To Jove, the guide and patron of our way.
The customs of our country we pursue,
And Trojan games on Actjan shores renew.
Our youth their naked limbs besn^ear wi^ oil.
And exercise the wrestlers' nob)^ toil.
Pleased to have saii'd so long before the wind^
And left so many Grecian towns behind.
The Sun had now fuifiU'd his annual course^
And Boreas on the seas displayed bis force :
I fixM upon the temple's lufty door
The brazei^ shield which vanquishM Al)asbore :
The verse beneath my name and action spi-al^s,
' These arms iSBaeas took from conquering GreeJL^'
Then I command to we^gh ; the seamen ply
Their sweeping oars, the smoking billows fly.
The sight oS high PhsBacia soon we lost.
And skimm*d along Epirus' rocky coast.
Then to Chaonia's port our course we bend,
Aod^ landed, to Buthrotus' heights ascend.
Here wondrous things were loudly blazM by &me,
|Iow Heienus revived the Trojan i^me.
And reign*d in Greece : that Priam's captive |qi^
Succeeded Pyrrhus in his bed and throne*
And fair Andromache, restored by fote.
Once more was happy in a Trojan matet
I leave my gallies riding in the port.
And long to see the new Dardanian court.
By ehaiA:e, the mournful aaeen, before the gate.
Then solemnia'd her former hosband's fate.
jQreen altars, rai^M of turf, with gifts she crowa'd
And sacred priests in order stand around,
And thrice the name of hapless Hector sound*
The grove itself resembles Ida's wood,
And Simois seem'd the well -dissembled floods
But when, at nearer distance, she beheld
My shining armour, and my Trojan shield,
Astonish'd at the sight, the vital heat
Forsakes her limbs, her veins no longer beat :
She fiiiints, she falls > ^ad, scarce recovering
strength, [length :
Thus, with a faultering tongue, ^he speaks at
" ' Are you alive, O goddess-bom !' she said,
f Or if a ghost, then where is Hector's shade }*
At this she cast a loud and frightful cry :
With broken words I made this brief reply t
' All of me that remains appears in sigh^.
I live ; if living be to loath the light.
Ko phantom ; but I drag a wretched life ;
My fote refembling that of Hector's wife.
What have you suffer'd since ypa lost your lord ?
By what strange blessings are you now restor'd ?
8tiU are you Hector's, or is Hector fled,
And his remembraooe lost in Pyrrhus' bed ?
With eyes d^ected, in a lowly tone.
After ^ modest pause, she thus begun :
' Oh only happy maid of Priam's race,
Whom death deliver'd from the foes' emb|:ape !
Commanded on Achilles' tomb tp die.
Not forc'd, like us, 4o hard captivity ;
Or in a haughty ouister's arras to lie.
In Grecian ships unhappy we were borne t
Endur'd the victor's lust } siistain'd the scorn t
Thus I submitted to the lawless pride
Of Pjrrrhus, more a handmaid than a bride.
Clqy*d with posMssion, he forsook my bed,
^ Helen'! toydy daughter aooght t^ wed,
Then me to Trqjan Helenns reiigii*d r
And his two slaves in e^ual marriage join'd.
Till young Ofestes, pitrc'd with deepdespairy
And longing to redeeqi the promised fair.
Before Apollo's altar slew the ravisher.
By Pyrrhus' death the kingdom we regain'ds
At least one half with Heienus remain'd ;
Our part, from Chaoo, he Chaooia calls :
And names, from Pergamus, his rising walls.
But you, %khat fates have landed on our coast.
What gods have sent you, or what storms hav^
toss'd?
Ooei young Ascapius life and healtl^ ci\ioy»
Sav'd from the ruios of unhappy Troy ?
O tell me how his mother's loss he bears*
What hopes are promisM from his blooming yeai:^
How much of Hector in his (ace appears ?'
She spoke : and qu](.'d her speech with moumfiil
cries:
And fruitless tears oame trickling firom her eyet^
At length her lord descends upon the pla^
In pomp attended with a numerous train :
Receives his friends, and to the city leads.
And tears of joy amidst his welcome thedsr
Proceeding qn, another Troy I sec;
Or, in less compass, Troy's epitome.
