TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL'S ÆNEID

[Translated 1819–23; I 901–1043 (Virgil 657–756) printed in The Philological Museum, 1832]

It is proper to premise that the first Couplet of this Translation is adopted from Pitt;—as are likewise two Couplets in the second Book; and three or four lines, in different parts, are taken from Dryden. A few expressions will also be found, which, following the Original closely, are the same as the preceding Translators have unavoidably employed.

FIRST BOOK

1Arms, and the Man I sing, the first who bore

2His course to Latium from the Trojan shore,

3A Fugitive of Fate:—long time was He
4By Powers celestial toss'd on land and sea,
Critical Apparatus5Through wrathful Juno's far-famed enmity;

6Much, too, from war endured; till new abodes

7He planted, and in Latium fix'd his Gods;

8Whence flowed the Latin People; whence have come

9The Alban Sires, and Walls of lofty Rome.

10  Say, Muse, what Powers were wrong'd, what grievance drove

11To such extremity the Spouse of Jove,

12Labouring to wrap in perils, to astound
13With woes, a Man for piety renown'd!
14In heavenly breasts is such resentment found?

15  Right opposite the Italian Coast there stood

16An ancient City, far from Tiber's flood,

17Carthage its name; a Colony of Tyre,

18Rich, strong, and bent on war with fierce desire.

19No region, not even Samos, was so graced

20By Juno's favour; here her Arms were placed,

21Here lodged her Chariot; and unbounded scope,

22Even then, the Goddess gave to partial hope;

23Her aim (if Fate such triumph will allow)

24That to this Nation all the world shall bow.

25But Fame had told her that a Race, from Troy

26Derived, the Tyrian ramparts would destroy;

pg 28727That from this stock a People, proud in war,

28And train'd to spread dominion wide and far,

29Should come, and through her favorite Lybian State

30Spread utter ruin;—such the doom of Fate.

31In fear of this, while busy thought recalls

32The war she raised against the Trojan Walls

33For her lov'd Argos (and, with these combined,

34Work'd other causes rankling in her mind,

35The judgement given by Paris, and the slight

36Her beauty had receiv'd on Ida's height,

37Th' undying hatred which the Race had bred,

38And honours given to ravish'd Ganymed),

39Saturnian Juno far from Latium chaced

40The Trojans, tossed upon the watery waste;

41Unhappy relics of the Grecian spear

42And of the dire Achilles! Many a year

43They roam'd ere Fate's decision was fulfill'd,

44Such arduous toil it was the Roman State to build.

45  Sicilian headlands scarcely out of sight,

46They spread the canvas with a fresh delight;

47Then Juno, brooding o'er the eternal wound,

48Thus inly;—"Must I vanquish'd quit the ground

49Of my attempt? Or impotently toil

50To bar the Trojans from the Italian soil?

51For the Fates thwart me;—yet could Pallas raise

52'Mid Argive vessels a destructive blaze,

53And in the Deep plunge all, for fault of one,

54The desperate frenzy of Oïleus' Son;

55She from the clouds the bolt of Jove might cast,

56And ships and sea deliver to the blast!

57Him, flames ejecting from a bosom fraught

58With sulphurous fire, she in a whirlwind caught,

59And on a sharp rock fix'd;—but I who move

60Heaven's Queen, the Sister and the Wife of Jove,

61Wage with one Race the war I waged of yore!
62Who then, henceforth, will Juno's name adore?
63Her altars grace with gifts, her aid implore?"

64  These things revolved in fiery discontent,

65Her course the Goddess to Æolia bent,

66Country of lowering clouds, where South-winds rave;

67There Æolus, within a spacious cave

68With sovereign power controuls the struggling Winds,

69And the sonorous Storms in durance binds.

70Loud, loud the mountain murmurs as they wreak

71Their scorn upon the barriers. On a peak

pg 28872High-seated, Æolus his sceptre sways,

73Soothes their fierce temper, and their wrath allays.

74This did he not,—sea, earth, and heaven's vast deep

75Would follow them, entangled in the sweep;

76But in black caves the Sire Omnipotent

77The winds sequester'd, fearing such event;

78Heap'd over them vast mountains, and assign'd

79A Monarch, that should rule the blustering kind;

80By stedfast laws their violence restrain,

81And give, on due command, a loosen'd rein.

82As she approached, thus spake the suppliant Queen:

83"Æolus! (for the Sire of Gods and men

84On thee confers the power to tranquillise

85The troubl'd waves, or summon them to rise)

86A Race, my Foes, bears o'er the troubled Sea

87Troy and her conquer'd Gods to Italy.

88Throw power into the winds; the ships submerge,

89Or part,—and give their bodies to the surge.

90Twice seven fair Nymphs await on my command,

91All beautiful;—the fairest of the Band,

92Deïopeia, such desert to crown,

93Will I, by stedfast wedlock, make thine own;

94In everlasting fellowship with thee

95To dwell, and yield a beauteous progeny."

96  To this the God: "O Queen, declare thy will

97And be it mine the mandate to fulfill.

98To thee I owe my sceptre, and the place

99Jove's favour hath assign'd me; through thy grace

100I at the banquets of the Gods recline;

101And my whole empire is a gift of thine."

102When Æolus had ceased, his spear he bent

103  Full on the quarter where the winds were pent,

104And smote the mountain.—Forth, where way was made,

105Rush his wild Ministers; the land pervade,

106And fasten on the Deep. There Eurus, there

107Notus, and Africus unused to spare

108His tempests, work with congregated power,

109To upturn the abyss, and roll the unwieldy waves ashore.

110Clamour of Men ensues, and crash of shrouds,

111Heaven and the day by the instantaneous clouds

112Are ravish'd from the Trojans; on the floods

113Black night descends, and, palpably, there broods.

114The thundering Poles incessantly unsheath

115Their fires, and all things threaten instant death.

pg 289116  Appall'd, and with slack limbs Æneas stands;

117He groans, and heavenward lifting his clasp'd hands,

118Exclaims: "Thrice happy they who chanc'd to fall

119In front of lofty Ilium's sacred Wall,

120Their parents witnessing their end;—Oh why,

121Bravest of Greeks, Tydides, could not I

122Pour out my willing spirit through a wound

123From thy right hand received, on Trojan ground?

124Where Hector lies, subjected to the spear

125Of the invincible Achilles; where

126The great Sarpedon sleeps; and o'er the plain
127Soft Simois whirls helmet, and shield, and men,
128Throngs of the Brave in fearless combat slain!"

129  While thus he spake, the Aquilonian gale

130Smote from the front upon his driving Sail,

131And heaved the thwarted billows to the sky,

132Round the Ship labouring in extremity.

133Help from her shatter'd oars in vain she craves;

134Then veers the prow, exposing to the waves

135Her side; and lo! a surge, to mountain height

136Gathering, prepares to burst with its whole weight.

137Those hang aloft, as if in air: to these

138Earth is disclosed between the boiling seas

139Whirl'd on by Notus, three encounter shocks

140In the main sea, received from latent rocks;

141Rocks stretched in dorsal ridge of rugged frame

142On the Deep's surface; altars is the name

143By which the Italians mark them. Three the force

144Of Eurus hurries from an open course

145On straits and Shallows, dashes on the strand,

146And girds the wreck about with heaps of sand.

147Another, on which Lyeus and his Mate,

148Faithful Orontes, share a common fate,

149As his own eyes full plainly can discern,

150By a huge wave is swept from prow to stern;

151Headlong the Pilot falls; thrice whirl'd around,

152The Ship is buried in the gulph profound.

153Amid the boundless eddy a lost Few,
154Drowning, or drown'd, emerge to casual view;
155On waves which planks, and arms, and Trojan wealth bestrew.

156Over the strong-ribb'd pinnace, in which sails

157Ilioneus, the Hurricane prevails;

158Now conquers Abas, then the Ships that hold

159Valiant Achates, and Alethes old;

160The joints all loosening in their sides, they drink

161The hostile brine through many a greedy chink.

pg 290162  Meanwhile, what strife disturb'd the roaring sea,

163And for what outrages the storm was free,

164Troubling the Ocean to its inmost caves,

165Neptune perceiv'd incensed; and o'er the waves

166Forth-looking with a stedfast brow and eye

167Raised from the Deep in placid majesty,

168He saw the Trojan Gallies scatter'd wide,
169The men they bore oppress'd and terrified;
170Waters and ruinous Heaven against their peace allied.

171Nor from the Brother was conceal'd the heat

172Of Juno's anger, and each dark deceit.

173Eurus he call'd, and Zephyrus,—and the Pair,

174Who at his bidding quit the fields of air,

175He thus address'd; "Upon your Birth and Kind

176Have ye presumed with confidence so blind

177As, heedless of my Godhead, to perplex

178The Land with uproar, and the Sea to vex;

179Which by your act, O winds! thus fiercely heaves

180Whom I—but better calm the troubled waves.

181Henceforth, atonement shall not prove so slight

182For such a trespass; to your King take flight,

183And say that not to Him, but unto Me,

184Fate hath assigned this watery sovereignty;

185Mine is the Trident—his a rocky Hold,

186Thy mansion, Eurus!—vaunting uncontroll'd,

187Let Æolus there occupy his hall,

188And in that prison-house the winds enthrall!"

189  He spake; and, quicker than the word, his will

190Felt through the sea abates each tumid hill,

191Quiets the deep, and silences the shores,

192And to a cloudless heaven the sun restores.

193Cymothoe shoves, with leaning Triton's aid,

194The stranded ships—or Neptune from their bed

195With his own Trident lifts them;—then divides
196The sluggish heaps of sand—and gently glides,
197Skimming, on light smooth wheels, the level tides.

198Thus oft, when a sedition hath ensued,

199Arousing all the ignoble multitude,

200Straight through the air do stones and torches fly,

201With every missile frenzy can supply;

202Then, if a venerable Man step forth,

203Strong through acknowledged piety and worth,

204Hush'd at the sight into mute peace, all stand

205Listening, with eyes and ears at his command;

206Their minds to him are subject; and the rage

pg 291207That burns within their breasts his lenient words assuage.

208So fell the Sea's whole tumult, overawed

209Then, when the Sire, casting his eyes abroad,

210Turns under open Heaven his docile Steeds,

211And with his flowing Chariot smoothly speeds.

212  The worn-out Trojans, seeking land where'er

213The nearest coast invites, for Lybia steer.

214There is a Bay whose deep retirement hides
215The place where Nature's self a Port provides,
216Framed by a friendly island's jutting sides,

217Bulwark from which the billows of the Main

218Recoil upon themselves, spending their force in vain.

219Vast rocks are here; and, safe beneath the brows

220Of two heaven-threatening Cliffs, the Floods repose.

221Glancing aloft in bright theatric show

222Woods wave, and gloomily impend below;

223Right opposite this pomp of sylvan shade,

224Wild crags and lowering rocks a cave have made;

225Within, sweet waters gush; and all bestrown

226Is the cool floor with seats of living stone;

227Cell of the Nymphs, no chains, no anchors, here

228Bind the tired vessels, floating without fear;

229Led by Æneas, in this shelter meet

230Seven ships, the scanty relics of his Fleet;

231The Crews, athirst with longings for the land,

232Here disembark, and range the wish'd-for strand;

233Or on the sunny shore their limbs recline,

234Heavy with dropping ooze, and drench'd with brine.

235Achates, from a smitten flint, receives

236The spark upon a bed of fostering leaves;

237Dry fuel on the natural hearth he lays,

238And speedily provokes a mounting blaze.

239Then forth they bring, not utterly forlorn,

240The needful implements, and injured corn,

241Bruise it with stones, and by the aid of fire

242Prepare the nutriment their frames require.

243  Meanwhile Æneas mounts a cliff, to gain

244An unobstructed prospect of the Main;

245Happy if thence his wistful eyes may mark

246The harass'd Antheus, or some Phrygian Bark,

247Or Capys, or the guardian Sign descry

248Which, at the stem, Caïcus bears on high.

249No Sail appears in sight, nor toiling oar;

250Only he spies three Stags upon the shore;

pg 292251Behind, whole herds are following where these lead,

252And in long order through the vallies feed.

253He stops—and, with the bow, he seiz'd the store

254Of swift-wing'd arrows which Achates bore;

255And first the Leaders to his shafts have bow'd

256Their heads elate with branching horns; the Crowd

257Are stricken next; and all the affrighted Drove

258Fly in confusion to the leafy grove.

259Nor from the weapons doth his hand refrain,
260Till Seven, a Stag for every Ship, are slain,
261And. with their bulky bodies press the plain,

262Thence to the port he hies, divides the spoil;

263And deals out wine, which on Trinacria's soil,

264Acestes stored for his departing Guest;

265Then with these words he soothes each sorrowing breast.

266  "O Friends, not unacquainted with your share

267Of misery, ere doom'd these ills to bear!

268O ye, whom worse afflictions could not bend!

269Jove also hath for these prepared an end.

270The voices of dread Scylla ye have heard,

271Her belt of rabid mouths your prows have near'd;

272Ye shunn'd with peril the Cyclopian den,

273Cast off your fears, resume the hearts of men!

274Hereafter, this our present lot may be

275A cherish'd object for pleased memory.

276Through strange mishaps, through hazards manifold

277And various, we our course to Latium hold;

278There, Fate a settled habitation shows;—

279There, Trojan empire (this, too, Fate allows)

280Shall be revived. Endure; with patience wait;

281Yourselves reserving for a happier state!"

282Æneas thus, though sick with weight of care,

283Strives, by apt words their spirits to repair;

284The hope he does not feel his countenance feigns,

285And deep within he smothers his own pains.

286They seize the Quarry; for the feast prepare;

287Part use their skill the carcase to lay bare,

288Stripping from off the limbs the dappled hide;

289And Part the palpitating flesh divide;

290The portions some expose to naked fire,

291Some steep in cauldrons where the flames aspire.

292Not wanting utensils, they spread the board;

293And soon their wasted vigour is restored;

294While o'er green turf diffused, in genial mood

295They quaff the mellow wine, nor spare the forest food.

pg 293296All hunger thus appeased, they ask in thought

297For friends, with long discourses, vainly sought:

298Hope, fear, and doubt contend if yet they live,
299Or have endured the last; nor can receive
300The obsequies a duteous voice might give.

301Apart, for Lycas mourns the pious Chief;

302For Amycus is touch'd with silent grief;

303For Gyas, for Cloanthes; and the Crew

304That with Orontes perish'd in his view.

305  So finish'd their repast, while on the crown

306Of Heaven stood Jupiter; whence looking down,

307He traced the sea where winged vessels glide,

308Saw Lands, and shores, the Nations scatter'd wide;

309And, lastly, from that all-commanding Height,

310He view'd the Lybian realms with stedfast sight.

311To him, revolving mortal hopes and fears,

312Venus (her shining eyes suffused with tears)

313Thus, sorrowing, spake: "O Sire! who rul'st the way

314Of Men and Gods with thy eternal sway,

315And aw'st with thunder, what offence, unfit

316For pardon, could my much-lov'd Son commit—

317The Trojans what—thine anger to awake?

318That, after such dire loss, they for the sake

319Of Italy see all the world denied

320To their tired hopes, and nowhere may abide!

321For, that the Romans hence should draw their birth

322As years roll round, even hence, and govern earth

323With power supreme, from Teucer's Line restor'd

324Such was (O Father, why this change?) thy word.

325From this, when Troy had perish'd, for my grief

326(Fates balancing with fates) I found relief;

327Like fortune follows:—when shall thy decree

328Close, mighty King, this long adversity?

329—Antenor, from amid the Grecian hosts

330Escaped, could thrid Illyria's sinuous coasts;

331Pierce the Lybumian realms; o'erclimb the Fountain

332Of loud Timarus, whence the murmuring Mountain

333A nine-mouth'd channel to the torrent yields,

334That rolls its headlong sea, a terror to the fields.

335Yet to his Paduan seats he safely came;

336A City built, whose People bear his name;

337There hung his Trojan Arms, where now he knows

338The consummation of entire repose.

339But we, thy progeny, allow'd to boast
340Of future Heaven—betray'd,—our Navy lost—
341Through wrath of One, are driven far from the Italian coast.

pg 294342Is piety thus honour'd? Doth thy grace

343Thus in our hands the allotted sceptre place?"

344  On whom the Sire of Gods and human Kind

345Half-smiling, turn'd the look that stills the wind

346And clears the heavens; then, touching with light kiss

347His Daughter's lip, he speaks:

"Thy griefs dismiss:

348And, Cytherea, these forebodings spare;

349No wavering fates deceive the objects of thy care,

350Lavinian Walls full surely wilt thou see,

351The promised City; and, upborne by thee,

352Magnanimous Æneas yet shall range

353The starry heavens; nor doth my purpose change.

354He (since thy soul is troubled I will raise

355Things from their depths, and open Fate's dark ways)

356Shall wage dread wars in Italy, abate

357Fierce Nations, build a Town and rear a State;

358Till three revolving summers have beheld

359His Latian kingdom, the Rutulians quell'd.

360But young Ascanius (Ilus heretofore,

361Name which he held till Ilium was no more,

362Now called Iülus) while the months repeat

363Their course, and thirty annual orbs complete,

364Shall reign, and quit Lavinium to preside

365O'er Alba-longa, sternly fortified.

366Here, under Chiefs of this Hectorian Race,

367Three hundred years shall empire hold her place,

368Ere Ilia, royal Priestess, gives to earth

369From the embrace of Mars, a double birth.

