The Works of Virgil Translated into English Blank Verse. With large Explanatory Notes, and Critical Observations. By Joseph Trapp |
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VOL. III. |
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 | The Works of Virgil |  |
VOL. III.
34
[BOOK the Seventh.]
Thou too, Cajeta; great Æneas' Nurse,
Illustrious Matron, dying on our Coasts,
Did'st give them everlasting Fame: And Now
The Place thy honour'd Memory preserves;
And still thy Name on wide Hesperia's Shores
(If That be any Glory) marks thy Dust.
Illustrious Matron, dying on our Coasts,
Did'st give them everlasting Fame: And Now
The Place thy honour'd Memory preserves;
And still thy Name on wide Hesperia's Shores
(If That be any Glory) marks thy Dust.
But good Æneas, having duly paid
The Fun'ral-Rites, and rais'd a Tomb in Air,
Soon as the Deep lay smooth, with Canvas spred
Unmoors, and leaves the Port. A Breeze at Night
Springs fresh; Nor does the silver Moon deny
Her Beams, which tremble on the glim'ring Waves.
Next, cruising, close by Circe's Shores they sail;
Where She, the wealthy Daughter of the Sun,
With ceaseless Singing makes the Groves resound,
Groves inaccessible; and in the Rooms
Of her proud Palace, for nocturnal Light,
Sweet Cedar burns: While thro' the slender Web
Her whistling Shuttle flies along the Loom.
Hence Groans are heard; The Noise of Lions, fierce,
Rebellious to their Chains, and roaring loud
In Dead of Night; The Grunt of bristly Boars;
The Rage of Bears reluctant in their Stalls;
And huge portentous Forms of howling Wolves.
All which, with pow'rful Charms, from human Shapes
The cruel Goddess Circe had transform'd
To savage Beasts. And lest the pious Race
Of Troy should such a monstrous Change endure,
Or wafted touch upon the direful Coast;
Neptune with Winds propitious swell'd their Sails,
And sped them safe beyond the boiling Tides.
35
Soon as the Deep lay smooth, with Canvas spred
Unmoors, and leaves the Port. A Breeze at Night
Springs fresh; Nor does the silver Moon deny
Her Beams, which tremble on the glim'ring Waves.
Next, cruising, close by Circe's Shores they sail;
Where She, the wealthy Daughter of the Sun,
With ceaseless Singing makes the Groves resound,
Groves inaccessible; and in the Rooms
Of her proud Palace, for nocturnal Light,
Sweet Cedar burns: While thro' the slender Web
Her whistling Shuttle flies along the Loom.
36
Rebellious to their Chains, and roaring loud
In Dead of Night; The Grunt of bristly Boars;
The Rage of Bears reluctant in their Stalls;
And huge portentous Forms of howling Wolves.
All which, with pow'rful Charms, from human Shapes
The cruel Goddess Circe had transform'd
To savage Beasts. And lest the pious Race
Of Troy should such a monstrous Change endure,
Or wafted touch upon the direful Coast;
Neptune with Winds propitious swell'd their Sails,
And sped them safe beyond the boiling Tides.
37
And now the Ocean redden'd with the Rays;
And in her rosy Car the blushing Morn
Shone from the Sky: When all at once the Winds
Lay hush'd, and ev'ry Blast; The lab'ring Oars
Cleave the smooth Marble of the yielding Deep.
Then here Æneas from the Ocean spies
A spacious Wood; Thro' which the pleasant Stream
Of gulphy Tyber rolls his yellow Sand,
And disembogues his Waves into the Sea.
Here various Birds, accustom'd to the Banks
And Chanel of the River, all around,
And all above, with sweet melodious Songs
Soften'd the Air, and flutter'd in the Grove.
He gives the Crew Command to make the Shore,
And joyful on the shady River glides.
And in her rosy Car the blushing Morn
Shone from the Sky: When all at once the Winds
Lay hush'd, and ev'ry Blast; The lab'ring Oars
Cleave the smooth Marble of the yielding Deep.
Then here Æneas from the Ocean spies
38
Of gulphy Tyber rolls his yellow Sand,
And disembogues his Waves into the Sea.
Here various Birds, accustom'd to the Banks
And Chanel of the River, all around,
And all above, with sweet melodious Songs
Soften'd the Air, and flutter'd in the Grove.
He gives the Crew Command to make the Shore,
And joyful on the shady River glides.
Now Erato, Celestial Muse, what Kings,
What Juncture of Affairs, and what the State
Of ancient Latium, when the Fleet of Troy,
First touch'd th'Ausonian Coast, I will disclose,
Ev'n from it's first Original revolve,
And open all the War. Thou, Goddess, Thou
Instruct thy Poet: Horrid Wars I sing,
Battles, and Princes bent on mutual Death,
The Tyrrhene Bands, and all Hesperia rous'd
In Arms: A greater Series of Affairs
Here rises to my View; A greater Work
I meditate. The King Latinus, now
Advanc'd in Age, the Towns and Country rul'd
In long and pleasing Peace: (Him Fame transmits
Of Faunus and the Nymph Marica born,
Laurentian Nymph; Faunus from Picus sprung,
And He from Saturn, Author of the Race.)
To Him no Son, no Offspring Male remain'd,
By Fate; but all in Spring of early Youth
Were snatch'd away. To heir the State, surviv'd
One only Daughter, in her ripen'd Years
Full blooming, and mature for Nuptial Joy.
Her various Princes sought thro' Latian Realms,
And wide Ausonia: More than all the rest,
Turnus of graceful Form, and Royal Birth,
In Ancestry illustrious; Whom the Queen
Hasted, with passionate Desire, to join
In That Alliance: But the Oracles
Of Heav'n with various Prodigies oppose.
39
Of ancient Latium, when the Fleet of Troy,
First touch'd th'Ausonian Coast, I will disclose,
Ev'n from it's first Original revolve,
And open all the War. Thou, Goddess, Thou
Instruct thy Poet: Horrid Wars I sing,
Battles, and Princes bent on mutual Death,
The Tyrrhene Bands, and all Hesperia rous'd
In Arms: A greater Series of Affairs
Here rises to my View; A greater Work
I meditate. The King Latinus, now
Advanc'd in Age, the Towns and Country rul'd
In long and pleasing Peace: (Him Fame transmits
Of Faunus and the Nymph Marica born,
Laurentian Nymph; Faunus from Picus sprung,
And He from Saturn, Author of the Race.)
To Him no Son, no Offspring Male remain'd,
By Fate; but all in Spring of early Youth
Were snatch'd away. To heir the State, surviv'd
One only Daughter, in her ripen'd Years
40
Her various Princes sought thro' Latian Realms,
And wide Ausonia: More than all the rest,
Turnus of graceful Form, and Royal Birth,
In Ancestry illustrious; Whom the Queen
Hasted, with passionate Desire, to join
In That Alliance: But the Oracles
Of Heav'n with various Prodigies oppose.
Just in the Centre of the most retir'd
And secret Court an holy Laurel stood,
For many Years religiously preserv'd:
Which found, when first He built the stately Tow'rs,
Latinus' self, as ancient Fame relates,
To Phœbus consecrated; and from thence
To the Laurentian People gave their Name.
Here Bees, thick flying thro' the liquid Air,
With humming Noise (Surprizing to relate!)
Beset it's Top, and with their mutual Feet
Connected, on the leafy Branches hung,
A sudden Swarm. Immediately the Sage
Prophetick cries, A foreign Prince we see
From the same Quarter on These Coasts arrive,
And Sov'reign in the lofty Palace reign.
Besides, as chaste Lavinia, Royal Maid,
Stood by her Father, and with holy Brands
Kindled the Altars; with her flowing Hair
(Wond'rous!) She seem'd to catch the Flame, and all
Her Head-Attire to crackle in the Blaze:
Her Regal Tresses, and her Crown, enrich'd
With Gems, involv'd in ruddy Vapour glar'd,
And all the Palace round diffus'd the Fire.
That Omen of a strange and dire Portent
Was rumour'd; For 'twas said, that She her self
By Fate in Glory should illustrious rise,
But to the People menac'd dreadful War.
And secret Court an holy Laurel stood,
For many Years religiously preserv'd:
Which found, when first He built the stately Tow'rs,
Latinus' self, as ancient Fame relates,
To Phœbus consecrated; and from thence
To the Laurentian People gave their Name.
Here Bees, thick flying thro' the liquid Air,
With humming Noise (Surprizing to relate!)
Beset it's Top, and with their mutual Feet
Connected, on the leafy Branches hung,
A sudden Swarm. Immediately the Sage
Prophetick cries, A foreign Prince we see
From the same Quarter on These Coasts arrive,
And Sov'reign in the lofty Palace reign.
Besides, as chaste Lavinia, Royal Maid,
Stood by her Father, and with holy Brands
Kindled the Altars; with her flowing Hair
41
Her Head-Attire to crackle in the Blaze:
Her Regal Tresses, and her Crown, enrich'd
With Gems, involv'd in ruddy Vapour glar'd,
And all the Palace round diffus'd the Fire.
That Omen of a strange and dire Portent
Was rumour'd; For 'twas said, that She her self
By Fate in Glory should illustrious rise,
But to the People menac'd dreadful War.
But, anxious at These Prodigies, the King
Repairs to Faunus' Oracle, his Sire
Skill'd in the Future; and consults the Groves
Beneath Albunea's Height, supreme of Woods;
Thro' whose thick Shades a sacred Fountain sounds,
And sulph'rous stenchy Exhalations breathes.
Hence all th'Italian and Oenotrian Realms
In Doubts seek Answers: Hither when the Priest
Has brought his Off'rings, and in silent Night
Sleeps on spred Skins of fleecy Victims slain;
Unnumber'd Fantoms flutt'ring round he sees
In wond'rous Forms, and various Voices hears,
Enjoys the Conversation of the Gods,
And speaks to Acheron in Hell below.
Here then Latinus' self, the Oracles
Consulting, by the Rite accustom'd, slew
An hundred woolly Sheep; and on their Skins
And Fleeces, underneath him spred, repos'd
His Limbs: When sudden from the deepest Grove
This Voice was heard. Attempt not, O my Son,
To match thy Daughter with a Latian Lord;
Nor trust the Hymenéals now design'd.
A foreign Son-in-law shall come, whose Race
Shall raise our Name to Heav'n; And future Times
Shall see All turn'd and govern'd by Their Sway,
Where Sol, both Oceans viewing, rolls his Course.
Repairs to Faunus' Oracle, his Sire
Skill'd in the Future; and consults the Groves
Beneath Albunea's Height, supreme of Woods;
42
And sulph'rous stenchy Exhalations breathes.
Hence all th'Italian and Oenotrian Realms
In Doubts seek Answers: Hither when the Priest
Has brought his Off'rings, and in silent Night
Sleeps on spred Skins of fleecy Victims slain;
Unnumber'd Fantoms flutt'ring round he sees
In wond'rous Forms, and various Voices hears,
Enjoys the Conversation of the Gods,
And speaks to Acheron in Hell below.
Here then Latinus' self, the Oracles
Consulting, by the Rite accustom'd, slew
An hundred woolly Sheep; and on their Skins
And Fleeces, underneath him spred, repos'd
His Limbs: When sudden from the deepest Grove
This Voice was heard. Attempt not, O my Son,
To match thy Daughter with a Latian Lord;
Nor trust the Hymenéals now design'd.
A foreign Son-in-law shall come, whose Race
43
Shall see All turn'd and govern'd by Their Sway,
Where Sol, both Oceans viewing, rolls his Course.
This Answer, by his Father, Faunus giv'n
In silent Night, Latinus in his Breast
Conceal'd not; But already thro' the Towns
Of wide Ausonia flying Fame around
Had blaz'd the Rumour: When the Trojan Youth,
Under the Covert of a graffy Bank,
Had moor'd thier Fleet. Æneas, and the Chiefs,
And beautiful Iülus, lie repos'd
Beneath the Branches of a lofty Oak;
Prepare their Meal, upon the verdant Turf.
