Complete Works of Virgil

by Virgil

  With skins of beasts, and bearing high the flame. 325

  Fresh, dainty gifts they bring, the second course to frame.

  XXXVIII . Next came the Salians, dancing as they sung

  Around the blazing altars. Poplar crowned

  Their brows; a double chorus, old and young,

  Chant forth the glories and the deeds renowned

  Of Hercules; how, potent to confound

  His stepdame’s hate, he crushed the serpents twain;

  What towns in war he levelled to the ground,

  Troy and OEchalia; how with infinite pain 334

  Eurystheus’ tasks he sped, and Juno’s fates were vain:

  XXXIX . “Oh thou, unconquered, whose resistless hand

  Smote the twin giants of the cloud-born crew,

  Pholus, Hylæus; and the Cretan land

  Freed from its monster; and in Nemea slew

  The lion! Styx hath trembled at thy view,

  And Cerberus, when, smeared with gore, he lay

  On bones half-mumbled in his darksome mew.

  Thee not Typhoeus, when in armed array 343

  He towered erect, could daunt, nor grisly shapes dismay.

  XL . “Prompt was thy wit, when, powerless to prevail,

  Around thee twined, the beast of Lerna’s fen

  Hissed with the legion of its heads. O hail,

  True son of Jove, the praise of mortal men,

  And Heaven’s new glory. Hither turn thy ken,

  And cheer thy votaries.” So with heart and will

  They chant his praise, nor less the monster’s den,

  And Cacus, breathing flames. The loud notes fill 352

  The sacred grove around, and echo to the hill.

  XLI . The rites thus ended, to the town they fare.

  In front, the good Evander, old and grey,

  Moves ‘twixt Æneas and his youthful heir,

  And oft with various converse, as they stray,

  Beguiles the lightened labour of the way.

  Now this, now that the Trojan chief admires,

  Filled with new pleasure, as his eyes survey

  Each place in turn. Oft, gladly he enquires 361

  The tokens, one by one, and tales of ancient sires.

  XLII . Then he, who built the citadel of Rome,

  Spake thus — the good Evander: “Yonder view

  The forest; ’twas the Fauns’ and Wood-nymphs’ home.

  Their birth from trunks and rugged oaks they drew;

  No arts they had, nor settled life, nor knew

  To yoke the ox, or lay up stores, or spare

  What wealth they gathered; but their wants were few;

  The branches gave them sustenance, whate’er 370

  In toilsome chase they won, composed their scanty fare.

  XLIII . “Then first came Saturn from Olympus’ height,

  Flying from Jove, his kingdom barred and banned,

  He taught the scattered hillsmen to unite,

  And gave them laws, and bade the name to stand

  Of Latium, he safe latent in the land.

  Then tranquilly the happy seasons rolled

  Year after year, and Peace, with plenteous hand,

  Smiled on his sceptre. ’Twas the Age of Gold, 379

  So well his placid sway the willing folk controlled.

  XLIV . “Then waxed the times degenerate, and the stain

  With stealthy growth gave birth to deeds of shame,

  The rage of battle, and the lust of gain.

  Then came Ausonians, then Sicanians came,

  And oft the land of Saturn changed its name.

  Strange tyrants came, and ruled Italia’s shore,

  Grim-visaged Thybris, of gigantic frame;

  His name henceforth the river Tiber bore, 388

  And Albula’s old name was known, alas! no more.

  XLV . “Me, from my country driven forth to roam

  The utmost deep, perforce the Fates’ design

  And Fortune’s power drove hitherward. This home

  My mother, Nymph Carmentis, warned was mine;

  A god, Apollo, did these shores assign.”

  So saying, he shows the altar and the gate

  Long called Carmental, from the Nymph divine,

  First seer who sang, with faithful voice, how great 397

  Æneas’ race should rise, and Pallanteum’s fate.