370Then Romulus, the elder, proudly drest

371In tawny wolf-skin, his memorial vest,

372Mavortian Walls, his Father's Seat, shall frame,

373And from himself, the People Romans name.

374To these I give dominion that shall climb

375Uncheck'd by space, un circumscrib'd by time;

376An empire without end. Even Juno, driven

377To agitate with fear earth, sea and heaven,

378With better mind shall for the past atone:
379Prepar'd with me to cherish as her own
380The Romans, lords o'er earth, The Nation of the Gown.

381So 'tis decreed: As circling times roll on

382Phthia shall fall, Mycenae shall be won;

383Descendants of Assaracus shall reign

384O'er Argos subject to the Victor's chain.

385From a fair Stem shall Trojan Caesar rise;

pg 295386Ocean may terminate his power;—the skies

387Can be the only limit of his fame;

388A Julius he, inheriting the name

389From great Iulus. Fearless shalt thou greet

390The Ruler, when to his celestial Seat

391He shall ascend, spoil-laden from the East;

392He, too, a God to be with vows address'd.

393Then shall a rugged Age, full long defil'd

394With cruel wars, grow placable and mild;

395Then hoary Faith, and Vesta, shall delight
396To speak their laws, Quirinus shall unite
397With his twin Brother to uphold the right.

398Fast shall be closed the iron-bolted Gates

399Upon whose dreadful issues Janus waits

400Within, on high-piled Arms, and from behind

401With countless links of brazen chains confin'd

402Shall Fury sit, breathing unholy threats

403From his ensanguin'd mouth that impotently frets."

404  This utter'd, Maia's Son he sends from high

405To embolden Tyrian hospitality;

406Lest haply Dido, ignorant of fate,

407Should chase the Wanderers from her rising State.

408He through the azure region works the oars

409Of his swift wings, and lights on Lybian Shores.

410Prompt is he there his mission to fulfil;

411The Tyrians soften, yielding to Jove's will;—

412And, above all, their Queen receives a mind

413Fearless of harm, and to the Trojans kind.

414  Æneas, much revolving through the night,

415Rose with the earliest break of friendly light;

416Resolv'd to certify by instant quest

417Who rul'd the uncultur'd region—man or beast.

418Forthwith he hides, beneath a rocky cove,

419His Fleet, o'ershadow'd by the pendent grove;

420And, brandishing two javelins, quits the Bay,

421Achates sole companion of his way.

422While they were journeying thus, before him stood

423His Mother, met within a shady wood.

424The habit of a virgin did she wear;

425Her aspect suitable, her gait, and air;—

426Arm'd like a Spartan Virgin, or of mien

427Such as in Thrace Harpalyce is seen,

428Urging to weariness the fiery horse,

429Outstripping Hebrus in his headlong course.

pg 296430Light o'er her shoulders had she given the bow

431To hang; her tresses on the wind to flow;

432—A Huntress with bare knee;—a knot upbound

433The folds of that loose vest, which else had swept the ground.

434"Ho!" she exclaim'd, their words preventing, "say

435Have you not seen some Huntress here astray,

436One of my Sisters, with a quiver graced;
437Clothed by the spotted lynx, and o'er the waste
438Pressing the foaming boar, with outcry chased?"

439  Thus Venus;—thus her Son forthwith replied,

440"None of thy Sisters have we here espied,

441None have we heard:—O Virgin! in pure grace

442Teach me to name Thee; for no mortal face

443Is thine, nor bears thy voice a human sound;—

444A Goddess surely, worthy to be own'd

445By Phoebus as a Sister—or thy Line

446Is haply of the Nymphs; O Power divine

447Be thou propitious! and, whoe'er thou art,

448Lighten our labour; tell us in what part

449Of earth we roam, who these wild precincts trace,

450Ignorant alike of person and of place!

451Not as intruders come we: but were tost

452By winds and waters on this savage coast.

453Vouchsafe thy answer; victims oft shall fall

454By this right hand, while on thy name we call."

455  Then Venus;—"Offerings these which I disclaim

456The Tyrian Maids who chase the sylvan game

457Bear thus a quiver slung their necks behind,

458With purple buskins thus their ancles bind;

459Learn, Wanderers, that a Punic Realm you see.

460Tyrians the men, Agenor's progeny;

461But Lybian deem the soil; the natives are

462Haughty and fierce, intractable in war.

463Here Dido reigns; from Tyre compell'd to flee

464By an unnatural Brother's perfidy;

465Deep was the wrong; nor would it aught avail

466Should we do more than skim the doleful tale.

467Sichæus lov'd her as his wedded Mate,

468The richest Lord of the Phoenician State;

469A Virgin She, when from her Father's hands

470By love induced, she pass'd to nuptial bands;

471Unhappy Union! for to evil prone,

472Worst of bad men, her Brother held the throne;

473Dire fury came among them, and, made bold

474By that blind appetite, the thirst of gold,

pg 297475He, feeling not, or scorning what was due

476To a Wife's tender love, Sichæus slew;

477Rush'd on him unawares, and laid him low

478Before the Altar, with an impious blow.

479His arts conceal'd the crime, and gave vain scope

480In Dido's bosom to a trembling hope.

481But in a dream appear'd the unburied Man,

482Lifting a visage wondrous pale and wan;

483Urged her to instant flight, and shew'd the Ground

484Where hoards of ancient treasure might be found,

485Needful assistance. By the Vision sway'd,

486Dido looks out for fellowship and aid.

487They meet, who loathe the Tyrant, or who fear;

488And, as some well-trimm'd Ships were lying near,

489This help they seiz'd; and o'er the water fled

490With all Pygmalion's wealth;—a Woman at their head.

491The Exiles reach'd the Spot, where soon your eyes

492Shall see the Turrets of New Carthage rise;

493There purchas'd barca; so they nam'd the Ground

494From the bull's hide whose thongs had girt it round.

495Now say—who are Ye? Whence and whither bound?"

496  He answer'd, deeply sighing, "To their springs

Critical Apparatus497Should I trace back the principles of things

498For you, at leisure listening to our woes,
499Vesper, mid gathering shadows to repose
500Might lead the day, before the Tale would close.

501—From ancient Troy, if haply ye have heard

502The name of Troy, through various seas we steer'd,

503Until on Lybian Shores an adverse blast

504By chance not rare our shatter'd vessels cast.

505Æneas am I, wheresoe'er I go

506Carrying the Gods I rescued from the Foe,

507When Troy was overthrown. A Man you see

508Fam'd above Earth for acts of piety;

509Italy is my wish'd-for resting place;

510There doth my Country lie, among a Race

511Sprung from high Jove. The Phrygian Sea I tried

512With thrice ten Ships which Ida's Grove supplied,

513My Goddess Mother pointing out the way,

514Nor did unwilling Fates oppose their sway.

515Seven, scarcely, of that number now are left

516By tempests torn;—myself unknown, bereft,

517And destitute, explore the Lybian Waste,

pg 298518Alike from Europe and from Asia chas'd."

519He spake; nor haply at this point had clos'd

520His mournful words: but Venus interpos'd.

521  "Whoe'er thou art, I trust, the heavenly Powers

522Disown thee not, so near the Punic Towers;

523But hasten to the Queen's imperial Court;

524Thy Friends survive; their Ships are safe in port,

525Indebted for the shelter which they find

526To alter'd courses of the rough North-wind;

527Unless fond Parents taught my simple youth

528Deceitful auguries, I announce the truth.

529Behold yon twelve fair Swans, a joyous troop!

530Them did the Bird of Jove, with threatening swoop

531Rout, in mid Heaven dispers'd; but now again

532Have they assembled, and in order'd train

533These touch, while those look down upon, the plain,

Critical Apparatus534Hovering, and wheeling round with tuneful voice.

535—As in recover'd union all rejoice;

536So, with their Crews, thy Ships in harbour lie,

537Or to some haven's mouth are drawing nigh

538With every Sail full-spread; but Thou proceed;

539And fear no hindrance where thy path shall lead."

540  She spake; and, as she turn'd away, all bright

541Appear'd her neck, imbued with roseate light;

542And from the exalted region of her head

543Ambrosial hair a sudden fragrance shed,

544Odours divinely breathing;—her Vest flow'd

545Down to her feet;—and gait and motion shew'd

546The unquestionable Goddess. Whom his eyes
547Had seen and whom his soul could recognise,
548His filial voice pursueth as she flies.

549  "Why dost Thou, cruel as the rest, delude

550Thy Son with Phantoms evermore renew'd?

551Why not allow me hand with hand to join,

552To hear thy genuine voice, and to reply with mine?"

553This chiding utter'd from a troubl'd breast,

554He to the appointed walls his steps address'd.

555But Venus round him threw, as on they fare,

556Impenetrable veil of misty air;

557That none might see, or touch them with rude hand,

558Obstruct their journey, or its cause demand.

559She, borne aloft, resumes the joyful road

560That leads to Paphos—her belov'd abode:

561There stands her Temple; garlands fresh and fair
562Breathe round a hundred Altars hung, which there
563Burn with Sabean incense, scenting all the air.

564  They who had measur'd a swift course were now

565Climbing, as swift, a hill of lofty brow,

566That overhangs wide compass of the Town,

567And on the turrets, which it fronts, looks down.

568Æneas views the City—pile on pile

569Rising—a place of sordid Huts erewhile;

570And, as he looks, the gates, the stretching ways,

571The stir, the din, encreasing wonder raise.

572The Tyrians work—one spirit in the whole;

573These stretch the walls; these labour to uproll

574Stones for the Citadel, with all their might;

575These, for new Structures having mark'd a site,

576Intrench the circuit. Some on laws debate,

577Or chuse a Senate for the infant State;

578Some dig the haven out; some toil to place

579A Theatre, on deep and solid base;

580Some from the rock hew columns, to compose

581A goodly ornament for future Shows.

582—Fresh summer calls the Bees such tasks to ply

583Through flowery grounds, beneath a summer sky;

584When first they lead their progeny abroad,

585Each fit to undertake his several load;

586Or in a mass the liquid produce blend,

587And with pure nectar every cell distend;

588Or, fast as homeward Labourers arrive,
589Receive the freight they bring; or mustering, drive
590The Drones, a sluggard people, from the hive.

591Glows the vast work; while thyme-clad hills and plains

592Scent the pure honey that rewards their pains.

593"Oh fortunate!" the Chief, Æneas, cries
594As on the aspiring Town he casts his eyes,
595"Fortunate Ye, whose walls are free to rise!"

596Then, strange to tell! with mist around him thrown,

597In crowds he mingles, yet is seen by none.

598  Within the Town, a central Grove display'd

599Its ample texture of delightful shade.

600The storm-vex'd Tyrians, newly-landed, found

601A hopeful sign while digging there the ground;

602The head of a fierce horse from earth they drew,

603By Juno's self presented to their view;

604Presage of martial fame, and hardy toil

pg 300605Bestow'd through ages on a generous soil.

606Sidonian Dido here a Structure high

607Rais'd to the tutelary Deity,

608Rich with the Offerings through the Temple pour'd,

609And bright with Juno's Image, there ador'd.

610High rose, with steps, the brazen Porch; the Beams

611With brass were fasten'd; and metallic gleams

612Flashed from the valves of brazen doors, forth-sent

613While on resounding hinges to and fro they went.

614Within this Grove Æneas first beheld

615A novel sight, by which his fears were quell'd;

616Here first gave way to hope, so long withstood,

617And look'd through present ill to future good.

618For while, expectant of the Queen, the stores

619Of that far-spreading Temple he explores;

620Admires the strife of labour; nor forbears
621To ponder o'er the lot of noble cares
622Which the young City for herself prepares;

623He meets the Wars of Ilium; every Fight,

624In due succession, offer'd to his sight.

625There he beholds Atrides, Priam here,

626And that stern Chief who was to both severe.

627He stopp'd; and, not without a sigh, exclaim'd:

628"By whom, Achates! hath not Troy been nam'd?

629What region of the earth but overflows

630With us, and the memorials of our woes?

631Lo Priamus! Here also do they raise

632To virtuous deeds fit monument of praise;

633Tears for the frail estate of human kind

634Are shed; and mortal changes touch the mind."

635He spake (nor might the gushing tears controul);

636And with an empty Picture feeds his soul.

637  He saw the Greeks fast flying o'er the plain,

638The Trojan Youth—how in pursuit they strain!

639There, o'er the Phrygians routed in the war,

640Crested Achilles hanging from his Car.

641Next, to near view the painted wall presents

642The fate of Rhesus, and his snow-white tents,

643In the first sleep of silent night, betray'd
644To the wide-wasting sword of Diomed,
645Who to the camp the fiery horses led,

646Ere they from Trojan stalls had tasted food,

647Or stoop'd their heads to drink Scamander's flood.

648—The Stripling Troilus he next espied,

649Flying, his arms now lost, or flung aside;

pg 301650Ill-match'd with fierce Achilles! From the fight

651He, by his horses borne in desperate flight,

652Cleaves to his empty Chariot, on the plain

653Supinely stretch'd, yet grasping still the rein;

654Along the earth are dragg'd his neck and hair;

655The dust is mark'd by his inverted spear.

656Meanwhile, with tresses long and loose, a train

657Of Trojan Matrons seek Minerva's Fane

658As on they bear the dedicated Veil,

659They beat their own sad breasts with suppliant wail.

660The Goddess heeds not offerings, prayers, nor cries,

661And on the ground are fix'd her sullen eyes.

662—Thrice had incens'd Achilles whirl'd amain

663About Troy Wall, the Corse of Hector slain,

664And barters now that corse for proffer'd gold.

665What grief, the Spoils and Chariot to behold!

666And, suppliant, near his Friend's dead body, stands

667Old Priam, stretching forth his unarm'd hands!

668Himself, mid Grecian Chiefs, he can espy;

669And saw the oriental blazonry

670Of swarthy Memnon, and the Host he leads;

671Her lunar shields Penthesilea leads;

672A zone her mutilated breast hath bound;

673And She, exulting on the embattled ground

674A Virgin Warrior, with a Virgin Train,

675Dares in the peril to conflict with Men.

676  While on these animated pictures gaz'd

677The Dardan Chief, enwrapt, disturb'd, amaz'd;

678With a long retinue of Youth, the Queen

679Ascends the Temple;—lovely was her mien;

680And her form beautiful as Earth has seen;

681Thus, where Eurotas flows, or on the heights

682Of Cynthus, where Diana oft delights

683To train her Nymphs, and lead the Choirs along,

684Oreads, in thousands gathering, round her throng;

685Where'er she moves, where'er the Goddess bears

686Her pendant sheaf of arrows, she appears

687Far, far above the immortal Company;

688Latona's breast is thrill'd with silent ecstasy.

689Even with such lofty bearing Dido pass'd

690Among the busy crowd;—such looks she cast

691Urging the various works, with mind intent

692On future empire. Through the Porch she went,

693And compass'd round with arm'd Attendants, sate

694Beneath the Temple's dome, upon a Throne of State.

pg 302695There, laws she gave; divided justly there

696The labour; or by lot assigned to each his share.

697When, turning from the Throne a casual glance,

698Æneas saw an eager Crowd advance

699With various Leaders, whom the storms of Heaven

700Had scatter'd, and to other shores had driven.

701With Antheus and Sergestus there appear'd

702The brave Cloanthes,—followers long endear'd.

703Joy smote his heart, joy temper'd with strange awe;

704Achates, in like sort, by what he saw

705Was smitten; and the hands of both were bent

706On instant greeting; but they fear'd the event.

707Stifling their wish, within that cloud involv'd,

708They wait until the mystery shall be solv'd—

709What has befallen their Friends; upon what shore

710The Fleet is left, and what they would implore;

711For Delegates from every Ship they were,

712And sought the Temple with a clamorous prayer.

713  All entered,—and, leave given, with tranquil breast

714Ilioneus preferr'd their joint request:

715"O Queen! empower'd by Jupiter to found

716A hopeful City on this desart ground;

717To whom he gives the curb, and guiding rein

718Of Justice, a proud People to restrain,

719We, wretched Trojans, rescued from a Fleet

720Long toss'd through every Sea, thy aid entreat;

721Let, at thy voice, the unhallow'd fire forbear
722To touch our ships; a righteous People spare;
723And on our fortunes look with nearer care!

724We neither seek as plunderers your abodes,

725Nor would our swords molest your household Gods;

726Our spirit tempts us not such course to try;

727Nor do the Vanquish'd lift their heads so high.

728There is a Country call'd by Men of Greece

729Hesperia, strong in arms, the soil of large increase,

730Œnotrians held it; Men of later fame

731Call it Italia, from their Leader's name.

732That Land we sought; when, wrapt in mist, arose

733Orion, help'd by every wind that blows;

734Dispers'd us utterly—on shallows cast;

735And we, we only, gain'd your shores at last.

736What race of man is here? Was ever yet

737The unnatural treatment known which we have met?

738What country bears with customs that deny,

739To shipwreck'd men, such hospitality

pg 303740As the sands offer on the naked beach,

741And the first quiet of the Land they reach?

742—Arms were our greeting; yet, if ye despise
743Man and his power, look onward, and be wise;
744The Gods for right and wrong have awful memories.

745A man to no one second in the care

746Of justice, nor in piety and war,

747Ruled over us; if yet Æneas treads

748On earth, nor has been summon'd to the shades,

749Fear no repentance if, in acts of grace

750Striving with him, thou gain the foremost place.

