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About the captive, tides of Trojans flow;
All press to see, and some insult the foe.
Now hear how well the Greeks their wiles disguis'd;
Behold a nation in a man compris'd.
Trembling the miscreant stood, unarm'd and bound; . 'Hestar'd, and roll'd his haggard eyes around,
Then said: 'Alas! what earth remains, what sea
Is open to receive unhappy me ?
What fate a wretched fugitive attends,
Scorn'd by my foes, abandon'd by my friends ? '
He said, and sigh'd, and cast a rueful eye:
Our pity kindles, and our passions die.
We cheer the youth to make his own defense,
And freely tell us what he was, and whence:
What news he could impart, we long to know,
And what to credit from a captive foe.
"His fear at length dismiss'd, he said: WChate'er My fate ordains, my words shall be sincere:
? DItTDISN'$ TI_ANSLATIO_ O_
I neither can nor dare my birth disclaim; Greece is my country, Sinon is my name. Tho' plung'd by Fortune's pow'r in misery, 'T is not in Fortune's pow'r to make me lie. If any chance has hither brought the name Of Palamedes, not unknown to fame,
Who suffer'd from the malice of the times, Accus'd and sentenc'd for pretended crimes, Because these fatal wars he would prevent;
Whose death the wretched Greeks too late lameat. . _ Me, then a boy, my father, poor and bare
Of other means, committed to his care,
His kinsman and companion in the war.
While Fortune favor'd, while his arms support The cause, and rul'd the counsels, of the court, I made some figure there; nor was my name Obscured. nor I without my share of fame.
But when Ulysses, with fallacious arts,
Had made impression in the people's hearts, And forg'd a treason in my patron's name
(I speak of things too far divulg'd by fame), My kinsman fell. Then I, without support,
In private mourn'd his loss, and left the court. Mad as I was, I could not bear his fate
With silent grief, but loudly blam'd the state, And curs'd the direful author of my woes.
'T was told again; and hence my ruin rose.
I threaten'd, if indulgent Heav'n once more Would land me safely on my native shore,
His death with double vengeance to restore. This mov'd the murderer's hate; and soon ensued Th' effects of malice from a man so proud.
Ambiguous rumors thro' the camp he spread,
And sought, by treason, my devoted head;
New crimes invented; left unturn'd no stone,
To make my guilt appear, and hide his own;
Till Calchas was by force and threat'ning wrought-* But why--why dwell I on that anxious thought?
If on my nation just revenge you seek, And 'tis f appear a fo% t' appear a GrcekI
? _Already you my name and country know;
Assuage your thirst of blood, and strike the blow:
My death will both the kingly brothers please, And set insatiate Ithacus at ease. '
This fair unfinlsh'd tale, these broken starts, Rals'd expectations in our longing hearts: Unknowing as we were in Grecian arts. His former trembling once again renew'd, With acted fear, the villain thus pursued:
"' Long had the Grecians (tlr'd with fruitless care, And wearied with an unsuccessful war)
Resolv'd to raise the siege, and leave the town;
And, had the gods permitted, they had gone;
But oft the wintry seas and southern winds
Withstood their passage home, and chang'd their mind_ Portents and prodigies their souls amaz'd;
But most, when this stupendous pile was rais'd:
Then flaming meteors, hung in air, were seen,
And thunders rattled thro' a sky serene.
Dismay'd, and fearful of some dire event,
Eurypylus t' enquire their fate was sent.
He from the gods this dreadful answer brought:
"O Grecians, when the Trojan shores you sought,
Your passage with a virgin's blood was bought:
So must your safe return be bought again,
And Grecian blood once more atone the main. "
The spreading rumor round the people ran;
All fear'd, and each believ'd himself the man.
Ulysses took th' advantage of their fright;
CaU'd Calchas, and produc'd in open sight:
Then bade him name the wretch, ordain'd by fate
The public victim, to redeem the state.
_lready some presag'd the dire event,
And saw what sacrifice Ulysses meant.
For twice five days the good old seer withstood
Th' intended treason, and was dumb to blood,
Till, tir'd, with endless clamors and pursuit
Of Ithacus, he stood no longer mute;
_ut, as it was agreed, pronounc'd that I
Was destin'd by the wrathful gods to die. ,,
? \
\
]t_
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATIOI? OF 'VTRGI_ All prals'd the senteuce, pleas'd the storm should
On one alone, whose fury threaten'd all.
The dismal day was come; the priests prepare
Their leaven'd cakes, and fillets for my hair. I follow'd nature's laws, and must avow
I broke my bonds and fled the fatal blow.
Hid in a weedy lake all night I lay,
Secure of safety when they sail'd away.
