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Soon as the Signal of the War, display'd
By Turnus, floated on Laurentum's Tow'r;
And the shrill Trumpet sounded loud Alarms;
Soon as he fir'd the sprightly Steeds, and clash'd
The rattling Arms; Forthwith their Minds confus'd
With Rage demand the Fight: All Latium leagu'd
Trembles with Tumult; and the madding Youth
With Fury storms: The Chiefs, Messapus first,
And Ufens, and the Scorner of the Gods
Mezentius, from all Parts their Succours bring,
And leave no Hinds to till the spacious Fields.
Then to great Diomede's Imperial Walls,
To sue for Succour, Venulus is sent,
T'inform him, that the Trojans were arriv'd
In Latium; That Æneas with his Fleet
Had brought his vanquish'd Gods, himself declar'd
The King requir'd by Fate; That many Realms
Espous'd the Trojan's Int'rest; and his Name
Thro' Latium's Regions was diffus'd around:
What was his End by such Attempts propos'd,
What Issue of his Battles he desir'd,
Should he succeed, to Diomede himself,
More plainly than to either of the Kings,
To Turnus, or Latinus, must appear.

In Latium Thus: All which the Trojan Chief
Perceiving, fluctuates with a Tide of Cares;
His wav'ring Mind alternately divides
A thousand Ways; now This, now That resolves,
And turns on ev'ry side his shifting Thoughts.
As when in brazen Vats the trembling Light
Of Water, from the Sun's reflected Beams,
Or from the Image of the radiant Moon,
Flits all around, and now is whirl'd aloft
To the high Roof, and dances in the Air.

'Twas Night; and ev'ry Creature, Beast, and Bird,
O'er all the World, lay hush'd in soft Repose;
Whence Prince Æneas, on the Bank reclin'd,
Beneath the open Canopy of Heav'n,
And troubled in his Breast with Woes of War,
Late Rest indulg'd. To Him the local God,
Old Tyberinus, from his pleasant Stream,
Among the Poplar Boughs, appear'd to rise:
Thin azure Linen o'er his Shoulders flew;
And shady Reeds entwin'd his hoary Head.
Then Thus he spoke, and Thus reliev'd his Cares.

O born of Race celestial, chos'n by Fate
To bring the Trojans from amidst the Foes
To Us restor'd, and eternize thy Troy;
O long expected by the Latian Realm;
Here is thy Mansion, here thy fix'd Abode.
Desist not Thou, nor fear the Threats of War:
The high swoln Anger of the Pow'rs Divine
Is all abated.
And now, for proof that no illusive Dream
Deceives thee with a visionary Scene,
Thou shalt beneath the Willows on the Shore
Find a white Sow, and round her Teats her Young
Of the same Colour, lying on the Ground;
Thirty in number: That shall be the Place
To build thy City; There thy certain Rest
From Labours. From That time, in thirty Years,
Alba, so call'd from hence, shall rise renown'd
Built by Ascanius. Certain are th'Events
Which I predict: At present (mark my Words)
How what th'immediate Stress of Things requires
Thou may'st accomplish, I'll in brief unfold.
Th'Arcadians, from the Blood of Pallas sprung,
To King Evander and his Banners join'd,
Have Here their Mansion chose, and on the Hills
Founded their City Pallentéum, nam'd
From ancient Pallas. These perpetual War
Wage with the Latins: Add Thou to thy own
Their Martial Bands, and ratify a League,
My self along the Banks, and River, strait
Will speed thy Course; that wafted thou may'st pass
With Oars the Stream adverse. Rise, Goddess-born,
With the first setting Stars make solemn Vows
To Juno, and by suppliant Pray'rs o'erpow'r
Her Rage and Threats; To Me, when Victor, pay
Due Honours: He I am, whom here thou see'st
Rolling between the Banks with plenteous Tide,
And cutting with my Train the fertil Glebe;
Cerulean Tyber; fav'rite Stream of Heav'n:
My stately Palace here, in future Times,
Empress of Tow'ring Citys shall arise.

The River spoke, and plung'd into his Flood:
Sleep leaves Æneas; and the Night retires.
Rising, he turns him to the rising Sun;
And from the River in his hollow Hands,
By solemn Rite accustom'd, Water takes,
And Thus prefers his Suit in open Air.
Ye Nymphs, Laurentian Nymphs, from whom the Birth
Of Rivers springs; and Thou, Supreme of Floods,
O Father Tyber, with thy sacred Stream;
Receive Æneas, and relieve his Toils.
Thou, who with Pity do'st regard our Woes;
In whate'er Soil thy beauteous Head is rais'd,
Where-e'er thy Source: For ever shall by Me
Thy Deity be honour'd, Horny God,
King of Hesperian Rivers. Only grant
To Us thy nearer Succour, I implore,
And ratify the Promise thou hast giv'n.

He said; And from his Fleet two Gallys chose;
New rigg'd them, and supply'd his Friends with Arms.
When to their Eyes a Prodigy appear'd
Wond'rous, and sudden; In the Wood a Sow
Of milk-white Colour, with her milk-white Young,
Together lying on the verdant Shore.
Them good Æneas to Thy Altar brings,
Great Queen of Gods, a Sacrifice to Thee.
All That Night long propitious Tyber calm'd
His swelling Stream, and refluent still'd his Waves,
Smooth as a standing Lake, or glassy Pond;
That no Obstruction might retard their Oars.
Therefore their destin'd Voyage they pursue,
With prosp'rous Omen: Down the River floats
The new-pitch'd Fir; The Woods and Waves admire
A Sight so unaccustom'd on the Tide,
The painted Vessels, and the shining Shields.
Lab'ring they ply their Steerage Night and Day;
And various Windings pass, thro' various Trees
Imbow'ring; and along the gentle Stream
Cut the reflected Groves, and verdant Shades.

