Page:The Odyssey of Homer, with the Hymns, Epigrams, and Battle of the Frogs and Mice (Buckley 1853).djvu/17

Rh considering that road the most convenient. It was there, as the Cumæans say, that he composed the epitaph of Gordius, king of Phrygia, at the request of the father and mother of the wife of that prince. It is engraven on the pillar of the monument of Gordius, where it may yet be seen.

"I am a maiden sculptured in bronze. Placed on the monument of Midas, as long as water may be seen to flow in the plains, and the trees to flower in spring; as long as the rising sun makes men to rejoice, and the moon, by the brilliancy of her light, dissipates the darkness of the night; as long as the rivers flow rapidly along between their banks, and the ocean covers the shore with its waves, I shall be continually seen reposing on this sad tomb, announcing to the passengers that Midas lies here interred."

When Melesigenes arrived at Cumæ, he frequented the assemblies of the elders, and there recited his verses. Admiring their beautiful structure, they fell into an ecstasy of delight. Joyful at the reception his poems had prepared for him among the Cumæans, and at the pleasure with which they had heard him, he one day proposed to them, that if the state would maintain him, he would make the city of Cumæ very celebrated. His hearers approved of the proposition, and engaged him to present himself before the council, where they would support him with all their interest. Melesigenes, encouraged by their approbation, presented himself at the House of Assembly on an audience day, and addressing the person who had the office of presenting those who had any request to prefer, he begged to be allowed to enter. This officer did not neglect to present him the first opportunity that offered. Melesigenes, as soon as that ceremony was over, addressed the assembly regarding the proposition he had formerly made. His speech ended, he retired, in order that