft gains the day. My +lord, send gifts to mighty Carle. Drive forth a long train of camels; heap +many mules with gold; send chariots filled with precious gifts. Advise him +that on the day of Saint Michael's feast you will seek him at Aix, and +there become a Christian, and his vassal. Yea, even send hostages; my own +son shall go, even though he lose his head. Then will Carle depart for +France. The day set by you will come, but he will hear naught from us. The +hostages' heads will fall. What of it? Better this than for us to lose +forever Spain the fair." + +The king, pleased with the craft of Blancandrin, dismissed his council, +and ordered ten of his fiercest barons to seek Charlemagne at Cordova, +bearing the olive-branch, and make the offer suggested by Blancandrin. + +Cordova, filled with rich spoils, had been taken, and its surviving +inhabitants given the choice of the sword or Christian baptism. Therefore +the happy emperor sat at his ease in a wide-spreading orchard. Around him +stood Roland, Olivier, Samsun the duke, Anseis, Gefrei d'Anjou, and +Gerier. At least fifteen thousand French knights were diverting themselves +with different games in the beautiful orchard, where, under a pine-tree, +the great King of France sat upon a golden chair. His white hair and +flowing white beard added majesty to his already majestic figure, so that +the olive-bearing messengers needed not to have great Carle pointed out to +them. + +The emperor heard the message of Marsile in silence, and dismissing the +pagans for the night to a pavilion, called together in council his wisest +barons, Duke Ogier, Archbishop Turpin, Gerier, Roland, Olivier, a thousand +Franks, among them Ganelon, the step-father of Roland, and laid before +them the message of Marsile. + +"Rich gifts he offers me, but he demands that I return to France; thither +will he follow me, and at Aix will become a Christian and a vassal. A fair +promise, but what is in his heart I cannot tell." + +After a moment's silence Roland stood forth. + +"Sire, have no faith in the words of Marsile. When have we found aught but +treachery in the Saracen? For seven years I have been winning victories +for you here in Spain. Once before you yielded to such a message as this, +from this same Marsile, and lost, in consequence, the heads of your Counts +Bazan and Bazile. War on as you have begun. Besiege his city! subdue +Saragossa!" + +Then strode forth the angry Ganelon. "My king, this young hot-head is a +fool; hearken not unto him. Accept the offer of Marsile, and lose no more +lives by the foolhardiness of one who cares more for his own glory than +for human life." + +The voice of the others, among them Duke Naimes, Charlemagne's wisest +counsellor and truest vassal, was with Ganelon. The emperor stroked his +white beard. "My lords, whom shall we send to meet Marsile at Saragossa?" + +"I will go," said Duke Naimes. + +"Nay, I cannot spare you from my councils," replied the king. + +"I am here!" cried Roland. + +"Not you! You are too hot-headed to venture into the court of the enemy!" +cried his friend Olivier. "Let me go instead, sire!" + +"Nay!" cried the king. "Silence! Not one of the twelve peers sets his foot +in the kingdom of the Moors." + +"Then let my step-father go," suggested Roland. "No wiser man than he can +be found." + +"Come forward," said the king, as the Franks murmured assent, "and receive +the staff and glove. The Franks have chosen you." + +Ganelon rose, wrathful, casting off his fur robe. His eyes were gray, his +face fierce, his form noble. + +"This is Roland's work. I shall hate him forever, and Olivier, and the +twelve peers, because they love him. Ne'er shall I return; full well I +know it. If e'er I do, it will be to wreak vengeance on my enemy." + +"Go!" said the king. "You have said enough!" + +As Ganelon went forward, full of rage, to receive the king's glove, it +fell ere he touched it. "A bad omen!" exclaimed the French. + +"Sirs, ye shall hear of this!" said Ganelon. + +On his way to Saragossa with the legates of Marsile, Ganelon laid the +impious plot that was to result in the destruction of Roland and the +peers. It saved his life at Saragossa, where Marsile threatened to kill +him on reading Charlemagne's message. He explained carefully to the +Saracens how the rear guard, left at Roncesvalles under the command of +Roland and the twelve peers, could be destroyed by the pagan forces before +the knowledge of the battle could reach Charlemagne, and that, with these +props of his kingdom gone, the king's power would be so diminished that +Marsile could easily hold out against him. Then the traitor hastened back +to Cordova, laden with rich gifts. + +When Ganelon rode back, the emperor was preparing to return to sweet +France. "Barons," said Carle, "whom shall I leave in charge of these deep +defiles and narrow passes?" + +"My step-son Roland is well able to take the command," said Ganelon; "he +your nephew, whom you prize most of all your knights." + +Rage filled the hearts of both Roland and Carle; but the word was spoken, +and Roland must remain. With him remained the twelve peers, his friends, +Olivier, his devoted comrade, the gallant Archbishop Turpin, and twenty +thousand valiant knights. + +While Charlemagne's army toiled over the terrible gorges and high +mountains into Gascony, the emperor, ever grieving over the untimely death +his nephew might meet in the defiles of Spain, down came the pagans, who +had been gathering on the high mountains and in the murky valleys,--emirs, +sons of noble counts were they, brave as the followers of Charlemagne. + +When Olivier descried the pagan horde he at once exclaimed,-- + +"This is the work of Ganelon!" + +"Hush!" replied Roland. "He is my step-father. Say no more." + +Then Olivier, when from the hill he saw the one hundred thousand Saracens, +their helmets bedecked with gold, their shields shining in the sun, +besought his friend to sound his horn, the olifant, and summon the king to +their aid. + +"Never will I so disgrace myself!" exclaimed Roland. "Never shall sweet +France be so dishonored. One hundred thousand blows shall I give with my +sword, my Durendal, and the Moors will fall and die!" + +When Olivier found his pleading vain, he mounted his steed and rode with +Roland to the front of the lines. + +Long was the fight and terrible. If gallantry and strength sat with the +twelve peers and their followers, they were with their opponents as well. +No sooner had Roland, or Olivier, or Turpin, or Engelier cleft the body of +a Moorish knight down to the saddle, than down fell a Christian, his +helmet broken, his hauberk torn by the lance of his dreaded foe. The +nephew of Marsile fell by the hand of Roland, who taunted him as he lay in +death; Olivier struck down Marsile's brother. "A noble stroke!" cried +Roland. + +"A baron's stroke!" exclaimed the archbishop, as Samsun pierced the +Almazour with his lance and he fell dead. Olivier spurred over the field, +crushing the pagans and beating them down with his broken lance. + +"Comrade, where is thy sword, thy Halteclere?" called Roland to his +friend. + +"Here, but I lack time to draw it," replied the doughty Olivier. + +More than a thousand blows struck Turpin; the pagans fell by hundreds and +by thousands, and over the field lay scattered those who would nevermore +see sweet France. + +Meanwhile, in France, hail fell and rain; the sky was vivid with lightning +bolts. The earth shook, and the land lay in darkness at noonday. None +understood the portent. Alas! it was Nature's grief at the death of Count +Roland. + +When Roland perceived that in spite of their mighty efforts the passes +were still filled with heathen knights, and the French ranks were fast +thinning, he said to Olivier, "What think you if we call the king?" + +"Never!" exclaimed Olivier. "Better death now than shame!" + +"If I blow, Carle will hear it now and return. I shall blow my olifant," +cried Roland. + +"When I begged you to blow it," said Olivier, "you refused, when you could +have saved the lives of all of us. You will show no valor if you blow it +now." + +"Great is the strife," said Roland. "I will blow that Carle may come." + +"Then," said Olivier, "if I return to France, I pledge you my word my +sister Aude shall never be your wife. Your rashness has been the cause of +our destruction. Now you shall die here, and here ends our friendship." + +Across the field the archbishop spurred to reconcile the friends. "Carle +will come too late to save our lives," said he, "but he will reach the +field in time to preserve our mangled bodies and wreak vengeance on our +foes." + +Roland put his horn to his lips and blew with such force that his temples +burst and the crimson blood poured forth from his mouth. Three times he +sounded his horn, and each time the sound brought anguish to the heart of +Carle, who heard it, riding thirty leagues away. "Our men make battle!" +cried he; but this Ganelon hastened to deny, insisting that Roland was but +hunting and blowing the horn, taking sport among the peers. But Duke +Naimes exclaimed, "Your nephew is in sore distress. He who would deceive +you is a traitor. Haste! Shout your war-cry, and let us return to the +battle-field. You yourself hear plainly his call for help!" + +Commanding Ganelon to be seized and given to the scullions of his house to +be kept for punishment until his return, Carle ordered his men to arm and +return to Roncesvalles, that they might, if possible, save the lives of +the noble peers. All the army wept aloud as they thought of the doom of +Roland. High were the mountains, deep the valleys, swift the rushing +streams. The French rode on, answering the sound of the olifant; the +emperor rode, filled with grief and rage; the barons spurred their horses, +but in vain. + +After Roland had sounded the horn he again grasped Durendal, and, mounted +on his horse Veillantif, scoured the battle-field, cutting down the +heathen. But still their troops pressed him, and when he saw the Ethiopian +band led by the uncle of Marsile, he knew his doom had come. Olivier, +riding forth to meet the accursed band, received his death-wound from the +Kalif, but lived to cut his enemy down, and call Roland to him. Alas! +sight had forsaken his eyes, and as he sat on his steed he lifted his +bright sword Halteclere, and struck Roland a fearful blow that clove his +crest but did not touch his head. "Was the blow meant for me, my comrade?" +asked Roland softly. "Nay, I can see no more. God pity me! Pardon me, my +friend!" and as the two embraced each other, Olivier fell dead. + +Then, in the agony of his grief, Roland fainted, sitting firm in his +saddle, and again recovering consciousness, became aware of the terrible +losses of the French. Only himself, the archbishop, and the gallant +Gaultier de l'Hum were left to defend the honor of the French. After +Gaultier fell, Roland, unassisted save by Turpin, who fought transfixed by +four spear shafts, put the enemy to flight. Feeling his death wounds, +Roland besought Turpin to let him bring together the bodies of his fallen +comrades that they might receive the blessing of the archbishop. Weak and +trembling from loss of blood, Roland passed to and fro over the +corpse-bestrewn field, and gathered together his comrades: here, Gerin and +Gerier, Berengier and Otun; there, Anseis, Samsun, and Gerard de +Roussillon, and last of all, his beloved Olivier, and placing them before +the knees of Turpin, he saw them receive his blessing. + +In his great grief at the sight of the dead Olivier, Roland again fainted, +and Turpin hastened to a little brook near by for water to revive him. But +the strain was too great for his already weakened body, and, when Roland +revived, it was to find the archbishop dead. + +Then Roland, realizing that his hour, too, had come, sought out a place in +which to die. Upon a hill between two lofty trees, where was a marble +terrace, he placed himself with his head towards the enemy's country; and +there a Saracen, who had feigned death to escape it, tried to wrest from +him his beloved Durendal. + +Roland crushed the pagan's head with his olifant, but now he was troubled, +for he feared that his sword would fall into other than Christian hands. +Ill could he bear to be parted from his beloved sword. Its golden hilt +contained rare relics,--a tooth of Saint Peter, blood, hair, and bones of +other saints, and by the strength of these holy relics it had conquered +vast realms. Ten and more mighty blows he struck with Durendal upon the +hard rock of the terrace, in the endeavor to break it; but it neither +broke nor blunted. Then, counting over his great victories, he placed it +and the olifant beneath him, and committed his soul to the Father, who +sent down his angels to bear it to Paradise. + +When the French army, led by Charlemagne, found the passes heaped high +with the bodies of the dead and no living soul to tell the story of the +slaughter, they wept, and many fell swooning to the earth. But the enraged +Charlemagne, unwilling then to give time for mourning, spurred on his +soldiers, overtook the fleeing enemy, and drove them into the Ebro, so +that those who survived the sword, perished by the wave. Then, returning +to the field of Roncesvalles, he wept over his beloved Roland and the +peers. + +Great was his grief; handfuls of hair he tore from his head, and many +times wished that his soul were in Paradise, and his body beside that of +Roland. He commanded that the hearts of Roland, Olivier, and Turpin be +taken from their bodies, wrapped, and inurned, and the bodies borne home +in chariots. The bodies of the others were gathered together in one tomb, +and assoiled and blessed by the priests who accompanied the army. + +As Charlemagne prepared to start for France, he saw a new army +approaching. The aged Emir Baligant, from Babylon, who had long ago been +summoned by Marsile, had just arrived in Saragossa, and hastened forth to +meet Charlemagne. The emir's army was countless, and Charlemagne's was +weakened by its great loss. But the thought of the slaughtered peers +spurred on the French, and with great Carle for their leader, they quickly +put the pagans to flight. + +The Franks pursued the enemy to Saragossa, where the wounded Marsile +expired on hearing of his defeat. The city was taken, its inhabitants +either slain, or converted and baptized, and Queen Bramimunde taken to +France to be won to the true faith by gentler means. + +When Charlemagne entered his stately palace at Aix, he was met by the fair +lady Aude. + +"Where is Roland, my betrothed?" + +Carle wept, tearing his white beard. + +"Thou askest of one who is no more. But in his place I will give thee my +son. I can do no better." + +"Nay, God forbid that I should live if Roland is dead;" and so saying, +Aude, the beautiful, fell dead at the feet of the emperor. + +From all his lands Carle summoned men to Aix for the trial of Ganelon. + +"Judge him according to the law, my barons," said the king. "He lost me +twenty thousand of my Franks. My nephew Roland, Olivier, my twelve peers, +he sold." + +"My king," pleaded Ganelon, "call it not treason. I was ever loyal to you. +I thought not of gain, but of revenge against my rebellious and haughty +step-son." + +The sentiment of many was with Ganelon, and Pinabel offered to fight for +him against Thierri, the champion of the king. Thirty knights of his kin +gave themselves as legal sureties of his pledge, and the combat began. +Pinabel was conquered and slain, and Ganelon was condemned to be torn to +pieces by wild horses. His thirty sureties were also compelled to suffer +death. + +Ganelon was punished; Bramimunde was made a Christian, and the emperor +thought at last to have peace. But as night fell and he sought rest in his +lofty room, Gabriel appeared to him. + +"Summon thy hosts and march into Bire to succor King Vivien. The +Christians look to thee for help." + +The king wept and tore his beard. "So troubled is my life!" said he. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE SONG OF ROLAND. + +THE HORN. + + +The Rear Guard of the French army, left behind at Roncesvalles, under +Roland, was attacked by a great host of Moors. In the beginning of the +battle Olivier besought Roland to recall the emperor by blowing the +olifant, whose sound could be heard for many leagues, but Roland refused. +But when he saw the overwhelming forces of the Moors, and the field strewn +with the corpses of the French, he resolved to blow the horn. + + Seeing so many warriors fall'n around, + Rolland unto his comrade Olivier + Spoke thus: "Companion fair and dear, for God + Whose blessing rests on you, those vassals true + And brave lie corses on the battle-field: + Look! We must mourn for France so sweet and fair, + From henceforth widowed of such valiant knights. + Carle, 'would you were amongst us, King and friend! + What can we do, say, brother Olivier, + To bring him news of this sore strait of ours!" + Olivier answers: "I know not; but this + I know; for us is better death than shame." + Aoi. + + Rolland says: "I will blow mine olifant, + And Carle will hear it from the pass. I pledge + My word the French at once retrace their steps." + Said Olivier: "This a great shame would be, + One which to all your kindred would bequeathe + A lifetime's stain. When this I asked of you, + You answered nay, and would do naught. Well, now + With my consent you shall not;--if you blow + Your horn, of valor true you show no proof. + Already, both your arms are drenched with blood." + Responds the count: "These arms have nobly struck." + Aoi. + + "The strife is rude," Rolland says; "I will blow + My horn, that Carle may hear."--Said Olivier: + "This would not courage be. What I desired, + Companion, you disdained. Were the king here, + Safe would we be, but yon brave men are not + To blame."--"By this my beard," said Olivier, + "I swear, if ever I see again sweet Aude, + My sister, in her arms you ne'er shall lie." + Aoi. + + Rolland asked Olivier--"Why show to me + Your anger, friend?"--"Companion, yours the fault; + True courage means not folly. Better far + Is prudence than your valiant rage. Our French + Their lives have lost, your rashness is the cause. + And now our arms can never more give Carle + Their service good. Had you believed your friend, + Amongst us would he be, and ours the field, + The King Marsile, a captive or a corse. + Rolland, your valor brought ill fortune, nor + Shall Carle the great e'er more our help receive, + A man unequalled till God's judgment-day. + Here shall you die, and dying, humble France, . . . + This day our loyal friendship ends--ere falls + The Vesper-eve, dolorously we part!" + Aoi. + + The archbishop heard their strife. In haste he drives + Into his horse his spurs of purest gold, + And quick beside them rides. Then chiding them, + Says: "Sire Rolland, and you, Sire Olivier, + In God's name be no feud between you two; + No more your horn shall save us; nathless't were + Far better Carle should come and soon avenge + Our deaths. So joyous then these Spanish foes + Would not return. But as our Franks alight, + Find us, or slain or mangled on the field, + They will our bodies on their chargers' backs + Lift in their shrouds with grief and pity, all + In tears, and bury us in holy ground: + And neither wolves, nor swine, nor curs shall feed + On us--" Replied Rolland: "Well have you said." + + Rolland raised to his lips the olifant, + Drew a deep breath, and blew with all his force. + High are the mountains, and from peak to peak + The sound re-echoes; thirty leagues away + 'T was heard by Carle and all his brave compeers. + Cried the king: "Our men make battle!" Ganelon + Retorts in haste: "If thus another dared + To speak, we should denounce it as a lie." + Aoi. + + The Count Rolland in his great anguish blows + His olifant so mightily, with such + Despairing agony, his mouth pours forth + The crimson blood, and his swol'n temples burst. + Yea, but so far the ringing blast resounds; + Carle hears it, marching through the pass, Naimes harks, + The French all listen with attentive ear. + "That is Rolland's horn!" Carle cried, "which ne'er yet + Was, save in battle, blown!" But Ganelon + Replies: "No fight is there! you, sire, are old, + Your hair and beard are all bestrewn with gray, + And as a child your speech. Well do you know + Rolland's great pride. 'Tis marvellous God bears + With him so long. Already took he Noble + Without your leave. The pagans left their walls + And fought Rolland, your brave knight, in the field; + With his good blade he slew them all, and then + Washed all the plain with water, that no trace + Of blood was left--yea, oftentimes he runs + After a hare all day and blows his horn. + Doubtless he takes his sport now with his peers; + And who 'neath Heav'n would dare attack Rolland? + None, as I deem. Nay, sire, ride on apace; + Why do you halt? Still far is the Great Land." + Aoi. + + Rolland with bleeding mouth and temples burst, + Still, in his anguish, blows his olifant; + Carle hears it, and his Franks. The king exclaims: + "That horn has a long breath!" Duke Naimes replies: + "Rolland it is, and in a sore distress, + Upon my faith a battle rages there! + A traitor he who would deceive you now. + To arms! Your war-cry shout, your kinsman save! + Plainly enough you hear his call for help." + Aoi. + + Carle orders all the trumpeters to sound + The march. The French alight. They arm themselves + With helmets, hauberks and gold-hilted swords, + Bright bucklers, long sharp spears, with pennons white + And red and blue. The barons of the host + Leap on their steeds, all spurring on; while through + The pass they march, each to the other says: + "Could we but reach Rolland before he dies, + What deadly blows, with his, our swords would strike!" + But what avails? Too late they will arrive. + Aoi. + + The ev'n is clear, the sun its radiant beams + Reflects upon the marching legions, spears, + Hauberks and helms, shields painted with bright flowers, + Gold pennons all ablaze with glitt'ring hues. + Burning with wrath the emperor rides on; + The French with sad and angered looks. None there + But weeps aloud. All tremble for Rolland. + + * * * * * + + The king commands Count Ganelon be seized + And given to the scullions of his house. + Their chief, named Begue, he calls and bids: "Guard well + This man as one who all my kin betrayed." + Him Begue received, and set upon the count + One hundred of his kitchen comrades--best + And worst; they pluck his beard on lip and cheek; + Each deals him with his fist four blows, and falls + On him with lash and stick; they chain his neck + As they would chain a bear, and he is thrown + For more dishonor on a sumpter mule, + There guarded so until to Carle brought back. + Aoi. + + High are the mountains, gloomy, terrible, + The valleys deep, and swift the rushing streams. + In van, in rear, the brazen trumpets blow, + Answering the olifant. With angry look + Rides on the emp'ror; filled with wrath and grief, + Follow the French, each sobbing, each in tears, + Praying that God may guard Rolland, until + They reach the battle-field. With him what blows + Will they not strike! Alas? what boots it now? + Too late they are and cannot come in time. + Aoi. + + Carle in great anger rides--his snow-white beard + O'erspreads his breast-plate. Hard the barons spur, + For never one but inwardly doth rage + That he is far from their great chief, Rolland, + Who combats now the Saracens of Spain: + If wounded he, will one of his survive? + O God! What knights those sixty left by him! + Nor king nor captain better ever had.... + Aoi. + _Rabillon's Translation._ + + + + +ROLAND'S DEATH. + + +When all the French lay dead upon the field except Roland and the +Archbishop Turpin, Roland gathered together the bodies of his dead +comrades, the peers, that they might receive the archbishop's blessing. He +then fell fainting from grief, and aroused himself to find the archbishop +dead also. + + Rolland now feels his death is drawing nigh: + From both his ears the brain is oozing fast. + For all his peers he prays that God may call + Their souls to him; to the Angel Gabriel + He recommends his spirit. In one hand + He takes the olifant, that no reproach + May rest upon him; in the other grasps + Durendal, his good sword. Forward he goes, + Far as an arblast sends a shaft, across + A new-tilled ground and toward the land of Spain. + Upon a hill, beneath two lofty trees, + Four terraces of marble spread;--he falls + Prone fainting on the green, for death draws near. + Aoi. + + High are the mounts, and lofty are the trees. + Four terraces are there, of marble bright: + There Count Rolland lies senseless on the grass. + Him at this moment spies a Saracen + Who lies among the corpses, feigning death, + His face and body all besmeared with blood. + Sudden he rises to his feet, and bounds + Upon the baron. Handsome, brave, and strong + He was, but from his pride sprang mortal rage. + He seized the body of Rolland, and grasped + His arms, exclaiming thus: "Here vanquished Carle's + Great nephew lies! This sword to Araby + I'll bear." He drew it; this aroused the count. + Aoi. + + Rolland perceived an alien hand would rob + Him of his sword; his eyes he oped; one word + He spoke: "I trow, not one of us art thou!" + Then with his olifant from which he parts + Never, he smites the golden studded helm, + Crushing the steel, the head, the bones; both eyes + Are from their sockets beaten out--o'erthrown + Dead at the baron's feet he falls;--"O wretch," + He cries, "how durst thou, or for good or ill, + Lay hands upon Rolland? Who hears of this + Will call thee fool. Mine olifant is cleft, + Its gems and gold all scattered by the blow." + Aoi. + + Now feels Rolland that death is near at hand + And struggles up with all his force; his face + Grows livid; Durendal, his naked sword, + He holds; beside him rises a gray rock + On which he strikes ten mighty blows through grief + And rage. The steel but grinds; it breaks not, nor + Is notched; then cried the count: "Saint Mary, help! + O Durendal! Good sword! ill starred art thou! + Though we two part, I care not less for thee. + What victories together thou and I + Have gained, what kingdoms conquered, which now holds + White-bearded Carle! No coward's hand shall grasp + Thy hilt: a valiant knight has borne thee long, + Such as none shall e'er bear in France the Free!" + Aoi. + + Rolland smites hard the rock of Sardonix; + The steel but grinds, it breaks not, nor grows blunt; + Then seeing that he cannot break his sword, + Thus to himself he mourns for Durendal: + "O good my sword, how bright and pure! Against + The sun what flashing light thy blade reflects! + When Carle passed through the valley of Moriane, + The God of Heaven by his Angel sent + Command that he should give thee to a count, + A valiant captain; it was then the great + And gentle king did gird thee to my side. + With thee I won for him Anjou--Bretaigne; + For him with thee I won Poitou, le Maine + And Normandie the free; I won Provence + And Aquitaine, and Lumbardie, and all + The Romanie; I won for him Baviere, + All Flandre--Buguerie--all Puillanie, + Costentinnoble which allegiance paid, + And Saxonie submitted to his power; + For him I won Escoce and Galle, Irlande, + And Engleterre he made his royal seat; + With thee I conquered all the lands and realms + Which Carle, the hoary-bearded monarch, rules. + Now for this sword I mourn. . . . Far better die + Than in the hands of pagans let it fall! + May God, Our Father, save sweet France this shame!" + Aoi. + + Upon the gray rock mightily he smites, + Shattering it more than I can tell; the sword + But grinds. It breaks not--nor receives a notch, + And upward springs more dazzling in the air. + When sees the Count Rolland his sword can never break, + Softly within himself its fate he mourns: + "O Durendal, how fair and holy thou! + In thy gold-hilt are relics rare; a tooth + Of great Saint Pierre--some blood of Saint Basile, + A lock of hair of Monseigneur Saint Denis, + A fragment of the robe of Sainte-Marie. + It is not right that pagans should own thee; + By Christian hand alone be held. Vast realms + I shall have conquered once that now are ruled + By Carle, the king with beard all blossom-white, + And by them made great emperor and lord. + May thou ne'er fall into a cowardly hand." + Aoi. + + The Count Rolland feels through his limbs the grasp + Of death, and from his head ev'n to his heart + A mortal chill descends. Unto a pine + He hastens, and falls stretched upon the grass. + Beneath him lie his sword and olifant, + And toward the Heathen land he turns his head, + That Carle and all his knightly host may say: + "The gentle count a conqueror has died. . . ." + Then asking pardon for his sins, or great + Or small, he offers up his glove to God. + Aoi. + + The Count Rolland feels now his end approach. + Against a pointed rock, and facing Spain, + He lies. Three times he beats his breast, and says: + "Mea culpa! Oh, my God, may through thy grace, + Be pardoned all my sins, or great or small, + Until this hour committed since my birth!" + Then his right glove he offers up to God, + And toward him angels from high Heav'n descend. + Aoi. + + Beneath a pine Rolland doth lie, and looks + Toward Spain. He broods on many things of yore: + On all the lands he conquered, on sweet France, + On all his kinsmen, on great Carle his lord + Who nurtured him;--he sighs, nor can restrain + His tears, but cannot yet himself forget; + Recalls his sins, and for the grace of God + He prays: "Our Father, never yet untrue, + Who Saint-Lazare raised from the dead, and saved + Thy Daniel from the lions' claws,--oh, free + My soul from peril, from my whole life's sins!" + His right hand glove he offered up to God; + Saint Gabriel took the glove.--With head reclined + Upon his arm, with hands devoutly joined + He breathed his last. God sent his cherubim, + Saint-Raphael, _Saint Michiel del Peril_. + Together with them Gabriel came. All bring + The soul of Count Rolland to Paradise. + Aoi. + _Rabillon's Translation_ + + + + + +THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +The monarchs of ancient Persia made several attempts to collect the +historic annals of their country, but both people and traditions were +scattered by the Arabian conquest. The manuscript annals were carried to +Abyssinia, thence to India, and were taken back to Persia just when the +weakness of the conquerors was beginning to show itself. The various +members of the Persian line, who had declared themselves independent of +their conquerors, determined to rouse the patriotism of their countrymen +by the recital of the stirring deeds of the warriors of old Persia. + +The fame of Abul Kasin Mansur, born at Thus, in Khorasan, A. D. 920, +reached Mahmoud of Ghaznin, who was searching for a poet to re-cast the +annals of Persia. He called the poet to his court, and, on hearing him +improvise, called him Firdusi (the paradisiacal). The poet was intrusted +with the preparation of the Shah-Nameh, or Epic of Kings, for every one +thousand distichs of which he was to receive a thousand pieces of gold. It +had been the dream of the poet's life to build a bridge and otherwise +improve his native town. He therefore asked that the payment be deferred +until the completion of his work, that he might apply the entire sum to +these improvements. But when the poem was completed, after thirty years' +labor, the king, instigated by the slanders of the jealous prime minister, +sent to the poet sixty thousand silver instead of gold dirhems. The +enraged poet threw the silver to his attendants and fled from the country, +leaving behind him an insulting poem to the sultan. He spent the remainder +of his life at Mazinderan and Bagdad, where he was received with honor, +and in his old age returned to Thus to die. Tradition relates that Mahmoud +at last discovered the villainy of his minister, and sent the gold to +Thus. But the old poet was dead, and his daughter indignantly refused the +money. Mahmoud then applied the sum to the improvements of the town so +long desired by Firdusi. + +The Shah-Nameh is written in the pure old Persian, that Mohammed declared +would be the language of Paradise. In its sixty thousand couplets are +related the deeds of the Persian kings from the foundation of the world to +the invasion by the Mohammedans; but it is of very little value as a +historical record, the facts it purports to relate being almost lost among +the Oriental exaggerations of the deeds of its heroes. + +The only complete translation in a foreign language is the elaborate +French translation of Julius Mohl. + +The Shah-Nameh is still popular in Persia, where it is said that even the +camel drivers are able to repeat long portions of it. Firdusi is sometimes +called the Homer of the East, because he describes rude heroic times and +men, as did Homer; but he is also compared to Ariosto, because of his +wealth of imagery. His heroes are very different from those to whom we +have been wont to pay our allegiance; but they fight for the same +principles and worship as lovely maids, to judge from the hyperbole +employed in their description. The condensation of the Shah-Nameh reads +like a dry chronicle; but in its entirety it reminds one of nothing so +much as a gorgeous Persian web, so light and varied, so brightened is it +by its wealth of episode. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +Samuel Johnson's The Shah-Nameh, or Book of Kings (in his Oriental +Religion, Persia, 1885, pp. 711-782); + +E. B. Cowell's Persian Literature, Firdusi (in Oxford Essays, 1885, pp. +164-166); + +Elizabeth A. Reed's Persian Literature, Ancient and Modern, 1893, pp. +214-283. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +The Shah-Nameh, Tr. and abridged in prose and verse with notes and +illustrations, by James Atkinson, 1832; + +Abbreviated version taken from a Persian abridgment, half prose, half +verse; The Epic of Kings, Stories re-told from Firdusi, by Helen +Zimmern, 1882. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE SHAH-NAMEH. + + +Kaiumers was the first King of Persia, and against him Ahriman, the evil, +through jealousy of his greatness, sent forth a mighty Deev to conquer +him. By this Deev, Saiamuk, the son of Kaiumers, was slain, and the king +himself died of grief at the loss of his son. + +Husheng, his grandson, who succeeded Kaiumers, was a great and wise king, +who gave fire to his people, taught them irrigation, instructed them how +to till and sow, and gave names to the beasts. His son and successor, +Tahumers, taught his people the arts of spinning, weaving, and writing, +and when he died left his throne to his son Jemschid. + +Jemschid was a mighty monarch, who divided men into classes, and the years +into periods, and builded mighty walls and cities; but his heart grew +proud at the thought of his power, and he was driven away from his land by +his people, who called Zohak to the throne of Iran. + +Zohak, who came from the deserts of Arabia, was a good and wise young man +who had fallen into the power of a Deev. This Deev, in the guise of a +skillful servant, asked permission one day to kiss his monarch between the +shoulders, as a reward for an unusually fine bit of cookery. From the spot +he kissed sprang two black serpents, whose only nourishment was the brains +of the king's subjects. + +The serpent king, as Zohak was now called, was much feared by his +subjects, who saw their numbers daily lessen by the demands of the +serpents. But when the children of the blacksmith Kawah were demanded as +food for the serpents, the blacksmith defied Zohak, and raising his +leathern apron as a standard,--a banner ever since honored in Persia,--he +called the people to him, and set off in search of Feridoun, an heir of +Jemschid. Under the young leader the oppressed people defeated the tyrant, +and placed Feridoun on the throne. + +Feridoun had three sons, Irij, Tur, and Silim. Having tested their +bravery, he divided the kingdom among them, giving to Irij the kingdom of +Iran. Although the other brothers had received equal shares of the +kingdom, they were enraged because Iran was not their portion, and when +their complaints to their father were not heeded, they slew their brother. +Irij left a son, a babe named Minuchihr, who was reared carefully by +Feridoun. In time he avenged his father, by defeating the armies of his +uncles and slaying them both. Soon after this, Feridoun died, intrusting +his grandson to Saum, his favorite pehliva, or vassal, who ruled over +Seistan. + +Saum was a childless monarch, and when at last a son was born to him he +was very happy until he learned that while the child was perfect in every +other way, it had the silver hair of an old man. Fearing the talk of his +enemies, Saum exposed the child on a mountain top to die. There it was +found by the Simurgh, a remarkable animal, part bird, part human, that, +touched by the cries of the helpless infant, carried him to her great nest +of aloes and sandal-wood, and reared him with her little ones. + +Saum, who had lived to regret his foolish and wicked act, was told in a +dream that his son still lived, and was being cared for by the Simurgh. He +accordingly sought the nest, and carried his son away with great +thanksgiving. The Simurgh parted tenderly with the little Zal, and +presented him with a feather from her wing, telling him that whenever he +was in danger, he had only to throw it on the fire and she would instantly +come to his aid. + +Saum first presented his son at the court of Minuchihr, and then took him +home to Zaboulistan, where he was carefully instructed in every art and +science. + +At one time, while his father was invading a neighboring province, Zal +travelled over the kingdom and stopped at the court of Mihrab, a tributary +of Saum, who ruled at Kabul. Though a descendant of the serpent king, +Mihrab was good, just, and wise, and he received the young warrior with +hospitality. Zal had not been long in Kabul before he heard of the +beauties of Rudabeh, the daughter of Mihrab, and she, in turn, of the +great exploits of Zal. By an artifice of the princess they met and vowed +to love one another forever, though they knew their love would meet with +opposition. Saum and Zal both pleaded Zal's cause before Minuchihr, who +relented when he heard from the astrologers that a good and mighty warrior +would come of the union. Rudabeh's mother won the consent of Mihrab, so +that the young people were soon married with great pomp. To them a son was +born named Rustem, who, when one day old, was as large as a year-old +child. When three years old he could ride a horse, and at eight years was +as powerful as any hero of the time. + +Nauder succeeded the good Minuchihr, and under him Persia was defeated by +the Turanians, and Afrasiyab occupied the Persian throne. But Zal, whose +father, Saum, had died, overthrew him and placed Zew upon the throne. +Zew's reign was short, and Garshasp, his son, succeeded him. When he was +threatened by the Turanians, his people went for aid to Zal, who, because +he was growing old, referred them to Rustem, yet of tender age. Rustem +responded gladly, and his father commanded that all the horses from +Zaboulistan to Kabul be brought forth that his son might select a steed +therefrom. Every horse bent beneath his grasp until he came to the colt +Rakush, which responded to Rustem's voice, and suffered him to mount it. +From that day to his death, this steed was his faithful companion and +preserver. + +Garshasp was too weak to rule over the kingdom, and Zal despatched Rustem +to Mt. Alberz, where he had been told in a dream a youth dwelt called +Kai-Kobad, descended from Feridoun. Kai-Kobad welcomed Rustem, and the +two, with the noblest of the kingdom, defeated the power of Turan. + +After a reign of a hundred years, the wise Kai-Kobad died, and was +succeeded by his son, the foolish Kai-Kaus, who, not satisfied with the +wealth and extent of his kingdom, determined to conquer the kingdom of +Mazinderan, ruled by the Deevs. Zal's remonstrances were of no avail: the +headstrong Kai-Kaus marched into Mazinderan, and, together with his whole +army, was conquered, imprisoned, and blinded by the power of the White +Deev. + +When the news of the monarch's misfortune came to Iran, Rustem immediately +saddled Rakush, and, choosing the shortest and most peril-beset route, set +forth, unaccompanied, for Mazinderan. If he survived the dangers that +lurked by the way, he would reach Mazinderan in seven days. + +While sleeping in a forest, after his first day's journey, he was saved +from a fierce lion by Rakush, who stood at his head. + +On the second day, just as he believed himself perishing of thirst, he was +saved by a sheep that he followed to a fountain of water; on the third +night, Rakush, whom he had angrily forbidden to attack any animal without +waking him, twice warned him of the approach of a dragon. The first time +the dragon disappeared when Rustem awoke, and he spoke severely to his +faithful horse. The second time he slew the dragon, and morning having +dawned, proceeded through a desert, where he was offered food and wine by +a sorceress. Not recognizing her, and grateful for the food, he offered +her a cup of wine in the name of God, and she was immediately converted +into a black fiend, whom he slew. + +He was next opposed by Aulad, whom he defeated, and promised to make ruler +of Mazinderan if he would guide him to the caves of the White Deev. A +stony desert and a wide stream lay between him and the demon; but the +undaunted Rustem passed over them, and choosing the middle of the day, at +which time Aulad told him the Deevs slept, he slew the guards, entered the +cavern, and after a terrible struggle, overcame and slew the great Deev. + +He then released Kai-Kaus and his army, and restored their sight by +touching their eyes with the blood from the Deev's heart. + +Kai-Kaus, not satisfied with this adventure, committed many other follies, +from which it taxed his warrior sorely to rescue him. + +Once he was imprisoned by the King of Hamaveran after he had espoused his +daughter; again he followed the advice of a wicked Deev, and tried to +search the heavens in a flying-machine, that descended and left him in a +desert waste. It was only after this last humiliation that he humbled +himself, lay in the dust many days, and at last became worthy of the +throne of his fathers. + +At one time Rustem was hunting near the borders of Turan, and, falling +asleep, left Rakush to graze in the forest, where he was espied by the men +of Turan and at once captured. When Rustem awoke he followed his steed by +the traces of its hoofs, until he came to the city of Samengan. The king +received him kindly, and promised to restore the horse if it could be +found. While his messengers went in search of it, he feasted his guest, +and led him for the night to a perfumed couch. + +In the middle of the night Rustem awoke, to see a beautiful young woman +enter the room, accompanied by a maid. She proved to be the princess, who +had fallen in love with Rustem. She pleaded with him to return her love, +promising, if he did so, to restore his cherished horse. Rustem longed for +his steed; moreover, the maiden was irresistibly beautiful. He accordingly +yielded to her proposals, and the two were wedded the next day, the king +having given his consent. + +After tarrying some time in Samengan, Rustem was forced to return to Iran. +Bidding his bride an affectionate farewell, he presented her with a +bracelet. + +"If thou art given a daughter, place this amulet in her hair to guard her +from harm. If a son, bind it on his arm, that he may possess the valor of +Nariman." + +In the course of time, the princess bore a boy, who was like his father in +beauty and boldness, whom she christened Sohrab. But for fear that she +would be deprived of him, she wrote to Rustem that a daughter had been +born to her. To her son she declared the secret of his birth, and urged +him to be like his father in all things; but she warned him not to +disclose the secret, for she feared that if it came to the ears of +Afrasiyab, he would destroy him because of his hatred of Rustem. + +Sohrab, who had already cherished dreams of conquest, was elated at the +knowledge of his parentage. "Mother," exclaimed he, "I shall gather an +army of Turks, conquer Iran, dethrone Kai-Kaus, and place my father on the +throne; then both of us will conquer Afrasiyab, and I will mount the +throne of Turan." + +The mother, pleased with her son's valor, gave him for a horse a foal +sprung from Rakush, and fondly watched his preparations for war. + +The wicked Afrasiyab well knew that Sohrab was the son of Rustem. He was +also aware that it was very dangerous to have two such mighty warriors +alive, since if they became known to each other, they would form an +alliance. He planned, therefore, to aid Sohrab in the war, keeping him in +ignorance of his father, and to manage in some way to have the two meet in +battle, that one or both might be slain. + +The armies met and the great battle began. Sohrab asked to have Rustem +pointed out to him, but the soldiers on his side were all instructed to +keep him in ignorance. By some strange mischance the two men whom his +mother had sent to enlighten him, were both slain. Rustem was moved at the +sight of the brave young warrior, but remembering that Tahmineh's +offspring was a daughter, thought nothing more of the thrill he felt at +sight of him. At last Sohrab and Rustem met in single combat. Sohrab was +moved with tenderness for his unknown opponent, and besought him to tell +him if he was Rustem, but Rustem declared that he was only a servant of +that chief. For three days they fought bitterly, and on the fourth day +Rustem overthrew his son. When Sohrab felt that the end had come he +threatened his unknown opponent. "Whoever thou art, know that I came not +out for empty glory but to find my father, and that though I have found +him not, when he hears that thou hast slain his son he will search thee +out and avenge me, no matter where thou hidest thyself. For my father is +the great Rustem." + +Rustem fell down in agony when he heard his son's words, and realized that +his guile had prevented him from being made known the day before. He +examined the onyx bracelet on Sohrab's arm; it was the same he had given +Tahmineh. Bethinking himself of a magic ointment possessed by Kai-Kaus, he +sent for it that he might heal his dying son; but the foolish king, +jealous of his prowess, refused to send it, and Sohrab expired in the arms +of his father. + +Rustem's heart was broken. He heaped up his armor, his tent, his +trappings, his treasures, and flung them into a great fire. The house of +Zal was filled with mourning, and when the news was conveyed to Samengan, +he tore his garments, and his daughter grieved herself to death before a +year had passed away. + +To Kai-Kaus and a wife of the race of Feridoun was born a son called +Saiawush, who was beautiful, noble, and virtuous. But his foolish father +allowed himself to be prejudiced against the youth by slanderous tongues, +so that Saiawush fled from the court and sought shelter with Afrasiyab in +Turan. There he speedily became popular, and took unto himself for a wife +the daughter of Afrasiyab. But when he and Ferandis his wife built a +beautiful city, the hatred and jealousy of Gersiwaz was aroused, so that +he lied to Afrasiyab and said that Saiawush was puffed up with pride, and +at last induced Afrasiyab to slay his son-in-law. + +Saiawush had a son, Kai-Khosrau, who was saved by Piran, a kind-hearted +nobleman, and given into the care of a goatherd. When Afrasiyab learned of +his existence he summoned him to his presence, but the youth, instructed +by Piran, assumed the manners of an imbecile, and was accordingly freed by +Afrasiyab, who feared no harm from him. + +When the news of the death of Saiawush was conveyed to Iran there was +great mourning, and war was immediately declared against Turan. For seven +years the contest was carried on, always without success, and at the end +of that time Gudarz dreamed that a son of Saiawush was living called +Kai-Khosrau, and that until he was sought out and placed at the head of +the army, deliverance could not come to Iran. Kai-Khosrau was discovered, +and led the armies on to victory; and when Kai-Kaus found that his +grandson was not only a great warrior, skilled in magic, but also +possessed wisdom beyond his years, he resigned the throne and made +Kai-Khosrau ruler over Iran. + +Kai-Khosrau ruled many long years, in which time he brought peace and +happiness to his kingdom, avenged the murder of his father, and compassed +the death of the wicked Afrasiyab. Then, fearing that he might become +puffed up with pride like Jemschid, he longed to depart from this world, +and prayed Ormuzd to take him to his bosom. + +The king; after many prayers to Ormuzd, dreamed that his wish would be +granted if he set the affairs of his kingdom in order and appointed his +successor. Rejoiced, he called his nobles together, divided his treasure +among them, and appointed his successor, Lohurasp, whom he commanded to be +the woof and warp of justice. Accompanied by a few of his faithful +friends, he set out on the long journey to the crest of the mountains. At +his entreaties, some of his friends turned back; those who stayed over +night, in spite of his warnings, found on waking that they were covered by +a heavy fall of snow, and were soon frozen. Afterwards their bodies were +found and received a royal burial. + +Lohurasp had a son Gushtasp who greatly desired to rule, and was a just +monarch, when he succeeded to the throne. Gushtasp, however, was jealous +of his son, Isfendiyar, who was a great warrior. When Gushtasp was about +to be overcome by the forces of Turan, he promised Isfendiyar the throne, +if he would destroy the enemy; but when the hosts were scattered, and +Isfendiyar reminded his father of his promise, he was cast into a dungeon, +there to remain until his services were again needed. When he had again +gained a victory, he was told that the throne should be his when he had +rescued his sisters from the brazen fortress of Arjasp, where they had +been carried and imprisoned. + +On his way to this tower Isfendiyar met with as many terrible foes as +Rustem had encountered on his way to the White Deev, and as successfully +overcame them. Wolves, lions, enchantresses, and dragons barred the way to +the impregnable fortress, which rose three farsangs high and forty wide, +and was constructed entirely of brass and iron. But Isfendiyar, assuming +the guise of a merchant and concealing his warriors in chests, won his way +into the castle, gained the favor of its inmates, and made them drunk with +wine. This done, he freed his sisters, slew the guards, and struck down +Arjasp. + +Instead of keeping his promise, Gushtasp hastened to set his son another +task. Rustem was his Pehliva, but it pleased him to send forth Isfendiyar +against him, commanding him to bring home the mighty warrior in chains. +Isfendiyar pleaded in vain with his father. Then he explained the +situation to Rustem, and begged that he would accompany him home in peace +to gratify his father. Rustem refused to go in chains, so the two heroes +reluctantly began the hardest battle of their lives. + +At the end of the first day, Rustem and Rakush were severely wounded, and +on his return home Rustem happened to think of the Simurgh. Called by the +burning of the feather, the kind bird healed the wounds of the hero and of +Rakush, and instructed Rustem how to slay his foe. "Seek thou the tamarisk +tree, and make thereof an arrow. Aim at his eye, and there thou canst +blind and slay him." + +Rustem followed the directions, and laid low the gallant youth. Isfendiyar +died exclaiming, "My father has slain me, not thou, Rustem. I die, the +victim of my father's hate; do thou keep for me and rear my son!" + +Rustem, who had lived so long and accomplished such great deeds, died at +last by the hand of his half-brother. This brother, Shugdad, stirred up +the king of Kabul, in whose court he was reared, to slay Rustem because he +exacted tribute from Kabul. + +Rustem was called into Kabul by Shugdad, who claimed that the king +mistreated him. When he arrived, the matter was settled amicably, and the +brothers set out for a hunt with the king. The hunters were led to a spot +where the false king had caused pits to be dug lined with sharp weapons. +Rustem, pleased with his kind reception and suspecting no harm, beat +Rakush severely when he paused and would go no further. Stung by the +blows, the gallant horse sprang forward, and fell into the pit. As he rose +from this, he fell into another, until, clambering from the seventh pit, +he and Rustem fell swooning with pain. + +"False brother!" cried Rustem; "what hast thou done? Was it for thee to +slay thy father's son? Exult now; but thou wilt yet suffer for this +crime!" Then altering his tone, he said gently: "But give me, I pray thee, +my bow and arrows, that I may have it by my side to slay any wild beast +that may try to devour me." + +Shugdad gave him the bow; and when he saw the gleam in Rustem's eyes, +concealed himself behind a tree. But the angry Rustem, grasping the bow +with something of his former strength, sent the arrow through tree and +man, transfixing both. Then thanking his Creator that he had been given +the opportunity to slay his murderer, he breathed his last. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAH-NAMEH. + +THE RAJA OF INDIA SENDS A CHESSBOARD TO NUSHIRVAN. + + +"This account of the game of chess, written by Ferdusi more than eight +hundred years ago, is curious as showing the antiquity of the game, its +resemblance to it as now played, and the tradition that it was invented in +India, and came originally from that country." + + A Mubid related, how one day the king + Suspended his crown over the ivory throne, + All aloes-wood and ivory, and all ivory and aloes; + Every pavilion a court, and every court a royal one; + All the Hall of Audience crowned with soldiers; + Every pavilion filled with Mubids and Wardens of the Marches, + From Balkh, and Bokhara, and from every frontier-- + For the King of the world had received advices + From his vigilant and active emissaries, + That an Ambassador had arrived from a King of India, + With the parasol, and elephants, and cavalry of Sind, + And, accompanied by a thousand laden camels, + Was on his way to visit the Great King. + When the circumspect Monarch heard this news, + Immediately he despatched an escort to receive him. + And when the illustrious and dignified Ambassador + Came into the presence of the Great King, + According to the manner of the great, he pronounced a benediction, + And uttered the praise of the Creator of the world. + Then he scattered before him abundance of jewels, + And presented the parasol, the elephants, and the ear-rings; + The Indian parasol embroidered with gold, + And inwoven with all kinds of precious stones. + Then he opened the packages in the midst of the court, + And displayed each one, article by article, before the King. + Within the chest was much silver, and gold, + And musk, and amber, and fresh wood of aloes, + Of rubies, and diamonds, and Indian swords. + Each Indian sword was beautifully damascened; + Everything which is produced in Kanuj and Mai + Hand and foot were busy to put in its place. + They placed the whole together in front of the throne, + And the Chief, the favored of wakeful Fortune, + Surveyed all that the Raja had painstakingly collected, + And then commanded that it should be sent to his treasury. + Then the Ambassador presented, written on silk, + The letter which the Raja had addressed to Nushirvan; + And a chessboard, wrought with such exceeding labor, + That the pains bestowed upon it might have emptied a treasury. + And the Indian delivered a message from the Raja: + "So long as the heavens revolve, may thou be established in thy place! + All who have taken pains to excel in knowledge, + Command to place this chessboard before them, + And to exert their utmost ingenuity + To discover the secret of this noble game. + Let them learn the name of every piece. + Its proper position, and what is its movement. + Let them make out the foot-soldier of the army, + The elephant, the rook, and the horseman, + The march of the vizier and the procession of the King. + If they discover the science of this noble game, + They will have surpassed the most able in science. + Then the tribute and taxes which the King hath demanded + I will cheerfully send all to his court. + But if the congregated sages, men of Iran, + Should prove themselves completely at fault in this science, + Then, since they are not strong enough to compete with us in knowledge, + Neither should they desire taxes or tribute from this land and country: + Rather ought we to receive tribute from you, + Since knowledge hath a title beyond all else." + + Khosru gave heart and ear to the speaker, + And impressed on his memory the words which he heard. + They placed the chessboard before the King, + Who gazed attentively at the pieces a considerable time. + Half the pieces on the board were of brilliant ivory, + The other half of finely imaged teak-wood. + The nicely-observant King questioned him much + About the figures of the pieces and the beautiful board. + The Indian said in answer: "O thou great Monarch, + All the modes and customs of war thou wilt see, + When thou shalt have found out the way to the game; + The plans, the marches, the array of the battle-field." + He replied: "I shall require the space of seven days; + On the eighth we will encounter thee with a glad mind." + They furnished forthwith a pleasant apartment, + And assigned it to the Ambassador as his dwelling. + + Then the Mubid and the skilful to point out the way + Repaired with one purpose to the presence of the King. + They placed the chessboard before them, + And observed it attentively, time without measure. + They sought out and tried every method, + And played against one another in all possible ways. + One spoke and questioned, and another listened, + But no one succeeded in making out the game. + They departed, each one with wrinkles on his brow; + And Buzarchamahar went forthwith to the king. + + He perceived that he was ruffled and stern about this matter, + And in its beginning foresaw an evil ending. + Then he said to Khosru: "O Sovereign, + Master of the world, vigilant, and worthy to command, + I will reduce to practice this noble game; + All my intelligence will I exert to point out the way." + Then the king said: "This affair is thine affair; + Go thou about it with a clear mind and a sound body, + Otherwise the Raja of Kanuj would say, + 'He hath not one man who can search out the road,' + And this would bring foul disgrace on my Mubids, + On my court, on my throne, and on all my wise men." + Then Buzarchmahar made them place the chessboard before him, + And seated himself, full of thought, and expanded his countenance. + He sought out various ways, and moved the pieces to the right hand and + to the left, + In order that he might discover the position of every piece. + When after a whole day and a whole night, he had found out the game, + He hurried from his own pavilion to that of the King, + And exclaimed: "O King, whom Fortune crowneth with victory, + At last I have made out these figures and this chessboard, + By a happy chance, and by the favor of the Ruler of the world, + The mystery of this game hath found its solution. + Call before thee the Ambassador and all who care about it; + But the King of kings ought to be the first to behold it. + You would say at once without hesitation, + It is the exact image of a battle-field." + The King was right glad to hear the news; + He pronounced him the Fortunate, and the bearer of good tidings. + He commanded that the Mubids, and other counsellors, + And all who were renowned for their wisdom should be assembled; + And ordered that the Ambassador should be summoned to the Presence, + And that he should be placed on a splendid throne. + + Then Buzarchamahar, addressing him, said: + "O Mubid, bright in council as the sun, + Tell us, what said the King about these pieces, + So may intelligence be coupled with thee forever!" + + And this was his answer: "My Master, prosperous in his undertakings, + When I was summoned and appeared before him, + Said to me: 'These pieces of teak and ivory + Place before the throne of him who weareth the crown, + And say to him: Assemble thy Mubids and counsellors, + And seat them, and place the pieces before them. + If they succeed in making out the noble game, + They will win applause and augment enjoyment: + Then slaves and money and tribute and taxes, + I will send to him as far as I have the means; + For a monarch is to be esteemed for his wisdom, + Not for his treasure, or his men, or his lofty throne. + But if the King and his counsellors are not able to do all this + And their minds are not bright enough to comprehend it, + He ought not to desire from us tribute or treasure, + And his wise soul, alas! must come to grief; + And when he seeth our minds and genius to be subtler than theirs. + Rather will he send them to us in greater abundance.'" + + Then Buzarchamahar brought the chess-men and board, + And placed them before the throne of the watchful King, + And said to the Mubids and counsellors: + "O ye illustrious and pure-hearted sages, + Give ear all of you to the words he hath uttered, + And to the observations of his prudent chief." + + Then the knowing-man arranged a battle-field, + Giving to the King the place in the centre; + Right and left he drew up the army, + Placing the foot-soldiers in front of the battle. + A prudent vizier he stationed beside the King, + To give him advice on the plan of the engagement; + On each side he set the elephants of war [our bishops], + To support one another in the midst of the combat. + Further on he assigned their position to the war-steeds [our knights], + Placing upon each a horseman eager for battle. + Lastly, right and left, at the extremities of the field, + He stationed the heroes [the rooks] as rivals to each other. + When Buzarchamahar had thus drawn up the army, + The whole assembly was lost in astonishment; + But the Indian Ambassador was exceedingly grieved, + And stood motionless at the sagacity of that Fortune-favored man; + Stupefied with amazement, he looked upon him as a magician, + And his whole soul was absorbed in his reflections. + "For never hath he seen," he said, "a chessboard before, + Nor ever hath he heard about it from the experienced men of India. + I have told him nothing of the action of these pieces, + Not a word have I said about this arrangement and purpose. + How then hath the revelation come down upon him? + No one in the world will ever take his place!" + + And Khosru was so proud of Buzarchamahar, + Thou mightest say that he was looking Fortune in the face. + He was gladdened at his heart, and loaded him with caresses, + And ordered him a more than ordinary dress of honor, + And commanded him to be given a royal cup + Filled to the brim with princely jewels, + And a quantity of money, and a charger and a saddle, + And dismissed him from the Presence overwhelmed with praises. + _Robinson's Translation._ + + + + +ZAL AND RUDABEH. + + +"Zal, recovered from the care of the Simurgh and arrived at manhood, is +sent to govern the frontier province of Zabul; the adjoining province of +Kabul, though tributary to the Persian emperor, being governed by its own +king, called Mihrab. This episode commences with a visit which Mihrab pays +to Zal, who receives him with distinguished honor, entertains him at a +sumptuous banquet, and they separate with mutual respect." + + Then a chief of the great ones around him + Said: "O thou, the hero of the world, + This Mihrab hath a daughter behind the veil, + Whose face is more resplendent than the sun; + From head to foot pure as ivory, + With a cheek like the spring, and in stature like the teak-tree. + Upon her silver shoulders descend two musky tresses, + Which, like nooses, fetter the captive; + Her lip is like the pomegranate, and her cheek like its flower; + Her eyes resemble the narcissus in the garden; + Her eyelashes have borrowed the blackness of the raven; + Her eyebrows are arched like a fringed bow. + Wouldst thou behold the mild radiance of the moon? Look upon her + countenance! + Wouldst thou inhale delightful odors? She is all fragrance! + She is altogether a paradise of sweets, + Decked with all grace, all music, all thou canst desire! + She would be fitting for thee, O warrior of the world; + She is as the heavens above to such as we are." + + When Zal heard this description, + His love leaped to the lovely maiden: + His heart boiled over with the heat of passion, + So that understanding and rest departed from him. + Night came, but he sat groaning, and buried in thought, + And a prey to sorrow for the not-yet-seen. + +_On returning from a second visit, Mihrab describes Zal to his wife and +his daughter Rudabeh._ + + "O beautiful silver-bosomed cypress, + In the wide world not one of the heroes + Will come up to the measure of Zal! + In the pictured palace men will never behold the image + Of a warrior so strong, or so firm in the saddle. + He hath the heart of a lion, the power of an elephant, + And the strength of his arm is as the rush of the Nile. + When he sitteth on the throne, he scattereth gold before him; + In the battle, the heads of his enemies. + His cheek is as ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + Young in years, all alive, and the favorite of fortune; + And though his hair is white as though with age, + Yet in his bravery he could tear to pieces the water-serpent. + + "He rageth in the conflict with the fury of the crocodile, + He fighteth in the saddle like a sharp-fanged dragon. + In his wrath he staineth the earth with blood, + As he wieldeth his bright scimitar around him. + And though his hair is as white as is a fawn's, + In vain would the fault-finder seek another defect! + Nay, the whiteness of his hair even becometh him; + Thou wouldst say that he is born to beguile all hearts!" + + When Rudabeh heard this description, + Her heart was set on fire, and her cheek crimsoned like the pomegranate. + Her whole soul was filled with the love of Zal, + And food, and peace, and quietude were driven far from her. + +_After a time Rudabeh resolves to reveal her passion to her attendants._ + + Then she said to her prudent slaves: + "I will discover what I have hitherto concealed; + Ye are each of you the depositaries of my secrets, + My attendants, and the partners of my griefs. + I am agitated with love like the raging ocean, + Whose billows are heaved to the sky. + My once bright heart is filled with the love of Zal; + My sleep is broken with thoughts of him. + My soul is perpetually filled with my passion; + Night and day my thoughts dwell upon his countenance. + + "Not one except yourselves knoweth my secret; + Ye, my affectionate and faithful servants, + What remedy can ye now devise for my ease? + What will ye do for me? What promise will ye give me? + Some remedy ye must devise, + To free my heart and soul from this unhappiness." + + Astonishment seized the slaves, + That dishonor should come nigh the daughter of kings. + In the anxiety of their hearts they started from their seats, + And all gave answer with one voice: + "O crown of the ladies of the earth! + Maiden pre-eminent amongst the pre-eminent! + Whose praise is spread abroad from Hindustan to China; + The resplendent ring in the circle of the harem; + Whose stature surpasseth every cypress in the garden; + Whose cheek rivalleth the lustre of the Pleiades; + Whose picture is sent by the ruler of Kanuj + Even to the distant monarchs of the West-- + Have you ceased to be modest in your own eyes? + Have you lost all reverence for your father, + That whom his own parent cast from his bosom, + Him will you receive into yours? + A man who was nurtured by a bird in the mountains! + A man who was a by-word amongst the people! + You--with your roseate countenance and musky tresses-- + Seek a man whose hair is already white with age! + You--who have filled the world with admiration, + Whose portrait hangeth in every palace, + And whose beauty, and ringlets, and stature are such + That you might draw down a husband from the skies!" + +_To this remonstrance she makes the following indignant answer:_ + + When Rudabeh heard their reply, + Her heart blazed up like fire before the wind. + She raised her voice in anger against them, + Her face flushed, but she cast down her eyes. + After a time, grief and anger mingled in her countenance, + And knitting her brows with passion, she exclaimed: + "O unadvised and worthless counsellors, + It was not becoming in me to ask your advice! + Were my eye dazzled by a star, + How could it rejoice to gaze even upon the moon? + He who is formed of worthless clay will not regard the rose, + Although the rose is in nature more estimable than clay! + I wish not for Caesar, nor Emperor of China, + Nor for any one of the tiara-crowned monarchs of Iran; + The son of Saum, Zal, alone is my equal, + With his lion-like limbs, and arms, and shoulders. + You may call him, as you please, an old man, or a young; + To me, he is in the room of heart and of soul. + Except him never shall any one have a place in my heart; + Mention not to me any one except him. + Him hath my love chosen unseen, + Yea, hath chosen him only from description. + For him is my affection, not for face or hair; + And I have sought his love in the way of honor." + +_The slaves speak_. + + "May hundreds of thousands such as we are be a sacrifice for thee; + May the wisdom of the creation be thy worthy portion; + May thy dark narcissus-eye be ever full of modesty; + May thy cheek be ever tinged with bashfulness! + If it be necessary to learn the art of the magician, + To sew up the eyes with the bands of enchantment, + We will fly till we surpass the enchanter's bird, + We will run like the deer in search of a remedy. + Perchance we may draw the King nigh unto his moon, + And place him securely at thy side." + + The vermil lip of Rudabeh was filled with smiles; + She turned her saffron-tinted countenance toward the slave, and said: + "If thou shalt bring this matter to a happy issue, + Thou hast planted for thyself a stately and fruitful tree, + Which every day shall bear rubies for its fruit, + And shall pour that fruit into thy lap." + +_The slaves arrange an interview between the lovers_. + + Then said the elegant cypress-formed lady to her maidens: + "Other than this were once your words and your counsel! + Is this then the Zal, the nursling of a bird? + This the old man, white-haired and withered? + Now his cheek is ruddy as the flower of the arghavan; + His stature is tall, his face beautiful, his presence lordly! + Ye have exalted my charms before him; + Ye have spoken and made me a bargain!" + She said, and her lips were full of smiles, + But her cheek crimsoned like the bloom of pomegranate. + +_The interview takes place in a private pavilion of the princess._ + + When from a distance the son of the valiant Saum + Became visible to the illustrious maiden, + She opened her gem-like lips, and exclaimed: + "Welcome, thou brave and happy youth! + The blessing of the Creator of the world be upon thee; + On him who is the father of a son like thee! + May destiny ever favor thy wishes! + May the vault of heaven be the ground thou walkest on! + The dark night is turned into day by thy countenance; + The world is soul-enlivened by the fragrance of thy presence! + Thou hast travelled hither on foot from thy palace; + Thou hast pained, to behold me, thy royal footsteps!" + + When the hero heard the voice from the battlement, + He looked up and beheld a face resplendent as the sun, + Irradiating the terrace like a flashing jewel, + And brightening the ground like a naming ruby. + + Then he replied: "O thou who sheddest the mild radiance of the moon, + The blessing of Heaven, and mine, be upon thee! + How many nights hath cold Arcturus beholden me, + Uttering my cry to God, the Pure, + And beseeching the Lord of the universe, + That he would vouchsafe to unveil thy countenance before me! + Now I am made joyful in hearing thy voice, + In listening to thy rich and gracious accents. + But seek, I pray thee, some way to thy presence; + For what converse can we hold, I on the ground, and thou on the + terrace?" + + The Peri-faced maiden heard the words of the hero; + Quickly she unbound her auburn locks, + Coil upon coil, and serpent upon serpent; + And she stooped and dropped down the tresses from the battlement, + And cried: "O hero, child of heroes, + Take now these tresses, they belong to thee, + And I have cherished them that they might prove an aid to my beloved." + + And Zal gazed upward at the lovely maiden, + And stood amazed at the beauty of her hair and of her countenance; + He covered the musky ringlets with his kisses, + And his bride heard the kisses from above. + Then he exclaimed: "That would not be right-- + May the bright sun never shine on such a day! + It were to lay my hand on the life of one already distracted; + It were to plunge the arrow-point into my own wounded bosom." + Then he took his noose from his boy, and made a running knot, + And threw it, and caught it on the battlement, + And held his breath, and at one bound + Sprang from the ground, and reached the summit. + + As soon as the hero stood upon the terrace, + The Peri-faced maiden ran to greet him, + And took the hand of the hero in her own, + And they went like those who are overcome with wine. + + Then he descended from the lofty gallery, + His hand in the hand of the tall princess, + And came to the door of the gold-painted pavilion, + And entered that royal assembly, + Which blazed with light like the bowers of Paradise; + And the slaves stood like houris before them: + And Zal gazed in astonishment + On her face, and her hair, and her stately form, and on all that + splendor. + + And Zal was seated in royal pomp + Opposite that mildly-radiant beauty; + And Rudabeh could not rest from looking towards him, + And gazing upon him with all her eyes; + On that arm, and shoulder, and that splendid figure, + On the brightness of that soul-enlightening countenance; + So that the more and more she looked + The more and more was her heart inflamed. + + Then he kissed and embraced her, renewing his vows-- + Can the lion help pursuing the wild ass?-- + And said: "O sweet and graceful silver-bosomed maiden, + It may not be, that, both of noble lineage, + We should do aught unbecoming our birth; + For from Saum Nariman I received an admonition. + To do no unworthy deed, lest evil should come of it; + For better is the seemly than the unseemly, + That which is lawful than that which is forbidden. + And I fear that Manuchahar, when he shall hear of this affair, + Will not be inclined to give it his approval; + I fear, too, that Saum will exclaim against it, + And will boil over with passion, and lay his hand upon me. + Yet, though soul and body are precious to all men, + Life will I resign, and clothe myself with a shroud-- + And this I swear by the righteous God-- + Ere I will break the faith which I have pledged thee. + I will bow myself before Him, and offer my adoration, + And supplicate Him as those who worship Him in truth, + That He will cleanse the heart of Saum, king of the earth, + From opposition, and rage, and rancor. + Perhaps the Creator of the world may listen to my prayer, + And thou mayest yet be publicly proclaimed my wife." + + And Rudabeh said: "And I also, in the presence of the righteous God, + Take the same pledge, and swear to thee my faith; + And He who created the world be witness to my words, + That no one but the hero of the world, + The throned, the crowned, the far-famed Zal, + Will I ever permit to be sovereign over me." + + So their love every moment became greater; + Prudence was afar, and passion was predominant, + Till the gray dawn began to show itself, + And the drum to be heard from the royal pavilion. + Then Zal bade adieu to the fair one; + His soul was darkened, and his bosom on fire, + And the eyes of both were filled with tears; + And they lifted up their voices against the sun: + "O glory of the universe, why come so quick? + Couldst thou not wait one little moment" + + Then Zal cast his noose on a pinnacle, + And descended from those happy battlements, + As the sun was rising redly above the mountains, + And the bands of warriors were gathering in their ranks. + _Robinson's Translation._ + + + + + +THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +Rodrigo Ruy Diaz, El Cid Campeador, was born near Burgos, in Spain, about +1040. The name Cid was given him by the Moors, and means lord. Campeador +means champion. + +Ruy Diaz was the trusty lord of Sancho, King of Castile, who at his death +divided his kingdom among his children. He then espoused the cause of the +eldest son, Sancho, and assisted him in wresting their portion of the +kingdom from his brothers Garcia and Alfonso. Sancho having been +treacherously slain while besieging his sister Urraca's town of Zamora, +the Cid attached himself to Alfonso, humiliating him, however, by making +him and his chief lords swear that they had had no hand in Sancho's death. +For this, Alfonso revenged himself by exiling the Cid on the slightest +pretexts, recalling him only when his services were needed in the defence +of the country. + +This much, and the Cid's victories over the Moors, his occupation of +Valencia, and his army's departure therefrom in 1102, led by his corpse +seated on horseback, "clothed in his habit as he lived", are historical +facts. + +A great mass of romances, among them the story of his slaying Count Don +Gomez because he had insulted his father, Diego Laynez; of Don Gomez's +daughter Ximena wooing and wedding him; of his assisting the leper and +having his future success foretold by him, and of his embalmed body +sitting many years in the cathedral at Toledo, are related in the +"Chronicle of the Cid" and the "Ballads." + +The Poem of the Cid narrates only a portion of his career, and "if it had +been named," says Ormsby, "would have been called 'The Triumph of the +Cid.'" + +The Poem of the Cid was written about 1200 A. D. Its authorship is +unknown. + +It contains three thousand seven hundred and forty-five lines, and is +divided into two cantares. The versification is careless; when rhyme +hampered the poet he dropped it, and used instead the assonant rhyme. + +The Poem of the Cid is of peculiar interest because it belongs to the very +dawn of our modern literature, and because its hero was evidently a real +personage, a portion of whose history was recorded in this epic not long +after the events took place. The Cid is one of the most simple and natural +of the epic heroes; he has all a man's weaknesses, and it is difficult to +repress a smile at the perfectly natural manner in which, while he +slaughters enough Moors to secure himself a place in the heavenly kingdom, +he takes good care to lay up gold for the enjoyment of life on earth. The +poem is told with the greatest simplicity, naturalness, and directness, as +well as with much poetic fire. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE CID. + + +Robert Southey's Chronicle of the Cid. . . . Appendix contains Poetry of +the Cid by J. H. Frere, 1808, new ed., 1845; + +Matthew Arnold's Poem of the Cid, MacMillan, 1871, vol. xxiv., pp. +471-485; + +George Dennio's The Cid: A short Chronicle founded on the early Poetry of +Spain, 1845; + +Butler Clarke's The Cid (in his Spanish Literature, 1893, pp. 46-53); +E. E. Hale and Susan Hale's The Cid (in their Story of Spain, 1893, pp. +248-261); + +Stanley Lane Poole's The Cid (in his Story of the Moors in Spain, 1891, +pp. 191-213); + +Sismondi's Poem of the Cid (in his Literature of the South of Europe, +1884, vol. ii., pp. 95-140); + +George Ticknor's Poem of the Cid (in his History of Spanish Literature, +ed. 6, 1893, vol. i., pp. 12-26); + +W. T. Dobson's Classic Poets, (1879, pp. 35-138); + +J. G. von Herder's Der Cid, nach spanischen Romanzen besungen (in his +works, 1852, vol. xiv.), translated. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +The Poem of the Cid, Tr. by John Ormsby, 1879; + +Translations from the Poem of the Cid by John Hookam Frere (in his works, +1872, vol. ii., p. 409); + +Ballads of the Cid, Tr. by Lewis Gerard, 1883; + +Ancient Spanish Ballads, Tr. by John Gibson Lockhart, 1823. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE POEM OF THE CID. + + +Tears stood in the eyes of the Cid as he looked at his pillaged castle. +The coffers were empty, even the falcons were gone from their perches. +"Cruel wrong do I suffer from mine enemy!" he exclaimed as they rode into +Burgos. "Alvar Fanez, of a truth we are banished men." + +From the windows of Burgos town the burghers and their dames looked down +with tearful eyes upon the Cid and his sixty lances. "Would that his lord +were worthy of him," said they. + +He rode up to the gates of his house in Burgos; the king's seal was upon +them. "My lord," cried a damsel from an upper casement, "thy goods are +forfeited to the king, and he has forbidden that we open door or shelter +thee upon pain of forfeiture of our goods, yea, even of our sight!" + +Little hope then had the Cid of mercy from King Alfonso; and sooner than +bring suffering on his beloved people of Burgos he betook himself without +the city and sat him down to think of what to do. "Martin Antolinez," said +he, "I have no money with which to pay my troops. Thou must help me to get +it, and if I live I will repay thee double." + +Then the two together fashioned two stout chests covered with red leather +and studded with gilt nails, and these they filled with sand. Then Martin +Antolinez without delay sought out the money lenders, Rachel and Vidas, +and bargained with them to lend the Cid six hundred marks, and take in +pawn for them the two chests filled with treasure that he dared not at +that time take away with him. For a year they were to keep the chests and +pledge themselves not to look in them. Glad were the hearts of the money +lenders as they lifted the heavy chests, and happy was the Cid when he saw +the six hundred marks counted out before him. + +Seeking the monastery of San Pedro de Cardena, the Cid embraced his wife +Ximena and his two daughters, and left them in the protection of the +abbot, to whom he promised recompense. Hard was the pain of parting as +when the finger nail is torn away from the flesh, but a banished man has +no choice. And as they passed the night at Higeruela a sweet vision +promising success comforted the Cid in his slumbers; and many from +Castile, who heard of the departure of the hero, sought his banners to +better their fortune. + +Next day the Cid and his men took Castejon and sold the spoil to the Moors +of Hita and Guadalajara, and then my Cid passed on and planted himself +upon a lofty and strong hill opposite Alcocer, and levied tribute upon the +neighboring peoples. When he had so besieged Alcocer for fifteen weeks he +took it by stratagem, and Pero Bermuez, the slow of speech, planted his +standard on the highest part. When the King of Valencia heard of this, he +determined to capture my Cid, and accordingly sent three thousand Moors to +lay siege to Alcocer. + +When the water was cut off and bread became scarce, the six hundred +Spanish men, acting upon the advice of Minaya, took the field against the +three thousand Moors; and such was the valor of him that in a good hour +was born, and of his standard bearer, Pero Bermuez, and of the good +Minaya, that the Moors fell to the ground three hundred at a time, their +shields shivered, their mail riven, their white pennons red with blood. + +"Thanks be to God for victory!" said the Cid. In the Moorish king's camp +was found great spoil,--shields, arms, and horses. Greatly the Christians +rejoiced, for to them fell much spoil, and but fifteen of their men were +missing. Even to the Moors my Cid gave some of his spoil, and from his +share of one hundred horses he sent by Minaya thirty, saddled and bridled, +with as many swords hung at the saddle bows, to King Alfonso. Also he sent +by him a wallet of gold and silver for his wife and daughters, and to pay +for a thousand Masses at Burgos. + +Alfonso was well pleased to receive this token. "It is too soon to take +him into favor, but I will accept his present, and I am glad he won the +victory. Minaya, I pardon thee; go to the Cid and say that I will permit +any valiant man who so desires to follow him." + +Upon the hill now called the hill of the Cid, he who girt on the sword in +a good hour, took up his abode and levied tribute on the people for +fifteen weeks. But when he saw that Minaya's return was delayed, he went +even unto Saragossa, levying tribute and doing much damage, insomuch that +the Count of Barcelona, Raymond de Berenger, was provoked into making an +assault upon him in the Pine Wood of Bivar, where he was ingloriously +defeated and taken prisoner. The count was the more shamed at this because +my Cid had sent him a friendly message, saying that he did not want to +fight him, since he owed him no grudge. When Count Raymond had given up +his precious sword, the great Colada, the good one of Bivar endeavored to +make friends with his prisoner, but to no avail. The count refused meat +and drink, and was determined to die, until the Cid assured him that as +soon as he ate a hearty meal he should go free. Then he departed joyfully +from the camp, fearing even to the last lest the Cid should change his +mind, a thing the perfect one never would have done. + +Cheered by this conquest, the Cid turned to Valencia, and met a great +Moorish army, which was speedily defeated, the Cid's numbers having been +greatly increased by men who flocked to him from Spain. Two Moorish kings +were slain, and the survivors were pursued even to Valencia. Then my Cid +sat down before the city for nine months, and in the tenth month Valencia +surrendered. The spoil--who could count it? All were rich who accompanied +the Cid, and his fifth was thirty thousand marks in money, besides much +other spoil. And my Cid's renown spread throughout Spain. Wonderful was he +to look upon, for his beard had grown very long. For the love of King +Alfonso, who had banished him, he said it should never be cut, nor a hair +of it be plucked, and it should be famous among Moors and Christians. Then +he again called Minaya to him, and to King Alfonso sent a hundred horses, +with the request that his wife and daughters might be allowed to join him. +Also he sent him word that he had been joined by a good bishop, Don +Jerome, and had created for him a bishopric. + +Now were the enemies of the good one of Bivar incensed in proportion as +the king was pleased with this noble gift. And when the king silenced the +envious ones, and ordered an escort for Ximena and her daughters, and +treated Minaya with consideration, the Infantes of Carrion talked +together, commenting on the growing importance of my Cid. "It would better +our fortunes to marry his daughters, but they are below us in rank." And +so saying they sent their salutations to the Cid. + +The Cid met his wife and daughters on his new horse, Babieca, the wonder +of all Spain, and great was his joy to clasp them again in his arms. And +he took them up in the highest part of Valencia, and their bright eyes +looked over the city and the sea, and they all thanked God for giving them +so fair a prize. + +When winter was past and spring had come, the King of Morocco crossed the +sea to Valencia with fifty thousand men, and pitched his tents before the +city. Then the Cid took his wife and daughters up in the Alcazar, and +showed them the vast army. "They bring a gift for us, a dowry against the +marriage of our daughters. Because ye are here, with God's help, I shall +win the battle." + +He went forth on the good Babieca; four thousand less thirty followed him +to attack the fifty thousand Moors. The Cid's arms dripped with blood to +the elbow; the Moors he slew could not be counted. King Yucef himself he +smote three times, and only the swiftness of the horse he rode saved the +king from death. All fled who were not slain, leaving the spoil behind. +Three thousand marks of gold and silver were found there, and the other +spoil was countless. Then my Cid ordered Minaya and Pero Bermuez to take +to Alfonso the great tent of the King of Morocco, and two hundred horses. +And the king was greatly pleased, and the Infantes of Carrion, counselling +together, said, "The fame of the Cid grows greater; let us ask his +daughters in marriage." And the king gave their request to Minaya and +Bermuez, who were to bear it to the Cid. + +Said my Cid, when he heard the proposal: "The Infantes of Carrion are +haughty, and have a faction in court. I have no taste for the match; but +since my king desires it, I will be silent." + +When the king heard his answer, he appointed a meeting, and when he that +in a good hour was born saw his king, he fell at his feet to pay him +homage. But the king said: "Here do I pardon you, and grant you my love +from this day forth." + +The next day when the king presented to the Cid the offer of the Infantes, +my Cid replied: "My daughters are not of marriageable age, but I and they +are in your hands. Give them as it pleases you." Then the king +commissioned Alvar Fanez to act for him and give the daughters of my Cid +to the Infantes. + +The Cid hastened home to prepare for the wedding. The palace was +beautifully decorated with hangings of purple and samite. Rich were the +garments of the Infantes, and meek their behavior in the presence of my +Cid. The couples were wedded by the Bishop Don Jerome, and the wedding +festivities lasted for fifteen days. And for wellnigh two years the Cid +and his sons-in-law abode happily in Valencia. + +One day while my Cid was lying asleep in his palace, a lion broke loose +from its cage, and all the court were sore afraid. The Cid's followers +gathered around his couch to protect him; but Ferran Gonzalez crept +beneath the couch, crying from fear, and Diego ran into the court and +threw himself across a wine-press beam, so that he soiled his mantle. The +Cid, awakened by the noise, arose, took the lion by the mane, and dragged +him to his cage, to the astonishment of all present. Then my Cid asked for +his sons-in-law, and when they were found, pale and frightened, the whole +court laughed at them until my Cid bade them cease. And the Infantes were +deeply insulted. + +While they were still sulking over their injuries, King Bucar of Morocco +beleagured Valencia with fifty thousand tents. The Cid and his barons +rejoiced at the thought of battle; but the Infantes were sore afraid, for +they were cowards, and feared to be slain in battle. The Cid told them to +remain in Valencia; but stung by shame they went forth with Bermuez, who +reported that both had fleshed their swords in battle with the Moor. + +Great was the slaughter of the Moors on that field. Alvar Fanez, Minaya, +and the fighting bishop came back dripping with gore, and as for my Cid, +he slew King Bucar himself, and brought home the famous sword, Tizon, +worth full a thousand marks in gold. + +The Infantes, still wrathful at their humiliation, talked apart: "Let us +take our wealth and our wives and return to Carrion. Once away from the +Campeador, we will punish his daughters, so that we shall hear no more of +the affair of the lion. With the wealth we have gained from the Cid we can +now wed whom we please." + +Sore was the heart of the Cid when he heard of their determination; but he +gave them rich gifts, and also the priceless swords Colada and Tizon. "I +won them in knightly fashion," said he, "and I give them to you, for ye +are my sons, since I gave you my daughters; in them ye take the core of my +heart." He ordered Feliz Munoz, his nephew, to accompany them as an +escort, and sent them by way of Molina to salute his friend, Abengalvon +the Moor. + +The Moor received them in great state, and escorted them as far as the +Salon; but when he overheard the Infantes plotting to destroy him, and +seize his substance, he left them in anger. At night the Infantes pitched +their tents in an oak forest full of tall trees, among which roamed fierce +beasts. During the night they made a great show of love to their wives, +and the next morning ordered the escort to go on, saying that they would +follow alone. As soon as they were alone they stripped the daughters of +the Cid of their garments, beat them with their saddle-girths and spurs, +and left them for dead in the wild forest. "Now we are avenged for the +dishonor of the lion," said they, as they departed for Carrion. But Feliz +Munoz, who had suspected the Infantes, had gone forward but a little way, +and then crept back, so that from a thicket he perceived the sufferings of +his cousins. Straightway he went to their rescue, found them clothes, and +helped them home again. + +When the Cid heard of this insult to himself and his daughters, he grasped +his beard and swore a mighty oath that the Infantes would rue the day when +they had thus offended him. All of the Cid's friends strove to comfort the +ladies Elvira and Sol, and Abengalvon the Moor made them a rich supper for +love of the Cid. + +At the request of my Cid, King Alfonso summoned a Cortes at Toledo, to try +the cause of the Cid and the Infantes. Thither went the Cid, richly clad, +so that all men wondered at his rich garments, his long hair in a scarlet +and gold coif, and his uncut beard bound up with cords. He and his hundred +men wore bright hauberks under their ermines, and trenchant swords under +their mantles, for they feared treachery. + +The king appointed some of his counts as judges, and announced that he +held this, the third Cortes of his reign, for the love of the Cid. Then my +Cid stood forth. + +"I am not dishonored because the Infantes deserted my daughters," said the +Cid, "for the king gave them away, not I; but I demand my swords, Colada +and Tizon. When my lords of Carrion gave up my daughters they relinquished +all claims to my property." + +The Infantes, well pleased that he demanded no more, returned the swords; +and when the blades were unsheathed and placed in the hands of the king, +the eyes of the court were dazzled by their brightness. + +The Cid presented Tizon to his nephew and Colada to Martin Antolinez. +"Now, my king, I have another grievance. I now demand that the Infantes +restore the three thousand marks in gold and silver they carried from +Valencia. When they ceased to be my sons-in-law they ceased to own my +gold." Then the Infantes were troubled, for they had spent the money; but +the judges gave them no relief, and they were forced to pay it out of +their heritage of Carrion. + +"So please your grace," said the Cid, "still another grievance, the +greatest of all, I have yet to state. I hold myself dishonored by the +Infantes. Redress by combat they must yield, for I will take no other." + +The Count Garcia ridiculed the Cid's claim. "The noble lords of Carrion +are of princely birth; your daughters are not fitting mates for them." +Then, while his enemies were taunting him and the court broke into an +uproar, the Cid called on Pero Bermuez, "Dumb Peter," to speak. + +When Pero spoke he made himself clear. For the first time he told how like +a craven Ferrando had demeaned himself in battle, and how he himself had +slain the Moor on whom the prince had turned his back. He also reminded +Ferrando of the affair of the lion. When Diego attempted to speak, he was +silenced by Martin Antolinez, who told of the figure he cut when he clung +to the wine-press beam in an agony of fear, on the day the lion came forth +from its cage. Then the king, commanding silence, gave them permission to +fight. Martin Antolinez engaged to meet Diego, Pero Bermuez was to combat +with Ferrando, and Muno Gustioz challenged the brawler, Assur Gonzalez. It +was agreed that the combat should be held at the end of three weeks in the +vega of Carrion. + +When all had been arranged to his satisfaction, the Cid took off his coif, +and released his beard, and all the court wondered at him. Then he offered +some of his wealth to all present, and, kissing the king's hand, besought +him to take Babieca. But this the king refused to do: "Babieca is for the +like of you to keep the Moors off with. If I took him he would not have so +good a lord." + +When the day for the combat arrived, the king himself went to Carrion to +see that no treachery was used, and he said to the Infantes: "Ye have need +to fight like men. If ye come out successful, ye will receive great honor. +If ye are vanquished, the fault will be on your own heads. Seek to do no +wrong; woe betide him who attempts it!" + +Then the marshals placed the contestants in the lists and left them face +to face. Each with his gaze fixed on the other, they rushed together and +met midway of the lists. + +At the thrust of Pero's Lance, Ferrando fell from his horse and yielded, +as he saw the dread Tizon held over him. At the same time Diego fled from +the sword of Martin Antolinez, and Muno Gustioz's lance pierced Assur +Gonzalez, who begged him to hold his hand, since the Infantes were +vanquished. + +Thus the battle was won, and Don Roderick's champions gained the victory. +Great was the sorrow in the house of Carrion; but he who wrongs a noble +lady deserves such suffering. + +Rejoiced were they of Valencia when the champions brought home these +tidings, and ere long, favored by Alfonso himself, the princes of Navarre +and Aragon wooed my Cid's daughters, and were married to them with the +most splendid nuptials. Now was the Cid happy, and happier still he grew +as his honor increased, until upon the feast of Pentecost he passed away. +The grace of Christ be upon him! + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE POEM OF THE CID. + +COUNT RAYMOND AND MY CID. + + +After one of the victories over the Moors won by the Cid after his +banishment by King Alfonso, he despatched a messenger to the king with a +gift of thirty horses, and while awaiting his return, encamped in the +Pine-wood of Tebar and levied tribute on the surrounding country. This +information was conveyed to the Count of Barcelona, Raymond Berenger, who +prepared to march against the intruder. + + Great mustering there is of Moors and Christians through the land, + A mighty host of men-at-arms he hath at his command. + Two days, three nights, they march to seek the Good One of Bivar, + To snare him where he harbors in the Pine-wood of Tebar; + And such the speed of their advance, that, cumbered with his spoils, + And unaware, my Cid wellnigh was taken in the toils. + The tidings reached my Cid as down the sierra side he went, + Then straightway to Count Raymond be a friendly message sent: + "Say to the count that he, meseems, to me no grudge doth owe: + Of him I take no spoil, with him in peace I fain would go." + "Nay," said the count, "for all his deeds he hath to make amends: + This outlaw must be made to know whose honor he offends." + With utmost speed the messenger Count Raymond's answer brought; + Then of a surety knew my Cid a battle must be fought. + "Now, cavaliers," quoth he, "make safe the booty we have won. + Look to your weapons, gentlemen; with speed your armor don. + On battle bent Count Raymond comes; a mighty host hath he + Of Moors and Christians; fight we must if hence we would go free. + Here let us fight our battle out, since fight we must perforce. + On with your harness, cavaliers, quick saddle, and to horse! + Yonder they come, the linen breeks, all down the mountain side, + For saddles they have Moorish pads, with