Now in his full Meridian blaz'd the Sun:
When at a distance they beheld the Walls,
The Fort, and Tops of Houses thinly rang'd;
Which Now the Roman Pow'r has rais'd to Heav'n;
Evander Then possess'd the poor Domains.
They turn their Prows, and soon approach the Town.
It chanc'd that on That Day, th'Arcadian King,
Before the City, in a Grove's Recess,
To great Alcides, and the Gods, perform'd
A solemn Sacrifice: At which his Son
Pallas assisted, and the chosen Youth,
And wealthless Senate: Clouds of Incense rose,
And at the Altars smok'd the tepid Blood.
When the tall Ships among the shady Woods
Gliding they saw, with lab'ring, silent Oars;
Scar'd at the sudden Sight all leave the Boards:
Bold Pallas wills them not to interrupt
The sacred Feast; and, snatching up a Dart,
Himself flys obvious: On a rising Ground
Then speaks from far. Say, Strangers, for what Cause
Explore you Ways unknown? Or whither tends
Your Voyage here? Whence come you? From what Race
Deriv'd? And bring you hither Peace, or War?

Then good Æneas, from the lofty Deck
Waving the peaceful Olive in his Hand,
Replys: The Trojans you behold, and Arms
Hostile to Latium; Trojans thence expel'd
By impious War. Evander's Court we seek:
To Him this Message bear; To Him relate,
That chosen Chiefs are here arriv'd from Troy,
To ask his Friendship, and Confed'rate Arms.

Struck at so great a Name, young Pallas stood;
Approach, he cry'd, whoe'er Thou art; approach
My Father's Presence, and with him confer,
And to our hospitable Court proceed.
He said; embrac'd; and hung upon his Hand:
They leave the River, and ascend the Grove.
Then Thus the Trojan Chief with friendly Words
Bespeaks the King. O Best of Grecian Race,
Whom Fortune wills me to address with Pray'r,
Extending in my Hand the Olive-Branch
With Fillets wreath'd; To Me no Cause of Fear
Was your Extraction; tho' Arcadian born;
A Grecian Leader, and ally'd in Blood
To both th'Atridæ, You their Lineage share.
But me my Piety, and Heav'n's Commands,
Our Kindred Parents, and your Fame diffus'd
Thro' all the World, have urg'd by Fate's Decree,
Well pleas'd, to join Our Colony to Yours.
Troy's first great Founder, Dardanus, the Son
(So Greece relates it) of Electra, sprung
From Atlas, on the Trojan Coasts arriv'd.
Electra's Birth from mighty Atlas came,
Who on his Shoulder turns th'Ethereal Orbs.
Your Sire is Mercury; and Him conceiv'd
On cold Cyllene's Top fair Maia bore;
Maia, the Daughter (if we credit Fame)
Of the same Atlas, who sustains the Sky:
Thus from one common Stock both Stems divide.
Trusting to This, no Embassy I sent,
Nor at a distance artfully explor'd
Your Counsels; but my self expos'd, and came
In my own Person, suppliant to your Court.
The same fierce Daunian Race, which You alarms
With cruel War, if Us it can expel,
Thinks ev'ry Bar remov'd; and to it's Yoke
Hesperia all must bend, and all the Sea,
Which washes it on either side. Accept,
And give alternate Faith: We want not Strength,
Nor Courage firm, nor Youth well try'd in War.

He said; And, while he spoke, th'Arcadian King
Gaz'd stedfast on his Face, and Eyes; and all
From head to foot survey'd his Person o'er:
Then Thus in brief reply'd. With what Delight,
Bravest of Trojans, Thee do I receive,
And recognize! How recollect in Thee
The Visage and the Accent of thy Sire,
The great Anchises! For I well remember,
When Priam came to Salamin, where reign'd
Hesione his Sister, in his Way
He visited Arcadia's frozen Coasts.
The first gay Bloom of Youth then flush'd my Cheeks;
The Trojan Leaders I admir'd, admir'd
Priam Himself: But high above the rest
Anchises walk'd; With youthful Fire I burn'd,
Longing to greet That Prince, and join our Hands.
Him I accosted, and with fond Desire
To Pheneum's Walls conducted. Parting thence,
A costly Quiver fill'd with Lycian Shafts
He gave me, and a Cloak with Threads of Gold
All interwoven, and two Bridles rich
With bossy Gold; which still my Pallas keeps.
Therefore the plighted Faith you ask is giv'n:
And when to-morrow's Sun with rising Beams
The World illumines; I'll dismiss you safe
With my Assistance, and supply'd with Arms.
Mean-while, since here in Amity you come,
Join You, well pleas'd, to celebrate with Us
These annual Rites, which must not be defer'd;
And share ev'n Now the Banquet of your Friends.

This said, he strait commands them to replace
The Meat and Bowls remov'd; and seats his Guests
Along a Grassy Bed; above them all,
Invites Æneas to his Maple Throne,
Upon a Lion's shaggy Hide repos'd.
The chosen Youth, industrious, and the Priest
Bring roasted Flesh of Bulls, distribute Bread
In Baskets pil'd, and minister the Wine.
Æneas, and, with Him, the Trojan Youth
Feed on a solid Steer's perpetual Chine,
And hallow'd Entrails for Lustration fry'd.

