by Virgil
sed si tantus amor casus cognoscere nostros 10
But if to know our evil hap thy longing is so deep,
et breuiter Troiae supremum audire laborem,
If thou wilt hear a little word of Troy’s last agony,
quamquam animus meminisse horret luctuque refugit,
Though memory shuddereth, and my heart shrunk up in grief doth lie,
incipiam. fracti bello fatisque repulsi
I will begin. By battle broke, and thrust aback by Fate
ductores Danaum tot iam labentibus annis
Through all the wearing of the years, the Danaan lords yet wait
instar montis equum diuina Palladis arte 15
And build a horse up mountain-huge by Pallas’ art divine,
aedificant, sectaque intexunt abiete costas;
Fair fashioning the ribs thereof with timbers of the pine,
uotum pro reditu simulant; ea fama uagatur.
And feign it vowed for safe return, and let the fame fly forth.
huc delecta uirum sortiti corpora furtim
Herein by stealth a sort of men chosen for bodies’ worth
includunt caeco lateri penitusque cauernas
Amid its darkness do they shut; the caverns inly lost
ingentis uterumque armato milite complent. 20
Deep in the belly of the thing they fill with armed host.
est in conspectu Tenedos, notissima fama
In sight of Troy lies Tenedos, an island known of all,
insula, diues opum Priami dum regna manebant,
And rich in wealth before the realm of Priam had its fall,
nunc tantum sinus et statio male fida carinis:
Now but a bay and roadstead poor, where scarcely ships may ride.
huc se prouecti deserto in litore condunt;
So thither now they sail away in desert place to hide.
nos abiisse rati et uento petiisse Mycenas. 25
We thought them gone, and that they sought Mycenæ on a wind,
ergo omnis longo soluit se Teucria luctu;
Whereat the long-drawn grief of Troy fell off from every mind.
panduntur portae, iuuat ire et Dorica castra
The gates are opened; sweet it is the Dorian camp to see,
desertosque uidere locos litusque relictum:
The dwellings waste, the shore all void where they were wont to be:
hic Dolopum manus, hic saeuus tendebat Achilles;
Here dwelt the band of Dolopes, here was Achilles set,
classibus hic locus, hic acie certare solebant. 30
And this was where their ships were beached; here edge to edge we met.
pars stupet innuptae donum exitiale Mineruae
Some wonder at unwedded maid Minerva’s gift of death,
et molem mirantur equi; primusque Thymoetes
That baneful mountain of a horse; and first Thymoetes saith
duci intra muros hortatur et arce locari,
‘Twere good in walls to lead the thing, on topmost burg to stand;
siue dolo seu iam Troiae sic fata ferebant.
Whether such word the fate of Troy or evil treason planned
at Capys, et quorum melior sententia menti, 35
I know not: Capys and the rest, who better counsel have,
aut pelago Danaum insidias suspectaque dona
Bid take the fashioned guile of Greeks, the doubtful gift they gave,
praecipitare iubent subiectisque urere flammis,
To tumble it adown to sea, with piled-up fire to burn,
aut terebrare cauas uteri et temptare latebras.
Or bore the belly of the beast its hidden holes to learn;
scinditur incertum studia in contraria uulgus.
So cleft atwain is rede of men abiding there in doubt.
Primus ibi ante omnis magna comitante caterua 40
But first before all others now with much folk all about
Laocoon ardens summa decurrit ab arce,
Laocoon the fiery man runs from the burg adown,
et procul ‘o miseri, quae tanta insania, ciues?
And shouts from far: ‘O wretched men, how hath such madness grown?
creditis auectos hostis? aut ulla putatis
Deem ye the foe hath fared away? Deem ye that Danaan gifts
dona carere dolis Danaum? sic notus Vlixes?
May ever lack due share of guile? Are these Ulysses’ shifts?
aut hoc inclusi ligno occultantur Achiui, 45
For either the Achæans lurk within this fashioned tree,
aut haec in nostros fabricata est machina muros,
Or ’tis an engine wrought with craft bane of our walls to be,
inspectura domos uenturaque desuper urbi,
To look into our very homes, and scale the town perforce:
aut aliquis latet error; equo ne credite, Teucri.
