206
PINDAR.
'Tis thine, bless'd hero, to persuade
Jove, Juno, and the blue-eyed maid. 160
Thou oft in troubles canst impart
Strength to the fainting mortal heart.
Oh! may their lives thy care engage
In shining youth and hoary age,
That present honour and more bright success 165
Henceforth his children's children may possess!
Never my tongue with bitter sound
Brave Neoptolemus shall wound. [1]
But to repeat this thrice-told truth
Can want of language only prove; 170
As babbling sires instruct their youth,
"Corinthus was the son of Jove." 155
- ↑ Pindar's reverence for Neoptolemus was strengthened by the constant sight of the altar raised at Delphi to that hero, near to which was placed the seat whence the poet chanted his hymns in honour of Apollo.