  XLVI . He shows the grove of Romulus, his famed

  Asylum; then, beneath the rock’s cold crest

  Lupercal’s cave, from Pan Lycæan named;

  Then, Argiletum’s grove, whose shades attest

  The death of Argus, once the monarch’s guest;

  Tarpeia’s rock, the Capitolian height,

  Now golden — rugged ’twas of old, a nest

  Of tangled brakes, yet hallowed was the site 406

  E’en then, and wood and rock filled the rude hinds with fright.

  XLVII . “These wooded steeps,” he said, “this sacred grove

  What godhead haunts, we know not; legends say

  Arcadians here have seen the form of Jove,

  And seen his right hand, with resistless sway,

  Shake the dread Ægis, and the clouds array.

  See, yon two cities, once renowned by fame,

  Now ruined walls and crumbling to decay;

  This Janus built, those walls did Saturn frame; 415

  Janiculum was this, that bore Saturnia’s name.”

  XLVIII . So talking, to Evander’s lowly seat

  They journeyed. Herds were lowing on the plain,

  Where stand the Forum and Carinæ’s street.

  “These gates,” said he, “did great Alcides deign

  To pass; this palace did the god contain.

  Dare thou to quit thee like the god, nor dread

  To scorn mere wealth, nor humble cheer disdain.”

  So saying, Æneas through the door he led, 424

  And skins of Libyan bears on garnered leaves outspread.

  XLIX . Night, with dark wings descending, wrapt the world,

  When Venus, harassed, nor in vain, with fear,

  To see the menace at Laurentum hurled,

  To Vulcan, on his golden couch, drew near,

  Breathing immortal passion: “Husband dear,

  When Greeks the fated citadel of Troy

  With fire and sword were ravaging, or ere

  Her towers had fallen, I sought not to employ 433

  Arms, arts or aid of thine, their purpose to destroy.

  L . “Ne’er taxed I then thy labours, dearest love,

  Large as my debt to Priam’s sons, and sore

  My grief for poor Æneas. Now, since Jove

  Hath brought him here to the Rutulian shore,

  Thine arms I ask, thy deity implore,

  A mother for her son. Dread power divine,

  Whom Thetis, whom Tithonus’ spouse of yore

  Could move with tears, behold, what hosts combine, 442

  What towns, with barr’d gates, arm to ruin me and mine.”

  LI . She spake, and both her snowy arms outflung

  Around him doubting, and embraced the Sire,

  And, softly fondling, kissed him as she clung.

  Through bones and veins her melting charms inspire

  The well-known heat, and reawake desire.

  So, riven by the thunder, through the pile

  Of storm-clouds runs the glittering cleft of fire.

  Proud of her beauty, with a conscious smile, 451

  The Goddess feels her power, and gladdens at the guile.

  LII . Then Vulcan, mastered by immortal love,

  Answers his spouse, “Why, Goddess mine, invent

  Such far-fetched pleas? Dost thou thy faith remove,

  And cease to trust in Vulcan? Had thy bent

  So moved thee then, arms quickly had I lent

  To aid thy Trojans, and thy wish were gained,

  Nor envious Fate, nor J
ove omnipotent

  Had crossed my purpose; then had Troy remained, 460

  And Priam ten years more the kingly line sustained.

  LIII . “E’en now, if war thou seekest to prepare,

  And thither tends thy purpose, be it sped.

  Whate’er my craft can promise, whatso’er

  Is wrought with iron, ivory or lead,

  Fanned with the blast, or molten in the bed,

  Thine be it all; forbear a suppliant’s quest,

  Nor wrong thy beauty’s potency.” He said,

  And gave the love she longed for; on her breast 469

  Outpoured at length he slept, and loosed his limbs with rest.

  LIV . ’Twas midnight; sleep had faded from its prime,

  The hour, when housewives, who a scanty fare

  Eke out with loom and distaff, rise in time

  To wake the embers, and the night outwear;

  Then call their handmaids, by the light to share

  The task, that keeps the husband’s bed from shame,

  And earns a pittance for the babes. So there,

  Nor tardier, to his toil the Lord of Flame 478

  Springs from his couch of down, the workmen’s task to frame.