slackened girths they ride: + Our saddles are Galician make, our leggings tough and stout: + A hundred of us gentlemen should scatter such a rout. + Before they gain the level plain, home with the lance charge we, + And then, for every blow we strike, we empty saddles three. + Count Raymond Berenger shall know with whom he has to do; + And dearly in Tebar to-day his raid on me shall rue." + In serried squadron while he speaks they form around my Cid. + Each grasps his lance, and firm and square each sits upon his steed. + Over against them down the hill they watch the Franks descend, + On to the level ground below, where plain and mountain blend. + Then gives my Cid the word to charge--with a good will they go: + Fast ply the lances; some they pierce, and some they overthrow. + And he that in a good hour was born soon hath he won the field; + And the Count Raymond Berenger he hath compelled to yield; + And reaping honor for his beard a noble prize hath made: + A thousand marks of silver worth, the great Colada blade. + + Unto his quarters under guard the captive count he sent, + While his men haste to gather in their spoils in high content. + Then for my Cid Don Roderick a banquet they prepare; + But little doth Count Raymond now for feast or banquet care. + They bring him meat and drink, but he repels them with disdain. + "No morsel will I touch," said he, "for all the wealth of Spain. + Let soul and body perish now; life why should I prolong, + Conquered and captive at the hands of such an ill-breeched throng?" + "Nay," said my Cid; "take bread and wine; eat, and thou goest free; + If not, thy realms in Christendom thou never more shalt see." + "Go thou, Don Roderick," said the Count, "eat if thou wilt, but I + Have no more lust for meat and drink: I only crave to die." + Three days, while they the booty share, for all that they entreat, + The Count his purpose holds unchanged, refusing still to eat. + Then said my Cid, "I pray thee, Count, take food and trust to me; + Thyself and two knights of thy train I promise to set free." + Glad was Count Raymond in his heart when he the promise heard-- + "A marvel that will be, my Cid, if thou dost keep thy word." + "Then, Count, take food, and when I see thy hunger satisfied, + My word is pledged to let thee go, thyself and two beside. + But understand, one farthing's worth I render not again + Of what has been in battle lost and won on yonder plain. + I give not back the lawful spoils I fairly win in fight; + But for mine own and vassals' wants I hold them as my right. + My followers are needy men; I cannot if I would; + For spoil from thee and others won is all our livelihood. + And such, while God's good will it is, must be our daily life, + As outcasts forced to wander, with an angry king at strife." + With lighter heart Count Raymond called for water for his hands, + And then with his two gentlemen, sent by the Cid's commands, + He blithely sat him down to meat: God! with what gust ate he! + And glad was the Campeador such heartiness to see. + Quoth he, "Until thou eat thy fill we part not, Count, to-day." + "Nor loth am I," Count Raymond said, "such bidding to obey." + So he and his two cavaliers a hearty meal they made: + It pleased my Cid to watch his hands, how lustily they played. + "Now if thou wilt," Count Raymond said, "that we are satisfied, + Bid them to lead the horses forth, that we may mount and ride. + Never since I have been a Count have I yet broken fast + With such a relish; long shall I remember this repast." + Three palfreys with caparisons of costly sort they bring, + And on the saddles robes of fur and mantles rich they fling. + Thus, with a knight on either hand, away Count Raymond rides; + While to the outposts of the camp his guests the Champion guides. + "Now speed thee, Count; ride on," quoth he, "a free Frank as thou art. + For the brave spoil thou leavest me I thank thee from my heart; + And if to win it back again perchance thou hast a mind, + Come thou and seek me when thou wilt; I am not far to find. + But if it be not to thy taste to try another day, + Still, somewhat, be it mine or thine, thou carriest away." + "Nay! go in peace for me, my Cid: no more I seek of thee; + And thou, I think, for one year's space hast won enough of me." + He spurred his steed, but, as he rode, a backward glance he bent, + Still fearing to the last my Cid his promise would repent: + A thing, the world itself to win, my Cid would not have done: + No perfidy was ever found in him, the Perfect One. + _Ormsby's Translation._ + + + + +MY CID'S TRIUMPH. + + +In the Cortes called by the King of Spain to hear the cause of the Cid, +whose daughters had been shamefully treated and deserted by their +husbands, the Infantes of Carrion, Ferran and Diego Gonzalez, the Cid +demanded the restitution of his swords and of three thousand marks of gold +and silver he had given the Infantes. These being granted, the Cid spoke +again:-- + + "So please your grace! once more upon your clemency I call; + A grievance yet remains untold, the greatest grief of all. + And let the court give ear, and weigh the wrong that hath been done. + I hold myself dishonored by the lords of Carrion. + Redress by combat they must yield; none other will I take. + How now, Infantes! what excuse, what answer do ye make? + Why have ye laid my heartstrings bare? In jest or earnest, say, + Have I offended you? and I will make amends to-day. + My daughters in your hands I placed the day that forth ye went, + And rich in wealth and honors from Valencia were you sent. + Why did you carry with you brides ye loved not, treacherous curs? + Why tear their flesh in Corpes wood with saddle-girths and spurs, + And leave them to the beasts of prey? Villains throughout were ye! + What answer ye can make to this 't is for the court to see." + The Count Garcia was the first that rose to make reply. + "So please ye, gracious king, of all the kings of Spain most high; + Strange is the guise in which my Cid before you hath appeared; + To grace your summoned court he comes, with that long straggling beard; + With awe struck dumb, methinks, are some; some look as though they + feared. + The noble lords of Carrion of princely race are born; + To take the daughters of my Cid for lemans they should scorn; + Much more for brides of equal birth: in casting them aside-- + We care not for his blustering talk--we hold them justified." + Upstood the Champion, stroked his beard, and grasped it in his hands. + "Thanks be to God above," he cried, "who heaven and earth commands, + A long and lordly growth it is, my pleasure and my pride; + In this my beard, Garcia, say, what find you to deride? + Its nurture since it graced my chin hath ever been my care; + No son of woman born hath dared to lay a finger there; + No son of Christian or of Moor hath ever plucked a hair. + Remember Cabra, Count! of thine the same thou canst not say: + On both thy castle and thy beard I laid my hand that day: + Nay! not a groom was there but he his handful plucked away. + Look, where my hand hath been, my lords, all ragged yet it grows!" + With noisy protest breaking in Ferran Gonzalez rose: + "Cid, let there be an end of this; your gifts you have again, + And now no pretext for dispute between us doth remain. + Princes of Carrion are we, with fitting brides we mate; + Daughters of emperors or kings, not squires of low estate: + We brook not such alliances, and yours we rightly spurned." + My Cid, Ruy Diaz, at the word, quick to Bermuez turned. + "Now is the time, Dumb Peter, speak, O man that sittest mute! + My daughters' and thy cousins' name and fame are in dispute; + To me they speak, to thee they look to answer every word. + If I am left to answer now, thou canst not draw thy sword." + Tongue-tied Bermuez stood, awhile he strove for words in vain, + But, look you, when he once began he made his meaning plain. + "Cid, first I have a word for you: you always are the same, + In Cortes ever jibing me, 'Dumb Peter' is the name: + It never was a gift of mine, and that long since you knew; + But have you found me fail in aught that fell to me to do? + You lie, Ferrando; lie in all you say upon that score. + The honor was to you, not him, the Cid Campeador; + For I know something of your worth, and somewhat I can tell. + That day beneath Valencia wall--you recollect it well-- + You prayed the Cid to place you in the forefront of the fray; + You spied a Moor, and valiantly you went that Moor to slay; + And then you turned and fled--for his approach, you would not stay. + Right soon he would have taught you 't was a sorry game to play, + Had I not been in battle there to take your place that day. + I slew him at the first onfall; I gave his steed to you; + To no man have I told the tale from that hour hitherto. + Before the Cid and all his men you got yourself a name, + How you in single combat slew a Moor--a deed of fame; + And all believed in your exploit; they wist not of your shame. + You are a craven at the core; tall, handsome, as you stand: + How dare you talk as now you talk, you tongue without a hand? + Again, Ferrando, call to mind--another tale for you-- + That matter of the lion; it was at Valencia too. + My Cid lay sleeping when you saw the unchained lion near; + What did you do, Ferrando, then, in your agony of fear? + Low did you crouch behind the couch whereon the Champion lay: + You did, Ferrando, and by that we rate your worth to-day. + We gathered round to guard our lord, Valencia's conqueror. + He rose, and to the lion went, the brave Campeador; + The lion fawned before his feet and let him grasp its mane; + He thrust it back into its cage; he turned to us again: + His trusty vassals to a man he saw around him there; + Where were his sons-in-law? he asked, and none could tell him where. + Now take thou my defiance as a traitor, trothless knight: + Upon this plea before our King Alfonso will I fight; + The daughters of my lord are wronged, their wrong is mine to right. + That ye those ladies did desert, the baser are ye then; + For what are they?--weak women; and what are ye?--strong men. + On every count I deem their cause to be the holier, + And I will make thee own it when we meet in battle here. + Traitor thou shalt confess thyself, so help me God on high, + And all that I have said to-day my sword shall verify." + + Thus far these two. Diego rose, and spoke as ye shall hear: + "Counts by our birth are we, of stain our lineage is clear. + In this alliance with my Cid there was no parity. + If we his daughters cast aside, no cause for shame we see. + And little need we care if they in mourning pass their lives, + Enduring the reproach that clings to scorned rejected wives. + In leaving them we but upheld our honor and our right, + And ready to the death am I, maintaining this, to fight." + Here Martin Antolinez sprang upon his feet: "False hound! + Will you not silent keep that mouth where truth was never found? + For you to boast! the lion scare have you forgotten too? + How through the open door you rushed, across the court-yard flew; + How sprawling in your terror on the wine-press beam you lay? + Ay! never more, I trow, you wore the mantle of that day. + There is no choice; the issue now the sword alone can try; + The daughters of my Cid ye spurned; that must ye justify. + On every count I here declare their cause the cause of right, + And thou shall own the treachery the day we join in fight." + He ceased, and striding up the hall Assur Gonzalez passed; + His cheek was flushed with wine, for he had stayed to break his fast; + Ungirt his robe, and trailing low his ermine mantle hung; + Rude was his bearing to the court, and reckless was his tongue. + "What a to-do is here, my lords! was the like ever seen? + What talk is this about my Cid--him of Bivar, I mean? + To Riodouirna let him go to take his millers' rent, + And keep his mills agoing there, as once he was content. + He, forsooth, mate his daughters with the Counts of Carrion!" + Up started Muno Gustioz: "False, foul-mouthed knave, have done! + Thou glutton, wont to break thy fast without a thought of prayer, + Whose heart is plotting mischief when thy lips are speaking fair; + Whose plighted word to friend or lord hath ever proved a lie; + False always to thy fellow-man, falser to God on high. + No share in thy good will I seek; one only boon I pray, + The chance to make thee own thyself the villain that I say." + Then spoke the king: "Enough of words: ye have my leave to fight, + The challenged and the challengers; and God defend the right." + + * * * * * + + The marshals leave them face to face and from the lists are gone; + Here stand the champions of my Cid, there those of Carrion; + Each with his gaze intent and fixed upon his chosen foe, + Their bucklers braced before their breasts, their lances pointing low, + Their heads bent down, as each man leans above his saddle-bow. + Then with one impulse every spur is in the charger's side, + And earth itself is felt to shake beneath their furious stride; + Till, midway meeting, three with three, in struggle fierce they lock, + While all account them dead who hear the echo of the shock. + Ferrando and his challenger, Pero Bermuez, close; + Firm are the lances held, and fair the shields receive the blows. + Through Pero's shield Ferrando drove his lance, a bloodless stroke; + The point stopped short in empty space, the shaft in splinters broke. + But on Bermuez, firm of seat, the shock fell all in vain; + And while he took Ferrando's thrust he paid it back again. + The armored buckler shattering, right home his lance he pressed, + Driving the point through boss and plate against his foeman's breast. + Three folds of mail Ferrando wore, they stood him in good stead; + Two yielded to the lance's point, the third held fast the head. + But forced into the flesh it sank a hand's breadth deep or more, + Till bursting from the gasping lips in torrents gushed the gore. + Then, the girths breaking, o'er the croup borne rudely to the ground, + He lay, a dying man it seemed to all who stood around. + Bermuez cast his lance aside, and sword in hand came on; + Ferrando saw the blade he bore, he knew it was Tizon: + Quick ere the dreaded brand could fall, "I yield me," came the cry. + Vanquished the marshals granted him, and Pero let him lie. + + And Martin Antolinez and Diego--fair and true + Each struck upon the other's shield, and wide the splinters flew. + Then Antolinez seized his sword, and as he drew the blade, + A dazzling gleam of burnished steel across the meadow played; + And at Diego striking full, athwart the helmet's crown, + Sheer through the steel plates of the casque he drove the falchion down, + Through coif and scarf, till from the scalp the locks it razed away, + And half shorn off and half upheld the shattered head-piece lay. + Reeling beneath the blow that proved Colada's cruel might, + Diego saw no chance but one, no safety save in flight: + He wheeled and fled, but close behind him Antolinez drew; + With the flat blade a hasty blow he dealt him as he flew; + But idle was Diego's sword; he shrieked to Heaven for aid: + "O God of glory, give me help! save me from yonder blade!" + Unreined, his good steed bore him safe and swept him past the bound, + And Martin Antolinez stood alone upon the ground. + "Come hither," said the king; "thus far the conquerors are ye." + And fairly fought and won the field the marshals both agree. + So much for these, and how they fought: remains to tell you yet + How meanwhile Muno Gustioz Assur Gonzalez met. + With a strong arm and steady aim each struck the other's shield, + And under Assur's sturdy thrusts the plates of Muno's yield; + But harmless passed the lance's point, and spent its force in air. + Not so Don Muno's; on the shield of Assur striking fair, + Through plate and boss and foeman's breast his pennoned lance he sent, + Till out between the shoulder blades a fathom's length it went. + Then, as the lance he plucked away, clear from the saddle swung, + With one strong wrench of Muno's wrist to earth was Assur flung; + And back it came, shaft, pennon, blade, all stained a gory red; + Nor was there one of all the crowd but counted Assur sped, + While o'er him Muno Gustioz stood with uplifted brand. + Then cried Gonzalo Assurez: "In God's name hold thy hand! + Already have ye won the field; no more is needed now." + And said the marshals, "It is just, and we the claim allow." + And then the King Alfonso gave command to clear the ground, + And gather in the relics of the battle strewed around. + And from the field in honor went Don Roderick's champions three. + Thanks be to God, the Lord of all, that gave the victory. + + But fearing treachery, that night upon their way they went, + As King Alfonso's honored guests in safety homeward sent, + And to Valencia city day and night they journeyed on, + To tell my Cid Campeador that his behest was done. + But in the lands of Carrion it was a day of woe, + And on the lords of Carrion it fell a heavy blow. + He who a noble lady wrongs and casts aside--may he + Meet like requital for his deeds, or worse, if worse there be. + But let us leave them where they lie--their meed is all men's scorn. + + Turn we to speak of him that in a happy hour was born. + Valencia the Great was glad, rejoiced at heart to see + The honored champions of her lord return in victory: + And Ruy Diaz grasped his beard: "Thanks be to God," said he, + "Of part or lot in Carrion now are my daughters free; + Now may I give them without shame whoe'er the suitors be." + And favored by the king himself, Alfonso of Leon, + Prosperous was the wooing of Navarre and Aragon, + The bridals of Elvira and of Sol in splendor passed; + Stately the former nuptials were, but statelier far the _hast_. + And he that in a good hour was born, behold how he _hath_ sped! + His daughters now to higher rank and greater honor wed: + Sought by Navarre and Aragon for queens his daughters twain; + And monarchs of his blood to-day upon the thrones of Spain. + And so his honor in the land grows greater day by day. + Upon the feast of Pentecost from life he passed away. + For him and all of us the Grace of Christ let us implore. + And here ye have the story of my Cid Campeador. + _Ormsby's Translation._ + + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + "This Poem of the earth and air, + This mediaeval miracle of song." + + +Dante Alighieri was born at Florence, in May, 1265. His family belonged to +the Guelph, or Papal faction, and he early took part in the struggle +between the parties. In 1274 he first saw Beatrice Portinari, and he says +of this meeting in the "Vita Nuova," "I say that thenceforward Love swayed +my soul, which was even then espoused to him." Beatrice died in 1290, and +Dante married Gemma Donati, between 1291 and 1294. In 1295 he joined the +Art of Druggists, in order to become a member of the Administrative +Council. In 1300 he was made Prior, and in 1301, when the Neri entered +Florence, he was exiled, his property confiscated, and himself sentenced +to be burned, if found within the republic. After this he became a +Ghibeline, and took up arms against the city with his fellow-exiles, but +withdrew from their council at last because of disagreements, and +separating from them, spent his time at Verona, Padua, Sunigianda, and in +the monastery of Gubbio. In 1316 the government of Florence issued a +decree allowing the exiles to return on payment of a fine; but Dante +indignantly refused to acknowledge thus that he had been in the wrong. He +was in Ravenna in 1320, and died there Sept. 14, 1321, on his return from +an embassy to Venice. + +The "Commedia" was written during Dante's nineteen years of exile. The +three parts, Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, are emblematic of the +threefold state of man,--sin, grace, and beatitude. The thirty-three +cantos into which each part is divided, are in allusion to the years of +the Saviour's life, and the triple rhyme suggests the Trinity. + +The Divine Comedy is written in the _terza rima_, which consists of three +verses arranged in such a way that the middle line of each triplet rhymes +with the first or third verse of the succeeding triplet. + +The entire time occupied in the "Commedia" is eleven days, from March 25 +to April 5, 1300. + +Dante called the poem a comedy because of its prosperous ending. The +prefix "divine" was given it later by its admirers. + +The Divine Comedy is sometimes called the epic of mediaevalism, and again, +the epic of man. Dante himself said: "The subject of the whole work, then, +taken literally, is the state of the soul after death, regarded as a +matter of fact; for the action of the whole work deals with this and is +about this. But if the work be taken allegorically, its subject is man, in +so far as by merit or demerit in the exercise of free will, he is exposed +to the rewards or punishment of justice." + +For a time the Divine Comedy was neglected, and even in comparatively +recent times the Inferno was the only portion read; but of late years +there has been a re-awakening of interest in regard to the whole poem. + +In no other of the epics has the author put so much of himself as Dante +has in the "Commedia." It was he himself who saw this vision; he himself, +proud, tortured, who carried the sense of his wrongs with him through Hell +and Purgatory, even into Paradise. We learn the history of his times, all +the crimes committed by men in high position, and we also learn the +history of the unhappy Florentine, of whose poem it has been said, "none +other in the world is so deeply and universally sorrowful." + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + +J. Colomb de Batines's Bibliografia Dantesca, 2 vols., 1846; + +William Coolidge Lane's The Dante collections in the Harvard College and +Boston Public Libraries (Bibliographical contributions of the library of +Harvard University, 1885); + +William Coolidge Lane's Additions to the Dante collection in the Harvard +Library (see the Annual Reports of the Dante Society of Cambridge, Mass., +1887); + +Brother Azarius's Spiritual Sense of the Divina Commedia (in his Phases of +Thought and Criticism, 1892, pp. 125-182); + +Henry Clark Barlow's Critical Contributions to the Study of the Divine +Comedy, 1865; + +Herbert Baynes's Dante and his Ideal, 1891; + +Vincenzo Botta's Introduction to the Study of Dante, 1887; + +Oscar Browning's Dante, his Life and Writing, 1890, pp. 70-104; + +A. J. Butler's Dante, his Time and Work, 1895; + +Richard William Church's Dante and Other Essays, 1888, pp. 1-191; + +J. Farrazzi's Manuale Dantesco, 5 vols., 1865-77; + +William Torrey Harris's Spiritual Sense of Dante's Divina Commedia, 1890; + +Francis Hettinger's Dante's Divina Commedia, its Scope and Value, Tr. by +H. S. Bowden, 1887 (Roman Catholic standpoint); + +J. R. Lowell's Essay on Dante (in his Among my Books, 1876); + +Lewis E. Mott's Dante and Beatrice, an Essay on Interpretation, 1892; + +Giovanni Andrea Scartazzini's A Companion to Dante, from the German, by A. +J. Butler, 1892; + +Denton J. Snider's Dante's Inferno: a Commentary, 1892; + +Augustus Hopkins Strong's Dante and the Divine Comedy (in his Philosophy +and Religion, 1888, pp. 501-524); + +John Addington Symonds's An Introduction to the Study of Dante, Ed. 2, +1890; + +Paget Toynbee's Dictionary of the Divina Commedia, 2 parts; + +William Warren Vernon's Readings on the Purgatorio of Dante, chiefly based +on the Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola; Intro. by the Dean of St. Paul's, +2 vols., 1889; + +Dr. Edward Moore's Time References in the Divina Commedia, London, 1887; + +Dr. E. Moore's Contributions to the Textual Criticism of the Divina +Commedia, Cambridge, 1889. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE DIVINE COMEDY. + + +The Divine Comedy, the Inferno, a literal prose translation with the text +of the original collated from the best editions, with explanatory notes by +J. A. Carlyle, Ed. 6, 1891 (contains valuable chapters on manuscripts, +translations, etc.); + +Divina Commedia, edited with translation and notes by A. J. Butler, 1892; + +Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise, Tr. by H. F. Cary, 1888; + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. by H. W. Longfellow, 1887; + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. by C. E. Norton, 1891-92 (rhythmical prose +translation); + +The Divine Comedy, Tr. of the Commedia and Lanzoniere, notes, essays, and +biographical introduction by E. H. Plumptre, 1887; + +Divina Commedia, Tr. into English verse with notes and illustrations by J. +A. Wilstach, 2 vols., 1888. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE HELL. + + +The Hell conceived by Dante was made by the falling of Lucifer to the +centre of the earth. It was directly under Jerusalem. The earth, displaced +by Lucifer's fall, made the Mount of Purgatory, which was the antipodes of +Jerusalem. + +The unbarred entrance gate, over which stands the inscription, "Leave hope +behind, all ye who enter here," leads into a Vestibule, or Ante-Hell, a +dark plain separated from Hell proper by the river Acheron. Hell proper +then falls into three great divisions for the punishment of the sins of +Incontinence, Bestiality, and Malice, which are punished in nine circles, +each circle sub-divided. Circle One is the Limbo of the Unbaptized. +Circles Two, Three, Four, and Five are reserved for the punishment of the +sins of Incontinence, Lasciviousness, Gluttony, Avarice with Prodigality, +and Anger with Melancholy. In Circle Six is punished the sin of +Bestiality, under which fall Infidelity and Heresiarchy, Bestiality having +here its Italian meaning of folly. In Circles Seven and Eight is punished +Malice, subdivided into Violence and Fraud. There are three divisions of +Violence,--the Violent against their neighbors (Tyrants, Murderers, etc.); +the Violent against themselves (Suicides); and the violent against God +(Blasphemers, etc.); and ten divisions of Circle Eight,--Fraud, _i.e._, +Seducers, Flatterers, Simoniacs, Soothsayers, Barrators, Hypocrites, +Thieves, False Counsellors, Schismatics, and Forgers and Falsifiers. Below +these ten pits yawns the well of the giants, above which the giants tower +so that half their persons is visible. Within this well in Circle Nine is +Cocytus, a lake of ice divided into four belts,--Caina, Antenora, +Ptolemaea, and Judecca, where are punished, respectively, the Betrayers of +their kindred, of their country, of their friends and guests, and of their +benefactors. At the bottom of the pit is Lucifer, half above the ice and +half below it, the centre of his body being the centre of gravity. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE HELL. + + +The poet Dante, in the thirty-fifth year of his life, this being the year +1300 A. D., on New Year's day of the old reckoning, lost his way in a +rough and thorny forest, and when he attempted to regain it by mounting a +hill that rose before him resplendent in sunshine, encountered a leopard, +a lion, and a wolf. Driven back by these, and utterly despairing of +rescue, he met one who declared himself to be that Vergil who had sung the +fall of Troy and the flight of Aeneas, and who promised to take him through +the lower world and Purgatory, even unto Paradise. Dante questioned why it +was permitted to him to take the journey denied to so many others, and was +told that Vergil had been sent to his rescue by the beauteous Beatrice, +long since in Paradise. When the poet, trembling with fear, heard that the +shining eyes of Beatrice had wept over his danger in the forest, and that +she had sought the gates of hell to effect his rescue, his strength was +renewed, even as the flowers, chilled by the frosts of night, uplift +themselves in the bright light of the morning sun; and he entered without +fear on the deep and savage way. + +This allegory, being interpreted, probably means that the poet, entangled +in the dark forest of political anarchy, was driven from the hill of civil +order by the Leopard of Pleasure (Florence), the Lion of Ambition +(France), and the Wolf of Avarice (Rome), and was by divine grace granted +a vision of the three worlds that he might realize what comes after death, +and be the more firmly established in the right political +faith,--Ghibellinism. + +"Through me is the way into the sorrowful city; into eternal dole among +the lost people. Justice incited my sublime Creator. Divine Omnipotence, +the highest wisdom, and the Primal Love created me. Before me, there were +no created things. Only eternal, and I eternal, last. Abandon hope, all ye +who enter here!" + +Such was the inscription over the doorway, after the reading of which +Dante's ears were assailed by words of agony and heart-rending cries. +"This," said Vergil, "is the home of those melancholy souls who lived +without infamy and without praise. Cowards and selfish in life, they are +denied even entrance to hell." As they looked, a long train passed by, +stung by gadflies and following a whirling standard. + +Charon, about whose eyes were wheels of flame, endeavored to drive the +poet and his guide away as they stood among the weary and naked souls that +gathered shivering on the margin of Acheron; but as a blast of wind and a +burst of crimson light caused a deep sleep to fall on the poet, he was +wafted across the river, and awaking he found himself in the Limbo of the +Unbaptized, the first of the nine circles of hell, where were the souls of +many men, women, and infants, whose only punishment was, without hope, to +live on in desire. Here was no torment, only the sadness caused by the +ever-unsatisfied longing for the ever-denied divine grace. This was +Vergil's abode, and in the noble castles set among the green enamelled +meadows dwelt Homer, Horace, and Ovid, Electra, Hector, and Camilla. + +Passing down a narrow walk into a region of semi-darkness, they entered +the second circle, where Minos stood, judging the sinners and girding +himself with his tail as many times as was the number of the circle to +which the spirit was to go. Here in darkness and storm were the carnal +sinners, whose punishment was to be beaten hither and thither by the +winds,--Semiramis, Dido, Cleopatra, Paris, Tristan, and all those who had +sinned for love, and here Dante conversed with the spirit of Francesca da +Rimini, whom he had known in life, and her lover Paolo, slain for their +sin by her husband. Though there is no greater sorrow than to be mindful +of the happy time in misery, she assured Dante that the sorrows of Hell +were lightened by the presence of Paolo. + +At the sight of Paolo's grief Dante fell swooning with pity, and awoke to +find himself in the circle where a cold rain fell forever on the gluttons. +Cerberus guarded the entrance, and now and again devoured the unhappy ones +who lay prone on their faces in the murk and mire. Here Ciacco of Florence +recognized and spoke with Dante, falling back in the mire as the poet +passed on, to rise no more until the Day of Judgment. + +Plutus guarded the fourth circle, where were confined the avaricious and +prodigal, who, divided into two bands, rolled weights against each other, +uttering wretched insults. Down the sloping banks to the marsh of the Styx +the poets went, past the sullen and angry, who in life refused the comfort +of the sweet air and gladdening sun, and were in consequence doomed +forever to remain buried in the sullen mire. As Dante and Vergil passed +over the Styx in the boat of the vile Phlegyas, Dante was saluted by the +spirit of the once haughty and arrogant Philippo Argenti, whom he +repulsed, and gladly saw set upon and torn by the people of the mire. + +Then appeared to him the mosques of the city of Dis, within the valley, +vermilion-hued from the fire eternal. Deep were the moats; the walls +appeared to be of iron. Upon the flaming summit sat the Furies, stained +with blood, begirt with Hydras. Here even Vergil trembled as they waited +the arrival of one sent from Heaven to open the gate and admit them. + +Within, over the plain, were scattered sepulchres heated red hot, with +uplifted coverings, from which issued forth dire laments from the Infidels +and Heresiarchs tormented within. To Farinata degli Uberti, who rose from +his tomb to ask the news of Florence, Dante spoke, observing in the mean +time a shade that, on hearing the Tuscan tongue, rose next Uberti, +questioning, "Where is my son, my Guido?" Fancying from the poet's delay +in answering, and his use of the past tense, that his beloved child no +longer enjoyed the sweet light, Cavalcante fell back and appeared no more. + +Leaving the dismal plain, whose countless tombs would remain open until +the Judgment Day, the poets entered upon the next and seventh circle, +composed of three smaller circles in which were punished the Violent +against their neighbors, against nature, and against God. The steep banks +of the ravine were guarded by the huge Minotaur, from which Dante and +Vergil escaped only by running. + +Within Phlegethon, the boiling river of blood, stood the tyrants, among +whom were Dionysius, Azzolin, and Attila, uttering loud laments. If they +ventured to stir from their place of torment they were pierced by the +arrows of the Centaurs that guarded the banks. The Centaur Nessus conveyed +Dante across the river into the second circle, the dolorous forest, where +the Violent against nature, the Suicides, were transformed into closely +set, twisted thorn-trees, infested with harpies that fed on their leaves, +inflicting perpetual pain; thence into the third circle, where the Violent +against God, chief among whom was the arrogant Capaneus, dwelt in a sandy +plain surrounded by the dolorous forest. Upon the naked souls, some of +whom were lying supine, some crouching, others moving about continually, +fell a perpetual shower of flakes of fire. + +Picking their way along the edge of the forest, not daring to step on the +sand waste, the poets came upon a little blood-red rivulet quenching the +flames above it, Phlegethon again, formed by the rivers Acheron and Styx, +whose source is the tears of Time. As they skirted the forest they saw a +troop of spirits hastening past, one of whom, after a sharp look, grasped +Dante's garment exclaiming, "What a wonder!" The baked countenance, the +ghastly face, was that of his old teacher Ser Brunetto, who not daring to +stop for fear of increasing his punishment, followed him, questioning him +on his appearance below, and comforting him by the assurance of his future +greatness. Deep were the burns in the limbs of the other Florentines Dante +met below, to whom he gave tidings of the state of affairs in their former +home. + +Mounting on the shoulders of the hideous monster Geryon, the poets were +carried into a fearful abyss whose sides were Alp-like in steepness. This +was the eighth circle, Malebolge, or Evil pits, consisting of ten +concentric bolge, or ditches of stone with dikes between and rough bridges +running across them to the centre. + +In the first pit Jason and other deceivers of women were being lashed by +horned demons. In pit two, a Florentine friend of Dante's was submerged +with others in filth as a punishment for flattery. In pit three the +Simoniacs were placed head down in purses in the earth, their projecting +feet tortured with flames. The poets crossed the bridge, and Vergil +carried Dante down the sloping bank so that he could speak to one who +proved to be the unhappy Nicholas III., who accused Boniface for his evil +deeds and expressed a longing for his arrival in this place of torture. +From the next bridge-top Dante dimly perceived the slow procession of +weeping soothsayers with heads reversed on their shoulders. There walked +Amphiarus, Tiresias, Manto, and Michael Scott. So great was Dante's sorrow +on beholding the misery of these men who had once been held in such great +esteem, that he leaned against a crag and wept until reproved by Vergil as +a reprobate for feeling compassion at the doom divine. Through the +semi-darkness the poets looked down into pit five, where devils with +fantastic names pitched barrators into a lake of boiling pitch and speared +those who dared to raise their heads above the surface. From these Evil +Claws Dante and Vergil escaped only by running into the sixth pit, where +walked the hypocrites in richly gilded mantles. When Dante wondered at +their weary faces and their tears, he was told by two of the Frati +Gaudenti (Jolly Friars) of Florence who suffered here, that the cloaks and +hoods were of heaviest lead, a load that grew more irksome with the ages. +Caiaphas, Annas, and the members of the council that condemned Christ lay +on the ground transfixed with stakes, and over their bodies passed the +slow moving train of the hypocrites. The next bridge lay in ruins as a +result of the earthquake at the Crucifixion, and Vergil experienced the +utmost difficulty in conveying Dante up the crags to a point where he +could look down into the dark dungeon of thieves, where the naked throng +were entwined with serpents and at their bite changed from man to serpent +and back again. Some burned and fell into ashes at the venomous bite, only +to rise again and suffer new tortures. Here Dante spoke with Vanni Fucci +of Pistoja, who robbed the sacristy of Florence, and whose face "was +painted with a melancholy shame" at being seen in his misery. The eighth +pit was brightly lighted by the flames that moved back and forth, each +concealing within an evil counsellor. Ulysses and Diomed walked together +in a flame cleft at the top, for the crime of robbing Deidamia of +Achilles, of stealing the Palladium, and of fabricating the Trojan horse. +As Dante looked into pit nine he saw a troop compelled to pass continually +by a demon with a sharp sword who mutilated each one each time he made the +round of the circle, so that the wounds never healed. These were the evil +counsellors. Mahomet was there; there too was Ali. But ghastliest of +sights was that of a headless trunk walking through the grim plain, +holding its severed head by the hair like a lantern, and exclaiming "O +me!" This was the notorious Bertrand de Born, the Troubadour, who had +caused dissension between Henry II. of England and his son. Among this +throng Dante recognized his kinsman Geri del Bello, who gave him a +disdainful look because he had not yet avenged his death. From the tenth +and last pit of Malebolge came a stench as great as though it came from +all the hospitals of Valdichiana, Maremma, and Sardinia, between July and +September. All the loathsome diseases were gathered into this moat to +afflict the forgers and falsifiers. Here Dante saw Athamas, mad king of +Thebes, the mad Gianni Schicchi, and Messer Adam of Brescia, the false +coiner, who, distorted with dropsy, was perishing of thirst, and thinking +constantly of the cool rivulets that descended from the verdant hills of +Casentino. + +As Dante and his guide turned their backs on the wretched valley and +ascended the bank that surrounded it, the blare of a loud horn fell upon +their ears, louder than Roland's blast at Roncesvalles. This came from the +plain of the giants between Malebolge and the mouth of the infernal pit. +All around the pit, or well, were set the giants with half their bodies +fixed in earth. Nimrod, as a punishment for building the tower of Babel, +could speak no language, but babbled some gibberish. Ephialtes, Briareus, +and Antaeus were here, all horrible in aspect; Antaeus, less savage than +the others, lifted the two poets, and stooping set them down in the pit +below. This was the last and ninth circle, a dismal pit for the punishment +of traitors, who were frozen in the vast lake that Cocytus formed here. In +Caina were the brothers Alessandro and Napoleone degli Alberti, mutual +fratricides, their heads frozen together. In Antenora was that Guelph +Bocca who had caused his party's defeat; but the most horrible sight they +encountered was in Ptolemaea, where Count Ugolino, who had been shut up +with his sons and grandsons in a tower to starve by the Archbishop +Ruggieri, was now revenging himself in their place of torture by +continually gnawing the archbishop's head, frozen in the ice next his own. +Farther down they walked among those who, when they shed tears over their +woe had their teardrops frozen, so that even this solace was soon denied +them. Dante promised to break the frozen veil from the eyes of one who +prayed for aid, but when he learned that it was the Friar Alberigo, whose +body was still on earth, and whose soul was already undergoing punishment, +he refused, "for to be rude to him was courtesy." + +In the fourth and last division of the ninth circle, the Judecca, a strong +wind was blowing. Then Dante saw the emperor of the kingdom frozen in the +ice, a mighty giant foul to look upon, with three faces, vermilion, white +and yellow, and black. The waving of his two featherless wings caused the +great winds that froze Cocytus. Teardrops fell from his six eyes; in each +mouth he was crunching a sinner, Judas Iscariot, Brutus, and Cassius. + +Being warned by Vergil that it was time to depart, Dante clasped his guide +around his neck, and Vergil began to climb down the huge monster until +they reached his middle, the centre of gravity, where with much difficulty +they turned and climbed upward along the subterranean course of Lethe, +until they again beheld the stars. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PURGATORY. + + +The Purgatory of Dante is situated on a mountain top on the opposite side +of the earth from Jerusalem, and is surrounded by the western ocean. The +souls of those who go there collect on the banks of the Tiber, and are +taken to the mountain in a boat by an angel pilot. The shores of the +island are covered with the reeds of humility. Around the base of the +mount dwell the souls that, repenting late, must "expiate each year of +deferred penitence with thirty years of deferred Purgatory" unless the +time be shortened by the prayers of their friends on earth. There are +three stages of this Ante-Purgatory: the first, for those who put off +conversion through negligence; the second, for those who died by violence +and repented while dying; the third, for those monarchs who were too much +absorbed in earthly greatness to give much thought to the world to come. +The ascent of the terraces, as also those of Purgatory proper, is very +difficult, and is not allowed to be made after sunset. The gate of St. +Peter separates Ante-Purgatory from Purgatory proper. Three steps, the +first of polished white marble, the second of purple, rough and cracked, +and the third of blood-red porphyry, signifying confession, contrition, +and penance, lead to the gate where sits the angel clad in a penitential +robe, with the gold and silver keys with which to unlock the outer and +inner gates. Purgatory proper consists of seven terraces, in each of which +one of the seven capital sins, Pride, Anger, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and +Lasciviousness are punished; Pride first, because no other sin can be +purged from the body until this deepest sin is eliminated. The soul, +cleansed of these sins, mounts to the terrestrial paradise, which, above +the sphere of air, crowns the Mount of Purgatory. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PURGATORY. + + +As morning dawned and the poets slowly climbed out of the infernal region +and stepped upon the isle from which the Mount of Purgatory rises, they +were accosted by an old man with long white hair and beard, Cato of Utica, +who demanded the reason of their coming, and only permitted them to remain +when he heard that a lady from Heaven had given the command. Then he +ordered Vergil to lave the smoke of Hell from Dante's face in the waves of +the sea, and to gird him with the reed of humility. As the sun rose a +radiant angel, guiding a boat laden with souls, appeared, and the poets +fell on their knees until he departed. + +As the newly-landed spirits questioned Vergil of the way up the mountain, +Dante recognized among them his beloved friend Casella, the musician, and +tried in vain to embrace his spirit body. At Dante's request, Casella +began to sing, and the enchanted spirits were scattered only by the +chiding voice of Cato. + +Vergil surveyed the insurmountable height before them, and hastened with +Dante to inquire the way of a troop of souls coming towards them. As they +talked, Dante recognized one, blond and smiling, with a gash over one +eyebrow and another over his heart. It was Manfredi, King of Apulia and +Sicily, who was slain at Benevento by Charles of Anjou, and, being under +excommunication, was not allowed Christian burial. He asked Dante to make +him happy by telling his daughter that by faith he was saved from eternal +destruction, but because of his sins he must spend thirty times the time +that his presumption had endured at the foot of the mount, unless his time +was shortened by the righteous prayers of his friends on earth. + +It was with the greatest difficulty that the poets clambered up the steep +and narrow path to the next terrace, and only the assurance that the +ascent would grow easier as he neared the summit sustained Dante. As +Vergil explained to him while resting on the next terrace that the sun +appeared on his left because Purgatory and Jerusalem were in different +hemispheres, some one spoke, and turning they saw a group of persons in an +attitude of indolence, among them a Florentine acquaintance, Belacqua, a +maker of musical instruments, who sat waiting the length of another +lifetime for admission above because he had postponed conversion from time +to time, through negligence. + +Proceeding, the poets met a concourse of souls who had suffered violent +death, chanting the Miserere, who perceiving Dante to be living, sent +messages to their friends on earth. Among these were Giacopo del Cassero +and Buonconte di Montefeltro, son of Dante's friend, Guido di Montefeltro, +who fell in the battle of Campaldino, in which Dante had taken part. +Wounded in the neck, he fell, and had just time to breathe a prayer to +Mary, thus saving his soul from the Evil One, who was so incensed that, +raising a great storm, he caused the rivers to overflow and sweep away the +lifeless body, tearing from it the cross he had made with his arms in his +last agony, and burying it in the mire of the Arno. The third shade bade +him think of her when, returned home, he sang of his journey. She was Pia, +born at Sienna, who died at Maremma, by the hand of her husband. + +Dante at last managed to escape from these shades, who implored him to ask +for prayers for them on earth, and moved on with Vergil until they met the +haughty shade of Sordello, who clasped Vergil in his arms when he learned +he was a Mantuan. Touched by this expression of love for his native land, +Dante launched into an apostrophe to degenerate Italy, to that German +Albert who refused to save the country groaning under oppression, and to +lost Florence, torn by internecine wars. + +When Sordello learned that the Mantuan shade was Vergil, he humbled +himself before him, and paid him reverence, asking eagerly in what part of +the underworld he dwelt. The sun was sinking, and as the poets could not +ascend by night, he urged them to pass the night with him. Leading them to +a vale carpeted with emerald grass and brilliant with flowers, he pointed +out the shades singing "Salve Regina" as the Emperor Rudolph,--he who made +an effort to heal sick Italy,--Philip III. of France, Charles I. of +Naples, and Henry III. of England. As the hour of twilight approached, +that hour in which the sailor thinks of home, and the pilgrim thrills at +the sound of vesper bells, Dante beheld a shade arise, and lifting its +palms begin to sing the vesper hymn. Soon two radiant angels clad in +delicate green descended from Heaven, holding flaming swords. These, +Sordello explained, were to keep off the serpent that threatened this fair +vale at night. + +As the hour of night approached in which the swallow laments its woes, +Dante fell asleep on the grass and dreamed that he was Ganymede snatched +from Mt. Ida by Jove's eagle. Awaking, he found himself alone with Vergil +in a strange place, with the sun two hours high. Lucia, symbolical of the +enlightening grace of Heaven, had conveyed him to the spot and pointed out +to Vergil the gate of Purgatory. Cheered and confident, he rose, and they +went together to the portal and mounted the three steps, the first of +shining white marble, the second of purple stone, cracked and burnt, and +the third of flaming red porphyry. There, on the diamond threshold, sat an +angel with a naked sword, clad in a robe of ashen gray, whose face was too +bright to look upon. When Dante fell on his knees and implored entrance, +the angel imprinted on his forehead seven "P"'s for the seven sins +(Peccata), and opening the gate with the gold and silver keys, ushered +them into the mighty portals. "From Peter I have these keys. Me he +instructed to err rather in opening than in keeping shut. But see that ye +look not behind, or ye will at once return." + +With much difficulty the two poets ascended the steep and winding path, +and paused to view the wonderful sculptures on the embankment, that would +put Nature herself to shame, so natural were they. Many examples of +Humility were there portrayed,--the Virgin Mary, the Holy Ark, drawn by +oxen, the Psalmist dancing before the Lord, while Michal looked forth in +scorn from her palace window, and Trajan, yielding to the widow's prayer. +As they stood there, the souls came in sight. "Reader, attend not to the +fashion of the torment, but think of what follows." The unhappy ones crept +around the terrace, bowed under a heavy burden of stones, and the most +patient, as he bent under his burden, exclaimed, with tears, "I can do no +more!" As they walked they repeated the Lord's Prayer, and kept their eyes +fixed on the life-like sculptures on the floor of those who had suffered +before them for the sins of pride: Lucifer, falling from Heaven; Briareus +and Nimrod overcome by the bolts of Jove; Niobe, weeping among her dead +children; Cyrus's head taunted by Tomyris; Troy humbled in ashes. + +As Vergil approached the penitents to inquire the way to the next terrace, +he and Dante were invited to join the procession and talk with one who +could not lift his face enough to see them. This was Omberto, who had been +slain by the Siennese for his unbearable pride. Dante also talked with his +friend Oderigi, an illuminator of manuscript, who now humbly acknowledged +that he was far surpassed by Franco Bolognese. "What is mundane glory?" he +exclaimed, as he pointed out Provenzano Salvani, with whose fame Tuscany +once rang, but who barely escaped Hell by his voluntary humiliation for a +friend. "Lift up thy face!" commanded Vergil, as Dante walked with his +head bowed, absorbed in the floor-sculptures; and as he looked, the +white-robed angel whose face was like "a tremulous flame" approached, and +struck Dante's forehead with his wings. Dante marvelled at the ease with +which he mounted, until his master explained that the heaviest sin, the +sin that underlies all others, had fallen from him when the angel struck +the "P" from his forehead, and that the ascent would grow still lighter +from terrace to terrace. "Blessed are the poor in spirit!" sung by sweet +voices, greeted the mounting poets. + +The second terrace was of livid stone unrelieved by any sculpture. The air +was full of voices inculcating charity and self-denial, and others +lamenting the sin of envy. Here envy was punished, and here the sharpest +pain pierced Dante's heart as he saw the penitents sit shoulder to +shoulder against the cliff, robed in sackcloth of the same livid color, +their eyelids, through which bitter tears trickled, sewed together with +wire. Sapia of Sienna first greeted Dante and entreated him to pray for +her. When she had told how, after having been banished from her city, she +had prayed that her townsman might be defeated by the Florentines, Dante +passed on and spoke with Guido of Duca, who launched into an invective +against Florence to his companion Rinieri. "The whole valley of the Arno +is so vile that its very name should die. Wonder not at my tears, Tuscan, +when I recall the great names of the past, and compare them with the curs +who have fallen heir to them. Those counts are happiest who have left no +families." Guido himself was punished on this terrace because of his envy +of every joyous man, and the spirit with whom he talked was Rinieri, whose +line had once been highly honored. "Go, Tuscan," exclaimed Guido, "better +now I love my grief than speech." As the poets passed on, the air was +filled with the lamentations of sinful but now repentant spirits. + +Dazzled by the Angel's splendor, the poets passed up the stairs to the +third terrace, Dante in the mean time asking an explanation of Guido's +words on joint resolve and trust. + +"The less one thinks of another's possessions," replied his guide, "and +the more he speaks of 'our' instead of 'my,' the more of the Infinite Good +flows towards him. If you thirst for further instruction, await the coming +of Beatrice." + +As they attained the next height, Dante, rapt in vision, saw the sweet +Mother questioning her Son in the Temple, saw Pisistratus, his queen, and +the martyred Stephen blessing his enemies in death. As he awoke, they +passed on, to become involved in a thick cloud of smoke, through which it +was impossible to distinguish any object, and whose purpose was to purge +away anger, the sin-cloud that veils the mortal eye. + +As they passed from the thick smoke into the sunset, Dante fell into a +trance, and saw Itys, Haman, and other notable examples of unbridled +angers, and as the visions faded away, was blinded by the splendor of the +angel guide who directed them to the fourth terrace. As they waited for +the dawn, Vergil answered Dante's eager questions. "Love," he said, "is +the seed of every virtue, and also of every act for which God punished +man. Natural love is without error; but if it is bent on evil aims, if it +lacks sufficiency, or if it overleaps its bounds and refuses to be +governed by wise laws, it causes those sins that are punished on this +mount. The defective love which manifests itself as slothfulness is +punished on this terrace." + +A troop of spirits rushed past them as morning broke, making up by their +haste for the sloth that had marked their lives on earth. As they hurried +on they urged themselves to diligence by cries of "In haste the mountains +blessed Mary won!" "Caesar flew to Spain!" "Haste! Grace grows best in +those who ardor feel!" As the poet meditated on their words, he lapsed +into a dream in which he saw the Siren who drew brave mariners from their +courses; and even as he listened to her melodious song, he beheld her +exposed by a saint-like lady, Lucia, or Illuminating Grace. Day dawned, +the Angel fanned the fourth "P" from his forehead, and the poet ascended +to the fifth terrace, where lay the shades of the avaricious, prostrate on +the earth, weeping over their sins. They who in life had resolutely turned +their gaze from Heaven and fixed it on the things of the earth, must now +grovel in the dust, denouncing avarice, and extolling the poor and liberal +until the years have worn away their sin. + +Bending over Pope Adrian the Fifth, Dante heard his confession that he was +converted while he held the Roman shepherd's staff. Then he learned how +false a dream was life, but too late, alas! to escape this punishment. As +Dante spoke with the shade of Capet the elder, a mighty trembling shook +the mountain, which chilled his heart until he learned from the shade of +Statius, whom they next met, that it was caused by the moving upward of a +purified soul, his own, that had been undergoing purgation on this terrace +five hundred years and more. "Statius was I," said the shade, "and my +inspiration came from that bright fountain of heavenly fire, the Aeneid; +it was my mother; to it I owe my fame. Gladly would I have added a year to +my banishment here, could I have known the Mantuan." Vergil's glance said +"Be mute!" but Dante's smile betrayed the secret, and Statius fell at +Vergil's feet adoring. Statius had suffered for the sin of prodigality, +which was punished, together with avarice, on this terrace. + +The three proceeded upward to the sixth terrace, the ascent growing easier +on the disappearance of the "P" of avarice from Dante's forehead. Vergil +and Statius moved on in loving conversation, Dante reverently following. +"Your Pollio led me to Christianity," said Statius, "but my cowardice +caused me long to conceal it. Prodigality brought me hither." + +On the sixth terrace two trees stood in opposite parts of the pathway that +the gluttons were compelled to tread, the first with branches broad at the +top and tapering downward, so that it was impossible to mount it; upon it +fell a fount of limpid water. From its branches a voice cried, "Of this +food ye shall have a scarcity. In the primal age, acorns furnished sweet +food and each rivulet seemed nectar." Towards the next tree, grown from a +twig of the tree of knowledge, the gluttons stretched eager hands, but a +voice cried, "Pass on; approach not!" Such desire for food was excited by +these tempting fruits, that the gluttons were emaciated beyond +recognition. By his voice alone did Dante recognize his kinsman Forese, +whose time in Purgatory had been shortened by the prayers of his wife +Nella. Forese talked with Dante for a while on the affairs of Florence, +and predicted the fall of his brother Corso Donati. + +The dazzling splendor of the angel of the seventh terrace warned them of +his approach, and, lightened of one more "P," Dante and his companions +climbed to where two bands of spirits, lascivious on earth, moved through +paths of purifying flames, stopping as they passed to greet each other, +and singing penitential hymns. Here, Statius explained to Dante why the +shades of the sixth terrace were lean from want of food when they +possessed no longer their physical bodies. "After death the soul keeps its +memory, intelligence, and will more active than before, and as soon as it +reaches either the banks of Acheron or the Tiber, a shade form is attached +to it which acquires the soul's semblance, and has every sense given it, +even that of sight." + +Guido Guinicelli, from out the flame-furnace, explained to Dante the +punishments of the terrace: "Thus are our base appetites burned out that +we may enjoy future happiness," and Arnaud the Troubadour, hating his past +follies, weeping and singing, implored Dante's prayers. It was only by +telling him that the fire lay between him and Beatrice that Vergil +prevailed on Dante to walk into the flames, which, though they tortured +him by the intensity of their heat, did not consume even his garments. As +they left the fire, the sun was setting, and they passed the night on the +steps of the next terrace, Statius and Vergil watching Dante as the +goatherds watch their flocks. In a dream the sleeping poet saw Leah, +symbolical of the active life, in contrast to her sister Rachel, of +contemplative life. On waking, Vergil told him that he would accompany him +further, but not as a guide; henceforth his own free will must lead him. +"Crowned, mitred, now thyself thou 'lt rule aright." + +Dense green were the heavenly woodlands of the terrestrial paradise; sweet +were the bird songs, as sweet the songs of the whispering foliage; and on +the pleasant mead, beyond the dimpling waters of a stream so small that +three paces would span it, walked a beautiful lady, Matilda, gathering +flowers and singing an enchanting melody. At Dante's request, she came +nearer, and explained to him that God had created the terrestrial paradise +from which man was banished by his fault alone. To vex him it was raised +to this height. Its atmosphere was not that of the earth below, but given +it from the free sphere of ether. Here every plant had its origin; here +each river had its virtue; Lethe destroyed the memory of sin; Eunoe +restored to the mind the memory of things good. + +As they talked, Hosannas were heard, and in the greatest splendor appeared +the Car of the Church Triumphant. First came the seven golden +candlesticks; following them, many people in resplendent white garments; +next, the four and twenty elders, lily crowned--the twenty-four books of +the Old Testament--singing to Beatrice "O blessed Thou!" Then four +six-winged, many-eyed living creatures described both by Ezekiel and John +surrounded the massive car drawn by the Gryphon, emblem of our Lord in his +divine and human nature, white, gold, and vermilion-hued, part lion, part +eagle, whose wings pierced the heavens. + +Three maidens, red, emerald, and white, the Theological Virtues, Faith, +Hope, and Charity, danced at the right wheel of the car; four clad in +purple, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance, walked at the left +wheel. With them came two old men, Luke and Paul; then four together, +James, Peter, John, and Jude, and last an aged man walking in slumber, +Saint John, writer of the Revelation. These last were crowned with red +roses and other tinted flowers. With a crash as of thunder, the car +stopped before Dante, and a hundred angels, chanting, showered on it roses +and lilies. In the midst of the shower, Beatrice descended, clad in a +crimson robe, with a green mantle and a white veil, and crowned with an +olive wreath. Thrilling with his ancient love, Dante turned to Vergil to +sustain him, but Vergil was gone. As he looked again, her eyes, less +severe from the veil that enveloped her, were fixed on him as she rebuked +him, and he was sustained only by the compassion in the sweet voices of +the angels, which soothed him until the tears rained down his cheeks. + +After her death, when she had arisen from flesh to spirit, Beatrice +complained that her influence was dimmed, and that he had sought such +depths that she had been compelled to go to the gates of hell to implore +Vergil to bring him hither that he might learn his future sufferings if he +did not repent. As he answered her, blaming the things that had led him +aside with joys deceitful, he tried to gaze into her eyes, but stung with +penitential thorns, fell senseless to the ground. Matilda, who stood by, +seized him and plunged him into the river Lethe, that he might forget his +past sin. Dripping, he was given to the four lovely maidens, who led him +before Beatrice that he might look into her eyes, fixed on the Gryphon. A +thousand longings held him fast while, "weary from ten years' thirsting," +he gazed upon her lovely eyes, now unveiled in their full splendor. +Reproached at last by the seven virtues for his too intent gaze, Dante +watched the car move on to the Tree of Knowledge, to which its pole was +attached by the Gryphon. Dante, lulled to sleep by the hymn, was aroused +by Matilda, who pointed out to him the radiant Beatrice, sitting under a +tree surrounded by the bright forms of her attendants. The other +attendants of the car had followed the Gryphon to the skies. + +"Observe the car," said Beatrice, "and write what thou hast seen when thou +returnest home." As she spoke, the car was attacked in turn by the eagle +of persecution, the fox of heresy, and the dragon of Islamism; these +driven away, it was disturbed by inward dissensions, the alliance between +Boniface and Philip the Fair. + +Rising, Beatrice called Dante, Statius, and Matilda to her, and as they +walked upon that pleasant mead, she asked Dante the meaning of his +continued silence. She explained the attacks on the chariot to him, but he +declared that he could not understand her language. Then, at Beatrice's +nod, Matilda called him and Statius, and plunged them into Eunoe, whence +he rose regenerate, and prepared to mount to the stars. + + + + +THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PARADISE. + + +The Paradise of Dante consists of nine heavens, each a revolving +crystalline sphere, enclosed in another; without them, the boundless +Empyrean. The first or innermost heaven, of the Moon, revolved by the +angels, is the habitat of wills imperfect through instability. The second, +of Mercury, revolved by the Archangels, is the abode of wills imperfect +through love of fame. The third, of Venus, revolved by the Principalities, +is the abode of wills imperfect through excess of human love. The fourth, +of the Sun, revolved by the Powers, is the abode of the great intellectual +lights, the doctors of the Church. The fifth heaven, of Mars, revolved by +the Virtues, is the abode of the martyrs, warriors, and confessors, and is +sacred to the Faith. The sixth, of Jupiter, revolved by the Dominations, +is inhabited by just rulers. The seventh, of Saturn, revolved by the +Thrones, is inhabited by monks and hermits. The eighth, of the Fixed +Stars, revolved by the Cherubim, is inhabited by the apostles and saints. +The ninth, or Primum Mobile, revolved by the Seraphim, is the abode of the +moral philosophers. These abodes, however, are not real, but +representative, to illustrate the differences in glory of the inhabitants +of Paradise, for the real seat of each is in the Rose of the Blessed. In +the heavens, the saints appear swathed in cocoons of light; in the Rose +they are seen in their own forms. They know all because they behold God +continually. In the Empyrean is the Rose of the Blessed, whose myriad +leaves form the thrones of the spirits, and whose centre of light is the +Father himself. Dividing the Rose horizontally, the lower thrones are held +by those who died in infancy; among them are varying degrees of glory. +Above it, are those who died adults. Supposing a vertical division, the +thrones to the left are for those who looked forward to Christ's coming; +those to the right, not yet all occupied, by those who died after Christ's +coming. Along the division lines are the holy women, the Virgin, Eve, +Rachel, Beatrice, Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and Ruth, Saint Anne and Saint +Lucia, and the saints, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Adam, Moses, +Saint Francis, Saint Benedict, Saint Augustine, Saint Peter, and in the +midst, the Everlasting Glory of the Universe, whose light so fills the +Rose that "naught can form an obstacle against it." + + + + +THE STORY OF THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +THE PARADISE. + + +The ascent to Paradise was accomplished by a fixed gaze into Beatrice's +eyes, by which Dante, like Glaucus, was made divine, and by which he was +lifted, with incredible swiftness, through the heavens. As soon as he had +fixed his eyes on Beatrice's, who in turn looked towards heaven, they +found themselves in the Heaven of the Moon, whose luminous yet pearl-like +light enfolded them. While Beatrice was explaining to him that the spots +on the moon were not caused by the varying degrees of atmospheric density, +as he had supposed, but by the Divine Virtue infused in divine measure +through the angelic dwellers in the first heaven, he met Piccarda, his +sister-in-law, whose brother, Corso Donati, had torn her from her convent +to wed her to Rosselin della Tosa, soon after which she died. Here also +was Costanza, daughter of Roger I. of Sicily, grandmother of that Manfredi +whom he had seen in Purgatory. Here Beatrice instructed Dante as to the +imperfection of those wills that held not to their vows, but allowed +violence to thwart them. + +Another look into the smiling eyes, and the two were in the Heaven of +Mercury, where those wills abide in whom love of fame partly extinguished +love of God. One of the thousand splendors that advanced towards them was +the soul of the Emperor Justinian, who reviewed the Empire, the Church, +condemning severely the behavior of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and told +of the spirits who inhabited the little planet, whose lives were sweetened +by living justice, and whose ears were gladdened by the sweetest +harmonies. + +Dante was unaware of his ascent into, Venus, where dwelt those souls who +were lovers on earth, until he perceived Beatrice's added beauty. Amid +revolving lights Charles Martel of Hungary appeared, denounced his brother +Robert of Sicily, and instructed Dante on the subjects of heredity and +degeneracy; that "sweet seed can come bitter" because the influence of the +star under which the child is born can counteract that of the parent, and +because his state is not always adapted to him by his parents and +advisers. + +In the sphere of the Sun, consecrated to the great doctors of divinity, +Beatrice became still more beautiful; but so absorbed was the poet in the +love for the Eternal Source of all this splendor that for the first time +he forgot her. Out of the whirling lights, shining like precious jewels, +came Saint Thomas Aquinas, who pointed out to Dante his noted companions, +Gratian, Peter Lombard, Solomon, Dionysius, Boethius, and Baeda. Thomas +then related the story of Saint Francis of Assisi and the founding of his +order of the Franciscans, upon which Saint Bonaventura of the Franciscans, +from the next flame garland, told of Saint Dominic and the Dominican +order. Alas! while both orders were great in the beginning, both narrators +had to censure their present corruption. + +The array of brilliant lights, dividing itself, formed into two disks +which, revolving oppositely, sang the praises of the Trinity. The song of +praise finished, Saint Thomas explained that Solomon was elevated to this +sphere for his wisdom and his regal prudence, and warned Dante against the +error of rash judgment. + +The splendor of Mars was almost blinding; it was ruddier than the others, +and in it dwelt the souls of the crusaders and martyrs. While Dante's ears +were ravished by exquisite music, his eyes were dazzled by the lights, +which had arranged themselves in the form of a cross. From out the +splendor, one star saluted Dante. It was the soul of his ancestor +Cacciaguida, who had waited long for the coming of his descendant. He +related to Dante the story of his life, commenting on the difference +between the simple life of the Florentines of his day and the corrupt +practices of Dante's time, and broke to the poet what had already been +darkly hinted to him in Hell and Purgatory,--his banishment; how he must +depart from Florence and learn how salt is the bread of charity, how +wearisome the stairs in the abode of the stranger. + +As Cacciaguida ceased and pointed out the other well-known dwellers in +Mars, each one on the cross flashed as his name was called,--Joshua, Judas +Maccabeus, Charlemagne and Roland, Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert Guiscard, +and others. + +In Jupiter, whose whiteness contrasted with the ruddiness of Mars, dwelt +the souls of great rulers, certain of whom arranged themselves first to +form the golden letters of _Diligite Justitiam qui judicatis terram_ +("Love righteousness, ye that be judges of the earth"), and then formed +themselves into the Roman eagle and sang of the justice and mercy that +caused their elevation to this position, and of events about to occur in +history. + +Had Beatrice smiled as they ascended to Saturn, Dante would have perished +as did Semele, from excess of light. In Saturn dwelt the spirits of the +contemplative, the monks and hermits, and here was Jacob's ladder, up and +down whose bars of gold sparkled the spirits of the saints, silent for the +same reason that Beatrice smiled not. By divine election, Saint Peter +Damian descended and spoke with Dante, accusing the churchmen of the time +of worldliness and luxury. "Cephas and our Lord came on earth barefoot and +poorly clad, but these men are covered with gorgeous raiment and ride upon +sleek palfreys." As he closed, a thunder cry of approval went up from the +other saints. + +Up the wonderful ladder passed Dante and his lady into the eighth heaven +of the Fixed Stars, and looking down saw the little earth and the starry +heavens through which they had passed. Then, as Beatrice paused with her +face all aflame, and her eyes full of ecstasy, down came the hosts of +Christ's triumphal march, and within the living light, which dazzled +Dante's eyes until he could not see, also appeared Mary, mother of God, +crowned by Gabriel, rising into the Empyrean. Of those who remained +behind, Beatrice asked that Dante be sprinkled with the waters of the +living Fountain; and while they gave their consent, Saint Peter appeared +as a fire whirling ecstatically, and singing a divine song. He examined +the trembling poet on faith, and his questions being answered +satisfactorily, encircled him thrice with his light. Saint James, who next +came forth, was likewise pleased with his response on Hope, and he was +then blinded by the effulgence of John, so that for a time he could not +see the face of his lady. + +Of Love he spoke with John, and then talked with Adam. As he listened to +the strains of richest melody, he noticed one of the lights--Saint +Peter--change from white to red, and then, as silence fell, speak, enraged +at the worldliness of the Holy See. "My cemetery has been made a sewer of +blood and stench. When thou returnest to earth, reveal what thou hast +heard. Do not thou conceal what I have not concealed." + +Commanded by Beatrice, Dante looked back at earth once more, and as he +looked, was carried up into the heaven of the Primum Mobile, where dwelt +the moral philosophers. Here the angelic spirits circled round the point +of intense light, the divine centre. The nearer God was the circle, the +greater virtue it possessed. This order was inverse to that of the +heavens, but Dante learned from Beatrice that the orbs revolved through +narrow paths or wide according to the virtue of their parts, and that a +strict agreement of harmony prevailed between the great and the small. The +angel and the heavens were created simultaneously, and, as direct +emanations from God, know no decay. Of this and many things concerning the +Creation, did Beatrice enlighten Dante before the beauty of her smile told +him that they were in the Empyrean. "Now shall thou look upon the mighty +hosts of Paradise." + +The poet's dazzled eyes saw then a river of light from which issued living +sparks sunk down into the flowers like rubies set in gold. Instructed by +Beatrice he drank of the stream and the river changed into a lake; then he +saw the Courts of Heaven made manifest, and the splendor of God. The ample +Rose unfolded its leaves before him, breathing praise and perfume, and as +he gazed into it Beatrice pointed out the radiant spirits and the thronged +seats, one of which was reserved for the Emperor Henry of Luxembourg, from +whom Dante expected so much, and who died before aught was accomplished. +As Dante gazed, the hosts with wings of gold and faces of living flame, +singing anthems, alternately sank into the Rose, like a swarm of bees +sinking into summer flowers, and rose again to view the Divine splendor. +Turning to question Beatrice again, Dante found in her place Saint Bernard +of Clairvaux, an old man full of the tenderest pity, who pointed out to +him Beatrice in her own place, the third round of the first rank. As from +afar, Dante pleaded with the beautiful lady who had left her place in +heaven to go even unto the gates of hell for his sake, to aid him still; +she seemed to smile upon him before she again turned her gaze upon the +Eternal Fountain of Light. Saint Bernard explained to the poet the +divisions of the Rose and the seats of the saints, and then addressed a +prayer to the Virgin, asking that Dante be permitted to look upon the +Almighty Father. As he prayed, Beatrice and all the blessed ones clasped +their hands to her who likes so well prayers of divine fervor. At a +gesture from Bernard, the poet looked upward. Then what a radiant vision +met his eyes! Three circles he saw of threefold color and one dimension. +As he looked, one seemed to take our image, and again was lost in the +infinite glory of the Light Divine. As he tried to describe it, +imagination failed him, though his will remained, moving on with the even +motion of the sun and stars. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE DIVINE COMEDY. + +COUNT UGOLINO. + + +In the frozen lake of Cocytus in the ninth circle of the Inferno, where +were punished the traitors to kindred, country, friends, or benefactors, +the poets beheld Count Ugolino, a Guelph, who, because of his treachery, +was taken prisoner by the people with his sons and grandsons and thrust +into a tower, where they were left to starve. Ugolino was frozen in the +ice, where he forever gnawed the head of the Archbishop Ruggieri, his +enemy. At the request of Dante he stopped to tell his story. + + "Thy will 'tis I renew + A desperate sorrow that doth crush my heart + Even before my lips its tale impart. + But if my words may be a seed that, sowed, + Shall fruit of infamy to this traitor bear, + Then, though I weep, speech too shall be my care. + + "Who thou may'st be I know not, nor what mode + Hath brought thee here below, but then I glean, + From words of thine, thou art a Florentine. + That I Count Ugolino was, know thou, + And this the Archbishop Ruggieri. Why + I will thee tell we are such neighbors nigh. + Needs not to say that him I did allow + A friend's own trusts, but so his treachery wrought; + That first my liberty, then my life, it sought. + + "But that which thou canst not have hitherto learned + That is, how cruel was my death, I thee + Will tell; judge thou if he offended me. + Within the Mew, a tower which well hath earned + From me its name of Famine, and where wrath + Yet others waits, a narrow opening hath, + Through which of several moons the broken light + Had strayed, when unto me in sleep was sent + A dream whereby the future's veil was rent. + + "This ill dream me this man set forth in might: + He wolf and whelps upon those mounts pursued + Which Pisa 'twixt and Lucca's domes obtrude. + Hounds had he with him, lank and shrewd and keen, + And in their front Gualandi's sword had place, + Sismondi's lash and sour Lanfranchi's mace. + Father and sons' undoing soon was seen; + Methought the sharp fangs on them closed, and tore + Their flanks, which now the hue of crimson wore. + + "Before the dawn I woke and heard my sons, + The helpless children with me, in their sleep, + Cry out for bread, cries pushed from sobbings deep. + Right cruel art thou, if not e'en now runs + To tears thy grief at what my heart forbode, + If tears of thine at misery's tale e'er flowed. + And then they woke, and came the hour around + Which had been wont our scanty meal to bring; + But from our dreams dumb terrors seemed to spring; + + "When from below we heard the dreadful sound + Of nails; the horrible tower was closed; all dumb + I let my gaze into my sons' eyes come. + Weep I did not, like stone my feelings lay. + They wept, and spoke my little Anselm: 'Pray + Why lookest so? Father, what ails thee, say?' + Shed I no tear, nor answered all that day + Nor the next night, until another sun + His journey through the wide world had begun. + + "Then came a small ray into our sad, sad den, + And when in their four faces I beheld + That carking grief which mine own visage held, + Mine hands for grief I bit, and they, who then + Deemed that I did it from desire to eat, + Stood up each one at once upon his feet, + And said: 'Father, 'twill give us much less pain + If thou wilt eat of us: of thee was born + This hapless flesh, and be it by thee torn.' + + "Myself I calmed that they might not so grieve; + Mute that day and the next we were; O thou + Most cruel earth, that didst not open now! + When we the fourth day's agony did receive + Stretched at my feet himself my Gaddo threw, + And said: 'My father, canst thou nothing do?' + There died he, and, as now sees me thy sight, + The three I saw fall one by one; first died + One on the fifth; deaths two the sixth me tried. + + "Then blind, I groped o'er them to left and right, + And for three days called on their spirits dead; + Then grief before the power of fasting fled." + _Wilstach's Translation, Inferno. Canto XXXIII._ + + + + +BUONCONTE DI MONTEFELTRO. + + +On the second terrace of the Ante-Purgatory, on the Purgatorial Mount, +were the spirits of those whose lives were ended by violence. Among those +who here addressed Dante was Buonconte di Montefeltro, who was slain in +the battle of Campaldino, and whose body was never found. + + Another then: "Ah, be thy cherished aim + Attained that to the lofty Mount thee draws, + As thou with pity shalt advance my cause. + Of Montefeltro I Buonconte am; + Giovanna, and she only, for me cares; + Hence among those am I whom waiting wears." + + "What violence or what chance led thee so wide + From Campaldino," I of him inquired, + "That's still unknown thy burial-place retired?" + "Oh, Casentino's foot," he thus replied, + "Archiano's stream o'erflows, which hath its rise + Above the Hermitage under Apennine skies. + There where its name is lost did I arrive, + Pierced through and through the throat, in flight, + Upon the plain made with my life-blood bright; + + "There sight I lost, and did for speech long strive; + At last I uttered Mary's name, and fell + A lifeless form, mine empty flesh a shell. + Truth will I speak, below do thou it hymn; + Took me God's Angel up, and he of Hell + Cried out: 'O thou from Heaven, thou doest well + To rob from me the eternal part of him + For one poor tear, that me of him deprives; + In other style I'll deal with other lives!' + + "Well know'st thou how in air is gathered dim + That humid vapor which to water turns + Soon as the cold its rising progress learns. + The fiend that ill-will joined (which aye seeks ill) + To intellectual power, which mist and wind + Moved by control which faculties such can find, + And afterwards, when the day was spent, did fill + The space from Protomagno to where tower + The Mounts with fog; and high Heaven's covering power + + "The pregnant atmosphere moist to water changed. + Down fell the rain, and to the ditches fled, + Whate'er of it the soil's thirst had not sped; + And, as it with the mingling torrents ranged + Towards the royal river, so it flowed + That over every obstacle wild it rode. + The robust river found my stiffened frame + Near to its outlet, and it gave a toss + To Arno, loosening from my breast the cross + + "I made of me when agony me o'ercame; + Along his banks and bottoms he me lapped, + Then in his muddy spoils he me enwrapped." + _Wilstach's Translation, Purgatorio, Canto V._ + + + + +BEATRICE DESCENDING FROM HEAVEN. + + +Dante and Vergil mounted to the Terrestial Paradise, where, while they +talked with Matilda, the Car of the Church Triumphant appeared in the +greatest splendor. As it stopped before Dante it was enveloped in a shower +of roses from the hands of a hundred angels. + + I have beheld ere now, when dawn would pale, + The eastern hemisphere's tint of roseate sheen, + And all the opposite heaven one gem serene, + And the uprising sun, beneath such powers + Of vapory influence tempered, that the eye + For a long space its fiery shield could try: + + E'en so, embosomed in a cloud of flowers, + Which from those hands angelical upward played, + And roseate all the car triumphal made, + And showered a snow-white veil with olive bound, + Appeared a Lady, green her mantle, name + Could not describe her robe unless 't were flame. + And mine own spirit, which the past had found + Often within her presence, free from awe, + And which could never from me trembling draw, + And sight no knowledge giving me at this time, + Through hidden virtue which from her came forth, + Of ancient love felt now the potent worth. + As soon as on my vision smote sublime + The heavenly influence that, ere boyhood's days + Had fled, had thrilled me and awoke my praise, + Unto the leftward turned I, with that trust + Wherewith a little child his mother seeks, + When fear his steps controls, and tear-stained cheeks, + + To say to Vergil: "All my blood such gust + Of feeling moves as doth man's bravery tame; + I feel the traces of the ancient flame." + _Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX._ + + + + +THE EXQUISITE BEAUTY OF BEATRICE. + + +While Dante and Beatrice rose from the Heaven of Primal Motion to the +Empyrean, the poet turned his dazzled eyes from the heavens, whose sight +he could no longer bear, to the contemplation of Beatrice. + + Wherefore my love, and loss of other view, + Me back to Beatrice and her homage drew. + If what of her hath been already said + Were in one single eulogy grouped, 't would ill + Her meed of merit at this moment fill. + + The beauty which in her I now beheld + B'yond mortals goes; her Maker, I believe, + Hath power alone its fulness to receive. + Myself I own by obstacles stronger spelled + Than in his labored theme was ever bard + Whose verses, light or grave, brought problems hard; + For, as of eyes quelled by the sun's bright burst, + E'en so the exquisite memory of that smile + Doth me of words and forming mind beguile. + + Not from that day when on this earth I first + Her face beheld, up to this moment, song + Have I e'er failed to strew her path along, + But now I own my limping numbers lame; + An artist sometimes finds his powers surpassed, + And mine succumbs to beauty's lance at last. + And I must leave her to a greater fame + Than any that my trumpet gives, which sounds, + Now, hastening notes, which mark this labor's bounds. + _Wilstach's Translation, Paradiso, Canto XXX._ + + + + + +THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Ludovico Ariosto, author of the Orlando Furioso was born in Reggio, Italy, +Sept. 8, 1474. In 1503 he was taken into the service of the Cardinal +Hippolito d'Este, and soon after began the composition of the Orlando +Furioso, which occupied him for eleven years. It was published in 1516, +and brought him immediate fame. Ariosto was so unkindly treated by his +patron that he left him and entered the service of the cardinal's brother, +Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. By him he was appointed governor of a province, +in which position he repressed the banditti by whom it was infested, and +after a successful administration of three years, returned to Ferrara to +reside. The latter part of his life was spent in writing comedies and +satires, and in revising the Orlando Furioso. He died in Ferrara, June 6, +1533. + +The Orlando Furioso is a sequel to Boiardo's Orlando Innamorata, Ariosto +taking up the story at the end of that poem. Its historical basis is the +wars of Charlemagne with the Moors, which were probably confused with +those of Charles Martel. As the Orlando of the poem is the same Roland +whose fall at Roncesvalles in 778 is celebrated in the Song of Roland, its +events must have occurred before that time. + +Although the poem is called Orlando Furioso, Orlando's madness occupies a +very small part of it, the principal threads of the story being Orlando's +love for Angelica and his consequent madness, the wars of Charlemagne, and +the loves of Bradamant and Rogero. From this Rogero the family of Este +claimed to be derived, and for this reason Ariosto made Rogero the real +hero of the poem, and took occasion to lavish the most extravagant praises +upon his patron and his family. + +With these principal threads are interwoven innumerable episodes which are +not out of place in the epic, and lend variety to a story which would +otherwise have become tiresome. The lightness of treatment, sometimes +approaching ridicule, the rapidity of movement, the grace of style, and +the clearness of language, the atmosphere created by the poet which so +successfully harmonizes all his tales of magic and his occasional +inconsistencies, and the excellent descriptions, have all contributed to +the popularity of the poem, which is said to be the most widely read of +the epics. These descriptions outweigh its faults,--the taking up the +story of Boiardo without an explanation of the situation, the lack of +unity, and the failure to depict character; for with the exception of +Bradamant and Rogero, Ariosto's heroes and heroines are very much alike, +and their conversation is exceedingly tiresome. + +The Furioso is written in the octave stanza, and originally consisted of +forty cantos, afterwards increased to forty-six. + +The poem is the work of a practical poet, one who could govern a province. +It is marred by an over-profusion of ornament, and contains no such lofty +flights of fancy as are to be found in the Jerusalem Delivered. To this, +no doubt, it owes, in part at least, its great popularity, for the poet's +poem is never the people's poem. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Dublin University Magazine, 1845, xxvi., 187-201, 581-601, xxvii., 90-104; + +Retrospective Review, 1823, viii., 145-170, ix., 263-291; + +William T. Dobson's Classic Poets, 1879, pp. 186-238; + +Leigh Hunt's Stories from the Italian Poets, n. d. vol. ii., pp. 134-151; + +William Hickling Prescott's Italian Narrative Poetry. (See his +Biographical and Critical Miscellanies, 1873, pp. 441-454); + +M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most eminent Literary and Scientific Men of +Italy, Spain, and Portugal, 1835, pp. 239-255. (In Lardner's Cabinet +Cyclopedia, vol. i.); + +John Addington Symonds's Italian Literature, 1888, vol. i., pp. 493-522, +vol. ii. pp. 1-50. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. from the Italian by Sir James Harrington, 1724; + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. by John Hoole, 1819; + +Orlando Furioso, Tr. into English verse by W. S. Rose, 2 vols., 1864-5. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + + +The Emperor Charlemagne was at war with the Moors and had camped near the +Pyrenees with his host, determined to conquer their leaders, Marsilius of +Spain and Agramant of Africa. To his camp came Orlando, the great paladin, +with the beautiful Angelica, princess of Cathay, in search of whom he had +roamed the world over. Orlando's cousin, Rinaldo, another of the great +lords of Charlemagne, also loved Angelica, for he had seen her immediately +after drinking of the Fountain of Love in the forest of Arden, and +Charlemagne, fearing trouble between the cousins on her account, took +Angelica from Orlando's tent and placed her in the care of Duke Namus of +Bavaria. + +Angelica did not like Orlando and she loathed Rinaldo, for he had been the +first to meet her after she had tasted the waters of the Fountain of Hate. +So when the Christian forces were one day routed in battle and the tents +forsaken, she leaped on her palfrey and fled into the forest. Here the +first person she met was the hated Rinaldo; and fleeing from him she +encountered the fierce Moor Ferrau, who, being also in love with her, drew +his sword and attacked the pursuing paladin. But when the two discovered +that Angelica had taken advantage of their duel to flee, they made peace +and went in search of her. + +As she fled, Angelica met Sacripant, an eastern lover who had followed her +to France, and put herself under his protection. But when Sacripant was +first defeated by Bradamant and then engaged in battle with the pursuing +Rinaldo, she deemed herself safer without him and fled; and presently a +page appeared, a shade conjured there by a hermit magician whom Angelica +had met, and announced to the warriors that Orlando had appeared and +carried the maid to Paris. + +Rinaldo immediately hastened to Paris, to find Orlando absent and +Charlemagne, defeated by the Moors, entrenching himself in the city and +preparing to send to England for aid. Rinaldo must be his ambassador, and +that without a day's delay. + +Frantic with jealousy, Rinaldo leaped into a ship in the midst of a storm, +and hastened on his errand. Driven upon the coast of Scotland, he won the +king's gratitude by saving his daughter Ginevra from shame and death, and +secured from him a promise of all the horsemen and arms that could be +spared. He was equally successful in England, and was soon reviewing the +troops preparatory to their embarkation. + +The warrior maid, Bradamant, sister of Rinaldo, after overthrowing +Sacripant, pursued her way through the forest in search of Rogero the +pagan. They had met once in battle and had loved, and since then she had +ever roamed through the land in search of him. In the forest she found +Pinabel, lamenting because his beloved lady had been snatched from him by +a wizard on a winged steed, and carried to an impregnable castle. Thither +he had seen many warriors conveyed, among them Rogero and Gradasso, +conquered first by the lance and then thrown into profound slumber by the +glare of a magic shield carried by the wizard. + +Bradamant, anxious to save Rogero, offered to rescue Pinabel's lady if he +would guide her to the castle. But when the treacherous knight learned +that she was Bradamant, between whose house and his there was a deadly +feud, he planned to slay her, and soon, by his treachery, managed to hurl +her down a precipice. + +Bradamant was only stunned by the fall, however, and soon awoke, to find +herself at the entrance of a cave, which was the tomb of Merlin. Melissa, +the prophetess maid, welcomed her, assured her that Rogero should be her +spouse, and showed her their phantom descendants, brave princes and +beautiful princesses of the house of Este. She then told her that +Brunello, a knight of King Agramant, was hastening to the castle to +release the prisoners by means of a magic ring, formerly the property of +Angelica, which when put in the mouth would render one invisible, and, +worn on the finger, made one proof against magic spells. Bradamant must +overcome Brunello, wrest the ring from him, and herself free Rogero. + +Following Melissa's advice, Bradamant overtook Brunello, seized the ring, +and hastening to the castle, challenged Atlantes to battle. When he +displayed the shield she pretended to become unconscious; but when he ran +up to bind her she sprang up and seized him. He declared that he had +imprisoned Rogero, his nephew, only to save him from the fate foretold by +the stars, death by treachery at the hands of the Christians, and had +brought the other knights and ladies there for his entertainment. Then +Atlantes broke the spell and disappeared, together with the castle, and +the prisoners trooped forth, Rogero among them. + +Bradamant was happy, but alas! only for a moment; for as she and Rogero +went down the mountain together he thoughtlessly leaped on the hippogrif, +which alighted near him, and the winged steed, refusing his control, rose +in the air, leaving the tearful Bradamant behind. The hippogrif flew +rapidly over land and sea until it was directly above a small island, upon +which it descended. Rogero sprang from its back, tied it to a myrtle tree, +and, weary from his three thousand mile ride in heavy armor, prepared to +drink from a rippling spring. The groves were of cedar, laurel, palm, and +myrtle; roses and lilies filled the air with their perfume, and the wild +stag and timid hare ran fearlessly through the groves. As he stooped to +drink he heard a voice issuing from the myrtle to which he had tied the +hippogrif. It was that of Astolpho, the English knight, who told him that +the greater part of the island was under the control of Alcina the +enchantress, who had left only a small portion to her sister Logistilla, +to whom it all rightfully belonged. He himself had been enticed thither by +Alcina, who had loved him for a few weeks, and then, serving him as she +did all her lovers, had transformed him to a tree. + +Rogero determined to profit by this advice; but when he was driven from +the narrow path to Logistilla's domain and met Alcina he fell under the +power of her beauty, and thought Astolpho a traducer. The days passed so +gayly in her beautiful home that Rogero forgot the pagan cause, forgot his +duty, forgot Bradamant, and was roused from his lethargy only by Melissa, +to whom Bradamant had given the magic ring to enable her to find and +rescue her lover. Melissa found the young knight when apart from Alcina, +and gave him the ring that he might with it be enabled to see the +enchantress in her true form. She then instructed him how to escape and +seek the kingdom of Logistilla. Rogero was disgusted when the beautiful +enchantress appeared as a hideous, wrinkled old woman, but concealing his +change of feeling, waited until the opportunity presented itself to get +his armor, take a steed, and pass by the warders of the gate. With great +difficulty he reached a stream which separated Alcina's lands from those +of Logistilla, and while ferrying across was overtaken by the boats of +Alcina. With the help of Atlantes' shield, they were overcome, and Alcina +was forced to depart, weeping, with only one boat, while Rogero entered +the castle of the fairy Logistilla, from whom he learned many noble +lessons. + +Here came the other knights freed from Alcina's enchantment by Melissa, +and Melissa herself with Astolpho, on the hippogrif, which she had learned +to control. Astolpho was in his own armor and bore his wondrous spear, +which had the power of overthrowing every one whom it so much as touched. + +After a short rest among the pleasant gardens of Logistilla, Rogero +departed on the hippogrif, and although anxious to see his Bradamant +again, took the opportunity to pass over all the known world by this novel +method of travel. He saw the troops in England gathering to go to the aid +of Charlemagne, and rescued the beautiful Angelica, who had been taken by +pirates and sold to the people of Ebuda, who chained her upon a rock as a +victim for the orc. Rogero put the orc to sleep with his magic shield, +giving Angelica the ring that the sight of the shield might not affect her +as well. But when, charmed by the maid, he became too lover-like in his +attentions, she put the ring in her mouth and disappeared. The angry +Rogero turned, only to find that his hippogrif had broken its rein and was +gone. Hastening through the forest, vexed with himself and the maiden, he +fancied he saw 'Bradamant carried off by a giant, and following her, +entered a magic castle of Atlantes, where he spent his days vainly trying +to overtake his beloved and her captor. + +Orlando could think only of his lost Angelica; and forgetful of the fact +that his uncle Charlemagne was sorely pressed by the heathen, he stole +from the camp one night in disguise, and went in search of her. Passing +the isle of Ebuda he slew the ore, rescued Olympia, who was exposed as its +victim, avenged her wrongs, and continued on his way until he reached the +castle of Atlantes, and, fancying he saw Angelica, entered, and began the +mad round of pursuit with many other Christian and pagan knights who were +rendered unconscious of one another's presence by the magic of the wizard. + +Hither came Angelica, invisible by means of the ring, to find a knight to +protect her on her way to Cathay. Unfortunately as she showed herself to +Sacripant, she was seen by Ferrau and Orlando, and all three pursued her +from the castle. When they were sufficiently removed from it Angelica +slipped the ring in her mouth and disappeared, and Ferrau and Orlando +began to quarrel about Orlando's helmet, which the Moor was determined to +win and wear. As Ferrau wore no helm until he could win Orlando's, that +paladin hung his on a tree while they fought. Unseen by them, Angelica +took it down, intending to restore it to Orlando later, and slipped away. +When the knights discovered her absence they went in search of her, and +Ferrau, coming upon her, took the helmet as she disappeared in fright. +Orlando, assuming another crest, which he did not need, as his body was +charmed and could not be hurt by any weapon, went forward, still in search +of his love, and on the way encountered and almost totally destroyed two +squadrons of Moors, and rescued from a robber's cave the beautiful Isabel, +betrothed of Zerbino. + +Melissa returned to Bradamant with the news that while Rogero was freed +from the enchantment of Aleina, he was imprisoned in Atlantes' castle, +from which she herself could rescue him by slaying the wizard, who would +appear to her in the form of her lover. Bradamant resolved to do so; but +when she saw the seeming Rogero set upon by two giants, she forgot her +resolution, believed Melissa to be false, and spurring after him, became a +prisoner in that wondrous castle, through which day and night she pursued +her ever-fleeing lover. + +When the Moors discovered the destruction of the two squadrons, +Mandricardo, the Tartar king, determined to seek and do battle with the +knight (unknown to him by name) who had wrought such destruction. The +Tartar wore the arms of Hector save the sword, which was the property of +Orlando, and until he gained it, he bore no weapon save the lance. With +this, however, he stormed through the battlefield, striking terror to the +hearts of all. With it alone, he destroyed a band of men conveying to +Rodomont, the Saracen chief, his betrothed bride, Doralice, and won the +maid for himself. + +Outside Paris raged the infidel, chief among them the giant King Rodomont. +Smiting those of his troops who hesitated to mount the scaling ladders, he +waded through the wet moat, scaled the first wall, leaped the dry ditch, +mounted the second wall, and ran alone through the city, spreading terror, +death, and fire, while Charlemagne, ignorant of his presence, was busied +in the defence of one of the gates against Agramant. + +Now Rinaldo's army approached, unsuspected by the heathen, because of the +aid of Silence, summoned by Saint Michael. Through these, welcomed by +Charlemagne, Rodomont cut his way, hewing down fifteen or twenty foes at +once, and, casting himself into the Seine, escaped, angry that he had not +succeeded in destroying the city. + +Discord, also summoned by Michael to the aid of the Christians, informed +Rodomont on his return to the camp of the capture of Doralice, and the +chief set forth raging, in search of Mandricardo, thoughtlessly abandoning +King Agramant, struggling against the English re-inforcements. As night +fell on a furious battle, the Moors were driven back, and Charlemagne +pitched his tents without the city, opposite those of the Moors. + +In the Moorish camp were two youths who loved one another with a love +passing wonderful, Medoro and Cloridan. Both served Dardinello, and had +crossed the sea with him. As they stood on guard that night they talked of +their lord's death on the field that day, and Medoro suggested that they +go in search of his body and bury it. Cloridan agreed, and they crept +through the sleeping lines of the Christians, slaughtering many, found the +body, and were hurrying into the forest when they heard the troops of +Zerbino. Cloridan fled, fancying that Medoro would do the same, but on +finding himself unaccompanied, retraced his footsteps, only to see his +friend surrounded by a troop of horsemen. From his ambush he shot his +arrows at the foe, until Zerbino in wrath seized Medoro by the throat, +exclaiming, "Thou shall die for this!" But when Medoro prayed to be +allowed first to bury his lord, pity touched Zerbino, and he freed the +youth, who fell, however, wounded by a thrust from a churlish horseman, in +pursuit of whom Zerbino at once fled. Cloridan sprang in among the +horsemen and fell dead by their thrusts at the side of the unconscious +Medoro. + +The bleeding youth was found by Angelica, who passed by, clad in rustic +raiment; and the maid, struck with his beauty, recalled her knowledge of +chirturgery and revived him. After Dardinello was buried, she and a +shepherd assisted Medoro to a neighboring cottage, where she attended him +until his wound was healed. But as he grew well, Angelica, who had scorned +the suit of the proudest knights, fell sick of love for the humble youth, +and resolved to take him with her to Cathay. + +When Astolpho left the castle of Logistilla he carried with him as her +gift a book from which he could learn to overcome all magic cheats, and a +horn whose sound would put the boldest man to flight. Following her +directions, he sailed past Scythia and India into the Persian Gulf, and +there disembarking, passed through Arabia and along the Red Sea. There he +overcame the giant Caligorantes, slew Orillo, who guarded the outlet of +the Nile, and met there the brother knights Gryphon and Aquilant. Gryphon, +led astray by an unworthy love, stole away from his brother, but was found +again after many adventures, and the three, together with Sansonet and +Marphisa, a warlike virgin, embarked for France. A great storm arose, and +the vessel was forced to land in Syria. This was the land of the Amazons, +and the troop escaped only by the warning and assistance of Guido, the +savage, who was a bondsman in the land. + +Astolpho became separated from the rest of the party and reached Europe +alone. One day, while he was stooping to drink at a spring in the forest, +a rustic sprang from a thicket, and leaping upon Rabican, rode him away. +Astolpho, hastening after him, entered the enchanted castle of Atlantes, +and soon recognized it as a house of magic. He broke the spell by the aid +of his book, freed the captive knights, and finding the hippogrif, which +he had learned to guide from Melissa, mounted it and rode away. + +When the castle was destroyed, Rogero recognized Bradamant and clasped her +in his arms, rejoicing to find her again. The maid, anxious to avoid +further separation, promised to wed him if he would become a Christian, +and demand her of her father, Duke Aymon. Rogero gladly promised to do so. +and the two were hastening to Vallombrosa that he might be baptized when +they encountered a maid, who prayed them to hasten to the relief of a +youth doomed to death by fire. They hurried on, but paused to free Guido +the savage, Gryphon. Aquilant, and Sansonet, who had been imprisoned by +Pinabel, and Bradamant, pursuing Pinabel into the forest, slew him. But +there, unfortunately, she lost her way, and while she was wandering about, +Rogero, ignorant of her whereabouts, pushed on and freed the youth, who +proved to be Bradamant's brother. + +As Bradamant wandered through the forest she found Astolpho, who had just +made a bridle for the hippogrif, and recognizing him, took his horse and +spear in charge. A long time she wandered forlorn. She did not know the +way to Vallombrosa; she did not know the whereabouts of Rogero. Her home +was in sight, but if her mother saw her she would not again be suffered to +depart. As she stood debating with herself, she was recognized by one of +her brothers, and was forced to accompany him home. Thence she secretly +sent her maid Hippalca to Vallombrosa with Rogero's horse Frontino, and a +message explaining her absence. + +After the capture of Doralice, Mandricardo hastened on, and overtook +Orlando just as he had freed Zerbino and united him to Isabel. Recognizing +Orlando by his crest as the chief who had destroyed the squadrons, the +Tartar challenged him to combat. In courtesy to his foe, who would bear no +sword until he could have Durindana, Orlando hung the blade on a tree, and +the two knights spurred their steeds and broke their lances together. Then +grappling, each endeavored to unhorse the other. The breaking of Orlando's +saddle girth caused his fall just as he had slipped the bridle from the +head of his enemy's horse, and the frightened steed, freed from its rein, +ran madly through the wood, followed by Doralice. + +Orlando told Zerbino to inform Mandricardo if he overtook him that he +would wait in that spot three days for him to return and renew the combat, +and bade the lovers farewell. As he wandered through the region while +waiting, he found a peaceful little spot where a limpid rill rippled +through a meadow dotted here and there with trees. Here the weary warrior +sought repose; but as he looked about him he espied the name of Angelica +carved on the trees, entwined with that of Medoro. Persuading himself that +this was a fanciful name by which the maid intended to signify himself, he +entered a little ivy-covered grotto, arching over a fountain, and there +discovered on the rocky wall some verses in which Medoro celebrated his +union with Angelica. For a moment he stood as if turned to stone. Unable +to weep, he again mounted his horse and sought a peasant's house to pass +the night. There he heard the story of Angelica's infatuation, and saw the +bracelet she had left them in return for their hospitality. The unhappy +Orlando passed a sleepless night, weeping and groaning, and the next +morning hastened to the forest that he might give way to his grief +unobserved. There madness came upon him, and he uprooted the hateful +trees, cut the solid stone of the grotto with his sword, making a +desolation of the beautiful spot, and, casting off his armor, ran naked +through the country, pillaging, burning, and slaying. + +Zerbino and Isabel sought the spot in a few days to learn if Mandricardo +had returned, found the scattered armor, and heard of Orlando's madness +from a shepherd. Lamenting over their protector's misfortune, they +gathered up the armor, hung it on a sapling, and wrote thereon Orlando's +name. But while they were thus engaged, Mandricardo arrived, took the long +coveted sword, and gave Zerbino, who attempted to prevent the theft, a +mortal wound. The unhappy Isabel, intent on self-destruction, was +comforted by a hermit, who promised to take her to a monastery near +Marseilles. + +Mandricardo had had but a few moments for repose after this combat with +Zerbino, when the furious Rodomont overtook him and a terrible combat +between the two began, the beautiful cause of it looking on with interest. +But so strong were the champions that the struggle might have been +prolonged indefinitely had not a messenger announced to the knights that +they must postpone their private quarrels for a moment and hasten to the +relief of King Agramant. + +After Rogero had freed Richardetto, Bradamant's brother, and had attempted +in vain to find Bradamant, he was troubled by the thought of King +Agramant. He was determined to wed the warrior maid and become a +Christian, but first came his vow to the pagan king. He therefore wrote +her a note, saying that honor required his presence with Agramant for at +least fifteen or twenty days, but after that time he would find means to +justify himself with Agramant and would meet her at Vallombrosa to be +baptized. + +He, with Richardetto, Aldigier, and Marphisa, whom they met on her way to +the pagan camp, rode on together, and freed Vivian and Malagigi from the +Moors and Manganese. While they rested at a little fountain, Hippalca rode +up, and told them that she had just met Rodomont, who took Frontino from +her. She also managed secretly to give Rogero Bradamant's message and +receive his letter in return. + +While the party still remained at the fountain, Rodomont came up with +Mandricardo and Doralice, and all engaged in a fierce battle, which was at +last interrupted by Malagigi, who, versed in wizard arts, conjured a demon +into Doralice's horse so that it ran away; and Rodomont and Mandricardo, +frightened by her screams, started in pursuit. + +With the assistance of Rogero, Marphisa, Rodomont, and Mandricardo, +Agramant was enabled to drive Charlemagne back into Paris, where he was +saved only by the interposition of Discord, who stirred up the old +quarrels between Rodomont, Mandricardo, Rogero, and Gradasso over weapons, +bearings, and horses, until Agramant announced that they should settle +their difficulties by single combat, drawing lots to see who should first +engage in battle. But when they were ready for the lists, fresh quarrels +broke out, until the king despaired of ever having peace in his ranks. +Finally, at his command, Doralice publicly declared Mandricardo her +choice, and the furious Rodomont fled from the camp. On his way to Africa +he found a little abandoned church between France and Spain, and decided +to remain there instead of returning home. From this spot he saw Isabel on +her way to Marseilles, and falling in love with her, he slew the hermit, +dragged her to his retreat, and tried to win her. But she, loathing him +and faithful to Zerbino, caused him to slay her, pretending that she was +rendered invulnerable by an ointment which she had prepared, and the +secret of which she would impart to him. The unhappy Rodomont walled up +the church to form her tomb, and threw a narrow bridge across the stream. +On this bridge he met every knight who came thither, and having overthrown +him, took his arms to deck the tomb, on which he determined to hang a +thousand such trophies. If the vanquished knight was a Moor he was set +free without his arms; if a Christian he was imprisoned. Thither came the +mad Orlando, and wrestled with Rodomont on the bridge until both fell into +the stream. The madman then passed on through the country and met Medoro +and Angelica on their way to India. They escaped with difficulty, Medoro's +horse falling a victim to the madman, who continued to lay waste the land +until he reached Zizera on the bay of Gibraltar, and, plunging into the +sea, swam to Africa. + +After Doralice had decided the quarrel between Mandricardo and Rodomont, +Rogero and the Tartar met in the lists to decide their quarrel over their +bearings. The battle was fearful, and when both fell to the ground it was +supposed that Mandricardo was the victor. But when the crowd rushed to the +lists they found the Tartar dead and Rogero only wounded. But the cheers +of the crowd gave little pleasure to the hero, who grieved that he must +lie on a sick-bed instead of seeking Bradamant, according to his promise. +Bradamant too, who had looked forward so eagerly to the day he had set, +wept when it came without her lover. Soon she heard that Rogero's coming +was prevented by his wounds; but when she also heard that he was attended +by the warrior maid Marphisa, and that their names were frequently coupled +in the pagan camp, she at once felt the pangs of jealousy. Unable to +endure it longer, she armed herself, changing her usual vest for one whose +colors denoted her desperation and desire to die, and set forth to meet +and slay Marphisa, taking with her the spear left her by Astolpho, whose +magic properties she did not know. With this she overthrew Rodomont and +caused him to depart from his tomb and free his captives, and then, +proceeding to Aries, challenged Rogero, who was sadly puzzled, not +recognizing his challenger on account of her changed vest. Several knights +attacked her before Rogero came forth, only to be overthrown by the spear, +and then Marphisa, who had rushed forth before Rogero could arm, met her, +and the two women fought like tigers. When Rogero at last went forth he +recognized Bradamant's voice, and suspecting the cause of her hostility, +implored her to withdraw with him to a wood near by to hear his +explanation. Marphisa followed them and attacked Bradamant so fiercely +that Rogero was forced to her rescue, and lifting his sword would have +struck the maid had he not been stopped by a voice from a tomb near by. It +was that of Atlatites, who announced to Rogero and Marphisa that they were +brother and sister, children of Rogero of Pisa and Galiciella; that Rogero +had been treacherously slain and his town betrayed to Almontes, who cast +Galiciella adrift on the sea. Atlantes rescued her, and took her children +when she died; but Marphisa was stolen from him by a band of Arabs. + +From this speech it was plainly the duty of Rogero and Marphisa to espouse +the cause of Charlemagne and take arms against Agramant, who was their +enemy. Bradamant and Marphisa then embraced, bade Rogero farewell, and +proceeded to Charlemagne's camp, where Marphisa was received with honor +and baptized, while Rogero promised to follow them as soon as he could +find an excuse to leave Agramant. + +When Astolpho left Bradamant in the forest, he quickly rose in the air and +passed rapidly over the kingdoms of the world, Aragon, Navarre, Cadiz, +Egypt, Morocco, Fez, over the sandy desert until he reached the kingdom of +Nubia, whose king he rescued from the harpies by the sound of his magic +horn. Then, mounted on his hippogrif again, he rose to the terrestrial +Paradise, where he was welcomed by John, who informed him that he was sent +thither by the grace of God that he might get instruction how to furnish +aid to Charles and the Church, who were sorely in need of it. With John he +rose in a chariot to the Heaven of the Moon, where, after seeing many +strange things, he was given the wits of Orlando enclosed in a vial. They +had been taken from him as a punishment for his loving a pagan, but were +now to be restored to him that he might aid Charlemagne in conquering the +Moors. Astolpho then descended to Nubia, restored sight to its king, and +asking for his forces, went with them into Africa and attacked Biserta, +the city of Agramant. + +When these tidings were borne to Agramant he was greatly troubled, and +desiring to end the war in Europe and hasten to his own country, he +proposed to Charlemagne that the war be decided by single combat between +two champions. Great was the agony of Rogero, the pagan champion, when he +recognized in his opponent Rinaldo, the brother of Bradamant. He would +never dare to slay him, so he parried the blows rained upon him, and +struck back so feebly that the spectators, not understanding his motives, +deemed him unable to cope with Rinaldo. But Melissa, determined that +Merlin's prophecy should come true, appeared to Agramant in the guise of +Rodomont, and urged him to break the compact and fall upon the Christians. +Delighted to have the mighty king with him again, Agramant did not scruple +to break his word, and rushed upon the Christian forces, breaking up the +combat. After a sharp conflict, the Saracens were put to flight and +Agramant hastened into Africa. + +His people in Biserta, their strength drained by the long war, were unable +to withstand the Christian foe, soon re-enforced by a powerful enemy. One +day, as Astolpho and his friends were standing on the beach, a madman came +raging towards them, whom Astolpho recognized as Orlando. The warriors +attempted in vain to hold him until Astolpho ordered the ship's hawsers to +be brought, and knotting them flung them at the count's limbs, and so +threw him down and tied him. Then, after having had his body cleansed from +mud and filth, he stopped his mouth with herbs so that he could breathe +only through his nostrils, and holding the vial there, the lost senses +were quickly inhaled, and Orlando was himself again, astonished and +delighted to find himself with his friends. + +With Orlando's help, Biserta was soon taken, and Agramant, who had met the +Christian fleet under the leadership of Dudon and had barely escaped with +his life, saw from afar the flames devouring his beloved city. + +Landing with Sobrino upon a little isle, he found there King Sericane, who +advised him to challenge the Christians to single combat in order to +decide the outcome of the war, he, Gradasso, and Sobrino to stand in the +lists against three Christian champions. Orlando agreed to do so, and +selected for his companions in the fight Brandimart and Olivier. But the +pagans were no match for Orlando, whom no weapon could injure, and +Agramant and Gradasso soon fell, while Sobrino was wounded. But the joy +over the Christian victory was not unalloyed by sorrow, for Olivier was +severely wounded and the beloved Brandimart was slain. + +The champions were now joined by Rinaldo, who after the breaking of the +pact by Agramant, had set off for India in search of Angelica, whom he +still madly loved. But Disdain guided his steps to the Fountain of Hate, +one draught of which changed his love to loathing, so that he abandoned +his undertaking and hastened to join the Christian forces in Africa. + +Olivier's wound proved slow to heal, and when at last the warriors heard +of a hermit on a lonely isle who could help him, they hastened to take +their wounded comrade thither. There they found Rogero, who had been +shipwrecked while sailing to Africa, and had been baptized by the hermit, +who was warned in a dream of his coming. The Christian warriors gladly +welcomed Rogero to their ranks, for they knew of his valor; and Rinaldo, +who had learned how the young hero had saved the life of Richardetto and +had preserved Vivian and Malagigi, embraced him, and at the suggestion of +the hermit, plighted him to his sister. Before they left the isle, Sobrino +was converted by the pious hermit, and Olivier's wound was healed. + +The knights were received with the greatest honor by Charlemagne, +especially Rogero, the new convert. But what unhappiness awaited him! In +his absence Bradamant's father had promised the maid to Leo, the son of +the Greek emperor, Constantine, in spite of her prayers and entreaties. + +Although Bradamant declared that she would die sooner than wed another, +the heart-broken Rogero hastily departed for Constantinople to slay his +rival. In his absence, Bradamant besought Charlemagne not to compel her to +marry Leo unless he could defeat her in single combat; and her angry +parents, on learning of this, took her from the court and shut her up in +the tower of Rocca Forte. Rogero, in the mean time, reached Leo's realms +just as the Greeks engaged in battle with the Bulgarians. Because of his +hatred for Leo, he fought with the Bulgarians, and when their king fell he +rallied their scattered troops and put the Greeks to flight. Rogero then +followed the fleeing Greeks unaccompanied, and being recognized, was taken +captive that night as he slept in a hostelry. At the entreaty of a +kinswoman whose son Rogero had slain that day, the emperor surrendered his +captive to her, and he was thrust into a gloomy dungeon, where he suffered +agonies from hunger and cold. But Leo, who had admired his valor in battle +and had longed to know him, rescued him, recovered his horse and armor, +and by his generosity compelled Rogero to admire him as much as he had +before hated him. The news of Charlemagne's decree now reached Leo, and +he, fearing to fight Bradamant, asked the unknown knight of the unicorn to +take his place. Rogero's heart sank within him, but he dared not refuse. +His life was Leo's, and he must sacrifice himself for him, must either +slay Bradamant, or be slain by her for his deliverer's sake. He +accompanied Leo to France, and feigning a cheerfulness he did not feel, +changed armor and steed that he might not be known, and, while Leo +remained in his tent outside the city, entered the lists and encountered +Bradamant, who was determined to slay her hated suitor. Rogero was equally +determined not to slay her nor to allow himself to be conquered. When +twilight fell and king and court saw that while the young knight had not +overcome the maid, he had not allowed himself to be overcome, they +declared that the couple were well matched and that they should wed. + +The hopeless Rogero hastened back to Leo's camp, changed armor and steed, +and during the night stole away from the hateful place to the greenwood +that he might die there, since he could never possess his beloved. At the +same time, Bradamant gave way to her grief in such a manner that Marphisa, +already indignant at the treatment of her brother, appeared before the +king in his behalf. She declared that Rogero and Bradamant had already +exchanged all the vows of those who marry and therefore she was not free +to wed another. She then suggested that since the matter had gone so far, +Leo and Rogero should meet in the lists to decide to whom the lady +belonged. + +Leo at once set out in search of his knight of the unicorn, who he +believed would defend him from all peril, and found him in the forest, +almost fainting from fasting and sleeplessness. The Greek embraced Rogero +tenderly and implored him to betray the cause of his grief, and so tender +were his words and so gracious his manner that Rogero could not but +unbosom himself. And when Leo learned that his unknown champion was no +other than Rogero himself he declared that he would gladly forego +Bradamant for him, and would rather have forfeited his life than caused +such grief to such a faithful friend. + +Joy filled the court when the story of Rogero's fidelity was made known, +and the joy was increased when ambassadors came from Bulgaria, seeking the +unknown knight of the unicorn that they might offer their throne to him. +Duke Aymon and his wife were reconciled when they found that Rogero was to +be a king, and the wedding was celebrated with the greatest splendor, +Charlemagne providing for Bradamant as though she were his daughter. + +In the midst of the celebrations Rodomont appeared to defy Rogero, and +that knight, nothing loath, met him in the lists. The Moor fell under +Rogero's blows, and all the Christian court rejoiced to see the last of +the pagan knights fall by the hand of their champion. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE ORLANDO FURIOSO. + +THE DEATH OF ZERBINO. + + +As Orlando talked with Zerbino, whose life he had saved and to whom he had +given his lady Isabel, also rescued by him, Mandricardo the Tartar king +came up and challenged Orlando to single combat. While they fought, +Mandricardo's steed, from which Orlando had slipped the rein, became +unmanageable, and fled with its rider. Orlando asked Zerbino and Isabel to +tell Mandricardo, if they overtook him, that he would wait for him in that +place for three days to renew the battle. But while waiting, Orlando +learned of Angelica's love for Medoro, and losing his senses from grief, +threw away his armor, and went wandering through France. Zerbino and +Isabel returned to the place to see if Mandricardo had returned, and there +learned of Orlando's condition. + + Far off, he [Zerbino] saw that something shining lay, + And spied Orlando's corselet on the ground; + And next his helm; but not that head-piece gay + Which whilem African Almontes crowned: + He in the thicket heard a courser neigh, + And, lifting up his visage at the sound, + Saw Brigliadoro the green herbage browse, + With rein yet hanging at his saddle-bows, + + For Durindane, he sought the greenwood, round, + Which separate from the scabbard met his view; + And next the surcoat, but in tatters, found; + That, in a hundred rags, the champaign strew, + Zerbino and Isabel, in grief profound, + Stood looking on, nor what to think they knew: + They of all matters else might think, besides + The fury which the wretched count misguides. + + Had but the lovers seen a drop of blood, + They might have well believed Orlando dead: + This while the pair, beside the neighboring flood, + Beheld a shepherd coming, pale with dread. + He just before, as on a rock he stood, + Had seen the wretch's fury; how he shed + His arms about the forest, tore his clothes, + Slew hinds, and caused a thousand other woes. + + Questioned by good Zerbino, him the swain + Of all which there had chanced, informed aright. + Zerbino marvelled, and believed with pain, + Although the proofs were clear: This as it might, + He from his horse dismounted on the plain, + Full of compassion, in afflicted plight; + And went about, collecting from the ground + The various relics which were scattered round. + + Isabel lights as well; and, where they lie + Dispersed, the various arms uniting goes. + + * * * * * + + Here Prince Zerbino all the arms unites, + And hangs like a fair trophy, on a pine. + And, to preserve them safe from errant knights, + Natives or foreigners, in one short line + Upon the sapling's verdant surface writes, + ORLANDO'S ARMS, KING CHARLES'S PALADINE. + As he would say, "Let none this harness move, + Who cannot with its lord his prowess prove!" + + Zerbino having done the pious deed, + Is bowning him to climb his horse; when, lo! + The Tartar king arrives upon the mead. + He at the trophied pine-tree's gorgeous show, + Beseeches him the cause of this to read; + Who lets him (as rehearsed) the story know. + When, without further pause, the paynim lord + Hastes gladly to the pine, and takes the sword. + + "None can (he said) the action reprehend, + Nor first I make the faulchion mine to-day; + And to its just possession I pretend + Where'er I find it, be it where it may. + Orlando, this not daring to defend, + Has feigned him mad, and cast the sword away; + But if the champion so excuse his shame, + This is no cause I should forego my claim." + + "Take it not thence," to him Zerbino cried, + "Nor think to make it thine without a fight: + If so thou tookest Hector's arms of pride, + By theft thou hadst them, rather than by right." + Without more parley spurred upon each side, + Well matched in soul and valor, either knight. + Already echoed are a thousand blows; + Nor yet well entered are the encountering foes. + + In 'scaping Durindane, a flame in show + (He shifts so swiftly), is the Scottish lord. + He leaps about his courser like a doe, + Where'er the road best footing does afford. + And well it is that he should not forego + An inch of vantage; who, if once that sword + Smite him, will join the enamored ghosts, which rove + Amid the mazes of the myrtle grove. + + As the swift-footed dog, who does espy + Swine severed from his fellows, hunts him hard, + And circles round about; but he lies by + Till once the restless foe neglect his guard; + So, while the sword descends, or hangs on high, + Zerbino stands, attentive how to ward, + How to save life and honor from surprise; + And keeps a wary eye, and smites and flies. + + On the other side, where'er the foe is seen + To threaten stroke in vain, or make it good, + He seems an Alpine wind, two hills between, + That in the month of March shakes leafy wood; + Which to the ground now bends the forest green, + Now whirls the broken boughs, at random strewed. + Although the prince wards many, in the end + One mighty stroke he cannot 'scape or fend. + + In the end he cannot 'scape one downright blow, + Which enters, between sword and shield, his breast. + As perfect was the plate and corselet, so + Thick was the steel wherein his paunch was drest: + But the destructive weapon, falling low, + Equally opened either iron vest; + And cleft whate'er it swept in its descent, + And to the saddle-bow, through cuirass, went. + + And, but that somewhat short the blow descends + It would Zerbino like a cane divide; + But him so little in the quick offends, + This scarce beyond the skin is scarified. + More than a span in length the wound extends; + Of little depth: of blood a tepid tide + To his feet descending, with a crimson line, + Stains the bright arms which on the warrior shine. + + 'T is so, I sometimes have been wont to view + A hand more white than alabaster, part + The silver cloth with ribbon red of hue; + A hand I often feel divide my heart. + Here little vantage young Zerbino drew + From strength and greater daring, and from art; + For in the temper of his arms and might, + Too much the Tartar king excelled the knight. + + The fearful stroke was mightier in show, + Than in effect, by which the prince was prest; + So that poor Isabel, distraught with woe, + Felt her heart severed in her frozen breast. + The Scottish prince, all over in a glow, + With anger and resentment was possest, + And putting all his strength in either hand, + Smote full the Tartar's helmet with his brand. + + Almost on his steed's neck the Tartar fell, + Bent by the weighty blow Zerbino sped; + And, had the helmet been unfenced by spell + The biting faulchion would have cleft his head. + The king, without delay, avenged him well, + "Nor I for you till other season," said, + "Will keep this gift;" and levelled at his crest, + Hoping to part Zerbino to the chest. + + Zerbino, on the watch, whose eager eye + Waits on his wit, wheels quickly to the right; + But not withal so quickly, as to fly + The trenchant sword, which smote the shield outright, + And cleft from top to bottom equally; + Shearing the sleeve beneath it, and the knight + Smote on his arm; and next the harness rended, + And even to the champion's thigh descended. + + Zerbino, here and there, seeks every way + By which to wound, nor yet his end obtains; + For, while he smites upon that armor gay, + Not even a feeble dint the coat retains. + On the other hand, the Tartar in the fray + Such vantage o'er the Scottish prince obtains, + Him he has wounded in seven parts or eight, + And reft his shield and half his helmet's plate. + + He ever wastes his blood; his energies + Fail, though he feels it not, as't would appear; + Unharmed, the vigorous heart new force supplies + To the weak body of the cavalier. + His lady, during this, whose crimson dyes + Were chased by dread, to Doralice drew near, + And for the love of Heaven, the damsel wooed + To stop that evil and disastrous feud. + + Doralice, who as courteous was as fair, + And ill-assured withal, how it would end, + Willingly granted Isabella's prayer, + And straight to truce and peace disposed her friend. + As well Zerbino, by the other's care, + Was brought his vengeful anger to suspend; + And, wending where she willed, the Scottish lord, + Left unachieved the adventure of the sword. + + For to leave Durindana such misdeed + To him appeared, it past all other woes; + Though he could hardly sit upon his steed, + Through mighty loss of life-blood, which yet flows. + Now, when his anger and his heat secede, + After short interval, his anguish grows; + His anguish grows, with such impetuous pains, + He feels that life is ebbing from his veins. + + For weakness can the prince no further hie, + And so beside a fount is forced to stay: + Him to assist the pitying maid would try, + But knows not what to do, nor what to say. + For lack of comfort she beholds him die; + Since every city is too far away, + Where in this need she could resort to leech, + Whose succor she might purchase or beseech. + + She, blaming fortune, and the cruel sky, + Can only utter fond complaints and vain. + "Why sank I not in ocean," (was her cry), + "When first I reared my sail upon the main?" + Zerbino, who on her his languid eye + Had fixt, as she bemoaned her, felt more pain + Than that enduring and strong anguish bred, + Through which the suffering youth was well-nigh dead. + + "So be thou pleased, my heart," (Zerbino cried), + "To love me yet, when I am dead and gone, + As to abandon thee without a guide, + And not to die, distresses me alone. + For did it me in place secure betide + To end my days, this earthly journey done, + I cheerful, and content, and fully blest + Would die, since I should die upon thy breast + + "But since to abandon thee, to whom a prize + I know not, my sad fate compels, I swear, + My Isabella, by that mouth, those eyes, + By what enchained me first, that lovely hair; + My spirit, troubled and despairing, hies + Into hell's deep and gloomy bottom; where + To think, thou wert abandoned so by me, + Of all its woes the heaviest pain will be." + + At this the sorrowing Isabel, declining + Her mournful face, which with her tears o'erflows, + Towards the sufferer, and her mouth conjoining + To her Zerbino's, languid as a rose; + Rose gathered out of season, and which, pining + Fades where it on the shadowy hedgerow grows, + Exclaims, "Without me think not so, my heart, + On this your last, long journey to depart. + + "Of this, my heart, conceive not any fear. + For I will follow thee to heaven or hell; + It fits our souls together quit this sphere, + Together go, for aye together dwell. + No sooner closed thine eyelids shall appear, + Than either me internal grief will quell, + Or, has it not such power, I here protest, + I with this sword to-day will pierce my breast. + + "I of our bodies cherish hope not light, + That they shall have a happier fate when dead; + Together to entomb them, may some wight, + Haply by pity moved, be hither led." + She the poor remnants of his vital sprite + Went on collecting, as these words she said; + And while yet aught remains, with mournful lips, + The last faint breath of life devoutly sips. + + 'T was here his feeble voice Zerbino manned, + Crying, "My deity, I beg and pray, + By that love witnessed, when thy father's land + Thou quittedst for my sake; and, if I may + In anything command thee, I command, + That, with God's pleasure, thou live-out thy day; + Nor ever banish from thy memory, + That, well as man can love, have I loved thee. + + "God haply will provide thee with good aid, + To free thee from each churlish deed I fear; + As when in the dark cavern thou wast stayed, + He sent, to rescue thee. Andante's peer; + So he (grammercy!) succored thee dismayed + At sea, and from the wicked Biscayneer. + And, if thou must choose death, in place of worse, + Then only choose it as a leaser curse." + + I think not these last words of Scotland's knight + Were so exprest, that he was understood: + With these, he finished, like a feeble light, + Which needs supply of wax, or other food. + --Who is there, that has power to tell aright + The gentle Isabella's doleful mood? + When stiff, her loved Zerbino, with pale face, + And cold as ice, remained in her embrace. + + On the ensanguined corse, in sorrow drowned, + The damsel throws herself, in her despair, + And shrieks so loud that wood and plain resound + For many miles about; nor does she spare + Bosom or cheek; but still, with cruel wound, + One and the other smites the afflicted fair; + And wrongs her curling locks of golden grain, + Aye calling on the well-loved youth in vain. + + She with such rage, such fury, was possest, + That, in her transport, she Zerbino's glaive + Would easily have turned against her breast, + Ill keeping the command her lover gave; + But that a hermit, from his neighboring rest, + Accustomed oft to seek the fountain-wave, + His flagon at the cooling stream to fill, + Opposed him to the damsel's evil will. + + The reverend father, who with natural sense + Abundant goodness happily combined, + And, with ensamples fraught and eloquence, + Was full of charity towards mankind, + With efficacious reasons her did fence, + And to endurance Isabel inclined; + Placing, from ancient Testament and new, + Women, as in a mirror, for her view. + + The holy man next made the damsel see, + That save in God there was no true content, + And proved all other hope was transitory, + Fleeting, of little worth, and quickly spent; + And urged withal so earnestly his plea, + He changed her ill and obstinate intent; + And made her, for the rest of life, desire + To live devoted to her heavenly sire. + + Not that she would her mighty love forbear + For her dead lord, nor yet his relics slight; + These, did she halt or journey, everywhere + Would Isabel have with her, day and night. + The hermit therefore seconding her care, + Who, for his age, was sound and full of might, + They on his mournful horse Zerbino placed, + And traversed many a day that woodland waste. + + * * * * * + + He thought to bear her to Provence, where, near + The city of Marseilles, a borough stood, + Which had a sumptuous monastery; here + Of ladies was a holy sisterhood. + + _Rose's Translation, Canto XXIV_. + + + + + +THE LUSIAD. + + +"The discovery of Mozambique, of Melinda, and of Calcutta has been sung by +Camoens, whose poem has something of the charm of the Odyssey and of the +magnificence of the Aeneid." + +MONTESQUIEU. + + +The Portuguese epic, the Lusiad, so-called from Lusitania, the Latin name +for Portugal, was written by Luis de Camoens. + +He was born in Lisbon in 1524, lost his father by shipwreck in infancy, +and was educated by his mother at the University of Coimbra. On leaving +the university he appeared at court, where his graces of person and mind +soon rendered him a favorite. Here a love affair with the Donna Catarina +de Atayde, whom the king also loved, caused his banishment to Santarem. At +this place he began the Lusiad, and continued it on the expedition against +the Moors in Africa sent out by John III., an expedition on which he +displayed much valor and lost an eye. He was recalled to court, but +jealousies soon drove him thence to India, whither he sailed in 1553, +exclaiming, "Ungrateful country, thou shall not possess my bones." In +India his bravery and accomplishments won him friends, but his imprudences +soon caused his exile to China, where he accumulated a small fortune and +finished his poem. Happier circumstances permitted him to return to Goa; +but on the way the ship laden with his fortune sank, and he escaped, +saving only his poem. After sixteen years of misfortune abroad, Camoens +returned to Lisbon in 1569. The pestilence that was then raging delayed +the publication of the Lusiad until 1572. The poem received little +attention; a small pension was bestowed on the poet, but was soon +withdrawn, and the unfortunate Camoens was left to die in an almshouse. On +his death-bed he deplored the impending fate of his country, which he +alone could see. "I have loved my country. I have returned not only to die +on her bosom, but to die with her." + +The Lusiad tells the story of the voyage of Vasco da Gama. The sailors of +Prince Henry of Portugal, commander of the Portuguese forces in Africa, +had passed Cape Nam and discovered the Cape of Storms, which the prince +renamed the Cape of Good Hope. His successor Emmanuel, determined to carry +out the work of his predecessor by sending out da Gama to undertake the +discovery of the southern passage to India. The Portuguese were generally +hostile to the undertaking, but da Gama, his brother, and his friend +Coello gathered a company, part of which consisted of malefactors whose +sentence of death was reversed on condition that they undertake the +voyage, and reached India. + +The Lusiad is divided into ten cantos, containing one thousand one hundred +and two stanzas. Its metre is the heroic iambic, in rhymed octave stanzas. + +The Lusiad is marred by its mythological allusions in imitation of Homer +and Virgil, but these are forgotten when the poet sings in impassioned +strains of his country's past glory. + +The Lusiad is simple in style; its subject is prosaic; it is a constant +wonder that out of such unpromising materials Camoens could construct a +poem of such interest. He could not have done so had he not been so great +a poet, so impassioned a patriot. + +Camoens was in one sense of the word a practical man, like Ariosto; he had +governed a province, and governed it successfully. But he had also taken +up arms for his country, and after suffering all the slights that could be +put upon him by an ungrateful and forgetful monarch, still loved his +native land, loved it the more, perhaps, that he had suffered for it and +was by it neglected. He foresaw, also, as did no one else, the future ruin +of his country, and loved it the more intensely, as a parent lavishes the +fondest, most despairing affection on a child he knows doomed to early +death. + +The Lusiad is sometimes called the epic of commerce; it could be called +far more appropriately the epic of patriotism. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE LUSIAD. + + +J. Adamson's Memoirs of Life and Writing of Camoens, 2 vols., 1820 (vol. +2, account of works of Camoens in Portuguese and other languages, and of +the works founded on his life or suggested by his writings); + +R. F. Burton's Camoens, his Life and his Lusiad, 2 vols., 1881; + +M. W. Shelley's Lives of the most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of +Italy, Spain, and Portugal, vol. 3; + +F. Bouterwek's History of Spanish and Portuguese Literature, 1823 (Tr. by +T. Ross); + +Chambers's Repository, no. 32, Spirit of Camoens's Lusiad; +W. T. Dobson's Classic Poets, pp. 240-278; + +Montgomery's Men of Italy, iii., 295; + +Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, ii., 475-528; + +Southey's Sketch of Portuguese Literature in vol. i. of Quarterly Review, +1809; + +Fortnightly Review, i., 184; + +Quarterly, i., 235; + +Monthly Review, clx., 505; + +Edinburgh Review, 1805, vi., 43; + +New England Magazine, liii., 542; + +Revue de Deux Mondes, 1832, vi., 145. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE LUSIAD. The Lusiad, Tr. by J. J. + + +Aubertin, 2 vols., 1881 (Portuguese text and English Tr., in verse); + +The Lusiad, Englished by R. F. Burton, 2 vols., 1881; + +The Lusiad, Tr. into Spenserian verse by R. F. Duff, 1880; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1655; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by W. J. Mickle, 3 vols., Ed. 5, 1807; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by T. M. Musgrave (blank verse), 1826; + +The Lusiad, Tr. by Edward Quillinan, with notes by John Adamson, 1853. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE LUSIAD. + + +When Jupiter, looking down from Olympus, saw the Lusitanian fleet sailing +over the heretofore untravelled seas, he called the gods together, and +reviewing the past glory of the Portuguese, their victories over the +Castilians, their stand against the Romans, under their shepherd-hero +Viriatus, and their conquest of Africa, he foretold their future glories +and their discovery and conquest of India. + +Bacchus, who had long since made conquests in India, fearful lest his +ancient honors should be forgotten, bitterly opposed the scheme of the +Portuguese; Venus, however, was favorable to them, and Mars interceded, +counselling Jove not to heed Bacchus, but to permit the Lusitanians to +reach India's shore in safety. + +When the council of the gods was dismissed, Mercury was sent to guide the +Armada, which made its first landing at Mozambique. Canoes with curious +palm-leaf sails, laden with dark-skinned natives, swarmed round the ships +and were hailed with joy by Gama and his men, who invited them on board. A +feast was spread for them, and to them Gama declared his intention of +seeking India. Among them was a Moor who had at first thought the +Portuguese Moors, on account of their dark skins. Feigning cordiality +while plotting their ruin, he offered them a pilot to Quiloa, where, he +assured them, they would find a Christian colony. He and his friends also +laid a plot to place some soldiers in ambush to attack Gama's men when +they landed next day to get water; in this way many would be destroyed, +and certain death awaited the survivors at Quiloa, whither the promised +pilot would conduct them. But the Moors had not counted on the strength of +the Portuguese. Gama's vengeance was swift and certain. The thunder of his +guns terrified the Moors, and the regent implored his pardon, and with +make-believe tears insisted on his receiving at his hands the promised +pilot. + +Many questions were asked by Gama concerning the spicy shores of India, of +the African coasts, and of the island to the north. "Quiloa, that," +replied the Moor, "where from ancient times, the natives have worshipped +the blood-stained image of the Christ." He knew how the Moorish +inhabitants hated the Christians, and was secretly delighted when Gama +directed him to steer thither. + +A storm swept the fleet past Quiloa, but the pilot, still determined on +revenge, pointed out the island town of Mombaca, as a stronghold of the +Christians, and steering the fleet thither, anchored just outside the bar. +Bacchus, now intent on the destruction of the Lusitanians, assumed the +character of a priest to deceive the heralds sent ashore by Gama, who +assured their commander that they saw a Christian priest performing divine +rites at an altar above which fluttered the banner of the Holy Ghost. In a +few moments the Christian fleet would have been at the mercy of the Moors, +but Cytherea, beholding from above the peril of her favorites, hastily +descended, gathered together her nymphs, and formed an obstruction, past +which the vessels strove in vain to pass. As Gama, standing high on the +poop, saw the huge rock in the channel, he cried out, and the Moorish +pilots, thinking their treason discovered, leaped into the waves. + +Warned in a dream by Mercury that the Moors were preparing to cut his +cables, De Gama roused his fleet and set sail for Melinda, whose monarch, +Mercury had told him, was both powerful and good. + +The fleet, decorated with purple streamers and gold and scarlet tapestry +in honor of Ascension Day sailed with drums beating and trumpets sounding, +into the harbor of Melinda, where they were welcomed by the kind and +truthful people. The fame of the Lusitanians had reached Melinda, and the +monarch gladly welcomed them to his land. His herald entreated them to +remain with him, and brought them sheep, fowls, and the fruits of the +earth, welcome gifts to the mariners. Gama had vowed not to leave the ship +until he could step on Indian ground, so the next day the king and the +commander, clad in their most splendid vestments, met in barges, and the +monarch of Melinda asked Gama to tell him of the Lusian race, its origin +and climate, and of all his adventures up to the time of his arrival at +Melinda. + +"O king," said Gama, "between the zones of endless winter and eternal +summer lies beautiful Europe, surrounded by the sea. To the north are the +bold Swede, the Prussian, and the Dane; on her south-eastern line dwelt +the Grecian heroes, world-renowned, and farther south are the ruins of +proud Rome. Among the beauteous landscapes of Italy lies proud Venice, +queen of the sea, and north of her tower the lofty Alps. The olive groves +and vineyards of fair Gallia next greet the eye, and then the valorous +fields of Spain, Aragon, Granada, and--the pride of Spain--Castile. On the +west, a crown to it, lies Lusitania, on whom last smiles the setting +sun,--against whose shores roll the waves of the western sea. + +"Noble are the heroes of my country. They were the first to rise against +the Moors and expel them from the kingdom. The forces of Rome were routed +by our shepherd-hero, Viriatus. After his death our country languished +until Alonzo of Spain arose, whose renown spread far and wide because of +his battles against the Moors. + +"Alonzo rewarded generously the heroes who fought under him, and to Prince +Henry of Hungaria he gave the fields through which the Tagus flows and the +hand of his daughter. To them was born a son, Alfonso, the founder of the +Lusian throne. After the death of his father Henry, Alfonso's mother +became regent, and ere long wedded her minister Perez and plotted to +deprive her young son of his inheritance. The eighteen year old son arose, +won the nobility to his side, and defeated his guilty mother and her +husband in the battle of Guimaraens. Forgetful of the reverence due to +parents, he cruelly imprisoned his mother, whose father, the king of +Spain, indignant at such treatment of his daughter, now marched against +the young prince and defeated him. As he lay in prison, his faithful +guardian Egas knelt before the king, and vowed that his master, if +released, would pay homage to him. Well he knew that his master would +never bow his proud head to pay homage to Castile. So when the day +arrived, Egas, and all his family, clad in gowns of white like sentenced +felons, with unshod feet, and with the halter around their necks, sought +Castile. 