Soon as the Rage of Hunger was appeas'd;
The King Evander spoke. These solemn Rites,
This Feast accustom'd, and This Altar rais'd,
Brave Trojan Guest, to so renown'd a God,
No Superstition, no ungrounded Fear,
Nor Ignorance of the ancient Pow'rs Divine
On Us impos'd: From direful Perils sav'd,
This Sacrifice, in Gratitude, we pay;
And Honours justly merited renew.
Here first behold That Cliff on craggy Piles
Suspended; How the Rubbish scatter'd lies;
Yon Cave stands empty in the Mountain's Side,
And all in Ruins hang the broken Rocks.
Here, in a vast Recess, withdrawn from Sight,
A Den there was impervious to the Sun,
Inhabited by Cacus, half a Beast,
Monster of hideous Aspect: Still the Ground
With recent Slaughter smok'd; and human Heads,
To his proud Portal fix'd, and smear'd with Gore,
Hung pale, and ghastly. Vulcan gave him Birth;
Expiring from his Mouth his Father's Flames,
With Bulk immense he stalk'd. At length the Course
Of Time revolving to our Wishes brought
The Presence, and the Succour of a God.
For when, from three-form'd Geryon slain, with Spoils
Victorious, to our Coasts Alcides came;
Hither the great Avenger drove his Herds
Of lofty Bulls, and Heifers; which possess'd
The Valley, and along the River graz'd.
The brutal Robber Cacus, mad in Guilt,
That nothing unattempted he might leave
Of Villany, or Fraud, four stately Steers
As many beauteous Heifers from their Stalls
Averts: And lest their Footsteps, in a Track
Direct imprinted, should reveal the Theft;
He drags them by their Tails into his Cave,
Forc'd backwards, with th'Impression of their Feet
Revers'd, and hides them in the gloomy Rock.
No Traces aid the Hero in his Search,
Or guide him to the Den: And now, prepar'd
To seek a Change of Pasture, from their Stalls
He moves his fodder'd Kine; The lowing Herds,
At their Departure, with complaining Noise
Fill all the Wood, and bellowing leave the Hills.
One of the Heifers in the Grot confin'd
Returns the Sound; and, from the spacious Cave
Loud roaring, disappoints the Felon's Hope.
Alcides' Gall with Vengeance burns; His Arms
He snatches, grasps his pond'rous knotty Oak,
And, running, gains th'aërial Mountain's Height.
Then first our Friends saw Cacus in his Eyes
Confessing Fear: He trembling, swift as Wind,
And wing'd with Terrour, to his Cavern speeds.
When, There inclos'd, he burst the Chains, and o'er
His Head let down the massy Rock, which hung
Fasten'd with Iron by his Father's Art,
And all the Entrance with strong Bars secur'd;
Lo! raging with Revenge, Tirynthius came,
Exploring ev'ry Passage round he gaz'd,
Gnashing his Teeth: Thrice, hot with boiling Ire,
All Aventinus' Mountain he survey'd;
Thrice at the rocky Portal tugg'd in vain;
And Thrice sate down to rest him in the Vale.
A sharp high Cliff there stood, on ev'ry side
Shatter'd, and rising o'er the Cavern's Back,
Apt for the Nests of dire ill-omen'd Birds:
This Ridge, as tow'rds the River, on the left,
It lean't inclining, He upon the right,
Lab'ring with mighty Vigour, push'd adverse,
And from the Roots uptore; and all at once
Impel'd it: With That Impulse Heav'n resounds,
The Banks leap backwards, and the frighted Stream
Retreats: The roomy Den, all Cacus' Court,
And darksom Caverns to the Sight appear;
As if the Earth, by some vast Force convuls'd,
Wide yawning should unlock th'infernal Realms,
Those pallid Regions, by the Gods abhorr'd,
Disclose the fathomless Abyss, and fright
The Manes with the rushing Glare of Day.
Him, now surpriz'd in unexpected Light,
Shut in his hollow Rock, and braying loud
With hideous Yell, Alcides from above
Presses with Darts, collecting all his Arms,
And with huge Trunks, and Mountains' Fragments plies.
The Wretch (for now no Hope of Flight remains)
Vomits a pitchy Vapour from his Throat,
(Wond'rous to tell!) involves the House in Clouds,
Blinding the Eyes; and tumbles thro' his Cave
Black smoky Night, and Darkness mix'd with Fire.
These Arts enrag'd Alcides could not bear;
But with a furious Leap into the Flames
Flings himself forward, where the wavy Smoke
Thro' the vast Den in blackest Volumes rolls.
Here Cacus belching useless Fires, in Clouds
Of Darkness, with close Grasp into a Knot
He cramps; scoops out his Eyes; and with dire Gripe
Throttles his Gullet, now undrench'd with Blood.
The Doors wrench'd open to the Sight disclose
The gloomy Mansion, and the Theft abjur'd,
And Cattle forc'd away; And by the Feet
The hideous Corps is dragg'd: With wond'ring Gaze
They view, insatiate, his half-brutal Form,
His dreadful Eyes, his Face, and shaggy Breast,
And in his smoking Jaws th'extinguish'd Fire.
Since That, due Honours to the God are paid;
And by Posterity with holy Mirth
This solemn Day observ'd: Potitius first,
And the Pinarian Family, which keeps
Deposited th'Herculean sacred Rites,
Here in the hallow'd Grove This Altar built;
Which great thro' Ages ever shall be call'd
By Us; And great thro' Ages it shall be.
Come on then, gallant Youths; and, to reward
Such mighty Merit, bind your Hair with Boughs;
Extend your Goblets in your Hands; invoke
Our common God; and cheerful crown the Wine.

