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The fame heirof, belyve, gan walx and spreid
Throu cheif citeis of all Affrik on breid:
Fame is myscheif, quham na harm vndyr the lyft
In motioun nor sterage is mair swyft.
Movand scho growis, and, passand our alquhar,
Hir strenth encressis and walxis mair and mayr.
Lytil, for feir, the fyrst tyme semys sche,
Sone eftir rysys to the starnys on hie;
Apon the grond scho walkis fra sted to sted,
And vp amang the clowdis hydis hyr hed.
Throu greif of goddis commovyt, and nocht glaid,
Erth, the gret moder, bayr this child, as is said,
Last systir to Ceyos and Enchelades,
Ane huge, horribill and strange monstre, but less,
Spedy of fut, and on weyngis swyft as wynd.
Quhou mony fedderis bene on hir body fynd,
Als mony walkryfe eyn lurkis thar vndir,
Als feil tongis, that for totell is wondir,
With als feil mouthis carpis sche and beris,
Als mony hess scho prik vpstandand eris.
By nycht scho fleys amyd the hevyn throu owt,
Circuland the schaddow of the erth about
With huge fard, nother cuyr gevand nor keip
Hir eyn anys to rest nor tak a sleip;
Al day scho syttis, wachand byssely,
Apon the top of nobillis howsis, to spy,
Or on thir princis palyce with towris hie,
And with hir noyss gret citeis affrays sche—
Als weil ramembring fenȝeit and schrewit sawys
As scho the treuth and verite furth schawis.
Thys ilke wensch, that tyme, with mony a taill,
Glaidly this rumour gan throu the pepill skaill,
Telland the thing wrocht, and not wrocht, togiddir;
Quhou of the Troiane blude wes cummyn thiddir
Ene, with quham the fair Dido be wed
Dedenyt, and as husband go to bed;
And how the wyntir sesson betwix thame tway
Thai spend in lang reffell, lust and play,
Of thar realmys na thing remembring,
In fowle delyte ybond by Cupyd kyng.
Thys menskless goddes in euery mannys mouth
Skalys thir newis est, west, north and sowth.
Hir courss, onon, but langar tarying,
Addressys scho ontill Hyarbas kyng,
With hir sawis his mynd inflambyng as fyre,
Prouokand hym to wreth and fellon ire.
To Amon he wes son, beget alswa
Apon the maid revist Garamantida;
Within his large realmys huge braid
Ane hundreth tempillis to Iupiter he maid,
Ane hundreth altaris, quharon the walkryfe fyre
He dedicate, altymys byrnand schyre,
Set wachis in honour of goddis perpetuelly,
Of beistis blude the fat grond nevir dry,
Strowit with garlandis and flowris of diuerss kynd.
This ilke kyng, wod wroith, half owt of mynd,
And for thir schrewyt rumouris sor ammovit,
In presens of the goddis quhilk he luffit,
Befor the altar, to Iupiter, as thai say,
Hevand vp handis, devotly thus gan pray:
“Almychty Iove”, quod he, “quhamto, feill syss,
On brusyt beddis hie fest and sacryfyss
Of Mawrusya the pepill hantis thus,
Offeryng to the the honour of Bachus,
Consideris thou this? or quhidder, fader, gif we
For nocht the dredis, quhen thou lattis thundir fle?
Or gif thi fyreslauch, the blynd clowdis within,
To fley our myndis, invane makis noys and dyn?
Ȝone woman, lait exile and vagabund
Com to our boundis, that by pryce bocht the grund
A litil village to byg, and quhamto we
For to manuyr gave the strand of the see,
Quhamto our lawis and statutis we gart mak,
Our mariage gan lychtly and forsaik,
And in hir ryng hess tane Ene for lord.
And now that secund Parys, of ane accord
With his onworthy sort, skant half men beyn,
Abufe his hed and halffettis, weil beseyn,
Set lyke a mytir the Troiane foly hat,
Hys hair enoynt weil prunȝeit vndir that,
By reif mantemys hir suld owris be—
Becauss onto thi templis dayly we
Bryngis offerand and invane hallowis thi name.”
With syk wordis Kyng Hyarbas at hame
Makyng hys prayeris, and grippand the altar,
Him hard onon almychty Iupiter,
And hys eyn turnys towart the riall wallis
Of Cartage, and thir luffaris (quhilkis so fallis
At thai thar fame and gude renown forȝet),
Syne thus said to Mercuryus, but let,
And with sik maner charge gan hym direk:
“Pass, son, inhaist, graith the wyndis in effek;
Slyde with thi feddyrame to ȝon Troiane prynce,
Quhilk now in Cartage makis residence,
Gevand no cuyr of citeis in Italy
To hym ygrant by fatale destany.