751Nor want we, in Trinacria, towns and plains,

752Where, sprung from Trojan blood, Acestes reigns.

753Grant leave to draw our Ships upon your Shores,

754Thence to refit their shatter'd hulks and oars.

755Were Friends and Chief restor'd, whom now we mourn,

756We to the Italian Coast with joy would turn,

757Should Italy lie open to our aim;

758But if our welfare be an empty name,

759And Thou, best Father of the Family
760Of Troy, hast perish'd in the Lybian Sea,
761And young Iulus sank, engulph'd with thee,—

762Then be it ours, at least, to cross the foam
763Of the Sicilian Deep, and seek the home
764Prepar'd by good Acestes, whence we come."

765Thus spake Ilioneus: his Friends around

766Declar'd their sanction by a murmuring sound.

767With downcast looks, brief answer Dido made;

768"Trojans, be griefs dismiss'd, anxieties allay'd.

769The pressure of occasion, and a reign
770Yet new, exact these rigours, and constrain
771The jealous vigilance my coasts maintain.

772The Ænean Race, with that heroic Town—

773And widely-blazing war—to whom are they unknown?

774Not so obtuse the Punic breasts we bear;
775Nor does the Giver of the Day so far
776From this our Tyrian City yoke his Car.

777But if Hesperia be your wish'd-for bourne,

778Or to Trinacrian shores your prows would turn,

779Then, with all aids that may promote your weal,

780Ye shall depart;—but if desire ye feel,

781Fix'd, in this growing Realm, to share my fate,

782Yours are the walls which now I elevate.

783Haste, and withdraw your Gallies from the sea,

784—Trojans and Tyrians shall be one to me.

pg 304785Would, too, that storm-compelled as ye have been,

786The Person of your Chief might here be seen!

787By trusty servants shall my shores be traced

788To the last confines of the Lybian Waste,

789For He, the Castaway of stormy floods,

790May roam through cities, or in savage woods."

791Thus did the Queen administer relief

792For their dejected hearts; and to the Chief,

793While both were burning with desire to break

794From out the darksome cloud, Achates spake.

795"Son of a Goddess, what resolves ensue

796From this deliverance whose effects we view?

797All things are safe—thy Fleet and Friends restor'd
798Save one, whom in our sight the Sea devour'd;
799All else respondent to thy Mother's word."

800He spake; the circumambient cloud anon

801Melts and dissolves, the murky veil is gone;

802And left Æneas, as it pass'd away,

803With godlike mien and shoulders, standing in full day.

804For that same Parent of celestial race

805Had shed upon his hair surpassing grace;

806And, breathing o'er her Son the purple light
807Of youth, had glorified his eyes, made bright,
808Like those of Heaven, with joyance infinite.

809So stood he forth, an unexpected Guest,

810And, while all wonder'd, thus the Queen address'd.

811  "He whom ye seek am I, Æneas—flung

812By storms the Lybian solitudes among.

813O Sole, who for the unutterable state

814Of Troy art humanly compassionate;

815Who not alone a shelter dost afford

816To the thin relics of the Grecian sword,

817Perpetually exhausted by pursuit

818Of dire mischance, of all things destitute,

819But in thy purposes with them hast shar'd

820City and home;—not we, who thus have far'd,

821Not we, not all the Dardan Race that live,

822Scatter'd through Earth, sufficient thanks can give.

823The Gods (if they the Pious watch with love,

824If Justice dwell about us, or above)

825And a mind conscious to itself of right,

826Shall, in fit measure thy deserts requite!

827What happy Age gave being to such worth?

828What blessed Parents, Dido! brought thee forth?

pg 305829While down their channels Rivers seaward flow,

830While shadowy Groves sweep round the mountain's brow,

831While ether feeds the stars, where'er be cast
832My lot, whatever Land by me be traced,
833Thy name, thy honour, and thy praise, shall last."

834He spake; and turning tow'rds the Trojan Band,

835Salutes Ilioneus with the better hand,

836And grasps Serestus with the left—then gave

837Like greeting to the rest, to Gyas brave

838And brave Cloanthes.

Inwardly amaz'd,
839Sidonian Dido on the Chief had gaz'd
840When first he met her view;—his words like wonder rais'd.

841"What Force", said She, "pursues thee—hath impell'd

842To these wild shores? In Thee have I beheld

843That Trojan whom bright Venus, on the shore

844Of Phrygian Simois, to Anchises bore?

845And well do I recall to mind the day

846When to our Sidon Teucer found his way,

847An Outcast from his native Borders driven,

848With hope to win new Realms by aid from Belus given,

849Belus, my Father, then the conquering Lord

850Of Cyprus newly-ravaged by his sword.

851Thenceforth I knew the fate of Troy that rings

852Earth round,—thy Name, and the Pelasgian kings.

853Teucer himself, with liberal tongue, would raise

854His Adversaries to just heights of praise,

855And vaunt a Trojan lineage with fair proof;

856Then welcome, noble Strangers, to our Roof!

857—Me, too, like Fortune, after devious strife

858Stay'd in this Land, to breathe a calmer life;

859From no light ills which on myself have press'd,

860Pitying I learn to succour the distress'd."

861These words pronounced, and mindful to ordain.
862Fit sacrifice, she issues from the Fane,
863And tow'rds the Palace leads Æneas and his Train.

864Nor less regardful of his distant Friends,

865To the sea coast she hospitably sends

866Twice ten selected steers, a hundred lambs

867Swept from the plenteous herbage with their dams;

868A hundred bristly ridges of huge swine,

869And what the God bestows in sparkling wine.

870But the interior Palace doth display

871Its whole magnificence in set array;

872And in the centre of a spacious Hall

873Are preparations for high festival;

pg 306874There, gorgeous vestments—skilfully enwrought

875With Eastern purple; and huge tables—fraught

876With massive argentry; there, carv'd in gold,

877Through long, long series, the atchievements bold

878Of Forefathers, each imaged in his place,

879From the beginning of the ancient Race.

880  Æneas, whose parental thoughts obey

881Their natural impulse, brooking no delay,

882Despatch'd the prompt Achates, to report

883The new events, and lead Ascanius to the Court.

884Ascanius, for on him the Father's mind

885Now rests, as if to that sole care confin'd;

886And bids him bring, attendant on the Boy,

887The richest Presents, snatch'd from burning Troy;

888A Robe of tissue stiff with shapes exprest

889In threads of gleaming gold; an upper Vest

890Round which acanthus twines its yellow flowers;

891By Argive Helen worn in festal hours;

892Her Mother Leda's wonderous gift—and brought

893To Ilium from Mycenae when she sought

894Those unpermitted nuptials;—thickly set

895With golden gems, a twofold coronet;

896And Sceptre which Ilione of yore,
897Eldest of Priam's royal Daughters wore,
898And orient Pearls, which on her neck she bore.

899This to perform, Achates speeds his way

900To the Ships anchor'd in that peaceful Bay.

901  But Cytherea, studious to invent

902Arts yet untried, upon new counsels bent,

903Resolves that Cupid, changed in form and face

904To young Ascanius, should assume his place;

905Present the maddening gifts, and kindle heat

906Of passion at the bosom's inmost seat.

Critical Apparatus907She dreads the treacherous House, the double tongue;

Critical Apparatus908She burns, she frets—by Juno's rancour stung;

909The calm of night is powerless to remove

910These cares, and thus she speaks to winged Love:

911  "O Son, my strength, my power! who dost despise

912(What, save thyself, none dares through earth and skies)

913The giant-quelling bolts of Jove, I flee,

914O Son, a suppliant to thy Deity!

915What perils meet Æneas in his course,

916How Juno's hate with unrelenting force

pg 307917Pursues thy Brother—this to thee is known;

918And oft-times hast thou made my griefs thine own.

Critical Apparatus919Him now the generous Dido by soft chains

920Of bland entreaty at her court detains;

921Junonian hospitalities prepare

922Such apt occasion that I dread a snare.

923Hence, ere some hostile God can intervene,

924Would I, by previous wiles, inflame the Queen

925With passion for Æneas, such strong love

926That at my beck, mine only, she shall move.

927Hear, and assist;—the Father's mandate calls

928His young Ascanius to the Tyrian Walls;

929He comes, my dear delight,—and costliest things

930Preserv'd from fire and flood for presents brings.

931Him will I take, and in close covert keep,
932'Mid Groves Idalian, lull'd to gentle sleep,
933Or on Cythera's far-sequestered Steep,

934That he may neither know what hope is mine,

935Nor by his presence traverse the design.

936Do Thou, but for a single night's brief space,

937Dissemble; be that Boy in form and face:

938And when enraptur'd Dido shall receive

939Thee to her arms, and kisses interweave

940With many a fond embrace, while joy runs high,

941And goblets crown the proud festivity,

942Instil thy subtle poison, and inspire,

943At every touch, an unsuspected fire."

944  Love, at the word, before his Mother's sight

945Puts off his wings, and walks, with proud delight,

946Like young Iulus; but the gentlest dews

947Of slumber Venus sheds, to circumfuse

948The true Ascanius steep'd in placid rest;

949Then wafts him, cherish'd on her careful breast,

950Through upper air to an Idalian glade,
951Where he on soft amaracus is laid,
952With breathing flowers embraced, and fragrant shade.

953But Cupid, following cheerily his Guide

954Achates, with the Gifts to Carthage hied;

Critical Apparatus955And, as the hall he entered, there, between
956The sharers of her golden couch, was seen
957Reclin'd in festal pomp the Tyrian queen.

958The Trojans too (Æneas at their head),
959On couches lie, with purple overspread:
960Meantime in canisters is heap'd the bread,

961Pellucid water for the hands is borne,

962And napkins of smooth texture, finely shorn.

963Within are fifty Handmaids, who prepare,

964As they in order stand, the dainty fare;

965And fume the household Deities with store

966Of odorous incense; while a hundred more

967Match'd with an equal number of like age,

968But each of manly sex, a docile Page,

969Marshal the banquet, giving with due grace

970To cup or viand its appointed place.

971The Tyrians rushing in, an eager Band,

972Their painted couches seek, obedient to command.

973They look with wonder on the Gifts—they gaze

974Upon Iulus, dazzled with the rays

975That from his ardent countenance are flung,

976And charm'd to hear his simulating tongue;

977Nor pass unprais'd the robe and veil divine,

978Round which the yellow flowers and wandering foliage twine.

979  But chiefly Dido, to the coming ill

980Devoted, strives in vain her vast desires to fill;

Critical Apparatus981She views the Gifts; upon the child then turns

Critical Apparatus982Insatiable looks, and gazing burns.

983To ease a Father's cheated love he hung

984Upon Æneas, and around him clung;

Critical Apparatus985Then seeks the Queen; with her his arts he tries;

986She fastens on the boy enamour'd eyes,

987Clasps in her arms, nor weens (O lot unblest!)

988How great a God, incumbent o'er her breast,

989Would fill it with his spirit. He, to please

990His Acidalian mother, by degrees

Critical Apparatus991Blots out Sichæus, studious to remove

992The dead, by influx of a living love,

Critical Apparatus993By stealthy entrance of a perilous guest,

994Troubling a heart that had been long at rest.

pg 309995  Now when the viands were withdrawn, and ceas'd

996The first division of the splendid Feast,

997While round a vacant board the Chiefs recline,

998Huge goblets are brought forth; they crown the wine;

999Voices of gladness roll the walls around;

1000Those gladsome voices from the courts rebound;

1001From gilded rafters many a blazing light

1002Depends, and torches overcome the night.

Critical Apparatus1003The minutes fly—till, at the Queen's commands,

1004A bowl of state is offered to her hands:

1005Then She, as Belus wont, and all the Line

1006From Belus, filled it to the brim with wine;

1007Silence ensued. "O Jupiter, whose care

1008Is hospitable Dealing, grant my prayer!

1009Productive day be this of lasting joy

1010To Tyrians, and these Exiles driven from Troy;

1011A day to future generations dear!
1012Let Bacchus, donor of soul-quick'ning cheer,
1013Be present; kindly Juno, be thou near!

1014And, Tyrians, may your choicest favours wait

1015Upon this hour, the bond to celebrate!"

1016She spake and shed an Offering on the board;

1017Then sipp'd the bowl whence she the wine had pour'd

Critical Apparatus1018And gave to Bitias, urging the prompt lord;

1019He rais'd the bowl, and took a long deep draught;

1020Then every Chief in turn the beverage quaff'd.

1021  Graced with redundant hair, Iopas sings
1022The lore of Atlas, to resounding strings,
1023The labours of the Sun, the lunar wanderings;

1024Whence human kind, and brute; what natural powers

1025Engender lightning, whence are falling showers.

Critical Apparatus1026He chaunts Arcturus,—that fraternal twain

Critical Apparatus1027The glittering Bears,—the Pleiads fraught with rain;

1028—Why suns in winter, shunning Heaven's steep heights

1029Post seaward,—what impedes the tardy nights.

1030The learned song from Tyrian hearers draws

1031Loud shouts,—the Trojans echo the applause.

1032—But, lengthening out the night with converse new,

1033Large draughts of love unhappy Dido drew;

pg 3101034Of Priam ask'd, of Hector,—o'er and o'er—

1035What arms the son of bright Aurora wore;—

Critical Apparatus1036What steeds the car of Diomed could boast;

1037Among the Leaders of the Grecian host

1038How looked Achilles—their dread Paramount—

1039"But nay—the fatal wiles, O guest, recount,

1040Retrace the Grecian cunning from its source,

Critical Apparatus1041Your own grief and your Friends'—your wandering course;

1042For now, till this seventh summer have ye ranged

1043The sea, or trod the earth, to peace estranged."

SECOND BOOK

1All breathed in silence, and intensely gaz'd,

2When from the lofty couch his voice Æneas rais'd,

3And thus began: "The task which you impose

4O Queen, revives unutterable woes;

5How by the Grecians Troy was overturn'd,

6And her power fell—to be for ever mourn'd;

7Calamities which with a pitying heart

8I saw, of which I form'd no common part.

9Oh! 'twas a miserable end! What One

10Of all our Foes, Dolopian, Myrmidon,

11Or Soldier bred in stem Ulysses' train

12Such things could utter, and from tears refrain?

13And hastens now from Heaven the dewy night,

14And the declining stars to sleep invite.

15But since such strong desire prevails to know

16Our wretched fate, and Troy's last overthrow

Critical Apparatus17I will attempt the theme though in my breast

18Memory recoils and shudders at the test.

19  The Grecian Chiefs, exhausted of their strength

20By war protracted to such irksome length,

21And, from the siege repuls'd, new schemes devise;

22A wooden horse they build of mountain size.

23Assisted by Minerva's art divine,

24They frame the work, and sheathe its ribs with pine,

25An offering to the Gods—that they may gain

26Their home in safety; this they boldly feign,

pg 31127And spread the Tale abroad;—meanwhile they hide

Critical Apparatus28Selected Warriors in its gloomy side;

29Throng the huge concave to its utmost den,

30And fill that mighty Womb with armed Men.

31  In sight of Troy, an Island lies, by Fame

32Amply distinguish'd, Tenedos its name;

Critical Apparatus33Potent and rich while Priam's sway endured,

34Now a bare hold for keels, unsafely moor'd.

35Here did the Greeks, when for their native land

36We thought them sail'd, lurk on the desart strand.

37From her long grief at once the Realm of Troy

38Broke loose;—the gates are opened, and with joy

39We seek the Dorian Camp, and wander o'er

40The spots forsaken, the abandon'd shore.

41Here, the Dolopian ground its line presents;

42And here the dread Achilles pitch'd his tents;

43There lay the Ships drawn up along the coast,

44And here we oft encounter'd host with host.

45Meanwhile, the rest an eye of wonder lift,

46Unwedded Pallas! on the fatal Gift

47To thee devoted. First Thymœtes calls

48For its free ingress through disparted walls

49To lodge within the Citadel—thus He

50Treacherous, or such the course of destiny.

51Capys, with some of wiser mind, would sweep

52The insidious Grecian offering to the Deep,

53Or to the flames subject it; or advise

54To perforate and search the cavities;

Critical Apparatus55Into conflicting judgments break and split

56The crowd, as random thoughts the fancy hit.

57  Down from the Citadel a numerous throng

58Hastes with Laocoon; they sweep along,

59And He, the foremost, crying from afar,

60What would ye? wretched Maniacs, as ye are!

61Think ye the Foe departed? Or that e'er

62A boon from Grecian hands can prove sincere?

63Thus do ye read Ulysses? Foes unseen

64Lurk in these chambers; or the huge Machine

65Against the ramparts brought, by pouring down

66Force from aloft, will seize upon the Town.

pg 312Critical Apparatus67Let not a fair pretence your minds enthrall;

68For me, I fear the Greeks and most of all

69When they are offering gifts." With mighty force

70This said, he hurl'd a spear against the Horse;

71It smote the curved ribs, and quivering stood

72While groans made answer through the hollow wood.

Critical Apparatus73We too, upon this impulse, had not Fate
74Been adverse, and our minds infatuate,
75We too, had rush'd the den to penetrate,

76Streams of Argolic blood our swords had stained,

77Troy, thou might'st yet have stood, and Priam's Towers remained.

78  But lo! an unknown youth with hand to hand

79Bound fast behind him, whom a boisterous Band

80Of Dardan Swains with clamour hurrying

81Force to the shore and place before the King.

