by Virgil
defuit, et comites natumque uirumque fefellit.
And there her fellows’ hopes, her son’s, her husband’s were undone.
quem non incusaui amens hominumque deorumque, 745
On whom of men, on whom of Gods, then laid I not the guilt?
aut quid in euersa uidi crudelius urbe?
What saw I bitterer to be borne in all the city spilt?
Ascanium Anchisenque patrem Teucrosque penatis
Ascanius and Anchises set the Teucrian Gods beside,
commendo sociis et curua ualle recondo;
I give unto my fellows there in hollow dale to hide,
ipse urbem repeto et cingor fulgentibus armis.
But I unto the city turn with glittering weapons girt;
stat casus renouare omnis omnemque reuerti 750
Needs must I search all Troy again, and open every hurt,
per Troiam et rursus caput obiectare periclis.
And into every peril past must thrust my head once more.
principio muros obscuraque limina portae,
And first I reach the walls again and mirk ways of the door
qua gressum extuleram, repeto et uestigia retro
Whereby I wended out erewhile; and my old footsteps’ track
obseruata sequor per noctem et lumine lustro:
I find, and mid the dusk of night with close eyes follow back;
horror ubique animo, simul ipsa silentia terrent. 755
While on the heart lies weight of fear, and e’en the hush brings dread,
inde domum, si forte pedem, si forte tulisset,
Thence to the house, if there perchance, if there again she tread,
me refero: inruerant Danai et tectum omne tenebant.
I go: infall of Greeks had been, and all the house they hold,
ilicet ignis edax summa ad fastigia uento
And ‘neath the wind the ravening fire to highest ridge is rolled.
uoluitur; exsuperant flammae, furit aestus ad auras.
The flames hang o’er, with raging heat the heavens are hot withal;
procedo et Priami sedes arcemque reuiso: 760
Still on: I look on Priam’s house and topmost castle-wall;
et iam porticibus uacuis Iunonis asylo
And in the desert cloisters there and Juno’s very home
custodes lecti Phoenix et dirus Vlixes
Lo, Phoenix and Ulysses cursed, the chosen wards, are come
praedam adseruabant. huc undique Troia gaza
To keep the spoil; fair things of Troy, from everywhither brought,
incensis erepta adytis, mensaeque deorum
Rapt from the burning of the shrines, Gods’ tables rudely caught,
crateresque auro solidi, captiuaque uestis 765
And beakers utterly of gold and raiment snatched away
congeritur. pueri et pauidae longo ordine matres
Are there heaped up; and boys and wives drawn out in long array
stant circum.
Stand trembling round about the heap.
ausus quin etiam uoces iactare per umbram
And now withal I dared to cast my cries upon the dark,
impleui clamore uias, maestusque Creusam
I fill the streets with clamour great, and, groaning woefully,
nequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque uocaui. 770
‘Creusa,’ o’er and o’er again without avail I cry.
quaerenti et tectis urbis sine fine ruenti
But as I sought and endlessly raved all the houses through
infelix simulacrum atque ipsius umbra Creusae
A hapless shape, Creusa’s shade, anigh mine eyen drew,
uisa mihi ante oculos et nota maior imago.
And greater than the body known her image fashioned was;
obstipui, steteruntque comae et uox faucibus haesit.
I stood amazed, my hair rose up, nor from my jaws would pass
tum sic adfari et curas his demere dictis: 775
My frozen voice, then thus she spake my care to take away:
‘quid tantum insano iuuat indulgere dolori,
‘Sweet husband, wherefore needest thou with such mad sorrow play?
o dulcis coniunx? non haec sine numine diuum
Without the dealing of the Gods doth none of this betide;
eueniunt; nec te comitem hinc portare Creusam
And they, they will not have thee bear Creusa by thy side,
fas, aut ille sinit superi regnator Olympi.
Nor will Olympus’ highest king such fellowship allow.
longa tibi exsilia et uastum maris aequor arandum, 780
Long exile is in store for thee, huge plain of sea to plough,
et terram Hesperiam uenies, ubi Lydius arua
Then to Hesperia shalt thou come, where Lydian Tiber’s wave
inter opima uirum leni fluit agmine Thybris.
The wealthiest meads of mighty men with gentle stream doth lave:
illic res laetae regnumque et regia coniunx
There happy days and lordship great, and kingly wife, are born
parta tibi; lacrimas dilectae pelle Creusae.
For thee. Ah! do away thy tears for loved Creusa lorn.
non ego Myrmidonum sedes Dolopumue superbas 785
I shall not see the Myrmidons’ nor Dolopes’ proud place,
aspiciam aut Grais seruitum matribus ibo,
Nor wend my ways to wait upon the Greekish women’s grace;
Dardanis et diuae Veneris nurus;
I, daughter of the Dardan race, I, wife of Venus’ son;
sed me magna deum genetrix his detinet oris.