Lay wheaten Cakes, (so Jove himself advis'd)
And on them Heaps of Woodland Fruitage pile.
Here, having all their other Food consum'd,
When, forc'd by Penury and short Repast,
By chance their hungry Appetites they turn'd
To slender Viands, and with Hands and Teeth
Dar'd violate the fatal Crust's flat Orb,
Nor spar'd their Trenchers; See, Iülus cry'd,
Our Plates themselves, our Dishes we devour:
Not more alluding. First to all their Toils
That Speech a Period shew'd; His Father first
Snatch'd from his Mouth the Word, and in his Mind
With deep Surprize the Oracle revolv'd.
Then thus: Hail! Nation due to me by Fate,
And You, all hail! Ye faithful Gods of Troy:
This is our Country, This our fix'd Abode.
For (now I recollect) This secret Scheme
Of Destiny my Sire Anchises left:
When thee, my Son, at Shores unknown arriv'd,
Hunger shall force, thro' Scarcity of Food,
To eat thy Dishes; There fatigu'd expect
A settled Mansion: And remember There
To lay the first Foundation of thy Walls.
This was That Hunger he foretold; This last
Ordain'd to end our Labours.
Then cheerful, with the Sun's first rising Light,
Let us explore, what Country This, and who
Th'Inhabitants, and where it's Cities stand;
And from the Harbour diff'rent ways pursue.
Now from your Bowls to Jove Libations pour;
My Sire Anchises with religious Pray'rs
Invoke; and on your Boards replace the Wine.
In silent Night, Latinus in his Breast
Conceal'd not; But already thro' the Towns
Of wide Ausonia flying Fame around
Had blaz'd the Rumour: When the Trojan Youth,
Under the Covert of a graffy Bank,
Had moor'd thier Fleet. Æneas, and the Chiefs,
And beautiful Iülus, lie repos'd
Beneath the Branches of a lofty Oak;
Prepare their Meal, upon the verdant Turf.
Lay wheaten Cakes, (so Jove himself advis'd)
44
Here, having all their other Food consum'd,
When, forc'd by Penury and short Repast,
By chance their hungry Appetites they turn'd
To slender Viands, and with Hands and Teeth
Dar'd violate the fatal Crust's flat Orb,
Nor spar'd their Trenchers; See, Iülus cry'd,
Our Plates themselves, our Dishes we devour:
Not more alluding. First to all their Toils
45
Snatch'd from his Mouth the Word, and in his Mind
With deep Surprize the Oracle revolv'd.
Then thus: Hail! Nation due to me by Fate,
And You, all hail! Ye faithful Gods of Troy:
This is our Country, This our fix'd Abode.
For (now I recollect) This secret Scheme
Of Destiny my Sire Anchises left:
When thee, my Son, at Shores unknown arriv'd,
Hunger shall force, thro' Scarcity of Food,
To eat thy Dishes; There fatigu'd expect
A settled Mansion: And remember There
To lay the first Foundation of thy Walls.
This was That Hunger he foretold; This last
Ordain'd to end our Labours.
46
Let us explore, what Country This, and who
Th'Inhabitants, and where it's Cities stand;
And from the Harbour diff'rent ways pursue.
Now from your Bowls to Jove Libations pour;
My Sire Anchises with religious Pray'rs
Invoke; and on your Boards replace the Wine.
This said, He binds his Temples with a Wreath
Of verdant Boughs; and supplicant adores
The Genius of the Place, and Earth, the first
Of Deities, the Nymphs, and River-Gods
As yet unknown, and Night, and of the Night
The rising Starry Signs; in order next
The Phrygian Mother, and Idæan Jove,
And both his Parents, one rever'd in Heav'n,
And one in Erebus. Then thrice serene
Th'Almighty Father thunder'd from the Sky,
And shook a Cloud, with Rays of Light, and Gold
Effulgent: Sudden thro' the Trojan Troops.
The Rumour ran, that now the Day was come,
In which their destin'd City's Walls should rise.
With cheerful Speed industrious they recruit:
Their Feasts; and, in th'important Augury
Rejoicing, place their Bowls, and crown the Wine.
Soon as the first returning Morn had ris'n
Upon the World: They diversely explore
The Coasts, the Cities, and the Country's Bounds:
Here flows Numicus' Fount; there Tyber's Stream;
And here the warlike Latins fix their Seat.
Then Prince Æneas sends from ev'ry Rank
An hundred chos'n Ambassadours, dispatch'd
To the Imperial Walls, with Olive-Boughs
All wreath'd, to bear his Presents to the King,
And sue for Peace: They execute their Charge
With rapid Haste. Himself describes the Walls
With a low Trench; the first Foundation lays;
And, like a Fort, his City on the Shore
With Banks and Battlements incloses round.
Of verdant Boughs; and supplicant adores
The Genius of the Place, and Earth, the first
Of Deities, the Nymphs, and River-Gods
As yet unknown, and Night, and of the Night
The rising Starry Signs; in order next
The Phrygian Mother, and Idæan Jove,
And both his Parents, one rever'd in Heav'n,
And one in Erebus. Then thrice serene
Th'Almighty Father thunder'd from the Sky,
And shook a Cloud, with Rays of Light, and Gold
Effulgent: Sudden thro' the Trojan Troops.
The Rumour ran, that now the Day was come,
In which their destin'd City's Walls should rise.
With cheerful Speed industrious they recruit:
47
Rejoicing, place their Bowls, and crown the Wine.
Soon as the first returning Morn had ris'n
Upon the World: They diversely explore
The Coasts, the Cities, and the Country's Bounds:
Here flows Numicus' Fount; there Tyber's Stream;
And here the warlike Latins fix their Seat.
Then Prince Æneas sends from ev'ry Rank
An hundred chos'n Ambassadours, dispatch'd
To the Imperial Walls, with Olive-Boughs
All wreath'd, to bear his Presents to the King,
And sue for Peace: They execute their Charge
With rapid Haste. Himself describes the Walls
With a low Trench; the first Foundation lays;
And, like a Fort, his City on the Shore
With Banks and Battlements incloses round.
And now, their destin'd Journey having pass'd,
Th'Ambassadours beheld the Latin Tow'rs,
And lofty Palaces, and reach'd the Walls.
Before the City, Boys, and blooming Youth
With rapid Chariots exercise their Strength,
And tame their Horses in the dusty Field;
Or bend their twanging Bows, and with strong Arms
Launch the tough Jav'lin; with the Dart, and Shaft,
Contending. To the aged Monarch's Ears
Swift on his Steed a Messenger relates,
That Men of awful Port, in foreign Garb,
Were moving tow'rds the Walls: He gives Command
To call them to the Court, and in the Midst
Sits lofty on th'hereditary Throne.
Th'Ambassadours beheld the Latin Tow'rs,
And lofty Palaces, and reach'd the Walls.
Before the City, Boys, and blooming Youth
With rapid Chariots exercise their Strength,
And tame their Horses in the dusty Field;
Or bend their twanging Bows, and with strong Arms
Launch the tough Jav'lin; with the Dart, and Shaft,
48
Swift on his Steed a Messenger relates,
That Men of awful Port, in foreign Garb,
Were moving tow'rds the Walls: He gives Command
To call them to the Court, and in the Midst
Sits lofty on th'hereditary Throne.
A spacious Palace, in the City's height,
Sublime upon an hundred Pillars stood,
With gloomy Groves religiously obscure,
Laurentian Picus' Palace; Where the Kings
The first Inauguration of their Sway,
The Sceptres, and the Regal Fasces took:
This Court their Temple; Here the sacred Feasts;
And here the Fathers, by th'accustom'd Rite,
Killing a Victim Ram, in order sate
Along the Boards. Before the stately Doors
Th'Effigies of their Ancestors stood rang'd
In Rows of antique Cedar; Italus,
Father Sabinus, Planter of the Vine,
Holding in Imag'ry his crooked Scythe,
And aged Saturn, and the double Front
Of Janus; and the other ancient Kings,
Who for their Country suffer'd Wounds in War.
Besides; Thick Arms upon the sacred Posts,
Curve Scymitars, and captive Chariots hung:
And Crests of Helmets; massy Bars of Gates;
And Darts, and Shields, and Beaks from Vessels torn.
Picus himself, with his Quirinal Wand,
Sate in his narrow Trabeal Robe succinct,
Tamer of Steeds, and in his Left-hand bore
Th'Ancilian Shield: Whom Circe, stung with Love,
Struck with her golden Rod, and with her Charms
And magic Simples to a Bird transform'd,
And all with Colours interspers'd his Wings.
Sublime upon an hundred Pillars stood,
With gloomy Groves religiously obscure,
Laurentian Picus' Palace; Where the Kings
The first Inauguration of their Sway,
The Sceptres, and the Regal Fasces took:
This Court their Temple; Here the sacred Feasts;
And here the Fathers, by th'accustom'd Rite,
Killing a Victim Ram, in order sate
Along the Boards. Before the stately Doors
49
In Rows of antique Cedar; Italus,
Father Sabinus, Planter of the Vine,
Holding in Imag'ry his crooked Scythe,
And aged Saturn, and the double Front
Of Janus; and the other ancient Kings,
Who for their Country suffer'd Wounds in War.
Besides; Thick Arms upon the sacred Posts,
Curve Scymitars, and captive Chariots hung:
And Crests of Helmets; massy Bars of Gates;
And Darts, and Shields, and Beaks from Vessels torn.
Picus himself, with his Quirinal Wand,
Sate in his narrow Trabeal Robe succinct,
Tamer of Steeds, and in his Left-hand bore
Th'Ancilian Shield: Whom Circe, stung with Love,
Struck with her golden Rod, and with her Charms
And magic Simples to a Bird transform'd,
And all with Colours interspers'd his Wings.
In such a Temple of the Gods, enthron'd
On his paternal Seat, Latinus calls
The Trojans to his Presence in the Court;
And Thus with pleasing Accent first began.
On his paternal Seat, Latinus calls
The Trojans to his Presence in the Court;
And Thus with pleasing Accent first began.
50
Tell us, Ye Trojans, (For your Name and Race
Are not to us unknown, nor come you here
Unheard of;) Say, what seek you? Or what Cause
Has urg'd your Navy to th'Ausonian Shore
Thro' such a Space of Ocean? Whether driv'n
By Errour of the Way, or Stress of Storms,
(Variety of Perils on the Deep,
Obvious to Mariners) you enter here
Our River's Mouth, and rest within the Port:
Fly not our Hospitality; nor judge
Erroneous of the Latins, Saturn's Race,
Just of themselves without Restraint, or Laws,
And by th'Example of their ancient God.
Nay I remember (tho' long Tract of Time
Obscures the Fame) th'Auruncan Sires relate,
That Dardanus, from These Dominions sprung,
Pierc'd into Phrygia, and th'Idæan Realms,
And Thracian Samos, Samothracia now:
He now, from Coritus' Tyrrhenian Seat,
Admitted to the starry Court of Heav'n,
With Altars, in the golden Palace high
Enthron'd, augments the Number of the Gods.
Are not to us unknown, nor come you here
Unheard of;) Say, what seek you? Or what Cause
Has urg'd your Navy to th'Ausonian Shore
Thro' such a Space of Ocean? Whether driv'n
By Errour of the Way, or Stress of Storms,
(Variety of Perils on the Deep,
Obvious to Mariners) you enter here
Our River's Mouth, and rest within the Port:
Fly not our Hospitality; nor judge
Erroneous of the Latins, Saturn's Race,
Just of themselves without Restraint, or Laws,
And by th'Example of their ancient God.
Nay I remember (tho' long Tract of Time
Obscures the Fame) th'Auruncan Sires relate,
That Dardanus, from These Dominions sprung,
Pierc'd into Phrygia, and th'Idæan Realms,
And Thracian Samos, Samothracia now:
He now, from Coritus' Tyrrhenian Seat,
Admitted to the starry Court of Heav'n,
With Altars, in the golden Palace high
Enthron'd, augments the Number of the Gods.