But now what further hopes for me remain, To see my friends, or native soil, again;
My tender infants, or my careful sire,
Whom they returning will to death require; Will perpetrate on them their first design, And take the forfeit of their heads for mine? Which, O! if pity mortal minds can move,
If there be faith below, or gods above,
If innocence and truth can claim desert,
Ye Trojans, from an injur'd wretch avert. '
"False tears true pity move; the king commands To loose his fetters, and unbind his hands:
Then adds these friendly words: 'Dismiss thy fears; Forget the Greeks; be mine as thou weft theirs. But truly tell, was it for force or guile,
Or some religious end, you rais'd the pile? '
Thus said the king. He, full of fraudful arts, This well-invented tale for truth imparts:
'Ye lamps of heav'n 1' he said, and lifted high His hands now free, 'thou venerable skyl Inviolable pow'rs, ador'd with dread[
Ye fatal fillets, that once bound this head!
Ye sacred altars, from whose flames I fled!
Be all of you adjur'd; and grant I may, Without a crime, th' ungrateful Greeks betray, Reveal the secrets of the guilty state,
And justly punish whom I justly hate!
But you, 0 king, preserve the faith you gave,
If I, to save myself, your empire save.
The Grecian hopes, and all th' attempts they mad_ Were only founded on Minerva's aid.
But from the time when impious Diomede,
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _I_EI8 ZS
And false Ulysses, that inventive head, Her fatal image from the temple drew,
The sleeping guardians of the castle slew,
Her virgin statue with their bloody hands Polluted, and profan'd her holy bands;
From thence the tide of fortune left their shore, And ebb'd much faster than it flow'd before:
Their courage languish'd, as their hopes decay'd; And Pallas, now averse, refus'd her aid.
Nor did the goddess doubtfully declare Her alter'd mind and alienated care.
When first her fatal image touch'd the ground,
She sternly cast her glaring eyes around,
That sparkled as they rolrd, and seem'd to threat. Her heav'nly limbs distill'd a briny sweat.
Thrice from the ground she leap'd, was seen to wield Her brandish'd lance, and shake her horrid shield.
Then Calchas bade our host for flight prepare, And hope no conquest from the tedious war,
Till first they sail'd for Greece; with pray'rs besought Her injur'd pow'r, and [_etter omens brought.
And now their navy plows the wat'ry main,
Yet soon expect it on your shores again,
With Pallas pleas'd; as Calchas did ordain. But first, to reconcile the blue-ey'd maid
For her stol'n statue and her tow'r betray'd, Warn'd by the seer, to her offended name
We rais'd and dedicate this wondrous frame, So lofty, lest thro' your forbidden gates
It pass, and intercept our better fates:
For, once admitted there, our hopes are lost;
And Troy may then a new Palladium boast; For so religion and the gods ordain,
That, if you violate with hands profane Minerva's gift, your town in flames shall burn, (Which omen, O ye gods, on Gr_ecia turn l) But if it climb, with your assisting hands,
The Trojan walls, and in the city stands;
Then Troy shall Argos and Mycenm bttr_ And the reverse of fate on us return. '
? 110 D_,YDF. ,N'8 YRANSLATION 01_
"With such deceits he gain'el their easy hearts, Too prone to credit his perfidious arts.
What Diomede, nor Thetis' greater son,
A thousand ships, nor ten years' siege, had done--- False tears and fawning words the city won.
"A greater omen, and of worse portent, Did our unwary minds with fear torment,
Concurring to produce the dire event.
Laocoon, Neptune's priest by lot that year,
With solemn pomp then sacrific'd a steer;
When, dreadful to behold, from sea we spied
Two serpents, rank'd abreast, the seas divide,
And smoothly sweep along the swelling tide.
Their flaming crests above the waves they show;
Their bellies seem to burn the seas below;
Their speckled tails advance to steer their course,
And on the sounding shore the flying billows force.
And now the strand, and now the plain they held;
Their ard'_nt eyes with bloody streaks were fill'd;
Their nimble tongues they brandish'd as they came,
And lick'd their hlssing jaws, that sputter'd flame.
We fled amaz'd; their destin'd way they take,
And to Laocoon and his children make;
And first around the tender boys they wind,
Then with their sharpen'd fangs their limbs and bodies grind The wretched father, running to their aid
With pious haste, but vain, they next invade;
Twice round his waist their winding volumes roll'd; And twice about his gasping throat they fold.
The priest thus dogbly chok'd, their crests divide,
And tow'ring o'er his head in triumph ride.
With both his hands he labors at the knots;
His holy fillets the blue venom blots;
His roaring fills the flitting air around.
Thus, when an ox receives a glancing wound,
He breaks his bands, the fatal altar flies,
And with loud bellowings breaks the yielding skies.
Their tasks perform'd, the serpents quit their preyp
And to the tow'r of Pallas make their way:
Couch'd at her feet, they lie protected there
? M _ BOOK DF THE _EIS 111
By her large buckler and protended spear. Amazement seizes all; the gen'ral cry Proclaims Laocoon justly doom'd to die, Whose hand the will of Pallas had withstood, And dared to violate the sacred wood.
All vote t' admit the steed, that vows be paid And incense offer'd to th' offended maid.
