The Athenaid: Volume Iii: Book The Twenty-Seventh Poem by Richard Glover

Meantime Briareus to the plains of Thebes
Precipitates his course. Arriv'd, he greets
Mardonius. Rumour had already told,
What, now confirm'd, o'erwhelms the troubled chief,
Confounded like the first anointed king
O'er Israel's tribes, when Philistean din
Of armies pierc'd his borders, and despair
Seduc'd his languid spirit to consult
The sorceress of Endor. Call, he said,
Elean Hegesistratus-Be swift.


The summon'd augur comes. To him the son
Of Gobryas: Foe to Sparta, heed my words;
Themistocles possesses on our backs
Th' Oetæan passes. Famine, like a beast,
Noos'd and subservient to that fraudful man,
Who shuns the promis'd contest in the field,
He can turn loose against us. In our front
See Aristides. Fatal is delay.
Fam'd are the oracles of Greece-Alas!
My oracle, Masistius, is no more.
To thee, who hatest all the Spartan breed,
I trust my secret purpose. Be my guide
To some near temple, or mysterious cave,
Whence voices supernatural unfold
The destinies of men. The augur here:


The nearest, but most awful, is a cave
Oracular, Lebadia's ancient boast,
Where Jupiter Trophonius is ador'd,
Not far beyond Copææ's neighb'ring lake,
Which thou must pass. With costly presents freight,
Such as magnificence like thine requires,
Thy loaded bark; command my service all.


Mardonius issues orders to provide
The bark and presents. Summoning his chiefs,
To them he spake: My absence from the camp
Important functions claim; three days of rule
To Mindarus I cede. Till my return
Let not a squadron pass th' Asopian stream.


This said, with Hegesistratus he mounts
A rapid car. Twelve giants of his guard,
Detach'd before, await him on the banks
Of clear Copææ. Silver Phoebè spreads
A light, reposing on the quiet lake,
Save where the snowy rival of her hue,
The gliding swan, behind him leaves a trail
In luminous vibration. Lo! an isle
Swells on the surface. Marble structures there
New gloss of beauty borrow from the moon
To deck the shore. Now silence gently yields
To measur'd strokes of oars. The orange groves,
In rich profusion round the fertile verge,
Impart to fanning breezes fresh perfumes
Exhaustless, visiting the sense with sweets,
Which soften ev'n Briareus; but the son
Of Gobryas, heavy with devouring care,
Uncharm'd, unheeding sits. At length began
Th' Elean augur, in a learned flow
Of ancient lore, to Asia's pensive chief
Historically thus: Illustrious lord,
Whose nod controuls such multitudes in arms
From lands remote and near, the story learn
Of sage Trophonius, whose prophetic cell
Thou wouldst descend. An architect divine,
He for the Delphians rais'd their Pythian fane.
His recompense imploring from the god,
This gracious answer from the god he drew:
'When thrice my chariot hath its circle run,
'The prime reward, a mortal can obtain,
'Trophonius, shall be thine.' Apollo thrice
His circle ran; behold Trophonius dead.
With prophecy his spirit was endu'd,
But where abiding in concealment long
The destinies envelop'd. Lo! a dearth
Afflicts Boeotia. Messengers address
The Delphian pow'r for succour. He enjoins
Their care throughout Lebadian tracts to seek
Oracular Trophonius. Long they roam
In fruitless search; at last a honey'd swarm
Before them flies; they follow, and attain
A cave. Their leader enters, when a voice,
Revealing there the deity, suggests
Cure to their wants, and knowledge of his will
How to be worshipp'd in succeeding times.
To him the name of Jupiter is giv'n.
He to the fatal sisters hath access;
Sees Clotho's awful distaff; sees the thread
Of human life by Lachesis thence drawn;
Sees Atropos divide, with direful shears,
The slender line. But rueful is the mode
Of consultation, though from peril free,
Within his dreary cell. In thy behalf
Thou mayst a faithful substitute appoint.


By Horomazes, no, exclaims the chief!
It is the cause of empire, from his post
Compels the Persian leader; none but he
Shall with your god confer. Transactions past
To Hegesistratus he now details,
His heart unfolding, nor conceals th' event
In Asia's camp, when Aemnestus bold,
The Spartan legate, prompted, as by heav'n,
Him singled out the victim to atone
The death of Sparta's king. Their changing course
Of navigation now suspends their words.
Against the influx of Cephissus, down
Lebadian vales in limpid flow convey'd,
The rowers now are lab'ring. O'er their heads
Hudge alders weave their canopies, and shed
Disparted moonlight through the lattic'd boughs;
Where Zephyr plays, and whisp'ring motion breathes
Among the pliant leaves. Now roseate tincts
Begin to streak the orient verge of heav'n,
Foretok'ning day. The son of Gobryas lands,
Where in soft murmur down a channell'd slope
The stream Hercyna, from Trophonian groves,
Fresh bubbling meets Cephissus. He ascends
With all his train. Th' inclosure, which begirds
The holy purlieus, through a portal, hung
With double valves on obelisks of stone,
Access afforded to the steps of none
But suppliants. Hegesistratus accosts
One in pontific vesture station'd there:


