Virgil's Aeneid translated into Scottish verse :: :: University of Virginia Library

He plasmatour of thyngis vniuersall,
Thou renewar of kynd that creat all,
Incomprehensibill thy warkis ar to consave,
Quhilk grantyt hess to every wight to haue
Quhat thing mast ganys onto hys governall.

Quhou mervellus beyn diuisions of thy gracis,
Distribut so to ilk thing in all placis!
The son to schyne our all and schaw hys lyght,
The day to laubour, for rest thou ordanyt nycht,
For diuerss causys schupe seir sessonys and spacis,

Fresch veir to burgioun herbys and sweit flowris,
The hait symmyr to nuryss corn all howris
And breid all kynd of fowlys, fysch and beste,
Hervist to rendir hys frutis maste and leste,
Wyntir to snyb the erth with frosty schowris.

Not at thou nedyt ocht, all thyng thou wrocht,
Bot to that fyne thou maid al thing of nocht,
Of thy gudnes to be participant;
Thy Godhed na rychar, nor ȝit mar skant,
Nowthir now nor than, set thou ws wrocht and bocht.

Thy maist supreme indiuisibill substans,
In ane natur thre personys, but discrepans,
Regnand etern, ressauys nane accident;
For quhy? thou art rycht at this tyme present
It at thou was, and evir sal, but varians.

224

Set our natur God hass to hym vnyte,
Hys Godhed incommixt remanys perfyte,
The Son of God havand verray naturis twane
In a person, and thre personys all ane
In deite, natur, maieste and delyte.

The Son the self thing with the Fader is,
The self substans the Haly Gaist, I wyss,
Is with thame baith; thre distinct personage,
Ar, war and be sall, euer of ane age,
Omnipotent, a Lord, equale in blyss,

Quhilk souerane substans, in gre superlatyve,
Na cunnyng comprehend may nor discryve;
Nowther generis, generat is, nor doith proceid,
Allane begynnar of euery thing, but dreid,
And in the self remanys etern on lyve.

The Fader, of nane generat, creat ne boir,
Hys only Son engendris evirmor;
Not makis, creatis, bot engendris all way
Of hys substans; and all tyme of baith twa
Procedis the Haly Gaist, equal in glor.

Of baith, from ane begynnyng, procedis he;
So bene the warkis of the Trinite
Maist excellent, and wondirfull to consave—
Ȝit thame to traste the mair meryte we have,
That be na manys rayson prevyt may thai be.

The Fader knawys hym self, quhilk knawlege spredis
Be generatioun etern, that evir bredis
Hys Son, hys word and wysdom eternall:
Betwix thir twa is luf perpetuall,
Quhilk is the Haly Gaist, fra baith procedis.

225

Not at the Faderis natur mynyst is,
Of hys substans he generis his Son in blys;
Ne so the Son of hys kynd is ybor,
That he a part hess tharof, and na mor;
Bot all he gevys hys Son, and all is hys.

The ilk thing he hym gevis, that he remanys:
Thys syngill substans indifferently thus ganys
To thre in ane, and ilkane of tha thre
The sammyn thing is in a maieste,
Thocht thir personys be seuerall in thre granys:

Lyke as the sawle of man is ane, we wait,
Havand thre poweris distinct and separate,
Vndirstandyng, rayson and memor;
Intelligens consideris the thing befor,
Rayson discernys, memor kepys the consait.

As thai beyn in a substans knyt all thre,
Thre personys ryngnys in a Deite.
We may tak als ane other similytude,
Grosly the sammyn purposs to conclud;
Flambe, lyght and heit bene in a fyre we se.

Quhar euer the low is, lycht and heit bene thar,
And had the fyre bene byrnand euermar,
Evyr suld the flambe engendrit haue hys lyght,
And of the byrnand low the flambys brycht
Perpetualy suld heit haue sprung alquhar.

So generis the Fadir the Son with hym etern,
From baith procedis the Haly Gaist coetern.
Thus rude exemplys and figuris may we geif;
Thocht, God by hys awin creaturis to preif,
War mair onlikness than liknes to discern.

226

Frend, farly nocht, na causs is to complene
Albeit thy wyt gret God may nocht attene,
For mycht thou comprehend be thyne engyne
The maist excellent maieste dyvyne,
He mycht be reput a pretty God and meyn.

