shalt know; for I indeed grieve for and pity thee much, sorrowing for thy slender-ancled daughter. But no other of the immortals is guilty, save only cloud-compelling Jove, who has given her to his own brother Hades, to be called his blooming wife. And he, having snatched her away with his steeds, has led her, loudly shrieking, beneath the murky darkness. But come, O goddess, cease thy great wrath.[1] It in no wise behoves thee vainly to entertain boundless wrath. Pluto, who rules over many, is by no means an unseemly kinsman [to have] among the immortals, thine own brother and of the same seed. And he has moreover obtained a prerogative, when division was first made threefold by lot; he dwells among those of whom he is appointed master by lot."
Thus having spoken, he cheered on his steeds, and they, at his exhortation, swiftly bore along the fleet chariot, like wing-expanding birds. But upon her mind a more sad and ruder grief fell, and then, enraged at the dark-clouded son of Saturn, going apart from the council of the gods and mighty Olympus, she went to the cities and rich fields of men, obscuring her form for a long time. Nor did any one of men or deep-bosomed women, seeing, recognise her, before that she came to the dwelling of prudent Celeus, who was at that time the ruler of sweet-scented Eleusis. And she sat near the way-side, saddened at heart, by the Parthenian well,[2] whence the citizens drew their water, in the shade, (but above her there was an olive tree,) like unto an aged old woman, who is shut off both from child-birth, and from the gifts of crown-loving Venus, such as are the nurses of the children of law-administering kings, and housekeepers in their echoing dwellings. But the daughters of Eleusinian Celeus perceived her as they were coming for clear-flowing water, that they might bear it in golden ewers[3] to the beloved dwellings of their sire,[4] four [in number], like goddesses, possessing the flower of youth,
- ↑ Hermann well reads, χόλον for γόον, observing, "verba οὐδέ τι σε χρὴ semper apud Homerum prœgressam orationem repetunt." Il. xix. 67; vii. 209, 492, &c. This somewhat resembles the parallelism of the Hebrew poetry. See Hengstenberg in Barnes's Preface to his Notes on Isaiah, § 8, p. 54, sqq. ed. Cumming.
- ↑ The beautiful simplicity of this narrative justifies a comparison with Genes. xxiv. 11, sqq.
- ↑ Cf. Eur. Hippol. 121, sqq.
- ↑ Matthiæ would read φίλου, without necessity.
