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 FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY 
 
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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31 92408795971 8 
 
THE ^NEID OF 
 VIRGIL 
 
 BOOKS I-VI 
 
 TRANSLATED BY 
 
 HARLAN HOGE BALLARD 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY 
 
 1902 
 
 K 
 
COPYR^ckT,' ^oY, E^^^ARLAN H. BALLARD 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 Puilishsd March, 1902 
 
THIS BOOK 
 
 IS 
 
 AJTECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
 
 STo mp iFatSer 
 
THE ^NEID 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 Wae is my song, and the man, who first from the 
 Ilian seashore, ^ 
 
 Banished hj fate, into Italy came, and Lavinian 
 harbors ; ^ 
 
 Long ws\s fe drTven o'er land and sea by, the fury 
 of Heaven, ^ ^ 
 
 Through the vindictive wrath of implacable Juno ; 
 
 afflicted __ i. i^ ~ 
 
 Cruelly also fey war, or eveS?' he founded a city, 5 
 
 Bearing his gods into Eatium, wEence the proud 
 race of tne Eatms, -- i i_, 
 
 Sires of the Alban town, and the city of Eon? 'ijj 
 
 — I»ergK?y.__ ^t/ ^ r- — ^^'\ 
 
 TeU me tne reasons, O Muse, in what w% i,p- 
 
 sovereignty wounded, ^_ / 
 
 Or, embittered by what did the queen f^^ ^^jjg gods 
 
 -^ ^ doom a hero _ , ^ - 
 
 Signal in faith to endure so nianv// ygpggg ^f f^j,. 
 
 So many burdens to bear? J[j.^ gud^ t^e resent- 
 me5^ts of Heaven 2- 
 TKere _wks_a city ^/'{^^ hy~ f^run cd&nists"" 
 peopled, y 
 
2 THE ^NEID\ 
 
 "Cartha ge, o pposite Kome, and the far distant 
 mouths oi the Tiber, . _ u 
 
 Rich in treasuries ot goI3, and of .desperate daring 
 in battle. . , .} 
 
 iSis one Juno is said to have loved above all other 
 
 countries, ^^__ ' \. k^ --^' 
 
 Samos,^rself, less dfear ; and here were her arms 
 and her war^ar. ^ — V_) 
 
 Nay, even then, had t'he goddess both hope and in- 
 tention oi making x- • o u ' 
 
 Carthage queen of the world, — if only the Fates 
 \^uld permit it. 
 
 But she had heard that a people of Teucrian blood 
 was arising. 
 
 Destined in future years to level her Tyrian cas- 
 tles ; 20 
 
 Hence was a nation to come, wide ruling, and 
 mighty in battle. 
 
 So had the Fates decreed, to Libya's utter destruc- 
 
 Stion. 
 Fearful of this, and remembering also the earlier ' 
 
 \ conflict 
 
 W.fiich she had formerly waged at Troy for her 
 well-beloved Argos, — 
 
 Nor e\ f^j yet had her reasons for wrath and her 
 oiT>>;er repinings 25 
 
 Faded away from her mind ; still rankled the judg-' 
 ment c-f Paris 
 
 Deep in her wounded heart, and the scornful con- 
 tempt of her beauty. 
 
 Also the rival race,\and Ganymede's high exalta- 
 tion ; — 
 
 Therefore incensed, wa^^ Saturnia driving the 
 storm-beaten TrojauL^, 
 
BOOK I 3 
 
 All that were left by the Greeks and spared by 
 cruel Achilles, 30 
 
 Far from the Latian shore, and, thus by the Fates 
 hurried onward, 
 
 Sea after sea did they roam, and year after year 
 did they wander ; 
 
 Such was the infinite toil of founding the race of 
 the Eomans. 
 Scarcely out of sight of Sicilian land they were 
 gladly 
 
 Spreading their sails for the deep, and with brazen 
 keel plowing the sea-foam, 35 
 
 When, the undying wound in her bosom still cher- 
 ishing, Juno 
 
 Thus with herself communed : " Am I to abandpn 
 the struggle • 
 
 Vanquished, and Italy yield to the king of the 
 Teuerian people? 
 
 I am o'erruled, forsooth, by the Fates ! Was Pal- 
 las, then, able 
 
 Vessels of Argos to burn, and the sailors to sink 
 in the ocean, 40 
 
 All for the crime and the madness of one, Oilean 
 Ajax? 
 
 She the consuming fire of Jupiter hurled from the 
 storm-cloud, 
 
 Scattered their foundering ships, and upturned the 
 sea with a tempest. 
 
 Him, out-breathing flame from his breast trans- 
 pierced by the lightning, 
 
 High on a splintering rock she impaled with the 
 rush of the whirlwind. 45 
 
 I, notwithstanding, who move as Queen of the 
 gods, and the sister, 
 
4 THE JENEID 
 
 Nay, as the consort of Jove, for so many years, 
 
 with one nation, 
 Carry on war. And henceforth will any one re- 
 verence Juno's 
 Will, or with bended knee lay a suppliant's gift 
 
 on her altar ? " 
 Silently pondering thus in her wrath-kindled bosom, 
 
 the goddess *" 
 
 Comes to the home of storms, to ^olia comes, 
 
 into regions 
 Teeming with furious gales. King.^olus, here, 
 
 as dictator. 
 Prisons the struggling winds in the depths of a 
 
 measureless cavern. 
 Curbing by chain and cell the wild and boisterous 
 
 tempests. 
 Ever around their den, with an echoing moan of 
 
 the mountain, ss 
 
 Sullenly do they roar. King -3jo1us, ruling with 
 
 rigor. 
 Throned in his hall of state, controls them and 
 
 tempers their fury. 
 But for his care, the sea and the land and the in- 
 finite heavens 
 Surely they swiftly would sweep through the air, 
 
 and hurl to destruction ; 
 But the omnipotent Father hath shut them away 
 
 in dark caverns, eo 
 
 Fearful of this, and hath set the mass of towering 
 
 mountains 
 Over them there, and ordained a king, who, under 
 
 agreement. 
 Knows how to hold them in check, and to give' 
 
 them free rein when commanded. 
 
BOOK I 5 
 
 Juno, a suppliant then, to him thus made her peti- 
 tion : — 
 
 " JEolus, yea, for to thee the father of gods, king 
 of mortals, es 
 
 Power hath given to quiet the waves and to raise 
 them by tempests. 
 
 Sailing the Tuscan sea is a people unfriendly to 
 Juno, 
 
 Troy into Italy bringing, and bringing their van- 
 quished Penates. 
 
 Lash into fury thy winds, and wreck their foun- 
 dering vessels ! 
 
 Or disperse their fleet and scatter their bodies to 
 Neptune ! 70 
 
 Nymphs of the air have I, twice seven, of marvel- 
 lous beauty. 
 
 Her who is fairest of all in her loveliness, Deio- 
 peia. 
 
 Firmly in wedlock to thee will I join, thine own, 
 and forever. 
 
 So that with thee she may pass all her life in re- 
 turn fof thy favor. 
 
 Making thee also a father, and bearing thee beau- 
 tiful children." 75 
 
 >5]olus thus replied : " O queen, be it thine to de- 
 termine 
 
 What thou desirest, and mine be the duty of doing 
 thy bidding. 
 
 Sovereignty, such as I have, my kingdom, and Ju- 
 piter's favor, 
 
 AU are of thee, thou bidst me recline at the ban- 
 quets of Heaven ; 
 
 Thou dost give me the power to govern the storm 
 and the tempest." so 
 
6 THE JENEID 
 
 When he had spoken these words, he drove the 
 
 cavernous mountain 
 In on the side with his whirling spear, and the 
 
 winds, like an army, 
 Kush where a gate is given, and sweep o'er the 
 
 earth in a cyclone. 
 East wind and South wind together, and West wind 
 
 burdened with tempests, 
 Fall on the sea, and dash it in mass from its deep- 
 est foundations, ^ 
 Boiling high on the shore great billows of turbu- 
 lent water. 
 Follows a shouting of men, and a whistling of 
 
 wind in the rigging. 
 Suddenly masses of cloud have robbed the eyes of 
 
 the Trojans 
 Both of the sky and the day ; dark night broods 
 
 over the ocean ; 
 Thunder the poles, and the heavens incessantly 
 
 glitter with lightning, so 
 
 While the whole universe threatens immediate 
 
 death to the heroes. I 
 
 Instantly icy chiUs unnerve the limbs of ^neas ; 
 Groaning in spirit and stretching aloft both hands 
 
 to the heavens. 
 Thus he exclaims aloud : " O thrice and again to 
 
 be envied. 
 Ye whose fortune it was to die in the sight of the 
 
 fathers, 95 
 
 Under the lofty walls of Troy ! O Diomed, bravest 
 Soul of the Danaan line, why was it not mine to 
 
 have fallen 
 Dead on the Ilian plain, to have yielded this life 
 
 to thy valor, 
 
BOOK I 7 
 
 Where, by the lance of Achilles, fierce Hector and 
 giant Sarpedon 
 
 Lie, and Simois rolls and tumbles under his bil- 
 lows 100 
 
 So many shields and helms and gallant bodies of 
 heroes ? " 
 While he thus voices his grief, a whistling blast 
 from the northward 
 
 Strikes the sail squarely in front, and raises the 
 waves to the heavens. 
 
 Snapped are the oars ; and adrift they roll in the 
 trough of the ocean. 
 
 Heaped in confusion there follows a shuddering 
 mountain of water. 105 
 
 Some hang aloft on the crest, under others the sea 
 widely yawning 
 
 Lays bare its bed 'mid the surges, and sand boils 
 up in the billows. 
 
 Three, by the South wind seized, are whirled upon 
 reefs that lie hidden, 
 
 Eocks in the midst of the sea, in Italy known as 
 The Altars, 
 
 Lifting their giant backs just out of the plane of 
 the water. no 
 
 Three by the Eastern wind are hurled from the 
 deep upon sand bars ; 
 
 Sad is the sight as they dash on shoals, sand heap- 
 ing about them. 
 
 One ship, that which the Lycians bore, and faith- 
 ful Orontes, 
 
 Full in sight of ^neas a mighty wave like a moun- 
 tain 
 
 Struck on the stern, and dashed from his station 
 the low-stooping pilot, 115 
 
8 THE .aiNEID 
 
 Hurling him headlong down ; while thrice in the 
 spot where she staggered, 
 
 Whirled was the ship by the sea, and quickly de- 
 voured by the whirlpool. 
 
 Now appear floating about here and there in the 
 wide-circling waters 
 
 Weapons of men, and planks, and treasures of 
 Troy, on the billows. 
 
 Now the stout ship of Ilioneus, now that of gallant 
 Achates, 120 
 
 That in which Abas sailed, and that which bore 
 aged Aletes, 
 
 All by the storm undone, and the joints of their 
 sides being loosened. 
 
 Let in the hostile sea, and open in widening fis- 
 sures. 
 Meanwhile Neptune perceives that the sea is 
 confused with an uproar ; 
 
 Sternly indignant, he sees that a storm has been 
 loosed ; that the peaceful 125 
 
 Depths of the sea have been stirred ; then, looking 
 forth from the ocean. 
 
 Lifts his majestic head o'er the foaming crests of 
 the surges ; 
 
 Sees the fleet of -^neas dispersed far over the 
 waters. 
 
 Sees the Trojans o'erwhelmed by the waves ; and 
 the wreck of the heavens ; 
 
 Nor were the craft and resentment of Juno con- 
 cealed from her brother. iso 
 
 Eurus and Zephyrus then he summons, and thus 
 he rebukes them : 
 
 " Hath so great confidence, then, in your birth and 
 your kindred possessed you 
 
BOOK I 9 
 
 That, without sanction of mine, ye mingle the 
 earth and the heavens? 
 
 And do ye dare, ye Winds, to raise these moun- 
 tains of water ? 
 
 Ye will I — but it were better to quiet the turbu- 
 lent billows : 135 
 
 Never again for your deeds shall ye make so light 
 an atonement ; 
 
 Hasten your flight, and take to your king this 
 message from Neptune: 
 
 Not unto him the command of the sea and the ter- 
 rible trident. 
 
 But to myself, pertain ; those desolate rocks are 
 his portion, 
 
 Eiirus, wherB thou dost dwell. In that castle let 
 -Slolutf bluster ; 140 
 
 There let him lord it at will o'er the winds in his 
 closely barred dungeon." 
 
 Thus doth he speak ; and more quickly than words 
 he hath calmed the wild waters, 
 
 Scattered the masses of cloud, and brought back 
 the sun to the heavens. 
 
 Triton at once and Cymothoe, eagerly toiling to- 
 gether, , 
 
 Shove the ships off the sharp rock ; and Neptune 
 assists with his trident, 145 
 
 Clearing great sand banks away and smoothing the 
 breast of the ocean. 
 
 Then in his buoyant car he rides o'er the swell of 
 the billows ; 
 
 And, as in some vast crowd, when, as often, a tu- 
 mult arises. 
 
 And the ignoble throng is roused to a frenzy of 
 passion. 
 
10 THE iENEID 
 
 Firebrands and stones are beginning to fly, tor 
 
 fury finds weapons, "" 
 
 Then if tbey chance to behold some man revered 
 
 for his virtues, 
 Or for his faith, they are hushed, and stand m 
 
 breathless attention, 
 While he controls their hearts by his words, and 
 
 quiets their passions. 
 So all the roar of the sea hath subsided or ever the 
 
 Father, 
 Looking out over the ocean and borne under 
 
 brightening heavens, iss 
 
 Urges his flying steeds and guides his swift chariot 
 
 onward. ^ 
 
 Weariedly struggle the men of ^neas to pilot 
 
 their vessels 
 Each to the nearest shore, and are turned to he 
 
 Libyan seacoast. 
 Deep in a bay is an island, enclosing a harbor, and 
 
 spreading 
 Wide its protecting arms, whereon each wavo from 
 
 the ocean leo 
 
 Breaks, and divides itself into refluent curves ; and 
 
 beyond it. 
 Rising to right and left, tall cliffs and twin crags 
 
 threaten heaven, 
 Under whose sentinel summits the plain of the 
 
 water is silent 
 Far and wide ; then rises a scene of glimmering 
 
 woodland. 
 While a dark forest impends from above with 
 
 bristling shadow ; le 
 
 Under the opposite front, in the hanging rocks is 
 
 a grotto ; 
 
BOOK I 11 
 
 Seats in the living rock are there, and waters of 
 crystal, 
 
 Home of the nymphs ; no chains here tether the 
 wave-wearied vessels. 
 
 Nor with its curving beak does an anchor ever 
 restrain them. 
 
 From the whole number of ships but seven re- 
 main, and ^neas no 
 
 Steals in hither with these ; then the Trojans leap 
 down from their galleys 
 
 With a great love for the land, and gain the cov- 
 eted beaches, 
 
 Flinging their wearied limbs all dripping with 
 brine on the seashore. 
 
 Quickly, however. Achates hath struck out a spark 
 from a flint-stone ; 
 
 Now he hath caught up the fire in leaves ; dry fuel 
 around it ns 
 
 He hath arranged, and now he hath kindled a 
 flame in the fagots ; 
 
 Then, grain, wet by the waves, and also the vessels 
 for cooking. 
 
 Bring they dejectedly forth, and make ready the 
 food they have rescued. 
 
 Planning to parch it with flre, and crush it with 
 stones for their supper. 
 
 Meanwhile ^neas is climbing the cliff to secure 
 an unbroken iso 
 
 View of the boundless deep, in the hope that some- 
 thing of Antheus 
 
 Tossed by the wind he may see ; some trace of the 
 Phrygian galleys; 
 
 Capys, perchance, or, high on the stern, the arms 
 of Caicus. 
 
12 THE ^NEID 
 
 Not one ship is in sight ; but, lo, three stags that 
 are straying 
 
 Down by the shore he spies ; whole herds are fol- 
 lowing slowly 1^' 
 
 After them, seeking their food in a straggling line 
 through the valleys. 
 
 Here did he halt, and reach with bis hand for his 
 bow and his arrows 
 
 Swift of flight, for the faithful Achates was bear- 
 ing these weapons. 
 
 First the leaders themselves, uplifting their heads 
 and their antlers 
 
 Like tall branching trees, he drops ; then the herd 
 in a body , uo 
 
 Driven with darts, he pursues through the leafy 
 depths of the forest ; 
 
 Nor does he quit the chase till seven huge bodies 
 he tumbles 
 
 Victor-like to the earth, and equals the roll of his 
 galleys. 
 
 Thence he returns to the harbor, and shares them 
 with all his companions ; 
 
 Also the wine which Acestes had kindly stored in 
 their flagons 195 
 
 On the Trinacrian shore, the hero's parting re- 
 membrance, 
 
 Now he divides, and he soothes by his words their 
 sorrowing bosoms : 
 
 " Comrades ! for this is not our first acquaintance 
 with trouble. 
 
 Ye who have heavier borne, from these, too, our 
 God will deliver ! 
 
 Scylla's wrath ye have braved, where deep in her 
 echoing cavern ^ 
 
BOOK I 13 
 
 Thundered the wave-beaten rocks ; ye have also 
 made trial of Cyclops 
 
 Striding among his crags ; take heart, and un- 
 happy foreboding 
 
 Ceasfe ; and hereafter, perhaps, to remember these 
 things will be pleasant. 
 
 Through these varied disasters, through all these 
 perils of fortune, 
 
 Seek we Latium still ; where the Fates are dis- 
 closing before us 205 
 
 Pea seful abodes ; where Troy is destined to rise 
 ' from her ashes. 
 
 Persevere, and reserve yourselves for a brighten- 
 ing future." 
 
 Such were the words he spake, but his heart was 
 heavy with trouble : 
 
 Hoj)e he feigned in his face ; crushed down the 
 deep grief in his bosom. 
 
 Then do they gird themselves and make ready the 
 deer for the banquet, 210 
 
 Tearing the hide from the ribs and exposing the 
 flesh underneath it. 
 
 Some cut the meat into slices and fix it on spits, 
 while it quivers ; 
 
 Others set caldrons of brass on the shore and at- 
 tend to the firing. 
 
 Then by the feast they renew their strength, and, 
 stretched on the greensward. 
 
 Drink their fill of old wine, and feast on the fat of 
 the deer-meat. 215 
 
 Then, when the tables are cleared, and their hunger 
 appeased by the banquet. 
 
 Long they inquire of each other the fate of their 
 missing companions. 
 
eads 
 
 lerd 
 
 ] 180 
 
 14 THE ^NEID 
 
 Balancing hope and fear, half hoping they ye1?s that 
 
 be living, 
 Half afraid they are dead, and beyond the .;re fol-j 
 
 of earth's voices. ^^^ 
 
 Marked is the grief of kind-hearted ^neas ig line 
 
 inwardly sighing 
 Over the lot of Orontes the brave ; now Anipr his 
 
 mourning : 
 Lycus, how cruel his fate ! bold Gyas, and valbear- 
 
 Cloanthus. 
 Yet there was now an end, wihen Jupiter, 
 
 in the heavens. 
 Looking down thence on the sail-winged sea 
 
 the far stretching mainland, 
 Scanning the shores and the scattered tribes ; -faij 
 
 throned in the heavens, i 
 
 Tarried, and fixed his eyes intent on the Libjes 
 
 kingdom. I 
 
 And, as these manifold cares he is pondering there 
 
 in his bosom. 
 Sorrowing more than her wont, her bright eyes 
 
 brimming with tear-drops, 
 Venus entreats him thus : " O thou, who with 
 
 endless dominion 
 Kulest o'er men and gods, thou, who by thy thun- 
 der appallest, 2J0 
 "What so great wrong hath ^neas, my son, been 
 
 able to do thee. 
 What have the Trojans, to whom, after suffering 
 
 so many death-blows, 
 Now the whole world, for Italy's sake, refuses a 
 
 refuge ? 
 Thou hast assuredly promised that hence in the far I 
 
 distant future 
 
BOOK I 15 
 
 Tnu an leaders shall rise and revive the succession 
 of Teucer ; 235 
 
 StrKng tiie sea and the land with universal do- 
 minion. 
 
 *-'C8*it is the motive, my father, hath turned thee 
 aside from thy purpose ? 
 
 TliriQainly I have been comforted thus for Troy's 
 desolation, 
 
 Seelighing against its pitiful ruin a happier 
 future. 
 
 1^6*1 the same fortune pursues these victims of 
 constant disaster. 240 
 
 Peiien wilt thou grant an end, Great King, unto 
 these tribulations ? 
 
 SuQl not Antenor unharmed escape from the midst 
 of the Grecians, 
 
 Ho read the Illyrian bays, and peacefully enter the 
 inmost 
 
 jiiealms of Liburnia ; passing beyond the Fount of 
 .Timavus, 
 
 Whence, through nine grfeat mouths, with an echo- 
 ing roar of the mountain, 2« 
 1 Floods burst forth and deluge the fields with thun- 
 dering billows ? 
 
 There, notwithstanding, the town of Patavium he 
 hath established ; 
 
 Founded a Teucrian state, and given a name to a 
 nation ; 
 
 Quitted his Trojan arms, and now dwelleth in 
 peace and contentment. 
 
 iWe, thy children, to whom thou hast promised the 
 glory of heaven, 250 
 
 Ships — can I speak of it ? — lost, to gratify one 
 who is angered. 
 
16 THE ^NEID 
 
 We are betrayed, and far are divided from Italy ii 
 
 harbors. 
 This, the reward of our faith? Is it thus thoi 
 
 restorest our empire ? " 
 Then, with that look that cahns the sky and quieti 
 
 the tempest. 
 Graciously smiling upon her, the father of gods 
 
 and of mortals ^ 
 
 Kisses the lips of his daughter, and answers her 
 
 petulant chiding : I 
 
 " Be not afraid, Cytherea, unchanged are the fates 
 
 of thy people ; 
 Thou shalt behold Lavinium's walls and the city 
 
 of promise. 
 And thou shalt bear to the stars that cluster on 
 
 high in the heavens 
 Noble ^neas, and no persuasion hath altered my 
 
 purpose. 260 
 
 This, thy son, (I will speak, for this trouble is 
 
 preying upon thee ; 
 Yea, I will stir the secrets of fate, unrolling the 
 
 future ;) 
 Terrible war shall wage in Italy ; peoples ferocious 
 Crush, and ordain for the men both laws and for- 
 tified cities, 
 TiU the third summer shall witness him ruling as 
 
 Latium's monarch, 285 
 
 And the third winter shall bring the Rutulians 
 
 under his sceptre. 
 Then this little Ascanius, taking the surname lulus, 
 (Ilus it was while the Ilian state maintained its 
 
 dominion,) 
 Thirty glorious years with their rolling months 
 
 shall accomplish 
 
BOOK I 17 
 
 There on the throne ; and then transfer his domin- 
 ion to Alba, 270 
 
 Leave the Lavinian realm, and build an impreg- 
 nable fortress. l 
 
 Here for full three hundred years shall govern- 
 ment flourish 
 
 Under Hectorean kings ; till at last a queen and 
 a priestess, 
 
 Ilia, bride of Mars, shall bear twin sons to the 
 War god. 
 
 Then, rejoiced by the tawny hide of his fostering 
 wolf-nurse, 275 
 
 Eomulus takes up the line and founds a war-loving 
 city. 
 
 Giving his name to the state, and calling the citi- 
 zens Romans. 
 
 I have determined for them nor date nor limit of 
 empire ; 
 
 Endless dominion I grant. Nay, even implacable 
 Juno, 
 
 Who is now vexing the sea and the land and the 
 sky in her terror, 280 
 
 Changed to a kindlier mood, shall join me in aid- 
 ing the Komans, 
 
 Lords of the world, and the nation that robes itself 
 in the toga ! 
 
 Such is my pleasure. The time shall come in the 
 lapse of the ages 
 
 When the Assaracan house, both noble Mycense 
 and Phthia 
 
 Under its thrall shall bring, and reign in discom- 
 fited Argos. 286 
 
 Then shall a Trojan be born of illustrious origin, 
 Caesar ! 
 
18 THE ^NEID 
 
 Ocean the edge of his realm, constellations the 
 
 fringe of his glory ; 
 Julius his name, by right of descent from mighty 
 / lulus. 
 
 Him to the heavens at last, with spoils of the 
 
 Orient laden. 
 Thou shalt surely receive ; and he shall be wor- 
 shipped with honor. 290 
 Then, renouncing war, rude ages shall yield to 
 
 refinement ; 
 White-haired Fides and Vesta, and Kemus at one 
 
 with Quirinus, 
 Eight shall enforce, and the gates of war, grim 
 
 iron-bound portals, 
 They shall be closed and barred; behind them 
 
 malevolent Discord, , 
 
 Sitting amid his engines of death, bound down by 
 
 an hundred 295 
 
 Fetters of brass, with blood-stained lips, shall rage 
 
 at his prison." 
 Thus he replies, and dispatches the son of Maia 
 
 from Heaven 
 So that the lands and the newly built castles, of 
 
 Carthage may open 
 Gladly to welcome the Trojans; lest Dido, with 
 
 fate unacquainted, 
 Drive them away from her shore. He flies through 
 
 the infinite ether 300 
 
 Winging his way, and soon has alighted on Libya's 
 
 seacoast. 
 Lo, his errand is done ; at the will of the god the 
 
 PhcEnicians 
 Lay their fierceness aside, and the queen is one of 
 
 the foremost 
 
BOOK I 19 
 
 Kindlier thoughts to aiCcept,and friendly good-will 
 
 to the Trojans. 
 Faithful ^neas, however, all night was uneasily 
 
 brooding 305 
 
 Over his caries, and resolved to go forth as the 
 
 morning was breaiking, 
 Study the unknown land which had sheltered his 
 
 ships from the tempest, 
 Learn, for he saw but a waste, whether men or 
 
 wild beasts were its tenants, 
 Then, take back to his comrades a faithful report 
 
 of the country. 
 Deep in a wooded cave, in the rock-sheltered arch 
 
 of a cavern, 310 
 
 Walled about by trees and darkened by quivering 
 
 shadows. 
 First he conceals his fleet ; and, Achates his only 
 
 companion. 
 Goes, with his hand tight clinched on his spears 
 
 well pointed with iron. 
 Crossing his path in the midst of the forest, his 
 
 mother confronts him. 
 Wearing a maiden's mien, and the dress and the 
 
 arms of a maiden 315 
 
 Spartan by birth, or as Thracian Harpalyce looks 
 
 when she wearies 
 Steed after steed, in her flight, and outruns the 
 
 swift waters of Hebrus. 
 For she had deftly suspended a graceful bow from 
 
 her shoulder. 
 Huntress-like, and her wind-tossed hair was stream- 
 ing behind her. 
 Bare was her knee, and caught in a knot were the 
 
 folds of her mantle. 320 
 
20 THE JENEID 
 
 Straightway she speaks : " Young men, if happily 
 
 one of my sisters 
 Wandering here you have seen, pray show me the 
 
 way she has taken, 
 Armed with a quiver, and girded about with a 
 
 dark spotted lynx-hide, 
 Or, in full cry, in pursuit of a foam-covered boar 
 
 through the forest." 
 Venus hath spoken, and thus doth ^neas reply to 
 
 his mother : 325 
 
 " I have not heard or seen any one of thy sisters, 
 
 O maiden ; 
 Maiden ! Nay, what shall I call thee ? Thou 
 
 hast not a countenance mortal. 
 Nor is thy voice like the voice of man. Ah, surely 
 
 a goddess ! 
 Art thou the sister of Phoebus ? or art thou a child 
 
 of the wood-nymphs ? 
 Graciously hear us, whoever thou art, and lighten 
 
 our trouble ; 330 
 
 Teach us beneath what sky, on what remote verge 
 
 of the planet 
 We are now thrown; for, strangers alike to the 
 
 land and the people. 
 Wander we, cast ashore by the wind and the moun- 
 tainous billows : 
 Many a victim shall fall by my hand in front of 
 
 thine altars." 
 Venus replied : " I consider myself unworthy such 
 
 honor ; sss 
 
 It is the habit of Tyrian maidens to carry' a 
 
 quiver. 
 Also the buskin of purple to bind high over the 
 
 ankle ; 
 
BOOK I 21 
 
 This that thou seest is Punic land, by Tyrians 
 peopled ; 
 
 That is Agenor's town; fierce Libyans press on 
 our borders ; 
 
 Dido is queen of the realm; she abandoned her 
 Tyrian city 340 
 
 Fleeing her brother ; her wrongs to detail were 
 too weary a story, 
 
 Yet I wiU give thee the leading events of her life 
 in a moment ; 
 
 She was the bride of Sychaeus, a landowner reck- 
 oned the richest 
 
 Man in the city of Tyre, and devotedly loved by 
 poor Dido. 
 
 Still in her maidenly bloom, her father had sanc- 
 tioned their union. 345 
 
 Fair were the omens of marriage ; but over the 
 Tyrian people 
 
 Kuled her own brother Pygmalion, foremost in all 
 that is evil. 
 
 Bitter dissension arose in the home, and by avarice 
 blinded, 
 
 Disregarding his sister's love, and heaven defying. 
 
 Eight at the altar he stealthily slew unsuspecting 
 Sychseus. 350 
 
 Long he concealed the deed ; and feigning many a 
 pretext 
 
 Basely deluded with falsehood the hope of his 
 heart-broken sister. 
 
 But in her slumbers the spirit itself of her un- 
 buried husband 
 
 Came, and, uplifting a face of strange and unnatu- 
 ral pallor. 
 
 Showing the bloody shrine and his bosom pierced 
 by the dagger, 355 
 
22 THE ^NEID 
 
 Opened before her view the dark disgrace of the 
 palace. 
 
 Then he persuades her to hasten her flight and 
 depart from her country ; 
 
 Tells of old treasure concealed in the earth to aid 
 her departure, 
 
 Gold unreckoned in weight, and silver unmeasured 
 in value. 
 
 Dido, aroused by this vision, made ready her flight 
 and her comrades ; 369 
 
 Gathered together all who detested the merciless 
 tyrant, 
 
 All who were sore afraid. Then, a vessel that 
 chanced to be waiting 
 
 Seizing, they freighted with gold ; and sordid Pyg- 
 malion's treasure 
 
 Floated away on the sea ; the head of the project, 
 a woman ! 
 
 Down to this place they came, where now you be- 
 hold the majestic ass 
 
 Walls and rising towers of the new-born city of 
 Carthage. 
 
 Next they purchased a site called Byrsa because 
 of their bargain ; 
 
 Only so much could they buy as their wit could 
 surround with a bull's hide. 
 
 But of yourselves at last ; who are you ? and 
 whence do ye journey ? 
 
 Whither is now your course?" To her, as she 
 made these inquiries, sro 
 
 Sighing, ^neas replied, drawing speech from the 
 depths of his bosom : 
 
 " Should I begin at the first, fair goddess, and fol- 
 low our story, 
 
BOOK I 23 
 
 Hadst thou also the leisure to hear the long tale 
 of our trials, 
 
 Hesperus sooner would close the day, and Olympus 
 be darkened. 
 
 Sailing from ancient Troy, if the name of Troy, 
 peradventure, 375 
 
 Ever hath reached thine ear ; through varied ex- 
 panses of water, 
 
 We have been dashed on this Libyan coast by a 
 freak of the tempest. 
 
 I am god-fearing ^neas ; my gods from the en- 
 emy rescued 
 
 Now do I bear in my fleet, and my glory is known 
 in the heavens. 
 
 Italy, home, do I seek, and my birthright from 
 Jove the Almighty. m 
 
 Launching a score of ships, I embarked on the 
 Phrygian waters. 
 
 Pointing the way was my mother divine, and Fate 
 was my pilot. 
 
 Scarcely are seven, disabled by surges and tem- 
 pests, remaining. 
 
 Poor and unknown myself, I am roaming the 
 Libyan deserts. 
 
 Outcast of Europe and Asia." Venus, however, 
 unable 335 
 
 Longer to bear his distress, interrupted him thus 
 in his grieving : 
 
 " Whoe'er thou art, I am sure that beloved by the 
 gods thou art breathing 
 
 Life-giving air, for lo I thou art come to our Tyrian 
 city. 
 
 Only go forward, and hasten thy way to the gates 
 of the palace ; 
 
24 THE ^NEID 
 
 For I announce that thy comrades are saved, that 
 thy fleet hath been rescued, ^ 
 
 Wafted by shifting gales to the arms of a shelter- 
 ing haven, 
 
 Else have my parents instructed me vainly in vain 
 divination. 
 
 Yonder twelve swans behold, in an orderly column 
 exultant. 
 
 Whom, but a moment ago, Jove's eagle, down- 
 swooping from heaven. 
 
 Whirled through the open sky ; they now in un- 
 broken procession 395 
 
 Seem to be choosing a haven, or looking on one 
 they have chosen. 
 
 Now, as, in safety once more, they disport with 
 their whistling pinions, 
 
 And in a company circle the sky with songs of 
 rejoicing, 
 
 Even so thy ships and the youthful sailors that 
 guide them 
 
 Either are safe in port, or glide with full sail into 
 harbor. 400 
 
 On ! then, at once, and led by this pathway, con- 
 tinue thy progress." 
 Speaking, she turned, and there flashed from her 
 neck a roseate splendor ; 
 
 Not of the earth was the fragrance exhaled by her 
 tresses ambrosial ; 
 
 Lengthening down to the earth, her robe flowed 
 over her sandals. 
 
 While in her queenly step she appeared undis- 
 guised, a true goddess. 405 
 
 Recognizing his mother, he cried in pursuit as she 
 vanished, 
 
BOOK I 26 
 
 " Why dost thou ever delude thy son with empty 
 disguises? 
 
 Why are we never permitted to give the right 
 hand to each other ? 
 
 Never to hear and reply with the natural tones of 
 our voices ? " 
 
 Thus he upbraided his mother, and hastened his 
 steps toward the city ; 4io 
 
 But, as they went, Venus hedged them about with 
 a shadowy vapor, 
 
 Yea, did the goddess enfold them about with a 
 cloud-woven mantle 
 
 So that no one might see them, nor any be able to 
 touch them. 
 
 Either to cause them delay, or challenge the cause 
 of their coming. 
 
 She herself, glad to revisit her home, is wafted to 
 Paphos ; as 
 
 There does a temple await her, and altars an hun- 
 dred are glowing 
 
 Bright with Arabian incense and fragrant with 
 new-gathered garlands. 
 
 They, in the mean time, are hastening on where the 
 pathway is guiding ; 
 
 Already climbing the hill which, frowning far over 
 the city. 
 
 Faces the towering castles that rise from the oppo- 
 site valley. 420 
 
 Marvelous seem to ^neas the blocks where once 
 were rude cabins ; 
 
 Marvelous seem the gates, and the din, and the 
 streets with their paving. 
 
 Bravely the Tyrians urge on the work ; some ex- 
 tending the ramparts, 
 
26 THE ^NEID 
 
 Others erecting a tower, or rolling up stones for 
 the builders ; 
 
 Others choose sites for their homes and surround 
 them with guardian furrows ; *» 
 
 Laws they ordain, and judges elect, and a rever- 
 end senate. 
 
 Here again others are dredging a harbor, and oth- 
 ers the ground-work 
 
 Deep of a theatre lay; while others hew out of 
 the quarries 
 
 Columns colossal, the lofty adornment of scenes 
 of the future. 
 
 Like labor urges the bees in the earliest dawning 
 of summer, «» 
 
 Over bright meadows of sunshine and flowers, or 
 guiding the full-grown 
 
 Young of the hive, or storing compactly the clear- 
 flowing honey. 
 
 Filling their cells to o'erflowing with sweet abun- 
 dance of nectar ; 
 
 Some take the burdens from home-coming work- 
 ers ; or, forming battalions, 
 
 Drive from their precincts the drones, that idle 
 and indolent faction ; «5 
 
 Fervent their labor ; and scented with thyme is 
 the redolent honey. 
 
 "Fortunate people, the walls of whose city al- 
 ready are rising ! " 
 
 Murmurs ^neas, uplifting his gaze to the heights 
 of the city. 
 
 Then, hedged about by the cloud, he passes, 
 marvelous story ! 
 
 Into the town, and mingles with men, yet no one 
 perceives him. 440 
 
BOOK I 27 
 
 There was a grove in the midst of the city, rejoi- 
 cing in shadow, 
 
 Where first the Tyrians, cast on the shore by the 
 ^ waves and the tempest, 
 
 Dug up the fortunate symbol foretold by imperial 
 
 Jijno, -_ , I „ 
 
 Even the head of a jfiery steed, for so should the 
 nation 
 
 Ever be famous in war, and independent for- 
 ever. 445 
 
 Here Sidonian Dido was building a temple to 
 Juno, 
 
 Vast, and enriched with gifts and the presence 
 divine of the goddess. 
 
 Pillars of bronze arise from the steps, bronze- 
 bound are the lintels. 
 
 And the huge hinges complain of the massive 
 bronze of the portals. 
 
 Now, a new marvel revealed in this grove first 
 lightened foreboding ; 450 
 
 Here did -^neas first venture to hope for a hap- 
 pier future; 
 
 Here first dared to look for relief from the scour- 
 ging of fortune. 
 
 For, as part by part, he scans the magnificent tem- 
 ple. 
 
 Waiting there for the queen, and wondering what 
 lucky planet 
 
 Shone on the city, and marveling, now at the skill 
 of the artists, 455 
 
 Now at their arduous toil, he sees, depicted in 
 order, 
 
 Battles of Troy, and the war whose renown al- 
 ready was world-wide, 
 
28 THE ^NEID 
 
 Sons of Atreus, and Priam, and, cruel to both, 
 stern Achilles. 
 
 Stopping abruptly, he cries with tears, " What 
 place now, Achates, 
 
 What retreat on earth rings not with the fame of 
 our struggle ? *^ 
 
 Priam is here ! even here hath worth her true guer- 
 don of honor; 
 
 Grief hath her tears ; and the heart is touched by 
 human misfortune. 
 
 Fling away fear ! our renown shall bring us a mea- 
 sure of safety." 
 
 Thus he exclaimed, and his heart was cheered by 
 the shadowy picture. 
 
 Groaning aloud, he drowned his face in a torrent 
 of weeping ; «5 
 
 For he beheld how here, where Pergamos centred 
 the conflict, 
 
 Greeks were in flight, while the Trojan youth were 
 hotly pursuing ; 
 
 There, the Trojans were crushed by the car of 
 crested Achilles. 
 
 Near by he recognized also, with tears, the pavil- 
 ion of Ehesus 
 
 Spreading its snow-white vails, as, betrayed in the 
 first hour of slumber, «o 
 
 Diomed, drenched with blood, defiled it with ter- 
 rible slaughter, 
 
 Driving the fiery steeds to his camp or e'er they 
 had tasted 
 
 Once of the pasture of Troy, or once had drunk 
 from the Xanthus. 
 
 Troilus fleeing, disarmed, in another part of the 
 picture, 
 
BOOK I 29 
 
 Luckless boy, and matched in unequal strife with 
 
 Achilles, 475 
 
 Dragged by his horses, is hanging supine from his 
 
 riderless war-car, 
 Clinging still to the reins ; his neck and his hair 
 
 trail behind him 
 Over the earth, and scrawled is the dust by the 
 
 spear-point inverted. ^ 
 
 Meanwhile, matrons of Troy, their hair unbound, 
 
 were advancing 
 Up to the temple of partial Minerva, and bearing 
 
 her mantle, 48o 
 
 Mournfully suppliant, beating the palms of their 
 
 hands on their bosoms. 
 PaUas stood fixing her eyes on the earth, and her 
 
 face was averted. 
 Thrice around Troy had Achilles been dragging 
 
 the body of Hector ; 
 Now he was selling for gold the lifeless form of 
 
 his victim. 
 Verily then he drew a deep sigh from the depths 
 
 of his bosom, 485 
 
 Seeing the spoils and the car, and the very body 
 
 of Hector, 
 Hector his friend, and Priam outstretching his 
 
 hands and defenseless. 
 Then he perceived himself engaged with the chiefs 
 
 of the Grecians ; 
 Also the Eastern troops, and the armor of dark- 
 visaged Memnon. 
 Penthesilea was raging and blazed in the midst of 
 
 her legions, «o 
 
 Leading her column of Amazons, shielded with 
 
 glittering crescents, 
 
30 THE ^NEID 
 
 Binding under her naked breast the gold of her 
 girdle ; 
 
 Warrior-maiden, audaciously challenging men to 
 the conflict. 
 While these marvellous scenes are appearing to 
 Trojan ^neas, 
 
 While he is riveted there in amazement and lost 
 in the vision, «5 
 
 Lo! to the temple advancing, the queen, most 
 beautiful Dido, 
 
 Comes in state, with youths in a multitude throng- 
 ing around her, 
 
 As by the bank of Eurotas, or over the hilltops of 
 Cynthus, 
 
 Dian marshals her train, while round and about 
 her a thousand 
 
 Oreads circle and dance. But she, with her quiver 
 of silver 500 
 
 Hung from her shoulder, eclipses the grace of the 
 nymphs of the mountain. 
 
 While the silent heart of Latona is filled with re- 
 joicing ; 
 
 Such was Dido, and thus was she joyously hasten- 
 ing onward. 
 
 Threading the throng, and approving the toil that 
 was founding her empire. 
 
 Then, at the gates of the goddess, beneath the 
 arched roof of the temple, 505 
 
 Eaised aloft on her throne, 'mid a hedge of bright 
 spears she is seated. 
 
 Judgment and law she ordains for the men, and 
 apportions their labors. 
 
 Equaling each to the other, or trusting to chance 
 the allotment, 
 
BOOK I 31 
 
 When, on a sudden, ^neas beholds, hard pressed 
 
 by a rabble, 
 Antheus drawing near with Sergestus and valiant 
 
 Cloanthus, sio 
 
 Followed by many of those whom the dark whirl- 
 ing tempest had scattered 
 Over the deep, and flung on other and far distant 
 
 beaches. 
 Straightway ^neas was dazed, and Achates, dumb 
 
 with amazement, 
 Trembled with joy and fear: for they ardently 
 
 yearned for their comrades, 
 Longing to grasp their hands, but the mystery 
 
 troubled their spirits. 515 
 
 Checking their ardor, still veiled in the cloud, they 
 
 silently wondered 
 What had befallen these men ; what harbor now 
 
 sheltered their vessels ; 
 Why they were coming; for men selected from 
 
 each of the galleys 
 Came to petition for favor, and hastened with 
 
 shouts to the temple. 
 When they had entered, and leave had been given 
 
 to speak in the presence, 520 
 
 Thus, as the eldest, Ilioneus spake with his wonted 
 
 composure : 
 " Gracious queen, divinely appointed to found a 
 
 new city. 
 And with imperial justice to rule a proud spirited 
 
 nation, 
 Trojans are we, in distress, the prey of the winds 
 
 and the waters. 
 Keep, we beseech thee, the terrible peril of fire 
 
 from our vessels ; 825 
 
32 THE ^NEID 
 
 Spare us, a god-fearing people, and patiently hear 
 our petition. 
 
 Not with steel are we come to ravage thy Libyan 
 hearthstones, 
 
 Nor to plunder thy treasure and bear it away on 
 the ocean ; 
 
 "We have no purpose of harm ; sucH presumption 
 is not for the vanquished. 
 
 There is a place which is known as Hesperia, 
 named by the Grecians, 530 
 
 Ancient the land, prevailing in arms, and abound- 
 ing in harvests. 
 
 Settled at first by CEnotrian men ; it is said their 
 descendants 
 
 Now have re-named the race from the name of their 
 leader, Italian. 
 
 Thither our course was set. 
 
 When on a sudden uprose from the wave storm- 
 breeding Orion, 535 
 
 Drove us on hidden shoals, and far with his south- 
 ern born tempests 
 
 Scattered us over the sea, and wrecked us on rocks 
 never charted. 
 
 Hither, a pitiful few, we have drifted at last to thy 
 harbor. 
 
 What is this race of men ? What country so bar- 
 barous is it 
 
 Sanctions behavior like this ? The refuge of sand 
 is denied us ; 540 
 
 Quarrels are sought, nay, we are forbidden to step 
 on thy borders. 
 
 E'en though ye fear not man, though ye hold mor- 
 tal arms in derision, 
 
 Yet of the gods beware, who are mindful of good 
 and of evil. 
 
BOOK I 33 
 
 There was a ruler among us, ^neas, and none was 
 
 more upright, 
 None more devoted, nor any more mighty in arms 
 
 or in battle. 545 
 
 This man, if fate hath preserved, if still he is liv- 
 ing and breathing 
 Heaven-born air, nor already lies low in the pitiless 
 
 shadows. 
 We shall not fear, nor will any advances of timely 
 
 assistance 
 Cause thee regret. There are cities, moreover, in 
 
 Sicily's confines. 
 Cities and fields, and of Trojan progenitors, kingly 
 
 Acestes. 550 
 
 Grant us permission to land our storm-shaken 
 
 boats on thy beaches. 
 Timbers to hew in thy forests, and oars to trim for 
 
 our galleys ; 
 So that if Italy call us, if comrades and king be 
 
 recovered, 
 Italy, then, we may joyfully seek and Latium's 
 
 harbor ; 
 But, if our safety be slain ; if thee, O best father 
 
 of Trojans, 555 
 
 Libyan waters are holding ; if now we despair of 
 
 lulus ; 
 Yet, even then, to Sicanian harbors and homes 
 
 that await us. 
 We may retrace our way, and seek a new king in 
 
 Acestes." 
 Thus did Ilioneus plead, and the Dardans, all 
 
 shouting together, 
 Thundered applause. seo 
 
 Dido, then, with downcast eyes, spake briefly in 
 
 answer : 
 
34 THE ^NEID 
 
 " Teucrians, fear from your hearts set free ; put 
 
 away apprehension ; 
 Trouble and newness of kingdom compel these 
 
 unfriendly precautions, 
 Force me with sentinels widely extended to guard 
 
 my dominions. 
 Men of .^neas, the city of Troy! Who is igno- 
 rant of them ? *5 
 Or of the deeds and the men and the flames of a 
 
 war so tremendous ? 
 Not so hardened the hearts we Carthaginians 
 
 carry ; 
 Nor doth the sun yoke his horses so far from our 
 
 Tyrian city ; 
 Whether ye choose Hesperia's broad Satumian 
 
 cornfields, 
 Whether ye choose the borders of Eryx, and 
 
 kingly Acestes, 570 
 
 I will dismiss you in safety with escorts, and lend 
 
 you assistance. 
 Yet, are ye willing, as equals, to stay with me 
 
 here in my kingdom ? 
 Lo, then, the town I am building is yours ; I will 
 
 harbor your vessels ; 
 Trojan and Tyrian, I am your queen, I will make 
 
 no distinction. 
 Yet do I wish that your king, compelled by the 
 
 same southern tempest, ns 
 
 Also were with us, ^neas himself ! I will send 
 
 through my seacoasts 
 Trustworthy men, and command them to search 
 
 through the Libyan borders ; 
 Shipwrecked, he still may be straying in some of 
 
 our forests or cities." 
 