  LV . Hard by Æolian Lipare, before

  Sicania, looms an island from the deep,

  With smoking rocks. There Ætna’s caverns roar,

  Hewn by the Cyclop’s forges from the steep.

  There the steel hisses and the sparks upleap,

  And clanging anvils, smit with dexterous aim,

  Groan through the cavern, as their strokes they heap,

  And restless in the furnace pants the flame. 487

  ’Twas Vulcan’s house, the land even yet bears Vulcan’s name.

  LVI . Down to this cavern came the Lord of Flame,

  And found Pyracmon, naked as he strove,

  Brontes and Steropes. Their hands still frame

  A thunderbolt unfinished, such as Jove

  Rains thickly from his armouries above,

  Tipt with twelve barbs and never known to fail.

  Part still remain unwrought; three rays they wove

  Of ruddy fire, three of the Southern gale, 496

  Three of the watery cloud, and three of twisted hail.

  LVII . They blend the frightful flashes and the peals,

  Sound, fear, and fury with the flames behind.

  These forge the War-Gods’ chariot and swift wheels,

  Which stir up cities, and arouse mankind.

  Here, burnished bright for wrathful Pallas, shined,

  With serpent scales, and golden links firm bound,

  Her dreadful Ægis, and the snakes entwined;

  And on her breast, with severed neck, still frowned 505

  Medusa’s head, and rolled her dying eyes around.

  LVIII . “Cease now,” said Vulcan, “and these toils forbear,

  Cyclops of Ætna; hither turn your heed.

  Arms for a hero must the forge prepare.

  Now use your strength and nimble hands; ye need

  A master’s cunning; to your tasks with speed.”

  He spake; each quickly at the word once more

  Falls to his labour, as the lots decreed.

  Now flows the copper, now the golden ore; 514

  Now melts the deadly steel; the flames resume their roar.

  LIX . A mighty shield they fashion, fit to meet

  Singly all arms of Latium. Layer on layer,

  Seven folds in circles on its face they beat.

  These from the windy bellows force the air,

  These hissing copper for the forge prepare,

  Dipt in the trough. The cavern floor below

  Groans with the anvils and the strokes they bear,

  As strong arms timed heap measured blow on blow, 523

  And, turned with griping tongs, the molten mass doth glow.

  LX . While on Æolia’s coast the Lemnian sire

  Wrought thus, the fair Dawn, mantling in the skies,

  Awakes Evander, and the lowly choir

  Of birds beneath the eaves invites to rise.

  The Tuscan sandals to his feet he ties,

  The kirtle dons, the Tegeæan sword

  Links to his side. A panther’s skin supplies

  His scarf, hung leftward, and his watchful ward, 532

  Two dogs, the threshold leave, and ‘company their lord.

  LXI . So to the chamber of his Dardan guest

  The good Evander for his promise’ sake

  Full early hastens pondering in his breast

  The tale he listened to, the words he spake.

  Nor less Æneas, with the dawn awake,

  Goes forth. Achates at his side attends,

  His son, young Pallas, doth Evander take.

  So meeting, each a willing hand extends, 541

  And host and guest sit down, and frankly talk as friends.

  LXII . First spake the King: “Great Chief of Trojan fame,

  Who living, ne’er the Trojan state is lost.

  Small is our strength for war, though great our name.

  Here Tiber bounds us, there Rutulians boast

  To rend our walls, and thunder with their host.

  But mighty tribes and wealthy realms shall band

  Their arms with mine. Chance, where unlooked-for most,

  Points to this succour. By the Fate’s command 550

  Thou comest; thee the gods have guided to our land.

  LXIII . “Not far from here, upon an aged rock,

  There stands a town, Agylla is its name,

  Where on Etruscan ridges dwells the stock

  Of ancient Lydia, men of warlike fame.

