After the creation of the Fauns and Sylvans by the poets, the imagination
of the latter invented the Centaur, a monster, of which the superior part
was that of a man, and the remainder that of the horse.
[Illustration]
Lycus, a mortal, being detained by Circe in her magical dominion, was
beloved by a water-nymph who desired to render him immortal; she had
recourse to the sorceress, and Circe gave her an incantation to pronounce.
As Lycus walked sorrowfully in the enchanted place, astonished at the many
wondrous things which met his eye, he beheld
------"The realized nymph of the stream,
Rising up from the wave, with the bend and the gleam
Of a fountain, and o'er her white arms she kept throwing
Bright torrents of hair, that went flowing and flowing
In falls to her feet, and the blue waters rolled
Down her limbs like a garment, in many a fold."