Alcmene

“ I need hardly explain that the evil one who will positively force himself upon her is the father, from whom the son defends the mother, that he may subsequently woo her. It is again only the poet himself who sets himself as a youthful ideal god in place of the aging father, as Jupiter descended from his throne renewed in beauty and youth according to his divine power, to visit Alcmene in the form of her spouse Amphitryon. ”

“ Hermes gave him a sword, Phœbus-Apollo a bundle of arrows, Hephæstus a golden quiver, and Athene a coat of leather.
Heracles and Eurystheus.—And now it will be necessary to retrace our steps. Just before the birth of Heracles, Zeus, in an assembly of the gods, exultingly declared that the child who should be born on that day to the house of Perseus should rule over all his race. When Hera heard her lord's boastful announcement she knew well that it was for the child of the hated Alcmene that this brilliant destiny was designed ”

“ His devotion to the beautiful daughters of men involved him in frequent altercations with his justly jealous spouse. Of his fondness for Danaë, whom he approached in a shower of gold, particulars are given in the story of her son Perseus; of his love for Alcmene, the granddaughter of that Perseus, we are informed in the myths of her son Hercules; and of his attentions to Leda, whom he wooed in guise of a swan, we learn in the accounts of their children Pollux and Helen. Other love passages, upon which narratives depend, concern Io, Callisto, Europa, Semele, Ægina, and Antiope. ”

“ He who to you is the Almighty became Alcmena’s lover; he himself would in like manner be in love with living men now if he were alive. Ye pray to unclean gods, and ye call them heavenly who are born of mortal seed from those giants. Ye hear and ye read that he was born in the earth: whence was it that that corrupter so well deserved to ascend into heaven? ”

“ But he does not lament like Mimnermus, like Alcman, like Llwyarch Hen. “What is Life, what is delight without golden Aphrodite? May I die!” says Mimnermus, “when I am no more conversant with these, with secret love, and gracious gifts, and the bed of desire.” And Alcman, when his limbs waver beneath him, is only saddened by the faces and voices of girls, and would change his lot for the sea-birds. ”

“ Travellers in Sparta who look at the lifeless ruins of the Temple of Artemis will rejoice that among the broken fragments of Alcman’s poetry exist seven complete strophes of a partheneion which probably was sung before the temple at one of the festivals of the goddess. Helen as a child had danced at such a festival, and doubtless many a girl in Alcman’s chorus was pointed out by the surrounding crowd as her fit successor. In his vigour the poet must often himself have led the dances of these tall, straight maidens. ”

“ And here we find at once the same strong contrast between the characters of the two sisters, which in a subsequent tragedy is seen between Electra and Chrysothemis. Antigone, like Joan of Arc and other enthusiasts, is so absorbed in her own self-sacrifice, inspired with such a lofty sense of what her duty towards her brother demands, that she spurns all other considerations. Death and life, honour and dishonour, happiness and misery, are as nothing compared with the work she has in hand. Ismene, though not less affectionate, is of a softer temper. She has less heroism, but more common-sense. ”

“ A look of pain passed swiftly over the face of Clémence. The sorrowing heart is prone to shrink within itself, and to dread the first breath of outer air, the first touch of common life. “Not if it is only an intimate friend,” she said at last, “such as M. Tolstoi or M. Adrian Wertsch; but I should not quite care to see a stranger, Ivan.”
“It is no stranger; it is one whom we both love.” Then he returned rather nervously to the subject of the letters, asking what would become of Stéphanie.
“For the present she is to be sent to the pension where her cousin Coralie is,” Clémence answered. ”

“ But while I live no woman shall rule me."
Then those that had been sent to fetch the maiden Ismené brought her forth from the palace. And when the King accused her that she had been privy to the deed she denied not, but would have shared one lot with her sister. But Antigone turned from her, saying, "Not so; thou hast no part or lot in the matter. For thou hast chosen life, and I have chosen death; and even so shall it be." And when Ismené saw that she prevailed nothing with her sister, she turned to the King and said, "Wilt thou slay the bride of thy son?" ”

