University of Virginia Library

“Thus drave we our in solace day be day,
Quhil at the weddir prouokis ws to assay
Our salis agane, for the sowth wyndis blast
Our piggeis and our pynsalis wavit fast.
Onto the prophet Helenus tho went I,
And with syk wordis besocht hym reuerently:
‘O gentil Troiane, dyvyne interpretur,
Quhilk the respons of Phebus hes in cur,
Quhilk knawist eik the reuelationys
Of god Apollois diuinationys,
Vndir hys trestis and burdis at Delphois schene,
And into Claryus vndir the lawrer grene,
That vnderstandis the cowrss of euery star
And chyrm of euery byrdis voce on far
And euery fowle on weyng fleyng in the sky,
Quhat thai betakyn and quhat thai signyfy;
Say me, I pray the, quhat dangeris principaly
In to my cowrss and vayage eschew sall I,
Or how I may, or be quhat meyn, eschaip
Sa gret aduersiteis quhilkis beyn to me schaip.
For as to me al devote godly wightis
Schew we suld haue a prospir rays at rychtis
And euery oracle of goddis admonyst eik
That we the realm of Italy suld seik,
Ensew tha landis quhilkis war for ws provyde
Alanerly newlyngis on that other syde;
Schame for to say the Harpye Celeno
Spays onto ws a feirful takyn of wo—
A vengeans from the goddis pronuncis sche,
With schameful hungir sal happyn our menȝe.’
Helenus than, eftir the rytis and gyiss,
The ȝong bestis slew in sacryfyss,
Purchesyng favour of goddis to stanch thar fed,
And lowsit the garlandis of his haly hed;
Syne me, Phebus, he ledis by the hand
Onto thi tempil, on seyr materis musand,
Quhar this gret preist gan spekyn and declar
To me thir wordis of the goddis answar:
‘Son of the goddes, sen traist is manifest
That throu deip seys thi wayage is addrest,
And eik, of forton by the boundis hie,
The purviance dyvyne wil so it be—
The kyng of goddis so distributis the fatis,
Rollyng the chancis and turnyng thame thusgatis;
Of mony wordis, schortly, a quhoyn sall I
Declare, at thou mayr sovirly tharby
May seik out throu the strange stremys onkend,
And at a port of Itale arryve at end;
The remanent heirof, quhat evyr be it,
The Werd Systeris defendis that suld be wyt,
And eik the douchtir of auld Saturn, Iuno,
Forbyddis Helenus to speik it and cryis, “Ho!”
First say I the, that twichand Italy,
Quhilk thou trastis be at hand and fast by,
And the addressis ignorantly, but weyr,
To entyr sone in the port, as it war neir,
Lang wylsum ways and far landis alswa
A ful gret space dissyveris ȝou tharfra.
Ȝour aris fyrst into the Sycil see
Bedyit weill and bendit oft mon be,
And of Ausonya the salt stremys eik
Rownd about with ȝour schippis mon ȝe seik,
And Avernus, clepit the layk of hell,
And Aheie, the ile quhar Circes dwell,
Or euer thou may sovirly vpbeild
Thi cite in land of Italy or feild.
I sall the schaw takynnys tharof ful meit,
Quhilkis thou sal hald within thi mynd secreit.
Quhen thine alane musyng as thou sal ga,
By aventur, endlang a watir bra
And vndir ane aik fyndis in to that steid
A gret sow ferryit of grysis thretty hed,
Lyggyn on the grond, mylk quhite, al quhite brodmell
About hir pappis sowkyng, thar, I the tell,
Is the richt place and sted for ȝour cite,
And of ȝour travell ferm hald to rest in le.
Nor the nedis nocht to gruch in tyme tocum
The rungyng of ȝour tabillis euery crum:
Destany sal fynd tharfor a ganand way,
And Phebus sal ȝou help, quhen ȝe list pray.
Bot ombyschew this cost of Italy
Quhilk nixt onto our bordouris ȝhe se ly,
Bedyit with flowyng of our seys flude,
Sen al tha citeis with wykkit Grekis, not gude,
Inhabit ar; for the Naricyanys,
Othir wyss nemmyt Locry, thar remanys,
Quhilk come with Aiax Oylus to the fecht;
And, neir the hill that Salentynus hecht,
The feildis all ar occupyit full meit
Be Idomeneus the kyng expellit from Crete;
Thar is alsso the litil cite, but less,
Of the duke of Melyboy, Phyloctetes,
Clepit Petilya, closyt with a wall—
Eschew thir citeis and thyr costis all.
Forthir, quhen that beȝond the sey sall stand
All thi navy, and thar apon the strand
Settis vp ane altare this sacrifyce to ȝeild,
Thyne haris with a purpur vail ourheild,
Less than amyd the godly fyris, per cace,
Thi ennemeis mycht occur, and knaw thi face,
And so perturbyng all thi sacrifyce.
Thou cawss thi feris keip the sammyn gyss
In thar oblacionys, and this vsage condyng;
Observe, thi self and thi chaist ofspring,
Every serimony of our religioun.
And, fra the wynd haith set thi courss adoun
From Itale towart the cost of Sycilly,
And the strait sowndis of the mont Pelory
Vanysys away peyss and peyss, than the land
Strekis all tyme towart the left hand,
And the left syde lang salt thou but dowt
Cyrkil, and sail mony seis about;
On the richt syde the cost and wallis evaid,
For tha partis vmquhile, as it is sayd,
Be forss of storm war in sondir ryfe,
And a huge deip gat thar holkit belyfe.
