Strike, and fear not, but set me free to-day,

  That ye within your brazen chests may lay

  The best of all my treasure-house doth hold,

  Fair linen, scarlet cloth, and well-wrought gold!

  Then shrieked the Snatchers, knowing certainly

  That now the time had come when they must fly

  From pleasant Salmydessa, casting off

  The joys they had in shameful mock and scoff.

  So gat they from the blind king, leaving him

  Pale and forewearied in his every limb;

  And, flying through the roof, they set them down

  Above the hall-doors, ‘mid the timbers brown,

  Chattering with fury. Then the fair-dyed wings

  Opened upon the shoulders of the kings,

  And on their heels, and shouting they uprose,

  And poised themselves in air to meet their foes.

  Then here and there these loathly things did wheel

  Before the brazen shields, and restless steel,

  But as they flew, unlucky words they cried.

  The first said: Hail, O folk who wander wide,

  Seeking a foolish thing across the sea,

  Not heeding in what case your houses be,

  Where now perchance the rovers cast the brand

  Up to the roof, and leading by the hand

  The fair-limbed women with their fettered feet

  Pass down the sands, their hollow ship to meet.

  Fair hap to him who weds the sorceress,

  The second cried, “and may the just Gods bless

  The slayer of his kindred and his name.

  Luck to the toilsome seeker after fame,

  The third one from the open hall-door cried,

  Fare ye well, Jason, still unsatisfied,

  Still seeking for a better thing than best,

  A fairer thing than fairest, without rest;

  Good speed, O traitor, who shall think to wed

  Soft limbs and white, and find thy royal bed

  Dripping with blood and burning up with fire;

  Good hap to him who henceforth ne’er shall tire

  In seeking good that ever flies his hand

  Till he lies buried in an alien land!

  SO screamed the monstrous fowl, but now the twain

  Sprung from the Northwind’s loins to be their bane,

  Drew nigh unto them; then, with huddled wings,

  Forth from the hall they gat, but evil things

  In flying they gave forth with weakened voice,

  Saying unto them O ye men, rejoice,

  Whose bodies worms shall feed on soon or late,

  Blind slaves, and foolish of unsparing fate,

  Seeking for that which ye can never get,

  Whilst life and death alike ye do forget

  In needless strife, until on some sure day,

  Death takes your scarcely tasted life away.

  Quivering their voices ceased as on they flew

  Before the swift wings of the godlike two

  Far over land and sea, until they were

  Anigh the isles called Strophades, and there,

  With tired wings all voiceless did they light,

  Trembling to see anigh the armour bright

  The wind-born brothers bore; but as these drew

  Their gleaming swords and towards the monsters flew,

  From out the deep rose up a black-haired man,

  Who, standing on the white-topped waves that ran

  On towards the shore cried: Heroes, turn again,

  For on this islet shall ye land in vain;

  But without sorrow leave the chase of these

  Who henceforth ‘mid the rocky Strophades

  Shall dwell for ever, servants unto me,

  Working my will; therefore rejoice that ye

  Win gifts and honour for your deed to-day.

  THEN, even as he spoke, they saw but grey

  White-headed waves rolling where he had stood,

  Whereat they sheathed their swords, and through their blood

  A tremor ran, for now they knew that he

  Was Neptune, shaker of the earth and sea;

  Therefore they turned them back unto the hall

  Where yet the others were, and ere nightfall

  Came back to Salmydessa and the king,

  And lighting down they told him of the thing.

  Who, hearing them, straight lifted up his voice,

  And ‘midst the shouts cried: Heroes, now rejoice

  With me who am delivered on this day

  From that which took all hope and joy away;

  Therefore to feast again, until the sun

  Another glad day for us has begun,

  And then, indeed, if ye must try the sea,

  With gifts and counsel shall ye go from me;

  Such as the Gods have given to me to give,

  And happy lives and glorious may ye live.

  Then did they fall to banqueting again,

  Forgetting all forebodings and all pain;

  And when that they had ate and drank enow,

  With songs and music, and a goodly show,

  Their hearts were gladdened; for before their eyes

  Played youths and damsels with strange fantasies,

  Clad as in Saturn’s time folk used to be,

  With green leaves gathered from the summer tree,

  When all the year was summer everywhere,

  And every man and woman blest and fair.

  So, set ‘twixt pleasure and some soft regret,

  All cares of mortal men did they forget,

  Except the vague wish that they might not die,

  The hopeless hope to flee from certainty,

  Which sights and sounds we love will bring on us

  In this sweet fleeting world and piteous.

  LIFE AND DEATH OF JASON: BOOK VI.

  The passage of the Symplegades. The heroes come to Aea.

  BUT on the morrow did they get them gone,

  Gifted with gold and many a precious stone,

  And many a bale of scarlet cloth and spice,

  And arms well wrought, and goodly robes of price.

  But chiefly to the wind-born brothers strong

  Did gifts past telling on that morn belong.

