The first of these obtains a stately steed, Adorn'd with trappings; and the next in fame, The quiver of an Amazonian dame, With feather'd Thracian arrows well supplied:
A golden belt shall gird his manly side, Which with a sparkling diamond shall be tied.
The third this Grecian helmet shall content."He said.To their appointed base they went;With beating hearts th' expected sign receive, And, starting all at once, the barrier leave.
Spread out, as on the winged winds, they flew, And seiz'd the distant goal with greedy view.
Shot from the crowd, swift Nisus all o'erpass'd;Nor storms, nor thunder, equal half his haste.
The next, but tho' the next, yet far disjoin'd, Came Salius, and Euryalus behind;Then Helymus, whom young Diores plied, Step after step, and almost side by side, His shoulders pressing; and, in longer space, Had won, or left at least a dubious race.
Now, spent, the goal they almost reach at last, When eager Nisus, hapless in his haste, Slipp'd first, and, slipping, fell upon the plain, Soak'd with the blood of oxen newly slain.
The careless victor had not mark'd his way;But, treading where the treach'rous puddle lay, His heels flew up; and on the grassy floor He fell, besmear'd with filth and holy gore.
Not mindless then, Euryalus, of thee, Nor of the sacred bonds of amity, He strove th' immediate rival's hope to cross, And caught the foot of Salius as he rose.
So Salius lay extended on the plain;
Euryalus springs out, the prize to gain, And leaves the crowd: applauding peals attend The victor to the goal, who vanquish'd by his friend.
Next Helymus; and then Diores came, By two misfortunes made the third in fame.
But Salius enters, and, exclaiming loud For justice, deafens and disturbs the crowd;Urges his cause may in the court be heard;And pleads the prize is wrongfully conferr'd.
But favor for Euryalus appears;
His blooming beauty, with his tender tears, Had brib'd the judges for the promis'd prize.
Besides, Diores fills the court with cries, Who vainly reaches at the last reward, If the first palm on Salius be conferr'd.
Then thus the prince: "Let no disputes arise:
Where fortune plac'd it, I award the prize.
But fortune's errors give me leave to mend, At least to pity my deserving friend."He said, and, from among the spoils, he draws (Pond'rous with shaggy mane and golden paws)A lion's hide: to Salius this he gives.
Nisus with envy sees the gift, and grieves.
"If such rewards to vanquish'd men are due."He said, "and falling is to rise by you, What prize may Nisus from your bounty claim, Who merited the first rewards and fame?
In falling, both an equal fortune tried;
Would fortune for my fall so well provide!"With this he pointed to his face, and show'd His hand and all his habit smear'd with blood.
Th' indulgent father of the people smil'd, And caus'd to be produc'd an ample shield, Of wondrous art, by Didymaon wrought, Long since from Neptune's bars in triumph brought.
This giv'n to Nisus, he divides the rest, And equal justice in his gifts express'd.
The race thus ended, and rewards bestow'd, Once more the princes bespeaks th' attentive crowd:
"If there he here whose dauntless courage dare In gauntlet-fight, with limbs and body bare, His opposite sustain in open view, Stand forth the champion, and the games renew.
Two prizes I propose, and thus divide:
A bull with gilded horns, and fillets tied, Shall be the portion of the conqu'ring chief;A sword and helm shall cheer the loser's grief."Then haughty Dares in the lists appears;
Stalking he strides, his head erected bears:
His nervous arms the weighty gauntlet wield, And loud applauses echo thro' the field.
Dares alone in combat us'd to stand The match of mighty Paris, hand to hand;The same, at Hector's fun'rals, undertook Gigantic Butes, of th' Amycian stock, And, by the stroke of his resistless hand, Stretch'd the vast bulk upon the yellow sand.
Such Dares was; and such he strode along, And drew the wonder of the gazing throng.
His brawny back and ample breast he shows, His lifted arms around his head he throws, And deals in whistling air his empty blows.
His match is sought; but, thro' the trembling band, Not one dares answer to the proud demand.
Presuming of his force, with sparkling eyes Already he devours the promis'd prize.
He claims the bull with awless insolence, And having seiz'd his horns, accosts the prince:
"If none my matchless valor dares oppose, How long shall Dares wait his dastard foes?
Permit me, chief, permit without delay, To lead this uncontended gift away."The crowd assents, and with redoubled cries For the proud challenger demands the prize.
Acestes, fir'd with just disdain, to see The palm usurp'd without a victory, Reproach'd Entellus thus, who sate beside, And heard and saw, unmov'd, the Trojan's pride:
"Once, but in vain, a champion of renown, So tamely can you bear the ravish'd crown, A prize in triumph borne before your sight, And shun, for fear, the danger of the fight?
Where is our Eryx now, the boasted name, The god who taught your thund'ring arm the game?
Where now your baffled honor? Where the spoil That fill'd your house, and fame that fill'd our isle?"Entellus, thus: "My soul is still the same, Unmov'd with fear, and mov'd with martial fame;But my chill blood is curdled in my veins, And scarce the shadow of a man remains.
O could I turn to that fair prime again, That prime of which this boaster is so vain, The brave, who this decrepid age defies, Should feel my force, without the promis'd prize."He said; and, rising at the word, he threw Two pond'rous gauntlets down in open view;Gauntlets which Eryx wont in fight to wield, And sheathe his hands with in the listed field.
With fear and wonder seiz'd, the crowd beholds The gloves of death, with sev'n distinguish'd folds Of tough bull hides; the space within is spread With iron, or with loads of heavy lead:
Dares himself was daunted at the sight, Renounc'd his challenge, and refus'd to fight.