Priest of Boeotia's oracle most fam'd,
Dismiss all fear. Thy country's guardian hail,
This mighty prince, Mardonius. He preserves
Inviolate her fanes; her willing spears
All range beneath his standards. To confer
With your Trophonius, lo! he comes with gifts,
Surpassing all your treasur'd wealth can boast.
His hours are precious, nor admit delay;
Accept his sumptuous off'rings, and commence
The ceremonials due. At first aghast
The holy man survey'd the giant guard.
Soon admiration follow'd at thy form,
Mardonius. Low in stature, if compar'd
With those unshapen savages, sublime
Thou trod'st in majesty of mien, and grace
Of just proportion. Last the gems and gold,
Bright vases, tripods, images and crowns,
The presents borne by those gigantic hands,
With fascinating lustre fix'd the priest
To gaze unsated on the copious store.


Pass through, but unaccompany'd, he said,
Illustrious Persian. Be th' accepted gifts
Deposited within these holy gates.


He leads the satrap to a grassy mount,
Distinct with scatter'd plantains. Each extends
O'er the smooth green his mantle brown of shade.
Of marble white an edifice rotund,
In all th' attractive elegance of art,
Looks from the summit, and invites the feet
Of wond'ring strangers to ascend. The prince,
By his conductor, is instructed thus:


Observe yon dome. Thou first must enter there
Alone, there fervent in devotion bow
Before two statues; one of Genius good,
Of Fortune fair the other. At the word
Mardonius enters. Chance directs his eye
To that expressive form of Genius good,
Whose gracious lineaments, sedately sweet,
Recall Masistius to the gloomy chief.


O melancholy! who can give thee praife?
Not sure the gentle; them thy weight o'erwhelms.
But thou art wholesome to intemp'rate minds,
In vain by wisdom caution'd. In the pool
Of black adversity let them be steep'd,
Then pride, and lust, and fury thou dost tame.
So now Mardonius, by thy pow'r enthrall'd,
Sighs in these words humility of grief.


If heav'n, relenting, will to me assign
A Genius good, he bears no other name
Than of Masistius. Oh! thou spirit bless'd,
(For sure thy virtue dwells with endless peace)
Canst thou, her seat relinquishing awhile,
Unseen, or visible, protect thy friend
In this momentous crisis of his fate;
Or wilt thou, if permitted? Ah! no more
Think of Mardonius fierce, ambitious, proud,
But as corrected by thy precepts mild;
Who would forego his warmest hopes of same,
Of pow'r and splendour, gladly to expire,
If so the myriads trusted to his charge
He might preserve, nor leave whole nations sall'n,
A prey to vultures on these hostile plains.
Come, and be witness to the tears which flow,
Sure tokens of sincerity in me,
Not us'd to weep; who, humbled at thy loss,
Melt like a maiden, of her love bereav'd
By unrelenting death. My demon kind,
Do thou descend, and Fortune will pursue
Spontaneous and auspicious on her wheel
A track unchang'd. Here turning, he adores
Her flatt'ring figure, and forsakes the dome.


Along Hercyna's bank they now proceed,
To where the river parts. One channel holds
A sluggish, creeping water, under vaults
Of ebon shade, and soporific yew,
The growth of ages on the level line
Of either joyless verge. The satrap here,
Nam'd and presented by his former guide,
A second priest receives, conductor new
Through night-resembling shadows, which obscure
The sleepy stream, unmoving to the sight,
Or moving mute. A fountain they approach,
One of Hercyna's sources. From the pores
Of spongy rock an artificial vase
Of jetty marble in its round collects
The slow-distilling moisture. Hence the priest
A brimming chalice to Mardonius bears,
Whom in these words he solemnly accosts:


This fount is nam'd of Lethè. Who consults
Our subterranean deity, must quaff
Oblivion here of all preceding thoughts,
Sensations, and affections. Reach the draught;
If such oblivious sweets this cup contains,
I gladly grasp it, cries the chief, and drinks.