51
He spoke: And Thus Ilioneus reply'd.
O King, from Faunus' Blood illustrious sprung;
Neither by stormy Billows hither toss'd,
Nor by the Stars, or Shores unknown, deceiv'd,
Arrive we on your Confines: With Design,
And willing Minds This City we approach;
Ejected from Those Realms, which once the Sun,
Rolling from Heav'n's extremest Verge, beheld
The greatest. Jove begins our Lineage; Jove
The Dardans boast, the Author of their Race.
Our Prince himself, from Jove's high Blood deriv'd,
Trojan Æneas, sends us to your Court.
How great a Tempest swept th'Idæan Fields,
Issuing from dire Mycenæ; with what Fates
Both Worlds of Europe and of Asia join'd
In Battle, Those have heard (if such there be)
Whom the most distant Limits of the Globe
Sever by Tides; And Those (if such there be)
Who live divided by the middle Zone,
Stretch'd between four, beneath Sol's burning Car.
Toss'd from That Deluge, thro' so vast a Tract
Of Ocean, for our Country-Gods we ask
A little Mansion, and a safe Retreat,
And Air, and Water, common Gifts to all.
On your Dominions nothing of Disgrace
Shall we reflect; Nor small will be your Fame;
Nor shall by length of Time the grateful Sense
Of such an Obligation be effac'd:
Nor shall th'Ausonian Nation e'er repent
To have receiv'd the Trojans. By the Fates
Of great Æneas, and his potent Hand,
Experienc'd long in Faith, in War and Arms,
I swear, that many People, many States,
(Despise us not, because we suppliant come,
Spontaneous, and with Wreaths of proffer'd Peace)
Have courted our Alliance, and desir'd
By Partnership to join us with their Realms.
But by their dread Commands the Fates Divine
Urg'd us to seek Your Coasts: Hence Dardanus
Deriv'd his Race, and hither he returns:
And great Apollo, from his awful Fane,
To Tyrrhene Tyber, and Numicus' Fount,
The consecrated Spring, directs our Course.
Some Gifts, besides, preserv'd from burning Troy,
The little Relicks of his former State,
Our Prince presents you. In This Gold his Sire
Anchises at the Altars sacrific'd:
These, by the Rite accustom'd, giving Laws
To the assembled Nations, Priam wore;
This Sceptre, This Tiara, and These Robes,
The Labour of the Trojan Dames.
O King, from Faunus' Blood illustrious sprung;
Neither by stormy Billows hither toss'd,
Nor by the Stars, or Shores unknown, deceiv'd,
Arrive we on your Confines: With Design,
And willing Minds This City we approach;
Ejected from Those Realms, which once the Sun,
Rolling from Heav'n's extremest Verge, beheld
The greatest. Jove begins our Lineage; Jove
The Dardans boast, the Author of their Race.
Our Prince himself, from Jove's high Blood deriv'd,
Trojan Æneas, sends us to your Court.
How great a Tempest swept th'Idæan Fields,
Issuing from dire Mycenæ; with what Fates
Both Worlds of Europe and of Asia join'd
In Battle, Those have heard (if such there be)
Whom the most distant Limits of the Globe
52
Who live divided by the middle Zone,
Stretch'd between four, beneath Sol's burning Car.
Toss'd from That Deluge, thro' so vast a Tract
Of Ocean, for our Country-Gods we ask
A little Mansion, and a safe Retreat,
And Air, and Water, common Gifts to all.
On your Dominions nothing of Disgrace
Shall we reflect; Nor small will be your Fame;
Nor shall by length of Time the grateful Sense
Of such an Obligation be effac'd:
Nor shall th'Ausonian Nation e'er repent
To have receiv'd the Trojans. By the Fates
Of great Æneas, and his potent Hand,
Experienc'd long in Faith, in War and Arms,
I swear, that many People, many States,
(Despise us not, because we suppliant come,
Spontaneous, and with Wreaths of proffer'd Peace)
Have courted our Alliance, and desir'd
By Partnership to join us with their Realms.
But by their dread Commands the Fates Divine
Urg'd us to seek Your Coasts: Hence Dardanus
53
And great Apollo, from his awful Fane,
To Tyrrhene Tyber, and Numicus' Fount,
The consecrated Spring, directs our Course.
Some Gifts, besides, preserv'd from burning Troy,
The little Relicks of his former State,
Our Prince presents you. In This Gold his Sire
Anchises at the Altars sacrific'd:
These, by the Rite accustom'd, giving Laws
To the assembled Nations, Priam wore;
This Sceptre, This Tiara, and These Robes,
The Labour of the Trojan Dames.
So spake Ilioneus. Latinus fix'd
Sits in one Posture, musing, on the Ground
Rolling his Eyes intent: Nor does so much
The Priameian Sceptre, nor the Robes
Of broider'd Purple move his Kingly Mind:
More on his Daughter's Nuptials he employs
His deepest Meditation; and revolves
Old Faunus' Oracle within his Breast:
That This was He, the Son-in-law, design'd
By Fate, arriving from a foreign Coast,
And Partner of his Throne; That hence a Race
Renown'd for Valour, should in Time proceed,
And o'er the Universe extend it's Sway.
At length with Joy he speaks: The Gods succeed
Our Enterprise, and ratify the Fates
Themselves predicted: Trojan, what Thou ask'st
Is granted: Nor your Gifts do I refuse:
While King Latinus reigns, you shall not want
The fertil Glebe, and Opulence of Troy.
Let ev'n Æneas (if he so desires
Our Friendship, and Alliance) hither come,
Nor shun the Interview: To me 'twill prove
A Pledge of Peace, to touch That Monarch's Hand.
You to your King This Answer now return.
I have a Daughter, whom our Country Gods
And various Prodigys from Heav'n forbid
With any of our Nation to be join'd
In Nuptial Bonds; and warn us, it remains
For Latium, that a Son-in-law shall come
From foreign Parts, whose Race shall raise our Name
To Heav'n: That He is destin'd, I believe,
And (if my Thoughts divine aright) desire.
Sits in one Posture, musing, on the Ground
Rolling his Eyes intent: Nor does so much
The Priameian Sceptre, nor the Robes
Of broider'd Purple move his Kingly Mind:
More on his Daughter's Nuptials he employs
His deepest Meditation; and revolves
Old Faunus' Oracle within his Breast:
That This was He, the Son-in-law, design'd
By Fate, arriving from a foreign Coast,
And Partner of his Throne; That hence a Race
Renown'd for Valour, should in Time proceed,
And o'er the Universe extend it's Sway.
At length with Joy he speaks: The Gods succeed
54
Themselves predicted: Trojan, what Thou ask'st
Is granted: Nor your Gifts do I refuse:
While King Latinus reigns, you shall not want
The fertil Glebe, and Opulence of Troy.
Let ev'n Æneas (if he so desires
Our Friendship, and Alliance) hither come,
Nor shun the Interview: To me 'twill prove
A Pledge of Peace, to touch That Monarch's Hand.
You to your King This Answer now return.
I have a Daughter, whom our Country Gods
And various Prodigys from Heav'n forbid
With any of our Nation to be join'd
In Nuptial Bonds; and warn us, it remains
For Latium, that a Son-in-law shall come
From foreign Parts, whose Race shall raise our Name
To Heav'n: That He is destin'd, I believe,
And (if my Thoughts divine aright) desire.
Thus having spoke, the aged King selects
From all his Number chosen Steeds: There stood
Three hundred shining in their lofty Stalls:
To all the Trojans he commands to lead
The wingy-footed Coursers, cover'd o'er
With rich embroider'd Crimson: Down their Breasts
Hang Golden Collars; And adorn'd with Gold
They champ the yellow Gold between their Teeth.
Next to the absent Trojan Prince he sends
A Chariot, and it's harness'd Pair, of Breed
Celestial, from their Nostrils snorting Fire:
The Race of Those, which wily Circe rais'd,
Stol'n from her Father by clandestine Arts,
And of a substituted Female bred.
Thus with the Gifts and Speeches of the King,
Th'Æneadæ, high on their stately Steeds,
Return exulting, and report the Peace.
From all his Number chosen Steeds: There stood
55
To all the Trojans he commands to lead
The wingy-footed Coursers, cover'd o'er
With rich embroider'd Crimson: Down their Breasts
Hang Golden Collars; And adorn'd with Gold
They champ the yellow Gold between their Teeth.
Next to the absent Trojan Prince he sends
A Chariot, and it's harness'd Pair, of Breed
Celestial, from their Nostrils snorting Fire:
The Race of Those, which wily Circe rais'd,
Stol'n from her Father by clandestine Arts,
And of a substituted Female bred.
Thus with the Gifts and Speeches of the King,
Th'Æneadæ, high on their stately Steeds,
Return exulting, and report the Peace.
But lo! th'inexorable Wife of Jove
Comes from Inachian Argos, born in Air
Sublime; and from the Sky at distance sees
Joyful Æneas, and the Trojan Fleet,
From high Pachynus, on Sicilia's Coast.
She sees them now intent on Building, sees
The Crew in Land confiding, and their Ships
Abandon'd: Fix'd she stood with stinging Rage;
Then shook her Head, and Thus indignant spoke.
Comes from Inachian Argos, born in Air
Sublime; and from the Sky at distance sees
Joyful Æneas, and the Trojan Fleet,
From high Pachynus, on Sicilia's Coast.
She sees them now intent on Building, sees
The Crew in Land confiding, and their Ships
Abandon'd: Fix'd she stood with stinging Rage;
Then shook her Head, and Thus indignant spoke.
Ah Race detested! and the Fates of Troy
Oppos'd to mine! Could ev'n the Conquer'd fall
In Phrygian Fields? Could ev'n th'Enslav'd be Slaves?
And Troy consum'd in Flames the Trojans burn?
They thro' the middle of the Foes, and Fires
Have found their Way: My Deity at last,
It seems, lies vanquish'd; Or with glutted Hate
I now desist. Ev'n when expell'd they fled
Their native Soil, Vindictive I presum'd
To follow them; and to the exil'd Crew
O'er all the Ocean's Waves my self oppos'd.
Exhausted is the Force of Sea, and Sky,
Against the Trojans: What to me avail'd
The Syrtes, Scylla, or Charybdis' Gulf?
In Tyber's wish'd-for Chanel they are lodg'd,
Secure of Storms, and Me. Mars could destroy
The mighty Lapithéan Race; Ev'n Jove
Himself, to gratify Diana's Rage,
Old Calydon abandon'd: By what Crime
So terrible a Punishment did either
The Lapithæ, or Calydon deserve?
But I, Jove's Royal Consort, who could leave
Nought unattempted, but all Measures try'd,
Unhappy, by Æneas am subdu'd.
But if my Deity be not it self.
Sufficient; Sure I should not doubt to seek
Whatever Aid can be implor'd: If Heav'n
I cannot move, I will sollicit Hell.
Admit, 'twill not be granted me to bar
The Latian Kingdoms; And, by Fates unmov'd,
Lavinia still remains the destin'd Bride.
Yet we may add Obstructions, and retard
Th'important Issue; Yet a wastful War
The Subjects of both Monarchs may destroy.
Thus at their People's Cost let both the Kings,
The Father, and the Son, unite their Realms.
Princess, Thy Dowry shall be paid in Blood,
By Trojans, and Rutulians; And prepar'd
Bellona waits to make thy bridal Bed.
Nor did Cisséan Hecuba alone
Teem with a Nuptial Taper; Venus too,
It will be prov'd, has such a Birth disclos'd;
She has her Paris, and connubial Flames
Again pernicious to new-rising Troy.
Oppos'd to mine! Could ev'n the Conquer'd fall
56
And Troy consum'd in Flames the Trojans burn?
They thro' the middle of the Foes, and Fires
Have found their Way: My Deity at last,
It seems, lies vanquish'd; Or with glutted Hate
I now desist. Ev'n when expell'd they fled
Their native Soil, Vindictive I presum'd
To follow them; and to the exil'd Crew
O'er all the Ocean's Waves my self oppos'd.
