Books Should Be Free Loyal Books Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads |
|
Ixion In Heaven By: Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) |
---|
![]()
By Benjamin Disraeli
ADVERTISEMENT 'IXION, King of Thessaly, famous for its horses, married
Dia, daughter of Deioneus, who, in consequence of his son
in law's non fulfilment of his engagements, stole away some
of the monarch's steeds. Ixion concealed his resentment
under the mask of friendship. He invited his father in law
to a feast at Larissa, the capital of his kingdom; and when
Deioneus arrived according to his appointment, he threw him
into a pit which he had previously filled with burning
coals. This treachery so irritated the neighbouring princes,
that all of them refused to perform the usual ceremony, by
which a man was then purified of murder, and Ixion was
shunned and despised by all mankind. Jupiter had compassion
upon him, carried him to Heaven, and introduced him to the
Father of the Gods. Such a favour, which ought to have
awakened gratitude in Ixion, only served to inflame his bad
passions; he became enamoured of Juno, and attempted to
seduce her. Juno was willing to gratify the passion of
Ixion, though, according to others,' &c. Classical
Dictionary, art. 'Ixion.'
IXION IN HEAVEN
PART I. An Errant King THE thunder groaned, the wind howled, the rain fell in hissing torrents,
impenetrable darkness covered the earth. A blue and forky flash darted a
momentary light over the landscape. A Doric temple rose in the centre of
a small and verdant plain, surrounded on all sides by green and hanging
woods. 'Jove is my only friend,' exclaimed a wanderer, as he muffled himself up
in his mantle; 'and were it not for the porch of his temple, this night,
methinks, would complete the work of my loving wife and my dutiful
subjects.' The thunder died away, the wind sank into silence, the rain ceased, and
the parting clouds exhibited the glittering crescent of the young moon.
A sonorous and majestic voice sounded from the skies: 'Who art thou that hast no other friend than Jove?' 'One whom all
mankind unite in calling a wretch.' 'Art thou a philosopher?' 'If philosophy be endurance. But for the rest, I was sometime a king,
and am now a scatterling.' 'How do they call thee? 'Ixion of Thessaly.' 'Ixion of Thessaly! I thought he was a happy man. I heard that he was
just married.' 'Father of Gods and men! for I deem thee such, Thessaly is not Olympus.
Conjugal felicity is only the portion of the immortals!' 'Hem! What! was Dia jealous, which is common; or false, which is
commoner; or both, which is commonest?' 'It may be neither. We quarrelled about nothing. Where there is little
sympathy, or too much, the splitting of a straw is plot enough for a
domestic tragedy. I was careless, her friends stigmatised me as callous;
she cold, her friends styled her magnanimous. Public opinion was all
on her side, merely because I did not choose that the world should
interfere between me and my wife. Dia took the world's advice upon every
point, and the world decided that she always acted rightly. However,
life is life, either in a palace or a cave. I am glad you ordered it to
leave off thundering.' 'A cool dog this. And Dia left thee? 'No; I left her.' 'What, craven?' 'Not exactly. The truth is 'tis a long story. I was over head and ears in debt.' 'Ah! that accounts for everything. Nothing so harassing as a want of
money! But what lucky fellows you mortals are with your post obits!
We Immortals are deprived of this resource. I was obliged to get up a
rebellion against my father, because he kept me so short, and could not
die.' 'You could have married for money. I did.' 'I had no opportunity, there
was so little female society in those days. When I came out, there were
no heiresses except the Parcae, confirmed old maids; and no very rich
dowager, except my grandmother, old Terra.' 'Just the thing; the older the better. However, I married Dia, the
daughter of Deioneus, with a prodigious portion; but after the ceremony
the old gentleman would not fulfil his part of the contract without
my giving up my stud... Continue reading book >>
|
Genres for this book |
---|
Fiction |
Literature |
Myths/Legends |
Short stories |
eBook links |
---|
Wikipedia – Benjamin Disraeli |
Wikipedia – Ixion In Heaven |
eBook Downloads | |
---|---|
ePUB eBook • iBooks for iPhone and iPad • Nook • Sony Reader |
Kindle eBook • Mobi file format for Kindle |
Read eBook • Load eBook in browser |
Text File eBook • Computers • Windows • Mac |
Review this book |
---|