Ascending thence, a mazy walk they tread,
Where all the season's florid children shew
Their gorgeous rayment, and their odours breathe
Unspent; while musical in murmur flows
Fast down a steep declivity of bed
Hercyna, winding in a channel new,
Apparent often to the glancing eye
Through apertures, which pierce the loaden boughs
Of golden fruit Hesperian, and th' attire
Of myrtles green, o'ershadowing the banks.


In alabaster's variegated hues,
To bound the pleasing avenue, a fane
Its symmetry discover'd on a plat,
Thick-set with roses, which a circling skreen
Of that fair ash, where cluster'd berries glow,
From ruffling gusts defended. Thither speeds
Mardonius, there deliver'd to a third
Religious minister supreme. Two youths,
In snow-like vesture, and of lib'ral mien,
Sons of Lebadian citizens, attend,
Entit'led Mercuries. The seer address'd
The Persian warrior: In this mansion pure
Mnemosynè is worshipp'd; so in Greece
The pow'r of memory is styl'd. Advance,
Invoke her aid propitious to retain
Whate'er by sounds, or visions, in his cave
The prophet god reveals. The chief comply'd;
The hallow'd image he approach'd, and spake:


Thou art indeed a goddess, I revere.
Now to Mardonius, if some dream or sign
Prognosticate success, and thou imprint
The admonitions of unerring heav'n
In his retentive mind; this arm, this sword
Shall win thy further favour to record
His name and glory on the rolls of time.


This said, with lighter steps he quits the sane.
The Mercuries conduct him to a bath,
Fed from Hercyna's fairer, second source,
In shade sequester'd close. While there his limbs
Are disarray'd of armour, to assume
A civil garment, soon as spotless streams
Have purify'd his frame; the priest, who stands
Without, in ecstacy of joy remarks
The rich Mardonian off'rings on their way,
By servitors transported to enlarge
The holy treasure. Instant he prepares
For sacrifice. A sable ram is slain.


Fresh from ablution, lo! Mardonius comes
In linen vesture, fine and white, as down
Of Paphian doves. A sash of tincture bright,
Which rivall'd Flora's brilliancy of dye,
Engirds his loins; majestical his brows
A wreath sustain; Lebadian sandals ease
His steps. Exchanging thus his martial guise,
Like some immortal, of a gentler mold
Than Mars, he moves. So Phoebus, when he sets,
Lav'd by the nymphs of Tethys in their grot
Of coral after his diurnal toil,
Repairs his splendours, and his rosy track
Of morn resumes. With partial eyes the priest
Explores the victim's entrails, and reports
Each sign auspicious with a willing tongue;
Then to Mardonius: Thee, Boeotia's friend,
Magnificently pious to her gods,
Thee I pronounce a votary approv'd
By this Boeotian deity. Now seek
In confidence the cavern. But the rites
Demand, that first an image thou approach,
Which none, but those in purity of garb,
None, but accepted suppliants of the god,
Can lawfully behold. Above the bath
A rock was hollow'd to an ample space;
Thence issued bubbling waters. See, he said,
The main Hercynian fount, whose face reflects
Yon Dædalean workmanship, the form
Trophonius bears. Adore that rev'rend beard,
The twisted serpents round that awful staff,
Those looks, which pierce the mysteries of fate.


Next through a winding cavity and vast
He guides the prince along a mossy vault,
Rough with protuberant and tortuous roots
Of ancient woods, which, clothing all above,
In depth shoot downward equal to their height;
Suspended lamps, with livid glympse and faint,
Direct their darkling passage. Now they reach
The further mouth unclosing in a dale
Abrupt; there shadow, never-fleeting, rests.
Rude-featur'd crags, o'erhanging, thence expel
The blaze of noon. Beneath a frowning clift
A native arch, of altitude which tempts
The soaring eagle to construct his nest,
Expands before an excavation deep,
Unbowelling the hill. On either side
This gate of nature, hoary sons of time,
Enlarg'd by ages to portentous growth,
Impenetrable yews augment the gloom.


In height two cubits, on the rocky floor
A parapet was rais'd of marble white,
In circular dimension; this upholds
The weight of polish'd obelisks, by zones
Of brass connected, ornamental fence.
A wicket opens to th' advancing prince;
Steps moveable th' attentive priest supplies;
By whom instructed, to the awful chasm
Below, profound but narrow, where the god
His inspiration breathes, th' intrepid son
Of Gobryas firm descends. His nether limbs
Up to the loins he plunges. Downward drawn,
As by a whirlpool of some rapid flood,
At once the body is from sight conceal'd.
Entranc'd he lies in subterranean gloom,
Less dark than superstition. She, who caus'd
His bold adventure, with her wonted fumes
Of perturbation from his torpid state
Awakes him; rather in a dream suggests
That he is waking. On a naked bank
He seems to stand; before him sleeps a pool,
Edg'd round by desert mountains, in their height
Obscuring heav'n. Without impulsive oars,
Without a sail, spontaneous flies a bark
Above the stagnant surface, which, untouch'd,
Maintains its silence. On the margin rests
The skiff, presenting to the hero's view
An aged fire, of penetrating ken,
His weight inclining on an ebon staff,
With serpents wreath'd, who, beck'ning, thus began:


If, seed of Gobryas, thou wouldst know thy fate,
Embark with me; Trophonius I am call'd.