Exhausted is the Force of Sea, and Sky,
Against the Trojans: What to me avail'd
The Syrtes, Scylla, or Charybdis' Gulf?
In Tyber's wish'd-for Chanel they are lodg'd,
57
The mighty Lapithéan Race; Ev'n Jove
Himself, to gratify Diana's Rage,
Old Calydon abandon'd: By what Crime
So terrible a Punishment did either
The Lapithæ, or Calydon deserve?
But I, Jove's Royal Consort, who could leave
Nought unattempted, but all Measures try'd,
Unhappy, by Æneas am subdu'd.
But if my Deity be not it self.
Sufficient; Sure I should not doubt to seek
Whatever Aid can be implor'd: If Heav'n
I cannot move, I will sollicit Hell.
Admit, 'twill not be granted me to bar
The Latian Kingdoms; And, by Fates unmov'd,
58
Yet we may add Obstructions, and retard
Th'important Issue; Yet a wastful War
The Subjects of both Monarchs may destroy.
Thus at their People's Cost let both the Kings,
The Father, and the Son, unite their Realms.
Princess, Thy Dowry shall be paid in Blood,
By Trojans, and Rutulians; And prepar'd
Bellona waits to make thy bridal Bed.
Nor did Cisséan Hecuba alone
Teem with a Nuptial Taper; Venus too,
It will be prov'd, has such a Birth disclos'd;
She has her Paris, and connubial Flames
Again pernicious to new-rising Troy.
Thus having said, She speeds her horrid Flight
To Earth; and from the Furies' black Abodes,
And Shades Nocturnal, dire Alecto calls;
Whose only Pleasure is in joyless War,
And Rage, and Treachery, and noxious Crimes.
Ev'n Pluto, and th'Infernal Sisters hate
The odious Monster; To so many Shapes
She turns herself, such hideous Forms assumes,
And sprouts with such Variety of Snakes.
To whom Thus Juno, irritating, spoke.
59
And Shades Nocturnal, dire Alecto calls;
Whose only Pleasure is in joyless War,
And Rage, and Treachery, and noxious Crimes.
Ev'n Pluto, and th'Infernal Sisters hate
The odious Monster; To so many Shapes
She turns herself, such hideous Forms assumes,
And sprouts with such Variety of Snakes.
To whom Thus Juno, irritating, spoke.
60
This Labour, Virgin, Off-spring of the Night,
Indulge to me; This Task for me perform;
To save my sinking Honour, and forbid
Th'Æneadæ by Nuptials to amuse
The Latian King, or seize th'Italian Coasts.
Thou canst agreeing Brothers rouse to War,
Engender Hate in Familys, and toss
Within their Walls thy Whips, and fun'ral Brands:
Thou hast a thousand Forms, a thousand Arts
Of Mischief: Ransack all thy fertil Breast;
Confound their Measures of concerted Peace;
Sow deep the Seeds of Discord: Let the Youth
At once desire, demand, and snatch their Arms.
Indulge to me; This Task for me perform;
To save my sinking Honour, and forbid
Th'Æneadæ by Nuptials to amuse
The Latian King, or seize th'Italian Coasts.
Thou canst agreeing Brothers rouse to War,
Engender Hate in Familys, and toss
Within their Walls thy Whips, and fun'ral Brands:
Thou hast a thousand Forms, a thousand Arts
61
Confound their Measures of concerted Peace;
Sow deep the Seeds of Discord: Let the Youth
At once desire, demand, and snatch their Arms.
Infected with Gorgonian pois'nous Blood,
The Fiend to Latium, and the lofty Walls
Of King Latinus, swift directs her Flight;
And silent at the Queen's Apartment waits:
Whom, on th'Arrival of the Trojan Fleet,
And Turnus' Nuptials, anxious female Cares,
And Passions boiling, discompos'd. To Her
The Fury from her griesly Tresses flings
One of her Snakes, and to her inmost Breast
Dispatches him; That, by the Monster urg'd
To Madness, all the Court she might embroil.
The bloated Serpent, sliding 'twixt her Robes,
And smooth sleek Bosom, rolls without a Touch,
And, unperceiv'd, his vip'rous Breath inspires:
Hangs, as a Chain of Gold, about her Neck;
As a long twining Fillet, interweaves
Her Hair; and slipp'ry wanders o'er her Limbs.
While the first Plague, beneath the pois'nous Juice
Sliding, invades her Senses, and with Fire
Her Vitals blends; nor has as yet the Flame
Seiz'd all her Soul: More softly she complains,
And with a Mother's wonted Fondness speaks;
Much weeping for her Daughter, and the Scheme
Of Phrygian Nuptials. Is Lavinia then,
Great Monarch, to the Fugitives of Troy
Yielded a Captive? In your Breast remains
No Pity for your Daughter, nor Your self?
None for her Mother? Whom the Pirate false,
Perfidious, with the first fair Wind will leave,
Launching to Sea, and with him bear away
The Virgin? Did not so the Phrygian Swain
Pierce into Lacedæmon, and transport
Ledæan Helen to the Trojan Tow'rs?
What is your sacred Faith, your ancient Care
For your own Subjects, and your Hand so oft
Plighted to Turnus, Partner of your Blood?
If from a foreign Race the Latins seek
A Son-in-law; And so you still resolve;
And if your Father Faunus awes your Mind
By his Commands: All Lands disjoin'd from Ours,
And from our Sceptres free, in my Account
Are foreign deem'd; And so the Gods intend.
And Turnus, if his Pedigree be trac'd
To it's first Fountain, from Acrisius springs,
From Inachus, and from Mycenæ's Realms.
The Fiend to Latium, and the lofty Walls
Of King Latinus, swift directs her Flight;
And silent at the Queen's Apartment waits:
Whom, on th'Arrival of the Trojan Fleet,
And Turnus' Nuptials, anxious female Cares,
And Passions boiling, discompos'd. To Her
The Fury from her griesly Tresses flings
One of her Snakes, and to her inmost Breast
Dispatches him; That, by the Monster urg'd
To Madness, all the Court she might embroil.
The bloated Serpent, sliding 'twixt her Robes,
And smooth sleek Bosom, rolls without a Touch,
And, unperceiv'd, his vip'rous Breath inspires:
62
As a long twining Fillet, interweaves
Her Hair; and slipp'ry wanders o'er her Limbs.
While the first Plague, beneath the pois'nous Juice
Sliding, invades her Senses, and with Fire
Her Vitals blends; nor has as yet the Flame
Seiz'd all her Soul: More softly she complains,
And with a Mother's wonted Fondness speaks;
Much weeping for her Daughter, and the Scheme
Of Phrygian Nuptials. Is Lavinia then,
Great Monarch, to the Fugitives of Troy
Yielded a Captive? In your Breast remains
No Pity for your Daughter, nor Your self?
None for her Mother? Whom the Pirate false,
Perfidious, with the first fair Wind will leave,
Launching to Sea, and with him bear away
The Virgin? Did not so the Phrygian Swain
Pierce into Lacedæmon, and transport
Ledæan Helen to the Trojan Tow'rs?
63
For your own Subjects, and your Hand so oft
Plighted to Turnus, Partner of your Blood?
If from a foreign Race the Latins seek
A Son-in-law; And so you still resolve;
And if your Father Faunus awes your Mind
By his Commands: All Lands disjoin'd from Ours,
And from our Sceptres free, in my Account
Are foreign deem'd; And so the Gods intend.
And Turnus, if his Pedigree be trac'd
To it's first Fountain, from Acrisius springs,
From Inachus, and from Mycenæ's Realms.
When King Latinus Thus in vain explor'd
Against her Purpose resolute she saw;
And to her inmost Blood the Snaky Plague
Had spred it self, and all her Soul possess'd:
Then stung, unhappy, by the Monsters dire,
O'er the vast City, with unbounded Rage,
She roves distracted. Like a whirling Top,
Urg'd by the twisted Thong, which Boys, intent
Upon their Sport, the empty Cloysters round,
In a wide Circuit exercise: The Wood,
Driv'n by the Scourge, in spiral Eddys flys;
The stripling Throng in Ignorance admires
The spinning Box; The Lashes give it Life.
Acted with such Rapidity she runs
Thro' the mid Citys, and the madding Crouds.
Ev'n, on pretended Bacchanalian Rites,
A greater Mischief, with more frantick Rage,
Attempting, to the Woods she flys; and There
Her Daughter in the shady Mountains hides:
To cheat the Trojans of the destin'd Spouse,
And disappoint the Nuptials. Loud she crys,
Evoë! Bacchus! Who alone deserv'st
The Virgin Bride; For Thee (so Fame reports)
The Female Train the soft Vine-Jav'lins wield,
Thee they surround, their consecrated Locks
For Thee they nourish. All the Matrons fir'd,
With the same Furies in their Breasts, to seek
New Dwellings, leave their Houses; To the Winds
They give their Necks, and Hair: Some fill the Sky
With trembling Yells; and, clad in Skins of Beasts,
Brandish their Spears with Viny Wreaths entwin'd.
Her self inflam'd, and waving in the Midst
A blazing Pine, the Hymenéal sings
For Turnus, and her Daughter; rolling round
Her sanguine Eyes: And with a sudden Howl,
Iö, Ye Latin Matrons, loud she shrieks;
Hear me, where'er you are: If aught remains
Within your pious Breasts of Care and Love
For lost Amata; if a Mother's Right
Can move you; Loose the Fillets of your Hair,
And celebrate the Orgie-Feasts with Me.
Against her Purpose resolute she saw;
And to her inmost Blood the Snaky Plague
Had spred it self, and all her Soul possess'd:
Then stung, unhappy, by the Monsters dire,
O'er the vast City, with unbounded Rage,
She roves distracted. Like a whirling Top,
64
Upon their Sport, the empty Cloysters round,
In a wide Circuit exercise: The Wood,
Driv'n by the Scourge, in spiral Eddys flys;
The stripling Throng in Ignorance admires
The spinning Box; The Lashes give it Life.
Acted with such Rapidity she runs
Thro' the mid Citys, and the madding Crouds.
Ev'n, on pretended Bacchanalian Rites,
A greater Mischief, with more frantick Rage,
Attempting, to the Woods she flys; and There
Her Daughter in the shady Mountains hides:
To cheat the Trojans of the destin'd Spouse,
And disappoint the Nuptials. Loud she crys,
Evoë! Bacchus! Who alone deserv'st
The Virgin Bride; For Thee (so Fame reports)
The Female Train the soft Vine-Jav'lins wield,
65
For Thee they nourish. All the Matrons fir'd,
With the same Furies in their Breasts, to seek
New Dwellings, leave their Houses; To the Winds
They give their Necks, and Hair: Some fill the Sky
With trembling Yells; and, clad in Skins of Beasts,
Brandish their Spears with Viny Wreaths entwin'd.
Her self inflam'd, and waving in the Midst
A blazing Pine, the Hymenéal sings
For Turnus, and her Daughter; rolling round
Her sanguine Eyes: And with a sudden Howl,
Iö, Ye Latin Matrons, loud she shrieks;
Hear me, where'er you are: If aught remains
Within your pious Breasts of Care and Love
For lost Amata; if a Mother's Right
Can move you; Loose the Fillets of your Hair,
And celebrate the Orgie-Feasts with Me.
Thus in the Woods, and desart Haunts of Beasts,
With Bacchus' Rage Alecto goads the Queen,
And hurrys her to Madness. When she thought,
That Fury, for the first, enough inflam'd;
Latinus' Court, and Counsels all embroil'd:
Thence the grim Goddess, rais'd on sooty Wings,
Strait to the brave Rutulian's Walls repairs;
The City built of old (so Fame reports,)
By Danaë, (thither driv'n by boistrous Winds,)
For her Acrisian Colony: The Place
Was by the ancient Fathers Ardua call'd,
And Ardea now th'illustrious Name remains.
