There Proreus, Nautes, Eratreus appear,
And fam'd Amphialus, Polyneus' heir:
Euryalus, like Mars terrific, rose,
When clad in wrath he withers hosts of foes: 120
Naubolides with grace unequall'd shone,
Or equall'd by Laodamas alone.
With these came forth Ambasineus the strong,
And three brave sons from great Alcinous sprung.
Rang'd in a line the ready racers stand,
Start from the goal, and vanish o'er the strand:
Swift as on wings of wind upborne they fly,
And drifts of rising dust involve the sky:
Before the rest, what space the hinds allow
Between the mule and ox, from plough to plough,
Clytoneus sprung: he wing'd the rapid way, 131
And bore th' unrivall'd honours of the day.
With fierce embrace the brawny wrestlers join:
conquest, great Euryalus, is thine. Amphialus sprung forward with a bound, Superior in the leap a length of ground: From Eratreus' strong arm the discus flies,
And sings with unmatch'd force along the skies. And Laodam whirls high, with dreadful sway,
The gloves of death, victorious in the fray. 140·
While thus the peerage in the games contends, In act to speak, Laodamas ascends :
O friends, he cries, the stranger seems well
To try th' illustrious labours of the field:
I deem him brave; then grant the brave man's
Invite the hero to his share of fame.
What nervous arms he boasts! how firm his tread! His limbs how turn'd! how broad his shoulders
By age unbroke!--but all-consuming care Destroys perhaps the strength that time would
Dire is the ocean, dread in all its forms!
Man must decay, when man contends with storms.
Well hast thou spoke (Euryalus replies),
Thine is the guest, invite him thou to rise.
Swift at the word advancing from the crowd 155
He made obeisance, and thus spoke aloud:
Vouchsafes the rev'rend stranger to display
His manly worth, and share the glorious day?
Father, arise! for thee thy port proclaims
Expert to conquer in the solemn games.
To fame arise! for what more fame can yield
Than the swift race, or conflict of the field?
Steal from corroding care one transient day,
To glory give the space thou hast to stay;
Short is the time, and lo! e'en now the gales 165
Call thee aboard, and stretch the swelling sails.
To whom with sighs Ulysses gave reply:
Ah why th' ill-suiting pastime must I try?
To gloomy care my thoughts alone are free;
Ill the gay sports with troubled hearts agree: 170
Sad from my natal hour my days have ran,
A much-afflicted, much-enduring man!
Who suppliant to the king and peers, implores
A speedy voyage to his native shores.
Wide wanders, Laodam, thy erring tongue,
The sports of glory to the brave belong
(Retorts Euryalus): he boasts no claim
Among the great, unlike the sons of fame.
A wand'ring merchant he frequents the main,
Some mean sea-farer in pursuit of gain;
Studious of freight, in naval trade well skill'd,
But dreads th' athletic labours of the field.
Incens'd Ulysses with a frown replies:
O forward to proclaim thy soul unwise!
With partial hands the gods their gifts dispense;
Some greatly think, some speak with manly sense;
Here heav'n an elegance of form denies,
But wisdom the defect of form supplies:
This man with energy of thought controuls,
And steals with modest violence our souls,
He speaks reserv'dly, but he speaks with force,
Nor can one word be chang'd but for a worse;
In public more than mortal he appears,
And as he moves the gazing crowd reveres:
While others, beauteous as th' ethereal kind, 195
The nobler portion want, a knowing mind.
In outward show heav'n gives thee to excel,
But heav'n denies the praise of thinking well.
Ill bear the brave a rude ungovern'd tongue,
And, youth, my gen'rous soul resents the wrong:
Skill'd in heroic exercise, I claim
post of honour with the sons of fame: Such was my boast while vigour crown'd my days, Now care surrounds me, and my force decays;
Inur'd a melancholy part to bear,
In scenes of death, by tempest and by war.
Yet thus by woes impair'd, no more I wave
To prove the hero.-Slander stings the brave.
Then striding forward with a furious bound, He wrench'd a rocky fragment from the ground. By far more pond'rous, and more huge by far, 211 Than what Phæacia's sons discharg'd in air. Fierce from his arm th' enormous load he flings; Sonorous through the shaded air it sings:
Couch'd to the earth, tempestuous as it flies, 215
The crowd gaze upward while it cleaves the skies.
Beyond all marks, with many a giddy round
Down rushing, it up-turns a hill of ground.
That instant Pallas, bursting from a cloud,
Fix'd a distinguish'd mark, and cried aloud: 220
E'en he who sightless wants his visual ray,
May by his touch alone award the day:
Thy signal throw transcends the utmost bound
Of ev'ry champion by a length of ground:
Securely bid the strongest of the train
Arise to throw the strongest throws in vain.
She spoke; and momentary mounts the sky:
The friendly voice Ulysses hears with joy;
Then thus aloud (elate with decent pride):
Rise, ye Phæacians, try your force, he cried; 230
If with this throw the strongest caster vie,
Still, further still, I bid the discus fly.
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