'O king, take us as a sacrifice for my perjured honor. Turn in +friendship to the prince thy grandson, and wreak thy vengeance on us +alone.' + +"Fortunately Alonzo was noble enough to release the self-sacrificing Egas, +and to forgive his grandson. + +"The young Alfonso, pardoned by his grandfather, proceeded to Ourique, +whither marched five Moorish kings. Over his head appeared the sacred +cross; but he prayed heaven to show it to his army instead, that they +might be inspired with the hope of victory. Filled with joy at the token, +the Portuguese defeated the Moors, and on the bloody battle-field Alfonso +was proclaimed King of Portugal, and from that day placed on his hitherto +unadorned buckler five azure shields, arranged as a cross. He continued +the wars with the Moors until, wounded and taken prisoner at Badajoz, he +resigned the throne to his son, Don Sancho, who in turn won many +victories. Alfonso II., Sancho II., Alfonso III., and Alfonso the Brave +succeeded him. At the court of the latter was a beautiful maiden, Inez de +Castro, whom Alfonso's son Don Pedro had married secretly. The courtiers, +fearful lest Pedro should show favor to the Castilians because Inez was +the daughter of a Castilian, told the king of his son's amour. In the +absence of Pedro, Inez was led before the king, bringing with her her +children, to help her to plead for mercy. But the king was merciless, his +counsellors, brutal, and at his signal they stabbed her. Pedro never +recovered from the shock given him by the fate of his beautiful wife, and +after his succession to the throne, as a partial atonement for her +suffering, he had her body taken from the grave and crowned Queen of +Portugal. + +"The weak Fernando, who took his wife Eleanora from her lawful husband, +succeeded Pedro, and their daughter Beatrice not being recognized by the +Portuguese, at his death Don John, a natural brother, came to the throne. +In the mean time a Spanish prince had married Beatrice and invaded +Portugal, claiming it as his right. The Portuguese were divided until Nuno +Alvarez Pereyra came forward. 'Has one weak reign so corrupted you?' he +cried. 'Have you so soon forgotten our brave sires? Fernando was weak, but +John, our godlike king, is strong. Come, follow him! Or, if you stay, I +myself will go alone; never will I yield to a vassal's yoke; my native +land shall remain unconquered, and my monarch's foes, Castilian or +Portuguese, shall heap the plain!' + +"Inspired by Nuno's eloquence the Lusians took the field and defeated the +Spanish in the battle of Aljubarota. Still dissatisfied, Nuno pressed into +Spain and dictated the terms of peace at Seville. Having established +himself upon the throne of Portugal, John carried the war into Africa, +which wars were continued after his death by his son Edward. While laying +siege to Tangier, Edward and his brother Fernando were taken prisoners, +and were allowed to return home only on promise to surrender Ceuta. Don +Fernando remained as the hostage they demanded. The Portuguese would not +agree to surrender Ceuta, and Don Fernando was forced to languish in +captivity, since the Moors would accept no other ransom. He was a +patriotic prince than whom were none greater in the annals of Lusitania. + +"Alfonso V., victorious over the Moors, dreamed of conquering Castile, but +was defeated, and on his death was succeeded by John II., who designed to +gain immortal fame in a way tried by no other king. His sailors sought a +path to India, but 'though enriched with knowledge' they perished at the +mouth of the Indus. To his successor, Emmanuel, in a dream appeared the +rivers Ganges and Indus, hoary fathers, rustic in aspect, yet with a +majestic grace of bearing, their long, uncombed beards dripping with +water, their heads wreathed with strange flowers, and proclaimed to him +that their countries were ordained by fate to yield to him; that the fight +would be great, and the fields would stream with blood, but that at last +their shoulders would bend beneath the yoke. Overjoyed at this dream, +Emmanuel proclaimed it to his people. I, O king, felt my bosom burn, for +long had I aspired to this work. Me the king singled out, to me the dread +toil he gave of seeking unknown seas. Such zeal felt I and my youths as +inspired the Mynian youths when they ventured into unknown seas in the +Argo, in search of the golden fleece. + +"On the shore was reared a sacred fane, and there at the holy shrine my +comrades and I knelt and joined in the solemn rites. Prostrate we lay +before the shrine until morning dawned; then, accompanied by the 'woful, +weeping, melancholy throng' that came pressing from the gates of the city, +we sought our ships. + +"Then began the tears to flow; then the shrieks of mothers, sisters, and +wives rent the air, and as we waved farewell an ancient man cried out to +us on the thirst for honor and for fame that led us to undertake such a +voyage. + +"Soon our native mountains mingled with the skies, and the last dim speck +of land having faded, we set our eyes to scan the waste of sea before us. +From Madeira's fair groves we passed barren Masilia, the Cape of Green, +the Happy Isles, Jago, Jalofo, and vast Mandinga, the hated shore of the +Gorgades, the jutting cape called by us the Cape of Palms, and southward +sailed through the wild waves until the stars changed and we saw +Callisto's star no longer, but fixed our eyes on another pole star that +rises nightly over the waves. The shining cross we beheld each night in +the heavens was to us a good omen. + +"While thus struggling through the untried waves, and battling with the +tempests, now viewing with terror the waterspouts, and the frightful +lightnings, now comforted by the sight of mysterious fire upon our masts, +we came in sight of land, and gave to the trembling negro who came to us +some brass and bells. Five days after this event, as we sailed through the +unknown seas, a sudden darkness o'erspread the sky, unlighted by moon or +star. Questioning what this portent might mean, I saw a mighty phantom +rise through the air. His aspect was sullen, his cheeks were pale, his +withered hair stood erect, his yellow teeth gnashed; his whole aspect +spoke of revenge and horror. + +"'Bold are you,' cried he, 'to venture hither, but you shall suffer for +it. The next proud fleet that comes this way shall perish on my coast, and +he who first beheld me shall float on the tide a corpse. Often, O Lusus, +shall your children mourn because of me!' 'Who art thou?' I cried. 'The +Spirit of the Cape,' he replied, 'oft called the Cape of Tempests.'" + +The king of Melinda interrupted Gama. He had often heard traditions among +his people of the Spirit of the Cape. He was one of the race of Titans who +loved Thetis, and was punished by Jove by being transformed into this +promontory. + +Gama continued: "Again we set forth, and stopped at a pleasant coast to +clean our barks of the shell-fish. At this place we left behind many +victims of the scurvy in their lonely graves. Of the treason we met with +at Mozambique and the miracle that saved us at Quiloa and Mombas, you know +already, as well as of your own bounty." + +Charmed with the recital of Gama, the King of Melinda had forgotten how +the hours passed away. After the story was told the company whiled away +the hours with dance, song, the chase, and the banquet, until Gama +declared that he must go on to India, and was furnished with a pilot by +the friendly king. + +Bacchus, enraged at seeing the voyage so nearly completed, descended to +the palace of Neptune, with crystal towers, lofty turrets, roofs of gold, +and beautiful pillars inwrought with pearls. The sculptured walls were +adorned with old Chaos's troubled face, the four fair elements, and many +scenes in the history of the earth. Roused by Bacchus, the gods of the sea +consented to let loose the winds and the waves against the Portuguese. + +During the night, the Lusians spent the time in relating stories of their +country. As they talked, the storm came upon them, and the vessels rose +upon the giant waves, so that the sailors saw the bottom of the sea swept +almost bare by the violence of the storm. But the watchful Venus perceived +the peril of her Lusians, and calling her nymphs together, beguiled the +storm gods until the storm ceased. While the sailors congratulated +themselves on the returning calm, the cry of "Land!" was heard, and the +pilot announced to Gama that Calicut was near. + +Hail to the Lusian heroes who have won such honors, who have forced their +way through untravelled seas to the shores of India! Other nations of +Europe have wasted their time in a vain search for luxury and fame instead +of reclaiming to the faith its enemies! Italy, how fallen, how lost art +thou! and England and Gaul, miscalled "most Christian!" While ye have +slept, the Lusians, though their realms are small, have crushed the +Moslems and made their name resound throughout Africa, even to the shores +of Asia. + +At dawn Gama sent a herald to the monarch; in the mean time, a friendly +Moor, Moncaide, boarded the vessel, delighted to hear his own tongue once +more. Born at Tangiers, he considered himself a neighbor of the Lusians; +well he knew their valorous deeds, and although a Moor, he now allied +himself to them as a friend. He described India to the eager Gama: its +religions, its idolaters, the Mohammedans, the Buddhists, the Brahmins. At +Calicut, queen of India, lived the Zamorin, lord of India, to whom all +subject kings paid their tribute. + +His arrival having been announced, Gama, adorned in his most splendid +garments, and accompanied by his train, also in bright array, entered the +gilded barges and rowed to the shore, where stood the Catual, the +Zamorin's minister. Moncaide acted as an interpreter. The company passed +through a temple on their way to the palace, in which the Christians were +horrified at the graven images there worshipped. On the palace walls were +the most splendid pictures, relating the history of India. One wall, +however, bore no sculptures; the Brahmins had foretold that a foreign foe +would at some time conquer India, and that space was reserved for scenes +from those wars. + +Into the splendid hall adorned with tapestries of cloth of gold and +carpets of velvet, Gama passed, and stood before the couch on which sat +the mighty monarch. The room blazed with gems and gold; the monarch's +mantle was of cloth of gold, and his turban shone with gems. His manner +was majestic and dignified; he received Gama in silence, only nodding to +him to tell his story. + +Gama proclaimed that he came in friendship from a valorous nation that +wished to unite its shores with his by commerce. The monarch responded +that he and his council would weigh the proposal, and in the mean time +Gama should remain and feast with them. + +The next day the Indians visited the fleet, and after the banquet Gama +displayed to his guests a series of banners on which were told the history +of Portugal and her heroes. First came Lusus, the friend of Bacchus, the +hero-shepherd Viriatus, the first Alonzo, the self-sacrificing Egas, the +valiant Fuaz, every hero who had strengthened Lusitania and driven out her +foes, down to the gallant Pedro and the glorious Henry. + +Awed and wondering at the deeds of the mighty heroes, the Indians returned +home. In the night Bacchus appeared to the king, warning him against the +Lusians and urging him to destroy them while in his power. The Moors +bought the Catual with their gold. They also told the king that they would +leave his city as soon as he allied himself with the odious strangers. +When Gama was next summoned before the king he was received with a frown. + +"You are a pirate! Your first words were lies. Confess it; then you may +stay with me and be my captain." + +"I know the Moors," replied Gama. "I know their lies that have poisoned +your ears. Am I mad that I should voluntarily leave my pleasant home and +dare the terrors of an unknown sea? Ah, monarch, you know not the Lusian +race! Bold, dauntless, the king commands, and we obey. Past the dread Cape +of Storms have I ventured, bearing no gift save friendly peace, and that +noblest gift of all, the friendship of my king. I have spoken the truth. +Truth is everlasting!" + +A day passed and still Gama was detained by the power of the Catual, who +ordered him to call his fleets ashore if his voyage was really one of +friendship. + +"Never!" exclaimed Gama. "My fleet is free, though I am chained, and they +shall carry to Lisbon the news of my discovery." + +As he spoke, at a sign from the Catual, hostile ships were seen +surrounding the Lusian vessels. "Not one shall tell on Lisbon's shores +your fate." + +Gama smiled scornfully, as the fleet swept on towards his vessels. Loud +sounded the drums, shrill the trumpets. The next moment sudden lightning +flashed from Gama's ships and the skies echoed with the thunder of the +guns. + +No word fell from Gama's lips as, the battle over, they saw the sea +covered with the torn hulks and floating masts; but the populace raged +around the palace gates, demanding justice to the strangers. + +The troubled king sought to make peace with Gama. + +"My orders have been given. To-day, when the sun reaches its meridian, +India shall bleed and Calicut shall fall. The time is almost here. I make +no terms. You have deceived me once." + +The Moors fell fainting on the floor; the monarch trembled. "What can save +us?" he cried. + +"Convey me and my train to the fleet. Command at once; it is even now +noon." + +Once more safe within his ship, with him the faithful Moncaide, who had +kept him informed of the treason of the Moors, his ships laden with +cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and gems, proofs of his visit, Gama, rejoicing, +set sail for home. + +Venus saw the fleet setting out, and planned a resting-place for the weary +sailors, a floating isle with golden sands, bowers of laurel and myrtle, +beautiful flowers and luscious fruits. Here the sea nymphs gathered, +Thetis, the most beautiful, being reserved for Gama, and here days were +spent in joyance. + +At the banquet the nymphs sang the future glories of the Lusians, and +taking Gama by the hand, led him and his men to a mountain height, whence +they could look upon a wondrous globe, the universe. The crystal spheres +whirled swiftly, making sweet music, and as they listened to this, they +saw the sun go by, the stars, Apollo, the Queen of Love, Diana, and the +"yellow earth, the centre of the whole." Asia and Africa were unrolled to +their sight, and the future of India, conquered by the Lusians, Cochin +China, China, Japan, Sumatra,--all these countries given to the world by +their voyage around the terrible cape. + +"Spread thy sails!" cried the nymphs; "the time has come to go!" + +The ships departed on their homeward way, and the heroes were received +with the wildest welcome by the dwellers on Tago's bosom. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM THE LUSIAD. + +INEZ DE CASTRO. + + +During the reign of Alfonso the Brave, his son Don Pedro secretly wedded +a beautiful maiden of the court, Inez de Castro. The courtiers, jealous +because Inez was a Castilian, betrayed Pedro's secret to the king, who, in +the absence of his son, had Inez brought before him and slain by hired +ruffians. + + While glory, thus, Alonzo's name adorn'd, + To Lisbon's shores the happy chief return'd, + In glorious peace and well-deserv'd repose, + His course of fame, and honor'd age to close. + When now, O king, a damsel's fate severe, + A fate which ever claims the woful tear, + Disgraced his honors--On the nymph's 'lorn head + Relentless rage its bitterest rancor shed: + Yet, such the zeal her princely lover bore, + Her breathless corse the crown of Lisbon wore. + 'Twas thou, O Love, whose dreaded shafts control + The hind's rude heart, and tear the hero's soul; + Thou, ruthless power, with bloodshed never cloy'd, + 'Twas thou thy lovely votary destroy'd. + Thy thirst still burning for a deeper woe, + In vain to thee the tears of beauty flow; + The breast that feels thy purest flames divine, + With spouting gore must bathe thy cruel shrine. + Such thy dire triumphs!--Thou, O nymph, the while, + Prophetic of the god's unpitying guile, + In tender scenes by love-sick fancy wrought, + By fear oft shifted, as by fancy brought, + In sweet Mondego's ever-verdant bowers, + Languish'd away the slow and lonely hours: + While now, as terror wak'd thy boding fears, + The conscious stream receiv'd thy pearly tears; + And now, as hope reviv'd the brighter flame, + Each echo sigh'd thy princely lover's name. + Nor less could absence from thy prince remove + The dear remembrance of his distant love: + Thy looks, thy smiles, before him ever glow, + And o'er his melting heart endearing flow: + By night his slumbers bring thee to his arms, + By day his thoughts still wander o'er thy charms: + By night, by day, each thought thy loves employ, + Each thought the memory, or the hope, of joy. + Though fairest princely dames invok'd his love, + No princely dame his constant faith could move: + For thee, alone, his constant passion burn'd, + For thee the proffer'd royal maids he scorn'd. + Ah, hope of bliss too high--the princely dames + Refus'd, dread rage the father's breast inflames; + He, with an old man's wintry eye, surveys + The youth's fond love, and coldly with it weighs + The people's murmurs of his son's delay + To bless the nation with his nuptial day. + (Alas, the nuptial day was past unknown, + Which, but when crown'd, the prince could dare to own.) + And, with the fair one's blood, the vengeful sire + Resolves to quench his Pedro's faithful fire. + Oh, thou dread sword, oft stain'd with heroes' gore, + Thou awful terror of the prostrate Moor, + What rage could aim thee at a female breast, + Unarm'd, by softness and by love possess'd! + + Dragg'd from her bower, by murd'rous ruffian hands, + Before the frowning king fair Inez stands; + Her tears of artless innocence, her air + So mild, so lovely, and her face so fair, + Mov'd the stern monarch; when, with eager zeal, + Her fierce destroyers urg'd the public weal; + Dread rage again the tyrant's soul possess'd, + And his dark brow his cruel thoughts confess'd; + O'er her fair face a sudden paleness spread, + Her throbbing heart with gen'rous anguish bled, + Anguish to view her lover's hopeless woes, + + And all the mother in her bosom rose. + Her beauteous eyes, in trembling tear-drops drown'd, + To heaven she lifted (for her hands were bound); + Then, on her infants turn'd the piteous glance, + The look of bleeding woe; the babes advance, + Smiling in innocence of infant age, + Unaw'd, unconscious of their grandsire's rage; + To whom, as bursting sorrow gave the flow, + The native heart-sprung eloquence of woe, + The lovely captive thus:--"O monarch, hear, + If e'er to thee the name of man was dear, + If prowling tigers, or the wolf's wild brood + (Inspired by nature with the lust of blood), + Have yet been mov'd the weeping babe to spare, + Nor left, but tended with a nurse's care, + As Rome's great founders to the world were given; + Shall thou, who wear'st the sacred stamp of Heaven + The human form divine, shalt thou deny + That aid, that pity, which e'en beasts supply! + Oh, that thy heart were, as thy looks declare, + Of human mould, superfluous were my prayer; + Thou couldst not, then, a helpless damsel slay, + Whose sole offence in fond affection lay, + In faith to him who first his love confess'd, + Who first to love allur'd her virgin breast. + In these my babes shalt thou thine image see, + And, still tremendous, hurl thy rage on me? + Me, for their sakes, if yet thou wilt not spare, + Oh, let these infants prove thy pious care! + Yet, Pity's lenient current ever flows + From that brave breast where genuine valor glows; + That thou art brave, let vanquish'd Afric tell, + Then let thy pity o'er my anguish swell; + Ah, let my woes, unconscious of a crime, + Procure mine exile to some barb'rous clime: + Give me to wander o'er the burning plains + Of Libya's deserts, or the wild domains + Of Scythia's snow-clad rocks, and frozen shore; + There let me, hopeless of return, deplore: + Where ghastly horror fills the dreary vale, + Where shrieks and howlings die on every gale, + The lion's roaring, and the tiger's yell, + There with my infant race, consigned to dwell, + There let me try that piety to find, + In vain by me implor'd from human kind: + There, in some dreary cavern's rocky womb, + Amid the horrors of sepulchral gloom, + For him whose love I mourn, my love shall glow, + The sigh shall murmur, and the tear shall flow: + All my fond wish, and all my hope, to rear + These infant pledges of a love so dear, + Amidst my griefs a soothing glad employ, + Amidst my fears a woful, hopeless joy." + + In tears she utter'd--as the frozen snow + Touch'd by the spring's mild ray, begins to flow, + So just began to melt his stubborn soul, + As mild-ray'd Pity o'er the tyrant stole; + But destiny forbade: with eager zeal + (Again pretended for the public weal), + Her fierce accusers urg'd her speedy doom; + Again, dark rage diffus'd its horrid gloom + O'er stern Alonzo's brow: swift at the sign, + Their swords, unsheath'd, around her brandish'd shine. + O foul disgrace, of knighthood lasting stain, + By men of arms a helpless lady slain! + + Thus Pyrrhus, burning with unmanly ire, + Fulfilled the mandate of his furious sire; + Disdainful of the frantic matron's prayer, + On fair Polyxena, her last fond care, + He rush'd, his blade yet warm with Priam's gore, + And dash'd the daughter on the sacred floor; + While mildly she her raving mother eyed, + Resigned her bosom to the sword, and died. + Thus Inez, while her eyes to heaven appeal, + Resigns her bosom to the murd'ring steel: + That snowy neck, whose matchless form sustain'd + The loveliest face, where all the graces reign'd, + Whose charms so long the gallant prince enflam'd, + That her pale corse was Lisbon's queen proclaim'd, + That snowy neck was stain'd with spouting gore, + Another sword her lovely bosom tore. + The flowers that glisten'd with her tears bedew'd, + Now shrunk and languished with her blood embru'd. + As when a rose ere-while of bloom so gay, + Thrown from the careless virgin's breast away, + Lies faded on the plain, the living red, + The snowy white, and all its fragrance fled; + So from her cheeks the roses died away, + And pale in death the beauteous Inez lay: + With dreadful smiles, and crimson'd with her blood, + Round the wan victim the stern murd'rers stood, + Unmindful of the sure, though future hour, + Sacred to vengeance and her lover's power. + + O Sun, couldst thou so foul a crime behold, + Nor veil thine head in darkness, as of old + A sudden night unwonted horror cast + O'er that dire banquet, where the sire's repast + The son's torn limbs supplied!--Yet you, ye vales! + Ye distant forests, and ye flow'ry dales! + When pale and sinking to the dreadful fall, + You heard her quiv'ring lips on Pedro call; + Your faithful echoes caught the parting sound, + And Pedro! Pedro! mournful, sigh'd around. + Nor less the wood-nymphs of Mondego's groves + Bewail'd the memory of her hapless loves: + Her griefs they wept, and, to a plaintive rill + Transform'd their tears, which weeps and murmurs still. + To give immortal pity to her woe + They taught the riv'let through her bowers to flow, + And still, through violet-beds, the fountain pours + Its plaintive wailing, and is named Amours. + Nor long her blood for vengeance cried in vain: + Her gallant lord begins his awful reign, + In vain her murderers for refuge fly, + Spain's wildest hills no place of rest supply. + The injur'd lover's and the monarch's ire, + And stern-brow'd Justice in their doom conspire: + In hissing flames they die, and yield their souls in fire. + _Mickle's Translation, Canto III._ + + + + +THE SPIRIT OF THE CAPE. + + +Vasco de Gama relates the incidents of his voyage from Portugal to the +King of Melinda. The southern cross had appeared in the heavens and the +fleet was approaching the southern point of Africa. While at anchor in a +bay the Portuguese aroused the hostility of the savages, and hastily set +sail. + + "Now, prosp'rous gales the bending canvas swell'd; + From these rude shores our fearless course we held: + Beneath the glist'ning wave the god of day + Had now five times withdrawn the parting ray, + When o'er the prow a sudden darkness spread, + And, slowly floating o'er the mast's tall head + A black cloud hover'd: nor appear'd from far + The moon's pale glimpse, nor faintly twinkling star; + So deep a gloom the low'ring vapor cast, + Transfix'd with awe the bravest stood aghast. + Meanwhile, a hollow bursting roar resounds, + As when hoarse surges lash their rocky mounds; + Nor had the black'ning wave nor frowning heav'n + The wonted signs of gath'ring tempest giv'n. + Amazed we stood. 'O thou, our fortune's guide, + Avert this omen, mighty God!' I cried; + 'Or, through forbidden climes adventurous stray'd, + Have we the secrets of the deep survey'd, + Which these wide solitudes of seas and sky + Were doom'd to hide from man's unhallow'd eye? + Whate'er this prodigy, it threatens more + Than midnight tempests, and the mingled roar, + When sea and sky combine to rock the marble shore.' + + "I spoke, when rising through the darken'd air, + Appall'd, we saw a hideous phantom glare; + High and enormous o'er the flood he tower'd, + And 'thwart our way with sullen aspect lower'd: + An earthy paleness o'er his cheeks was spread, + Erect uprose his hairs of wither'd red; + Writhing to speak, his sable lips disclose, + Sharp and disjoin'd, his gnashing teeth's blue rows; + His haggard beard flow'd quiv'ring on the wind, + Revenge and horror in his mien combin'd; + His clouded front, by with'ring lightnings scar'd, + The inward anguish of his soul declar'd. + His red eyes, glowing from their dusky caves, + Shot livid fires: far echoing o'er the waves + His voice resounded, as the cavern'd shore + With hollow groan repeats the tempest's roar. + Cold gliding horrors thrill'd each hero's breast, + Our bristling hair and tott'ring knees confess'd + Wild dread, the while with visage ghastly wan, + His black lips trembling, thus the fiend began:-- + + "'O you, the boldest of the nations, fir'd + By daring pride, by lust of fame inspir'd, + Who, scornful of the bow'rs of sweet repose, + Through these my waves advance your fearless prows, + Regardless of the length'ning wat'ry way, + And all the storms that own my sov'reign sway, + Who, mid surrounding rocks and shelves explore + Where never hero brav'd my rage before; + Ye sons of Lusus, who with eyes profane + Have view'd the secrets of my awful reign, + Have passed the bounds which jealous Nature drew + To veil her secret shrine from mortal view; + Hear from my lips what direful woes attend, + And, bursting soon, shall o'er your race descend. + + "'With every bounding keel that dares my rage, + Eternal war my rocks and storms shall wage, + The next proud fleet that through my drear domain, + With daring search shall hoist the streaming vane, + That gallant navy, by my whirlwinds toss'd, + And raging seas, shall perish on my coast: + Then he, who first my secret reign descried, + A naked corpse, wide floating o'er the tide, + Shall drive--Unless my heart's full raptures fail, + O Lusus! oft shall thou thy children wail; + Each year thy shipwreck'd sons thou shalt deplore, + Each year thy sheeted masts shall strew my shore. + + "'With trophies plum'd behold a hero come, + Ye dreary wilds, prepare his yawning tomb. + Though smiling fortune bless'd his youthful morn, + Though glory's rays his laurell'd brows adorn, + Full oft though he beheld with sparkling eye + The Turkish moons in wild confusion fly, + While he, proud victor, thunder'd in the rear, + All, all his mighty fame shall vanish here. + Quiloa's sons, and thine, Mombaz, shall see + Their conqueror bend his laurell'd head to me; + While, proudly mingling with the tempest's sound, + Their shouts of joy from every cliff rebound. + + "'The howling blast, ye slumb'ring storms prepare, + A youthful lover and his beauteous fair + Triumphant sail from India's ravag'd land; + His evil angel leads him to my strand. + Through the torn hulk the dashing waves shall roar, + The shatter'd wrecks shall blacken all my shore. + Themselves escaped, despoil'd by savage hands, + Shall, naked, wander o'er the burning sands, + Spar'd by the waves far deeper woes to bear, + Woes, e'en by me, acknowledg'd with a tear. + Their infant race, the promis'd heirs of joy, + Shall now, no more, a hundred hands employ; + By cruel want, beneath the parents' eye, + In these wide wastes their infant race shall die; + Through dreary wilds, where never pilgrim trod + Where caverns yawn, and rocky fragments nod, + The hapless lover and his bride shall stray, + By night unshelter'd, and forlorn by day. + In vain the lover o'er the trackless plain + Shall dart his eyes, and cheer his spouse in vain. + Her tender limbs, and breast of mountain snow, + Where, ne'er before, intruding blast might blow, + Parch'd by the sun, and shrivell'd by the cold + Of dewy night, shall he, fond man, behold. + Thus, wand'ring wide, a thousand ills o'er past, + In fond embraces they shall sink at last; + While pitying tears their dying eyes o'erflow, + And the last sigh shall wail each other's woe. + + "'Some few, the sad companions of their fate, + Shall yet survive, protected by my hate, + On Tagus' banks the dismal tale to tell, + How, blasted by my frown, your heroes fell.' + + "He paus'd, in act still further to disclose + A long, a dreary prophecy of woes: + When springing onward, loud my voice resounds, + And midst his rage the threat'ning shade confounds. + + "'What art thou, horrid form that rid'st the air? + By Heaven's eternal light, stern fiend, declare.' + His lips he writhes, his eyes far round he throws, + And, from his breast, deep hollow groans arose, + Sternly askance he stood: with wounded pride + And anguish torn, 'In me, behold,' he cried, + While dark-red sparkles from his eyeballs roll'd, + 'In me the Spirit of the Cape behold, + That rock, by you the Cape of Tempests nam'd, + By Neptune's rage, in horrid earthquakes fram'd, + When Jove's red bolts o'er Titan's offspring flam'd. + With wide-stretch'd piles I guard the pathless strand, + And Afric's southern mound, unmov'd, I stand: + Nor Roman prow, nor daring Tyrian oar + Ere dash'd the white wave foaming to my shore; + Nor Greece nor Carthage ever spread the sail + On these my seas, to catch the trading gale. + You, you alone have dar'd to plough my main, + And with the human voice disturb my lonesome reign." + + "He spoke, and deep a lengthen'd sigh he drew, + A doleful sound, and vanish'd from the view: + The frighten'd billows gave a rolling swell, + And, distant far, prolong'd the dismal yell, + Faint and more faint the howling echoes die, + And the black cloud dispersing, leaves the sky. + High to the angel-host, whose guardian care + Had ever round us watch'd, my hands I rear, + And Heaven's dread King implore: 'As o'er our head + The fiend dissolv'd, an empty shadow fled; + So may his curses, by the winds of heav'n, + Far o'er the deep, their idle sport, be driv'n!'" + + With sacred horror thrill'd, Melinda's lord + Held up the eager hand, and caught the word. + "Oh, wondrous faith of ancient days," he cries, + "Concealed in mystic lore and dark disguise! + Taught by their sires, our hoary fathers tell, + On these rude shores a giant spectre fell, + What time from heaven the rebel band were thrown: + And oft the wand'ring swain has heard his moan. + While o'er the wave the clouded moon appears + To hide her weeping face, his voice he rears + O'er the wild storm. Deep in the days of yore, + A holy pilgrim trod the nightly shore; + Stern groans he heard; by ghostly spells controll'd, + His fate, mysterious, thus the spectre told: + + "'By forceful Titan's warm embrace compress'd, + The rock-ribb'd mother, Earth, his love confess'd: + The hundred-handed giant at a birth, + And me, she bore, nor slept my hopes on earth; + My heart avow'd my sire's ethereal flame; + Great Adamastor, then, my dreaded name. + In my bold brother's glorious toils engaged, + Tremendous war against the gods I waged: + Yet, not to reach the throne of heaven I try, + With mountain pil'd on mountain to the sky; + To me the conquest of the seas befell, + In his green realm the second Jove to quell. + Nor did ambition all my passions hold, + 'Twas love that prompted an attempt so bold. + Ah me, one summer in the cool of day, + I saw the Nereids on the sandy bay, + With lovely Thetis from the wave advance + In mirthful frolic, and the naked dance. + In all her charms reveal'd the goddess trod, + With fiercest fires my struggling bosom glow'd; + Yet, yet I feel them burning in my heart, + And hopeless, languish with the raging smart. + For her, each goddess of the heavens I scorn'd, + For her alone my fervent ardor burn'd. + In vain I woo'd her to the lover's bed, + From my grim form, with horror, mute she fled. + Madd'ning with love, by force I ween to gain + The silver goddess of the blue domain; + To the hoar mother of the Nereid band + I tell my purpose, and her aid command: + By fear impell'd, old Doris tried to move, + And win the spouse of Peleus to my love. + The silver goddess with a smile replies, + 'What nymph can yield her charms a giant's prize! + Yet, from the horrors of a war to save, + And guard in peace our empire of the wave, + Whate'er with honor he may hope to gain, + That, let him hope his wish shall soon attain.' + The promis'd grace infus'd a bolder fire, + And shook my mighty limbs with fierce desire. + But ah, what error spreads its dreadful night, + What phantoms hover o'er the lover's sight! + + "The war resign'd, my steps by Doris led, + While gentle eve her shadowy mantle spread, + Before my steps the snowy Thetis shone + In all her charms, all naked, and alone. + Swift as the wind with open arms I sprung, + And, round her waist with joy delirious clung: + In all the transports of the warm embrace, + A hundred kisses on her angel face, + On all its various charms my rage bestows, + And, on her cheek, my cheek enraptur'd glows. + When oh, what anguish while my shame I tell! + What fix'd despair, what rage my bosom swell! + Here was no goddess, here no heavenly charms, + A rugged mountain fill'd my eager arms, + Whose rocky top, o'erhung with matted brier, + Received the kisses of my am'rous fire. + Wak'd from my dream, cold horror freez'd my blood; + Fix'd as a rock, before the rock I stood; + 'O fairest goddess of the ocean train, + Behold the triumph of thy proud disdain; + Yet why,' I cried, 'with all I wish'd decoy, + And, when exulting in the dream of joy, + A horrid mountain to mine arms convey?' + Madd'ning I spoke, and furious sprung away. + Far to the south I sought the world unknown, + Where I, unheard, unscorn'd, might wail alone, + My foul dishonor, and my tears to hide, + And shun the triumph of the goddess' pride. + My brothers, now, by Jove's red arm o'erthrown, + Beneath huge mountains pil'd on mountains groan; + And I, who taught each echo to deplore, + And tell my sorrows to the desert shore, + I felt the hand of Jove my crimes pursue, + My stiff'ning flesh to earthy ridges grew, + And my huge bones, no more by marrow warm'd, + To horrid piles, and ribs of rock transform'd, + Yon dark-brow'd cape of monstrous size became, + Where, round me still, in triumph o'er my shame, + The silv'ry Thetis bids her surges roar, + And waft my groans along the dreary shore.'" + + _Mickle's Translation, Canto V_. + + + + + +THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +The Gerusalemme Liberata, or Jerusalem Delivered, was written by Torquato +Tasso, who was born at Sorrento, March 11, 1544. He was educated at +Naples, Urbino, Rome, Venice, Padua, and Bologna. In 1572 he attached +himself to the court of Ferrara, which he had visited in 1565 in the suite +of the Cardinal d'Este, and by whose duke he had been treated with great +consideration. Here his pastoral drama "Aminta" was written and performed, +and here he began to write his epic. The duke, angry because of Tasso's +affection for his sister Eleanora, and fearful lest the poet should +dedicate his poem to the Medicis, whom he visited in 1575, and into whose +service he was asked to enter, kept him under strict surveillance, and +pretended to regard him as insane. Feigning sympathy and a desire to +restore his mind, he had the unfortunate poet confined in a mad-house. +Tasso escaped several times, but each time returned in the hope of a +reconciliation with the duke. During his confinement his poem was +published without his permission: first in 1580, a very imperfect version; +in 1581, a genuine one. This at once brought him great fame; but while its +publishers made a fortune, Tasso received nothing. Neither did the duke +relent, although powerful influences were brought to bear on him. Tasso +was not released until 1586, and then, broken in health, he passed the +rest of his life in Rome and Naples, living on charity, though treated +with great honor. He died in Rome, April 25, 1595, just before he was to +have been crowned at the capitol. + +The Jerusalem Delivered has for its subject the first Crusade, and the +events recorded in its twenty cantos comprise the happenings in the camp +of the Crusaders during forty days of the campaign of 1099. Its metre is +the _octava rima_, the eight lined rhymed stanza. + +Tasso was not so successful in the delineation of character and in the +description of actions as in the interpretation of feeling, being by +nature a lyric rather than an epic poet. But his happy choice of +subject,--for the Crusades were still fresh in the memory of the people, +and chivalry was a thing of the present--his zeal for the Christian cause, +his impassioned delineations of love, and his exquisitely poetical +treatment of his whole theme, rendered his epic irresistible. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +J. Black's Life of Tasso (with a historical and critical account of his +writings), 2 vols. 1810; + +E. J. Hasell's Tasso, 1882; + +Rev. Robert Milman's Life of Tasso, 2 vols. 1850; + +Dennistown's Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, 1851, iii., 292-316; + +Hallam's Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the 15th, 16th, and +17th Centuries, 1839, ii., 192-199; + +Leigh Hunt's Stories from Italian Poets, 1888, ii., 289-474; + +Longfellow's Poets and Poetry of Europe, 1845, pp. 568-577; + +Sismondi's Literature of the South of Europe, Ed. 2, 1846, i., 359-391; + +J. A. Symonds's Renaissance in Italy, 1886, vol. 2, chapters 7-8; + +Edin. Rev., Oct. 1850, xcii., 294-302; + +Blackwood, 1845, lvii., 401-414; + +Quarterly Review, Jan. 1857, ci., 59-68. + + + + +STANDARD ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. from the Italian by John Hoole. First American +from Eighth London Edition, 2 vols., 1810; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into English Spenserian verse with life of the +author by J. H. Wiffen. New ed., 1883; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir John Kingston James, 2 vols., 1884; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. into the metre of the original by C. L. Smith, +1876-79; + +Jerusalem Delivered, Tr. by Sir Edward Fairfax and edited by Prof. Henry +Morley, 1889. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + + +The Eternal Father looked down from His lofty throne upon the Christian +powers in Syria. In the six years they had spent in the East they had +taken Nice and Antioch. Now, while inactive in winter quarters, Bohemond +was strengthening himself in Antioch, and the other chiefs were thinking +of glory or love; but Godfrey, to whom renown was the meanest of glories, +was burning to win Jerusalem and restore it to the faith. Inspired by +Gabriel, despatched by the Eternal Father, Godfrey called a council, and +with an eloquence and fire more than mortal, roused the Christians to +action. "We came not here to raise empires; the period has come when all +the world is waiting for our next step. Now is the propitious moment. If +we delay longer, Egypt will step in to the aid of our Syrian foe!" + +Godfrey was unanimously elected chief, and immediate arrangements were +made for the setting out to Jerusalem. Godfrey first reviewed the army. A +thousand men marched under the lilied banner of Clotharius; a thousand +more from the Norman meads under Robert; from Orange and Puy, troops came +under the priests William and Ademar. Baldwin led his own and Godfrey's +bands, and Guelpho, allied to the house of Este, brought his strong +Carinthians. Other troops of horse and foot were led by William of +England. After him came the young Tancred, the flower of chivalry, +blighted now, alas! by unrequited love. He had seen by chance the pagan +maid Clorinda, the Amazon, drinking at a pool in the forest, and had +forgot all else in his love for her. After him came the small Greek force +under Tatine; next, the invincible Adventurers under Dudon, bravest of +men. Following these were Otho, Edward and his sweet bride Gildippe, who, +unwilling to be separated from her husband, fought at his side, and, +excellent above all others, the young Rinaldo, whose glorious deeds were +yet but a promise of his great future. While but a boy he had escaped from +the care of his foster mother, Queen Matilda, and hastened to join the +Crusaders. The review was closed by the array of foot soldiers led by +Raymond, Stephen of Amboise, Alcasto, and Camillus. The pageant having +passed by, Godfrey despatched a messenger to summon Sweno the Dane, who +with his forces was still tarrying in Greece, and at once set out for +Jerusalem. + +Swift rumor had conveyed the tidings of his approach to Aladine, King of +Jerusalem, a merciless tyrant, who, enraged, immediately laid heavier +taxes upon the unfortunate Christians in his city. Ismeno, a sorcerer, +once a Christian, but now a pagan who practised all black arts, penetrated +to the presence of the king and advised him to steal from the temple of +the Christians an image of the Virgin and put it in his mosque, assuring +him that he would thus render his city impregnable. This was done, and +Ismeno wrought his spells about the image, but the next morning it had +disappeared. After a fruitless search for the image and the offender, the +angry king sentenced all the Franks to death. The beautiful maid +Sophronia, determined to save her people, assumed the guilt, and was +sentenced to be burned. As she stood chained to the stake, her lover, +Olindo, to whom she had ever been cold, saw her, and in agony at her +sacrifice, declared to the king that Sophronia had lied and that he was +the purloiner of the image. The cruel monarch ordered him also to be tied +to the stake, that they might die together; and the flames had just been +applied when the two were saved by the Amazon Clorinda, who convinced the +king that the Christians were innocent and that Allah himself, incensed at +the desecration, had snatched away the image. + +To the camp of Godfrey at Emmaus came two ambassadors from the king of +Egypt, Alethes, a supple crafty courtier of low lineage, and Argantes, a +haughty and powerful warrior. But their efforts to keep Godfrey from +Jerusalem, first by persuasion, and then by threats, were in vain. +They were dismissed from the camp, and the army proceeded on its way. + +When the walls and towers of the city where Messias died came in sight, +the Christian army, crying "All Hail, Jerusalem!" laid aside their +casques, and, shedding tears, trod barefoot the consecrated way. + +At sight of the Franks, the pagans hastened to strengthen the +fortifications of their city, and Aladine from a lofty tower watched +Clorinda attack a band of Franks returning from a foray. At his side was +the lovely Erminia, daughter of the King of Antioch, who had sought +Jerusalem after the downfall of her city. + +Erminia instructed Aladine of the various crusaders, and when she pointed +out the noble Tancred, who had treated her with such consideration in +Antioch, she felt her love for him revive, though she pretended to the +king to hate him for his cruelty. Tancred recognized among the leaders of +the pagans Clorinda, bereft of her helmet, and for love of her, refused to +fight her. The pagans, driven back by the Christians, were rallied by +Argantes, but only to be met by the matchless Adventurers under Dudon. +When Dudon fell, the troops under Rinaldo, burning for revenge, +reluctantly obeyed Godfrey's summons to return. + +The funeral rites over, the artificers were sent to the forest to fell the +trees, that engines might be fabricated for the destruction of the city +walls. + +Angry at the success of the Franks, Satan stirred up the infernal regions, +and set loose his friends to work destruction to the Christians. One he +despatched to the wizard Idraotes, at Damascus, who conceived the scheme +of sending his beautiful niece Armida to ensnare the Christians. In a few +days Armida appeared among the white pavilions of the Franks, attracting +the attention and winning the love of all who saw her. Her golden locks +appeared through her veil as the sunshine gleams through the stormy skies; +her charms were sufficiently hidden to make them the more alluring. So +attired, modestly seeking the camp of Godfrey, she was met by Eustace, his +young brother, and taken to the prince. + +With many tears and sighs, she told her pitiful story. She had been driven +from her kingdom, an orphan, by the envy and wickedness of her uncle, and +had come to ask the Christians to aid her in regaining her rights. +Unfortunately for her success, she and her uncle had not calculated on +Godfrey's absorption in his divine undertaking. He was proof against her +charms, and was determined not to be delayed longer in laying siege to the +city. It required the utmost persuasion of Eustace to induce him to permit +ten of the Adventurers to accompany her. Armida, though disappointed in +Godfrey's lack of susceptibility, employed her time so well while in camp +that when she departed with the ten Adventurers chosen by lot, she was +followed secretly by Eustace and many others who had not been chosen, but +who were madly in love with her. + +Before his departure, Eustace, jealous of Rinaldo, whom he was fearful +Armida might admire, had persuaded him to aspire to the place of Dudon, to +whom a successor must be elected. Gernando of Norway desired the same +place, and, angry that the popular Rinaldo should be his rival, scattered +through the camp rumors disparaging to his character: Rinaldo was vain and +arrogant; Rinaldo was rash, not brave; Rinaldo's virtues were all vices. +At last, stung past endurance by his taunts and insinuations, Rinaldo gave +the lie to his traducer, and slew him in fair fight. False reports were +taken to Godfrey by Rinaldo's enemies; and the ruler determined to punish +the youth severely; but he, warned by his friends, escaped from camp and +fled to Antioch. To Godfrey, deprived thus of Rinaldo and many of his +brave Adventurers, was brought the tidings that the Egyptian expedition +was on its way, and that a ship laden with provisions had been intercepted +on its way to his camp. + +The bold Argantes, weary of the restraint of the siege, sent a challenge +to the Christians, saying he would meet any Frank, high-born or low, in +single combat, the conditions being that the vanquished should serve the +victor. A thousand knights burned to accept the challenge, but Godfrey +named Tancred, who proudly buckled on his armor and called for his steed. +As he approached the field, he saw among the pagan hosts, who stood around +to view the combat, the fair face of Clorinda, and stood gazing at her, +forgetful of all else. Otho, seeing his delay, spurred on his horse, and +fought till vanquished. Then Tancred woke from his stupor, and, burning +with shame, rushed forward. The battle raged until night fell, and the +weary warriors ceased, pledging themselves to return on the morrow. + +Erminia, shut up in Jerusalem, mourned over the wounds of Tancred. She +knew many healing balms, by which, were she with him, she might heal him +and make him ready for the morrow's fight; but she was forced to +administer them to his enemy instead. Unable to endure the suspense +longer, she put on her friend Clorinda's armor and fled to the Christian +camp to find her