A spacious breach is made; the town lies bare; Some hoisting-levers, some the wheels prepare
And fasteh tOthe horse's feet; the rest With cables haul along th' unwieldly beast.
Each on his fellow for assistarice calls; At length the fatal fabric mounts the walls,
Big with destruction. Boys with chaplets crown'c_ And choirs of virgins, sing and dance around.
Thus rais'd aloft, and then descending down,
It enters o'er our heads, and threats the town.
0 saci-ed city, built by hands divine l
0 valiant heroes of tlte Trojan line!
Four times he stimtk: as oft the clashing sottnd Of arms was heard, and inward groans rebound. Yet, mad with zeal, and blinded with our fate, We haul along the horse in solemn state;
Then place the dire portent within the to_v'r. Cassandra cried, and curs'd th' unhappy hour; Foretold our fate; but, by the god's decree,
All heard, and none believ'd the prophecy.
With branches we the fanes adoru_ and waste,
In jollity, the day ordain'd to be the last. Meantinie the rapid heav'ns roll'd down the light, And on the shaded ocean rush'd the night;
Our men, secure, rior guards nor sentries held, But easy sleep their weary limbs compell'd.
The Grecians had embatk'd their naval pow'rs From Tenedos, and sought our Well4vilown shore_ Safe under covert o{ the silent flight,
And fftfided by t_' imperial galley's hght;
When Sinon, favor'd by the partial gods,
Unlock'd the horse, ahd op'd his dark abodes,_ Restor'd to vital air otlr hidden ioe_
? 1_
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF _rIR(___
Who joyful from their long confinement rosa Tysandcr bold, and Sthenelus their guide,
And dire Ulysses down the cable slide:
Then Thoas, Athamas, and Pyrrhus haste;
Nor was the Podalirian hero last,
Nor injur'dMcnelafisn,orthefam'd
Epeiisw,ho thefatalenginefram'd.
A namelesscrowdsucceed;thcirforccsjoln
T' invadethetown,oppress'wdithsleepandwine. . Those few theyfindawake firsmteet theirfate; Then totheirfellowtsheyunbarthegate.
"'Twasinthedeadofnightw,hensleeprcpalrs Our bodiesworn withtoilso,urmindswithcarcs,
When Hector'sghostbeforemy sightappears:
A bloodyshroudhcseem'd,andbath'dintears; Such ashe was,when,by Pelideslain, Thessaliacnoursersdragg'dhim o'ertheplain. Swolnwerehisfeet,aswhen thethongswerethrust Thro'the bor'dholcs;hisbody blackwith dust; UnlikethatHectorwho return'dfromtoils
Of war,triumphanti,n_acJan spoils,
Or him who made thefaintinGgreeksretire, And launch'dagainstheirnavyPhrygianfire. His hairand beardstoodstiffcnw'idthhisgore; And allthewounds hc forhiscountrybore
. Now stream'dafresha,nd withnew purpleran. I wepttoseethevisionarmyan,
And, whilemy trancecontinuedt,husbegan: 'O lightofTrojans,andsupportofTroy,
Thy father'cshampion,andthycountry'jsoy! O, longexpectedby thy friends! from whence Art thou so latereturn'fdor our defcns? c
Do we beholdthee,weariedaswe are
With lengthof laborsa,nd withtoilosf war? Aftersomany fun'ralosfthyown
Art thourestor'tdothydeclinintgown?
But say,what wounds arethese? What new cIisgrace Deforms themanlyfeatureosf thyface? '
"To thisthespectenro replydidframe, But answer'd to the cause for which he came,
? SECOND BOOK OF THE _NEIS 1_
And, groaning from the bottom of his breast,
This warning in these mournful words express'd:
'O goddess-born I escape, by timely flight,
The flames and horrors of this fatal mght.
The foes already have possess'd the wall ;
Troy nods from high, and totters to her falL
Enough is paid to Priam's royal name,
More than enough to duty and to fame.
If by a mortal hand my father's throne
Could be defended, 't was by mine alone.
Now Troy to thee commends her future state,
And gives her gods companions of thy fate:
From their assistance happier walls expect,
Which, wand'ring long, at last thou shalt erect. '
He said, and brought me, from their blest abodes,
The venerable statues of the gods,
With ancient Vesta from the sacred choir, The wreaths and relics of th' immortal fire.
"Now peals of shouts come thund'ring from afar, Cries, threats, and loud laments, and mingled war:
The noise approaches_ tho' our palace stood Aloof from streets, encompass'd with a wood.
Louder, and yet more loud, I hear th' alarms
Of human cries d_stmct, and clashing arms. Fear broke my slumbers; I no longer stay,
But mount the terrace, thence the town survey, And hearken what the frightful sounds convey. Thus, when a flood of fire by wind is borne, Crackling it rolls, and mows the standing corn; Or deluges, descending on the plains,
Sweep o'er the yellow year, destroy the pains Of lab'ring oxen and the peasant's gains;
Unroot the forest oaks, and bear away
Flocks, folds, and trees, an undistinguish'd prey: The shepherd climbs the cliff, and sees from far
The wasteful ravage of the wat'ry war.