This said; The double-colour'd Poplar veils
His Temples with Herculean Shade, and hangs
In twining Leaves; A consecrated Bowl
Fills his left Hand: All joyous on the Board
Pour the Libations, and invoke the Gods.
Mean-while the Ev'ning to the Sky convex
Rolls near: The Priests, Potitius at their Head,
Bear lighted Torches; and, begirt with Skins
Accustom'd, in Procession walk, restore
The Banquets, bring the Second grateful Cheer,
And with fill'd Chargers pile the sacred Hearths.
The Salii next, with Poplar Garlands wreath'd,
To tuneful Measures round the Altars dance,
A youthful This, as That an aged Quire.
These sing the Praises, and the God-like Deeds
Of Hercules: How first two monstrous Snakes,
His Step-dame's Vengeance, in his Hands he crush'd;
How Cities he demolish'd fam'd in War,
Troy, and Oechalia; how a thousand Toils,
Decreed by cruel Juno, he endur'd
Under the King Eurystheus: By Thy Hand,
Invincible, the Cloud-born Centaurs fell,
Huge Pholus, and Hylæus; By Thy Hand,
The Prodigy of Crete; And in his Cave
Nemea's vast Lion: Thee the Stygian Lake
Fled trembling; Thee th'infernal Mastiff, strecth'd
On Bones half eaten in his gory Den.
No Face of Peril e'er could shake Thy Soul,
Not ev'n Typhœus in Gigantic Arms:
Thee not deserted of Thy present Mind
The Snake at Lerna with his Croud of Heads
Surrounded. Hail! undoubted Son of Jove,
New Honour to the Gods! Be present here
Propitious, and Thy Sacrifice adorn.
Thus They in Songs: But chiefly Cacus' Den
They added, and Himself expiring Flames:
The Grove all rings, the echoing Hills resound.

The holy Feast now ended, All repair
Back to the City: Slow, beset with Age,
The King moves forward, grasping in his Hands
The Trojan Hero, and his youthful Son;
And with Variety of long Discourse
Deceives the Way. Æneas, wond'ring, throws
His nimble Eyes around; with vast Delight
The Places views; enquires, and hears explain'd
The ancient Monuments. Then Thus the King
Evandrus, Founder of the Roman Tow'r:
These Woods the native Nymphs, and Fauns possess'd,
And Men from Trunks of solid Oak disclos'd.
No Custom, These, nor Civil Culture knew,
Unskill'd to yoke the Steers, and hoard their Store
By Parsimony; nourish'd with the Food
Which savage Hunting, and the Trees supply'd.
First, exil'd from Olympus, Saturn came,
Flying his Kingdoms, and the Arms of Jove;
The untaught Race, on These high Hills dispers'd,
He first imbody'd, and compos'd with Laws;
And Latium rather chose to call the Land,
Because in Safety Here he lay conceal'd.
Under That King (as ancient Fame relates)
The Nation flourish'd in an Age of Gold;
So govern'd He the State in pleasing Peace.
At length an Age discolour'd, and corrupt,
The Love of Having, and the barb'rous Rage
Of War succeeded. Next th'Ausonian Bands,
And the Sicanian Colony arriv'd:
And Saturn's Realm has often chang'd it's Name.
Then Kings, and Tybris of Gigantick Size;
From whom th'Italian Stream was Tyber call'd;
And ancient Albula has lost it's Name.
Me, banish'd from my Native Soil, and forc'd
To tempt the utmost Perils of the Sea,
Almighty Fortune, and resistless Fate,
Phœbus my Guide, and She who gave me Birth,
The Nymph Carmenta, by their high Commands
Plac'd in This Seat, and fix'd my Mansion here.

He said; and, moving on, the Altar shew'd,
And the Carmental Gate, (a Roman Name)
The Honour, 'tis reported, of the Nymph
Carmenta, who Prophetick first foretold
The future Glory of th'Æneian Race,
And noble Pallantéum. Next he shews
The spacious Grove, where warlike Romulus
Th'Asylum fix'd; and underneath the Brow
Of a bleak Cliff, the Place Lupercal nam'd,
Where by Arcadian Rites Lycæan Pan
Was worship'd. Hated Argiletum's Wood
He shews him next, attests the conscious Place,
Tells, and abjures the Guilt of Argus' Death.
Hence to the Capitol, Tarpeian Seat,
He leads, now rich with Gold, then rough with Thorns.
Ev'n Then the sacred Horrour of the Place
The trembling Rusticks aw'd; ev'n Then the Wood,
And Rock with holy Rev'rence they survey'd.
This Grove, he said, This Hill with leafy Top
(What God 'tis doubtful, but) a God there is
Inhabiting: Th'Arcadians think that Jove
Himself they oft have seen, when Storms he rous'd,
And shook his dreadful Ægis from the Clouds.
These two, besides, These Towns with shatter'd Walls
The Monuments of ancient Kings you see;
This nam'd Janiculum, Saturnia That;
One by old Janus, one by Saturn rear'd.
With mutual Talk like This at length they came
To poor Evander's Court, and round them saw
O'er proud Carinæ's Street the Cattle graze,
And lowing in the Roman Forum stray.
When to the Seat they came, These Gates, he said,
Aleides enter'd; Him This Court receiv'd:
Dare to scorn Wealth, brave Guest; Presume thy self
Worthy to emulate a God; and come
Not supercilious to our little State.
He said; And underneath his homely Roof
Conducts the great Æneas, on spred Leaves,
And on a Libyan Bear's rough Hide repos'd.