Here, in the lofty Palace, Turnus slept
(Such was his Chance) in gloomy Dead of Night:
Alecto lays aside her griesly Shape,
And Fury's Visage; and her self transforms
Into an aged Dame; with Wrinkles ploughs
Her wither'd Front; with hoary Hairs assumes
A Fillet; and an Olive-Wreath entwines:
Chang'd to old Calybe, of Juno's Train,
And Priestess of her Temple; and before
The Youth, with Words like These, her self presents.
With Bacchus' Rage Alecto goads the Queen,
And hurrys her to Madness. When she thought,
That Fury, for the first, enough inflam'd;
Latinus' Court, and Counsels all embroil'd:
Thence the grim Goddess, rais'd on sooty Wings,
Strait to the brave Rutulian's Walls repairs;
66
By Danaë, (thither driv'n by boistrous Winds,)
For her Acrisian Colony: The Place
Was by the ancient Fathers Ardua call'd,
And Ardea now th'illustrious Name remains.
Here, in the lofty Palace, Turnus slept
(Such was his Chance) in gloomy Dead of Night:
Alecto lays aside her griesly Shape,
And Fury's Visage; and her self transforms
Into an aged Dame; with Wrinkles ploughs
Her wither'd Front; with hoary Hairs assumes
A Fillet; and an Olive-Wreath entwines:
Chang'd to old Calybe, of Juno's Train,
And Priestess of her Temple; and before
The Youth, with Words like These, her self presents.
Turnus, Wilt thou endure so many Toils
In vain to be exhausted? and resign
Thy Sceptres to the Colony of Troy?
Thy Nuptials, and thy Dowry bought with Blood
The King denys thee; And a foreign Prince
Is sought for, to succeed, and heir the Realm.
Go now, Derided; and thy self expose
To Perils which Ingratitude rewards:
Go, rout the Tuscan Legions; and in Peace
Protect the Latins. Me, while pleasing Sleep
Relieves thee, Juno's self, th'Almighty Queen,
Commands to thee This Message to relate.
Then rise, and cheerful arm the Youth, and lead
Their Squadrons thro' the Gates; dislodge the Chiefs
Of Troy, now riding in our Tyber's Mouth:
And burn their painted Ships: The Pow'rs Divine
Command it: Let the King, Latinus' self,
If he submit not, or refuse to grant
Thy Rights of Nuptials, and the promis'd Bride,
Experience Turnus terrible in Arms.
In vain to be exhausted? and resign
Thy Sceptres to the Colony of Troy?
Thy Nuptials, and thy Dowry bought with Blood
The King denys thee; And a foreign Prince
Is sought for, to succeed, and heir the Realm.
Go now, Derided; and thy self expose
To Perils which Ingratitude rewards:
67
Protect the Latins. Me, while pleasing Sleep
Relieves thee, Juno's self, th'Almighty Queen,
Commands to thee This Message to relate.
Then rise, and cheerful arm the Youth, and lead
Their Squadrons thro' the Gates; dislodge the Chiefs
Of Troy, now riding in our Tyber's Mouth:
And burn their painted Ships: The Pow'rs Divine
Command it: Let the King, Latinus' self,
If he submit not, or refuse to grant
Thy Rights of Nuptials, and the promis'd Bride,
Experience Turnus terrible in Arms.
To whom the Youth with scornful Air replys,
The Prophetess deriding: That their Fleet
Within our Tyber's Chanel is arriv'd,
Has not (as Thou supposest) 'scap'd my Ears:
Imagine not my Soul can be alarm'd
With Fears like These: Nor is Heav'n's mighty Queen
Of me unmindful.
But Thee, O Mother Prophetess, o'ercome
With Rust of Age, and impotent of Truth,
Vain Cares disquiet; Thou among the Arms
Of Kings with causeless Terrours art deceiv'd.
'Tis Thine to tend the Statues of the Gods,
And watch their Shrines: Leave War and Peace to Men;
To whom the Management of War belongs.
The Prophetess deriding: That their Fleet
Within our Tyber's Chanel is arriv'd,
Has not (as Thou supposest) 'scap'd my Ears:
Imagine not my Soul can be alarm'd
68
Of me unmindful.
But Thee, O Mother Prophetess, o'ercome
With Rust of Age, and impotent of Truth,
Vain Cares disquiet; Thou among the Arms
Of Kings with causeless Terrours art deceiv'd.
'Tis Thine to tend the Statues of the Gods,
And watch their Shrines: Leave War and Peace to Men;
To whom the Management of War belongs.
Such Words as These inflam'd Alecto's Rage;
Him, while he spoke, a sudden Trembling seiz'd
O'er all his Limbs; Fix'd stood his haggard Eyes;
The Fury hisses with so many Snakes,
So dire a Figure opens to his View.
Then, fiercely rolling round her fiery Orbs,
Him wav'ring, and attempting to reply
She back repels, and on her Hair erect
Uprears two Serpents, clangs her sounding Whip,
And rapid Thus with hideous Accent speaks.
Lo! I, who with the Rust of Age o'ercome,
And impotent of Truth, among the Arms
Of Kings with causeless Terrours am deceiv'd,
See! from the Infernal Sisters' Seat I come:
War in my Hand, and Death I bear.
Him, while he spoke, a sudden Trembling seiz'd
O'er all his Limbs; Fix'd stood his haggard Eyes;
The Fury hisses with so many Snakes,
So dire a Figure opens to his View.
Then, fiercely rolling round her fiery Orbs,
Him wav'ring, and attempting to reply
She back repels, and on her Hair erect
Uprears two Serpents, clangs her sounding Whip,
And rapid Thus with hideous Accent speaks.
Lo! I, who with the Rust of Age o'ercome,
And impotent of Truth, among the Arms
Of Kings with causeless Terrours am deceiv'd,
See! from the Infernal Sisters' Seat I come:
War in my Hand, and Death I bear.
So saying, to the Youth she hurls a Brand;
And Torches smoking with a smould'ring Light
Fixes beneath his Breast. With Horrour rous'd
He starts from Sleep; O'er all his Body, Sweat
Bedews his shudd'ring Limbs: For Arms he raves,
Distracted; Arms upon his Bed demands,
And o'er the Palace; madding with the Love
Of Battels, and the barb'rous Rage of War.
As when, with mighty Noise, the sputt'ring Flame
Of Wood, surrounds the boiling Cauldron's Sides;
The dancing Liquor bubbles with the Heat;
It's aqueous Fury roars, and smokes within,
Exuberant, and foaming: Nor does now
The Water's bounding Tide it self contain;
The pitchy Vapour flying mounts in Air.
And Torches smoking with a smould'ring Light
69
He starts from Sleep; O'er all his Body, Sweat
Bedews his shudd'ring Limbs: For Arms he raves,
Distracted; Arms upon his Bed demands,
And o'er the Palace; madding with the Love
Of Battels, and the barb'rous Rage of War.
As when, with mighty Noise, the sputt'ring Flame
70
The dancing Liquor bubbles with the Heat;
It's aqueous Fury roars, and smokes within,
Exuberant, and foaming: Nor does now
The Water's bounding Tide it self contain;
The pitchy Vapour flying mounts in Air.
Therefore the Chiefs of all the Youth he sends,
The Peace now broken, to Latinus' Court;
Wills him to arm, to guard th'Italian Coasts,
And from his Territorys drive the Foe:
Himself would prove sufficient to engage
Both with the Trojan, and the Latin Pow'rs.
He said; and to the Gods his Pray'rs preferr'd.
With emulation the Rutulians rouse
Each other to the War: His beauteous Youth
On Some prevails; on Some his Grandsire Kings;
On Some his Valour, and his Fame in Arms.
The Peace now broken, to Latinus' Court;
Wills him to arm, to guard th'Italian Coasts,
And from his Territorys drive the Foe:
71
Both with the Trojan, and the Latin Pow'rs.
He said; and to the Gods his Pray'rs preferr'd.
With emulation the Rutulians rouse
Each other to the War: His beauteous Youth
On Some prevails; on Some his Grandsire Kings;
On Some his Valour, and his Fame in Arms.
While Turnus the Rutulians Thus inspires
With Courage: Swift, uprais'd on Stygian Wings,
Alecto to the Trojans speeds her Flight;
Having with new Sagacity espy'd
The Place, where fair Iülus, on the Shore
With Toils and Hounds the flying Deer pursu'd.
Here the Cocytian Maid with sudden Rage
Of keenest Appetite provok'd the Pack,
(Tinging their Noses with th'accustom'd Scent,)
To hunt a Stag: Which first th'Occasion prov'd
Of Woes, and fir'd the Peasantry to Arms.
A Stag there was, of comely Shape, and tall
With branching Horns: whom ravish'd from his Dam
The Sons of Tyrrheus nourish'd, and their Sire
Tyrrheus himself, to whom was giv'n the Charge
Of all the Royal Herds, and spacious Fields.
This Beast, accustom'd to their gentle Rule,
Their Sister Silvia with uncommon Care
Adorn'd, and with soft Wreaths his Antlers crown'd,
And comb'd, and wash'd him in the limpid Stream.
He, patient of the Hand, his Master's Board
Attended; wander'd in the Woods; at Night,
Tho' late, spontaneous to his Home return'd.
Him, at a distance straying, in the Chace,
The eager Dogs of young Iülus rous'd;
As gliding down the Stream by chance he swam,
And on the grassy Bank allay'd the Heat.
Ascanius' self, inflam'd with Thirst of Praise,
Level'd an Arrow from his bended Bow;
Nor was the God not present to direct
His erring Hand: The Shaft with hissing Sound
Driv'n thro' the hollow Flank and Entrails flew.
To his lov'd Home the wounded Beast repairs;
Bloody, and groaning, enters his known Stall,
Like One imploring; and with plaintive Noise
Fills all the House. Their Sister Silvia first,
Shrieking with loud Laments, her Bosom beats,
And calls the sturdy Peasants to her Aid.
They (for the Fiend within the silent Woods
Lies lurking) at the Summons strait appear:
One with a Firebrand, with a knotty Stake
Another arm'd; What-e'er they find in Search
Rage makes a Weapon. Tyrrheus calls his Clan;
As then by chance he riv'd an Oak in Four
With Wedges inward forc'd, and puff'd amain,
Wielding his Axe, and panting o'er the Blows.
Then from her Spying-place the Hellish Pest,
A Juncture fit for Mischief having gain'd,
Ascends the Stall; and on it's Summit sounds
The Rustick Charge, and thro' the crooked Horn
Swells her Tartarean Voice: At which the Grove
Suddenly trembled; And the Woods profound
All thunder'd; Trivia's Lake at distance heard,
Velinus' Rivulets, and hoary Nar
With sulph'rous Waves: And to their Bosoms press'd
The frighted Mothers clasp'd their crying Babes.
Swift to the Sound, where'er the Trumpet gave
The direful Signal, snatching up their Arms,
From ev'ry Part the hardy Peasants run:
And, from their open Tents, the Trojan Youth
Pour out their Forces to Ascanius' Aid.
They form their Ranks; nor now in rustick Fray
With knotty Clubs, or sharpen'd Stakes they fight,
But with the two-edg'd Steel: And all around
Rises a horrid Crop of Swords unsheath'd;
Their Arms against the Sun reflected shine,
And cast a brazen Light beneath the Clouds.
As when the Waves first whiten with the Foam;
The Ocean swells it self by just degrees,
And lifts it's Billows higher; 'till at last
It rises from the Bottom to the Sky.
Here fell before the first embattled Line
Almo, the eldest Youth of Tyrrheus' Sons,
Shot by a sounding Arrow: For the Wound
Beneath his Weazon stuck, and with his Blood
Clos'd up the Passage of the humid Voice,
And choak'd the slender Life. Upon the Field
Around him many slain promiscuous lay;
And old Galesus, while he interpos'd
To offer Peace; Than whom more just was None,
Nor wealthier in Ausonian Lands: To Him
Five bleating Flocks, as many Herds return'd;
And with an hundred Ploughs he till'd the Glebe.
