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Andromeda
—Charles Kingsley
8 of 11
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‘Yon is the |foe, then? A |beast of the |sea? I had |deemed him im|mortal
Titan, or |Proteus’ |self; or |Nereus, |foeman of |sailors:
Yet would I |fight with them |all, but |Poseidon, |shaker of |mountains,
Uncle of |mine, whom I |fear, as is |fit; for he |haunts on O|lympus,
Holding the |third of the |world; and the |gods all rise |at his coming.
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Unto none |else will I |yield, god-|helped: how |then to a |monster
Child of the |earth and of |night, un|reasoning, |shapeless, |accursed?’
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‘Art thou, |too, then a |god?’ ‘No |god I,’ |smiling he |answered,
‘Mortal as |thou, yet di|vine: but |mortal the |herds of the |ocean,
Equal to |men in that |only, and |less in all |else; for they |nourish
Blindly the |life of the |lips, un|taught by the |gods, without |wisdom:
Shame if I |fled before |such!’ In her |heart new |life was en|kindled,
Worship and |trust, fair |parents of |love: but she |answered him |sighing.
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‘Beautiful, |why wilt thou |die? Is the |light of the |sun, then, so |worthless,
Worthless to |sport with thy |fellows in |flowery |glades of the |forest,
Under the |broad green |oaks, where |never a|gain shall I |wander,
Tossing the |ball with my |maidens, or |wreathing the |altar in |garlands,
Careless, with |dances and |songs, till the |glens rang |loud to our |laughter.
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Too full of |death the great |earth is al|ready; the |balls full of |weepers,
Quarried by |tombs all |cliffs, and the |bones gleam |white on the |sea-floor
Numberless, |gnawn by the |herds who at|tend on the |pitiless |sea-gods,
Even as |mine will be |soon: and yet |noble it |seems to me, |dying,
Giving my |life for the |many, to |save to the |arms of their |lovers
Maidens and |youths for a|while: thee, |fairest of |all, shall I |slay thee?
Add not thy |bones to the |many, thus |angering |idly the |dread ones!
Either the |monster will |crush, or the |sea-queen’s |self over|whelm thee,
Vengeful, in |tempest and |foam, and the |thundering |walls of the |surges. .
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Why wilt thou |follow me |down? can we |love in the |black blank |darkness?
Love in the |realms of the |dead, in the |land where |all is for|gotten?
Why wilt thou |follow me |down? is it |joy, on the |desolate |oozes,
Meagre to |flit, grey |ghosts in the |depths of the |grey salt |water?
Beautiful! |why wilt thou |die, and de|fraud fair |girls of thy |manhood?
Surely one |waits for thee |longing, a|far in the |isles of the |ocean.
Go thy |way; I |mine; for the |gods grudge |pleasure to |mortals.’
Sobbing she |ended her |moan, as her |neck, like a |storm-bent |lily,
Drooped with the |weight of her |woe, and her |limbs sank, |weary with |watching,
Soft on the |hard-ledged |rock: but the |boy, with his |eye on the |monster,
Clasped her, and |stood, like a |god; and his |lips curved |proud as he |answered—
‘Great are the |pitiless |sea-gods: but |greater the |Lord of O|lympus;
Greater the |Ægis-|wielder, and |greater is |she who a|ttends him.
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Clear-eyed |Justice, her |name is, the |counseller, |loved of A|thené;
Helper of |heroes, who |dare, in the |god-given |might of their |manhood
Greatly to |do and to |suffer, and |far in the |fens and the |forests
Smite the de|vourers of |men, Heaven-|hated, |brood of the |giants,
Twyformed, |Strange, without |like, who o|bey not the |golden-haired |Rulers.
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Vainly re|belling they |rage, till they |die by the |swords of the |heroes,
Even as |this must |die; for I |burn with the |wrath of my |father,
Wandering, |led by A|thené; and |dare whatso|ever be|tides me.
Led by A|thené I |won from the |grey-haired |terrible |sisters
Secrets |hidden from |men, when I |found them a|sleep on the |sand-hills,
Keeping their |eye and their |tooth, till they |showed me the |perilous |pathway
Over the |waterless |ocean, the |valley that |led to the |Gorgon.
Her too I |slew in my |craft, Med|usa, the |beautiful |horror;
Taught by A|thené I |slew her, and |saw not her|self, but her |image,
Watching the |mirror of |brass, in the |shield which a |goddess had |lent me;
Cleaving her |brass-scaled |throat, as she |lay with her |adders a|round her,
Fearless I |bore off her |head, in the |folds of the |mystical |goat-skin,
Hide of A|malthei|é, fair |nurse of the |ægis-|wielder.
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Hither I |bear it, a |gift to the |gods, and a |death to my |foemen,
Freezing the |seer to |stone; so |hide thine |eyes from the |horror.
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Kiss me but |once, and I |go.’ Then |lifting her |neck, like a |seabird
Peering up |over the |wave, from the |foam-white |swells of her |bosom,
Blushing she |kissed him: a|far on the |topmost I|dalian |summit
Laughed in the |joy of her |heart, far-|seeing, the |queen Aphro|dite.
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Loosing his |arms from her |waist he flew |upward, a|waiting the |sea-beast.