17. Vergil, Aeneis, 1.1-1.161, 1.163-1.756, 2.7, 2.44, 2.90, 2.97-2.99, 2.261, 2.762, 3.273, 3.294-3.295, 3.590-3.654, 4.88-4.89, 4.143-4.150, 4.469-4.473, 5.864, 6.528-6.529, 8.699, 11.246-11.247
| 1.1. Arms and the man I sing, who first made way 1.2. predestined exile, from the Trojan shore 1.3. to Italy, the blest Lavinian strand. 1.4. Smitten of storms he was on land and sea 1.5. by violence of Heaven, to satisfy 1.6. tern Juno's sleepless wrath; and much in war 1.7. he suffered, seeking at the last to found 1.8. the city, and bring o'er his fathers' gods 1.9. to safe abode in Latium ; whence arose 1.10. the Latin race, old Alba's reverend lords 1.12. O Muse, the causes tell! What sacrilege 1.13. or vengeful sorrow, moved the heavenly Queen 1.14. to thrust on dangers dark and endless toil 1.15. a man whose largest honor in men's eyes 1.17. In ages gone an ancient city stood— 1.18. Carthage, a Tyrian seat, which from afar 1.19. made front on Italy and on the mouths 1.20. of Tiber 's stream; its wealth and revenues 1.21. were vast, and ruthless was its quest of war. 1.22. 'T is said that Juno, of all lands she loved 1.23. most cherished this,—not Samos ' self so dear. 1.24. Here were her arms, her chariot; even then 1.25. a throne of power o'er nations near and far 1.26. if Fate opposed not, 't was her darling hope 1.27. to 'stablish here; but anxiously she heard 1.28. that of the Trojan blood there was a breed 1.29. then rising, which upon the destined day 1.30. hould utterly o'erwhelm her Tyrian towers 1.31. a people of wide sway and conquest proud 1.32. hould compass Libya 's doom;—such was the web 1.33. the Fatal Sisters spun. Such was the fear 1.34. of Saturn's daughter, who remembered well 1.35. what long and unavailing strife she waged 1.36. for her loved Greeks at Troy . Nor did she fail 1.37. to meditate th' occasions of her rage 1.38. and cherish deep within her bosom proud 1.39. its griefs and wrongs: the choice by Paris made; 1.40. her scorned and slighted beauty; a whole race 1.41. rebellious to her godhead; and Jove's smile 1.42. that beamed on eagle-ravished Ganymede. 1.43. With all these thoughts infuriate, her power 1.44. pursued with tempests o'er the boundless main 1.45. the Trojans, though by Grecian victor spared 1.46. and fierce Achilles; so she thrust them far 1.47. from Latium ; and they drifted, Heaven-impelled 1.48. year after year, o'er many an unknown sea— 1.50. Below th' horizon the Sicilian isle 1.51. just sank from view, as for the open sea 1.52. with heart of hope they sailed, and every ship 1.53. clove with its brazen beak the salt, white waves. 1.54. But Juno of her everlasting wound 1.55. knew no surcease, but from her heart of pain 1.56. thus darkly mused: “Must I, defeated, fail 1.57. of what I will, nor turn the Teucrian King 1.58. from Italy away? Can Fate oppose? 1.59. Had Pallas power to lay waste in flame 1.60. the Argive fleet and sink its mariners 1.61. revenging but the sacrilege obscene 1.62. by Ajax wrought, Oileus' desperate son? 1.63. She, from the clouds, herself Jove's lightning threw 1.64. cattered the ships, and ploughed the sea with storms. 1.65. Her foe, from his pierced breast out-breathing fire 1.66. in whirlwind on a deadly rock she flung. 1.67. But I, who move among the gods a queen 1.68. Jove's sister and his spouse, with one weak tribe 1.69. make war so long! Who now on Juno calls? 1.71. So, in her fevered heart complaining still 1.72. unto the storm-cloud land the goddess came 1.73. a region with wild whirlwinds in its womb 1.74. Aeolia named, where royal Aeolus 1.75. in a high-vaulted cavern keeps control 1.76. o'er warring winds and loud concourse of storms. 1.77. There closely pent in chains and bastions strong 1.78. they, scornful, make the vacant mountain roar 1.79. chafing against their bonds. But from a throne 1.80. of lofty crag, their king with sceptred hand 1.81. allays their fury and their rage confines. 1.82. Did he not so, our ocean, earth, and sky 1.83. were whirled before them through the vast ie. 1.84. But over-ruling Jove, of this in fear 1.85. hid them in dungeon dark: then o'er them piled 1.86. huge mountains, and ordained a lawful king 1.87. to hold them in firm sway, or know what time 1.88. with Jove's consent, to loose them o'er the world. 1.90. “Thou in whose hands the Father of all gods 1.91. and Sovereign of mankind confides the power 1.92. to calm the waters or with winds upturn 1.93. great Aeolus! a race with me at war 1.94. now sails the Tuscan main towards Italy 1.95. bringing their Ilium and its vanquished powers. 