Thus I
submitted
to the lawless pride
Of Pyrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride.
Of Pyrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride.
Dryden - Virgil - Aeineid
And driving sparkles dante _lotqg the sky.
With Vulcan's rage th? rising winc]s conspire,
And near our palace roll the flood of fire.
'Haste, my dear father, ('t is no time to wait,) And load my shoulders with a willing freight, Whate'er befalls, your life shall be my care; One death, or one deify'tahoe, we will share. My hand shall lead our little son; and you,
My faithful consort, shall otw steps pursue.
Next, you, my servants, heed Iny strict cqtnl_l_ndl: Without the walls a rui_a'd temple stands,
To Ceres hallow'd once; a cypress nigh
Shoots up her venerable head on high,
By long religion kept; there be_d your feet,
And in divided par_ies let us meet.
Our country, gods, the relics, and the b_nds,
Hold you, my father, in your gui_t|_ss handle;
In me 't is impious holy things to l_gr,
Red as I am _ith _l_gght_t _? w from, wgr_
? 128
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Till in some living stream I cleanse the guilt Of dire debate, and blood in battle spilt. '
Thus, ord'ring all that prudence could provide, I clothe my shoulders with a lion's hide
And yellow spoils; then, on my bending back, The welcome load of my dear father take; While on my better hand Ascanius hung,
And with unequal paces tripp'd along.
Cre_sa kept behind; by choice we stray
Thro' ev'ry dark and ev'ry devious way.
I, who so bold and dauntless, just before,
The Grecian darts and shock of lances bore,
At ev'ry shadow now am seiz'd with fear,
Not for myself, but for the charge I bear;
Till, near the ruin'd gate arriv'd at last,
Secure, and deeming all the danger past,
A frightful noise of trampling feet we hear.
My father, looking thro' the shades, with fear, Cried out: 'Haste, haste, my son, the foes are nigh; Their swords and shining armor I descry. '
Some hostile god, for some unknown offense,
Had sure bereft my mind of better sense;
For, while thro' winding ways I took my flight, And sought the shelter of the gloomy night,
Alas l I lost Crefisa: hard to tell
If by her fatal destiny she fell,
Or weary sate, or wander'd with affright;
But she was lost for ever to my sight.
I knew not, or reflected_ till I meet
My friends, at Ceres' now deserted seat.
We met: not one was wanting; only she
Deceiv'd her friends, her son, and wretched me.
"What mad expressions did my tongue refuse ! Whom did I not, of gods or men, accuse l
This was the fatal blow, that pain'd me more Than all I felt from ruin'd Troy before.
Stung with my loss, and raving with despair, Abandoning my now forgotten care,
Of counsel, comfort, and of hope bereft, My sire, my son, my country gods I left.
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _NEIS 120
In shining armor once again I sheathe
My limbs, not feeling wounds, nor fearing death. Then headlong to the burning walls I run,
And seek the danger I was forc'd to shun.
I tread my former tracks; thro' night explore
Each passage, ev'ry street I cross'd before.
All things were full of horror and affright,
And dreadful ev'n the silence of the night.
Then to my father's house I make repair,
With some small glimpse of hope to find her there. Instead of her, the cruel Greeks I met;
The house was fill'd with foes, with flames beset. Driv'n on the wings of winds, whole sheets of fire, Thro' air transported, to the roofs aspire.
From thence to Prlam's palace I resort,
And search the citadel and desart court.
Then, unobserv'd, I pass by Juno's church:
A guard of Grecians had possess'd the porch ;
There Phcenix and Ulysses watch the prey,
And thither all the wealth of Troy convey:
The spoils which they from ransack'd houses brought_ And golden bowls from burning altars caught,
The tables of the gods, the purple vests,
The people's treasure, and the pomp of priests.
A rank of wretched youths, with pinion'd hands,
And captive matrons, in long order stands.
Then, with ungovern'd madness, I proclaim,
Thro' all the stlent street, Creusa's name:
Creitsa still I call; at length she hears,,
And sudden thro' the shades of night appears-- Appmrs, no more Crei_sa, nor my wife,
But a pale specter, larger than the life.
Aghast, _tonish'd, and struck dumb with fear,
I stood; like bristles rose my stiffen'd hair.
Then thus the ghost began to soothe my grief:
'Nor tears, nor cries, can give the dead relief.
Desist, my mu_h-lov'd lord, 't indulge your pain;
You bear no more than what the gods ordain.
My fates permit me not from hence to fly;
Nor he, the great controller of the sky. ac rau--5
? 130
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _ENEIS
Long wand'ring ways for you the pow'rs decree; On land hard labors, and a length of sea.
Then, after many painful years are past,
On Latium's happy shore you shall be cast, Where gentle Tiber from his bed beholds
The flow'ry meadows, and the feeding folds.
There end your tolls; and there your fates provide A quiet kingdom, and a royal brxde:
There fortune shall the Trojan line restore,
And you for lost Creusa weep no more.
Fear not that I shall watch, with servile shame, Th' imperious looks of some proud Grecian dame; Or, stooping to the victor's lust, chsgTace
My goddess mother, or my royal race.
And now, farewell! The parent of the gods Restrains my fleeting soul in her abodes:
I trust. ,our common issue to your care. '
She said, and ghding pass'd unseen in air?
I strove to speak: but horror tied my tongue;
And thrice about her neck my arms I flung,
And, thrice deceiv'd, on vain emhraces hung. Light as an empty dream at break of day,
Or as a blast of wind, she rush'd away.
"Thus having pass'd the night in frmtless pain, I to my longing friends return again,
Amaz'd th' augmented number to behold,
Of men and matrons mix'd, of young and old; A wretched ex_l'd crew together brought,
With arms appointed, and with treasure fraught, Resolv'd, and willing, under my command,
To run all hazards both of sea and land
The Morn began, from Ida, to display
Her rosy cheeks; and Phosphor led the day:
Before the gates the Grecians took their post, And all pretense of late relief was lost.
I yield to Fate, unwillingly retire,
And, loaded, up the hill convey my sire? '
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE ENEI8
THE At_GU_ENT. --. 'Eneas proceeds in his relation: he glve8 an ac- count of the fleet wzth which he safl'd, and the success of h_s first
voyagetoThrace. Fromthencehedirectsh_scoursetoDelos,and asks the oraclewhat place the gods had appointedfor his habitation. By a mistake;of the oracle's answer, he settles m Crete; has horse- hold gods give hzm the true sense of the oracle, in _ dream. He follows their advice, and makes the best of his way for Italy. He is cast on several shores, and meets with very surprisingadventures, ull at length he /ands on Sicily, where hls father Anehise_ dies. Thls is the place which he was saihng from, when the tempest rose,
? and threw him upon the Carthaginiancoast.
""_][-'T'HEN Heav',n had overturn'd the Trojan state _/_/ And Priamls throne, by too severe a fate;
v v When rtlind Troy became the Grecians' prey, And Illum's lofty tow'rs in ashes lay;
Warn'd by celestial omens, we retreat,
To see_i in foreign lands a happter seat.
Near old Anta_ndros, and at Ida's foot, The timber of the sacred groves we cut,
And build our fleet; uncertain yet to find What place the gods for our repose assign'd. Friends d_ly floe. k; and scarce the kindly spring Began to clothe the ground, and birds to sing, When old Anchises summon'd all to sea:
The crew my father and the Fates obey. With sighs and tears I leave my native shore, And empty field_, where Ilium stood before. My sir_, mY son, our less and greater gods,
All sail at once, and cleave the briny floods.
"Against our coast _pe_rs a spacious land, 131
? 132 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Which once the fierce Lycurgus did command, (Thracia the name--the people bold in war;
Vast are their fields, and tillage is their care,) A hospitable realm while Fate was kind,
With Troy in friendship and religion join'd.
I land; with lucldess omens then adore
Their gods, and draw a line along the shore; I lay the deep foundations of a wall,
And . ,Enos, nam'd from me, the city call. To Dion_ean Venus vows are paid,
And all the pow'rs that rising labors aid; A bull on Jove's imperial altar laid.
Not far, a rising hillock stood in view;
Sharp myrtles on the sides, and cornels grew.
There, while I went to crop the sylvan scenes, And shade our altar with their leafy greens,
I pull'cLa plant--with horror I relate
A prodigy so strange and full of fate.
The rooted fibers rose, and from the wound Black bloody drops distill'd upon the ground. Mute and amaz'd, my hair with terror stood; Fear shrunk my sinews, and congeal'd my blood. Mann'd once again, another plant I try:
That other gush'd with the same sanguine dye. Then, fearing guilt for some offense unknown, With pray'rs and vows the Dryads I atone,
With all the sisters of the woods, and most
The God of Arms, who rules the Thracian coast, That they, or he, these omens would avert, Release our fears_ and better signs impart. Clear'd, as I thought, and fully tix'd at length
To learn the cause, I tugged with all my strengtli: I bent my knees against the ground; once more The violated myrtle ran with gore.
Scarce dare I tell the sequel: from the womb Of wounded earth, and caverns of the tomb,
A groan, as of a troubled ghost, renew'd
My fright, and then these dreadful words ensued: 'Why dost thou thus my buried body rend?
0 spare the corpse of thy unhappy friend!
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE . _NEIS 1_
Spare to pollute thy pious hands with blood. The tears distil not from the wounded wood; But ev'ry drop this living tree contains
Is kindred blood, and ran in Trojan veins. O fly from this unhospitable shore,
Warn'd by my fate; for I am Polydorel
Here loads of lances, in my blood embrued, _Again shoot upward, by my blood renew'd. '
"My fair'ring tongue and shlv'ring limbs declare My horror, and in bristles rose my hair.
When Troy with Grecian arms was closely pent, Old Priam, fearful of the war's event,
This hapless Polydore to Thracia sent:
Loaded with gold, he s_nt his darling, far From noise and tumults, and destructive war, Committed to the faithless tyrant's care;
Who, when he saw the pow'r of Troy decline, Forsook the weaker, with the strong to join; Broke ev'ry bond of nature and of truth, _Andmurder'd, for his wealth, the royal youth. O sacred hunger of pernicious gold!
What bands of faith can impious lucre hold? Now, when my soul had shaken off her fears, I call my father and the Trojan peers;
Relate the prodigies of Heav'n, require
What he commands, arid their advice desire. All vote to leave that execrable shore,
Polluted with the blood of Polydore;
But, ere we sail, his fun'ral rites prepare, Then, to his ghost, a tomb and altars rear.
In mournful pomp the matrons walk the round, With baleful cypress and blue fillets erown'd, With eyes dejected, and with hair unbound. Then bowls of tepid milk and blood we pour, And thrice invoke the soul of Polydore.
"Now, when the raging storms no longer reign, But southern gales invite us to the main,
We launch our vessels, with a prosp'rons wind, And leave the cities and the shores behind.
"An island in th' __4F_an main appears;
? 134 DRYDEN_ TRAI_'SLATION' OF VIRGIL
Neptune and wat'ry Doris claim it theirs.
It floated once, till Phoebus tix'd the sides
To rooted earth, and now it braves the tides. Here, borne by friendly winds, we come ashore, With needful ease our weary limbs restore, And the Sun's temple and his t6wn adore.
"Anius, the priest and king, with laurel crown'd, His hoary locks with purple fillets bound,
Who saw my sire the Dehan shore ascend,
Came forth with eager haste to meet his friend; Invites him to his pslace ; and, in sign
Of ancient love, their plighted hands they join. Then to the temple of the god I went,
And thus, before the shrine, my vows present: 'Give, O Thymbrmus, give a resting place
To the sad relics of the Trojan race;
A seat _ecure, a region of their own,
A lasting empire, and a happier town.
Where shall we fix? where shall our labors end? Whom shall we follow, and what fate attend ? Let not my pray'rs a doubtful answer find;
But in clear auguries unveil thy mind. ' Scarce had I said: he shook the holy ground,
The laurels, and the lofty hills around;
And from the tripos rush'd a bellowing sound.
Prostrate we fell; confess'd the present god, Who gave this answer from his dark abode:
'Undaunted youths, go, seek that mother earth From which your ancestors derive their birth. The soil that sent you forth, her ancient race In her old bosom shall again embrace.
Thro' the wide world th' _neian house shall reign, And children's children shall the crown sustain. ' Thus Phoebus did our future fates disclose:
A mighty tumult, mix'd with joy, arose.
"All are concern'd to know what place the god _Lssign'd, and where determin'd our abode.
My father, long revolving in his mind
The race and lineage of the Trojan kind,
Thus answer'd their demands: 'Ye princes, hear
? THIRD BOOK OF THE 2ENEIS 1M
Your pleasing fortune, and dispel your fear. The fruitful isle of Crete, well known to fame,
Sacred of old to Jove's imperial name,
In the mid ocean lies, with large command,
And on its plains a hundred cities stand.
Another Ida rises there, and we
From thence derive our Trojan ancestry.
From thence, as 't is divulg'd by certain fame, To the Rhcetean shores old Teucrus came; There fix'd, and there the seat of empire chose, Ere Ilium and the Trojan tow'rs arose.
In humble vales they built their soft abodes, Till Cybele, the mother of the gods,
With tinkling cymbals charm'd th' Id_ean woods, She secret rites and ceremonies taught,
And to the yoke the savage lions brought.