Considir thy raison is so febill and lyte,
And hys knawlage profund and infynyte,
Considir quhou he is onmensurabill:
Hym, as he is, to knaw thou art not habill;
It sufficis the beleif thy creid perfyte.

God is, I grant, in all thing nocht includyt;
Gevis all gudness and is of nocht denudyt;
Of hym hēss all thing part, and he nocht mynyst;
Hail he is alquhar, not diuidit ne fynyst;
Without all thing he is, and nocht excludit.

O Lord, the ways beyn investigabill!
Sweit Lord, thy self is sa inestimabill,
I can write nocht bot wondris of thy mycht,
That lawyt sa far thy maieste and hyght
Tobe born man intill ane oxis stabill.

Thow tuke mankynd of ane onwemmyt maid,
Inclosyt within a virginis bosum glaid,
Quham all the hevynnys mycht nevir comprehend;
Angellis, scheiphyrdis and kyngis thy Godheid kend,
Set thou in cryb betwix twa bestis was laid.

Quhat infynyte excellent hie bonte
Abufe thy warkis all, in wonderfull gre,
Lord, quhen thou man wrocht to thyne awyn ymage,
That tynt him self throu hys fulych dotage!
Thou man becam, and deit to mak hym fre.

227

Maid thou not man first president vnder the,
To dant the bestis, fowlys and fysch in see,
Subdewit to him the erth and all tharin,
Syne paradice grantit hym and all his kyn,
Gave him fre will, and power nevir to dee,

Enarmyt him with raison and prudence,
Only bad hym kepe thyne obediens,
And to hym suld all creatouris obey?
Bittir was that fruyt for his ofspryng, and fey,
Maid deth onknawin be fund, and lyfe go hens.

O thyne inestimabill luf and cheryte
Becam a thrall to mak ws bondis fre,
To quykkyn thy sclavys tholyt schamfull ded maste fell!
Blissyt be thou virginal frute, that hereit hell,
And pait the pryce of the forbodin tre!

Thocht thou large stremys sched apon the rude,
A drop had bene sufficient of thy blude
A thousand warldis to haue redemyt, I grant;
Bot thou the well of mercy wald nocht skant,
Ws to provoik to lufe the, and be gude.

Our all this syne, thyne infynyte Godhed,
Thy flesch and blude in form of wyne and bred,
Tobe our fuyd of grace, in plege of glor,
Thou hest ws geif, in perpetuall memor
Of thy passioun and dolorus paynfull ded.

Quhat thankis dew or ganȝeld, Lord benyng,
May I, maist wrachit synfull catyve indyng,
Rendir for this souerane peirles hie bonte?
Sen body, saule and all I haue of the,
Thou art my pryce, mak me thy praye condyng.

228

My makar, my redemar and support,
Fra quham all grace and gudnes cumis at schort,
Grant me that grace my mysdedis til amend,
Of this and all my warkis to mak gud end:
Thus I beseik the, Lord, thus I exort.

From the begynnyng and end be of my muse:
All other Iove and Phebus I refuss.
Lat Virgill hald hys mawmentis to him self;
I wirschip nowder ydoll, stok nor elf,
Thocht furth I write so as myne autour dois.

Is nane bot thou, the Fader of goddis and men,
Omnipotent eternal Iove I ken;
Only the, helply Fader, thar is nane other:
I compt not of thir paygane goddis a fudder,
Quhais power may nocht help a haltand hen.

The scripture clepys the God, of goddis Lord;
For quha thy mandat kepys in ane accord
Bene ane with the, not in substans, bot grace,
And we our Fader the clepys in euery place:
Mak ws thy sonnys in cherite, but discord.

Thow haldis court our cristall hevynnys cleir,
With angellis, sanctis and hevynly spretis seir,
That, but cessyng, thy glor and lovyng syngis:
Manifest to the, and patent, bene all thyngis,
Thy spowss, and queyn maid, and thy moder deir.

Concord for ever, myrth, rest and endles blyss,
Na feir of hell, nor dreid of ded, thar is
In thy sweit realm, nor na kynd of ennoy,
Bot all wilfair, eyss and euerlestand ioy;
Quhais hie plesance, Lord, lat ws neuer myss! Amen

Explicit prologus Incipit liber decimus &c.