Behald quhat change and sa onkouth a kast
May be mysknaw, throw tymys lang bipast;
For, quhen that baith tha landis war al ane,
The seys rage draif in, and maid thame twane,
And forss of streym from the syde of Itale
The ile of Sycill devydit hess alhaill;
Ane narow fyrth flowis, baith evyn and morn,
Betwix tha costis and citeis insondir schorn.
The rycht syde tharof with Scilla ombeset is,
And the left with insaciabil Carybdys,
Quhar, in hir bowkit bysme, that hellys belch,
The large fludis suppys thryss in a swelch,
And othir quhilis spowtis in the ayr agane,
Dryvand the stowr to the starnys, as it war rane.
Bot Scilla lurkand in darn hyddyllis lyis,
Within hir cave, spredand hyr mouth feil syiss
To sowk the schippys amang rowkis onsure—
Lyke to a woman hir ovyr portrature,
A fair virgynys body doun to hir scheir,
Bot hir hynd partis ar alss gret, weil neir,
As beyn a hydduus huddon or a quhaill,
Quharto beyn cuppillit mony meyrswyne taill,
With empty mawys of wolfis ravenus:
Eschew, tharfor, this passage dangerus,
For bettir is thou seik the cost about
Of Pachynnus in Scycill, than stand in dout,
And turn thi cowrss on bawburd, a weilfar way,
Than anys tobe into sa hard assay
As forto se the vgly monstre fell,
Scilla, and heir the craggis rowt and ȝell
For barking of sey doggis in hir wame.
And mair atour, gif owthir wit or fame
Or traist may be geif Helenus the prophete,
Or gif with verite Phebus inspiris hys sprete,
This a thing, son of the goddess, I the tech,
Abuf al othir, this a thyng I the prech,
And principaly repetis the sam agane,
And seir tymys monysis heir in plane;
First of Iuno thou wirschip the gret mycht
And glaidly hallow with sacrifice al at rycht
The power of Iuno, and that mychty pryncess
To pless lawly with offerandis the address:
And on sik wyss quhen thou hir favouris hes get,
And hest alsso thi courss from Sycil set
Towart the boundis of Italy our see,
Syne, quhen thou art careit to that cuntre,
And cummyn is to the cite of Cumas,
And by the lakys dedicate to goddis doith pas
Outthrou the soundand forest of Avern,
Vndir a roch, law within a cavern,
Thar salt thou fynd the godly prophetes,
Ful of the spreit dyvyne, that schawis express
The reuelationys and fatis fortocum,
In palm tre leiffis thame notand al and sum,
Writand vp euery word as sal betyde,
Direkking the leiffis per ordour furth on syde.
Quhat euer this virgyne discrive in hir endyte,
Without the cave closyt scho lays the write:
Tha leiffis remanys onsterit of thar place,
Ne partis not furth of rewle, quhil percace
The piping wynd blaw vp the dur on char,
And dryve the leiffis, and blaw thaim out of har
In at the entre of the cave agane,
That all hir fyrst laubour was invane;
Bot, fra the blast and ȝet pertrubbil thus
Tha thyn leiffis, scho is so dangerus,
Nevir eftyr denȝeing hir within the cave
To gaddir togiddir thame with the wynd bewave,
Ne forto put thame into rewle agane,
Nor ione hir writis as thai dyd first remane.
Thus oft the pepil but answer gays thar ways,
And wareis the set of Sybil al thar days.
Fail not, for loss of tyme that may betyde,
Bot thou pass to that prophetis, thocht the tyde
And prospir wyndis challance the to the saill,
Ȝa, thocht thi fallowys cry owt, “Illyr haill!
On burd! a fair wynd blawis betwix twa schetis!”
Beseik hir or thou wend thocht thine hart betis,
Oppynnand hir voce, scho plesit schaw the evyn
Thy destaneys, be hir awyn mowthis stevin.
Scho sal ryply declare to the in hy
The maneris of al pepill in Italy;
The batellis fortocum scho wil the schaw,
And on quhat wyss al dangeir thou sal withdraw,
Or how thou may al lauborus payn sustene.
Wirschip this haly religyus woman cleyn,
Scho sal the grant a prospir courss at hand.
This is the effect, schortly to vnderstand,
That I am levyt with my wordis the to charge:
Adew, pass on, and by thi fatis large
The fame of mekil Troy bair vp to hevyn!’
Eftir at this prophet, with hys frendly stevyn,
Thir dyvyne answeris thus pronosticate,
Seyr weghty gyftis of massy goldyn plate
Onto our schippis chargit he beir onon,
And gret rychess of polyst eveir bone;
Our karvellis howys ladis and prymys he
With huge charge of syluer in quantite,
With caldronys and othir seir veschell ma
In Epyr land maid at Dodonea.
To me he gaif a thik clowyt habyrgeon,
A thrynfald hawbrik was al gold begone,
A rownd rich helm with creste and tymbrete fair,
The armour quhilum Neoptolemus bair:
Syne to my fader, effering to his age,
Rych rewardis he gaif of hie parage;
Tharto alsso he eikis and gaif ws then
Gentill horssis, pylotis and lodismen;
He ws suppleyt with rowaris and maryneris,
And armour plente atanys for al our feris.”