  Now as they stood upon the windy quay,

  Ready their hands upon the ropes to lay,

  Phineus, who ‘midst his mighty lords was there,

  Set high above them in a royal chair,

  Spake: Many a gift I now have given you

  To lay amidst your treasures old and new,

  If so it be, that through hard things and pain

  Ye come to your horse-nurturing land again;

  But one gift more ye needs must take of me;

  For lacking that, beneath the greedy sea,

  The mighty tomb of mariners and kings,

  Doubt not to lay down these dear treasured things,

  Nor think to come to Thessaly at all.

  And therewith turning, he began to call

  Unto his folk to bring what they had there.

  Then one brought forward a cage great and fair,

  Wherein they saw a grey pink-footed dove.

  Then said the king: The very Gods above

  Can scantly help you more than now I do:

  As to the narrowing of the sea ye go,

  And draw anigh the sound’s wind-beaten throat,

  There deedless by the Clashers shall ye float,

  And let the keenest-eyed among you stand

  Upon the prow, and loosen from his hand

  This dove, who from my mouth to-day has heard

  So many a mystic and compelling word,

  He cannot choose, being loosed, but fly down straight

  Unto the opening of that dreadful gate;

  So let the keen-eyed watch, and if so be

  He come out safe into the Evil Sea,

  Then bend unto the oars, nor fear at all

  Of aught that from the Clashers may befall;

  But if he perish, then turn back again,

  And know the Gods have made your passage vain.

  And if it so befall, then come ye back;

  And though my house be nought, and though we lack

  Good things and plenteous gifts, yet shall ye have

  A king and a king’s son to be your slave;

  And all things here still may ye bind and loose,

  And from our women freely may ye choose,

  Nor spare the fairest or most chaste to kiss,

  And in fair houses shall ye live in bliss.

  Said Jason: King, not first upon this day

  Will I be forsworn, but by some wild way

  Will reach the oak-grove and the Golden Fleece,

  Or, failing, die at least far off from Greece,

  Not unremembered; yet great thanks we give

  For this thy gift and counsel, and will strive

  To come to Colchis through the unknown land;

  And whatso perils wait us, if Jove’s hand

  Be heavy on us, and the great blue gates

  Be shut against us by the unmoved fates,

  Then farewell, king, and henceforth, free from ill,

  Live happy as thou mayest, and honoured still.

  Then turned he, shouting, to the Minyæ,

  Who o’er the gangways rushed tumultuously,

  And from the land great Argo straightway thrust,

  And gat them to their work, hot with the lust

  Of fame and noble deeds, and happy prize.

  But the bird Lynceus took, the man whose eyes

  Made night as day, and blinding fire as air.

  Then back into his marble palace fair

  The king turned, thinking well upon the way

  Of what had happed since morn of yesterday.

  Now from the port passed Argo, and the wind

  Being fair for sailing, quickly left behind

  Fair Salmydessa, the kind gainful place

  And so, with sail and oar, in no long space

  They reached the narrow ending of the sea,

  Where the wind shifted, blowing gustily

  From side to side, so that their flapping sail

  But little in the turmoil could avail;

  And now at last did they begin to hear

  The pounding of the rocks; but nothing clear

  They saw them; for the steaming clouds of spray,

  Cast by the meeting hammers every way,

  Quite hid the polished bases from their sight;

  Unless perchance the eyes of Lynceus might

  Just now and then behold the deep blue shine

  Betwixt the scattering of the silver brine;

  But sometimes ‘twixt the clouds the sun would pass

  And show the high rocks glittering like to glass,

  Quivering, as far beneath the churned-up waves

  Were ground together the hard great-arched caves,

  Wherein none dwelt, no not the giant’s brood,

  Who fed the green sea with his lustful blood;

  Nor were sea-devils even nurtured there;

  Nor dared the sea-worm use them for its lair.

  AND now the Minyæ, dazed with fear and doubt,

  Had been at point to turn their keel about,

  As each man looked on his pale fellow’s face,

  Whose speech was silenced in that dreadful place

  By the increasing clamour of the sea

  And adamantine rocks; then verily

  Was Juno good at need, who set strange fire

  In Jason’s heart, and measureless desire

  To be the first of men, and made his voice

  Clear as that herald’s, whose sweet words rejoice

  The Gods within the flowery fields of Heaven,

  And gave his well-knot arm the strength of seven.

  So then, above the crash and thundering,

  The Minyæ heard his shrill calm voice, crying:

  Shall this be then an ending to our quest?

  And shall we find the worst, who sought the best?

  Far better had ye sat beside your wives,

  And ‘mid the wine-cups lingered out your lives,

  Dreaming of noble deeds, though trying none,

  Than as vain boasters with your deed undone,

  Come back to Greece, that men may sing of you.

