 W2731 POEM IN ISAAC'S HANDWRITING: ODE IV BK. I
Jan 1 1869 [estimated date]1
To:
From:
ODE IV BK. I
When Trojan Paris
through the briny deep
The Zeus-sprung Helen treacherously bore,
Nereus,2 old sea God, the Trojan winds
Suppressed in an unpleasant calm, and spoke--
With omen inauspicious thou dost bear
Her home, whom Greece with mighty army seeks,
And dire revenge shall be the Priam's realm.
And that base ravisher, the monarch's on.
Alas! what sweat to man, to fleet limbed horse!
What dread destruction to the Trojan race!
Now Pallas wrathful dons her burnished helm,
Her Aegis and her chariot swift prepares.
In vain, with Venus as your friend, you'll brave,3
With unguent locks and lyre effeminate,
The Grecian spear, the Cretan dart well thrown,
The battle cry and Ajax fierce in fight.
But ah! the time shall come, though late it be,
When thine adulterous head shall lick the dust.
Thy nation's scourge behold! Odysseus brave,
Nestor,4 dread Sthenelus5 in battle skilled,
And Salaminian Teucer,6 bold in war,
With lowering looks pursue thee terrified.
Meriones, and fierce Tydides7 too.
Far better than his father, burns for thee.
As when a wolf with panting breath pursues
The stag all timid flying o'er the plain;
So you unfaithful to your Helen prove,
And dastard seek the cover of the wood.
Achilles furious shall postpone the day
When his swift fleet to Troy shall ruin bring
And to her matrons slavery's chain most dire.
But when th'appointed years have roll'd away,
The stately towers of Ilium shall fall.
All ruined by the dread devouring flame.
I.B. McQuesten
1 This paper was undated, but most likely was a translation done while Isaac was in university.
2 Nereus, a minor god with the ability to change shape, was often referred to as the "Old man of the sea." He and his wife, the Titan Doris, are the parents of the sea nymphs which are referred to collectively as the nereids.
3 Pallas Athena, often referred to simply as Athena, was the goddess of wisdom, justice and war in Greek mythology. In Homer's The Iliad, the story of the Trojan war, she aided the Greeks, who sailed to Troy en masse to bring home Helen, the wife of Menelaus who was residing in Troy with Paris (sometimes called Alexandrus), the son of the Trojan King Priam.
Venus, or Aphrodite, supported the Trojans. On some accounts of one particular myth, Paris had been named to give the golden apple to the most beautiful goddess. He awarded it to Aphrodite, thus winning her favour and earning the enmity of Hera and Athena.
4 A champion warrior from the kingdom of Pylos in Messenia. He lead his sons to fight the Trojan war on the side of the Greeks. His life was saved by Diomedes after Paris shot his horse in battle.
5 A nephew of King Minos of Crete. Minos, after warring with and defeating the Athenians, demanded that they sacrifice seven maidens and seven young men to the minotaur each year.
6 in Greek mythology. 1 Ancestor and king of the Trojans, who are also called the Teucri. He was the father-in-law of Dardanus. 2 Son of Telamon and Hesione. He was the greatest archer in the Trojan War and a faithful comrade of his half brother, the Telamonian Ajax. When he returned home he was banished by his father, who mistakenly thought that Teucer was responsible for the death of Ajax. Teucer went to Cyprus, where he founded the town of Salamis and ruled as king.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. www.bartleby.com/65/. [Nov. 11, 2003].
7 Possibly another name for Diomedes, but called Tydides for his father Tydeus. |