Me the great Mother of the Gods on Trojan shore hath won.
iamque uale et nati serua communis amorem.’
Farewell, and love the son we loved together once, we twain.’
haec ubi dicta dedit, lacrimantem et multa uolentem 790
She left me when these words were given, me weeping sore, and fain
dicere deseruit, tenuisque recessit in auras.
To tell her much, and forth away amid thin air she passed:
ter conatus ibi collo dare bracchia circum;
And there three times about her neck I strove mine arms to cast,
ter frustra comprensa manus effugit imago,
And thrice away from out my hands the gathered image streams,
par leuibus uentis uolucrique simillima somno.
E’en as the breathing of the wind or wingèd thing of dreams.
sic demum socios consumpta nocte reuiso. 795
And so at last, the night all spent, I meet my folk anew;
Atque hic ingentem comitum adfluxisse nouorum
And there I found great multitude that fresh unto us drew,
inuenio admirans numerum, matresque uirosque,
And wondered thereat: wives were there, and men, and plenteous youth;
collectam exsilio pubem, miserabile uulgus.
All gathered for the faring forth, a hapless crowd forsooth:
undique conuenere animis opibusque parati
From everywhere they draw to us, with goods and courage set,
in quascumque uelim pelago deducere terras. 800
To follow o’er the sea where’er my will may lead them yet.
iamque iugis summae surgebat Lucifer Idae
And now o’er Ida’s topmost ridge at last the day-star rose
ducebatque diem, Danaique obsessa tenebant
With dawn in hand: all gates and doors by host of Danaan foes
limina portarum, nec spes opis ulla dabatur.
Were close beset, and no more hope of helping may I bide.
cessi et sublato montis genitore petiui.
I turned and took my father up and sought the mountain-side.
‘Aeneas Tells Dido About the Fall of Troy’ by Baron Pierre-Narcisse Guérin, 1815
LIBER III
BOOK III.
Postquam res Asiae Priamique euertere gentem
immeritam uisum superis, ceciditque superbum
The Asian weal and sackless folk of Priam, and alow
Ilium et omnis humo fumat Neptunia Troia,
Proud Ilium lay, and Neptune’s Troy was smouldering on the ground,
diuersa exsilia et desertas quaerere terras
For diverse outlands of the earth and waste lands are we bound,
auguriis agimur diuum, classemque sub ipsa 5
Driven by omens of the Gods. Our fleet we built beneath
Antandro et Phrygiae molimur montibus Idae,
Antandros, and the broken steeps of Phrygian Ida’s heath,
incerti quo fata ferant, ubi sistere detur,
Unwitting whither Fate may drive, or where the Gods shall stay
contrahimusque uiros. uix prima inceperat aestas
And there we draw together men. Now scarce upon the way
et pater Anchises dare fatis uela iubebat,
Was summer when my father bade spread sails to Fate at last.
litora cum patriae lacrimans portusque relinquo 10
Weeping I leave my fatherland, and out of haven passed
et campos ubi Troia fuit. feror exsul in altum
Away from fields where Troy-town was, an outcast o’er the deep,
cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis.
With folk and son and Household Gods and Greater Gods to keep.
Terra procul uastis colitur Mauortia campis
Far off a peopled land of Mars lies midst its mighty plain,
(Thraces arant) acri quondam regnata Lycurgo,
Tilled of the Thracians; there whilom did fierce Lycurgus reign.
hospitium antiquum Troiae sociique penates 15
’Twas ancient guesting-place of Troy: our Gods went hand in hand
dum fortuna fuit. feror huc et litore curuo
While bloomed our weal: there are we borne, and on the hollow strand
moenia prima loco fatis ingressus iniquis
I set my first-born city down, ‘neath evil fates begun,
Aeneadasque meo nomen de nomine fingo.
And call the folk Æneadæ from name myself had won.
sacra Dionaeae matri diuisque ferebam
Unto Dione’s daughter there, my mother, and the rest,
auspicibus coeptorum operum, superoque nitentem 20
I sacrificed upon a day to gain beginning blest,
caelicolum regi mactabam in litore taurum.
And to the King of Heavenly folk was slaying on the shore
forte fuit iuxta tumulus, quo cornea summo
A glorious bull: at hand by chance a mound at topmost bore
uirgulta et densis hastilibus horrida myrtus.
A cornel-bush and myrtle stiff with shafts close set around:
accessi uiridemque ab humo conuellere siluam
Thereto I wend and strive to pluck a green shoot from the ground,
conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras, 25
That I with leafy boughs thereof may clothe the altars well;
horrendum et dictu uideo mirabile monstrum.