Some guile at least therein abides: Teucrians, trust not the horse!
quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentis.’
Whatso it is, the Danaan folk, yea gift-bearing I fear.’
sic fatus ualidis ingentem uiribus hastam 50
Thus having said, with valiant might he hurled a huge-wrought spear
in latus inque feri curuam compagibus aluum
Against the belly of the beast swelled out with rib and stave;
contorsit. stetit illa tremens, uteroque recusso
It stood a-trembling therewithal; its hollow caverns gave
insonuere cauae gemitumque dedere cauernae.
From womb all shaken with the stroke a mighty sounding groan.
et, si fata deum, si mens non laeua fuisset,
And but for God’s heart turned from us, for God’s fate fixed and known,
impulerat ferro Argolicas foedare latebras, 55
He would have led us on with steel to foul the Argive den,
Troiaque nunc staret, Priamique arx alta maneres.
And thou, O Troy, wert standing now, thou Priam’s burg as then!
Ecce, manus iuuenem interea post terga reuinctum
But lo, where Dardan shepherds lead, with plenteous clamour round,
pastores magno ad regem clamore trahebant
A young man unto Priam’s place with hands behind him bound,
Dardanidae, qui se ignotum uenientibus ultro,
Who privily had thrust himself before their way e’en now
hoc ipsum ut strueret Troiamque aperiret Achiuis, 60
The work to crown, and into Troy an open way to show
obtulerat, fidens animi atque in utrumque paratus,
Unto the Greeks; a steadfast soul, prepared for either end,
seu uersare dolos seu certae occumbere morti.
Or utterly to work his craft or unto death to bend.
undique uisendi studio Troiana iuuentus
Eager to see him as he went around the Trojans flock
circumfusa ruit certantque inludere capto.
On every side, and each with each contend the man to mock.
accipe nunc Danaum insidias et crimine ab uno 65
Lo now, behold the Danaan guile, and from one wrong they wrought
disce omnis.
Learn ye what all are like to be. For as he stood in sight of all, bewildered, weaponless,
namque ut conspectu in medio turbatus, inermis
And let his eyes go all around the gazing Phrygian press,
constitit atque oculis Phrygia agmina circumspexit,
He spake: ‘What land shall have me now, what sea my head shall hide?
‘heu, quae nunc tellus,’ inquit, ‘quae me aequora possunt
What then is left of deed to do that yet I must abide?
accipere? aut quid iam misero mihi denique restat, 70
No place I have among the Greeks, and Dardan folk withal
cui neque apud Danaos usquam locus, et super ipsi
My foemen are, and bloody end, due doom, upon me call.’
Dardanidae infensi
poenas cum sanguine poscunt?’
And with that wail our hearts were turned, and somewhat backward hung
quo gemitu conuersi animi compressus et omnis
The press of men: we bade him say from whence his blood was sprung,
impetus. hortamur fari quo sanguine cretus,
And what he did, and if indeed a captive we might trust;
quidue ferat; memoret quae sit fiducia capto. 75
So thus he spake when now all fear from off his heart was thrust:
‘Cuncta equidem tibi, rex, fuerit quodcumque, fatebor 77
‘Whatso betide, to thee, O King, the matter’s verity
uera,’ inquit; ‘neque me Argolica de gente negabo.
Will I lay bare unto the end, nor Argive blood deny:
hoc primum; nec, si miserum Fortuna Sinonem
This firstly; for if Fate indeed shaped Sinon for all bale
finxit, uanum etiam mendacemque improba finget. 80
To make him liar and empty fool her worst may not avail.
fando aliquod si forte tuas peruenit ad auris
Perchance a rumour of men’s talk about your ears hath gone,
Belidae nomen Palamedis et incluta fama
Telling of Palamedes’ fame and glory that he won,
gloria, quem falsa sub proditione Pelasgi
The son of Belus: traitors’ word undid him innocent;
insontem infando indicio, quia bella uetabat,
By unjust doom for banning war the way of death he went,
demisere neci, nunc cassum lumine lugent: 85
Slain by Pelasgian men, that now his quenchèd light deplore.
illi me comitem et consanguinitate propinquum
Fellow to him, and nigh akin, I went unto the war,
pauper in arma pater primis huc misit ab annis.