Let us the land which Heav'n appoints, explore; Appease the winds, and seek the Gnossian shore. If Jove assists the passage of our fleet,
The third propitious dawn discovers Crete. '
Thus having said, the sacrifices, laid
On smoking altars, to the gods he paid:
A bull_ to Neptune an oblation due,
Another bull to bright Apollo slew;
A milk-white ewe, the western winds to please, And one coal-black, to calm the stormy seas. Ere this, a flying rumor had been spread
That fierce Idomeneus from Crete was fled, Expell'd and exird; that the coast was free From foreign or domestic enemy.
"We leave the Delian ports, and put to sea; By Naxos, fam'd for vintage, make our way; Then green Donysa pass; and sail in sight
Of Paros' isle, with marble quarries white.
We pass the scatter'd isles of Cyclades,
That, scarce distinguish'd, seem to stud the seas. The shouts of sailors double near the shores;
They stretch their canvas, and they ply their oars? 'All hands aloft I for Crete I for Crete I_they cry, And swiftly thro' the foamy biUows/ly.
? DRYDEN_ TRAI_SLATION OF VIRGIL Full on the promis'd land at length we bore,
With joy descending on the Cretan shore. With eager haste a rising town I frame,
Which from the Trojan Pergamus I name: The name itself was grateful; I exhort
To found their houses, and erect a fort.
Our ships are haul'd upon the yellow strand; The youth begin to till the labor'd land;
And I myself new marriages promote,
Give laws, and dwellings I divide by lot;
When rising vapors choke the wholesome air, And blasts of noisome winds corrupt the year; The trees devouring caterpillars burn;
Parch'd was the grass, and blighted was the corn: Nor 'scape the beasts ; for Sirius, from on high, With pestilential heat infects the sky:
My men--some fall, the rest in fevers fry.
Again my father bids me seek the shore
Of sacred Delos, and the god implore,
To learn what end of woes we might expect,
And to what clime our weary course direct.
"'T was night, when ev'ry creature, void of carelE The common gift of balmy slumber shares:
The statues of my gods (for such they seem'd),
Those gods whom I from flaming Troy redeem'd, Before me stood, majestically bright,
Full in the beams of Phcebe's ent'ring light.
Then thus they spoke, and eas'd my troubled mind: 'What from the Delian god thou go'st to find,
He tells thee here, and sends us to relate.
Those pow'rs are we, companions of thy fate,
Who from the burning town by thee were brought, Thy fortune follow'd, and thy safety wroughL Thro' seas and lands as we thy steps attend,
So shall our care flay glorious race befriend.
An ample realm for thee thy fates ordain,
A town that o'er the conquer'd world shall reign. Thou, mighty walls for mighty nations build;
Nor let thy weary mind to labors yield:
But changeth_ seat; for not the Delian god,
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NELq I$_
Nor we, have glv'n thee Crete for our abode. A land there is, Hesperia call'd of old,
(The soil is fruitful, and the natives bold-- Th' ? Enotrians held it once,) by later fame Now eall'd Italia, from the leader's name. Iasius there and Dardanus were born;
From thence we came, and thither must return. Rise, and thy sire with these glad tidings greet.
Search Italy; for Jove denies thee Crete. ' "Astonish'd at their voices and their sight,
(Nor were they dreams, but visions of the night; I saw, I knew their faces, and descried,
In perfect view, their hair with fillets tied ;)
I started from my couch; a clammy sweat
On all my limbs and shiv'ring body sate. To heav'n I lift my hands with pious haste,
And sacred incense in the flames I cast.
Thus to the gods their perfect honors done,
More cheerful, to my good old sire I run,
And tell the pleasing news. In little space
He found his error of the double race;
Not, as before he deem'd, deriv'd from Crete; No more deluded by the doubtful seat:
Then said: 'O son, turmoil'd in Trojan fate l Such things as these Cassandra did relate. This day revives within my mind what she
Foretold of Troy renew'd in Italy,
And Latian lands; but who could then have thought That Phrygian gods to Latium should be brought, Or who believ'd what mad Cassandra taught ?
Now let us go where Phoebus leads the way. '
"He said; and we with glad consent obey, Forsake the seat, and, leaving few behind,
We spread our sails before the willing wind. Now from the sight of land our galleys move, With only seas around and skies above;
When o'er our heads descends a burst of rain, _,nd night with sable clouds involves the mai_; The ruffling winds the foamy billows raise; The scatter'fl fleet is forc'd to sev'ral ways;
? B
DRYI)E_S TRA_SLATI01_ OF _rIRGIL
The face of heav'n is ravish'd from our eyes, And in redoubled peals the roaring thunder flies,
Cast from our course, we wander in the dark. No stars to guide, no point of land to mark.
Ev'n Pallnurus no distinction found
Betwixt the night and day ; such darkness reign'd al_und
Three starless nights the doubtful navy strays, Without distinction, and three sunless days;
The fourth renews the light, and, from our shrouds, We view a rising land, like d_stant clouds;
The mountain-tops confirm the pleasing sight,
And curling smoke ascending from their height,
The canvas falls; their oars the sailors ply;
From the rude strokes the whirling waters fly.
At length I land upon the Strophades,
Safe from the danger of the stormy seas.
Those _sles are compass'd by th' Ionian main,
The dire abode where the foul Harpies reign, Forc'd by the winged warriors to repair
To their old homes, and leave their costly Ea_. Monsters more fierce offended Heav'n ne'er sent From hell's abyss, for human punishment:
With virgin faces, but with wombs obscene,
Foul paunches, and with ordure still unclean;
With claws for hahds, and looks for ever leaO.
'Wv'e landed at the port, and soon beheld
Fat herds of oxen graze the flow'ry field,
And wanton goats without a _eeper stray'& With weapons we the welcome prey invade, Then call the gods for partners of out feast,
And Jove himself, the chief ihvited guest.
We spread the tables on the greensward ground; We feed with hunger, and the bowls go round; When from the mountaln-tops, with htdeous cry, And clatt'ring wings, the hungry Harpies fly; They snatch the meat, defiling all they find, _nd, parting, leave a loathsome stench behind; Close by a hollow rock, again we sit,
New dress the dinner, and the beds refit, Secure from sight, beneath a pleasing sl_ades
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE 2_Iq_I8 1_ Where tufted trees a native arbor made
Again the holy fres on altars burn;
And once again the rav'nous birds return,
Or from the dark recesses where they lie,
Or from another quarter of the sky;
With filthy claws their odious meal repeat,
And mix their loathsome ordures with their meat.
I bid my friends for vengeance then prepare,
And with the hellish nation wage the war.
They, as commanded, for the fight provide,
And in the grass their glitt'ring weapons hide;
Then, when along the crooked shore we hear
Their clatt'ring wings, and saw the foes appear, Misenus sounds a charge: we take th' alarm,
And our strong hands with swords and bucklers arm. In this new kind of combat all employ
Their utmost force, the monsters to destroy.
In vain--the fated skin is proof to wounds;
And from their pIumes the shining sword rebounds. At length rebuff'd, they leave their mangled prey, And their stretch'd pinions to the skies display.
Yet one remain'd---the messenger of Fate:
High on a craggy cliff Celmno sate,
And thus her dismal errand did relate:
'What l not contented with our oxen slain,
Dare you with Heav'n an impious war maintain,
And drive . the Harpies from their native reign? Heed therefore what I say; and keep in mind What Jove decrees, what Phoebus has destgn'd, And I, the Furies' queen, from both relate--- You seek th' Italian shores, foredoom'd by fate: Th' Italian shores are granted you to find, 'And a safe passage to the port assign'd.
But know, that ere your promis'd walls you build, My curses shall severely be fulfill'd.
Fierce famine is your lot for this misdeed, Reduc'd to grind the plates on which you feed. ' She said, and to the neighb'ring forest flew.
Our courage fails us, and our fears renew. Hopeless to win by war, to pray'rs we falg
? 240 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGI_
And on th' offended Harpies humbly call,
And whether gods or birds obscene they were,
Our vows for pardon and for peace prefer.
But old Anchises, off'ring sacrifice,
And lifting up to heav'n his hands and eyes,
_,dor'd the greater gods: 'Avert,' said he,
*These omens; render vain this prophecy,
_nd from th' impending curse a pious people free1'
"Thus having said, he bids us put to sea;
We loose from shore our haulsers, and obey,
And soon with swelling sails pursue the wat'ry way. Amidst our course, Zacynthian woods appear;
And next by rocky Neritos we steer:
We fly from Ithaca's detested shore,
And curse the land which dire Ulysses bore.
At length Leucate's cloudy top appears,
And the Sun's temple, which the sailor fears. Resolv'd to breathe a while from labor past,
Our crooked anchors from the prow we cast,
And joyful to the little city haste.
Here, safe beyond our hopes, our vows we pay
To love, the guide and patron of our way.
The customs of our country we pursue,
And Trojan games on Actian shores renew.
Our youth their naked limbs besmear with oil,
And exercise the wrastlers' noble toil;
Pleas'd to have sail'd so long before the wind,
And left so many Grecian towns behind.
The sun had now fulfill'd his annual course,
And Boreas on the seas display'd his force:
I fix'd upon the temple's lofty door
The brazen shield which vanquish'd A_oas bore; The verse beneath my name and action speaks: 'These arms 2_neas took from conqu'ring Greeks. e Then I command to weigh; the seamen ply
Their sweeping oars; the smoking billows fly. The sight of high Ph_eacia soon we lost,
And skimm'd along Epirus' rocky coast.
"Then to Chaonia's port our course we bend, _. nd, landed, to Buthrotus' heights ascend.
$
? '
THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 141
;
Here wondrous things were loudly blaz'd by fame: How Helenus reviv'd the Trojan name,
And reigu'd in Greece; that Priam's captive son Succeeded Pyrrhus in his bed and throne;
And fair Andromache, restor'd by fate,
Once more was happy in a Trojan mate.
I leave my galleys riding in the port,
And long to see the new Dardaniau court.
By chance, the mournful queen, before the gate, Then solemniz'd her former husband's fate.
Green altars, rais'd of turf, with gifts she crown'd, And sacred priests in order stand around,
And thrice the name of hapless Hector sound.
The grove itself resembles Ida's wood;
And Simois seem'd the well-dissembled flood. But when at nearer distance she beheld
My shining armor and my Trojan shield,
Astonish'd at the sight, the vital heat
Forsakes her limbs; her veins no longer beat:
She hints, she falls, and scarce recov'ring strength, Thus, with a falt'ring tongue, she speaks at length:
"'Are you alive, O goddess-born ? ' she said, 'Or if a ghost, then where is Hector's shade? ' At this, she cast a loud and frightful cry.
With broken words I made this brief reply:
'All of me that remains appears in sight,
I live, if living be to loathe the light.
No phantom; but I drag a wretched life,
My fate resembling that of Hector's wife.
What have you suffer'd since you lost your lord? By what strange blessing are you now restor'd? Still are your Hector's? or is Hector fled,
And his remembrance lost in Pyrrhus' bed? ' With eyes dejected, in a lowly tone,
After a modest pause she thus begun:
"'O only happy maid of Priam's race, Whom death deliver'd from the foes' embrace !
Commanded on AchiUes' tomb to die, Not forc'd, like us, to hard captivity, Or in a haughty master's arms to lie.
? |g
DItTDI_N'STRANSLATION 0F _qR011_
InGrot_m_ilp_unhappywe were130rDe, Endur'd the victor's lust, sustain'd the scorn!
Thus I submitted to the lawless pride
Of Pyrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride. Cloy'd with possession, he forsook my bed, And Helen's lovely daughter sought to wed; Then me to Trojan Helertus resign'd,
And his two slaves in equal marriage join'd; Till young Orestes, pierc'd with deep despair, And longing to redeem the promis'd fair, Before Apollo's altar slew the ravisher.
By Pyrrhus' death the kingdom we regain'd: At least one half with Hclenus remain'd.
Our part, from Chaon, he Chaonia calls, And names from Pergamus his rising walls.
But you, what fates have landed on our coast ?
What gods have sent you, or what storms have toss'd. 1 Does young Ascanius life and health enjoy,
Sav'd from the ruins of unhappy Troy ?
O tell me how his mother's loss he bears,
What hopes are promis'd from his blooming years, How much of Hector in his face appears? '
She spoke; and mix'd her speech with mournful crie_ And fruitless tears came trickling from her eyes.
"At length her lord descends upon the plain, In pomp, attended with a num'rous train; Receives his friends, and to the city leads, And tears of joy amidst his welcome sheds. Proceeding on, another Troy I see,
Or, in less compass, Troy's epitome.
A rivqet by the name of Xanthus ran,
And I embrace the Sc_an gate again.
My friends in porticoes were entertain'd,
And feasts and pleasures thro' the city reign'd.
The tables fi11'd the spacious hall around,
And golden bowls with sparkling wine were croWn'& Two days we pass'd in mirth, till friendly gales, Blown from the south, supplied our swelhng sails. Then to the royal seer I thus began:
'0 thou, who know'st, beyond the reach of man,
? The laws of heav'n, and wh_t the stars decree; Whom Phoebus taught urlei-ring prophecy,
From his own tripod, ahd his holy tree;
SkiU'd in the wing'd inhabitants of air,
What auspices their notes and flights declare : O say--for all religious rites portend
A happy voyage, and a prosp'rous end;
And ev'ry power and omen of the sky
Direct my course fo= destin'd Italy;
But only dire Cel,_no, from the gods,
A dismal famine fatally forebodes--
O say what dangers I am first to shun,
What toils to vanquish, and what course to run. '
"The prophet first wlth sacrifice adores
The greater gods; their pardon then _mplores;
Unbinds the fillet from his holy head;
To Phoebus, next, my trembling steps he led,
Full of religious doubts and awful dread.