Then Hector's faith was manifestly clear'd, And Grecian frauds in open light appear'& The palace of Deiphobus ascends
In smoky flames, and catches on his friends.
? Ucalegonbums next:theseasarebright
With splendornottheirown,and shinewithTrojanlight
New clamorsand new clangorsnow arise, The sound of trumpets mix'd with figliting cries.
With frenzy seiz'd, I run to meet th' alarms, Resolv'd on death, resolv'd to die in arms,
But first to gather friends, With them t' oppose (If fortune favor'd) and rep_ the foes;
Spurr'd by my courage, Dy tzty country fir'd, With sense of honor and i'evenge inspir'd.
"Pantheus, Apollo's priest, a sacred name,
Had scap'd the Grecian swords, and pass'd the fl_me: With relics loaden, to my doors he fled,
And by the hand his tender grandson led.
'What hope, 0 Pantheus? whither can we run?
Where make a stand? and what may yet be done? ' Scarce had Isaid, when Pantheus, with a groan:
'Troy is nQ. moi'e, and Ilium was a towfl!
The fatal day, th' appointed hour, is come,
When wrathful Jove's irrevocable doom
Transfers the Trojan state to Grecian harids.
The fire consumes the town, the foe commands;
And armed hosts, an unexpected force,
Break from the bowels of the fatal horse.
Within the gates, proud Sinon throws about
The flames; and foes for entrance press without,
With thOUsand others, whom I fear to flame,
More than ft-om Argos or Mycenae came.
To sev'ral posts their parties tltey divide;
Some block the narrow streets_ some scour the wide: The bold they kill, th' tanwary they surprise;
Who fights finds death, arid death finds him who flieg The warders of the gate bat scarce maintain
Th' unequal coinbat, and resist in vain. '
"I heard; and Hear'n, that well-born souls inspiresj Prompts me thro' lifted swords and rising fires
To run where clashing arms and dam0r calls, And rush tmdatttited to defend the walls.
Ripheus and Iph'itus by my side engage, For valor oni_ reflbvrn'd, and one for age.
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE ;RNEI8 III
Dymas and Hypanls by moonlight knew
My motions and my mien, and to my party drew; With young Corcebus, who by love was led
To win renown and fair Cassandra's bed,
And lately brought his troops to Priam's aid, Forewarn'd in vain by the prophetic maid.
Whom when I saw resolv'd in arms to fall,
And that one spirit animated all:
'Brave souls F said I,---'but brave, alas l in vain_ Come, finish what our cruel fates ordain.
You see the desp'rate state of our affairs,
And heav'n's protecting pow'rs are deaf to pray'rs. The passive gods behold the Greeks defile
Their temples, and abandon to the spoil
Their own abodes: we, feeble few, conspire
To save a sinking town, involv'd in fire.
Then let us fall, but fall amidst our foes:
Despair of llfe the means of living shows. '
So bold a speech incourag'd their desire
Of death, and added fuel to their fire.
"As hungry wolves, with raging appetite,
Scour thro' the fields, nor _ear the stormy night--- Their whelps at home expect the promis'd food, And long to temper their dry chaps in blood--
So rush'd we forth at once ; resolv'd to die, Resolv'd, in death, the last extremes to try.
We leave the narrow lanes behind, and dare
Th' unequal combat in the public square:
Night was our frlend; our leader was despair. What tongue can tell the slaughter of that night_ What eyes can weep the sorrows and affright?
An ancient and imperial city falls :
The sweets are fill'd with frequent funerals; Houses and holy temples float in blood,
And hostile nations make a common flood.
Not only Trojans fall; but, in their turn,
The vanquish'd triumph, and the victors mourn. Ours take new courage from despair and night: Confus'd the fortune is, confus'd the fight.
All parts resound with tumults, plaints, and fears;
? 118
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
And grisly Death in sundry shapes appears. Androgeos fell among us, with his band,
Who thought us Grectans newly come to land
'From whence,' said he, "my friends, this long delayF You loiter, while the spoils are borne away:
Our ships are laden with the Trojan store;
And you_ like truants, come too late ashore. '
He said, but soon corrected his mistake,
Found, by the doubtful answers which we make: Amaz'd, he would have shunn'd th' unequal fight;
But we, more num'rous, intercept his flight.
As when some peasant, in a bushy brake,
Has with unwary footing press'd a snake;
He starts aside, astonish'd, when he spies
His rising crest, blue neck, and rolling eyes;
So from our arms surpris'd Androgeos flies.
In vain; for him and his we compass'd round, Possess'd. with fear, unknowing of the ground,
And of their lives an easy conquest found.
Thus Fortune on our first endeavor smil'd.
Coroebus then, with youthful hopes beguil'd,
Swoln with success, and of a daring mind,
This new invention fatally design'd.
'My friends,' said he, 'since Fortune shows the w&y_ 'T is fit we should th' auspicious guide obey.