1.96. Uprouse thy gales. Strike that proud navy down! 1.97. Hurl far and wide, and strew the waves with dead! 1.98. Twice seven nymphs are mine, of rarest mould; 1.99. of whom Deiopea, the most fair 1.100. I give thee in true wedlock for thine own 1.101. to mate thy noble worth; she at thy side 1.102. hall pass long, happy years, and fruitful bring 1.104. Then Aeolus: “'T is thy sole task, O Queen 1.105. to weigh thy wish and will. My fealty 1.106. thy high behest obeys. This humble throne 1.107. is of thy gift. Thy smiles for me obtain 1.108. authority from Jove. Thy grace concedes 1.109. my station at your bright Olympian board 1.111. Replying thus, he smote with spear reversed 1.112. the hollow mountain's wall; then rush the winds 1.113. through that wide breach in long, embattled line 1.114. and sweep tumultuous from land to land: 1.115. with brooding pinions o'er the waters spread 1.116. east wind and south, and boisterous Afric gale 1.117. upturn the sea; vast billows shoreward roll; 1.118. the shout of mariners, the creak of cordage 1.119. follow the shock; low-hanging clouds conceal 1.120. from Trojan eyes all sight of heaven and day; 1.121. night o'er the ocean broods; from sky to sky 1.122. the thunders roll, the ceaseless lightnings glare; 1.123. and all things mean swift death for mortal man. 1.124. Straightway Aeneas, shuddering with amaze 1.125. groaned loud, upraised both holy hands to Heaven 1.126. and thus did plead: “O thrice and four times blest 1.127. ye whom your sires and whom the walls of Troy 1.128. looked on in your last hour! O bravest son 1.129. Greece ever bore, Tydides! O that I 1.130. had fallen on Ilian fields, and given this life 1.131. truck down by thy strong hand! where by the spear 1.132. of great Achilles, fiery Hector fell 1.133. and huge Sarpedon; where the Simois 1.134. in furious flood engulfed and whirled away 1.136. While thus he cried to Heaven, a shrieking blast 1.137. mote full upon the sail. Up surged the waves 1.138. to strike the very stars; in fragments flew 1.139. the shattered oars; the helpless vessel veered 1.140. and gave her broadside to the roaring flood 1.141. where watery mountains rose and burst and fell. 1.142. Now high in air she hangs, then yawning gulfs 1.143. lay bare the shoals and sands o'er which she drives. 1.144. Three ships a whirling south wind snatched and flung 1.145. on hidden rocks,—altars of sacrifice 1.146. Italians call them, which lie far from shore 1.147. a vast ridge in the sea; three ships beside 1.148. an east wind, blowing landward from the deep 1.149. drove on the shallows,—pitiable sight,— 1.150. and girdled them in walls of drifting sand. 1.151. That ship, which, with his friend Orontes, bore 1.152. the Lycian mariners, a great, plunging wave 1.153. truck straight astern, before Aeneas' eyes. 1.154. Forward the steersman rolled and o'er the side 1.155. fell headlong, while three times the circling flood 1.156. pun the light bark through swift engulfing seas. 1.157. Look, how the lonely swimmers breast the wave! 1.158. And on the waste of waters wide are seen 1.159. weapons of war, spars, planks, and treasures rare 1.160. once Ilium 's boast, all mingled with the storm. 1.161. Now o'er Achates and Ilioneus 1.163. bursts the tempestuous shock; their loosened seams 1.165. Meanwhile how all his smitten ocean moaned 1.166. and how the tempest's turbulent assault 1.167. had vexed the stillness of his deepest cave 1.168. great Neptune knew; and with indigt mien 1.169. uplifted o'er the sea his sovereign brow. 1.170. He saw the Teucrian navy scattered far 1.171. along the waters; and Aeneas' men 1.172. o'erwhelmed in mingling shock of wave and sky. 1.173. Saturnian Juno's vengeful stratagem 1.174. her brother's royal glance failed not to see; 1.175. and loud to eastward and to westward calling 1.176. he voiced this word: “What pride of birth or power 1.177. is yours, ye winds, that, reckless of my will 1.178. audacious thus, ye ride through earth and heaven 1.179. and stir these mountain waves? Such rebels I— 1.180. nay, first I calm this tumult! But yourselves 1.181. by heavier chastisement shall expiate 1.182. hereafter your bold trespass. Haste away 1.183. and bear your king this word! Not unto him 1.184. dominion o'er the seas and trident dread 1.185. but unto me, Fate gives. Let him possess 1.186. wild mountain crags, thy favored haunt and home 1.187. O Eurus! In his barbarous mansion there 1.188. let Aeolus look proud, and play the king 1.190. He spoke, and swiftlier than his word subdued 1.191. the swelling of the floods; dispersed afar 1.192. th' assembled clouds, and brought back light to heaven. 1.193. Cymothoe then and Triton, with huge toil 1.194. thrust down the vessels from the sharp-edged reef; 1.195. while, with the trident, the great god's own hand 1.196. assists the task; then, from the sand-strewn shore 1.197. out-ebbing far, he calms the whole wide sea 1.198. and glides light-wheeled along the crested foam. 1.199. As when, with not unwonted tumult, roars 1.200. in some vast city a rebellious mob 1.201. and base-born passions in its bosom burn 1.202. till rocks and blazing torches fill the air 1.203. (rage never lacks for arms)—if haply then 1.204. ome wise man comes, whose reverend looks attest 1.205. a life to duty given, swift silence falls; 1.206. all ears are turned attentive; and he sways 1.207. with clear and soothing speech the people's will. 1.208. So ceased the sea's uproar, when its grave Sire 1.209. looked o'er th' expanse, and, riding on in light 1.211. Aeneas' wave-worn crew now landward made 1.212. and took the nearest passage, whither lay 1.213. the coast of Libya . A haven there 1.214. walled in by bold sides of a rocky isle 1.215. offers a spacious and secure retreat 1.216. where every billow from the distant main 1.217. breaks, and in many a rippling curve retires. 