Then, with his god possess'd, before the shrine,
These words proceeded from his mouth divine:
'O goddess-born, (for Heav'n's appointed will,
With greater auspices of good than ill,
Foreshows thy voyage, and thy course directs;
Thy fates conspire, and Jove himself protects,)
Of many things some few I shall explain,
Teach thee to shun the dangers of the maln,
And how at length the promis'd shore to gain.
The rest the fates from Helenus conceal,
And Juno's angry pow'r forbids to tell.
First, then, that happy shore, that seems so nigh,
Will far fromyour deludedwishesfly;
Long tracts of seas divide your hopes from Italy:
For you must cruise along Sicilian shores,
And stem the currents with your struggling oars;
Then round th' Italian coast your navy steer;
And, after this, to Circe's island veer;
2_ad, last, before your new foundations rise,
Must pass the Stygian lake, and view the nether skies,
Now mark the signs of future ease and rest, And bear them sa_ely treasut'd in _y breast.
? DRYDENsS TRAI_SLATIOI_ OF _IRGI_ / r
When, in the shady shelter of a wood, And near the margin of a gentle flood,
Thou shalt behold a sow upon the ground,
With thirty suc_ng young encompass'd round;
The dam and offspring white as falling snow_ These on thy city shall their name bestow,
And there shall end thy labors and thy woe.
Nor let the threaten'd famine fright thy mind,
For Phoebus will assist, and Fate the way will find. Let not thy course to that ill coast be bent,
Which fronts from far th' Epirian continent:
Those parts are all by Grecian foes possess'd;
The salvage Loerians here the shores infest;
There fierce Idomeneus his cky builds,
And guards with arms the Salentinian fields;
And on the mountain's brow Petilia stands,
Which Philoctetes with his troops commands.
_Ev'n when thy fleet is landed on the shore,
And priests with holy vows the gods adore,
Then with a purple veil involve your eyes,
Lest hostile faces blast the sacrifice.
These rites and customs to the rest commend,
That to your pious race they may descend.
"'When, parted hence, the wind, that ready waits For Sicily, shall bear you to the straits
Where proud Pelorus opes a wider way,
Tack to the larboard, and stand off to sea: Veer starboard sea and land. Th' Italian shore And fair Sicilia's coast were one, before
An earthquake caus'd the flaw: the roaring tides
The passage broke that land from land divides;
And where the lands retir'd, the rushing ocean rides. Distinguish'd l_y the straits, on either hand,
Now rising cities in long order stand,
And fruitful fields: so much can time invade
The mold'ring work that beauteous Nature made. Far on the right, her dogs foul Scylla hides:
Charybdis roaring on the left presides,
And in her greedy whirlpool sucks the tides;
_'hca spouts them from below: with fury driv'n,
? \
TM THIRD BOOK OF THE 3ENEIS IU
The waves mount up and wash the face of heav'n. But Scylla from her den, with open jaws,
The sinking vessel in her eddy draws,
Then dashes on the rocks. . %. human face,
And virgin bosom, hides her tail's disgrace: Her parts obscene below the waves descend, With dogs inclos'd, and in a dolphin end. 'T is safer, then, to bear aloof to sea,
And coast Pachynus, tho' with more delay, Than once to view misshapen Scylla near, And the loud yell of wat'ry wolves to hear.
"'Besides, if faith to Helenus be due,
_knd if prophetic Phoebus tell me true,
Do not this precept of your friend forget,
Which therefore more than once I must repeat: Above the rest, great Juno's name adore;
Pay vows to Juna; Juno's aid implore.
Let gifts be to the mighty queen design'd,
And mollify with pray'rs her haughty mind. Thus, at the length, your passage shall be free. And you shall safe descend on Italy.
Arriv'd at Cumin, when you view the flood
Of black Avernus, and the sounding wood,
The mad prophetic Sibyl you shall find,
Dark in a cave, and on a rock reclin'd.
She sings the _ates, and, in her frantic fits,
The notes and names, inscrib'd, to leafs commits. What she commits to leafs, in order laid, Before the cavern's entrance are display'd: Unmov'd they lie; but, if a blast of wind Without, or vapors issue from behind,
The leafs are borne aloft in liquid air,
_md she resumes no more her museful care,
Nor gathers from the rocks her scatter'd vers_ Nor sets in order what the winds disperse. Thus, many not succeeding, most upbraid
The madness of the visionary maid,
k_nd with loud curses leave the mystic shade.
"'Think it not loss of time a while to stay, Tho' thy companions chide thy long delay;
? M8
DRTD_S TRANSLATION OF _
Tho' summon'd to the seas, tho' pleasing gales Invite thy aourse, and stretch thy swelling sails:
But beg the sacred priestess to relate
With willing words, and not to write thy fate.
The fierce Italian people she will show,
And all thy wars, and all thy future woe,
And what thou may'st avoid, and what must under_ She shall direct thy course, instruct thy tnlnd,
And teach thee how the happy shores to find.
This is what Heav'n allows me to relate:
Now part in peace; pursue thy better fate,
And raise, by strength of arms, the Trojan state. '
"This when the priest with friendly voice declar'd, He gave me license, and rich gifts prepar'd:
Bounteous of treasure, he supplied my want
With heavy gold, and pollsh'd elephant;
Then Dodonaean caldrons put on board,
And ev'ry ship with sums of silver stor'd.
A trusty_coat of mall to me he sent,
Thrice chain'd with gold, for use and ornament; The helm of Pyrrhus added to the rest,
That flourlsh'd with a plume and waving cresL Nor was my sire forgotten, nor my friends;
And large recruits he to my navy sends:
Men, horses, captains, arms, and warhke stores | Supplies new pilots, and new sweeping oars. Meantime, my sire commands to hoist our sails, Lestwe shouldlosethefirsatuspiciougsales.
"The prophetbless'tdhepartingcrew,and last, With wordsliketheseh,isancientfriendembrac'd:
'Oldhappyman, thecareofgodsabove,
Whom heav'nlyVenushonor'dwithherlove,
And twicepreserv'tdhy lifew,hen Troy was lost_ Beholdfrom farthewlsh'dAusonlancoast: Thereland;buttakea largercompassround,
For thatbeforeIsallforbiddegnround.
The shorethatPhoebushasdesign'fdoryou,
At fartheid"istanclelesc,onceal'fdrom view,
Go happy hence,and seekyour new abodes, Blestinason,andfavor'ld_thegods:
? THE THIKD BOOK OF THE _N'_IS It']
For I with useless words prolong your stay, When southern gales have summon'd you away. '
"Nor less the queen our parting thence deplor'd,
Nor was less bounteous than her Trojan lord.
A noble present to my son she brought,
A robe with floW'rs on golden tissue wrought,
A Phrygian vest; and loads with gifts beside
Of precious texture, and of Asian pride.
'Accept,' she said, 'these monuments of love,
Which in my youth with happier hands I wove:
Regard these trifles for the giver's sake;
'T is the last present Hector's wife can make.
Thou call'st my lost Astyanax to mind;
In thee his features and his form I find:
His eyes so sparkled with a lively flame;
Such were his motions; such was all his frame;
And ah ! had Heav'n so pleas'd, his years had been the same. '
"With tears I took my last adieu, and said: 'Your fortune, happy pair, already made, Leaves you no farther wish. My diff'rent state, Avoiding one, incurs another fate.
To you a quiet seat the gods allow:
You have no shores to search, no seas to plow, Nor fields of flying Italy to chase:
(Deluding visions, and a vain embrace[)
You see another Simols, and enjoy
The labor of your hands, another Troy,
With better auspice than her ancient tow'rs, And less obnoxious to the Grecian pow'rs.
If e'er the gods, whom I with vows adore, Conduct my steps to Tiber's happy shore;
If ever I ascend the Latian throne,
And build a city I may call my own;
_,s both of us our birth from Troy derive,
So let our kindred lines in concord live,
And both in acts of equal friendship str/Ve. Our fortunes, good or bad, shall be the same: The double Troy shall differ hut in name;
That what we now begin may never end,
But long to late posterity descend,'
? 148 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
"Near the Ceraunian rocks our course we bore; The shortest passage to th'Italiasnhore.
Now had the sun withdrawn his radiant light, And hills were hid in dusky shades of night:
We land, and, on the bosom of the ground, _. safe retreat and a bare lodging found.
Close by the shore we lay; the sailors keep Their watches, and the rest securely sleep.
The night, proceeding on with silent pace, Stood in her noon, and view'd with equal face
Her steepy rise and her declining race.
Then wakeful Palinurus rose, to spy
The face of hear'n, and the nocturnal sky;
And listen'd ev'ry breath of air to try;
Observes the stars, and notes their sliding course, The Pleiads, Hyads, and their wat'ry force;
And both the Bears is careful to behold,
And bright Orion, arm'd with burnish'd gold. Then, when he saw no threat'ning tempest nigh, But a sure promise of a settled sky,
He gave the sign to weigh ; we break our sleep, Forsake the pleasing shore, and p]ow the deep.
"And now the rising morn with rosy light Adorns the skies, and puts the stars to flight;
When we from far, like bluish mists, descry The hills, and then the plains, of Italy. Achates first pronounc'd the joyful sound; Then, 'Italy t' the cheerful crew rebound.
My sire Anchises ? rown'd a cup with wine, And, off'ring, thus implor'd the pow'rs divine: 'Ye gods, presiding over lands and seas,
_And you who raging winds and waves appease, Breathe on our swelling sails a prosp'rous wind, And smooth our passage to the port assign'd I' The gentle gales their flagging force renew, And now the happy harbor is in view.
Minerva's temple then salutes our sight,
Plac'd, as a landmark, on the mountain's height, We furl our sails, and turn the prows to shore; trite curling waters round the galleys roar.
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE 2ENEIS 149
The land lies open to the raging east,
Then, bending like a bow, with rocks compress'd,
Shuts out the storms; the winds and waves complain. And vent their malice on the cliffs in vain.
The port lies hid within; on either side
Two tow'ring rocks the narrow mouth divide.
The temple, which aloft we view'd before,
To distance flies, and seems to shun the shore.
Scarce landed, the first omens I beheld
Were four white steeds that eropp'd the flow'ry field. 'War, war is threaten'd from this foreign ground,'
My father cried, 'where warlike steeds are found.
Yet, since reclaim'd to chariots they submit,
And bend to stubborn yokes, and champ the bit,
Peace may succeed to war. ' Our way we bend
To Pallas, and the sacred hill ascend;
There prostrate to the fierce virago pray,
Whose temple was the landmark of our way.
Each with a Phrygian mantle veil'd his head,
And all commands of Helenus obey'd,
And pious rites to Grecian Juno paid.
These dues perform'd, we stretch our sails, and stand To sea, forsaking that suspected land.
"From hence Tarentum's bay appears in view, For Hercules renown'd, if fame be true.
Just opposite, Lacinian Juno stands;
Cauloniarr tow'rs, and Scylac,_ean strands,
For shipwrecks fear'd. Mount zEtna thence we spy, Known by the smoky flames which cloud the sky. Far off we hear the waves with surly sound
Invade the rocks, the rocks their groans rebound. The billows break upon the sounding strand,
And roll the rising tide, impure with sand.
Then thus Anchises, in experience old:
"T is that Charybdis which the seer foretold, A_d those the promis'd rocks! Bear off to sea I' With haste the frighted mariners obey.
First Palinurus to the larboard veer'd;
Then all the fleet by his e_:ample steer'd. To heav'n aloft on ridgy waves we ride?
? 1B0 DRYDF__'8 TRANSLATION OF
Then down to hell descend, when they divlde_
And thrice our galleys knock'd the stony ground_
And thrice the hollow rocks return'd the sound,
And thrice we saw the stars, that stood with dews around. The flagging winds forsook us, with the sun;
And, wearied, on Cyclopianshores we run,
The port capacious, and secure from wind,
Is to the foot of thund'rlng . _tna join'd.
By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high;
By turns hot embers from her entrails fly,
And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky.
Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown,
And, shiver'd by the force, come piecemeal down.
Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow,
Fed from the fiery springs that boil below.
Enccladus, they say, transfix'd by Jove,
With blasted limbs came tumbhng from above;
And, where-he fell, th' avenging father drew
This flaming hill, and on his body threw.
As often as he turns his weary sides,
He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the heavens hides,
In shady woods we pass the tedious night,
Where bellowing sounds and groans our souls affright.
Of which no cause is offer'd to the sight;
For not one star was kindled in the sky,
Nor could the moon her borrow'd light supply;
For misty clouds involv'd the firmament,
The stars were mut_ed, and the moon was pent.
"Scarce had the rising sun the day reveal'd, Scarce had his heat the pearly clews dispell'd,
When fi'om the woods there bolts, before our sight, Somewhat betwixt a mortal and a sprite,
So thin, so ghastly meager, and so wan,
So bare of flesh, he scarce resembled man.
This thing, all tatter'd, seem'd from far t' implore
Our pious aid, and pointed to the shore.
We look behind, then view his shaggy beard;
His clothes were tagg'd with thorns, and filth his limb_
besmear'd;
The rest, in mien, in habit, and in face,
? TR_ THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS L4|
Appear'd a Greek, and such indeed he was.
