pair of coursers, born of heav'nly breed, Who from their nostrils breathed ethereal fire; Whom Circe stole from her celestial sire, By substituting mares produced on earth, Whose wombs conceived a more than mortal birth. Dryden's Virgil, vii. 386, sqq. 147 The belief in the existence of men of larger stature in earlier times, is by no means confined to Homer. 148 --_Such stream, i.e._ the _ichor,_ or blood of the gods. "A stream of nect'rous humour issuing flow'd, Sanguine, such as celestial spirits may bleed." "Paradise Lost," vi. 339. 149 This was during the wars with the Titans. 150 --_Amphitryon's son,_ Hercules, born to Jove by Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon. 151 --_Ćgiale_ daughter of Adrastus. The Cyclic poets (See Anthon's Lempriere, _s. v._) assert Venus incited her to infidelity, in revenge for the wound she had received from her husband. 152 --_Pherae,_ a town of Pelasgiotis, in Thessaly. 153 --_Tlepolemus,_ son of Hercules and Astyochia. Having left his native country, Argos, in consequence of the accidental murder of Liscymnius, he was commanded by an oracle to retire to Rhodes. Here he was chosen king, and accompanied the Trojan expedition. After his death, certain games were instituted at Rhodes in his honour, the victors being rewarded with crowns of poplar. 154 These heroes' names have since passed into a kind of proverb, designating the _oi polloi_ or mob. 155 --_Spontaneous open._ "Veil'd with his gorgeous wings, upspringing light Flew through the midst of heaven; th' angelic quires, On each hand parting, to his speed gave way Through all th' empyreal road; till at the gate Of heaven arrived, the gate self-open'd wide, On golden hinges turning."