1.218. Huge crags and two confronted promontories 1.219. frown heaven-high, beneath whose brows outspread 1.220. the silent, sheltered waters; on the heights 1.221. the bright and glimmering foliage seems to show 1.222. a woodland amphitheatre; and yet higher 1.223. rises a straight-stemmed grove of dense, dark shade. 1.224. Fronting on these a grotto may be seen 1.225. o'erhung by steep cliffs; from its inmost wall 1.226. clear springs gush out; and shelving seats it has 1.227. of unhewn stone, a place the wood-nymphs love. 1.228. In such a port, a weary ship rides free 1.230. Hither Aeneas of his scattered fleet 1.231. aving but seven, into harbor sailed; 1.232. with passionate longing for the touch of land 1.233. forth leap the Trojans to the welcome shore 1.234. and fling their dripping limbs along the ground. 1.235. Then good Achates smote a flinty stone 1.236. ecured a flashing spark, heaped on light leaves 1.237. and with dry branches nursed the mounting flame. 1.238. Then Ceres' gift from the corrupting sea 1.239. they bring away; and wearied utterly 1.240. ply Ceres' cunning on the rescued corn 1.241. and parch in flames, and mill 'twixt two smooth stones. 1.242. Aeneas meanwhile climbed the cliffs, and searched 1.243. the wide sea-prospect; haply Antheus there 1.244. torm-buffeted, might sail within his ken 1.245. with biremes, and his Phrygian mariners 1.246. or Capys or Caicus armor-clad 1.247. upon a towering deck. No ship is seen; 1.248. but while he looks, three stags along the shore 1.249. come straying by, and close behind them comes 1.250. the whole herd, browsing through the lowland vale 1.251. in one long line. Aeneas stopped and seized 1.252. his bow and swift-winged arrows, which his friend 1.253. trusty Achates, close beside him bore. 1.254. His first shafts brought to earth the lordly heads 1.255. of the high-antlered chiefs; his next assailed 1.256. the general herd, and drove them one and all 1.257. in panic through the leafy wood, nor ceased 1.258. the victory of his bow, till on the ground 1.259. lay seven huge forms, one gift for every ship. 1.260. Then back to shore he sped, and to his friends 1.261. distributed the spoil, with that rare wine 1.262. which good Acestes while in Sicily 1.263. had stored in jars, and prince-like sent away 1.264. with his Ioved guest;—this too Aeneas gave; 1.266. “Companions mine, we have not failed to feel 1.267. calamity till now. O, ye have borne 1.268. far heavier sorrow: Jove will make an end 1.269. also of this. Ye sailed a course hard by 1.270. infuriate Scylla's howling cliffs and caves. 1.271. Ye knew the Cyclops' crags. Lift up your hearts! 1.272. No more complaint and fear! It well may be 1.273. ome happier hour will find this memory fair. 1.274. Through chance and change and hazard without end 1.275. our goal is Latium ; where our destinies 1.276. beckon to blest abodes, and have ordained 1.277. that Troy shall rise new-born! Have patience all! 1.279. Such was his word, but vexed with grief and care 1.280. feigned hopes upon his forehead firm he wore 1.281. and locked within his heart a hero's pain. 1.282. Now round the welcome trophies of his chase 1.283. they gather for a feast. Some flay the ribs 1.284. and bare the flesh below; some slice with knives 1.285. and on keen prongs the quivering strips impale 1.286. place cauldrons on the shore, and fan the fires. 1.287. Then, stretched at ease on couch of simple green 1.288. they rally their lost powers, and feast them well 1.289. on seasoned wine and succulent haunch of game. 1.290. But hunger banished and the banquet done 1.291. in long discourse of their lost mates they tell 1.292. 'twixt hopes and fears divided; for who knows 1.293. whether the lost ones live, or strive with death 1.294. or heed no more whatever voice may call? 1.295. Chiefly Aeneas now bewails his friends 1.296. Orontes brave and fallen Amycus 1.297. or mourns with grief untold the untimely doom 1.299. After these things were past, exalted Jove 1.300. from his ethereal sky surveying clear 1.301. the seas all winged with sails, lands widely spread 1.302. and nations populous from shore to shore 1.303. paused on the peak of heaven, and fixed his gaze 1.304. on Libya . But while he anxious mused 1.305. near him, her radiant eyes all dim with tears 1.306. nor smiling any more, Venus approached 1.307. and thus complained: “O thou who dost control 1.308. things human and divine by changeless laws 1.309. enthroned in awful thunder! What huge wrong 1.310. could my Aeneas and his Trojans few 1.311. achieve against thy power? For they have borne 1.312. unnumbered deaths, and, failing Italy 1.313. the gates of all the world against them close. 