170
PINDAR.
Which near the Graces' temple spring,
Where festal choirs exult and sing, 45
To witness in Cephisus' grove [1]
The bands in measured cadence move.
What bliss soe'er to man is known,
Laborious efforts gain alone.
Such as the god will crown to-day, 50
Or brighten with to-morrow's ray.
Though fix'd th' irrevocable doom,
Yet soon or late the time shall come [2]
That either cheats th' expecting mind,
Or leaves its wishes far behind. 55
- ↑ The river Cephisus empties itself into the lake Copais, here designated by Καφισις, a nymph sprung from that river.
- ↑ This moral conclusion arises naturally from the subject, as we are informed by the scholiast that Midas gained the victory against his expectations, since his pipe became broken in the contest.