He cast on us, from far, a frightful view, Whom soon for Ti'o]ans and for foes he knew; Stood sfill_ and pans'd; then all at onc_ began To stretch his limbs, and trembled as he ran. Soon as approach'd, upon his knees he falls, And thus with tears and sighs for pity calls: 'Now, by the pow'rs above, and what we share From Nature's commc,n gift, this vital air,
O Trojans, take me hence l I beg no more; But bear me far from this unhappy shore. 'T is trtle, I am a Greek, and farther own, Among your foes besieg'd th' imperial town. For such demerits if my death be due,
No more for this abandon'd life I sue; This only favor let my tears obtain,
To throw me headlong in the rapid main:
Since nothing more than death my crime demands, I die content, to die by human hands. '
He said, and on his knees my knees embrac'd:
I bade him boldly tell his fortune past,
His present state, his lineage, and his name,
Th' occasion of his fears, and whence he came. The good Anchises rais'd him with his hand; Who, thus encourag'd, answer'd our demand: 'From Ithacaj my native soft, I came
To Troy; and Ach_emenides my name.
Me my poor father with Ulysses sent;
_0 had I stay'd, with poverty content I)
But, fearful for themselves, my countrymen
Left me forsaken in the Cyclops' den.
The cave, tho' large, was dark; the dismal floor Was pav'd with mangled limbs and putrid gore. Our monstrous host, of more than human size, Erects hi_ head, and stares within the skies; Bellowing his voice, and horrid is his hue,
Ye gods, remove this plague from mortal view[
The joints of slaughter'd wretches are his food; And for his wine he quaffs the strearding bloOd. These eyes beheld, when with his spacious hand
? 159 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
He sciz'tdwo captiveosfour Grecianband; Stretch'odn hisback,he dash'dagainsthestone_
Theirbrokenbodiesa,nd theircracklinbgones: With spoutinbgloodthepurplepavementswims,
While thedireglutton grindsthetremblinglimbs. " 'Notunrevcng'Udlyssesboretheirfate,
Nor thoughtlesosfhisown unhappystate;
For,gorg'dwithflesha,nd drunkwithhtunanwine Whilefastasleepthegiantlaysupine, Snoringaloud,and belchinfgrom hismaw
His indigestefdoam,and morselsraw,
We pray;we castthelotsa,nd thensurround The monstrousbody,stretch'adlongtheground: Each,as he couldapproachhim,lendsa hand To borehiseyebalwlitha flamingbrand. Beneathhisfrowningforeheadlayhiseye; For onlyone didthevastframesupply--
But thata globesolargeh,isfrontitfill'd, Likethesun'sdiskorlikea Grecianshield.
The strokesucceedsa;nddown thepupilbends:
This vengeancefollow'fdorour slaughter'fdriends,
But haste,unhappywretchesh,astetoflyl
Your cablescut,and on youroarsrely! Such,andsovastasPolyphemeappears,
A hundredmorethishatedislandbears:
Like him,in cavestheyshuttheirwoollysheep;
Like him,theirherdson topsof mountainskeep;
Like him,wlthmightystridest,heystalkfrom steept9steep. . Andnow threemoons theirsharpen'hdornsrenew, Sincethus,inwoods and wildso,bscurefromview,
I dragmy loathsomedayswithmortalfright,
And indesertecdavernslodgebynight;
Oft from therocksa dreadfulprospectsee
Of thehuge Cyclopsl,ikea walkingtree:
From farIhearhisthund'rinvgoiceresound,
And tramplingfeetthatshakethesolidground. Cornelsand salvageberrieosfthewood,
And rootsand herbs,havebeenmy meagerfood. While aH around my longing eyes I cast,
I saw your happy ships appear at last.
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 1_
On those I fix'd my hopes, to these I run;
'T is all I ask, this cruel race to shun;
What other death you please, yourselves bestow. '
"Scarce had he said, when on the mountain's brow We saw the giant shepherd stalk before
His following flock, and leading to the shore:
A monstrous bulk, deform'd, depriv'd of sight;
His staff a trunk of pine, to guide his steps aright. His pond'rous whistle from his neck descends;
His woolly care their pensive lord attends:
This only solace his hard fortune sends.
Soon as he reach'd the shore and touch'd the waves, From his bor'd eye the gutt'ring blood he laves :
He gnash'd his teeth, and groan'd; thro' seas he stridesj And scarce the topmost billows touch'd his sides.
"Seiz'd with a sudden fear, we run to sea, The cables cut, and silent haste away;
The well-deserving stranger entertain;
Then, buckling to the work, our oars divide the main. The giant harken'd to file dashing sound:
But, when our vessels out of reach he found,
He strided onward, and in vain essay'd
Th' Ionian deep, and durst no farther wade. With that he roar'd aloud: the dreadful cry Shakes earth, and air, and seas; the bdlows fly Before the bellowing noise to distant Italy.
The neighb'ring _tna trembling all around,
The winding caverns echo to the sound.
His brother Cyclops hear the yelling roar,
And, rushing down the mountains, crowd the shore. We saw their stern distorted looks, from far,
And one-eye'd glance, that vainly threaten'd war: A dreadful council, with their heads on high;
(The misty clouds about their foreheads fly;) Not yielding to the tow'ring tree of Jove,
Or tallest cypress of Diana's grove.
New pangs of mortal fear our minds assail; We tug at ev'ry oar, and hoist up ev'ry sail, And take th' advantage of the friendly gale. Forewarn'd by Helenus, we strive to shun
? DR_rI_EN'S TI_ANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Charybdis' g_lf, nor dare to Scylla run.
An equal fate on either side appears:
We, tacking to the left, are free from fears;
For, from Pelorus' point, the North arose,
And drove us back where swift Pantagias flowL His rocky mouth we pass, and make our way
By Thapsus and Megara's winding bay.
This passage Achaemenides had shown,
Tracing the course which he before had run.
"Right o'er against Plemmyrium's wat'ry strand, There lies an isle once calrd th' Ortygian land.
Alpheus, as old fame reports, has found From Greece a secret passage under ground,
By love to beauteous Arethusa led;
And, mingling here, they roll in the same sacred bed. As Helenus er_jom'd, we next adore
Diana's name, protectress of the shore.
With prosp_'rous gales we pass the quiet sounds
Of still Elorus, and his fruitful bounds.
Then, doubling Cape ]? achynus, we survey
The rocky shore extended to the sea.
The town of Camarine from far we see,
And fenny lake, undrain'd by fate's decree.
In sight of _he Geloan fields we pass,
And the large walls, where mighty Gela was;
Then Agragas, with lofty summits crown'd,
Long for the race of warlike steeds renown'd.
We pass'd Selinus, and the palmy land,
And widely shun t. he Lilyb_ean strand,
Unsafe, for secret rocks and moving sand.
At length on shore the weary fleet arriv'd, Which Drepanum's unhappy port receiv'd. Here, after endless labors, often toss'd
By raging storms, and driv'n on ev'ry coast, My dear, dear father, spent with age, I lost: Ease of my cares, and solace of my pain, Sav'd thro' a thousand toils, but sav'd in vain, The prophet, who my future woes reveal'd,
Yet this, the greatest and the worst, conceal'd; And dire Ce! __,_,_,whose foreboding skill
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 155 Denoune'd all else, was silent of this ill
This my last labor was. Some friendly god From thence eonvey'd us to your blest abode. "
Thus, to the list'ning queen, the royal guest His wand'ring course and all his toils express'd; And here concluding, he retir'd to rest-
? THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE ]ENEIS
THE ARGUMENT. --Dido discovers to her sister her passion for ,_neas, and her thoughts of marrying him. She prepares a hunting match for his entertainment Juno, by Venus's consent, raises a storm, which separates the hunters, and drives _neas and Dido into the same cave, where their marrmge is suppos'd to be com- pleted. Jupiter dispatches Mercury to _neas, to warn him from Carthage. . _neas secretly prepares for hm voyage. Dido finds out his design, and, to put a stop to It, makes use of her own and her sister's entreaties, and discovers all the variety of passions that are incident to-_ neglected lover. When nothing would prevail upon him, she contrives her own death, with which this book concludes.
She fed within her veins a flame unseen;
UT anxious cares already seiz'd the queen:
The hero's valor, acts, and birth inspire Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire.
His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart, Improve the passion, and increase the smart. Now, when the purple morn had chas'd away The dewy shadows, and restor'd the day,
Her sister first wtth early care she sought,
And thus in mournful accents eas'd her thought:
"My dearest Anna, what new dreams affright My lab'ring soul l what visions of the night Disturb my quieL and distract my breast
With strange ideas of our Trojan guest!
His worth, his actions, and majestic air,
A man descended from the gods declare.
]Fear ever argues a degenerate kind;
His birth is well asserted by his mind.
Then, what he suffer'd, when by Fate betray'd t
156
? THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE _ENEIS 1_7
What brave attempts for falling Troy he made | Such were his looks, so gracefully he spoke,
That, were I not resolv'd against the yoke Of hapless marriage, never to be curst
With second love, so fatal was my first, To this one error I might yield again; For, since Sich_eus was untimely slain,
This only man is able to subvert
The fix'd foundations of my stubborn heart.
And, to confess my frailty, to my shame,
Somewhat I find within, if not the same,
Too like the sparkles of my former flame.
But first let yawning earth a passage rend,
And let me thro' the dark abyss descend;
First let avenging Jove, with flames from high, Drive down this body to the nether sky,
Condemn'd with ghosts in endless night to lie, Before I break the phghted faith I gavel
No ! he who had my vows shall ever have;
For, whom I lov'd on earth, I worship in the grave. "
She said: the tears ran gushing from her eyes, _Madstopp'd her speech. Her sister thus replies:
"0 dearer than the vital air I breathe,
Will you to grief your blooming years bequeath,
Condemn'd to waste in woes your lonely life, Without the joys of mother or of wife?
Think you these tears, this pompous train of woe, Are known or valued by the ghosts below?
I grant that, while your sorrows yet were green, It well became a woman, and a queen,
The vows of Tyrian princes to neglect, To scorn Hyarbas, and his love reject,
With all the Libyan lords of mighty name; But will you fight against a pleasing flame l This little spot of land, which Heav'n bestows, On ev'ry side is hemm'd with warlike foes; Ga_tulian cities here are spread around,
,and fierce Numidians there your frontiers bound; Here lles a barren waste of thirsty land,
And there the Syrtes raise the moving sand;
? lS8 DRYDEN'8 TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Bare, an troops besiege the narrow shore,
And from the sea Pygmalion threatens more. Propitious Hear'n, and gracious Juno, lead
This wand'ring navy to your needful aid:
How will your empire spread, your city rise, From such a union, and with such alhes?
Implore the favor of the pow'rs above,
And leave the conduct of the rest to love. Continue still your hospitable way,
And stlU invent occasions of their stay,
Till storms and winter winds shall cease to threat, And planks and oars repair their shatter'd fleet. "
These words, which from a friend and sister came, With ease resolv'd the scruples of her fame,
And added fury to the kindled flame.
Inspir'd with hope, the project they pursue;
On ev'ry altar saemfice renew:
A choseff'ewe of two years old they pay
To Ceres, Bacchus, and the God of Day; Preferring Juno's pow'r, for Juno ties
The nuptial knot and makes the marriage joys. The beauteous queen before her altar stands, And holds the golden goblet in her hands.
A milk-white heifer she with flow'rs adorns,
And pours the ruddy wine betwixt her horns; And, while the priests with pray'r the gods invoke, She feeds their altars with Sub, an smoke,
With hourly care the sacmfice renews,
And anxiously the panting entrails views. What priestly rites, alas l what pious art, What vows avail to cure a blee&ng heart t A gentle fire she feeds within her veins, Where the soft god secure in silence reigns.
Sick with desire, and seeking him she loves, From street to street the raving Dido roves.
So when the watchful shepherd, from the blind, Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind, Distracted with her pain she flies the woods, Bounds o'er the lawn, and seeks the silent flood, With fruitless care; for still the fatal dart
? THR FOURTH BOOK OF THE _NEIS
Sticks in her side, and rankles in her heart.
And now she leads the Trojan chief along
The lofty walls, _midst the busy throng;
Displays her Tyrian wealth, and rising town, Which love, without h,s labor, makes his own.
This pomp she shows, to tempt her wand'ring guest| Her falt'ring tongue forbids to speak the rest. When day declines, and feasts renew the night, Still on his face she feeds her famish'd sight;
She longs again to hear the prince relate His own adventures and tile Trojan fate. He tells _t o'er and o'er; but still in vain, For still she begs to hear it once again.
The hearer on the speaker's mouth depends, And thus the tragic story never ends.
Then, when they part, when Phcebe's paler light Withdraws, and falhng stars to sleep invite,
She last remains, when ev'ry guest is gone, Sits on the bed he press'd, and sighs alone;
Absent, her absent hero sees and hears; Or in her bosom young Ascanius bears, And seeks the father's image in the child, If love by likeness might be so beguil'd,
Meantime the rising tow'rs are at a stand; No labors exercise th_ youthful band,
Nor use of arts, nor toils of arm_ they know; The mole is left unfini_h'd to the foe;
The mounds, the works, the walls, neglected lie,
Short of their promis'd heighth, that seem'd to threat the sky.