82Such his device when he those chains had sought

83A voluntary captive, fix'd in thought

84Either the City to betray, or meet

85Death, the sure penalty of foil'd deceit.

86The curious Trojans, pouring in, deride

87And taunt the Prisoner, with an emulous pride.

88Now see the cunning of the Greeks exprest

89By guilt of One, true image of the rest!

90For, while with helpless looks, from side to side

91Anxiously cast, the Phrygian throng he ey'd,

92"Alas! what Land," he cries, "can now, what Sea,

93Can offer refuge? what resource for me?

94Who mid the Greeks no breathing-place can find,

95And whom ye, Trojans, have to death consign'd!"

96Thus were we wrought upon; and now, with sense

97Of pity touch'd, that check'd all violence,

98We cheer'd and urged him boldly to declare

Critical Apparatus99His origin, what tidings he may bear,

100And on what claims he ventures to confide;

101Then, somewhat eas'd of fear, he thus replied:

102  "O King, a plain confession shall ensue

103On these commands, in all things plain and true.

104And first, the tongue that speaks shall not deny

105My origin; a Greek by birth am I.

pg 313106Fortune made Sinon wretched;—to do more,

107And make him false,—that lies not in her power.

108In converse, haply, ye have heard the name

109Of Palamedes, and his glorious fame;

Critical Apparatus110A Chief with treason falsely charg'd, and whom
111The Achaians crush'd by a nefarious doom,
112And now lament when cover'd with the tomb.

113His kinsman I; and hither by his side

114Me my poor Father sent, when first these fields were tried.

115While yet his voice the Grecian Chieftains sway'd

116And due respect was to his counsel paid,

117Ere that high influence was with life cut short,

118I did not walk ungraced by fair report.

Critical Apparatus119Ulysses, envy rankling in his breast,

120(And these are things which thousands can attest)

121Thereafter turn'd his subtlety to give

122That fatal injury, and he ceas'd to live.

123I dragg'd my days in sorrow and in gloom,

124And mourn'd my guiltless Friend, indignant at his doom;

125This inwardly; and yet not always mute,

126Rashly I vow'd revenge—my sure pursuit,

127If e'er the shores of Argos I again

128Should see, victorious with my Countrymen.

Critical Apparatus129Sharp hatred did these open threats excite;

130Hence the first breathings of a deadly blight;

131Hence, to appal me, accusations came,

132Which still Ulysses was at work to frame;

133Hence would he scatter daily 'mid the crowd

134Loose hints, at will sustain'd or disavow'd,

135Beyond himself for instruments he look'd,

136And in this search for means no respite brook'd

137Till Calchas his accomplice—but the chain

138Of foul devices why untwist in vain?

139Why should I linger? if ye Trojans place

140On the same level all of Argive race,

141And 'tis enough to know that I am one,

Critical Apparatus142Punish me; would Ulysses might look on!

143And let the Atridae hear, rejoiced with what is done!"

pg 314144  This stirr'd us more, whose judgments were asleep

145To all suspicion of a crime so deep

146And craft so fine. Our questions we renew'd;

147And, trembling, thus the fiction he pursued.

148  "Oft did the Grecian Host the means prepare

149To flee from Troy, tired with so long a war;

150Would they had fled! but winds as often stopp'd

151Their going, and the twisted sails were dropp'd;

152And when this pine-ribb'd Horse of monstrous size
153Stood forth, a finish'd Work, before their eyes,
154Then chiefly peal'd the storm through blacken'd skies.

155So that the Oracle its aid might lend

Critical Apparatus156To quell our doubts, Eurypylus we send,

157Who brought the answer of the voice divine

158In these sad words given from the Delphic shrine.

159—'Blood flow'd, a Virgin perish'd to appease

160The winds, when first for Troy ye pass'd the seas;

161O Grecians! for return across the Flood,

162Life must be paid, a sacrifice of blood.'

163—With this response an universal dread

164Among the shuddering multitude was spread;

Critical Apparatus165All quak'd to think at whom the Fates had aim'd

166This sentence, who the Victim Phoebus claim'd.

167Then doth the Ithacan with tumult loud

168Bring forth the Prophet Calchas to the crowd;

169Asks what the Gods would have; and some, meanwhile,

Critical Apparatus170Discern what end the Mover of the guile

171Is compassing; and do not hide from me

Critical Apparatus172The crime which they in mute reserve foresee.

173Ten days refus'd he still with guarded breath

174To designate the Man, to fix the death;

175The Ithacan still urgent for the deed;

Critical Apparatus176At last the unwilling voice announc'd that must bleed.

Critical Apparatus177All gave assent, each happy to be clear'd,

178By one Man's fall, of what himself had fear'd.

179Now came the accursed day; the salted cates

180Are spread,—the Altar for the Victim waits;

181The fillets bind my temples—I took flight

182Bursting my chains, I own, and through the night

pg 315183Lurk'd among oozy swamps, and there lay hid

184Till winds might cease their voyage to forbid.

185And now was I compell'd at once to part

186With all the dear old longings of the heart,

187Never to see my Country, Children, Sire,

188Whom they, perchance, will for this flight require

189For this offence of mine of them will make

190An expiation, punish'd for my sake.

191But Thee, by all the Powers who hold their seat

192In Heaven, and know the truth, do I entreat

193O King! and by whate'er may yet remain

194Among mankind of faith without a stain,

195Have pity on my woes; commiserate

196A mind that ne'er deserved this wretched fate."

Critical Apparatus197  His tears prevail, we spare the Suppliant's life

198Pitying the man we spare, without a strife;

199Even Priam's self, He first of all commands

200To loose the fetters and unbind his hands,

201Then adds these friendly words;—"Whoe'er thou be

202Henceforth forget the Grecians, lost to thee;

203We claim thee now, and let me truly hear

Critical Apparatus204Who mov'd them first this monstrous Horse to rear?

205And why? Was some religious vow the aim?

206Or for what use in war the Engine might they frame?

207Straight were these artful words in answer given

208While he uprais'd his hands, now free, to Heaven.

209  "Eternal Fires, on you I call; O Ye!

210And your inviolable Deity!

211Altars, and ruthless swords from which I fled!

212Ye fillets, worn round my devoted head!

213Be it no crime if Argive sanctions cease

214To awe me,—none to hate the men of Greece!

215The law of Country forfeiting its hold,

216Mine be the voice their secrets to unfold!

217And ye, O Trojans! keep the word ye gave;

218Save me, if truth I speak, and Ilium save!

219  The Grecian Host on Pallas still relied;

220Nor hope had they but what her aid supplied;

pg 316221But all things droop'd since that ill-omen'd time

222In which Ulysses, Author of the crime,

223Was leagued with impious Diomed, to seize

224That Image pregnant with your destinies;

Critical Apparatus225Tore the Palladium from the Holy Fane,

226The Guards who watch'd the Citadel first slain.

227And, fearing not the Goddess, touch'd the Bands

228Wreathed round her virgin brow, with gory hands.

229Hope ebb'd, strength fail'd the Grecians since that day,

Critical Apparatus230From them the Goddess turn'd her mind away.

231This by no doubtful signs Tritonia shew'd,

232The uplifted eyes with flames coruscant glow'd,

233Soon as they plac'd her Image in the Camp;

234And trickl'd o'er its limbs a briny damp;

235And from the ground, the Goddess (strange to hear!)

236Leapt thrice, with buckler grasp'd, and quivering spear.

237—Then Calchas bade to stretch the homeward sail,

238And prophesied that Grecian Arms would fail,

239Unless we for new omens should repair

240To Argos, thither the Palladium bear;

241And thence to Phrygian Shores recross the Sea,

242Fraught with a more propitious Deity.

243They went; but only to return in power

244With favouring Gods, at some unlook'd-for hour.

245—So Calchas read those signs; the Horse was built

246To soothe Minerva, and atone for guilt.

247Compact in strength you see the Fabric rise,

248A pile stupendous, towering to the skies!

249This was ordain'd by Calchas, with intent

250That the vast bulk its ingress might prevent,

251And Ilium ne'er within her Walls enfold

252Another Safeguard reverenced like the old.

253For if, unaw'd by Pallas, ye should lift

254A sacrilegious hand against the Gift,

255The Phrygian Realm shall perish (May the Gods

256Turn on himself the mischief he forebodes!)

257But if your Town it enter—by your aid

258Ascending—Asia, then, in arms array'd

259Shall storm the walls of Pelops, and a fate

260As dire on our posterity await."

261  Even so the arts of perjur'd Sinon gain'd

262Belief for this, and all that he had feign'd;

263Thus were they won by wiles, by tears compell'd

pg 317264Whom not Tydides, not Achilles quell'd;

265Who fronted ten years' war with safe disdain,

266'Gainst whom a thousand Ships had tried their strength in vain.

267  To speed our fate, a thing did now appear

268Yet more momentous, and of instant fear.

269Laocoon, Priest by lot to Neptune, stood

270Where to his hand a Bull pour'd forth its blood,

271Before the Altar, in high offering slain;—

272But lo! two Serpents, o'er the tranquil Main

273Incumbent, roll from Tenedos, and seek

274Our Coast together (shuddering do I speak);

275Between the waves, their elevated breasts,

276Upheav'd in circling spires, and sanguine crests,

277Tower o'er the flood; the parts that follow, sweep

278In folds voluminous and vast, the Deep.

279The agitated brine, with noisy roar

280Attends their coming, till they touch the shore;

281Sparkle their eyes suffus'd with blood, and quick

282The tongues shot forth their hissing mouths to lick.

283Dispers'd with fear we fly; in close array
284These move, and tow'rds Laocoon point their way,
285But first assault his Sons, their youthful prey.

286—A several Snake in tortuous wreaths engrasps

287Each slender frame; and fanging what it clasps

288Feeds on the limbs; the Father rushes on,

289Arms in his hand, for rescue; but anon

290Himself they seize; and, coiling round his waist

291Their scaly backs, they bind him, twice embrac'd

292With monstrous spires, as with a double zone;
293And, twice around his neck in tangles thrown,
294High o'er the Father's head each Serpent lifts its own.,

Critical Apparatus295His priestly fillets then are sprinkled o'er

296With sable venom and distain'd with gore;

Critical Apparatus297And while his labouring hands the knots would rend

298The cries he utters to the Heavens ascend;

299Loud as a Bull—that, wounded by the axe

300Shook off the uncertain steel, and from the altar breaks,

301To fill with bellowing voice the depths of air!

302—But tow'rds the Temple slid the Hydra Pair,

303Their work accomplish'd, and there lie conceal'd,

304Couched at Minerva's feet, beneath her orbed Shield.

305Nor was there One who trembled not with fear,

306Or deem'd the expiation too severe,

pg 318307For him whose lance had pierc'd the votive Steed,

308Which to the Temple they resolve to lead;

309There to be lodg'd with pomp of service high

310And supplication, such the general cry.

311  Shattering the Walls, a spacious breach we make,

312We cleave the bulwarks—toil which all partake,

313Some to the feet the rolling wheels apply,

314Some round the lofty neck the cables tye;

315The Engine, pregnant with our deadly foes,

316Mounts to the breach; and ever, as it goes,

317Boys, mix'd with Maidens, chaunt a holy song
318And press to touch the cords, a happy throng.
319The Town it enters thus, and threatening moves along.

320  My Country, glorious Ilium! and ye Towers,

321Lov'd habitation of celestial Powers!

322Four times it halted mid the gates,—a din

323Of armour four times warn'd us from within;

324Yet tow'rds the sacred Dome with reckless mind
325We still press on, and in the place assign'd
326Lodge the portentous Gift, through frenzy blind.

327  Nor fail'd Cassandra now to scatter wide

328Words that of instant ruin prophesied.

329—But Phoebus will'd that none should heed her voice,

330And we, we miserable men, rejoice,

331And hang our Temples round with festal boughs,

332Upon that day, the last that Fate allows.

333  Meanwhile had Heaven revolv'd with rapid flight,

334And fast from Ocean climbs the punctual Night,

335With boundless shade involving earth and sky

336And Myrmidonian frauds;—the Trojans lie

337Scatter'd throughout the weary Town, and keep

338Unbroken quiet in the embrace of sleep.

339  This was the time when, furnish'd and array'd,

340Nor wanting silent moonlight's friendly aid,

341From Tenedos the Grecian Navy came,

342Led by the royal Galley's signal flame,

343And Sinon now, our hostile fates his guard,

344By stealth the dungeon of the Greeks unbarr'd.

345Straight, by a pendant rope adown the side

346Of the steep Horse, the armed Warriors glide.

347The Chiefs Thersander, Sthenelus are there,

348With joy deliver'd to the open air;

pg 319349Ulysses, Thoas, Achamas the cord

350Lets down to earth and Helen's injur'd Lord,

351—Pyrrhus, who from Pelides drew his birth,

352And bold Machaon, first to issue forth,

353Nor him forget whose skill had fram'd the Pile

354Epeus, glorying in his prosperous wile.

355They rush upon the City that lay still,

356Buried in sleep and wine; the Warders kill;

357And at the wide-spread Gates in triumph greet

358Expectant Comrades crowding from the Fleet.

Critical Apparatus359  It was the earliest hour of slumbrous rest,

360Gift of the Gods to Man with toil opprest,

361When, present to my dream, did Hector rise

362And stood before me with fast-streaming eyes;

363Such as he was when horse had striven with horse,

364Whirling along the plain his lifeless Corse,

365The thongs that bound him to the Chariot thrust

366Through his swoln feet, and black with gory dust,—

367A spectacle how pitiably sad!

368How chang'd from that returning Hector, clad

369In glorious spoils, Achilles' own attire!

370From Hector hurling shipward the red Phrygian fire!

371—A squalid beard, hair clotted thick with gore,

372And that same throng of patriot wounds he bore,

373In front of Troy receiv'd; and now, methought,
374That I myself was to a passion wrought
375Of tears, which to my voice this greeting brought.

376"O Light of Dardan Realms! most faithful Stay

377To Trojan courage, why these fingerings of delay?

378Where hast thou tarried, Hector? From what coast

Critical Apparatus379Com'st thou, long wish'd-for? That so many lost

380Thy kinsmen or thy friends,—such travail borne

Critical Apparatus381By this afflicted City—we outworn

382Behold thee. Why this undeserv'd disgrace?

383Who thus defil'd with wounds that honour'd face?"

384He nought to this—unwilling to detain

pg 320385One, who had ask'd vain things, with answer vain;

386But, groaning deep, "Flee, Goddess-born," he said,

387"Snatch thyself from these flames around thee spread;

388Our Enemy is master of the Walls;

389Down from her elevation Ilium falls.

390Enough for Priam; the long strife is o'er,

391Nor doth our Country ask one effort more.

392Could Pergamus have been defended—hence,

393Even from this hand, had issued her defence;

394Troy her Penates doth to thee commend,

Critical Apparatus395Her sacred stores,—let these thy fates attend!

Critical Apparatus396Sail under their protection for the Land

397Where mighty Realms shall grow at thy command!"

398—No more was utter'd, but his hand he stretch'd,

399And from the inmost Sanctuary fetch'd

400The consecrated wreaths, the potency

401Of Vesta, and the fires that may not die.

Critical Apparatus402  Meantime, wild tumult through the streets is pour'd,

403And though apart, and mid thick trees embower'd,

404My Father's mansion stood, the loud alarms

405Came pressing thither, and the clash of Arms.

406Sleep fled; I climb the roof and where it rears

407Its loftiest summit, stand with quicken'd ears.

408So, when a fire by raging south winds borne

409Lights on a billowy sea of ripen'd corn,

410Or rapid torrent sweeps with mountain flood

411The fields, the harvest prostrates, headlong bears the wood;

412High on a rock, the unweeting Shepherd, bound,

413In blank amazement, listens to the sound.

414Then was apparent to whom faith was due,

415And Grecian plots lie bare to open view.

416Above the spacious palace where abode

417Deiphobus, the flames in triumph rode;

418Ucalegon burns next; through lurid air

419Sigean Friths reflect a widening glare.

420Clamor and clangor to the heavens arise,

421The blast of trumpets mix'd with vocal cries;

422Arms do I snatch—weak reason scarcely knows

423What aid they promise, but my spirit glows;

424I burn to gather Friends, whose firm array

425On to the Citadel shall force its way.

pg 321426Precipitation works with desperate charms;

427It seems a lovely thing to die in arms.

428Lo Pantheus! fugitive from Grecian spears,

429Apollo's Priest;—his vanquish'd Gods he bears;

430The other hand his little Grandson leads,

431While from the Sovereign Fort, he tow'rd my threshold speeds.

432"Pantheus, what hope? Which Fortress shall we try?

433Where plant resistance?" He in prompt reply

434Said, deeply mov'd,—"'Tis come—the final hour;

435The inevitable close of Dardan power

436Hath come:—we have been Trojans, Ilium was,

437And the great name of Troy; now all things pass

438To Argos; so wills angry Jupiter:

439Within the burning Town the Grecians domineer.

440Forth from its central stand the enormous Horse

441Pours in continual stream an armed Force;

442Sinon, insulting victor, aggravates

443The flames; and thousands hurry through the Gates,

444Throng'd, as might seem, with press of all the Hosts

445That e'er Mycenae sent to Phrygian Coasts.

446Others with spears in serried files blockade

447The passes;—hangs, with quivering point, the blade

448Unsheath'd for slaughter,—scarcely to the foes

449A blind and baffled fight the Warders can oppose."