For what has she these Grecian arms bestow'd, But their destruction, and the Trojans' good? Then change we shields, and their devices bear: Let fraud supply the want of force in war.
They find us arms. ' This said, himself he dress'd In dead Androgeos' spoils, his upper vest,
His painted buckler, and his plumy crest.
Thus Ripheus, Dymas, all the Trojan train, Lay dowr_ their own attire, and strip the slain. Mix'd with the Greeks, we go with ill presage, Flatter'd with hopes to glut our greedy rage; Unknown, assaulting whom we blindly meet, And strew with Grecian carcasses the street. Thus while their straggling parties we defeag Some to the shore and safer ships retreat;
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _NEI8 |_
And some, oppress'd with more ignoble fear, Remount the hollow horse, and pant in secret there.
"But, ah! what use of valor can be made,
When heav'n's propitious pow'rs refuse their aid! Behold the royal prophetess, the fair
Cassandra, dragg'd by her dishevel'd hair,
Whom not Minerva's shrine, nor sacred bands,
In safety could protect from sacrilegious hands:
On heav'n she cast her eyes, she sigh'd, she cried-
'T was all she could--her tender arms were tied.
So sad a sight Cort_bus could not bear;
But, fir'd with rage, distracted with despair,
Amid the barb'rous ravishers he flew:
Our leader's rash example we pursue.
But storms of stones, from the proud temple's height, Pour down, and on our batter'd helms alight:
We from our friends receiv'd this fatal blow,
Who thought us Grecians, as we seem'd in show. They aim at the mistaken crests, from hlgh;
And ours beveath the pond'rous ruin lie.
Then, mov'd with anger and disdain, to see
Their troops dispers'd, the royal virgin free,
The Grecians rally, and their pow'rs unite,
With fury charge us, and renew the fight.
The brother kings with Ajax join their force,
And the whole squadron of Thessalian horse.
"Thus, when the rival winds their quarrel try, Contending for the Ringdom of the sky,
South, east, and west, on airy coursers borne ; The whirlwind gathers, and the woods are torn: Then Nereus strikes the deep; the billows rise,
And, mix'd with ooze and sand, pollute the skies. The troops we squander'd first again appear
From several quarters, and enclose the rear.
They first observe, and to the rest betray,
Our diff'rent speech; our borrow'd arms survey'. Oppress'd with odds, we fall; Coro_bus first,
At Pallas' altar, by Peneleus piere'd.
Then Ripheus follow'd, in th' unequal fight;
lust of his word, observant of the right:
? DR_EN_8 TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Heav'n thought not so. Dymas their fate attends, With Hypanis, mistaken by their friends.
Nor, Pantheus, thee, thy miter, nor the bands Of awful Phoebus, sav'd from impious hands. Ye Trojan flames, your testimony bear,
What I perform'd, and what I suffer'd there; No sword avoiding in the fatal strife,
Expos'd to death, and prodigal of life; Witness, ye heavens[ I live not by my fault: I strove to have deserv'd the death I sought.
But, when I could not fight, and would have died, Borne off to distance by the growing tide,
Old Iphitus and I were hurried thence,
With Pelias wounded, and without defense.
New clamors from th' invested palace ring:
We run to die, or disengage the king.
So hot th' assault, so high the tumult rose,
While ours defend, and while the Greeks oppose
As all the Dardan and Argolic race
Had been contracted in that narrow space;
Or as all Ilium else were void of fear,
And tumult, war, and slaughter, only there.
Their targets in a tortoise cast, the foesp
Secure advancing, to the turrets rose:
Some mount the scaling ladders; some, more bold, Swerve upwards, and by posts and pillars hold; Their left hand gripes their bucklers in th' ascent,
While with their right they seize the battlement. From their demolish'd tow'rs the Trojans throw Huge heaps of stones, that, falling, crush the foe; And heavy beams and rafters from the sides (Such arms their last necessity provides)
And gilded roofs, come tumbling from on high, The marks of state and ancient royalty.
The guards below, fix'd in the pass, attend The charge undaunted, and the gate defend.
Renew'd in courage with recover'd breath, A second time we ran to tempt our death,
To clear the palace from the foe, succeed The weary living, and revenge the dead.
? THE 8EP-OND BOOK OF THE B_'I_I! llg
"A postern door, yet unobserv'd and free, Join'd by the length of a blind gallery,
To the king's closet led: a way well known
To Hector's wife, while Priam held the throne,
Thro' which she brought Astyanax, unseen,
To cheer his grandsire and his grandsire's queen. Thro' this we pass, and mount the tow'r, from whence With unavailing arms the Trojans make defense. From this the tremlding king had oft descried
The Grecian camp, and saw their navy ride.
Beams from its lofty height with swords we hew, Then, wrenching with our hands, th' assault renew; And, where the rafters on the columns meet,
We push them headlong with our arms and feet.
The lightning flies not swifter than the fall,
Nor thunder louder than the ruin'd wall:
Down goes the top at once; the Greeks beneath
Are piecemeal torn, or pounded into death.
