by Virgil
Explained the vision; ’twas a sign, he said,
That bright and glorious in the rolls of Fate
Her fame should flourish and her name be spread,
But dark should lour the fortunes of the state, 91
Whelmed in a mighty war and sunk in evil strait.
XII . Forth hastes Latinus, by these sights distressed,
To Faunus’ oracle, his sire renowned,
And seeks the grove, beneath Albunea’s crest,
And sacred spring, which, echoing from the ground,
Leaps up and flings its sulphurous fumes around.
Here, craving counsel when in doubtful plight,
Italians and OEnotria’s tribes are found.
Here, when the priest, his offerings paid aright, 100
On skins of slaughtered beasts, in stillness of the night,
XIII . Lies down to sleep, in visions he beholds
Weird shapes, and many a wondrous voice doth hear,
And, borne in spirit to Avernus, holds
Deep converse there with Acheron. ’Twas here
Latinus sought for answer from the seer.
A hundred ewes, obedient to the rite,
He slew, then rested, with expectant ear,
Stretched on their fleeces, when, at noon of night, 109
Straight from the grove’s deep gloom forth pealed a voice of might:
XIV . “Seek not, my son, a Latin lord. Beware
The purposed bridal. Lo! a foreign guest
Is coming, born to raise thee as thine heir,
And sons of sons shall see their power confessed
From sea to sea, from farthest East to West.”
These words, in stillness of the night’s noon-tide,
Latinus hears, nor locks them in his breast.
Ausonia’s towns have heard them far and wide, 118
Or ere by Tiber’s banks the Dardan fleet doth ride.
XV . Stretched on the grass beneath a tall tree lie
Troy’s chief and captains and Iulus fair,
And wheaten platters for their meal supply
(’Twas Jove’s command), the wilding fruits to bear.
When lack of food has forced them now to tear
The tiny cakes, and tooth and hand with zest
The fateful circles desecrate, nor spare
The sacred squares upon the rounds impressed, 127
“What! eating boards as well?” Iulus cries in jest.
XVI . ’Twas all; the sally, as we heard it, sealed
Our toils. Æneas caught it, as it flew,
And hushed them, marvelling at the sign revealed.
“Hail! land,” he cries, “long destined for our due.
Hail, household deities, to Troy still true!
Here lies our home. Thus, thus, I mind the hour,
Anchises brought Fate’s hidden things to view:
‘My son, when famine on an unknown shore 136
Shall make thee, failing food, the very boards devour,
XVII . “‘Then, worn and wearied, look to find a home,
And build thy walls, and bank them with a mound.’
This was that famine; this the last to come
Of all our woes, the woful term to bound.
Come then, at daybreak search the land around
(Each from the harbour separate let us fare)
And see what folk, and where their town, be found,
Now pour to Jove libations, and with prayer 145
Invoke Anchises’ shade, and back the wine-cups bear.”
XVIII . So saying, his brows he garlands, and with prayer
Invokes the Genius whom the place doth own,
And Earth, first Goddess, and the Nymphs who there
Inhabit, and the rivers yet unknown,
Night and the stars that glitter in her zone
He calls to aid him, and Idæan Jove,
And Phrygia’s Mother on her heavenly throne,
And last, his parent deities to move, 154
Invokes his sire below and mother queen above.
XIX . Thrice Jove omnipotent from Heaven’s blue height
Thunders aloud, and flashes in the skies
A cloud ablaze with rays of golden light.
’Tis come — so Rumour through the Trojans flies —
The day to bid their promised walls arise.
Cheered by the mighty omen and the sign,
They spread the feast, and each with other vies
To range the goblets and to wreath the wine, 163
And gladdening hearts rejoice to greet the day divine.
XX . Soon as the morrow bathed the world once more
In dawning light, by separate ways they fare
To search the town, the frontiers and the shore.
Here is Numicius’ fountain, Tiber there,
Here dwell the Latins. Then Anchises’ heir
Choice spokesmen to the monarch’s city sends,
Five score, their peaceful errand to declare,
And royal presents to their charge commends, 172
And bids them claim of right the welcome due to friends.
XXI . At once the heralds hearken and obey,
And each and all, with rapid steps, and crowned
With Pallas’ olive, hasten on their way.
Himself with shallow trench marks out the ground,
And, camp-like, girds with bastions and a mound
The new-formed settlement. Meanwhile the train
Of delegates their journey’s end have found,
And greet with joy, uprising o’er the plain, 181
The Latin towers and homes, and now the walls attain.
XXII . Before the city, boys and youths contend
On horseback. Through the whirling dust they steer
Their chariots and the practised steeds, or bend
The tight-strung bow, or aim the limber spear,
Or urge fist-combat or the foot’s career.
Now to their king a message quick has flown;
Tall men and strange, in foreign garb are here.
Latinus summons them within: anon, 190
Amidmost of his court he mounts the ancestral throne.
