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This beand done, Sibillais commandment
Ene addressis perform incontinent.
Thar stude a dirk and profound cave fast by,
A hidduus hoill, deip gapand and grisly,
All ful of cragis and of thir scharp flynt stanys,
Quhilk was weil dekkit and closit for the nanys
With a fowle layk, als blak as ony craw,
And skuggis dym of a ful dern wod schaw,
Abufe the quhilk na fowle may fle but skath.
Exalationys or vapouris blak and laith
Furth of that dedly golf thrawis in the air,
Sik wyss na byrd may thiddir mak repair;
Quharfor Grekis Avernus clepis this sted,
The place bot fowlis to say, or pyt of ded.
Heir first Ene, at this ilk entre vyle,
Fowr ȝong stottis addressit, blak of pyle;
The nun Sibilla ressauys thame, and syne
Amyd thar forhedis quhelmyt on cowpis of wyne,
And of thar top, betwix the hornys twa,
The ovirmast haris hass scho pullit awa,
And in the haly ingil, as was the gyss,
Kest thame, in maner of the first sacrifice,
Apon Hecate cryand, with mony a ȝell,
Mychtful in hevin and dym dungeon of hell.
Sum slevit knyvis in the bestis throtis,
And otheris, quhilk war ordand for sik notis,
The warm new blude keppit in cowp and peyss.
Ene him self a ȝow was blak of flece
Brittnnyt with hys sword, in sacrifice ful hie
Onto the moder of the fureys thre,
And hir gret systir; and to the, Proserpyne,
A ȝeld kow all to trynschit; and eftir syne
To the infernal kyng, quhilk Pluto hait,
Hys nycht altaris begouth to dedicate;
The hail bowkis of bestys, bayn and lyre,
Amyd the flambys kest and haly fyre;
The fat oly dyd he ȝet and peyr
Apon the entralys, to mak thame byrn cleir.
Bot lo, a litill befor the son rysyng,
The grond begouth to rummyss, croyn and ryng,
Vndir thar feyt, and woddy toppys hie
Of thir hillys begyn to move thai se;
Amang the schaddowys and the skuggis mark
The hell hundys hard thai ȝowl and bark,
At cummyng of the goddess Proserpyne.
Sibilla cryis, that prophetess dyvyne;
“All ȝe that bene prophane, away, away!
Swith, outwith al the sanctuar hy ȝow, hay!
And thou,” quod sche, “hald on thi way with me.
Draw furth thi swerd, for now is neid, Ene,
To schaw thi manheid, and be of ferm curage.”
Thus far scho said, smyte with the godly rage,
And tharwith entris in the oppynnyt cave;
Eneas onabasit, fra all the lave,
Followis his gide with equale pays ful rycht.
O ȝhe goddis, in quhais power and mycht
The sawlis beyn, and ȝhe dern skuggis dyrk,
Confusyt Chaos, quharof all thing beyn wirk,
Skaldand hellis flude, Flagiton, but lycht,
Placis of silence and perpetuall nycht:
Mot it be leful to me for to tell
Tha thyngis quhilkis I haue hard said of hell,
And, by ȝour myghtis, that I may furth schaw
Seir thingis drynchit in the erd ful law,
And deip envoluyt in myrkness and in myst!
Thai walking furth sa dyrk, oneth thai wyst
Quhidder thai went, amyd dym schaddowys thar,
Quhar evir is nycht, and nevir lyght dois repar,
Throwout the waist dongion of Pluto kyng,
Thai voyd boundis, and that gowsty ryng—
Siklyke as quha wald throw thik woddis wend
In obscure licht, quhen moyn may nocht be kend
As Iupiter, the kyng etheryall,
With erdis skugg hydis the hevynnys all,
And the myrk nycht, with hir vissage gray,
From every thing hess reft the hew away.
Befor the porch and fyrst iawys of hell,
Lamentatioun and wraikfull Thochtis fell
Thar lugyng had; and thar at dwellis eyk
Pail Maladeis that causys folk be seik,
The feirful Dreid, and als onweldy Age,
The fellon Hungir with hir ondantit rage;
Thar was alsso the laithly Indigence,
Terribill of port and schameful hir presence,
The grysly Ded at mony ane hess slane,
The hard Laubour, and diseysful Pane,
The slottry Sleip, Dedis cousyng of kynd,
Inordinat Blithnes of peruersit mynd:
And in the ȝet forganyst thame dyd stand
The mortal Batall with hys dedly brand,
The irne chalmeris of hellys Fureys fell,
Witless Discord, that wondryng maist crewell,
Wymplit and buskit in a bludy bend,
With snakis hung at euery harys end.
And in the myddis of the vtyr ward,
With braid branschis spred our al the sward,
A rank elm tre stude, huge gret, and stok ald—
The wlgar pepil in that sammyn hald
Belevis thir vayn dremys makis thar duellyng;
Vndir ilk leif ful thik thai stik and hyng.
Thar beyn eik monstreis of mony diuerss sort:
The Centawres war stablit at this port,
The dowbil porturat Scilla with thame infeir,
Bryareus with ane hundreth formys seyr,
The bysnyng best, the serpent of Lerna,
Horribilly quhysland, and quent Chymera
With fyre enarmyt on hir toppys hie,
The laithly Harpyes, and the Gorgones thre;
Of thrynfald bodeys gaistly formys dyd grone,
Baith of Erylus and of Geryon.
Eneas smartly, for the hasty dreid,
Hynt furth hys swerd in this place, and, gud speid,
The drawin blaid he profferis thar and heir
Onto tha monstreis, evir as thai drew neir;
And war not his expert mait Scybilla
Tawcht him thai war bot voyd gaistis all tha,
But ony bodeis, as wandrand wrechys waist,
He had apon thame ruschit in gret haist,
And with his bytand brycht brand, all invane,
The twme schaddowis smyttyn to haue slane.