University of Virginia Library

Say me, O Musys, reherses and declare,
Quhilk of the goddis sa cruel flammys sayr
Held from Troianys? quha sa vehement fyre
Drave from thar schippis, thus wyss byrnand schire?
The deid is auld forto beleif or wry,
Bot the memor remanys perpetualy.
The first tyme quhen the Troiane Eneas
By sey to tak hys vayage schap to pass,
And gan do beld his schippis vp ilkane
In Ida forest, that mont Phrygiane,
The moder of goddis, Berecyntia,
Spak to hir son gret Iupiter, thai sa,
With sikkynd wordis, sayand: “My child deir,
Grant this ane axin quhilk I the requeir,
Grant thy belovit moder bot a thing,
Thou at art master of the hevynly ryng.
Apon the top of Gargarus,” quod sche,
“Thar grew a fyr wod, the quhilk into dante
Full mony ȝeris held I, as is knaw.
Thys was my cuchill and my hallowit schaw,
Quhar that the Phrygianys maid me sacrifice;
Ful weill me lykyt thar to walk oftsyss,
With pikky treis blak skuggit abowt,
And abundans of hattyr gestis stowt,
Quhilk glaidly I haue gevin a ȝong Troiane,
Strang Eneas, discend from Kyng Dardane,
Fortill support the mysteris of hys navy.
And now the dowtsum dreid, for the ilk quhy,
Full pensyve haldis me and doith constrene:
Deliuer me of thys feir be sum meyn,
My deir son, suffir at thy moderis request
Be admittit this a tyme, be the leste,
So that tha schippis be nevir mair ourset
With contrar curss, nor ȝit with storm dovn bet;
Quharby thai may haue sum avale,” quod sche,
“At thai vmquhile grew in our hillys hie.”
Hyr son, the quhilk rewlys at hys lykyng
The hevyn, the starris, and all erdly thyng,
Ansuerd and said: “O moder best belovyt,
Quhou art thou thus agane the fatis amovyt?
Or quharto axis thou to thir,” quod he,
“With mortale handis wrocht of stokkis and tre,
That is to say, thir schippis so habill to faill,
That lesum war thai suldbe immortale?
And that Enee, in dedly corps onsure,
Assoverit fermly throw all dangeris fuyr?
Quhat god hess to hym grantyt sik frelage?
Bot for thy saik, quhen fully thar vayage
Thai haue compleyt, and at costis of Itale
Arryvit ar, and in tha portis set sail,
And thar duke Troiane careit our the see
To boundis of Lawrentum, that cuntre,
Alsmony of thame as than hess eschaipe
The wally fludis sall I turn and schaip
Furth of thar mortale formys corruptabill,
And sall command thame fortobe mair habill
From thens forthwart, as immortale,” quod he,
“In nymphes turnyt and goddessys of see,
Lyke as Nereus douchter, Clotho gay,
And Galathea, throw fomy fludis gray
Scheryng with braid brestis delytabill,”
Quod Iupiter, and till hald ferm and stabill,
Be Stix the flude, Pluto hys broderis see,
Hys godly aith and promyss sworn hes he;
Be that ilk pykky laik with brays blak,
And laithly sworlys, till kepe at he spak
He dyd afferm hys hecht, and in takynnyng
The hevynnys all maid trymmyll at hys likyng.
Tharfor the day that he by promys set
Is now at hand, and the ful tyme of det
By the werd sisteris schaip is now compleit,
Quhen Turnus thus in hys iniuryus heit
Admonyst hess hys pepill and commandis,
With dry schydis and with hait fyre brandis,
The moder of goddis by sik flambys fell
Furth of hir hallowyt schippis to expell.
At this tyme first apperis in hir syght
A new takynnyng of gret plesand lycht,
And a braid schynand clowd thai dyd aspy
Cum from the est, rynnand our all the sky;
The rowtis eik onone thai gan behald
Of Ideanys, tha wightis that in the hald
Ar of the moder of the goddis closs;
Dovn throu the air eik come a feirful voce,
And fillit all the ostis baith atanys
Of Troiane pepill and Rutulianys,
Sayand: “Troianys, dreid na thing, haist ȝou nocht
Fortill defend my schippis, albeit ȝe mocht,
For that causs tak na wapynnys in ȝour handis,
For rather, now as that the mater standis,
Sal it be lefull Turnus fyre the see,
Or that he byrn my bargis maid of tre.
O ȝe my schippys, now to ȝou I say,
Go fre at large quhar ȝou list away,
Go furth and swym as goddessis of the see;
The moder of goddis commandis so tobe.”
And, wyth that word, als tyte furth from the bra
Ilk barge bownys, cuttand hir cabyll in twa,
Lyke delphyn fysch onon as thai tuke kepe,
Thar snowtis dowkand held vnder the deip.
Syne from the grond, a wonder thing to say,
With als feill virgyne facis vpsprang thai,
And throu the fludis, quhar thame list, dyd fair,
Quhou mony steill stammyt bargis that ayr
Stude by the costis syde, or thai war fyryt.