450  Urg'd by these words, and as the Gods inspire,

451I rush into the battle and the fire,

452Where sad Erinnys, where the shock of fight,

453The roar, the tumult, and the groans invite;

454Rypheus is with me, Epytus, the pride
455Of battles, joins his aid, and to my side
456Flock Dymas, Hypanis, the moon their guide;

Critical Apparatus457With young Coroebus, who had lately sought

458Our walls, by passion for Cassandra brought;

459He led to Priam an auxiliar train,
460His Son by wedlock, miserable Man
461For whom a raving Spouse had prophesied in vain.

462  When these I saw collected, and intent

463To face the strife with deeds of hardiment,

464I thus began: "O Champions, vainly brave

465If, like myself, to dare extremes ye crave,

466You see our lost condition,—not a God,
467Of all the Powers by whom this Empire stood,
468But hath renounced his Altar—fled from his abode.

469—Ye would uphold a City wrapp'd in fire;

470Die rather;—let us rush, in battle to expire.

Critical Apparatus471At least one safety shall the vanquish'd have

472If they no safety seek but in the grave."

473—Thus to their minds was fury added,—then,

474Like wolves driven forth by hunger from the den,

475To prowl amid blind vapours, whom the brood

476Expect, their jaws all parch'd with thirst for blood,

477Through flying darts, through pressure of the Foe,

478To death, to not uncertain death, we go.

479Right through the Town our midway course we bear,

480Aided by hovering darkness, strengthen'd by despair.

481Can words the havoc of that night express?

482What power of tears may equal the distress?

483An ancient City sinks to disappear;

484She sinks who rul'd for ages,—Far and near

Critical Apparatus485The Unresisting through the streets, the abodes

486Of Men and hallow'd Temples of the Gods,

487Are fell'd by massacre that takes no heed;

488Nor are the Trojans only doom'd to bleed;

489The Vanquish'd sometimes to their hearts recall

490Old virtues, and the conquering Argives fall.

491Sorrow is everywhere and fiery skaith,
Critical Apparatus492Fear, Anguish struggling to be rid of breath,
493And Death still crowding on the shape of Death.

494  Androgeus, whom a numerous Force attends,

495Was the first Greek we met; he rashly deems us Friends.

496"What sloth," he cries, "retards you? Warriors haste!

497Troy blazes, sack'd by others, and laid waste;

498And ye come lagging from your Ships the last!"

499Thus he; and straight mistrusting our replies,

500He felt himself begirt with enemies;

501Voice fail'd—step faulter'd, at the dire mistake;
502Like one who through a deeply tangl'd brake
503Struggling, hath trod upon a lurking Snake,

pg 323504And shrunk in terror from the unlook'd-for Pest

505Lifting his blue-swoln neck and wrathful crest.

506Even so Androgeus, smit with sudden dread,

507Recoils from what he saw, and would have fled,

508Forward we rush, with arms the Troop surround,

509The Men, surpriz'd and ignorant of the ground,

Critical Apparatus510Subdued by fear, become an easy prey;

511So are we favor'd in our first essay.

512  With exultation here Coroebus cries,

513"Behold, O Friends, how bright our destinies!

514Advance;—the road which they point out is plain;

515Shields let us change, and bear the insignia of the Slain,

516Grecians in semblance; wiles are lawful—who

517To simple valour would restrict a foe?

518Themselves shall give us Arms." When this was said

519The Leader's helmet nods upon his head,

520The emblazon'd buckler on his arm is tied,

521He fits an Argive falchion to his side.

522The like doth Ripheus, Dymas,—all put on,

523With eager haste, the spoils which they had won.

524Then in the combat mingling, Heaven averse,

525Amid the gloom a multitude we pierce,

526And to the shades dismiss them. Others flee,

527Appall'd by this imagin'd treachery;

528Some to the Ships—some in the Horse would hide.
529Ah! what reap they but sorrow who confide
530In aught to which the Gods their sanction have denied?

531Behold Cassandra, Priam's royal Child,

532By sacrilegeous men, with hair all wild,

533Dragg'd from Minerva's Temple! Tow'rd the skies

534The Virgin lifts in vain her glowing eyes,

535Her eyes, she could no more, for Grecian bands

536Had rudely manacled her tender hands.

537The intolerable sight to madness stung
538Coroebus; and his desperate self he flung
539For speedy death the ruthless Foe among!

540We follow, and with general shock assail

541The hostile Throng:—here first our efforts fail:

542While, from the summit of the lofty Fane

543Darts, by the People flung, descend amain;

544In miserable heaps their Friends are laid,

545By shew of Grecian Arms and Crests betray'd.

pg 324546Wroth for the Virgin rescu'd, by defeat

547Provok'd, the Grecians from all quarters meet.

Critical Apparatus548With Ajax combat there the Brother Kings;

549And the Dolopian Squadron thither brings

550Its utmost rage. Thus Winds break forth and fly

551To conflict from all regions of the sky;

552Notus and Zephyrus, while Eurus feeds

553The strife, exulting in his orient steeds;

554Woods roar, and foaming Nereus stirs the waves

555Rouz'd by his trident from their lowest caves.

556They also whomsoe'er through shades of night

557Our stratagem had driven to scatter'd flight

558Now reappear—by them our Shields are known;
559The simulating Javelins they disown,
560And mark our utterance of discordant tone.

561Numbers on numbers bear us down; and first

562Coroebus falls; him Peneleus hath pierc'd

Critical Apparatus563Before Minerva's Altar; next, in dust

564Sinks Rhypeus, one above all Trojans just,

565And righteous above all; but heavenly Powers

Critical Apparatus566Ordain by lights that ill agree with ours.

567Then Dymas, Hypanis are slain by Friends;

568—Nor thee abundant piety defends,

569O Pantheus! falling with the garland wound,

570As fits Apollo's Priest, thy brows around.

571  Ashes of Ilium! and ye duteous fires,

572Lit for my Friends upon their funeral pyres;

573Amid your fall bear witness to my word!

574I shunn'd no hazards of the Grecian sword,

575No turns of war; with hand unsparing fought;

576And earn'd, had Fate so will'd, the death I sought,

577Thence am I hurried by the rolling tide,

578With Iphitus and Pelias at my side;

579One bow'd with years; and Pelias, from a wound

580Given by Ulysses, halts along the ground.

581New clamours rise; The Abode of Priam calls,

582Besieged by thousands swarming round the walls;

583Concourse how thick! as if, throughout the space

584Of the whole City, war in other place

pg 325585Were hush'd—no death elsewhere. The Assailants wield

586Above their heads shield, shell-wise lock'd in shield;

587Climb step by step the ladders, near the side

588Of the strong portal daringly applied;

589The weaker hand its guardian shield presents;

590The right is stretch'd to grasp the battlements.

591The Dardans tug at roof and turrets high,
592Rend fragments off, and with these weapons try
593Life to preserve in such extremity,

594Roll down the massy rafters deck'd with gold,

595Magnific splendours rais'd by Kings of old;

596Others with naked weapons stand prepar'd

597In thick array, the doors below to guard.

598A bolder hope inspirits me to lend

599My utmost aid the Palace to defend,

Critical Apparatus600And strengthen those afflicted. From behind,
601A gateway open'd, whence, a passage blind
602The various Mansions of the Palace join'd.

603—Unblest Andromache, while Priam reign'd

604Oft by this way the royal Palace gain'd,

Critical Apparatus605A lonely Visitant; this way would tread

606With young Astyanax, to his Grandsire led.

607Entering the gate, I reach'd the roof, where stand

608The Trojans, hurling darts with ineffectual hand.

609A Tower there was; precipitous the site,

610And the Pile rose to an unrivall'd height;

611Frequented Station, whence, in circuit wide

612Troy might be seen, the Argive Fleet descried,

613And all the Achaian Camp. This sovereign Tower

614With irons grappling where the loftiest floor

615Press'd with its beams the wall we shake, we rend,

616And, in a mass of thundering ruin, send

617To crush the Greeks beneath. But numbers press

618To new assault with reckless eagerness:

619Weapons and missiles from the ruins grow,

620And what their hasty hands can seize they throw!

621In front stands Pyrrhus, glorying in the might
622Of his own weapons, while his armour bright
623Casts from the portal gleams of brazen light,

624So shines a Snake, when kindling, he hath crept

625Forth from the winter bed in which he slept,

626Swoln with a glut of poisonous herbs,—but now

pg 326627Fresh from the shedding of his annual slough,

628Glittering in youth, warm with instinctive fires,
629He, with rais'd breast, involves his back in gyres,
630Darts with his forked tongue, and tow'rd the sun aspires.

631Join'd with redoubted Periphas, comes on

632To storm the Palace fierce Automedon,

633Who drove the Achillean Car;—the Bands

634Of Scyros follow hurling fiery brands.

Critical Apparatus635Pyrrhus himself hath seiz'd an axe, would cleave

636The ponderous doors, or from their hinges heave;

637And now, reiterating stroke on stroke

638Hath hewn, through plates of brass and solid oak,

639A broad-mouth'd entrance;—to their inmost seats

640The long-drawn courts lie open; the retreats

641Of Priam and ancestral Kings are bar'd
642To instantaneous view; and Lo! the Guard
643Stands at the threshold, for defence prepar'd.

644But tumult spreads through all the space within;

645The vaulted roofs repeat the mournful din

646Of female Ululation, a strange vent

647Of agony, that strikes the starry firmament!

648The Matrons range with wildering step the floors;

649Embrace, and print their kisses on, the doors.

650Pyrrhus, with all his father's might, dispels

651Barriers and bolts, and living obstacles;

Critical Apparatus652Force shapes her own clear way;—the doors are thrown

653Off from their hinges; gates are batter'd down

654By the onrushing Soldiery, who kill

655Whom first they meet, and the broad area fill.

656—Less irresistibly, o'er dams and mounds,
657Burst by its rage, a foaming River bounds,
658Herds sweeping with their stalls along the ravag'd grounds.

659Pyrrhus I saw with slaughter desperate;

660The two Atridae near the Palace gate

661Did I behold; and by these eyes were seen

662The hundred Daughters with the Mother Queen,

663And hoary-headed Priam, where he stood

664Beside the Altar, staining with his blood

665Fires which himself had hallow'd. Hope had he

666Erewhile, none equal hope, of large posterity.

667There, fifty bridal chambers might be told—

pg 327668Superb with trophies and barbaric gold,

Critical Apparatus669All, in their pomp, lie level with the ground,

670And where the fire is not, are Grecian Masters found.

671Ask ye the fate of Priam? On that night

672When captur'd Ilium blaz'd before his sight,

673And the Foe, bursting through the Palace gate

674Spread through the privacies of royal state,

675In vain to tremulous shoulders he restor'd
676Arms which had long forgot their ancient Lord,
677And girt upon his side a useless sword;

678Then, thus accoutr'd, forward did he hie,

679As if to meet the Enemy and die.

680—Amid the Courts, an Altar stood in view

681Of the wide heavens, near which a long-lived Laurel grew,

682And, bending over this great Altar, made

683For its Penates an embracing shade.

684With all her Daughters, throng'd like Doves that lie

685Cowering, when storms have driven them from the sky,

686Hecuba shelters in that sacred place

687Where they the Statues of the Gods embrace.

688But when she saw in youthful Arms array'd

689Priam himself; "What ominous thought," she said,

690"Hangs, wretched Spouse, this weight on limbs decay'd?

691And whither would'st thou hasten? If we were

692More helpless still, this succour we might spare.

693Not such Defenders doth the time demand;

694Profitless here would be even Hector's hand.

695Retire; this Altar can protect us all,

696Or thou wilt not survive when we must fall."

Critical Apparatus697This to herself: and tow'rd the sacred spot

698She drew the aged Man, to wait their common lot.

699But see Polites, one of Priam's Sons,

700Charg'd with the death which he in terror shuns!

701The wounded Youth, escap'd from Pyrrhus, flies

702Through showers of darts, through press of enemies,

703Where the long Porticos invite; the space

704Of widely-vacant Courts his footsteps trace.

705Him, Pyrrhus, following near and still more near,

706Hath caught at with his hand, and presses with his spear;

pg 328707But when at length this unremitting flight

708Had brought him full before his Father's sight,

709He fell—and scarcely prostrate on the ground,

710Pour'd forth his life from many a streaming wound.

711Here Priam, scorning death and self-regard,

712His voice restrain'd not, nor his anger spar'd;

713But "Shall the Gods," he cries, "if Gods there be

Critical Apparatus714Who note such acts, and care for piety,

715Requite this heinous crime with measure true,

716Nor one reward withhold that is thy due;

717Who thus a Father's presence hast defil'd,

718And forc'd upon his sight the murder of a Child.

719Not thus Achilles' self, from whom a tongue

720Vers'd in vainglorious falsehood boasts thee sprung.

721Dealt with an enemy; my prayer he heard;

722A Suppliant's rights in Priam he rever'd,

723Gave Hector back to rest within the tomb,

724And me remitted to my royal home."

725This said, the aged Man a javelin cast;

726With weak arm—faltering to the shield it past;

Critical Apparatus727The tinkling shield the harmless point repell'd,

728Which, to the boss it hung from, barely held.

729—Then Pyrrhus, "To my Sire, Pelides, bear
730These feats of mine, ill relish'd as they are,
731Tidings of which I make thee messenger!

732To him a faithful history relate

733Of Neoptolemus degenerate.

734Now die!" So saying, towards the Altar, through

735A stream of filial blood, the tottering Sire he drew;

736His left hand lock'd within the tangled hair

737Rais'd, with the right, a brandish'd sword in air,

738Then to the hilt impell'd it through his side;

739Thus, mid a blazing City, Priam died.

740Troy falling round him, thus he clos'd his fate,

741And the proud Lord of many an Asian State!

Critical Apparatus742Upon the shore lies stretch'd his mangled frame,

743Head from the shoulders tom, a Body without name.

744Then first it was, that Horror girt me round;

745Chill'd my frail heart, and all my senses bound;

746The image of my Father cross'd my mind;

pg 329747Perchance in fate with slaughter'd Priam join'd;

748Equal in age, thus may He breathe out life,

749Creusa also, my deserted Wife!

750The Child Iulus left without defence,

751And the whole House laid bare to violence!

752Backward I look'd, and cast my eyes before;

753My Friends had fail'd, and courage was no more;

754All, wearied out, had follow'd desperate aims,

755Self-dash'd to earth, or stifled in the flames.

756Thus was I left alone; such light my guide

757As the conflagrant walls and roofs supplied;

758When my far-wandering eyesight chanc'd to meet

759Helen sequester'd on a lonely seat

760Amid the Porch of Vesta; She, through dread

761Of Trojan vengeance amply merited,

762Of Grecian punishment, and what the ire

Critical Apparatus763Of a deserted Husband might require,

764Thither had flown—there sate, the common bane

765Of Troy and of her Country—to obtain

766Protection from the Altar, or to try

767What hope might spring from trembling secresy.

768Methought my falling Country cried aloud,

769And the revenge it seem'd to ask, I vow'd;

770"What! shall she visit Sparta once again?

771In triumph enter with a loyal Train?

772Consort, and Home, and Sires and Children view

773By Trojan Females serv'd, a Phrygian retinue?

774For this was Priam slain? Troy burnt? the shore

775Of Dardan Seas so often drench'd in gore?

776Not so; for though such victory can claim

777In its own nature no renown of fame,

778The punishment that ends the guilty days

779Even of a Woman, shall find grateful praise;

780My soul, at least, shall of her weight be eas'd,

781The ashes of my Countrymen appeas'd."

782Such words broke forth; and in my own despite
783Onward I bore, when through the dreary night
784Appear'd my gracious Mother, vested in pure light;

785Never till now before me did she shine

Critical Apparatus786So much herself, so thoroughly divine;

787Goddess reveal'd in all her beauty, love,
788And majesty, as she is wont to move,
789A Shape familiar to the Courts of Jove!

pg 330790The hand she seiz'd her touch suffic'd to stay,

Critical Apparatus791Then through her roseate mouth these words found easy way.

792"O Son! what pain excites a wrath so blind?

793Or could all thought of me desert thy mind?

794Where now is left thy Parent worn with age?

795Wilt thou not rather in that search engage?

796Learn with thine eyes if yet Creusa live,

797And if the Boy Ascanius still survive.

798Them do the Greeks environ:—that they spare,
799That swords so long abstain, and flames forbear,
800Is through the intervention of my care.

801Not Spartan Helen's beauty, so abhorr'd

802By thee, not Paris, her upbraided Lord—

803The hostile Gods have laid this grandeur low,

804Troy from the Gods receives her overthrow.

805Look! for the impediment of misty shade

806With which thy mortal sight is overlaid

807I will disperse; nor thou refuse to hear

808Parental mandates, nor resist through fear!

809There, where thou seest block rolling upon block,

810Mass rent from mass, and dust condens'd with smoke

Critical Apparatus811In billowy intermixture, Neptune smites

812The walls, with labouring Trident disunites

813From their foundation—tearing up, as suits

814His anger, Ilium from her deepest roots.

815Fiercest of all, before the Scaean Gate,

816Arm'd Juno stands, beckoning to animate

817The Bands she summons from the Argive Fleet,

818Tritonian Pallas holds her chosen seat

819High on the Citadel,—look back! see there

820Her Ægis beaming forth a stormy glare!

821The very Father, Jove himself, supplies

822Strength to the Greeks, sends heaven-born enemies

823Against the Dardan Arms. My Son, take flight,

824And close the struggle of this dismal night!