XXIII . Raised on a hundred columns, vast and tall,
Above the city reared its reverend head
A stately fabric, once the palace-hall
Of Picus. Dark woods shrouded, and the dread
Of ages filled, the precinct. Here, ’tis said,
Kings took the sceptre and the axe of fate,
Their senate house this temple; here were spread
The tables for the sacred feast, where sate, 199
What time the ram was slain, the elders of the State.
XXIV . In ancient cedar o’er the doors appear
The sculptured effigies of sires divine.
Grey Saturn, Italus, Sabinus here,
Curved hook in hand, the planter of the vine.
There two-faced Janus, and, in ordered line,
Old kings and patriot chieftains. Captive cars
Hang round, and arms upon the doorposts shine,
Curved axes, crests of helmets, towngates’ bars, 208
Spears, shields and beaks of ships, the trophies of their wars.
XXV . There Picus sat, with his Quirinal wand,
Tamer of steeds. The augur’s gown he wore,
Short, striped and belted; and his lifted hand
The sacred buckler on the left upbore.
Him Circe, his enamoured bride, of yore,
Wild with desire, so ancient legends say,
Smote with her golden rod, and sprinkling o’er
His limbs her magic poisons, made a jay, 217
And sent to roam the air, with dappled plumage gay.
XXVI . Such is the temple, in whose sacred dome
Latinus waits the Teucrians on his throne,
And kindly thus accosts them as they come:
‘Speak, Dardans, — for the
Dardan name ye own;
Nor strange your race and city, nor unknown
Sail ye the plains of Ocean — tell me now,
What seek ye? By the tempest tost, or blown
At random, needful of what help and how 226
Came ye to Latin shores the dark-blue deep to plough?
XXVII . “But, whether wandering from your course, or cast
By storms — such ills as oft-times on the main
O’ertake poor mariners — your ships at last
Our stream have entered, and the port attain.
Shun not a welcome, nor our cheer disdain.
For dear to Saturn, whom our sires adored,
Was Latium. Manners, not the laws, constrain
To justice. Freely, of our own accord, 235
We mind the golden age, and virtues of our lord.
XXVIII . “Now, I remember, old Auruncans told
(Age dims, but memory can the tale retrace)
How, born in Latium, Dardanus of old
Went forth to northern Samos, styled of Thrace,
And reached the towns at Phrygian Ida’s base.
From Tuscan Corythus in days gone by
He went, and now among the stars hath place,
Throned in the golden palace of the sky. 244
On earth his altar marks one godhead more on high.”
XXIX . He spake: Ilioneus this answer gave:
“O King, blest seed of Faunus! Star nor strand
Misled us, nor hath stress of storm or wave
Forced us to seek the shelter of your land.
Freewill hath brought us hither, forethought planned
Our flight; for we are outcasts, every one,
The toil-worn remnant of an exiled band,
Driven from a mighty empire; mightier none 253
In bygone years was known beneath the wandering sun.
XXX . “From Jove we spring; Jove Dardans hail with joy
Their parent; he who sends us is our lord
Æneas, Jove-born and a prince of Troy.
How fierce a tempest from Mycenæ poured
O’er Ida’s fields; how Fate with fire and sword
Made Europe clash with Asia, he hath known
Whoe’er to Ocean’s limits hath explored
The utmost earth, or in the central zone 262
Dwells, if a man there be, in torrid climes unknown.
XXXI . “Swept by that deluge o’er the deep, we crave
A home for home-gods, shelter on the strand,
And man’s free privilege of air and wave.
We shall not shame the lustre of your land,
Nor stint the gratitude kind deeds demand.
Grant Troy a refuge, and Ausonians ne’er
Shall rue the welcome proffered by your hand.
Yea, scorn us not, that thus unsought we bear 271
The lowly suppliant’s wreath, and speak the words of prayer.
XXXII . “Full many a people, — let the fates attest
Of great Æneas, and his hand of might,
Ne’er pledged in vain, our bravest and our best —
Full many a tribe, though lowly be our plight,
Have sought with ours their fortunes to unite.
Fate bade us seek your country and her King.
Hither, where Dardanus first saw the light,
Apollo back the Dardan race would bring, 280
To Tuscan Tiber’s banks and pure Numicius’ spring.
XXXIII . “These gifts Æneas to our charge commends,
Poor relics saved from Ilion, but a sign
Of ancient greatness, and the gifts of friends.
See, from this golden goblet at the shrine
His sire Anchises poured the sacred wine;
Clad in these robes sat Priam, when of old
The laws he ministered. These robes are thine,
This sceptre, this embroidered vest, — behold, 289
’Twas wrought by Trojan dames, — this diadem of gold.”
XXXIV . Mute sat and motionless, with looks bent down,
Latinus; but his restless eyes confessed
His musings. Not the sceptre nor the gown
Of purple moved him, but his pensive breast
Dwelt on his daughter’s marriage, till he guessed
The meaning of old Faunus. This was he,
His destined heir, the bridegroom and the guest,
Whose glorious progeny, by Fate’s decree, 298
The Latin throne should share, and rule from sea to sea.
