The distinguished honour which the ancients rendered to Orpheus, appears to
have been an homage paid by the refinement of the age to music and poetry,
of which he was so distinguished an ornament. He was the son of Oeager by
the muse Calliope, though some assert him to have been the son of Apollo,
because the god, owing to the genius he showed for music, presented him
with a lyre, to the improvement of which Orpheus added two cords,--and upon
which he played with so masterly a hand, that the river in its rapid
current ceased to flow, the wild beasts of the forest forgot their nature,
and gazed on him in mute admiration, while the very rocks moved towards him
to express their joy.
"The rocks re-echo shrill, the beasts of forest wild
Stand at the cavern's mouth, in listening trance beguiled.
The birds surround the den, and, as in weary rest,
They drop their fluttering wings, forgetful of the rest,
Amazed the Centaur saw; his clapping hands he beat,
And stamped in ecstacy the rock with hoofed and horny feet."
But though this beautiful art was his master passion, he did not forget the
charms of theology and philosophy, in both of which he was a proficient,
and in Egypt, to which place he made a voyage, he was admitted to the
sacred mysteries of Isis and Osiris. On his return he was the originator of
many changes in the religious ceremonials of his country, and was received
as the minister and interpreter of the will of the gods.
Nature itself seemed charmed and animated by his presence, and the nymphs
made his company their chief desire. It was not long before the winged
deity pierced him with his arrows, and Orpheus loved the nymph Eurydice,
the only one whose charms touched the melodious musician; with her his
happiness was made perfect by an union, at which Hymen presided.
This happiness, however, was not destined to last very long, for Aristaeus
became enamoured of the musician's bride, and with all the violence of an
illicit passion, sought to win her from the bridegroom's affections.
Eurydice resisted and fled; but as she fled from him, a serpent stung her
with so deadly a bite, that she died on the field. {208}
Deep was the despair felt by Orpheus at his unexpected loss, and the daring
determination was formed by him to recover her, or perish in the attempt.
[Illustration]
"His own despair the very stones admire
And rolling follow his melodious lyre,
He forced the heart of hardest oak to groan,
And made fierce tigers leave their rage and moan."
With his resistless lyre in his hands, he crossed the Styx, penetrated into
the infernal regions, and gained admission to the presence of Pluto! Here
the power of his genius was yet more eminently exhibited; for even the
tortures of Hell gave way to it.
"At his powerful song the very seats
Of Erebus were moved; the retreats
Of all the ghosts were opened, and they swarm
Like bees in clusters, when the sun grows warm!"
Not only was the god of the infernal regions delighted, but the very wheel
of Ixion paused; the stone of Sisyphus rested, as they listened to its
sounds: the cooling water reached Tantalus' burning mouth, and even the
Furies relented.
"Already had he passed the courts of Death,
And charmed with sacred verse the powers beneath;
While Hell with silent admiration hung,
On the soft music of his harp and tongue;
No longer Tantalus essayed to sip
The springs that fled from his deluded lip;
Their urn the fifty maids no longer fill,
Ixion leant and listened on his wheel,
And Sysiphus' stone for once stood still;
The ravenous vulture had forsook his meal,
And Titius felt his growing liver heal;
Relenting fiends to torture souls forbore,
And Furies wept who never wept before.
{209}
All Hell in harmony was heard to move,
With equal sweetness as the spheres above.
The wondrous numbers softened all beneath
Hell, and the inmost flinty seats of death:
Snakes round the Furies heads did upward rear,
And seemed to listen to the pleasing air,
While fiery Styx in milder streams did roll,
And Cerberus gaped, but yet forbore to howl,
No longer was the charming prayer denied,
All Hell consented to release his bride."