University of Virginia Library

Eftir that stanchit was the hungris rage,
And appetit of meit begouth asswage,
Said Kyng Evander: “Na superstitioun vayn,
Nor mysknawlage of goddis ancyane,
Thys hie fest and gret solempnyte,
Nor this bankat and mesys, as ȝe se,
Hes institut to ws, and this alter
Of sa excelland maieste standyng heir;
Bot, my deir frend and nobill gest Troiane,
We, preservit from cruel peralus pane,
Hantis this seruys apon sik maner,
As proper det and observans ilk ȝer.
First, do behald ȝone schorand hewchis brow,
Quhar all ȝon craggy rochis hyngis now,
Quhou the huge weghty brays bene dovn cast,
The holkit fows in the mont syde left waste,
Quhar as the craggy quhynnys, dovn declyne,
Has drawyn of the hill a huge rewyne.
Ȝon was a cavern or cove in ald days,
With gousty entray far furth of all ways,
A grisly den and ane forworthyn gap
Of Cacus, that na mar had bot the schap
Of mannys form, for skant half man was he
Throw cruel dedis of iniquyte,
That in ȝone fendlich hole dwelt hym allane—
A hellis byke, quhar sonnys beme nevir schane,
Quhar the vile flur evir lew warm was spred
With recent slauchter of blud newly sched.
Befor that tyrrandis ȝet of men that ded is
Affixit stud mony dolorus hedis,
With vissage blaknyt, blude byrun, and bla,
The laithly ordur or filth stilland thar fra.
Onto this hutyt monstre, this Cacus,
The god of fyre was fader, Wlcanus;
And at hys mouth, a wondir thing to se,
Hys faderis reky flambe furth ȝiskyt he.
As to hys body, quhar so evir he passit,
Of bustuus statur lyke nane other was it.
Proces of tyme at last hess ws inspirit,
And send ws help, as we full lang desyrit,
Be cummyng of the mychtful goddis presens;
For the danter of monstreis, our defens,
The maste redoutit Hercules, com at hand
Be aventour onto this ilke land,
New from the slauchter into stern melle
Of Geryon, the quhilk had bodeis thre.
With prowd spulȝe arryving triumphal,
This conquerour maid thyddir dryve and call
Hys bullys and hys oxin huge gret,
And eik hys ky, to pastur and to eyt
Endland ȝone valle that is large and wyde,
And tuk thar lugyng on this ryver syde.
Bot the ondantit fury mynd of this theif,
Schrewit Cacus, all way ful of myscheif,
By his frawart engyne and sle consait
So that no maner wikkytnes nor dissait
Mycht be, that he ne durst nocht tak on hand,
Ne onassayt leif, out from thar stand
Four semly oxin of body gret and squar,
Als mony tendir quyis excedand fair,
Of all tha catal away with hym drave.
And, that thar tred suld na way be persaue,
Onto hys cave ay bakwartis by the talys
To turn thar futsteppis he thame harlys and tralys;
And thus his spreith he had ontil his in,
And with a queym stane closyt hes the gyn.
Sik way he wrocht that, quha thar tred list goif,
Na takynnys suld convoy thame to his coif.
In the meyn quhile, as all the bestis war
Repatyrit weil efter thar nychtis layr,
At morow ayrly first as thai removit,
For Hercules depart from thens behuffit,
The catal gan to rowtyng, cry and rar;
The woddis rang of thar sound our alquhar,
And with thar noys dynnyt hillis and knowys,
Quhil in the caif as that a quyok lowis,
With lowd voce squeland in that gousty hald,
All Cacus trast reuelit scho and tald.
Bot tho in greif this worthy Hercules,
Alceus nevo, the douchty Alcides,
That so oft syss was clepit commonly,
Within hys skyn begouth to byrn and fry
In brym fury of his bitter gall;
Hys wapynnys and his armour hynt withall,
Hys weghty burdon, or his knorry mayss,
And to the hillys hycht held in a rayss.
Than was the first tyme that ony in this erd
Of our pepill persavyt Cacus efferd,
Within his hed trublit his eyn tway.
Swyft as the wynd he fled and gat away,
And to his cave hym sped with ery spreit—
The dreid adionyt weyngis to his feyt.
And fra he had hym self sesyt tharin,
A stane of huge weght for to closs the gyn
He leyt do fall, and with sic haist doun thrang,
The chenȝeis brak quharwith it festnyt hang,
That forgit war by hys fadris engyne;
With gret irne slottis schet the entre syne.
Bot lo, in haist Hercules come at hand
With furyus mynd careyng our the land,
Passage and entre sekyng bissely,
Now heir his eyn, now thar, rollyng in hy,
Graslyng hys teith and byrnand full of ire.
