Penates

“ According to some, the gods Penates were divided into four classes; the first comprehended all the celestial, the second the sea-gods, the third the gods of hell, and the last all such heroes as had received divine honours after death. The Penates were originally the manes of the dead, but when superstition had taught mankind to pay uncommon reverence to the statues and images of their deceased friends, their attention was soon exchanged for regular worship, and they were admitted by their votaries to share immortality and power over the world, with a Jupiter or a Minerva. ”

“ To the women is committed the worship of the “blazing hearth,” Vesta, the natural centre of the family life, and it is noticeable that even to Ovid (Fast. vi. 291-92) the conception of Vesta was still material and not anthropomorphic. The Penates (q.v.) were the numina of the store-cupboard, at first vague and animistic, but later on, as the definite deus-notion was developed, identified with certain of the other divinities of household or state religion. ”

“ Then the kings and royal princes that were with him, finding him bent on battle, and knowing well that the Northumbrians would not begin the attack, came to Penda saying—
“We would counsel thee, O king, to wait still until Feargus and Osbert shall reach us, for of a certainty they will come: here are we face to face with a host mightier than ours.”
Then the king answered: “And hath not the host of Penda oft-times conquered hosts twice as mighty as itself, led by greatest warriors of the world? Strength lieth not in numbers, nor in big warriors or little, but in the hearts and minds of men. ”

“ O king Penda, sore have we wrought against Sigmund and his kin, and many men of his have we slain, little boots it to slay this boy or the faithful thanes who fought for him, in cold blood. Right well they wrought and soldierly against thy thanes, but an unsoldierly death wouldst thou deal to them; oh, never will the light of day seem fair to thy captain Feargus if the blood of these warriors stains the sword of his king. ”

“ When the cry of fire had been first raised, Pentaur was sitting in earnest conversation with the high-priest; he had learned that he was not the son of a gardener, but a descendant of one of the noblest families in the land. The foundations of life seemed to be subverted under his feet, Ameni’s revelation lifted him out of the dust and set him on the marble floor of a palace; and yet Pentaur was neither excessively surprised nor inordinately rejoiced; he was so well used to find his joys and sufferings depend on the man within him, and not on the circumstances without. ”

“ Surely your king would little admire ye.”
“Hath he not slain our prince? right angry will be the king. Not one of us dare face him without this man’s head, stark though he be, for he is son to king Nechtan and it must be he who was Penda’s captain.”
“Then no hand will we have in this unknightly work; but we bid ye desist, or an ye do not we will join with Feargus, and what could we not do under so mighty a leader?” ”

“ The old man cried out at the blow, and at the cry—the paraschites stricken down with stones—his own struggle with the mob—and the appearance of Bent Anat flashed into Pentaur’s memory. Pity and a sense of his own healthy vigor prompted him to energy; he hastily snatched the sack from the shoulders of the old man, threw it over his own, helped up the fallen wretch, and finally men and beasts succeeded in mounting the rocky wall. ”

“ But Pentheus stood fixed in his purpose. He no longer sent messengers, but went himself to where Cithaeron, the chosen seat for the god's sacred rites, was resounding with songs and the shrill cries of worshippers. As a spirited horse snorts when the brazen trumpet with tuneful voice sounds out the battle and his eagerness for the fray waxes hot, so did the air, pulsing with the long-drawn cries, stir Pentheus, and the wild uproar in his ears heated his wrath white-hot. ”

“ Penda’s men are only taught to go right forward.”
“That shows how foolish men are; hide then thy sword that they may take thee for a peaceful minstrel, and I, thy lady.”
And so, guiding their horses aside behind the boll of a great tree, they waited until two horsemen appeared; at sight of them Feargus started. “Torfrida,” said he, “we are indeed lost—it is Osbert and Edgar; behind ride their men doubtless. Caught with the daughter of an enemy, sweetest, none will believe we are not plotting Penda’s downfall, and Osbert will take heed that none shall believe.” ”