“ I had obtained no light from Alexis, and I sought in vain for an explanation of my patient's condition. Of course, it was plausible enough to argue that his passion for Rosa was at the root of the evil; but I remembered Rosa's words to me in the carriage, and I was disposed to agree with them. To me, as to her, it seemed that, though Alresca was the sort of man to love deeply, he was not the sort of man to allow an attachment, however profound or unfortunate, to make a wreck of his existence. No. If Alresca was dying, he was not dying of love. ”

“ On the first alarm the Alcaid made all haste to the prison to inform Don Alphonso of the danger. The brave Alphonso demanded a sword for himself and a buckler for the Alcaid. He takes Marina by the hand, and making his way to the market-place, thus accosts the fugitives: 'My friends, are ye Spaniards, and do ye abandon your wives and children to the fury of the infidels?'
He stops, he rallies them, inspires them with his own valor, and, more than human, (for he is a lover, and a hero) rushes, sabre in hand, on a party of the Moors, whom he instantly disperses. ”

“ Ismene. Yet truly we are both alike in fault.
Antig. Fear not; you live. My life hath long been given
To death, to be of service to the dead. [24]
Hurt and baffled, Ismene now turns to Creon with an appeal that she thinks must touch him. Will he not save Antigone for Hæmon’s sake, his son, to whom she is betrothed? 203Surely he will not break the heart of his own child, too? His reply is a brutal jest that wrings from Antigone the first sign of her anguish. The pity of her broken life, to herself and to the lover she must leave, elicits a poignant cry:
“O dearest Hæmon! ”

“ Emile did not condescend to notice her, "No one greater," he resumed, "than the Abbé Sicard."
"Who is he?" asked M. de Sartines.
Madame de Talmont and Clémence knew very well, and looked interested.
"An old fool of a priest who spends his life picking up deaf and dumb children out of the streets, and teaching them to read and to say their prayers," replied Emile.
"How can they say their prayers if they are dumb?" queried Stéphanie.
"They speak with their fingers, dear," Clémence explained in a lower tone. "I will tell you all about it another time. ”

“ His surprise when he again beheld Alcina was no less than his indignation. Fortified by his ring from her enchantments, he saw her as she was, a monster of ugliness. All her charms were artificial, and, truly viewed, were rather deformities. She was, in fact, older than Hecuba or the Sibyl of Cumae; but an art, which it is to be regretted our times have lost, enabled her to appear charming, and to clothe herself in all the attractions of youth. ”

“ The hospitality of Alcinous is prompt and magnificent. He bids one of his sons rise up and cede the place of honour to the stranger. If he be mortal man, the boon he asks shall be granted; but it may be that he is one of the immortals, who, as he gravely assures his guest, often condescend to come down and share the banquets of the Phæacians, and make themselves known to them face to face. ”

“ Then to the Mighty Man, Alcmena's son, With yearning hearts they turned till he should speak, And he spake softly: "Nought ill have ye done In helping me to find what I did seek: The world made better by me knows if weak My hand and heart are: but now, light the fire Upon the prow and worship the grey sire." So did they; and such gifts as there they had Gave unto Nereus; yea, and sooth to say, Amid the tumult of their hearts made glad, Had honoured Hercules in e'en such way; But he laughed out amid them, and said, "Nay, Not yet the end is come ”

“ When you have done, march with your female troop To Naples’ town, to succor Amurack; And so, by marriage of Iphigina, You soon shall drive the danger clean away. Iphigina
So shall we soon eschew Charybdis’ lake, And headlong fall to Scylla’s greedy gulf. I vowed before, and now do vow again, Before I wed Alphonsus, I’ll be slain. Medea
In vain it is, to strive against the stream; Fates must be followed, and the gods’ decree Must needs take place in every kind of cause. Therefore, fair maid, bridle these brutish thoughts, And learn to follow what the fates assign. ”

“ But so beautiful is Alcina, that none can withstand her if once she looks on them, therefore fly while you may and ask counsel of Logistilla if there is aught that you would know.’
‘Oh, tell me, good tree, how I can escape without crossing the path of the cruel Alcina?’ cried Roger.
‘There is a way,’ answered the tree, ‘but it is rough to the feet, and beset by fierce and ill-tongued men, placed there by the fairy. He who would quit Alcina’s isle needs open eyes and deaf ears.’
‘I will have both,’ said Roger.
But, alas! he boasted overmuch, as young men are wont to do. ”