With Courage: Swift, uprais'd on Stygian Wings,
Alecto to the Trojans speeds her Flight;
Having with new Sagacity espy'd
The Place, where fair Iülus, on the Shore
With Toils and Hounds the flying Deer pursu'd.
Here the Cocytian Maid with sudden Rage
Of keenest Appetite provok'd the Pack,
(Tinging their Noses with th'accustom'd Scent,)
To hunt a Stag: Which first th'Occasion prov'd
72
A Stag there was, of comely Shape, and tall
With branching Horns: whom ravish'd from his Dam
The Sons of Tyrrheus nourish'd, and their Sire
73
Of all the Royal Herds, and spacious Fields.
This Beast, accustom'd to their gentle Rule,
Their Sister Silvia with uncommon Care
Adorn'd, and with soft Wreaths his Antlers crown'd,
And comb'd, and wash'd him in the limpid Stream.
He, patient of the Hand, his Master's Board
Attended; wander'd in the Woods; at Night,
Tho' late, spontaneous to his Home return'd.
Him, at a distance straying, in the Chace,
The eager Dogs of young Iülus rous'd;
As gliding down the Stream by chance he swam,
And on the grassy Bank allay'd the Heat.
Ascanius' self, inflam'd with Thirst of Praise,
Level'd an Arrow from his bended Bow;
Nor was the God not present to direct
74
Driv'n thro' the hollow Flank and Entrails flew.
To his lov'd Home the wounded Beast repairs;
Bloody, and groaning, enters his known Stall,
Like One imploring; and with plaintive Noise
Fills all the House. Their Sister Silvia first,
Shrieking with loud Laments, her Bosom beats,
And calls the sturdy Peasants to her Aid.
They (for the Fiend within the silent Woods
Lies lurking) at the Summons strait appear:
One with a Firebrand, with a knotty Stake
Another arm'd; What-e'er they find in Search
Rage makes a Weapon. Tyrrheus calls his Clan;
As then by chance he riv'd an Oak in Four
With Wedges inward forc'd, and puff'd amain,
Wielding his Axe, and panting o'er the Blows.
Then from her Spying-place the Hellish Pest,
A Juncture fit for Mischief having gain'd,
Ascends the Stall; and on it's Summit sounds
The Rustick Charge, and thro' the crooked Horn
Swells her Tartarean Voice: At which the Grove
Suddenly trembled; And the Woods profound
75
Velinus' Rivulets, and hoary Nar
With sulph'rous Waves: And to their Bosoms press'd
The frighted Mothers clasp'd their crying Babes.
Swift to the Sound, where'er the Trumpet gave
The direful Signal, snatching up their Arms,
From ev'ry Part the hardy Peasants run:
And, from their open Tents, the Trojan Youth
Pour out their Forces to Ascanius' Aid.
They form their Ranks; nor now in rustick Fray
With knotty Clubs, or sharpen'd Stakes they fight,
But with the two-edg'd Steel: And all around
Rises a horrid Crop of Swords unsheath'd;
76
And cast a brazen Light beneath the Clouds.
As when the Waves first whiten with the Foam;
The Ocean swells it self by just degrees,
And lifts it's Billows higher; 'till at last
It rises from the Bottom to the Sky.
Here fell before the first embattled Line
Almo, the eldest Youth of Tyrrheus' Sons,
Shot by a sounding Arrow: For the Wound
Beneath his Weazon stuck, and with his Blood
Clos'd up the Passage of the humid Voice,
And choak'd the slender Life. Upon the Field
77
And old Galesus, while he interpos'd
To offer Peace; Than whom more just was None,
Nor wealthier in Ausonian Lands: To Him
Five bleating Flocks, as many Herds return'd;
And with an hundred Ploughs he till'd the Glebe.
While Thus the Fight with equal Fortune hangs;
The Goddess, having now perform'd her Charge,
Giv'n Death a Taste, and dipp'd the War in Blood,
Forsakes Hesperia; and in Air sublime
To Juno Thus with Pride and Triumph speaks.
See Discord by dire War for you complete;
Bid them unite in Amity, and Leagues:
Since with Ausonian Gore I have imbru'd
The Trojans; if your Will concur with mine,
This I will add: I'll rouze the neighb'ring Towns
With Rumour's to the Fight, and fire their Minds
With mad Desire of Arms; that they may come
Auxiliaries: Thro' all the Countries round
I'll scatter War. Then Juno thus replies.
Abundant are the Terrours, and the Frauds:
The Causes of the War stand fix'd; They fight
In closest Battle join'd, with Arms which Chance
At first supply'd; New Blood has ting'd Those Arms.
Let King Latinus, and the precious Son
Of Venus celebrate such Marriage-Rites,
Such Hymenéals: Thee Heav'n's Lord supreme
Permits not longer in th'Ethereal Air
To rove licentious: From These Realms retire:
Whatever Task, or Fortune yet remains,
My self will manage. Thus Saturnia spoke:
The Fiend expands her snaky sounding Wings;
Seeks black Cocytus' Seat, and leaves the Sky.
The Goddess, having now perform'd her Charge,
Giv'n Death a Taste, and dipp'd the War in Blood,
Forsakes Hesperia; and in Air sublime
To Juno Thus with Pride and Triumph speaks.
See Discord by dire War for you complete;
Bid them unite in Amity, and Leagues:
Since with Ausonian Gore I have imbru'd
The Trojans; if your Will concur with mine,
This I will add: I'll rouze the neighb'ring Towns
With Rumour's to the Fight, and fire their Minds
With mad Desire of Arms; that they may come
Auxiliaries: Thro' all the Countries round
I'll scatter War. Then Juno thus replies.
Abundant are the Terrours, and the Frauds:
The Causes of the War stand fix'd; They fight
In closest Battle join'd, with Arms which Chance
At first supply'd; New Blood has ting'd Those Arms.
Let King Latinus, and the precious Son
Of Venus celebrate such Marriage-Rites,
Such Hymenéals: Thee Heav'n's Lord supreme
Permits not longer in th'Ethereal Air
To rove licentious: From These Realms retire:
Whatever Task, or Fortune yet remains,
My self will manage. Thus Saturnia spoke:
78
Seeks black Cocytus' Seat, and leaves the Sky.
Full in Italia's Centre, underneath
The lofty Hills, there is a Place renown'd
By Rumour wide, and fam'd on various Coasts;
Amsanctus' Valleys: Which on ev'ry side
A gloomy Wood incloses, thick with Trees;
And in the Midst a rapid Torrent whirls
It's Waves, and tumbling foams among the Stones
With roaring Noise. A horrid Cavern here
Is shewn: Thro' whose black Tunnels breaths the Stench
Of griesly Dis; and burst from Acheron
A Gulph opes wide its pestilential Jaws:
Thro' which the Fury plung'd her hideous Form
Detested, and reliev'd the Earth and Skies.
The lofty Hills, there is a Place renown'd
By Rumour wide, and fam'd on various Coasts;
Amsanctus' Valleys: Which on ev'ry side
A gloomy Wood incloses, thick with Trees;
And in the Midst a rapid Torrent whirls
It's Waves, and tumbling foams among the Stones
With roaring Noise. A horrid Cavern here
Is shewn: Thro' whose black Tunnels breaths the Stench
Of griesly Dis; and burst from Acheron
A Gulph opes wide its pestilential Jaws:
79
Detested, and reliev'd the Earth and Skies.
Nor less mean-while Saturnia to the War
Adds her last Hand: The Shepherds from the Field
Rush to the City, bringing back their Slain,
Young Almo, and Galesus' Face besmear'd;
Conjure Latinus, and implore the Gods.
Them Turnus present joins; and, in the Midst
Of Crimes, and Slaughter, aggravates the Guilt,
Doubles the Terrour, and inflames their Rage.
Alledges, that the Trojans are receiv'd
Partners to share the Realm; a Phrygian Race
Incorporate; Himself expell'd from Court.
Then Those, whose Mothers thro' the pathless Woods,
With Bacchanalian Madness dancing, rov'd,
(For great the Influence of Amata's Name)
Come gather'd from all Parts, and urge the Fight.
Against the Fates, and Prodigies Divine,
And angry Gods, infatuate they demand
The impious War; and obstinately croud
With Tumult round the King Latinus' Court.
He, like a Rock amidst the Sea, unmov'd,
Stands opposite, resisting: Like a Rock
Amidst the Sea; Which, while the roaring Tide
Encroaches, with it's Weight it self sustains,
Among the noisy Waves: In vain the Cliffs
Foaming rebellow loud; And all around
The broken Sea-weed dashes on it's Sides.
But when no Pow'r was left him to o'er-rule
Their blind Resolves; And all th'Affair runs smooth
By cruel Juno's Nod: The awful Sire,
Protesting much, to witness calls the Gods,
And empty Air; The Fates, alas! he cry'd,
O'erpow'r us; And we drive before the Storm.
Your selves, Ye Miserable, with your Blood
Shall dearly pay the Forfeit of your Crime.
Thee, Turnus, Thee a Penalty severe
Awaits; And thou with Pray'rs too late preferr'd
Shalt importune the Gods: For Me, my Rest
Is found; And in the Port my Vessel rides:
An happy Fun'ral-Pomp is all I lose.
He said no more; but in his Palace-Walls
Confin'd himself, and left the Reins of State.
Adds her last Hand: The Shepherds from the Field
Rush to the City, bringing back their Slain,
Young Almo, and Galesus' Face besmear'd;
Conjure Latinus, and implore the Gods.
Them Turnus present joins; and, in the Midst
Of Crimes, and Slaughter, aggravates the Guilt,
80
Alledges, that the Trojans are receiv'd
Partners to share the Realm; a Phrygian Race
Incorporate; Himself expell'd from Court.
Then Those, whose Mothers thro' the pathless Woods,
With Bacchanalian Madness dancing, rov'd,
(For great the Influence of Amata's Name)
Come gather'd from all Parts, and urge the Fight.
Against the Fates, and Prodigies Divine,
And angry Gods, infatuate they demand
The impious War; and obstinately croud
With Tumult round the King Latinus' Court.
He, like a Rock amidst the Sea, unmov'd,
81
Amidst the Sea; Which, while the roaring Tide
Encroaches, with it's Weight it self sustains,
Among the noisy Waves: In vain the Cliffs
Foaming rebellow loud; And all around
The broken Sea-weed dashes on it's Sides.
But when no Pow'r was left him to o'er-rule
Their blind Resolves; And all th'Affair runs smooth
By cruel Juno's Nod: The awful Sire,
Protesting much, to witness calls the Gods,
And empty Air; The Fates, alas! he cry'd,
O'erpow'r us; And we drive before the Storm.
Your selves, Ye Miserable, with your Blood
Shall dearly pay the Forfeit of your Crime.
Thee, Turnus, Thee a Penalty severe
Awaits; And thou with Pray'rs too late preferr'd
Shalt importune the Gods: For Me, my Rest
Is found; And in the Port my Vessel rides:
82
He said no more; but in his Palace-Walls
Confin'd himself, and left the Reins of State.
An ancient Rite Hesperian Latium held;
Which all the Alban Cities still observ'd
As sacred, Now Imperial Rome observes;
When first they fire the Martial God to Arms:
Whether against the Getæ they provide
The Woes of War; or to th'Hyrcanians bend;
Or to th'Arabians; and the Indian East;
And from the Parthians re-demand their Spoils.
Two Gates of War there stand (so call'd their Name)
Tremendously religious, by the Dread
Of horrid Mars: An hundred brazen Bolts,
And everlasting Iron's solid Strength
Secures them; Nor does Janus ever cease
To guard the Portal. Here, when certain War
The Fathers' by their Sentence have decreed;
The Consul, clad in his Quirinal Gown,
And rich Gabinian Robe, himself unlocks
The jarring Doors; Himself calls forth the Fight:
Then all the Forces follow; And at once
In shrill Assent the brazen Trumpets sound.