Night hastes, and wraps the World with sable Wings:
When Venus, with no causeless Fears alarm'd
By threat'ning Latium, and new rising War,
Thus, in his golden Bed, to Vulcan speaks;
And with her Words inspires Celestial Love.
While with destructive War th'Argolick Kings
Wasted the Trojan Walls, and Tow'rs, decreed
To fall by hostile Fires; No Arms from You,
My dearest Lord, no Succour from your Art
For wretched Ilion did I Then desire;
Nor would have exercis'd your Skill in vain:
Tho' much I ow'd to Priam's Sons, and oft
With Tears bewail'd Æneas' hapless Toils.
Now, since on Latium's Coasts he is arriv'd
By Jove's Command; Suppliant to you I come,
The Mother for her Son, and sue for Arms;
And Thus implore your Deity, by me
So much rever'd. You yielded to the Tears
Of Nereus' Daughter, and Tithonus' Wife:
Behold what Nations from all Parts unite,
What Cities shut their Gates, and whet their Swords,
All leagu'd to conquer Me, and ruin Mine.

She said; And round him threw her snowy Arms,
And warm'd him, wav'ring, with a soft Embrace:
He soon receives the wonted Flame, which flies
Swift thro' his Marrow, and his melting Bones;
As when in Thunder, lanc'd along the Sky,
A Streak of Fire runs streaming thro' the Clouds.
Pleas'd with her Wiles, and conscious of her Charms,
She silently perceives it; And involv'd
In Love's eternal Bond the God replies.
Why, Goddess, seek you Reasons from afar?
Or whither is your Confidence in Me
Withdrawn? Had Then your Purpose been the same;
Ev'n Then I might have arm'd the Trojan Chiefs:
Nor did th'Almighty Father, nor the Fates,
Decree that Troy no longer should remain;
And Priam ten years more might have surviv'd.
And now if War you meditate, and such
Be your Design; Whatever by my Art
Can be perform'd, whatever can be cast
In Steel, in Silver, or in running Gold,
The utmost Pow'rs of Bellows, and of Fire,
I promise: Spare Intreaties; nor distrust
Your Int'rest in my Soul. This said; He gave
The wish'd Embrace, and sunk to pleasing Rest.

When, Night now sliding in her middle Course,
The first Repose was finish'd; When the Dame,
Who by her Distaff's slender Art subsists,
Wakes the spred Embers, and the sleeping Fire,
Night adding to her Work; and calls her Maids
To their long Tasks, by lighted Tapers urg'd;
Thus spotless to preserve her Husband's Bed,
And educate her little prattling Babes:
From his soft Couch not less industrious rose
The fiery God, to ply his forging Toils.

Close by Sicania, and th'Æolian Coasts
Of Lipare, an Island rises high
With smoking Rocks; Beneath it thunder loud
Th'Ætnean Caverns, by the Cyclops' Forge
Shatter'd and torn: Here beaten Anvils sound
With pond'rous Hammers; Bars of hissing Steel
Roar in the hollow Mount; And Flakes of Fire
Burst thro' the rattling Tunnels: Vulcan's Seat,
And from his Name the Land Vulcania call'd.
Hither the fiery God from Heav'n descends;
The Cyclops in their vast capacious Cave
Work'd the tormented Iron; Brontes huge,
And Steropes, and with his naked Limbs
Pyracmon. In their Hands before them glow'd
The unform'd Thunder; Bolts which Jove to Earth
Profusely hurls from all the Welkin round:
Part finish'd, part imperfect yet remain'd.
Three Forks of darted Hail, of watry Cloud
Three more they added; Three of glaring Fire;
As many of the winged Southern Wind;
Then dreadful Flashes, and the roaring Noise,
And Rage, and Terrour, and avenging Flames.
Some in a diff'rent Quarter of the Grot
Labour'd the Chariot, and the rapid Wheels
Of Mars, with which vast Cities he alarms,
And rouses Heroes. Others carve in Gold,
With Scales of Serpents, angry Pallas' Shield,
The dreadful Ægis; and the twisted Snakes,
And in the Goddess' Breast the Gorgon's Head,
Turning it's Eyes, and terrible in Death.

Then Vulcan Thus: Set all These things aside,
Ætnæan Cyclops; From your Work begun
Desist awhile, and hither bend your Thoughts.
Arms for a Hero must be made: Now all
Your Vigour is requir'd; Now all your Speed,
And masterly Invention: Break Delay.
He said no more: They all with eager Haste
Bend to the Labour; and their sev'ral Tasks
Divide: Brass flows in Rivers; Liquid Gold,
And wounding Steel, in the vast Furnace boils.
A mighty Shield they form, alone oppos'd
To all the Latian Darts; Sev'n Orbs involv'd,
Orb within Orb: In breathing Bellows Some
Receive, and render back th'included Air:
Others in Water tinge the sputt'ring Brass;
The Cave with batter'd Anvils groans around:
They with vast Strength in equal Measures raise
Their Arms; and turn the Mass with griping Tongs.

