PENTHEUS.  I happened to be at a distance from this land, and I hear of strange evils in this city, that the women have left our palace in mad-wandering Bacchic rites; and that they are rushing about in the shady mountains, honoring with dances this new God Bacchus, whoever he is; and that full goblets stand in the middle of their assemblies, and that flying each different ways into secrecy, they yield to the embraces of men, on pretence, indeed, as [being] worshiping Maenads; but that they consider Venus before Bacchus.  As many then as I have taken, the servants keep them bound as to their hands in the public strong-holds, and as many as are absent I will hunt from the mountain, Ino, and Agave who bore me to Echion, and the mother of Actaeon, I mean Autonoe; and having bound them in iron fetters, I will soon stop them from this ill-working revelry.  And they say that some stranger has come hither, a juggler, a charmer, from the Lydian land, fragrant in hair with golden curls, florid, having in his eyes the graces of Venus, who days and nights is with them, alluring the young maidens with Bacchic mysteries—­but if I catch him under this roof, I will stop him from making a noise with the thyrsus, and waving his hair, by cutting off his neck from his body.  He says he is the God Bacchus, [He was once on a time sown in the thigh of Jove,[15] ] who was burned in the flame of lightning, together with his mother, because she falsely claimed nuptials with Jove.  Are not these things deserving of a terrible halter, for a stranger to insult us with these insults, whoever he be?  But here is another marvel—­I see Tiresias the soothsayer, in dappled deer-skins, and the father of my mother, most great absurdity, raging about with a thyrsus—­I deprecate it, O father, seeing your old age destitute of sense; will you not dash away the ivy?[16] will you not, O father of my mother, put down your hand empty of the thyrsus?  Have you persuaded him to this, O Tiresias? do you wish, introducing this new God among men, to examine birds and to receive rewards for fiery omens?  If your hoary old age did not defend you, you should sit as a prisoner in the midst of the Bacchae, for introducing these wicked rites; for where the joy of the grape-cluster is present at a feast of women, I no longer say any thing good of their mysteries.

CHOR.  Alas for his impiety!  O host, do you not reverence the Gods! and being son of Echion, do you disgrace your race and Cadmus, who sowed the earth-born crop?

TI.  When any wise man takes a good occasion for his speech, it is not a great task to speak well; but you have a rapid tongue, as if wise, but in your words there is no wisdom; but a powerful man, when bold, and able to speak, is a bad citizen if he has not sense.  And this new God, whom you ridicule, I am unable to express how great he will be in Greece.  For, O young man, two things are first among men; Ceres, the goddess, and she is the earth, call her