1.314. Hast thou not given us thy covet 1.315. that hence the Romans when the rolling years 1.316. have come full cycle, shall arise to power 1.317. from Troy 's regenerate seed, and rule supreme 1.318. the unresisted lords of land and sea? 1.319. O Sire, what swerves thy will? How oft have I 1.320. in Troy 's most lamentable wreck and woe 1.321. consoled my heart with this, and balanced oft 1.322. our destined good against our destined ill! 1.323. But the same stormful fortune still pursues 1.324. my band of heroes on their perilous way. 1.325. When shall these labors cease, O glorious King? 1.326. Antenor, though th' Achaeans pressed him sore 1.327. found his way forth, and entered unassailed 1.328. Illyria 's haven, and the guarded land 1.329. of the Liburni. Straight up stream he sailed 1.330. where like a swollen sea Timavus pours 1.331. a nine-fold flood from roaring mountain gorge 1.332. and whelms with voiceful wave the fields below. 1.333. He built Patavium there, and fixed abodes 1.334. for Troy 's far-exiled sons; he gave a name 1.335. to a new land and race; the Trojan arms 1.336. were hung on temple walls; and, to this day 1.337. lying in perfect peace, the hero sleeps. 1.338. But we of thine own seed, to whom thou dost 1.339. a station in the arch of heaven assign 1.340. behold our navy vilely wrecked, because 1.341. a single god is angry; we endure 1.342. this treachery and violence, whereby 1.343. wide seas divide us from th' Hesperian shore. 1.344. Is this what piety receives? Or thus 1.346. Smiling reply, the Sire of gods and men 1.347. with such a look as clears the skies of storm 1.348. chastely his daughter kissed, and thus spake on: 1.349. “Let Cytherea cast her fears away! 1.350. Irrevocably blest the fortunes be 1.351. of thee and thine. Nor shalt thou fail to see 1.352. that City, and the proud predestined wall 1.353. encompassing Lavinium . Thyself 1.354. hall starward to the heights of heaven bear 1.355. Aeneas the great-hearted. Nothing swerves 1.356. my will once uttered. Since such carking cares 1.357. consume thee, I this hour speak freely forth 1.358. and leaf by leaf the book of fate unfold. 1.359. Thy son in Italy shall wage vast war 1.360. and, quell its nations wild; his city-wall 1.361. and sacred laws shall be a mighty bond 1.362. about his gathered people. Summers three 1.363. hall Latium call him king; and three times pass 1.364. the winter o'er Rutulia's vanquished hills. 1.365. His heir, Ascanius, now Iulus called 1.366. (Ilus it was while Ilium 's kingdom stood) 1.367. full thirty months shall reign, then move the throne 1.368. from the Lavinian citadel, and build 1.370. Here three full centuries shall Hector's race 1.371. have kingly power; till a priestess queen 1.372. by Mars conceiving, her twin offspring bear; 1.373. then Romulus, wolf-nursed and proudly clad 1.374. in tawny wolf-skin mantle, shall receive 1.375. the sceptre of his race. He shall uprear 1.376. and on his Romans his own name bestow. 1.377. To these I give no bounded times or power 1.378. but empire without end. Yea, even my Queen 1.379. Juno, who now chastiseth land and sea 1.380. with her dread frown, will find a wiser way 1.381. and at my sovereign side protect and bless 1.382. the Romans, masters of the whole round world 1.383. who, clad in peaceful toga, judge mankind. 1.384. Such my decree! In lapse of seasons due 1.385. the heirs of Ilium 's kings shall bind in chains 1.386. Mycenae 's glory and Achilles' towers 1.387. and over prostrate Argos sit supreme. 1.388. of Trojan stock illustriously sprung 1.389. lo, Caesar comes! whose power the ocean bounds 1.390. whose fame, the skies. He shall receive the name 1.391. Iulus nobly bore, great Julius, he. 1.392. Him to the skies, in Orient trophies dress 1.393. thou shalt with smiles receive; and he, like us 1.394. hall hear at his own shrines the suppliant vow. 1.395. Then will the world grow mild; the battle-sound 1.396. will be forgot; for olden Honor then 1.397. with spotless Vesta, and the brothers twain 1.398. Remus and Romulus, at strife no more 1.399. will publish sacred laws. The dreadful gates 1.400. whence issueth war, shall with close-jointed steel 1.401. be barred impregnably; and prisoned there 1.402. the heaven-offending Fury, throned on swords 1.403. and fettered by a hundred brazen chains 1.405. These words he gave, and summoned Maia's son 1.406. the herald Mercury, who earthward flying 1.407. hould bid the Tyrian realms and new-built towers 1.408. welcome the Trojan waifs; lest Dido, blind 1.409. to Fate's decree, should thrust them from the land. 1.410. He takes his flight, with rhythmic stroke of wing 1.411. across th' abyss of air, and soon draws near 1.412. unto the Libyan mainland. He fulfils 1.413. his heavenly task; the Punic hearts of stone 1.414. grow soft beneath the effluence divine; 1.415. and, most of all, the Queen, with heart at ease 1.417. But good Aeneas, pondering all night long 1.418. his many cares, when first the cheerful dawn 1.419. upon him broke, resolved to take survey 1.420. of this strange country whither wind and wave 1.421. had driven him,—for desert land it seemed,— 1.422. to learn what tribes of man or beast possess 1.423. a place so wild, and careful tidings bring 1.424. back to his friends. His fleet of ships the while 1.425. where dense, dark groves o'er-arch a hollowed crag 1.426. he left encircled in far-branching shade. 