When Hercules went mad of yore,
The Iphitean bow he bore;[1]
His rattling quiver's dreadful sound
Spread awe and consternation round.
Great Ajax, too, when madness raged,[2]
Whole hosts of fancied Greeks engaged;
When, grasping fierce his seven-fold shield,
With Hector's sword he sought the field.[3]
But though with wine I mad should be,
May no such fury seize on me!
No dreadful bow or sword I bear,
A flowery garland decks my hair.
This brimming bowl shall crown my bliss,
Then welcome madness such as this!
ODE XXXII.—ON THE NUMBER OF HIS MISTRESSES.
If thou canst number o'er to me
Every leaf on every tree,
Or count the ceaseless waves that roar
Against the billow-beaten shore,
Thou sufficient skill hast proved;
Thou shalt count the names I've loved.
At Athens first, Minerva's town,
Full five-and-thirty write me down;
But oh! at Corinth, rich and fair,[4]
What hosts of loved ones had I there!
- ↑ Iphitus was slain by Hercules, who carried off his bow.
- ↑ When the armour of Achilles was adjudged to Ulysses, Ajax was so enraged at the affront that he went mad; and falling on a flock of sheep, which he took for Grecians, he first slew them and then himself.
- ↑ Hector and Ajax made an exchange of presents, which gave birth to a proverb, "that the presents of enemies are generally fatal;" for with this sword Ajax killed himself.
- ↑ Corinth, the metropolis of Achaia, was famous for beautiful women.