Rutylianys wolx affrayit with myndis myryt;
Mesapus musyng can withdraw on dreich,
Seand hys stedis and the horssis skeich;
And eik the ryver brayt with hayss sovnd,
Quhill Tyberinus bakwartis dyd rebound,
As thocht hyss curss dyd stop and step abak.
Bot netheless, for all the feir thai mak,
The hie curage and forcy hardyment
Baid onamovyt in Turnus stowt entent,
So that baldly with hardy wordis on hie
Thar spretis rasyt, and rycht fersly he
Can thame repreve, that tuk for nocht affray.
“Thir monstruus takynnys at ȝe se, perfay,
Sekis myscheif to the Troianys,” said he,
“And by this way gret Iupiter, as ȝe se,
Hess now byreft thar help and confidens,
Quharby thai wont war to fle for defens.
Now nowder Rutyliane fyre nor swerdis dynt
May thai withstand, for all thar fors is tynt.
Sen that thai may not eschape by the see,
Nor hess na maner hope away to fle,
The maist half of the Troiane help is lost;
This land is in our power, feld and cost;
So that thai sal na wyss eschape our brandis,
Quhou mony thousand douchty men of handis
Ar heir assemblyt, all Italyanys.
I compt na thing all thocht ȝon fant Troianys
Rakkyn thar fatis that thame hydder brocht;
All syk vayn ruyss I feir as thing of nocht,
In cace thai prowd be of the goddis answeris,
And thame avant tharof with felloun feris.
It may weill suffyss, and eneuch, I wyss,
Baith to thar fatis and Venus grantit is,
That evir thir Troianys in this cost fast by
Hes anys twichit the bowndis of Italy.
My werdis eik and fatale destane
Be the contrar is grantit onto me,
Thys cursyt pepill tobet down with my glave,
For my deir spouss, quham byreft me thai have:
Nor this ennoy alanerly twichis nocht
The twa Atrydes, that Troy to rewyne brocht
(I meyn the principal chiftanys, breder twa,
That is to knaw, Agamennon and Menelay);
Nor ȝit allane this causs to armys steris
The pepill of Myce to move batale and weris;
Bot principaly this querrell myne I knaw.
Gif it had bene eneuch, as that thai schaw,
At thai bot anys distroyit aucht tobe,
It war enewch and mycht suffyss, think me,
That thai haue faltit anys lang tyme befor.
Quhy dowbill thai thar trespass mor and mor?
All thocht that wemen brocht thame to foly,
Ȝyt hait thai not wemen aluterly.
Quhat meyn thai be this myddill mantill wall,
This litill stop of dykis and fowseis all?
Weyn thai this be a strenth that may thame save?
Thar lyfe is now in iuperte, thai raif,
Full neir thar ded thai stand: all man may knaw
Quhidder gif the wight wallys of Troy thai saw,
Belt by the hand of Neptunus, that syre,
Rent and bet down, and all the town in fyre.
Bot O ȝe walyt knychtis of renown,
Quham I behald with pykkis brekand dovn
Ȝon forteress, and now present with me
Assalȝeand this affrayt strenth we se;
Ws nedis not Wlcanus armour heir
Aganys thir maste fant Troianys in our weir,
Nor ȝit we mystir not a thousand schippis.
All thocht hail Tuscany in to falloschippis
With thame adione, and cum on euery syde,
Lat thame nocht dreid that we, be nyghtis tyde,
Sall thyftuusly Palladium steill away,
Nor sla thar wachis slepand; na perfay,
Dern in ane horssis belly large or wyde,
Thame to dissave, we sall ws neuer hyde,
For we determyt haue by forss in fyght,
In plane batale, and on days lyght,
With fyre and swerd ȝon wallys ombeset.
So dowchtely we schape to do our det,
That thai sall not beleif weir vndertane
Agane Grekis, nor pepill Pelasgane,
Quhilkis in thar weris previt sa spreitless men
That Hector thame delayt ȝeris ten.
Now, chosyn men and walyt weriouris,
Sen the maist part of this days howris
Is gane,” said he, “I hald it for the best
Eftir this gud iournay ȝe tak ȝou rest;
Do eyss ȝour bodeis and ȝour horss quhil day,
Bot hald ȝou reddy for the batale ay.
In the meyn tyme, of the nycht wach the cur
We geif Mesapus, the ȝettis to discur
And forto beit brycht fyris abowt the wallys.”
Twyss sevin Rutilianys for al chance befallys
Was chosyn with knychtis forto wach the town;
Ilkane ane hundreth fallowys reddy bown
Of ȝoung gallandis, with purpour crestis red;
Thar giltyn geir maid glitteryng euery sted
Quhar so thai walk and romys still and soft.
Thai stalk about, and wardis changis oft,
And sum tyme, on the greyn herbys down set,
Thai byrll the wyne, and ilk man dyd hys det
Fortil ourturn goblettis of mettell bryght.
The schynand fyris our al the land kest lycht;
And all the fornycht thir wachis sikkyn way,
But sleip, dyd spend in revale, gam and play.