1.427. Then with no followers save his trusty friend 1.428. Achates, he went forth upon his way 1.429. two broad-tipped javelins poising in his hand. 1.430. Deep to the midmost wood he went, and there 1.431. his Mother in his path uprose; she seemed 1.432. in garb and countece a maid, and bore 1.433. like Spartan maids, a weapon; in such guise 1.434. Harpalyce the Thracian urges on 1.435. her panting coursers and in wild career 1.436. outstrips impetuous Hebrus as it flows. 1.437. Over her lovely shoulders was a bow 1.438. lender and light, as fits a huntress fair; 1.439. her golden tresses without wimple moved 1.440. in every wind, and girded in a knot 1.441. her undulant vesture bared her marble knees. 1.442. She hailed them thus: “Ho, sirs, I pray you tell 1.443. if haply ye have noted, as ye came 1.444. one of my sisters in this wood astray? 1.445. She bore a quiver, and a lynx's hide 1.446. her spotted mantle was; perchance she roused 1.448. So Venus spoke, and Venus' son replied: 1.449. “No voice or vision of thy sister fair 1.450. has crossed my path, thou maid without a name! 1.451. Thy beauty seems not of terrestrial mould 1.452. nor is thy music mortal! Tell me, goddess 1.453. art thou bright Phoebus' sister? Or some nymph 1.454. the daughter of a god? Whate'er thou art 1.455. thy favor we implore, and potent aid 1.456. in our vast toil. Instruct us of what skies 1.457. or what world's end, our storm-swept lives have found! 1.458. Strange are these lands and people where we rove 1.459. compelled by wind and wave. Lo, this right hand 1.461. Then Venus: “Nay, I boast not to receive 1.462. honors divine. We Tyrian virgins oft 1.463. bear bow and quiver, and our ankles white 1.464. lace up in purple buskin. Yonder lies 1.465. the Punic power, where Tyrian masters hold 1.466. Agenor's town; but on its borders dwell 1.467. the Libyans, by battles unsubdued. 1.468. Upon the throne is Dido, exiled there 1.469. from Tyre, to flee th' unnatural enmity 1.470. of her own brother. 'T was an ancient wrong; 1.471. too Iong the dark and tangled tale would be; 1.472. I trace the larger outline of her story: 1.473. Sichreus was her spouse, whose acres broad 1.474. no Tyrian lord could match, and he was-blessed 1.475. by his ill-fated lady's fondest love 1.476. whose father gave him her first virgin bloom 1.477. in youthful marriage. But the kingly power 1.478. among the Tyrians to her brother came 1.479. Pygmalion, none deeper dyed in crime 1.480. in all that land. Betwixt these twain there rose 1.481. a deadly hatred,—and the impious wretch 1.482. blinded by greed, and reckless utterly 1.483. of his fond sister's joy, did murder foul 1.484. upon defenceless and unarmed Sichaeus 1.485. and at the very altar hewed him down. 1.486. Long did he hide the deed, and guilefully 1.487. deceived with false hopes, and empty words 1.488. her grief and stricken love. But as she slept 1.489. her husband's tombless ghost before her came 1.490. with face all wondrous pale, and he laid bare 1.491. his heart with dagger pierced, disclosing so 1.492. the blood-stained altar and the infamy 1.493. that darkened now their house. His counsel was 1.494. to fly, self-banished, from her ruined land 1.495. and for her journey's aid, he whispered where 1.496. his buried treasure lay, a weight unknown 1.497. of silver and of gold. Thus onward urged 1.498. Dido, assembling her few trusted friends 1.499. prepared her flight. There rallied to her cause 1.500. all who did hate and scorn the tyrant king 1.501. or feared his cruelty. They seized his ships 1.502. which haply rode at anchor in the bay 1.503. and loaded them with gold; the hoarded wealth 1.504. of vile and covetous Pygmalion 1.505. they took to sea. A woman wrought this deed. 1.506. Then came they to these lands where now thine eyes 1.507. behold yon walls and yonder citadel 1.508. of newly rising Carthage . For a price 1.509. they measured round so much of Afric soil 1.510. as one bull's hide encircles, and the spot 1.511. received its name, the Byrsa. But, I pray 1.512. what men are ye? from what far land arrived 1.513. and whither going?” When she questioned thus 1.514. her son, with sighs that rose from his heart's depths 1.516. “Divine one, if I tell 1.517. my woes and burdens all, and thou could'st pause 1.518. to heed the tale, first would the vesper star 1.519. th' Olympian portals close, and bid the day 1.520. in slumber lie. of ancient Troy are we— 1.521. if aught of Troy thou knowest! As we roved 1.522. from sea to sea, the hazard of the storm 1.523. cast us up hither on this Libyan coast. 1.524. I am Aeneas, faithful evermore 1.525. to Heaven's command; and in my ships I bear 1.526. my gods ancestral, which I snatched away 1.527. from peril of the foe. My fame is known 1.528. above the stars. I travel on in quest 1.529. of Italy, my true home-land, and I 1.530. from Jove himself may trace my birth divine. 