  Long years it flourished, till Mezentius came

  And ruled it fiercely, with a tyrant’s sway.

  Ah me! why tell the nameless deeds of shame,

  The savage murders wrought from day to day? 559

  May Heaven on him and his those cruelties repay!

  LXIV . “Nay more, he joined the living to the dead,

  Hand linked to hand in torment, face to face.

  The rank flesh mouldered, and the limbs still bled,

  Till death, O misery, with lingering pace,

  Loosed the foul union and the long embrace.

  Worn out at last with all his crimes abhorred,

  Around the horrid madman swarmed apace

  The armed Agyllans. On his roof they poured 568

  The firebrands, seized his guards and slew them with the sword.

  LXV . “He safely through the carnage slunk away

  To fields Rutulian, where with sheltering hand

  Great Turnus shields the tyrant. So to-day,

  Stirred with just fury, all Etruria’s land

  Springs to the war, prompt vengeance to demand.

  Thine be these all, for thousands can I boast,

  Æneas, thine to captain and command.

  Mark now their shouts; already roars the host, 577

  ‘Arm, bring the banners forth’; their vessels crowd the coast.

  LXVI . “An aged seer thus warns them to refrain,

  Expounding Fate: ‘Choice youths, the flower and show

  Of ancient warriors of Meonian strain,

  Whom just resentment arms against the foe,

  Whose souls with hatred of Mezentius glow,

  No man of Italy is fit to lead

  So vast a multitude, the Fates say “No;

  Seek ye a foreign captain.”’ Awed, they heed 586

  The warning words divine, and camp upon the mead.

  LXVII . “Lo, Tarchon sends ambassadors; they bring

  The crown, and sceptre, and the signs of state,

  And bid me join the Tuscans as their king.

  But frosty years have dulled me; life is late,

  And envious Age forbids an Empire’s weight.

  Fit were my son, but half Italian he,

  His mother born a Sabine. Thee hath Fate


  Endowed with years and proper birth; for thee 595

  The Gods this throne have willed, and, what they will, decree.

  LXVIII . “Advance, brave Chief of Italy and Troy!

  Advance; young Pallas at thy side shall fare,

  My hope, my solace, and my heart’s best joy.

  With thee to teach him, he shall learn to share

  The war’s grim work, the warrior’s toil to bear;

  From earliest youth to marvel at thy deeds,

  And try to match them. Horsemen shall be there,

  Ten score, the choicest that Arcadia breeds; 604

  Two hundred more, his own, the gallant stripling leads.”

  LXIX . He spake: Æneas and Achates stood

  With down-fixt eyes, musing the strange event.

  Dark thoughts were theirs, and sorrowful their mood;

  When lo, to leftward Cytherea sent

  A sign amid the open firmament.

  A flash of lightning swift from ether sprang

  With thunder. Turmoil universal blent

  Earth, sea and sky; the empyrean rang 613

  With arms, and loudly pealed the Tuscan trumpet’s clang.

  LXX . Upward they look: again and yet again

  Comes the loud crash of thunder, and between

  A cloud that frets the firmamental plain,

  With bright, red flash amid the sky serene,

  The glitter of resounding arms is seen.

  All tremble; but Æneas hails the sign

  Long-promised. “Ask not,” he exclaims, “what mean

  These prodigies and portents; they are mine. 622

  Me great Olympus calls; I hear the voice divine.

  LXXI . “This sign my Goddess-mother vowed to send,

  If war should threaten; thus in armed array

  From heaven with aid she promised to descend.

  Ah, woe for thee, Laurentum, soon the prey

  Of foeman! What a reckoning shalt thou pay

  To me, ill-fated Turnus! How thy wave

  Shall redden, Tiber, as it rolls away

  Helmets, and shields and bodies of the brave! 631

  Ay, let them break the league, and bid the War-god rave.”

  LXXII . He spake, and, rising from his seat, renews

  The slumbering fires of Hercules, and tends

  The hearth-god’s shrine of yesterday. Choice ewes