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The nycht approchis with hir weyngis gray,
Ourspred the erd and put all lycht away,
Quhen Venus moder till Ene efferd,
And not but causs, seand the felloun rerd,
The dreidfull bost and assemly attanys
Aganys hir son of pepill Laurentanys,
To Wlcanus, hir husband and gud man,
Within hys goldyn chalmyr scho began
Thus forto spek, and with hir wordis the fyre
Of dyvyne luf can towartis hym inspire.
Quod sche: “Quhil that the kyngis of Grece and Arge
Down bet the Troiane wallys wyde and large,
That destinat war, bath towr, town and wall,
Of ennemyss be flambys to down fall,
Na help onto thai wrachit folkis I socht,
Nane armour axit, nor thy craft besocht,
Nor the, my deirest spowss, exerss bad I
Thy craft, nor wark invane wald occupy,
Albeit that to the childring of Pryam kyng
I was bedettit into mekill thing,
And the ontollerabill laubour of Ene
Bewalit oft wepand ful sair,” quod sche,
“Quhilk now by Iovys power stad remanys
Within the boundys of Rutilyanys.
Quharfor this tyme I, thy ilk spowss and wyve,
Thy blissyt godhed, derrest to me on lyve,
Cummys lawly tobeseik and requer
For wapynnys, harness, armour and sic ger:
For my deir son I, moder, prays the,
Sen Nereus douchter, Thetys, mycht,” quod sche,
“Induce the till enarm hir son Achill,
And eik Tythonus spouss, at hir awin will,
Aurora, with hir terys so the brak
Fortill enarm hir child Menon the blak.
Behald quhat pepill, lo; assemblit bene,
Quhat wallit townys with ȝettis closyt in teyn
Gryndys thar wapynnys aganys me and myne,
To bring ws to distructioun and rewyne.”
Thus said the goddess, and in hir milk quhite armys
Ful tendirly belappys him and warmys,
Quhil that he musys so, that hait fyre sle
Of luf bekend onon ressauyt he;
The natural heit into the merch dyd glyde,
Persand the banys maid soft on every syde:
Nane other wyss than as, sum tyme, we se
The schynand brokkyn thundris lychtnyng fle
Wyth subtil fyry stremys throu a ryft,
Persand the watry clowdis in the lift.
Venus hys spowss, confiding in hir bewte,
Ful glaid persavys that hym caucht had sche.
The fader than Vulcanus, god abuf,
Lokkyt in the eternal cheyn of luf,
Answerd and said: “Quharfor, myne awin hart deir,
Sa far about thou glosys thy mater?
Why axis thou nocht planely thy desire?
Quhiddir is becum of me, thy lord and syre,
The ferm confidence, thou suld haue, goddess?
Quhat nedyt mor bot schaw thy mynd express?
Gyf siclike curis and desire had bene
Into thy mynd that sam tyme, I meyn
Duryng the subuertioun of Troys ryng,
To ws it had bene bot a lesum thing
Troianys til haue enarmyt at thy request:
Nowder the fader almychty at the lest,
Ne ȝit the fatis contrary dyd ganestand,
Bot Troys cite mycht haue langar stand,
So that Kyng Priamus ryng, by our power,
Mycht haue remanyt fully othir ten ȝeir.
And now, gif thou the grathis forto fecht,
And tharto be thy mynd set, I the hecht
All maner thing, with solist diligens,
That may be wrocht in my craft or sciens,
Or ȝit may be forgit in irne or steill,
Or moltyn mettal graif and burnyst weill,
Sa far as fyre and wynd and hie engyne
Into our art may cumpass or dyvyne.
Tharfor desist of thi strenth to haue dreid,
Or me to pray in ocht at thou hess neyd,
For in sic cacis thar nedis na request.
Am I nocht reddy to fulfill thy behest?”
Thir wordis beyng said, this hait syre
Gan hir enbrasyng al at his desyre,
And, lappit to hys spowsys breist in armys,
The plesand natural sleip, to beit his harmys,
And eyss hys wery membris, can he tak.