Sent by my needy father forth, e’en from my earliest years;
dum stabat regno incolumis regumque uigebat
Now while he reigned in health, a king fair blooming mid his peers
conciliis, et nos aliquod nomenque decusque
In council of the kings, I too had share of name and worth.
gessimus. inuidia postquam pellacis Vlixi 90
But after he had gone his way from land of upper earth,
(haud ignota loquor) superis concessit ab oris,
Thrust down by sly Ulysses’ hate, (I tell all men’s belief),
adflictus uitam in tenebris luctuque trahebam
Then beaten down I dragged my life through shadowy ways of grief,
et casum insontis mecum indignabar amici.
And heavily I took the death of him my sackless friend,
nec tacui demens et me, fors si qua tulisset,
Nor held my peace, O fool! but vowed revenge if time should send
si patrios umquam remeassem uictor ad Argos, 95
A happy tide; if I should come to Argos any more,
promisi ultorem et uerbis odia aspera moui.
A victor then: so with my words I drew down hatred sore.
hinc mihi prima mali labes, hinc semper Vlixes
This was the first fleck of my ill; Ulysses ever now
criminibus terrere nouis, hinc spargere uoces
Would threaten with some new-found guilt, and mid the folk would sow
in uulgum ambiguas et quaerere conscius arma.
Dark sayings, and knowing what was toward, sought weapons new at need;
nec requieuit enim, donec Calchante ministro — 100
Nor wearied till with Calchas now to help him to the deed. —
sed quid ego haec autem nequiquam ingrata reuoluo,
— But why upturn these ugly things, or spin out time for nought?
quidue moror? si omnis uno ordine habetis Achiuos,
For if ye deem all Greekish men in one same mould are wrought:
idque audire sat est, iamdudum sumite poenas:
It is enough. Come make an end; Ulysses’ hope fulfil!
hoc Ithacus uelit et magno mercentur Atridae.’
With great price would the Atridæ buy such working of their will.’
Tum uero ardemus scitari et quaerere causas, 105
Then verily to know the thing and reach it deep we burned,
ignari scelerum tantorum artisque Pelasgae.
So little in Pelasgian guile and evil were we learned.
prosequitur pauitans et ficto pectore fatur:
He takes the tale up; fluttering-voiced from lying heart he speaks:
‘Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta
‘The longing to be gone from Troy fell oft upon the Greeks,
moliri et longo fessi discedere bello;
And oft they fain had turned their backs on war without an end,
fecissentque utinam! saepe illos aspera ponti 110
(I would they had), and oft as they were e’en at point to wend
interclusit hiems et terruit Auster euntis.
A tempest would forbid the sea, or southern gale would scare,
praecipue cum iam hic trabibus contextus acernis
And chiefly when with maple-beams this horse that standeth here
staret equus, toto sonuerunt aethere nimbi.
They fashioned, mighty din of storm did all the heavens fulfil.
suspensi Eurypylum scitatum oracula Phoebi
So held aback, Eurypylus we sent to learn the will
mittimus, isque adytis haec tristia dicta reportat: 115
Of Phoebus: from the shrine he brought such heavy words as these:
“sanguine placastis uentos et uirgine caesa,
With blood and with a virgin’s death did ye the winds appease
cum primum Iliacas, Danai, uenistis ad oras;
When first ye came, O Danaan folk, unto the Ilian shore;
sanguine quaerendi reditus animaque litandum
With blood and with an Argive soul the Gods shall ye adore
Argolica.” uulgi quae uox ut uenit ad auris,
For your return. ‘Now when that word men’s ears had gone about
obstipuere animi gelidusque per ima cucurrit 120
Their hearts stood still, and tremors cold took all their bones for doubt
ossa tremor, cui fata parent, quem poscat Apollo.