BOOK I 35 
 
 Stirred in soul by these words, brave Achates and 
 
 father -ZEneas 
 Long had been burning to break from the cloud 
 
 that hung darkly around them. sso 
 
 Nor did Achates forbear to address the first word 
 
 to -lEneas : 
 " Child of a goddess ! what thoughts are surging 
 
 now in thy bosom ? 
 AU thou beholdest safe ; thy fleet and thy friends 
 
 are recovered. 
 One is not here, whom we, with our eyes beheld as 
 
 he perished, 
 Drowned in the sea ; aU else is fulfilling the words 
 
 of thy mother." sss 
 
 Scarcely had this been said, when suddenly, lo, 
 
 the encircling 
 Cloud divided itself, and dissolved in invisible 
 
 vapor. 
 Then in clear light was ^neas revealed, and he 
 
 stood forth resplendent. 
 Godlike in face and form ; for with radiant hair 
 
 had his mother 
 Crowned her son ; and over him breathed youth's 
 
 roseate splendor, 590 
 
 Kindling in his eyes the glory of beauty and glad- 
 ness; 
 Glory such as to ivory art may add, or when 
 
 silver, 
 Or white Parian marble, with yellow gold is sur- 
 rounded. 
 Suddenly then, unexpected by all, the queen he 
 
 addresses : 
 " I, whom thou seekest, am here ! Behold me in 
 
 person before thee ! 595 
 
36 THE ^NEID 
 
 Trojan ^neas, snatched from the jaws of Libyan 
 
 breakers 1 
 Thou, who alone dost compassionate Troy's un- 
 speakable sorrows, 
 Thou, who hast taken us, left by Greeks, and worn 
 
 out by disasters 
 Both of the land and sea, all destitute, into thy 
 
 city, 
 Into thy home, to return an acknowledgment 
 
 worthy, O Dido, eoo 
 
 This is not in our power, nor yet in the power of 
 
 whatever 
 Eemnant of Teucrian men may be scattered abroad 
 
 on this planet ; 
 But may the gods, if any divinities care for the 
 
 righteous, 
 If ever justice avail, or a heart that is conscious 
 
 of virtue, 
 Recompense fitting vouchsafe thee ! what age so 
 
 gladsome hath borne thee ! eos 
 
 Who are the parents so great have begotten so 
 
 noble a daughter ! 
 Long as the rivers shall run to the sea ; as long 
 
 as the shadows 
 Circle the slopes of the mountains, and stars are 
 
 nurtured in heaven. 
 Ever thy glory, forever thy name and thy praise 
 
 shall continue, 
 Be where it may our home ! " He paused, and 
 
 Ilioneus warmly eio 
 
 Welcoming with his right, with his left hand he 
 
 greeted Serestus, 
 Then all the others, both Gyas, the valiant, and 
 
 valiant Cloanthus. 
 
BOOK I 37 
 
 First, by the strange apparition was Tyrian Dido 
 
 astounded, 
 Then by the man's great grief, and then her lips 
 
 moved, and she answered : 
 " What is the fate that through peril so terrible, 
 
 child of a goddess, eis 
 
 Follows thee on ? What pow'r to these desolate 
 
 shores hath constrained thee ? 
 Art thou indeed that ^neas, begotten by Dardan 
 
 Anchises, 
 Borne by the Queen of Love where Phrygian 
 
 Simois floweth ? 
 Yet I remember now that Teucer once visited 
 
 Sidon, 
 Banished his father's realm, and looking about 
 
 for another 620 
 
 Kingdom with Belus to aid; Father Belus was 
 
 sweeping with havoc 
 Cypria's fruitful fields, and ruling by virtue of 
 
 conquest. 
 Ever since then have I known of the fates that 
 
 have shadowed thy city, 
 Known of the name of Troy, thy name and the 
 
 kings of the Grecians. 
 This very prince, though a foe, held the Teucrians 
 
 greatly in honor, 625 
 
 Proud that he too was derived from the ancient 
 
 stock of the Teucri : 
 Wherefore, arise, O youths ! and accompany us to 
 
 our palace. 
 Fortunes akin to yours have decreed that I also 
 
 must settle 
 In this land at last, after passing through manifold 
 
 trials ; 
 
38 THE ^NEID 
 
 Not unacquainted with grief, I am learning to aid 
 the unhappy." ^o 
 
 Thus she speaks, and leads -S^neas at once to the 
 palace, 
 
 While she ordains for the shrines of the gods ap- 
 propriate honors, 
 
 Not forgetting the; while to dispatch to the shore 
 for his comrades 
 
 Twenty buUs and the bristling backs of an hun- 
 dred enormous 
 
 Swine, and she added an hundred failing lambs 
 with their mothers, eas 
 
 Bountiful gifts for the day. 
 
 Ah, but her home within, with regal magnificence 
 furnished. 
 
 Dazzles the eye, and a banquet is laid in the midst 
 of the palace ; 
 
 Draperies wrought with art, and colored with cost- 
 liest purple. 
 
 Massive plate on the tables, of silver, embossed 
 with ancestral 640 
 
 Deeds of valor, in gold; a long, long history, 
 stretching 
 
 Through such a number of men, from the far dis- 
 tant source of her kindred. 
 Now doth ^neas, whose fatherly love disquiets 
 his spirit, 
 
 Bid swift-footed Achates run down at full speed 
 to the harbor, 
 
 TeU Ascanius all, and bring the boy back to the 
 city. 645 
 
 AU the affectionate father's care in Ascanius 
 centres. 
 
 Gifts, moreover, he bids him bring, from Ilium's 
 ruins 
 
BOOK I 39 
 
 Snatched in their flight ; a robe, with golden em- 
 broidery stiffened ; 
 
 Also a veil that is woven around with yellow acan- 
 thus; 
 
 Ornaments these of Helen of Argos, the same she 
 had carried 6so 
 
 Out of Mycenae when seeking in Troy an unhal- 
 lowed alliance ; 
 
 They were the wondrous wedding gifts of Leda, 
 her mother. 
 
 There was the sceptre, too, which Ilione formerly 
 carried, 
 
 First born daughter of Priam; and there was a 
 marvelous necklace 
 
 Lustrous with pearls, and a golden tiara resplen- 
 dent with jewels. ess 
 
 Hast'ning for these, was Achates now speeding his 
 way to the vessels. 
 But Cytherea new plots and plans in her heart 
 is devising. 
 
 That, with appearance changed, and changed in 
 countenance, Cupid, 
 
 Rather than charming Ascanius, come, and en- 
 kindle the frenzied 
 
 Queen with his gifts, and entwine with fire the 
 heart in her bosom, 660 
 
 For she distrusts the race, fears the double-tongued 
 people of Carthage, 
 
 Terrible Juno affrights her, and trouble returns 
 with the nightfall. 
 
 Therefore she makes her appeal to Cupid, the 
 wing-bearing love-god : 
 
 " Son, my reliance, in whom alone my mastery 
 dwelleth, 
 
40 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thou who laughest when Jupiter's thunder ap- 
 
 palleth the mighty, ees 
 
 Thou art my refuge. I humbly invoke thy divine 
 
 intervention. 
 How thy brother ^neas is driven about ev'ry sea- 
 coast 
 Over the deep by the hatred and cruel injustice of 
 
 Juno ; 
 This is weU known to thee ; thou hast ever been 
 
 grieved by my sorrow. 
 Him, Carthaginian Dido detains, and with gentle 
 
 entreaty 670 
 
 Hinders too long, and I dread these kindly atten- 
 tions of Juno 
 How they may turn, for she in a crisis so great 
 
 will not slumber. 
 Wherefore I plan to prevent her by guile ; and 
 
 the queen to encompass 
 Close with the fires of love, that, unmoved by the 
 
 will of the goddess. 
 She may be bound to me by her passionate love 
 
 for ^neas. ws 
 
 How canst thou bring this about ? Attend, while 
 
 I tell thee my purpose. 
 He, my chiefest concern, the Prince, is preparing 
 
 to hasten, 
 Called by his father's love to enter the Tyrian 
 
 city, 
 Bearing gifts that are left from the sea and Troy's 
 
 conflagration ; 
 Him will I lull to sleep, and hide in my sacred 
 
 pavilion, eso 
 
 High on Idalia's mountain or on the high hills of 
 
 Cythera, 
 
BOOK I 41 
 
 So that lie neither can know my designs nor un- 
 consciously thwart them. 
 
 Thou for one night, not more, must deceptively 
 copy his likeness, 
 
 And, a boy thyself, take the boy's familiar ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 So that when close to her side, rejoicingly, Dido 
 shall place thee, ess 
 
 At the imperial board all bright with the flashing 
 of wine-cups. 
 
 When in her arms she shall fold thee and press 
 tender kisses upon thee. 
 
 Thou shalt a hidden flame inspire, and betray her 
 with poison." 
 
 Cupid obeys the behest of his cherishing mother, 
 and pinions 
 
 Doffing, sets off with rejoicing, assuming the step 
 
 of lulus. 690 
 
 Then doth Venus diffuse through the limbs of 
 
 Ascanius peaceful 
 Sleep ; yea, lulled in her bosom the goddess doth 
 
 carry him gently 
 Up to her lofty Idalian groves, where marjoram 
 
 softly 
 Wraps him about with flowers and a fragrant 
 
 coolness of shadow. 
 Lo, now, obeying her words, and bearing the 
 
 offerings regal, 695 
 
 Cupid was seeking the city, delighted to follow 
 
 Achates. 
 When he appeared, the queen was already com- 
 posed on her golden 
 Couch, with its tapestry royal, and placed in the 
 
 centre of honor. 
 
42 THE ^NEID 
 
 Enters now Father ^neas; and now the young 
 
 Trojans assemble, 
 Ranging themselves at the board, and reclining on 
 
 couches of purple. 'oo 
 
 Water is given by slaves for their hands ; bread 
 
 offered in baskets ; 
 Napkins also are brought of smooth and delicate 
 
 finish. 
 Handmaidens fifty within ; their care to make 
 
 ready the viands, — 
 Long the array, — and with kindling fires to honor 
 
 the hearth-gods. 
 Others an hundred, and pages as many, all equally 
 
 youthful, 705 
 
 Burden the tables with dainties, and set out the 
 
 glittering goblets ; 
 Nor do the Tyrians fail to throng the welcoming 
 
 doorways. 
 Greet one another, and bidden, recline on the tap- 
 estried couches. 
 All are surprised by the gifts of -^neas ; sur- 
 prised by lulus. 
 Won by the sparkling eyes of the god, and the 
 
 rogue's pretty speeches ; 710 
 
 Pleased by the robe, and the veil embroidered 
 
 with yellow acanthus. 
 Chiefest of all, unhappy Phoenissa, foredoomed to 
 
 destruction, 
 Cannot appease her heart, and kindles anew while 
 
 she gazes. 
 Strangely moved by the boy, and equally touched 
 
 by the presents. 
 When he has run to the arms and clung to the 
 
 neck of ^neas, 715 
 
BOOK I 43 
 
 Satisfying his love and roguishly calling him fa- 
 ther, 
 
 Cupid runs to the queen. Her eyes are riveted on 
 him ; 
 
 Riveted all her soul ; and she presses him oft to 
 her bosom, 
 
 Little aware, poor Dido, how mighty a god was in 
 ambush. 
 
 He, to his mother true, with the thought of effa- 
 cing Sychseus, 120 
 
 Little by little begins to arouse by a living affec- 
 tion 
 
 Thoughts that have slumbered long, and a heart 
 long unwonted to passion; . 
 \ When the first luU in the banquet is come, and 
 cleared are the tables. 
 
 Generous bowls are set, and the wine is encircled 
 with garlands. 
 
 Then there 's a clash in the haU, and voices ring 
 out through the palace ; 725 
 
 Down from the gold-fretted ceilings, radiant lamps 
 are suspended. 
 
 Darkness is put to flight by the flaring flame of 
 the torches. 
 
 Then calls the queen for her bowl ; it is heavy with 
 gold and with jewels. 
 
 Fills with wine the cup which Belus and aU after 
 Belus 
 
 Ever were wont to use ; then silence is made in the 
 palace. 730 
 
 " Jupiter, for we are taught that thou guardest 
 the host and the stranger, 
 
 Grant that this day may be bright to the Tyrians, 
 bright to the Trojans ; 
 
44 THE ^NEID 
 
 Grant that our children's children may hold it 
 
 long in remembrance. 
 Be with us, Bacchus, thou giver of joy ; good 
 
 Juno be with us. 
 Tyrians ! cheers for this unjon, and here 's to the 
 
 health of our guest-friends." 735 
 
 Dido hath spoken, and sprinkled the table with 
 
 sparkling libation. 
 Then first lightly she touched her lips to the brim 
 
 of the goblet, 
 Passing it next to Bitias, calling his name with a 
 
 challenge ; 
 Quaffs he in haste from the foaming cup, yea, 
 
 drinks frotn the brimming 
 Bowl ; and the princes beyond iri turn. Then long- 
 haired lopas 740 
 Plays on a cithern of gold as Atlas, the mighty, 
 
 hath taught him ; 
 Sings of the wandering moon, and sings of the 
 
 sun and eclipses, 
 Whence the race of man and beast, whence rain 
 
 and the lightning, 
 Sings of the Hyades stormy, and sings of the 
 
 Bears and Arcturus, 
 Sings why the wintry sun so hastens to dip in the 
 
 ocean, 745 
 
 Sings why summer nights are delayed so long in 
 
 their coming. 
 Tyrians thunder applause, and Trojans reecho 
 
 their plaudits. 
 Meanwhile was Dido, unhappy, protracting the 
 
 night with a tangled 
 Web of discourse, and drinking long draughts 
 
 from the deep cup of passion ; 
 
BOOK I 45 
 
 Having so much to inquire about Priam ; so much 
 about Hector ; 750 
 
 Now, with what armor the son of Aurora had 
 come to the battle, 
 
 Now, what horses had Diomed ; now, how great 
 was Achilles. 
 
 " Nay, good guest," she cries, " be pleased to tell 
 us the story 
 
 From the very beginning, the plots of the Gre- 
 cians, thy trials. 
 
 And thy wandering course ; for the seventh sum- 
 mer already 755 
 
 Bears thee on land astray, and bears thee adrift 
 on the ocean." 
 
BOOK n 
 
 All became silent, uplifting their faces in eager 
 
 attention. 
 Then, from his lofty couch, spake Father ^neas 
 
 as follows : 
 "Thou dost require me, O queen, to revive an 
 
 unspeakable sorrow. 
 How the dominion of Troy, and the mournful 
 
 realm of the Trojans, 
 Greeks overthrew ; all the heartrending scenes I 
 
 have witnessed, nay even 5 
 
 Great part of which I have been. In relating so 
 
 grievous a story, 
 Who of the Myrmidon tribe, what soldier of cruel 
 
 Ulysses, 
 Or of Dolopia's army, could keep back the tears? 
 
 and already 
 Damp night rushes in haste from the sky, and 
 
 the planets declining 
 Summon to sleep. But if thou art so eager to 
 
 learn our misfortunes, 10 
 
 If thou wouldst briefly be told Troy's final and 
 
 desperate struggle ; 
 Though I may shrink from the pain, though shud- 
 ders my soul to remember, 
 I will begin. Defeated in battle and baffled by 
 
 fortune, 
 Year after year still slipping away, by divine in- 
 spiration, 
 
BOOK n 47 
 
 Prompted by Pallas, the chiefs of the Greeks 
 built a horse, that in stature is 
 
 Equaled a mountain, its ribs interweaving with 
 planks of the fir-tree. 
 
 Pledged for a safe return, they pretended ; that 
 rumor was published. 
 
 Stalwart men, selected with care, they stealthily 
 prisoned 
 
 Deep in its gloomy flank, and filled were its hid- 
 den recesses. 
 
 Hollow and huge, and its paunch, with soldiers in 
 glittering armor. 20 
 
 Tenedos, plainly in sight, is an island exceed- 
 ingly famous. 
 
 Teeming with wealth as long as the kingdom of 
 Priam continued. 
 
 Now it is only a bay, and a harbor distrusted by 
 vessels. 
 
 Hither conveyed, they secreted themselves on the 
 desolate seashore. 
 
 We believed them gone, yes, flown with the winds 
 to Mycenae ; 25 
 
 Therefore all Teucria breaks the long bondage of 
 sorrow and mourning. 
 
 Gates flung wide, what joy to go out to the Do- 
 rian camp-ground. 
 
 View the deserted plain, and gaze on the beaches 
 forsaken. 
 
 Here, the Dolopian band, there, savage Achilles 
 had tented ; 
 
 Here they had moored their fleet, and yonder had 
 marshaled for battle. 30 
 
 Part of us stare at the ominous gift of unwedded 
 Minerva, 
 
48 THE iENEID 
 
 Dazed by the bulk of the horse ; and first Thy- 
 
 mcetes exhorts us : 
 ' Bring it within the walls, in the citadel give it a 
 
 station.' 
 Traitor ! or already thus were tending the fates of 
 
 the Trojans. 
 Capys, however, and they whose minds were of 
 
 clearer discernment, as 
 
 Bade us precipitate into the sea all the craft of 
 
 the Grecians, 
 All their insidious gifts, or kindle a fire and de- 
 stroy them ; 
 Or, bore into the side and explore the deep lair of 
 
 the belly. 
 Thus is the wavering throng divided in contrary 
 
 factions. 
 First before all of them there, with a multitude 
 
 crowding behind him, « 
 
 Down from the citadel's height Laocoon angrily 
 
 hastens. 
 Crying afar, ' Alas, poor countrymen, what is this 
 
 folly? 
 Think ye the enemy gone ? Believe ye still there 
 
 are any 
 Gifts of the Greeks untainted with guile? Is 
 
 Ulysses forgotten? 
 Either enclosed in this timber Achaans are lurk- 
 ing in ambush, « 
 Or the machine is an engine upreared in the face 
 
 of our ramparts, 
 Built to command our homes, and prepared to 
 
 descend on our city ; 
 Or there is still some plot ; trust not in the horse, 
 
 O ye Trojans ! 
 
BOOK II 49 
 
 Be what it may, even paying their vows, I 'm 
 
 afraid of the Grecians.' 
 Thus having spoken, he hurled a great spear with 
 
 his powerful muscles 50 
 
 Into the creature's side and the jointed curve of 
 
 the belly. 
 Quivering there it stuck, and jarred was the horse 
 
 to the centre ; 
 Thundered its cavernous flanks, and rumbled its 
 
 echoing hoUows. 
 Then, if the fates of the gods, and our judgment 
 
 had not been perverted. 
 He had compelled us to spoil with steel the lair of 
 
 the Argives, 55 
 
 Troy, thou wouldst yet remain, and thou, lofty 
 
 fortress of Priam ! 
 Lo, at this moment, some shepherds of Troy, with 
 
 tumult and shouting. 
 Drag to the king a youth whose hands are pinioned 
 
 behind him. 
 He, of his own accord, had surrendered himself, 
 
 though a stranger. 
 Crossing their path for the purpose of opening 
 
 Troy to the Grecians. eo 
 
 Daring in heart was he; for either alternative 
 
 ready. 
 Either to work out the plot, or yield to sure death 
 
 if discovered. 
 Eddying round on every side in a struggle to see 
 
 him 
 Jostle the Trojan youth, and vie in deriding the 
 
 captive. 
 Hearken ye now to the wiles of the Greeks, and 
 
 from one act of treason, 65 
 
50 THE ^NEID 
 
 Learn the whole race. 
 
 For as he stood in full view of the throng, defense- 
 less and troubled, 
 
 Gazing around with his eyes on the cordon of 
 Phrygian soldiers, 
 
 ' Ah ! ' he exclaimed, ' what land, what sea can now 
 yield me a refuge ? 
 
 Wretch that I am, what now is left me at last for 
 my portion ? 70 
 
 Nowhere remaineth for me any place among Greeks, 
 and the Trojans, 
 
 Yea, they also in wrath the atonement of blood are 
 demanding.' 
 
 Changed was our mood by his grief, and checked 
 was each rude demonstration. 
 
 Then we exhort him to speak, to say of what blood 
 are his kindred. 
 
 Tell what news he may bring, what confidence 
 claim as a captive. vs 
 
 Finally, laying aside his fear, he answered as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 ' Happen what may, O king, I will surely acknow- 
 ledge before thee 
 
 All that is true,' he cried, ' nor deny my descent 
 from the Argives ; 
 
 This at the first ; nor although a malevolent For- 
 tune hath rendered 
 
 Sinon so wretched, not yet shall she render him 
 false or deceitful. so 
 
 If, peradventure, by rumor, the name Palamedes 
 Belides 
 
 Ever hath come to thine ear, or the widespreading 
 fame of his glory, 
 
 Him, under false accusation, though innocent, 
 wickedly slandered. 
 
BOOK II 51 
 
 Guilty alone of opposing the war, tlie Pelasgians 
 
 murdered ; 
 Now that he lies in the darkness of death, too late 
 
 they deplore him. as 
 
 He was my comrade and kin, and with him my 
 
 impoverished father 
 Sent me off to the war in the earliest years of 
 
 young manhood. 
 While he stood high in the state and strong in the 
 
 council of princes, 
 I, too, had some reputation, and carried a measure 
 
 of honor. 
 Afterward, when through the envy of ever deceit- 
 ful Ulysses — 9» 
 I am betraying no secret — he passed from the 
 
 shores of the living, 
 Broken in spirit, I fretted my life with gloomy 
 
 repining. 
 Deeply resenting in heart the fate of my innocent 
 
 comrade ; 
 Nor did I hold my peace, but foolishly vowed that, 
 
 if Fortune 
 Ever should guide my victorious feet to my people 
 
 in Argos, 95 
 
 I would avenge his death ; my words aroused bit- 
 ter resentment. 
 Thence my ruin began ; thereafter forever Ulysses 
 Kept me in fear by new charges, and scattered 
 
 mysterious whispers 
 Over the camp, and constantly sought a conspira^ 
 
 tor's weapons ; 
 Nor, in fact, did he rest until, Calchas abetting his 
 
 purpose, — 100 
 
 Yet, after all, why vainly rehearse this harrowing 
 
 story ? 
 
52 THE ^NEID 
 
 Wherefore delay, if ye hold all Greeks at the 
 same valuation ? 
 
 If ye have heard enough ; postpone your vengeance 
 no longer ; 
 
 This would the Ithacan wish ; the Atridae repay 
 with a fortune.' 
 
 Then were we truly impatient to hear and consider 
 his pleading ; i05 
 
 Strangers to crime so base ; unversed in Felasgian 
 cunning. 
 
 Faltering he proceeds, and speaks from his treach- 
 erous bosom : 
 
 ' Often the Greeks, out-worn by the ever-length- 
 ening conflict, 
 
 Longed to effect a retreat, leave Troy, and return 
 to Achaia ; 
 
 Would they had done it ! As often, the terrible 
 wrath of the ocean no 
 
 Intercepted their flight, and a southern-born tem- 
 pest dismayed them. 
 
 Notably, just as this horse, compacted with timbers 
 of maple. 
 
 Hose to its feet, the whole firmament echoed with 
 warnings of thunder. 
 
 Anxiously then to the temple of Phoebus Eury- 
 palus hastens ; 
 
 These are the grievous words he brings from the 
 shrine of Apollo : us 
 
 'It was with blood ye appeased the winds, and 
 the death of a virgin, 
 
 When at the first ye came, O Greeks, to the Ilian 
 seacoast ; 
 
 It is with blood ye must seek return ; by the life 
 of a Grecian 
 
BOOK II 63 
 
 Ye must appease the gods ; ' this rumor filled the 
 
 encampment. 
 Then were our minds benumbed, and a tremor of 
 
 chill apprehension 120 
 
 Thrilled our hearts. Who was summoned by- 
 Fate ? Who called by Apollo ? 
 Then did the Ithacan drag to the front with a 
 
 mighty commotion 
 Calchas, the soothsayer, fiercely demanding the 
 
 oracle's meaning. 
 Even then there were many who warned me against 
 
 the impostor's 
 Merciless crime ; and many in silence foresaw 
 
 what was coming. 125 
 
 Twice five days he is dumb, discreetly refusing to 
 
 sentence 
 One by his priestly lips ; or one to single for 
 
 slaughter. 
 Finally, fairly forced by the Ithacan's violent 
 
 urging, 
 Playing his part, he speaks, and designates me for 
 
 the altar. 
 All were content, and the fate that each for him- 
 self had been dreading lao 
 Bore with composure when turned to the death of 
 
 another less happy. 
 Dawns the accursed day ; prepared are my sacred 
 
 adornments ; 
 Strewn is the salted meal ; the fillets are crowning 
 
 my temples. 
 Death I have robbed of his prey ; I confess it ; I 
 
 broke from my fetters. 
 And, in a marshy lake, all night I lay hid in the 
 
 rushes iss 
 
54 THE iENEID 
 
 Anxiously watching to catch the first gleam of a 
 
 sail on the water. 
 Now, no more can I hope to behold the old land of 
 
 my childhood, 
 Look on my children dear, or return to ray father 
 
 beloved ; 
 Whom they will even (it may be) demand by 
 
 way of atonement 
 Now I have fled, and avenge this fault by their 
 
 pitiful slaughter. wo 
 
 Now, by the gods above, by spirits omniscient and 
 
 holy. 
 By, — if there be any yet remaining on earth 
 
 among mortals, — 
 By an inviolate faith, I beseech thee compassionate 
 
 trials 
 Grievous as mine, and be gracious to one so un- 
 justly afflicted.' 
 Life for his tears we grant, and freely we give 
 
 him our pity. 145 
 
 Priam himself at first commands that his shackles 
 
 be loosened. 
 Loosened his chafing cords ; and thus addresses 
 
 him kindly : 
 ' Give up the Greeks henceforth, whoever thou art, 
 
 and forget them. 
 Be one of us ; yet answer exactly the questions I 
 
 ask thee. 
 Why have they reared this bulk of a monstrous 
 
 horse ? Who its author ? 150 
 
 What do they seek? What rite of religion? 
 
 What engine of warfare ? ' 
 So spake the king ; and the stranger, well skilled 
 
 in Pelasgian cunning, 
 
BOOK II 65 
 
 Stretching his hands released from the cords aloft 
 
 to the heavens : 
 ' Witness ye, deathless fires, ye spirits inviolate, 
 
 witness. 
 Witness,' he cries, 'ye terrible blades and altars 
 
 unhallowed iss 
 
 I have escaped ; ye fillets divine that I wore as a 
 
 victim ; 
 May I not rightly abjure the sacred oaths of the 
 
 Grecians, 
 Kightly abhor th^ men, and bring to the light all 
 
 their secrets 
 Should there be any concealed ? I am bound by 
 
 no laws of my country. 
 Only do thou, O Troy, abide by thy word, and 
 
 when rescued, leo 
 
 Keep thou thy faith, if I bring thee true tidings 
 
 and amply requite thee. 
 All the hope of the Greeks, all faith in the war 
 
 from the outset. 
 Ever hath rested in Pallas ; but Pallas befriends 
 
 them no longer ; 
 For, since Dioiped vile, and Ulysses, the plotter 
 
 of evil. 
 Ventured to tear from its consecrate temple the 
 
 form of Minerva, les 
 
 Patal Palladium, slaying the guards on the height 
 
 of her fortress. 
 Seized the image divine, and rudely assaulted the 
 
 goddess. 
 Daring with blood-stained hands to defile her im- 
 maculate fillets. 
 Ever since then have the hopes of the Greeks been 
 
 failing and falling; 
 
66 THE ^NEID 
 
 Broken has been their might, estranged the heart 
 of the goddess. no 
 
 Nor with uncertain signs did Tritonia show her 
 displeasure ; 
 
 Scarce was the image lodged in the camp when 
 glittering flashes 
 
 Blazed from her angry eyes, and briny sweat be- 
 ' gan coursing 
 
 Down her limbs, and thrice from the earth, I teU 
 it with wonder. 
 
 Leaped the statue itself, with shield and quivering 
 sceptre. m 
 
 Instantly Calchas declares that now we must flee 
 o'er the ocean, 
 
 Tells us that Pergamos cannot be razed by the 
 swords of the Argives 
 
 If they repeat not the omens at Argos, and bring 
 back the goddess 
 
 Whom they have carried away o'er the deep in 
 their high curving gaUeys. 
 
 Now that, borne by the wind, they have flown to 
 their native Mycenae, i8o 
 
 Arms they prepare, and gods to befriend, and, re- 
 crossing the water. 
 
 Suddenly they will be here. Thus Calchas inter- 
 prets the omens. ' 
 
 Heeding the warning, this horse they have built in 
 place of the image. 
 
 Built for the injured god, to atone for their im- 
 pious outrage. 
 
 Calchas, however, ordained that this towering mass 
 be erected, iss 
 
 Knit with timbers of oak, and lifted high to the 
 heavens. 
 
BOOK II 57 
 
 So that it never might pass your gates, nor enter 
 your city, 
 
 Nor your people protect by the shield of their an- 
 cient religion. 
 
 For, if your hands affront the gifts that are vowed 
 to Minerva, 
 
 Then great ruin — on him may the gods rather 
 visit the omen ! — 'wo 
 
 Surely shall fall on the kingdom of Priam and all 
 of you Trojans ; 
 
 But, if beneath your hands it ascend to the heights 
 of your city, 
 
 Asia, unprovoked, shall come with her legions to 
 Argos, 
 
 And upon us and ours this curse shall be fastened 
 forever.' 
 
 Through such treacherous words, and the art of 
 perjuring Sinon, 195 
 
 Credence was given the tale ; and we were en- 
 snared by devices, 
 
 Trapped by treacherous tears, whom Diomed never 
 had conquered, 
 
 Nor Larissaean Achilles, a decade, nor thousands 
 of warships. 
 Here something other and greater, and far more 
 fitted to frighten, 
 
 Happened to us, and filled with dismay our un- 
 prepared bosoms. 200 
 
 Priestly Laocoon, chosen by lot for the service of 
 Neptune, 
 
 Chanced a huge bull to be slaying in front of the 
 consecrate altar. 
 
 Lo, twin serpents from Tenedos, over the motion- 
 less water, — 
 
58 THE ^NEID 
 
 Still do I shudder to tell it, — writhing in huge 
 
 undulations, 
 Burden the sea, and side by side, to the shore are 
 
 advancing. 205 
 
 See ! 'mid the surf their breasts are erect, and 
 
 their terrible blood-red 
 Crests command the waves, while the hinder part 
 
 of their bodies 
 Sweeps through the sea, and their giant backs are 
 
 coiling in spirals. 
 Now there 's a sound in the seething brine : now 
 
 they glide to the seashore ; 
 Tinged with blood and with fire, their eyes are an- 
 grily blazing, ao 
 While with their flickering tongues their hissing 
 
 lips they are licking. 
 Pale, we flee from the sight ; but they, in a course 
 
 undeflected, 
 Kush on Laocoiin ; then, at first, each serpent sur- 
 rounding 
 One of his sons with its coils, embraces his delicate 
 
 body, 
 Tearing the limbs with its teeth, and mangling the 
 
 pitiful morsels. 215 
 
 Then himself, rushing up to their aid, and bearing 
 
 his weapons. 
 Seizing, they bind with their spirals huge ; and 
 
 when they have circled 
 Doubly about his waist, and doubly his throat 
 
 have enfolded 
 Close with their scale-clad breasts, their heads and 
 
 long necks rise above him. 
 Then with both his hands he strains at the knots 
 
 that enclose him ; 220 
 
BOOK II 69 
 
 Dyed are his fillets with blood, and blackened by- 
 splashes of venom ; 
 
 Frightful shrieks he utters the while, appealing to 
 heaven ; 
 
 Roars like the wounded bull, that, breaking away 
 from the altar. 
 
 Angrily shakes from his neck the axe that wavered 
 in falling. 
 
 But the two dragons have glided away to the 
 height of the temple ; 225 
 
 Lo, they are seeking in flight the shrine of relent- 
 less Minerva ; 
 
 Now, at her very feet, by the orb of her shield are 
 they sheltered. 
 
 Then indeed through each trembling heart steals 
 fresh trepidation ; 
 
 Then it is whispered about that Laocoon justly 
 hath suffered 
 
 Punishment for his crime, in that with the point 
 of his weapon 230 
 
 He hath dishonored the sacred oak, with his im- 
 pious iron 
 
 Piercing its breast ; all cry : ' Let the image be 
 brought to the temple ! 
 
 Heaven's forgiveness invoked.' 
 
 Then, dividing the ramparts, we open the walls of 
 our city ; 
 
 All are girded for work, arranging the gliding of 
 rollers 235 
 
 Under its feet, while cables of hemp they attach to 
 the shoulders. 
 
 Lo, the engine of death with its burden of soldiers 
 in armor 
 
 Crosses the walls, while around it our boys and in- 
 nocent maidens 
 
60 THE JENEID 
 
 Carol their sacred hymns and joyously tug at the 
 
 cable. ' 
 
 Still it advances, and, threatening, glides to the 
 
 heart of the city. 240 
 
 Country of mine ! O, Ilium, home of the gods ! 
 
 and ye Trojan 
 Bulwarks famous in war ! four times at the gate's 
 
 very threshold 
 Halting it stopped ; four times from within came 
 
 a rattling of armor ; 
 Nevertheless, we continue, unheeding, and blind 
 
 in our madness, 
 Till in our holy tower we have lodged the calami- 
 tous monster. 245 
 Then Cassandra, too, unsealed with a song of the 
 
 future 
 Lips, by command of Apollo, forever unheeded by 
 
 Trojans. 
 We, poor wretches, for whom that day should have 
 
 no to-morrow. 
 Covered the shrines of the gods with garlands of 
 
 joy through the city. 
 Meanwhile the sky was revolving, and Night,, 
 
 rushing up from the ocean, 250 
 
 Folded around with shadows vast the earth and 
 
 the heavens, 
 Hiding the Myrmidon wiles ; the Trojans, dis- 
 persed through the city. 
 All became silent ; their limbs, overwearied, close 
 
 pinioned by slumber. 
 Yet already the Grecian host, their boats in a 
 
 column. 
 Soon as the stern of the royal ship had flashed up 
 
 the signal, va 
 
BOOK II 61 
 
 Bound for the well-known shores of Troy, from 
 
 Tenedos loosing, 
 On through the friendly hush of the silent moon 
 
 were advancing. 
 Meanwhile Sinon, secure in the partial favor of 
 
 heaven, "* 
 
 Stealthily loosens the bars of pine and releases the 
 
 Grecians. 
 Yawning, the horse gives them back to the air ; 
 
 from the dark oaken hollow 260 
 
 Gladly they press, Thessandrus and Sthenelus 
 
 leading, and Thoas, 
 Acamas, too, and Ulysses, all gliding down on a 
 
 lowered 
 Rope ; Neoptolemus, grandson of Peleus ; though 
 
 first was Machaon, 
 Then MenelaiLs, and lastly Epeus, who framed the 
 
 imposture. 
 Now they steal through the town, deep buried in 
 
 wine and in slumber ; 26s 
 
 Now are the guards cut down, and, the gates flying 
 
 open, they welcome 
 All their companions and friends, and join their 
 
 confederate forces. 
 It was the time when sleep, God's gift to his suf- 
 fering children, 
 First begins, and silently steals full sweetly upon 
 
 them. 
 Fronting my eyes in dreams, behold, most sorrow- 
 ful Hector 270 
 Seems to be standing before me ; his tears are 
 
 falling in torrents ; 
 Just as of yore when bound to the car, and dark 
 
 with the bloody 
 
62 THE ^NEID 
 
 Dust ; his feet pierced through ; and rankling with 
 
 thongs of leather. 
 Ah, my heart, what a sight ! Alas, how changed 
 
 from that Hector 
 Proudly returning from war, adorned with the 
 * spoils of Achilles ; 275 
 
 Or, as on Grecian ships he hurled his Phrygian 
 
 fire-brands ! 
 Stiff was his beard with blood ; blood-stifEened the 
 
 locks on his forehead ; 
 Bearing those numberless wounds, which under 
 
 the walls of his country 
 He had received. Then weeping myself, I seemed 
 
 to upbraid him ; 
 Fain to express with my voice the distress that 
 
 burdened my bosom : 280 
 
 ' O thou light of Dardania ; surest hope of the 
 
 Trojans, 
 Why dost thou come so late ? From what far 
 
 country, my Hector, 
 Comest thou, waited long ? Alas, that worn and 
 
 discouraged. 
 Only now we behold thee, when hosts of thy com- 
 rades have fallen ! 
 After the manifold woes of war and our town ! 
 
 What unworthy 28s 
 
 Cause hath disfigured the calm of thy face ? Why 
 
 comest thou wounded ? ' 
 Naught he replied, nor at all did he heed my idle 
 
 inquiries ; 
 Gravely drawing instead a groan from the depth 
 
 of his bosom, 
 ' Ah, thou child of a goddess,' he said, ' escape 
 
 from these burnings ! 
 
BOOK II 63 
 
 Enemies hold the walls ; Troy falls from her proud 
 
 elevation ! 290 
 
 Now for our country and Priam, enough hath been 
 
 done ; if our city 
 Could have been saved by the hand of man, my 
 
 hand would have saved it ; 
 Troy entrusts unto thee her sacred rites and her 
 
 hearth-gods ; 
 Take them to share thy fate, for them seek a wide- 
 spreading city. 
 Which, after roaming the sea, thou shalt finally 
 
 build in their honor.' 295 
 
 Ceasing, he brings with his hands the fillets, and 
 
 powerful Vesta, 
 Also the deathless fire from the innermost shrine 
 
 of her chapel. 
 Meanwhile in every part is the city commingled in 
 
 mourning ; 
 Clearer and still more clear, though the home of 
 
 my father Anchises 
 Stands remote and sheltered by trees, retired from 
 
 the highway, 300 
 
 Sounds are distinguished, and rushes upon us the 
 
 rumble of battle. 
 Then do I start from my slumber, and, clambering 
 
 up to the turret, 
 Mount to the roof, and, standing erect, attentively 
 
 listen ; 
 Just as when over a wheat-field a. flame with a 
 
 furious tempest 
 Rushes along, or with mountain-born flood an im- 
 petuous torrent 305 
 Levels the fields, and the harvest glad, and the 
 
 labors of oxen. 
 
64 THE ^NEID 
 
 Headlong dragging the groves, a shepherd, at loss 
 
 for its meaning, 
 Catching the sound from his rocky height, stands 
 
 mute and bewildered. 
 Then, indeed, flashes the truth into light, and the 
 
 plots of the Grecians 
 Dawn on our minds ; and, now, DeYphobus' wide- 
 spreading palace, ao 
 Vanquished by fire, is wrecked ; Ucalegon blazes 
 
 beside it ; 
 While the broad straits of Sigeum are gleaming 
 
 afar in the firelight. 
 Rises a clamor of men ; an alarum is sounded by 
 
 trumpets ; 
 Arms, in my folly, I seize, nor in arms have I 
 
 needful discretion. 
 Yet is my heart on fire to assemble a band for the 
 
 conflict, 315 
 
 And with my comrades rush on to the citadel; 
 
 fury and anger 
 Sweep'me along, and I dream of the glory of dying 
 
 in battle. 
 Panthus, too, behold, escaped from the spears of 
 
 the Argives, 
 Panthus Othryades, priest of the citadel, priest of 
 
 Apollo, 
 Temple service, and vanquished gods, and one little 
 
 grandson 320 
 
 Dragging unaided, and rushing distractedly up to 
 
 my doorway. 
 ' Where is the brunt of the battle, O Panthus ? 
 
 What tow'r are we taking ? ' 
 Scarce had I spoken thus, when he sighed, and 
 
 returned me this answer : 
 
BOOK II 65 
 
 ' Troy's last day has come, and the irresistible 
 
 moment ; 
 Trojans we were, Troy was, and the grandeur of 
 
 Teucrian glory ! 325 
 
 Pitiless Jupiter now hath transferred all his favor 
 
 to Argos ; 
 Now in a city of flame the Greeks are ruling tri- 
 umphant ; 
 Tow'ring aloft in the heart of the city, the horse 
 
 is outpouring 
 Soldiers in arms, and victorious Sinon insultingly 
 
 scatters 
 Fire as he goes ; while others crowd in as the gates 
 
 are thrown open, 330 
 
 Thousands as many as ever have come from mighty 
 
 Mycense. 
 Some have already beset with their weapons the 
 
 narrowing highways, 
 Blocking the streets ; an array of serried and glit- 
 tering spear-points 
 Stands with a threat of death ; scarce venture the 
 
 guards at the gateway 
 Battle at first, and resist in a blind and disorderly 
 
 struggle.' 335 
 
 Then, by the will of the gods, and the words by 
 
 Othryades spoken. 
 Into the flames and the fight I am borne, whither 
 
 gloomy Erinys, 
 Whither the uproar calls ; and clamor arises to 
 
 heaven, 
 Ripheus and Epytus, bravest in battle, revealed 
 
 by the moonlight. 
 Join me as trusty friends, while Hypanis also, and 
 
 Dymas 340 
 
66 THE ^NEID 
 
 Take their place by my side, together with youth- 
 ful Coroebus, 
 Offspring of Mygdon, who then, as it happened, 
 
 had come to the city 
 Kindled at heart by a foolish and passionate love 
 
 of Cassandra, 
 Bringing, for love to the daughter, his aid to the 
 
 king and the Trojans ; 
 Happier far had he heeded the counsel his bride 
 
 in her frenzy 345 
 
 Uttered in vain. 
 When I perceive them close banded together and 
 
 nerved for the conflict, 
 Thus I begin : ' Young men, brave hearts ; alas, 
 
 vain are the bravest ! 
 If you still have the desire to follow me while I 
 
 adventure 
 Certain destruction ; for ours, as you see, is a 
 
 desperate mission, 350 
 
 All of the gods in whose strength this empire was 
 
 strong have deserted, 
 Leaving their altars and shrines ; you run to the 
 
 aid of a burning 
 Town ; let us die ; let us rush with all haste to the 
 
 thick of the combat ; 
 /'T is the one safety of them that are conquered to 
 
 hope for no safety ! ' 
 Thus, in the hearts of the youths desperation is 
 
 kindled ; thenceforward, 355 
 
 Like unto ravening wolves in the vapors of night, 
 
 driven onward 
 Blind and mad with the torture of hunger, whose 
 
 cubs, long deserted. 
 Wait them with parching throats, we go, through 
 
 weapons, through foemen. 
 
BOOK II 67 
 
 Marching to certain death, straight on through 
 
 the heart of the city- 
 Holding our course ; dark night hovers round us 
 with shadowy pinions. 360 
 
 Who can untangle with words that night of death 
 and of carnage ? 
 
 Who is able with tears to equal the flood of our 
 sorrows ? 
 
 Crumbles the ancient town, after so many years of 
 dominion. 
 
 Everywhere through the streets is a swath of mo- 
 tionless bodies ; 
 
 Nay, through our very homes, and the hallowed 
 halls of our temples. 365 
 
 Nor is the vengeance of blood from Teucrians only 
 demanded ; 
 
 Sometimes courage returns even into the hearts of 
 the vanquished ; 
 
 Some of our conquerors fall, there is ev'rywhere 
 pitiful wailing, 
 
 Ev'rywhere trembling, and ev'rywhere Death's 
 ever-midtiplied image. 
 First of the Grecians to meet us, Androgeos, 
 heading his column, svo 
 
 Welcomes us gladly, believing that we are a 
 friendly detachment. 
 
 Little he knows! and offers us freely this kind 
 admonition : 
 
 ' Hasten, my men ! What slothf ulness brings 
 you so tardily hither ? 
 
 Here are the rest of us plundering Troy, and sack- 
 ing the blazing 
 
 Citadel ; while ye now first come from the tower- 
 ing vessels.' sjs 
 
68 THE ^NEID 
 
 Spoken had he, and, at once, for hardly assuring 
 responses 
 
 Greeted his words, he perceived that he stood sur- 
 rounded by foemen. 
 
 He was astounded, recoiling a step with an outcry 
 of terror ; 
 
 Just as a man who in struggling along amid briery 
 brambles 
 
 Unexpectedly steps on a serpent, and, suddenly 
 startled, m 
 
 Shrinks as it rises in wrath, distending its collar of 
 azure ; 
 
 Not unlike him, did Androgeos tremblingly start 
 when he saw us. 
 
 On them we rush, and encompass them round with 
 the surge of our weapons. 
 
 Dropping them right and left, for terror had taken 
 them captive. 
 
 Ignorant of the ground. We are launched with a 
 breeze of good fortune. 385 
 
 Flushed by victory, then, and exulting in spirit, 
 Corcebus 
 
 Cries, ' O my comrades, where, first, kind fortune 
 discloses a pathway 
 
 Leading to safety, and where she is beckoning, 
 there let us follow ! 
 
 Let us exchange our shields ; on ourselves fit the 
 Grecian devices ; 
 
 Courage or craft in an enemy, who can be quib- 
 bling about them ? 390 
 
 They shall themselves provide armor.' So say- 
 ing, he puts on the crested 
 
 Helm that Andi-ogeos wore, and his shield with its 
 beautiful emblem, 
 
BOOK II 69 
 
 While he adjusts to his side a sword of Grecian 
 
 designing. 
 Kipheus follows his lead, and Dymas, and all of 
 
 the others, 
 Youthful and glad, each arming himself from the 
 newly won trophies. 395 
 
 On we advance, intermingled with Greeks, out of 
 
 favor with Heaven, 
 And, in the blindness of night, as we run upon 
 
 many a battle. 
 Join in the fight, and despatch not a few of the 
 
 Grecians to Hades. 
 Others disperse to their ships, and hasten in flight 
 
 to the faithful 
 Shores of the sea ; and some, in ignominious ter- 
 ror, 400 
 Climb back into the horse, and are hid in its well- 
 known recesses. 
 Ah ! when the gods are offended, there 's nothing 
 't is right to confide in. 
 For, from the temple and shrine of Minerva a 
 
 maiden is ravished. 
 Even the daughter of Priam, Cassandra, her hair 
 
 in disorder. 
 Lifting her glittering eyes to Heaven in vain sup- 
 plication, 405 
 Lifting her eyes, for her delicate hands are cruelly 
 
 shackled. 
 This is a sight not brooked by the fiery soul of 
 
 Coroebus ; 
 Instantly, heedless of death, he springs to the 
 
 midst of the rabble ; 
 All of us follow his lead, and charge with our 
 spears in a column. 
 
