ODES OF ANACREON.

ODE I.*

I saw the smiling bard of pleasure,
The minstrel of the Teian measure;
"Twas in a vision of the night,

He beam'd upon my wondering sight;
I heard his voice, and warmly press'd
The dear enthusiast to my breast.
His tresses wore a silvery die,
But beauty sparkled in his eye; .
Sparkled in his eyes of fire,
Through the mist of soft desire.

*This ode is the first of the series in the Vatican manuscript, which attributes it to no other poet than Anacreon. They who assert that the manuscript imputes it to Basilius, have been misled by the words T8 auty Baordinws in the margin, which are merely intended as a title to the following ode. Whether it be the production of Anacreon or not, it has all the features of ancient simplicity, and is a beautiful imitation of the poet's happiest manner.

Sparkled in his eyes of fire,

"How could he know

Through the mist of soft desire.] at the first look (says Baxter) that the poet was

His lip exhaled, whene'er he sigh'd,
The fragrance of the racy tide;
And, as with weak and reeling feet,
He came my cordial kiss to meet,
An infant of the Cyprian band
Guided him on with tender hand.

Quick from his glowing brows he drew

His braid, of many a wanton hue;

I took the braid of wanton twine,

It breathed of him and blush'd with wine!

There are surely many tell-tales of this propensity; and the following are the indices, which the physiognomist gives, describing a disposition perhaps not unlike that of Anacreon: Οφθαλμοι κλυζομενοι, κυμαινοντες εν αυτοις, εις αφροδισια και ευπαθείαν επτοηνται. ὅτε δε αδικοι, ὅτε κακέργοι, ὅτε φυσεως φαύλης, ετε αμέσοι.-Adamantius. “ The eyes that are humid and fluctuating show a propensity to pleasure and love; they bespeak too a mind of integrity and beneficence, a generosity of disposition, and a genius for poetry."

Baptista Porta tells us some strange opinions of the ancient physiognomists on this subject, their reasons for which were curious, and perhaps not altogether fanciful. Vide Physiognom. Johan. Baptist. Porta.

I took the braid of wanton twine,

It breathed of him, etc.] Philostratus has the same thought in one of his Eparina, where he speaks of the garland which he had sent to his mistress. Ει δε βάλει τι φιλώ χαρι ζεσθαι, τα λειψανα αντιπέμψον, μηκετι πνεοντα ροδων "If thou art inclined to gratify thy lover, send him back the remains of the garland, no longer breathing of roses only, but of thee!" Which pretty con

μόνον αλλα και σε.

I hung it o'er my thoughtless brow,
And ah! I feel its magic now!

I feel that even his garland's touch

Can make the bosom love too much!

ceit is borrowed (as the author of the Observer remarks) in a well-known little song of Ben Jonson's :

"But thou thereon didst only breathe,

And sent it back to me;

Since when, it looks and smells, I swear,

Not of itself, but thee!"

And ah! I feel its magic now!] This idea, as Longepierre remarks, is in an epigram of the seventh book of the Anthologia.

Εξοτε μοι πινοντι συνεταὅσα Χαρικλώ
Λαθρη τις ίδιες αμφέβαλε σεφανες,
Πυρ ολοον δαπτει με.

While I unconscious quaff'd my wine,
'Twas then thy fingers slyly stole
Upon my brow that wreath of thine,
Which since has madden'd all my soul!

ODE II.

GIVE me the harp of epic song,
Which Homer's finger thrill'd along;
But tear away the sanguine string,
For war is not the theme I sing.
Proclaim the laws of festal rite,
I'm monarch of the board to-night;
And all around shall brim as high,
And quaff the tide as deep as I!
And when the cluster's mellowing dews
Their warm, enchanting balm infuse,
Our feet shall catch the elastic bound,
And reel us through the dance's round.
Oh Bacchus! we shall sing to thee,
In wild but sweet ebriety!

And flash around such sparks of thought,
As Bacchus could alone have taught!

Proclaim the laws of festal rite.] The ancients prescribed certain laws of drinking at their festivals, for an account of which see the commentators. Anacreon here acts the symposiarch, or master of the festival. I have translated according to those who consider κυπελλα θεσμών as an inversion of θεσμός κυπελλων.