1.531. With twice ten ships upon the Phryglan main 1.532. I launched away. My mother from the skies 1.533. gave guidance, and I wrought what Fate ordained. 1.534. Yet now scarce seven shattered ships survive 1.535. the shock of wind and wave; and I myself 1.536. friendless, bereft, am wandering up and down 1.537. this Libyan wilderness! Behold me here 1.538. from Europe and from Asia exiled still!” 1.539. But Venus could not let him longer plain 1.541. “Whoe'er thou art 1.542. I deem that not unblest of heavenly powers 1.543. with vital breath still thine, thou comest hither 1.544. unto our Tyrian town. Go steadfast on 1.545. and to the royal threshold make thy way! 1.546. I bring thee tidings that thy comrades all 1.547. are safe at land; and all thy ships, conveyed 1.548. by favoring breezes, safe at anchor lie; 1.549. or else in vain my parents gave me skill 1.550. to read the skies. Look up at yonder swans! 1.551. A flock of twelve, whose gayly fluttering file 1.552. erst scattered by Jove's eagle swooping down 1.553. from his ethereal haunt, now form anew 1.554. their long-drawn line, and make a landing-place 1.555. or, hovering over, scan some chosen ground 1.556. or soaring high, with whir of happy wings 1.557. re-circle heaven in triumphant song: 1.558. likewise, I tell thee, thy Iost mariners 1.559. are landed, or fly landward at full sail. 1.561. She ceased and turned away. A roseate beam 1.562. from her bright shoulder glowed; th' ambrosial hair 1.563. breathed more than mortal sweetness, while her robes 1.564. fell rippling to her feet. Each step revealed 1.565. the veritable goddess. Now he knew 1.566. that vision was his mother, and his words 1.567. pursued the fading phantom as it fled: 1.568. “Why is thy son deluded o'er and o'er 1.569. with mocking dreams,—another cruel god? 1.570. Hast thou no hand-clasp true, nor interchange 1.571. of words unfeigned betwixt this heart and thine?” 1.572. Such word of blame he spoke, and took his way 1.573. toward the city's rampart. Venus then 1.574. o'erveiled them as they moved in darkened air,— 1.575. a liquid mantle of thick cloud divine,— 1.576. that viewless they might pass, nor would any 1.577. obstruct, delay, or question why they came. 1.578. To Paphos then she soared, her Ioved abode 1.579. where stands her temple, at whose hundred shrines 1.580. garlands of myrtle and fresh roses breathe 1.582. Meanwhile the wanderers swiftly journey on 1.583. along the clear-marked road, and soon they climb 1.584. the brow of a high hill, which close in view 1.585. o'er-towers the city's crown. The vast exploit 1.586. where lately rose but Afric cabins rude 1.587. Aeneas wondered at: the smooth, wide ways; 1.588. the bastioned gates; the uproar of the throng. 1.589. The Tyrians toil unwearied; some up-raise 1.590. a wall or citadel, from far below 1.591. lifting the ponderous stone; or with due care 1.592. choose where to build, and close the space around 1.593. with sacred furrow; in their gathering-place 1.594. the people for just governors, just laws 1.595. and for their reverend senate shout acclaim. 1.596. Some clear the harbor mouth; some deeply lay 1.597. the base of a great theatre, and carve out 1.598. proud columns from the mountain, to adorn 1.599. their rising stage with lofty ornament. 1.600. o busy bees above a field of flowers 1.601. in early summer amid sunbeams toil 1.602. leading abroad their nation's youthful brood; 1.603. or with the flowing honey storing close 1.604. the pliant cells, until they quite run o'er 1.605. with nectared sweet; while from the entering swarm 1.606. they take their little loads; or lined for war 1.607. rout the dull drones, and chase them from the hive; 1.608. brisk is the task, and all the honeyed air 1.609. breathes odors of wild thyme. “How blest of Heaven. 1.610. These men that see their promised ramparts rise!” 1.611. Aeneas sighed; and swift his glances moved 1.612. from tower to tower; then on his way he fared 1.613. veiled in the wonder-cloud, whence all unseen 1.614. of human eyes,—O strange the tale and true!— 1.616. Deep in the city's heart there was a grove 1.617. of beauteous shade, where once the Tyrians 1.618. cast here by stormful waves, delved out of earth 1.619. that portent which Queen Juno bade them find,— 1.620. the head of a proud horse,—that ages long 1.621. their boast might be wealth, luxury and war. 1.622. Upon this spot Sidonian Dido raised 1.623. a spacious fane to Juno, which became 1.624. plendid with gifts, and hallowed far and wide 1.625. for potency divine. Its beams were bronze 1.626. and on loud hinges swung the brazen doors. 1.627. A rare, new sight this sacred grove did show 1.628. which calmed Aeneas' fears, and made him bold 1.629. to hope for safety, and with lifted heart 1.630. from his low-fallen fortunes re-aspire. 1.631. For while he waits the advent of the Queen 1.632. he scans the mighty temple, and admires 1.633. the city's opulent pride, and all the skill 1.634. its rival craftsmen in their work approve. 1.635. Behold! he sees old Ilium 's well-fought fields 1.636. in sequent picture, and those famous wars 1.637. now told upon men's lips the whole world round. 