70 THE ^NEID 
 
 Then we are first overwhelmed by a javelin-show'r 
 
 which the Trojans no 
 
 Hurl from the rpof of a temple ; then follows 
 
 most piteous carnage, 
 Due to the style of our arms, the mistake of our 
 
 Danaan helmets. 
 Then do the Greeks with a roar, enraged by the 
 
 loss of the maiden, 
 Gather from every side, and attack us ; — most 
 
 furious Ajax, 
 Twins of Atreus, both, and all the Dolopian 
 
 army ; as 
 
 Just as a bursting tornado, when winds from 
 
 opposite quarters 
 Fiercely contend ; both Zephyrus, Notus, and 
 
 Eurus enjoying 
 Orient steeds; while forests are screaming, and 
 
 foam-covered Neptune 
 Ruthlessly plunges his trident and churns the 
 
 deep sea to the bottom. 
 Also, if any by guile in the darkness of night 
 
 through the shadows 420 
 
 We have dispersed in flight, and scattered all over 
 
 the city. 
 They, too, appear and, first, our shields and coun- 
 terfeit weapons 
 Recognize, afterward noting the dissonant tones 
 
 of our voices. 
 We are outnumbered and crushed in a moment, 
 
 and first falls Corcebus, 
 Slain by Peneleus' hand at the shrine of the God- 
 dess of Battle. 425 
 Ripheus also falls, and he was by far the most 
 
 righteous 
 
BOOK II 71 
 
 Ever was known in Troy, and the most observant 
 
 of justice ; 
 Otherwise thought the gods ; both Dymas and 
 
 Hypanis perish, 
 Pierced by their friends, nor, alas ! did all thy 
 
 devotion, O Panthus, 
 Shield thee when thou didst fall, nor the sacred 
 
 bands of Apollo. 430 
 
 Witness, ye ashes of Troy, ye funeral fires of my 
 
 people, 
 Witness that in your fall I shrank from no Ca- 
 naan weapons, 
 Shunned no hazard of Greeks ; and, were it my 
 
 fate to have fallen, 
 I had deserved it by valor. From thence we are 
 
 suddenly hurried, 
 Iphitus, Pelias, I ; but Iphitus already stag- 
 gered 435 
 Under his years, while Pelias lagged .with a wound 
 
 from Ulysses. 
 Summoned by outcries, we hasten at once to the 
 
 palace of Priam. 
 Here do we witness a battle indeed, as great as if 
 
 nowhere 
 Other battles had been, nor any lay dead in the 
 
 city; 
 Such is the fury of Mars, and the Greeks, how 
 
 they charge on the palace ! 440 
 
 See how the doorway is blocked ; how the shields 
 
 made a roof for the soldiers. 
 Ladders are hugging the walls ; nay, right by the 
 
 side of the doorposts. 
 Crowding the steps, with the left hand opposing 
 
 their shields to the javelins, 
 
72 THE ^NEID 
 
 Soldiers reach up with the right, and grapple the 
 edge of the cornice. 
 
 Trojans, on their part, are tearing the tiles from 
 the top of the palace, 445 
 
 Turret and roof, foreseeing the end, and prepare 
 with such missiles 
 
 Means of defense in their struggle with Death, 
 already triumphant ; 
 
 Also the gilded beams, their ancestors' proud deco- 
 rations. 
 
 Tumble they down, while the rest draw sword and 
 block every passage 
 
 Down below, where they stand on guard in a ser- 
 ried battalion. 450 
 
 Kindled anew are our souls to relieve the imperial 
 mansion, 
 
 Succor the men by our aid, and strengthen the 
 hearts of the vanquished. 
 
 There was an entrance with secret doors, once 
 used as a passage, 
 
 Joining the wings of the palace ; its entrance, a 
 postern, neglected. 
 
 Gave on the rear ; by this, as long as the empire 
 continued, 455 
 
 Hapless Andromache often had gone, unattended, 
 to visit 
 
 Hector's parents, and little Astyanax lead to his 
 grandsire. 
 
 Slipping in there, I mount to the topmost roof, 
 whence the Trojans, 
 
 Pitiful sight, still hurled with their hands ineffec- 
 tual weapons. 
 
 Eight on the edge of the roof of the palace a tur- 
 ret was standing, 460 
 
BOOK n 73 
 
 Towering under the stars ; all Troy and the Gre- 
 cian encampments 
 
 Used to be seen from thence, and the Danaan 
 ships in the harbor. 
 
 This we attack with our spears at a place where 
 the uppermost stories 
 
 Loosening joints present ; and, tearing it loose 
 from its lofty 
 
 Seat, we topple it down ; and, suddenly sliding, it 
 tumbles 465 
 
 Wrecked, with a crash, and far and wide on the 
 ranks of the Grecians 
 
 Falls ; but others come up ; and meanwhile, with 
 no interruption. 
 
 Stones are filling the air, and missiles of every 
 fashion. 
 
 Close to the entrance court, at the very doors of the 
 palace, 
 
 Pyrrhus, exulting stands in a brazen glitter of 
 armor, 470 
 
 Just as a snake that has fed on poisonous herbs, 
 after lying 
 
 Swollen under the earth through the cold and the 
 darkness of winter. 
 
 Now, renewing its youth, new clad in glittering 
 splendor. 
 
 Rolls its slippery back in a coil, while its neck is 
 uplifted 
 
 Into the light, and its three-forked tongue is in- 
 cessantly Bashing. 475 
 
 Next him is Periphas huge, and Automedon bear- 
 ing his armor. 
 
 Armor-bearer now, once charioteer of Achilles. 
 
 All the Scyrian youth hurl brands to the roof of 
 the palace. 
 
74 THE ^NEID 
 
 Pyrrhus, himself, at their head, having seized a 
 
 huge axe, double-bladed, 
 Breaks through the stubborn sills, and tears the 
 
 bronze posts from their sockets : m 
 
 Now he has cut out the beam, and hewn through 
 
 the tough oaken timber. 
 What a wide gap he has made ! what a yawning 
 
 and terrible window 
 Showing the home within! long hallways open 
 
 their vistas ; 
 Priam's apartments appear ; and the chambers of 
 
 earlier monarchs ; 
 While, close up to the door, behold armed soldiery 
 
 standing. 46s 
 
 Ah ! but the home within, with wailing and piti- 
 ful tumult 
 Grows confused, and, far in the inner court of the 
 
 palace. 
 Hear that shrieking of women ! The golden 
 
 planets are startled ! 
 Then through the spacious hallways, wander the 
 
 shuddering matrons ; 
 Lo, they cling to the doors ; they are printing the 
 
 portals with kisses. 490 
 
 On presses Pyrrhus, true son of his father, no 
 
 bars can withstand him, 
 Nay, nor the guards themselves ; the door to his 
 
 thunder incessant 
 Yields; and the doorposts, hurled from their 
 
 sockets, are falling before him. 
 Forcing their way, they burst in the doors, and the 
 
 in-thronging Grecians 
 Butcher the first that oppose, and flood the broad 
 
 hallway with soldiers ; 495 
 
BOOK II 75 
 
 Not so madly the white foaming river sweeps over 
 
 the cornfield, 
 Bursting its banks, and whirling away the dykes 
 
 that oppose it, 
 Rolling its watery mass, and over the low-lying 
 
 meadow. 
 Sweeping both herds and barns. I saw them in 
 
 murderous frenzy, 
 Saw them myself in the doorway, Pyrrhus and 
 
 both the Atridae ; 500 
 
 Hecuba, too, I beheld, and her hundred daughters, 
 
 and Priam, 
 Quenching with bloody defilement the fires he had 
 
 kindled to Vesta. 
 Those fifty chambers of marriage, strong hope of 
 
 unbroken succession. 
 Fitted with doors of barbaric gold, and resplen- 
 dent with trophies. 
 Sink to the dust, and the Greeks' hold fast where 
 
 the flames are relenting. 505 
 
 But, perchance thou are querying what were the 
 
 fortunes of Priam. 
 When he hath witnessed the faU of the captured 
 
 town, and the palace 
 Doors from their hinges torn, and the foe in the 
 
 midst of his household, 
 Armor long disused, on shoulders aged and trem- 
 bling. 
 Vainly the old man girds, and is belted about with 
 
 his useless sio 
 
 Sword, and, resolved on death, runs to meet the 
 
 dense throng of assailants. 
 Out in the court of the palace, and under the 
 
 dome of the heavens, 
 
76 THE ^NEID 
 
 There was an altar huge, o'erhung by a patriarch 
 
 laurel, 
 Leaning over the shrine and folding the gods in 
 
 its shadow. 
 Hecuba here, and her daughters, were crouching 
 
 in vain by the altar, sw 
 
 Huddling like terrified doves in the gathering 
 
 gloom of a tempest ; 
 Clinging with desperate arms to the gods that 
 
 were imaged in marble. 
 But, as her eyes beheld Priam, in youthful armor 
 
 accoutred, 
 ' Ah ! my poor husband,' she cried, ' what purpose 
 
 so frightful hath urged thee 
 Thus to be girded with arms? or where art thou 
 
 rushing so madly ? S20 
 
 Not such assistance as thine, nor such defenders 
 
 as thou art, 
 Times like these demand ; nay, not if my Hector 
 
 were with us ! 
 Yield to my prayer and come; we shall all be 
 
 saved by this altar. 
 Or thou wilt die with us here.' Thus speaking, 
 
 she tenderly drew him 
 Close to her side, and shielded his age in the sa- 
 cred asylum. 525 
 But, from the slaughter of Pyrrhus escaped, lo, 
 
 here is Polites, 
 One of the sons of Priam ; he flies through the 
 
 darts of the Grecians, 
 Down the corridors long, and dashes through 
 
 courts all deserted. 
 Wounded ; while Pyrrhus, on fire, pursues him 
 
 with threatening weapon ; 
 
BOOK II 77 
 
 Now, even now, with his hand he hath touched him ; 
 
 now pressed with his spear-point. 530 
 
 Breaking away at last, right under the eyes of his 
 
 parents, 
 Fainting he falls, and with torrents of blood is 
 
 yielding his spirit. 
 Hereupon, Priam, though death already is closing 
 
 about him. 
 None the less draws not back, nor checking his 
 
 voice and his anger, 
 ' Ay, may the gods,' he cries, ' if there be any jus- 
 tice in Heaven 535 
 Heedful of such concerns, for a crime like this, 
 
 for this outrage. 
 Render thee fitting thanks, and grant thee a just 
 
 compensation. 
 Merited richly by thee who hast murdered my son 
 
 in my presence. 
 Causing the blood of a son to defile the face of his 
 
 father : 
 Nay, not Achilles himself, whom, thou liar, thou 
 
 callest thy father, 540 
 
 He was not such toward Priam, his foe ; he blushed 
 
 at dishonor. 
 Blushed at a suppliant's faith, and he gave the 
 
 dead body of Hector 
 Back to the tomb, and me he returned unharmed 
 
 to my kingdom.' 
 So spake the aged king ; and a spear ineffective, 
 
 unwarlike. 
 Hurled; but the ringing brass checked quickly 
 
 the impotent weapon 545 
 
 Harmlessly hanging there in the outermost boss 
 
 of the buckler. 
 
78 THE ^NEID 
 
 Pyrrhus replied : ' Then take this message and go 
 as informer 
 
 Unto my father Achilles, to whom of my infamous 
 conduct 
 
 Fail not to speak, and remember your tale of de- 
 generate Pyrrhus ; 
 
 Now dost thou die ! ' and, with this, he hath 
 dragged him close to the altar 550 
 
 Trembling, and slipping about in the streaming 
 blood of Polites. 
 
 Now with his left hand twined in his hair, his right 
 draws a gleaming 
 
 Blade ; and now in his side to the hilt he hath 
 buried a dagger. 
 
 This was the end to which Priam was destined ; 
 this death was his portion ; 
 
 Fated to witness the burning of Troy, and the 
 citadel falling ; 555 
 
 Yesterday, haughty king of so many countries and 
 peoples. 
 
 Monarch of Asia ! he lies on the shore but a torso 
 colossal, 
 
 Head from the shoulders torn, a nameless, un- 
 recognized body. 
 Then first, I myself, by cruel fear was encom- 
 passed ; 
 
 I was dismayed ; there arose the form of my father 
 beloved seo 
 
 As I beheld the king, of like age, with injuries 
 mortal 
 
 Breathing away his life ; I thought of deserted 
 Creusa, 
 
 Then, of my home, and then, of the peril of little 
 lulus. 
 
BOOK II 79 
 
 Backward I look to discover what remnant of 
 
 force is about me. 
 All have deserted, forespent ; they have leaped 
 
 from the roof in their terror, 565 
 
 Or to the flames in despair have given their suf- 
 fering bodies. 
 Thus am I left alone ; when down in the temple 
 
 of Vesta, 
 Watching the door, and still, and shrinking back 
 
 in the shadow, 
 Helen of Greece I see, bright flames giving light 
 
 as I wander 
 Hither and thither, and turn my eyes on every 
 
 object. 570 
 
 She, fore-dreading the Trojans enraged by the 
 
 fall of their city. 
 Dreading the vengeance of Greece, and the wrath 
 
 of her husband forsaken, 
 Common scourge that she was both of Troy and 
 
 the land of her fathers ; 
 There she hath hidden herself, and, detested, is 
 
 crouched by the altar. 
 Burns in my spirit a fire ; I dream in my rage of 
 
 avenging 575 
 
 Teucria as she falls, of requiting the infamous 
 
 traitor. 
 Shall she, indeed, with impunity, Sparta and nar 
 
 tive Mycense 
 Greet with her eyes? Shall she go as a queen 
 
 who has conquered, in triumph ? 
 Husband, and parents, and children, and home, is 
 
 she to behold them. 
 Tended by ladies of Troy, and served by Phrygian 
 
 captives ? m 
 
80 THE iENEID 
 
 This, and Priam slain, and Troy still smoking in 
 
 ashes ? 
 This, while all our coast still reeks with the blood 
 
 of the Trojans ? 
 Never ! for, though it be true that vengeance 
 
 wreaked on a woman 
 Wins no glorious name, though that victory bring 
 
 me no honor. 
 Yet, to have ended the wretch, to have evened the 
 
 balance of justice, 585 
 
 This will win ample praise ; and my soul shall 
 
 exult in avenging 
 Fire, and rejoice to have paid a just debt to my 
 
 countrymen's ashes. 
 While I was pondering thus, and yielding to furi- 
 ous anger, 
 Lo ! there appeared by my side the benignant 
 
 form of my mother, 
 Never so clearly revealed ; she gleamed through 
 
 the night in her glory, 590 
 
 Owning her nature divine, and retaining the grace 
 
 and the stature 
 Seen by the heavenly host, and, grasping my hand, 
 
 she detained me, 
 While, with her roseate lips, she uttered a stern 
 
 admonition : 
 ' Son, what grief so profound hath aroused thine 
 
 intractable anger? 
 Why dost thou rage ? or whither hath vanished 
 
 thy care for thy parents ? 595 
 
 First look where thou hast left thy father, aged 
 
 and helpless ; 
 Where is Anchises now ? Is thy wife Creusa still 
 
 living ? 
 
BOOK II 81 
 
 Little Ascanius, too ? All around them are bands 
 of the Grecians 
 
 Roaming on every side, and now, but for my in- 
 tervention, 
 
 Flames would have swept them away, and the 
 sword of the enemy slain them. eoo 
 
 Not the detested form of Laconian Tyndarus' 
 daughter, 
 
 Nor the transgression of Paris ; the wrath of Im- 
 mortals, Immortals, 
 
 Now overthrowing thy realm, hurls Troy from the 
 height of her glory. 
 
 Look ! for the curtaining cloud that, veiling thee 
 now as thou gazest, 
 
 Darkens thy mortal view and diffuses its vapors 
 around thee, eos 
 
 I will wholly withdraw ; nor of any behest of thy 
 mother 
 
 Be thou afraid, my son, nor refuse to obey her 
 commandments. 
 
 Here, where thou seest stone broken from stone, 
 huge masses of ruin. 
 
 Columns of smoke and dust confusedly mingled 
 together, 
 
 Neptune is heaving the walls by the might of his 
 terrible trident, eio 
 
 Shaking their rock-bound beds, and wrecking the 
 very foundations 
 
 Under the town ; and here at the front, lo ! piti- 
 less Juno 
 
 Watches the Scsean gate, and summons her bands 
 from the galleys. 
 
 Frenzied and girt with steel. 
 
 Now, on the roof of the castle, behold ! Tritonian 
 Pallas, 615 
 
82 THE ^NEID 
 
 Gleaming in cloud and glittering shield, hath 
 
 taken her station ; 
 Nay, the Great Father, himself, fresh courage and 
 
 strength is imparting 
 Unto the Greeks; against Troy aU the fury of 
 
 heaven arousing. 
 ,riy, while thou canst, my son, and put an end to 
 
 the struggle ; 
 I will not leave thee until thou art safely at home 
 
 with thy father.' 620 
 
 Speaking no more, she was veiled by the deepening 
 
 shadows of midnight. 
 Terrible forms appeared, and, arrayed against 
 
 Troy, the embattled 
 Majesty of the skies. 
 Then, all Ilium seemed to me to be sinking in 
 
 ashes. 
 Utterly overthrown the imperial city of Nep- 
 tune ; 625 
 Yea, like an ancient ash that, crowning the crest 
 
 of a mountain, 
 Peasants are struggling together to drag to the 
 
 earth, after hacking 
 Hound it with steel and with many an axe. It 
 
 constantly threatens. 
 Bows its shuddering head of leaves, and, jarred to 
 
 the summit, 
 Little by little now yields to its wounds, then utters 
 
 a dying eao 
 
 Groan, and, torn from the hills, down crashes, 
 
 majestic in ruin. 
 Now I descend, through flame and through foe, 
 
 led on by the goddess. 
 Making my way, while weapons give place, and the 
 
 fire shrinks before me. 
 
BOOK II 83 
 
 Now, when at last I stood at the door of the home 
 
 of my fathers ; — 
 Dear old home that it was ! — my father whom I 
 
 was so anxious ws 
 
 First to bear to the hills ; yes, he whom first I was 
 
 seeking. 
 Stoutly refused to prolong his life and suffer in 
 
 exile 
 After the ruin of Troy ; ' O ye whose young 
 
 blood is still coursing 
 Fresh in your veins,' he cries, 'whose strength 
 
 still abides in its vigor. 
 Take ye thought for flight ! 640 
 
 But, if the gods above had wished me to live any 
 
 longer. 
 They would have spared my home. 'T is enough, 
 
 and too much ! we have witnessed 
 One desolation, and once have survived the loss of 
 
 our city. 
 Thus, O thus, as it lies, speak the last farewell to 
 
 my body ; 
 Death with my hand I will find of myself, or the foe 
 
 will have pity, 645 
 
 Seeking the garments I leave ; and a tomb, well, 
 
 what does it matter ! 
 Hated long by the gods, through profitless years 
 
 have I lingered, 
 Since the Creator of gods and Kuler of mortals in 
 
 anger 
 Touched me with finger of fire, and blasted my life 
 
 with his thunder.' 
 Such were the words he repeated persistently, fixed 
 
 in his purpose. 650 
 
 Meanwhile, bathed in tears, myself and Creusa 
 
 together, 
 
84 THE ^NEID 
 
 Little Ascanius, yea, the whole household, en- 
 treated my father 
 
 Not to destroy us all, nor add a fresh pang to our 
 sorrow. 
 
 Still he refused, still held unchanged his purpose 
 and posture, 
 
 Driving me back to the fight, for death was the 
 choice of my anguish. 655 
 
 What availed prudence now, what hope had for- 
 tune to offer ? 
 
 That I could lift a foot, my father, if thou wert 
 forsaken. 
 
 Hast thou believed ; or named with thy lips a 
 crime so abhorrent ? 
 
 If the immortals have wiUed that so mighty a city 
 shall perish, 
 
 If this be fixed in thy mind, and thou longest to 
 add to the ruin 660 
 
 Both thyself and thine own, the door to that death 
 is wide open ; 
 
 Pyrrhus will soon be here, still red with the mur- 
 der of Priam ; 
 
 Son in the sight of the father, and father at altar 
 he butchers. 
 
 Is it for this thou hast brought me, dear mother, 
 through weapons and burnings. 
 
 Only to see the foe in the midst of my home, and 
 to witness 665 
 
 Father, and son, and wife, Ascanius close to Creusa, 
 
 Huddled together in death, each stained by the 
 blood of the other? 
 
 Arms ! my men, bring arms ! the last morning is 
 calling the vanquished. 
 
 Take me back to the Greeks ; rekindle the smoul- 
 dering battle ! 
 
BOOK II 85 
 
 We may all die to-day, but not without tasting of 
 
 vengeance ! ' ero 
 
 Then, again girded with steel, my left hand to the 
 
 shield I was fitting, 
 While I was rapidly hastening out through the 
 
 door of the palace. 
 Lo, however, my wife, embracing my feet on the 
 
 threshold, 
 ~01ung to me there, holding out to his father our 
 
 little lulus. 
 ' If thou art rushing to death, take us with thee 
 
 wherever thou goest ; era 
 
 But, if, through trial, thou hast any faith in the 
 
 arms thou hast taken. 
 First defend this home. Who will care for our 
 
 little lulus ? 
 Who for thy father? And whom has thy once 
 
 honored wife to protect her ? ' 
 Shrieking these words aloud, she filled the whole 
 
 house with her wailing. 
 When, unexpectedly, rises before us a marvelous 
 
 omen eso 
 
 'Mid the embraces and parting words of his sor- 
 rowing parents ; 
 For, a light tongue of fire appears on the head of 
 
 lulus. 
 Shedding a lambent light, and a flame, quite gentle 
 
 and harmless, 
 Seems to be kissing his curly hair and caressing 
 
 his temples. 
 Startled, and trembling with fear, we hasten to 
 
 shake out the blazing ess 
 
 Hair, and strive to extinguish the sacred flame at 
 
 the fountain. 
 
86 THE iENEID 
 
 Father Anchises, however, uplifting his eyes to 
 the planets, 
 
 Joyously stretched his hands to the sky, and made 
 his petition : 
 
 ' Jupiter, lord of all, if prayers are ever availing, 
 
 Look thou upon us ; we ask no more ; and, if we 
 are worthy, eao 
 
 Then, vouchsafe thine aid, O Father, and second 
 these omens ! ' 
 
 Scarce had the old man spoken these words, when, 
 suddenly pealing. 
 
 Thundered the left, and a star rushed down from 
 the sky through the darkness. 
 
 Drawing a glittering train, and passing in terrible 
 splendor. 
 
 Then, after gliding high over the roof of the pal- 
 ace, we saw it 695 
 
 Bury itseK, unquenched, in the depths of the for- 
 est of Ida, 
 
 Ploughing a flaming way, and then the long track 
 of its furrow 
 
 Blazes with light, and widely around smokes the 
 mountain with sulphur. 
 
 Then, indeed, overcome, my father slowly arises. 
 
 Speaks to the gods in prayer, and blesses the star 
 they have sent him. 700 
 
 ' Now, no longer delay ! wherever thou leadest, I 
 foUow. 
 
 Gods of my fathers, protect my home, watch over 
 my children ! 
 
 Yours is the augury ; Troy is still in your merci- 
 ful keeping. 
 
 Yes, I yield, and now, 'my son, lead on and I fol- 
 low.' 
 
BOOK II 87 
 
 Yet, as he speaks, even now, through the town the 
 fire is more clearly 705 
 
 Heard, and the billows of flame are rolling nearer 
 and nearer. 
 
 ' Come then, father beloved, behold, my neck is 
 thy refuge ! 
 
 See I my shoulders I bend ; such freight is no wea- 
 risome burden. 
 
 Be the event as it may, our share of the danger is 
 equal ; 
 
 Equal our share of hope ; now, closely let little 
 
 lulus 710 
 
 Cling to my side, and my wife at a distance shall 
 follow our footsteps. 
 
 You, my servants, to what I shall say, give closest 
 attention : 
 
 There is a hiU as you pass from the town, and a 
 temple of Ceres, 
 
 Old and disused ; and a tree, an old cypress, is 
 standing beside it. 
 
 Saved through all these years by the reverent faith 
 of the fathers : 715 
 
 Following different paths, we shall meet in this 
 common asylum. 
 
 Father, thy hand must receive our sacred utensils 
 and hearth-gods ; 
 
 I, coming forth from so mighty a war, stiU reek- 
 ing with slaughter. 
 
 Dare not approach them now ; nor until in a free- 
 flowing fountain 
 
 I shall have bathed.' 720 
 
 Having thus spoken, my bended neck and the 
 breadth of my shoulders 
 
 Covering with a cloak and the tawny skin of a lion. 
 
88 THE ^NEID 
 
 Under my burden I rise ; to my right hand little 
 
 lulus 
 Tightly is clinging, and striving in vain to keep 
 
 step with his father ; 
 Follows my wife behind, and we hasten along 
 
 through the shadows. 725 
 
 Me, whom, an hour before, no rain of weapons had 
 
 daunted, 
 No, nor the Greeks, though they charged in a mass 
 
 from the front of the column, 
 Now each breeze dismayed, each sound now filled 
 
 with disquiet. 
 Hesitant, doubly afraid for the charge of my hand 
 
 and my shoulders. 
 And we were now drawing nigh to the gate ; we 
 
 had turned the last corner, 730 
 
 Breathing more freely, when, all on a sudden, the 
 
 trampling of footsteps 
 Eang in our ears, and then, peering forth through 
 
 the shadow, my father 
 Shouted, ' Beware, my son ! away, my son ! they 
 
 are coming I 
 Blazing shields and glittering brass, I see right 
 
 before us.' 
 In my alarm, I know not what malevolent spirit 735 
 Seized my disordered mind, for, hurrying on 
 
 through a by-path, 
 When I had passed from the beaten track of the 
 
 well-known highway. 
 Woe is me ! my wife, Creusa, was torn from my 
 
 bosom 
 By some grievous fate ; did she stop ? did she 
 
 stray? was she weary? 
 No one can tell ; but, alas, she was never restored 
 
 to our vision ; 740 
 
BOOK II 89 
 
 Nay, I looked not back to discover my loss, nor 
 was troubled 
 
 Till we had come to the mound of ancient Ceres, 
 and entered 
 
 Into her sacred shrine ; but there, when we all met 
 together, 
 
 One was not ; one failed her friends and her son 
 and her husband. 
 
 Whom of the gods or of men did I spare in my 
 foolish upbraiding ? 745 
 
 What more cruel thing had I seen in the desolate 
 city? 
 
 Little Ascanlus, father Anchises, the Trojan 
 Penates, 
 
 All I entrust to my friends and hide in a shelter- 
 ing hollow, 
 
 Then seek the city again, and am girded with glit- 
 tering armor, 
 
 Bent on renewing all risks, resolved all Troy to 
 retraverse, 750 
 
 Keady once more to hazard my life, to confront 
 every peril. 
 First, I retrace my way to the walls and the 
 shadowy gateway 
 
 Whence I had made my escape ; and, closely ob- 
 serving my footsteps, 
 
 Follow them back through the night and trace them 
 by flashes of firelight. 
 
 Horror is all around, the very silence affrights 
 me. '55 
 
 Thence I haste to my home, if perhaps, — if per- 
 haps, — she has thither 
 
 Guided her feet. The Greeks have rushed in and 
 are crowding our dwelling ; 
 
90 THE ^NEID 
 
 All is now lost ; fierce flames are wreathing the 
 roofs of the turrets, 
 
 Surges of fire arise, and roU to the heavens in 
 fury. 
 
 Yet I go on to the palace of Priam and visit the 
 castle ; 'm 
 
 Already now in the desolate courts, in Juno's 
 asylum, 
 
 Guardians chosen for might, both Phenix and sav- 
 age Ulysses, 
 
 Keep their eyes on the spoil ; for hither the Teu- 
 crian treasures 
 
 Snatched from blazing shrines are brought from 
 all parts of the city ; 
 
 Sacred tables, and stolen robes, and bowls from 
 the temple, 765 
 
 All of pure gold. An array of boys and shud- 
 dering matrons 
 
 Hover around. 
 
 Then I even dared to drive my voice through 
 the shadows, 
 
 Filling the streets with my cries and sadly shout- 
 ing ' Creusa,' 
 
 Vainly repeating her name, and calling it over and 
 over. 770 
 
 Still I was searching and rushing distractedly over 
 the city, 
 
 When the unhappy form, yea, the spirit itself, of 
 Creusa, 
 
 Rose before my eyes, a familiar but glorified image. 
 
 Bristled my hair with fright, and my tongue be- 
 came speechless with terror. 
 
 Then, unclosing her lips, she spoke and ended my 
 trouble : 775 
 
BOOK II 91 
 
 ' Why doth it please thee, my husband beloved, 
 
 to yield to this frantic 
 Passion of grief ? These events come not without 
 
 sanction of Heaven. 
 Thou art forbidden to carry Creusa to share in 
 
 thine exile ! 
 This is forbidden by him, who is throned upon 
 
 lofty Olympus. 
 Banishment long for thee ! thou must plough the 
 
 great plain of the ocean ; iso 
 
 Yea, thou shalt come to that Western land, where 
 
 Lydian Tiber 
 Rolleth his peaceful tide through fields that bring 
 
 wealth to the people. 
 There prosperity waits, and a throne ; and, a 
 
 daughter of princes. 
 There is a wife for thee ; weep not for thy cher- 
 ished Creusa. 
 I shall not look on the Myrmidon homes, nor 
 
 Dolopian grandeur, tss 
 
 Nor shall I go as a slave to serve the Pelasgian 
 
 matrons ; 
 I ! a Dardanian princess, and child of the Queen 
 
 of the Heavens ; 
 But the Great Mother of gods detaineth me here 
 
 in her mountains ; 
 Now, farewell, and cherish thy love for the son I 
 
 have borne thee.' 
 When she had spoken thus, she left me weeping 
 
 and longing 790 
 
 So many things to say ; like a mist of the morning 
 
 she vanished. 
 Thrice I attempted to throw my arms round her 
 
 neck as she stood there. 
 
92 , THE ^NEID 
 
 Thrice, unavailingly clasped, the vision denied my 
 embraces 
 
 Like the light kiss of the wind, still more like a 
 dream in its swiftness. 
 So, at last, when the night is done, I return to 
 my comrades ; 795 
 
 Here, with amazement, I find a great number of 
 faithful companions. 
 
 Comrades new who have gathered here, both ma- 
 trons and heroes. 
 
 Youth, also, banded in exile, — a wretched and 
 mournful assembly, — 
 
 Flocking from every side, and prepared with heart 
 and with treasure 
 
 Bravely to follow my lead o'er the sea, not ques- 
 tioning whither. 800 
 
 Now o'er the rugged brow of Moimt Ida the day- 
 star was rising. 
 
 Ushering in the dawn ; and the Greeks were hold- 
 ing the guarded 
 
 Entrance of every gate ; Troy needed my succor 
 no longer. 
 
 Yielding, at last, I caught up my father and fled 
 to the mountain. 
 
BOOK ni 
 
 After it pleased the gods to destroy the Asian 
 
 kingdom, 
 Even, the guiltless nation of Priam ; when Ilium, 
 
 haughty. 
 Fell, and all Neptunian Troy lay smoking in 
 
 ashes, 
 We, by tokens divine, are driven abroad into 
 
 exile, 
 Seeking an unknown land ; and under the walls of 
 
 Antandros, 5 
 
 Under the Phrygian mountain of Ida, we fashion 
 
 our galleys, 
 Knowing not whither the Fates may lead, where 
 
 grant us a refuge. 
 Likewise we gather our men. It was only the 
 
 dawning of summer 
 When ' Give sails to the Fates ' was the order of 
 
 father Anchises. 
 Then I abandon with tears my native shor6, and 
 
 the harbor, 10 
 
 Yea, and the plain where Troy hath been. I am 
 
 borne as an exile 
 Over the deep, with my son and my friends, my 
 
 gods and Penates. 
 There is a distant land, broad-fielded, well-peo- 
 pled, and warlike. 
 Tilled by the Thracians, and formerly governed by 
 
 daring Lycurgus, 
 
94 THE ^NEID 
 
 Ancient confederate friend of Troy, in a holy 
 alliance, is 
 
 Long as our star shone bright. Hither-borne, I 
 erect on its winding 
 
 Shore my earliest walls, — for the Fates were al- 
 ready against me, — 
 
 Making a name from my own, and calling my 
 people kneads. 
 
 Down on the shore, I was offering gifts unto Venus, 
 my mother, 
 
 And to the gods who preside over new undertak- 
 ings ; a shining 20 
 
 Bull was I slaying for Jove, great king of the 
 dwellers in heaven. 
 
 Near me, by chance, rose a mound whose top bore 
 bushes of cornel. 
 
 Also the lance-like wands of a bristling thicket of 
 myrtle ; 
 
 This I approached, but, when I endeavored to 
 pluck the green branches 
 
 Up from the earth, that with dark leafy boughs I 
 might cover the altars, zr' 
 
 Dreadful and strange to relate was the omen that 
 greeted my vision ; 
 
 For, as with snapping roots the bush first torn 
 from the hillock 
 
 Yields to my hand, dark drops of blood ooze out, 
 and with crimson 
 
 Color the earth. Cold chills unnerve my shiver- 
 ing body. 
 
 While my freezing blood congeals with shudder- 
 ing terror. so 
 
 Still do I venture once more to gather another 
 tough cornel, 
 
BOOK m 95 
 
 Seeking deeply to probe the mysterious cause of 
 
 the portent ; 
 When, from the bark of the second, lo ! drops of 
 
 dark blood again trickle. 
 Anxiously pondering then, I entreated the nymphs 
 
 of the woodland, 
 Father Gradivus, too, for he cares for the fields of 
 
 the Thracians, 35 
 
 That they would hallow the sight, and graciously 
 
 lighten the omen. 
 But, as again and with greater force I pull at the 
 
 saplings, 
 Struggling hard with my knees on the sand that 
 
 resists my endeavor. 
 Shall I be silent or speak? There arises the 
 
 mournfuUest moaning 
 Out of the depths of the earth, and a voice replies 
 
 as I listen : 40 
 
 ' Why dost thou mangle my body, -^neas ? Why 
 
 trouble my slumber? 
 Spare me ! Spare to defile thine innocent hands. 
 
 Not an alien 
 Unto thyself was I born in Troy ; and not from a 
 
 cornel 
 Trickles this blood. Ah ! fly from this covetous 
 
 shore, from this cruel 
 Land ! Polydorus am I, and here transfixed, hath 
 
 an iron « 
 
 Harvest of spears overwhelmed me, and grown to 
 
 a forest of lances.' 
 Verily then by a twofold fear was I troubled in 
 
 spirit ; 
 Bristled my hair with fright, and my tongue be- 
 came speechless with terror. 
 
96 THE ^NEID 
 
 Long before this, when first he despaired of the 
 arms of the Trojans, 
 
 Seeing the city already surrounded and closely 
 beleaguered, so 
 
 Sorrowful Priam had secretly sent to the king of 
 the Thracians 
 
 This Polydorus, with treasure of gold, to be reared 
 in the palace ; 
 
 He, when the power of the Trojans was broken, 
 when Fortune had left them, 
 
 Joining the side of the Greeks, and choosing vic- 
 torious standards, 
 
 Violates every right ; Polydorus he murders, and 
 seizes 55 
 
 Forcibly on the gold. Accursed hunger for 
 riches, 
 
 Unto what crime constrainest thou not the spirit 
 of mortals ! 
 
 After my terror subsides, I report to the chiefs of 
 my people. 
 
 First to my father, the signs of the gods, and beg 
 for their counsel. 
 
 All are agreed in mind ; to depart from the infa- 
 mous country, eo 
 
 Flee from the treacherous land, and give the 
 south winds to our galleys. 
 
 Therefore we pay Polydorus the honors of burial, 
 raising 
 
 High o'er his grave a mound, and an altar we 
 build to his spirit, 
 
 Mournful with fillets of black, and dark with fu- 
 nereal cypress. 
 
 Matrons of Troy attend, with hair unbound, as our 
 way is ; es 
 
BOOK III 97 
 
 Then, after this, new milk in foaming vessels we 
 offer, 
 
 Chalices also of sacred blood, giving rest to his 
 spirit 
 
 There in the grave, and, at last, with loud fare- 
 wells do we leave him. 
 
 Then, when first we can trust to the deep, and the 
 winds give a quiet 
 
 Sea, and the southern breeze, low whispering, calls 
 to the ocean, 70 
 
 Then my companions uncable their ships, and 
 throng to the beaches. 
 
 Outward borne from the harbor, the cities and 
 shores are retreating. 
 
 There's a delightful land in the midst of the sea. 
 It is sacred 
 
 Both to the Nereids' mother, and Neptune who 
 rules the -i^gean ; 
 
 Once it went drifting from shore to shore, but holy 
 ApoUo 75 
 
 Linked it securely to Myconos, moored it to Gya- 
 ros lofty, 
 
 Rendered it safe to be lived in, and taught it to 
 laugh at the tempests. 
 
 Hither I drift ; this island of peace, with its shel- 
 tering harbor, 
 
 Welcomes the weary; we land, and worship the 
 home of Apollo. 
 
 Anius, king of the people, and priest of the Tem- 
 ple of Phoebus, so 
 
 Fillets and sacred wreaths of laurel encircling his 
 temples, 
 
 Hastens to greet us, and finds an old friend in my 
 father Anchises. 
 
98 THE ^NEID 
 
 Then do we join right hands in friendship, and en- 
 ter their dwellings. 
 I was adoring the- god in an ancient temple of 
 marble : — 
 
 ' Grant us, O Phoebus, a home of our own ; grant 
 walls to the wearied ; 85 
 
 Children vouchsafe, and a permanent town ; pro- 
 tect the new city ; 
 
 Save us, a remnant escaped from the Greeks and 
 from cruel Achilles. 
 
 Whom shall we follow ? Or where dost thou bid 
 us to go ; where to settle ? 
 
 Grant us, O Father, a sign ; yea, make of our 
 spirits thy temple.' 
 
 Scarcely had this been said, when ev'rything sud- 
 denly trembled, 90 
 
 Lintel, and laurel divine ; the whole mountain 
 about us was shaken. 
 
 And, as the doors of the shrine were unfolded, 
 loud rumbled the caldron. 
 
 Humbly we fall to the earth ; the oracle speaks, 
 and we listen : 
 
 ' Brave-hearted Trojans, the land that at first 
 from the stock of your fathers 
 
 Fostered your earliest growth, the same shall re- 
 ceive you with gladness, 95 
 
 Safe to her bosom restored ; ye must patiently 
 seek your old mother. 
 
 There shall the sons of -^neas be masters of every 
 sea^coast. 
 
 They and their children's children, and all generar 
 tions that follow.' 
 
 Phoebus hath uttered these words : then rise loud 
 shouts of rejoicing; 
 
BOOK III 99 
 
 While we all question what land this may be ; 
 
 and whither Apollo, loo 
 
 Ordering us to return, is calling the wanderers 
 
 homeward. 
 Then, my dear father, recalling the legends of 
 
 primitive heroes. 
 Cries, ' Give ear, O chiefs, and learn of the hopes 
 
 you inherit ; 
 Crete, an island of Jove supreme, lies far in the 
 
 ocean ; 
 There is Mount Ida, and there is the cradle that 
 
 cherished our nation ; los 
 
 Populous cities an hundred are there, most fruitful 
 
 dominions ; 
 Thence, if I rightly recall the tradition, the first 
 
 of our fathers, 
 Teucer, was carried, in days of old, to the Rhoe- 
 
 tian sea-board ; 
 There chose a place for his realm. Not yet was 
 
 Ilium standing. 
 Nor the proud castles of Troy ; the people dwelt 
 
 low in the valleys ; no 
 
 Hence the Great Mother of Cybela, hence Cory- 
 
 bantian cymbals. 
 Hence the Idean grove, and the rites of mysteri- 
 ous silence. 
 Also the lions in harness that bow to the yoke of 
 
 their mistress. 
 Come then, and whither the gods have shown us 
 
 the way, let us follow. 
 Let us invoke the winds ; let us haste to the Gno- 
 
 sian kingdoms ; U5 
 
 Not far distant are they; let Jupiter only be with us. 
 And the third morning shall anchor our fleet in the 
 
 port of the Cretans.' 
 
100 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thus having spoken, he slew at the altar appro- 
 priate victims ; 
 Offered to Neptune a bull, and a bull unto thee, 
 
 bright Apollo ; 
 Black was the lamb for the Storm, and white for 
 
 the favoring Zephyrs. 120 
 
 Flies a report that Idomeneus, forced to surren- 
 der his sceptre. 
 Hath from the realm of his father withdrawn, that 
 
 the shores are abandoned, 
 Houses free from a foe, and dwellings deserted 
 
 and empty. 
 Leaving Ortygia's harbor, we spread our sails to 
 
 the ocean ; 
 Coasting the Bacchanal mountains of Naxos, and 
 
 verdant Donysa, 125 
 
 Skirting Olearos, Paros, pure white, and the Cy- 
 
 clades scattered 
 Over the sea ; through straits that are fretted by 
 
 clustering islands. 
 Shouts of the sailors arise with varied and glad 
 
 emulation. 
 Calling aloud to each other, ' Sing ho ! for Crete 
 
 and our fathers I ' 
 Eiising astern, a breeze follows after us hastening 
 
 onward, 130 
 
 Till we glide at last to the ancient coast of the 
 
 Cretans. 
 Eagerly then do I build the walls of my long 
 
 wished for city. 
 Calling it Pergamum, urging the citizens, proud of 
 
 their title. 
 Ever to love their homes, and to guard them by 
 
 building a fortress. 
 
BOOK III 101 
 
 High and dry had most of our galleys been drawn 
 
 on the seashore ; 135 
 
 Occupied were our youth with weddings and work 
 
 in the cornfields ; 
 I was ordaining laws and homes ; when a wasting 
 
 infection 
 Suddenly fell on our frames from a tainted tract 
 
 of the heavens ; 
 Over our trees and crops came a piteous blight, 
 
 and a season 
 Fruitful in death ; men died, or dragged about 
 
 suffering bodies ; 140 
 
 Sirius parched our fields, and left them barren and 
 
 wasted ; 
 Scorched was the grass, and the withering corn 
 
 portended a famine. 
 Back to the shrine of Ortygia, back to Apollo, my 
 
 father 
 Urged us to go, to retraverse the sea, and to pray 
 
 for his mercy ; 
 Asking what end he will give to our trouble, and 
 
 whence he will have us 145 
 
 Seek relief from our woes, or whither continue 
 
 our journey. 
 Now it was night, sleep holding the earth and 
 the souls of the living. 
 When the sacred forms of the Phrygian gods 
 
 and Penates 
 Which I had brought from Troy, from the midst 
 
 of the flames of the city, 
 Seemed to be standing before my eyes in a dream 
 
 as I slumbered. iso 
 
 Clearly they stood revealed, and were crowned 
 
 with a halo of glory 
 
102 THE ^NEID 
 
 Where the full moon was pouring her light 
 through the deep sunken windows. 
 
 Then, addressing me thus, they spake and relieved 
 my foreboding : 
 
 ♦ "What Apollo would say if Ortygia thou shouldst 
 revisit. 
 
 Here he reveals of his own accord, sending us to 
 thy threshold. iss 
 
 We who, since Troy was burned, have accom- 
 panied thee and thy fortunes. 
 
 We who have measured with thee the heaving 
 main in thy galleys. 
 
 We, yes we, will exalt to the stars thy future de- 
 scendants ; 
 
 We will secure to thy city dominion. 'T is thine 
 to establish 
 
 Bulwarks of might for the mighty. Fear not the 
 long labor of exUe ; leo 
 
 Thou must remove thy home ; these shores are not 
 for thy dwelling ; 
 
 Thou art not bidden to settle in Crete by Delian 
 Apollo ; 
 
 There is a place which is known as Hesperia, — 
 named by the Grecians, — 
 
 Ancient the land, prevailing in arms and abound- 
 ing in harvests. 
 
 Settled at first by CEnotrian men ; it is said their 
 descendants ibs 
 
 Now have entitled the race from the name of their 
 leader, Italian. 
 
 This is our proper abode ; our Dardanus sprang 
 from this country 
 
 (Father lasius, too) the prince who founded our 
 nation. 
 
BOOK III 103 
 
 Come, then, arise ! and report to thine aged father 
 with gladness 
 
 These undeniable words : it is Corythus he is to 
 search for, 170 
 
 And the Ausonian land ; Jove denies thee the 
 meadows of Dicte.' 
 
 Stunned by a vision like this, by the voice of my 
 hearth-gods astounded, 
 
 (Nor was that sleep profound, but I seemed to re- 
 cognize plainly 
 
 Features and fillet-bound locks, and to see their 
 faces about me ; 
 
 Then, too, an icy sweat was starting all over my 
 body,} 175 
 
 Springing up from my couch, I stretch to the hea- 
 vens my open 
 
 Palms, and cry aloud, and sprinkle a holy libation 
 
 Over the hearth ; and then, having finished the 
 sacrifice, gladly 
 
 Hasten Anchises to tell, and unfold the whole 
 story in order. 
 
 Frankly he owns our double descent, our claim to 
 two founders ; iso 
 
 Also his error through modern confusion of an- 
 cient tradition. 
 
 Then he exclaims, ' Dear son, sore chastened by 
 Ilium's downfall. 
 
 None but Cassandra predicted to me so grievous 
 disaster ; 
 
 Now I remember she chanted that this was the 
 fate of our nation ; 
 
 Often she sang of Hesperia, often of Italy's em- 
 pire ; 185 
 
 But who could ever believe that unto Hesperian 
 harbors 
 
104 THE ^NEID 
 
 Trojans would come! or whom could Cassandra 
 
 convince by her visions ? 
 Let us to Phoebus yield ; we are warned, let us 
 
 follow more wisely.' 
 Thus does he speak, and we all acquiesce in his 
 
 words with rejoicing. 
 This home, too, we abandon, and leaving a few of 
 
 our comrades, 190 
 
 Spreading the sails of our hollow barks, we skim 
 
 the wide ocean. 
 After our boats had gained the deep, and land is 
 
 no longer 
 Now to be seen, but on all sides the sky, and on 
 
 all sides the water. 
 Then, right over my head, there lowers a leaden- 
 
 hued storm-cloud. 
 Bringing night and a storm, and shudder the waves 
 
 in the darkness. 195 
 
 Presently winds are rolling the sea, great billows 
 
 are rising. 
 Scattered are we o'er the vast abyss, and tossed by 
 
 the surges ; 
 Clouds have enshrouded the day, rain and dark- 
 ness have hidden the heavens ; 
 Lightnings redouble their strokes from the clouds 
 
 that are riven asunder ; 
 Wildly we drive from our course, and drift o'er 
 
 the dark heaving waters. 200 
 
 Palinurus, himself, declares that he cannot distin- 
 guish 
 Night from day in the sky, nor remember his way 
 
 in the ocean. 
 Thus, for three uncertain days, we grope in the 
 
 darkness 
 
BOOK III 105 
 
 Blindly over the sea ; three starless nights do we 
 
 wander. 
 When the fourth day was come, land seemed at 
 
 last to be rising, 205 
 
 Mountains loomed up in the distance, and volumes 
 
 of smoke were discovered. 
 SaUs drop down ; we rise on our oars ; no delay, 
 
 but the sailors 
 Bend to their toil, and scatter the foam, and sweep 
 
 the blue water. 
 Saved from the waves, the shores of the Stropha- 
 
 des first give me refuge, 
 Strophades, called by a Grecian name ; they are 
 
 islands uplifted 210 
 
 Out of the great Ionian sea, where dreadful Ce- 
 
 Iseno 
 Dwells with her sisters dire, from the time they 
 
 abandoned in terror 
 Banquets they used to share, tiU barred from the 
 
 Phinean palace. 
 Monster more fell than they, nor any more utterly 
 
 cruel 
 Curse and scourge of the gods, e'er rose from the 
 
 Stygian waters. 215 
 
 Vultures envisaged like virgins, polluted below and 
 
 polluting, 
 Such are the Harpies, with claws for hands, and 
 
 their faces with hunger 
 Pallid for aye. 
 When, hither-drifted, we enter the harbor, behold, 
 
 all about us 
 Herds of cattle are seen contentedly grazing the 
 
 lowlands ; 220 
 
 Also a flock of goats, untended, are cropping the 
 
 herbage. 
 