Latinus then, by This accustom'd Rite,
They urge against the Trojans to denounce
Defiance, and unbar the fatal Doors.
The King, averse, detests their Touch, and flies
The odious Ministry; and hides himself
In close Retirement. Then the Queen of Gods,
From Heav'n descending, with her Hand impels
The ling'ring Bolts; and on their crashing Hinge
Her self bursts ope the iron Gates of War.
Ausonia, peaceful, and unmov'd e'erwhile,
Now burns with Fury: Some on foot prepare
To take the Field; Some storm in Clouds of Dust,
High on their lofty Steeds: All Arms require.
Some scour their polish'd Shields, and pointed Spears,
And whet their Battle-Axes; pleas'd to wave
The Banners, and to hear the Trumpets sound.
Five mighty Towns on Anvils rais'd renew
Their Arms; Atina potent, Tybur proud,
Ardea, and Crustumeria, and with Tow'rs
Antemnæ crown'd. They form their solid Cisques;
And Sallow Twigs for bossy Targets bend:
Some brazen Corslets, or smooth Cuisses beat
In ductile Silver: All the due Regard
To Tillage, all the Honour of the Plough,
And Love of Vintage, hither is transfer'd:
The Weapons of their Fathers they recast
In Forges: Now the Trumpet's Clangor sounds;
The Word is giv'n: One snatches from the Roof
His Helm with eager Haste; Another joins
His neighing Steeds in Harness, fits his Shield,
Laces his triple-tissu'd Coat of Mail,
And buckles to his Side his trusty Sword.
Which all the Alban Cities still observ'd
As sacred, Now Imperial Rome observes;
When first they fire the Martial God to Arms:
Whether against the Getæ they provide
The Woes of War; or to th'Hyrcanians bend;
Or to th'Arabians; and the Indian East;
And from the Parthians re-demand their Spoils.
Two Gates of War there stand (so call'd their Name)
Tremendously religious, by the Dread
Of horrid Mars: An hundred brazen Bolts,
And everlasting Iron's solid Strength
Secures them; Nor does Janus ever cease
To guard the Portal. Here, when certain War
The Fathers' by their Sentence have decreed;
The Consul, clad in his Quirinal Gown,
And rich Gabinian Robe, himself unlocks
The jarring Doors; Himself calls forth the Fight:
Then all the Forces follow; And at once
In shrill Assent the brazen Trumpets sound.
Latinus then, by This accustom'd Rite,
They urge against the Trojans to denounce
Defiance, and unbar the fatal Doors.
83
The odious Ministry; and hides himself
In close Retirement. Then the Queen of Gods,
From Heav'n descending, with her Hand impels
The ling'ring Bolts; and on their crashing Hinge
Her self bursts ope the iron Gates of War.
Ausonia, peaceful, and unmov'd e'erwhile,
Now burns with Fury: Some on foot prepare
To take the Field; Some storm in Clouds of Dust,
High on their lofty Steeds: All Arms require.
Some scour their polish'd Shields, and pointed Spears,
And whet their Battle-Axes; pleas'd to wave
The Banners, and to hear the Trumpets sound.
Five mighty Towns on Anvils rais'd renew
Their Arms; Atina potent, Tybur proud,
Ardea, and Crustumeria, and with Tow'rs
Antemnæ crown'd. They form their solid Cisques;
And Sallow Twigs for bossy Targets bend:
Some brazen Corslets, or smooth Cuisses beat
In ductile Silver: All the due Regard
To Tillage, all the Honour of the Plough,
And Love of Vintage, hither is transfer'd:
The Weapons of their Fathers they recast
In Forges: Now the Trumpet's Clangor sounds;
The Word is giv'n: One snatches from the Roof
His Helm with eager Haste; Another joins
84
Laces his triple-tissu'd Coat of Mail,
And buckles to his Side his trusty Sword.
Now open Helicon, and Songs inspire,
Celestial Muses: Say, what Kings were rous'd
To Battel; under ev'ry Chief what Troops
Crouded the Fields; In Latium's fertil Soil
Ev'n Then what Heroes flourish'd; With what Arms
It kindled War: For You, Ye Pow'rs Divine,
Can best remember, and record; To Us
A Breath of scanty Rumour scarce descends.
85
To Battel; under ev'ry Chief what Troops
Crouded the Fields; In Latium's fertil Soil
Ev'n Then what Heroes flourish'd; With what Arms
It kindled War: For You, Ye Pow'rs Divine,
Can best remember, and record; To Us
86
First, stern Mezentius, Scorner of the Gods,
To War advances from the Tyrrhene Coasts,
And arms his Troops: With Him his Son appears,
Lausus, than whom more beautiful was None,
Except Laurentian Turnus' graceful Form.
Lausus, for Horses tam'd, and Beasts subdu'd
Illustrious, from Agylla's City leads
In vain his Thousand; worthy to enjoy
A better and a happier Sire; and He
Unworthy of so good and brave a Son.
To War advances from the Tyrrhene Coasts,
And arms his Troops: With Him his Son appears,
Lausus, than whom more beautiful was None,
Except Laurentian Turnus' graceful Form.
87
Illustrious, from Agylla's City leads
In vain his Thousand; worthy to enjoy
A better and a happier Sire; and He
Unworthy of so good and brave a Son.
Next Aventinus, fam'd in War, and born.
Of warlike Hercules, upon the Plain
His conqu'ring Horses and his Chariot shews,
Crown'd with triumphant Palm; and on his Shield
His Father's Impress bears, the Hydra, round
Inclos'd, and hissing with an hundred Snakes.
Him in the Wood of Aventinus' Mount
The Priestess Rhea, by a stol'n Embrace
A Woman mingling with a God, disclos'd
To Light ethereal; when from Geryon slain
Tyrinthius Conqu'ror reach'd Laurentum's Fields,
And wash'd th'Iberian Herds in Tyber's Stream.
Piles in their hands, and goring Pikes they bear,
And with round pointed Sabine Jav'lins fight.
Himself on foot a Lion's monstrous Hide
Throws o'er his Head, and Shoulders, with white Teeth,
And shaggy Fur: Thus stalks into the Hall,
Horrid, and with Herculean Terrour dress'd.
88
His conqu'ring Horses and his Chariot shews,
Crown'd with triumphant Palm; and on his Shield
His Father's Impress bears, the Hydra, round
Inclos'd, and hissing with an hundred Snakes.
Him in the Wood of Aventinus' Mount
The Priestess Rhea, by a stol'n Embrace
A Woman mingling with a God, disclos'd
To Light ethereal; when from Geryon slain
Tyrinthius Conqu'ror reach'd Laurentum's Fields,
And wash'd th'Iberian Herds in Tyber's Stream.
Piles in their hands, and goring Pikes they bear,
And with round pointed Sabine Jav'lins fight.
Himself on foot a Lion's monstrous Hide
Throws o'er his Head, and Shoulders, with white Teeth,
And shaggy Fur: Thus stalks into the Hall,
Horrid, and with Herculean Terrour dress'd.
Two Brothers next forsake Tiburtian Walls,
Which from their Brother Tiburs took their Name,
Brave Coras, and Catillus, Argive Youth;
And in the Front, among the thickest Darts,
Advance. As when two Cloud-born Centaurs leave
With rapid Pace, some airy Mountain's Height,
From Omole, or Othrys' snowy Top
Descending: To their Steps the Wood gives way,
And crashing Trees on either side retire.
Which from their Brother Tiburs took their Name,
Brave Coras, and Catillus, Argive Youth;
And in the Front, among the thickest Darts,
89
With rapid Pace, some airy Mountain's Height,
From Omole, or Othrys' snowy Top
Descending: To their Steps the Wood gives way,
And crashing Trees on either side retire.
Nor was the Founder of Præneste's Tow'rs
Not present; Cæculus, the King, believ'd,
In ev'ry Age, among the rustick Herds
Of Vulcan born, and found in Smoke and Fire.
With Him a num'rous rustick Legion march'd;
The Soldiers who Præneste's lofty Walls
Inhabit, and Gabinian Juno's Fields,
Cold Anienus, and the Hernic Rocks
Water'd with Streams; whom rich Anagnia feeds,
And Father Amasenus. These in Arms
Appear not all, nor sounding Chariots drive,
Nor Targets wear: The greatest part throw Balls
Of livid Lead; Part brandish in their Hands
Two Darts: A yellow Cap of Wolf-skin made
Covers their Heads; Their left Foot bare; Their right
In the raw Leather of a Shoe inclos'd.
Not present; Cæculus, the King, believ'd,
In ev'ry Age, among the rustick Herds
Of Vulcan born, and found in Smoke and Fire.
With Him a num'rous rustick Legion march'd;
The Soldiers who Præneste's lofty Walls
Inhabit, and Gabinian Juno's Fields,
Cold Anienus, and the Hernic Rocks
Water'd with Streams; whom rich Anagnia feeds,
And Father Amasenus. These in Arms
Appear not all, nor sounding Chariots drive,
Nor Targets wear: The greatest part throw Balls
90
Two Darts: A yellow Cap of Wolf-skin made
Covers their Heads; Their left Foot bare; Their right
In the raw Leather of a Shoe inclos'd.
But from Neptunian Blood Messapus sprung,
Tamer of Steeds, whom None with Sword, or Fire
Could vanquish, suddenly to Battel calls
His long unactive Subjects, and his Troops
Unus'd to War; and reassumes his Arms.
These lead the Forces from Fescennium drawn,
And just Faliscum; These possess the Hill
And Lake of Ciminus, Capena's Groves,
Soracte's Mountains, and Flavinian Fields.
In even Lines they march'd, and sung their King:
As when the snow-white Swans thro' liquid Air
Return from Feeding, and melodious Strains
Thro' their long Throats extend; The River sounds;
And at a distance Asia's Lake returns
Their Warbling.
Nor any would have thought That num'rous Force
For brazen War assembled; but a Cloud
Of airy Birds, which from the gulphy Deep
Swift wing'd their way, and singing sought the Shore.
Tamer of Steeds, whom None with Sword, or Fire
Could vanquish, suddenly to Battel calls
His long unactive Subjects, and his Troops
Unus'd to War; and reassumes his Arms.
These lead the Forces from Fescennium drawn,
And just Faliscum; These possess the Hill
And Lake of Ciminus, Capena's Groves,
Soracte's Mountains, and Flavinian Fields.
In even Lines they march'd, and sung their King:
As when the snow-white Swans thro' liquid Air
Return from Feeding, and melodious Strains
Thro' their long Throats extend; The River sounds;
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Their Warbling.
Nor any would have thought That num'rous Force
For brazen War assembled; but a Cloud
Of airy Birds, which from the gulphy Deep
Swift wing'd their way, and singing sought the Shore.
Lo! Clausus, from the Sabines' ancient Blood
Descended, leads a mighty Host, Himself
A mighty Host; from whom the Claudian Tribe
And Lineage now thro' Latium is diffus'd,
Since Rome in part was to the Sabines giv'n.
With Him the Amiternian Cohort wide,
The old Quirites, all Eretum's Band,
Mutuscæ Olive-bearing; Those who hold
Nomentum's Town, Velinus' dewy Fields,
Tetrica's rugged Rocks, Severus' Mount,
Casperia, Foruli, Himella's Stream;
Those who of Fabaris, and Tyber drink;
Those whom bleak Nursia sent, th'Hortinian Troops;
And Latin Clans; and Those whom (fatal Name!)
Allia with intermediate Stream divides.
Num'rous, as Surges roll'd on Libya's Sea,
When rough Orion sets in wintry Waves;
Or Ears of Corn scorch'd by the Summer's Sun,
On Hermus' Plain, or Lycia's yellow Fields:
Their Targets ring; And with their trampling Feet
The Ground beneath them trembles, as they walk.
Descended, leads a mighty Host, Himself
A mighty Host; from whom the Claudian Tribe
And Lineage now thro' Latium is diffus'd,
Since Rome in part was to the Sabines giv'n.