With Vulcan's rage th? rising winc]s conspire,
And near our palace roll the flood of fire.
'Haste, my dear father, ('t is no time to wait,) And load my shoulders with a willing freight, Whate'er befalls, your life shall be my care; One death, or one deify'tahoe, we will share. My hand shall lead our little son; and you,
My faithful consort, shall otw steps pursue.
Next, you, my servants, heed Iny strict cqtnl_l_ndl: Without the walls a rui_a'd temple stands,
To Ceres hallow'd once; a cypress nigh
Shoots up her venerable head on high,
By long religion kept; there be_d your feet,
And in divided par_ies let us meet.
Our country, gods, the relics, and the b_nds,
Hold you, my father, in your gui_t|_ss handle;
In me 't is impious holy things to l_gr,
Red as I am _ith _l_gght_t _? w from, wgr_
? 128
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Till in some living stream I cleanse the guilt Of dire debate, and blood in battle spilt. '
Thus, ord'ring all that prudence could provide, I clothe my shoulders with a lion's hide
And yellow spoils; then, on my bending back, The welcome load of my dear father take; While on my better hand Ascanius hung,
And with unequal paces tripp'd along.
Cre_sa kept behind; by choice we stray
Thro' ev'ry dark and ev'ry devious way.
I, who so bold and dauntless, just before,
The Grecian darts and shock of lances bore,
At ev'ry shadow now am seiz'd with fear,
Not for myself, but for the charge I bear;
Till, near the ruin'd gate arriv'd at last,
Secure, and deeming all the danger past,
A frightful noise of trampling feet we hear.
My father, looking thro' the shades, with fear, Cried out: 'Haste, haste, my son, the foes are nigh; Their swords and shining armor I descry. '
Some hostile god, for some unknown offense,
Had sure bereft my mind of better sense;
For, while thro' winding ways I took my flight, And sought the shelter of the gloomy night,
Alas l I lost Crefisa: hard to tell
If by her fatal destiny she fell,
Or weary sate, or wander'd with affright;
But she was lost for ever to my sight.
I knew not, or reflected_ till I meet
My friends, at Ceres' now deserted seat.
We met: not one was wanting; only she
Deceiv'd her friends, her son, and wretched me.
"What mad expressions did my tongue refuse ! Whom did I not, of gods or men, accuse l
This was the fatal blow, that pain'd me more Than all I felt from ruin'd Troy before.
Stung with my loss, and raving with despair, Abandoning my now forgotten care,
Of counsel, comfort, and of hope bereft, My sire, my son, my country gods I left.
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _NEIS 120
In shining armor once again I sheathe
My limbs, not feeling wounds, nor fearing death. Then headlong to the burning walls I run,
And seek the danger I was forc'd to shun.
I tread my former tracks; thro' night explore
Each passage, ev'ry street I cross'd before.
All things were full of horror and affright,
And dreadful ev'n the silence of the night.
Then to my father's house I make repair,
With some small glimpse of hope to find her there. Instead of her, the cruel Greeks I met;
The house was fill'd with foes, with flames beset. Driv'n on the wings of winds, whole sheets of fire, Thro' air transported, to the roofs aspire.
From thence to Prlam's palace I resort,
And search the citadel and desart court.
Then, unobserv'd, I pass by Juno's church:
A guard of Grecians had possess'd the porch ;
There Phcenix and Ulysses watch the prey,
And thither all the wealth of Troy convey:
The spoils which they from ransack'd houses brought_ And golden bowls from burning altars caught,
The tables of the gods, the purple vests,
The people's treasure, and the pomp of priests.
A rank of wretched youths, with pinion'd hands,
And captive matrons, in long order stands.
Then, with ungovern'd madness, I proclaim,
Thro' all the stlent street, Creusa's name:
Creitsa still I call; at length she hears,,
And sudden thro' the shades of night appears-- Appmrs, no more Crei_sa, nor my wife,
But a pale specter, larger than the life.
Aghast, _tonish'd, and struck dumb with fear,
I stood; like bristles rose my stiffen'd hair.
Then thus the ghost began to soothe my grief:
'Nor tears, nor cries, can give the dead relief.
Desist, my mu_h-lov'd lord, 't indulge your pain;
You bear no more than what the gods ordain.
My fates permit me not from hence to fly;
Nor he, the great controller of the sky. ac rau--5
? 130
THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _ENEIS
Long wand'ring ways for you the pow'rs decree; On land hard labors, and a length of sea.
Then, after many painful years are past,
On Latium's happy shore you shall be cast, Where gentle Tiber from his bed beholds
The flow'ry meadows, and the feeding folds.
There end your tolls; and there your fates provide A quiet kingdom, and a royal brxde:
There fortune shall the Trojan line restore,
And you for lost Creusa weep no more.
Fear not that I shall watch, with servile shame, Th' imperious looks of some proud Grecian dame; Or, stooping to the victor's lust, chsgTace
My goddess mother, or my royal race.
And now, farewell! The parent of the gods Restrains my fleeting soul in her abodes:
I trust. ,our common issue to your care. '
She said, and ghding pass'd unseen in air?
I strove to speak: but horror tied my tongue;
And thrice about her neck my arms I flung,
And, thrice deceiv'd, on vain emhraces hung. Light as an empty dream at break of day,
Or as a blast of wind, she rush'd away.
"Thus having pass'd the night in frmtless pain, I to my longing friends return again,
Amaz'd th' augmented number to behold,
Of men and matrons mix'd, of young and old; A wretched ex_l'd crew together brought,
With arms appointed, and with treasure fraught, Resolv'd, and willing, under my command,
To run all hazards both of sea and land
The Morn began, from Ida, to display
Her rosy cheeks; and Phosphor led the day:
Before the gates the Grecians took their post, And all pretense of late relief was lost.
I yield to Fate, unwillingly retire,
And, loaded, up the hill convey my sire? '
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE ENEI8
THE At_GU_ENT. --. 'Eneas proceeds in his relation: he glve8 an ac- count of the fleet wzth which he safl'd, and the success of h_s first
voyagetoThrace. Fromthencehedirectsh_scoursetoDelos,and asks the oraclewhat place the gods had appointedfor his habitation. By a mistake;of the oracle's answer, he settles m Crete; has horse- hold gods give hzm the true sense of the oracle, in _ dream. He follows their advice, and makes the best of his way for Italy. He is cast on several shores, and meets with very surprisingadventures, ull at length he /ands on Sicily, where hls father Anehise_ dies. Thls is the place which he was saihng from, when the tempest rose,
? and threw him upon the Carthaginiancoast.
""_][-'T'HEN Heav',n had overturn'd the Trojan state _/_/ And Priamls throne, by too severe a fate;
v v When rtlind Troy became the Grecians' prey, And Illum's lofty tow'rs in ashes lay;
Warn'd by celestial omens, we retreat,
To see_i in foreign lands a happter seat.
Near old Anta_ndros, and at Ida's foot, The timber of the sacred groves we cut,
And build our fleet; uncertain yet to find What place the gods for our repose assign'd. Friends d_ly floe. k; and scarce the kindly spring Began to clothe the ground, and birds to sing, When old Anchises summon'd all to sea:
The crew my father and the Fates obey. With sighs and tears I leave my native shore, And empty field_, where Ilium stood before. My sir_, mY son, our less and greater gods,
All sail at once, and cleave the briny floods.
"Against our coast _pe_rs a spacious land, 131
? 132 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Which once the fierce Lycurgus did command, (Thracia the name--the people bold in war;
Vast are their fields, and tillage is their care,) A hospitable realm while Fate was kind,
With Troy in friendship and religion join'd.
I land; with lucldess omens then adore
Their gods, and draw a line along the shore; I lay the deep foundations of a wall,
And . ,Enos, nam'd from me, the city call. To Dion_ean Venus vows are paid,
And all the pow'rs that rising labors aid; A bull on Jove's imperial altar laid.
Not far, a rising hillock stood in view;
Sharp myrtles on the sides, and cornels grew.
There, while I went to crop the sylvan scenes, And shade our altar with their leafy greens,
I pull'cLa plant--with horror I relate
A prodigy so strange and full of fate.
The rooted fibers rose, and from the wound Black bloody drops distill'd upon the ground. Mute and amaz'd, my hair with terror stood; Fear shrunk my sinews, and congeal'd my blood. Mann'd once again, another plant I try:
That other gush'd with the same sanguine dye. Then, fearing guilt for some offense unknown, With pray'rs and vows the Dryads I atone,
With all the sisters of the woods, and most
The God of Arms, who rules the Thracian coast, That they, or he, these omens would avert, Release our fears_ and better signs impart. Clear'd, as I thought, and fully tix'd at length
To learn the cause, I tugged with all my strengtli: I bent my knees against the ground; once more The violated myrtle ran with gore.
Scarce dare I tell the sequel: from the womb Of wounded earth, and caverns of the tomb,
A groan, as of a troubled ghost, renew'd
My fright, and then these dreadful words ensued: 'Why dost thou thus my buried body rend?
0 spare the corpse of thy unhappy friend!
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE . _NEIS 1_
Spare to pollute thy pious hands with blood. The tears distil not from the wounded wood; But ev'ry drop this living tree contains
Is kindred blood, and ran in Trojan veins. O fly from this unhospitable shore,
Warn'd by my fate; for I am Polydorel
Here loads of lances, in my blood embrued, _Again shoot upward, by my blood renew'd. '
"My fair'ring tongue and shlv'ring limbs declare My horror, and in bristles rose my hair.
When Troy with Grecian arms was closely pent, Old Priam, fearful of the war's event,
This hapless Polydore to Thracia sent:
Loaded with gold, he s_nt his darling, far From noise and tumults, and destructive war, Committed to the faithless tyrant's care;
Who, when he saw the pow'r of Troy decline, Forsook the weaker, with the strong to join; Broke ev'ry bond of nature and of truth, _Andmurder'd, for his wealth, the royal youth. O sacred hunger of pernicious gold!
What bands of faith can impious lucre hold? Now, when my soul had shaken off her fears, I call my father and the Trojan peers;
Relate the prodigies of Heav'n, require
What he commands, arid their advice desire. All vote to leave that execrable shore,
Polluted with the blood of Polydore;
But, ere we sail, his fun'ral rites prepare, Then, to his ghost, a tomb and altars rear.
In mournful pomp the matrons walk the round, With baleful cypress and blue fillets erown'd, With eyes dejected, and with hair unbound. Then bowls of tepid milk and blood we pour, And thrice invoke the soul of Polydore.
"Now, when the raging storms no longer reign, But southern gales invite us to the main,
We launch our vessels, with a prosp'rons wind, And leave the cities and the shores behind.
"An island in th' __4F_an main appears;
? 134 DRYDEN_ TRAI_'SLATION' OF VIRGIL
Neptune and wat'ry Doris claim it theirs.
It floated once, till Phoebus tix'd the sides
To rooted earth, and now it braves the tides. Here, borne by friendly winds, we come ashore, With needful ease our weary limbs restore, And the Sun's temple and his t6wn adore.
"Anius, the priest and king, with laurel crown'd, His hoary locks with purple fillets bound,
Who saw my sire the Dehan shore ascend,
Came forth with eager haste to meet his friend; Invites him to his pslace ; and, in sign
Of ancient love, their plighted hands they join. Then to the temple of the god I went,
And thus, before the shrine, my vows present: 'Give, O Thymbrmus, give a resting place
To the sad relics of the Trojan race;
A seat _ecure, a region of their own,
A lasting empire, and a happier town.
Where shall we fix? where shall our labors end? Whom shall we follow, and what fate attend ? Let not my pray'rs a doubtful answer find;
But in clear auguries unveil thy mind. ' Scarce had I said: he shook the holy ground,
The laurels, and the lofty hills around;
And from the tripos rush'd a bellowing sound.
Prostrate we fell; confess'd the present god, Who gave this answer from his dark abode:
'Undaunted youths, go, seek that mother earth From which your ancestors derive their birth. The soil that sent you forth, her ancient race In her old bosom shall again embrace.
Thro' the wide world th' _neian house shall reign, And children's children shall the crown sustain. ' Thus Phoebus did our future fates disclose:
A mighty tumult, mix'd with joy, arose.
"All are concern'd to know what place the god _Lssign'd, and where determin'd our abode.
My father, long revolving in his mind
The race and lineage of the Trojan kind,
Thus answer'd their demands: 'Ye princes, hear
? THIRD BOOK OF THE 2ENEIS 1M
Your pleasing fortune, and dispel your fear. The fruitful isle of Crete, well known to fame,
Sacred of old to Jove's imperial name,
In the mid ocean lies, with large command,
And on its plains a hundred cities stand.
Another Ida rises there, and we
From thence derive our Trojan ancestry.
From thence, as 't is divulg'd by certain fame, To the Rhcetean shores old Teucrus came; There fix'd, and there the seat of empire chose, Ere Ilium and the Trojan tow'rs arose.
In humble vales they built their soft abodes, Till Cybele, the mother of the gods,
With tinkling cymbals charm'd th' Id_ean woods, She secret rites and ceremonies taught,
And to the yoke the savage lions brought.
Let us the land which Heav'n appoints, explore; Appease the winds, and seek the Gnossian shore. If Jove assists the passage of our fleet,
The third propitious dawn discovers Crete. '
Thus having said, the sacrifices, laid
On smoking altars, to the gods he paid:
A bull_ to Neptune an oblation due,
Another bull to bright Apollo slew;
A milk-white ewe, the western winds to please, And one coal-black, to calm the stormy seas. Ere this, a flying rumor had been spread
That fierce Idomeneus from Crete was fled, Expell'd and exird; that the coast was free From foreign or domestic enemy.