While in th'Æolian Coasts the Lemnian God
This Work precipitates; the cheerful Light,
And early chirping Birds, beneath his Roof,
Awake Evander in his humble Bed.
The Senior rises; with his homely Coat
His Body cloaths, and fastens to his Feet
The Tyrrhene Sandals; then th'Arcadian Sword
Girds to his Side, and Shoulders; on the left
A Panther's Hide retorts: Two trusty Dogs,
From the high Gate, attend their Master's Steps.
Strait to his Guest's retir'd Apartment goes
The Hero, not unmindful of his Word,
And promis'd Aid; Him no less early meets
Æneas: With the One young Pallas came,
Achates with the Other; Hands they join;
Then in the Middle of the Court they sit,
And freely now their former Talk resume.
Then first the King:
Brave Trojan Leader, while whose Life remains,
I never shall confess that Troy is fall'n;
Small are our Succours for so great a Cause:
Here by the Tuscan Stream we are confin'd;
There the Rutulians press us, and with Arms
Clashing surround our Walls. Yet Nations great,
Pow'rful, and opulent, I now prepare
To join with Yours: This way to Safety leads,
By unexpected Fortune shewn; And call'd
By sure Decree of Fate you here arrive.
Not far from hence, Agylla's City stands,
Founded with aged Stone; Where heretofore
The Lydian Colony, in Wars renown'd,
Settled it's Mansion on th'Etrurian Hills.
This Nation, flourishing for many Years,
At length the King Mezentius, proud with Sway,
Possess'd, and govern'd by Tyrannick Arms.
Why should I name the Murders of his Reign
Unutterable? and his barb'rous Deeds?
Ye Gods, return them all on Him, and His.
Ev'n Living Bodies to the Dead he bound,
Composing Hands to Hands, and Mouths to Mouths,
(Species of Torture!) and with loath'd Embrace
Them, bath'd in Stench, and putrifying Gore,
By a slow, ling'ring Death, at length consum'd.
Quite weary'd out at last his People round
With Arms inclose his Court, and Him with Rage
Enormous roaring; kill his Friends; and fire
His Palace. He amidst the Slaughter flies
To the Rutulian Confines, entertain'd
By Turnus, and defended by his Arms.
Therefore with just Revenge Etruria fir'd
All rises; and with present War demands
Her King, for Punishment. Thee, Trojan Prince,
Their Leader, to These Thousands I will join;
For thick o'er all the Shore their Vessels croud,
Impatient to behold the Banners wave.
Them with predicted Fates the aged Seer
Represses: Hear, Ye choice selected Youth
Of Lydia, You the Excellence, the Flow'r
Of ancient Heroes; whom against the Foe
Just Vengeance urges, and with honest Rage
Mezentius fires; 'Tis not by Fate allow'd
To any of Italian Race to quell
So great a Nation: Foreign Leaders chuse.
Then in These Fields th'Etrurian Bands encamp'd,
Aw'd by the Warnings of the Gods: To Me
Tarchon himself Ambassadours dispatch'd,
The Crown, the Sceptre, and Regalia sent;
Strait to their Tents implor'd me to repair,
And in the Tuscan Kingdom to succeed.
But Me the Impotence of freezing Age,
Unequal to the Labours of the Brave,
Envies new Empire: Him I would advise,
Pallas, my Son; but that his Mother, born
Of Sabine Blood, has mingled in his Veins
Part of This Country. Thou, Whose Age, and Race
By Fate are favour'd, whom the Gods demand,
Proceed to Empire, valiant Chief, at once
Chief of the Trojan and th'Italian Pow'rs.
Him too, the Hope, and Solace of my Age,
Pallas to Thee I join, that he may learn,
Under so great a Master to endure
The Toils and rigid Discipline of War;
Accustom'd to behold Thy God-like Deeds,
And taught t'admire Thee from his tender Years.
To Him two hundred Horse I give, the Flow'r
Of our Arcadian Youth: As many more
Pallas to Thee, in his own Name presents.

He scarce had spoke; Æneas, and his Friend,
Faithful Achates, fix'd in silence stood;
Much Grief revolving in their pensive Thoughts.
When Cytheréa in the open Air
A Signal gave; and suddenly from Heav'n
A darted Flash with Thunder came: All seem'd
To tremble round them: And along the Sky
The Tyrrhene Trumpet's Clangor sounded loud.
Upwards they look; Again, again the Crash
With mighty Noise redoubles: Shining Arms
In a bright Region of the Sky serene
They see; and hear them rattling thro' the Clouds.
The rest amaz'd; Æneas knows the Sign,
And Promise, which his Goddess Mother gave:
Then Thus: Enquire not, Royal Host, what Fate
Is meant by These Presages, I by Heav'n
Am call'd: This Signal was to Me foretold
By my Celestial Parent, to be sent,
Should threat'ning War approach; and She her self
Promis'd to aid me with Vulcanian Arms
Brought thro' the Air.
What Deaths alas! What Slaughters are decreed
To wretched Latium! Turnus, for thy Crimes
To Me what bloody Forfeit shalt Thou pay!
How many Warriour-Bodies, Helms, and Shields
Shall in thy Torrent, Father Tyber, roll!
Let them demand a War, and break their Leagues.