106 THE ^NEID 
 
 On them we rush with our darts, and invoke to 
 
 their share of the booty- 
 Jove, himself, and the gods, and then, on the curve 
 of the seashore, 
 
 Build our couches high and prepare for a gener- 
 ous banquet. 
 
 But, with a frightful swoop, the Harpies come 
 down from the mountains, 225 
 
 Taking us unaware, then, screaming and flapping 
 their pinions, 
 
 Tear at our meat, and defile the feast by their 
 odious contact. 
 
 Uttering fearful cries, and emitting a pestilent 
 odor. 
 
 Then, in the depths of a cave, in the sheltered re- 
 treat of a cavern. 
 
 Hedged all about by trees, and darkened by bris- 
 tling shadows, 230 
 
 Spread we our tables again, and rekindle the fire 
 on our altar ; 
 
 But from the opposite sky, and down from dark 
 places of hiding. 
 
 Circling their prey again, with crooked talons, the 
 noisy 
 
 Flock come flying, and foul the feast by their 
 beaks. Then I order 
 
 Arms to be seized by my friends ; and war to be 
 waged on the monsters. 23s 
 
 Strictly obeying my words, they bury their swords 
 in the grasses. 
 
 Hidden from sight, and conceal their shields, and 
 wait for the combat. 
 
 So, when the noise of their swooping resounds on 
 the wide-curving beaches. 
 
BOOK III 107 
 
 Loud from his lofty watch Misenus trumpets the 
 signal ; 
 
 Then, my comrades attack, and attempt a new 
 fashion of battle, 240 
 
 Trying to maim with their swords these flying 
 pests of the ocean ; 
 
 But no weapon can pierce their skin, or injure 
 their plumage ; 
 
 Swiftly they fly away, and soar aloft in the hea- 
 vens, 
 
 Leaving their half-eaten prey and the loathsome 
 marks of their talons. 
 
 One of them perches aloft on a clifE of the moun- 
 tain, Celseno, 2« 
 
 Prophetess of despair, and thus gives vent to her 
 curses : 
 
 ' Sons of Laomedon, offer ye war for the death of 
 our bullocks ? 
 
 Or for our heifers slain ? or are ye prepared for 
 the battle 
 
 Thinking to drive from their native realm the in- 
 nocent Harpies ? 
 
 Take, then, these words of mine to your hearts, 
 and never forget them, 250 
 
 Words which to Phoebus the Father Supreme, and 
 which Phoebus ApoUo 
 
 Hath unto me foretold, now I, who am Queen of 
 the Furies, 
 
 Utter. For Italy now are ye bound, and, appeas- 
 ing the tempests, 
 
 Italy shall ye gain, and be suffered to enter her 
 harbors ; 
 
 But no walls shall arise around that city of 
 promise ^^^ 
 
108 THE ^NEID 
 
 Till, constrained by dire distress, for the crime of 
 
 our slaughter, 
 Ye shall have hungrily gnawed with your teeth, 
 
 and eaten your trenchers.' 
 Speaking, she rose on her wings, and disappeared 
 
 in the forest ; 
 But, with a sudden chill of dread, the blood of my 
 
 comrades 
 Froze in their veins ; their hearts were afraid, and 
 
 no longer with weapons, 26o 
 
 Eather with vows and prayers, for peace they were 
 
 fain to petition. 
 Whether to spirits divine or to vultures fierce and 
 
 ill-omened. 
 Father Anchises, too, uplifting his hands on the 
 
 seashore. 
 Called on the mighty gods, ordaining due sacrifice 
 
 for them. 
 ' Silence these threats, ye gods ! Ye gods, avert 
 
 such disaster ; 265 
 
 Graciously keep thy servants in peace.' Then he 
 
 ordered the cable 
 Torn from the shore, and the ropes to be shaken 
 
 out ready for action. 
 South winds fill the sails ; we flee o'er the white 
 
 foaming breakers 
 Whither our course and the wind and the pilot are 
 
 bidding us follow. 
 Now there appear in the midst of the sea the 
 
 groves of Zacynthos ; 270 
 
 Later, Dulichium, Samos, and Neritos lofty and 
 
 rock-bound ; 
 Swiftly we flee by the Ithacan crags, and the realm 
 
 of Laertes, 
 
BOOK ni 109 
 
 Cursing the land that had cradled the childhood 
 
 of cruel Ulysses. 
 Soon, too, the storm-crowned peaks of Leucata are 
 
 looming before us ; 
 Rises also the fane of Apollo, the terror of 
 
 sailors. 275 
 
 This we weariedly seek, and steer to the quaint 
 
 little city ; 
 Anchors are dropped from our bows, and the shore 
 
 is fringed with our galleys. 
 • Thus, in spite of our fears, at last we are come 
 
 to a haven, 
 And, with purified hands, we worship at Jupiter's 
 
 altar. 
 Honoring also the Actian shores with Ilian con- 
 tests. 280 
 Stripped, and supple with oil, my comrades prac- 
 tise the wrestling 
 Learned in their native land ; well pleased to have 
 
 safely avoided 
 So many Grecian towns, to have slipped through 
 
 the midst of their foemen. 
 Meanwhile, the sun sweeps around the majestic 
 
 p^th of his orbit. 
 And, with his northern blasts, chill winter roughens 
 
 the waters. 285 
 
 Then, to the front of the temple, the shield of 
 
 proud Abas I fasten, 
 Hollow and forged of brass ; and add this metrical 
 
 legend : 
 'This is the armor ^neas hath captured from 
 
 conquering Grecians.' 
 Then I give orders to loose from the port ; ' To 
 
 your oars, to your benches ! ' 
 
110 THE iENEID 
 
 Eagerly striking the sea, my comrades are sweep- 
 ing the billows. 290 
 
 Presently leaying behind us the airy summits of 
 Corfou, 
 
 Coasting the shore of Epirus, we enter Chaonia's 
 harbor 
 
 Safely, and come, at last, to the towering walls of 
 Buthrotum. 
 
 Here our ears are surprised by an almost incredi- 
 ble story ; 
 
 Even that Helenus, Priam's own son, Greek cities 
 was ruling ; 295 
 
 Nay, had obtained the wife and the crown of 
 ^acian Pyrrhus, 
 
 And that again to a husband of Troy had Andro- 
 mache fallen. 
 
 I was amazed, and my heart was inspired with a 
 wonderful longing 
 
 Unto the hero to speak, and learn the strange tale 
 of his fortunes. 
 
 So I go up from the port, leaving shore and ves- 
 sels behind me, 300 
 
 Just as by chance, near the gates of the city, An- 
 dromache offered 
 
 Funeral gifts and a yearly feast in a grove by the 
 feigned 
 
 Waters of Simois unto the dead, and was mourn- 
 fully calling 
 
 Hector's shade to the empty turf -covered tomb, and 
 the altars 
 
 Twain she had hallowed there as a sacred asylum 
 of sorrow. so5 
 
 Now, when she saw me draw near, and beheld with 
 amazement the Trojan 
 
BOOK III m 
 
 Armor that compassed me roimd, appalled by. the 
 
 strange apparition, 
 Rigid, and fixedly staring, she stood ; life's heat 
 
 left her body ; 
 Falling, long time she lay, unable to speak ; then 
 
 she murmured, 
 ' Art thou a living form ? Dost thou verily bring 
 
 me a message ? 310 
 
 Goddess-born, then dost thou live? or, if life's 
 
 kindly light hath departed. 
 Where is my Hector ? ' She spoke, and wept, 
 
 and with loud lamentation 
 Filled the whole place ; I could say but a word 
 
 now and then as she wildly 
 Raved, but in deep distress I faltered a few broken 
 
 answers : 
 ' Surely I live, and prolong my life amid infinite 
 
 trouble ; 315 
 
 Doubt not the vision is true. 
 Ah, but what fate hath o'ertaken thee, robbed of 
 
 so noble a husband ? 
 Or, what return of good fortune hath worthUy 
 
 raised thee to honor ? 
 Hector's Andromache, art thou consenting in mar- 
 riage to Pyrrhus ? ' 
 Dropping her eyes, with a tremulous voice she 
 
 sadly responded : 320 
 
 ' O, above, all, how supremely blest was that 
 
 daughter of Priam 
 Bidden to die at her enemy's tomb, under Troy's 
 
 lofty ramparts ! 
 Happy that maiden for whom no lots have been 
 
 cast, and who never 
 Hath in captivity touched the bed of a conquering 
 
 master ! 
 
112 THE ^NEID 
 
 We, when our city was burned, through sea after 
 
 sea were transported, 325 
 
 We have endured the scorn of the haughty heir of 
 
 Achilles, — 
 Mother and slave in one, — and then when he left 
 
 me to follow 
 Leda's fair daughter, Hermione, — seeking alliance 
 
 with Sparta, — 
 Me, as a slave to a slave, into Helenus' hands he 
 
 delivered. 
 Then, Orestes, aflame with passionate love for his 
 
 stolen S30 
 
 Bride, and urged by the Furies of Crime, surprised 
 
 him, and slew him. 
 While he was off his guard, at the altar his fathers 
 
 had builded. 
 When Neoptolemus died, a part of the realm he 
 
 abandoned 
 Fell to Helenus' lot, who named the Chaonian 
 
 lowlands, — 
 All Chaonia named, — from the name borne by 
 
 Chaon, the Trojan ; 335 
 
 Pergamum, too, he hath built on the hills, and this 
 
 Ilian fortress. 
 But, what winds have directed thy course ? what 
 
 destiny guided ? 
 Or, to our shores what god hath driven thee on- 
 ward so blindly ? 
 What of the boy, Ascanius ? Is he yet living and 
 
 breathing ? 
 Whom unto thee in Troy — 340 
 
 Nay, but the boy, — is he grieving still for the loss 
 
 of his mother ? 
 Or have his father ^neas and Hector, his uncle, 
 
 bequeathed him 
 
BOOK III 113 
 
 Something of ancient pride, and something of 
 
 manly endurance ? ' 
 Thus she continued with sobs, then burst into vio- 
 lent weeping. 
 Useless, alas, are tears ! when down from the city 
 
 the hero, 345 
 
 Priam's own Helenus came, attended by many 
 
 companions ; 
 Recognized his friend, and led us with joy to his 
 
 threshold. 
 Fain to shed tears himself in the midst of his 
 
 greetings of welcome. 
 Then I go on, and a tiny Troy, and a citadel 
 
 copied 
 After her mighty tower, I recognize, also a Xan- 
 
 thuS 350 
 
 Thirsty and small ; and I gather a Scaean gate to 
 
 my bosom. 
 All my Trojans, too, are welcomed as guests of the 
 
 city ; 
 Unto his spacious abode the king in person invites 
 
 them. 
 There, in the midst of the hall, they pour a liba- 
 tion to Bacchus ; 
 Served is a banquet in gold, and their hands lay 
 
 hold of the wine-cups. 355 
 
 " Now, that day and the next have flown, and 
 
 breezes arising 
 Call to our sails, and the wind of the South is 
 
 swelling our canvas. 
 Then to the prophet I speak these words, and ask 
 
 him these questions : 
 ' Trojan-born, mouthpiece of God, who knowest 
 
 the will of Apollo, 
 
114 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thou who knowest the caldrons, the Clarian laurel, 
 
 the planets, sgo 
 
 Also the language of birds, and the portent of 
 
 swift-flying pinions, 
 Tell me, I pray, for a kind revelation hath guided 
 
 my journey 
 All the long way, and all of the gods by their 
 
 omens have urged me 
 Italy to pursue, and her far distant shores to ad- 
 venture ; 
 Only the Harpy, Celaeno, new horrors unlawful to 
 
 utter 365 
 
 Prophesies, threat'ning the curse of her terrible 
 
 anger and vengeance, 
 Even a famine malign ; what perils must first be 
 
 avoided ? 
 Under whose lead can I finally conquer these fear- 
 ful disasters ? ' 
 Hereupon, Helenus, first invoking the gods for 
 
 their favor. 
 Sacrificed bullocks according to custom ; then 
 
 loosened the fillets 370 
 
 Binding his sacred brow, and me to thy portals, 
 
 O Phoebus, 
 Led by his holy hand, overawed by thy manifest 
 
 presence. 
 Then, with his lips divine, thus chanted the Priest 
 
 of Apollo : 
 ' Child of a goddess, — for sure is my faith that 
 
 thy galleys are sailing 
 Under a prosperous star, for the King of the gods 
 
 is directing 375 
 
 Destiny thus, thus shaping thy fortune ; this course 
 
 is determined ; — 
 
BOOK III 115 
 
 I will unfold to thy view a few of his manifold 
 
 counsels ; 
 So shalt thou traverse more safely the prosperous 
 
 sea, and find refuge 
 In the Ausonian port ; but the rest Fate hides 
 
 from thy knowledge, 
 Nor doth Saturnian Juno give Helenus leave to 
 
 discover. m 
 
 Italy, first, that thou thinkest so near, already pre- 
 paring 
 Neighboring harbors to enter, not knowing the 
 
 truth, this is sundered « 
 Far, by a path untried and long and by far-reach- 
 ing countries ; 
 Also thine oars must first be bent in Trinacrian 
 
 waters. 
 Thou must pass over the plain of Ausonian brine 
 
 with thy vessels, sss 
 
 And thou must visit the Lake of Shades and the 
 
 Island of Circe, 
 Ere in a peaceful land thou canst hope to establish 
 
 a city. 
 I will reveal the signs ; do thou hold them fixed in 
 
 remembrance. 
 When by thine anxious eyes an enormous sow is 
 
 discovered 
 Near to the bank of a darkling stream, under 
 
 shore-shading oak-trees, 390 
 
 When thou shalt see her outstretched on the 
 
 earth, the mother of thirty 
 Young, and, white herself, giving breast to a white 
 
 brood around her. 
 There shall thy city be set ; yea, there shalt thou 
 
 rest from thy labors. 
 
116 THE ^NEID 
 
 Tremble no more with dread of that threat of a 
 
 " gnawing of trenchers," 
 Fate will provide a way, and Apollo, invoked, will 
 
 be with thee. 395 
 
 But, this country of ours, and the coast-line of 
 
 Italy's sea-board 
 Nearest at hand, and washed by the tides that our 
 
 sea is up-rolling. 
 This thou must shun, for its towns are all peopled 
 
 by desperate Grecians. 
 Here, the Narycian Locrians dwell in a fortified 
 
 city ; ,, 
 Also the Sallentine plains hath Cretan Idomeneus 
 
 crowded loo 
 
 Thick with his troops; and Philoctetes, here, a 
 
 chief Melibcean, 
 Little Petelia rules, Petelia trusting in bulwarks. 
 Furthermore, when thy fleet, after coursing the 
 
 sea, shall be anchored. 
 When thou shalt offer thy vows on the shore that 
 
 shall welcome thine altars, 
 Muffle thy face, and cover thy head with a mantle 
 
 of purple, 405 
 
 Lest some evil eye meet thine and trouble the 
 
 omens. 
 While in the name of the gods the hallowed 
 
 flames are arising. 
 Let thy companions continue this rite ; do thou 
 
 also retain it ; 
 Yea, let thy reverent children maintain this ob- 
 servance forever. 
 But, when the wind shall have shifted thy course 
 
 toward Sicily's headland, 410 
 
 When the close straits of Pelorus begin to grow 
 
 wider before thee, 
 
BOOK III 117 
 
 Then must thou turn to the land on thy left, and 
 the sea to the southward, 
 
 Making a long detour; shun the shore and the 
 waves to the northward. 
 
 Once these regions were rent by the throes of a 
 mighty convulsion, 
 
 Such are the changes wrought by the endless suc- 
 cession of ages, 416 
 
 Torn apart, it is said, though anciently one and 
 unbroken 
 
 Both these shores ; and the sea hath forced a rough 
 passage between them. 
 
 Sundering Italy's flank from Sicily ; pouring its 
 narrow 
 
 Tide between cities and fields, once joined, now 
 rudely dissevered. 
 
 Scylla is guarding the shore on the right, and 
 hungry Charybdis 420 
 
 Watches the left, and thrice each day in the depths 
 of her yawning 
 
 Cavern she gulps far down in her throat the pre- 
 cipitous waters. 
 
 Belching them forth in turn, and drenching the 
 sky and the planets. 
 
 Scylla, however, lurks hidden from sight in cav- 
 erns of darkness. 
 
 Reaching out with her jaws, and shattering ships 
 on her ledges. 425 
 
 Human her form above, a maiden of beautiful 
 bosom 
 
 Down to the waist ; but, below, an enormous and 
 hideous monster. 
 
 Dolphin-like tails conjoined to a girdle of ravening 
 sea-wolves. 
 
118 THE ^NEID 
 
 Better it were to delay, and round the Trinacrian 
 headlands, 
 
 Doubling Pachynus and making a long and weari- 
 some circuit, 430 
 
 Eather than once to have looked upon Seylla far 
 off in her monstrous 
 
 Cave, and the rocks that resound with the howls 
 of her brine-colored sea-dogs ! 
 
 Further, if Helenus hath any wisdom, if in his 
 foreknowledge 
 
 Any reliance be placed ; if Apollo hath truly in- 
 spired him. 
 
 One thing there is, O child of a goddess, one more 
 than all others, 435 
 
 I will foretell and forewarn thee, repeating it over 
 and over. 
 
 First, invoke with prayer the presence of powerful 
 Juno ; 
 
 Chant unto Juno thy willing vows, and with sup- 
 pliant off'rings 
 
 Conquer the mighty queen ; for so, from Trinacria 
 parting, 
 
 Thou shalt be guided at last in triumph to Italy's 
 borders. 440 
 
 When thou art thither borne, drawing nigh to the 
 city of Cumse, 
 
 Nearing the lake divine, and Avernus rustling with 
 forests ; 
 
 There, in a cave of the rock, shalt thou find a mad 
 writer of verses 
 
 Chanting the fates, and committing to leaves her 
 letters and phrases. 
 
 All the prophetic songs she hath written on leaves 
 doth the virgin 445 
 
BOOK III 119 
 
 Lay in an orderly row, and leave in her cavern 
 
 secluded. 
 Motionless there they remain in their places, nor 
 
 stir from their order ; 
 Nevertheless, when the hinges are turned, and a 
 
 breeze hath disturbed them, 
 When the light breath of the door the delicate 
 
 leaves hath disordered, 
 Never again doth she care, as they flutter about in 
 
 the cavern, «o 
 
 Either to catch and arrange them aright, or re- 
 couple her verses. 
 Wise as you came you depart, reviling the home 
 
 of the Sibyl. 
 Here, let no cost of delay appear in thine eyes of 
 
 such moment. 
 Though thy companions be ne'er so impatient, 
 
 though urgent thy voyage 
 Call to the deep thy sails, though favoring gales 
 
 be inviting, 455 
 
 But that thou visit the Sibyl and beg her to chant 
 
 her predictions 
 Then and there ; till her voice and her lips be 
 
 unsealed in thy favor. 
 She will advise thee of Italy's people, of wars that 
 
 await thee, 
 Also how best to avoid or endure each coming dis- 
 aster. 
 And in response to thy prayer wiU grant thee a 
 
 prosperous voyage. m 
 
 This is all of thy future my lips are permitted to 
 
 utter. 
 On, then ! and by thy deeds exalt great Troy to 
 
 the heavens.' 
 
120 THE ^NEID 
 
 After these words with his friendly lips the pro- 
 phet had spoken, 
 
 Gifts that were heavy with gold, and ivory cary- 
 ings, he ordered 
 
 Carried down to the ships ; and stowed a ballast of 
 silver 465 
 
 Over their curving keels; gave also Dodonsean 
 caldrons. 
 
 Adding a corselet of gold with triplicate links in- 
 terwoven. 
 
 Also the cone and the flowing crest of a marvel- 
 lous helmet. 
 
 Armor of Pyrrhus ; and then, there were personal 
 gifts for my father ; 
 
 Horses he added, and guides ; «o 
 
 Fitted our galleys with oars, and provided my 
 comrades with weapons. 
 " Meanwhile Anchises commands to make ready 
 the sails for the galleys 
 
 So that no time may be lost when the wind shall 
 invite our departure. 
 
 Him, then, the priest of Apollo addresses with 
 courtly politeness : 
 
 ' Thou who art proudly and worthily wedded to 
 Venus, Anchises, 475 
 
 Care of the gods, twice rescued by them from a 
 city in ruins. 
 
 Yonder, behold thine Ausonian land ! Sail forth 
 and possess it ! 
 
 Nevertheless, thou must pass beyond this land on 
 the ocean ; 
 
 Far is that part of Ausonia destined for thee by 
 ApoUo. 
 
 Onward, then, blessed by the love of thy son ! What 
 need of prolonging 480 
 
BOOK III 121 
 
 Speech ? Or wherefore delay the rising wind by 
 discourses ? ' 
 
 Then, Andromache, too, no less grieved at our 
 parting forever, 
 
 Brings to Ascanius garments embroidered in fig- 
 ures, with threadwork 
 
 Woven in gold ; and a Phrygian cloak, and, with 
 unsurpassed bounty. 
 
 Loads him with gifts of her loom, and says, as she 
 presses them on him, 485 
 
 ' Take these, also, dear boy ; of my hands may 
 they ever remind thee ; 
 
 Long may they speak to thee, too, of the love of 
 Andromache, Hector's 
 
 Wife ; receive them, then, as the farewell gifts of 
 thy kindred ; 
 
 Thou, the one copy I have of my little Astyanax' 
 image ! 
 
 Thine are the eyes, and the hands, and thine are 
 the lips of my darling ; 490 
 
 Just of thine age, he, too, would now be attaining 
 to manhood.' 
 
 Tears then filled my eyes, and I said, while turn- 
 ing to leave them, 
 
 ' Farewell, happy pair, whose lot is already deter- 
 mined ; 
 
 Summoned are we to pass from one strange fate 
 to another. 
 
 Ye have attained your rest ; by you no field of the 
 ocean 495 
 
 Waits to be ploughed ; nor must Italy's plains, for- 
 ever receding, 
 
 StiU be pursued ; ye look on the pattern of Troy, 
 and a Xanthus 
 
122 THE ^NEID 
 
 Which your own hands have made, and I hope 
 
 with far happier omens ; 
 Destined I trust to be free from Grecian invasion 
 
 forever. 
 If I shall ever have entered the Tiber and gained 
 
 the fair meadows 500 
 
 Fringing its bank, and have seen a city vouchsafed 
 
 to my people. 
 Then, our cities fraternal, our nations united by 
 
 kinship, 
 Yours in Epirus, in Italy ours, both having one 
 
 founder, 
 Dardanus ; having, moreover, a common fate, we 
 
 will make them 
 Both one Troy in heart ; let this be the care of our 
 
 children.' 505 
 
 " Over the sea we are borne, close by the Cerau- 
 
 nian mountains, 
 Whence is the shortest way to Italy over the wa- 
 ter. 
 Meanwhile the sim rushes on, and the mountains 
 
 are darkened in shadow. 
 Then we are stretched on the breast of the coveted 
 
 land, by the seaside. 
 Watchers we draft for the oars, and, scattered 
 
 along the dry beaches, 510 
 
 Strengthen our hearts with food, and refresh our 
 
 tired bodies with slumber. 
 Not as yet have the Hours borne Night through 
 
 half of her circuit, 
 When Palinurus, alert, springs up from his couch 
 
 and examines 
 All of the winds, and listens att^nt to the voice of 
 
 the breezes ; 
 
BOOK Ul 123 
 
 Notices all the stars as they glide through the si- 
 lence of heaven, 515 
 
 Studies the Hyades stormy, and studies the Bears 
 and Arcturus ; 
 
 Carefully studies the golden belt and the sword of 
 Orion. 
 
 Seeing that all is at peace in the cloudless heavens, 
 a cheerful 
 
 Signal he gives from the deck ; we move our en- 
 campment, and venture 
 
 Forth on our way, outspreading the wings of our 
 sails to the night-wind. 820 
 
 Now had the stars been driven to flight, and Au- 
 rora was blushing. 
 
 When, far away, we behold dark hills; land 
 stretching below them. 
 
 ' Italy ! Italy ! ' first Achates cries with rejoicing ; 
 
 ' Italy ! ' all my companions salute with glad ac- 
 clamation. 
 
 Then doth my father Anchises enwreathe a huge 
 bowl with a garland ; 525 
 
 Now he hath filled it with wine, and now on the 
 gods he is calling, 
 
 Standing aloft on the stern : 
 
 ' Gods of the sea and shore, ye gods who govern 
 the tempest. 
 
 Hasten our prosperous way by your winds ; breathe 
 graciously on us.' 
 
 Freshens the coveted breeze, and opens before us 
 the harbor, sso 
 
 Distant no longer ; and crowning the height is a 
 fane of Minerva. 
 
 Then do my friends furl sail, and turn our prows 
 to the mainland. 
 
124 THE -aiNEID 
 
 Curved by the eastern wave to the form of a bow is 
 the harbor ; 
 
 Foaming with briny spray are the cliffs confront- 
 ing the ocean ; 
 
 Hidden the port, for the towering crags, with a 
 double escarpment, 535 
 
 Lower their mighty arms, and the temple retreats 
 from the shore-line. 
 
 Here my first omen I see ; four horses abroad in 
 the meadow 
 
 Browsing the plain at large ; four horses shining 
 and snow-white. 
 
 Father Anchises cries : ' Strange land, thou be- 
 tokenest battle. 
 
 Horses are ready for battle ; of battle these herds 
 are a menace. mo 
 
 Yet to the wain these very steeds once used to be 
 subject, 
 
 Bowing their necks to the yoke, and peacefully 
 wearing a harness ; 
 
 Still there is hope of peace.' Thereupon we in- 
 voke the fair goddess, 
 
 Pallas, resounding in arms, who hath welcomed us 
 first in our gladness. 
 
 Veiling our heads at her shrine with mantle of 
 Phrygian purple ; 545 
 
 Also, obeying the precepts which Helenus urgently 
 gave us, 
 
 Duly we offer the honors commanded to Juno of 
 Argos. 
 
 Tarrying not, as soon as our vows have been duly 
 accomplished. 
 
 Round to the sea we turn the horns of our sail- 
 covered yard-arms. 
 
BOOK III 125 
 
 Leaving the homes of the children of Greece, and 
 
 the fields we distrusted. 550 
 
 Next, on the bay of Tarentum, a city, if rumor be 
 
 trusted, ' 
 
 Founded by Hercules, rises, across from Lacinia's 
 
 temple ; 
 Also Caulonia's tow'rs, and that wrecker of ships, 
 
 Scylacaenm ; 
 Then, afar off, looms up from the surge Trinacrian 
 
 ^tna; 
 Also we hear the deep groan of the sea, rocks 
 
 beaten by breakers 555 
 
 Far in the distance ; and then, the sullen roar of 
 
 the beaches ; 
 Leap the deep waters of ocean, and sand and wave 
 
 are commingled. 
 Father Anchises, then : ' This, truly, is frightful 
 
 Charybdis ; 
 These are the cliffs and the terrible rocks of which 
 
 Helenus warned us. 
 Save us, my men ! arise ! arise on your oars ! all 
 
 together ! ' seo 
 
 All they are bidden, they do ; and first Palinurus 
 
 has sharply 
 Whirled to the left the prow till it roars in the 
 
 rush of the water; 
 Then the whole fleet bears hard to the left with 
 
 oar and with canvas. 
 Up we are raised to the sky, as the sea arches 
 
 under our galleys, 
 Then, as the wave gives way, we sink into regions 
 
 infernal ; ses 
 
 Thrice in caverns of stone is a roaring of rock all 
 
 around us ; 
 
126 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thrice have we seen the foam dashed up, and the 
 firmament dripping. 
 
 Meanwhile the wind goes down with the sun, 
 deserting us wearied. 
 
 Ignorant, then, of our way, we drift to the shore 
 of the Cyclops. 
 " Safe from the entrance of winds is the har- 
 bor itself, and capacious ; 570 
 
 But, on one side, with most terrible noises. Mount 
 ^tna is roaring ; 
 
 Sometimes hurling aloft in the sky black clouds, 
 and a murky 
 
 Whirlwind of smoke, whose gloom is filled with 
 glimmering cinders. 
 
 Shooting up balls of fire that glitter high in the 
 heavens ; 
 
 Sometimes, belching, it raises rocks, and tearing 
 the entrails 575 
 
 Out of the mountain, whirls the molten mass to 
 the zenith, 
 
 Eoaring aloud and boiling up from its very foun- 
 dations. 
 
 There 's a tradition that under this mountain En- 
 celadus' body, 
 
 Half consumed by the lightning, is crushed, while 
 ponderous ^tna. 
 
 Over him hurled, breathes flame from furnaces 
 bursting asunder ; sso 
 
 Also, as oft as he shifts his wearied side, with a 
 murmur 
 
 All Trinacria trembles, and smokes till the hea- 
 vens are darkened. 
 
 All that night in the sheltering wood we endured 
 the terrific 
 
BOOK III 127 
 
 Omens, unable to see what it was that occasioned 
 
 the uproar ; 
 For there was neither the light of stars, nor a 
 
 firmament shining 585 
 
 Bright in a peaceful sky, but clouds in a heaven 
 
 of darkness, 
 While the untimely night imprisoned the moon in 
 
 a storm-cloud. 
 Now in the farthest East, the morning already 
 
 was breaking, 
 Yea, Aurora had swept from the sky the shadowy 
 
 vapor, 
 When from the wood, on a sudden, emerges the 
 
 form of a stranger, 590 
 
 Clad in pitiful rags, a wasted, emaciate figure. 
 Then, as entreating our aid, he stretches his hands 
 
 to the seashore. 
 Backward we turned ; there was dreadful filth ; 
 
 his beard was neglected ; 
 Thorns held, his clothing together ; the rest beto- 
 kened a Grecian ; 
 One who of yore had been sent to Troy with the 
 
 ships of his nation. 595 
 
 As for himself, when he saw from afar our Dar- 
 
 danian garments. 
 Saw the armor of Troy, he was frightened, and 
 
 faltered a moment. 
 Checking his steps ; but, soon, he swiftly rushed 
 
 down to the seashore. 
 Throwing himself on our mercy with tears : ' By 
 
 the stars, by the Powers, 
 Yea, by the light of the sky, by this air that we 
 
 breathe, I conjure you, mo 
 
 Spare me, O men of Troy! To what country 
 
 soever ye take me 
 
128 THE iENEID 
 
 That will suffice ; it is true that I have embarked 
 
 with the Grecians ; 
 Yea, I confess that your Ilian homes I have ray- 
 aged in battle ; 
 If, on this account, the guilt of my crime be so 
 
 grievous, 
 Scatter me over the wave, or drown me deep in 
 
 the ocean ; 605 
 
 If I must die, I shall gladly have died by hands 
 
 that are human.' 
 Having said this, he embraced our knees ; to our 
 
 knees in his writhing 
 StiU did he cling. We exhort him to tell what 
 
 family claims him ; 
 Then to explain what fate is the cause of his great 
 
 agitation. 
 Father Anchises, himself, gives the youth his right 
 
 hand in a moment, m 
 
 Reassuring his mind by a pledge so cordially 
 
 offered. 
 Finally, laying his fear aside, he tells us his story : 
 ' Ithacan born am I, a friend of unhappy Ulysses. 
 I, Achemenides, went to Troy, Adamastus, my fa- 
 ther, 
 Being so poor ; ah, me ! to be back in those days 
 
 of my childhood ! as 
 
 Here, in the depths of the cavern of Cyclops, my 
 
 comrades forgetful 
 Left me behind as they fled from his cruel abode 
 
 in their terror. 
 It is a house of blood ; of blood are the feasts it 
 
 hath witnessed ; 
 Dark within, and huge ; its master so tall that his 
 
 forehead 
 
BOOK III 129 
 
 Strikes the high stars ; ye gods, remove from the 
 
 earth such a monster ! . 620 
 
 One who devours the flesh, and drinks the dark 
 
 blood of his victims. 
 Looked on by none without fear, and spoken to 
 
 never by any. 
 I have seen him myself, when flat on his back in 
 
 his cavern, 
 Two of our number, gripped in his giant hand, he 
 
 was dashing 
 Dead on the rock, while the floor ran red with the 
 
 blood that was scattered. 625 
 
 When he was crunching their bodies, from which 
 
 black gore was exuding, 
 While the limbs, yet warm, quivered under his 
 
 teeth, I beheld him ; 
 Not unpunished, indeed; such things were not 
 
 brooked by Ulysses, 
 Nor in a crisis so great was the Ithacan shorn of 
 
 his cunning ; 
 For, when gorged with the horrible feast and 
 
 stupid with drinking m 
 
 He had reclined his drooping neck, and stretched 
 
 through the cavern 
 All his enormous bulk, while he vomited blood in 
 
 his slumber. 
 Blood and morsels of flesh with bloody wine inter- 
 mingled. 
 We, having prayed to the gods, drew lots, and 
 
 gathered about him ; 
 Then his eye, that enormous eye that used to lie 
 
 sunken, ess 
 
 Sunken and single beneath his terrible brow, like 
 
 a Grecian 
 
130 THE ^NEID 
 
 Shield, or the lamp of Apollo, we bored with a 
 
 well-sharpened weapon. 
 Yea, at last we rejoiced to avenge the shades of 
 
 our comrades. 
 But, O wretched men, flee away, flee away, and 
 
 your cables 
 Burst from the shore ! m 
 
 For, as grim and as huge as Polyphemus who 
 
 gathers 
 Wool-bearing ewes in his hollow care, and presses 
 
 their udders, 
 There are an hundred more dread Cyclops who 
 
 thickly inhabit 
 All these curving shores, and roam these towering 
 
 mountains. 
 Now are the horns of the moon for the third time 
 
 filling with brightness, 6« 
 
 While I am dragging out life in the woods 'mid 
 
 the haunts and deserted 
 Lairs of ferocious beasts, peering forth from the 
 
 rock of the giant 
 Cyclops, and trembling with fear at their tread 
 
 and the sound of their voices. 
 Boughs have yielded my meagre fare, hard cornels 
 
 and berries. 
 And with their uptorn roots the herbs of the field 
 
 have sustained me. eso 
 
 Sweeping all with my eyes, this fleet of yours I 
 
 discovered 
 First approaching the shore, and to this, whatever 
 
 might happen. 
 Trusted my life. 'T is enough from that cursed 
 
 tribe to be rescued ; 
 Take ye my life away, by whatever death; it were 
 
 better.' 
 
BOOK III 131 
 
 " Scarce had he spoken thus, when behold, on 
 
 the crest of the mountain, ess 
 
 Moving amid his flocks, with body enormous, the 
 
 shepherd, 
 Polyphemus himself, coming down to his haunts 
 
 by the seashore ! 
 Monster terrific, deformed, gigantic, and robbed 
 
 of his vision. 
 Grasping the trunk of a pine, he guides and 
 
 steadies his footsteps ; 
 Wool-bearing sheep are about him, and they are 
 
 his only enjoyment, em 
 
 Only solace of ill. 
 Soon as the crested wave he hath touched, by the 
 
 shore of the ocean, 
 Then, from his hoUowed eye he washes the blood 
 
 as it trickles. 
 Gnashing his teeth with a groan ; and, now, 
 
 through the sea is he striding. 
 Nor as yet have his lofty flanks been wet by the 
 
 breakers. ees 
 
 Then far away with a shudder we hasten our flight, 
 
 taking with us 
 Him who had prayed so well; and we silently 
 
 sever our cable ; 
 Then, with emulous oars, bend forward and sweep 
 
 o'er the water. 
 This he perceives, and turns his step to the sound 
 
 of our voices. 
 But as soon as he finds that his hand is unable to 
 
 seize us, ero 
 
 When he no longer can breast the Ionian tides in 
 
 pursuing. 
 Then he utters a roar so loud that the sea and the 
 
 surges 
 
132 THE ^NEID 
 
 Tremble together with fear, and Italy's heart is 
 
 affrighted, 
 Yea, even ^tna reechoes the roar in her deep 
 
 winding caverns. 
 But, from the woods and the lofty hills, the tribe 
 
 of the Cyclops, 675 
 
 Startled, rush down to the harbor and crowd the 
 
 shore of the ocean ; 
 Brethren of -^tna, we see them all standing in im- 
 potent fury, 
 Each with his frightful eye, uplifting his head to 
 
 the heavens ; 
 Horrid assembly, they ! As when, on the top of 
 
 a mountain. 
 Towering oak-trees stand, or cone-bearing cypresses 
 
 cluster, 680 
 
 Forming a lofty forest of Jove, or a grove of 
 
 Diana. 
 Urgent fear with headlong haste constrains us to 
 
 loosen 
 Halyards at random, and stretch our sails to the 
 
 care of the breezes ; 
 Yet the injunctions of Helen us warning ns not to 
 
 go forward 
 'Twixt Charybdis and Scylla — two paths with 
 
 little distinction 685 
 
 Leading to death ; — we determine to turn our 
 
 sails to the southward. 
 Lo ! however, sent forth from the narrow straits 
 
 of Pelorus, 
 Boreas comes ; I am borne by Pantagia's mouths 
 
 in the living 
 Eock, past Megara's bay, and the low-lying city 
 
 of Thapsus. 
 
BOOK III 133 
 
 Such were the shores, as we carried him back o'er 
 
 the course he had traversed, m 
 
 Achemenides showed us, the comrade of wretched 
 
 Ulysses. 
 Stretching before the Sicilian bay lies an island 
 
 confronting 
 Foaming Plemyrium, once Ortygia called by the 
 
 ancients. 
 There is a story that hither Alpheus, a river of 
 
 Elis, 
 Burrowed his lonely way through the sea. He 
 
 now, Arethusa, 695 
 
 Through thy fountain commingles his tide with 
 
 Trinacrian waters. 
 Heeding command, we adore the powerful gods of 
 
 the country. 
 Thence I pass the too fertile soil of stagnant He- 
 
 lorus. 
 Next, the lofty cliffs and jutting rocks of Pachy- 
 
 num 
 Coast we along ; and, afar, Camarina appears, 
 
 whose removal 700 
 
 Even the Fates forbade ; and the lowlands of Gela, 
 
 and Gela 
 Taking its name from the name of the mighty and 
 
 turbulent river. 
 Lofty Acragas, then, uplifts her proud walls in the 
 
 distance, 
 Acragas, formerly known as the breeder of spir- 
 ited horses. 
 Thee, too, palmy Selinus, I leave, by the winds 
 
 that are granted ; 705 
 
 Coasting along thy reefs and dangerous shoals, 
 
 Lilybseum ; 
 
134 THE MNEID 
 
 Next, the harbor and joyless coast of Drepanum 
 greet me. 
 
 Here, after beating my way through so many 
 storms of the ocean, 
 
 Here, alas, did I lose my father Anchises; my 
 greatest 
 
 Comfort in care and grief ; it was here, O noblest 
 of fathers, 710 
 
 Thou didst forsake me, outworn, thou, rescued in 
 vain from such perils. 
 
 Helenus, wise as he was, when he warned me of 
 manifold horrors. 
 
 Never foretold this sorrow to me ; nor did fright- 
 ful Celaeno. 
 
 This was the final blow ; this the goal of my pil- 
 grimage weary. 
 
 When I departed thence, heaven drove me down 
 to your seacoast." 715 
 
 Thus was Father ^neas, alone, while all were 
 attentive. 
 
 Telling the fates of the gods, and rehearsing his 
 wandering courses. 
 
 He became silent at last, and, ending the story, he 
 rested. 
 
BOOK IV 
 
 Ah, but the queen, long since sore hurt by the 
 
 arrows of Cupid, 
 Feeds her love with her life, and is secretly wasted 
 
 by passion. 
 Constantly runs in her mind the man's great worth, 
 
 and the noble 
 Honor that crowns his line ; his words and his 
 
 looks are stiU clinging 
 Fixed in her heart, and love disquiets the peace of 
 
 her slumber. 5 
 
 So, when Aurora next lighted the earth with the 
 
 torch of Apollo, 
 When she had swept from the sky cool night with 
 
 its mist-laden shadows, 
 Thus, all distracted, she cried to the answering 
 
 heart of her sister, 
 " Anna, dear sister, what dreams are affrighting 
 
 me, sad and bewildered ! 
 What strange guest is this who hath entered our 
 
 home ! How distinguished 10 
 
 Both in his face and mien ! And his heart, how 
 
 brave, how heroic ! 
 I, for one, and with reason, believe him descended 
 
 from Heaven. 
 Fear betrays low-born souls ; but, alas, by what 
 
 cruel misfortune 
 He hath been ever pursued! What wearisome 
 
 wars he recounted ! 
 
136 THE ^NEID 
 
 Dwelt there not in my heart a fixed and immova- 
 ble purpose 15 
 
 Never again to consent to be linked to another in 
 wedlock, 
 
 Since my first love failed, since Death deceived 
 and bereft me. 
 
 Were I not utterly weaned from the torch and the 
 chamber of marriage. 
 
 Unto this one reproach I might, perhaps, have 
 surrendered. 
 
 For, I will own, dear Anna, that since the sad fate 
 of Sichseus, 20 
 
 Since by my brother's crime our home was defiled 
 and dishonored. 
 
 This man alone hath stirred my heart, and mas- 
 tered my spirit. 
 
 Yielding, I feel once more the glow of long slum- 
 bering passion. 
 
 But I had rather the earth should yawn to its 
 depths underneath me, 
 
 Kather the Father omnipotent strike me down 
 with his thunder 25 
 
 Where in prof oundest night pale shades of Erebus 
 wander, 
 
 Eather, my honor, than violate thee, or break thy 
 requirements. 
 
 He who wedded me first took with him my heart 
 when he left me ; 
 
 Still let him keep his own ; in his tomb let him 
 guard it forever." 
 
 Speaking these words, with a torrent of tears she 
 deluged her bosom. so 
 
 Anna replies, " O thou, who art dearer than life to 
 thy sister, 
 
BOOK IV 137 
 
 Wilt thou in loneliness pine, till the days of thy 
 youth are departed, 
 
 Knowing no children sweet, and enjoying no bless- 
 ings of Venus ? 
 
 Thinkest thou ashes will care ; or the shades of the 
 buried be troubled ? 
 
 Grant that no lover before hath won thy heart 
 from its grieving, 35 
 
 Either in Libya now, or aforetime in Tyre ; bid 
 larbas 
 
 Go, if thou wilt, with scorn, and the rest of the 
 African princes, 
 
 Mighty in war ; yet, why resist a love that delights 
 thee? 
 
 Hath it not crossed thy mind whose lands these are 
 thou hast settled ? 
 
 Here are Gaetulian towns, a race unconquered in 
 battle, — 40 
 
 There wild riding Numidians press, and impassa- 
 ble quicksands. 
 
 Here is a region made desert by drought, and rav- 
 aged by roaming 
 
 Barcans; and why do I speak of Tyre and its 
 ominous war cloud. 
 
 Or of our brother's threats ? 
 
 Guided by Heaven, I believe, and under the favor 
 of Juno, 45 
 
 Hither these Ilian keels have found their way in 
 the tempest. 
 
 What a proud city, my sister, thou yet shalt 
 behold ! What a nation 
 
 Spring from a match like this ! With the arms 
 of the Trojans to help us, 
 
 By what illustrious deeds shall we heighten the 
 glory of Carthage ! 
 
138 THE ^NEID 
 
 Seek but the favor of Heaven, and when thou hast 
 gained absolution, so 
 
 Then be as kind as thou wilt ; find reasons to keep 
 him delaying 
 
 Long as the seas are rough, while stormy Orion is 
 raging ; 
 
 Urge his shattered ships, and plead the implacable 
 heavens." 
 
 Thus by her words she fanned the flame that pas- 
 sion had kindled. 
 
 Thus freed a wavering heart from the bondage of 
 fear and of honor. 55 
 
 First they visit the temples, and pass from altar 
 to altar. 
 
 Paying their vows ; and sheep, selected according 
 to custom. 
 
 Offer to law-giving Ceres, to Phoebus, and father 
 Lyaeus, 
 
 But, before all, unto Juno, the guardian goddess 
 of marriage. 
 
 Holding the cup in her own right hand, most 
 beautiful Dido eo 
 
 Empties it fairly between the horns of a snow- 
 white heifer ; 
 
 Or, invoking the gods, draws nigh to the rich laden 
 altars, 
 
 Hourly renewing her gifts, and still, as each sheep 
 is laid open. 
 
 Watches with lips apart, and questions the quiver- 
 ing vitals. 
 
 Ah ! unseeing seers ! What balm can your vows 
 and your temples es 
 
 Bring to a wounded heart? For still the soft 
 flame without ceasing 
 
BOOK IV 139 
 
 Feeds on her life ; and the hidden wound still 
 
 lives in her bosom. 
 Dido, on fire with love, goes wandering on through 
 
 the city, 
 Frantic and sore distressed, like a deer that a 
 
 shepherd pursuing. 
 Drawing his bow at a venture, hath pierced afar 
 
 off and unwary, 70 
 
 Deep in the Cretan groves, and, unwitting, aban- 
 dons his arrow ; 
 But, as the wounded deer goes roaming the forests 
 
 of Dicte, 
 Still in her side as she flies, the fatal arrow is 
 
 clinging. 
 Now she guides ^neas along through the midst 
 
 of the city. 
 Shows him the wealth of Tyre, and her capital 
 
 nearly completed ; 75 
 
 Opens her lips to speak, and stops with the sen- 
 tence unfinished. 
 Then, as the day declines, she invites him again to 
 
 a banquet. 
 Begs, in her frenzy, to hear once more the Trojan 
 
 disasters, 
 Hangs for the second time on his lips as he tells 
 
 her the story. 
 Then, when her guests are gone, and the moon in 
 
 turn disappearing so 
 
 Puts out her light, and the stars as they set are 
 
 inviting to slumber, 
 Lone in her empty hall she is sad, and the couch 
 
 he has quitted. 
 Presses, and, absent, sees and listens to him who 
 
 is absent ; 
 
140 THE iENEID 
 
 Or to her bosom she folds Ascanius, charmed by 
 his father's 
 
 Likeness, if thus, perhaps, she may cheat her un- 
 speakable longing. 85 
 
 Towers forget to rise ; armed youth no longer are 
 marshalled 
 
 On the parade ; all work on harbor and walls is 
 suspended ; 
 
 Buildings abruptly stop ; the threatening crest of 
 the rampart 
 
 Stands unfinished and bare, and the towering der- 
 ricks are idle. 
 Soon as the consort beloved of Jupiter sees her 
 o'er-mastered 90 
 
 Thus by the fever of love, and modesty yielding to 
 passion, 
 
 Quickly with words like these Saturnia turns upon 
 Venus : — 
 
 "Truly, with honor unheard of, and glorious 
 trophies thou comest. 
 
