O Bacchus, for thy sake have I endured Unnumbered toils, both at the present hour, And when these nerves by vigorous youth were strung: By Juno first with wild distraction fired, Thou didst forsake the mountain nymphs whose care Nurtured thy infancy. Next in that war With the gigantic progeny of earth, Stationed beside thee to sustain thy shield, Piercing the buckler of Enceladus, I slew him with my lance. Is this a dream? By Jove it is not: for I showed his spoils To Bacchus, and the labours I endure At present, are so great that they exceed E’en those. For since ’gainst thee Saturnia roused, To bear thee far away, Etruria’s race Of impious pirates, I soon caught th’ alarm, And sailed in quest of thee with all my children: Myself the stern ascended, to direct The rudder, and each satyr plied an oar Till ocean’s azure surface with white foam Was covered; thee, O mighty King, they sought. Near Malea’s harbour as the vessel rode, An eastern blast arose, and to this rock Of Ætna, drove us, where the sons of Neptune, The one-eyed Cyclops, drenched with human gore, Inhabit desert caves; by one of these Were we made captives, and beneath his roof To slavery are reduced. Our master’s name Is Polypheme; instead of Bacchus’ orgies We tend the flocks of an accursed Cyclops. My blooming sons, on yonder distant cliffs, Feed the young lambs; while I at home am stationed The goblet to replenish, and to scrape The rugged floor; to this unholy lord, A minister of impious festivals: And now must I perform the task assigned Of cleansing with this rake the filthy ground, So shall the cave be fit for his reception, When with his flocks my absent lord returns. But I already see my sons approach, Their fleecy charge conducting. Ha! what means This uproar? would ye now renew the dance Of the Sicinnides, as when ye formed The train of amorous Bacchus, and assembled, Charmed by the lute, before Althæa’s gate?

Silenus Monologue from Hecuba

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