825I will not quit thy steps whate'er betide,
826But to thy Father's House will safely guide."
Critical Apparatus827She ceas'd, and did in shades her presence hide.

pg 331Critical Apparatus828Dire Faces still are seen and Deities

Critical Apparatus829Adverse to Troy appear, her mighty Enemies.

830Now was all Ilium, far as sight could trace,
831Settling and sinking in the Fire's embrace,
832Neptunian Troy subverted from her base.

833Even so, a Mountain-Ash, long tried by shock

834Of storms endur'd upon the native rock,

835When he is doom'd from rustic arms to feel

836The rival blows of persevering steel,

837Nods high with threatening forehead, till at length

838Wounds unremitting have subdued his strength;

839With groans the ancient Tree foretells his end;
840He falls; and fragments of the mountain blend
841With the precipitous ruin.—I descend

842And, as the Godhead leads, 'twixt foe and fire

843Advance:—the darts withdraw, the flames retire.

844But when beneath her guidance I had come

845Far as the Gates of the paternal Dome,

846My Sire, whom first I sought and wish'd to bear

847For safety to the Hills, disdains that care;

848Nor will he now, since Troy hath fall'n, consent

849Life to prolong, or suffer banishment.

850"Think Ye," he says, "the current of whose blood

851Is unimpair'd, whose vigour unsubdued,

852Think Ye of flight;—that I should live, the Gods

853Wish not, or they had sav'd me these Abodes.

854Not once, but twice, this City to survive,

855What need against such destiny to strive?

Critical Apparatus856While thus, even thus dispos'd the body lies,

857Depart! pronounce my funeral obsequies!

858Not long shall I have here to wait for death,

859A pitying Foe will rid me of my breath,

860Will seek my spoils; and should I lie forlorn

861Of sepulture, the loss may well be borne.

862Full long obnoxious to the Powers divine

863Life lingers out these barren years of mine;

864Even since the date when me the eternal Sire

865Swept with the thunderbolt, and scath'd with fire."

866Thus he persists;—Creusa and her Son

867Second the counter-prayer by me begun;

Critical Apparatus868The total House with weeping deprecate

pg 332869This weight of wilful impulse given to Fate;

870He, all unmov'd by pleadings and by tears,

871Guards his resolve, and to the spot adheres.

872Arms once again attract me, hurried on

873In misery, and craving death alone.

874"And hast thou hop'd that I could move to find
875A place of rest, thee, Father, left behind?
876How could parental lips the guilty thought unbind?

877If in so great a City Heaven ordain

878Utter extinction; if thy soul retain

879With stedfast longing that abrupt design

880Which would to falling Troy add thee and thine;

881That way to Death lies open;—soon will stand

882Pyrrhus before thee with the reeking brand

883That drank the blood of Priam; He whose hand

884The Son in presence of the Father slays,

885And at the Altar's base the slaughter'd Father lays.

886For this, benignant Mother! didst thou lead

887My steps along a way from danger freed,

888That I might see remorseless Men invade

889The holiest places that these roofs o'ershade?

890See Father, Consort, Son, all tinged and dy'd

Critical Apparatus891With mutual sprinklings, perish side by side?

892Arms bring me, Friends; bring Arms! our last hour speaks,

893It calls the Vanquish'd; cast me on the Greeks.

894In rallying combat let us join;—not all,

895This night, unsolac'd by revenge shall fall."

896The sword resumes its place; the shield I bear;

897And hurry now to reach the open air;

898When on the ground before the threshold cast
Critical Apparatus899Lo! where Creusa hath my feet embrac'd
900And holding up Iulus, there cleaves fast!

901"If thou, departing, be resolv'd to die,

Critical Apparatus902Take us through all that in thy road may lie;

903But if on Arms, already tried, attend

904A single hope, then first this House defend;

905On whose protection Sire and Son are thrown,

906And I, the Wife that once was call'd thine own."

907Such outcry fill'd the Mansion, when behold

908A strange portent, and wonderous to be told!

909All suddenly a luminous crest was seen;

pg 333910Which, where the Boy Iulus hung between

911The arms of each sad Parent, rose and shed,

912Tapering aloft, a lustre from his head;

913Along the hair the lambent flame proceeds

914With harmless touch, and round his temples feeds.

915In fear we haste, the burning tresses shake,

916And from the fount the holy fire would slake;

917But joyfully his hands Anchises rais'd,

918His voice not silent as on Heaven he gaz'd:

919"Almighty Jupiter! if prayers have power

920To bend thee, look on us; I seek no more;

921If aught our piety deserve, Oh deign
922The hope this Omen proffers to sustain;
923Nor, Father, let us ask a second Sign in vain!"

924Thus spake the Sire, and scarcely ended, ere

925A peal of sudden thunder, loud and clear,

926Broke from the left; and shot through Heaven a star

927Trailing its torch, that sparkled from afar;

Critical Apparatus928Above the roof the star, conspicuous sight,
929Ran to be hid on Ida's sylvan height.
930The long way marking with a train of light.

931The furrowy track the distant sky illumes,

932And far and wide are spread sulphureous fumes.

933Uprisen from earth, my aged Sire implores

934The Deities, the holy Star adores;

935—"Now am I conquer'd—now is no delay;

936Gods of my Country! where Ye lead the way

937'Tis not in me to hesitate or swerve;

938Preserve my House, Ye Powers, this Little One preserve!

939Yours is this augury; and Troy hath still

940Life in the signs that manifest your will!

941I cannot chuse but yield; and now to Thee,

942O Son, a firm Associate will I be!"

943He spake; and nearer through the City came

944Rolling more audibly, the sea of flame.

945"Now give, dear Father, to this neck the freight

946Of thy old age;—the burthen will be light

947For which my shoulders bend; henceforth one fate,

948Evil or good shall we participate.

949The Boy shall journey, tripping at my side;

950Our steps, at distance mark'd, will be Creusa's guide.

951My Household! heed these words: upon a Mound

952(To those who quit the City obvious ground)

pg 334953A Temple, once by Ceres honour'd, shews

954Its mouldering front; hard by a Cypress grows,

955Through ages guarded with religious care;

956Thither, by various roads, let all repair.

957Thou, Father! take these relics; let thy hand

958Bear the Penates of our native land;

959I may not touch them, fresh from deeds of blood,

960Till the stream cleanse me with its living flood."

961Forthwith an ample vest my shoulders clad,

962Above the vest a lion's skin was spread,

963Next came the living Burthen; fast in mine

964His little hand Iulus doth entwine,

965Following his Father with no equal pace;

966Creusa treads behind; the darkest ways we trace.

967And me, erewhile insensible to harms,
968Whom adverse Greeks agglomerate in Arms
969Mov'd not, now every breath of air alarms;

970All sounds have power to trouble me with fear,

971Anxious for whom I lead, and whom I bear.

972Thus, till the Gates were nigh, my course I shap'd,

973And thought the hazards of the time escap'd,

974When through the gloom a noise of feet we hear,

975Quick sounds that seem'd to press upon the ear;

976"Fly," cries my Father, looking forth, "Oh fly!

977They come—I see their shields and dazzling panoply!"

978Here, in my trepidation was I left,

979Through some unfriendly Power, of mind bereft,

980For, while I journey'd devious and forlorn,

981From me, me wretched, was Creusa torn;

982Whether stopp'd short by death, or from the road

983She wander'd, or sank down beneath a load

984Of weariness, no vestiges made plain:

985She vanish'd, ne'er to meet these eyes again.

Critical Apparatus986Nor did I seek her lost, nor backward turn

987My mind, until we reach'd the sacred bourne

988Of ancient Ceres. All, even all, save One

989Were in the spot assembl'd; She alone,

990As if her melancholy fate disown'd

991Companion, Son, and Husband, nowhere could be found.

992Who, man or God, from my reproach was free?

993Had desolated Troy a heavier woe for me?

994'Mid careful friends my Sire and Son I place,

pg 335995With the Penates of our Phrygian race,

996Deep in a winding vale; my footsteps then retrace;

997Resolv'd the whole wide City to explore

998And face the perils of the night once more.

999  So, with refulgent Arms begirt, I haste

1000Tow'rd the dark gates through which my feet had pass'd,

1001Remeasure, where I may, the beaten ground,

1002And turn at every step a searching eye around.

1003Horror prevails on all sides, while with dread

1004The very silence is impregnated.

1005Fast to my Father's Mansion I repair,

1006If haply, haply, She had harbour'd there.

1007Seiz'd by the Grecians was the whole Abode:

1008And now, voracious fire its mastery shew'd,

1009Roll'd upward by the wind in flames that meet
1010High o'er the roof,—air rages with the heat;
1011Thence to the Towers I pass, where Priam held his Seat.

1012Already Phoenix and Ulysses kept,

1013As chosen Guards, the spoils of Ilium, heap'd

1014In Juno's Temple, and the wealth that rose

1015Pil'd on the floors of vacant porticos,

1016Prey tom through fire from many a secret Hold,

1017Vests, tables of the Gods, and cups of massy gold.

1018And, in long order, round these treasures stand

1019Matrons, and Boys, and Youths, a trembling Band!

1020  Nor did I spare with fearless voice to raise

1021Shouts in the gloom that fill'd the streets and ways,

1022And with reduplication sad and vain,

1023Creusa call'd, again and yet again.

1024While thus I prosecute an endless quest

1025A Shape was seen, unwelcome and unblest;

1026Creusa's Shade appear'd before my eyes,

1027Her Image, but of more than mortal size;

1028Then I, as if the power of life had pass'd

1029Into my upright hair, stood speechless and aghast.

1030—She thus—to stop my troubles at their source:

1031"Dear Consort, why this fondly-desperate course?

1032Supernal Powers, not doubtfully, prepare

1033These issues; going hence thou wilt not bear

1034Creusa with thee; know that Fate denies

Critical Apparatus1035This Fellowship, and this the Ruler of the skies.

1036Long wanderings will be thine, no home allow'd;

1037Vast the extent of sea that must be plough'd

pg 3361038Ere, mid Hesperian fields where Tiber flows

1039With gentle current, thy tired keels repose.

1040Joy meets thee there, a Realm and royal Bride,
1041—For lov'd Creusa let thy tears be dried;
1042I go not where the Myrmidons abide.

1043No proud Dolopian Mansion shall I see

1044Nor shall a Grecian Dame be serv'd by me,

1045Deriv'd from Jove, and rais'd by thee so high,

1046Spouse to the Offspring of a Deity,—

Critical Apparatus1047Far otherwise; upon my native plains

1048Me the great Mother of the Gods detains.

1049Now, fare thee well! protect our Son, and prove

1050By tenderness for him, our common love."

1051  This having said—my trouble to subdue,

1052Into thin air she silently withdrew;

1053Left me while tears were gushing from their springs,

1054And on my tongue a thousand hasty things;

1055Thrice with my arms I strove her neck to clasp,

1056Thrice had my hands succeeded in their grasp,

1057From which the Image slipp'd away, as light

1058As the swift winds, or sleep when taking flight.

1059  Such was the close; and now the night thus spent,

1060Back to my Friends an eager course I bent,

1061And here a crowd with wonder I behold

1062Of new Associates, concourse manifold!

1063Matrons, and Men, and Youths that hither hied,
1064For exile gathering; and from every side
1065The wretched people throng'd and multiplied;

1066Prepar'd with mind and means their flight to speed

1067Across the seas, where I might chuse to lead.

1068Now on the ridge of Ida's summit grey

1069Rose Lucifer, prevenient to the day.

1070The Grecians held the Gates in close blockade,

1071Hope was there none of giving further aid;

1072I yielded, took my Father up once more,

1073And sought the Mountain, with the Freight I bore.

THIRD BOOK

1Now when the Gods had crush'd the Asian State

2And Priam's race, by too severe a fate;

3When they were pleas'd proud Ilium to destroy,

4And smokes upon the ground Neptunian Troy;

5The sad Survivors, from their country driven,

pg 3376Seek distant shores, impell'd by signs from Heaven.

7Beneath Antandros we prepare a Fleet—

8There my Companions muster at the feet

9Of Phrygian Ida, dubious in our quest,

10And where the Fates may suffer us to rest.

11Scarcely had breath'd the earliest summer gales

12Before Anchises bid to spread the sails;

13Weeping I quit the Port, my native coast,

14And fields where Troy once was; and soon am lost

15An Exile on the bosom of the seas,

16With Friends, Son, household Gods and the great Deities.

17  Right opposite is spread a peopled Land,

18Where once the fierce Lyeurgus held command;

19The martial Thracians plough its champain wide,
20To Troy by hospitable rites allied,
21While Fortune favour'd to this coast we hied;

22Where entering with unfriendly Fates, I lay

23My first foundations in a hollow bay;

24And call the men Æneades,—to share

25With the new Citoyens the name I bear.

26To Dionaean Venus we present,

27And to the Gods who aid a fresh intent,

28The sacred offerings; and with honour due

29Upon the shore a glossy Bull I slew

30To the great King of Heaven. A Mount was near
31Upon whose summit cornel trees uprear
32Their boughs, and myrtles rough with many a spear.

33Studious to deck the Altar with green shoots,

34Thither I turn'd; and, tugging at the roots

35Strove to despoil the thicket; when behold

36A dire portent, and wondrous to be told!

37No sooner was the shatter'd root laid bare

38Of the first Tree I. struggled to uptear,

39Than from the fibres drops of blood distill'd,
40Whose blackness stain'd the ground:—me horror thrill'd:
41My frame all shudder'd, and my blood was chill'd.

42Persisting in the attempt, I toil'd to free

43The flexile body of another tree,

44Anxious the latent causes to explore;

45And from the bark blood trickled as before.

46Revolving much in mind forthwith I paid

47Vows to the sylvan Nymphs, and sought the aid

48Of Father Mars, spear-shaking God who yields

49His stem protection to the Thracian fields;

50That to a prosperous issue they would guide

pg 33851The accident, the omen turn aside.

52But, for a third endeavour, when with hands

53Eagerly strain'd, knees press'd against the sands,

54I strive the myrtle lances to uproot

55With my whole strength (speak shall I, or be mute?)

56From the deep tomb a mournful groan was sent

57And a voice follow'd, uttering this lament:

58"Torment me not, Æneas. Why this pain
59Given to a buried Man? O cease, refrain,
60And spare thy pious hands this guilty stain!

61Troy brought me forth, no alien to thy blood;

62Nor yields a senseless trunk this sable flood.

63Oh fly the cruel land; the greedy shore

64Forsake with speed, for I am Polydore.

65A flight of iron darts have pierced me through,

66Took life, and into this sharp thicket grew."

67Then truly did I stand aghast, cold fear

68Strangling my voice, and lifting up my hair.

69Erewhile from Troy had Priam sent by stealth

70This Polydore, and with him stores of wealth;

71Trusting the Thracian King his Son would rear:

72For wretched Priam now gave way to fear,

73Seeing the Town beleaguer'd. These alarms

74Spread to the Thracian King, and when the Arms

75Of Troy were quelled, to the victorious side

76Of Agamemnon he his hopes allied;

77Breaking through sacred laws without remorse,

78Slew Polydore, and seized the gold by force.

79What mischief to poor mortals has not thirst

80Of gold created! appetite accurs'd!

81Soon as a calmer mind I could recal

82I seek the Chiefs, my Father above all;

83Report the omen, and their thoughts demand.

84One mind is theirs,—to quit the impious Land;

85With the first breezes of the South to fly

86Sick of polluted hospitality.

87Forthwith on Polydore our hands bestow

88A second burial, and fresh mould upthrow;

89And to his Manes raise beside the mound
90Altars, which, as they stood in mournful round,
91Cerulean fillets and black cypress bound;

92And with loose hair a customary Band

93Of Trojan Women in the circle stand.

94From cups warm milk and sacred blood we pour,
95Thus to the tomb the Spirit we restore;
96And with a farewell cry its future rest implore.

pg 33997  Then, when the sea grew calm, and gently creeps

98The soft South-wind and calls us to the Deeps,

99The Crew draw down our Ships; they crowd the Shore,
100The Port we leave; with Cities sprinkl'd o'er,
101Slowly the Coast recedes, and then is seen no more.

102  In the 'mid Deep there lies a spot of earth,

103Sacred to her who gave the Nereids birth;

104And to Ægean Neptune. Long was toss'd

105This then unfruitful ground, and driven from coast to coast;

106But, as it floated on the wide-spread sea,

107The Archer-God, in filial piety,

108Between two Sister islands bound it fast

109For Man's abode, and to defy the blast.

110Thither we steer. At length the unruffled Place

111Received our Vessels in her calm embrace.

112We land—and, when the pleasant soil we trod,

113Adored the City of the Delian God.

114Anius, the King (whose brows were wreath'd around

115With laurel garlands and with fillets bound,

116His sacred symbols as Apollo's Priest)

117Advanc'd to meet us, from our ships releas'd;

118He recognized Anchises; and their hands

119Gladly they join, renewing ancient Bands

120Of Hospitality; nor longer waits

121The King, but leads us to his friendly gates.

122  To seek the Temple was my early care;

123To whose Divinity I bow'd in prayer

124Within the reverend Pile of ancient stone:
125"Thymbreus! painful wanderings have we known
126Grant, to the weary, dwellings of their own!

127A City yield, a Progeny ensure,

128A habitation destined to endure!—

129—To us, sad relics of the Grecian Sword,

130(All that is left of Troy) another Troy accord!