1.638. There Atreus' sons, there kingly Priam moved 1.639. and fierce Pelides pitiless to both. 1.640. Aeneas paused, and, weeping, thus began: 1.641. “Alas, Achates, what far region now 1.642. what land in all the world knows not our pain? 1.648. So saying, he received into his heart 1.649. that visionary scene, profoundly sighed 1.650. and let his plenteous tears unheeded flow. 1.651. There he beheld the citadel of Troy 1.652. girt with embattled foes; here, Greeks in flight 1.653. ome Trojan onset 'scaped; there, Phrygian bands 1.654. before tall-plumed Achilles' chariot sped. 1.655. The snowy tents of Rhesus spread hard by 1.657. in night's first watch burst o'er them unawares 1.658. with bloody havoc and a host of deaths; 1.659. then drove his fiery coursers o'er the plain 1.660. before their thirst or hunger could be stayed 1.661. on Trojan corn or Xanthus ' cooling stream. 1.662. Here too was princely Troilus, despoiled 1.663. routed and weaponless, O wretched boy! 1.664. Ill-matched against Achilles! His wild steeds 1.665. bear him along, as from his chariot's rear 1.666. he falls far back, but clutches still the rein; 1.667. his hair and shoulders on the ground go trailing 1.668. and his down-pointing spear-head scrawls the dust. 1.669. Elsewhere, to Pallas' ever-hostile shrine 1.670. daughters of Ilium, with unsnooded hair 1.671. and lifting all in vain her hallowed pall 1.672. walked suppliant and sad, beating their breasts 1.673. with outspread palms. But her unswerving eyes 1.674. the goddess fixed on earth, and would not see. 1.675. Achilles round the Trojan rampart thrice 1.676. had dragged the fallen Hector, and for gold 1.677. was making traffic of the lifeless clay. 1.678. Aeneas groaned aloud, with bursting heart 1.679. to see the spoils, the car, the very corpse 1.680. of his lost friend,—while Priam for the dead 1.681. tretched forth in piteous prayer his helpless hands. 1.682. There too his own presentment he could see 1.683. urrounded by Greek kings; and there were shown 1.684. hordes from the East, and black-browed Memnon's arms; 1.685. her band of Amazons, with moon-shaped shields 1.686. Penthesilea led; her martial eye 1.687. flamed on from troop to troop; a belt of gold 1.688. beneath one bare, protruded breast she bound— 1.690. While on such spectacle Aeneas' eyes 1.691. looked wondering, while mute and motionless 1.692. he stood at gaze, Queen Dido to the shrine 1.693. in lovely majesty drew near; a throng 1.694. of youthful followers pressed round her way. 1.695. So by the margin of Eurotas wide 1.696. or o'er the Cynthian steep, Diana leads 1.697. her bright processional; hither and yon 1.698. are visionary legions numberless 1.699. of Oreads; the regt goddess bears 1.700. a quiver on her shoulders, and is seen 1.701. emerging tallest of her beauteous train; 1.702. while joy unutterable thrills the breast 1.703. of fond Latona: Dido not less fair 1.704. amid her subjects passed, and not less bright 1.705. her glow of gracious joy, while she approved 1.706. her future kingdom's pomp and vast emprise. 1.707. Then at the sacred portal and beneath 1.708. the temple's vaulted dome she took her place 1.709. encompassed by armed men, and lifted high 1.710. upon a throne; her statutes and decrees 1.711. the people heard, and took what lot or toil 1.712. her sentence, or impartial urn, assigned. 1.713. But, lo! Aeneas sees among the throng 1.714. Antheus, Sergestus, and Cloanthus bold 1.715. with other Teucrians, whom the black storm flung 1.716. far o'er the deep and drove on alien shores. 1.717. Struck dumb was he, and good Achates too 1.718. half gladness and half fear. Fain would they fly 1.719. to friendship's fond embrace; but knowing not 1.720. what might befall, their hearts felt doubt and care. 1.721. Therefore they kept the secret, and remained 1.722. forth-peering from the hollow veil of cloud 1.723. haply to learn what their friends' fate might be 1.724. or where the fleet was landed, or what aim 1.725. had brought them hither; for a chosen few 1.726. from every ship had come to sue for grace 1.729. and leave to speak, revered Ilioneus 1.730. with soul serene these lowly words essayed: 1.731. “O Queen, who hast authority of Jove 1.732. to found this rising city, and subdue 1.733. with righteous goverce its people proud 1.734. we wretched Trojans, blown from sea to sea 1.735. beseech thy mercy; keep the curse of fire 1.736. from our poor ships! We pray thee, do no wrong 1.737. unto a guiltless race. But heed our plea! 1.738. No Libyan hearth shall suffer by our sword 1.739. nor spoil and plunder to our ships be borne; 1.740. uch haughty violence fits not the souls 1.741. of vanquished men. We journey to a land 1.742. named, in Greek syllables, Hesperia : 1.743. a storied realm, made mighty by great wars 1.744. and wealth of fruitful land; in former days 1.745. Oenotrians had it, and their sons, 't is said 1.746. have called it Italy, a chieftain's name 1.747. to a whole region given. Thitherward 1.748. our ships did fare; but with swift-rising flood 1.749. the stormful season of Orion's star 1.750. drove us on viewless shoals; and angry gales 1.751. dispersed us, smitten by the tumbling surge 1.752. among innavigable rocks. Behold 1.753. we few swam hither, waifs upon your shore! 