Phrase search ignores case and repeated whitespace. All-words search finds whole words anywhere on the same page. OCR errors can affect results.
…rts : A bitter Thing (She cried) thou sayest, yet perchance my power Is not as great as thine, for while I cower Under the lash of Zeus, stand thou upright, And laugh him to his beard for all his spite. I, even now beneath his doom ? Even thou ! For learn this law, writ large upon the brow Of white Olympus, writ by him who made Thee, yea and Zeus, of whom is Zeus afraid
62 THE TALE OF ARCHAIS Graven by Him with an eternal pen, The first law in the destiny of men : “ He whom Zeus wrongfully once injures may not be Hurt by his power again in the most small degree.” Thus, thy Archais — Mine ! ah nevermore ! Peace, doubter !—is made free from all the sore Oppressions of the past, nor may again Zeus lay on her the shadow of a pain. But I, but I — Yea, verily, fear not But stratagem may lift thy bitter lot From thy worn shoulders. Thus for half the day Thou art as free as air, as woodland fay Treading t…
THE TALE OF ARCHAIS 31 Witnessed the wrath of Zeus ; the thunder broke From purple flashes vanished into smoke That rolled unceasingly through heaven ; the youth Cried out against high Zeus, The cause of Truth, Freedom, and Justice ! and withal strode on To the vast margin of the waters wan That barred him from his goal ; his cloak he stripped, Then in the waves his sudden body dipped, And with his strenuous hands the emerald water gripped. Long had he struggled (for Poseidons hand Heaped foam against him) toward the seemly strand, But tha…
…ome fond band of loyal worshippers Often draw thither ; and black ministers Of mine therein do office ; I have seen This being cursed of Zeus, a snake unclean With its unholy neighbourhood ; at morn A fair bright youth, whose large eyes well might scorn The wanton eyes of Ganymede, whose tongue Reiterates ill curses idly strung In circles meaningless high Zeus to move, Yet has twain other cries ; the one is Love ! The other Archais ! The Paphian lips Smiled with a splendour potent to eclipse The large-lipped drawn-out grinning of that c…
…m linked inexorably fast Each in the others arms. Their lips are wed To drink the breezes from the fountain-head Of lovers breath. Now Zeus half rises up, Sips once again from that moon-curvéd cup, And, in his passion gazing on the flower, Darker and riper for Loves perfect hour, His clear voice through the silent atmosphere Burst rich and musical upon her ear. SONG OF ZEUS O rosy star Within thy sky of ebony shot through With hints of blue More golden and more far
… lightning, torn of ravaging wind ; Upon it sate the herald, who should find The home of Aphrodite, and should bring A message from high Zeus. The mighty king Had bidden him to speed. His wings drew nigh And hushed the last faint echoed melody With silver waving. As the messenger Of mighty Zeus descending unto her He stood before her, and called loud her name. Wrapped in a cloud of amber-scented flame Befitting his high office ; but his word, Too terrible for mortals, passed unheard To Cypris ear alone. She bowed her head And bade her nymphs p…
66 THE TALE OF ARCHAIS Diamond and pearl, between the pleasant bars Of cool green trees that avenued the grove. Zeus wandered through their bounds, and dreamt of love. Weary of womens old lascivious breed, The large luxurious lips of Ganymede, He, weary of tainted kiss and feverish lust, Esteeming love a desert of dry dust Because he found no freshness, no restraint, No virgin bosom, lips without a taint Of lewd imagining, yet passed not by With scorn of curled lip and contempt of eye The chaste abandon of the sleeping maid, But looked upon he…
…ummer heat and earths cool vapouring, When, round his limbs entwined, a fiery snake Hissed in his frightened ear the call Awake. And Zeus arisen strives vainly to release His valiant body from the coils, nor cease His angry struggles in their cruel hold. But all implacable, unyielding, cold, Their sinuous pressure on his breast and thighs, The white teeth sharp and ready otherwise In one fierce snap to slay. There hissed Be- ware ! Fear Charicles avenging, and despair ! And Zeus beheld the springe his foot was in, And, once more wise, b…
… dawn, One swift sharp beam of glory, leapt aside And made as if to flee, but vainly plied Her tender feet amid the tangled flowers. For Zeus, enraptured, put forth all his powers, And caught her panting, timid, tremulous. And he with open lips voluptuous Closed her sweet mouth with kisses, and so pressed Her sobbing bosom with a manlier breast That she was silent ; next, with sudden force, Implacable, unshamed, without remorse, Would urge his further suit, but so she strove That even the power of Zeus, made weak for love, Found its last limit,…
…outh To touch his mouth And bid him rise again, Till, ere the dawn-stars breath, Love kisses into sleep, Sleep swoons away to Death. So Zeus in her sweet arms slept daintily Till the sun crept into the midmost sky, And his own curse came back to sleep with him.