“ So Feargus turned him towards the hall where the king sat; there he found Penda, white with rage, fiercely pacing the floor. At his side was Osbert, who, as he turned and saw Feargus, started violently, for his name had been at that moment on his lips.
“Call in thy messengers, king Penda,” said Feargus, “for vainly they seek Edwy Sigmundsson; he is away, and he who set him free and broke thy stable for beasts to carry him and his thanes stands before thee.” ”

“ Then said one to his fellows, “This must indeed be Feargus, king Penda’s captain, for [217] never saw I man so giant-like or of so great strength and hardihood. All that man can do hath he done; shameful and unknightly of us were it to see him, our kin, who is in his right, destroyed.” Then many of the others agreed, though they were loth to join the fray, fearing for their own lands. But he who had spoken first, one Llewellin of the Gwynedd tribe of Britons whose lands had stretched up into the Lothians, stepped to the leader of the Northumbrians and for a moment the fight ceased. ”

“ The disciples cling to Pentaur, and have committed a folly for his sake, and you met the princess Bent-Anat with him in the temple of Hatasu, to which he had admitted a woman of low rank before she had been purified. These are grave matters, and must be seriously considered, but not to-day. Make yourself easy; Pentaur will not escape punishment; but for to-day we must recall him to this temple, for we have need of him to-morrow for the solemnity of the feast of the valley. No one shall meet him as an enemy till he is condemned ”

“ Doth the conqueror of Edwin, and Oswald, and Sigeberht, and Ceanwealh, and Sigmund need the blood of a boy who hath only once wielded war brand?”
“I have spoken,” said the king; “thou art over bold.”
[27]
Then said Feargus again, “Call me not so, king Penda; never canst thou mean that this boy must die and no greater thing against him than that he was ready to stand up fighting to the last, as though he had been in full manhood.” ”

“ Then Duncan went once more to Penda and said—
“Now, king, we come from our chief, the noble Feargus, than whom thou hast no more faithful soldier, to pray thee to set free the lady Torfrida, his true love, who now lieth sick; for she hath been bred in the halls of kings and not in dungeons, and in the darkness fadeth. Ill hast thou requited our chief for all he hath wrought for thee, and us his clansmen, who have wielded war brands for thee. Thy manner of treating thy warriors is little like to that of the noble chiefs of our land, king Brude and king Nechtan.” ”

“ Then was the heather blood bedewed, and the golden broom turned to red, and ever the Picts and Welsh pushed on and the men of Sigmund held back, till at last they were driven over the cliffs, and Feargus sent the Welsh after them down the bank, they being lightest of foot. And they beat them down towards the plain below where was king Sigmund. And the arrows of the Mercians darkened the very lift, and Penda himself had now moved on against the king, and when he beheld him Sigmund was adread, and his warriors stood still; for all men went in fear of Penda. ”

“ Pentaur half beseechingly and half in fun raised his eyes which he had kept cast down. "And Pentaur," he murmured, "the gardener's son! who is to refuse absolution to the king's daughter!"
"Pentaur, the minister of the Gods—Pentaur, the priest—has not to do with the daughter of the king, but with the transgressor of the sacred institutions," replied Ameni gravely. "Let Paaker know I wish to speak with him."
The poet bowed low and quitted the room, the high priest muttered to himself: "He is not yet what he should be, and speech is of no effect with him." ”

“ Egypt?"
"The stone in no way. But," said the sage, now impatient, "I will say this to thee, and do Thou remember it: the time will come when horses and oxen will take the place of people in labor, and also when boiling water will take the place of horses and oxen."
"But what good will that do the people?" insisted Pentuer.
"Woe is me!" exclaimed Menes, seizing his head. "I know not whether it is because Thou hast grown old, or dull; 'the people' have hidden the whole world from thee and darkened thy mind. ”

“ Undeserved praise is dangerous to the weak; unjust blame may turn even the strong from the right way. Pentaur indignantly repelled the accusations of the old man, called them unworthy of his age, his position, and his name, and for fear that his anger might carry him too far, turned his back upon him; but the haruspex ordered him to remain, and in his presence questioned the priests, who unanimously accused the poet of having admitted to the temple another unpurified woman besides Bent-Anat, and of having expelled the gate-keeper and thrown him into prison for opposing the crime. ”