What man the Fates had doomed thereto, what man Apollo would.
hic Ithacus uatem magno Calchanta tumultu
Amidst us then the Ithacan drags in with clamour rude
protrahit in medios; quae sint ea numina diuum
Calchas the seer, and wearieth him the Gods’ will to declare.
flagitat. et mihi iam multi crudele canebant
Of that craftsmaster’s cruel guile had many bade beware
artificis scelus, et taciti uentura uidebant. 125
In words, and many silently foresaw the coming death.
bis quinos silet ille dies tectusque recusat
Twice five days Calchas holdeth peace and, hidden, gainsayeth
prodere uoce sua quemquam aut opponere morti.
To speak the word that any man to very death should cast,
uix tandem, magnis Ithaci clamoribus actus,
Till hardly, by Ulysses’ noise sore driven, at the last
composito rumpit uocem et me destinat arae.
He brake out with the speech agreed, and on me laid the doom;
adsensere omnes et, quae sibi quisque timebat, 130
All cried assent, and what each man feared on himself might come,
unius in miseri exitium conuersa tulere.
‘Gainst one poor wretch’s end of days with ready hands they bear.
iamque dies infanda aderat; mihi sacra parari
Now came the evil day; for me the rites do men prepare,
et salsae fruges et circum tempora uittae.
The salted cakes, the holy strings to do my brows about.
eripui, fateor, leto me et uincula rupi,
I needs must say I brake my bonds, from Death’s house gat me out,
And night-long lay amid the sedge by muddy marish side
delitui dum uela darent, si forte dedissent.
Till they spread sail, if they perchance should win their sailing tide.
nec mihi iam patriam antiquam spes ulla uidendi
Nor have I hope to see again my fatherland of old;
nec dulcis natos exoptatumque parentem,
My longed-for father and sweet sons I never shall behold;
quos illi fors et poenas ob nostra reposcent
On whom the guilt of me who fled mayhappen men will lay,
effugia, et culpam hanc miserorum morte piabunt. 140
And with their death for my default the hapless ones shall pay.
quod te per superos et conscia numina ueri,
But by the might of very God, all sooth that knoweth well,
per si qua est quae restet adhuc mortalibus usquam
By all the unstained faith that yet mid mortal men doth dwell,
intemerata fides, oro, miserere laborum
If aught be left, I pray you now to pity such distress!
tantorum, miserere animi non digna ferentis.’
Pity a heart by troubles tried beyond its worthiness!’
His lacrimis uitam damus et miserescimus ultro. 145
His weeping won his life of us, and pity thereunto,
ipse uiro primus manicas atque arta leuari
And Priam was the first who bade his irons to undo,
uincla iubet Priamus dictisque ita fatur amicis:
And hand-bonds, and in friendly words unto the man he speaks:
‘quisquis es, amissos hinc iam obliuiscere Graios
‘Whoso thou art, henceforward now forget thy missing Greeks;
(noster eris) mihique haec edissere uera roganti:
Thou shalt be ours: but learn me now, who fain the sooth would wot,
quo molem hanc immanis equi statuere? quis auctor? 150
Wherefore they built this world of horse, what craftsman him begot,
quidue petunt? quae religio? aut quae machina belli?’
And what to do? What gift for Gods; what gin of war is he?’
dixerat. ille dolis instructus et arte Pelasga
He spake. The other, wise in guile and Greekish treachery,
sustulit exutas uinclis ad sidera palmas:
Both palms of his from bonds new-freed raised toward the stars above,
‘uos, aeterni ignes, et non uiolabile uestrum
And, ‘O eternal fires!’ he cried, ‘O might that none may move,
testor numen,’ ait, ‘uos arae ensesque nefandi, 155
Bear witness now! ye altar-stones, ye wicked swords I fled,
quos fugi, uittaeque deum, quas hostia gessi: