"I vanquished the Cercopes, the Amazons, and the Centaurs. Many were the kings I slew. I broke the horn of the great river, Achelous. I cut the mountains asunder; I freed nations from slavery; and I peopled lands that were desolate. I travelled through the countries of Gaul; I traversed the deserts where thirst prevails. I defended the gods from their enemies; and I freed myself from Omphale. But the weight of Olympus is too great for me. My arms grow feebler:--I die!"
PLUTO. "It is thy fault, Amphytrionad;--wherefore didst thou descend into my empire?
"The vulture that gnaws the entrails of Tityus lifted its head;--the lips of Tantalus were moistened;--the wheel of Ixion stopped.
"Meanwhile the Kæres extended their claws to snatch back the escaping ghosts; the Furies tore the serpents of their locks; and Cerberus fettered by thee with a chain, sounded the death rattle in his throat, and foamed at all his three mouths.
"Thou didst leave the gate ajar; others have come. The daylight of men has entered into Tartarus!"
NEPTUNE. "My trident can no longer call up the tempests. The monsters that terrified of old, lie rotting at the bottom of the sea.
"Amphitrite whose white feet tripped lightly over the foam, the green Nereids seen afar off in the horizon, the scaly Sirens who stopped the passing vessels to tell stories, and the ancient Tritons mightily blowing upon their shells, all have passed away. All is desolate and dead; the gaiety of the great Sea is no more!"
DIANA (_clad in black and surrounded by her dogs, which have been changed into wolves_).
"The freedom of the deep forests once intoxicated me; the odours of the wild beasts and the exhalations of the marshes made me as one drank with joy. But the women whose maternity I protected, now bring dead children into the world. The moon trembles with the incantations of witches. Desires of violence, of immensity, seize me, fill me! I wish to drink poisons,--to lose myself in vapours, in dreams...!"
(_And a passing cloud carries her away._)
MARS (_unhelmed and covered with blood_).
"At first I fought alone;--singlehanded I would provoke a whole army by my insults,--caring nothing for countries or nations, demanding battle for the pleasure of carnage alone.