131What shall we seek? whom follow? where abide?
132Vouchsafe an augury our course to guide;
133Father, descend, and thro' our Spirits glide!"

134—Then shook, or seem'd to shake, the entire Abode;

135A trembling seiz'd the Laurels of the God;

136The mountain rock'd; and sounds with murmuring swell
137Roll'd from the Shrine; upon the ground I fell,
138And heard the guiding voice our fates foretell.

139"Ye patient Dardans! that same Land which bore

140From the first Stock your Fathers heretofore;

pg 340141That ancient Mother will unfold her breast

142For your return,—seek Her with faithful quest;

143So shall the Ænean Line command the earth

144As long as future years to future years give birth."

145  Thus Phoebus answer'd, and forthwith the crowd

146Burst into transport vehement and loud:

147All ask what Phoebus wills; and where the bourne

148To which Troy's wandering Race are destin'd to return.

149Then spake my aged Father, turning o'er

150Traditions handed down from days of yore;

151"Give ear," he said, "O Chieftains, while my words

152Unfold the hopes this Oracle affords!

153On the mid sea the Cretan Island lies,

154Dear to the sovereign Lord of earth and skies;

155There is the Idean Mount, and there we trace

156The fountain-head, the cradle of our race.

157A hundred Cities, places of command,

158Rise in the circle of that fruitful land;

159Thence to Rhoetean shores (if things oft heard

160I faithfully remember) Teucer steer'd,

161Our first progenitor; and chose a spot

162His Seat of government when Troy was not;

163While yet the Natives housed in vallies deep,

164Ere Pergamus had risen, to crown the lofty steep.

165From Crete came Cybele; from Crete we gained

166All that the Mother of the Gods ordain'd;

167The Corybantian Cymbals thence we drew,

168The Idaean Grove; and faithful Silence, due

169To rites mysterious; and the Lion pair

170Ruled by the Goddess from her awful Car.

171Then haste—the Mandate of the Gods obey

172And to the Gnossian Realms direct our way;

173But first the winds propitiate, and if Jove

174From his high Throne the enterprize approve,

175The third day's light shall bring our happy Fleet

176To a safe harbour on the shores of Crete."

177  He spake, appropriate Victims forth were led,

178And by his hand upon the Altars bled;

179A Bull to soothe the God who rules the Sea—

180A Bull, O bright Apollo! fell to thee,

181A sable sheep for Hyems doth he smite,

182For the soft Zephyrs one of purest white.

183Fame told that regions would in Crete be found

184Bare of the foe, deserted tracts of ground;

pg 341185Left by Idomeneus, to recent flight

186Driven from those realms—his patrimonial right.

187Chear'd by a hope those valiant seats to gain

188We quit the Ortygian Shore, and scud along the Main.

189Near ridgy Naxos, travers'd by a rout

190Of madding Bacchanals with song and shout;

191By green Donysa rising o'er the Deeps;

192Olearos, and snow-white Parian steeps;

193Flying with prosperous sail thro' sounds and seas

194Starr'd with the thickly-clustering Cyclades.

195Confused and various clamour rises high;
196"To Crete and to our Ancestors" we cry
197While Ships and Sailors each with other vie.

198Still freshening from the stern the breezes blow,

199And speed the Barks they chase, where'er we go;

200Till rest is giv'n upon the ancient Shores

201Of the Curetes to their Sails and Oars.

202So with keen hope I trace a circling Wall
203And the new City, by a name which all
204Repeat with gladness, Pergamus I call.

205The thankful Citoyens I then exhort

206To love their hearths, and raise a guardian Fort.

207—The Fleet is drawn ashore; in eager Bands

208The Settlers cultivate the allotted lands;

209And some for Hymeneal rites prepare;
210I plan our new Abodes, fit laws declare;
211But pestilence now came, and tainted the wide air.

212To piteous wasting were our limbs betrayed;

213On trees and plants the deadly season preyed.

214The men relinquished their dear lives,—or life

215Remaining, dragged their frames in feeble strife.

216Thereafter, Sirius clomb the sultry sky,
217Parch'd every herb to bare sterility;
218And forc'd the sickly com its nurture to deny.

219My anxious Sire exhorts to seek once more

220The Delian shrine, and pardon thence implore;

221Ask of the God to what these sorrows tend,

222Whence we must look for aid, our voyage whither bend.

223  'Twas night, and couch'd upon the dewy ground

224The weary Animals in sleep were bound,

225When those Penates which my hands had snatch'd

226From burning Troy, while on my bed I watch'd,

227Appeared, and stood before me, to my sight

228Made manifest by copious streams of light

229Pour'd from the body of the full-orbed Moon,

pg 342230That thro' the loop-holes of my chamber shone.

231Thus did they speak: "We come, the Delegates

232Of Phoebus, to foretell thy future fates:

233Things which his Delian tripod to thine ear

234Would have announced, thro' us he utters here.

235When Troy was burnt we crost the billowy sea
236Faithful Attendants on thy arms, and We
237Shall raise to Heaven thy proud Posterity.

238But thou thy destined wanderings stoutly bear,

239And for the Mighty, mighty seats prepare;

240These thou must leave;—Apollo ne'er design'd

241That thou in Crete a resting-place should'st find.

242There is a Country styled by Men of Greece

243Hesperia—strong in arms—the soil of large increase,

244Ænotrians held it; men of later fame

245Call it Italia, from their Leader's name;

246Our home is there; there lies the native place

247Of Dardanus, and Iasius—whence our race.

248Rise then; and to thy aged Father speak

249Indubitable tidings;—bid him seek

250The Ausonian Land, and Corithus; Jove yields

251No place to us among Dictean fields."

252  Upon the sacred spectacle I gaz'd,

253And heard the utterance of the Gods, amaz'd.

254Sleep in this visitation had no share;

255Each face I saw—the fillets round their hair!

256Chilled with damp fear I started from the bed,

257And raised my hands and voice to heav'n—then shed

258On the recipient hearth untemper'd wine

259In prompt libation to the powers divine.

260This rite performed with joy, my Sire I sought

261Charged with the message that the Gods had brought;

262When I had open'd all in order due

263The truth found easy entrance; for he knew

264The double Ancestors, the ambiguous race,

265And own'd his new mistake in person and in place.

266Then he exclaim'd "O Son, severely tried

267In all that Troy is fated to abide,

268This course Cassandra's voice to me made known;

269She prophesied of this, and she alone;

270Italia oft she cried, and words outthrew

271Of realms Hesperian, to our Nation due:

272But how should Phrygians such a power erect?

273Whom did Cassandra's sayings then affect?

274Now, let us yield to Phoebus, and pursue

pg 343275The happier lot he offers to our view."

276All heard with transport what my Father spake.

277This habitation also we forsake;

278And strait, a scanty remnant left behind,

279Once more in hollow Ships we court the helpful wind.

280  But when along the Deep our Gallies steer'd,

281And the last speck of land had disappear'd,

282And nought was visible, above, around,

283Save the blank sky, and ocean without bound,

284Then came a Tempest-laden Cloud that stood

285Right over me, and rouz'd the blackening flood.

286The fleet is scatter'd, while around us rise

287Billows that every moment magnifies.

288Day fled, and heaven, enveloped in a night

289Of stormy rains, is taken from our sight;

290By instincts of their own the clouds are riven

291And prodigal of fire—while we are driven

292Far from the points we aim'd at, every bark

293Errant upon the waters rough and dark.

294Even Palinurus owns that night and day,

295Thus in each other lost, confound his way.

296Three sunless days we struggle with the gales,

297And for three starless nights all guidance fails;

298The fourth day came, and to our wistful eyes

299The far-off Land then first began to rise,

300Lifting itself in hills that gently broke

301Upon our view, and rolling clouds of smoke.

302Sails drop; the Mariners, with spring and stoop
303Timed to their oars, the eddying waters scoop,
304The Vessels skim the waves, alive from prow to poop.

305  Saved from the perils of the stormy seas,

306We disembark upon the Strophades;

307Amid the Ionian Waters lie this pair

308Of Islands, and that Grecian name they bear.

309The brood of Harpies, when in fear they left

310The doors of Phineus,—of that home bereft

311And of their former tables—thither fled,

312There dwelt with dire Celæno at their head.

313No plague so hideous, for impure abuse

314Of upper air, did ever Styx produce,

315Stirr'd by the anger of the Gods, to fling

316From out her waves some new-born monstrous Thing.

317Birds they, with virgin faces, crooked claws;
318Of filthy paunch and of insatiate maws,
319And pallid mien—from hunger without pause.

pg 344320  Here safe in port we saw the fields o'erspread

321With beeves and goats, untended as they fed.

322Prompt slaughter follows; offerings there we pay,

323And call on Jove himself to share the prey.

324Then, couch by couch, along the bay we rear,

325And feast well pleased upon that goodly chear.

326But, clapping loud their wings, the Harpy brood

327Bush from the mountain—pounce upon our food,

328Pollute the morsels which they fail to seize—

329And, screaming, load with noisome scents the breeze.

330Again—but now within a long-drawn glade

331O'erhung with rocks and boughs of roughest shade

332We deck our tables, and replace the fire

333Upon the Altars; but, with noises dire,

334From different points of Heaven, from blind retreats,

335They flock—and hovering o'er defile the meats.

336"War let them have," I cried, and gave command

337To stem the next foul onset, arms in hand.

338Forthwith the men withdraw from sight their shields

339And hide their swords where grass a covert yields,

340But when the Harpies with loud clang once more

341Gathered, and spread upon the curved shore,

342From a tall eminence in open view

343His trumpet sound of charge Misenus blew;

344Then do our swords assault those Fowls obscene,

345Of generation aqueous and terrene.

346But what avails it? oft repeated blows

347They with inviolable plumes oppose;

348Baffle the steel, and, leaving stains behind

349And spoil half eaten, mount upon the wind;

350Celæno only on a summit high

351Perched—and there vented this sad prophecy.

352  "By war, Descendants of Laomedon!

353For our slain Steers, by war would ye atone?

354Why seek the blameless Harpies to expel

355From regions where by right of birth they dwell?

356But learn, and fast within your memories hold,
357Things which to Phoebus Jupiter foretold,
358Phoebus to me, and I to you unfold,

359I, greatest of the Furies. Ye, who strive

360For Italy, in Italy shall arrive;

361Havens within that wished-for land, by leave

362Of favouring winds, your Navy shall receive;

363But do not hope to raise those promised Walls

364Ere on your head the curse of hunger falls;

pg 345And, for the slaughter of our herds, your doom

365Hath been your very tables to consume,

366Gnaw'd and devour'd thro' utter want of food!"

367She spake, and, borne on wings, sought refuge in the wood.

368The haughty spirits of the Men were quail'd,

369A shuddering fear thro' every heart prevail'd;

370On force of arms no longer they rely

371To daunt whom prayers and vows must pacify,

372Whether to Goddesses the offence were given,

373Or they with dire and obscene Birds had striven.

374Due Rites ordain'd, as on the shore he stands,

375My Sire Anchises, with uplifted hands,

376Invokes the greater Gods; "Ye Powers, disarm

377This threat, and from your Votaries turn the harm!"

378Then bids to loose the Cables and unbind

379The willing canvas, to the breeze resign'd.

380Where guides the Steersman and the south winds urge

381Our rapid keels, we skim the foaming surge,

382Before us opens midway in the flood

383Zacynthus, shaded with luxuriant wood;

384Dulichium now, and Same next appears;

385And Neritos a craggy summit rears;

386We shim the rocks of Ithaca, ill Nurse

387Of stem Ulysses! and her soil we curse;

388Then Mount Leucate shews its vapoury head;

389Where, from his temple, Phoebus strikes with dread

390The passing Mariner; but no mischance

391Now fear'd, to that small City we advance;

392Gladly we haul the sterns ashore, and throw

393The biting Anchor out from every prow.

394Unlook'd-for land thus reach'd, to Jove we raise

395The votive Altars which with incense blaze;

396Our Youth, illustrating the Actian Strand

397With Trojan games, as in their native land

398Imbue their naked limbs with slippery oil,

399And pant for mastery in athletic toil;

400Well pleas'd so fair a voyage to have shap'd

401'Mid Grecian Towns on every side escap'd.

402Sol thro' his annual round meanwhile had pass'd,

403And the Sea roughened in the wintry blast;

404High on the Temple Gate a brazen shield

405I fixed, which mighty Abbas used to wield;

406Inscriptive verse declar'd, why this was done,

pg 346407"Arms from the conquering Greeks and by Æneas won."

408Then at my word the Ships their moorings leave,

409And with contending oars the waters cleave;

410Phæacian Peaks beheld in air and lost

411As we proceed, Epirus now we coast;

412And, a Chaonian harbour won, we greet

413Buthrotas, perch'd upon her lofty seat.

414Helenus, Son of Priam, here was Chief,

415(So ran the tale ill-fitted for belief),

416Govern'd where Grecian Pyrrhus once had reign'd,

417Whose sceptre wielding he, therewith, had gain'd

418Andromache his Spouse,—to nuptials led

419Once more by one whom Troy had borne and bred.

420I long'd to greet him, wish'd to hear his fate

421As his own voice the Story would relate.

422So from the Port in which our gallies lay,

423Right tow'rds the City I pursu'd my way.

424A Grove there was, where by a streamlet's side

425With the proud name of Simois dignified,

426Andromache a solemn service paid,

427(As chanc'd that day) invoking Hector's shade;

428There did her hands the mournful gifts present

429Before a tomb—his empty monument

430Of living green-sward hallowed by her care;
431And two funereal Altars, planted near,
432Quicken'd the motion of each falling tear,

433When my approach she witness'd, and could see

434Our Phrygian Arms, she shrank as from a prodigy,

435In blank astonishment and terror shook,

436While the warm blood her tottering limbs forsook.

437She swoon'd and long lay senseless on the ground,

438Before these broken words a passage found;

439"Was that a real Shape which met my view?

440Son of a Goddess, is thy coming true?

441Liv'st thou? or, if the light of life be fled,

442Hector, where is he?" This she spake,—then spread

443A voice of weeping thro' the Grove, and I

444Utter'd these few faint accents in disturb'd reply.

445"Fear not to trust thine eyes; I live indeed,

446And fraught with trouble is the life I lead.

447Fallen from the height, where with thy glorious Mate

448Thou stood'st, Andromache, what change had Fate

449To offer worthy of thy former state?

450Say, did the Gods take pity on thy vows?

451Or have they given to Pyrrhus Hector's Spouse?"

pg 347452Then she with downcast look, and voice subdu'd;

453"Thrice happy Virgin, thou of Priam's blood,

454Who, in the front of Troy by timely doom,

455Did'st pour out life before a hostile tomb;

456And, slaughter'd thus, wert guarded from the wrong

457Of being swept by lot amid a helpless throng!

458O happiest above all who ne'er did press

459A conquering Master's bed, in captive wretchedness!

460I, since our Ilium fell, have undergone

461(Wide waters cross'd) whate'er Achilles' Son

462Could in the arrogance of birth impose,

463And faced in servitude a Mother's throes.

464Hereafter, he at will the knot unty'd,

465To seek Hermione a Spartan Bride;

466And me to Trojan Helenus he gave—

467Captive to Captive—if not Slave to Slave.

468Whereat, Orestes with strong love inflam'd

469Of her now lost whom as a bride he claim'd,

Critical Apparatus470And by the Furies driv'n, in vengeful ire

471Smote Pyrrhus at the Altar of his Sire.

472He, by an unexpected blow, thus slain,

473On Helenus devolv'd a part of his Domain,

474Who call'd the neighbouring fields Chaonian ground,

475Chaonia named the Region wide around,

476From Trojan Chaon,—chusing for the site

477Of a new Pergamus yon rocky height.

478But thee a Stranger in a land unknown

479What Fates have urg'd? What winds have hither blown?

480Or say what God upon our coasts hath thrown?

481Survives the Boy Ascanius? In his heart

482Doth his lost Mother still retain her part?

483What, Son of great Æneas, brings he forth

484In emulation of his Father's worth?

485In Priam's Grandchild doth not Hector raise

486High hopes to reach the virtue of past days?"

487Then follow'd sobs and lamentations vain;

488But from the City, with a numerous train,

489Her living Consort Helenus descends;

490He saw, and gave glad greeting to his Friends;

491And tow'rds his hospitable palace leads

492While passion interrupts the speech it feeds.

493As we advance I gratulate with joy

494Their dwindling Xanthus, and their little Troy;

495Their Pergamus aspiring in proud state,
496As if it strove the old to emulate;
497And clasp the threshold of their Scaean Gate.

498Nor fails this kindred City to excite

499In my Associates unreserv'd delight;

500And soon in ample Porticos the King

Critical Apparatus501Receives the Band with earnest welcoming;

502Amid the Hall high festival we hold,

503Refresh'd with viands serv'd in massy gold

504And from resplendent goblets, votive wine

505Flows in libations to the Powers divine.

506Two joyful days thus past, the southern breeze

507Once more invites my Fleet to trust the Seas;

508To Helenus this suit I then prefer:

509"Illustrious Trojan! Heaven's interpreter!

510By prescient Phoebus with his spirit fill'd,

511Skill'd in the tripod, in the Laurel skill'd;

512Skill'd in the stars, and what by voice or wing

513Birds to the intelligence of mortals bring;

514Now mark:—to Italy my course I bend
515Urged by the Gods who for this aim portend,
516By every sign they give, a happy end.