Th' undaunted chief obeys. In flight more swift
Than eagles, swiftest of the feather'd kind,
Th' unmoving water's central spot they gain.
At once its bosom opens; down they sink
In depth to equal that immane descent
Of Hercules to Pluto, yet perform,
As in a moment, their portentous way.
Around, above, the liquid mass retires,
In concave huge suspended, nor bedews
Their limbs, or garments. Two stupendous valves
Of adamant o'er half the bottom spread;
Them with his mystic rod the prophet smites.
Self-lifted, they a spacious grot expose,
Whose pointed spar is tipt with dancing light,
Beyond Phoebean clear. The Persian looks;
Intelligent he looks. Words, names and things,
Recurring, gather on his anxious mind;
When he, who seems Trophonius: Down this cave
None, but the gods oracular, may pass.
Here dwell the fatal Sisters; at their toil
The Destinies thou see'st. The thread new-drawn
Is thine, Mardonius. Instantly a voice,
Which shakes the grot, and all the concave round,
Sounds Aemnestus. Swift the direful shears
The line dissever, and Mardonius, whirl'd
Back from Trophonian gloom, is found supine
Within the marble parapet, which fenc'd
The cavern's mouth. The watchful priest conducts
The agitated satrap, mute and sad,
Back to Mnemosynè's abode. His eyes
Are sternly fix'd. Now, prince, the seer began,
Divulge, whatever thou hast heard and seen
Before this goddess. Priest, he said, suspend
Thy function now importunate. Remove.


The seer withdrawn, the Persian thus alone:
Then be it so. To luxury and pow'r,
Magnificence and pleasure, I must bid
Farewell. Leonidas let Greece extol,
Me too shall Persia. Goddess, to thy charge
A name, so dearly purchas'd, I consign.


This said, in haste his armour he resumes.
Not as Leonidas compos'd, yet brave
Amid the gloom of trouble, he prefers
Death to dishonour. O'er the holy ground
He pensive treads, a parallel to Saul,
Return'd from Endor's necromantic cell
In sadness, still magnanimously firm
Ne'er to survive his dignity, but face
Predicted ruin, and, in battle slain,
Preserve his fame. Mardonius finds the gates;
His friends rejoins; glides down Cephissian floods;
Copææ's lake repasses; and is lodg'd
In his own tent by midnight. Sullen there
He sits; disturb'd, he shuns repose; access
Forbids to all: but Lamachus intrudes,
Nefarious counsellor, in fell device
Surpassing fellest tyrants. Now hath night
Upcall'd her clouds, black signal for the winds
To burst their dungeons; cataracts of rain
Mix with blue fires; th' ethereal concave groans;
Stern looks Mardonius on the daring Greek,
Who, in his wiles confiding, thus began:


Supreme o'er nations numberless in arms,
Sole hope of Asia, thy return I greet
With joy. Thy absence hath employ'd my soul
To meditate the means, the certain means
For thee to prosper. Lo! the active son
Of Neocles, who keeps th' Oetæan pass,
Lo! Aristides in the camp of Greece,
Remain thy only obstacles. Her pow'r,
Of them depriv'd, would moulder and disperse,
Devoid of counsel, with an edgless sword.
Uncommon danger stimulates the wise
To search for safety through uncommon paths,
Much more, when pow'r, when empire and renown,
Hang on a crisis. If a serpent's guile
Behind the pillows of such foes might lurk;
If darting thence, his unsuspected sting
Might pierce their bosoms; if the ambient air
Could by mysterious alchymy be chang'd
To viewless poison, and their cups infect
With death; such help would policy disdain?
Hast thou not hardy and devoted slaves?
Try their fidelity and zeal. No life
Can be secure against a daring hand.
Two Grecian deaths confirm thee lord of Greece.


He ceas'd, expecting praise; but honour burns
Fierce in the satrap's elevated soul:


Dar'st thou suggest such baseness to the son
Of Gobryas? furious he exalts his voice;
Guards, seize and strangle this pernicious wolf.


