Book 4
'But fed his strength upon the naked earth.
1
Perished the Libyan hinds and those who came,
'Brought here in ships, until he scorned at length
'The earth that gave him strength, and on his feet
'Invincible and with unaided might
'Made all his victims. Last to Afric shores,
' Drawn by the rumour of such carnage, came
' Magnanimous Alcides, he who freed
'Both land and sea of monsters. Down on earth
'He threw his mantle of the lion's skin
' Slain in Cleone; nor Antaeus less
'Cast down the hide he wore. With shining oil,
'As one who wrestles at Olympia's feast,
'The hero rubbed his limbs: the giant feared
' Lest standing only on his parent earth
'His strength might fail; and cast o'er all his bulk
' Hot sand in handfuls. Thus with arms entwined
'And grappling hands each seizes on his foe;
'With hardened muscles straining at the neck
'Long time in vain; for firm the sinewy throat
' Stood column-like, nor yielded; so that each
' Wondered to find his peer. Nor at the first
'Divine Alcides put forth all his strength,
' By lengthy struggle wearing out his foe,
'Till chilly drops stood on Antaeus' limbs,
'And toppled to its fall the stately throat,
'And smitten by the hero's blows, the legs
' Began to totter. Breast to breast they strive
'To gain the vantage, till the victor's arms
'Gird in the giant's yielding back and sides,
'And squeeze his middle part: next 'twixt the thighs
' He puts his feet, and forcing them apart,
'Lays low the mighty monster limb by limb.
'The dry earth drank his sweat, while in his veins
'Warm ran the life-blood, and with strength refreshed,
'The muscles swelled and all the joints grew firm,
'And with his might restored, he breaks his bonds
'And rives the arms of Hercules away.
'Amazed the hero stood at such a strength.
'Not thus he feared, though then unused to war,