“ The stock instance of the dreadful consequences that might flow from doing one or the other was that of Alcmena, who travailed with Hercules for seven days and seven nights, because the goddess Lucina sat in front of the house with clasped hands and crossed legs, and the child could not be born until the goddess had been beguiled into changing her attitude. It is a Bulgarian superstition that if a pregnant woman is in the habit of sitting with crossed legs, she will suffer much in childbed. ”

“ Perhaps Alcinous saw that it would go ill with any man who matched himself against the stranger, so he sent for the harper, who sang a merry song, and then he made the young men dance and play ball, and bade the elder men go and bring rich presents of gold and garments for the wanderer. Alcinous himself gave a beautiful coffer and chest, and a great golden cup, and Arete tied up all the gifts in the coffer, while the damsels took Ulysses to the bath, and bathed him and anointed him with oil. ”

“ To them he excused his absence by the fact of his having suffered from a fresh attack of madness, and added that an oracle had foretold to him that his malady would only be cured when he had deposited the necklace and veil of Harmonia in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Arsinoë, deceived by his artful representations, unhesitatingly restored to him his bridal gifts, whereupon Alcmæon set out on his homeward journey, well satisfied with the successful issue of his expedition. ”

“ I shook my head, and went to stand by his couch. I was profoundly aware then, despite all the efforts of my self-conceit to convince myself to the contrary, that I had effected nothing whatever towards his recovery, that it had accomplished itself without external aid. But that did not lessen my intense pleasure in the improvement. By this time I had a most genuine affection for Alresca. The rare qualities of the man—his serenity, his sense of justice, his invariable politeness and consideration, the pureness of his soul—had captured me completely. ”

“ This man that I had seen was not a man, but a malign and jealous spirit—using his spectral influences to crush the mortals bold enough to love the woman whom he had loved on earth. The death of Alresca, the unaccountable appearances in the cathedral, in the train, on the steamer—everything was explained. And before that coldly sneering, triumphant face, which bore the look of life, and which I yet knew to be impalpable, I shook with the terrified ague of a culprit.
[272]
A minute or a thousand years might have passed. Then Rosa returned. In an instant the apparition had vanished. ”

“ Fal. Yes, if any body durst hear him; by Jove, if you
Be not kind to him, he’ll hector you all; I’ll get
The way on’t too, ‘tis the most prosperous one; I see no
Other reason you have to love Alcander
Better than I.
Am. Why should you think I do?
Fal. Devil, I see’t well enough by your continual Quarrels with him.
Am. Is that so certain a proof?
Fal. Ever while you live, you treat me too Well ever to hope.
Enter Alcander, kneels, offers his Sword to Aminta.
—What new Masquerade’s this? by Jove, Alcander
Has more tricks than a dancing Bear. ”

“ Feed not thyself with fond persuasions, But presently come yield thy crown to me, And do me homage, or by heavens I swear I’ll force thee to it maugre all thy train. Belinus
How now, base brat! What, are thy wits thine own, That thou darest thus abraid me in my land? ‘Tis best for thee these speeches to recall, Or else by Jove I’ll make thee to repent That e’er thou settest thy foot in Naples’ soil. Alphonsus
“Base brat,” sayest thou? As good a man as thou. ”

“ Aminta, more perhaps than I may like.
Am. Do not fear that, Alcander.
Alcan. Your Jealousy incourages that Fear.
Am. If I be so, I’m the fitter for your humour.
Alcan. That’s another reason for my fears; that ill-Luck owes us a spite, and will be sure to pay us with loving one another, a thought I dread. Farewel, Aminta; when I can get loose from Ardelia, I may chance wait on you, till then your own Pride be your Companion. ”

“ Dost know where my Erminia lies to night?
Alcan. I guess, Sir.
Phi. Where? Nay, prithee speak, Indeed I shall not be offended at it.
Alcan. I know not why you should, Sir; She’s where she ought, abed with young Alcippus.
Phi. Thou speak’st thy real Thoughts.
Alcan. Why should your Highness doubt it?
Phi. By Heaven, there is no faith in Woman-kind; Alcander, dost thou know an honest Woman?
Alcan. Many, Sir.
Phi. I do not think it, ‘tis impossible; Erminia, if it could have been, were she, But she has broke her Vows, which I held sacred, And plays the wanton in another’s arms. ”