 Thou and this boy of thine ! Thy ng,me shall be 
 great and immortal ! 
 
 If by the cunning of two of the gods one woman 
 be vanquished, 95 
 
 Yet I am not so blind, for I know that thou fear- 
 est our bulwarks. 
 
 Watching the rising homes of Carthage with se- 
 cret misgiving. 
 
 Where shall we make an end? What profits a 
 quarrel so bitter ? 
 
 Shall we not rather agree on perpetual peace, and 
 a union 
 
 Sanctioned by both ? Thou hast gained what thy 
 heart hath been set on securing ; 100 
 
BOOK IV 141 
 
 Did ) is burning with love ; her heart is surging 
 with passion ; 
 
 Let us with equal authority govern a nation 
 united ; 
 
 Dido shall yield her hand to the hand of a Phry- 
 gian husband, 
 
 She shall entrust to thee her dowry of Tyrian sub- 
 jects." 
 
 Then, (for she clearly perceived how craftily Juno 
 had spoken, 105 
 
 Hoping that Italy's power might be turned to the 
 African seacoast,) 
 
 Thus did Venus reply : " Is there any so mad as 
 to question 
 
 Terms like these, or prefer to engage in a quarrel 
 with Juno ? 
 
 If we could only be certain that fortune would fa- 
 vor the project. 
 
 But I have come to distrust the fates ; whether 
 Jupiter wishes uo 
 
 These who haye come from Troy to unite with the 
 people of Carthage, / 
 
 Whether he favors this blending ^f blood, and 
 these bonds of alliance ; 1 
 
 Thou art his wife ; 't is thy right to coax him to 
 show thee his purpose. 
 
 Lead, I will follow." Then thus quick answered 
 imperial Juno : 
 
 " Mine shall that duty be. And now, I will briefly 
 advise thee 115 
 
 How what remains to be done can be done most 
 successfully : listen ! 
 
 Into the forest together ^neas and heart-stricken 
 Dido 
 
142 THE ^NEID 
 
 Plan to go hunting to-morrow as soon as the irch 
 of Apollo 
 
 Flashes above the sea, unveiling the earth with its 
 glory. 
 
 Over them, then, the blackness of clouds, commin- 
 gled with hailstones, 120 
 
 I will outpour from the sky, and shake tho whole 
 welkin with thunder 
 
 While their horsemen are spreading their toils and 
 enclosing the jungles ; 
 
 Then shall their comrades be scattered and cov- 
 ered by midnight darkness ; 
 
 Dido and Ilium's lord shall reach the same cavern, 
 together ; 
 
 I will be there, and if thou wilt only vouchsafe us 
 thy blessing, 125 
 
 I will proclaim the bans and join them by mar- 
 riage forever ; 
 
 This their wedding shall be." Cytherea, by no 
 means reluctant, 
 
 Nodded assBiUt to the plan and laughed as the plot 
 was uffifolded. 
 Meanwhile Aurora, arising, has left the waves of 
 the ocean. 
 
 Chivalrous youth of Tyre ride out of the gates 
 with the sunrise, 130 
 
 Laden witk nets and toils, and hunting-spears 
 blad.ed with iron. 
 
 Libya's knights rush forth with kennels of keen- 
 sggiated boar-hounds. 
 
 Still, as the queen in her chamber delays, the 
 »«*'■"' princes of Carthage 
 
 Wait at her gates ; and, proud in his trappings of 
 gold and of purple. 
 
BOOK IV 143 
 
 Stands her own hunter, impatiently champing his 
 foam-covered snaffle. 135 
 
 Lo, she appears at last, encompassed by thronging 
 attendants ; 
 
 Woven with colors the border that fringes her 
 Tyrian mantle ; 
 
 Quiver of gold she bears, with gold she hath fas- 
 tened her tresses ; 
 
 Golden the girdle below, that binds her vesture of 
 purple. 
 
 Also advancing come Trojan retainers, and joyful 
 
 lulus, 140 
 
 While ^neas, himself, surpassing all others in 
 beauty, 
 
 Graces the sport with his presence, and mingles 
 his train of attendants. 
 
 Like to Apollo, when, Lycian winter and hurrying 
 Xanthus 
 
 Leaving behind, he visits the home of his mother 
 in Delos. 
 
 There he renews the dance, and around bacchana- 
 lian altars, ws 
 
 Cretans chant, and Dryopians dance with tattooed 
 Agathyrsi ; 
 
 But on the hilltops of Cynthus he walks, inter- 
 twining his wind-tossed 
 
 Hair with a light pressing chaplet of gold and 
 leaves of the laurel ; 
 
 Arrows clang on his back. With no less grace 
 doth ^neas 
 
 Move than he ; while beauty as godlike shines in 
 his features. iso 
 
 Soon as the mountains were reached, and the 
 trackless haunts of the jungle. 
 
144 THE ^NEID 
 
 Wild goats leap from the ledges, and scamper 
 
 with pattering hoof-beats 
 Over the hilltops, and columns of deer, in the op- 
 posite quarter, 
 Thunder their way o'er the shelterless fields, until 
 
 all the stampeding 
 Dust-covered ranks unite in flight, and abandon the 
 
 mountains. iss 
 
 But, in the midst of the plain, Ascanius, boy-like, 
 
 rejoices, 
 Proud of his horse ; and, swiftly outrunning one 
 
 after another, 
 Prays that instead of these spiritless herds a boar 
 
 may be granted. 
 Or that his vows may bring from the mountains a 
 
 tawny-skinned lion. 
 Meanwhile, the heavens are filled with an ominous 
 
 rumble of thunder, wo 
 
 Followed at once by a storm of rain commingled 
 
 with hailstones. 
 Hither and thither the Tyrian train and the Tro- 
 jan retainers. 
 E'en the Dardanian grandson of Venus, have 
 
 sought in their terror 
 Huts dispersed through the fields ; wild torrents 
 
 rush from the mountains. 
 Dido, the queen, and the Lord of Troy have 
 
 reached the same cavern. im 
 
 Then, first of aU, Mother Earth and Juno, the 
 
 goddess of wedlock, 
 Giving the signal, the lightnings blaze for torches 
 
 of marriage. 
 Flames the conspiring sky, and nymphs loudly 
 
 wail on the hilltop. 
 
BOOK IV 145 
 
 That day first foretokened her death and fore- 
 shadowed her anguish, 
 For, no longer disturbed by visions of sin or of 
 
 scandal, no 
 
 Dido, contented no longer with loving her lover 
 
 in secret, 
 Cloaks her disgrace with a name, and calls ^neas 
 
 her husband. 
 Instantly Rumor goes flying through all the great 
 
 Libyan cities. 
 Rumor, a curse than whom no other is swifter of 
 
 motion. 
 Ever on swiftness she thrives, and gains new vigor 
 
 by speeding. its 
 
 Cringing at first with fear, she lifts herself quick 
 
 to the heavens. 
 Treading still on the earth, but veiling her face in 
 
 the storm-cloud. 
 Earth brought her forth, it is said, impelled by 
 
 her rage against heaven. 
 She was the latest born of the terrible sisters of 
 
 Titan. 
 Swift are her feet, and swifter the flight of her 
 
 hurrying pinions ; iso 
 
 Monster terrific and huge, who, under each sepa- 
 rate feather. 
 Carries a watchful eye ; by each eye, O marvellous 
 
 story ! 
 Babble a tongue and a mouth, and an ear pricks 
 
 forward to listen. 
 Rustling, she flies by night, between earth and sky 
 
 in the darkness. 
 Never closing her eyes in the sweet refreshment of 
 
 slumber : iss 
 
146 THE ^NEID 
 
 Watching by day like a spy, she perches aloft on 
 the housetops, 
 
 Or upon lofty towers, and causes great cities to 
 tremble ; 
 
 Tale-bearer, loving the truth no better than slan- 
 der and libel. 
 
 Such was the one who was filling the nation with 
 manifold rumors, 
 
 Gloating, and equally glad whether telling a truth 
 or a falsehood. wo 
 
 How that ^neas had come, a descendant of an- 
 cestors Trojan, 
 
 How that to him fair Dido had deigned to surren- 
 der her honor. 
 
 How that in luxury now they were idling away 
 the long winter. 
 
 Caring no more for their kingdoms, enslaved by 
 an infamous passion. 
 
 Such were the stories the hideous goddess was 
 scattering broadcast. 195 
 
 Suddenly then she veers in her course to the court 
 of larbas. 
 
 Kindles his wrath by her words, and adds new 
 £ame to his fury. 
 
 He, the descendant of Ammon, who ravished the 
 nymph Garamantis, 
 
 Temples an hundred to Jove in his wide-spreading 
 realm had erected. 
 
 Altars an hundred had built, and vowed to keep 
 burning upon them 200 
 
 Slumberless fires, for the gods a perpetual care ; 
 and a pavement 
 
 £ich with the blood of sheep, and gates ever 
 blooming with garlands. 
 
BOOK IV 147 
 
 There, with frenzied heart, and maddened by tid- 
 ings so bitter. 
 
 He, it is said, fell prone, in the presence divine, by 
 the altar. 
 
 Urgently pleading with Jove, with hands out- 
 stretched in petition : 205 
 
 " O thou omnipotent Jove, unto whom the Mauru- 
 sian nation. 
 
 Feasting on couches of purple, now offer their 
 sparkling libations, 
 
 Seest thou this ? Or is it for naught that we 
 tremble, O Father, 
 
 When thou art hurling thy bolts ? And the flames 
 in the clouds that appal us. 
 
 Are they but random fires, and vain, ineffectual 
 rumblings ? 210 
 
 Here is a woman who, straying among us, on land 
 that we sold her, 
 
 Founded a beggarly city ; we gave her our shore- 
 lands for tillage, 
 
 Granted her also the rights of the land ; now, hav- 
 ing rejected 
 
 Marriage with us, she hath opened her realm to 
 her lover, ^neas ; 
 
 Nay, at this moment, that Paris, subserved by 
 effeminate courtiers, 215 
 
 Glistening locks and beard by a Phrygian bonnet 
 enfolded, 
 
 Kevels in stolen love ; while we, forsooth, to thy 
 temples 
 
 Come to present our gifts, and cherish an empty 
 tradition." 
 
 When he had uttered this prayer, and while he 
 yet clung to the altar, 
 
148 THE JENEID 
 
 Jove, the omnipotent, heard, and directed his eyes 
 
 to the royal 220 
 
 Town, and the lovers there, forgetful of nohler 
 
 tradition. 
 Mercury then he addresses, and these are the man- 
 dates he utters : 
 " Up and away, my son ! call zephyrs, and haste 
 
 on thy pinions. 
 And to this Dardan lord who yonder in Tyrian 
 
 Carthage 
 Lingers, and cares no more for the cities the Fates 
 
 have vouchsafed him, 225 
 
 Speak ; yea, ride on the winds and deliver him 
 
 these my commandments : 
 This is not what his most glorious mother hath 
 
 prophesied of him, 
 Neither for this hath she rescued him twice from 
 
 the sword of the Grecians ; 
 But to be one who should govern an Italy pregnant 
 
 with empires, 
 Sounding aloud with war; a man who should 
 
 prove by his valor 230 
 
 Kinship with Teucer of old, and bow the whole 
 
 world to his sceptre. 
 Yet, if no vision of glorious victory kindle his 
 
 spirit. 
 Though, for his own renown, he covet not labor 
 
 and hardship. 
 Yet, shall a father withhold the castles of Rome 
 
 from lulus ? 
 What is his plan ? By what hope is he held in 
 
 the midst of his f oemen ? 235 
 
 Hath he forgot his Ausonian line, and Lavinian 
 
 meadows ? 
 
BOOK IV 149 
 
 Bid him, in short, set sail. Let this be the sum 
 
 of our message." 
 Then to obey the commands his omnipotent father 
 
 hath uttered. 
 Mercury hastens, and first to his ankles he fastens 
 
 his winged 
 Sandals of gold, which bear him aloft with the 
 
 speed of the whirlwind, 240 
 
 Whether above the land or over the plain of the 
 
 ocean. ^^ 
 
 Then he assumes the rod which he bears when he 
 
 summons from Orcus 
 Pallid shades, or remands the remainder to regions 
 
 infernal. 
 Slumber he gives and takes, and he opens the eyes 
 
 of the dying. 
 Trusting to this, he urges the winds and rides on 
 
 the storm-clouds ; 245 
 
 Now he beholds in his flight the peak and high 
 
 ridges of Atlas, — 
 Atlas the rugged, supporting the sky on his tower- 
 ing shoulders. 
 Atlas whose pine-crowned head, with clouds and 
 
 darkness encircled. 
 Ever is beaten by winds, is buffeted ever by 
 
 tempests. 
 Snow for his shoulders has woven a mantle, and 
 
 torrents are tumbling 250 
 
 Down from his aged chin, and his rough beard 
 
 bristles with hoar-frost. 
 Here Cyllenius first down swooping on balancing 
 
 pinions. 
 Bested, and bodily hence he flung himself down 
 
 to the billows, 
 
150 THE ^NEID 
 
 Like to a low-flying bird which, skimming the 
 plain of the ocean, 
 
 Circles about the shores and over the fish-haunted 
 ledges. 255 
 
 Thus the Cyllenean-born between earth and the 
 heavens was flying, 
 
 Thus was he cleaving the air toward Libya's sand- 
 covered seashore, 
 
 While he was coming from Atlas, the father of 
 Maia, his mother. 
 
 Scarcely with winged feet hath he touched the 
 skirts of the city. 
 
 When he discovers -^neas establishing castles and 
 building 260 
 
 Houses anew ; and there was his sword with amber- 
 hued jasper 
 
 Brilliantly set ; and a cloak resplendent with Ty- 
 rian purple 
 
 Hung from his shoulders, the gifts which munifi- 
 cent Dido had made him, 
 
 Interweaving the fabric with gold in delicate 
 threadwork. 
 
 Mercury straight attacks : " Foundations of tower- 
 ing Carthage, 265 
 
 Here for thy love thou art laying, and building a 
 beautiful city ! 
 
 Quite forgetful, alas, of thine own dominion and 
 duty ! 
 
 Now hath the king of the gods, who revolveth the 
 sky at his pleasure. 
 
 Hastened me down unto thee from the shining 
 heights of Olympus, 
 
 Sent by himself, on the wings of the wind, I am 
 come with these mandates ; 270 
 
BOOK IV 151 
 
 What dost thou plan ? With what hope dost thou 
 loiter in Libya's borders ? 
 
 Yet, i£ no vision of glorious victory kindle thy 
 spirit, 
 
 Though, for thine own renown, thou covet not labor 
 and hardship, 
 
 Think on Ascanius, growing, consider the hopes of 
 lulus ; 
 
 He is thine heir ; unto him falls Italy's throne as 
 a birthright, 275 
 
 Aye, and the land of Rome." Cyllenius thus hav- 
 ing spoken, 
 
 Waiting for no reply, withdrew from the vision of 
 mortals, 
 
 And afar off disappeared from their eyes in the 
 shadowy heavens. 
 
 But, by the vision astounded, -^neas was dumb 
 with amazement ; 
 
 Bristled his hair with fright, and his tongue be- 
 came speechless with terror ; 280 
 
 Burning to make his escape, and the land of de- 
 light to abandon. 
 
 Stunned by so great a rebuke, and Heaven's im- 
 perial mandate. 
 
 But, alas ! what can he do ? What speech can he 
 risk for appeasing 
 
 Now the infuriate queen ; what words adopt for 
 his prelude ? 
 
 Swiftly his wavering thoughts he despatches now 
 hither, now thither, 285 
 
 Hurries them back and forth, and turns them to 
 every quarter. 
 
 This, to his hesitant mind, appears the most hope- 
 ful solution : 
 
152 THE ^NEID 
 
 Mnestheus he calls, and Sergestus, and also in- 
 trepid Serestus; 
 
 Quietly they are to order the fleet, get the men to 
 the seashore, 
 
 See to the arms, and invent some excuse for their 
 sudden manoeuvres. 290 
 
 Meanwhile, he himself, while as yet most excellent 
 Dido 
 
 Has no suspicion, nor fears that affection so strong 
 can be broken. 
 
 He wiU discover a way, the most delicate moment 
 for speaking, 
 
 And the most feasible mode of arranging the mat- 
 ter. His orders 
 
 Instantly all obey, and rejoicingly follow his 
 bidding. 295 
 
 Nevertheless the queen (who ever outwitted a 
 lover ? ) 
 
 Fathomed their wiles, and was first to divine their 
 approaching departure, 
 
 Fearful while all was safe. To her frenzy the 
 same cruel Kumor 
 
 Whispered of ships equipped, and a course already 
 determined. 
 
 Breaks her distracted heart, and wandering over 
 the city 300 
 
 Madly she raves like Thyas, inspired by the fran- 
 tic procession. 
 
 When the triennial orgies arouse her, and Bacchus 
 is calling, 
 
 When she is summoned at night by the clamorous 
 voice of Cithseron. 
 
 Finally, breaking forth, she wildly reproaches 
 ^neas : — 
 
BOOK IV 153 
 
 " What, perfidious man ! hast thou hoped that 
 
 a crime so atrocious 305 
 
 Thou couldst dissemble ? and stealthily steal away 
 
 from our borders ? 
 Doth not our love constrain, nor the troth thou 
 
 hast plighted so lately ? 
 Nay, nor Dido doomed to a cruel death if thou 
 
 leave her? 
 What ! art thou building a fleet in the very heart 
 
 of the winter ? 
 And dost thou hasten to go on the deep while the 
 
 north winds are raging ? 310 
 
 Cruel ! But what ! were thy quest not an alien 
 
 land and an unknown 
 Place of abode, nay, grant that thine ancient Troy 
 
 were still standing, 
 Wouldst thou for Troy set sail across a tempestu- 
 ous ocean ? 
 Me dost thou flee ? By these tears, by thine own 
 
 right hand I implore thee, 
 (Since I myself have reserved to myself naught 
 
 else in my sorrow,) 315 
 
 By our marriage bond, by the wedded life we have 
 
 entered. 
 If I have ever well merited aught of thy love, or 
 
 have ever 
 Found any grace in thy sight, oh, pity a house that 
 
 is falling. 
 If there be still any place for my prayers, abandon 
 
 thy purpose ! 
 'T is for thy sake the Numidian kings and Libyan 
 
 nations 320 
 
 Hate me, and Tyrians threat ; for thee, and thee 
 
 only, my honor 
 
154 THE ^NEID 
 
 And the good name I bore, my only credentials to 
 
 heaven, 
 These are no more ! Unto whom dost thou leave 
 
 me, while dying, my guest-friend ? 
 Since this name alone is left to me now for my 
 
 husband ! 
 What shall I live for ? for brother Pygmalion to 
 
 ruin my city ? 325 
 
 Or for larbas, the Moor, to carry me off as his 
 
 captive ? 
 Ah, if before thy flight, some child might have 
 
 called me his mother. 
 One who should bear thy name ; if I had any lit- 
 tle ^neas 
 Playing about my hall, who might only re-image 
 
 thy features ; 
 I should not seem to myself so wholly deceived or 
 
 deserted ! " 330 
 
 Thus had she spoken, but he, at the bidding of 
 
 Jove, remained steadfast. 
 Eyes unmoved, and controlled the love in his heart 
 
 with a struggle. 
 Few were his words at last : " O queen, that thou 
 
 richly deservest 
 All and more than all thou art able to put into 
 
 language, 334 
 
 I wiU never deny ; I will gladly remember Elissa 
 While I remember myself, while my body is ruled 
 
 by my spirit. 
 There is but little to say. Think not that I hoped 
 
 to elude thee. 
 Fleeing by stealth ; not so ; nor yet have I ever 
 
 put forward 
 Claim to a husband's right, or made any compa^it 
 
 of marriage. 
 
BOOK IV 155 
 
 Nay, if the Fates had allowed me to order my life 
 
 as I listed, 340 
 
 And to arrange a career in accord with mine own 
 
 inclination, 
 I should have honored first the Trojan town and 
 
 the cherished 
 Ashes of those I loved, and Priam's tall towers 
 
 would be standing. 
 And I had raised with my hands a Troy new-built 
 
 for the vanquished. 
 But, to great Italy, now, Grynsean Apollo hath 
 
 called me ; 345 
 
 Italy is the goal ordained by the Delphic responses ; 
 There is my love and my home. If the castles of 
 
 Carthage detain thee. 
 Thee, a Phoenician by birth, if thou lovest thy 
 
 Libyan city, 
 Prithee, if Teuerians settle Ausonian land, what 
 
 objection 
 Hast thou to that ? We, too, have a right to seek 
 
 foreign dominions. 350 
 
 Often as Night enfolds the Earth in her dews and 
 
 her shadows. 
 Oft as the glittering stars arise, my father, An- 
 
 chises, 
 'Monishes me in dreams, and his troubled image 
 
 affrights me. 
 Me Ascanius warns, and the wrong I am doing my 
 
 darling, 
 Whom I defraud of Hesperia's throne, and his 
 
 destined dominions. 355 
 
 Nay, 'tis but now that the herald of Heaven, at 
 
 Jupiter's bidding. 
 Witness ye deities twain ! — on the wings of the 
 
 wind hath delivered 
 
156 THE ^NEID 
 
 Heaven's command to me ; I saw him myself in 
 
 broad daylight 
 Passing within the walls ; with these ears did I 
 
 drink in his message. 
 Harrow no longer thy heart and mine by useless 
 
 repining. 36o 
 
 Not of my choice is Italy's quest." 
 
 While he is speaking thus, her gaze has long 
 
 been averted, 
 Wandering hither and yon ; but now she looks 
 
 him all over. 
 Lifting her silent eyes, and thus indignantly an- 
 swers : — 
 " No goddess-mother was thine, nor from Darda- 
 
 nus art thou descended, m 
 
 Traitor ! but, bristling with crags, it was Caucasus 
 
 gave thee thy being. 
 Yea, and Hyrcanian tigers encouraged thy life with 
 
 their udders. 
 For, what need to dissemble ? What worse can I 
 
 fear in the future ? 
 Had he a groan for my tears ? Did his eyes once 
 
 soften with pity ? 
 Was he constrained to weep ? Did my love arouse 
 
 his compassion ? 370 
 
 What is there left to choose ? Now, neither most 
 
 powerful Juno 
 Nor the Saturnian Father looks on with aspect 
 
 impartial. 
 Nowhere is faith secure. I welcomed thee ship- 
 wrecked and needy. 
 Nay, in my madness I gave thee a home and a 
 
 share in my kingdom. 
 Rescued the fleet thou hadst lost, and from death I 
 
 redeemed thy companions ; 375 
 
BOOK IV 157 
 
 Oh, I am urged by the furies of hate ! Now augur 
 
 Apollo, 
 Now the Lycian omens, now even the herald of 
 
 Heaven, 
 Sent by Jove himself, comes flying, with terrible 
 
 mandates ! 
 This, I suppose, is the work of the gods ; this care 
 
 is disturbing 
 Heaven's tranquillity ! Go ! I neither detain nor 
 
 dispute thee ! 38o 
 
 Italy chase with the winds ; seek over the billows 
 
 thy kingdom ! 
 But, as for me, I hope, if the good gods have any 
 
 power. 
 Thou mayest drink thy reward 'mid the rocks, till 
 
 thou callest on Dido 
 Oft, and by name ; and, from far, with terrible 
 
 flames I will follow ; , 
 
 Ay, and when icy death shall have sundered the 
 
 flesh from my spirit, sss 
 
 Die where thou wilt, my shade will be with thee. 
 
 Thy crime shall be punished ; 
 Wretch, I shall hear, and this tidings wiU reach 
 
 me in nethermost Hades." 
 Speaking these words, she awaited no answer, but 
 
 rushed from the courtyard, 
 Fainting, avoiding his eyes, and fleeing away from 
 
 his presence ; 
 Leaving him much that he feared to say, and much 
 
 that already 390 
 
 Waited to spring from his lips. Her maidens sus- 
 tained her, and bore her 
 Yielding form to a couch in her bridal chamber of 
 
 marble. 
 
168 THE JENEID 
 
 Yet god-fearing -^neas, for all that he longed to 
 
 console her, 
 Longed to assuage her grief, and, speaking, to 
 
 comfort her anguish, 
 Groaning aloud, and shaken in mind, by the pow'r 
 
 of his passion, 395 
 
 None the less follows the word of the god, and 
 , returns to his galley. 
 
 Then how the Trojans toil, and down from all 
 
 parts of the seacoast 
 Drag their lofty ships, and float the oiled keels on 
 
 the billows. 
 Leafy the oars they bear, and the oak rough hewn 
 
 in the forest, 
 Cut in their zeal for flight. 400 
 
 See ! they are hurrying forth with a rush from 
 
 each gate of the city. 
 Just like an army of ants, that, prudently mindful 
 
 of winter, 
 Steal a great pile of grain and lay it away in their 
 
 garner. 
 Moves a black line in the field, as they carry their 
 
 spoil through the herbage, 
 Over the foot-worn path ; part struggling hard 
 
 with their shoulders 405 
 
 Pushing huge kernels along ; part keeping the col- 
 umn in order. 
 Punishing aU delay ; the whole pathway is seeth- 
 ing with labor. 
 What are thy feelings now, at the sight of such 
 
 diligence, Dido ! 
 How didst thou groan when, looking abroad from 
 
 the top of thy castle. 
 Thou didst behold thy shores alive far and wide, 
 
 and the ocean, «o 
 
BOOK IV 159 
 
 Far as thine eyes can reach, confused with so 
 
 mighty an uproar ? 
 Pitiless Love, unto what dost thou force not the 
 
 spirit of mortals ! 
 Driven again to tears, she must try him once more 
 
 by entreaty ; 
 And once more, as a suppliant, humble her pride 
 
 to her passion. 
 Lest she should needlessly die by leaving some 
 
 way unattempted. «5 
 
 " Anna, thou seest them hasten all over the shore, 
 
 as they gather 
 Hushing from every side, and the sails now call to 
 
 the breezes. 
 See how the sailors rejoicing have covered the 
 
 decks with their garlands ! 
 If I have lived through the dread of this terrible 
 
 moment of anguish, 
 I shall also, my sister, have strength to endure it : 
 
 yet, Anna, «o 
 
 Grant me one boon in my grief ; for only on thee 
 
 hath this traitor 
 Looked with respect, and to thee hath confided his 
 
 innermost feelings ; 
 Thou alone knowest the time and the winning way 
 
 to approach him. 
 Go, dear sister, and humbly entreat our imperious 
 
 guest-friend. 
 I did not swear with the Grecians at Aulis to 
 
 slaughter the Trojans ; 425 
 
 Nor did I send out a fleet against his Pergamene 
 
 city ; 
 I have not troubled the ashes or shades of his 
 
 father Anchises. 
 
160 THE ^NEID 
 
 Why should his obdurate ears deny themselves to 
 
 my pleading ? 
 Wherefore this haste? Let him grant his poor 
 
 queen this final concession, 
 Let him but wait for a prosperous flight, and for 
 
 favoring breezes. 430 
 
 I am not asking him now to renew the old ties he 
 
 hath broken, 
 Nor to abandon his beautiful Rome, and relinquish 
 
 his kingdom ; 
 Time, only time, do I seek, a respite and rest from 
 
 my madness ; 
 Time for my sorrow to teach me how they who are 
 
 vanquished should suffer. 
 This do I ask as my final request : O pity thy 
 
 sister ! 435 
 
 When thou shalt grant this boon, at my death I 
 
 will doubly repay thee." 
 So she kept pleading, and such are the wailings 
 
 her heart-broken sister 
 Carries and carries again; but no lamentations 
 
 can move him ; 
 There are no voices now to which he indulgently 
 
 listens ; 
 Fate stands guard, and God defends the calm ears 
 
 of the hero. 440 
 
 And, as when Alpine winds from the north are 
 
 struggling together. 
 Blowing now this way, now that, to tear from the 
 
 earth an old oak-tree, 
 Strong with its centuried fibres ; its foliaged 
 
 boughs, 'mid the roaring. 
 Litter the earth from on high, as the trunk is 
 
 rocked by the tempest. 
 
BOOK IV 161 
 
 Yet the tree clings to the cliff, and as high as its 
 crown is uplifted 445 
 
 Into the sky, so deep are its roots toward Tarta- 
 rus reaching. 
 
 So, now this way, now that way, the hero is beaten 
 by ceaseless 
 
 Cries, and his mighty heart is deeply stirred with 
 compassion, 
 
 Yet is his mind unmoved, and vain are the tor- 
 rents of weeping. 
 Verily then, dismayed by her fate, unfortunate 
 Dido 460 
 
 Prays for death ; she is tired of the sight of the 
 arches of heaven. 
 
 Further to fix her resolve the sunlight of life to 
 relinquish, 
 
 While she was laying her gifts on the altars glow- 
 ing with incense. 
 
 Shocking to tell, she beheld the milk turn black 
 in the chalice ; 
 
 While to polluted blood was changed the wine she 
 had sprinkled. 455 
 
 This was a sight that she told to none, not even 
 her sister. 
 
 Added to this, there stood in the palace a chapel 
 of marble, 
 
 Eaised to her husband of old, which she honored 
 with wondrous devotion, 
 
 Solemnly wreathed with garlands of leaves and 
 snow-white fillets. 
 
 Hence she seemed to hear the voice and the words 
 of her husband leo 
 
 Calling her when dark night was enfolding the 
 earth in its shadows. 
 
162 THE ^NEID 
 
 Also, alone on the eaves, an owl with funereal wail- 
 ing 
 
 Often complained, and prolonged her cries in long 
 lamentation. 
 
 Many predictions, moreover, delivered by reverend 
 augurs, 
 
 Made her afraid by their terrible warning; and 
 even JEneas 465 
 
 Cruelly haunted her frenzied dreams; in her 
 dream she was always 
 
 Left by herself alone, and a path she was follow- 
 ing ever. 
 
 Lonely and long ; for her countrymen searching 
 through regions deserted, 
 
 Just as when Pentheus in frenzy beholds an army 
 of Furies, 
 
 Sees two suns in the sky, and the city of Thebes 
 appears double ; «o 
 
 Or, as when seen in the play, Agamemnon's Ores- 
 tes is haunted ; 
 
 When, with torches and serpents of midnight his 
 mother pursues him 
 
 While the Furies of Hell are crouching low on the 
 threshold. 
 Therefore, as soon as, all vanquished by grief, 
 she hath welcomed the Furies, 
 
 Sentenced herself to death, and the very time and 
 the manner 475 
 
 Fixed in her mind ; she then, as she speaks to her 
 sorrowing sister. 
 
 Hides her intent with a smile, and drives the sad 
 frown from her forehead. 
 
 "Dearest, a way I have found (be glad in thy 
 sister's good fortune) 
 
BOOK IV 163 
 
 Which shall restore me my own, or free me from 
 
 love's bitter bondage. 
 Close to the shore of the ocean, not far from the 
 
 region of sunset, 48o 
 
 Farthest of all is the -35thiop land, where Atlas the 
 
 mighty 
 Turns on his shoulder the firmament studded with 
 
 bright constellations ; 
 Thence hath been brought to my knowledge a cer- 
 tain Massylian priestess, 
 Formerly guard of the shrine of Hesperides ; she 
 
 who provided 
 Food for the dragon, and watched o'er the tree 
 
 and its consecrate branches, 485 
 
 Sprinkling the liquid honey, and drowsy juice of 
 
 the poppy. 
 She professes to free any heart she may choose by 
 
 her magic, 
 While she lets loose upon others anxieties many 
 
 and grievous ; 
 Rivers she stops in their flow, and turns back the 
 
 stars in their courses ; 
 Also she calls up the shades of the dead. You 
 
 shall see the earth rumbling 490 
 
 Under her feet, and the ash-trees moving down 
 
 from the mountains. 
 God, and thyself, dear sister, and thy dear head, 
 
 bear me witness 
 Not of my own accord am I girt with the weapons 
 
 of witchcraft. 
 Do thou in secret erect a pyre in the court of the 
 
 palace, 
 Under the sky ; and the armor that wretch hath 
 
 left hung in his chamber, 499 
 
164 THE ^NEID 
 
 Heap thou upon it, and all of his garments, and 
 
 also the marriage 
 Bed, upon which I fell, for the prophetess warns 
 
 and commands me 
 Utterly to destroy all tokens of one so unfaithful. 
 After these words she is silent, while pallor takes 
 
 captive her features. 
 Anna, however, believes not that death is disguised 
 
 by her sister 500 
 
 Under these novel rites ; nor yet in her mind hath 
 
 imagined 
 Passion so fierce, or feared aught worse than the 
 
 death of Sychseus ; 
 So she obeys her commands. 
 
 But, when a lofty pyre of timbers of oak and of 
 
 pitch-pine 
 Stands in the open air in the innermost court of 
 
 the palace, 505 
 
 Then doth the queen with bright garlands and 
 
 boughs of funereal cypress 
 Wreathe it ; and lay on a couch the sword he hath 
 
 left, and his garments, 
 Also ^neas in effigy ; knowing full weU of the 
 
 morrow. 
 Altars are standing around ; and with hair dishev- 
 elled the priestess 
 Thunders the roll of the gods ; now Erebus call- 
 ing, now Chaos, ao 
 Hecate, triple, and visages three of the Virgin 
 
 Diana. 
 Counterfeit waters, too, of the fount of Avernus 
 
 she sprinkles ; 
 Downy herbs, all cut by brazen knives in the 
 
 moonlight, 
 
BOOK IV 165 
 
 Also are sought, whose juice is a black and viru- 
 lent poison ; 
 
 Sought is the lover's charm, which away from the 
 mare hath been stolen, sis 
 
 Torn from the brow of her new-foaled colt. 
 
 Dido, herself, with the meal in her purified hands 
 by the altar. 
 
 One foot freed from the cords of the sandal, her 
 vesture ungirdled, 
 
 Calls, at the threshold of death, on the gods and 
 the prescient planets ; 
 
 Then, if there be any Power, both just and regard- 
 ful, that watches 520 
 
 Lovers unequally yoked, that Power she invokes 
 to avenge her. 
 Now, it was night, and throughout the earth tired 
 bodies were snatching 
 
 Tranquil repose, and the woods and the wild sea- 
 level were quiet, 
 
 While in mid-orbit the stars roll on, and glide 
 through the heavens. 
 
 While aU the fields are still, the beasts, and the 
 bright feathered songsters, 525 
 
 Whether they linger by limpid lakes, or whether 
 they favor 
 
 Thicketed fields, in the stillness of night are cradled 
 in slumber. 
 
 Soothing their cares by sleep, and their hearts for- 
 getful of trouble. 
 
 Not Phoenissa, however ! Unhappy of soul, she is 
 never 
 
 Lulled into sleep, nor now doth she ever, with eyes 
 or with spirit 530 
 
 Welcome the night, but her cares increase, and 
 her love, again rising. 
 
166 THE ^NEID 
 
 Mingles its furious tide with the ebb and the flow 
 
 of her anger. 
 Thus evermore she is brooding; thus ever com- 
 munes with her spirit : 
 " What shall I do ? Make trial again of my 
 
 former admirers, 
 Braving their scorn ? Shall I stoop to invite a 
 
 Numidian marriage ? 535 
 
 I who so often already have looked with disdain 
 
 on my lovers ? 
 Shall I, then, follow the Ilian fleet, and the Teu- 
 
 crian's bidding 
 Unto the end ? Will it help me that once they 
 
 were saved by my favor. 
 And that the thought of my long ago kindness is 
 
 gratefully cherished ? 
 Nay, if I wished, who would suffer or take me, the 
 
 jest of the city, mo 
 
 Into those haughty ships ? Oh, lost as thou art, 
 
 wilt thou never 
 Learn that the oaths of Laomedon's line are made 
 
 to be broken ? 
 What then ? Am I to fly alone with the triumph- 
 ing sailors ? 
 Or with my Tyrians follow, surrounded by all my 
 
 retainers ? 
 Those, whom I scarcely was able to tear from the 
 
 city of Sidon, 545 
 
 Back to the sea shall I drive, and bid them give 
 
 sails to the breezes ? 
 Nay, let me die as becomes me, and drive out my 
 
 grief with a dagger. 
 Thou, overborne by my tears, thou first, my sister, 
 
 didst burden 
 
BOOK IV 167 
 
 Me with these woes, and leave me undone at mine 
 
 enemy's mercy. 
 Why had I not the right to continue my life with- 
 out marriage, sso 
 Like the beasts of the field, and never have come 
 
 to such trouble ? 
 I have not kept the faith I vowed to the shades of 
 
 Sychaeus." 
 Such and so great were the wailings that constantly 
 
 burst from her bosom ; 
 While, in his lofty ship, ^neas, determined on 
 
 going. 
 Peacefully slumbered, for aU preparations were 
 
 fuUy completed. 555 
 
 Him the form of the god, returning with aspect 
 
 unaltered. 
 Fronted in dreams, and seemed again to utter 
 
 these warnings. 
 Mercury's self he appeared in all ; in his voice, in 
 
 his color. 
 Even his golden hair, and the beautiful limbs of 
 
 young manhood. 
 " Goddess-born ! in a crisis like this canst thou 
 
 lengthen thy slumber ? 56o 
 
 Seest thou not what perils are swiftly gathering 
 
 round thee ? 
 Madman, hearest thou not the favoring breath of 
 
 the Zephyrs ? 
 Dido is nursing a plot and a terrible crime in her 
 
 bosom. 
 Bent upon death, and adrift on the changing tide 
 
 of her passion. 
 Fleest thou not from hence with speed while speed 
 
 may avail thee ? ses 
 
168 THE ^NEID 
 
 Soon shall thine eyes behold the ocean surging with 
 
 galleys, 
 Torches fiercely ablaze, and the shore one vast 
 
 conflagration, 
 If, still loitering here, the light of Aurora shall 
 
 touch thee. 
 Up, then, and shake o£E thy sloth ! A creature 
 
 inconstant and fickle. 
 Woman for aye ! " And with this he mingled 
 
 himself with the midnight. 570 
 
 Then, in sooth, did JEneas, alarmed by the 
 
 strange apparition. 
 Instantly start from sleep, and rally his drowsy 
 
 companions : 
 " Quick ! be awake, my men ! together, now, quick 
 
 to the benches ! 
 Up with the flying sails! A god commissioned 
 
 from Heaven 
 Urges to hasten our flight, and to sever the strands 
 
 of our cables. 575 
 
 Lo ! 't is the second time ! Whoever thou art, 
 
 blessed Herald, 
 Thee do we follow, rejoicing again to obey thy 
 
 commandment. 
 Oh, be thou near us, and lead us in peace ; let the 
 
 stars in the heavens 
 Favor our course." He spake, and drew forth his 
 
 sword from its scabbard. 
 Flashes the naked steel as he strikes the cables 
 
 asunder. eso 
 
 Kindles each heart with fire, and together they 
 
 tug and they struggle. 
 Now they have left the shore, and the sea is hid by 
 
 their vessels. 
 
BOOK IV . 169 
 
 Straining, they whirl the foam, and sweep the 
 
 deep blue of the ocean. 
 Now the new light of dawn was Aurora begin- 
 
 ning to sprinkle 
 Over the earth, as she sprang from the golden 
 
 couch of Tithonus. sss 
 
 Soon as the queen from her windows perceives 
 
 that the morning is breaking, 
 Soon as she sees the fleet with sails wing and wing 
 
 disappearing, 
 Sees the shore and the harbor deserted and empty 
 
 of oarsmen, 
 Thrice and again she beats with her hand her 
 
 beautiful bosom. 
 Tearing her golden hair, and exclaiming: "Ye 
 
 Gods ! shall this stranger 590 
 
 Thus be allowed to depart, and hold our throne in 
 
 derision ? 
 Will they not rush to arms and pursue from all 
 
 parts of the city ? 
 Are there not others to tear our boats from their 
 
 moorings ? What, ho, there ! 
 Hither with torches ! To arms ! Row hard, my 
 
 Tyrian boatmen ! 
 What am I saying ? Where am I ? What mad- 
 ness disorders my reason ? 595 
 Ah, wretched Dido, at last do deeds of disloyalty 
 
 touch thee ? 
 Then were it meet, when thou gavest thy sceptre ! 
 
 Oh, faith and devotion ! 
 This is the man, they say, carries with him the 
 
 gods of his fathers! 
 This is the man who bore on his shoulders his age- 
 stricken parent! 
 
170 • THE iENEID 
 
 I could have seized him and torn him in pieces 
 
 and scattered his body eoo 
 
 Over the waves ; or his friends, Ascanius even, 
 
 have slaughtered — 
 Why could I not ? — and have served him up as a 
 
 feast for his father ! 
 But had the hazard of war been uncertain ? Then 
 
 let it have been so. 
 Whom did I fear at Death's door ? I might have 
 
 set fire to his galleys. 
 Filling his hatches with flame ; and when with the 
 
 son and the father sib 
 
 I had destroyed the race, have flung myself on the 
 
 embers. 
 O thou Sun, who searchest all deeds of the Earth 
 
 with thy glory, 
 Also, thou Juno, who knowest and feelest these 
 
 tortures of passion, 
 Hecate, too, who wailest by night through the 
 
 streets of the city, ms 
 
 Yea, ye avenging fiends, ye gods of dying Elissa, 
 Listen to this, and vouchsafe your presence to 
 
 woes that deserve it. 
 Listen, and hear our prayer ; and if it must cer- 
 tainly happen 
 That his accursed head reach land and float to a 
 
 harbor. 
 If the decrees of Jove are fixed, if this goal is 
 
 determined. 
 Yet, undone by war and the sword of a resolute 
 
 people, 615 
 
 Banished the realm and torn from the arms of his 
 
 darling lulus. 
 Let him go begging for aid, and see his best and 
 
 his bravest 
 
BOOK IV 171 
 
 Slain in disgrace ; and when to a treacherous peace 
 
 he hath yielded, 
 Let him not then enjoy a throne or the day he 
 
 hath longed for, 
 But, ere it dawn, let him fall far away on the 
 
 shore, and unburied. 620 
 
 This is my prayer ; with my blood I pour this dying 
 
 petition. 
 Then, O ye Tyrian men ! his seed to the last gen- 
 eration 
 Follow with hate, and send these offerings down 
 
 to our ashes. 
 Neither be love nor league between these nations 
 
 forever ! 
 Rise from my bones in the days to come, thou 
 
 unknown avenger ! 625 
 
 Follow with fire and sword the Dardanian colo- 
 nists ever ! 
 Now, and hereafter, whenever the time and the 
 
 power shall be granted, 
 Shore against opposite shore, and sea against sea, 
 
 I invoke it, — 
 Sword against sword, let them fight, themselves 
 
 and all their descendants ! " 
 Having thus spoken, she hurried her thoughts in 
 
 ev'ry direction 630 
 
 Seeking the speediest way to break off the life she 
 
 detested. 
 Then she briefly addressed old Barce, the nurse of 
 
 Sychseus, 
 For dark Death held her own in the ancient land 
 
 of her fathers ! 
 " Go, my dear nurse, and hither to me bring Anna, 
 
 my sister. 
 
172 THE -aiNEID 
 
 Say she must hasten to sprinkle her body with 
 free-flowing water, ess 
 
 Also to fetch, when she comes, the sheep and ap- 
 pointed oblations ; 
 
 So shall she come ; and do thou bind thy temples 
 with consecrate fillets. 
 
 Vows unto Stygian Jove, which I have begun in 
 due order. 
 
 It is my wish to complete, and thus put an end to 
 my trouble. 
 
 Also to set the torch to the pyre of Dardania's 
 chieftain." 64o 
 
 Quickly on this the good nurse pattered off with 
 an old woman's ardor. 
 
 But, affrighted and crazed by these gruesome be- 
 ginnings, poor Dido — 
 
 Eyes with a murderous gleam, under eyelids trem- 
 bling and tear-stained. 
 
 Face aU white at the thought of Death so swiftly 
 approaching — 
 
 Burst through the doors that led to the inner 
 court, and in frenzy 645 
 
 Mounted the lofty pyre and unsheathed the sword 
 of ^neas. 
 
 Which, though not for this use, she had begged as 
 a gift from her lover. 
 
 Here, as soon as she saw the familiar couch, and 
 the garments 
 
 He had worn, she stood for a moment, weeping 
 and thinking. 
 
 Then she fell on the bed, and these were the last 
 words she uttered : 650 
 
 " Relics of happier days, when God and the Fates 
 were indulgent. 
 
BOOK IV 173 
 
 Take this spirit of mine, and set me free from 
 
 these troubles. 
 Lo, I have lived ; I have finished the course that 
 
 fate hath appointed ; 
 Now my illustrious shade shall pass to the realms 
 
 of the future. 
 I have established a glorious town ; I have seen 
 
 my own bulwarks ; ess 
 
 I have avenged my husband, and punished my 
 
 treacherous brother ; 
 Happy, too happy, alas ! if only the keel of the 
 
 Dardan 
 Never had touched our shore ! " Then, pressing 
 
 her face to the pillow, 
 " Must we then die," she cried, " with no compen- 
 sation of vengeance ! 
 Yet, let us die ! Thus ! thus ! we rejoice to enter 
 
 the shadows. em 
 
 Let him, afar on the sea, drink these flames with 
 
 his eyes, cruel Dardan ! 
 Yea, let him bear in his heart our death and its 
 
 ominous tokens." 
 Dido hath spoken. The words are still on her lips 
 
 when her maidens 
 See her sink down on the steel, see the blood foam- 
 ing out round the dagger ; 
 See her hands besprent. Then rings a loud cry 
 
 through the lofty 665 
 
 Hall, and Rumor runs wild in the startled and 
 
 terrified city ; 
 Echoes the palace with, groans, and the weeping 
 
 and wailing of women ; 
 Echoes the vaulted sky with the loud lament of 
 
 the people, 
 
174 THE ^NEID 
 
 Just as if Carthage or ancient Tyre were falling 
 
 in ruins, 
 Left to the mercy of foemen, and flames were roll- 
 ing in fury, 67o 
 Leaping from home to home, and roaring from 
 
 temple to temple. 
 Breathless, her sister heard, and, frantic with ter- 
 ror and running. 
 Marring her face with her nails, and frenziedly 
 
 beating her bosom. 
 Forces her way through the throng, and calls by 
 
 name on the dying : 
 " Was it for this, dear heart, thou didst craftily 
 
 beg my assistance ? 675 
 
 This for me were thy pyre and thy fires and thine 
 
 altars preparing ? 
 What is the first complaint of my loneliness? 
 
 didst thou despise me 
 For a companion in death? Hadst thou called me 
 
 to die with thee, sister, 
 Lo, one anguish had ended us both, — one hour, 
 
 and one dagger ! 
 Have I then builded this pyre, and called on the 
 
 gods of our fathers m 
 
 Only that thou shouldst fall like this, — I cruelly 
 
 absent ? 
 Me hast thou slain, my sister; thyself, and the 
 
 princes of Sidon ; 
 Ended thy city, thy race ! Give place, good friends, 
 
 that with water 
 I may assuage her wounds, and catch the last 
 
 breath of her spirit 
 Should it be flickering still ! " and with this, the 
 
 tall pyre she ascended ; - 685 
 
BOOK IV 175 
 
 Now she is folding her dying sister close to her 
 
 bosom, 
 Groaning aloud, and striTring to staunch the dark 
 
 blood with her garments. 
 Dido endeavored to raise her heavy eyes, but, ex- 
 hausted. 
 Fainted again, while gurgled the wound deep fixed 
 
 in her bosom. 
 Thrice attempting to rise, she lifted herself to her 
 
 elbow, 690 
 
 Thrice fell back on the couch, and sought with 
 
 wandering glances 
 Light in the lofty sky, but the light only deepened 
 
 her moaning. 
 Then did omnipotent Juno, moved by her linger- 
 ing anguish. 
 Touched by her struggle with death, send Iris down 
 
 from Olympus, 
 Bidding her loose the impatient soul from the 
 
 body that held it ; ess 
 
 For, since neither by fate, nor a death deserved, 
 
 she was dying. 
 But untimely and sad, and suddenly mastered by 
 
 passion. 
 Not as yet had Proserpine stolen a lock of her 
 
 golden 
 Hair, or doomed her head to the gloom of Stygian 
 
 Orcus. 
 Therefore on saffron wings doth Iris fly down 
 
 through the heavens, 700 
 
 Dewy, and drawing a thousand different hues from 
 
 the sunbeams 
 Crossing her pathway, and hovers right over her 
 
 head. " Under orders 
 
176 THE JENEID 
 
 This unto Pluto I bear as a sacred gift, and re- 
 lease thee 
 
 Thus, from thy body." She speaks, and severs 
 the hair ; the same instant 
 
 Heat hath all vanished, and life hath passed to the 
 whispering breezes. 705 
 
BOOK V 
 
 Now in the mean time -^neas was steadfastly hold- 
 ing his galleys 
 
 True to their destined course, and cleaving the 
 storm-darkened billows ; 
 
 Looking back at the walls already aglare with the 
 blazing 
 
 Pyre of unhappy Elissa. The cause of so great 
 conflagration 
 
 None of them knew ; but the pangs of passion in- 
 tense and dishonored, 5 
 
 This, and the knowledge of what may be done by 
 a desperate woman, 
 
 Led the hearts of the Trojans to sad and gloomy 
 foreboding. 
 After their vessels had gained the deep, and land 
 was no longer 
 
 Visible now, but sky all around, aU round them the 
 waters. 
 
 Then dark masses of cloud hung suUenly over their 
 vessels, 10 
 
 Bringing night and storm, and shuddered the waves 
 in the darkness. 
 
 E'en Palinurus the pilot himself called down from 
 the stern-sheets : 
 
 " Ah ! why is it that clouds like these have en- 
 compassed the heavens ? 
 
 Or, Father Neptune, what hast thou in store?" 
 With this he gave orders, 
 
178 THE ^NEID 
 
 " Stand by the ship ! To the thwarts ! Give way 
 
 with your tough oaken oar-blades ! " 15 
 
 Then, as he slanted the bellying sail to the tem- 
 pest, he shouted, 
 " Valiant ^neas, though Jove the Creator should 
 
 give me his promise, 
 I should not hope in this weather to reach one of 
 
 Italy's harbors. 
 Shifted athwart our bows, the winds are rising and 
 
 roaring 
 Out of the blackening west, and thickens the air 
 
 into vapor. ^0 
 
 Strength have we none to make headway against 
 
 it, nor yet are we able 
 Even to hold our own ; since fate overpowers, let 
 
 us follow. 
 Veering wherever she calls ; methinks, too, the 
 
 safe and fraternal 
 Shores of Eryx are near, nor distant are Sicily's 
 
 harbors. 
 If I remember aright in retracing the stars I have 
 
 noted." 25 
 
 Then replied faithful -^neas : " That such is the 
 
 will of the tempest 
 I have been long aware, and vain are thy strug- 
 gles against it. 
 Change thy course with the sails ; could there be 
 
 any haven more grateful, 
 Or could I choose any harbor for mooring my 
 
 wave-wearied galleys 
 Rather than this which is sheltering for us our 
 
 Dardan Acestes ; so 
 
 Cherishing, too, in its bosom, the bones of my 
 
 father, Anchises ? " 
 
BOOK V 179 
 
 Having thus spoken, they make for the port, and 
 
 favoring breezes 
 Fill out the sails, and the fleet is swiftly swept 
 
 through the surges, 
 And to familiar shores they are brought at last 
 
 with rejoicing. 
 But from the lofty top of a far-off mountain, 
 
 Acestes 35 
 
 Hastens with glad surprise to greet their friendly 
 
 arrival, 
 Bristling about with darts, rough clad in a Libyan 
 
 bear-skin ; 
 Trojan his mother ; his father the god of the 
 
 Crimisus river. 
 He, remembering well his ancient lineage, greets 
 
 them; 
 Gives them joy of their rescue ; receives them with 
 
 glad rustic welcome ; 40 
 
 Ministers unto their weariness out of his friendly 
 
 abundance. 
 Later, when cloudless day first scattered the stars 
 
 at its dawning. 
 Then from the whole broad shore ^neas convok- 
 ing his comrades 
 Into a listening group, with a mound for his ros- 
 trum, addressed them : 
 "Noble Dardanidse, sprung from the glorious 
 
 blood of immortals, 45 
 
 Now hath an annual circle of twelve full months 
 
 been completed, 
 Since we laid in the earth the ashes and bones of 
 
 my father, 
 Now with the gods, and reared for his worship our 
 
 altars of mourning. 
 
180 THE ^NEID 
 
 Nay, if I err not, the day draws nigh which I shall 
 forever 
 
 Beckon both sacred and sad ; for such is the plea- 
 sure of Heaven. so 
 
 Were I to pass this day in Gsetulian deserts, an 
 exile ; 
 
 Should the Argolian sea, or crowded Mycenae de- 
 tain me. 
 
 Still these yearly vows, and this solemn and orderly 
 service 
 
 I should fulfil, and crown his altars with fitting 
 oblations. 
 
 But, by my father's own ashes and bones to-day 
 we are gathered, 55 
 
 Not, I for one believe, without divine intervention, 
 
 And, though swept from our course, we rest in a 
 welcoming harbor. 
 
 Come, then, and let us together glad sacrifice do 
 in his honor. 
 
 Praying for winds and permission to pay these 
 annual tributes, 
 
 After our city is founded, in temples ordained for 
 his worship. 60 
 
 Oxen twain unto you doth Trojan-descended 
 Acestes 
 
 Offer for each of your ships ; invite to the banquet 
 your country's 
 
 Household gods, and the gods that our host Aces- 
 tes revereth. 
 
 If the ninth morning, moreover, shall bring us a 
 day of fair weather. 
 
 And if Aurora shall brighten the earth with radiant 
 sunshine, es 
 
 First I will order a race of the swift-oared Teucrian 
 galleys ; 
 
BOOK V 181 
 
 Also whoever is good at a foot race, or trusts in 
 his prowess 
 
 Either with dart to excel, or to win with the light 
 winged arrow ; 
 
 Whoso hath courage to enter the lists with gaunt- 
 lets of rawhide; 
 
 All shall attend and expect the rewards of merited 
 honor." 70 
 
 All shout aloud in applause, and bind their tem- 
 ples with chaplets. 
 
 Having thus spoken, he wreathes his brow with 
 his mother's own myrtle ; 
 
 Elymus does the same ; the same does aged 
 Acestes, 
 
 Youthful Ascanius, too, and the other young men 
 in due order. 
 
 Then, with a mighty host, ^neas proceeds from 
 the council 75 
 
 Unto the tomb, in the midst of a thronging crowd 
 of companions. 
 
 Here, duly making libation, he empties two beak- 
 ers of purest 
 
 Wine, and two of new milk on the earth, and two 
 that with sacred 
 
 Blood were o'erbrimming ; and blossoms of purple 
 he scatters, exclaiming : — 
 
 " Hail, O parent divine ! Once more, all hail, 
 O ye ashes so 
 
 Vainly to me restored ! Hail, spirit and soul of 
 my father ! 
 
 Not with thee might I search for Italy's confines 
 and destined 
 
 Fields ; nor, be what it may, discover Ausonian 
 Tiber." 
 
182 THE ^NEID 
 
 This had he said, when a huge and glittering ser- 
 pent came trailing 
 
 Up from the base of the shrine seven coils and 
 sevenfold spirals, 85 
 
 Gently encircling the tomb, and gliding over the 
 altars. 
 
 Markings of emerald blazoned its back, and vary- 
 ing tinctures 
 
 Kindled its scales with gold ; as Iris o'erarching 
 the storm-cloud 
 
 Flashes back to the sun the myriad hues of the 
 rainbow. 
 
 Stunned by the sight was ^neas ; yet still, in a 
 lengthening column m 
 
 Winding its sinuous way 'mid bowls and glittering 
 goblets. 
 
 Lightly it lipped the feast, and harmlessly back- 
 ward retreated 
 
 Under the base of the tomb, just tasting and quit- 
 ting the altars. 
 
 All the more zealously now he continued the rites 
 to his father. 
 
 Knowing not whether the serpent were God of the 
 place, or a spirit 95 
 
 Guarding the dead. Two lambs he offered accord- 
 ing to custom. 
 
 Also a couple of swine and a pair of sable-skinned 
 bullocks. 
 
 Pouring out bowls of wine, and calling aloud on 
 the mighty 
 
 Sold of Anchises, whose shades were redeemed 
 from Acheron's prison. 
 
 Then his companions, too, each after his means, 
 with rejoicing 100 
 
BOOK V 183 
 
 Offer their gifts, till they burden the altar ; some 
 sacrifice bullocks, 
 
 Others arrange great caldrons of brass, or, 
 stretched on the greensward. 
 
 Kindle a fire of coals and roast the flesh by the 
 embers. 
 Dawns the expected day ; already are Phaethon's 
 horses 
 
 Bearing the ninth Aurora aloft with glory un- 
 unclouded. 105 
 
 Kumor, moreover, conjoined with the name of the 
 famous Acestes, 
 
 Koused the neighboring people, who joyously 
 crowded the seashore 
 
 Eager to gaze on the Trojans ; and some to en- 
 gage in the contests. 
 
 First, in the sight of all, and ranged in the inner- 
 most circle, 
 
 Prizes are shown, even tripods of sacrifice, leafy 
 green ehaplets, no 
 
 Palm branches, too, for the victors, and armor, and 
 garments of purple, 
 ♦ » Evenly dyed, and a talent of gold, and a talent of 
 silver ; 
 
 While from the hilltop the trumpet announces the 
 opening contest. 
 
 Chosen from all the fleet, four galleys of uniform 
 oarage. 
 
 Equal also in weight, have entered the first of the 
 races. us 
 
 Mnestheus with eager crew is urging the swift- 
 darting Pristis ; 
 
 " Mnestheus of Italy," soon, whence the name of 
 the Memmian household ; 
 
184 THE ^NEID 
 
 Gyas commands the Chimaera, which looms up 
 
 vast as a city, 
 Bulky and broad and high, and Dardanian youth 
 
 on the benches 
 Drive it along with oars that strike in triplicate 
 
 measure. 120 
 
 Then Sergestus, from whom the Sergian line is 
 
 descended, 
 Kides on the Centaur huge ; on dark green Scylla, 
 
 Cloanthus, 
 Whence thine illustrious line is traced, O Eoman 
 
 Cluentius. 
 Opposite foaming shores is a rock, far away in 
 
 the offing. 
 Pounded and whelmed at times by the on-rush of 
 
 turbulent breakers, 125 
 
 When bleak northwest winds o'ercloud the stars in 
 
 the heavens : 
 Silent in days of calm, it rises through slumbering 
 
 waters 
 Level and smooth, a site most favored by sun- 
 loving sea-gulls. 
 Here did father ^neas determine the goal by a 
 
 verdant 
 Bough from a thick-leaved oak ; that the rowers 
 
 might know by this token 130 
 
 Whence they must make their return, and where 
 
 their long course must be doubled. 
 Next they chose places by lot ; and, astern on the 
 
 decks, are the captains 
 Gleaming afar in gold, and the radiant beauty of 
 
 purple. 
 While all the youth at the oars are crowned with 
 
 chaplets of poplar. 
 
BOOK V 185 
 
 Thoroughly rubbed with oil, their naked shoulders 
 
 are gleaming. 135 
 
 Now as they sit on the thwarts, their forearms 
 
 stretched for the oar-stroke, 
 Nervously waiting the signal, the quivering throb 
 
 of their pulses 
 Drains their rioting hearts, and sharp is their 
 
 hunger for glory. 
 Then, when the shriU-toned trumpet resounds, 
 
 there is no hesitation ; 
 All shoot forth from the line ; heaven rings with 
 
 the shouts of the oarsmen ; 140 
 
 Churned by the might of their muscular arms the 
 
 channel is foaming ; 
 Parallel furrows they cut, and aU. the sea^level 
 
 breaks open. 
 Harrowed by oars, and ploughed by the three- 
 pronged beaks of the galleys. 
 Not with so headlong a plunge from the goal in a 
 
 double-yoked contest 
 Chariots dash o'er the plain and stream out over 
 
 the race-course ; 145 
 
 Nor over steeds so free have charioteers, leaning 
 
 forward. 
 Shaken their floating reins, as they hang far over 
 
 the whip-lash. 
 Then with the clapping and shouting of men, and 
 
 cheers of well-wishers, 
 Eing all the groves at once ; wooded shores reecho 
 
 the chorus. 
 While the reverberant hills resound with tumultu- 
 ous echoes. 150 
 Drawing away from the rest, in the height of the 
 
 bustle and uproar. 
 
186 THE iENEID 
 
 Gyas darts over the waves to the front ; then closely 
 
 Cloanthus 
 Follows, more skilled at the oars, but the weight 
 
 of his lumbering galley 
 Holding him back ; in the rear, and about the same 
 
 distance asunder. 
 Struggle the Centaur and Pristis to gain the bet- 
 ter position. 155 
 Aye ! and now Pristis hath won it ; and now the 
 
 huge bulk of the Centaur 
 Passes her vanquished, and now both vessels sweep 
 
 onward together. 
 Ploughing the shallow brine in long and parallel 
 
 furrows. 
 Now they were nearing the rock and making the 
 
 turn of the goal-post. 
 When in the midst of the eddying waters victori- 
 ous Gyas 160 
 Shouted aloud to Menoetes, who guided the helm 
 
 of the vessel : 
 " Why art thou going so far to the right ? Direct 
 
 thy course hither ; 
 Cuddle the shore ! Let the oar-blade graze the 
 
 ledges to larboard ; 
 Leave the deep sea to the others ! " he cries, but 
 
 Menoetes, the helmsman, 
 Fearful of hidden rocks, keeps turning the prow 
 
 to the channel. les 
 
 " Why dost thou still go wrong ? Turn back to 
 
 the rock, O Menoetes," 
 Gyas again roars out ; and lo, in his wake, close 
 
 behind him. 
 Sees Cloanthus dart forward, and steer in nearer 
 
 the shore-line. 
 
BOOK V 187 
 
 He, between Gyas's boat and the rocks that were 
 
 sullenly roaring, 
 Grazing the left, wins the inside course, and sud- 
 denly passing no 
 Him who was first, clears the goal and glides into 
 
 safe open waters. 
 Then, of a truth, great wrath blazed up in the 
 
 young captain's marrow. 
 Nor were his cheeks unwet with tears, and, equally 
 
 reckless 
 Both of his own good name and the safety of those 
 
 who were with him, 174 
 
 Headlong into the sea he tumbled clumsy Mencetes. 
 He, then, the master himself, springs quick to the 
 
 tiller as steersman, 
 While he both rallies the rowers and wrenches the 
 
 helm to the landward. 
 But, as at length scarce saved from the watery 
 
 depths, old Mencetes, 
 Heavy and drenched, is now clambering up the 
 
 precipitous ledges. 
 Now on the sun-dried rock is seated in brine-drip- 
 ping garments, lao 
 Him, as he fell, did the Trojans deride; they 
 
 mocked at him swimming ; 
 Now they are laughing again as his lungs reject 
 
 the salt water. 
 Then in the two who are last, Sergestus and Mnes- 
 
 theus, a joyous 
 Hope is enkindled that Gyas may now be passed as 
 
 he lingers. 
 Rushes Sergestus ahead, and now to the rock is 
 
 approaching, iss 
 
 Yet he is not in the lead by quite the length of his 
 
 galley ; 
 
188 THE ^NEID 
 
 Partly ahead, part pressed by the beak of emulous 
 
 Pristis. 
 But, in the midst of his boat and striding up close 
 
 to his comrades, 
 Mnestheus exhorts, " Now rise ! rise, now, on your 
 
 oars all together, 
 Hector's own la4s, whom I chose for my friends 
 
 when the final disaster wo 
 
 Fell on the city of Troy ; now give us a proof of 
 
 that prowess. 
 Show us that spirit once more that you showed in 
 
 Gsetulia's quicksands, 
 Through the Ionian sea, and the hounding waves 
 
 of Malea! 
 Mnestheus covets not now to be first, nor strives 
 
 to be victor, 
 Though ! — but let them succeed unto whom thou 
 
 hast granted it, Neptune. 195 
 
 Yet it were shame to be last to return ; this dis- 
 grace, O my comrades. 
 Vanquish, and suffer it not ! " Then they with 
 
 their utmost endeavor 
 PuU till the great bronze keel is quivering under 
 
 their oar-strokes. 
 Backward is driven the sea ; then hurried and 
 
 difficult breathing 
 Shakes their limbs and their parching lips, and 
 
 sweat flows in rivers. 2W 
 
 Only an accident brings to the men the coveted 
 
 honor : 
 For while maddened with rage Sergestus is urging 
 
 his galley 
 Inwardly toward the rocks, and threading the 
 
 treacherous channel, 
 
BOOK V 189 
 
 On a projecting rock the luckless captain is driven. 
 Tremble the cliffs, and the oars on the shelving 
 
 edge of the ledges 205 
 
 Strain and snap, and the prow hard jammed on 
 
 the rock is suspended. 
 Kowers all spring to their feet ; there 's delay and 
 
 a terrible uproar ; 
 Iron-shod poles they seize, and grasping their 
 
 sharp-pointed boat-hooks. 
 Gather the splintered oars that float in the eddy- 
 ing waters. 
 Mnestheus, however, rejoicing, and keener for very 
 
 good fortune, 210 
 
 Under the swift-marching oars, and winds invoked 
 
 to befriend him. 
 Makes for the level sea, and glides into smooth 
 
 open water. 
 Yea, as a dove from a cleft in the rocks, when 
 
 suddenly startled, — 
 Safe in the sheltering cliff are her home and her 
 
 brood of sweet nestlings, — 
 Rises to fly to the fields, and frightened away from 
 
 her covert, 215 
 
 Makes a great flapping of wings, then into still 
 
 air quickly gliding. 
 Skims on her liquid way, nor flutters her arrowy 
 
 pinions ; 
 Even so Mnestheus, so Pristis herself, in her flight 
 
 cuts the farthest 
 Waters, and glides along impelled by sheer force 
 
 of momentum. 219 
 
 First he passes Sergestus, toiling hard on the lofty 
 Rock and the sandy shoals, and shouting in vain 
 
 for assistance, 
 
190 THE ^NEID 
 
 Learning the difficult art of rowing with oars that 
 
 are broken. 
 Making for Gyas next, he challenges clumsy Chi- 
 
 msera; 
 Who, of her pilot bereft, is fain to withdraw from 
 
 the contest. 
 Now at the very end, when no one is left but Clo- 
 
 anthus, 225 
 
 Him he pursues and presses hard in a desperate 
 
 struggle. 
 Then, of a truth, the din is redoubled ; all shout 
 
 to encourage 
 Him who pursues, and the sky reechoes the sound 
 
 of their cheering. 
 These are incensed by the thought of losing the 
 
 fame and the glory 
 Already won, and are willing to barter their lives 
 
 for their honor ; 230 
 
 Those are cheered by success ; they can win, for 
 
 they seem to be winning. 
 Aye, and with even prows, perchance they had 
 
 tied for the prizes, 
 Had not Cloanthus extended both hands to the 
 
 ocean, outpouring 
 Prayers and invoking the gods with vows to grant 
 
 his petition : 
 " Gods, whose realm is the sea, ye Rulers whose 
 
 waters I traverse, 235 
 
 Joyously on this beach to your altars a glistening 
 
 bullock 
 I, under bond of my vow, will pledge, and scatter 
 
 its vitals 
 Over the salt sea wave, and wine will I pour in 
 
 libation." 
 
BOOK V 191 
 
 Heard were the words he spake by the nymphs in 
 
 the depths of the ocean, 
 All the Nereid choir, the Tritons, and chaste Pan- 
 
 opea ; 240 
 
 Nay, with his own great hand pushed Father Por- 
 
 tunus the galley. 
 She than the wind more swift, more swift than the 
 
 quick-flying arrow. 
 Sped away to the shore, and hid herself deep in 
 
 the harbor. 
 Then did the son of Anchises, when all had been 
 
 formally summoned, 
 Through the loud voice of a herald proclaim as 
 
 the victor, Cloanthus, 245 
 
 Wreathing about his brows a crown of evergreen 
 
 laurel ; 
 Also he gives to the rowers their choice of re- 
 wards, whether bullocks 
 Three for each vessel, or wine, or a generous talent 
 
 of silver ; 
 Special prizes he adds for the men who had cap- 
 
 . tained the galleys ; 
 Mantle of gold for the victor, surrounded by broad 
 
 Meliboean 250 
 
 Purple in winding streams, flowing on like a double 
 
 Mseander, 
 While, embroidered between, the Prince on leaf- 
 hidden Ida 
 Wearies nimble deer with his dart and the speed 
 
 of his running. 
 Life-like, as if he were breathing, Jove's eagle hath 
 
 snatched him from Ida, 
 And in his crooked claws is swiftly bearing him 
 
 upward. 255 
 
192 THE iENEID 
 
 Vainly his guardians old are spreading their palms 
 
 to the heavens, 
 Vainly his furious hounds are haying the sky in 
 
 their anger. 
 But unto him who has won by his valor the second 
 
 position, 
 Unto this man, for his own, he gives a glittering 
 
 corselet, 
 Woven with triplicate links of gold ; which him- 
 self as a victor 260 
 Stripped from Demoleus, near great Troy, where 
 
 Simois rushes. 
 This he may keep as a prize and a sure protection 
 
 in battle. 
 Phegeus and Sagaris, bondmen, though bracing 
 
 their shoulders together. 
 Bend 'neath the weight of its manifold links, yet 
 
 Demoleus wore it 
 When long since on foot he followed the scattering 
 
 Trojans. 265 
 
 Unto the third he gives twin caldrons of brass as 
 
 a trophy, 
 Skiff-patterned cups of wrought silver, moreover, 
 
 embossed with raised figures. 
 Finally all had been honored, and proud of their 
 
 gifts were departing 
 Having their temples adorned with fillets of Ty- 
 
 rian purple. 
 When, from the merciless rock wrenched free by 
 
 skill and hard labor, 270 
 
 Crippled by loss of oars, and bereft of one rank of 
 
 his oarsmen, 
 Lo, amid jeers, without honor, Sergestus came 
 
 driving his galley. 
 
BOOK V 193 
 
 Just as quite often a serpent, that, caught on the 
 crown of a highway, 
 
 Sidelong a brazen wheel has crossed, or a wayfarer 
 fiercely 
 
 Smiting has left half killed by a stone, and man- 
 gled, endeavors 275 
 
 Yainly to make its escape, describing long curves 
 with its body, 
 
 Part of it angry, with eyes ablaze, and raising its 
 hissing 
 
 Throat in the air, while part by its bruises disabled 
 retards it. 
 
 Turning and twisting and knotting itself in its 
 own convolutions ; 
 
 Rowed in a similar fashion, the lumbering boat had 
 been moving ; 280 
 
 But is now spreading her sails and entering port 
 with full canvas. 
 
 Glad that his vessel is saved, and rejoiced that his 
 friends have been rescued. 
 
 Unto Sergestus -ZEneas presents the reward he has 
 promised : 
 
 Pholoe, Cretan by birth, is given to him for a 
 handmaid, 
 
 Skilled in the arts of Minerva, and pressing twin 
 sons to her bosom. 285 
 
 Now that this contest is closed, God-fearing 
 ^neas advancing 
 
 Enters a grass-covered plain completely encircled 
 by forests 
 
 Set upon curving hills ; and, cent' ring the theatre- 
 valley, 
 
 There was a race-course ring, to which, with thou- 
 sands around him. 
 
194 THE ^NEID 
 
 Forward the hero pressed to a station commanding 
 the concourse. 290 
 
 Here by prizes he fires the zeal of all who are wil- 
 ling 
 
 In the swift race to contend ; and here he exhibits 
 the trophies. 
 
 Trojans from every side and Sicilians come throng- 
 ing together ; 
 
 Nisus the first, with Euryalus. 
 
 Noted for beauty, Euryalus, famed for his vigor- 
 ous manhood ; 295 
 
 Nisus, for loyal love to the lad ; next after them 
 followed 
 
 Princely Diores, descended from Priam's illustri- 
 ous household. 
 
 Patron and Salius next, the one Acarnania's hero, 
 
 While the Arcadian blood of the other was traced 
 from Tegasa ; 
 
 Helymus, then, a Trinacrian youth, and Panopes 
 also, 300 
 
 Craftsmen in forest lore, and friends of aged 
 Acestes. 
 
 Many besides there were, now lost in the gloom of 
 tradition. 
 
 Stationed then in the midst, ^neas addressed them 
 as follows ; 
 
 " Take these words to your hearts ; rejoice and be 
 glad in this promise ; 
 
 None of this number shall go unrewarded by me 
 with a guerdon ; 305 
 
 Gleaming with burnished steel, two Cretan darts 
 I will give you. 
 
 Also an axe for a trophy, twin-bladed and hilted 
 with silver. 
 
BOOK V 195 
 
 This one gift is assured unto all ; three prizes the 
 
 leaders 
 Also shall win, and their brows shall be wreathed 
 
 with golden-leaved laurel. 
 He that wins first shall receive a steed resplendent 
 
 with trappings ; 310 
 
 He that is next be graced with an Amazonian 
 
 quiver 
 Filled with arrows of Thrace ; a broad gold band 
 
 runs around it, 
 And with a tapering jewel a buckle securely con- 
 fines it ; 
 He who is third shall depart content with this 
 
 helmet from Argos." 
 Taking their place at the word, and suddenly hear- 
 ing the signal, 315 
 Stream they forth on the track, and leaving the 
 
 line far behind them 
 Sweep straight on like a storm, all eyes intent on 
 
 the goal-post. 
 Nisus is first away, his body in front of all others 
 Flashing, more swift than the wind, yea, swifter 
 
 than wings of the lightning. 
 Next unto him, but next at a well marked distance, 
 
 there followed 320 
 
 Salius ; then with a space left widely open between 
 
 them, 
 Came Euryalus third. 
 Close is Euryalus pressed by Helymus, then right 
 
 behind him 
 Flies Diores ; behold ! how heel with heel he is 
 
 grazing ! 
 Shoulder to shoulder he runs, and if only the 
 
 course could be lengthened, 325 
 
196 THE ^NEID 
 
 He would out-distance his rival, or render the vic' 
 tory doubtful. 
 
 Now, exhausted and near to the end of the track, 
 they were speeding 
 
 On to the goal itself, when Nisus, unfortunate • 
 Nisus, 
 
 Slipped on some gliddery blood, which it chanced 
 from sacrificed bullocks 
 
 Over the ground had flowed, and thoroughly 
 drenched the green herbage. 330 
 
 Here, on the slippery earth, the youth already 
 exultant 
 
 Fails his tottering steps to hold, but plunges head- 
 foremost 
 
 Into the thick of the mire, and the blood of the 
 consecrate victims. 
 
 Yet he remembers Euryalus, nor is their friend- 
 ship forgotten, 
 
 For from the slime he springs against Salius heavily 
 striking, 335 
 
 So that he staggers and falls outstretched on the 
 miry arena. 
 
 Forward Euryalus flashes, and victor by favor of 
 friendship. 
 
 Darts to the front and flies 'mid a tumiilt of clap- 
 ping and cheering. 
 
 Helymus finishes next, and now, third victor, 
 Diores. 
 
 Then the whole ring of the vast amphitheatre, also 
 the foremost 340 
 
 Banks of the senators, Salius fills with loud pro- 
 testations. 
 
 While he demands that the prize that was captured 
 by fraud be restored him. 
 
BOOK V 197 
 
 Favor Euryalus saves, with the grace of his tears 
 and his courage, 
 
 Worth being valued the more when it comes in a 
 beautiful person. 
 
 Also Diores assists, and loudly proclaims him the 
 victor ; 345 
 
 For he has won the palm, and vainly attained the 
 last honor, 
 
 If the return of the first unto Salius uow be con- 
 ceded. 
 
 Then said Father ^neas, " Young men, the deci- 
 sion is final ; 
 
 Safe are your prizes, and none shall disturb the 
 order of merit ; 
 
 Let me console the mischance of a friend un- 
 touched by dishonor." 350 
 
 Speaking, he flung the skin of a huge Gsetulian 
 lion, 
 
 Heavy with hair and with claws of gold, around 
 Salius' shoulders. 
 
 Instantly Nisus exclaimed, " If such be the meed of 
 the vanquished. 
 
 If thou so pity the fallen, what fitting reward 
 upon Nisus 
 
 Wilt thou bestow, who had won unchallenged the 
 first of the chaplets, 355 
 
 Had not the same ill chance which Salius met 
 overthrown me ? " 
 
 Then, as he spoke these words, he showed his limbs 
 and his features 
 
 Stained and besprent with mire. At his plight the 
 most excellent father. 
 
 Smiling, and bidding a shield be brought, Didy- 
 maon's handwork, 
 
198 THE ^NEID 
 
 Taken down by the Greeks from the sacred portal 
 
 of Neptune, m 
 
 On the distinguished youth bestowed this illustri- 
 ous trophy. 
 Afterward, when all races were closed and the 
 
 prizes awarded, 
 " Now if any be bold, with a resolute heart in his 
 
 bosom, 
 Stand and raise your hands and forearms, bound 
 
 with the gauntlets." 
 Thus he exclaims, and announces a twofold reward 
 
 for the contest ; 365 
 
 Unto the victor a bidl bedecked with gold and 
 
 with fillets ; 
 Also, to comfort the vanquished, a sword and a 
 
 marvellous helmet. 
 Instantly, waiting for naught, gigantic and power- 
 ful Dares )/ 
 Lifted his head, and stood 'mid loud acclaim of the 
 
 heroes ; 
 Dares, the only man who was wont to stand against 
 
 Paris ; 370 
 
 He, too, it was by the tomb where Hector, the 
 
 mighty, lies buried, 
 Smote victorious Butes, the giant, who haughtily 
 
 boasted 
 Kinship with Amycus' line by descent from Bebry- 
 
 cian princes. 
 Stretching him, hurt to the death, on the golden 
 
 sand ; such is Dares 
 Who is now loftily lifting his head at the first note 
 
 of battle, 375 
 
 Showing his shoulders' breadth, and his arms, one 
 
 after the other, 
 
BOOK V 199 
 
 Stretching haughtily forth, and beating the air in 
 defiance. 
 
 Where is another to match him ? Not one in the 
 whole great assembly 
 
 Dares to confront this man, or put on the gaunt- 
 lets before him. 
 
 Eagerly, therefore, and thinking that all had with- 
 drawn from the contest, • aso 
 
 Facing ^neas he stands, and short is his limit of 
 patience : 
 
 Then the left horn of the bull he seizes : " O son 
 of a goddess. 
 
 Since there is none who dares to hazard his life in 
 the combat. 
 
 What is the limit of waiting? How long is it 
 right to detain me ? 
 
 Bid me lead off the prize." The Trojans, all shout- 
 ing together, am 
 
 Koar their approval, demanding the promised re- 
 ward for the hero. 
 
 Then, with upbraiding, Acestes unsparingly lashes 
 Entellus, 
 
 Next unto whom he reclines on the verdant couch 
 of the hillside : 
 
 " O Entellus, in vain aforetime the bravest of 
 heroes. 
 
 Dost thou so patiently suffer, without any contest, 
 such prizes aso 
 
 Thus to be won ? Where now is that Eryx we 
 worshipped, whom vainly 
 
 Thou for thy master hast claimed ? Where now 
 is thy fame that o'ershadowed 
 
 All the Trinacrian isle, and those trophies that 
 hung in thy palace ? " 
 
200 THE ^NEID 
 
 Quickly he answered, " Not quenched by fear is 
 my longing for glory ; 
 
 Nor my desire for praise ; but age is retarding the 
 icy 395 
 
 Flow of my blood, and the sluggish currents of 
 life are congealing. 
 
 Had I what once I had, and in which yon braggart 
 confiding, 
 
 Vaunteth himself; were mine that youth which 
 hath long since departed, 
 
 Not allured by a prize and the hope of a beauti- 
 ful bullock 
 
 Would I have come ; nor now do I tarry for 
 gifts ! " and thus speaking, 4oo 
 
 Into the midst he hurled a pair of ponderous gaunt- 
 lets. 
 
 Eryx the davmtless, of yore with these had been 
 wont to do battle. 
 
 Binding his hands and arms with thongs of well- 
 seasoned bull's-hide. 
 
 Hearts were appalled ; seven folds of the hides of 
 bulls so enormous 
 
 Stiffened in rigid coils insewn with lead and with 
 iron. 405 
 
 Dares himself, above all, was confounded, and 
 stoutly protested ; 
 
 E'en the brave son of Anchises eyed keenly the 
 terrible weapons. 
 
 Turning over and over the ponderous coUs of the , 
 gauntlets. 
 
 Then these words from his heart the old man flings 
 in rejoinder : 
 
 " What, then, if one could have seen the arms and 
 looked on the gauntlets 410 
 
BOOK V 201 
 
 Hercules owned ; and have viewed on this very 
 
 shore the grim battle ! 
 Eryx once wore these arms, yes, Eryx, the son of 
 
 thy mother ; 
 StUl canst thou see how with blood and with brains 
 
 they are stained and bespattered. 
 'Grainst the great son of Alcides with these did he 
 
 stand ; and I used them 
 Long as more vigorous blood gave strength ; while 
 
 Age, my dread rival, 41s 
 
 Had not as yet grown gray, nor scattered his frost 
 
 on my temples. 
 But, if your Dares of Troy object to these arms of 
 
 our choosing. 
 If good -SSneas approve, and Aeestes, my sponsor, 
 
 be willing, 
 Make we the fight more fair ; I spare you the 
 
 bull's hide of Eryx ; 
 Banish thy fears ; and thou must relinquish those 
 
 nian gauntlets." 420 
 
 Having thus spoken, he flung from his shoulders 
 
 the folds of his mantle ; 
 Then, the huge joints of his limbs, his mighty 
 
 frame and great muscles 
 Baring, gigantic he stood in the midst of the sandy 
 
 arena. 
 Then did Father ^neas bring gauntlets that 
 
 matched one another, 
 Binding with equal arms the hands of both the 
 
 contestants. 425 
 
 Instantly each stood forth, with body erect, and on 
 
 tiptoe ; 
 High aloft in the air his arms each dauntlessly 
 
 lifted; 
 
202 THE ^NEID 
 
 Back, far away from the stroke, their towering 
 heads they are tossing ; 
 
 Hands intermingle with hands ; they are daring 
 each other to combat ; 
 
 That one, the better of foot, on the quickness of 
 youth is relying ; 430 
 
 This one excels in the bulk of his limbs, but his 
 knees' tardy hinges 
 
 Fail, and laboring breath his giant body con- 
 vulses. 
 
 Many blows in vain do the champions thrust at 
 each other ; 
 
 Many on echoing ribs they rain ; and loudly they 
 thunder 
 
 Full on the chest, while hands about ears and 
 temples are playing 435 
 
 Heavy and fast, and jaws 'neath terrible buffets 
 are cracking. 
 
 Ponderous stands Entellus, and, fixed in the same 
 alert posture, 
 
 Only with body and vigilant eye is avoiding the 
 lunges ; 
 
 Dares, like one who beleaguers a towering city 
 with engines, 
 
 Or with tented array besieges a hill-crowning for- 
 tress, 440 
 
 Skilfully tries now these and now the other ap- 
 proaches. 
 
 Circling the ring, and attacking in vain with va- 
 ried mancEuvres. 
 
 Rising against him, Entellus outstretched his right 
 hand and upraised it 
 
 High overhead ; but his foe, as the stroke came 
 down from above him. 
 
BOOK V 203 
 
 Quickly foresaw, and escaped by a sudden swerve 
 
 of his body. 445 
 
 Wasting his strength on the air, Entellus, un- 
 touched by his rival, 
 By his own ponderous bulk overweighted, pitched 
 
 heavily forward, 
 Falling to earth, as oft upon Mount Erymanthus 
 
 or Ida, 
 Pine-trees, hoUow and huge, have suddenly fallen 
 
 uprooted. 
 Teucrian men and Trinacrian youth spring up in 
 
 confusion ; no 
 
 Rises a shout to the sky, and Acestes is first to 
 
 run forward. 
 And in compassion lift up from the earth the 
 
 old friend of his boyhood. 
 But, unhurt by his fall, and nothing daunted, the 
 
 hero 
 Keener returns to the fight, and arouses his 
 
 strength by his fury ; 
 Shame and conscious worth are also enkindling 
 
 his spirit ; 455 
 
 Fiercely o'er all the plain he drives the fugitive 
 
 Dares ; 
 Now and again his blows with right hand and left 
 
 are redoubled. 
 Neither delay nor rest ; with strokes as incessant 
 
 as hailstones 
 Rattling from cloud to roof, with either hand is 
 
 the hero 
 Ceaselessly buffeting Dares and driving him o'er 
 
 the arena. 46o 
 
 Father ^neas, however, imposing a limit to an- 
 ger. 
 
204 THE ^NEID 
 
 Also restraining Entellus from venting his violent 
 temper, 
 
 Instantly ended the fight, and rescued discomfited 
 Dares, 
 
 Comforting him with words, and thus he kindly 
 addressed him : 
 
 " Ill-fated man ! What madness so great hath 
 o'ermastered thy spirit ! 465 
 
 Recognizest thou not the might and displeasure of 
 Heaven ? 
 
 Yield to the god." He spake, and speaking ended 
 the contest. 
 
 Faithful young comrades, however, lead Dares 
 away to the galleys. 
 
 Dragging his faltering knees, his head all listlessly 
 swaying. 
 
 Spitting thick gore from his mouth, and teeth with 
 blood intermingled. 470 
 
 Then they are summoned back to receive the sword 
 and the helmet. 
 
 While they resign to Entellus the bull and the 
 glory of conquest. 
 
 Then cried the victor, elated in mind, and proud 
 of his bullock, 
 
 " Child of a Goddess, and Teucrians all, be ad- 
 vised by this token 
 
 Both what strength was mine ere age had enfee- 
 bled my body, 475 
 
 And from what death redeemed ye have rescued 
 the life of this Dares." 
 
 Thus having spoken, he stood directly confronting 
 the bullock. 
 
 Which, as the gift of the fight, was standing be- 
 side him ; then backward 
 
BOOK V 205 
 
 Eaising his hand on high, he dashed the terrible 
 
 gauntlet 
 Midway the horns, through the skull, and crushed 
 
 was the brain underneath it. 48o 
 
 Staggered the bull, and fell, head foremost, trem- 
 bling and lifeless. 
 Standing above it, such words as these he poured 
 
 from his bosom, 
 " Better than Dares' death, this life do I pay thee, 
 
 O Eryx ! 
 Here, as a victor, henceforth resigning my art and 
 
 my gauntlets." 
 Straightway ^neas invites to contend with the 
 
 swift-flying arrow 435 
 
 Those who may chance to be willing, and fixes the 
 
 order of prizes. 
 Also with powerful hand, a mast from the ship of 
 
 Serestes 
 Raises, and down from its top suspends a flutter- 
 ing pigeon. 
 Held by a floating cord ; at this they may level 
 
 their arrows. 
 Gather the men ; and the lots in a brazen helmet 
 
 are mingled. 490 
 
 Then doth Hippocoon, Hyrtacus' son, amid shouts 
 
 of approval, 
 Draw the first lot for himself, and win the first 
 
 place in the contest. 
 Next him Mnestheus comes, the winner just now 
 
 of the boat-race, 
 Mnestheus, around whose brow still circles the 
 
 green of the olive ; 
 Third is Eurytion, brother to thee, O Pandarus 
 
 mighty ; 495 
 
206 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thou who in days of old, when bidden to break 
 
 off the treaty, 
 Into the midst of the Greeks wert first to deliver 
 
 thy weapon ; 
 Last, in the depths of the helmet, Acestes alone is 
 
 remaining, 
 Daring to try with his own right hand the feats of 
 
 young manhood. 
 Now their curving bows they are bending with 
 
 powerful muscles, 500 
 
 Each for himself, and each draws forth a shaft 
 
 from his quiver. 
 First flew the arrow of Hyrtacus' son from the 
 
 whistling bow-string 
 Far through the sky, and cleft the fleeting breezes 
 
 asunder ; 
 Straight to the mast it flew, and deep in the wood 
 
 was embedded. 
 Trembled the mast, and the bird was frightened 
 ' and fluttered her pinions ; 505 
 
 Echoed the hills and shore with the sound of up- 
 roarious cheering. 
 Mnestheus next, with bended bow stepped eagerly 
 
 forward. 
 Aiming aloft with eyes as tensely strained as his 
 
 bowstring ; 
 Yet the unfortunate man hath failed of sending 
 
 his arrow 
 Into the bird ; but the knot and the hempen cord 
 
 he hath broken, 510 
 
 Fastened by which she hung by her foot from the 
 
 towering masthead. 
 Forth on the wind she fled, to the shelter of clouds 
 
 and of darkness ; 
 
BOOK V 207 
 
 Straightway then, as an arrow already he held on 
 
 his bow-string, 
 Strained for the shot, did Eurytion pray to his 
 
 brother to help him, 
 Watching the dove as she flew through the open 
 
 sky with a joyous sw 
 
 Beating of wings ; then pierced her under the 
 
 darkening storm-cloud. 
 Dying she fell, and left her life in the spaces of 
 
 heaven, 
 While in her breast, as she dropped, she brought 
 
 down the death-dealing arrow. 
 Only Acestes remained, but the prize was already 
 
 another's ; 
 Yet high into the air the old man launches an ar- 
 row, 520 
 Proud to exhibit his skill, and the sounding twang 
 
 of his bowstring. 
 Suddenly then do our eyes behold a marvellous 
 
 portent, 
 Pregnant with fate : the event soon afterward 
 
 taught us its meaning ; 
 All too late did the pitiless augurs interpret the 
 
 omen ; 
 For, as through cloud and rain the arrow was fly- 
 ing, it kindled, 525 
 Marking its track with fire ; then vanished from 
 
 sight in the heavens, 
 Wholly consumed ; as stars, at times, when loosed 
 
 from their stations, 
 Gliding across the sky, leave fiery furrows behind 
 
 them. 
 Heroes of Troy and Trinacria stand bewildered 
 
 and awe-struck. 
 
208 THE iENEID 
 
 Supplicating the gods; and even most noble 
 
 -^neas, 530 
 
 Recognizing the sign, embraces exultant Acestes, 
 Loads him with generous gifts, and utters these 
 
 words for his comfort : 
 " Take them, O father ; for thee the great king of 
 
 Olympus hath destined 
 No chance honor to gain from an omen so signal 
 
 and joyous. 
 Thou shalt receive this gift, once owned by aggd 
 
 Anchises, 535 
 
 Even this cup, wrought in sculptured relief, which 
 
 Cysseus, the Thracian, 
 Long ago gave to Anchises, my father, a gift of 
 
 rare value, 
 Ever to keep as his own as a token and pledge of 
 
 affection." 
 Having thus spoken, he wreathed his brows with 
 
 evergreen laurel, 
 And, before all the rest, proclaimed as first victor 
 
 Acestes. 540 
 
 Nor did noble Eurytion envy his honor and glory. 
 Though he alone had brought the dove from the 
 
 depths of the heavens. 
 Next to share the awards was he who had severed 
 
 the fast'nings ; 
 Last was he who had pierced the mast with his 
 
 swift flying arrow. 
 Father ^neas, however, the games not yet being 
 
 ended, 545 
 
 Summoning Epytus' son, the tutor of beardless 
 
 lulus, 
 Also his friend, confides to his faithful ear these 
 
 directions : 
 
BOOK V 209 
 
 " Hasten," he whispers, " and tell Ascanius, if he 
 
 be ready, 
 Having his line of boys prepared, and the drill of 
 
 his horsemen 
 Planned, to deploy his troop, and exhibit himself 
 
 in his armor, 550 
 
 Here by his grandsire's tomb." Then he orders 
 
 the throng of spectators 
 All to retire from the length of the course, that 
 
 , the plain may be vacant. 
 Forward the boys march out, and, under the eyes 
 
 of their parents. 
 Gleam in an even line on their bridled steeds ; and 
 
 advancing, 
 Ail the Trinacrian youth and the Trojans admire 
 
 and applaud them. 555 
 
 Each has his forehead enwreathed by a chaplet 
 
 according to custom ; 
 Each is bearing two spears of cornel-wood headed 
 
 with iron ; 
 Polished quivers by part are borne on their shoul- 
 ders, and pliant 
 Links of twisted gold fall over their necks and 
 
 their corselets. 
 Three are the troops of horse, and three their 
 
 curvetting leaders ; seo 
 
 Then there are twice six boys, who, following after 
 
 each captain. 
 Gleam in divided bands with the glory of uni- 
 formed marshals. 
 One of the joyous divisions of youth young Priam 
 
 is leading ; 
 Bearing his grandsire's name ; thy glorious son, O 
 
 Polites ; 
 
210 THE iENEID 
 
 Destined to found an Italian line ; his mount is a 
 Thracian sss 
 
 Steed, all dappled with white ; there are glimpses 
 of white on his forefeet ; 
 
 And, as he tosses his head, there 's a gleam of white 
 on his forehead. 
 
 Atys is next, whence Rome derives the Attian 
 household : 
 
 Little was Atys, and dearly beloved by little lulus. 
 
 Last, but surpassing them all in beauty of form, 
 comes lulus, 570 
 
 Riding a Tyrian horse which beautiful Dido had 
 sent him. 
 
 Ever to keep as a proof and pledge of her loving 
 affection. 
 
 By the Trinacrian steeds of aged Acestes the other 
 
 Youths are borne. 
 
 Tremble the anxious boys, and the Trojans receive . 
 them with plaudits, 575 
 
 Glad to behold in their faces the looks of their gray- 
 headed fathers. 
 
 After they joyously wheel on their horses around 
 the arena 
 
 Under the eyes of their friends, Epytides then 
 from a distance 
 
 Utters the signal — " Attention ! " and gives a 
 sharp crack with his whip-lash. 
 
 Then, into equal bands by threes the troopers di- 
 viding, 580 
 
 March in diverging lines ; and these, when the 
 order is given. 
 