1.754. What race of mortals this? What barbarous land 1.755. that with inhospitable laws ye thrust 1.756. a stranger from your coasts, and fly to arms 2.7. the Greek flung down; which woeful scene I saw 2.44. that horse which loomed so large. Thymoetes then 2.90. a mark for every eye, defenceless, dazed 2.97. Such groans and anguish turned all rage away 2.98. and stayed our lifted hands. We bade him tell 2.99. his birth, his errand, and from whence might be 2.261. inside your walls, nor anywise restore 2.762. I stood there sole surviving; when, behold 3.273. gave heed to sad Cassandra's voice divine? 3.294. or ken our way. Three days of blinding dark 3.295. three nights without a star, we roved the seas; 3.590. But Scylla, prisoned in her eyeless cave 3.591. thrusts forth her face, and pulls upon the rocks 3.592. hip after ship; the parts that first be seen 3.593. are human; a fair-breasted virgin she 3.594. down to the womb; but all that lurks below 3.595. is a huge-membered fish, where strangely join 3.596. the flukes of dolphins and the paunch of wolves. 3.597. Better by far to round the distant goal 3.598. of the Trinacrian headlands, veering wide 3.599. from thy true course, than ever thou shouldst see 3.600. that shapeless Scylla in her vaulted cave 3.601. where grim rocks echo her dark sea-dogs' roar. 3.602. Yea, more, if aught of prescience be bestowed 3.603. on Helenus, if trusted prophet he 3.604. and Phoebus to his heart true voice have given 3.605. o goddess-born, one counsel chief of all 3.606. I tell thee oft, and urge it o'er and o'er. 3.607. To Juno's godhead lift thy Ioudest prayer; 3.608. to Juno chant a fervent votive song 3.609. and with obedient offering persuade 3.610. that potent Queen. So shalt thou, triumphing 3.611. to Italy be sped, and leave behind 3.612. Trinacria . When wafted to that shore 3.613. repair to Cumae 's hill, and to the Lake 3.614. Avernus with its whispering grove divine. 3.615. There shalt thou see a frenzied prophetess 3.616. who from beneath the hollow scarped crag 3.617. ings oracles, or characters on leaves 3.618. mysterious names. Whate'er the virgin writes 3.619. on leaves inscribing the portentous song 3.620. he sets in order, and conceals them well 3.621. in her deep cave, where they abide unchanged 3.622. in due array. Yet not a care has she 3.623. if with some swinging hinge a breeze sweeps in 3.624. to catch them as they whirl: if open door 3.625. disperse them flutterlig through the hollow rock 3.626. he will not link their shifted sense anew 3.627. nor re-invent her fragmentary song. 3.628. oft her uswered votaries depart 3.629. corning the Sibyl's shrine. But deem not thou 3.630. thy tarrying too Iong, whate'er thy stay. 3.631. Though thy companions chide, though winds of power 3.632. invite thy ship to sea, and well would speed 3.633. the swelling sail, yet to that Sibyl go. 3.634. Pray that her own lips may sing forth for thee 3.635. the oracles, uplifting her dread voice 3.636. in willing prophecy. Her rede shall tell 3.637. of Italy, its wars and tribes to be 3.638. and of what way each burden and each woe 3.639. may be escaped, or borne. Her favoring aid 3.640. will grant swift, happy voyages to thy prayer. 3.641. Such counsels Heaven to my lips allows. 3.642. arise, begone! and by thy glorious deeds 3.644. So spake the prophet with benigt voice. 3.645. Then gifts he bade be brought of heavy gold 3.646. and graven ivory, which to our ships 3.647. he bade us bear; each bark was Ioaded full 3.648. with messy silver and Dodona 's pride 3.649. of brazen cauldrons; a cuirass he gave 3.650. of linked gold enwrought and triple chain; 3.651. a noble helmet, too, with flaming crest 3.652. and lofty cone, th' accoutrement erewhile 3.653. of Neoptolemus. My father too 3.654. had fit gifts from the King; whose bounty then 4.88. he strode among the richly laden shrines 4.89. the eyes of gods upon her, worshipping 4.143. Why further go? Prithee, what useful end 4.144. has our long war? Why not from this day forth 4.145. perpetual peace and nuptial amity? 4.146. Hast thou not worked thy will? Behold and see 4.147. how Iove-sick Dido burns, and all her flesh 4.148. 'The madness feels! So let our common grace 4.149. mile on a mingled people! Let her serve 4.150. a Phrygian husband, while thy hands receive 4.469. then thus the silence broke: “O Queen, not one 4.470. of my unnumbered debts so strongly urged 4.471. would I gainsay. Elissa's memory 4.472. will be my treasure Iong as memory holds 4.473. or breath of life is mine. Hear my brief plea! 5.864. nor could his guards restrain . “What madness now? 6.528. Then cooled his wrathful heart; 6.529. With silent lips he looked and wondering eyes 8.699. mused on unnumbered perils yet to come. 11.246. all ancient ritual. The fuming fires 11.247. burned from beneath, till highest heaven was hid |
|