Yet more succeed, and more to death are sent;
We cease not from above, nor they below relent. Before the gate stood Pyrrhus, threat'ning loud,
With glitt'ring arms conspicuous in the crowd.
So shines, renew'd in youth, the crested snake, Who slept the winter in a thorny brake,
And, casting off his slough when spring returns, Now looks aloft, and with new glory burns; Restor'd with pois'nous herbs, his ardent sides Reflect the sun; and rais'd on spires he rides; High o'er the grass, hissing he rolls along,
And brandishes by fits his iorky tongue.
Proud Periphas, and fierce Automedon,
His father's charioteer, together run
To force the gate; the Scyrian infantry
Rush on in crowds, and the barr'd passage free. Ent'rlng the court, with shouts the skies they rend_ And flaming firebrands to the roofs ascend.
Himself, among the foremost, deals his blows, And with his ax repeated strokes bestows
On the strong doors; then all their shoulders ply, Till from the posts the braze. a hinges fly.
? 120
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
He hews apace; the double bars at length
Yield to his ax and unresisted strength.
A mighty breach is made: the rooms eonceal'd
Appear, and all the palace is reveal'd;
The halls of audience, and of public state,
And where the lonely queen in secret sate.
Arm'd soldiers now by trembling maids are seen_
With not a door, and scarce a space, between.
The house is fill'd with loud laments and cries,
And shrleks of women rend the vaulted skies;
The fearful matrons run from place to place,
And kzss the thresholds, and the posts embrace.
The fatal work inhuman Pyrrhus phes,
And all his father sparkles in his eyes;
Nor bars, nor fighting guards, his force sustain:
The bars are broken, and the guards are slain.
In rush the Greeks, and all the apartments fill;
Those "few defendants whom they find, they kill.
Not with so fierce a rage the foaming flood
Roars, when he finds his rapid course withstood;
Bears down the dams with unresisted sway,
And sweeps the cattle and the cots away.
These eyes beheld him when he march'd between
The brother kings: I saw th' unhappy queen,
The hundred wives, and where old Priam stood, To stain his hallow'd altar with his brood.
The fifty nuptial beds (such hopes had her
So large a promise, of a progeny),
The posts_ of plated gold, and hung with spoils, Fell the reward of the proud victor's toils. Where'er the raging fire had left a space,
The Grecians enter and possess the place.
"Perhaps you may of Priam's fate enquire. He, when he saw his regal town on fire,
His ruin'd palace, and his ent'ring foes,
On ev'ry side inevitable woes,
In arms, disus'd, invests his limbs, decay'd,
Like them, with age; a late and useless aid. His feeble shoulders scarce the weight sustaln_ Loaded, not arm'd, he creeps along with pa_n_
? THE SECOND BOOE OF THE _lqEIS 121
Despairing of success, ambitious to be slain l Uncover'd but by heav'n, there stood in view
An altar; near the hearth a laurel grew,
Dodder'd with age, whose boughs encompass round The household gods, and shade the holy ground. Here Hecuba, with all her helpless train
Of dames, for shelter sought, but sought in vain. Driv'n like a flock of doves along the sky,
Their images they hug, and to their altars fly. The Queen, when she beheld her trembling lord, And hanging by his side a heavy sword,
'What rage,' she cried, 'has seiz'd my husband's mind? What arms are these, and to what use design'd ? These times want other aids[ Were Hector here, Ev'n Hector now in vain, like Priam, would appear. With us, one common shelter thou shMt find,
Or in one common fate with us be join'&' She said, and with a last salute embrac'd
The poor old man, and by the laurel plac'd. Behold! Polites, one of Priam's sons,
Pursued by Pyrrhus, there for safety runs. Thro' swords and foes, amaz'd and hurt, he flies Thro' empty courts and open galleries.
Him Pyrrhus, urging with his lance, pursues, And often reaches, and his thrusts renews.
The youth, transGx'd, with lamentable cries, Expires before his wretched parent's eyes: Whom gasping at his feet when Priam saw,
The fear of death gave place to nature's law; And, shaking more with anger than with age, 'The gods,' said he, 'requite thy brutal rage!
As sure they will, barbarian, sure they must,
If there be gods in hear'n, and gods be justq Who tak'st in wrongs an insolent delight;
With a son's death t' infect a father's sight.
Not he, whom thou and lying fame conspire
To call thee his--not he, thy vaunted sire,
Thus us'd my wretched age: the gods he fear'd, The laws of nature and of nations heard.
He cheer'd my sorrows, and, for sums of gold,
? _2_
DRY/)E_'8 _. _TSLA_ION OF VIRGIL
'/'he bloodless carcass of my Hector sold; Pitied the woes a parent underwent,
And sent me hack in safety from his tent. '
"This said, his feeble hand a javelin threw, Which, flutt'ring, seem'd to loiter as it flew: Just, and but barely, to the mark it held,
And faintly tinkled on the brazen shield.