He said; And from his lofty Seat arose:
And first upon th'Herculean Altar wakes
The sleeping Fires; and joyfully renews
The Sacrifice of Yesterday; the Lar,
And little Country-Gods invokes; and kills
Choice Sheep by Rite accustom'd: With him join
The King Evander, and the Trojan Youth.
Then to his Vessels, and his Friends he goes:
From whom the Chief in Valour he selects,
To follow him in War; The others, sent
T'inform Ascanius of his Father's State,
And Posture of Affairs, fall down the Stream,
And slowly on the gentle River glide.
Steeds to the Trojans, for the Tyrrhene Fields
Dispatch'd, are giv'n; But One, above the rest
Distinguish'd, to Æneas is assign'd,
All cover'd with a Lion's tawny Hide,
With golden Claws refulgent. Sudden Fame
Diffus'd thro' all the little City flies,
That to the Palace of the Tyrrhene King
A Band of Horse was marching swift in Arms:
With Fear the Matrons iterate their Vows;
Danger more imminent augments the Dread,
And greater now appears the Face of War.
Then old Evander, at their Parting, grasps
His Hand, and Thus, with endless Weeping, speaks.
O! would but Jove restore my former Years;
And make me what I was, when ev'n beneath
Præneste's Walls, I fell'd the foremost Rank,
And Victor burnt a Heap of Shields; and sent
With This Right hand King Herilus to Hell.
On Him, her Son, Feronia, at his Birth,
(Prodigious to relate!) three Lives bestow'd;
Three Suits of Arms he wielded; thrice by Death
He was to be subdu'd: Yet This Right hand
Depriv'd him, in That Field, of all his Lives,
And strip'd him of as many Suits of Arms.
Were I but Such; I should not now, my Son,
Be torn from thy Embraces; nor o'er Me
Insulting, should Mezentius, near my Coasts,
Have made such barb'rous Ravage with the Sword,
Nor rob'd the City of so many Lives.
But You, Ye Gods, and Thou, Almighty Jove,
Great Sov'reign of the Gods, commiserate
Th'Arcadian King, and hear a Father's Pray'r.
If Fate and You preserve my Pallas safe;
If Him I live to meet, and see restor'd:
Life I implore; With Pleasure I submit
To any Toils. But if some dire Mishap,
Fortune, by Thee is threaten'd: Now, O! now
Rid me of cruel Life; while yet my Cares
Are doubtful, and our future Lot unknown;
While Thee, dear Youth, my late, my only Joy,
I strain in this Embrace: That such harsh Tidings
May never wound my Ears. With Sobs and Groans
The aged Sire Thus breath'd his last Farewel:
The Servants bear him fainting to his Court.

And now forth issues from the open Gates
The Horse-Brigade: Æneas, and his Friend
Faithful Achates, in the foremost Rank;
In order next the other Lords of Troy.
Pallas himself advances in the Midst,
Conspicuous in his Cloak, and painted Arms:
As when the Star by Venus most belov'd,
Bright Lucifer, just wash'd in Ocean's Waves,
Upraises in the Sky his sacred Head,
And dissipates the Shades. The trembling Dames
Stand on the Walls, and follow with their Eyes
The Cloud of Dust, and Troops with polish'd Brass
Refulgent. Thro' the Thickets they pursue
The nearest Way in Arms: A Shout is rais'd;
And, in a Body form'd, with sounding Hoofs
The sprightly Horses shake the mould'ring Soil.
Near the cool Stream of Cære stands a Grove,
By the Religion of the ancient Sires
Held venerable; spacious in Extent,
With hollow Hills, and gloomy Fir inclos'd.
The old Pelasgi, (so Tradition tells)
The first Possessors of the Latian Coasts,
This Grove devoted to the Rural God
Sylvanus, and a sacred Day assign'd.
Not far from hence the Tyrrhenes lay entrench'd
In a safe Post, with Tarchon at their Head:
And now the Legions from a Mountain's Height
Appear'd in View, encamp'd upon the Plains.
To these Æneas, and the Youth for War
Selected, join their Body; and fatigu'd
With Toil, their Horses, and Themselves repose.

But lovely Venus, thro' th'Ethereal Clouds
Bearing her Present came: When She her Son
From the cool River at a distance saw,
And in a Vale retir'd; with easy Grace
Her self discov'ring, Thus the Goddess spoke.
Behold, my Son, the long-expected Gift,
Completed by my Consort's promis'd Art;
That Thou the proud Laurentians may'st defy,
And challenge daring Turnus to the Fight.
She said; embrac'd him, and beneath an Oak,
Full opposite, the radiant Armour laid.
Proud of such Honour, and the Gift Divine,
Round all the Work he rolls his wond'ring Eyes,
Insatiate; turns and poises in his Hands
The dreadful crested Helm, which vomits Flames;
The fatal Sword; the Corslet stiff with Brass,
Sanguine, immense; As when an azure Cloud
Glows, gilded by the Sun, and burns from far:
The polish'd Cuisses next, of Gold refin'd,
And ductile Silver; and the Spear; and last
Th'unutterable Texture of the Shield.

There, not unknowing in the Schemes of Fate,
And coming Times, the fiery God had form'd
The future Annals of th'Italian Realms,
And Roman Triumphs; all the Race deriv'd
From young Ascanius; and the Battles fought
In Order. In the mossy Cave of Mars
A female Wolf lay suckling; At her Teats
Two sporting Infants hung, and lick'd their Dam,
Intrepid: She her sleek round Neck reclin'd,
Smooth'd them by turns, and form'd them with her Tongue.
Next Rome he added, and the Sabines seiz'd
By Rape enormous, at the solemn Sports,
Within the spacious Cirque; Thence mighty War
Sudden betwixt the Romans, and the King
Old Tatius and his rigid Cures rose.
Then the same Chiefs (their bloody Feuds at length
Suspended) arm'd before Jove's Altar stood,
Each with a Charger in his Hand; A Sow
They sacrific'd, and ratify'd the League.
Not far from thence the rapid Chariots driv'n
Flew diverse, and the Traytor Metius tore;
(Thou, Alban, shouldst have kept thy plighted Faith:)
Him Tullus thro' the Woods rent piecemeal drag'd,
The sprinkled Brambles dropping with his Blood.
Porsenna next attempts to reinstate
Ejected Tarquin; and surrounds the Walls
With pressing Siege: In Liberty's Defence
Th'Æneadæ undaunted rush to Arms.
Him, in the Sculpture, with a storming Air,
And terribly indignant, you might see;
That Cocles had presum'd to burst the Bridge,
And Clelia freed from Bonds had swom the Stream.

