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Then, thro' the gate of iv'ry, he dismlss'd
His vahant offspring and divining guest.
Straight to the ship_ . _neas took his way, Embark'd his men, and skimm'd along the sea, Still coasting, till he gatn'd Cajeta's bay.
At length on oozy ground his galleys moor;
Thelr heads are turn'd to sea, their sterns to shore.
/
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE ENEIS
TH_ AeGVMEST. --KIngLatmus entertains . ,Eneas, and promises ham his only daughter, Lawma, the heiress of his crown. Turnus, being m love with her, favor'd by her mother, and stirr'd up by Juno and Aleeto, breaks the treaty which was made, and engages in his quarrel Mezentms, Camilla, Messapus, and many others of the neighboring princes; whose forces, and the names of their commanders, are here particularly related
ND thou, O matron of immortal fame,
Here dying, to the shore hast left thy name;
Cajeta still the place is call'd from thee, The nurse of _eat -_neas' infancy.
Here rest thy bones in rich Hesperia's plains; Thy name ('t is all a ghost can have) remains.
Now, when the prince her fun'ral rites had paid, He plow'd the Tyrrhene seas with sails display'd. From 1and a gentle breeze arose by night,
Serenely shone the stars, the moon was bright,
And the sea trembled with her silver light.
Now near the shelves of Circe's shores they run,
(Circe the rich, the daughter of the Sun,)
A dang'tons coast: the goddess wastes her days
In joyotls songs; the rocks resound her lays:
In spinning, or the loom, she spends the night, And cedar brands supply her father's light.
From hence were heard, rebeUowing to the main, The roars of lions that refuse the chain,
The grtmts of bristled boars, and groans of bears,
And herds of howling wolves that stun the sailors' eaM. These from their caverns, at the close of night,
Fill the sad isle with horror and affright.
? 244 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATIOI_ OF VIRGIL Darkling they mourn their fate, whom Circe's pow'r,
(That watch'd the moon and planetary hour,) With words and wicked herbs from humankind
Had alter'd, and in brutal shapes confin'd
Which monsters lest the Trojans' pious host Should bear, or touch upon th' inchanted coast, Propitious Neptune steer'd their course by night With rising gales that sped thetr happy flight. Supplied with these, they skim the sounding shore, And hear the swelling surges vainly roar.
Now, when the rosy morn began to rise,
And wav'd her saffron streamer thro' the skies; When Thetis blush'd in purple not her own,
And from her face the breathing winds were blown,
A sudden silence sate upon the sea,
And sweeping oars, with strugghng, . rge their way.
The Trojan, from the main, beheld a wood, Which th! ck with shades and a brown horror stood:
Betwixt the trees the T_ber took his course,
With whirlpools dimpled, and with downward force, That drove the sand along, he took his way,
And roll'd his yellow billows to the sea.
About him, and above, and round the wood,
The birds that haunt the borders of his flood,
That bath'd within, or basked upon his side,
To tuneful songs their narrow throats applied.
The captain gives command; the joyful train
Glide thro' the gloomy shade, and leave the main.
Now, Erato, thy poet's mind inspire,
_,nd fill his soul with thy celestial fire l
Relate what Latmm was; her ancient kings; Declare the past and present state of things, When first the Trojan fleet Ausonia sought, And how the rivals lov'd, and how they /ought. These are my theme, and how the war began, And how concluded by the godlike man:
For I shall sing of battles, blood, and rage, Which princes and their people did engage;
And haughty souls, that, mov'd with mutual hate, In fighting fields pursued and fo. nd their fate;
? 'rI-[E SEVENTH BOOK OF TIrE _NEIS 245
That rous'd the Tyrrhene realm with loud alarms, And peaceful Italy involv'd in arms.
A larger scene of action is display'd;
And, rising hence, a greater work is weigh'd.
Latmus, old and mild, had long possess'el The Latin scepter, and his people blest:
His father Faunus; a Laurentian dame
His mother, fair Marica was her name.
Bt_t Faunus came from Picus: Picus drew His birth from Saturn, if records be true Thus King Latmus, in the third degree, Had Saturn author of his family.
But this old peaceful prince, as Heav'n decreed, Was blest with no male issue to succeed:
His sons in blooming youth were snatch'd by fate; One only daughter heir'd the royal state.
Flr'd with her love, and with ambition led,
The neighb'ring princes court her nuptial bed Among the crowd, but far above the rest,
Young Turnus to the beauteous maid address'd. Turnus, for high descent and graceful mien, Was first, and favor'd by the Latian qt_een; With lure she strove to join Lavmia's hand, But dire portents the purpos'd match withstand
Deep in the palace, of long growth, there stood A laurel's trunk, a venerable wood;
Where rltes dlvine were paid; whose holy hair Was kept and cut with superstitious care.
This plant Latmus, when his town he wail'd, Then found, and from the tree Laurentum call'd:
And last, in honor of his new abode,
He vow'd the laurel to the laurel's god.
It happen'd once (a boding prodigy 1)
A swarm of bees, that cut the liquid sky,
(Unknown from whence they took their airy flight,) Upon the topmost branch in clouds alight;
There with their clasping feet together clung,
And a long cluster from the laurel hung.
An ancient augur prophesied from hence: "Behold on Latian shores a foreign prince l
? DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
From the same parts of heav'n his navy stands, To the same parts on earth; his army lands;
The town he conquers, and the tow'r commands. "
Yet more, when fair Lavinia fed the fire Before the gods, and stood beside her sire,
(Strange to relate ! ) the flames, involv'd in smoke Of incense, from the sacred altar broke,
Caught her dishevel'd hair and rich attire;
Her crown and jewels crackled in the fire: From thence the fuming trall began to spread And lambent glories danc'd about her head.
This new portent the seer with wonder views, Then pausing, thus his prophecy renews:
"The nymph, who scatters flaming fires around, Shall shine with honor, shall herself be crown'd; But, eaus'd by her irrevocable fate,
War shall the country waste, and change the state. * Latmus, frighted w_th this &re ostent,
For counsel to his father Faunus went,
And sought the shades renown'd for prophecy Which near Albunea's sulph'rous fountain lie.
To these the Latian and the Sabine land
Fly, when distress'd, and thence rehef demand.
The priest on skins of off'rings takes his ease, And mghtly visions in his slmnber sees;
A swarm of thin a_rial shapes appears,
And, flutt'ring round his temples, deals h_s ears: These he consults, the future fates to know, From pow'rs above, and from the fiends below. Here, for the gods' advice, Latinus flies,
Off'ring a hundred sheep for sacrifice:
Their woolly fleeces, as the rites requir'd,
He laid beneath him, and to rest retir'd.
No sooner were his eyes in slumber bound, When, from above, a more than mortal sound Invades his ears; and thus the vision spoke: "Seek not, my seed, in Latian bands to yoke
Our fair Lavmia, nor the gods provoke.
A foreign son upon thy shore descends,
Whose martial fame from pole to pole extends.
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE 2ENEIS _4Y
His race, in arms and arts of peace renown'd, Not Latium shall contain, nor Europe bound: 'T is theirs whate'er the sun surveys around. " These answers, in the silent night receiv'd,
The king himself divulg'd, the land belier'd: The fame thro' all the neighb'ring nations flew, When now the Trojan navy was in view.
Beneath a shady tree, the hero spread His table on the turf, with cakes of bread;
And, with his chiefs, on forest fruits he fed. They sate; and, (not without the god's command,) Thew homely fare dispatch'd, the hungry band Invade their trenchers next, and soon devour,
To mend the scanty meal, their cakes of flour. Ascanius this observ'd, and smiling said:
"See, we devour the plates on which we fed. " The speech had omen, that the Trojan race Should find repose, and this the time and place. . _neas took the word, and thus replies,
Confessing fate with wonder in his eyes:
"All hail, O earth I all hail, my household gods l Behold the destin'd place of your abodes!
For thus Anchises prophesied of old,
And this our fatal place of rest foretold:
'When, on a foreign shore, instead of meat,
By famine forc'd, your trenchers you shall eat, Then ease your weary Trojans will attend,
And the long labors of your voyage end Remember on that happy coast to build,
And with a trench inclose the frttitful field '
This was that famine, this the fatal place
Which ends the wand'ring of our exil'd race. Then, on to-morrow's dawn, your care employ,
To search the land, and where the cities lie,
And what the men; but give this day to joy.
Now pour to Jove; and, after Jove is blest,
Call great Anchises to the genial feast:
Crown high the goblets with a cheerful draught; Enjoy the present hour; adjourn the future thought. "
Thus having said_ the hero hotrod his brows
? DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL With leafybranches,then perform'dhisvows;
Adoring firsthe genius of the place,
Then Earth,themotheroftheheav'nlyrace,
The nymphs, and nativegodheads yet unknown,
And Night,andallthestarsthatgildhersablethrone, And ancientCybcl_ and Id_an Jove,
And lasthlssirebelow,and mother queen above.
Then heav'n'shigh monarch thunder'dthricealoud, And thricehe shook alofta golden cloud.
Soon thro'the joyfulcamp a rumor flew,
The time was come theircityto renew.
Then ev'rybrow with cheerfulgreen is crown'd,
The feastsare doubled,and the bowls go round.
3,Vhcnnexttherosymorn disclos'dtheday, The scoutsto sev'ralpartsdividetheirway,
To learnthe natives'names, theirtowns explore, The coastsand trcndingsof the crooked shore:
Here Tiber flows,and here Numicus stands; Hcrc warllkeLatinsholdthehappylands. The piouschief,who soughtbypeacefulways To foundhisempire,andhlstown toraise, A hundred youths from allhis trainselects, And to the Latian courttheircoursedlrccts,
(The spaciouspalacewhere theirplinceresldes,) . And alltheirheads with wreaths of olivehldcs.
They go commlssion'dtorequirca peace,
And carrypresentstoprocureaccess.
Thus whiletheyspeedtheirpace,theprincedesigns His ncw-clcctcdseat,and draws thehnes.
The Trojans round the placea rampirc east,
And palisadesaboutthetrenchesplac'd.
Meantime thetrain,proceedingontheirway, From farthetown and loftytow'rssurvey;
At length approach the walls. Without the gate, They seetheboysandLatianyouthdebate
The martialprizeson thedustyplain:
Some drivethe cars,and some the coursersrein; Some bend thestubbornbow forvictory,
And some with dartsthciractlvcsinewstry.
A postingmessenger,dispatch'dfrom hence,
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE _NEIS 24D
Of this fair troop advls'd their aged prince, That foreign men of mighty stature came; Uncouth their habit, and unknown their name. The king ordains their entrance, and ascends His regal seat, surrounded by his friends.
The palace built by Pious, vast and proud, Supported by a hundred pillars stood,
And round incompass'd with a rising wood.
The pile o'erlook'd the town, and drew the sight;
Surpris'd at once with reverence and delight.
There kings receiv'd the marks of soy'reign pow'r; In state the monarchs march'd; the lictors bore Their awful axes and the rods before
Here the tribunal stood, the house of pray'r,
And here the sacred senators repair;
All at large tables, in long order set,
A ram thetr off'ring, and a ram their meat.
Above the portal, carv'd in cedar wood,
Plac'd in their ranks, their godlike grandsires stoodi Old Saturn, with his crooked scythe, on high;
And Italus, that led the colony;
And ancient Janus, with his double face,
And bunch of keys, the porter of the place.
There good Sabmus, planter of the vines,
On a short pruning hook his head reclines,
And studiously surveys his gen'rous wines;
Then warhke kings, who for their country fought, And honorable wounds from battle brought.
Around the posts hung helmets, darts, and spears,
And captive chariots, axes, shields, and bars,
And broken beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars. Above the rest, as chief of all the band,
Was Pieus plat'd, a buckler in his hand;
His other wa_,'d a long divining wand.
Girt in his Gabin gown the hero sate,
Yet could not with his art avoid his fate:
For Circe long had lov'd the youth in vain,
Till love, refus'd, converted to disdain:
Then, mixing pow'rful herbs, with magic art,
She chang'd his form, who could not change his heart;
? Z_rj0 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATIOIq OF VIRGIL
Constrain'd him in a bird, and made him fly, With party-color'd plumes, a chatt'ring pie.
In this high temple, on a chair of state,
The seat of audience, old Latinus sate;
Then gave admission to the Trojan train;
And thus with pleasing accents he began:
"Tell me, ye Trojans, for that name you own, Nor is your course upon our coasts unknown--
Say what you seek, and whither were you bound: Were you by stress of weather cast aground ? (S_uch dangers as on seas are often seen,
And oft befall to miserable men,)
Or come, your shipping in our ports to lay, Spent and disabled in so long a way?
Say what you want: the Latlans you shall find Not forc'd to goodness, but by w_ll inclin'd;
For, since the time of Saturn's holy reign,
His ho. %Ditable customs we retain.
I call to mind (but time the tale has worn)
Th' Aranci told, that Dardanus, tho' born
On Latian plains, yet sought the Phrygian shore, And Samothracia, Samos call'd before.
From Tuscan Coritum he claim'd his birth;
But after, when _. xempt from mortal earth,
From thence ascended to hts kindred skies,
A god, and, as a god, augments thetr sacrifice. "
He said. Ilioneus made this reply:
"O king, of Faunus' royal family l
Nor wintry winds to Latium forc'd our way,
Nor did the stars our wand'ring course betray. Willing we sought your shores; and, hither bound, The port, so long deslr'd, at length we found;
From our sweet homes and ancient realms expell'd; Great as the greatest that the sun beheld.
The god began our line, who rules above;
And, as our race, our king descends from Jove:
And hither are we come, by his command,
To crave admission in your happy land.
How dire a tempest, from Mycenm pour'd,
O_ plains, our temples, and our town devour'd;
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE . JENEIS 251
What was the waste of war, what fierce alarms Shook Asia's crown with European arms;
Ev'n such have heard, if any such there be, Whose earth is bounded by the frozen sea;
And such as, born beneath the burning sky And sultry sun, betwixt the tropics lie.
From that dire deluge, thro' the wat'ry waste, Such length of years, smch various perils past, At last escap'd, to Latium we repair,
To beg what you without your want may spare: The common water, and the common air;
Sheds which ourselves will build, and mean abodes, Fit to receive and serve our banish'd gods.
Nor our admission shall your realm d,sgrace, Nor length of time our gratitude efface.
Besides, what endless honor you shall gain, To save and shelter Troy's unhappy tram!
Now, by my soy'reign, and his fate, I swear, Renown'd for faith in peace, for force in war;
Oft o_r alhance other lands desir'd,
And, what we seek of you, of us requir'd Despite not then, that in our hands we bear These holy boughs, and sue with words of pray'r. Fate and the gods, by their supreme command, Have doom'd our ships to seek the Latian land. To these abodes our fleet Apollo sends;
Here Dardanus was born, and hither tends; Where Tuscan Tiber rolls with rapid force, And where Numicus opes his holy source.
Besides, our prince presents, with his request, Some small remains of what his sire possess'd
This golden charger, snatch'd from burning Troy, Anchises did in sacrifice employ;
This royal robe and this tiara wore
Old Priam, and this golden scepter bore
In full assemblies, and in solemn games;
These purple vests were weav'd by Dardan dames. "
Thus while he spoke, Latinus roll'd around
His eyes, and fix'd a while upon the ground. Intent he seem'd, and anxious in his breast;
? 252
DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Not by the scepter mov'd, or kingly vest,
But pond'ring future things of wondrous weight; Succession, empire, and his daughter's fate.
On these he mus'd within his thoughtful mind, And then revolv'd what Faunus had dlvin'd.
This was the foreign prince, by fate decreed
To share his scepter, and Lavinia's bed;
This was the race that sure portents foreshew
To sway the world, and land and sea subdue.
At length he rais'd his cheerful head, and spoke: "The pow'rs," said he, "the pow'rs we both invoke, To you, and yours, and mine, propitious be,
And firm our purpose with their auguD'_
Have what you ask; your presents I receive;
Land, where and when you please, with ample leave_ Partake and use my kingdom as your own.
All shall be yours, while I command the crown:
And, if my wish'd alliance please your king,
Tell him he should not send the peace, but bring. Then let him not a friend's embraces fear,
The peace is made when I behold him here.
Besides this answer, tell my royal guest,
I add to his commands my own request:
One only daughter heirs my crown and state,
Whom not our oracles, nor Heav'n, nor fate,
Nor frequent prodigies, permit to join
With any native of th' _,usonian line
A foreign son-in-law shall come from far
(Such Is our doom), a chief renown'd in war, Whose race shall bear aloft the Latian name,
And thro' the eonquer'd world diffuse our fame. Himself to be the man the fates require,
I firmly judge, and, what I judge, desire. "
He said, and then on each bestow'd a steed Three hundred horses, in h_gh stables fed,
Stood ready, shining all, and smootlfly dress'd: Of these he chose the fairest and the best,
To mount the Trojan troop. At his command The steeds caparison'd wtTh pttrple stand,
With golden trappings, glorious to behold,
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE _ENEIS 253
_md champ betwixt their teeth the foaming gold. Then to his absent guest the king decreed
A pair of coursers born of heav'nly breed,
Who from their nostrils breath'd ethereal fire; Whom Circe stole from her celestial sire,
By substituting mares produc'd on earth,
Whose wombs concelv'd a more than mortal birth.
These draw the chariot which Latinus sends, And the rich present to the prince commends.
Subhme on stately steeds the Trojans borne, To their expecting lord with peace return.
But jealous Juno, from Pachynus' height, As she from Argos took her airy flight,
Beheld with envious eyes this hateful sight.
She saw the Trojan and his joyful train
Descend upon the shore, desert the main,
Design a town, and, with unhop'd success,
Th' embassadors return with promis'd peace.
Then, pierc'd wlth pain, she shook her haughty head, Sigh'd from her inward soul, and thus she said:
"0 hated offspring of my Phrygian foes!
O fates of Troy, which Juno's fates oppose!
Could they not fall unpitied on the plain,
But slain revive, and, taken, scape again?
When execrable Troy in ashes lay,
Thro' fires and swords and seas they forc'd their way. Then vanqmsh'd Juno must in vain contend,
Her rage disarm'd, her empire at an end.
Breathless and fir'd, is all my fury spent?
Or does my glutted spleen at length relent?
As if 't were little from their town to chase,
I thro' the seas pursued their exil'd race;
Ingag'd the heav'ns, oppos'd the stormy main;
But billows roar'd, and tempests rag'd in yam.
What have my Scyllas and my Syrtes done,
When these they overpass, and those they shun?
On Tiber's shores they land, secure of fate, Triumphant o'er the storms and Juno's hate.
Mars could in mutual Mood the Centaurs bathe,
And Jove himself gave way to Cynthia's wrath,
? DRYDEN'S TItAN_B_ATION' OF VIRGIL
Who sent the tusk), boar to Calydon;
(What great offense had either people done? )
But I, the consort of the Thunderer,
Have wag'd a long and unsuccessful war,
With various arts and arms in vain have toil'd, And by a mortal man at length am foll'd.
If native pow'r prevail not, shall I doubt
To seek for needful succor from without?
If love and Heav'n my just desires deny,
Hell shall the pow'r of Heav'n and Jove supply. Grant that the Fates have firm'd, by their dect_ The Trojan race to reign in Italy;
At least I can defer the nuptial day,
And with protracted wars the peace delay:
Wlth blood the dear alhanee shall be bought, And both the people near destruction brought;
So shall the son-in-law and father join,
With ruin, war, and waste of either line. O fatal maid, thy marriage is endow'd
With Phrygaan, Latian, and Rutulian blood | Bellona leads thee to thy lover's hand;
Another queen brings forth another brand, To burn with foreign fires another land l A second Paris, diff'ring but in name, Shall fire his country with a second flame. "
Thus having said, she sinks beneath the ground, With furious haste, and shoots the Stygian sound, To rouse Alecto from th' infernal seat
Of her dire sisters, and their dark retreat. This Fury, fit for her intent, she chose;
One who delights in wars and human woes. Ev'n Pluto hates his own misshapen race;
Her sister Furies fly her hideous face;
So frightful axe the forms the monster takes, So fierce the hissings of her speckled snakes. Her Jimo finds, and thus inflames her spite" "0 virgin daughter of eternal Night,
Give me this once thy labor, to sustain
1VIy right, and execute my just disdain.
Let not the Trojans, with a ieign'd pretense
? T_ SEVEMT H _OOlg _OF . THE _U_IS
Of proffer'd peace, d_v4de the Lati_n prince.
Expel from Italy that odious name,
And let not Juno suffer m her far0e.
'T is thine to _ttin rea_m_ o'erturn a state,
Betwixt the dearest frieqds to raise debBte,
And kindle kiBdred blood to mutual hate.
Thy hand o'er towns the fun'ral torch displays,
And forms a thol_sand ills ten thousand ways
Now shake, from out thy fruitfl_l breast, the seeds Of envy, discord, _nd of cruel deeds:
Confound the peace estabhsll'd, _pd prepare
Their souls to hatred, and their hoods to war. "
Smear'd as she was with black Gorgoman blaod_ The Fury sprang above the Stygian flood;
And on her wicker wings, sublime thro' mght,
She to the Latian palace took her flight:
There sought the queen's apartment,, stood before The peaceful threshold, and besieg d the door.
Restless Amata lay, her swelling breast
Fir'd with disdain for Turnu_ dispossess'd,
And the new nuptials of the Trojan guest.
From her black bloody locks the Fury shakes
Her darling plague, the fay'rite of her snakes;
With her full force she threw the pois'nous dart, And fix'd it deep within Amata's heart,
That, thus envenom'd, she might kindle rage,
And sacrifice to strife her house and husband's age, Unseen, unfelt, the fiery serpent skims
Betwixt her linen and her naked limbs;
His baleful brea_ inspiring, as he glides,
Now like a chain around her neck he rides,
Now like a fillet to her head repairs,
And with his circling volumes folds her ha. its.
At first the silent venom slid with ease,
And seiz'd her cooler senses by degrees;
Then, ere th' infected ITmss was fir'd too far,
In plaintive accelats she began the war,
And thus bespoke her husband: "Shall," she said_ "A wand'ring prince enjoy L_vinia. 's bed?
If nature plead _. 0t in a paroat's heart?
? 256 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Pity my tears, and pity her desert
I know, my dearest lord, the time w111come,
You would, in vain, reverse your cruel doom;
The faithless pirate soon will set to sea,
And bear the royal virgin far away!
A guest hke him, a Trojan guest before,
In she_ of friendship sought the Spartan shore_ And ravlsh'd Helen from her husband bore.
Think on a king's inviolable word;
And think on Turnus, her once phghted lord:
To tlns false foreigner you g_ve your throne,
And wrong a friend, a kinsman, and a son Resume your ancient care; and, _f the god
Your sire, and you, resolve on foreign blood,
Know all are foreign, in a larger sense,
Not born )our subjects, or deriv'd from hence. Then, if the line of Turnu_ you retrace,
He springs from Inachus of Argive race. "
But when she saw her reasons idly spent, And could not move him from his fix'd intent,
She flew to rage; for now the snake possess'd
Her vital parts, and poison'd all her breast;
She raves, she runs with a distracted pace,
And fills with horrid howls the pubhc place
And, as young striplings whip the top for sport, On the smooth pavement of an empty court,
The wooden engine flies and whirls about,
Admit'd, w_th clamors, of the beardless rout;
They lash aloud; each other the) provoke,
And lend their little souls at ev'ry stroke:
Thus fares the queen; and thus her fury blows
Amidst the crox_d, and kindles as she goes.
Nor yet content, she strains her malice more, And adds new ills to those contriv'd before:
She flies the town, and, mixing with a throng
Of madding matrons, bears the bride along,
Wand'rmg thro' woods and wilds, and devious ways, And with these arts the Trojan match delays.
She feign'd the rites of Bacchus; cried aloud,
And to the buxom god the virgin vow'd.
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE A_NEIS 257
"Evoe vO Bacchus! " thus began the song;
And "Evoe! " answer'd all the female throng.
"'0 virgin l worthy thee aloneV' she cried;
"O worthy thee alone ! " the crew replied.
"For thee she feeds her hair, she leads thy dance, And with thy winding ivy wreathes her lance. " Like fury seiz'd the rest. the progress known, All seek the mountains, and forsake the town: All, clad in skins of beasts, the jav'lin bear,
Give to the wanton winds their flowing hair, And shrieks and shoutmgs rend the suff'rmg air. The queen herself, inspir'd with rage divine, Shook high above her head a flaming pine;
Then roll'd her haggard e)es around the throng, And sung, in Turnus' name, the nuptial song: "Io, ye Latlan dames! if any here
Hold your unhappy queen, Amata, dear;
If there be here," she said, "who dare maintain _3" right, nor think the name of mother vain; Unbind )-our fillets, loose your flowing hair,
And orgies and nocturlaal rites prepare. "
Amata's breast the Fury thus rex'aries,
And fires with rage, amld the sylvan shades;
Then, when she found her venom spread so far,
The royal house embroll'd in civil war,
Rais'd on her dusky wings, she cleaves the skies,
And seeks the palace where young Turnus lies.
I-hs town, as fame reports, was bmlt of old
By Danae, pregnant with almighty gold,
\Vho fled her father's rage, and, w_th a train
Of following Arg_ves, thro' the stormy main,
Driv'n by the southern blasts, was fated here to reign. 'T was Ardua once; now Ardea's name it bears;
Once a fair c_ty, now consum'd wzth years.
Itere, in his lofty palace, Turnus lay,
Betwixt the confineq of the night and day,
Secure in sleep. The Fury laid aside
Her looks and limbs, and with new methods tlied
The foulness of th' infernal form to hldc
Propp'd on a staff, she takes a trembhng m_en: HC XIII'-'-"9
? 258 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Her face is furrow'd, and her front obscene; Deep-dinted wrinkles on her cheek she draws; Sunk are her eyes, and toothless are her jaws; Her hoary hair with holy fillets bound,
Her temples with an ohve wreath are crown'd.
Old Chalybe, who kept the sacred fane
Of Juno, now she seem'd, and thus began,
Appearing m a dream, to rouse the careless man: "Shall Turnus then such endless toil sustain
In fighting fields, and conquer towns in vain? Win, for a Trojan head to wear the prize,
Usurp thy crown, enjoy thy victories
The bride and scepter which thy blood has bought, The king transfers; and foreign heirs are sought. Go now, deluded man, and seek again
New tolls, new dangers, on the dusty plain.
Repel the Tuscan foes; their city seize;
Protec_ the Latians in luxurious ease.
This dream all-pow'rful Juno sends, I bear
Her m_ghty mandates, and her words you hear.
Haste; arm your Ardeans, issue to the plain;
With fate to friend, assault the Trojan train.
Their thoughtless chiefs, their painted ships, that lie In Tiber's mouth, with fire and sword destroy.
The LatJan king, unless he shall submit,
Own his old promise, and his new forget--
Let him, in arms, the pow'r of Turnus prove,
And learn to fear whom he disdains to love
For such is Heav'n's command. " The youthful prince With scorn rephed, and made this bold defense:
"You tell me, mother, what I knew before:
The Phrygian fleet is landed on the shore.
I neither fear nor will provoke the war;
My fate is Juno's most peculiar care.
But time has made you dote, and vainly tell
Of arms imagin'd in your lonely cell.
Go; be the temple and the gods your care,
Permit to men the thought of peace and war. " These haughty words Alecto's rage provoke,
And frighted Turnus trembled as she spoke,
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE _NEIS 2_ Her eyes grow stiffen'd, and with sulphur burn;
Her hideous looks and hellish form return;
Her curhng snakes with hlssings fill the place, And open all the furies of her face:
Then, darting fire from her malignant eyes,
She cast him backward as he strove to rise,
And, ling'ring, sought to frame some new replies. High on her head she rears two twisted snakes, Her chains she rattles, and her whip she shakes; And, churning bloody foam, thus loudly speaks "Behold whom time has made to dote, and tell Of arms imagin'd in her lonely cell!
Behold the Fates' infernal mmlster !
War, death, destruction, in my hand I bear"
Thus having said, her smold'rmg torch, impress'd
With her full force, she plung'd into his breast.
Aghast he wak'd; and, starting from his bed,
Cold sweat, in clammy drops, his limbs o'erspread.
"Arms l arms I" he cries: "my sword and shield prepare l'_ He breathes defiance, blood, and mortal war.
So, when with crackhng flames a caldron fries, The bubbling waters from the bottom rise"
Above the brims they force their fiery way; Black vapors chmb aloft, and cloud the day.
The peace polluted thus, a chosen band
He first commissions to the Latian land,
In threat'ning embassy; then rais'd the rest, To meet in arms th' intruding Trojan guest, To force the foes from the Lavmian shore, And Italy's indanger'd peace restore.
Himself alone an equal match he boasts,
To fight the Phrygian and Ausonian hosts. The gods invok'd, the Rutuli prepare
Their arms, and warn each other to the war His beauty these, and those his blooming age, The rest his house and his own fame ingage.
While Turnus urges thus his enterprise,
The Stygian Fury to the Trojans flies;
New frauds invents, and takes a steepy stand, Which overlooks the vale with wide command;
? _0
DR. YDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
Where fair Ascanius and his youthful train, With horns and hounds, a hunting match ordain, And pitch their tods around the shady plato.
The Fury fires the pack; they snuff, they xent, And feed their hungry nostrds with tb. e scent. 'Twas of a well-grown stag, whose antlers rise High o'er his front; his beams invade the skles. From this hght cause th' infernal mald prepares The country churls to mischief, hate, and warq.
The stately beast the two Tyrrhid_e bred,
Snatch'd from his dams, and the tame youngling fed_ Their father Tyrrheus did his fodder bring,
Tyrrheus, chief ranger to the Latian king:
Thczr sister Silvia cherlsh'd with her care
The httle wanton, and did wreaths prepare
To hang his budding horus, with ribbons tied
His tender neck, and comb'd his sdken hide,
And bath'd his body Patient of command
In time he grew, and, grox_ing us'd to hand,
He waited at his master's board for food,
Then sought his salvage kindred in the wood,
_'here grazing all the da_, at night he came To his known lodgings, and his country dame
This household beast, that us'd the woodland grounds, Was view'd at first hy the young hero's hounds,
As down the stream he swam, to seek retreat In the cool waters, and to quench his heat
Ascamus young, and eager of his game,
Soon bent his bow, uncertain in his aim;
But the dire fiend the fatal arrow guides,
Which plerc'd his b6-_'els thro' his pantmg sides. The bleeding creature issues from the floods, Possess'd with fear, and seeks his known abodes, His old familiar hearth and household gods.
He falls; he fills the house with heavy groans, Implores their pity, and his pain bemoans
Young Sdvia beats her breast, and cries aloud For succor from the clownish neighborhood:
The churls assemble; for the fiend, who lay In the close woody covert, urg'd their way.
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE . _NEIS 261
One with a brand yet burning from the flame, Arm'd with a knotty club another came:
Whate'er they catch or find, without their care, Thelr fury makes an instrument of war. Tyrrheus, the foster father of the beast,
Then clench'd a hatchet in his horny fist,
But held his hand from the descending stroke,
And left his wedge within the cloven oak,
To whet their courage and their rage provoke.
And now the goddess, exercls'd in 111,
Who watch'd an hour to work her maplous will, Ascends the roof, and to her crooked horn,
Such as was then by Latlan shepherds borne, Adds all her breath the rocks and wood_ around, And mountai,_s, tremble at th' infernal sound.
The sacred lake of Trivia from afar,
The Vehne fountains, and sulphureous Nar,
Shake at the baleful blast, the signal of the war. Young mothers wddly stare, with fear possess'd, And strata their helpless infants to their breast.
The clowns, a boisfrous, rude, ungovern'd mew,
With
furious haste to the loud summons flew pow'rs of Troy, then issuing on the plato,
The
With
Not
But
At first, while fortune favor'd nelther s_de,
The fight with clubs and burning brands was tried; But now, both parties reinforc'd, the fields
Are bright with flaming swords and brazen shields. A shining harvest either host displays,
And shoots against the sun with equal rays.
Thus, when a black-brow'd gust begins to rise, White foam at first on the curl'd ocean fries,
Then roars the main, the billows mount the skies; TIll, by the fury of the storm full blown,
The muddy bottom o'er the clouds is thrown.
First Almon falls, old Tyrrheus' eldest care,
Pierc'd with an arrow from the distant war: Flx'd in h_s throat the flying weapon stood,
fresh recruits their youthful chief sustain: theirs a raw and unexpenenc'd tram,
a firm body of embattled men.
? 262 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
And stopp'd his breath, and drank his vital blood Huge heaps of slain around the body rise.
Among the rest, the rich Galesus lies;
A good old man, while peace he preaeh'd m vain, Amidst the madness of th' unruly train:
F_ve herds, five bleating flocks, his pastures fill'd, His lands a hundred yoke of oxen tfil'd
Thus, while m equal scales their fortune stood The Fury bath'd them m each other's blood,
Then, hawng fix'd the fight, exulting fl_es,
And bears fulfill'd her pronnse to the skies.
To Juno thus she speaks" "Behold T 't is done,
The blood already drawn, the war begun;
The discord _s complete; nor can they cease
The &re debate, nor you command the peace.
Now, since the Latian and the Trojan brood
Have tasted vengeance and the sweets of blood;
Speak, _nd my pow'r shall add tlus office more:
The nelghb'rmg nations of th' Ausonian shore
Shall hear the dreadful rumor, from afar,
Of arm'd invasion, and embrace the war. "
Then Juno thus. "The grateful work is done,
The seeds of discord sow'd, the war begun;
Frauds, fears, and fury have possess'd the state,
And fix'd the causes of a lasting hate
A bloody Hymen shall th' alliance join
Betwixt the Trojan and Ausonian hne:
But thou with speed to night and hell repair;
For not the gods, nor angry Jove, will bear
Thy lawless wand'rlng walks in upper air. Leave what remains to me" Saturnia said"
The sullen fiend her sounding wings dlsplay'd,
Unwflhng left the light, and sought the nether shade,
In midst of Italy, well known to fame, There lies a lake (Amsanctus is the name)
Below the lofty mounts: on either side
Thick forests the forbidden entrance hide.
Full m the center of the sacred wood
An arm arises of the Stygian flood,
Which t breaking from beneath with bellowing sountl,
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE . _NEIS 263
Whirls the black waves and rattling stones around. Here Pluto pants for breath from out his cell,
And opens wide the grinning jaws of hell.
To this infernal lake the Fury files;
Here hides her hated head, and frees the lab'ring skietk Saturnian Juno now, with double care,
Attends the fatal process of the war.
The clowns, return'd, from battle bear the slain,
Implore the gods, and to their king complain. The corps of Almon and the rest are shown;
Shrieks, clamors,
Ambmous Turnus
And, aggravating
Proclaims his private injuries aloud,
A solemn promise made, and disavow'd;
A foreign son is sought, and a mix'd mungril brood. Then they, whose mothers, frantic _lth their fear, In woods and wilds the flags of Bacchus bear, And lead his dances with dlshevel'd hair,
Increase the clamor, and the war demand, (Such was Amata's interest in the land,) Against the pubhc sanctions of the peace,
Against all omens of their ill success.
W_th fates averse, the rout m arms resort,
To force their monarch, and msult the court. But, hke a rock unmov'd, a rock that braves
The raging tempest and the rising waves I Propp'd on himself he stands; his solid sldes Wash off the seaweeds, and the sounding tldes_ So stood the pious prince, unmov'd, and long
Sustain'd the madness of the noisy throng.
But, when he found that Juno's pow'r prevail'd, And all the methods of cool counsel fail'd,
He calls the gods to witness their offense, Disclaims the war, asserts his innocence.
"Hurried by fate," he cries, "and borne before
A furious wind, we leave the faithful shore
0 _ore than madmen l you yourselves shall bear The guilt of blood and sacrilegious war:
Thou, Turnus, shalt atone it by thy fate,
murmurs, in the
fill the frighted town. press appears,
augments their fears;
crimes,
? 264 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIL
And pray to Heav'n for peace, but pray too late For me, my stormy voyage at an end,
I to the port of death securely tend.
The fun'ral pomp which to your kings you pay,
Is all I want, and all you take away"
He said no more, but, m his walls confin'd, Shut out the woes which he too well diwn'd; Nor _th the nsmg storm would vainly strive, But left the helm, and let the _essel drive
A solemn custom was observ'd of old,
Which Latmm held, and now the Romans hold,
Their standard x_hen in fighting fields they rear Against the fierce Hyrcamans, or declare
Tile Scythlan, Or from the
Indian, or Arabian war, boasting Parthians _ould regain
Their eagles, lost m Carrh,'c's bloody plain Two gates of steel (the name of Mars they bear,
And still are worshlp'd _lth rehgmus fear)
Before his temple stand, the d_re abode,
And the lear'd issues of the furious god.
Are fenc'd w_th brazen bolts; without the gates, The _ary guardmn Janus doubly _mts
Then, when the sacred senate votes the wars, The Roman consul their decree declares,
And in his robes the sounding gates unbars
The youth in mihtary shouts arise,
And the loud trumpets break the yielding skies. These rites, of old by soy'reign princes us'd,
Were the king's office, but the king refus'd,
Deaf to their cries, nor would the gates unbar
Of sacred peace, or loose th' ,mprison'd war;
But hid his head, and, safe from loud alarms, Abhorr'd the wicked mimstry of arms
Then heav'n's imperious queen shot down from high: At her approach the brazen hinges fly;
The gates are fore'd, and ev'ry falhng bar;
And, like a tempest, issues out the war.
The peaceful cities of th' Ausonian shore, Lull'd in thmr ease, and undisturb'd before, Are all on fire ; and some, w_th studmus care,
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE _E_ET6 266
Their restiff steeds in sandy plains prepare;
Some their soft limbs in painful marches try,
And war is all their wish, and arms the gen'ral cry. Part scour the rusty shields with seam; and part New grind the blunted ax, and point the dart:
With joy they view the waving ensigns fly,
And hear the trumpet's clangor pierce the sky. Five cities forge their arms: th' Atinian pow'rs, Antemn_, Tlbur with her lofty tow'rs,
Ardea the proud, the Crustumerian town:
All these of old were places of renown.
Some hammer helmets for the fighting field;
Some Wine young sallows to support the shield; The croslet some, and some the cuishes mold,
With silver plated, and with ductile gold.
The rustic honors of the scythe and share
Give place to swords and plumes, the pride of war. Old fauchlons are new temper'd m the fires;
The sounding trumpet ev'ry soul inspires.
The word is giv'n; with eager speed they lace
The shining headpiece, and the shield embrace.
The nelghmg steeds are to the chariot t_ed;
The trusty weapon sits on ev'ry side.
And now the mighty labor is begun--
5re Muses, open all your Helicon
Sing you the chiefs that sway'd th' Ausonian land, Their arms, and armies under their command;
What warriors in our ancient clime were bred;
What soldiers follow'd, and what heroes led.
For well you know, and can record alone,
What fame to future times conveys but darkly down,
Mezentius first appear'd upon thc plato: Scorn sate upon his brows, and sour dtsdam,
Defying earth and heav'n. Etruria lost, He brings to Turnus' aid his baffled host. The charming Lausus, full of youthful fire, Rode in the rank, and next his sullen sire; To Turnus only second in the grace
Of manly mien, and features of the face
A skilful horseman, and a huntsman bred,
? Z66
DRYDEN'S TRAI_SLATIOI_ OF VIRGIL With fates averse a thousand men he led:
His sire unworthy of so brave a son; Himself well worthy of a happier throne.
Next Aventinus drives his chariot round
The Latian plains, with palms and laurels crown'6
Proud of his steeds, he smokes along the field; His father's hydra fills his ample shield:
A hundred serpents hiss about the brims;
The son of Hercules he justly seems
By his broad shoulders and gigantic limbs; Of heav'nly part, and part of earthty blood, A mortal woman mixing with a god.
For strong Alcides, after he had slain
The triple Geryon, drove from conquer'd Spain His captive herds; and, thence in triumph led, On Tuscan Tiber's flow'ry banks they fed.
Then on Mount Aventine the son of Jove
The priestess Rhea found, and forc'd to love.
For arms, his men long piles and jav'lins bore ;
And poles with pointed steel their foes in battle gore. Like Hercules himself his son appears,
In salvage pomp: a lion's hide he wears;
About his shoulders hangs the shaggy skin;
The teeth and gaping jaws severely grin.
Thus, like the god his father, homely dress'd,
He strides into the hail, a horrid guest.
Then two twin brothers from fair Tlbur came, (Which from their brother Tiburs took the name,)
Fierce Coras and Catitlus, void of fear.
Arm'd Argive horse they led, and in the front appear Like cloud-born Centaurs, from the mountain's heigh: ,With rapid course descending to the fight;
They rush along; the rattling woods give way;
The branches bend before their sweepy sway.
Nor was Pr_eneste's founder wanting there, Whom fame reports the son of Mulciber:
Found in the fire, and foster'd in the plains, A shepherd and a king at once he reigns, And leads to Turnus' aid his country swaJna His o_ n Pr_eneste sem_ a chosen band,
? S_,_rE_I'H BOOK OF TI-I_ . _1_J_I_ 251
With those who plow Saturnia's Gabme land; Besides the succor which cold Anien ylelds,
The rocks of Hernicus, and dewy fields, Anagnia fat, and Father Amasene--
A num'rous rout, but all of naked men:
Nor arms they wear, nor swords and bucklers wield
Nor drive the chariot thro' the dusty field,
But whirl from leathern slings huge balls of lead,
And spoils of yellow wolves adorn their head; The left foot naked, when they march to fight, But in a bull's raw hide they sheathe the right.
Messapus next, (great Neptune was his sire,) Secure of steel, and fated from the fire,
In pomp appears, and with his ardor warms A heartless train, unexercis'd in arms:
The just Faliscans he to battle brings,
And those who live where Lake Ciminia springs; And where Feronia's grove and temple stands,
Who till Fescennian or Flavinian lands,
All these in order march, and marching sing
The warhke actions of their sea-born king;
Like a long team of snowy swans on high,
Which clap their wings, and cleave the liquid sky, When, homeward from their wat'ry pastures borne_ They sing, and Asia's lakes their notes return.
Not one who heard their music from afar,
Would think these troops an army tram'd to war, But flocks of fowl, that, when file tempests ro
With their hoarse gabbhng seek the silent sho_e.
Then Clausus came, who led a num'rous band Of troops embodied from the Sabine land,
And, in himself alone, an army brought.
. 'T was he, the noble Claudian race begot,
The Claud_an race, ordain'd, in times to come, To share the greatness of imperial Rome.
He led the Cures forth, of old renown, Mutuscans from their olive-bearing town,
And all th' Eretian pow'rs; besides a band
That follow'd from Velinum's dewy land,
And Amiternian troops_ of mlghty fame,
? 268 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRG/_
_nd mountaineers, that from Severus came, And from the craggy chffs of Tetrica,
_nd those where yellow Tiber takes hls way, And where Himella's wanton waters play. Casperia sends her arms, with those that lie By Fabans, and frmtful Foruli:
The warhke alds of Horta next appear,
And the cold Nurslans come to close the rear,
_,_ix'd wRh the natlves born of Latme blood,
Whom Alha washes with her fatal flood
Not thicker bdlows beat the Libyan main,
When pale Orion sets in wintry rain;
Nor thicker harvests on rich Hermus rise,
Or Lycian fields, when Phoebus burn_ the skies,
Than stand these troops: their bucklers ring around:
Their trampling turns the turf, and shakes the sohd ground,
H_gh in his chariot then Halesus came, A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name: From Agamenmon born--to Turnus' aid
A thousand men the youthful hero led,
Who till the Massic soil, for wine renown'd, And fierce Auruneans from thew hilly ground, And those who live by Sidicinian shores,
And where with shoaly fords Vulturnus roars, Cales' and Osca's old inhabitants,
And rough Saticulans, inur'd to wants:
Light derek-lances from afar they throw, Fasten'd with leathern thongs, to gall the foe. Short crooked swords in closer fight they wear; And on their warding arm light bucklers bear.
Nor (Ebalus, shalt thou be /eft unsung,
From nymph Semethis and old Telon sprung, Who then in Teleboan Capri reign'd;
But that short isle th' ambitious youth disdain'd, And o'er Campania stretch'd his ample sway, Where swelling Sarnus seeks the Tyrrhenc sea; O'er Batu|um, and where Abella sees,
From her high tow'rs, the harvest of her trees.
And these (as was the Teuton use of old) Wield brazen swordsj and brazen bucklers hold;
? THE SEVENTH BOOK OF THE _57EIS 2_
Sling weighty stones, when from afar they fight; Their casques are cork, a covering thick and light.
Next these in rank, the warlike Ufens went,
And led the mountain troops that Nursia sent.
The rude Equlcol_e his rule obey'd;
Hunting their sport, and plund'ring was their trade, In arms they plow'd, to battle still prepar'd:
Their soil was barren, and their hearts were hard.
Umbro the priest the proud Marrubians led,
By Kmg Archippus sent to Turnus' aid,
And peaceful ohves crown'd his hoary head.
His wand and holy words, the viper's rage,
And venom'd wounds of serpents could assuage. He, when he pleas'd with powerful juice to steep Their temples, shut their eyes in pleasing sleep. But vain were Marsian herbs, and magic art,
To cure the wound giv'n by the Dardan dart: Yet his untimely fate th' Angitian woods
In sighs remurmur'd to the Fucine floods.
The son of fam'd Hippolytus was there, Fam'd as his sire, and, as his mother, fair;
Whom in Egerian groves Aricia bore,
And nurs'd his youth along the marshy shore, Where great Diana's peaceful altars flame,
In fruitful fields; and Virbius was his name. Hippolytus, as old records have said,
Was by his stepdam sought to share her bed;
But, when no female arts his mind could move, She turn'd to furious hate her impious love.
Torn by wild horses on the sandy shore,
Another's crimes th' unhappy hunter bore, Glutting his father's eyes with guiltless gore. But chaste Diana, who his death deplor'd,
With ZEsculapian herbs his life restor'd
Then Jove, who saw from high, with just disdain, The dead inspir'd with vital breath again,
Struck to the center, with his flaming dart,
Th' unhappy founder of the godhke art.
But Trivia kept in secret shades alone
Her care, H_ppolytus, to fate unknown;
? _RIq_}Z_PSTRANSLATION OF V_R_[_
And call'hdim Virblusinth"Egeriangrove, Where thenhe liv'dobscureb,ut safefrom Jove.
For this,from Trivia'tsempleand herwood
Are coursersdriv'nw,ho shedtheirmaster'bsloo_, Affrightebdy themonstersof theflood.
His son,thesecondVirbiusy,etrctam'd
His father'asrt,and warrlorstecdshe rein'd.
Amid thetroopsa,nd hke theleadingod,
High o'ertherestin arms thegraccfulTurnusrodet
A triplpe11eofplumeshiscrestadorn'd,
On whichwithbelchingflamesChimaeraburn'd:
The more thekindledcombatriseshlgh'r,
The morewithfuryburnstheblazingfire.
FairIo grac'dhisshield;butIo now
With hornsexaltedstandsa,nd seemstoIow-
A noblecharge! Herkeeperbyhersldc,
To watchherwalks,hishundrcdeyesapphed;
_md on thebrimsher siret,hewat'rygod,
Roll'dfrom a silveurrn hiscrystafllood.
A cloud o? foot succeeds, and fills the fields
With swords, and pointed spears, and clatt'ring shields;
Of Argives, and of old Sicanian bands,
And those who plow the rich Rutuhan lands;
Auruncan youth, and those Saerana yields,
And the proud Labicans, with painted shields, And those who near Numician streams reside.
And those whom Tlber's holy forests hide, Or Ciree's hills from the main land divide; Where Ufens glides along the lowly lands, Or the black water of Pomptina stands.
Last, from the Volseians fair Camilla came, And led her warlike troops, a warrior dame;
Unbred to spinning, in the loom unskill'd, She chose the nobler Pallas of the field.
Mix'd with the first, the fierce virago fought, Sustain'd the tolls of arms, the danger sought, Outstripp'd the winds in speed upon the plain, Flew o'er the fields, nor hurt the bearded grain: She swept the seas, and, as she skimm'd along, Her flying feet unbath'd on billows hung.
? TH_ SEVE_4 BOOK OF THE _EIS ZTi
Men, boys, and women, stupid with surprise, Where'er she passes, fix thmr wond'ring eyes: Longing they look, and, gaping at the sight, Devour her o'er and o'er w_th vast delight;
Her purple habit sits with such a grace
On her smooth shoulders, and so suits her fac_; Her head with ringlets of her hair is crown'd, And in a golden caul the curls are hound.
She shakes her myrtle jav'lin; and. behind,
Her Lycian quiver dances in the wind.
? THE EIGHTH BOOK OF THE /ENEIS
Trrz ARGU_ENT. --The war being now begun, both the generals make all possible preparations. Turnus seads to Diomedes A_neas goes m person to beg succors from Evander and the Tuscans. Evander receives him kindly, furmshes him with men, and sends his son Pallas with him. Vulcan, at the request of Venus, makes
' arms for her son . ,E_neas,and draws on his shield the most memora- . P
ble actions of his posterlty.
HEN Turnus had assembled all his pow'rs.
His standard planted on Laurentum's toxCrs;
When now the sprightly trumpet, from afar, Had giv'n the signal of approaching war,
Had rous'd the neighing steeds to scour the fields, While the fierce riders clatter'd on their shields;
Trembling with rage, the Latian youth prepare To join th' allies, and headlong rush to war.
Fierce Ufens, and Messapus, led the crowd,
With bold Mez, ,. tius, who blasphcm'd aloud.
These thro' the country took their wasteful course, The fields to forage, and to gather force.
Then VenuTus to Diomede they send,
To beg his aid Ausonia to defend,
Declare the common danger, and inform
The Grecian leader of the growing storm:
. _neas, landed on the Latlan coast,
With banish'd gods, and with a baffled host,
Yet now asplr'd to conquest of the statc,
And claim'd a title from the gods and fate;
What num'rous nations in his quarrel came,
And how they spread his formidable name.
272
? THE EIGHTH BOOK OF THE _N'EIS 273
What he design'd, what mischief might arise, If fortune favor'd his first enterprise,
Was left for him to weigh, whose equal fears, And common interest, was involv'd an theirs
While Turnus and th' allies thus urge the war, The Trojan, floating in a flood of care,
Beholds the tempest wluch h_s foes prepare. Th_s way and that he turns his anxious mind;
Thinks, and rejects the counsels he design'd; Explores tumself in yam, in ev'ry part,
And gives no rest to his distracted heart.
So, when the sun by day, or moon by night,
Strike on the pohsh'd brass their trembling hght, The glitt'ring species here and there dwxde,
And cast their dubmus beams from s_de to side; Now on the balls, now on the pavement play,
And to the ceiling flash the glaring day.
'T was night; and weary nature lull'd asleep
The birds of air, and fishes of the deep,
And beasts, and mortal men. The Trojan chief
Was laid on Tfl_er'_ banks, oppres_'d with grief, And found m silent slumber late rehcf
Then, thro' the shadows of the poplar _xood, Arose the father of the Roman flood;
An azure robe was o'er his body spread,
A wreath of shady reeds adorn'd his head:
Thus, mamfest to sight, the god appear'd,
And with these pleasing words his sorrow cheer'd: "Undoubted offspring of ethereal race,
O long expected in this pronfis'd place!
Who thro' the foes hast borne thy banish'd gods, Restor'd them to thelr hearths, and old abodes;
This is thy happy home, the clime where fate Ordains thee to restore the Trojan state.
Fear not! The war shall end in lasting peace, And all the rage of haughty Juno cease.
And that this nightly vision may not seem
Th' effect of fancy, or an idle dream,
A sow beneath an oak shall he along,
All white herself, and white her thirty young.
? f? 4 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OP VIRGIT_
When thirty rolling years have run their race, Thy son Ascanius, on this empty space,
Shall build a royal town, of lasting fame, Which from this omen shall receive the name.
Time shall approve the truth. For what remains,
And how with sure success to crown thy pains,
With patience next attend. A hanish'd band,
Driv'n with Evander from th' Arcadian land,
Have planted here, and plac'd on high their walls; Their town the founder Pallanteum calls,
Deriv'd from Pallas, his great-grandstre's namer But the fierce Latmns old possession clazm,
With war infesting the new colony.
These make thy friend_, and on their aid rely.
To thy free passage I submit my streams. Wake, son of Venus, from thy pleasing dreams:
And, when the setting stars are lost m day, To Juno's pow'r thy just devotion pay;
With sacrifice the wrathful queen appease: Her pride at length shall fat1, her fury cease. When thou return'st victorious from the war, Perform thy vows to me _ith grateful care. The god am I, whose yellow water flows Around these fields, and fattens as it goes: Tiber my name; among the rolhng floods Renown'd on earth, esteem'd among the gods. This is my certain seat. In times to come,
_y waves shall wash the walls of mighty Rome"
He said, and plung'd below. While yet he spoke,
His dream _neas and his sleep forsook. He rose, and looking up, beheld the skies
With purple blushing, and the day arise.
Then water in his hollow palm he took
From Tibet's flood, and thus the pow'rs bespoke: "Laurentian nymphs, by whom the streams are fed, And Father Tiber, in thy sacred bed
Receive . _neas, and from danger keep.
Whatever fount, whatever holy deep,
Conceals thy wat'ry stores; where'er they rise,
And, bubbling from below, salute the skies ;
? :I"H]_ WI,GHTH BOOK OF THE . _NEIB 27_
Thou, king of homed floods, whose plenteous urn Suffices fatness to the fruitful corn,
For this thy kind compassion of our woes,
Shalt share my morning song and ev'ning vows. But, 0 be present to thy people's aid,
And firm the gracious promise thou hast made l" Thus having said, two galleys from his stores, With care he chooses, roans, and fits with oars. Now on the shore the fatal swine is found. _,Vondrous to tell v--She lay along the ground: Her well-fed offspring at her udders hung;
She white herself, and white her thirty young. YEneas takes the mother and her brood,
And all on Juno's altar are bestow'd.
The loll'wing night, and the succeeding day, Propitious Tiber smooth'd his wat'ry way:
I-Ie roll'd his Hver back, and pois'd he stood,
A gentle swelling, and a peaceful flood.
The Trojans mount their ships; they put from shore_ Borne on the waves, and scarcely dip an oar.
Shouts from the land give omen to their course,
And the pitch'd vessels glide with easy force.
The woods and waters wonder at the gleam
Of shields, and painted ships that stem the stream.
One summer's mght and one whole day they pass Betwixt the greenwood shades, and cut the liquid glau? The fiery sun had finish'd half his race,
Look'd back, and doubted in the middle space,
When they from far beheld the rising tow'rs,
The tops of sheds, and shepherds' lowly bow'rs,
Thin as they stood, which, then of homely clay,
Now rise in marble, from the Roman sway.
These cots (Evander's kingdom, mean and poor)i
The Trojan saw, and turn'd his ships to shore.
'T was on a solemn day: th' Arcadian states,
The king and prince, without the city gates,
Then paid their off'rings in a sacred grove
To Hercules, the warrior son of Jove. Thickcloudsof rollinsgmoke involvetheskies.
A_I fatofentrailosn hisaltarfries.
? T/6 DRYDEN'S TRANSLATION OF VIRGIl':
Rut, when they saw the ships that stemm'd the flood, Anct giltter'd thro' the covert of the wood,
They rose with fear, and left th' unfinish'd feast_ Till dauntless Pallas reassur'd the rest
To pay the rites, l_imself without delay A jav'lin seiz'd, and singly took his way;
Then gain'd a rlsing ground, and call'd from far: "Resolve me, strangers, whence, and what you are; Your bus'hess here; and bring you peace or bar? " High on the stern -_neas took his stand,
And held a branch of olive in his hand,
While thus he spoke: "The Phrygians' arms you see,
Expell'd from Troy, provok'd in Italy
By Latian foes, with war unjustly made;
At first affianc'd, and at last betray'd.
This message bear: 'The Trojans and their chief Bring holy peace, and beg the king's relief. '" Struck with so great a name, and all on fire,
The youth replies: "Whatever you require,
Your fame exacts. Upon our shores descend,
A welcome guest, and, what you wish, a friend. " He 5aid, and, downward hasting to the strand, Embrae'd the stranger prince, and join'd his hand.
Conducted to the grove, . ? Eneas broke
The s,lence first, and thus the king bespoke:
"Best of the Greeks, to whom, by fate's command, I bear these peaceful branches in my hand, Undaunted I approach you, tho' I know
Your birth is Grecian, and your land my foe; From Atreus tho' your ancient lineage came,
And both the brother kings your kindred claim; Yet, my self-conscious worth, your high renown, Your virtue, thro' the neighb'ring nations blown, Our fathers' mingled blood, Apollo's voice,
Have led me hither, less by need than choice.
Our founder Dardanus, as fame has sung,
And Greeks acknowledge, from Electra sprung: Electra from the loirm of Atlas came;
Atlas, whose head sustains the starry frame.
Your sire is Mercury, whom long before
? THE EIGHTH BOOK OF THE ,_ENEIS 277
On cold Cyllene's top fair l%iaia bore. Maia the fair, on fame If we rely,
Was Atlas' daughter, who sustains the sky
Thus from one common source our streams divide; Ours is the Trojan, yours th' Arcadian side.
Rais'd by these hopes. I sent no news before,
Nor ask'd your leave, nor did your falth implore;
But come, without a pledge, my own ambassador.
The same Rutuhans. who with arms pursue
The Trojan race. are equal foes to you.
Our host expell'd, what farther force can stay
The victor troops from universal sway?
Then will they stretch their pow'r athwart the land, And either sea from side to side command.
Receive our offer'd faith, and give us thine;
Ours is a gen'rous anc] experienc'd line:
We want not hearts nor bodies for the war;
In council cautious, and in fields we dare. "
He said; and while he spoke, with piercing eyes Evander vlew'd the man with vzz-. surprise,
Pleas'd with his action, ravish'd with his face: Then aswer'd briefly, with a royal grace:
"O vahant leader of the Trojan hne,
In whom the features of thy father shine,
How I recall Anchises! how I see
His motions, mien, and all my friend, in thee!
Long tho' it be, 't is fresh w_thin my mind, When Priam to his slster's court design'd
A welcome visit, with a friendly stay,
And thro' th' Arcadian kingdom took his way. Then, past a boy, the callow down began
To shade my chin, and call me first a man.