But in his victor chariot borne,
Where pure Castalia's waters flow,
He gain'd the envied wreath, thy brow
With honour'd triumph to adorn:
Urging his wheels' uninjured force [1] 45
Twelve times around the sacred course. 44
For never by unskilful stroke
His car's compacted strength he broke;
But, the Crisæan hill o'ercome,
This fabric of ingenious hands 50
Is hung aloft in Phœbus' dome
That in the woody hollow stands,
Upon the beam of cypress laid,
Where the bright image is display'd;
Which, fix'd by Cretan archers, stood, 55
A single offspring of the wood;
Conspicuous on its lofty place,
The proud Parnassian fane to grace.
'Tis then thy part, with willing mind,
To meet thy benefactor kind. 60
Offspring of Alexibius, thee
Extol the bright-hair'd graceful three.
How bless'd to have thy labours past
Long in the poet's record last!
Of forty guides, whose skill would steer 65
'Gainst thine their chariot's rash career,
Bringing with fearless mind thy car
Alone unbroken in the war.
And now, the strife of glory past,
- ↑ The scholiast informs us that forty charioteers contended with Arcesilaus, and all had their cars broken in the course; but Carrhotus preserved uninjured that of his employer: in consequence of which the unbroken chariot was placed in the temple at Delphi, and consecrated to Apollo.
This is one of the earliest recorded instances of the custom of suspending votive offerings in the temples of the gods, as testimonies of gratitude for favours received or calamities avoided.