"We leave the Delian ports, and put to sea; By Naxos, fam'd for vintage, make our way; Then green Donysa pass; and sail in sight
Of Paros' isle, with marble quarries white.
We pass the scatter'd isles of Cyclades,
That, scarce distinguish'd, seem to stud the seas. The shouts of sailors double near the shores;
They stretch their canvas, and they ply their oars? 'All hands aloft I for Crete I for Crete I_they cry, And swiftly thro' the foamy biUows/ly.
? DRYDEN_ TRAI_SLATION OF VIRGIL Full on the promis'd land at length we bore,
With joy descending on the Cretan shore. With eager haste a rising town I frame,
Which from the Trojan Pergamus I name: The name itself was grateful; I exhort
To found their houses, and erect a fort.
Our ships are haul'd upon the yellow strand; The youth begin to till the labor'd land;
And I myself new marriages promote,
Give laws, and dwellings I divide by lot;
When rising vapors choke the wholesome air, And blasts of noisome winds corrupt the year; The trees devouring caterpillars burn;
Parch'd was the grass, and blighted was the corn: Nor 'scape the beasts ; for Sirius, from on high, With pestilential heat infects the sky:
My men--some fall, the rest in fevers fry.
Again my father bids me seek the shore
Of sacred Delos, and the god implore,
To learn what end of woes we might expect,
And to what clime our weary course direct.
"'T was night, when ev'ry creature, void of carelE The common gift of balmy slumber shares:
The statues of my gods (for such they seem'd),
Those gods whom I from flaming Troy redeem'd, Before me stood, majestically bright,
Full in the beams of Phcebe's ent'ring light.
Then thus they spoke, and eas'd my troubled mind: 'What from the Delian god thou go'st to find,
He tells thee here, and sends us to relate.
Those pow'rs are we, companions of thy fate,
Who from the burning town by thee were brought, Thy fortune follow'd, and thy safety wroughL Thro' seas and lands as we thy steps attend,
So shall our care flay glorious race befriend.
An ample realm for thee thy fates ordain,
A town that o'er the conquer'd world shall reign. Thou, mighty walls for mighty nations build;
Nor let thy weary mind to labors yield:
But changeth_ seat; for not the Delian god,
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NELq I$_
Nor we, have glv'n thee Crete for our abode. A land there is, Hesperia call'd of old,
(The soil is fruitful, and the natives bold-- Th' ? Enotrians held it once,) by later fame Now eall'd Italia, from the leader's name. Iasius there and Dardanus were born;
From thence we came, and thither must return. Rise, and thy sire with these glad tidings greet.
Search Italy; for Jove denies thee Crete. ' "Astonish'd at their voices and their sight,
(Nor were they dreams, but visions of the night; I saw, I knew their faces, and descried,
In perfect view, their hair with fillets tied ;)
I started from my couch; a clammy sweat
On all my limbs and shiv'ring body sate. To heav'n I lift my hands with pious haste,
And sacred incense in the flames I cast.
Thus to the gods their perfect honors done,
More cheerful, to my good old sire I run,
And tell the pleasing news. In little space
He found his error of the double race;
Not, as before he deem'd, deriv'd from Crete; No more deluded by the doubtful seat:
Then said: 'O son, turmoil'd in Trojan fate l Such things as these Cassandra did relate. This day revives within my mind what she
Foretold of Troy renew'd in Italy,
And Latian lands; but who could then have thought That Phrygian gods to Latium should be brought, Or who believ'd what mad Cassandra taught ?
Now let us go where Phoebus leads the way. '
"He said; and we with glad consent obey, Forsake the seat, and, leaving few behind,
We spread our sails before the willing wind. Now from the sight of land our galleys move, With only seas around and skies above;
When o'er our heads descends a burst of rain, _,nd night with sable clouds involves the mai_; The ruffling winds the foamy billows raise; The scatter'fl fleet is forc'd to sev'ral ways;
? B
DRYI)E_S TRA_SLATI01_ OF _rIRGIL
The face of heav'n is ravish'd from our eyes, And in redoubled peals the roaring thunder flies,
Cast from our course, we wander in the dark. No stars to guide, no point of land to mark.
Ev'n Pallnurus no distinction found
Betwixt the night and day ; such darkness reign'd al_und
Three starless nights the doubtful navy strays, Without distinction, and three sunless days;
The fourth renews the light, and, from our shrouds, We view a rising land, like d_stant clouds;
The mountain-tops confirm the pleasing sight,
And curling smoke ascending from their height,
The canvas falls; their oars the sailors ply;
From the rude strokes the whirling waters fly.
At length I land upon the Strophades,
Safe from the danger of the stormy seas.
Those _sles are compass'd by th' Ionian main,
The dire abode where the foul Harpies reign, Forc'd by the winged warriors to repair
To their old homes, and leave their costly Ea_. Monsters more fierce offended Heav'n ne'er sent From hell's abyss, for human punishment:
With virgin faces, but with wombs obscene,
Foul paunches, and with ordure still unclean;
With claws for hahds, and looks for ever leaO.
'Wv'e landed at the port, and soon beheld
Fat herds of oxen graze the flow'ry field,
And wanton goats without a _eeper stray'& With weapons we the welcome prey invade, Then call the gods for partners of out feast,
And Jove himself, the chief ihvited guest.
We spread the tables on the greensward ground; We feed with hunger, and the bowls go round; When from the mountaln-tops, with htdeous cry, And clatt'ring wings, the hungry Harpies fly; They snatch the meat, defiling all they find, _nd, parting, leave a loathsome stench behind; Close by a hollow rock, again we sit,
New dress the dinner, and the beds refit, Secure from sight, beneath a pleasing sl_ades
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE 2_Iq_I8 1_ Where tufted trees a native arbor made
Again the holy fres on altars burn;
And once again the rav'nous birds return,
Or from the dark recesses where they lie,
Or from another quarter of the sky;
With filthy claws their odious meal repeat,
And mix their loathsome ordures with their meat.
I bid my friends for vengeance then prepare,
And with the hellish nation wage the war.
They, as commanded, for the fight provide,
And in the grass their glitt'ring weapons hide;
Then, when along the crooked shore we hear
Their clatt'ring wings, and saw the foes appear, Misenus sounds a charge: we take th' alarm,
And our strong hands with swords and bucklers arm. In this new kind of combat all employ
Their utmost force, the monsters to destroy.
In vain--the fated skin is proof to wounds;
And from their pIumes the shining sword rebounds. At length rebuff'd, they leave their mangled prey, And their stretch'd pinions to the skies display.
Yet one remain'd---the messenger of Fate:
High on a craggy cliff Celmno sate,
And thus her dismal errand did relate:
'What l not contented with our oxen slain,
Dare you with Heav'n an impious war maintain,
And drive . the Harpies from their native reign? Heed therefore what I say; and keep in mind What Jove decrees, what Phoebus has destgn'd, And I, the Furies' queen, from both relate--- You seek th' Italian shores, foredoom'd by fate: Th' Italian shores are granted you to find, 'And a safe passage to the port assign'd.
But know, that ere your promis'd walls you build, My curses shall severely be fulfill'd.
Fierce famine is your lot for this misdeed, Reduc'd to grind the plates on which you feed. ' She said, and to the neighb'ring forest flew.
Our courage fails us, and our fears renew. Hopeless to win by war, to pray'rs we falg
? 240 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGI_
And on th' offended Harpies humbly call,
And whether gods or birds obscene they were,
Our vows for pardon and for peace prefer.
But old Anchises, off'ring sacrifice,
And lifting up to heav'n his hands and eyes,
_,dor'd the greater gods: 'Avert,' said he,
*These omens; render vain this prophecy,
_nd from th' impending curse a pious people free1'
"Thus having said, he bids us put to sea;
We loose from shore our haulsers, and obey,
And soon with swelling sails pursue the wat'ry way. Amidst our course, Zacynthian woods appear;
And next by rocky Neritos we steer:
We fly from Ithaca's detested shore,
And curse the land which dire Ulysses bore.
At length Leucate's cloudy top appears,
And the Sun's temple, which the sailor fears. Resolv'd to breathe a while from labor past,
Our crooked anchors from the prow we cast,
And joyful to the little city haste.
Here, safe beyond our hopes, our vows we pay
To love, the guide and patron of our way.
The customs of our country we pursue,
And Trojan games on Actian shores renew.
Our youth their naked limbs besmear with oil,
And exercise the wrastlers' noble toil;
Pleas'd to have sail'd so long before the wind,
And left so many Grecian towns behind.
The sun had now fulfill'd his annual course,
And Boreas on the seas display'd his force:
I fix'd upon the temple's lofty door
The brazen shield which vanquish'd A_oas bore; The verse beneath my name and action speaks: 'These arms 2_neas took from conqu'ring Greeks. e Then I command to weigh; the seamen ply
Their sweeping oars; the smoking billows fly. The sight of high Ph_eacia soon we lost,
And skimm'd along Epirus' rocky coast.
"Then to Chaonia's port our course we bend, _. nd, landed, to Buthrotus' heights ascend.
$
? '
THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 141
;
Here wondrous things were loudly blaz'd by fame: How Helenus reviv'd the Trojan name,
And reigu'd in Greece; that Priam's captive son Succeeded Pyrrhus in his bed and throne;
And fair Andromache, restor'd by fate,
Once more was happy in a Trojan mate.
I leave my galleys riding in the port,
And long to see the new Dardaniau court.
By chance, the mournful queen, before the gate, Then solemniz'd her former husband's fate.
Green altars, rais'd of turf, with gifts she crown'd, And sacred priests in order stand around,
And thrice the name of hapless Hector sound.
The grove itself resembles Ida's wood;
And Simois seem'd the well-dissembled flood. But when at nearer distance she beheld
My shining armor and my Trojan shield,
Astonish'd at the sight, the vital heat
Forsakes her limbs; her veins no longer beat:
She hints, she falls, and scarce recov'ring strength, Thus, with a falt'ring tongue, she speaks at length:
"'Are you alive, O goddess-born ? ' she said, 'Or if a ghost, then where is Hector's shade? ' At this, she cast a loud and frightful cry.
With broken words I made this brief reply:
'All of me that remains appears in sight,
I live, if living be to loathe the light.
No phantom; but I drag a wretched life,
My fate resembling that of Hector's wife.
What have you suffer'd since you lost your lord? By what strange blessing are you now restor'd? Still are your Hector's? or is Hector fled,
And his remembrance lost in Pyrrhus' bed? ' With eyes dejected, in a lowly tone,
After a modest pause she thus begun:
"'O only happy maid of Priam's race, Whom death deliver'd from the foes' embrace !
Commanded on AchiUes' tomb to die, Not forc'd, like us, to hard captivity, Or in a haughty master's arms to lie.
? |g
DItTDI_N'STRANSLATION 0F _qR011_
InGrot_m_ilp_unhappywe were130rDe, Endur'd the victor's lust, sustain'd the scorn!
Thus I submitted to the lawless pride
Of Pyrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride. Cloy'd with possession, he forsook my bed, And Helen's lovely daughter sought to wed; Then me to Trojan Helertus resign'd,
And his two slaves in equal marriage join'd; Till young Orestes, pierc'd with deep despair, And longing to redeem the promis'd fair, Before Apollo's altar slew the ravisher.
By Pyrrhus' death the kingdom we regain'd: At least one half with Hclenus remain'd.
Our part, from Chaon, he Chaonia calls, And names from Pergamus his rising walls.
But you, what fates have landed on our coast ?
What gods have sent you, or what storms have toss'd. 1 Does young Ascanius life and health enjoy,
Sav'd from the ruins of unhappy Troy ?
O tell me how his mother's loss he bears,
What hopes are promis'd from his blooming years, How much of Hector in his face appears? '
She spoke; and mix'd her speech with mournful crie_ And fruitless tears came trickling from her eyes.
"At length her lord descends upon the plain, In pomp, attended with a num'rous train; Receives his friends, and to the city leads, And tears of joy amidst his welcome sheds. Proceeding on, another Troy I see,
Or, in less compass, Troy's epitome.
A rivqet by the name of Xanthus ran,
And I embrace the Sc_an gate again.
My friends in porticoes were entertain'd,
And feasts and pleasures thro' the city reign'd.
The tables fi11'd the spacious hall around,
And golden bowls with sparkling wine were croWn'& Two days we pass'd in mirth, till friendly gales, Blown from the south, supplied our swelhng sails. Then to the royal seer I thus began:
'0 thou, who know'st, beyond the reach of man,
? The laws of heav'n, and wh_t the stars decree; Whom Phoebus taught urlei-ring prophecy,
From his own tripod, ahd his holy tree;
SkiU'd in the wing'd inhabitants of air,
What auspices their notes and flights declare : O say--for all religious rites portend
A happy voyage, and a prosp'rous end;
And ev'ry power and omen of the sky
Direct my course fo= destin'd Italy;
But only dire Cel,_no, from the gods,
A dismal famine fatally forebodes--
O say what dangers I am first to shun,
What toils to vanquish, and what course to run. '
"The prophet first wlth sacrifice adores
The greater gods; their pardon then _mplores;
Unbinds the fillet from his holy head;
To Phoebus, next, my trembling steps he led,
Full of religious doubts and awful dread.