  Are ye all shameless? are there not a few

  Who have slain fear, knowing the unmoved fates

  Have meted out already what awaits

  The coward and the brave? Ho! Lynceus! stand

  Upon the prow, and slip from out thine hand

  The wise king’s bird; and all ye note, the wind

  Is steady now, and blowing from behind,

  Drives us on toward the Clashers, and I hold

  The helm myself; therefore, lest we be rolled

  Broadside against these horrors, take the oar,

  And hang here, half a furlong from the shore,

  Nor die of fear, until at least we know

  If through these gates the Gods will let us go:

  And if so be they will not, yet will we

  Not empty-handed come to Thessaly.

  But strike for Aea through this unknown land,

  Whose arms reach out to us on either hand.

  THEN they for shame began to cast off fear,

  And, handling well the oars, kept Argo near

  The changing little-lighted spray-washed space;

  Whereunto Lynceus set his eager face,

  And loosed the dove, who down the west wind flew;

  Then all the others lost her dashing through

  The clouds of spray, but Lynceus noted how

  She reached the open space, just as a blow

  Had spent itself, and still the hollow sound

  Of the last clash was booming all around;

  And eagerly he noted how the dove

  Stopped ‘mazed, and hovered for a while above

  The troubled sea, then stooping, darted through,

  As the blue gleaming rocks together drew;

  Then scarce he breathed, until a joyous shout

  He gave, as he beheld her passing out

  Unscathed, above the surface of the sea,

  While back again the rocks drew sluggishly.

  Then back their poised oars whirled, and straight they drave

  Unto the opening of the spray-arched cave;

  But Jason’s eyes alone of all the crew

  Beheld the sunny sea and cloudless blue,

  Still narrowing fast but bright from rock to rock.

  Now as they neared, came the next thundering shock,

  That deafened all, and with an icy cloud

  Hid man from man; but Jason, shouting loud,

  Still clutched the tiller; and the oars, grasped tight

  By mighty hands, drave on the ship forthright

  Unto the rocks, until with blinded eyes

  They blinked one moment at those mysteries

  Unseen before, the next they felt the sun

  Full on their backs, and knew their deed was done.

  THEN on their oars they lay, and Jason turned,

  And o’er the rocks beheld how Iris burned

  In fair and harmless many-coloured flame,

  And he beheld the way from which they came

  Wide open, changeless, of its spray-clouds cleared;

  And though in his bewildered ears he heard

  The tumult yet, that all was stilled he knew,

  While in and out the unused sea-fowl flew

  Betwixt them; and the now subsiding sea

  Lapped round about their dark feet quietly.

  So turning to the Minyæ, he cried:

  See ye, O fellows, the gates opened wide,

  And chained fast by the Gods, nor think to miss

  The very end we seek, nor well-earned bliss

  When once again we feel our country’s earth,

  And ‘twixt the tears of elders, and the mirth

  Of young men grown to manhood since we left,

  And longing eyes of girls, the Fleece, once reft

  From a king’s son of Greece, we hang again

  In Neptune’s temple, nigh the murmuring main.

  Then all men, with their eyes now cleared of brine,

  Beheld the many-coloured foam-bow shine

  Over the rocks, and saw it fade away,

  And saw the opening cleared of sea and spray,

  And saw the green sea lap about the feet

  Of those blue hills, that never more should meet,

  And saw the wondering sea-fowl fly about

  Their much-changed tops; then, with a mighty shout,

  They rose rejoicing, and poured many a cup

  Of red wine to the Gods, and hoisting up

  The weather-beaten sail, with mirth and song,

  Having good wind at will, they sped along.

  THREE days with good hap and fair wind they went,

  That ever at their backs Queen Juno sent,

  But on the fourth day, about noon, they drew

  Unto a new-built city no man knew;

  No, not the pilot; so they thought it good

  To arm themselves, and thus in doubtful mood

  Brought Argo to the port, and being come nigh,

  A clear-voiced herald from the land did cry:

  Whoso ye be, if that ye come in peace,

  King Lycus bids you hail, but if from Greece

  Ye come, and are the folk of whom we hear

  Who make for Colchis free from any fear,

  Then doubly welcome are ye; here take land,

  For everything shall be at your command.

  So without fear they landed at that word,

  And told him who they were, which when he heard,

  Through the fair streets he brought them to the king,

  Who feasted them at night with everything

  That man could wish; but when on the next day

  They gathered at the port to go away,

  The wind was foul and boisterous, so perforce

  There must they bide, lest they should come to worse.

  AND there for fourteen days did they abide,

  And for their pastime oft would wander wide

  About the woods, for slaying of the beasts

  Whereby to furnish forth the royal feasts;

  But on a day, a closely-hunted boar,

  Turning to bay, smote Idmon very sore

  So that he died; poor wretch, who could foresee

  Full many an unknown thing that was to be,

  And yet not this; whose corpse they burnt with fire

  Upon a purple-covered spice-strewn pyre,

  And set his ashes in a marble tomb.

  Neither could Tiphys there escape his doom,

 

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