When the hallow'd steer has bled[1],
When the sacred feast is spread,
'Midst the crystal waves below,
Whence father Ocean's boundless billows flew,
Let not my foot be slow:
There, th' ethereal guests among,
No rude speech disgrace my tongue
May my mind this rev'rence keep;
Print it strong, and grave it deep.
ANTIS.
When thro' life's extended scene
Hope her stedfast lustre throws,
Swells the soul with joy serene,
With sublimest triumph glows.
Seest thou this pure lustre shine?
Are these heart-felt raptures thine?
My cold blood curdles in my veins,
To see thy hideous woes, thy tort'ring pains,
And adamantine chains.
Thy free soul, untaught to fear,
Scorn'd the danger threat'ning near;
And for mortals dar'd defy
The sovereign monarch of the sky.
EPOD.
Vain thy ardour, vain thy grace,
They nor force nor aid repay;
Like a dream man's feeble race,
Short-liv'd reptiles of a day.
Shall their weak devices move
Th' order'd harmony of Jove?
Touch'd with pity of thy pain,
- ↑ The chorus here alludes to the solemn annual festival, which the gods held with their father Oceanus, and at which they showed their piety and reverence by their attendance and ministry.—Pauw,——See Homer, 1 Il. v. 423. with Mr. Pope's note.