"Then Pyrrhus thus: 'Go thou from me to fate, And to my father my foul deeds relate.
Now die 7' With that he dragg'd the trembling sire, Slidd'ring thro' clotter'd blood and holy mire,
(The mingled paste his murder'd son had made,) Haul'd from beneath the violated shade,
And on the sacred pile the royal victim laid.
His right hand held his bloody falchion hare,
His left he twisted in his hoary hair;
Then, with a speeding thrust, his heart he found: The lukewarm blood came rushing thro' the wound, And sanguine streams distaln'd the sacred ground. Thus Priam fell, and shar'd one common fate
With Troy in ashes, and his ruin'd state: He, who the scepter of all Asia sway'd,
Whom monarchs like domestic slaves obey'd. On the bleak shore now lies th' abandon'd king,
A headless carcass, and a nameless thing. "Then, not before, I felt my cruddled blood
Congeal with fear, my hair with horror stood: My father's image fiU'd my pious mind,
Lest equal years might equal fortune find. Again I thought on my forsaken wife,
And trembled for my son's abandon'd lifs.
I look'd about, but found myself alone,
Deserted at my need l My friends were gone.
Some spent with toil, some with despair oppress'd, Leap'd headlong from the heights; the flames consum'd
the rest.
Thus, wand'rlng |n my way, without a guide,
The graceless Helen in the porch I spied
Of Vesta's temple; there she lurk'd alone; Mutited she sate, and, what she could, unka_own:
? THE SECOND W3Og OF TITE ,_i_tZt8 12S
But, by the flames that cast their blaze around, That common bane of Greece and Troy I fomld. For lhum burnt, she dreads the Trojan sword; More dreads the vengeance of her injur'd lord; Ev'nbythosegodswho refug'dherabhorr'd. Tremblingwithrage,thestrumpetI regard, Resolv'tdogiveherguiltheduereward: 'Shallshe triumphantsailbeforethewind. And leaveinflamesunhappyTroybehind? Shallsheherkingdomandherfriendrseview, In stateattendecwlith a captivecrew,
While unreveng'dthegood oldPriam falls,
And Grecianfiresconsume theTrojanwalls?
For this the Phrygian fields and Xanthian flood
Were swell'd with bodies, and were drunk with blood_ 'T is true, a soldier can small honor gain,
And boast no conquest, from a woman slain:
Yet shallthefactnotpasswithoutapplause, Ofvengeancetakeninsojusta cause;
The punish'dcrimeshallsetmy sotdatease,
And murm'rlngmanes of my friendsappease. ' Thus whileI rave,a gleam of pleasinlgight Spreado'ertheplace;and,shiningheav'nlybright, My motherstoodreveal'bdeforemy sight Neversoradiantdidhereyesappear;
Not herown starconfcss'adlightsodear: Greatinhercharms,aswhenongodsabove
She looks,and breathesherselifntotheirlove. Sheheldmy hand,thedestin'bdlowtobreak; Then fromherrosylipsbegantospeak:
'My son,from whence thismadness,thisneglect Of my commands,and thosewhom I protec? t
Why thisunmanlyrage? Recalltomind
Whom youforsakew,hatpledgesleavebehind. Look ifyour helplesfsatheryetsurvive,
Or ifAscaniusor Crefislaive.
Around yomrhousethegreedyGrecianserr; And thesehad perish'idnthenightlywar, But formy presenceand protectincgare. _ot Helen's _ac_ nor Paris, was in fault;
? 124 DRYDF__S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
But by the gods was this destruction brought. Now cast your eyes around, while I dissolve The mists and films that mortal eyes involve,
Purge from your sight the dross, and make you see The shape of each avenging deity.
:Enlighten'd thus, my just commands fulfil,
Nor fear obedience to your mother's will.
Where yon disorder'd heap of ruin lies,
Stones rent from stones; where clouds of dust arise? _ Amid that smother Neptune holds his place,
Bdow the walrs foundation drives his mace,
And heaves the building from the solid base.
Look where, in arms, imperial Juno stands
Full in the Sc_an gate, with loud commands,
Urging on shore the tardy Grecian bands.
See! Pallas, of her snaky buckler proud,
Bestrides the tow'r, refulgent thro' the cloud:
See! Jove new courage to the foe supplies,
And arms against the town the partial deities.
Haste hence, my son; this fruitless labor end:
Haste, where your trembling spouse and sire attend: Haste; and a mother's care your passage shall befriend? She said, and swiftly vanish'd from my sight,
Obscure in clouds and gloomy shades of night.
I look'd, I listen'd; dreadful sounds I hear; And the dire form: o[ hostile gods appear.
Troy sunk in flames I saw (nor could prevent), And Ilium from its old foundations rent;
Rent llke a mountain ash, which dar'd the winds, And stood the sturdy strokes of lab'rlng hinds.
About the roots the cruel ax resounds;
The stumps are pierc'd with oft-repeated wounds:
The war is felt on hlgh; the nodding crown
Now threats a fall, and throws the leafy honors down.
