"If Thebes must fall, oh might the Fates afford
"A nobler Doom from Famine, Fire, or Sword.
"Then might the Thebans perish with Renown:
"But now a beardless Victor sacks the Town;
"Whom nor the prancing Steed, nor pond'rous Shield,
"Nor the hack'd Helmet, nor the dusty Field,
"But the soft Joys of Luxury and Ease,
"The purple Vests, and flow'ry Garlands please.
"Stand then aside, I'll make the Counterfeit
"Renounce his God-head, and confess the Cheat.
"Acrisius from the Grecian Walls repell'd
"This boasted Pow'r; why then should Pentheus yield;
"Go quickly, drag th' Impostor Boy to Me;
"I'll try the Force of his Divinity.
Thus did th' audacious Wretch those Rites profane;
His Friends dissuade th' audacious Wretch in vain;
In vain his Grandsire urg'd him to give o'er
His impious Threats; the Wretch but raves the more.
So have I seen a River gently glide,
In a smooth Course, and inoffensive Tide;
But if with Dams its Current we restrain,
It bears down all, and Foams along the Plain.
But now his Servants came besmear'd with Blood,
Sent by their haughty Prince to seize the God;
The God they found not in the frantick Throng,
But dragg'd a zealous Votary along.
The Mariners transformed to Dolphins.
Him Pentheus view'd with Fury in his Look,
And scarce with-held his Hands, whilst thus he spoke:
"Vile Slave! whom speedy Vengeance shall pursue,
"And terrify thy base seditious Crew:
"Thy Country, and thy Parentage reveal,
"And, why thou join'st in these mad Orgies, tell,