With Him the Amiternian Cohort wide,
The old Quirites, all Eretum's Band,
Mutuscæ Olive-bearing; Those who hold
Nomentum's Town, Velinus' dewy Fields,
Tetrica's rugged Rocks, Severus' Mount,
Casperia, Foruli, Himella's Stream;
Those who of Fabaris, and Tyber drink;
Those whom bleak Nursia sent, th'Hortinian Troops;
And Latin Clans; and Those whom (fatal Name!)
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Num'rous, as Surges roll'd on Libya's Sea,
When rough Orion sets in wintry Waves;
Or Ears of Corn scorch'd by the Summer's Sun,
On Hermus' Plain, or Lycia's yellow Fields:
Their Targets ring; And with their trampling Feet
The Ground beneath them trembles, as they walk.
Halesus, born of Agamemnon's Race,
Foe to the Trojan Name, his harness'd Steeds
Joins to his Chariot; and with rapid Haste
His furious Thousand brings to Turnus' Aid:
Those who with Harrows turn the Massic Soil
Fertil of Wine; and whom th'Auruncan Sires
Sent from their lofty Hills; and Those who live
Fast by the Sidicinian Seas; and Those
Who Cales leave; and near Vulturnus' Ford
Inhabit; and the Oscian Band; and rough
Saticulans. Round missile Darts they throw;
But These by Custom to a pliant Thong
Are ty'd: A Buckler on their Left they wear;
And crooked Fauchions wield in closer Fight.
Foe to the Trojan Name, his harness'd Steeds
Joins to his Chariot; and with rapid Haste
His furious Thousand brings to Turnus' Aid:
Those who with Harrows turn the Massic Soil
Fertil of Wine; and whom th'Auruncan Sires
Sent from their lofty Hills; and Those who live
Fast by the Sidicinian Seas; and Those
Who Cales leave; and near Vulturnus' Ford
Inhabit; and the Oscian Band; and rough
Saticulans. Round missile Darts they throw;
But These by Custom to a pliant Thong
Are ty'd: A Buckler on their Left they wear;
And crooked Fauchions wield in closer Fight.
Nor shalt Thou, Oebalus, be in our Verse
Left unrecorded; whom Sebethus' Nymph
(So Fame reports) to aged Telon bore,
When o'er Teleboan Capreæ's Realms he reign'd.
But, with his Father's Limits not content,
The Son ev'n Then with more extended Sway
Rul'd the Sarrastes, and the Countries wash'd
By Sarnus; Those who Batulum possess,
And Rufæ, and Celenna's Fields; And Those
Whom cloath'd with Trees Abella's Walls command;
Accustom'd, by Teutonic Mode, to hurl
Huge pond'rous Jav'lins: Rind of Cork their Casques;
And brazen Swords they wear, and brazen Shields.
Left unrecorded; whom Sebethus' Nymph
(So Fame reports) to aged Telon bore,
When o'er Teleboan Capreæ's Realms he reign'd.
But, with his Father's Limits not content,
The Son ev'n Then with more extended Sway
Rul'd the Sarrastes, and the Countries wash'd
By Sarnus; Those who Batulum possess,
And Rufæ, and Celenna's Fields; And Those
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Accustom'd, by Teutonic Mode, to hurl
Huge pond'rous Jav'lins: Rind of Cork their Casques;
And brazen Swords they wear, and brazen Shields.
Thee too the Nursian Mountains sent to War,
Ufens, renown'd by Fame for conqu'ring Arms;
Whose Subjects all the Natives round excel'd
In Fierceness, harden'd in a harden'd Soil,
The savage Æqui; us'd among the Woods
To ceaseless Hunting: Arm'd they till the Glebe;
And evermore delight to bear away
Fresh daily Plunder; and by Rapine live.
Ufens, renown'd by Fame for conqu'ring Arms;
Whose Subjects all the Natives round excel'd
In Fierceness, harden'd in a harden'd Soil,
The savage Æqui; us'd among the Woods
To ceaseless Hunting: Arm'd they till the Glebe;
And evermore delight to bear away
Fresh daily Plunder; and by Rapine live.
Next, of Marubian Race the valiant Priest,
Sent by the King Archippus, Umbro came;
(His Helm with happy Olive-Foliage wreath'd:)
Who with his Charms, or Touch, the vip'rous Race,
And Dragons, breathing pestilential Stench,
Could lull to Sleep, and mollify their Rage,
And heal with magick Art the Wounds they gave:
But could not cure the Wound Himself receiv'd,
Pierc'd by a Dardan Spear; Nor aught avail'd
His lulling Charms, nor Herbs on Marsian Hills
Collected: Thee Angitia's Wood deplor'd;
Thee Fucinus within his crystal Stream;
Thee mourn'd the liquid Lakes.
Sent by the King Archippus, Umbro came;
(His Helm with happy Olive-Foliage wreath'd:)
Who with his Charms, or Touch, the vip'rous Race,
And Dragons, breathing pestilential Stench,
Could lull to Sleep, and mollify their Rage,
And heal with magick Art the Wounds they gave:
But could not cure the Wound Himself receiv'd,
Pierc'd by a Dardan Spear; Nor aught avail'd
His lulling Charms, nor Herbs on Marsian Hills
Collected: Thee Angitia's Wood deplor'd;
Thee Fucinus within his crystal Stream;
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There Virbius march'd, illustrious, fam'd in Arms:
Whom to Hippolitus Aricia bore,
And sent to Battel; in Egeria's Woods
Nurs'd up, along the humid Shores; where stands
An Altar fat with Blood, and milder now,
Rais'd to Diana. For Tradition tells,
That when, torn piece-meal by the frighted Steeds,
Hippolytus had, by his Step-dame's Art,
Glutted his Father's Vengeance with his Blood;
He rose again to vital Air, restor'd
By med'cinal Simples, and Diana's Love.
But Heav'n's high King, with Indignation mov'd
That any Mortal from th'infernal Shades
Should to the Light of upper Life return,
Himself with Thunder to the Stygian Waves
Struck the Inventer of That med'cinal Art,
Apollo's Son. But in a Seat retir'd
Propitious Trivia hid Hippolytus,
And to the Nymph Egeria and her Groves
Committed him; That in th'Italian Woods,
Lonesom, inglorious, he might waste his Days,
And by a Change of Name be Virbius call'd.
Hence from the Temple and the sacred Groves
Of Trivia horny-footed Steeds are driv'n:
Because, by Sea-born Monsters scar'd, they flung
The Chariot and the Youth upon the Shore.
Yet not the less upon the spacious Plain
His Son in Harness manag'd fiery Steeds;
And with his Chariot rush'd into the War.
Whom to Hippolitus Aricia bore,
And sent to Battel; in Egeria's Woods
Nurs'd up, along the humid Shores; where stands
An Altar fat with Blood, and milder now,
Rais'd to Diana. For Tradition tells,
That when, torn piece-meal by the frighted Steeds,
Hippolytus had, by his Step-dame's Art,
Glutted his Father's Vengeance with his Blood;
He rose again to vital Air, restor'd
By med'cinal Simples, and Diana's Love.
But Heav'n's high King, with Indignation mov'd
That any Mortal from th'infernal Shades
Should to the Light of upper Life return,
Himself with Thunder to the Stygian Waves
Struck the Inventer of That med'cinal Art,
Apollo's Son. But in a Seat retir'd
Propitious Trivia hid Hippolytus,
And to the Nymph Egeria and her Groves
Committed him; That in th'Italian Woods,
Lonesom, inglorious, he might waste his Days,
And by a Change of Name be Virbius call'd.
Hence from the Temple and the sacred Groves
Of Trivia horny-footed Steeds are driv'n:
Because, by Sea-born Monsters scar'd, they flung
The Chariot and the Youth upon the Shore.
Yet not the less upon the spacious Plain
His Son in Harness manag'd fiery Steeds;
And with his Chariot rush'd into the War.
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But, by the Head entire, o'ertopping all,
Turnus himself with beauteous Form appears,
High in the Van, and graceful shines in Arms.
Whose crested Helmet, with a triple Plume
Tow'ring, sustains Chimæra, from her Jaws
Breathing Ætnean Fires: The more the Fight
Kindles in Rage, and rolls with Tides of Blood;
The more she storms, and burns with baleful Flames.
With Horns erected Iö cast in Gold
(Illustrious Argument!) his Buckler grac'd,
An Heifer now, and all with Hair o'ergrown;
Argus her Watch; and Inachus her Sire,
Pouring his River from his graven Urn.
A Storm of Foot succeeds; And shielded Troops
O'er all the Fields stand thick: The Argive Youth,
Th'Auruncan Forces, the Rutulian Bands,
The old Sicani, and Sacranian Files,
And gay Labici with their painted Shields.
Those, Tyberinus, who thy Woods manure,
And Those who plough Numicus' sacred Shore;
The Ridge of Circe, and Rutulian Hills,
The Fields o'er which Anxurian Jove presides,
And with her verdant Grove Feronia pleas'd:
Where the black Pond of Satura lies deep;
And thro' low Vales cold Ufens seeks his Way,
And in the Ocean hides his mingled Waves.
Turnus himself with beauteous Form appears,
High in the Van, and graceful shines in Arms.
Whose crested Helmet, with a triple Plume
Tow'ring, sustains Chimæra, from her Jaws
Breathing Ætnean Fires: The more the Fight
Kindles in Rage, and rolls with Tides of Blood;
The more she storms, and burns with baleful Flames.
With Horns erected Iö cast in Gold
(Illustrious Argument!) his Buckler grac'd,
An Heifer now, and all with Hair o'ergrown;
Argus her Watch; and Inachus her Sire,
Pouring his River from his graven Urn.
A Storm of Foot succeeds; And shielded Troops
O'er all the Fields stand thick: The Argive Youth,
Th'Auruncan Forces, the Rutulian Bands,
The old Sicani, and Sacranian Files,
And gay Labici with their painted Shields.
Those, Tyberinus, who thy Woods manure,
And Those who plough Numicus' sacred Shore;
The Ridge of Circe, and Rutulian Hills,
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And with her verdant Grove Feronia pleas'd:
Where the black Pond of Satura lies deep;
And thro' low Vales cold Ufens seeks his Way,
And in the Ocean hides his mingled Waves.
These of the Volscian Race Camilla joins,
Leading her Horse-Brigade, and Troops with Brass
Refulgent: Warlike Virgin; in the Loom
And Baskets of Minerva (Female Arts!)
Unpractis'd; but inur'd to toilsom War,
And with her Fleetness to outstrip the Winds.
She o'er the Tops of untouch'd Corn would fly,
Skimming along, nor hurt the tender Grain;
Or run, supported on a swelling Wave,
Thro' the mid Sea, nor tinge her nimble Feet.
Her all the Youth, from Towns and Countries pour'd,
And Crouds of Matrons, with insatiate Gaze,
Longing pursue; and eagerly admire
How on her smooth sleek Shoulders sits her Vest
Of Regal Crimson; how a Buckle strains
Her Tresses, and confines them clasp'd in Gold;
How graceful She her Lycian Quiver bears,
And tip'd with Steel her rural Myrtle Spear.
Leading her Horse-Brigade, and Troops with Brass
Refulgent: Warlike Virgin; in the Loom
And Baskets of Minerva (Female Arts!)
Unpractis'd; but inur'd to toilsom War,
And with her Fleetness to outstrip the Winds.
She o'er the Tops of untouch'd Corn would fly,
Skimming along, nor hurt the tender Grain;
Or run, supported on a swelling Wave,
Thro' the mid Sea, nor tinge her nimble Feet.
Her all the Youth, from Towns and Countries pour'd,
And Crouds of Matrons, with insatiate Gaze,
Longing pursue; and eagerly admire
How on her smooth sleek Shoulders sits her Vest
Of Regal Crimson; how a Buckle strains
Her Tresses, and confines them clasp'd in Gold;
How graceful She her Lycian Quiver bears,
And tip'd with Steel her rural Myrtle Spear.
The End of the Seventh Book.
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