_ro their united force it yields, tho' late,
And mourns with mortal groans th' approaching fate: The roots no more their upper load sustain;
But down she fails, and spreads a ruin thro' the pla_
"Descending thence, I scape thro' foes and fire: Before thegoddessf,oesandflamersetire.
? THE SECOND BOOK OF THE _NEIS |2_
Arriv'd at home, he, for whose only sake,
Or most for his, such toils I undertake,
The good Anchises, whom, by timely flight,
I purpos'd to secure on Ida's height,
Refus'd the journey, resolute to die
And add his fun'rals to the fate of Troy,
Rather than exile and old age sustain.
'Go you, whose blood runs warm in ev'ry vein. Had Heav'n decreed that I should llfe enjoy, Heav'n had decreed to save unhappy Troy.
'T is, sure, enough, if not too much, for one, Twice to have seen our Ilium overthrown.
Make haste to save the poor remaining crew, And give this useless corpse a long adieu.
These weak old hands suffice to stop my breath;
At least the pitying foes will aid my death,
To take my spoils, and leave my body bare:
As for my sepulcher, let Heav'n take care.
'T is long since I, for my celestial wife
Loath'd by the gods, have dragg'd a ling'rlng life; Since ev'ry hour and moment I expire,
Blasted from heav'n by Jove's avenging fire. '
This oft repeated, he stood fix'd to die:
Myself, my wife, my son, my family,
Intreat, pray, beg, and raise a doleful cry--
'What, will he still persist, on death resolve,
And in his ruin all his house involve l'
He still persists his reasons to maintain;
Our pray'rs, our tears, our loud laments, are vain.
"Urg'd by despair, again I go to try
The fate of arms, resolv'd in fight to die:
'What hope remains, but _-,katmy death must give? Can I, without so dear a father, live ?
You term it prudence, what I baseness call:
Could such a word from such a parent fall?
If Fortune please, and so the gods ordain,
That nothing should of ruin'd Troy remain,
And you conspire with Fortune to be slain,
The way to death is wide, th' approaches near: For soon relentless Pyrrhus will appear,
? 1_
DRYDEN'S TRAN_r. _A_/O_ OF _rIRGIL
Reeking with Priam's blood--the wretch who slew The son (inhuman) in the father's view,
And then the sire himself to the dire altar drew.
O goddess mother, give me back to Fate;
Your gift was undesir'd, and came too late!
Did you, for this, unhappy me convey
Thro' foes and fires, to see my house a prey? Shall I my father, wife, and son behold, Welt'ring in blood, each other's arms infold? Haste! gird my sword, tho' spent and overcome: 'T is the last summons to receive our doom.
I hear thee, Fate ; and I obey thy call !
Not unreveng'd the foe shall see my fall. Restore me to the yet unfinish'd fight:
My death is wanting to conclude the night. ' Arm'd once again, my glitt'ring sword I wield, While th_other hand sustains my weighty shield, And forth I rush to seek th' abandon'd field.
I went; but sad Cretisa stopp'd my way,
And cross the threshold in my passage lay, Embrac'd my knees, and, when I would have gone, Shew'd me my feeble sire and tender son:
'If death be your design, at least,' said she,
'Take us along to share your destiny.
If any farther hopes in arms remain,
This place, these pledges of your love, maintain. To whom do you expose your father's life,
Your son's, and mine, your now forgotten wife I' While thus she fills the house with clam'rous cries, Our hearing is diverted by our eyes:
For, while I held my son, in the short space Betwixt our kisses and our last embrace;
Strange to relate, from young I_lus' head
A lambent flame arose, which gently spread Around his brows, and on his temples fed.
Amaz'd, with running water we prepare
To quench the sacred fire, and slake his hair; But old Anchtses, vers'd in omens, rear'd
His hands to hear'n, and this request preferr'd: 'If any vowa, almighty Jove, can bend
? ? HE SgOO_/n 9fPO_ _ _I-_ _EIS 117
Thy will I if piety ca_ pray'rs commend,
Confirm the g! ad presage which thou art pleass'd to send. ' Scarce had he said, whe_, on our left, we hear
A peal of rattling thund? r roll in air:
There shot a streaming lamp along the sky,
Which on the winged lightning seenl'tl to fly;
From o'er the roof the blaze began to move,
And, trailing, vanish'd in th' Id0_alagrove.
It swept a path in hefty'n, and shone a guide,
Then in a steaming stench of sulphur died.
"The good old man with suppliant hands implorTd The gods' protectiQn, and their star ador'd.
'Now, now,' said he, 'my solo, no more delay l
I yield, I follow where Heav'n shews the way. Keep, O my country gods, our dwelling place,
And guard this relic of "he Trojan race,
This tender, childl These omens are your own,
And you can. yet restore the ruin'd town,
At least accomplish what your signs foresh0w: I stand resign'd, and am prepar'd to go. '
"He said. Th0 crackling flames _ppear on hlgh. 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.