Time but to wonder at his sudden fate
The ready guards afford him, and the wretch
Fit retribution for his crimes receives.
This act of eastern equity expels
The satrap's gloom. Now, Grecian gods, he cries,
Smile on my justice. From th' assassin's point
I guard your heroes. By yourselves I swear,
My preservation, or success, assur'd
By such unmanly turpitude I spurn.


His mind is cheer'd. A tender warmth succeeds,
Predominant in am'rous, eastern hearts,
A balm to grief, and victor mild of rage.


The midnight hour was past, a season dear
To softly-tripping Venus. Through a range
Of watchful eunuchs in apartments gay
He seeks the female quarter of his tent,
Which, like a palace of extent superb,
Spreads on the field magnificence. Soft lutes,
By snowy fingers touch'd, sweet-warbled song
From ruby lips, which harmonize the air
Impregnated with rich Panchæan scents,
Salute him ent'ring. Gentle hands unclasp
His martial harness, in a tepid bath
Lave and perfume his much-enduring limbs.
A couch is strewn with roses; he reclines
In thinly-woven Taffeta. So long
In pond'rous armour cas'd, he scarcely feels
The light and loose attire. Around him smile
Circassian Graces, and the blooming flow'rs
Of beauty cull'd from ev'ry clime to charm.
Lo! in transcending ornament of dress
A fair-one all-surpassing greets the chief;
But pale her lip, and wild her brilliant eye:


Nam'd from Bethulia, where I drew my breath,
I, by a father's indigence betray'd,
Became thy slave; yet noble my descent
From Judith ever-fam'd, whose beauty sav'd
Her native place. Indignant I withstood
Thy passion. Gentle still a master's right
Thou didst forbear, and my reluctant charms
Leave unprophan'd by force. Repuls'd, thy love
Grew cold. Too late contemplating thy worth,
I felt a growing flame, but ne'er again
Could win thy favour. In the Haram's round
Disconsolate, neglected, I have walk'd;
Have seen my gay companions to thy arms
Preferr'd, professing passion far unlike
To mine, Mardonius. Now despair suggests
To give thee proof of undissembled truth,
Which no neglect hath cool'd. To thy success,
Thy glory, my virginity is vow'd.
In this bright raiment, with collected pow'rs
Of beauty, I at Aristides' feet
Will throw me prostrate. To th' alluring face
Of my progenitrix a victim fell
Th' Assyrian captain, Holofernes proud;
So shall thy foe of Athens fall by mine.
The meritorious and heroic deed
Soon will erase the transitory stain.
O! if successful, let Bethulia hope
For thy reviving love. Mardonius starts
In dubious trouble. Whether to chastise
So fierce a spirit, or its zeal admire,
He hesitates. Compassion for the sex
At length prevails, suggesting this reply:


Fell magnanimity! enormous proof
Of such intemp'rate passion! I forgive
While I reject thy proffer'd crime, although
The deed might fix my glory and success;
And in return for thy prepos'trous love
Will safe replace thee in thy native seat
With gifts to raise from indigence thy house.
But never, never from this hour will view
Thy face again, Bethulia. Eunuchs, hear;
Remove, conceal this woman from my sight.


No, thou inhuman, thus Bethulia wild:
This shall remove for ever from thy sight
A woman scorn'd, and terminate her pains.


She said, and struck a poniard through her heart.
With shrieks the Haram sounds; th' afflicted fair,
The eunuchs shudder; when the satrap thus:


Is this another black portent of ill,
Stern Horomazes? or is this my crime?
No, thou art just. My conscious spirit feels
Thy approbation of Mardonius now.


But from his breast the dire event expels
All soft and am'rous cares. His vast command,
His long inaction, and the dread of shame
Recur. He quits the chamber; to his own
Repairing, summons Mindarus, and firm
In aspect speaks: The morning soon will dawn.
Draw down our slingers, archers, and the skill'd
In flying darts to line th' Asopian brink;
Thence gall the Grecians, whose diurnal wants
That flood relieves. Then Mindarus: O chief,
This instant sure intelligence is brought,
That from the isthmus, to supply their camp,
A convoy, rich in plenty, is descry'd
Advancing tow'rds Cithæron's neighb'ring pass.


Mardonius quick: No moment shall be lost.
Bid Tiridates with five thousand horse
Possess that pass, and, pouring on the plain,
Secure the precious store. This said, he seeks
A short repose, and Mindarus withdraws.


In arms anon to paragon the morn,
The morn new-rising, whose vermillion hand
Draws from the bright'ning front of heav'n serene
The humid curtains of tempestuous night,
Mardonius mounts his courser. On his bank
The godlike figure soon Asopus views.

End of the Twenty-seventh Book