Do beir my message swyftly throw the skyis,
Sa to hym thus my wordis on syk wyss:
His derrest moder promist ws not that he
Of hys gydyng sa faynt a man suldbe,
Nor, for syk causys, hym delyverit twyss
Furth of the Grekis handis, hys ennemyss;
Bot at he suld haue beyn wyss, sage and grave,
Hie senȝeoreis and gret empyre to have,
And Itale dant, quhilk brandysis in battell,
And, by his dedis, declair and cleyrly tell
Hym cummyn of Teuceris hie genealogy,
And to subdew the warldis monarchy.
Of sa gret thingis thocht na wirschip hym steris,
Nor for hys honour list not laubour as efferis,
Ȝyt than, the fader aucht na wyss to envy
That Ascanyus bruke Romys senȝeory.
Speir quhat he beildis, or how that he dar dwell
Amang a pepill salbe hys ennemyss fell.
Hys lynnage tocum in Itale forȝettis he,
And gevis na compt of Lavyne the cuntre.
Byd hym mak saill. This is all in effek;
Thiddir on our message thus we the direk”,
Said Iupiter, and Mercur but arest
Dressyt to obey hys gret faderis behest;
And first ontill hys feyt fast buklyt he
Hys goldyn weyngis, quharwith he doith fle,
Quhen so hym lyst, abuf the fludis on hyght,
Or on the erth, with gret fard and swyft flycht;
Syne tuke his wand, quharwith, as that thai tell,
The pail sawlis he cachis furth of hell,
And other sum tharwith gan schet full hoyt
Deip in the sorofull grisly hellys pote—
Quharwith he makis folk sleip, magre thar hed,
And revis fra othir al sleip, and to the ded
Closis thar eyn, and brekis the stryngis tway—
Throu help tharof he chasys the wyndis away,
And trubly clowdis dyvidis in a thraw.
Tho furth he fleys, till at the last he saw
The heich top and sydis braid onevyn
Of hard Atlas, baryng on his crown the hevyn,
The mysty clowdis cirkilland his hed about
(Quharon of fyrryn treis stant mony rowt,
With wynd and storm full oft to schaik and blaw),
Hys schulderis heildit with new fallyn snaw;
Furth of the chyn of this ilk hasard auld
Gret fludis ischis, and styf ise schokyllis cauld
Doun from his stern and grysly berd hyngis.
Heir first Mercur, with evynly schynand weyngis,
Gan hym arest, and with hail fard fra thens
Vnto the sey fludis maid hys discens.
Lyke till a fowle that, endlang the cost syde,
About the strandis, of fysch plentuus, and wyde,
Fleys by the watyr, skummand the fludis law;
Betwix the hevyn and erth, the sam wyss, flaw
Mercury, clepit the child Cyllenyus,
Discendyng from hys moder granscher thus,
The sandy costis and desertis of Lyby,
And eik the wyndis, persyng by and by.
And, with the weyngit solys of hys feyt,
As he of Cartage fyrst tred on the streyt,
Eneas foundand towris he gan aspy,
And garrand beild new lugyngis byssyly:
Belt he wes with a swerd of mettale brycht
Of quham the scawbart with brown iasp wes pight;
His rych array dyd our hys schuldris hyng,
Bet of a purpour claith of Tyre glittering,
Fettysly stykkit with prynnyt goldyn thredis;
Of mychty Didois gift wrocht all his wedis.
Mercur recontris hym and said onon:
“Of Cartage now the prowd wallis of stone
Thou foundis,” quod he, “and biggis at al devyce
A cite, excersyt intill a wyfis seruyce,
Thyne awyn materis and realm forȝetting, allace!
Hiddir onto the, from his bricht hevynly place,
The governour of goddis heth me sent,
Quhilk rewlys at will erd, hevyn and elyment;
He bad me throw the skyis bair this charge:
Quhat beildis thou heir in Lyby or Cartage?
Or to quhat fyne or beleif takis on hand
To waist thi tyme into this fremmyt land?
Gif that na lavd ne honour move the list
Of sa hie thingis as ar to the promyst,
Nor thi selvyn thou wil not occupy
To purchess thine awyn renown ne glory,
Ȝyt than behald Ascanyus vpwalxing,
And the gret hope of his seid and ofspring,
Quhamtil the realm and kynryk of Itaill,
With Romys boundis, beyn destinate, sans faill.”
On syk wyss thus carpys Mercuryus,
And in the myddis of his sermond, thus,
He vanyst far away, I wait nevir quhar,
Furth of this mortale syght, in the schyre ayr.