A rivulet by the name of Xanthus ran ;
And I embrace the Scaean gate again.
My friends in porticos were entertain'd.
And feasts and pleasures through the city reign'da
The tables 611'd the spacious hall around.
And golden bowls with sparkling wine werecrown'<V
Two days we pass'd in mirth, Ull friendly gales,
Blown from the south, supply'd our swelling laiK
Then to the royal seer I thus began :
* O thou, who koow'st, beyond the reach of man.
The laws of Heaven, and what the stars decree^
Whom Phoebus taught th' unerring prophecy.
From his own tripod, and his holy tree :
SkilI'd in the wing'd inhabitants of air,
What auspices their notes and flights declares
O say ; for all religious rites portend
A happy vo3rage, and a prosperous end ;
And every power and omen of the sky
Direct my courge for destin'd Italy.
But only dire Celeno, from the gods,
A dismal famine fatally forebodes :
O say what dangers I am flrst to shun.
What toils to vanquish^ and what course to miu'
** The prophet first with sacrifice adores
The greater gods ; their pardon then implores i
Unbinds the fillet from his boly head ;
To Phoebos next my trembling steps he led.
Full of religious doubts and awful dread.
Then, with his god poesess'd, before the shrine,
These words proceeded from his mouth divine ;
' O goddess-bom (for Heaven's appointed will.
With greater auspices of good than ill,
Foreshows thy voyage, and thy course directs ;
Thy fotes conspire, and Jove himself protects) 2
Of many things, some few I shall explain.
Teach thee to shun the dangers of the main,
And how at length the promis'd shore to gain.
The rest the Fates from Hdeaus conceal ;
And Juno's angry power forbids to tell.
First then, that happy shore, that seems so nigh.
Will far from your deluded wishes fly :
[ ong tracts of seas divide your hopes from Italy«
For you must cruise along Sicilian shores,
Ai^d stem ti|e carreots with your atruggUiig oait :
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DRYDEN'S TRANSLATIONS.
Hieo nmod tli' Italiaii coast 3roiir navy steer,
And, after this, to Circe's island Tcer.
And last, before yoar new fonndatioos rise,
Most pass the Stygian lake, and view the nether
skies.
Jfom mark the signs of fbtare ease and rest.
And bear them safely treasured in thy breast.
When in the shady shelter of a wood,
And near the margin of a gentle flood,
Thou 'shalt behold a sow upon the ground,
MTith thirty sucking young encompass'd round ;
The dam and oflspriog white as f&lling snow :
These on thy city shall their name b^tow.
And there shall end thy labour and thy woe
Kor let the threatened &mine fright thy mind,
For Phoebus will assist, and fete the way will find.
liCt not thy course to that ill coast be bent,
IVhioh fronts from fer th' Epirian continent ;
Those parts are all by Grecian foes possessed :
The savage Locrians here the shores infest
There fiepce Idomeneus his city builds,
And guards, with arms, the fialentinian fields.
And on the mountain's brow Petilia stands.
Which Philoctetes with his troops commands.
Ev*n when thy fleet is landed on the shore.
And priests with holy vows the gods adore ;
Then with a purple veil involve your eyes;
Lest hostile faces blast the sacrifice.
These rites and customs to the rastc cia wrf.
That to your pious race they aiay descend.
** * When parted benee, the wind that ready
For Sicily, ahall bear jron to the straits : [waits
WiMre proud Pelorus opes a wider way.
Tack to the larboard, and stand off to sea :
Veer starboard sea and land. Th' Italian shore.
And fair Sicilians coast were one, before
An earthquake caus'd the flaw, the roaring tides
The passage broke, and land from land divides :
And where the lands retir'd, the rushing ocean
rides.
DistinguishM by the straits, on either hand,
Now rising cities in long order stand.
And fruit&l fields (so much can time invade
The mouldering work thatbeauteousNature made).
Far on the right, her dogs foul Scylla hides :
Charybdis roaring on the left presides ;
And in her greedy whirlpool sucks the tides :
Then spouts them firom below 5 with fury driven.
The waves mount up, and wash the face of
Heaven.
But Scylla from her den, with open jaws.
The sinking vessel in her eddy draws ;
Then clashes on the rocks : a human face.
And virgin-bosom, hides her tail's disgrace.
Ber parts obscene below the waves descend.
With dogs enclos'd, and in a dolphin end.
nis safer, then, to bear aloof to sea.
And coast Pachynus, though with more delay ;
Than once to view mishapen Scylla near,
And the loud yell of watery wolves to hear.
** * Besides, if faith to Helenns be due.
And if prophetic Pticebus tell me true.
Do not this precept of your friend fbrs^et :
Which therefore more than once I must repeat.
Above the rest great Juno's name adore :
Pay vows to Juno ; Juno's aid implore.
Jjet jrifts be to the mighty queen dfsign*d;
And mollify with prayers her hanghty mind,
TI1U8, at the I«^gth, your passage shall be fi^,
^nd you shall safe descend on Italy.
Arriv'd at Coms, when yon view the flood
Of black Avemos, and the sounding wood.
The mad prophetic Sibyl yon shall find.
Dark in a cave, and on a rock reclin'd.
She sings the httt, and in her frantic fits.
The notes and names inscrib'd, to leaves oommks.
What she commits to leaves, in order laid.
Before the cavern's entrance are display'd :
Unmov'd they lie : but if a blast of wind
Without, or vapouis issue firom behind.
The leaves are borne aloft in liquid air.
And she resumes no more her museful care ;
Nor gathers from the rocks her scattered verse r
Nor sets in order what the winds dibperse.
Thus, many not succeeding, most upbraid
The madness of the visionary maid ;
And, with loud curses, leave the mystic shades
** * Think it not loss of time awhile to stay :
Though thy companions chide thy long delay.
Though summoned to the teas, tboof^h planing
gales
Invite thy course, and stvetdi tfay swelling sails.
But beg the sacred priestess to rriate
With swelling words, and not to write thy fiite.
The fierce ItaKan people she will show ;
And aU thy wan and all thy future woe ; [dergo.
And what thou majr'st avoid, 'and what must un-
She shall direct thy course ; histnict thy mind ;
And teach thee boir the happy shores to ffaid.
This is what Heaven allows me to relate:
Now part in peace ; pursue thy better fete.
And raise, by strength of arms, the Trcjan state.'
'* This when the priest with friendly voice declar'dj
He gave me licence, and rich gifts prepar'd :
Bounteous of treasure, he supply'd my want
With heavy gold, and polish'd elephant.
Then Dodonaean caldrons put on board.
And every ship with sums of silver stor'd.
A trusty coat of mail to me he lent.
Thrice ehain'd with gold, for use and ornament ;
The helm of 1^^^^ added to the rest,
Then flourish'd with a plume and waving crest.
Nor was my sire forgotten, nor my friends :
And large recruits he to my navy sends ;
Men, horses, oaptuns, arms, and warlike stores ;
Supplies new pilots, and new sweeping oars.
Meantime my sire commands to hoist our suls :
Lest we should lose the first auspicious galea.
The prophet blest the fmrthig crew : and last.
With words like these, his ancient friend embracM :
* Old happy man, the care of gods above,
Whom heavenly Venus honouHd with her love.
And twice preserv'd thy life when Troy was lost.
Behold firom fer the wish'd Ausonian coast :
There land ; but take a larger compass round ;
For that before is all forbidden ground.
The shore that Phoebus has deeign'd for yon.
At farther distance lies, conceal'd from view.
Go happy hence, and seek your new abodes ;
Bless*d in a son, and fevoor'd by the gods :
For I with useless words prolong 3rour stay.
When southern gales have summon'd you away.* '
*' Nor less the queen our parting thence deplored.
Nor was less bounteous than her Trojan lord.
A noble present to my son she brought,
A robe with flowers on golden tissn«^rrought ;
A Phrygian vest ; and loads, with gifts beside
Of precious texture, and of Asian pride.
* Accept,' she said, * these monuments of love ;
Which in my youth with happier hands I wove : *
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ViRGIL'S iENEIS. BOOKin.
Regard thete triflei for the giver's sake ;
*Tis the lasl preaent Hector's 'wife can make*
Tboa cairst my lost Astyanax to mind :
In thee hb features aod his form I find.
}& eyes so sparkled with a lively flame ;
Sndi were his motions, such was all his frame ;
Andy ah ! had Heaven so pleas^, his years had
been the same.'
" With tears I took my last adien, and said,
* Your fortune, happy fair, already made.
Leaves you no forther wish : my different state,
Avoiding one, incurs another fate.
To yon a quiet seat the gods aHow,
You have no shores to search, no seas to plough,
Kor fields of flymg Italy to chase :
(Ddoding visions, and a vain embrace !)
Yon see another Simois, and enjoy
The labour of your hands, another Troy ;
With better auspice than her ancient towers^t
And less obnoxious to the Grecian powers.
If e'er the gods, whom I with vow» adore.
Conduct my steps to Tiber's happy shore :
]f ever I ascend the Latian throne :
And build a city I may call my own.
As bsCh of us our birth from Troy derive.
So let our kindred Jives in concord live ;
And both in acts ofeqoal friendship strive.
Oar fortunes, good or bad, shall be the same,
The^wMe IVoy shall dififier but in name :
That what sreiMiw b^^in, may never end ;
Bat long, to tato pMSsilty descend.'
** Near the C e r a nn U si vooks ovr coarse we bore
(The shortest passage to tb' IttKan siivre).
Ifow had the Sun withdrawn his radiant Kgfct,
And hills were hid in dusky shades of night.
We land : and, on the bosom of the ground,
A safo retreat and a bare lodging found ;
Close by the shore we lay ; the sailors keep
Their wm^es, and the rest securely sleep.
The night, prooeedmg on with silent pace,
Stood in her noon, aiid view'd with equal face
Her steepy rise, and her declining race.
Then wakefUl Palinurus rose, to spy
The fooe of Heaven, and the nocturnal sky ;
And listen'd every breath of air to try ;
Observes the stars, and notes their sliding
course.
The Pleiads, Hyads, and their watery force ;
And both the Bears is careful to behold ;
And bright Orion arm'd with bumishM gold.
Then, when he saw no threatening tempest nigh.
But a sure promise of a settled sky ;
He gave the sign to weigh : we break our sleep ;
Fot«ake the pleasing shore, and plough the deep.
And now the rising mom, with rosy light.
Adorns the skies, and puts the stars to flight :
When we from for, like bluish mists, descry
The hills, and ^en the plains of Italy.
Achates first pronouneM the joyful sound ;
Then Italy the cheerful crew rebound ;
My sire Anchises crown'd a cup with wine,
And oflferiag, thus implor'd the powers divine :
' Ye pxls, presiding over lands and seas.
And you who ragmg winds and waves appease.
Breathe on our swellrog sails a prosperous wind,
And smooth our passage to the port assigned.
The gentle gales their flagging force renew ;
And now the happy harbour is in view.
Minerva's temple then salutes our sight ;
Placed as a iaodmark, on the mottntalo's height j
ii9
)
We furl our sails, and tnm the prows to shore ;
The curling waters round the galleys rear ;
The land lies open to the raging east.
Then, bending like a bow, with rocks oomprest.
Shuts out the storms ; the winds and waves com-
And vent their malice on the cliflEs iu vain, [plain.
The port lies hid within ; on either side
Two towering rocks the narrow mouth divide.
Hie temple, which aloft we view'd before.
To distapce flies, and seems to shun the shore.
Scarce landed, the first omens I beheld [field.
Were four white steeds that cropp'd the flowery
* War, war is threatened from this foreign ground,'
( My fhther cry'd ) * where warlike steeds are foiind*
Yet. since reclaim'd to chariots they submit.
And bend to stubborn yokes, and champ the bit.
Peace may succeed to war.' Our way we bend
To Pallas, and the sacred hills ascend.
There prostrate to the fierce virago pray ;
Whose temple was the land^mark of our way.
Rach with a Phrygian mantle veii'd his head ;
And all commands of Helenus obey'd ;
And pious rites to Grecian Juno paid. [stand
These dues perform'd, we stretch our sails, and
To sea, fbrsadung that suspected land.
From henoe Tarentum's bay appears m view ;
For Hercules renown'd, if fame be true.
Just opposite, Lacinian Juno stands :
Caukmian towers, and Scylacsan strands
For shipwreoks fear'd : Mount .£tna thence we spy.
Known by the smoky flames which cloud the sky.
Far oflf we hear the waves with surly sound
'Invade the rocks, the rocks their groans rebound*
The baiows break open the a o oa d ing stiamd;
And roU tlie lUing tide, ioBpase viHi aaad.
Then thus Anchises, in experience old,
* 'Tis that Charybdis which the seer foretold :
And those the promis'd rocks ; bear off to sea :'
Witii haste the frighted mariners obey.
First Palinurus to the larboard veer*d ;
Then all the fleet by his example steer'd.
1*0 Heaven aloft on rigid waves we ride ;
Then down to Hell descend, when they divide.
And thrice our gallies knock'dnhe stony ground.
And thrice the hollow rocks retum'd the sound,
And. thrice we saw the stars, that stood with dews
around.
The flagging winds forsook us with the Sun ;
And, weary*d, on Cyclopean shores we ^un.
The port capacious, and secure from wind.
Is to the foot of thundring JEtua join'd.
By turns a pitchy ck>ud she rolls on high ;
By turns hot embers from her entrails fly ;
And flakes of mountain flames, that lief the sky.
Oft from her bowels massy rocks are thrown.
And shiver'd by the force come piece- meal dowat
Oft liquid lakes of burning sulphur flow.
Fed from the fiery springs that bum below.
Enceladus, they say, transfix'd by Jove,
With blasted limbs came trembling from above z
And when he fell, th' avenging fother drew
This flaming hill, and on his body threw ;
As often as he turns his weary sides, [hides.
He shakes the solid isle, and smoke the Heavens
In shady woods we pass the tedious night.
Where bellowing sounds and groans our souls
affright ;
Of which no cause is offered to the sijiht.
For not one star was kindled in the sky ;
Kor could the Moon her borrow'd light supply i
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DRYDEN'S TRANSLATIONS.
For misty doodf invdlvM the firmameiit ;
The sUrs were mufflled, and the Moon was pent.
Scarce had the rising Sun the day reveaPd ',
Scarce bad his beat the pearly-dews dispdPd ;
When from the woods there bolts, before our sight.
Somewhat betwixt a mortal and a sprite.
So thin, 80 ghastly meagre, and so wan.
So bare of flesb, he scarce resembled man.
This thing, all utter'd, seemM from far t' implore
Our pious aid, and pointed to the shore.
We look behind ; then view his shaggy beard ;
His clothes were taggM with thorns, and filth hit
limbs besmeared ;
The rest, in mien, in habit, and in fitce,
Appeared a Greek, and such indeed he was**
He cast ou us, from far, a frightful view.
Whom soon for Trojans and for foes he knew t
Stood still, and paus'd ; thence all at once begfui
To stretch his limbs, and trembled as be ran.
Soon as approach 'd, upon bis knees be fslls.
And thus, with tears and sighs, for pity calls :
' Now by the powers above and what we sharo
From Nature's common gift, this vital air,
Trojans, take me hence ; I beg no more.
But bear me Ur from this unhappy shore !
'Tis true, I am a Greek, and farther own.
Among your foes besieg'd th* imperial tow^ j
For such demeriu if my death be due,
Ko more for this abaodonM life I sue :
Thift only fovour let my tears obtain,
To throw me headlong in the rapid main i
Since nothing more than death my crime d em a o dg :
1 die content, to die by human hands.'
He said, and on his knees my knees embraced:
I bade him boldly tell his fortune past ;
His present state, his lineage, and his name ;
Th* occasion of his fears, and whence he came.
The good Anchises rais'd him with his hand ;
Who, thus enoourag'd, answer'd our demand i
* From Ithaca my native soil I came
To Troy, and Achcmenides my name.
Me, my poor father with Ulysses sent ;
(Oh had I sUy'd with poverty content !)
But, fearful for themselves, my countrymoi
Left me fbrsaken in the Cyclops* den.
The cave, though large, was dark ; the dismal
floor
Was pav d with mangled limbs and putrid gore.
Our monstrous host, of more than human size.
Erects his bead, and stares within the skies.
Bellowing his voice, and horrid is his hue.
Ye gods, remove this plague from mortal view !
The joints of slaughtered wretches are his food :
And for his wine be quafis the streaming blood.
These eyes beheld, when with his spacious band
He seized two captives of our Grecian band ;
Stretched on his bat k, be dashM against the stones
Their broken bodies, and tbeir crackling bones :
With spouting blood the purple pavement swims,
While the dirt^ glutton grinds the trembling limbs.
Not unreven8:*d, Tlygses bore their fate
Kor thoughtless of his own unhappy state ;
For, px>rg'd with flesh, and drunk with human wine.
While fiust asleep the giant lay supine : *
Snoring aloud, and kieidiing from his maw
His indigested foam, and morsels raw t
We pray, we cast the lots, and then surround
The monstrous body, ttretchM along the ground :
Each, as he could approach him, lends a hand
To bore his eyeiwtl with m flMmng braad ;
Beneath hit frowning forehead by his 499
(For only one did the vast frame supply) ;
But that a globe so large, his firont it filPd,
like the Sun's disk, or like a Grecian shield.
The stroke succeeds ; aud down the pupil bends ;
This vengeance followM for our slaughtered friendly
But haste, unhappy wretches, haste tn fly j
Your cables cut, and on your oars rely«
Such and so vast as Polypheme appears,
A hundred more this hated island bears :
Like him, in caves they shut their woolly shaep |
Like him, tbeir herds on tops of mountains keep |
Like him, with mighty strides, . they ftalk noni
steep to steep.
And now three moons their sharpened honifl rcnew^
Since thuf in woods and wilds, obscure from view,
I drag my loathsome days wiUi mortal fright |
And, in deserted caverns, lodge by night.
Oft fipom the rocks a dreadful prospect see
Of the huge Cyclops, like a walking tree :
From far 1 hear his thundering voice resound ;
And trampling feet that shake the solid groundv
Cornels, and savage berries of the wood,
And roots, and bc^bs, have been my meagre lbod»
" ' While all around my longing eyes are cast,
I saw your hanpy ships appear at last:
On those I fix'd my hopes, to these I ran,
Tis all I ask, this cruel race to shun :
What other death you please yourseivea, bestow,*
Scarce had he said!, when, on the mountain's brow^
We saw the giant-shepherd stalk before
His following flock, and leading to the shop,
A monstrous bnlk, deformM, deprived of sight.
His stafl* a trunk of pine to guide his steps arighV
His ponderous whistle firgm bis neck descends ;
His woolly care their pensive lord attends :
This only solace bis hard fortune sends.
Soon as he reached the shore, and touched the wave^
From his bor'd eye the guttering blood he laves :
He gnashed his teeth and groan'd ^ through seat h^
strklet,
And scarce the topmast billows louch his stdei,
" Seized with a sudden fear, we run to sea.
The cables cnt, and silent baste away :
The well-deserving stranger entertain ; [main*
Then, buckling to the work, our oars divide tlM^
The giant hearken'd to the dashing sound :
But when our vessels out of reach he found.
He strided onward ; and in vain essay'd
Th' likiian deep, and durst no forther wade.
With that he roarM aloud : the dreadful cry
Shakes earth, and air, and seas ; the billows fly.
Before the bellowiuir noise, to distant Italy.
The neighbouring JEtna t|>embling all around :
The winding caverns echo to the sound.
His broths Cyclops hear the yelling roar :
And, rushing down the mountains, crowd the sbore«.
We saw their stem distorted looks firom far.
And one-eyM glance, that vainly threatened wa|v
A dreadful council with tbeir heads on bigh ;
The misty clouds about their forelieads fly :
Not yielding to the towering tree of Jove,
Or tallest osrprc^ of Diana's grove.
New pangs of mortal fear onr minds assail,
We tug at every oar, and hoist up every sail |
And tslce th' advantage of the friendly gale.
Forewarned by Helenus we strive to shun
Charybdis* gulph, nor dare to Scylla run.
An equal fate on either side appears ;
We, taikini^ to the ltJ% are fima^omf earn x
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♦or firom "Petwos* point, tlic north arose.
And drove us back where swift Pantagias flows.