beloved. The Franks, who spied her, supposed her +Clorinda, and pursued her; but she succeeded in reaching a woodland +retreat, where she determined to remain with the kind old shepherd and his +wife who had fled from the disappointments of the court and had here +sought and found peace in their humble home. When Tancred heard from his +followers that they had driven Clorinda from the camps, he determined to +pursue and speak with her. Rising from his bed he sought the forest only +to fall into the wiles of Armida, and be lured into a castle, in whose +dungeon he lay, consumed with shame at the thought of his unexplained +absence from the morrow's combat. + +When morning dawned and Tancred did not appear, the good old Count Raymond +went forth to meet Argantes. When he was about to overcome his antagonist, +an arrow shot from the pagan ranks brought on a general conflict, in which +the Christians were successful until a storm, summoned by the powers of +darkness, put an end to the battle. The next morning a knight came to the +camp of Godfrey to tell of Sweno's defeat and slaughter. He, the sole +survivor of the band, had been commissioned by some supernatural visitants +to bring Sweno's sword to Rinaldo. + +While Godfrey's heart was wrung by this disaster, the camp of Italians, +led to suppose by some bloody armor found in a wood that Rinaldo had been +treacherously slain with the connivance of Godfrey, accused the chief and +stirred up the camp to revolt; but Godfrey, praying to Heaven for strength +to meet his enemies, walked through the camp firmly and unfalteringly, +unarmed and with head bare, his face still bright with the heavenly light +left there by spiritual communion, and silenced the tumult by a few +well-chosen words. His arch-accuser Argillan he sentenced to death; the +others crept back to their tents in shame. + +The Soldan Solyman, driven from Nice at its capture, had joined the Turks, +and, spurred on by hate and fury, made a night attack on the Frankish +camp. The Franks, saved only by the interposition of the angel Michael, +and by the troops just returned, released from Armida's enchantment, +fought fiercely, and at dawn put Solyman to flight. By the arts of Ismeno +he was conveyed to Jerusalem by a secret way, where he cheered the +discouraged Aladine. + +Before attempting to storm the city, the Christian troops, by the advice +of Peter the Hermit, walked in a long procession to Mt. Olivet, filling +the heavens with melody, and there partook of the communion administered +by the warrior priests, William and Ademar. The next morning, Godfrey, in +the light armor of a foot-soldier, appeared with his barons, prepared for +the storm. The troops were arranged carefully, the huge engines were moved +forward, and the Franks made a bold attempt against the walls, from the +top of which Clorinda aimed her arrows, wounding and slaying many men. +Godfrey himself was wounded, but was healed by divine aid, and immediately +returned to the field to rally his troops. Night fell, and the contest was +deferred until another day. + +Clorinda, burning to distinguish herself, determined to fire the huge +towers of the Christians. Her eunuch tried to dissuade her because he had +been warned in a dream that she would this night meet her death. He told +her her history. Her mother was a Christian who had been compelled to put +her infant away from her. This eunuch had rescued her from death and +brought her up, failing, however, to obey an angel's command to have her +baptized a Christian. + +Clorinda would not heed his caution, but went forth and fired the Frankish +machines. She and the fleeing pagans were pursued by the Christians; and +while her companions reached the city in safety, she was accidentally shut +out and met Tancred in mortal combat. She refused to tell her name until +she felt her death-wound, and then she prayed her enemy to baptize her, +that she might die a Christian. The broken-hearted Tancred fell fainting +on her corpse, and was found there the next morning by the Franks. Neither +his comrades, nor Godfrey and Peter the Hermit, were able to rouse him +from his melancholy. + +Their machines destroyed, timbers were needed by the Franks to construct +new ones. Knowing this, Ismeno laid spells on the forest, so that the +warriors sent thither by Godfrey were frightened away by the sights they +saw therein. Even Tancred was put to flight when one of the demons took +the form of his beloved Clorinda. To add to the discomfort of the Franks, +excessive heat overpowered them, and they suffered tortures from lack of +water until the prayers of Godfrey moved the Ruler of the Earth with pity, +and He sent down the longed-for showers. + +Delighted with the piety of Godfrey, the Great King sent him a dream by +which he might know the will of Heaven. Lifted through the whirling +spheres, his ears charmed with their music, his eyes dazzled by the +brilliancy of the stars, he saw Duke Hugo, who told him that Rinaldo must +be sought out before the conquest of Jerusalem could be accomplished. The +same Power influenced the princes in council so that by the will of all, +two knights, one of them him to whom Sweno's sword had been given, were +despatched to seek Rinaldo. Instructed by Peter the Hermit, they sought +the sea-coast, and found a wizard, who, after showing them the splendor of +his underground abode beneath the river's bed, revealed to them the way in +which they were to overcome the wiles of Armida. + +A beautiful maid with dove-like eyes and radiant smile received them in +her small bark, and they were soon flying over the sea, marvelling at the +rich cities and vast fleets by which they passed. Leaving rich Cadiz and +the Pillars of Hercules, they sped out into the unknown sea, while the +maiden told them of how some day Columbus would venture into unknown seas +to find a new continent. On, on they flew, past the Happy Isles, the +Fortunate, long the song of the poet; where the olive and honey made happy +the land, and the rivers swept down from the mountains in silver +streamlets; where every bird-song was heavenly music, a place so divine +that there were placed of old the Elysian fields. To one of these islands +the lady steered, and the knights disembarked, and started on their +perilous journey up the mountain. Following the wizard's instructions, +they waved the golden rod at the monstrous serpents hissing in their +pathway, and they vanished; they steeled their hearts against the charms +of the voluptuous maids bathing in the lake, and passed without tasting +the fountain of laughter. Then the spacious palace met their eyes. Built +round a garden, its marble courts and unnumbered galleries formed a +trackless maze through which they could never have found their way without +the aid of the wizard's map. As they trod the marble floors they paused +many times to view the matchless carvings on the silver doors, which told +anew the beautiful old stories of love triumphant. + +Once through the winding ways, they entered the wonderful garden which art +and nature combined to render the most beautiful spot on earth. The same +trees bore ripe fruit, buds, and blossoms; the birds sang joyfully in the +green bowers; and the faint breezes echoed their song. One bird sang a +song of love, and when the tender melody was done the other birds took it +up and sang until the forest rang with melody, and all was love, love, +love. Then the knights saw Rinaldo, lying in the grove, his head in the +lap of the enchantress. His sword was gone from his side, and in its place +hung a mirror in which he sometimes gazed at Armida's reflection. When +Armida left him alone for a few hours, the knights surprised Rinaldo, and +turned the wizard's diamond shield upon him. For the first time he saw +himself as others saw him, and, blushing with shame, announced himself +ready to return with them to rescue Jerusalem. Tearing off his ornaments, +he hastened down the mountain, but not soon enough to escape Armida. +Tears, prayers, threats she used in vain. She had captured him when he +fled from the camp, intending to slay him; but moved by his beauty, she +had spared him, and falling in love with him, had reared this palace that +they might in it revel in love's pleasures. Now, miserable, she saw him +desert her, and destroying the beautiful haunt, she drove her swift +chariot across the seas to the camp of the Egyptian king, who was +hastening towards Jerusalem. Intent on the slaughter of Rinaldo, her love +for whom had changed to bitter hate, she offered the warriors of the +Egyptian king, all of whom had fallen victims to her charms, her hand as a +reward to the slayer of Rinaldo. + +When Rinaldo and his rescuers reached the abode of the wizard they found +him waiting with new arms for the young hero. The sage reproached him +gently for his dalliance, and then, seeing the blush of shame upon his +countenance, showed him the shield, which bore the illustrious deeds of +his ancestors of the house of Este. Great as were their past glories, +still greater would be those of the family which he should found, greatest +of whom would be the Duke Alphonso. + +Rinaldo, having told his story to Godfrey, and confessed his wrong-doing +to Peter the Hermit, proceeded to the enchanted forest; and though as +beauteous scenes, and as voluptuous sirens displayed themselves to him as +dwelt in Armida's garden, yea, though one tree took the semblance of +Armida herself, he boldly hacked the trunk and broke the magic spell. +Joyfully the Franks set to work to fell the huge trees and construct +vaster, stronger engines than before, under the direction of a master +mechanic. At the same time, Vafrino, a cunning squire of Tancred, was +commissioned to go forth in disguise and inspect the camp of the coming +Egyptian king. Even before he departed, a carrier pigeon, driven back by a +hawk, fell into Godfrey's hands, bearing a message to Aladine from Egypt, +saying that in four or five days he would be with him in Jerusalem. + +Godfrey, determined to take the city before that day should come, made the +utmost exertions to have the machines completed. In Jerusalem, also, great +preparations were made, machines built, and a fearful fire concocted by +Ismeno with which to drive the assaulters from the wall. + +Shriven by the priests, the Christian army went forth to battle. Godfrey +took his stand against the northern gate; Raymond was assigned to the +steep sharp crags at the southwest walls, and Guelph and the two Roberts +were stationed on the track to Gaza to watch for the Egyptians. + +The pagans fought with great fury, bringing out new instruments to oppose +the huge battering rams, raining down arrows, and throwing the suffocating +fire. But Rinaldo, to whom all this work appeared too slow, urged on his +bold Adventurers to form a tortoise, hastened to the wall, seized a +scaling ladder, and, unmoved by any missile, mounted the wall and assisted +his followers, in spite of the multitudes who surrounded him, attempting +to hurl him down. But as Godfrey advanced, Ismeno launched his terrible +fire-balls, more horrible than the flames of Mt. Etna; they affected even +the vast tower, swelling and drying the heavy skins that covered its sides +until protecting Heaven sent a breeze that drove the flames back to the +city. Ismeno, accompanied by two witches, hurried to the wall, but was +crushed by a stone that ground his and their bones to powder. Godfrey, +inspired by a vision of the slain soldiery fighting in his ranks, leaped +upon the wall and planted the red-cross flag. Raymond was also successful, +and the Christians rushed over the walls into the town, following Aladine, +who hastened to shut himself up in the citadel. + +While the battle was raging, but success was assured to the Christians, +Tancred and the terrible Argantes met, and glad of an opportunity to +settle their quarrel, withdrew to a glade in the forest. Tancred, stung by +the taunts of cowardice for his former failure to keep his appointment, +fought bitterly. He had not the sheer strength of his antagonist, but his +sleight at last overcame, and Argantes fell. Weakened by pain and loss of +blood, Tancred fell senseless, and was thus found by Erminia, who had met +Vafrino the spy in the camp of the Egyptians and had fled with him. They +revived Tancred, and carried him home to be nursed by the delighted +Erminia. + +Vafrino had seen Armida in the camp and had learned through Erminia not +only the princes' designs on Rinaldo, but also that they meant to assume +the signs of the red-cross knights and thus reach the neighborhood of +Godfrey and slay him. On this intelligence Godfrey changed the signs of +his men that they might recognize the Egyptians on the following day and +put them to death. + +Terrible to the Franks was the sight of the Egyptian army when they opened +their eyes upon it next morning. Clouds of dust obscured all the heavens, +hills, and valleys, so great was the coming host. But Godfrey, with an +eloquence that fired each soul, told them of the helplessness of the +enemy, of how many of them were slaves, scourged to the battle, and +reminded them of the great undertaking before them, the saving of the +Sepulchre, until fired with zeal, and burning to fight, they rushed into +battle and dispersed the Egyptians. Many of the Christians fell by the +sword of the terrible Soldan, among them Gildippe and her husband, united +in death as in life. Rinaldo, hearing of their slaughter, speedily avenged +it by laying the Soldan low on the battle-field. + +One after another of Armida's champions attacked Rinaldo, determined to +win the prize, but his good sword sent them to earth, and Armida was left +alone and unprotected. Rinaldo, having seen her fly away over the plain +and knowing the victory achieved, followed and found her ready to put +herself to death in a lonely glade. He snatched the sword from her hand +and speedily changed back her hate to love. She fell upon his breast, and +with the promise to become a Christian and give her life to him, +accompanied him back to the city. + +During the battle, Aladine and those who were imprisoned in the citadel +overpowered Count Raymond, and rushed out to battle, only to be overcome +and slain. Prince Altamore, who, covered with blood, remained alone on the +field, yielded himself to Godfrey, and was given his life and his kingdom. + +Then, from the field covered with spoil and floating with blood, the +conquering troops, clad in their bloody armor, marched in solemn cavalcade +to the Temple and paid their vowed devotions at the sacred tomb. + + + + +SELECTION FROM THE JERUSALEM DELIVERED. + +SOPHRONIA AND OLINDO. + + +At the instigation of the wizard Ismeno, Aladine, king of Jerusalem, stole +an image of the Virgin from the temple of the Christians and put it in his +mosque in order to render the city impregnable. When morning dawned the +image was gone, and no search could reveal any clue to the theft. + + In every temple, hermitage, and hall, + A long and eager search the monarch made, + And tortures or rewards decreed to all + Who screened the guilty, or the guilt betrayed; + Nor ceased the Sorcerer to employ in aid + Of the inquiry all his arts, but still + Without success; for whether Heaven conveyed + The prize away, or power of human will, + Heaven close the secret kept, and shamed his vaunted skill. + + But when the king found all expedients vain + To trace th' offender, then, beyond disguise, + Flamed forth his hatred to the Christians; then, + Fed by wild jealousies and sharp surmise, + Immoderate fury sparkled in his eyes; + Follow what may, he will revenge the deed, + And wreak his rage: "Our wrath shall not," he cries, + "Fall void, but root up all th' accursed seed; + Thus in the general doom the guilty yet shall bleed! + + "So that he 'scapes not, let the guiltless die! + But wherefore thus of guiltlessness debate? + Each guilty is, nor 'mongst them all know I + One, well-affected to the faith and state; + And what if some be unparticipate + In this new crime, new punishment shall pay + For old misdeeds; why longer do ye wait, + My faithful Mussulmans? up! up! away! + Hence with the torch and sword: seize, fire, lay waste, and slay!" + + Thus to the crowd he spake, the mandate flew, + And in the bosoms of the Faithful shed + Astonishment and stupor; stupor threw + On every face the paleness of the dead; + None dared, none sought to make defence; none fled, + None used entreaty, none excuse; but there + They stood, like marble monuments of dread, + Irresolute,--but Heaven conceived their prayer, + And whence they least had hope, brought hope to their despair. + + Of generous thoughts and principles sublime + Amongst them in the city lived a maid, + The flower of virgins in her ripest prime, + Supremely beautiful! but that she made + Never her care, or beauty only weighed + In worth with virtue; and her worth acquired + A deeper charm from blooming in the shade; + Lovers she shunned, nor loved to be admired, + But from their praises turned, and lived a life retired. + + Yet could not this coy secrecy prevent + Th' admiring gaze and warm desires of one + Tutored by Love, nor yet would Love consent + To hide such lustrous beauty from the sun; + Love! that through every change delight'st to run, + The Proteus of the heart I who now dost blind, + Now roll the Argus eyes that nought can shun! + Thou through a thousand guards unseen dost wind, + And to the chastest maids familiar access find. + + Sophronia hers, Olindo was his name; + Born in one town, by one pure faith illumed; + Modest--as she was beautiful, his flame + Feared much, hoped little, and in nought presumed; + He could not, or he durst not speak, but doomed + To voiceless thought his passion; him she slighted, + Saw not, or would not see; thus he consumed + Beneath the vivid fire her beauty lighted; + Either not seen ill known, or, known, but ill requited. + + And thus it was, when like an omen drear + That summoned all her kindred to the grave, + The cruel mandate reached Sophronia's ear, + Who, brave as bashful, yet discreet as brave, + Mused how her people she from death might save; + Courage inspired, but virginal alarm + Repressed the thought, till maiden shyness gave + Place to resolve, or joined to share the harm; + Boldness awoke her shame, shame made her boldness charm. + + Alone amidst the crowd the maid proceeds, + Nor seeks to hide her beauty, nor display; + Downcast her eyes, close veiled in simple weeds, + With coy and graceful steps she wins her way: + So negligently neat, one scarce can say + If she her charms disdains, or would improve,-- + If chance or taste disposes her array; + Neglects like hers, if artifices, prove + Arts of the friendly Heavens, of Nature, and of Love. + + All, as she passed unheeding, all, admire + The noble maid; before the king she stood; + Not for his angry frown did she retire, + But his indignant aspect coolly viewed: + "To give,"--she said, "but calm thy wrathful mood, + And check the tide of slaughter in its spring,-- + To give account of that thou hast pursued + So long in vain, seek I thy face, O king! + The urged offence I own, the doomed offender bring!" + + The modest warmth, the unexpected light + Of high and holy beauty, for a space + O'erpowered him,--conquered of his fell despite, + He stood, and of all fierceness lost the trace. + Were his a spirit, or were hers a face + Of less severity, the sweet surprise + Had melted him to love; but stubborn grace + Subdues not stubborn pride; Love's potent ties + Are flattering fond regards, kind looks, and smiling eyes. + + If 't were not Love that touched his flinty soul, + Desire it was, 't was wonder, 't was delight: + "Safe be thy race!" he said, "reveal the whole, + And not a sword shall on thy people light." + Then she: "The guilty is before thy sight,-- + The pious robbery was my deed; these hands + Bore the blest Image from its cell by night; + The criminal thou seek'st before thee stands,-- + Justice from none but me her penalty demands." + + Thus she prepares a public death to meet, + A people's ransom at a tyrant's shrine: + Oh glorious falsehood! beautiful deceit! + Can Truth's own light thy loveliness outshine? + To her bold speech misdoubting Aladine + With unaccustomed temper calm replied: + "If so it were, who planned the rash design, + Advised thee to it, or became thy guide? + Say, with thyself who else his ill-timed zeal allied?" + + "Of this my glory not the slightest part + Would I," said she, "with one confederate share; + I needed no adviser; my full heart + Alone sufficed to counsel, guide and dare." + "If so," he cried, "then none but thou must bear + The weight of my resentment, and atone + For the misdeed." "Since it has been my care," + She said, "the glory to enjoy alone, + 'T is just none share the pain; it should be all mine own." + + To this the tyrant, now incensed, returned, + "Where rests the Image?" and his face became + Dark with resentment: she replied, "I burned + The holy Image in the holy flame, + And deemed it glory; thus at least no shame + Can e'er again profane it--it is free + From farther violation: dost thou claim + The spoil or spoiler? this behold in me; + But that, whilst time rolls round, thou never more shall see. + + "Albeit no spoiler I; it was no wrong + To repossess what was by force obtained:" + At this the tyrant loosed his threatening tongue, + Long-stifled passion raging unrestrained: + No longer hope that pardon may be gained, + Beautiful face, high spirit, bashful heart! + Vainly would Love, since mercy is disdained, + And Anger flings his most envenomed dart, + In aid of you his else protecting shield impart! + + Doomed in tormenting fire to die, they lay + Hands on the maid; her arms with rough cords twining. + Rudely her mantle chaste they tear away, + And the white veil that o'er her drooped declining: + This she endured in silence unrepining, + Yet her firm breast some virgin tremors shook; + And her warm cheek, Aurora's late outshining, + Waned into whiteness, and a color took, + Like that of the pale rose, or lily of the brook. + + The crowd collect; the sentence is divulged; + With them Olindo comes, by pity swayed; + It might be that the youth the thought indulged, + What if his own Sophronia were the maid! + There stand the busy officers arrayed + For the last act, here swift the flames arise; + But when the pinioned beauty stands displayed + To the full gaze of his inquiring eyes,-- + '_T is_ she! he bursts through all, the crowd before him flies. + + Aloud he cries: "To her, oh not to her + The crime belongs, though frenzy may misplead! + She planned not, dared not, could not, king, incur + Sole and unskilled the guilt of such a deed! + How lull the guards, or by what process speed + The sacred Image from its vaulted cell? + The theft was mine! and 't is my right to bleed!" + Alas for him! how wildly and how well + He loved the unloving maid, let this avowal tell. + + "I marked where your high Mosque receives the air + And light of heaven; I climbed the dizzy steep; + I reached a narrow opening; entered there, + And stole the Saint whilst all were hushed in sleep: + Mine was the crime, and shall another reap + The pain and glory? Grant not her desire! + The chains are mine; for me the guards may heap + Around the ready stake the penal fire; + For me the flames ascend; 't is mine, that funeral pyre!" + + Sophronia raised to him her face,--her eye + Was filled with pity and a starting tear: + She spoke--the soul of sad humanity + Was in her voice, "What frenzy brings thee here, + Unhappy innocent! is death so dear, + Or am I so ill able to sustain + A mortal's wrath, that thou must needs appear? + I have a heart, too, that can death disdain, + Nor ask for life's last hour companionship in pain." + + Thus she appeals to him; but scorning life, + His settled soul refuses to retreat: + Oh glorious scene, where in sublimest strife + High-minded Virtue and Affection meet! + Where death's the prize of conquest, and defeat + Seals its own safety, yet remains unblest! + But indignation at their fond deceit, + And rage, the more inflames the tyrant's breast, + The more this constant pair the palm of guilt contest. + + He deems his power despised, and that in scorn + Of him they spurn the punishment assigned: + "Let," he exclaimed, "the fitting palm adorn + The brows of both! both pleas acceptance find!" + Beckoning he bids the prompt tormentors bind + Their galling chains around the youth--'t is done; + Both to one stake are, back to back, consigned, + Like sunflowers twisted from their worshipped sun, + Compelled the last fond looks of sympathy to shun. + + Around them now the unctuous pyre was piled, + And the fanned flame was rising in the wind, + When, full of mournful thoughts, in accents wild, + The lover to his mate in death repined: + "Is this the bond, then, which I hoped should bind + Our lives in blissful marriage? this the fire + Of bridal faith, commingling mind with mind, + Which, I believed, should in our hearts inspire + Like warmth of sacred zeal and delicate desire? + + "For other flames Love promised to impart, + Than those our envious planets here prepare; + Too, ah too long they kept our hands apart, + But harshly now they join them in despair! + Yet does it soothe, since by a mode so rare + Condemned to die, thy torments to partake, + Forbid by fate thy sweetnesses to share; + If tears I shed, 't is but for thy dear sake, + Not mine,--with thee beside, I bless the burning stake! + + "And oh! this doom would be indeed most blest, + My sharpest sufferings blandishments divine, + Might I but be permitted, breast to breast, + On thy sweet lips my spirit to resign; + If thou too, panting toward one common shrine, + Wouldst the next happy instant parting spend + Thy latest sighs in sympathy on mine!" + Sorrowing he spake; she, when his plaints had end, + Did thus his fond discourse most sweetly reprehend. + + "Far other aspirations, other plaints + Than these, dear friend, the solemn hour should claim. + Think what reward God offers to his saints; + Let meek repentance raise a loftier aim: + These torturing fires, if suffered in his name, + Will, bland as zephyrs, waft us to the blest; + Regard the sun, how beautiful his flame! + How fine a sky invites him to the west! + These seem to soothe our pangs, and summon us to rest." + + The Pagans lifting up their voices, wept; + In stifled sorrow wept the Faithful too; + E'en the stern king was touched,--a softness crept + O'er his fierce heart, ennobling, pure, and new; + He felt, he scorned it, struggled to subdue, + And lest his wavering firmness should relent, + His eyes averted, and his steps withdrew; + Sophronia's spirit only was unbent; + She yet lamented not, for whom all else lament. + + In midst of their distress, a knight behold, + (So would it seem) of princely port! whose vest + And arms of curious fashion, grained with gold, + Bespeak some foreign and distinguished guest; + The silver tigress on the helm impressed, + Which for a badge is borne, attracts all eyes,-- + A noted cognizance, th' accustomed crest + Used by Clorinda, whence conjectures rise, + Herself the stranger is,--nor false is their surmise. + + All feminine attractions, aims, and parts, + She from her childhood cared not to assume; + Her haughty hand disdained all servile arts, + The needle, distaff, and Arachne's loom; + Yet, though she left the gay and gilded room + For the free camp, kept spotless as the light + Her virgin fame, and proud of glory's plume, + With pride her aspect armed, she took delight + Stern to appear, and stern, she charmed the gazer's sight. + + Whilst yet a girl, she with her little hand + Lashed and reined in the rapid steed she raced, + Tossed the huge javelin, wrestled on the sand, + And by gymnastic toils her sinews braced; + Then through the devious wood and mountain-waste + Tracked the struck lion to his entered den, + Or in fierce wars a nobler quarry chased; + And thus in fighting field and forest glen, + A man to savage beasts, a savage seemed to men. + + From Persia now she comes, with all her skill + The Christians to resist, though oft has she + Strewed with their blood the field, till scarce a rill + Remained, that ran not purple to the sea. + Here now arrived, the dreadful pageantry + Of death presents itself,--the crowd--the pyre-- + And the bound pair; solicitous to see, + And know what crime condemns them to the fire, + Forward she spurs her steed and hastens to inquire. + + The throng falls back, and she awhile remains, + The fettered pair more closely to survey; + One she sees silent, one she sees complains, + The stronger spirit nerves the weaker prey; + She sees him mourn like one whom the sad sway + Of powerful pity doth to tears chastise, + Not grief, or grief not for himself; but aye + Mute kneels the maid, her blue beseeching eyes + So fixed on heaven, she seems in heaven ere yet she dies. + + Clorinda melts, and with them both condoles; + Some tears she sheds, but greater tenderness + Feels for her grief who most her grief controls,-- + The silence moves her much, the weeping less; + No longer now does she delay to press + For information; turning towards one + Of reverend years, she said with eagerness, + "Who are they? speak! and oh, what crime has won + This death? in Mercy's name, declare the deed they've done!" + + Thus she entreats; a brief reply he gives, + But such as well explains the whole event: + Amazed she heard it, and as soon conceives + That they are both sincerely innocent; + Her heart is for them, she is wholly bent + To avert their fate, if either arms can aid, + Or earnest prayers secure the king's consent; + The fire she nears, commands it to be stayed, + That now approached them fast, and to th' attendants said: + + "Let none of you presume to prosecute + Your barbarous office, till the king I see; + My word I pledge that at Clorinda's suit, + Your fault he will forgive, if fault it be." + Moved by her speech and queenlike dignity + The guards obey, and she departs in quest + Of the stern monarch, urgent of her plea: + Midway they met; the monarch she addressed + And in this skilful mode her generous purpose pressed. + + "I am Clorinda; thou wilt know perchance + The name, from vague remembrance or renown; + And here I come to save with sword and lance + Our common Faith, and thy endangered crown, + Impose the labor, lay th' adventure down, + Sublime, I fear it not, nor low despise; + In open field or in the straitened town, + Prepared I stand for every enterprise, + Where'er the danger calls, where'er the labor lies!" + + "'T would be assuredly a thing most rare, + If the reward the service should precede; + But of thy bounty confident, I dare + For future toils solicit, as my meed, + Yon lovers' pardon; since the charge indeed + Rests on no evidence, 't was hard to press + The point at all, but this I waive, nor plead + On those sure signs which, urged, thou must confess + Their hands quite free from crime, or own their guilt far less. + + "Yet will I say, though here the common mind + Condemns the Christians of the theft, for me, + Sufficient reasons in mine own I find + To doubt, dispute, disparage the decree; + To set their idols in our sanctuary + Was an irreverence to our laws, howe'er + Urged by the sorcerer; should the Prophet see + E'en idols of our own established there? + Much less then those of men whose lips his faith forswear: + + "The Christian statue ravished from your sight + To Allah therefore rather I impute, + In sign that he will let no foreign rite + Of superstition his pure place pollute: + Spells and enchantments may Ismeno suit, + Leave him to use such weapons at his will; + But shall we warriors by a wand dispute? + No! no! our talisman, our hope, our skill, + Lie in our swords alone, and they shall serve us still!" + + She ceased; and he, though mercy could with pain + Subdue a heart so full of rage and pride, + Relents, her reasons move, her prayers constrain.-- + Such intercessor must not be denied; + Thus, though reluctant, he at length complied: + "The plea for the fair pleader I receive; + I can refuse thee nothing; this," he cried, + "May justice be or mercy,--let them live; + Guiltless--I set them free, or guilty I forgive!" + + Restored to life and liberty, how blest. + How truly blest was young Olindo's fate! + For sweet Sophronia's blushes might attest, + That Love at length has touched her delicate + And generous bosom; from the stake in state + They to the altar pass; severely tried, + In doom and love, already made his mate, + She now objects not to become his bride. + And grateful live with him who would for her have died. + + _Wiffen's Translation, Canto_ + + + + + +PARADISE LOST. + + +Paradise Lost was written by John Milton, who was born in London, Dec. 9, +1608, and died Nov. 8, 1674. After leaving college, he spent five years in +study at home, during which time he wrote L'Allegro, Il Penseroso, +Arcades, Comus, and Lycidas. In 1638 he travelled on the continent and in +Italy, where he met Galileo. He hastened home in 1639 on account of the +political disturbances in England, and espousing the Puritan cause, +devoted the next twenty years of his life to the writing of pamphlets in +its defence. In 1649 he was appointed Latin Secretary under Cromwell. In +1652 he lost his sight in consequence of overwork. At the age of +twenty-nine, Milton had decided to make an epic poem his life work, and +had noted many historical subjects. By 1641 he had decided on a Biblical +subject. He had probably conceived Paradise Lost at the age of thirty-two, +although the poem was not composed until he was over fifty. It was written +after his blindness and dictated in small portions to various persons, the +work being collected and revised by Milton and Aubrey Phillips. It was +completed, according to the authority of Phillips, in 1663, but on account +of the Plague and the Great Fire, it was not published until 1667. + +Paradise Lost is divided into twelve books and is written, to use Milton's +own words, "In English heroic verse without rhyme, as that of Homer in +Greek and of Virgil in Latin, rhyme being no necessary adjunct or true +ornament of poem or good verse." + +Paradise Lost was neglected until the time of the Whig supremacy in +England. In 1688 Lord Somers, the Whig leader, published an _edition de +luxe_ of the poem; Addison's papers on it, in 1712, increased its +popularity, and through the influence of the Whigs a bust of the poet was +placed in Westminster Abbey in 1737. + +There is no better proof of the greatness of Paradise Lost than the way in +which it has survived hostile criticism. It has been criticised for the +lengthy conversations and "arguments" of its characters; for its +materialization of the Divine Being; because of its subject; because of +Milton's vagueness of description of things awesome and terrible, in +comparison with Dante's minute descriptions. But the earnest spirit in +which it was conceived and written; the subject, giving it a "higher +argument" than any merely national epic, even though many of Milton's, and +his age's, special beliefs are things of the past, and its lofty and +poetical style, have rendered unassailable its rank among the noblest of +the epics. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE LOST. + + +Joseph Addison's Notes upon the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost; +by Albert S. Cook, 1892. (In the Spectator from Dec. 31, 1711-May 3, +1712); + +Samuel Austin Allibone's Dictionary of Authors, 1891, vol. ii., pp. +1301-1311; + +Matthew Arnold's A French Critic on Milton (see his Mixed Essays, 1880, +pp. 260-273); + +Walter Bagehot's Literary Studies, by Richard Holt Hutton, 1879, vol. i., +202-219; + +Richard Bentley's Emendations on the Twelve Books of Paradise Lost, 1732; + +E. H. Bickersteth's Milton's Paradise Lost, 1876. (St. James Lectures, 2d +series. Another edition, 1877); + +Hugh Blair's Paradise Lost (see his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles +Lettres, 1783, vol. ii., 471-476); + +Miss Christian Cann's A Scriptural and Allegorical Glossary to Paradise +Lost, 1828; + +Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical +Works, 1867; + +Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Lectures and Notes on Shakespeare and other +English Poets collected by T. Ashe, 1893, pp. 518-529; + +William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their lives and times etc., 1879; + +Charles Eyre's Fall of Adam, from Milton's Paradise Lost, 1852; + +George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 17-25; + +S. Humphreys Gurteen's The Epic of the Fall of Man; a comparative Study of +Caedmon, Dante, and Milton, 1896; + +William Hazlitt On the Character of Milton's Eve (see his Round Table ed. +by W. Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 150-158); + +William Hazlitt On Milton's Versification (see his Round Table, ed. by W. +Carew Hazlitt, 1889, pp. 51-57); + +John A. Himes's Study of Milton's Paradise Lost, 1878; + +Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets; ed. by Mrs. Alexander +Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + +Thomas Keightley's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his An account of +the Life, Opinions, and Writings of John Milton, 1855, pp. 397-484); + +Walter Savage Landor's Imaginary Conversations, Southey and Landor, 1853, +vol. ii., 57-74, 156-159; + +Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical +Essays, ed. 10, 1860, vol. i., pp. 1-61); + +William Massey's Remarks upon Milton's Paradise Lost, 1761; + +David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Lost (see his edition of Milton's +Poetical Works, 1893, vol. ii., pp. 1-57); + +David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 505-558, 621-636; + +David Masson's Three Devils (Luther's, Goethe's, and Milton's), (see his +Three Devils and other Essays, 1874); + +James Peterson's A complete Commentary on Paradise Lost, 1744; + +Jonathan Richardson's Explanatory Notes and Remarks on Paradise Lost, +1734; + +Edmond Scherer's Milton and Paradise Lost (see his essays on English +Literature; Tr. by George Saintsbury, 1891, pp. 134-149); + +John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures +and Essays), 1871, pp. 142-152; + +First Edition of Paradise Lost, Book Lore, 1886, iii., 72-75; + +J. A. Himes's Cosmology of Paradise Lost, Lutheran Quarterly, 1876, vi., +187-204; + +J. A. Himes's Plan of Paradise Lost, New Englander, 1883, xlii., 196-211; + +Satan of Milton and the Lucifer of Byron compared, Knickerbocker, 1847, +xxx., 150-155; + +Satan of Paradise Lost, Dublin University Magazine, 1876, lxxxviii., +707-714; + +Augustine Birrell's Obiter Dicta (2d series 1887, pp. 42-51); + +Isaac Disraeli's Curiosities of Literature; +Bentley's Milton, 1867, pp. 138-139; + +Henry Hallam's Literary History of Europe, 1873, ed. 5, vol. iii., pp. +475-483; + +Mark Pattison's John Milton, n. d. (English Men of Letters Series); + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature; Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, +vol. ii., pp. 106-124. + + + + +THE STORY OF PARADISE LOST. + + +When that bright spirit, afterwards known as Satan, rose in rebellion +against the Almighty Ruler of the Universe, presumptuously thinking +himself equal to him in strength and following, he was overthrown by the +Great Power and cast with his followers out of Heaven down to his future +dwelling, flaming Hell. + +Nine days he and his horrid crew fell through Chaos into the flaming pit +yawning to receive them, and there lay for nine days,--rendered still more +miserable by the thought of their immortality and the eternal bliss they +had forfeited. Then Satan, rousing himself from the stupor consequent upon +the fall, half rose and addressed the next in power to himself, Beelzebub. + +"Thou art the same, yet not the same," said he; "changed, lost is some of +thy former brightness. Yet why repine? While we live, while we have so +large a following, all is not lost. Our hate still lives, and have we but +strength enough, we may still revenge ourselves upon him who thrust us +into this accursed place." + +Rising from the lake, his great shield slung over his shoulders, the +unconquered archangel walked over the burning marl to the beach of that +fiery sea, and there with chiding words addressed the legions strewn +around him. The great army rose hastily at the voice of its chief and +passed before him, spirits whose heavenly names were now forever lost, who +later became the gods of the idolaters. There was mighty Moloch, Chemos, +those who later went by the general names of Baalim and +Ashtaroth,--Thammuz, Dagon, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, Orus and their train, +Belial, and last of all, the Ionian gods. + +His despair in part dissipated by the sight of this heroic array, their +prince, towering high above all, addressed them. No one had foreseen the +calamity that had overtaken them. Who could have guessed the power of the +Almighty? But though overthrown they were not totally defeated. A rumor +had long since been rife of the creation of another world with which they +could interfere. At any rate, there must never be peace between them and +the heavenly Powers. War there must be, war in secret, or war waged +openly. As he ended, shield clashed against shield, and swords, quickly +drawn, flashed before his eyes, and loud cries hurled defiance to Heaven. + +The legions, led by Mammon, who in Heaven had been an honored architect, +sought a hill near by, and quickly emptying it of its rich store of gold +and jewels, built a massive structure. Like a temple in form was it, and +round about it stood Doric columns overlaid with gold. No king of any +future state could boast of a grander hall than this palace of Pandemonium +which was so quickly reared upon a hill in Hell, and to which the heralds' +trumpets now summoned all the host. + +On the massive throne, blazing with jewels, sat the fallen spirit, and +thus addressed his followers: "Our success is sure in whatever we +undertake. We shall never be riven with internecine warfare, for surely no +one will quarrel over precedence in Hell. Therefore, united, we can, sure +of our success, debate of the way in which we shall take up our warfare +with the powers that have overthrown us." + +Moloch, Belial, Mammon, and Beelzebub spoke. Moloch was in favor of open +war, since nothing could be worse than Hell, and continued assault against +the Most High would, in annoying him, be a sweet revenge. Belial, who +though timorous and slothful, was a persuasive orator, denounced Moloch's +plan. Since the ruler of Heaven was all-powerful, and they immortal, no +one knew to what greater misery he could push them; perhaps he would bury +them in boiling pitch to eternity, or inflict a thousand undreamed-of +tortures. War, open and secret, he disliked, since it was impossible to +conceal aught from the eye of the Most High. To make the best of Hell +seemed all that was possible; in time they might become inured to its +flames and better days might come, if they but accepted their doom +patiently. + +Mammon also considered war impossible. They could never hope to overcome +the Almighty; neither could they hope nor wish for a reconciliation, for +how hateful would be an eternity spent in cringing to one whom they hated. +The desert soil of Hell teemed with riches, they could find peaceful +pursuits, and it was his advice to continue there in quiet, untroubled by +any thoughts of revenge. + +Amid the murmur of applause that followed Mammon's speech, Beelzebub, than +whom none towered higher save Satan, arose, his face grave, his attitude +majestic. "Would you, Thrones and Imperial Powers," he cried, "think to +build up a kingdom here, secure from the arm of Heaven? Have you so soon +forgotten that this is not a kingdom ceded to you by the Most High, but a +dungeon in which he has shut you for your everlasting punishment? Never +will he forget that you are his prisoners; your lot will not be peace, but +custody and stripes. What return can we make, then, but to think out some +slow but sure and sweet revenge? It is not necessary to attempt to scale +the walls of Heaven. Other things remain. There is this new world, his +plaything. It may lie exposed, and we can at least make the attempt to +seize it and lay it waste, and thus vex him." As he saw their eyes +sparkle, he continued: "We may in this attempt come near to the steps of +our old abode and breathe again its delicious airs instead of these +hellish flames. But first we must find some one, strong, wary, and +watchful, to send in search of it." + +Satan strode forth, his courage and his consciousness of it making his +face shine with transcendent glory. "Long is the way and hard; its dangers +unknown and terrible, but I should be a poor sovereign did I hesitate in +the attempt to seek it out. I do not refuse the sovereignty, for I fear +not to accept as great a share of hazard as of honor. Stay here; charm +away your time, and I will seek deliverance abroad for all of us." + +As he spoke he rose to depart, fearful lest others might now offer to go +and share the glory with him. + +The legions rose with a sound like thunder, bowed in deepest reverence and +went forth, some, to explore their dismal abode, others to amuse +themselves at games, others to discuss Free Will and Fate, while their +leader pursued his way toward the gate of Hell. + +The nine-fold gates were of brass, iron, and adamantine rock, reaching +high to the mighty roof, and most horrible were the Shapes that guarded +it. + +On one side sat a creature, woman to the waist, below, a serpent, +surrounded by a crew of hell hounds, forever barking and then seeking +refuge within her. On the other, a Shape, black, fierce, terrible, crowned +with the likeness of a kingly crown, and shaking in its hands a dreadful +dart. As he strode, Hell trembled. Satan, undaunted, met him with fierce +words. As the two stood, their lances pointed at each other, the woman +shrieked and ran between them. + +"Father, rush not upon thy son! Son, raise not thy hand against thy +father!" She then explained that she was Satan's daughter, Sin, who had +sprung from his head full grown, and that she later became by him the +mother of the creature called Death who sat with her to guard the gates. + +Satan at once unfolded to them his plan of seeking the new world and +making a happy home for both Sin and Death, where they could forever find +food to gratify their hideous cravings. Charmed by his highly-colored +pictures, and forgetful of the commands from above, Sin opened the mighty +doors, so that the flames of Hell spread far out into Chaos, but her +strength failed her when she attempted to close them again. + +For a moment Satan looked out into the mixture of Hot and Cold and Moist +and Dry that formed Chaos, and then started forth, now rising, now +falling, his wings heavy with the dense masses, now wading, now creeping, +until at last he reached the spot where was fixed the throne of Chaos and +of Night. Here Satan learned of the situation of the new world and soon +caught a glimpse of it, hanging like a star, by a golden chain, from +Heaven. + +Sitting in Heaven, high throned above all, God, all-seeing, all-knowing, +was conscious of Satan's escape from Hell and his approach to the new +world. To his Son, sitting on his right hand, he pointed out the fallen +spirit. "No prescribed bounds can shut our Adversary in; nor can the +chains of hell hold him. To our new world he goes, and there, by no fault +of mine, will pervert man, whom I have placed therein, with a free will; +so to remain until he enthralls himself. Man will fall as did Satan, but +as Satan was self-tempted, and man will be deceived by another, the latter +shall find grace where his tempter did not." + +Great was the joy of the Son when he learned that man would receive mercy +for his transgression. "Pardon and mercy he shall receive," declared the +Father, "but some one must be willing to expiate his sin for him; the just +must die for the unjust. Who in Heaven is willing to make the sacrifice?" + +For a moment all the Heavenly quire stood mute; then the Son of God spoke +and implored his Father to let his anger fall on him, since he could not +wholly die, but could arise from death and subdue his vanquisher. + +When his Father accepted the sacrifice, and named him Son of God and Man +who should hereafter be Universal King, Ruler of Heaven and Earth, Heaven +rang with the shouts of the Angels, who, casting down their amaranthine +wreaths until the golden pavement was covered with the garlands, took +their golden harps and sang the praises of the Father and the Son. + +While they sang, Satan walked over the vast globe on which he had +alighted, through what in after years, when the world was peopled, was to +be the Paradise of Fools, the spot to which the spirits of all things +transitory and vain, of those who had worked for their reward in life +instead of in Heaven, would come. He walked around the dark globe until, +directed by a gleam of light, he found the spot where a ladder led up to +Heaven. Just below it, down through the spheres, was the seat of Paradise +to which he was bending his way. + +Down through the crystal spheres he bent his way toward the Sun, which +attracted him by its superior splendor. Espying Uriel, the Angel of the +Sun, he quickly took the form of a youthful Cherub, and, approaching +Uriel, told him that having heard of the new world he had been seized by a +longing to quit the bands of Cherubim and see for himself the wonderful +work of the Creator. + +Directed by the unsuspecting Uriel, Satan sped downward and standing upon +the top of Niphates, surveyed Eden. + +As he looked, his spirit was troubled. He had brought Hell with him, and +his unhappy thoughts boiled and surged in his troubled mind. "Sun, I hate +thee, because thy beams recall to me what I was and how I fell. The +matchless King of Heaven deserved no such return from me. His service was +easy. Had I only been created a lower Power!