Then, with his god possess'd, before the shrine,
These words proceeded from his mouth divine:
'O goddess-born, (for Heav'n's appointed will,
With greater auspices of good than ill,
Foreshows thy voyage, and thy course directs;
Thy fates conspire, and Jove himself protects,)
Of many things some few I shall explain,
Teach thee to shun the dangers of the maln,
And how at length the promis'd shore to gain.
The rest the fates from Helenus conceal,
And Juno's angry pow'r forbids to tell.
First, then, that happy shore, that seems so nigh,
Will far fromyour deludedwishesfly;
Long tracts of seas divide your hopes from Italy:
For you must cruise along Sicilian shores,
And stem the currents with your struggling oars;
Then round th' Italian coast your navy steer;
And, after this, to Circe's island veer;
2_ad, last, before your new foundations rise,
Must pass the Stygian lake, and view the nether skies,
Now mark the signs of future ease and rest, And bear them sa_ely treasut'd in _y breast.
? DRYDENsS TRAI_SLATIOI_ OF _IRGI_ / r
When, in the shady shelter of a wood, And near the margin of a gentle flood,
Thou shalt behold a sow upon the ground,
With thirty suc_ng young encompass'd round;
The dam and offspring white as falling snow_ These on thy city shall their name bestow,
And there shall end thy labors and thy woe.
Nor let the threaten'd famine fright thy mind,
For Phoebus will assist, and Fate the way will find. Let not thy course to that ill coast be bent,
Which fronts from far th' Epirian continent:
Those parts are all by Grecian foes possess'd;
The salvage Loerians here the shores infest;
There fierce Idomeneus his cky builds,
And guards with arms the Salentinian fields;
And on the mountain's brow Petilia stands,
Which Philoctetes with his troops commands.
_Ev'n when thy fleet is landed on the shore,
And priests with holy vows the gods adore,
Then with a purple veil involve your eyes,
Lest hostile faces blast the sacrifice.
These rites and customs to the rest commend,
That to your pious race they may descend.
"'When, parted hence, the wind, that ready waits For Sicily, shall bear you to the straits
Where proud Pelorus opes a wider way,
Tack to the larboard, and stand off to sea: Veer starboard sea and land. Th' Italian shore And fair Sicilia's coast were one, before
An earthquake caus'd the flaw: the roaring tides
The passage broke that land from land divides;
And where the lands retir'd, the rushing ocean rides. Distinguish'd l_y the straits, on either hand,
Now rising cities in long order stand,
And fruitful fields: so much can time invade
The mold'ring work that beauteous Nature made. Far on the right, her dogs foul Scylla hides:
Charybdis roaring on the left presides,
And in her greedy whirlpool sucks the tides;
_'hca spouts them from below: with fury driv'n,
? \
TM THIRD BOOK OF THE 3ENEIS IU
The waves mount up and wash the face of heav'n. But Scylla from her den, with open jaws,
The sinking vessel in her eddy draws,
Then dashes on the rocks. . %. human face,
And virgin bosom, hides her tail's disgrace: Her parts obscene below the waves descend, With dogs inclos'd, and in a dolphin end. 'T is safer, then, to bear aloof to sea,
And coast Pachynus, tho' with more delay, Than once to view misshapen Scylla near, And the loud yell of wat'ry wolves to hear.
"'Besides, if faith to Helenus be due,
_knd if prophetic Phoebus tell me true,
Do not this precept of your friend forget,
Which therefore more than once I must repeat: Above the rest, great Juno's name adore;
Pay vows to Juna; Juno's aid implore.
Let gifts be to the mighty queen design'd,
And mollify with pray'rs her haughty mind. Thus, at the length, your passage shall be free. And you shall safe descend on Italy.
Arriv'd at Cumin, when you view the flood
Of black Avernus, and the sounding wood,
The mad prophetic Sibyl you shall find,
Dark in a cave, and on a rock reclin'd.
She sings the _ates, and, in her frantic fits,
The notes and names, inscrib'd, to leafs commits. What she commits to leafs, in order laid, Before the cavern's entrance are display'd: Unmov'd they lie; but, if a blast of wind Without, or vapors issue from behind,
The leafs are borne aloft in liquid air,
_md she resumes no more her museful care,
Nor gathers from the rocks her scatter'd vers_ Nor sets in order what the winds disperse. Thus, many not succeeding, most upbraid
The madness of the visionary maid,
k_nd with loud curses leave the mystic shade.
"'Think it not loss of time a while to stay, Tho' thy companions chide thy long delay;
? M8
DRTD_S TRANSLATION OF _
Tho' summon'd to the seas, tho' pleasing gales Invite thy aourse, and stretch thy swelling sails:
But beg the sacred priestess to relate
With willing words, and not to write thy fate.
The fierce Italian people she will show,
And all thy wars, and all thy future woe,
And what thou may'st avoid, and what must under_ She shall direct thy course, instruct thy tnlnd,
And teach thee how the happy shores to find.
This is what Heav'n allows me to relate:
Now part in peace; pursue thy better fate,
And raise, by strength of arms, the Trojan state. '
"This when the priest with friendly voice declar'd, He gave me license, and rich gifts prepar'd:
Bounteous of treasure, he supplied my want
With heavy gold, and pollsh'd elephant;
Then Dodonaean caldrons put on board,
And ev'ry ship with sums of silver stor'd.
A trusty_coat of mall to me he sent,
Thrice chain'd with gold, for use and ornament; The helm of Pyrrhus added to the rest,
That flourlsh'd with a plume and waving cresL Nor was my sire forgotten, nor my friends;
And large recruits he to my navy sends:
Men, horses, captains, arms, and warhke stores | Supplies new pilots, and new sweeping oars. Meantime, my sire commands to hoist our sails, Lestwe shouldlosethefirsatuspiciougsales.
"The prophetbless'tdhepartingcrew,and last, With wordsliketheseh,isancientfriendembrac'd:
'Oldhappyman, thecareofgodsabove,
Whom heav'nlyVenushonor'dwithherlove,
And twicepreserv'tdhy lifew,hen Troy was lost_ Beholdfrom farthewlsh'dAusonlancoast: Thereland;buttakea largercompassround,
For thatbeforeIsallforbiddegnround.
The shorethatPhoebushasdesign'fdoryou,
At fartheid"istanclelesc,onceal'fdrom view,
Go happy hence,and seekyour new abodes, Blestinason,andfavor'ld_thegods:
? THE THIKD BOOK OF THE _N'_IS It']
For I with useless words prolong your stay, When southern gales have summon'd you away. '
"Nor less the queen our parting thence deplor'd,
Nor was less bounteous than her Trojan lord.
A noble present to my son she brought,
A robe with floW'rs on golden tissue wrought,
A Phrygian vest; and loads with gifts beside
Of precious texture, and of Asian pride.
'Accept,' she said, 'these monuments of love,
Which in my youth with happier hands I wove:
Regard these trifles for the giver's sake;
'T is the last present Hector's wife can make.
Thou call'st my lost Astyanax to mind;
In thee his features and his form I find:
His eyes so sparkled with a lively flame;
Such were his motions; such was all his frame;
And ah ! had Heav'n so pleas'd, his years had been the same. '
"With tears I took my last adieu, and said: 'Your fortune, happy pair, already made, Leaves you no farther wish. My diff'rent state, Avoiding one, incurs another fate.
To you a quiet seat the gods allow:
You have no shores to search, no seas to plow, Nor fields of flying Italy to chase:
(Deluding visions, and a vain embrace[)
You see another Simols, and enjoy
The labor of your hands, another Troy,
With better auspice than her ancient tow'rs, And less obnoxious to the Grecian pow'rs.
If e'er the gods, whom I with vows adore, Conduct my steps to Tiber's happy shore;
If ever I ascend the Latian throne,
And build a city I may call my own;
_,s both of us our birth from Troy derive,
So let our kindred lines in concord live,
And both in acts of equal friendship str/Ve. Our fortunes, good or bad, shall be the same: The double Troy shall differ hut in name;
That what we now begin may never end,
But long to late posterity descend,'
? 148 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
"Near the Ceraunian rocks our course we bore; The shortest passage to th'Italiasnhore.
Now had the sun withdrawn his radiant light, And hills were hid in dusky shades of night:
We land, and, on the bosom of the ground, _. safe retreat and a bare lodging found.
Close by the shore we lay; the sailors keep Their watches, and the rest securely sleep.
The night, proceeding on with silent pace, Stood in her noon, and view'd with equal face
Her steepy rise and her declining race.
Then wakeful Palinurus rose, to spy
The face of hear'n, and the nocturnal sky;
And listen'd ev'ry breath of air to try;
Observes the stars, and notes their sliding course, The Pleiads, Hyads, and their wat'ry force;
And both the Bears is careful to behold,
And bright Orion, arm'd with burnish'd gold. Then, when he saw no threat'ning tempest nigh, But a sure promise of a settled sky,
He gave the sign to weigh ; we break our sleep, Forsake the pleasing shore, and p]ow the deep.
"And now the rising morn with rosy light Adorns the skies, and puts the stars to flight;
When we from far, like bluish mists, descry The hills, and then the plains, of Italy. Achates first pronounc'd the joyful sound; Then, 'Italy t' the cheerful crew rebound.
My sire Anchises ? rown'd a cup with wine, And, off'ring, thus implor'd the pow'rs divine: 'Ye gods, presiding over lands and seas,
_And you who raging winds and waves appease, Breathe on our swelling sails a prosp'rous wind, And smooth our passage to the port assign'd I' The gentle gales their flagging force renew, And now the happy harbor is in view.
Minerva's temple then salutes our sight,
Plac'd, as a landmark, on the mountain's height, We furl our sails, and turn the prows to shore; trite curling waters round the galleys roar.
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE 2ENEIS 149
The land lies open to the raging east,
Then, bending like a bow, with rocks compress'd,
Shuts out the storms; the winds and waves complain. And vent their malice on the cliffs in vain.
The port lies hid within; on either side
Two tow'ring rocks the narrow mouth divide.
The temple, which aloft we view'd before,
To distance flies, and seems to shun the shore.
Scarce landed, the first omens I beheld
Were four white steeds that eropp'd the flow'ry field. 'War, war is threaten'd from this foreign ground,'
My father cried, 'where warlike steeds are found.
Yet, since reclaim'd to chariots they submit,
And bend to stubborn yokes, and champ the bit,
Peace may succeed to war. ' Our way we bend
To Pallas, and the sacred hill ascend;
There prostrate to the fierce virago pray,
Whose temple was the landmark of our way.
Each with a Phrygian mantle veil'd his head,
And all commands of Helenus obey'd,
And pious rites to Grecian Juno paid.
These dues perform'd, we stretch our sails, and stand To sea, forsaking that suspected land.
"From hence Tarentum's bay appears in view, For Hercules renown'd, if fame be true.
Just opposite, Lacinian Juno stands;
Cauloniarr tow'rs, and Scylac,_ean strands,
For shipwrecks fear'd. Mount zEtna thence we spy, Known by the smoky flames which cloud the sky. Far off we hear the waves with surly sound
Invade the rocks, the rocks their groans rebound. The billows break upon the sounding strand,
And roll the rising tide, impure with sand.
Then thus Anchises, in experience old:
"T is that Charybdis which the seer foretold, A_d those the promis'd rocks! Bear off to sea I' With haste the frighted mariners obey.
First Palinurus to the larboard veer'd;
Then all the fleet by his e_:ample steer'd. To heav'n aloft on ridgy waves we ride?
? 1B0 DRYDF__'8 TRANSLATION OF
Then down to hell descend, when they divlde_
And thrice our galleys knock'd the stony ground_
And thrice the hollow rocks return'd the sound,
And thrice we saw the stars, that stood with dews around. The flagging winds forsook us, with the sun;
And, wearied, on Cyclopianshores we run,
The port capacious, and secure from wind,
Is to the foot of thund'rlng . _tna join'd.
By turns a pitchy cloud she rolls on high;
By turns hot embers from her entrails fly,
And flakes of mounting flames, that lick the sky.
Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown,
And, shiver'd by the force, come piecemeal down.
Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow,
Fed from the fiery springs that boil below.
Enccladus, they say, transfix'd by Jove,
With blasted limbs came tumbhng from above;
And, where-he fell, th' avenging father drew
This flaming hill, and on his body threw.
As often as he turns his weary sides,
He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the heavens hides,
In shady woods we pass the tedious night,
Where bellowing sounds and groans our souls affright.
Of which no cause is offer'd to the sight;
For not one star was kindled in the sky,
Nor could the moon her borrow'd light supply;
For misty clouds involv'd the firmament,
The stars were mut_ed, and the moon was pent.
"Scarce had the rising sun the day reveal'd, Scarce had his heat the pearly clews dispell'd,
When fi'om the woods there bolts, before our sight, Somewhat betwixt a mortal and a sprite,
So thin, so ghastly meager, and so wan,
So bare of flesh, he scarce resembled man.
This thing, all tatter'd, seem'd from far t' implore
Our pious aid, and pointed to the shore.
We look behind, then view his shaggy beard;
His clothes were tagg'd with thorns, and filth his limb_
besmear'd;
The rest, in mien, in habit, and in face,
? TR_ THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS L4|
Appear'd a Greek, and such indeed he was.