High on Tarpeia's Tow'r brave Manlius stood,
Defender of the Temple; and possess'd
The lofty Capitol: Here rough appear'd
The Palace, recent with Romulean Straw;
And, in the golden Cloysters flutt'ring round,
A silver Goose betray'd th'approaching Gauls:
Th'approaching Gauls along the Thickets came;
And now had seiz'd the Fort, by gloomy Shades
Protected, and by favour of the Night.
With golden Hair they shine, with golden Vests,
And chequer'd Cloaks; Their milk-white Necks entwin'd
With Chains of Gold: Each brandish'd in his Hand
Two Alpine Jav'lins; with a Length of Shield
Their Bodys cover'd o'er. He added next
The dancing Salii; And with naked Limbs
The mad Luperci; And the Caps of Wool;
And Targets drop'd from Heav'n: The Matrons chaste
In downy Litters to the Temples rode,
And thro' the City bore the sacred Rites.
Distant from hence th'Infernal Realms he drew,
And Pluto's Court; the Tortures of the Damn'd;
Thee, Catiline, suspended on a Rock,
And trembling at the Furies: And the Bless'd
Apart; To These just Cato giving Laws.

Among the various Figures, rolling wide
Th'Effigies of the Ocean swells in Gold,
Whiten'd with curling Foam; And all around
The Dolphins, bright in Silver, lash the Brine
With their broad Tails, and wheeling cut the Waves.
Full in the Midst the brazen-beaky Ships,
And Actium's Battle rises to the View;
All mount Leucate hurry'd with the Rage,
And regular Confusion of the War;
And Billows radiant with the Gleam of Gold.
Here to the Fight Augustus Cæsar leads
His Romans; with the Fathers, and the State,
His Country Deitys, and mightier Gods;
On the tall Deck sublime: Whose Temples, fir'd
With lambent Glory, flash two Flames, and all
His Father's Star burns open'd on his Crest.
High on another Deck Agrippa heads
His Squadron, with auspicious Winds, and Gods;
His Temples shining with a beaky Crown,
The Recompence, and Pride of Naval War.
Antonius Victor, with Barbarian Aids,
And Arms promiscuous, from the redden'd Shore,
And Nations of the Morning, comes adverse;
Brings Ægypt with him, and the Eastern Force,
And distant Bactrians; and (reproachful Sight!)
His Shame attends him, his Ægyptian Wife.
All rush at once; And all the Ocean foams
Convuls'd with dashing Oars, and trident Beaks.
They hoise to Sea: The Cyclades uptorn
You would have thought were floating on the Deep;
Or lofty Hills encountring Hills: So huge
The Tow'ring Vessels, rigg'd and mann'd for War.
Fire-Balls of Tow, and missile Jav'lins fly;
The recent Gore discolours Neptune's Fields.
The Queen her Forces rallys in the Midst,
Shaking her Country Timbrel; nor as yet
Perceives her two attending Asps behind.
Anubis, barking Deity, and all
The Monster-Gods of ev'ry Kind advance,
'Gainst Neptune, Venus, and Minerva, rang'd.
Amidst the thickest Battle Mavors storms
In Iron Sculpture; And the Diræ sent
From Heav'n; And Discord, with her Mantle torn,
Marches exulting: With her bloody Scourge
Bellona follows arm'd. To see the War,
Actian Apollo hovers in the Clouds,
And bends his Bow: By Him with Terrour struck
All Ægypt's, India's, and Sabæa's Lines,
And all Arabia's turn their Backs in Flight.
The Queen her self, inviting all the Winds,
Swift hois'd her Sails, and loos'd the twisted Cords.
Her pale, amidst the Slaughter, at th'Approach
Of future Death, the fiery God had wrought,
Wafted by Eastern Breezes down the Tide:
Full opposite great Nilus mourning rolls
His Fluent, into his cerulean Lap
Invites the vanquish'd Troops, and opens all
His wavy Garment to receive their Flight.
But Cæsar, riding to the Walls of Rome
With triple Triumph, to th'Italian Gods
Devotes three hundred stately Temples, Vow
Immortal: With rejoicing Shouts, and Sports,
And festival Applause the Streets resound:
In all the Temples Quires of Matrons croud;
Altars in All erected; On the Ground
Before Those Altars slaughter'd Oxen fall.
Himself, high seated in the marble Porch
Of Phœbus' Dome, reviews the People's Gifts,
And fits them fasten'd to the lofty Doors.
The conquer'd, Nations in long Order go,
Various in Language, as in Garb, and Arms.
There Mulciber the Nomades had drawn,
The Libyans loosely clad, the Lelages,
The Cares, and Geloni arm'd with Darts;
Euphrates drawing now a gentler Train;
Th'extremest Morini, the two-horn'd Rhine;
The untam'd Dahæ, and Araxes' Stream
Indignant with a Bridge to be confin'd.

Such Figures on the broad Vulcanian Shield,
His Mother's Gift, the Hero pleas'd admires
In Ignorance; And on his Shoulder high
Upheaves the Fame, and Fortune of his Race.