--But even then, might not +some higher one have led me into temptation? What shall I do, whither +shall I fly, to escape infinite wrath, and infinite despair? Hell is +around me, I myself am Hell! There is no hope for me. Submission is the +only way left, and I could not unsay what I have said; I could never +bridge the gulf made by my revolt. Farewell to remorse! Good is forever +lost to me, and I must now make Evil my good. I can at least divide the +empire of the world with the King of Heaven." + +As he realized how his bitter thoughts had dimmed his countenance he +smoothed it over with outward calm, but not before Uriel, from the Sun, +had noted and wondered over his strange gestures. + +Leaping over the high natural walls of Paradise, Satan, in the form of a +cormorant, perched himself on the Tree of Life. Beautiful was the scene +before him. All the trees and plants were of the noblest kind. In the +midst of them stood the Tree of Life with its golden fruit, and not far +off the Tree of Knowledge. Southward through Eden ran a river, which, +passing under a huge hill, emerged into four great streams wandering +through many afterwards famous realms. Between the rows of trees stretched +level lawns where grazed the happy flocks, and over the green mead were +sprinkled flowers of every hue. No fairer scene ever met living eyes, and +fairest of all were the two stately forms, in whose looks shone the +divinity of their Maker. Hand in hand they passed through the garden, +refreshed themselves with the delicious fruits, and were happy in each +other. + +As he gazed on them while the animals fell asleep and the sun sank below +the horizon, Satan, still torn with conflicting emotions, ruminated over +the unhappiness he was to bring the lovely pair. He admired them, he could +love them; they had not harmed him, but he must bring unhappiness upon +them because of their likeness to their Creator. Through them only could +he obtain his longed-for revenge. + +Anxious to learn where to attack them, he prowled about them, now as a +lion, now as a tiger, listening to their conversation. They spoke of their +garden, of the Tree of Life, and of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. "In +the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die," had been their warning. Eve +recalled the day of her creation, when she had first fled from Adam, and +then yielded to his embraces, and Satan, watching their caresses, envied +and hardened his heart. "Live while ye may!" he muttered. "Soon will I +return and offer you new woes for your present pleasures." + +In the mean time, Gabriel, warned by Uriel, who suspected that an evil +spirit had crept into Paradise, had set watches around the garden. +Ithuriel and Zephon, sent to search for him, spied Satan in the form of a +toad, sitting near the ear of Eve, tainting her dreams with foul whispers. +Touched by Ithuriel's spear, he was forced to resume his own shape and was +taken to Gabriel. The angry Satan attempted to use force, but warned by a +sign from Heaven that his strength was insufficient, fled, murmuring, +through the night. + +When morning dawned on Eden, a morn of unimaginable beauty, Adam waked Eve +from her restless slumbers, and heard her troubled dreams, in which she +had been tempted to taste of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. He +comforted her, and after their morning hymn, in which they glorified their +Creator, they set about their pleasant work of pruning the too luxuriant +vines of their Paradise. In the mean time, the Father above, knowing the +design of Satan, and determined that man should not fall without warning, +sent Raphael down to Adam to tell him that he was threatened by an enemy, +and that, as a free agent, if he fell, his sin would be upon his own head. + +Six-winged Raphael swept down through the spheres and stood in Paradise, +welcomed by Adam. Eve hastened to set before their guest every delicacy +that Eden knew, and while she was preparing these Adam listened to the +Angel's warning. + +To emphasize the sin of disobedience, Raphael related to the pair the +story of Satan's conspiracy with the other powers because the Father had +proclaimed the power of his Son. The Father, knowing Satan's confidence in +himself, had allowed him for two days to fight an equal number of his +legions of angels, among whom was Abdiel who had fled, indignant, from +Satan's ranks, and on the third day, when the legions of evil lay crushed +beneath the mountains which the shining angels had heaped upon them, the +Son of God drove forth in his chariot, and single-handed, forced them +before him, terror-stricken, until, Heaven's wall having opened, they fell +downward for nine days, in horror and confusion into the depths of Hell. +The Messiah, returning home in triumph in his chariot, was welcomed by the +bright orders into the home of his Father. + +Delighted by the recital of Raphael, Adam asked him to relate the story of +the Creation, and explain to him the motion of the celestial bodies. He +then told Raphael of his own creation; how he awoke as from a sleep and +found the Sun above him and around him the pleasant groves of Paradise; +how he named the animals as they passed before him, according to the will +of God, and how he had pleaded with his Maker for a companion and equal, +until the Creator, casting him into a sound sleep, took from his side a +rib and formed from it his beauteous Eve. As Adam concluded, the setting +sun warned Raphael to depart. + +Satan, after fleeing from Gabriel, had hidden in the dark parts of the +earth, so that he could creep in at night unseen of Uriel. After the +eighth night, he crept in past the watchful Cherubim, and stealing into +Paradise, wrapped in the mist rising over the river that, shooting +underground, rose up as a fountain near the Tree of Life, he crept, though +not without loathing, into the serpent, in which form he could best evade +the watchful eyes of the heavenly guards and accomplish his purpose. + +When morning dawned, Eve asked Adam for once to permit her to work alone, +so that they might accomplish more. Adam, who constantly desired her +presence, prayed her to remain, warning her of the enemy of whom Raphael +had spoken, and telling her that they could resist temptation more easily +together than when separated. But Eve was obdurate, and Adam finally +consented that she should go alone to work. + +As she moved among the groves, tying up the drooping flowers, like to +Pomona in her prime, or to Ceres, the sight of so much beauty, goodness, +and innocence moved even the serpent, as he approached, intent on the +destruction of her happiness. But as he looked, the thought of her joy but +tortured him the more, since happiness was no longer possible for him. + +This was before the serpent had been compelled to crawl his whole length +on the ground, and as he moved on, fold on fold, his head proudly reared, +his scales brilliant in color, he was not an unpleasant object to look +upon. He circled about Eve as though lost in admiration, until her +attention was attracted, and then astounded her by addressing her in her +own language. When she demanded by what means he had acquired speech, he +told her by the plucking and eating of a certain tree in the garden, which +he had no sooner tasted than he felt his inward powers to develop until he +found himself capable of speech. + +Eve at once asked him to take her to the tree, but when she recognized the +forbidden Tree of Knowledge, she demurred, assuring the serpent that God +had commanded them not to touch it, for if they ate of it, they should +surely die. "Am I not alive?" asked her tempter, "and have I not eaten of +it? Is it not a rank injustice that you should be forbidden to taste it +and to lack the Knowledge of Good and Evil which it would give you? Where +can the offence lie? It must be envy that causes such a prohibition." + +His words, the sight of the fruit, and natural hunger all prevailed on +Eve, and she plucked a branch from the tree and tasted the fruit. As she +ate she saw Adam coming in search of her, holding a garland which he had +been binding to crown her. To his reproaches, she replied with the +arguments of her tempter, until Adam, in despair, determined to taste the +apple that he might not lose Eve. Paradise without her would not be +Paradise, and no new wife could make him forget her. + +After the first exhilaration of the food was past they began to reproach +each other, mindful of their destiny, of which they had been warned by +Raphael, and, engaged in this fruitless chiding, they were found by the +Son, who, informed of their transgression by the angels, sought them out +in their place of concealment. Adam and Eve he sentenced to a life of +sorrow and labor, the serpent to go despised and ever at enmity with man. +Then, pitying the unhappy pair, he clad them in skins and re-ascended to +Heaven. + +While this was occurring in Eden, Sin and Death, feeling in some +mysterious way the success of their parent, determined to leave Hell and +seek their new home. Passing through Chaos, they pushed the heavy elements +this way and that, cementing them with Death's mace until they constructed +of them a bridge from the gates of Hell to the point on earth at which +Satan had first alighted, and here met him, just returning, flushed with +success, to Hell. + +All the followers of Satan were gathered in Pandemonium to hear the news +of his success, which he related, overjoyed at having wrought the ruin of +mankind and revenged himself on God by so small a thing as the eating of +an apple. As he concluded and stood waiting their applause, he heard a +universal hiss, and saw himself surrounded by serpents, and himself +changing into an enormous dragon. The great hall was filled with the +monsters, scorpions, asps, hydras, and those who stood waiting without +with applause for their leader were likewise changed into loathsome +reptiles. Without the hall a grove sprang up, loaded with tempting fruit, +but when, tortured with thirst, they tried to eat, it turned in their +mouths to bitter ashes. After a time they were permitted to take again +their own shapes, but were compelled to resume this serpent-form for a +certain number of days each year, to crush their pride. + +When God saw the entrance of Sin and Death into the world, he proclaimed +to his Saints that their seeming victory was but temporary, and that +eventually his Son would defeat Sin, Death, and the Grave, and seal up the +mouth of Hell. Then, as the Halleluias rang out, he ordered the angels to +make certain changes in the universe as a punishment to man. The Sun was +so to move as to affect the earth alternately with a cold and heat almost +unbearable; to the Moon were assigned her motions; the other planets were +to join in various ways, often "unbenign." The winds were assigned their +stations to torment the earth and sea, and the thunder was set to strike +terror to the heart of man. The poles of the earth were pushed aslant, and +soon the effects of the changes were felt in heat, cold, wind, and storm. + +Adam, though absorbed in his own misery and momentarily expecting Death, +saw the changes, and bemoaned his woes the more. How would his mysterious +progeny despise him, since he was the cause of their being brought into +the world of woe! When Eve attempted to comfort him he drove her from him +with harsh words, saying that in time to come women would be the unhappy +cause of all man's misery, as she had been of his. At last, seeing the +futility of his outcries Adam began to cheer his wife, recalling the +promise that their offspring should crush the head of the serpent, and +suggested to her that they go to their former place of prayer and pour +forth to God their true contrition and repentance. + +The glad Son, presenting these prayers at his Father's throne, interceded +with him for them, since their contrition now was worth more than their +worship in a state of innocence. His intercession was accepted, but since +they had lost the two gifts of Happiness and Immortality, they must leave +the garden lest they be tempted to taste next of the Tree of Life and make +their woe eternal. + +Michael was sent down to drive them from the garden, and if the pair +seemed repentant and disconsolate he was ordered to comfort them with the +promise of better days and to reveal to them somewhat of the future. In +habit as a man Michael descended and declared to Adam and Eve that they +could no longer abide in Paradise. When Adam, himself broken with grief, +attempted to console the heart-broken Eve, the Angel comforted her also, +and causing a sleep to fall upon her, led Adam to a hill-top, whence could +be seen the hemisphere of the earth, soon to be covered by the seats of +empires. + +Touching Adam's eyes with three drops from the well of life, the Angel +showed him a long panorama, beginning with the crime of Cain, and showing +the building of the Ark and its landing on Ararat. When he perceived that +Adam's eyes were weary, he recited to him the story of Abraham, of the +deliverance from Egypt, the wandering in the Wilderness, of the royal +stock of David from which would spring the seed so often promised Adam, +who should ascend the hereditary throne, and whose glory should be +universal. + +Overjoyed, Adam inquired when would take place the final death stroke to +Satan, the bruising with the Victor's heel. Michael responded that Satan +was not to be destroyed, but his works in Adam and his seed, and that the +sacrifice of the Son's life for man would forever crush the strength of +Satan's progeny, Sin and Death. Then, to that Heaven to which he would +reascend, the faithful would go when the time came for the world's +dissolution, and there would be received into the bliss eternal. + +Strengthened and sustained, Adam went down from the mount and met Eve, +just awaking from comforting dreams. + +The Cherubim descended, and, urged by the Angel, the two took their way +into the wide world that lay before them, and looking back beheld the +flaming swords of the Cherubim at the gates of their lost Paradise. + + + + +SELECTIONS FROM PARADISE LOST. + +SATAN. + + +After having been thrown out of Heaven with his crew, Satan lay nine days +in the burning lake into which he fell. Then, rousing himself, he rose +from the liquid flames, flew over the lake, and alighting upon the solid +though burning land, thus addressed Beelzebub, who had accompanied him. + + "Is this the region, this the soil, the clime," + Said then the lost Archangel, "this the seat + That we must change for Heaven?--this mournful gloom + For that celestial light? Be it so, since He + Who now is sovran can dispose and bid + What shall be right: farthest from Him is best, + Whom reason hath equalled, force hath made supreme + Above his equals. Farewell, happy fields, + Where joy forever dwells! Hail, horrors! hail, + Infernal World! and thou, profoundest Hell, + Receive thy new possessor--one who brings + A mind not to be changed by place or time. + The mind is its own place, and in itself + Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven. + What matter where, if I be still the same, + And what I should be, all but less than he + Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least + We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built + Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: + Here we may reign secure; and, in my choice, + To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell: + Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven. + But wherefore let we then our faithful friends, + The associates and co-partners of our loss, + Lie thus astonished on the oblivious pool, + And call them not to share with us their part + In this unhappy mansion, or once more + With rallied arms to try what may be yet + Regained in Heaven, or what more lost in Hell?" + + So Satan spake; and him Beelzebub + Thus answered:--"Leader of those armies bright + Which, but the Omnipotent, none could have foiled! + If once they hear that voice, their liveliest pledge + Of hope in fears and dangers--heard so oft + In worst extremes, and on the perilous edge + Of battle, when it raged, in all assaults + Their surest signal--they will soon resume + New courage and revive, though now they lie + Grovelling and prostrate on yon lake of fire, + As we erewhile, astounded and amazed; + No wonder, fallen from such pernicious highth!" + + He scarce had ceased when the superior Fiend + Was moving toward the shore; his ponderous shield, + Ethereal temper, massy, large, and round, + Behind him cast. The broad circumference + Hung on his shoulders like the moon, whose orb + Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views + At evening, from the top of Fesole, + Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, + Rivers, or mountains, in her spotty globe. + His spear--to equal which the tallest pine + Hewn on Norwegian hills, to be the mast + Of some great ammiral, were but a wand-- + He walked with, to support uneasy steps + Over the burning marle, not like those steps + On Heaven's azure; and the torrid clime + Smote on him sore besides, vaulted with fire. + Nathless he so endured, till on the beach + Of that inflamed sea he stood, and called + His legions--Angel Forms, who lay entranced + Thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks + In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades + High over-arched embower; or scattered sedge + Afloat, when the fierce winds Orion armed + Hath vexed the Red-Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew + Busiris and his Memphian chivalry, + While with perfidious hatred they pursued + The sojourners of Goshen, who beheld + From the safe shore their floating carcases + And broken chariot wheels. So thick bestrewn, + Abject and lost, lay these, covering the flood, + Under amazement of their hideous change. + He called so loud that all the hollow deep + Of Hell resounded:--"Princes, Potentates, + Warriors, the Flower of Heaven--once yours; now lost, + If such astonishment as this can seize + Eternal Spirits! Or have ye chosen this place + After the toil of battle to repose + Your wearied virtue, for the ease you find + To slumber here, as in the vales of Heaven? + Or in this abject posture have ye sworn + To adore the Conqueror, who now beholds + Cherub and Seraph rolling in the flood + With scattered arms and ensigns, till anon + His swift pursuers from Heaven-gates discern + The advantage, and descending, tread us down + Thus drooping, or with linked thunderbolts + Transfix us to the bottom of this gulf?-- + Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen!" + _Book I._, 240-330. + + +APOSTROPHE TO LIGHT. + +This passage forms the beginning of Book III., in which the poet visits +the realms of light after having described Hell and its inhabitants. + + Hail, holy Light, offspring of Heaven first-born! + Or of the Eternal coeternal beam + May I express thee unblamed? since God is light, + And never but in unapproached light + Dwelt from eternity--dwelt then in thee, + Bright effluence of bright essence increate! + Or hear'st thou rather pure Ethereal stream, + Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the Sun, + Before the Heavens, thou wert, and at the voice + Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest + The rising World of waters dark and deep, + Won from the void and formless Infinite! + Thee I revisit now with bolder wing, + Escaped the Stygian Pool, though long detained + In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight, + Through utter and through middle Darkness borne, + With other notes than to the Orphean lyre + I sung of Chaos and eternal Night, + Taught by the Heavenly Muse to venture down + The dark descent, and up to re-ascend, + Though hard and rare. Thee I revisit safe, + And feel thy sovran vital lamp; but thou + Revisit'st not these eyes, that roll in vain + To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn; + So thick a drop serene hath quenched their orbs, + Or dim suffusion veiled. Yet not the more + Cease I to wander where the Muses haunt + Clear spring, or shady grove, or sunny hill, + Smit with the love of sacred song; but chief + Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath, + That wash thy hallowed feet, and warbling flow, + Nightly I visit: nor sometimes forget + Those other two equalled with me in fate, + So were I equalled with them in renown, + Blind Thamyris and blind Maeonides, + And Tiresias and Phineus, prophets old: + Then feed on thoughts that voluntary move + Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful bird + Sings darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid, + Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year + Seasons return; but not to me returns + Day, or the sweet approach of even or morn, + Or sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, + Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; + But cloud instead and ever-during dark + Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men + Cut off, and, for the book of knowledge fair, + Presented with a universal blank + Of Nature's works, to me expunged and rased, + And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. + So much the rather thou, Celestial Light, + Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers + Irradiate; there plant eyes; all mist from thence + Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell + Of things invisible to mortal sight. + _Book III_ + + + + + +PARADISE REGAINED. + + "A cold and noble epic."--TAINE. + + +Paradise regained was written by Milton, judging from a passage in the +Autobiography of Thomas Ellwood, in the winter of 1665-6, but was not +published until 1671. It was printed at Milton's expense in a small volume +together with Samson Agonistes. + +Paradise Regained tells the story of Christ's temptation in the +Wilderness, and the material was taken from the accounts of Matthew and +Luke, which the poet, with great skill, expanded without essentially +deviating from them. + +The title has been criticised on the ground that the poem should have +extended over the whole of Christ's life on earth. But Paradise Regained +was written as a sequel to Paradise Lost, and, as in the first poem the +poet showed that Paradise was lost by the yielding of Adam and Eve to +Satan, so in the second, he wished to show that Paradise was regained by +the resistance of Christ to temptation, Satan's defeat signifying the +regaining of Paradise for men by giving them the hope of Christ's second +coming. Therefore the poem naturally ends with Satan's rebuff and his +final abandonment of the attempt on the pinnacle of the Temple. + +The poem has been criticised for its shortness, some scholars even +affecting to believe it unfinished; its lack of variety, in that it has +but two characters, its lack of action, and the absence of figurative +language. + +But with all these faults, it has a charm of its own, entirely different +from that of Paradise Lost. Satan has degenerated during his years of +"roaming up and down the earth;" he is no longer the fallen angel of +Paradise Lost, who struggled with himself before making evil his good. He +is openly given over to evil practices, and makes little effort to play +the hypocrite. His temptations are worked up from that of hunger to that +of the vision of the kingdoms of the earth with a wonderful power of +description which makes up for the lack of action and the few actors. The +pathless, rockbound desert, the old man, poorly clad, who accosts the +Christ, the mountain-top from which all the earth was visible, the night +of horror in the desert, and the sublime figure of the Savior, are all +enduring pictures which compensate for any rigidity of treatment. If +figurative language is omitted it is because the theme does not need it, +and does not show that the poem is less carefully finished than Paradise +Lost. Its lack of action and similarity of subject to the longer poem +sufficiently account for its not meeting with popular favor. Johnson was +correct when he said, "had this poem been written not by Milton, but by +some imitator, it would have claimed and received universal praise." + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, PARADISE REGAINED. + + +H. C. Beeching, On the Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes, +1889; + +Charles Dexter Cleveland's Complete Concordance to Milton's Poetical +Works, 1867; + +William T. Dobson's The Classic Poets, their Lives and Times etc., 1879; + +George Gilfillan's Second Gallery of Literary Portraits, 1852, pp. 15-16; + +Samuel Johnson's Milton (see his Lives of the Poets, ed. by Mrs. Alexander +Napier, 1890, vol. i.); + +Thomas Babington Macaulay's Milton (see his Critical and Historical +Essays, ed, 10, 1860, vol. i.); + +David Masson's Introduction to Paradise Regained (see his ed. of Milton's +Poetical works, 1893, vol. iii., pp. 1-14); + +David Masson's Life of Milton, 1880, vol. vi., 651-661; + +Richard Meadowcourt's Critique on Milton's Paradise Regained, 1732; + +A Critical Dissertation on Paradise Regained with Notes, 2d ed. 1748; + +John Robert Seeley's Milton (see his Roman Imperialism and other Lectures +and Essays, 1871, pp. 152-157); + +Mark Pattison's John Milton (English Men of Letters Series), n. d.; + +H. A. Taine's History of English Literature, Tr. by H. Van Laun, 1877, +vol. ii. + + + + +THE STORY OF PARADISE REGAINED. + + +After the expulsion from Paradise of Adam and Eve, Satan and his followers +did not return to Hell, but remained on earth, the fallen angels becoming +the evil gods of various idolatrous nations and Satan engaging in every +kind of evildoing which he knew would vex the Powers of Heaven. All the +time he was troubled by the thought of the heavenly foe who he had been +told would one day appear on earth to crush him and his rebel angels. + +Now John had come out of the wilderness, proclaiming his mission, and +among those who came to him to be baptized was one who was deemed the son +of Joseph of Nazareth. John recognized in the obscure carpenter's son the +one "mightier than he" whose coming he was to proclaim, and this fact was +further made clear to the multitude and the observant Satan by the opening +of the Heavens and the descent therefrom on Christ's head of the Dove, +while a voice was heard declaring, "This is my beloved Son." + +Satan, enraged, fled to the council of the fiends to announce to them the +presence on earth of their long-dreaded enemy. He was empowered by them to +attempt his overthrow, and they were the more confident because of his +success with Adam and Eve. + +Satan's purpose was known to the Eternal Father, who smiled to see him +unwittingly fulfilling the plan so long foreordained for his destruction. + +After his baptism, the Father had sent his Son into the wilderness to gain +strength for his struggle with Sin and Death, and there Satan, in the +guise of an old, poorly clad rustic, found him. Although the Son of God +had wandered through the rock-bound, pathless desert, among wild beasts, +without food for forty days, he had no fear, believing that some impulse +from above had guided him thither before he should go out among men to do +his divinely appointed task. + +Then, when hunger came upon him as he wandered, thinking of past events +and those to come, he met the aged man and was addressed by him. + +"Sir, how came you hither, where none who ventures alone escapes alive? I +ask because you look not unlike the man I lately saw baptized by John and +declared the Son of God." + +"I need no guide," replied the Son. "The Power who brought me here will +bring me forth." + +"Not otherwise than by miracle. Here we subsist only upon dry roots and +must often endure parching thirst. If thou art indeed the Son of God, save +thyself and relieve us wretched people by changing these stones to bread." + +"Men live not by bread alone," replied the Son, "but by the word of God. +Moses in the Mount was without food and drink for forty days. Elijah also +wandered fasting in the wilderness. Thou knowest who I am as I know who +thou art; why shouldest thou suggest distrust to me?" + +"'Tis true that I am that unfortunate spirit who fell from Heaven, but I +have been permitted to roam around the earth and have not been altogether +excluded from Heaven. God allowed me to test Job and prove his worth and +to draw Ahab into fraud. Though I have lost much of my original brightness +I can still admire all that is illustrious and good. The sons of men +should not regard me as an enemy, for I have oft given them aid by +oracles, dreams, and portents. My loss was not through them, so their +restoration does not grieve me; only that fallen man will be restored and +not I." + +"Thou deservest to grieve, tissue of lies that thou art!" exclaimed our +Savior. "Thou boastest of being released from Hell and permitted to come +into Heaven. No joy hast thou there! Thy own malice moved thee to torture +Job. Brag not of thy lies, thy oracles for men. Henceforth oracles are +dumb, since God has sent his living oracle into the world to teach the +truth." + +Satan, though angry, still dissembled. + +"Accuse me, reprove me, if thou wilt. Fallen as I am, I still love to hear +the truth fall from thy lips." + +Unmoved by his false words the Savior of men declared that he neither +forbade nor invited his presence, and Satan, bowing low, disappeared as +night fell over the desert. + +In the mean time, those at Bethabara who had rejoiced at the declaration +of John and had talked with the Messiah, were deeply grieved to find him +gone and with him their hope of deliverance. His mother, too, was troubled +at his absence, but comforted herself with the thought of his former +absences, afterwards explained. + +Satan, hastening from the desert, sought his troop of evil spirits to warn +them that his undertaking was no easy one, and to summon them to his +assistance. + +Night fell on the Son of God, still fasting, wondering what would be the +end. In sleep he was visited by dreams of Elijah, raven-fed, and of the +same prophet fed by the angel in the desert, and as he dreamed that he ate +with them, the lark's song awoke him and he wandered into a pleasant +grove. As he viewed it, charmed by its beauty, a man appeared before him, +no rustic this time, but one attired in the apparel of city or court. + +"I have returned, wondering that thou still remainest here, hungering. +Hagar once wandered here; the children of Israel, and the Prophet, but all +these were fed by the hand of Heaven. Thou alone art forgotten and goest +tormented by hunger." + +Though the Son of God declared that he had no need to eat, Satan invited +his attention to a table, set under a spreading tree. Upon it was heaped +every known delicacy; by it waited youths handsome as Ganymede, and among +the trees tripped naiads and nymphs of Diana, with fruits and flowers. +Exquisite music was heard, and the perfumes of Araby filled the air. + +"Why not sit and eat?" continued Satan. "These foods are not forbidden, +and all these gentle ministers are ready to do thee homage." + +"What hast thou to do with my hunger?" demanded Jesus. "Should I receive +as a gift from thee what I myself could command if I so desired? I too +could bring a table here, and swift-winged angels to attend me. Thy gifts +are but guiles." + +"I am forever suspected," responded Satan, as the table vanished. "Hunger +cannot move thee, set on high designs. But what canst thou, a lowly +carpenter's son, accomplish without aid? Where wilt thou find authority, +where followers? First get riches; hearken to me, for fortune is in my +hand. Wealth will win, while virtue, valor, and wisdom sit and wait in +vain." + +"Yet what can wealth do without these?" replied Jesus patiently. "How can +it gain dominion, and keep it when gained? Gideon, Jephtha, David, and +among the heathen (for I am not ignorant of history) Quinctius, Fabricius, +Curius, Regulus, all these have risen from the depths and achieved the +highest deeds. Then, why may not I accomplish as much, even more, without +wealth, which but cumbers the wise man, and slackens virtue, rather than +prompts it to worthy deeds? Suppose I reject both riches and realms? Not +because the regal diadem is a wreath of thorns and he who wears it bears +each man's burden, for the king's chief praise is the manner in which he +bears this burden for the public. But he who rules himself is greater than +a king, and he who cannot do this should not aspire to royal power. But it +is surely more kingly to lead nations blinded by error into the light of +God's truth. This dominion is over the nobler part of man. And it has ever +been thought greater and nobler to give a kingdom and to lay down +authority than to assume it. Therefore thy riches are needless both in +themselves, and to gain a kingdom which would better be missed than +gained." + +Satan, though for a moment struck dumb by this answer to his arguments, +soon collected himself and suggested that while the Savior knew so well +what was best to know, say, and do, that if known he would be regarded as +an oracle, still he did wrong to despise glory and deprive earth of his +great deeds, citing as examples of more active spirits accomplishing much +when younger than he, the young Alexander, Scipio, Pompey, and Caesar. But +the Savior replied that the glory which consisted of the approval of the +rabble was only to be despised. The true glory was that of the man who +dared to be truly good, who though little known on earth, was famous in +Heaven. Such men did not lay waste fields, sack, pillage, and slay, but by +deeds of peace won the approval of the Father. Such was Job, oft tempted +by Satan; such was Socrates, who suffered unjust death for teaching truth. +And the Son of God had come upon earth not to win glory for himself as +vain men do, but for Him who sent him. + +"Thy Father does not despise glory," sneered Satan. "He demands it from +his angels, from men, even from us, his foes." + +"With reason," answered the Son, "since he created all things, though not +for glory. And what slighter recompense could he expect from men who could +return nothing else?" + +Satan, remembering his own ambition and his fall, was silent for a moment, +and then spoke to remind the Savior that he was born to the throne of +David, but that it must be wrested from the Roman by force of arms. It was +his duty to do this and save his people from oppression. + +"All things in due time," replied the Savior. "If the Writ tells of my +sufferings, my tribulations, of violence done unto me, it also tells of my +reign without end. I can wait. He who suffers best, can do best; he who +obeys first, reigns best; and why shouldest thou be so anxious to hasten +my rule when it means thy destruction?" + +"When hope is gone, what is there left to fear? My punishment will come +whether thou reign or no. I could hope that thy reign would stand between +me and the anger of thy Father. And if I haste to the worst that can be, +why shouldest thou go so slowly to the best? Perhaps thou fearest the +dangerous enterprise, thou who, pent up in Galilean towns, hast seen so +little." + +So saying, he took the Son up into a high mountain at the foot of which +stretched a vast plain. Two rivers watered the fertile land. The hills +were covered with flocks; vast cities could be seen, and here and there, +so wide was the land, a barren desert. Then the Tempter pointed out the +vast cities of Assyria, Nineveh, Babylon, Persepolis, Bactra, and the vast +host of the Parthian king, even then marching against the Scythians. As +they watched the great host of mailed warriors, accompanied by chariots, +elephants, archers, engineers, Satan pursued his argument. Suppose the Son +should take possession of his kingdom; how should he hope to keep it in +peace between two such powerful enemies as the Parthians and the Romans? +It would be better to conquer first the nearest, the Parthians, and this +could be done with Satan's help. In doing this he would not only be able +to occupy his throne but would deliver the offspring of the Ten Tribes of +Israel, who, scattered among the Medes, still served as slaves. + +But the Savior, in response, only questioned Satan as to why he had +suddenly become so solicitous for the salvation of the Tribes when he +himself had once tempted David to number Israel and had thus brought +pestilence upon them. And as to the Ten Tribes, they had brought their +punishment upon themselves, and must serve the enemy and their idols until +the Father should see fit to release them. + +Though embarrassed by the failure of his wiles, Satan could not yet yield. +Turning to the western side of the mountain, he pointed out to the Savior +a long, narrow plain, bordered on the south by the sea and protected from +northern blasts by a mountain range. There, crowning the seven hills stood +the imperial city adorned with porches, theatres, baths, aqueducts, and +palaces. Satan pointed out the different objects of interest in splendid +Rome, the Capitol, Mt. Palatine, crowned by the imperial palace, and the +great gates, through which issued or entered a continuous stream of +praetors, proconsuls, lictors, legions, embassies, on all the roads which +led through the far-stretching empire, even to those of the Asian kings, +and remote Britain. All the glory of the world, he argued, lay in Parthia +and Rome, and Rome was greater. He who ruled her was indeed ruler of the +world, and yet its present emperor was old, weak, lascivious, without +heir, and lived at Capreae, his public cares entrusted to his favorite. +How easily could the Son of God force from him the power and lift the yoke +from his people! + +But the splendor of the scene allured neither the eye nor the mind of the +Son. The gluttonies, the gorgeous feasts, the hollow compliments and lies +of the people did not attract him. His mission, he told his Tempter, was +not yet to free that people, once just and frugal, now debased by their +insatiable ambition. When the time came for him to sit on David's throne, +this with all other kingdoms of the earth would be shattered while his +kingdom would be eternal. + +"Though thou despisest my offers," cried Satan, "thou knowest that I +esteem them highly, and will not part with them for nought. This is the +condition; Wilt thou fall down and worship me as thy superior lord?" + +"It is written, thou accursed one," responded the Savior in disdain, "that +thou shouldst worship and serve the Lord thy God alone. Who gave thee the +kingdoms of the earth if He did not? And what gratitude thou showest! Get +thee behind me! Truly thou art Satan!" + +Satan, abashed but not silenced, pointed southwest toward Athens. Since +the Savior seemed to prefer a contemplative life, why should he not seek +that seat of learning? All wisdom was not contained in Moses' law and the +writings of the prophets. Let him master the learning of the great +Athenian teachers, philosophers and orators, and he would be a king within +himself. + +But the Savior assured Satan that, having received light from above, he +knew how false and fallacious were the boasted philosophies of the Greeks. +Their philosophers, ignorant of themselves and of God, and arrogating all +glory to themselves and ascribing none to Him, were unable to impart +wisdom to any one. From Hebrew psalm and hymn, and captive harps in +Babylon, the Greeks derived their arts, and the results, the odious +praises of their vicious gods, could not compare with the songs of Sion in +praise of the Father. Their orators, too, were far below the Hebrew +prophets. "Stay in the wilderness, then," thundered Satan, wroth at this +failure. "Since neither riches nor arms, nor power, nor yet the +contemplative life please thee, it is for thee the fittest place! But the +time will yet come when violence, stripes, and a cruel death will make +thee long for me and my proffered power. Truly the stars promise thee a +kingdom, but of what kind and when I cannot read." + +As he disappeared, darkness fell, and the Son of God, still hungry and +cold, sought rest under a sheltering tree. But Satan watched near, and +forbade rest. Thunder and lightning shook the Heavens; rain drenched the +earth; the fury of the winds was loosed, and in their path the sturdiest +trees were uprooted. Ghosts, furies, raved around the holy one, but, +unshaken by fear, he endured all calmly, and came forth, as the bright sun +shone upon the earth, to meet again the Prince of Darkness. + +Enraged that the terrors of the night had had no effect upon his enemy, +Satan cried out that he still doubted that the wanderer in the wilderness +was the Son of God in the true sense, and would therefore try him another +way. + +So speaking, he caught him up and bore him through the air unto Jerusalem, +and setting him on the highest pinnacle of the glorious Temple, said +scornfully:-- + +"Stand there, if thou canst; I have placed thee highest in thy Father's +house. Now show if thou art indeed the Son of God. Cast thyself down, for +it is written that He will command his angels concerning thee, so that +they in their hands shall uplift thee." + +"It is also written," said Jesus, "'Tempt not the Lord thy God.'" And as +he so spoke and stood, Satan, overcome with amazement, fell whence he had +expected to see his conqueror fall, and, struck with dread and anguish at +his certain defeat, fled to his rebel angels. + +Straightway, a "fiery globe" of angels received the Son on their pinions, +bore him from the pinnacle into a flowery vale, and there refreshed him +with ambrosial food and water from the Fount of Life, while all around him +the angelic choir sang his praises for the conquest of his enemy, and +encouraged him to go forth on his work of saving mankind. Thence, rested +and refreshed, he arose, and went, unobserved, home to his mother's house. + + + + +SELECTION FROM PARADISE REGAINED. + +THE TEMPTATION OF THE VISION OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH. + + +Satan, meeting the Savior in the wilderness, tempted him to change the +stones to bread, and then, after endeavoring to awake in him a longing for +wealth and power, appealed to his ambition by leading him to a mountain +top, and displaying to him the kingdoms of the earth. + + With that (such power was given him then), he [Satan] took + The Son of God up to a mountain high. + It was a mountain at whose verdant feet + A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide + Lay pleasant; from his side two rivers flowed, + The one winding, the other straight, and left between + Fair champaign, with less rivers interveined, + Then meeting joined their tribute to the sea. + Fertile of corn the glebe, of oil, and wine; + With herds the pasture thronged, with flocks the hills; + Huge cities and high-towered, that well might seem + The seats of mightiest monarchs; and so large + The prospect was that here and there was room + For barren desert, fountainless and dry. + To this high mountain-top the Tempter brought + Our Saviour, and new train of words began:-- + + "Well have we speeded, and o'er hill and dale, + Forest, and field, and flood, temples and towers, + Cut shorter many a league. Here thou behold'st + Assyria, and her empire's ancient bounds, + Araxes and the Caspian lake; thence on + As far as Indus east, Euphrates west, + And oft beyond; to south the Persian bay, + And, inaccessible, the Arabian drouth: + Here, Nineveh, of length within her wall + Several days' journey, built by Ninus old, + Of that first golden monarchy the seat, + And seat of Salmanassar, whose success + Israel in long captivity still mourns; + There Babylon, the wonder of all tongues, + As ancient, but rebuilt by him who twice + Judah and all thy father David's house + Led captive, and Jerusalem laid waste, + Till Cyrus set them free; Persepolis, + His city, there thou seest, and Bactra there; + Ecbatana her structure vast there shows, + And Hecatompylos her hundred gates; + There Susa by Choaspes, amber stream, + The drink of none but kings; of later fame, + Built by Emathian or by Parthian hands, + The great Seleucia, Nisibis, and there + Artaxata, Teredon, Ctesiphon, + Turning with easy eye, thou may'st behold. + All these the Parthian (now some ages past + By great Arsaces led, who founded first + That empire) under his dominion holds, + From the luxurious kings of Antioch won. + And just in time thou com'st to have a view + Of his great power; for now the Parthian king + In Ctesiphon hath gathered all his host + Against the Scythian, whose incursions wild + Have wasted Sogdiana; to her aid + He marches now in haste. See though from far, + His thousands, in what martial equipage + They issue forth, steel bows and shafts their arms, + Of equal dread in flight or in pursuit-- + All horsemen, in which fight they most excel; + See how in warlike muster they appear, + In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings." + + He looked, and saw what numbers numberless + The city gates outpoured, light-armed troops + In coats of mail and military pride. + In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong, + Prancing their riders bore, the flower and choice + Of many provinces from bound to bound-- + From Arachosia, from Candaor east, + And Margiana, to the Hyrcanian cliffs + Of Caucasus, and dark Iberian dales; + From Atropatia, and the neighboring plains + Of Adiabene, Media, and the south + Of Susiana, to Balsara's haven. + He saw them in their forms of battle ranged, + How quick they wheeled, and flying behind them shot + Sharp sleet of arrowy showers against the face + Of their pursuers, and overcame by flight; + The field all iron cast a gleaming brown. + Nor wanted clouds of foot, nor, on each horn, + Cuirassiers all in steel for standing fight, + Chariots, or elephants indorsed with towers + Of archers; nor of labouring pioneers + A multitude, with spades and axes armed, + To lay hills plain, fell woods, or valleys fill, + Or where plain was raise hill, or overlay + With bridges rivers proud, as with a yoke: + Mules after these, camels and dromedaries, + And waggons fraught with utensils of war. + Such forces met not, nor so wide a camp, + When Agrican, with all his northern powers, + Besieged Albracca, as romances tell, + The city of Gallaphrone, from thence to win + The fairest of her sex, Angelica, + His daughter, sought by many prowest knights, + Both Paynim and the peers of Charlemain. + Such and so numerous was their chivalry. + _Book III._ + + He brought our Saviour to the western side + Of that high mountain, whence he might behold + Another plain, long, but in breadth not wide, + Washed by the southern sea, and on the north + To equal length backed with a ridge of hills + That screened the fruits of the earth and seats of men + From cold Septentrion blasts; thence in the midst + Divided by a river, off whose banks + On each side an imperial city stood, + With towers and temples proudly elevate + On seven small hills, with palaces adorned, + Porches and theatres, baths, aqueducts, + Statues and trophies, and triumphal arcs, + Gardens and groves, presented to his eyes + Above the highth of mountains interposed-- + By what strange parallax, or optic skill + Of vision, multiplied through air, or glass + Of telescope, were curious to inquire. + And now the Tempter thus his silence broke:-- + "The city which thou seest no other deem + Than great and glorious Rome Queen of the Earth + So far renowned, and with the spoils enriched + Of nations. There the Capitol thou seest, + Above the rest lifting his stately head + On the Tarpeian rock, her citadel + Impregnable; and there Mount Palatine, + The imperial palace, compass huge, and high + The structure, skill of noblest architects, + With gilded battlements, conspicuous far, + Turrets, and terraces, and glittering spires. + Many a fair edifice besides, more like + Houses of gods--so well have I disposed + My aery microscope--thou may'st behold, + Outside and inside both, pillars and roofs + Carved work, the hand of famed artificers + In cedar, marble, ivory, or gold. + Thence to the gates cast round thine eye, and see + What conflux issuing forth, or entering in: + Praetors, proconsuls to their provinces + Hasting, or on return, in robes of state; + Lictors and rods, the ensigns of their power; + Legions and cohorts, turms of horse and wings; + Or embassies from regions far remote, + In various habits, on the Appian road, + Or on the Aemilian--some from farthest south, + Syene, and where the shadow both way falls, + Meroe, Nilotic isle, and, more to west, + The realm of Bocchus to the Blackmoor sea; + From the Asian kings (and Parthian among these), + From India and the Golden Chersoness, + And utmost Indian isle Taprobane, + Dusk faces with white silken turbants wreathed; + From Gallia, Gades, and the British west; + Germans, and Scythians, and Sarmatians north + Beyond Danubius to the Tauric pool. + All nations now to Rome obedience pay-- + To Rome's great Emperor, whose wide domain, + In ample territory, wealth and power, + Civility of manners, arts and arms, + And long renown, thou justly may'st prefer + Before the Parthian. These two thrones except, + The rest are barbarous, and scarce worth the sight, + Shared among petty kings too far removed; + These having shown thee, I have shown thee all + The kingdoms of the world, and all their glory". + _Book IV._ + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of National Epics, by Kate Milner Rabb + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NATIONAL EPICS *** + +***** This file should be named 8072.txt or 8072.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/0/7/8072/ + +Produced by David Starner, S.R. Ellison, and the Online +Distributed Proofing Team + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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