 Wheel their courses again, and charge with threat- 
 ening lances ; 
 
 Then fresh sallies they make, again to new onsets 
 returning, 
 
BOOK V 211 
 
 EusHng together from far, and wheeling in intri- 
 cate circles, 
 
 Forming a picture of war, a portrayal of actual 
 battle. 58S 
 
 Now they expose their backs in flight, then, turn- 
 ing their weapons. 
 
 Take the attack, and now sweep onward in peace- 
 ful procession. 
 
 Just as in lofty Crete the Labyrinth once had an 
 entrance 
 
 Fashioned with windowless walls, and a blind and 
 treacherous pathway 
 
 Branching a thousand ways, where a slight and 
 unmarked deviation 590 
 
 Baffled return, and confused all signs that were 
 trusted for guidance ; 
 
 So, interweaving the lines of their marching, the 
 sons of the Trojans 
 
 Circled in mazes of flight, intermingled with mimic 
 encounters ; 
 
 Not unlike dolphins that cleaving the liquid Car- 
 pathian waters, 
 
 Swim through the Libyan sea, disporting them- 
 selves in the billows. 595 
 
 These evolutions and games Ascanius first reestab- 
 lished 
 
 After he girded the town of Alba Longa with 
 ramparts, 
 
 Teaching the primitive Latins to keep them alive 
 in the fashion 
 
 He himself knew as a boy, with Troy's young 
 chivalry round him : 
 
 Alba then taught the same sport to her children, 
 and, centuries later, eoo 
 
212 THE ^NEID 
 
 Eome in her glory revived it to honor the fame of 
 the fathers. 
 
 StiU is the game caUed " Troy ; " stiU « Trojan " 
 the band of young troopers. 
 
 Thus far were carried the games in the name of 
 his deified father. 
 Treacherous Fortune then first broke her faith 
 with the Trojans. 
 
 While at the tomb they are paying their homage 
 with varying contests, eos 
 
 Down to the Ilian fleet, from heaven, Saturnian 
 Juno, 
 
 Full of her wiles (for insatiate stiU was her an- 
 cient resentment), 
 
 Iris despatches, and breathes forth breezes to has- 
 ten her going. 
 
 She o'er the radiant arch of her thousand-hued 
 rainbow is speeding, 
 
 Coursing the dazzling track, a swift but invisible 
 maiden. eio 
 
 Now the vast throng she views ; now, sweeping the 
 shore with her vision, 
 
 Sees that the port is deserted ; and notes that the 
 fleet is unguarded, 
 
 While, far away on the lonely beach, the Ilian 
 matrons. 
 
 Mourning apart for Anchises lost and weeping 
 together, 
 
 All gaze forth on the deep. " Alas ! what wastes 
 for the weary ! " sis 
 
 " So much sea yet left ! " is the cry of each wo- 
 man among them. 
 
 Home is their prayer ; they are tired of endur- 
 ing the toil of the ocean. 
 
BOOK V 213 
 
 Therefore into their midst, and not without inkling 
 of evil, 
 
 Iris, doffing the face and the garb of a goddess, 
 is hasting. 
 
 Beroe aged, she seems, Ismarian Doryclus' good- 
 wife ; 620 
 
 For he could formerly boast of nobility, honor, and 
 children. 
 
 Thus then, bearing herself 'mid the throng of Dar- 
 danian matrons, 
 
 " Wretched women," she cries, " whom no Greek 
 hand in the battle 
 
 Dragged unto death in sight of the walls of our 
 country! O Nation, 
 
 Destined to sorrow, to what sad end hath Fortune 
 reserved thee ! 625 
 
 Now, since the sacking of Troy, the seventh sum- 
 mer is speeding. 
 
 While, after traversing seas and lands, and so 
 many cruel 
 
 Rocks, and changing skies, we are fated to chase 
 o'er the boundless 
 
 Waters our fugitive Italy, fated to toss on the 
 billows. 
 
 Here is the country of Eryx our kinsman ; here 
 friendly Acestes ; eao 
 
 Who, then, forbids us to build and give to our 
 people a city ? 
 
 O my country — my gods, in vain from the en- 
 emy rescued. 
 
 Shall not a town, after all, be named for our Troy ? 
 Shall we never 
 
 Look upon Simois more, or Xanthus, the rivers of 
 Hector ? 
 
214 THE ^NEID 
 
 Nay ! but fpUow with me ; let us burn these ships 
 
 of disaster! ess 
 
 For unto me in a dream the shade of Cassandra 
 
 the prophet 
 Seemed to give flaming brands ; ' It is here your 
 
 Troy must be sought for ; 
 Here is your home ! ' she cried, and now doth the 
 
 time require action ; 
 Falter not thus forewarned. Behold four altars 
 
 of Neptune ! 
 Here doth the god himself provide both torches 
 
 and spirit." 64o 
 
 Speaking these words, she first caught up a threat- 
 ening firebrand, 
 And, with uplifted arm, high whirling the glitter- 
 ing fagot. 
 Hurled it with all her force. Aroused were the 
 
 souls of the matrons ; 
 Hearts all astounded, till one, the eldest of all the 
 
 assembly, 
 Pyrgo, the royal nurse of so many children of 
 
 Priam, 6« 
 
 Shouted, " Not Beroe this ; not this, O matrons, 
 
 the Ehoetian 
 Consort of Doryclus ; mark these tokens of beauty 
 
 celestial ! 
 Look at those radiant eyes where flashes the soul 
 
 of a goddess ! 
 Mark ye her face, and the sound of her voice, and 
 
 her manner of walking ! 
 It is but now that I myself left Beroe grieving eso 
 That she alone is, by illness, debarred from the 
 
 joy of this service, 
 Nor is permitted to render Anchises his merited 
 
 honors." 
 
BOOK V 215 
 
 These were her words. 
 
 Yet, for a time undecided, the matrons with eyes 
 
 of abhorrence 
 Gazed on the ships, and were torn 'twixt a pitiful 
 
 love for their present ess 
 
 Haven of rest, and desire for the realms to which 
 
 destiny called them ; 
 But, as on balancing wings the goddess arose 
 
 through the heavens, 
 Sweeping under the clouds on the mighty arch of 
 
 the rainbow. 
 Then indeed, by the omen astounded, and goaded 
 
 by madness. 
 All, with loud cries, begin snatching the fire from 
 
 the holiest altars ; eeo 
 
 Others the shrines despoil, and garlands, and fil- 
 lets, and firebrands 
 Hurl in a shower ; and the Demon of Fire, un- 
 checked in his fury. 
 Sweeps over benches and oars, and the painted fir 
 
 of the galleys. 
 Swift to Anchises' tomb, and through the wedged 
 
 rows of spectators, 
 Eumelus carries the news that the ships are on 
 
 fire ; and the Trojans ms 
 
 See for themselves black clouds of smoke uproll- 
 
 ing behind them. 
 Then, as Ascanius joyed to lead his manoeuvering 
 
 troopers. 
 So was he first to dash on horseback swift to the 
 
 troubled 
 Camp ; nor, stricken with fear, are his guardians 
 
 able to check him. 
 " What new madness is this ? Whither now, 
 
 whither now are ye tending ? mo 
 
216 THE .aiNEID 
 
 Ah, wretched women, not foes nor a hostile en- 
 campment of Argives, 
 
 But your own hopes ye burn. Behold it is I, your 
 lulus ! " 
 
 Then he tears from his head and flings at their 
 feet the light helmet. 
 
 Covered by which he was urging in sport the 
 counterfeit battle. 
 
 Hastens ^neas now, now hasten the bands of the 
 Trojans. 675 
 
 But in their terror the women are scattering over 
 the seashore 
 
 Hither and yon, and away into caverns and forests 
 are stealing 
 
 Whithersoever they may; they shrink from the 
 deed and the daylight ; 
 
 Contrite, they welcome their friends, and Juno is 
 cast from their bosoms. 
 
 But not for that do the flames lay aside their in- 
 tractable fury ; m 
 
 Still, far under the water-logged timbers the 
 smouldering oakum 
 
 Lives, and lazy smoke pours forth, and the fire, 
 crawling onward, 
 
 Gnaws at the hull, and death eats into the heart 
 of the vessel ; 
 
 Nor is heroic toil and the pouring of water availing. 
 
 Rending his vesture then from his shoulders, god- 
 fearing ^neas ess 
 
 Stretched forth his hands in prayer, and called on 
 the gods for assistance. 
 
 " Jove, thou omnipotent ! liveth there yet even one 
 of the Trojans 
 
 Not in thy sight abhorred, if thine ancient com- 
 passion regardeth 
 
BOOK V 217 
 
 Human distress at all, O father, vouchsafe that 
 our vessels 
 
 'Scape from the flames ; and from ruin redeem the 
 frail cause of the Trojans ; ego 
 
 Or, as naught else is left, by a bolt of thy merci- 
 less thunder 
 
 Grant the release of death, and here by thy hand 
 let me perish." 
 
 Scarce had he uttered these words, when a storm 
 in strange fury descended, 
 
 Black with torrents of rain ; and the lofty hills 
 and the lowlands 
 
 Tremble with thunder; and clouds come rushing 
 over the heavens m 
 
 SwoUen with rain, and exceedingly black with 
 southerly tempests. 
 
 Filled from above are the ships, and drenched are 
 the half-consumed timbers. 
 
 Till the last smouldering flame is extinguished, 
 and all of the galleys, 
 
 All with the loss of four, are rescued from cruel 
 destruction. 
 Father ^neas, however, o'ercome by the bitter 
 misfortune, 700 
 
 Shifted his burden of care now this way now that 
 in his bosom, 
 
 Pondering whether, unheeding the fates, it were 
 better to settle 
 
 Here in Sicilian fields, or struggle for Italy's har- 
 bors. 
 
 Then did old Nautes, to whom alone Tritonian 
 Pallas 
 
 Destiny had revealed, and had rendered him fa- 
 mous for wisdom, 705 
 
218 THE ^NEID 
 
 Teach by these oracles either what Heaven's great 
 anger portended, 
 
 Or the appointed course which the order of fate 
 was demanding, 
 
 And with words like these began to encourage 
 ^neas : 
 
 " Goddess-born, whithersoever our destiny leads, 
 let us follow ; 
 
 Happen what may, we must conquer each trial by 
 patient endurance. 710 
 
 Here thou hast Dardan Acestes whose lineage links 
 him with Heaven ; 
 
 Take him to share in thy counsels ; enlist him in 
 cordial alliance ; 
 
 Leave to his care all those who survive the lost 
 ships, and surrender 
 
 All who are faint in thy cause, and weaned from 
 thy great undertaking ; 
 
 Also the aged men, and the matrons outworn by 
 the voyage ; 715 
 
 Pick out moreover all those that are feeble, and 
 fearful of danger. 
 
 And in these lands let all the disheartened estab- 
 lish a city. 
 
 Which they shall call, if the name be allowed 
 them, the city Acesta." 
 Then, of a truth, aroused by these words of his 
 aged companion, 
 
 Swiftly wandered his mind through all his haras- 
 sing problems. 720 
 
 Meanwhile, chariot-borne, dark Night was enfold- 
 ing the heavens ; 
 
 Gliding then from the sky, the form of his father 
 Anchises 
 
BOOK V 219 
 
 Seemed of a sudden to breathe on the air these 
 
 voicings of counsel : 
 " O my son, ever dearer than life, while life was 
 
 remaining, 
 O my son, sore tried by Ilium's fatal disasters, 725 
 Herald am I from Jove, who hath warded the 
 
 flames from thy galleys. 
 And from the heavenly heights hath looked at last 
 
 in compassion ; 
 Heed the most wise advice which reverend Nautes 
 
 hath given ; 
 Chosen youth and the bravest of hearts into Italy 
 
 carry. 
 Desperate peoples of barbarous breeding, in La- 
 
 tium's borders 739 
 
 Thou must subdue ; and yet the mansions infernal 
 
 of Pluto 
 First thou must visit, my son, and through the 
 
 dark depths of Avernus 
 Seek for a meeting with me ; for me neither Tar- 
 tarus cursed 
 Holds, nor its mournful shades ; but the blessed 
 
 abodes of the righteous. 
 These are my home, and Elysium ; hither the pure- 
 hearted Sibyl, 735 
 Freely shedding the blood of her dusky herd, shall 
 
 conduct thee ; 
 Here all thy progeny thou shalt behold, and the 
 
 city vouchsafed them. 
 Meanwhile, fare thee well ; damp Night from the 
 
 sky is receding, 
 Pitiless Day with his panting steeds is breathing 
 
 upon me." 
 Speaking, he vanished like smoke in the shadowy 
 
 mist of the morning. 740 
 
220 THE ^NEID 
 
 " Whither ? " -^neas exclaims, " ah, whither so 
 
 soon dost thou hasten ? 
 Whom dost thou fear ? or who forbids thee to wait 
 
 my embraces ? " 
 Having thus spoken, he- fans to a flame the slum- 
 bering embers, 
 Honoring on his knees both Pergamene Lar and 
 
 gray Vesta's 
 Chapel with sacred meal, and a casket o'erbrim- 
 
 ming with incense. 745 
 
 Straightway he summons his comrades, Acestes 
 
 first, and discloses 
 Both the commandment of Jove and the words of 
 
 his well-beloved father, 
 Also the purpose on which his mind was now fully 
 
 determined. 
 Nothing delayed his plans, and Acestes refused 
 
 not his bidding. 
 Then they enroll for the town the matrons, and set 
 
 off the people 750 
 
 Willing to stay, even all who were fired by no 
 
 lofty ambition. 
 Then they replace the thwarts, and renew in the 
 
 vessels the timbers 
 Charred by the fire ; and refurnish the galleys 
 
 with oars and with cordage. 
 Scant is their number, but brave are their hearts 
 
 and ardent for warfare. 
 Meanwhile ^neas defines the bounds of a town 
 
 with a furrow ; 755 
 
 Homes he allots, and the town calls Ilium ; while 
 
 the surrounding 
 District is Troy ; and Acestes, the Trojan, rejoices 
 
 to rule it. 
 
BOOK V 221 
 
 Founding a forum, and publishing laws to the 
 council of fathers. 
 
 Then, near the stars, on the summit of Eryx, a 
 temple is builded 
 
 Unto Idalian Venus ; and over the tomb of An- 
 chises 760 
 
 There is a priest installed, and a grove, far hon- 
 ored, is planted. 
 Now for nine days all the people have feasted, 
 and knelt at the altars 
 
 Paying their vows ; light winds have smoothed the 
 face of the waters, 
 
 And once more the freshening breeze is calling 
 them seaward. 
 
 Over the winding shore arises a loud lamenta- 
 tion. 765 
 
 They are delayed for a night and a day in parting 
 embraces ; 
 
 Even the matrons, now, and they to whom lately 
 the ocean 
 
 Seemed so fearful a sight, and its name too fright- 
 ful to utter. 
 
 Wish to go on, and are ready to bear all the bur- 
 dens of exile. 
 
 Kindly ^neas with comforting words consoles 
 them, and, weeping, 770 
 
 Unto the care of Acestes, their common kinsman, 
 commends them. 
 
 Then he commands them to sacrifice three young 
 bullocks to Eryx ; 
 
 Unto the Weather a lamb ; and, at last, to unfas- 
 ten the cables. 
 
 He himself, crowning his head with leaves fresh 
 plucked from the olive. 
 
222 THE ^NEID 
 
 Standing aloft on the prow, upraises a goblet, and 
 sprinkles 775 
 
 Over the salt waves wine, and the inward parts of 
 the victims. 
 
 Springing astern, a breeze arises to prosper their 
 voyage. 
 
 Striking with emulous oars, his comrades are sweep- 
 ing the billows. 
 Meanwhile doth Venus, tormented by cares, take 
 counsel with Neptune ; 
 
 Pouring forth from her breast this torrent of bitter 
 complaining : 780 
 
 "Juno's pitiless wrath, and her ne'er-to-be-sated 
 resentment, 
 
 Force me, O Neptune, to sink to the lowest depths 
 of entreaty ; 
 
 Her, neither lapse of time, nor any devotion ap- 
 peases ; 
 
 Nor is she stilled by fate, nor humbled by Jupi- 
 ter's mandate. 
 
 'T is not enough with unspeakable hate to have 
 ravished their city m 
 
 Out of the heart of the Phrygian race ; to have 
 dragged through all tortures 
 
 All that is left ; she pursues e'en the ashes and 
 bones of the nation 
 
 After its death. Ask her for the cause of so 
 merciless anger. 
 
 Thou wast thyself a late witness for me in the 
 Libyan waters 
 
 What a commotion she raised ; on a sudden com- 
 mingling with heaven 790 
 
 All the wide seas and straits in vain with her blus- 
 tering tempests. 
 
BOOK V 223 
 
 This she hath dared in realms of thine own. 
 
 Lo, she hath even destroyed their ships by her 
 
 wicked devices, 
 Foully seducing the matrons of Troy, and, through 
 
 loss of their vessels. 
 Forced them on unknown shores to abandon their 
 
 friends and companions. 795 
 
 Still there is this to ask, that over thy billows in 
 
 safety 
 They may be suffered to sail, and reach the Lau- 
 
 rentian Tiber, 
 If I seek only our own ; if fate still concedes us 
 
 that city." 
 Then the Saturnian lord of the deep made answer 
 
 as follows : 
 " Every right hast thou to have faith in the sea, 
 
 Cytherea, soo 
 
 Whence thou derivest thy line. I, too, have de- 
 served it, for often 
 I have rebuked the wrath and the fury of sky and 
 
 of ocean. 
 While upon land, no less, let Xanthus and Simois 
 
 witness, 
 I have protected ^neas, thy son ; when Achilles, 
 
 pursuing. 
 Forced to the wall of the city the terrified bands 
 
 of the Trojans, 805 
 
 Gave many thousands to death, and the surfeited 
 
 rivers were groaning. 
 Nor could the Xanthus discover its way, or roll 
 
 itself onward 
 Into the sea ; then I, as he struggled with mighty 
 
 Achilles, 
 Kescued ^neas, o'ermatched in strength and less 
 
 favored by Heaven, 
 
224 THE ^NEID 
 
 Hiding him in a cloud ; although I had rather 
 
 have levelled m 
 
 All the defences of perjured Troy that my hands 
 
 had erected. 
 Still do I cherish the same good will ; no longer be 
 
 troubled ; 
 He shall in safety attain the Avemian port thou 
 
 desirest ; 
 Only one man shall he lose, drawn down in the swirl 
 
 of the waters ; 
 One for many shall die." 815 
 
 When by these words he hath soothed the gladden- 
 ing heart of the goddess, 
 Yokes the father his steeds with gold, and' fits to 
 
 his coursers 
 Foaming bridles, and then, with the reins all 
 
 streaming before him, 
 Light in his azure car he flies o'er the crests of 
 
 the billows. 
 Sink the waves to rest, and, under his thundering 
 
 axle, 820 
 
 Calm grows the face of the deep ; clouds fly from 
 
 the spaces of heaven ; 
 Lo, then a changeful train of huge cetacean mon- 
 sters, 
 Glaucus's ancient choir; Palsemon, the offspring 
 
 of Ino; 
 Also the Tritons swift, and all the retainers of 
 
 Phorcus ; 
 Thetis and Melite marshal the left, and fair Pan- 
 
 opea, 825 
 
 Spio and Thalia next, Cymodoce, too, and Nessea. 
 
 Now, in its turn, sweet joy steals into the heart 
 
 of ^neas 
 
BOOK V 225 
 
 Harassed so long by care ; all masts he bids to be 
 
 quickly 
 Eaised, and sails unfurled and hoisted home to the 
 
 cross-trees. 
 All together tack ship, and veering the billowy 
 
 mainsail 830 
 
 Starboard and port by turns, they shift the taper- 
 ing yardarms 
 Over and back ; and the fleet is borne by favoring 
 
 breezes. 
 Foremost of all, Palinurus was leading the closely 
 
 ranked column. 
 Signals set for the others to follow the course of 
 
 his galley. 
 Now, moreover, had mist-laden night to the zenith 
 
 of heaven 835 
 
 Nearly attained, and the crews, outstretched on the 
 
 hard rowing-benches 
 Under their oars, were sunk in the peaceful aban- 
 don of slumber. 
 When, from the star-studded heavens the shadowy 
 
 Dream-god descending. 
 Parted the yielding air, and scattered the fugitive 
 
 shadows. 
 Seeking for thee, Palinurus, and bringing thee, 
 
 guiltless of evil, 84o 
 
 Evil suggestions in dreams; and aloft on the 
 
 stern of thy galley. 
 Perched in the semblance of Phorbus, he opened 
 
 his lips and addressed thee : 
 " lasides Palinurus, the sea of itself bears thy 
 
 vessels. 
 Steadily breathes the wind ; an hour of repose is 
 
 vouchsafed thee ; 
 
226 THE ^NEID 
 
 Lay down thy head, and steal thy wearied eyes from 
 
 their labor. 845 
 
 I myself, in thy stead, wiU relieve thee awhile 
 
 from thy duties." 
 Scarcely raising his eyes, Palinurus returns him 
 
 this answer : 
 " Biddest thou me not heed the face of the sea 
 
 when it slumbers ? 
 Watch not the sleeping waves? Wouldst have 
 
 me rely on these tokens ? 
 Shall I, indeed, entrust ^neas to treacherous 
 
 breezes ? m 
 
 I, so often deceived by the snare of a cloudless 
 
 horizon ? " 
 Such was the answer he gave, and clinging fast to 
 
 the tiller, 
 Nowise released his hold, and kept his eyes fixed 
 
 on the planets. 
 Lo, then, over his brows a branch with the waters 
 
 of Lethe 
 Dripping, and drugged with death, the god is 
 
 drowsily waving, 855 
 
 Setting the tired eyes free in despite of the pilot's 
 
 resistance. 
 Scarcely had slumber surprised and relaxed the 
 
 limbs of the helmsman. 
 When the incumbent god overpowered him, and 
 
 hurled him down headlong 
 Into the limpid waves, with part of the stern and 
 
 the tiller 
 Torn from the ship, and often in vain calling out 
 
 to his comrades. m 
 
 He himself swiftly arose through the yielding air 
 
 on his pinions. 
 
BOOK V 227 
 
 None the less safely the fleet runs its course o'er 
 the face of the waters, 
 
 Fearlessly forward borne, as father Neptune had 
 promised. 
 
 Now, as still adrift, it was nearing the rocks of the 
 Sirens, 
 
 Direful of old, and white with the hones of num- 
 berless victims, 865 
 
 Hoarsely and far the rocks incessant re-echo the 
 surges. 
 
 Soon as the father perceives that the pilotless ves- 
 sel is drifting. 
 
 He himself guides her course through the midst 
 of the night-darkened waters. 
 
 Frequently sighing, and grieved at heart by the 
 fate of his comrade. 
 
 " Ah ! too sure of a sky serene and an ocean un- 
 troubled, 870 
 
 Stark on an unknown shore, Palinurus, thou liest 
 unburied." 
 
BOOK VI 
 
 Speaking these words with tears, and giving free 
 
 rein to his vessels, 
 Safely he glides at last to the shore of Chalcidian 
 
 Cumse. 
 Seaward they turn their prows ; the stubborn 
 
 tooth of the anchor 
 Firmly secures the ships ; curved sterns are fring- 
 ing the shore-line. 
 Then the young men in troops leap eagerly down 
 
 from the galleys 5 
 
 On the Hesperian strand. Some search out the 
 
 sparks that lie hidden 
 Deeply in veins of flint ; some plunge into forest 
 
 and jungle 
 Haunted by beasts of prey, and bring tidings of 
 
 rivers discovered. 
 Faithful ^neas, however, ascends to the heights 
 
 where Apollo 
 Dwells, and adventures the gloom of the dread 
 
 unapproachable Sibyl, 10 
 
 Even the awful abode of her whom the Delian 
 
 prophet 
 Fills with his own great soul, and the gift of in- 
 spired divination. 
 Now they draw nigh to the groves and golden haUs 
 
 of Diana. 
 Daedalus, fleeing the kingdom of Minos, — so 
 
 runs the tradition, — 
 
BOOK VI 229 
 
 Trusting himself on swift and adventurous wings 
 to the heavens, is 
 
 Mew through the trackless sky toward the glim- 
 mer of frosty Arcturus, 
 
 Never arresting his flight till he gained the Chal- 
 cidian mountain. 
 
 Here, first vxestored to the earth, his feathery oar- 
 age, O Phoebus, 
 
 Unto thyself he vowed, and built thee a marvel- 
 lous temple ; 
 
 Carved on its gate is the death of Androgeos; 
 then, with what pathos, 20 
 
 Stand the Athenians, doomed to surrender in 
 yearly atonement 
 
 Maidens and youths, twice seven; behold the 
 dread urn standing empty ! 
 
 Darkly companioning this, looms the island of 
 Crete from the ocean. 
 
 Here is the mad and incestuous passion of Pasi- 
 phae pictured, 
 
 Here its unnatural fruit, that monster half brute 
 and half human ; 25 
 
 Darkly the Minotaur stands monumental of name- 
 less dishonor. 
 
 Here, too, that marvellous maze with its hopelessly 
 intricate windings ; 
 
 Hopelessly? Nay, for the king hath pitied his 
 love-stricken daughter. 
 
 And hath himself resolved the bewildering plan 
 of the palace, 
 
 Guiding her lover's return by a thread; thou, 
 Icarus, also, 30 
 
 Largely hadst shared in a work so grand, had 
 sorrow permitted. 
 
230 THE ^NEID 
 
 Twice he essayed in gold to picture thy cruel mis- 
 fortune ; 
 
 Twice fell the father's hand. And thus they 
 might long have continued 
 
 Scanning each scene in turn ; but, lo ! their her- 
 ald, Acestes, 
 
 Timely appeared, with Deiphobcj daughter of 
 Glaucus, and priestess 35 
 
 Both of Diana and Phoebus, who spake these 
 words to ^neas : 
 
 "Not such sights as these the present hour is 
 demanding ! 
 
 Now from the virgin herd to slaughter seven bul- 
 locks were better, 
 
 Also as many lambs, selected according to cus- 
 tom." 
 
 Thus she addressed the king, — nor delayed was 
 the sacrifice ordered. 40 
 
 Then to her lofty abode the prophetess summons 
 the Trojans. 
 Vast is the cavern hewn in the side of the moun- 
 tain of Cumse. 
 
 Pathways an hundred are there, wide arching, and 
 portals an hundred. 
 
 Whence, through an hundred mouths, the Sibyl's 
 responses are uttered. 
 
 Them, at the threshold, the virgin arrests: "To 
 question the future, 45 
 
 Now is the time. The god! behold the god!" 
 and, thus crying, 
 
 Suddenly faces the gate, herself nor in feature nor 
 color ; 
 
 Kempt are her tresses no more ; she is gasping, 
 her bosom is heaving ; 
 
BOOK VI 231 
 
 Swells with a frenzy her passionate soul, and tow- 
 'ring above them, 
 
 And with no mortal voice, for the god is now 
 breathing upon her so 
 
 Nearer and still more near; "Dost halt in thy 
 vows and petitions, 
 
 Trojan ^neas," she cries ; " Art silent ? Then 
 never the mighty 
 
 Mouths of this awful shrine shall open ; " and, 
 thus having spoken, 
 
 Ceased, and an icy chill unnerved the strong 
 limbs of the Trojans, 
 
 While from his inmost heart their king poured 
 forth his petitions : 55 
 
 "Phoebus, compassionate ever of Troy's over- 
 whelming disasters ; 
 
 Thou who didst guide the hand and Dardanian 
 arrow of Paris 
 
 'Gainst AchUles' frame, my pilot o'er many dark 
 bUlows, 
 
 Breaking on boundless shores ; my guide to Mas- 
 sylian peoples. 
 
 Far remote ; and to lands far fringed by the Lib- 
 yan Syrtes, eo 
 
 Now that at last we are come to fugitive Italy's 
 seacoast. 
 
 Let it suffice that the Fates of Troy thus far have 
 pursued us. 
 
 Ye, too, well may be reconciled now to the Perga- 
 mene nation, 
 
 Gods and goddesses all, whom Ilium e'er hath 
 offended. 
 
 Or the great Dardan name. And thou, O priest- 
 ess most holy, 65 
 
232 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thou that foreknowest the future, O grant (and 
 
 I ask for no kingdom 
 Promised me not by fate) that Latium harbor the 
 
 Trojans, 
 Shelter their wandering gods and Teueria's trou- 
 bled Penates ; 
 Trivia, then, to thee and to Phoebus a temple of 
 
 massive 
 Marble will I erect, and games shall be named for 
 
 Apollo ; 70 
 
 Thee, too, Sibyl benign, great shrines await in our 
 
 kingdom ; 
 For I will treasure thy oracles there, and the mys- 
 tic arcana 
 Unto our race revealed; and chosen men to thy 
 
 service 
 I will ordain. But, oh, write not upon leaves thy 
 
 responses. 
 Lest, at the sport of the wind, they fly disturbed 
 
 from their order ; 75 
 
 Sing them thyself, I pray." Then, closing his 
 
 lips, he is silent. 
 Not submissive, however, as yet to Apollo, the 
 
 fearful 
 Prophetess raves in the cavern, and still the great 
 
 god from her bosom 
 Hopes to be able to drive ; her frenzied lips the 
 
 more sternly 
 Ruling, Apollo curbs and masters her furious 
 
 spirit. 80 
 
 Now, of their own accord, the ponderous doors of 
 
 the temple 
 Open their hundred mouths, and utter the word of 
 
 the Sibyl. 
 
BOOK VI 233 
 
 " Hail to thee, finally done with the sea and its 
 manifold perils ! 
 
 Graver, however, of land remain. The Dardans 
 shall enter 
 
 Into Lavinian realms ; dismiss this care from thy 
 bosom, — 85 
 
 But they shall likewise repent of their coming, 
 for battles, grim battles 
 
 Now I behold, and the Tiber all foaming with 
 blood and with carnage ! 
 
 Neither shall Simois fail thee, nor Xanthus, nor 
 Doric encampments ; 
 
 Cradled already in Latium rises a second Achilles ; 
 
 Goddess-born, too, is he ; nor e'er will implacable 
 Juno 90 
 
 Far from the Teucrians be ; while thou, as a sup- 
 pliant beggar. 
 
 Where shalt thou wander not, among Italy's na- 
 tions or cities ? 
 
 Sorely the Trojans shall suffer again from a for- 
 eign alliance. 
 
 And from an alien bride. 
 
 Yield not thou to misfortunes, but go the more 
 bravely to meet them, 95 
 
 Up to the limit thy Fates permit. The first way 
 of safety, 
 
 What will surprise thee most, from a town of the 
 Grecians will open." 
 Thus from her hidden shrine the Sibyl of Cumae 
 replying. 
 
 Chanted her fearful enigmas, and thundered them 
 forth from her cavern. 
 
 Darkly involving the truth ; such force, while she 
 rages, Apollo W9 
 
234 THE JENEID 
 
 Uses to urge her on, and goads her wild spirit to 
 
 frenzy. 
 Soon as her raving subsides, and her furious lips 
 
 become silent. 
 Answers ^neas the hero : " O maiden, not one 
 
 of my trials 
 Rises before my view as a startling or strange 
 
 apparition ; 
 I have already imagined them all, and endured 
 
 them in spirit ; 105 
 
 Only since here, we are told, are the gates of the 
 
 monarch infernal. 
 Also the murky pool of the fountain of Acheron, 
 
 be it 
 Mine to look once more on the face of my father 
 
 beloved ; 
 Show me the path to take, throw wide the terrible 
 
 portals ! 
 Him on my shoulders I hurried through flames 
 
 and a thousand pursuing no 
 
 Weapons, and bore him away unharmed from the 
 
 midst of his foemen. 
 Long he companioned my way ; he shared all the 
 
 perils of ocean ; 
 Patiently suffered with me all the threats of the 
 
 sea and the heavens, 
 Weak as he was, and beyond an old man's lot or 
 
 endurance. 
 Nay, it was he who implored and enjoined me to 
 
 go to thy threshold lis 
 
 Seeking thy favor. I humbly entreat thee, kind 
 
 maiden, to pity 
 Father and son, for pow'r unbounded is thine, and 
 
 not vainly 
 
BOOK VI 235 
 
 Hecate set thee here to govern the groves of Aver- 
 nus. 
 
 If, upon tuneful lyre and Thracian cithern rely- 
 ing, 
 
 Orpheus was able to charm Eurydice's spirit from 
 Hades, 120 
 
 If, by dying alternately, Pollux, redeeming his 
 brother. 
 
 Trod and retrod the path so often, why call to re- 
 membrance 
 
 Theseus or Hercules mighty ? I, too, have a birth- 
 right in Heaven." 
 While he was praying thus, and holding the 
 horns of the altar. 
 
 Thus did the Sibyl begin her reply : " O child of 
 Immortals, 125 
 
 Trojan son of Anchises, descent to Avernus is 
 easy; 
 
 Both by night and by day the gates of grim Pluto 
 stand open ; 
 
 But to retrace the step, to get back to the air and 
 the sunlight, 
 
 This is labor and toU. A few have been able to 
 do it. 
 
 Heirs of the gods, whom Jove hath graciously 
 loved, or a quenchless 130 
 
 Valor restored to earth. The space intervening 
 vast forests 
 
 Guard, and Cocytus surrounds with sunless and 
 wandering waters. 
 
 Yet, if so deep the desire of thy heart, if so urgent 
 thy longing 
 
 Twice on the Stygian wave to embark, if twice 
 upon gloomy 
 
236 1 THE ^NEID 
 
 Tartarus thou wouldst gaze, if this labor of mad- 
 ness delight thee, 135 
 
 Hear what must first be done. There 's a tree in 
 the heart of a forest, 
 
 Hiding within its gloom a branch all golden in 
 leafage. 
 
 Golden in stem, and held to be sacred to Stygian 
 Juno. 
 
 This the whole wood surrounds, and buries in val- 
 leys of shadow. 
 
 Yet, before any have leave to descend to the earth's 
 dark abysses, 140 
 
 First he must ravish away from the tree her gol- 
 den-haired children ; 
 
 This for her own delight hath fair Proserpina 
 ordered 
 
 Brought to herself. The first no sooner is plucked, 
 than a second 
 
 Branch of like metal appears, as golden of leaf as 
 the other. 
 
 Search for it, therefore, with eyes uplifted, and, 
 when thou hast found it, 145 
 
 Grasp it with reverent hand, for thee will it wil- 
 lingly follow. 
 
 Needing no force, if the fates are calling thee; 
 otherwise never 
 
 Shalt thou by strength or by toughness of iron be 
 able to move it. 
 
 More than all this, the corse of a comrade of thine 
 lieth lifeless, — 
 
 Thou, alas, knowing it not ! — and pollutes the 
 whole fleet by its presence, 150 
 
 While thou art questioning fate, and lingering 
 here at our threshold. 
 
BOOK VI 237 
 
 Him, to his place of rest, first bear, and bury the 
 body; 
 
 Lead black sheep to the altar ; let this be thy first 
 expiation ; 
 
 So shalt thou look, at last, on the Stygian groves, 
 and the kingdom 
 
 Trackless to living feet." She spake, closed her 
 lips, and was silent. 155 
 
 Now, with steadfast eyes and sorrowful aspect, 
 ^neas 
 
 Walks forth, leaving the cavern, and secretly 
 weighs in his bosom 
 
 Fate's mysterious ways. By his side ever faithful 
 Achates 
 
 Goes as companion, with step as reluctant, and 
 equally anxious. 
 
 Many the thoughts they exchange with each other 
 in wide ranging converse ; I60 
 
 Which of their friends could the prophetess speak 
 of as lifeless ? What body 
 
 Waited for burial? Then, as they came, they 
 beheld on the sandy 
 
 Shore, bereft of life by a death he deserved not, 
 Misenus ; 
 
 Yes, Misenus, bolides, ever the foremost in rous- 
 ing 
 
 Men to the fight with his bugle, and kindling the 
 battle with music. les 
 
 He the friend of great Hector had been, and to- 
 gether with Hector 
 
 Eushed into battle, conspicuous both for his spear 
 and his trumpet. 
 
 Then, after Hector had died by the sword of tri- 
 umphant Achilles, 
 
238 THE iENEID 
 
 Unto ^neas, the Dardan, Misenus transferred his 
 
 allegiance, 
 Bravest of heroes, himself, nor found a less noble ,. 
 
 commander. no 
 
 But when it chanced that he deafened the sea with 
 
 his echoing conch-shell, 
 When, with his trumpet, he challenged the gods to 
 
 a contest of music. 
 Then, if the story be true, in the fury of envy had 
 
 Triton 
 Caught him amid the rocks, and drowned him in 
 
 foam-crested surges. 
 So, with loud lament, they all were mourning 
 
 around him, 175 
 
 Chiefly devoted ^neas. And then the commands 
 
 of the Sibyl, 
 Weeping, but tarrying not, they haste to obey, and 
 
 they labor 
 Gathering trees, and piling them high for a funeral 
 
 altar. 
 Seeking the forest old, the majestic abode of wild 
 
 creatures, 
 Resinous pines crash down ; the holm-oak rings 
 
 with their axes ; iso 
 
 Ashen logs and straight-grained oaks are riven by 
 
 wedges ; 
 Down from the hills they roll the trunks of huge 
 
 mountain ash-trees. 
 Here, too, amid such toil, ^neas, as ever the 
 
 leader. 
 Urges his comrades on, and is girded with tools 
 
 like the others. 
 He with his own sad heart, however, is deeply com- 
 muning, 185 
 
BOOK VI 239 
 
 Scanning the boundless wood, and at last gives 
 voice to his longing : 
 
 "Now, if that golden bough should suddenly 
 gleam on our vision. 
 
 Out of a forest so vast ! since all things the pro- 
 phetess truly, — 
 
 Ah, as relates to thee, Misenus, — too truly hath 
 spoken." 
 
 Scarce hath he uttered these words, when a pair of 
 wild doves chance to flutter mo 
 
 Down from the sky overhead right under the eyes 
 of ^neas, 
 
 Till on the verdant earth they rest. Then the 
 greatest of heroes 
 
 Recognizes the birds of his Mother, and prays with 
 rejoicing : 
 
 " Ah, if there be any path, may ye be my guides, 
 through the heavens 
 
 Winging your way to the groves where the golden- 
 leaved bough overshadows 195 
 
 Darkly the forest mould ; and do thou in my blind- 
 ness be near me, 
 
 O my mother divine ! " So speaking, he halted 
 his footsteps, 
 
 Watching what omen they bear, and whither their 
 course may be tending. 
 
 Gleaning and feeding they flutter before, but with 
 flight never longer 
 
 Than can be kept in view by the keen-eyed watch- 
 ers who follow. 200 
 
 Now, when later they come to the pestilent gulf 
 of Avernus, 
 
 Swiftly they rise aloft, and, through the clear at- 
 mosphere gliding, 
 
240 THE ^NEID 
 
 Deep in the two-fold tree sink down in their favo- 
 
 rite covert, 
 Whence the contrasted hue of gold gleams out 
 
 through the branches. 
 As in the cold of December the mistletoe, deep in 
 
 the forest, 205 
 
 Nursed by an alien tree, is wont to grow green 
 
 with new leafage. 
 While with a burgeon of sunshine it brightens the 
 
 tapering tree-trunks ; 
 So from the dark holm-oak flashed a vision of 
 
 foliage golden, 
 So in the gentle breeze the leaves of gold softly- 
 rustled. 
 Quickly -ZEneas hath seized it, and eagerly, spite 
 
 of its clinging, 210 
 
 Plucks it, and bears it away to the shrine of the 
 
 soothsaying Sibyl. 
 Meanwhile, with no less devotion, the Teucrians 
 
 mourn for Misenus, 
 Paying to thankless clay the last sad rites, by the 
 
 seashore. 
 Rich with resinous pine, and big with hewn oaken 
 
 timbers. 
 First they build a pyre, interweaving the sides with 
 
 dark branches, 215 
 
 Also arranging in front thick rows of funereal 
 
 cypress. 
 While they adorn it above with the glittering arms 
 
 of Misenus. 
 Some, with lotions warm and caldrons hot from 
 
 the embers. 
 Bathe the cold limbs of the dead, and anoint the 
 
 inanimate body. 
 
BOOK VI 241 
 
 Wailings arise, and now, with tears, they are lay- 
 ing the body 220 
 
 Down on the couch, over all disposing his gar- 
 ments of purple, 
 
 Eaiment remembered well. Then others draw 
 nigh the great altar, — 
 
 Sorrowful service, — applying the torch, and avert- 
 ing their faces 
 
 After the way of their fathers, and offerings burn 
 in profusion, — 
 
 Frankincense, flesh of beasts, and jars of the oil 
 of the olive. 225 
 
 After the ashes had sifted down and the flame had 
 subsided, 
 
 Wine o'er the cinders they poured, and cooled the 
 hot thirst of the embers. 
 
 While, in an urn of bronze, the gathered bones 
 Corynseus 
 
 Covered, and thrice around his comrades passed 
 with pure water. 
 
 Flinging a delicate spray from a branch of the 
 fruit-bearing olive, 230 
 
 Purifying the men and pronoimcing the last bene- 
 diction. 
 
 But god-fearing ^neas a massive tomb hath 
 erected, 
 
 Setting upon it the arms of the hero, his oar and 
 his trumpet. 
 
 Under a cloud-capped hiU, stiU called by Italians, 
 Misenus, 
 
 So that his name lives on through the ages forever 
 and ever. 235 
 
 When this is finished he quickly obeys the com- 
 mand of the Sibyl. 
 
242 THE ^NEID 
 
 There was a bottomless pit, wide yawning with 
 
 frightful abysses, 
 Jagged, and guarded by darkening waves and 
 
 shadowy forests. 
 Over which none of the birds that fly had ever 
 
 been able 
 Safely to wing their way, so deadly and dense 
 
 exhalations 240 
 
 Kose from its murky throat to the lofty dome of 
 
 the heavens ; 
 Wherefore this dismal lake had been named by 
 
 the Grecians, Avernus. 
 Here hath the priestess at first ranged four black 
 
 bullocks in order. 
 Then on the brow of each a libation of wine is 
 
 outpouring. 
 And from between the horns, the hairs that are 
 
 uppermost plucking, 245 
 
 These on the sacred fire she lays as the first expi- 
 ation, 
 Hecate loudly invoking, who rules both in HeU 
 
 and in Heaven. 
 Others draw knife to the throat, and catch the hot 
 
 blood in their goblets ; 
 While ^neas himself a black-fleeced lamb with 
 
 his sword-blade. 
 Unto the Mother of Furies and unto her powerful 
 
 sister 250 
 
 Slays, and a barren cow, to thee, O Proserpina, 
 
 offers. 
 Then to the Stygian king he consecrates altars at 
 
 midnight. 
 Laying upon the flames the inward parts of the 
 
 bullocks, 
 
BOOK VI 243 
 
 Firm and unbroken, and pouring rich oil on the 
 
 hot blazing vitals. 
 But, as the first faint flush of morning foretokened 
 
 the sunrise, 255 
 
 Rumbled the earth beneath, and a waving began 
 
 in the topmost 
 Boughs of the forest, and hounds bayed loud in 
 
 the darkness to herald 
 Hecate's advent. " Avaunt ! Avaunt, ye profane," 
 
 cried the Sibyl ; 
 " Far be your feet withdrawn ; depart one and all 
 
 from the forest ! 
 But, do thou dare the way, thy sword pluck forth 
 
 from the scabbard ; 260 
 
 Now hadst thou needs be bold, now steadfast of 
 
 heart, O ^neas ! " 
 Speaking no more, she hath flung herself fren- 
 
 ziedly into the cavern. 
 He, with resolute step, keeps pace with the stride 
 
 of his escort. 
 Gods, whose dominion is over the dead ! and ye, 
 
 voiceless shadows ! 
 Chaos, and Phlegethon, too, ye realms far silent 
 
 in darkness, 265 
 
 Sanction me now to reveal the things I have heard ; 
 
 let me open 
 Mysteries hid in the depths of the earth beneath 
 
 her dark vapor. 
 Under the shield of the silent night they went 
 
 through the shadow, 
 Through the unpeopled abodes of Dis, and his 
 
 ghostly dominions, 
 As by the treacherous light of the faithless moon, 
 
 in a forest, wo 
 
244 THE iENEID 
 
 Travellers pass when Jove hath buried the heavens 
 in shadow, 
 
 And dark night hath stolen the color from every 
 object. 
 
 Hard by the mouth of Hell, where yawn the wide 
 portals infernal, 
 
 Grief and avenging Care have fixed their slumber- 
 less couches ; 
 
 Here wan Sickness dwells, with wretched Age for 
 a neighbor, 275 
 
 Sordid Penury, too, and Fear, and desperate Fam- 
 ine ; 
 
 Shapes that affright the eye ; and Death and Lar 
 bor and Slumber, 
 
 Dull twin brother to Death, and the guilty Joys of 
 the spirit. 
 
 Near to the opposite portal, lo ! death-dealing 
 War is abiding ; 
 
 There are the iron cells of the Furies, and Dis- 
 cord, in frenzy 280 
 
 Binding together her viperous tresses with blood- 
 crimsoned fillets. 
 Midway, a gloomy elm vast boughs and centuried 
 branches 
 
 Giant-like stretches abroad, and there false dreams 
 have their dwelling, — 
 
 So it is said, — - and beneath all the leaves they are 
 swarming and clinging. 
 
 There are the phantoms besides of a myriad mon- 
 sters prodigious ; 285 
 
 Centaurs are stalled in the entrance, with Scylla, 
 half beast and half human. 
 
 Hundred-handed Briareus, too, and the Dragon of 
 Lerna, 
 
BOOK VI 245 
 
 Horribly hissing ; and, armed with breathings of 
 flame, the Chimsera ; 
 
 Gorgons, and Harpies dire, and Geryon's three- 
 headed spectre. 
 
 Then, in sudden alarm, -.Eneas, unsheathing his 
 dagger, 290 
 
 Flashes the naked blade in defiance of all who 
 approach him ; 
 
 And did his wiser guide not warn him that light, 
 unsubstantial 
 
 Beings are flitting about in the shadowy semblance 
 of bodies, 
 
 He would rush on, and in vain with steel strike 
 shadows asunder. 
 Hence is the way that leads to Tartarean Ache- 
 ron's billows ; 295 
 
 Here, aroil with slime, and with vortex vast, is a 
 whirlpool, 
 
 Seething, and all its mud disgorging into Cocy- 
 tus. 
 
 Guarding these waters and floods is a boatman, 
 beheld with a shudder, 
 
 Charon, of terrible filth, whose great gray beard 
 all neglected 
 
 Flows from his chin; his eyes out-standing like 
 fiery torches, soo 
 
 Dingy the mantle and foul that hangs in a knot 
 from his shoulders. 
 
 Poling his barge himself, he handles the sails un- 
 assisted. 
 
 While in his dusky skiff he ferries the dead o'er 
 the river ; 
 
 Old, even now, but a god's old age is ruddy and 
 rugged. 
 