Of Aventynus hill thryss all the swyre
He sersys our, and thryss assays he
To brek and rent that craggy stone entre,
Bot all for nocht, thocht he was nevir sa wight;
So, thryss irkyt, doun from the hillys hyght
To rest hym is he to the valle gone.
Thar stude a pynnakill of quhyn or flynt stone,
Apon the baksyde of this cavern cald,
That rayss on end rycht hie fortobehald,
For wild fowlys of reif a ganand sted,
That rent raw flesch of bestis bonys ded;
The craggis all about this rolk war worn,
With wedderis blast to holkyt and to torn:
And as it stud on schor sweyand that tyde,
Down with the bank towart the watir syde,
Hercules it smytis with a mychty towk
Apon the rycht half, forto mak it iowke,
Inforsyng hym to welt it our the bra;
And sa rudly it branglys to and fra,
That from the rutis he it lowsyt and rent,
And tumlyt dovn fra thyne, or he wald stent.
The large ayr dyd reirding with the rusch,
The brays dyndlit, and all dovn can dusch;
The ryver wolx effrayt with the rak,
And demmyt with the rokis, ran abak.
Than this gret cove, of Cacus sail ryall,
Was discoverit; hys inwart cavernys all,
Wont tobe dyrk, worth patent now and knaw—
Non otherwyss than quhen the erd ourthraw
By fors of thundyr, or erdquake with a clap,
Ryvys vp a terribill sewch or grisly gap,
Oppynnand the hellis mansioun infernall,
And onclosys that dyrk regioun paill
Quhilk of the goddis al abufe is hayt;
Or thocht the hellis bysme in sik estait
War oppynnyt, that his bodum se men mycht,
And dampnyt sawlys effrayt of new lycht.
Quharfor this worthy stalwart Hercules,
That on this wyss had Cacus set in press,
And fund onwarnyst by this lycht suddane,
Quhar he was closyt in a cave of stane,
Fast rumesand apon a strange maner;
This campyoun with dartis fell of weir
Gan down tobet, and in his wod fury
Eftir all kynd wapynnys can do cry,
With branchis rent of treis, and querral stanys
Of huge weght dovn warpand all at anys.
Bot this ilk Cacus, quhen that he dyd se
Fra this danger thar was na way to fle,
Furth of his throt, a wondruss thing to tell,
A laithly smok he ȝiskis blak as hell,
And all the houss involuyt with dyrk myst,
That sone the syght vanyst, or ony wist,
And reky nycht within a litill thraw
Gan thikkyn our al the cavern and ourblaw,
And with the myrknes mydlit sparkis of fyre.
The hie curage of Hercules, lordly syre,
Mycht this na langar suffir, bot in the gap
With hasty stert amyd the fyre he lap,
And thar as maist habundyt smokis dyrk,
With huge sop of reyk and flambis myrk,
So that the caif dyd glevyn of the heyt,
Thar hass he hynt Cacus, that wikkyt spreit,
That all invane hys hait kyndlyng furth gaspyt;
For as a ball he hym in armys claspyt,
And so strenȝeis hys throt, furth chirt hys eyn,
Hys hals worth dry of blud. Than mycht be seyn
This mirk dungeoun and onsemly hald:
The entre oppynnyt Hercules the bald,
Bet doun the closeris, and syne brocht to the lycht
Hys oxin fra him reft by subtel slycht;
And by the feyt furth harlyt was onon
Of Cacus the deformyt carion.
The hartis than and myndis of our menȝe
Mycht nocht be satisfyit on him to luke and se,
As to behald hys vgly eyn twane,
Hys terribil vissage, and hys grisly gane,
The rouch byrsys on the breist and creste
Of that monstruoss half deil wilde beste,
And in his gorge stikkand the sloknyt fyre.
Evir sen that tyme, to Hercules the gret syre
We haue this honour mayd and sacrifice;
Al our ofspring and ȝong men on this wyss
This day kepis solempnyte, as ȝe se.
Potitius first master heir with me,
And the famyll of Pynaria the bald,
The cheif keparis of Hercules hallowyt hald,
Ȝon altar in this cuthyll dyd vpbeild,
That onto ws in euery tyme of eild
Is clepyt maist solempnyt and hie altar,
And salbe reput gretast euermar.
Tharfor haue done, ȝong gallandis; now in hy
In wirschip of this fest and mangeory,
Of greyn branschis plet for ȝour hed garlandis,
Do waucht and drynk, bryng cowpys full in handis,
Call on our patron common god dyvyne is,
And with gud will do skynk and birl the wynys.”
Thus sayand, the party popill grayn
Heldit his hed with skug Herculyane,
The levis from the plettis dovn hyngand,
Ane haly cowp fillit in hys rycht hand.
Than ilk man smertly tastis the wyne at tabill,
Prayand thar goddis fortobe aggreabill.