At my command, earth's barrier fhall remove,
And piercing Titan vex infernal Jove;
Full on his throne the blazing beams fhall beat,
And light abhorr'd afflict the gloomy feat.
Yet, am I yet, ye fullen fiends, obey'd?
Or muft I call your master to my aid ?
At whofe dread name the trembling Furies quake,
Hell ftands abafh'd, and earth's foundation shake?
Who views the Gorgons with intrepid eyes,
And your unviolable flood defies?
She faid; and, at the word, the frozen blood Slowly began to roll its creeping flood; Through the known channels stole the purple tide, And warmth and motion through the members glide; The nerves are ftretch'd, the turgid mufcles fwell, And the heart moves within its fecret cell; The haggard eyes their ftupid lights difclofe, And heavy by degrees the corpse arose, Doubtful and faint th' uncertain life appears, And death, all-o'er, the livid vifage wears. Pale, ftiff, and mute, the ghaftly figure ftands, Nor knows to fpeak, but at her dread commands. When thus the hag: Speak what I wish to know, And endless reft attends thy fhade below ; Reveal the truth, and, to reward thy pain, No charms fhall drag thee back to life again; Such hallow'd wood fhall feed thy funeral fire, Such numbers to thy laft repofe confpire, No fister of our art thy ghost shall wrong, Or force thee liften to her potent fong.
Since the dark gods in myftic tripods dwell,
Since doubtful truths ambiguous prophets tell;
While each event aright and plain is read,
To every bold inquirer of the deed:
Do thou unfold what end thefe wars fhall wait,
Perfons, and things, and time, and place relate,
And be the juft Interpreter of Fate.
She fpoke, and, as the spoke, a spell fhe made,
That gave new prescience to th' unknowing shade. 1165.
When thus the fpectre, weeping all for woe;
Seek not from me the Parcæ's will to know.
I saw not what their dreadful looms ordain,
Too foon recall'd to hated life again;
Recall'd, ere yet my waiting ghost had pass'd
The filent ftream, that wafts us all to rest.
All I could learn, was from the loofe report
Of wandering fhades, that to the banks refort.
Uproar, and difcord, never known till now,
Distract the peaceful realms of death below;
From blifsful plains of fweet Elyfium fome,
Others from doleful dens, and torments, come;
While in the face of every various shade,
The woes of Rome too plainly might be read..
In tears lamenting, ghofts of patriots stood,
And mourn'd their country in a falling flood ;
Sad were the Decii, and the Curii feen,
And heavy was the great Camillus' mien :
On fortune loud indignant Sylla rail'd,
And Scipio his unhappy race bewail'd;
The Cenfor fad forefaw his Cato's doom,
Refolv'd to die for liberty, and Rome.
Of all the fhades that haunt the happy field,
Thee only, Brutus ! smiling I beheld;
Thee, thou firft conful, haughty Tarquin's dread,
From whofe juft wrath the conscious tyrant fled,
When freedom first uprear'd her infant head.
Meanwhile the damn'd exult amidst their pains,
And Catiline audacious breaks his chains.
There the Cethegan naked race I view'd,
The Marii fierce, with human gore embrued,
The Gracchi, fond of mischief-making laws,
And Drufi, popular in faction's caufe;
All clap'd their hands in horrible applause.
The crash of brazen fetters rung around,
And hell's wide caverns trembled with the found.
No more the bounds of fate their guilt constrain,
But proudly they demand th' Elyfian plain.
Thus they, while dreadful Dis, with bufy cares,
New torments for the conquerors prepares;
New chains of adamant he forms below,
And opens all his deep referves of woe :
Sharp are the pains for tyrants kept in store,
And flames yet ten times hotter than before.
But thou, oh noble youth! in peace depart,
And footh, with better hopes, thy doubtful heart:
Sweet is the reft, and blissful is the place,
That wait thy fire, and his illuftrious race..
Nor fondly feek to lengthen out thy date,
Nor envy the furviving victor's fate;
The hour draws near when all alike muft yield,
And death fhall mix the fame of every field.
Hafte then, with glory, to your destin'd end,
And proudly from your humbler urns defcend;
Bold in fuperior virtue fhall you come,
And trample on the demigods of Rome.
Ah! what thall it import the mighty dead,
Or by the Nile or Tiber to be laid?
'Tis only for a grave your wars are made.
Seek not to know what for thyself remains,
That fhall be told in fair Sicilia's plains;
Prophetic there, thy father's fhade shall rife,
In awful vision to thy wondering eyes :
He fhall thy fate reveal; though doubting yet,
Where he may best advise thee to retreat.
In vain to various climates fhall you run,
In vain pursuing Fortune strive to shun,
In Europe, Afric, Afia, ftill undone.
Wide as your triumphs fhall your ruins lie,
And all in diftant regions shall you die.
Ah, wretched race! to whom the world can yield
No fafer refuge, than Emathia's field.
He faid, and with a filent, mournful look,
A last difmiffion from the hag bespoke.
Nor can the fprite, discharg'd by death's cold hand, 1240
Again be fubject to the fame command;
But charms and magic herbs muft lend their aid,
And render back to reft the troubled fhade.
A pile of hollow'd wood Erictho builds,
The foul with joy its mangled carcafe yields;
She bids the kindling flames afcend on high,
And leaves the weary wretch at length to die.
Then, while the secret dark their footsteps hides,
Homeward the youth, all pale for fear, the guides;
And, for the light began to ftreak the east,
With potent spells the dawning the reprefs'd;
Commanded night's obedient queen to stay,
And, till they reach'd the camp, withheld the rifing day.
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