517The Harpy Queen, she only doth presage

518A curse of famine in its utmost rage;

519Say thou what perils I am first to shun,

520What course for safe deliverance must be run?"

521Then Helenus (the accustom'd Victims slain)

522Invoked the Gods their favour to obtain.

523This done, he loos'd the fillets from his head,
524And took my hand; and, while a holy dread
525Possess'd me, onward to the Temple led,

526Thy Temple, Phoebus!—from his lip then flow'd

527Communications of the inspiring God.—

528"No common auspices (this truth is plain)
529Conduct thee, Son of Venus! o'er the Main;
530The high behests of Jove this course ordain.

531But, that with safer voyage thou may'st reach

532The Ausonian harbour, I will clothe in speech

533Some portion of the future; Fate hath hung

534Clouds o'er the rest, or Juno binds my tongue.

535And first, that Italy, whose coasts appear,

536To thy too confident belief, so near,

537With havens open for thy sails, a wide

538And weary distance doth from thee divide.

pg 349539Trinacrian waves shall bend the pliant oar;

540Thou, thro' Ausonian gulphs, a passage must explore,

541Trace the Circean Isle, the infernal Pool,

542Before thy City rise for stedfast rule.

Critical Apparatus543Now mark these Signs, and store them in thy mind;
544When, anxiously reflecting, thou shalt find
545A bulky Female of the bristly Kind

546On a sequester'd river's margin laid,

547Where Ilex branches do the ground o'ershade,

Critical Apparatus548With thirty young ones couch'd in that Recess,

549White as the pure white Dam whose teats they press,

550There found thy City;—on that soil shall close

551All thy solicitudes, in fixed repose.

Critical Apparatus552Nor dread Celaeno's threat, the Fates shall clear

553The way, and at thy call Apollo interfere.

Critical Apparatus554But shun those Lands where our Ionian sea

555Washes the nearest shores of Italy.

556On all the coasts malignant Greeks abide;

557Narycian Locrians there a Town have fortified;

558Idomeneus of Crete hath compassed round

559With soldiery the Sallentinian ground;

560There, when Thessalian Philoctetes chose

561His resting-place, the small Petilia rose.

562And when, that sea past over, thou shalt stand

563Before the Altars, kindled on the strand,

564While to the Gods are offer'd up thy vows,

565Then in a purple veil enwrap thy brows,

Critical Apparatus566And sacrifice thus cover'd, lest the sight

567Of any hostile face disturb the rite.

568Be this observance kept by thee and thine,

569And this to late posterity consign!

570But when by favouring breezes wafted o'er

571Thy Fleet approaches the Sicilian shore,

572And dense Pelorus gradually throws

573Its barriers open to invite thy prows,

574That passage shunn'd, thy course in safety keep

575By steering to the left, with ample sweep.

576"'Tis said when heaving Earth of yore was rent

577This ground forsook the Hesperian Continent;

578Nor doubt, that power to work such change might lie

579Within the grasp of dark Antiquity.

pg 350580Then flow'd the sea between, and, where the force

581Of roaring waves establish'd the divorce,

582Still, thro' the Straits, the narrow waters boil,

583Dissevering Town from Town, and soil from soil.

584Upon the right the dogs of Scylla fret;

585The left by fell Charybdis is beset;

586Thrice tow'rds the bottom of a vast abyss

587Down, headlong down the liquid precipice

588She sucks the whirling billows, and, as oft,

589Ejecting, sends them into air aloft.

590But Scylla, pent within her Cavern blind,

591Thrusts forth a visage of our human kind,

592And draws the Ship on rocks; She, fair in show,

593A woman to the waist, is foul below;

594A huge Sea-Beast—with Dolphin tails, and bound

595With water Wolves and Dogs her middle round!

596But Thou against this jeopardy provide

597Doubling Pachynus with a circuit wide;

598Thus shapeless Scylla may be left unseen,

599Unheard the yelling of the brood marine.

600But, above all if Phoebus I revere

601Not unenlighten'd, an authentic Seer,

602Then, Goddess-born, (on this could I enlarge

603Repeating oft and oft the solemn charge)

604Adore imperial Juno, freely wait
605With gifts on Juno's Altar, supplicate
606Her potent favour, and subdue her hate;

607So shalt thou seek, a Conqueror at last,

Critical Apparatus608The Italian shore, Trinacrian dangers past!

609Arrived at Cumae and the sacred floods

610Of black Avernus resonant with woods,

611Thou shalt behold the Sybil where She sits
612Within her cave, rapt in extatic fits,
613And words and characters to leaves commits.

614The prophecies which on those leaves the Maid

615Inscribes, are by her hands in order laid

616'Mid the secluded Cavern, where they fill

617Their several places, undisturb'd and still.

618But if a light wind entering thro' the door

619Scatter the thin leaves on the rocky floor,

620She to replace her prophecies will use

621No diligence; all flutter where they chuse,

622In hopeless disconnection loose and wild;

pg 351623And they, who sought for knowledge, thus beguil'd

624Of her predictions, from the cave depart,

625And quit the Sybil with a murmuring heart.

626But thou, albeit ill-dispos'd to wait,

627And prizing moments at their highest rate,

628Tho' Followers chide, and ever and anon

629The flattering winds invite thee to be gone,

630Beg of the moody Prophetess to break

631The silent air, and for thy guidance speak.

632She will disclose the features of thy doom,

633The Italian Nations, and the Wars to come;

634How to escape from hardships, or endure,
635And make a happy termination sure;
636Enough—chains bind the rest, or clouds obscure.

637Go then, nor in thy glorious progress halt,

Critical Apparatus638But to the stars the Trojan name exalt!"

639So spake the friendly Seer, from hallow'd lips,

640Then orders sumptuous presents to the Ships;

Critical Apparatus641Smooth ivory, massy gold, with pond'rous store

642Of vases fashion'd from the paler ore;

643And Dodonaean Cauldrons, nor withholds

644The golden halberk, knit in triple folds,

645That Neoptolemus erewhile had worn;

646Nor his resplendent crest which waving plumes adorn.

647Rich offerings also grace my Father's hands;

648Horses he adds with Equerries, and Bands

649Of Rowers, and supply of Arms commands.

650—Meanwhile Anchises bids the Fleet unbind

651Its sails for instant seizure of the wind.

652The Interpreter of Phoebus then address'd

653This gracious farewell to his ancient Guest;

654"Anchises! to celestial honors led,

655Beloved of Venus, whom she deign'd to wed,

656Care of the Gods, twice snatch'd from Ilium lost,

657Now for Ausonia be these waters cross'd!

658Yet must thou only glide along the shores

Critical Apparatus659To which I point; far lies the Land from ours

660Whither Apollo's voice directs your powers:

661Go, happy Parent of a pious Son,

662No more—I baulk the winds that press thee on."

pg 352663Nor less Andromache, disturb'd in heart

664That parting now, we must for ever part,

665Embroider'd Vests of golden thread bestows;

666A Phrygian Tunic o'er Ascanius throws;

667And studious that her bounty may become

668The occasion, adds rich labours of the loom;

669"Dear Child," she said, "these also, to be kept

670As the memorials of my hand, accept!

671Last gifts of Hector's Consort, let them prove

672To thee the symbols of enduring love;

673Take what Andromache at parting gives,

674Fair Boy!—sole Image that for me survives

675Of my Astyanax,—in whom his face,

676His eyes are seen, his very hands I trace;

677And now, but for obstruction from the tomb,

Critical Apparatus678His years had open'd into kindred bloom."

679To these, while gushing tears bedew'd my cheek,

680Thus in the farewell moment did I speak:

681"Live happy Ye, whose race of fortune run
682Permits such life; from trials undergone
Critical Apparatus683We to the like are call'd, by you is quiet won.

684No seas have Ye to measure, nor on you
685Is it impos'd Ausonia to pursue,
686And search for fields still flying from the view.

687Lo Xanthus here in miniature!—there stands

Critical Apparatus688A second Troy, the labour of your hands,

689With happier auspices—in less degree

690Exposed, I trust, to Grecian enmity.

691If Tiber e'er receive me, and the sod

692Of Tiber's meadows by these feet be trod,

693If e'er I see our promis'd City rise,

Critical Apparatus694These neighbouring Nations bound by ancient ties

695Hesperian and Epirian, whose blood came

696From Dardanus, whose lot hath been the same,

697Shall make one Troy in spirit. May that care

698To our Descendants pass from heir to heir!"

699We coast the high Ceraunia, whence is found

700The shortest transit to Italian ground;

pg 353701Meanwhile the sun went down, and shadows spread

702O'er every mountain dark'ned to its head.

703Tired of their oars the Men no sooner reach

Critical Apparatus704Earth's wish'd-for bosom than their limbs they stretch

705On the dry margin of the murmuring Deep,

706Where weariness is lost in timely sleep.

707Ere Night, whose Car the Hours had yok'd and rein'd,

708Black Night, the middle of her orbit gain'd,

709Up from his couch did Palinurus rise,
710Looks to the wind for what it signifies,
711And to each breath of air a watchful ear applies.

712Next all the Stars gliding thro' silent Heaven

713The Bears, Arcturus, and the cluster'd Seven,

714Are noted,—and his ranging eyes behold

715Magnificent Orion arm'd in gold.

716When he perceives that all things low and high

717Unite to promise fix'd serenity,

718He sends the summons forth; our Camp we raise,—

719Are gone,—and every Ship her broadest wings displays.

720Now, when Aurora redden'd in a sky
721From which the Stars had vanish'd, we descry
722The low faint hills of distant Italy.

723"Italia!" shouts Achates; round and round
724"Italia" flies with gratulant rebound,
725From all who see the coast, or hear the happy sound.

726Not slow is Sire Anchises to entwine

727With wreaths a goblet, which he fill'd with wine,

728Then, on the Stern he took his lofty stand,

729And cried, "Ye Deities of sea and land

730Thro' whom the Storms are govern'd, speed our way

731By breezes docile to your kindliest sway!"

732—With freshening impulse breathe the wish'd-for gales,

733And, as the Ships press on with greedy sails,

734Opens the Port; and, peering into sight,

735Minerva's Temple tops a craggy height.

736The Sails are furl'd by many a busy hand;

737The veering prows are pointed to the Strand.

738Curved into semblance of a bow, the Haven

739Looks to the East; but not a wave thence driven

pg 354740Disturbs its peacefulness; their foamy spray

741Breaks upon jutting rocks that fence the Bay.

742Two towering cliffs extend with gradual fall

743Their arms into the Sea, and frame a wall

744In whose embrace the harbour hidden lies;
745And, as its shelter deepens on our eyes,
746Back from the shore Minerva's Temple flies.

747Four snow-white Horses, grazing the wide fields,

748Are the first omen which our landing yields;

749Then Sire Anchises—"War thy tokens bear

750O Hospitable land! The Horse is arm'd for war;

751War do these menace, but as Steed with Steed
752Oft joins in friendly yoke, the sight may breed
753Fair hope that peace and concord will succeed."

754To Pallas then in clanking armour mail'd,
755Who hail'd us first, exulting to be hail'd,
756Prayers we address—with Phrygian amice veil'd;

757And, as by Helenus enjoin'd, the fire

758On Juno's Altar fumes—to Juno vows aspire.

759When we had ceas'd this service to present

760That instant, seaward are our Sail-yards bent,

761And we forsake the Shore—with cautious dread

762Of ground by Native Grecians tenanted.

763  The Bay is quickly reach'd that draws its name
764From proud Tarentum, proud to share the fame
765Of Hercules tho' by a dubious claim:

766Right opposite we ken the Structure holy

767Of the Lacinian Goddess rising slowly;

768Next the Caulonian Citadel appear'd

769And the Scylacian bay for Shipwrecks fear'd;

770Lo, as along the open Main we float,

771Mount Etna, yet far off! and far remote

772Groans of the Sea we hear;—deep groans and strokes

773Of angry billows beating upon rocks;

774And hoarse surf-clamours,—while the flood throws up

775Sands from the depths of its unsettled cup.

776My Sire exclaim'd, "Companions, we are caught

777By fell Charybdis,—flee as ye were taught;

778These, doubtless, are the rocks, the dangerous shores

779Which Helenus denounc'd—away—with straining oars."

780Quick, to the left the Master Galley veers

781With roaring prow, as Palinurus steers;

782And for the left the bands of Rowers strive,

783While every help is caught that winds can give.

pg 355785The whirlpool's dizzy altitudes we scale,

786For ghastly sinking when the waters fail.

787The hollow rocks thrice gave a fearful cry;
788Three times we saw the clashing waves fling high
789Their foam dispers'd along a drizzling sky.

790The flagging wind forsook us with the sun,

791And to Cyclopian shores a darkling course we run.

792  The Port, which now we chance to enter, lies

793By winds unruffl'd tho' of ample size;

794But all too near is Etna, thundering loud;

795And ofttimes casting up a pitchy cloud

796Of smoke—in whirling convolutions driven,

797With weight of hoary ashes, high as heaven,

798And globes of flame; and sometimes he gives vent

799To rocky fragments, from his entrails rent;

800And hurls out melting substances—that fly

801In thick assemblage, and confound the sky;

802While groans and lamentations burthensome

803Tell to the air from what a depth they come.

804The enormous Mass of Etna, so 'tis said,

805On lightening-scorch'd Enceladus was laid;

806And ever pressing on the Giant's frame,

807Breathes out, from fractur'd chimneys, fitful flame,

808And, often as he turns his weary side
809Murmuring Trinacria trembles far and wide,
810While wreaths of smoke ascend and all the welkin hide.

811We, thro' the night, enwrapp'd in woods obscure,

812The shock of those dire prodigies endure,

813Nor could distinguish whence might come the sound;

814For all the stars to ether's utmost bound

815Were hidden or bedimm'd, and Night withheld

816The Moon, in mist and lowering fogs conceal'd.

                      [Desunt ll. 588–706]

817Those left, we harbour'd on the joyless coast

818Of Drepanum, here harass'd long and toss'd,

819And here my Sire Anchises did I lose,

820Help in my cares, and solace of my woes.

821Here, O best Father! best beloved and best

822Didst thou desert me when I needed rest,

823Thou, from so many perils snatch'd in vain:

824Not Helenus, though much in doleful strain

825He prophesied, this sorrow did unfold,

826Not dire Celaeno this distress foretold.

827This trouble was my last; Celestial Powers

828O Queen, have brought me to your friendly shores."

pg 356829  —Sole speaker, thus Æneas did relate

830To a hush'd audience the decrees of Fate,

831His wandering course remeasur'd, till the close

832Now reach'd, in silence here he found repose.

IV. 688–92

She who to lift her heavy eyes had tried

Faints while the deep wound gurgles at her side

Thrice on her elbow propp'd she strove to uphold

Her frame—thrice back upon the couch was roll'd,

Then with a wandering eye in heaven's blue round

She sought the light and groaned when she had found.

VIII. 337–66

1 This scarcely utter'd they advance, and straight

2He shews the Altar and Carmental Gate,

3Which (such the record) by its Roman name

4Preserves the nymph Carmenta's ancient fame,

5Who first the glories of the Trojan line

6Predicted, and the noble Pallantine.

7Next points he out an ample sylvan shade

8Which Romulus a fit asylum made,

9Turns thence, and bids Æneas fix his eyes
10Where under a chill rock Lupercal lies
11Named from Lycaean Pan, in old Arcadian guise.

12Nor left he unobserv'd the neighbouring wood

13Of sacred Argiletum, stained with blood.

14There Argos fell, his guest—the story told,

15To the Tarpeian Rock their way they hold

16And to the Capitol now bright with gold,—

17In those far-distant times a spot forlorn

18With brambles choked and rough with savage thorn.

19Even then an influence of religious awe

20The rustics felt, subdued by what they saw,

21The local spirit creeping thro' their blood,

22Even then they fear'd the rocks, they trembled at the wood.

23"This grove (said he) this leaf-crown'd hill—some God

24How nam'd we know not, takes for his abode,

25The Arcadians think that Jove himself aloft

26Hath here declared his presence oft and oft,

27Shaking his lurid Ægis in their sight

28And covering with fierce clouds the stormy height.

29Here also see two mouldering towns that lie

30Mournful remains of buried ancestry;

31That Citadel did father Janus frame,

32And Saturn this, each bears the Founder's name.

pg 35733 Conversing thus their onward course they bent

34To poor Evander's humble tenement;

35Herds range the Roman Forum; in the street

36Of proud Carinae bellowing herds they meet;

37When they had reach'd the house, he said "This gate

38Conquering Alcides enter'd, his plain state

39This palace lodg'd; O guest, like him forbear

40To frown on scanty means and homely fare;

41Dare riches to despise; with aim as high

42Mount thou, and train thyself for Deity."

43This said, thro' that low door he leads his guest,

44The great Æneas, to a couch of rest.

45There propp'd he lay on withered leaves, o'erspread

46With a bear's skin in Libyan desarts bred.

Georgic IV. 511–15

47Even so bewails, the Poplar groves among,

48Sad Philomela her evanished young;

49Whom the harsh Rustic from the nest hath torn,

50An unfledged brood; but on the bough forlorn

51She sits, in mournful darkness all night long;

52Renews, and still renews, her doleful song,

53And fills the leafy grove, complaining of her wrong.

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William Wordsworth

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TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL'S ÆNEID

FIRST BOOK

SECOND BOOK

THIRD BOOK

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