246 THE ^NEID 
 
 Hither a straggling crowd were all rushing down 
 
 to the margin, — 305 
 
 Matrons and men, and the souls, discharged from 
 
 life's duty, of heroes 
 Valiant of heart, and of boys, and unmarried girls, 
 
 and of children 
 Laid on funeral pyres before the sad eyes of their 
 
 parents. 
 Many as are the leaves that fall at the first cold of 
 
 autumn 
 Far in the forest, or thick as the birds that from 
 
 Ocean's deep waters 310 
 
 Gather in flight to land when icy Winter pursues 
 
 them 
 Over the billows, and urges them on to a sunnier 
 
 climate. 
 Standing there, then, they begged to be first in 
 
 making the crossing ; 
 Stretching out their hands to the further shore in 
 
 entreaty ; 
 But the inflexible ferryman, choosing now one, 
 
 now another, 315 
 
 Drives the others away far back from the banks 
 
 of the river. 
 Moved and amazed by the tumult, -ZEneas cries, 
 
 " Tell me, O maiden. 
 What is the will of this multitude thronging the 
 
 bank of the river ? 
 What do these souls desire? Or say with what 
 
 discrimination 
 These retire from the shore, while those are swept 
 
 o'er the dark waters ? " 320 
 
 Briefly the prophetess old replied to the question 
 
 as follows : — 
 
BOOK VI 247 
 
 " Son of Anehises, assuredly sprung from the 
 
 gods, thou art looking 
 Down on the Stygian lake, and the slumbering 
 
 depths of Cocytus, 
 Taking an oath in whose name e'en the gods are 
 
 afraid to be faithless. 
 All this throng thou beholdest are poor and unfu- 
 
 neraled people ; 325 
 
 Yonder old ferryman, Charon ; those crossing the 
 
 river, the buried ; 
 None may he bear across these dreadful shores and 
 
 hoarse waters, 
 TiU in their quiet graves their bodies are peace- 
 fully sleeping. 
 Near to these banks for an hundred years they 
 
 wander and hover. 
 Then are permitted once more to return to the 
 
 coveted waters." 330 
 
 Paused the son of Anehises, and halted his hurry- 
 ing footsteps. 
 Pondering deeply, and touched to the heart by their 
 
 grievous condition. 
 Broken by grief and bereft of funereal honors, 
 
 Leucaspis 
 There he beholds, and Orontes who captained the 
 
 Lycian squadron. 
 Whom, as together they sailed from Troy o'er 
 
 tempestuous billows, 335 
 
 Blasts from the south overwhelmed, and sunk both 
 
 the ship and the sailors. 
 Hastening eagerly forward, behold Palinurus, 
 
 the pilot ! 
 Who, but now, while he watched the stars on the 
 
 voyage from Carthage, 
 
248 THE ^NEID 
 
 Fell from the lofty stern and was lost in the midst 
 
 of the billows. 
 When through the darkness he recognized dimly 
 
 the sorrowful features, 340 
 
 Thus he was first to speak. " What one of the 
 
 gods, Palinurus, 
 Snatched thee away from our ship, and buried thee 
 
 deep in the ocean ? 
 Quick ! thy reply, for my faith, in this response 
 
 only, Apollo — 
 Never before found false — hath betrayed ; for he 
 
 sang that from ocean 
 Thou shouldst receive no harm ; and he sang that 
 
 Ausonia's borders 345 
 
 Thou shouldst attain. Alas ! is it thus he redeem- 
 
 eth his promise ? " 
 He, however, replied ; " O son of Anchises, nor 
 
 Phcfibus 
 Thee hath deceived, nor me hath a god over- 
 whelmed in the ocean ; 
 For as I headlong fell, I chanced to drag with me 
 
 the tiller 
 Forcibly wrenched away, to which, as its author- 
 ized keeper, 350 
 Firmly I clung, and directed our course; wUd 
 
 waves, be my witness. 
 None so great fear for myself then seized me, as 
 
 fear for thy vessel. 
 Lest, of her rudder bereft, and suddenly robbed 
 
 of her pilot, 
 She should despair in the midst of so rude and 
 
 tempestuous surges. 
 Over the boundless sea, three dark stormy nights 
 
 through the water 355 
 
BOOK VI 249 
 
 "Violent winds from the south impelled me. The 
 
 fourth day was dawning 
 When from the top of a wave, high tossing, I 
 
 faintly discovered 
 Italy, toward whose shores I wearily swam, and 
 
 had gained them, 
 Had not a barbarous people, in vain expectation 
 
 of plunder. 
 Fallen upon me with swords, as, heavy with brine- 
 dripping garments, seo 
 Clutching with fingers bent, I grappled the sharp 
 
 rocky ledges. 
 Me doth the flood now hold, and winds roll about 
 
 on the seashore. 
 But, by the pleasant light, by heaven's sweet air, 
 
 I implore thee, 
 By thy filial love, by the promise of rising lulus, 
 Rescue me from these waves, thou hero unvan- 
 
 quished, by sprinkling 365 
 
 Earth on my bones, — thou canst, by searching 
 
 the port of Velinum ; 
 Or, if there be any way, if thy mother divine any 
 
 guidance 
 Giveth (for not, I believe, without the approval of 
 
 Heaven 
 Thou art attempting to pass these floods and Sty- 
 gian waters), ^ ' 
 Give a poor wretch thine hand, and carry me, too, 
 
 o'er the billows, 370 
 
 So that, at least in death, I may peacefully rest 
 
 from my labors." 
 Such were the words he spake, and thus did the 
 
 prophetess answer : 
 "Whence this longing of thine, so impious, O 
 
 Palinurus ? 
 
250 THE ^NEID 
 
 Shalt thou, unburied, behold the Stygian wave, or 
 
 the cruel 
 Eiver of Furies, or tread unbidden the marge of 
 
 the river ? 375 
 
 Banish the hope that the Fates of the gods can be 
 
 changed by entreaty. 
 None the less cherish these words to solace thy 
 
 bitter misfortunes. 
 Far and wide through their cities pursued by the 
 
 portents of Heaven, 
 They that live near to thy bones shall pay them 
 
 the rites of atonement ; 
 They shall both build thee a tomb, and bear to 
 
 the tomb their oblations, m 
 
 So that the place shall preserve thy name, Palinu- 
 
 rus, forever." 
 Then by these words are his cares removed ; from 
 
 the sorrowful spirit 
 Slowly is grief dispelled ; in the name-honored 
 
 land he rejoices. 
 So they continue their journey begun, and draw 
 
 nigh to the river. 
 Now as the Stygian ferryman looked from the 
 
 wave, and perceived them ass 
 
 Threading the silent wood, and shoreward bend- 
 ing their footsteps, 
 Straightway attacking with words, he angrily chal- 
 lenged their coming : — 
 " Thou, whoever thou art, who bravest our stream 
 
 with thy weapons. 
 Speak ! Why comest thou ? Halt ! Reply, but 
 
 advance at thy peril. 
 This is the region of shades, of sleep, and of 
 
 slumberous midnight. m 
 
BOOK VI 251 
 
 Living bodies to bear in our Stygian craft is for- 
 bidden. 
 When I received on the lake Alcides himself at 
 
 his coming, 
 It was no joy to me ; nor Pirithous pleased me, nor 
 
 Theseus, 
 Though they were sprung from the gods and were 
 
 also by mortals unvanquished. 
 That one seized with his hands the warder of Hell, 
 
 and he dragged him 395 
 
 Forth from the very throne of the King, enchained 
 
 and affrighted ; 
 These attempted to force the Queen from the 
 
 chamber of Pluto." 
 Briefly to him replied the Amphrysian Sibyl as 
 
 follows : — 
 " No such insidious plots are here — thy fear is 
 
 ungrounded ; 
 Nor do our arms bring force. Lo, still in his den 
 
 your gigantic «o 
 
 Warder may bark his fill, and frighten pale 
 
 shadows forever ; 
 Still by her uncle's door may chaste Proserpina 
 
 linger. 
 Trojan ^neas, renowned alike for his faith and 
 
 his valor. 
 Through the profoundest shades of Erebus goes to 
 
 his father. 
 If thou art not constrained by so noble a proof of 
 
 devotion, *"' 
 
 Yet this branch " — and she showed him the 
 
 branch that lay hid in her bosom — 
 " Thou mayest know." His heart then sinks from 
 
 its tumult of passion ; 
 
252 THE ^NEID 
 
 Speaking no more, and awed by the mystical gift 
 of the fateful 
 
 Branch not seen before for many a year, the dull 
 colored 
 
 Vessel he turned about, and pushed in close into 
 the margin. 4io 
 
 Then, the unbodied shades, that on the long 
 benches were huddled, 
 
 Routing, he cleared the boat, at the same time into 
 its hollow 
 
 Taking unwieldy ^neas, beneath whose weight the 
 stitched shallop 
 
 Groaned, and its leaky sides drank deep of the 
 trickling water. 
 
 Over the stream at last, unharmed, both Sibyl and 
 hero 415 
 
 Deep in a dismal swamp, 'mid sea-green sedges he 
 landed. 
 
 Cerberus, stretching his monstrous bulk in an op- 
 posite cavern. 
 
 Makes these regions resound with the noise of his 
 
 • three-throated howling. 
 
 Now, as she sees his necks upbristling with ser- 
 pents, the seeress 
 
 Flings him a sop imbrued with honey and somno- 
 lent juices. m 
 
 He, with hunger mad, his three throats widely dis- 
 tending, 
 
 Catches it ere it falls, and, relaxing his powerful 
 haunches, 
 
 Prone on the earth lies huge along the whole length 
 of the cavern. 
 
 Seizing the pass, while its keeper is buried in 
 slumber, ^neas 
 
BOOK VI 253 
 
 Swiftly withdraws from the brink of the river 
 none ever recrosses. 425 
 
 Presently cries are heard, and the sound of a 
 great lamentation, 
 
 And, at the outer gate, the wailing spirits of chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Babes unsharing in life's delight, and torn from 
 the bosom. 
 
 Whom a dark day bore away, and plunged into 
 Death's bitter waters. 
 
 Next abide those condemned to death upon false 
 accusation ; 430 
 
 Nor are these places assigned without formal allot- 
 ment of judges ; 
 
 Minos, presiding, impanels a jury, assembling a 
 silent 
 
 Council of ghosts, and investigates fully their lives 
 and transgressions. 
 
 Stations next these are reserved for the sorrowing 
 spirits, who guiltless. 
 
 By their own hands found death, and hurled their 
 souls into darkness, 435 
 
 Loathing the light. But, ah ! how willingly now 
 would they suffer 
 
 Hunger and bitter toil, if restored to the land of 
 the living ! 
 
 Heaven forbids, and the mournful ooze of deso- 
 late marshes 
 
 Holds, and the Styx restrains, nine times enfolded 
 around them. 
 
 Near by, also, are shown the Plains of Lamenta- 
 tion, — «o 
 
 Such is the name they bear, — extending far over 
 the valley. 
 
254 THE ^NEID 
 
 Here lone pathways hide, and groves of myrtle 
 o'ershadow 
 
 Those whom pitiless love hath wasted with cruel 
 repining ; 
 
 Not in death itself are they freed from the thral- 
 dom of passion. 
 
 Phaedra and Procris he saw, and there he saw sad 
 Eryphyle, 445 
 
 Showing the wounds received from her cruel son ; 
 and Evadne, 
 
 Pasiphae, also; with whom Laodamia went as com- 
 panion ; 
 
 Cseneus, too, now changed once more from a man 
 to a maiden, 
 
 Dowered again by fate with the vanished grace of 
 her girlhood ; 
 
 Compassed about by whom, her bosom still bleed- 
 ing, Phoenician 450 
 
 Dido came wandering on in the boundless wood, 
 and the Trojan 
 
 Hero, soon as he stood by her side and distin- 
 guished her shadowed 
 
 Form, as one who sees, or thinks he hath seen, in 
 the early 
 
 Dawn of the month, amid clouds, a glimmer of 
 silvery moonlight. 
 
 Burst into tears, and spoke with tenderest words 
 of affection : 455 
 
 " Then were the tidings true that reached me, un- 
 fortunate Dido ? 
 
 ' Dido is dead ; by the sword she hath ended her 
 life and her trouble.' 
 
 Ah, and have I been the cause of thy death ? I 
 swear by the heavens. 
 
» BOOK VI 255 
 
 By the great gods above, by whatsoe'er oath Hell 
 regardeth, 
 
 Not of mine own desire, O Queen, did I loose 
 from thy harbor ; 46o 
 
 But the commands of the gods, that are driving 
 me now through these shadows, 
 
 Through this wilderness tangle of thorn and mid- 
 night darkness. 
 
 By their own power constrained ; nor could I at all 
 have imagined 
 
 That I should bring thee by going so grievous a 
 burden of sorrow. 
 
 Stay thine impatient feet ! withdraw thyseK not 
 from our presence. 465 
 
 Whom dost thou flee ? These words are the last 
 fate grants us forever." 
 
 Thus did ^neas endeavor to soothe her implaca- 
 ble spirit. 
 
 And to bring tears to the eyes where fierce indig- 
 nation was burning. 
 
 She, with averted face, remained looking fixedly 
 downward. 
 
 Changed in expression no more, as ^neas began 
 to entreat her, «o 
 
 Than if hard flint she stood, or a rock on the 
 mount of Marpessa. 
 
 Finally, breaking away, unrelenting, she hurries 
 for refuge 
 
 Into the shadowy grove, and there her first lover, 
 Sychaeus, 
 
 Comforts her every care, and answers her heart's 
 deepest longing. 
 
 Nevertheless, dismayed by her undeserved anguish, 
 ^neas «5 
 
256 THE ^NEID . 
 
 Follows her far on her way with tears of compas- 
 sion and sorrow. 
 
 Thence his allotted way he toils ; and now they are 
 gaining 
 
 Those most distant fields reserved for illustrious 
 heroes. 
 
 Tydeus meets him here, and Parthenopajus, distin- 
 guished 
 
 Highly in war ; here, too, appears the pale shade 
 of Adrastus ; 48o 
 
 Here, lamented on earth, the Dardanians fallen in 
 battle. 
 
 Whom in a long array, beholding, he groaned in 
 his spirit. 
 
 Glaucus he recognized there, Thersilochus also, 
 and Medon, 
 
 Three of Antenor's line, Polyphsetes, the servant 
 of Ceres, 
 
 Also Idseus, who still retained both his car and his 
 armor. 485 
 
 Frequent to right and left the spirits come throng- 
 ing about him. 
 
 Nor does one look suffice ; they are ever delighted 
 to linger. 
 
 Eager to walk by his side, and question the cause 
 of his coming. 
 
 Ah ! but the chiefs of the Greeks, and Agamem- 
 non's battalions. 
 
 When they behold the man and his glittering arms 
 through the shadows, 490 
 
 Tremble with deadly fear ; and some turn their 
 backs in confusion. 
 
 Or, as of yore, retreat to their ships ; others raise 
 unavailing 
 
BOOK VI 257 
 
 Cries ; their voices die on lips wide parted, but 
 
 silent. 
 Here Deiphobus, too, son of Priam, he sees, with 
 
 his body 
 Wounded from head to foot, his features all cru- 
 elly mangled ; 495 
 Marred are his face and his hands ; his temples are 
 
 robbed of their beauty ; 
 Shorn are his ears, and his nose by a hideous cut 
 
 is disfigured. 
 Hardly he knew him at all, as he tremblingly cot- 
 
 ered his frightful 
 Wounds, yet he instantly spoke in his well-known 
 
 voice to the hero : — 
 " Valiant and mighty Deiphobus, sprung from the 
 
 proud blood of Teucer, 500 
 
 Who hath desired to inflict so cruel a punishment 
 
 on thee ? 
 Who hath been suffered to injure thee thus? It 
 
 was rumored among us 
 During that fatal night, that exhausted by killing 
 
 so many, 
 Thou hadst fallen at last on a mound of Pelasgian 
 
 corpses. 
 Then on the Rhoetian shore, by a cenotaph raised 
 
 in thine honor, 505 
 
 Taking my stand, I called three times and aloud 
 
 on thy spirit ; 
 Now thy name and thine arms are guarding the 
 
 place ; thee, my comrade, 
 Vainly I sought, ere departing, to lay in the soil 
 
 of thy country." 
 Answered the son of Priam : " My friend, thou 
 
 hast nothing neglected ; 
 
258 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thou hast done all for Deiphobus, aU for the spirit 
 
 departed. sio 
 
 Naught but my fate and the murderous crime of 
 
 the Spartan hath plunged me 
 Into these ills ; it is she that hath left me these 
 
 marks of remembrance ; 
 For, how that fatal night we passed in ill-founded 
 
 rejoicing, 
 Well dost thou know, too well to need any word 
 
 of reminder. 
 Soon as the fatal horse leaped over our towering 
 
 ramparts, as 
 
 Pregnant with steel, and filled with a legion of 
 
 soldiers in armor, 
 She, on pretence of a festival, marshalled the 
 
 Phrygian matrons, 
 Dancing with Bacchanal songs, herself in the midst 
 
 with a flaming 
 Torch, and she called to the Greeks from the lof- 
 tiest point of the fortress. 
 Me, with care f orespent, and buried in sleep, my 
 
 ill omened 520 
 
 Chamber was sheltering then ; and a deep and 
 
 delectable slumber, 
 Likest the stupor of death, was weighing me down 
 
 as I lay there. 
 Meanwhile my excellent wife had removed all my 
 
 arms from the palace, 
 Even my faithful sword she had stolen from under 
 
 my pillow ; 
 Into the palace she called Menelaus ; my door she 
 
 threw open, 525 
 
 Hoping, forsooth, to bestow a most precious re- 
 ward on her lover. 
 
BOOK VI 259 
 
 Ay ! and that thus might be purged all the sin 
 and the shame of her lifetime. 
 
 Why do I linger ? They burst my door ; one com- 
 rade is added, 
 
 Even that father of crime, Ulysses. Ye gods I 
 to the Grecians 
 
 Recompense grant in kind, if I with clean lips de- 
 mand vengeance ! 530 
 
 But, in return, say, now, what chances have 
 brought thee, still living, 
 
 Into this place ? Dost come by ocean wanderings 
 driven ; 
 
 Or by the gods' decree ? or what is the fortune 
 constrains thee 
 
 Saddened and sunless abodes and realms of confu- 
 sion to visit? " 
 While they exchanged these words, already Au- 
 rora had traversed, 535 
 
 High in her rosy car, the meridian line of the 
 heavens. 
 
 All their allotted time might perhaps have been 
 spent in this manner. 
 
 But their companion gave warning, and briefly the 
 Sibyl admonished : — 
 
 " Night rushes on, O ^neas ; we squander our 
 moments in weeping ; 
 
 This is the place where the path divides into oppo- 
 site courses; mo 
 
 One on the right to the city of Pluto the mighty 
 extending ; — 
 
 We to Elysium thus ; — but that on the left retri- 
 bution 
 
 Brings to the damned, and sends them down to 
 regions infernal." 
 
260 THE iENEID 
 
 Answered Deiphobus, " Nay, great priestess, give 
 
 over thine anger, 
 I will depart, I will fill the roll, and return to the 
 
 shadows : 545 
 
 Onward, our Glory, on ! Improve thine happier 
 
 fortunes ! " 
 So much only he spake, and speaking turned back- 
 ward his footsteps. 
 Quickly ^neas looks back, and sees a broad 
 
 city extending 
 Under a clifE to the left, siu-rounded by triplicate 
 
 bulwarks. 
 Round it the swift flowing stream of Tartarean 
 
 Phlegethon rushes, sso 
 
 Surging with flames of fire, and roaring through 
 
 rock-laden channel. 
 Huge was the gate in front, with impregnable 
 
 adamant columns. 
 So that no might of man, nor e'en the battalions 
 
 of Heaven 
 Warring against it prevail ; high looms the grim 
 
 fortress of iron ; 
 While Tisiphone, girt with her blood-dripping 
 
 mantle, is crouching, 555 
 
 Guarding the entrance by night and by day with 
 
 no respite of slumber. 
 Hence from afar deep groans were heard, and the 
 
 echo of cruel 
 Scourging, and dragging of chains, and the sound 
 
 of the clanking of iron. 
 Halted -^neas, and stood dismayed by the noise, 
 
 and bewildered. 
 " What are these forms of crime ? Speak boldly, 
 
 O maiden, and answer. seo 
 
BOOK VI 261 
 
 What are the pains they bear ? "Why rises this 
 wailing to heaven ? " 
 
 Thus, then, the priestess replied : " O glorious 
 chief of the Trojans, 
 
 No pure spirit is suffered to pass that threshold 
 infernal ; 
 
 But, when great Hecate placed the Avernian 
 grove in my keeping, 
 
 She, herself, showed me all Hell, and taught me 
 the judgments of Heaven. 565 
 
 Over these stern domains, Bhadamanthus, the 
 Cretan, presiding. 
 
 Tortures hypocrisy true, and forces the false to 
 confession 
 
 Even of crime committed on earth, whose late ex- 
 piation 
 
 Any deferred until death, exulting in futile decep- 
 tion. 
 
 Armed with her scourges, avenging Tisiphone 
 lashes the guilty, 570 
 
 Ceaselessly taunting their woe, her left hand lift- 
 ing her cruel 
 
 Serpents on high, and she calls her pitiless army 
 of sisters. 
 
 Then, with a creaking of harsh, grating hinges, 
 the terrible portals 
 
 Open before them at last. Dost see what manner 
 of warden 
 
 Sits in the outer porch, what a shape is on guard 
 at the threshold ? 575 
 
 Hydra, more cruel and huge, her fifty dark mouths 
 gaping open. 
 
 Watches the gate within ; then Tartarus, yawning 
 before you. 
 
262 THE ^NEID 
 
 Plunges as far again sheer down into regions of 
 
 darkness 
 As to our upward gaze high tower the crests of 
 
 Olympus. 
 Here do the first-born children of Earth, her off- 
 spring Titanic, m 
 Hurled by the thunder down, still writhe in its 
 
 deepest abysses. 
 Here, too, I saw the Aloidan twins, gigantic of 
 
 stature, 
 Who with their hands essayed to rend the vast 
 
 arch of the heavens, 
 And to thrust Jupiter down from his throne of 
 
 celestial dominion. 
 There, too, I witnessed the fearful atonement Sal- 
 
 moneus rendered, 585 
 
 Daring to imitate Jupiter's fire, and Olympian 
 
 thunder. 
 Borne in a four-horse car, and brandishing torches, 
 
 he proudly 
 Passed through the tribes of Greece, and the prin- 
 cipal city of Elis. 
 Madman ! to claim for himself the honor due only 
 
 to Heaven, 
 Counterfeiting with brass and the horny hoofs of 
 
 his horses 590 
 
 Cloud, and tempest, and hail, and the matchless 
 
 voice of the thunder ! 
 But, from an angry sky, one bolt the omnipotent 
 
 Father 
 Hurling, — not firebrands, he, nor flaring and 
 
 smouldering torches, — 
 Dashed him headlong down by the awful breath 
 
 of his lightning. 
 
BOOK VI 263 
 
 Tityos, son of all-mothering earth, could be recog- 
 nized also, 595 
 
 Stretched on the ground, his frame o'er nine whole 
 
 acres extending. 
 While, with its curving beak, a ravenous vulture 
 
 forever 
 Tearing his undying liver and vitals prolific of tor- 
 ment. 
 Worries about for its food, and under his ribs' 
 
 lofty arches 
 Ever abides, and allows no rest to the burgeoning 
 
 fibres. 600 
 
 Why of the Lapithse speak, of Pirithous, or of 
 
 Ixion, 
 Whom a dark rock overhangs, ever slipping, and 
 
 trembling, and seeming 
 Certain to fall ; the frames of grand and luxuri- 
 ous couches 
 Glitter with gold, and feasts that a monarch might 
 
 envy are standing 
 Full in their view ; but the chief of the Furies, 
 
 couching beside them, 605 
 
 Instantly leaps to her feet if they stretch forth 
 
 their hands to the tables, 
 Beating them back with her torch, and thundering 
 
 curses, upon them. 
 Here, whoever on earth hath been guilty of hating 
 
 a brother, 
 Whoso hath beaten a parent, or broken faith with 
 
 a client, 
 AU who have selfishly clung to treasure unearthed 
 
 by good fortune, eio 
 
 Setting apart no share for their friends — and this 
 
 throng is the greatest — 
 
264 THE ^NEID 
 
 All for adultery slain, and all who have joined in 
 
 sedition, 
 Daring to break their oaths and plighted vows of 
 
 allegiance ; 
 All, here imprisoned, await their reward. Seek 
 
 not to discover 
 What that punishment is, or what manner of doom 
 
 hath o'erwhelmed them. as 
 
 Some a huge rock must roll, or, immovably fas- 
 tened, are hanging 
 Stretched by the spokes of wheels ; there sits, and 
 
 shall sit through the ages. 
 Heart-broken Theseus, while Phlegyas mournfully 
 
 ■ cries through the shadows. 
 Testifying aloud, and admonishing all who will 
 
 listen, 
 ' Learn from my fate to be just, and hold not the 
 
 gods in derision.' 620 
 
 This one hath bartered his country for gold, and 
 
 a powerful tyrant 
 Placed on the throne, and laws for a price hath 
 
 ordained and abolished ; 
 This with unholy desire hath dishonored the name 
 
 of a daughter ; 
 All have dared some infamous crime, and daring, 
 
 achieved it. 
 Not, if an hundred tongues were mine, if mine 
 
 were an hundred 625 
 
 Mouths, and an iron voice, could I teU all the 
 
 forms of transgression. 
 Or all the names rehearse of the retributions they 
 
 suffer." 
 Soon as the reverend priestess of Phoebus had 
 
 ended her story, 
 
BOOK VI 265 
 
 " Speed on your way," she cried ; " now finish the 
 
 course undertaken. 
 Hasten we onward ! The walls wrought out in 
 
 the forge of the Cyclops eso 
 
 Now I behold, and the gate in the arching rock 
 
 that confronts us. 
 Where we are now required to surrender the gift 
 
 we are bearing." 
 Silently, then, pressing forward together through 
 
 shadowy pathways, 
 Swiftly they cover the space that remains, and 
 
 draw nigh to the portal. 
 Quickly ^neas approaches the entrance, and over 
 
 his body ess 
 
 Sprinkles pure water, and fastens the branch to 
 
 the lintel before him. 
 Finally, when this was done, and the rites of 
 
 the goddess completed, 
 Into glad places they come, and delectable mea^ 
 
 dows, embosomed 
 Deep in delightful groves, the blessed abode of the 
 
 righteous. 
 Here a sublimer air over-mantles the valleys with 
 
 purple ; 64o 
 
 Here their own stars they know, and their own 
 
 sun shineth above them. 
 Some, in grassy courts, are training their disci- 
 plined bodies. 
 Or, on the yellow sand, are contending in friendly 
 
 encounter ; 
 Others are treading a dance, and marking the 
 
 measure with carols ; 
 Nor does the Thracian bard, apparelled in long 
 
 flowing garments, ms 
 
266 THE ^NEID 
 
 Fail to awake from his lyre the varying notes of 
 
 the octave, 
 Striking them now with his fingers, and now with 
 
 an ivory plectrum. 
 Here is the ancient line of Teucer's iUustrious 
 
 children, 
 Heroes noble of soul, and nurtured in happier 
 
 Ilus, Assaracus also, and Dardanus, Ilium's 
 
 founder. eso 
 
 Yonder the arms and the empty cars of the heroes 
 
 delight him ; 
 Spears stand fixed in the earth, and, ranging at 
 
 large and untethered, 
 Horses are grazing the plain. All the fondness 
 
 for car and for armor 
 Ever confessed in life, their delight in the care of 
 
 their shining 
 Steeds, abides unchanged long after the body is 
 
 buried. ess 
 
 Others to right and left along the bright sward are 
 
 discovered 
 Feasting, and chanting hymns of glad thanksgiv- 
 ing in chorus. 
 Deep in a fragrant grove of laurel, from whence 
 
 to the valley 
 KoUs the abundant tide of Eridanus down through 
 
 the forest. 
 Here are the heroes who fell while fighting the 
 
 wars of their country, m 
 
 Here are the holy priests whose lives upon earth 
 
 were unsullied. 
 Here the poets divine, who sang as inspired by 
 
 Apollo, — 
 
BOOK VI 267 
 
 All who have dignified life by the arts they have 
 won by invention, 
 
 All who have worthily earned the lasting regard 
 of their fellows, 
 
 All these, having their brows encircled with snow- 
 white fillets, 665 
 
 Scattered in various groups, the Sibyl addresses as 
 follows — 
 
 Chiefly MusaBus, for him the most numerous band 
 of companions 
 
 Gather about and revere, as he stands head and 
 shoulders above them : — 
 
 " Tell us, ye fortunate souls, and thou most illus- 
 trious poet, 
 
 Where is the region, and where the place that is 
 holding Anchises ? 67o 
 
 For, for his sake are we come, and have crossed 
 the great river of Darkness." 
 
 Thereupon, briefly the hero replied to the ques- 
 tioning Sibyl : — 
 
 " None hath a changeless abode ; we dwell in the 
 shadowy forests. 
 
 Couch by the banks of streams, and wander 
 through rill-freshened meadows ; 
 
 Yet if your hearts are so eagerly bent on fulfilling 
 your mission, 675 
 
 Traverse this ridge, and soon I will set a smooth 
 pathway before you." 
 
 Speaking, and taking the lead, he showed them, far 
 down in the valley, 
 
 Sunlighted plains, and then they left the tall hill- 
 tops behind them. 
 But, in the midst of the green and hill-sheltered 
 valley, Anchises 
 
268 THE ^NEID 
 
 Chanced to be fondly reviewing the spirits impris- 
 oned, and destined eso 
 
 Soon to the light of earth. Yes ! there he stood 
 reckoning over 
 
 All the long roll of his line, and all his beloved 
 descendants, 
 
 Reading the fortune and fate, and the conduct and 
 wars of the heroes. 
 
 When he discovers ^neas approaching across the 
 green meadow, 
 
 Eagerly both his arms are opened wide to receive 
 him ; ess 
 
 Wet are his cheeks with tears, and his lips break 
 forth in rejoicing : — 
 
 " Comest thou, then, at last, and thy long-trusted 
 love for thy father. 
 
 Hath it the hard way won ? Am I sviffered to 
 gaze on thy features, 
 
 O my son ; may we speak in the voices of old to 
 each other? 
 
 This I kept ever in mind, for this I was trusting 
 the future, eso 
 
 Counting the lingering days ; nor hath my heart's 
 longing deceived me. 
 
 Borne over how many lands, and o'er what ex- 
 panses of ocean. 
 
 Thee I receive, and by perils how great hath my 
 son been encompassed ! 
 
 How have I feared lest harm should befall thee in 
 Libya's kingdom ! " 
 
 He, however, " O father, thine image, thy sorrow- 
 ful image, 695 
 
 Fronting me often, constrained to continue my 
 course to thy dwelling ; 
 
BOOK VI 269 
 
 Moored is our fleet in the Tuscan sea. O give 
 
 me, my father, 
 Give me thy hand to grasp ; forbid thou me not to 
 
 embrace thee ! " 
 Wet were his cheeks with tears, while thus he 
 
 stood earnestly pleading ; 
 Thrice he attempted to throw his arms 'round the 
 
 neck of his father, 700 
 
 Thrice, unavailingly clasped, the image denied his 
 
 embraces 
 Like the light kiss of the wind, stiU more like a 
 
 dream in its swiftness. 
 Meanwhile ^neas perceives a lonely grove in a 
 
 distant 
 Part of the valley, and hears the whispering leaves 
 
 of a forest. 
 Also peaceful abodes on the shore of the river of 
 
 Lethe. 705 
 
 Hovering round about were peoples and tribes 
 
 without number ; 
 And, as in meadows where bees, in the cloudless 
 
 sunshine of summer. 
 Cluster on varied flowers, and swarm about snow- 
 white lilies, 
 So the whole plain is filled with the murmur of 
 
 shadowy legions. 
 Dazed by so wondrous a sight, and knowing not 
 
 what it portended, 710 
 
 Straightway, ^neas inquired the name of the far 
 
 distant river. 
 Who were the men that were thronging its banks 
 
 in so mighty a concourse. 
 Father Anchises replied : " The souls to whom 
 
 fate hath appointed 
 
270 THE jENEID 
 
 Reincarnation are there, on the shore of the river 
 of Lethe, 
 
 Endless release from care, and eternal oblivion 
 quaffing. 715 
 
 These have I long desired to marshal in order 
 before thee. 
 
 Naming thee all their names, and rehearsing our 
 line of descendants, 
 
 So that in Italy won, thy joy and mine own may 
 be greater." 
 
 " Must we, my father, believe that hence to the air 
 and the daylight 
 
 Some of these souls will arise, and return into 
 burdensome bodies ? 720 
 
 What so dread desire have sorrowful spirits for 
 living ? " 
 
 " Surely, my son, I wiU answer, and leave thee no 
 longer in darkness," 
 
 Father Anchises replies, and discusses each ques- 
 tion in order. 
 
 " Li the beginning the air, and the earth, and the 
 waters of ocean. 
 
 Also the moon's bright orb, the sun, and the great 
 constellations, 725 
 
 Thrilled with an indwelling soul ; and a spirit, per- 
 vading each atom. 
 
 Stirred the whole mass, and informed each part of 
 the boundless creation : 
 
 Whence the race of men, and beasts, and birds 
 was engendered, — 
 
 Yea, and the monsters that breed 'neath the mar- 
 ble plain of the ocean. 
 
 Theirs is the vigor of fire, and celestial the source 
 of their being, 730 
 
BOOK VI 271 
 
 Save as inimical bodies embarrass their freedom, 
 
 and earth-born 
 Frames and corruptible members have deadened 
 
 the fire of the spirit. 
 Hence are their fears and hopes, their griefs and 
 
 their joys ; and, in darkness, 
 Prisoned in sightless clay, they attain not the 
 
 heavenly vision : 
 Nay, when the last faint glimmer of life shall have 
 
 gone from the body, 735 
 
 Not even then shall aU iUs, nor all traces of carnal 
 
 corruption. 
 Leave the unhappy soul ; and it must be that 
 
 manifold evils. 
 Slowly and deeply acquired, are ingrained in a 
 
 marvellous manner. 
 Therefore by pain are they purged, and penance 
 
 for former transgression 
 Pay to the uttermost ; some, suspended, are spread 
 
 to the fleeting 740 
 
 Winds ; from others the stain of sin is washed by 
 
 a whirling 
 Torrent of water away, or the spirit is chastened 
 
 by burning ; 
 Each his own chastisement bears; thence unto 
 
 Elysium's freedom 
 We are dismissed, and we few in the fields of the 
 
 blest are abiding 
 Till, when our cycle be ended, a day in the far 
 
 distant future 745 
 
 Purge from the purified soul the last lingering ves- 
 tige of evil, 
 Leaving a deathless flame of pure uncontaminate 
 
 spirit. 
 
272 THE ^NEID 
 
 After these souls have completed a full millennial 
 
 circle, 
 God calls them all in a numberless band to the 
 
 river of Lethe, 
 That, as the future dawns, the past may be wholly 
 
 forgotten, 750 
 
 And that again may be born a desire for the life 
 
 of the body." 
 Silent Anchises became, then guided his son and 
 
 the Sibyl 
 Through the gathering throng to the midst of the 
 
 murmuring concourse. 
 Then he selected a mound from whence to sur- 
 vey the long column 
 Threading the distant plain, and study the faces 
 
 approaching. 755 
 
 " Come, now, let me unfold in words what glory 
 
 the future 
 Holds for the Dardan race, what descendants in 
 
 Italy wait thee. 
 Souls of illustrious heroes predestined thy name 
 
 to inherit ; 
 Listen, and I will reveal thy fate and the fate of 
 
 thy people. 
 Seest thou yonder youth, who leans on an ironless 
 
 spear-shaft ? 760 
 
 Fate hath assigned him the earliest place in the 
 
 light ; he shall soonest 
 Rise to the air above, old Troy with new Italy 
 
 blending, — 
 Silvius, Alban the name, the latest bom of thy 
 
 children, 
 Whom in the years of thine age a Lavinian wife 
 
 shall have borne thee ; 
 
BOOK VI 273 
 
 Child of the forest he, a king, with kings for de- 
 scendants, 765 
 Whence o'er the long white city our line shall 
 
 inherit dominion. 
 Next after him is that Procas, the pride of the 
 
 Ilian nation, 
 Capys, and Numitor, too, and, reviving thy name 
 
 and thy glory, 
 SUvius, surnamed ^neas, as famous for faith as 
 
 for fighting, 
 If he shall ever attain his rightful dominion in 
 
 Alba. 770 
 
 Ah ! what youths they are ! behold, what a vision 
 
 of valor ! 
 Proudly they lift their brows with civic oak over- 
 shadowed ! ' 
 These shall establish Nomentum, Fidena, and 
 
 Gabii, for thee ; 
 Those shall set on the hills the crown of CoUatia's 
 
 castles ; 
 Castrum Inui, too, Pometia, Bola, and Cora; 775 
 Lands that are now unnamed shall bear these 
 
 names in the future. 
 Ay ! and the son of Mars shall forever be named 
 
 with his grandsire ; 
 Komulus, he who shall call Assaracan Ilia mother : 
 Seest thou how twin plumes stand forth as a crest 
 
 from his helmet ? 
 How the great Father hath set his own seal of 
 
 divinity on him ? 78o 
 
 Lo, my son, thine illustrious Home shall, under 
 
 his sceptre. 
 Measure her empire with earth, and measure her 
 
 valor with Heaven ! 
 
274 THE ^NEID 
 
 She, for herself and alone, seven hills shall sur^ 
 
 round with her ramparts. 
 Blest in her brood of men : as the Berecynthian 
 
 mother, 
 Crowned with her turrets, is borne in her car 
 
 through Phrygian cities, 785 
 
 Glad in the birth of gods, and embracing an hun- 
 dred descendants. 
 Habitants all of the sky, all dwelling on lofty 
 
 Olympus. 
 Hitherward, now, concentre thy gaze ; look forth 
 
 on this nation ; 
 These, thy Romans, behold ! Lo, Caesar and all 
 
 the liilian 
 Line, predestined to rise to the infinite spaces of 
 
 heaven. 790 
 
 This, yea, this is the man, so often foretold thee in 
 
 promise, 
 Csesar Augustus, descended from God, who again 
 
 shall a golden 
 Age in Latium found, in fields once governed by 
 
 Saturn. 
 Further than India's hordes, or the Garymantian 
 
 peoples. 
 He shall extend his reign ; there 's a land beyond 
 
 aU of our planets, 795 
 
 'Yond the far track of the year and the sun, where 
 
 sky-bearing Atlas 
 Turns on his shoulders the firmament studded with 
 
 bright constellations ; 
 Yea, even now, at his coming foreshadowed by 
 
 omens from Heaven, 
 Shudder the Caspian realms, and the barbarous 
 
 Scythian kingdoms, 
 
BOOK VI 275 
 
 While the disquieted harbors of sevenfold Nile 
 are affrighted ! soo 
 
 Verily, neither Aleides e'er traversed so much of 
 this planet, 
 
 Though he hath slaughtered the brazen-hoofed stag, 
 and secured Erymanthus 
 
 Peace in his forest glades, though his bow hath 
 made Lerna to tremble ; 
 
 Nor, who triumphantly guideth his coursers with 
 vine-wreathed bridle, 
 
 Bacchus, down-driving his tigers from Nysa's pre- 
 cipitous mountains. 805 
 
 And do we hesitate still to broaden our prestige 
 by valor ? 
 
 Or shall we yield to fear, and withdraw from Au- 
 sonia's borders ! 
 
 Ah, but who yonder is he, distinguished by 
 branches of olive. 
 
 Sacred insignia bearing ? The locks and gray 
 beard of the Roman 
 
 King I recognize there, who first shall establish a 
 city 810 
 
 Founded in law ; he shall rise from the poor, nar- 
 row acres of Cumse 
 
 Unto an empire vast. Then quickly shall come to 
 succeed him 
 
 TuUus, predestined to break the repose of his 
 country, and rally 
 
 Slumbering heroes, and troops unacquainted with 
 conquest, to battle. 
 
 Next after him, behold vainglorious Ancus advan- 
 cing, 815 
 
 Already, even now, too dependent on popular 
 favor. 
 
276 THE JBNEID 
 
 Seest thou, too, the Tarquinian kings, and the 
 proud Roman spirit 
 
 Breathing in Brutus, th' avenger ? behold ye the 
 fasces recovered ? 
 
 Consular power he first shall assume, and the ter- 
 rible axes ; 
 
 And, in fair Liberty's name, this father shall sen- 
 tence his children 820 
 
 Unto the pains of death for conspiring against the 
 Republic. 
 
 Ill-fated hero ! However his deeds may be judged ' 
 in the future. 
 
 Love for his country and boundless ambition for 
 glory shall conquer ! 
 
 Nay, but the Decii see, and the Drusi beyond, and 
 Torquatus, 
 
 Pitiless with his axe, and Camillus restoring the 
 standards. 825 
 
 Those, however, whose arms thou seest are equal 
 in splendor. 
 
 Spirits harmonious now, and as long as the dark- 
 ness constrains them. 
 
 How great a war, alas, shall they wage with each 
 other, if ever 
 
 They shall attain to the light of life ; what battle, 
 what carnage ! 
 
 Down from the Alpine heights and the walls of 
 Monoecus, the father 83o 
 
 Rushes to meet the son arrayed with Eastern bat- 
 talions. 
 
 Suffer ye not, my lads, your souls to grow used to 
 such conflicts ; 
 
 Turn not your stalwart might against the life of 
 your country ! 
 
BOOK VI 277 
 
 And do thou first forbear, who tracest thy line to 
 Olympus. 
 
 Fling from thy hand the spear, thou blood of my 
 blood ! 835 
 
 That one, renowned for the Greeks he hath slain, 
 shall drive his triumphant 
 
 Car to the Capitol's height, when the city of Cor- 
 inth is conquered ; 
 
 That one shall Argos destroy, and Agamemnon's 
 Mycenae, 
 
 Capturing Perseus himself, the descendant of war- 
 like Achilles, 
 
 Venging the sires of Troy, and the shrine of dis- 
 honored Minerva. 84o 
 
 Who can great Cato forget, or pass thee, O Cos- 
 sus, in silence? 
 
 Who the two Gracchi, or Scipios twain, twin 
 lightnings of battle, 
 
 Libya's scourge, or Fabricius, poverty crowning 
 with honor ? 
 
 Or who would name thee not, as thou sowest thy 
 furrow, Serranus? 
 
 Whither, ye Fabii, bear ye the wearied? That 
 Maximus art thou 845 
 
 Who dost alone reestablish our prestige in war by 
 delaying. 
 Others may fashion the breathing bronze with 
 more delicate fingers ; 
 
 Doubtless they also will summon more lifelike 
 features from marble ; 
 
 They shall more cunningly plead at the bar ; and 
 the mazes of heaven 
 
 Draw to the scale, and determine the march of the 
 swift constellations ; m 
 
278 THE ^NEID 
 
 Thine be the care, O Eome, to subdue the whole 
 
 world to thine empire ; 
 These be the arts for thee, the order of peace to 
 
 establish. 
 Them that are vanquished to spare, and them that 
 
 are haughty to humble ! " 
 Thus spake Father Anchises, and thus, as they 
 
 marvel, continued : — 
 " See how Marcellus advances, adorned with rich 
 
 trophies of conquest ! 855 
 
 How as a victor he comes, surpassing all heroes in 
 
 glory ! 
 Knightly defender of Eome, he shall save her 
 
 from deadliest peril, 
 Crushing the armies of Carthage, and quelling the 
 
 Gallic rebellion. 
 Offering trophies thrice in the temple of Father 
 
 Quirinus." 
 Then did -^neas exclaim, — for he saw, by the 
 
 side of Marcellus, m 
 
 Wondrous in beauty, a youth, arrayed in glitter- 
 ing armor. 
 Yet with joyless brow, sad eyes, and sorrowful 
 
 features : — 
 " Who, my father, is he, who follows yon hero so 
 
 closely ? 
 Is he his son, or one of his glorious line of de- 
 scendants ? 
 Round him what comrades are surging ! Himself, 
 
 how inspiring a presence ! ses 
 
 Yet is dark night' brooding over his head with the 
 
 shadow of sorrow." 
 Then, with a burst of tears, doth Father Anchises 
 
 make answer : — 
 
BOOK VI 279 
 
 " Ah ! seek not, my son, to learn the deep grief of 
 
 thy people ; 
 Fate shall vouchsafe to the world but a glimpse of 
 
 his glory, nor suffer 
 Earth to detain him long. Too great in your eyes 
 
 would the Koman m 
 
 Nation appear, ye gods, were gifts such as these to 
 
 be lasting ! 
 What lamentation of men shall arise from yon 
 
 plain to the mighty 
 City of Mars ! and what funeral rites shalt thou 
 
 witness. 
 While by his new-made grave thou shalt mourn- 
 fully ripple, O Tiber ! 
 Neither shall ever a son of the Uian line raise the 
 
 Latin 87s 
 
 Fathers to hope so high, nor e'er shall the land of 
 
 the Roman 
 Glory so proudly again in any one of her chil- 
 dren. 
 Ah, what devotion, what freshness of faith, and, 
 
 unconquered in battle, 
 What a right arm were his ! There were none 
 
 who could safely withstand him. 
 Whether with arms he should march on foot to 
 
 encounter his f oemen, sso 
 
 Or should he plunge the spur in the flank of his 
 
 foam-dappled charger. 
 Ah ! thou child of our tears, if thou breakest 
 
 from fate's bitter bondage. 
 Thou, MarceUus shalt be I Bring lilies, full hand- 
 
 fuls of lilies. 
 Let me strew blossoms of purple ; at least, let me 
 
 offer thy spirit 
 
280 THE iENEID 
 
 These little tokens of love,, and render this trivial 
 
 tribute ! " 885 
 
 So, throughout all that bright country, they wan- 
 dered on hither and thither 
 Over wide, airy plains, and noted each mountain 
 
 and valley. 
 After Anchises hath guided his son through the 
 
 vistas of Heaven, 
 When he hath kindled his soul with desire for a 
 
 glorious future. 
 Then of the wars that are soon to be waged he 
 
 speaks to the hero ; m 
 
 Tells of Laurentian tribes, and tells of the town 
 
 of Latinus ; 
 Teaching both how to avoid and how to endure 
 
 each misfortune. 
 Twain are the gates of Sleep, and of these, by 
 
 common tradition, 
 One is of horn, whereby true visions pass easily 
 
 upward ; 
 Fashioned of ivory fair, the other is white and 
 
 resplendent, 395 
 
 Yet are the dreams untrue that the Spirits release 
 
 through its portals. 
 Here, having spoken these words to his son and 
 
 the Sibyl, Anchises 
 Halted his steps, and then, through the ivory gate- 
 way dismissed them. 
 He by the speediest way returns to his ships and 
 
 his comrades. 
 Coasting the shore to the right he comes to the 
 
 port of Cajeta ; 900 
 
 Anchor from prow is dropped, and the sterns are 
 
 at rest on the seashore. 
 
ElectrotyPed and printed by H. O. Houghton S' Co, 
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