“ Pendé was a younger brother of King Obindji, and was himself the chief of a village. Pendé was disliked by every body. The fearful accusation which the Bakalais brought against him was this. Pendé was said to have stolen the bones of dead persons in the forest and to have made a fetich with them, which fetich was to keep trade away from a particular village. Pendé was an aniemba (a wizard) ; for who ever heard of men who went and stole human bones and kept them, that were not sorcerers? Pendé’s ways were strange and mysterious. People could not understand them, and he must be killed. ”

“ And so the ring grew smaller, and as one fell another took his place, then the king turned.
“Now,” said he, “cometh death, and I shall die in the best company that ever I was in, for never men fought better than have ye, English or Welshmen, and ye Albanich, but it little likes me to be caught thus in a trap, a target for unseen foes, our bowmen having fled. Penda liketh to hear the ring of his blows on the helmets of Northumbrians; let this be his death song, [72] therefore. Few though we be, let us charge the host of king Oswy and die dealing death.” ”

“ Half angry at Duncan and half merry at his boldness, Penda said, “Thy master hath in thee a saucy servant; in sooth thou art fitter to deal blows than to deliver messages.”
Then he turned to Osbert and Edgar and together they spoke, and the king was for freeing Torfrida, but Osbert counselled the king, and he said, “Go back to the chief and tell him that Torfrida shall go free to her father’s land with many to keep her in safety, but only if he swears to hold no tryst with her, nor seek, nor see, nor speak with her more for ever.” ”

“ Then the Welsh king, seeing what a mighty man was Penda, joined hands with him, and together they brought the kingdom of Wessex to their feet. So everywhere the Mercians had the victory. Then, at length, king Edwin lifted his war brand [3] and gathered together a mighty host and went to meet the Mercians, but in a great fight Penda overthrew the Northumbrians, and Edwin himself was slain. So the power of Northumbria waned, until its new king, Oswald, roused himself, and went forth to help the Christian East Anglians against Penda, and with him went a mighty host. ”

“ This time the king was alone, [38] save for his sons, who were good men both, and the king said—
“So my little Torfrida dwineth—so shall all the enemies of the gods; yet I am sorry that it should have come to thee, child. Thou wert ever a favourite with me, Torfrida! Penda was not wont to war with children. Set her free, good Duncan, set her free, and see to it that she lacketh nothing; and thou sayest my brave Feargus is sad—young fool—let him walk free too.”
“That will I gladly.”
“Nay, not so fast, thou saucy dog—he is strong, none stronger, a day or two will not hurt him. ”

“ So the king thanked him, and Torfrida put his thanks into the Gaelic that the [97] wild man might understand. And when she left the hall for her own bower he followed, and instead of sitting at the door she bade him enter, and then made her maidens bring water and a comb and shears. Then taking the towel she told him to kneel, saying in Gaelic: “A mighty man of thy hands art thou; surely never saw I mightier—save Penda or—; and if thou wilt, thou shalt stay and be my watch-hound for as long as I live, for right valiant and gentle withal hast thou shown thyself.” ”

“ IN the year 1666 when the Lord's persecuted and oppresed people were gathered together for their own defence who were broken at Pentland-bills, he with Mr Welch and the laird of Glorover, in the parish of Balentrea, wire riding together in the same parish, and met upon the way a small party of the enemy's horse, and no eviting of them; the Laird fainted, fearing they would all be taken. Mr Peden seeing this, said, "Keep up your courage and confidence for God hath laid an arrest upon these men, that they shall not harm us." ”

“ Here the rash Pentheus, with unhallow'd Eyes,
The howling Dames and mystick Orgies spies.
His Mother sternly view'd him where he stood,
And kindled into Madness as she view'd:
Her leafy Jav'lin at her Son she cast,
And cries, "The Boar that lays our Country waste!
"The Boar, my Sisters! Aim the fatal Dart,
"And strike the brindled Monster to the Heart,
⁠Pentheus astonish'd heard the dismal Sound,
And sees the yelling Matrons gath'ring round;
He sees, and weeps at his approaching Fate,
And begs for Mercy, and repents too late.
"Help, help! my Aunt Autonoe, he cry'd ”