…ce ; With impious rage he mocks the bounds Of earth, albeit so wholly base ; His ears are dead to subtle sounds, His eyes are blind, for Zeus confounds His vain irreverence, and astounds High Heaven with wrathful face.
… And she : Not many days Shall flame and flicker into darkened ways Before the wings of night, ere Hermes fly Hither, the messenger of Zeus. But I Bid thee remain beneath the temple gate While I consider our war on Fate. Till then, and I will tell thee everything That thou must do ; but now let song take wing Till the pale air swoon with the deep delight That makes cool noontide from the sultry night. What are your dreams, my maidens ? Your young dreams ? Are they of passion, or of rocks and streams, Of purple mountains, clad about with green…
…set Of utter loathsomeness ; and I, her child Born of incestuous lust, and sore defiled With evil parentage, am now (Most just Unpitying Zeus !) condemned with her, I must The hated semblance of a serpent wear When noon rides forth upon the crystal air. While yet she spake, the dwindling shadow ran Beneath the feet of Charicles, the wan Waste water glinted free, and to the deep Cool pebbles did the kiss of sunshine creep ; The busy lark forgot for joy to sing, And all the woods with fairy voices ring ; The hills in dreamy langour seem to swoo…
…ight Holds in her bosom such a world of light As in this sick sad Earth would consume man With its quick blaze of truth. Thy bitter ban, Zeus, shall most utterly be made to cease. We must fight Fate and conquer it. Our peace, Our passion, is the silent answer given To the importunate questioning of heaven. Thou art supreme, my king, and I in thee ; We have life hard by its chill throat, to choke Its petty gasping pleasures, and to see The ancient altars with new incense smoke : We are supreme to watch the universe Waiting to crash together at t…
…t glowed Deadly vermilion, like the poisonous toad That darts an angry red from out its eye, By sword and spear, by maze and mystery, By Zeus high house, and by his godhead great, By his own soul, no ardour to abate Until he freed Archais. Like a star Rebellious, thrust beyond the mornings bar, Erect, sublime, he swore so fierce an oath
…y drowned her image too. Yet she seemed gentle. Never thorn assailed The tender finger that would touch, nor failed The strong desire of Zeus, who wisely went, As was his wont, with amorous intent Among those pastures, and fresh fragrant lawns, And dewy wonder of new woods, where dawns A new flower every day, a perfect flower, Each queenlier than her sister, though the shower Of early dew begemmed them all with stars,
… torrid flood Of tears ; her eyes were terrible ; she spake : Rise for thy life, and flee. Arise, awake, And hide thee in the temple ; Zeus hath spoken To me—me, Queen of Love—O sceptre broken !— O vainest of all realms ! that thou must die. This only chance is left thee yet, to fly Within that sanctity even he not dares To touch with impious hand ; thus unawares Creep in among the columns to a gate My hand shall show thee ; it will open straight And thou must lie forgotten till his rage Have lost its first excess—then may we wage A more succ…