925

Then he turned, and went back limping and weary, feeling his way down by the clew of thread, till he came to the mouth of that doleful place; and saw waiting for him, whom but Ariadne!

And he whispered, "It is done!" and showed her the sword; and she laid her finger on her lips, and led him to the prison, and 930 opened the doors, and set all the prisoners free, while the guards lay sleeping heavily; for she had silenced them with wine.

Then they fled to their ship together, and leapt on board, and hoisted up the sail; and the night lay dark around them, so that they passed through Minos's ships, and escaped all safe to Naxos; 935 and there Ariadne became Theseus's wife.

GLOSSARY. Cnossus; Ida; Zeus; Ægean; Perdix; Icarus; Cocalus; Selinus; Etna; Memphis; Britomartis; Ariadne; Sardinia; Iolaus; Naxos. STUDY. What kind of king was Minos? What is meant by saying, “his ships were as many as the sea gulls"? Tell what you learn of Dædalus and his relatives. Why was he "unlovely and accursed of men"? What was the Minotaur? What boon did Theseus ask of Minos? Why did Minos hesitate? Explain why Ariadne became so interested in Theseus. What did she do to help him? Give an account of the adventures of Theseus in the labyrinth and of his escape.

IV. HOW THESEUS FELL BY HIS PRIDE

But that fair Ariadne never came to Athens with her husband. Some say that Theseus left her sleeping on Naxos among the Cyclades; and that Dionysus the wine king found her, and took her up into the sky, as you shall see some day in a painting of old 940 Titian's, one of the most glorious pictures upon earth. And some say that Dionysus drove away Theseus, and took Ariadne from him by force: but however that may be, in his haste or in his grief, Theseus forgot to put up the white sail. Now Egeus his father sat and watched on Sunium day after day, and strained 945 his old eyes across the sea, to see the ship afar. And when he saw

the black sail, and not the white one, he gave up Theseus for dead, and in his grief he fell into the sea, and died; so it is called the Ægean to this day.

And now Theseus was king of Athens, and he guarded it and 950 ruled it well.

For he killed the bull of Marathon, which had killed Androgeos, Minos's son; and he drove back the famous Amazons, the warlike women of the East, when they came from Asia, and conquered all Hellas, and broke into Athens itself. But Theseus 955 stopped them there, and conquered them, and took Hippolyte their queen to be his wife. Then he went out to fight against the Lapithæ, and Peirithoüs their famous king: but when the two heroes came face to face they loved each other, and embraced, and became noble friends; so that the friendship of Theseus and 960 Peirithoüs is a proverb even now. And he gathered (so the Athenians say) all the boroughs of the land together, and knit them into one strong people, while before they were all parted and weak: and many another wise thing he did, so that his people honored him after he was dead, for many a hundred years, as the 965 father of their freedom and their laws. And six hundred years after his death in the famous fight at Marathon, men said that they saw the ghost of Theseus, with his mighty brazen club, fighting in the van of battle against the invading Persians, for the country which he loved. And twenty years after Marathon, his 970 bones (they say) were found in Scyros, an isle beyond the sea; and they were bigger than the bones of mortal man. So the Athenians brought them home in triumph; and all the people came out to welcome them; and they built over them a noble temple, and adorned it with sculptures and paintings, in which 975 were told all the noble deeds of Theseus, and the Centaurs, and the Lapithæ, and the Amazons; and the ruins of it are standing still.

980 man.

But why did they find his bones in Scyros? Why did he not die in peace at Athens, and sleep by his father's side? Because, after his triumph he grew proud, and broke the laws of God and And one thing worst of all he did, which brought him to his grave with sorrow. For he went down (they say beneath the earth) with that bold Peirithoüs his friend, to help him to carry off Persephone, the queen of the world below. But Peirithous

was killed miserably, in the dark fire-kingdoms under ground; and Theseus was chained to a rock in everlasting pain. And 985 there he sat for years, till Heracles the mighty came down to bring up the three-headed dog who sits at Pluto's gate. So Heracles loosed him from his chain, and brought him up to the light once

more.

But when he came back his people had forgotten him, and 990 Castor and Polydeuces, the sons of the wondrous Swan, had invaded his land, and carried off his mother Æthra for a slave, in revenge for a grievous wrong.

So the fair land of Athens was wasted, and another king ruled in it, who drove out Theseus shamefully, and he fled across the 995 sea to Scyros. And there he lived in sadness, in the house of Lycomedes the king, till Lycomedes killed him by treachery, and there was an end of all his labors.

So it is still, my children, and so it will be to the end. In those old Greeks, and in us also, all strength and virtue come 1000 from God. But if men grow proud and self-willed, and misuse God's fair gifts, He lets them go their own ways, and fall pitifully, that the glory may be His alone. God help us all, and give us wisdom, and courage to do noble deeds! but God keep pride from us when we have done them, lest we fall, and come to shame! GLOSSARY. Cyclades; Dionysus; Titian; Amazons; Hellas; Hippolyte; Lapithæ; Peirithoüs; Scyros; Persephone; three-headed dog; Pluto; Castor; Polydeuces; Lycomedes.

STUDY. What became of Ariadne? How did Egeus die? What kind of king did Theseus make? Make a list of the important and wise things told about him as king. What legends are there of things that happened after his death? Explain how pride brought about the fall of Theseus. Review in your mind all the deeds of Theseus, and tell whether they grew out of a desire to help mankind or to gain favor and high place for himself. When about to engage in one of his tasks did Theseus ever receive any encouragement, or only warnings of a discouraging nature? How do you account for this fact? Finally, what do you think are the main qualities of a hero? Does it require special opportunity to be a hero?

1005

A PRAYER

MAX EHRMAN

Let me do my work each day; and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me, may I not forget the strength that comforted me in the desolation of other times. May I still remember the bright hours that found me walking over the silent hills of my childhood, or dreaming on the margin of the quiet river, when a light glowed within me, and I promised my early God to have courage amid the tempests of the changing years. Spare me from bitterness and from the sharp passions of unguarded moments. May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though 10 the world know me not, may my thoughts and actions be such as shall keep me friendly with myself. Lift my eyes from the earth, and let me not forget the uses of the stars. Forbid that I should judge others, lest I condemn myself. Let me not follow the clamor of the world, but walk calmly in my path. Give me a few friends 15 who will love me for what I am; and keep ever burning before my vagrant steps the kindly light of hope. And though age and infirmity overtake me, and I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams, teach me still to be thankful for life, and for time's olden memories that are good and sweet; and may the evening's 20 twilight find me gentle still.

STUDY. Does this prayer seem to appeal for the things in life which you would like to have true of yourself? If so, make it your own, and as you repeat it over and over you may realize something of the truth that what we long for, that we become. Many of the selections you have

read give illustrations of individuals who possess, or at least strive to possess, the elements of character mentioned.