XXXV . “Heaven prosper,” joyfully he cried, “our deed,
And heaven’s own augury. Your wish shall stand;
I take the gifts. Yours, Trojans, all ye need —
The wealth of Troy, the fatness of the land, —
Nought shall ye lack from King Latinus’ hand.
Let but Æneas, if he longs so fain
To claim our friendship, and a home demand,
Come here, nor fear to greet us. Not in vain 307
‘Twixt monarchs stands the peace, which plighted hands ordain.
XXXVI . “Let now this message to your King be given.
‘A child, the daughter of my heart, is mine,
Whom neither frequent prodigies from heaven,
Nor voices uttered from my father’s shrine,
Permit with one of Latin birth to join.
Strange sons — so Latin oracles conspire —
Shall come, whose offspring shall exalt our line.
Thy King the bridegroom whom the Fates require 316
I deem, and, if in aught I read the truth, desire.’”
XXXVII . So speaks Latinus, and with kindly care
Choice steeds selects. Three hundred of the best
Stand in his lofty stables, sleek and fair;
And forth in order for each Teucrian guest
His servants led them, at their King’s behest.
Rich housings, wrought in many a purple fold,
And broidered rugs adorn them; o’er each breast
Hang golden poitrels, glorious to behold. 325
Each champs with foaming mouth a chain of glittering gold.
XXXVIII . A car he orders for the Dardan sire,
And twin-yoked coursers of ethereal seed,
Whose snorting nostrils breathe the flames of fire.
Half-mortal, half-immortal was each steed,
The bastard birth of that celestial breed,
Which cunning Circe from a mortal mare
Raised to her sire the Sun-god. So with speed
The mounted Trojans to their prince repair, 334
Pleased with the gifts and words, for peaceful news they bear.
XXXIX . Lo! from Inachian Argos through the skies
Jove’s consort her avenging flight pursues,
And far off, from Pachynus, as she flies
O’er Sicily, beholds the Dardan crews
And great Æneas, gladdening at the news.
The rising settlement, the new-tilled shore,
The ships deserted for the land she views,
And shaking her imperial brows, and sore 343
With anguish, from her breast these wrathful words doth pour:
XL . “Ah, hateful race! Ah, Phrygian fates abhorred!
What, fell they not on the Sigean plain?
Must captives be twice captured? Have the sword
And flames of Troy avenged me but in vain?
Have foes and fire found passage for the slain?
Sooth, then, my godhead sleepeth, and that hand
Is tired of hate, which whilom o’er the main
Dared chase these outcasts and their paths withstand, 352
Where’er the deep sea rolled, far from their native land!
XLI . “Have sea and sky been wielded to destroy,
Nor Syrtes yet, nor Scylla’s fierce embrace,
Nor vast Charybdis whelmed the sons of Troy,
Who, safe in Tiber, flout me to t
he face?
Yet Mars from earth, and for a less disgrace
Could sweep the Lapithæ, and Heaven’s great Sire
Doomed ancient Calydon and OEneus’ race
To rue the vengeance of Diana’s ire. 361
Did ever crime of theirs the Dardans’ meed require?
XLII . “But I, Jove’s consort, who have stooped to seek
All shifts, all ventures and devices, I
Am vanquished by Æneas! If too weak
Myself, some other godhead will I try,
And Hell shall hear, if Heaven its aid deny.
Grant that these Dardans must in Latium reign,
That fixt and changeless stands the doom, whereby
His bride shall be Lavinia, that in vain 370
Can Juno thwart whate’er the Destinies ordain;
XLIII . “Yet time delayed can make occasion lost,
Yet mutual strife each nation may devour,
And Kings plight marriage at their peoples’ cost.
Troy’s blood and Latium’s, maiden, be thy dower.
Bellona lights thee to thy bridal bower.
Not only Hecuba — Ah, sweet the joy! —
Conceives a firebrand. Born in evil hour,
The child of Venus shall her hopes destroy, 379
And, like another Paris, fire a new-born Troy.”
XLIV . She spake, and earthward darting, fierce and fell,
Calls sad Alecto from her dark retreat
Among the Furies in the shades of Hell.
Sweet are war’s sorrows to her soul, and sweet
Are evil deeds, and hatred and deceit.
E’en Pluto, e’en her sister-fiends detest
The monstrous shape, so many forms complete
The grisly horrors of that hateful pest, 388
So many a coal-black snake sprouts from her threatening crest.
XLV . Her Juno finds, and thus new rage inspires:
“Grant, virgin daughter of eternal Night,
This boon, the labour that thy soul desires.
Lest here my fame and honour lose their might,
And Troy gain Italy, and craft unite
Troy’s prince with Latium’s heiress. Thou can’st turn
Fond hearts to feuds, and brethren arm for fight.
Thou know’st, for savage is thy mood and stern, 397