Page:Tragedies of Seneca (1907) Miller.djvu/314

296 Oh, may at last the impious race Of thirsty Tantalus give o'er In utter weariness its lust For savage deeds. Enough of sin! No longer does the right prevail, And wrong is general. Behold, As Myrtilus his lord betrayed, He, too, was treacherously slain; For by that selfsame broken faith Which he had shown, himself o'ercome, He fell into the sea and changed Its name for his. Amidst the ships That sail the Ionian sea, no tale Is better known. See now, while runs the little son To meet his father's kiss, he falls By that accursed sword transfixed, Untimely victim at thy hearth, And carved, O Tantalus, by thee, That so thou mightest grace the board Of friendly gods. That impious feast Eternal hunger, endless thirst Rewarded; penalty more fit For such a crime could not be found. See where, with gaping throat, forespent, Stands Tantalus; above his head Hang many luscious fruits; but, swift As Phineus' birds, they flee his grasp; On every side the tree droops low, With heavy-laden boughs, o'erweighed By its own fruit, and mockingly Sways to his straining lips. Yet he, Though with impatient longing filled, As often mocked, so often fails To grasp the prize; he turns away His longing gaze, strains close his lips, And grimly bars his hunger fast Behind his teeth. But still again