Syne as he had slummyrrit bot a snak,
Quhen the first silence of the quyet nycht
Hys myddil curss and cirkill run had rycht,
Provokyng folk of the first sleip awaik;
Lyke as the puyr wife, quhilk at evin had raik
Hyr ingill, rysys fortobeit hir fyre,
As scho that hess nane other rent nor hyre
Bot with hir rok and spynnyng forto thryve,
And tharwithall sustene hir enty lyve;
Hir day wark to encress, or scho may se,
Thartill a part of the nycht eikis sche,
And at the candill lycht hir handys tway,
And eik hir pur damysellis, as scho may,
Natly exercis forto wirk the lyne,
To snoif the spyndill, and lang thredis twyne,
Quharby scho mycht sustene hir powerte,
Kepe chaist hir spowsys bed in honeste,
And tharwith eik foster hir childer lyte—
The mychty god of fyre this tyme als tyte,
And no slawar, bot on the sam maner,
Furth of hys bed startis, and hynt his geir,
And to hys smyddy craft and forge hym spedis.
Thar standis ane ile, with reky stanys as gledis,
Vpstrekyng hie betwix the cost Sycille
And Lyparen, god Eolus wyndis ille;
Vndre the quhilk byg iland in the see
Ane coif thar is, and hyrnys feill thar be,
Lyke till Ethna holkyt in the mont
By the Ciclopes fornace worn or bront,
That makis rumlyng, as quha dyd thunder heir,
The bustuus dyntis on the styddeys seir;
Ane huge dyn and noys the strake doyth mak.
The irne lumpys in tha cavys blak
Can byss and quhissill, and the hait fyre
Doith fuf and blaw in blesys byrnand schire;
Quhilk forges bene Wlcanus duellyng call,
And efter Wlcan that cuntre nemmyt all.
The mychty god of fyre dovn from the hevin
Into this forsaid ile discendit evin,
Quhar as, intill hys large and gowsty caif,
The hydduus Ciclopes forgit furth and draif,
Brontes, Steropes, and nakyt Pyracmon,
The glowand irne to well and peyn onon.
The fyreflaucht, ȝyt nocht formyt perfitely,
Quhilk the fader of goddis oft throw the sky
From euery art dovn in the erth doys cast,
Thai had into thar handys wirkand fast;
That ane part polist, burnyst weill and dycht,
Thar other party not perfytit rycht.
Thre rawys wel tha of the frosyn hail schour,
Thre of the watry clowd, to eik the stowr,
Thre blesys of the byrnand fyris brycht,
With thre blastis of the south wyndis lyght,
Syne to thar wark, in maner of gun powder,
Thai myddillyt and thai myxit this feirful sowder,
A grysly sound, gret dreid, and goddis ire,
Quham followys ay the fel flambys of fyre.
Ane other sort ful bissely to Mart
The rynnyng quhelys forgis, and weir cart,
Quharwith the men to batale doys he steir,
And movys citeis to rayss mortal weir.
Thai dycht and polyss egirly alssua
The horribill terget, bustuus Egyda,
Quhilk is the grevyt Pallas grysly scheild,
With serpent scalys puldrit in goldyn feild,
Togidder lynkyng lowpyt eddris twa
And in the breist of the goddess graif thai
Gorgones hed, that monstre of gret wondir,
With eyn wawland, and nek bane hak in sondyr.
“Away with this, ȝhe Ethna Ciclopes,”
Quod Wlcanus, “and all sic warkis sess,
And at I say enprentis in ȝour thocht.
Ontill a forcy man ar tobe wrocht
Harness and armour; now nedys it,” quod he,
“Ȝour strenth exerss and pythis schaw; lat se
Quha nymlyast can cum and turn thar handis;
Now on all master poynt of craft it standis.
Do put away in haist all maner delay.”
Na mar he said, bot wondir frakly thai
Onto thar laubour can thame all address,
Assignand euery man hys part express:
The irne the mettal throw ther cundyttis flowys,
The moltyn gold and weirlyk steil hait glowys,
And furth of gousty furnace fundyt ran.
Maste craftely to forgyng thai began
A hug gret semly target, or a scheild,
Quhilk only mycht resistyng into feild
Agane the dynt of Latyn wapynnys all;
In euery place sevin ply thai well and call.
Sum can ressaue the glowand heyt, sum wynd
With blawand bellys bet the fyre behynd;
Sum of the trowch apon the sparkand gledis
The byssand watir strynklys and ourspredis.
The huge coif and all the mont within,
For strak of styddeys, can resound and dyn.
Amangis thame self thai grisly smythys gret
With mekill forss dyd forge, peyn and bet,
And can thar armys hesyng vp and dovn
In nowmyr and in dew proportioun,
And with the grippand turcass oft alsso
The glowand lump thai turnyt to and fro.