He cast on us, from far, a frightful view, Whom soon for Ti'o]ans and for foes he knew; Stood sfill_ and pans'd; then all at onc_ began To stretch his limbs, and trembled as he ran. Soon as approach'd, upon his knees he falls, And thus with tears and sighs for pity calls: 'Now, by the pow'rs above, and what we share From Nature's commc,n gift, this vital air,
O Trojans, take me hence l I beg no more; But bear me far from this unhappy shore. 'T is trtle, I am a Greek, and farther own, Among your foes besieg'd th' imperial town. For such demerits if my death be due,
No more for this abandon'd life I sue; This only favor let my tears obtain,
To throw me headlong in the rapid main:
Since nothing more than death my crime demands, I die content, to die by human hands. '
He said, and on his knees my knees embrac'd:
I bade him boldly tell his fortune past,
His present state, his lineage, and his name,
Th' occasion of his fears, and whence he came. The good Anchises rais'd him with his hand; Who, thus encourag'd, answer'd our demand: 'From Ithacaj my native soft, I came
To Troy; and Ach_emenides my name.
Me my poor father with Ulysses sent;
_0 had I stay'd, with poverty content I)
But, fearful for themselves, my countrymen
Left me forsaken in the Cyclops' den.
The cave, tho' large, was dark; the dismal floor Was pav'd with mangled limbs and putrid gore. Our monstrous host, of more than human size, Erects hi_ head, and stares within the skies; Bellowing his voice, and horrid is his hue,
Ye gods, remove this plague from mortal view[
The joints of slaughter'd wretches are his food; And for his wine he quaffs the strearding bloOd. These eyes beheld, when with his spacious hand
? 159 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
He sciz'tdwo captiveosfour Grecianband; Stretch'odn hisback,he dash'dagainsthestone_
Theirbrokenbodiesa,nd theircracklinbgones: With spoutinbgloodthepurplepavementswims,
While thedireglutton grindsthetremblinglimbs. " 'Notunrevcng'Udlyssesboretheirfate,
Nor thoughtlesosfhisown unhappystate;
For,gorg'dwithflesha,nd drunkwithhtunanwine Whilefastasleepthegiantlaysupine, Snoringaloud,and belchinfgrom hismaw
His indigestefdoam,and morselsraw,
We pray;we castthelotsa,nd thensurround The monstrousbody,stretch'adlongtheground: Each,as he couldapproachhim,lendsa hand To borehiseyebalwlitha flamingbrand. Beneathhisfrowningforeheadlayhiseye; For onlyone didthevastframesupply--
But thata globesolargeh,isfrontitfill'd, Likethesun'sdiskorlikea Grecianshield.
The strokesucceedsa;nddown thepupilbends:
This vengeancefollow'fdorour slaughter'fdriends,
But haste,unhappywretchesh,astetoflyl
Your cablescut,and on youroarsrely! Such,andsovastasPolyphemeappears,
A hundredmorethishatedislandbears:
Like him,in cavestheyshuttheirwoollysheep;
Like him,theirherdson topsof mountainskeep;
Like him,wlthmightystridest,heystalkfrom steept9steep. . Andnow threemoons theirsharpen'hdornsrenew, Sincethus,inwoods and wildso,bscurefromview,
I dragmy loathsomedayswithmortalfright,
And indesertecdavernslodgebynight;
Oft from therocksa dreadfulprospectsee
Of thehuge Cyclopsl,ikea walkingtree:
From farIhearhisthund'rinvgoiceresound,
And tramplingfeetthatshakethesolidground. Cornelsand salvageberrieosfthewood,
And rootsand herbs,havebeenmy meagerfood. While aH around my longing eyes I cast,
I saw your happy ships appear at last.
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 1_
On those I fix'd my hopes, to these I run;
'T is all I ask, this cruel race to shun;
What other death you please, yourselves bestow. '
"Scarce had he said, when on the mountain's brow We saw the giant shepherd stalk before
His following flock, and leading to the shore:
A monstrous bulk, deform'd, depriv'd of sight;
His staff a trunk of pine, to guide his steps aright. His pond'rous whistle from his neck descends;
His woolly care their pensive lord attends:
This only solace his hard fortune sends.
Soon as he reach'd the shore and touch'd the waves, From his bor'd eye the gutt'ring blood he laves :
He gnash'd his teeth, and groan'd; thro' seas he stridesj And scarce the topmost billows touch'd his sides.
"Seiz'd with a sudden fear, we run to sea, The cables cut, and silent haste away;
The well-deserving stranger entertain;
Then, buckling to the work, our oars divide the main. The giant harken'd to file dashing sound:
But, when our vessels out of reach he found,
He strided onward, and in vain essay'd
Th' Ionian deep, and durst no farther wade. With that he roar'd aloud: the dreadful cry Shakes earth, and air, and seas; the bdlows fly Before the bellowing noise to distant Italy.
The neighb'ring _tna trembling all around,
The winding caverns echo to the sound.
His brother Cyclops hear the yelling roar,
And, rushing down the mountains, crowd the shore. We saw their stern distorted looks, from far,
And one-eye'd glance, that vainly threaten'd war: A dreadful council, with their heads on high;
(The misty clouds about their foreheads fly;) Not yielding to the tow'ring tree of Jove,
Or tallest cypress of Diana's grove.
New pangs of mortal fear our minds assail; We tug at ev'ry oar, and hoist up ev'ry sail, And take th' advantage of the friendly gale. Forewarn'd by Helenus, we strive to shun
? DR_rI_EN'S TI_ANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Charybdis' g_lf, nor dare to Scylla run.
An equal fate on either side appears:
We, tacking to the left, are free from fears;
For, from Pelorus' point, the North arose,
And drove us back where swift Pantagias flowL His rocky mouth we pass, and make our way
By Thapsus and Megara's winding bay.
This passage Achaemenides had shown,
Tracing the course which he before had run.
"Right o'er against Plemmyrium's wat'ry strand, There lies an isle once calrd th' Ortygian land.
Alpheus, as old fame reports, has found From Greece a secret passage under ground,
By love to beauteous Arethusa led;
And, mingling here, they roll in the same sacred bed. As Helenus er_jom'd, we next adore
Diana's name, protectress of the shore.
With prosp_'rous gales we pass the quiet sounds
Of still Elorus, and his fruitful bounds.
Then, doubling Cape ]? achynus, we survey
The rocky shore extended to the sea.
The town of Camarine from far we see,
And fenny lake, undrain'd by fate's decree.
In sight of _he Geloan fields we pass,
And the large walls, where mighty Gela was;
Then Agragas, with lofty summits crown'd,
Long for the race of warlike steeds renown'd.
We pass'd Selinus, and the palmy land,
And widely shun t. he Lilyb_ean strand,
Unsafe, for secret rocks and moving sand.
At length on shore the weary fleet arriv'd, Which Drepanum's unhappy port receiv'd. Here, after endless labors, often toss'd
By raging storms, and driv'n on ev'ry coast, My dear, dear father, spent with age, I lost: Ease of my cares, and solace of my pain, Sav'd thro' a thousand toils, but sav'd in vain, The prophet, who my future woes reveal'd,
Yet this, the greatest and the worst, conceal'd; And dire Ce! __,_,_,whose foreboding skill
? THE THIRD BOOK OF THE _NEIS 155 Denoune'd all else, was silent of this ill
This my last labor was. Some friendly god From thence eonvey'd us to your blest abode. "
Thus, to the list'ning queen, the royal guest His wand'ring course and all his toils express'd; And here concluding, he retir'd to rest-
? THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE ]ENEIS
THE ARGUMENT. --Dido discovers to her sister her passion for ,_neas, and her thoughts of marrying him. She prepares a hunting match for his entertainment Juno, by Venus's consent, raises a storm, which separates the hunters, and drives _neas and Dido into the same cave, where their marrmge is suppos'd to be com- pleted. Jupiter dispatches Mercury to _neas, to warn him from Carthage. . _neas secretly prepares for hm voyage. Dido finds out his design, and, to put a stop to It, makes use of her own and her sister's entreaties, and discovers all the variety of passions that are incident to-_ neglected lover. When nothing would prevail upon him, she contrives her own death, with which this book concludes.
She fed within her veins a flame unseen;
UT anxious cares already seiz'd the queen:
The hero's valor, acts, and birth inspire Her soul with love, and fan the secret fire.
His words, his looks, imprinted in her heart, Improve the passion, and increase the smart. Now, when the purple morn had chas'd away The dewy shadows, and restor'd the day,
Her sister first wtth early care she sought,
And thus in mournful accents eas'd her thought:
"My dearest Anna, what new dreams affright My lab'ring soul l what visions of the night Disturb my quieL and distract my breast
With strange ideas of our Trojan guest!
His worth, his actions, and majestic air,
A man descended from the gods declare.
]Fear ever argues a degenerate kind;
His birth is well asserted by his mind.
Then, what he suffer'd, when by Fate betray'd t
156
? THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE _ENEIS 1_7
What brave attempts for falling Troy he made | Such were his looks, so gracefully he spoke,
That, were I not resolv'd against the yoke Of hapless marriage, never to be curst
With second love, so fatal was my first, To this one error I might yield again; For, since Sich_eus was untimely slain,
This only man is able to subvert
The fix'd foundations of my stubborn heart.
And, to confess my frailty, to my shame,
Somewhat I find within, if not the same,
Too like the sparkles of my former flame.
But first let yawning earth a passage rend,
And let me thro' the dark abyss descend;
First let avenging Jove, with flames from high, Drive down this body to the nether sky,
Condemn'd with ghosts in endless night to lie, Before I break the phghted faith I gavel
No ! he who had my vows shall ever have;
For, whom I lov'd on earth, I worship in the grave. "
She said: the tears ran gushing from her eyes, _Madstopp'd her speech. Her sister thus replies:
"0 dearer than the vital air I breathe,
Will you to grief your blooming years bequeath,
Condemn'd to waste in woes your lonely life, Without the joys of mother or of wife?
Think you these tears, this pompous train of woe, Are known or valued by the ghosts below?
I grant that, while your sorrows yet were green, It well became a woman, and a queen,
The vows of Tyrian princes to neglect, To scorn Hyarbas, and his love reject,
With all the Libyan lords of mighty name; But will you fight against a pleasing flame l This little spot of land, which Heav'n bestows, On ev'ry side is hemm'd with warlike foes; Ga_tulian cities here are spread around,
,and fierce Numidians there your frontiers bound; Here lles a barren waste of thirsty land,
And there the Syrtes raise the moving sand;
? lS8 DRYDEN'8 TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Bare, an troops besiege the narrow shore,
And from the sea Pygmalion threatens more. Propitious Hear'n, and gracious Juno, lead
This wand'ring navy to your needful aid:
How will your empire spread, your city rise, From such a union, and with such alhes?
Implore the favor of the pow'rs above,
And leave the conduct of the rest to love. Continue still your hospitable way,
And stlU invent occasions of their stay,
Till storms and winter winds shall cease to threat, And planks and oars repair their shatter'd fleet. "
These words, which from a friend and sister came, With ease resolv'd the scruples of her fame,
And added fury to the kindled flame.
Inspir'd with hope, the project they pursue;
On ev'ry altar saemfice renew:
A choseff'ewe of two years old they pay
To Ceres, Bacchus, and the God of Day; Preferring Juno's pow'r, for Juno ties
The nuptial knot and makes the marriage joys. The beauteous queen before her altar stands, And holds the golden goblet in her hands.
A milk-white heifer she with flow'rs adorns,
And pours the ruddy wine betwixt her horns; And, while the priests with pray'r the gods invoke, She feeds their altars with Sub, an smoke,
With hourly care the sacmfice renews,
And anxiously the panting entrails views. What priestly rites, alas l what pious art, What vows avail to cure a blee&ng heart t A gentle fire she feeds within her veins, Where the soft god secure in silence reigns.
Sick with desire, and seeking him she loves, From street to street the raving Dido roves.
So when the watchful shepherd, from the blind, Wounds with a random shaft the careless hind, Distracted with her pain she flies the woods, Bounds o'er the lawn, and seeks the silent flood, With fruitless care; for still the fatal dart
? THR FOURTH BOOK OF THE _NEIS
Sticks in her side, and rankles in her heart.
And now she leads the Trojan chief along
The lofty walls, _midst the busy throng;
Displays her Tyrian wealth, and rising town, Which love, without h,s labor, makes his own.
This pomp she shows, to tempt her wand'ring guest| Her falt'ring tongue forbids to speak the rest. When day declines, and feasts renew the night, Still on his face she feeds her famish'd sight;
She longs again to hear the prince relate His own adventures and tile Trojan fate. He tells _t o'er and o'er; but still in vain, For still she begs to hear it once again.
The hearer on the speaker's mouth depends, And thus the tragic story never ends.
Then, when they part, when Phcebe's paler light Withdraws, and falhng stars to sleep invite,
She last remains, when ev'ry guest is gone, Sits on the bed he press'd, and sighs alone;
Absent, her absent hero sees and hears; Or in her bosom young Ascanius bears, And seeks the father's image in the child, If love by likeness might be so beguil'd,
Meantime the rising tow'rs are at a stand; No labors exercise th_ youthful band,
Nor use of arts, nor toils of arm_ they know; The mole is left unfini_h'd to the foe;
The mounds, the works, the walls, neglected lie,
Short of their promis'd heighth, that seem'd to threat the sky.