When lo, a portent terrible and marvellous to tell!
nam quae prima solo ruptis radicibus arbos
For the first stem that from the soil uprooted I tear out
uellitur, huic atro liquuntur sanguine guttae
Oozes black drops of very blood, that all the earth about
et terram tabo maculant. mihi frigidus horror
Is stained with gore: but as for me, with sudden horror chill
membra quatit gelidusque coit formidine sanguis. 30
My limbs fall quaking, and my blood with freezing fear stands still.
rursus et alterius lentum conuellere uimen
Yet I go on and strive from earth a new tough shoot to win,
insequor et causas penitus temptare latentis;
That I may search out suddenly what causes lurk within;
ater et alterius sequitur de cortice sanguis.
And once again from out the bark blood followeth as before.
multa mouens animo Nymphas uenerabar agrestis
I turn the matter in my mind: the Field-Nymphs I adore,
Gradiuumque patrem, Geticis qui praesidet aruis, 35
And him, Gradivus, father dread, who rules the Thracian plain,
rite secundarent uisus omenque leuarent.
And pray them turn the thing to good and make its threatenings vain.
tertia sed postquam maiore hastilia nisu
But when upon a third of them once more I set my hand,
adgredior genibusque aduersae obluctor harenae,
And striving hard thrust both my knees upon the opposing sand —
(eloquar an sileam?) gemitus lacrimabilis imo
— Shall I speak now or hold my peace? — a piteous groan is heard
auditur tumulo et uox reddita fertur ad auris: 40
From out the mound, and to mine ears is borne a dreadful word:
‘quid miserum, Aenea, laceras? iam parce sepulto,
‘Why manglest thou a wretched man? O spare me in my tomb!
parce pias scelerare manus. non me tibi Troia
Spare to beguilt thy righteous hand, Æneas! Troy’s own womb
externum tulit aut cruor hic de stipite manat.
Bore me, thy kinsman; from this stem floweth no alien gore:
heu fuge crudelis terras, fuge litus auarum:
Woe’s me! flee forth the cruel land, flee forth the greedy shore;
nam Polydorus ego. hic confixum ferrea texit 45
For I am Polydore: pierced through, by harvest of the spear
telorum seges et iaculis increuit acutis.’
O’ergrown, that such a crop of shafts above my head doth bear.’
tum uero ancipiti mentem formidine pressus
I stood amazed: the wildering fear the heart in me down-weighed.
obstipui steteruntque comae et uox faucibus haesit.
My hair rose up, my frozen breath within my jaws was stayed.
Hunc Polydorum auri quondam cum pondere magno
Unhappy Priam privily had sent this Polydore,
infelix Priamus furtim mandarat alendum 50
For fostering to the Thracian king with plenteous golden store.
Threicio regi, cum iam diffideret armis
In those first days when he began to doubt the Dardan might,
Dardaniae cingique urbem obsidione uideret.
Having the leaguered walls of Troy for ever in his sight.
ille, ut opes fractae Teucrum et Fortuna recessit,
This king, as failed the weal of Troy and fortune fell away,
res Agamemnonias uictriciaque arma secutus
Turned him about to conquering arms and Agamemnon’s day.
fas omne abrumpit: Polydorum obtruncat, et auro 55
He brake all right, slew Polydore, and all the gold he got
ui potitur. quid non mortalia pectora cogis,
Perforce: O thou gold-hunger cursed, and whither driv’st thou not
auri sacra fames! postquam pauor ossa reliquit,
The hearts of men? But when at length the fear from me did fall,
delectos populi ad proceres primumque parentem
Unto the chosen of the folk, my father first of all,
monstra deum refero, et quae sit sententia posco.
I show those portents of the Gods and ask them of their will,
omnibus idem animus, scelerata excedere terra, 60
All deem it good that we depart that wicked land of ill,
linqui pollutum hospitium et dare classibus Austros.
And leave that blighted guesting-place and give our ships the breeze.
ergo instauramus Polydoro funus, et ingens
Therefore to Polydore we do the funeral services,
aggeritur tumulo tellus; stant Manibus arae
The earth is heaped up high in mound;
the Death-Gods’ altars stand
caeruleis maestae uittis atraque cupresso,
Woeful with bough of cypress black and coal-blue holy band;
et circum Iliades crinem de more solutae; 65
The wives of Ilium range about with due dishevelled hair;
inferimus tepido spumantia cymbia lacte
Cups of the warm and foaming milk unto the dead we bear,
sanguinis et sacri pateras, animamque sepulcro
And bowls of holy blood we bring, and lay the soul in grave,
condimus et magna supremum uoce ciemus.
And cry a great farewell to him, the last that he shall have.
Inde ubi prima fides pelago, placataque uenti
But now, when we may trust the sea and winds the ocean keep
dant maria et lenis crepitans uocat Auster in altum, 70
Unangered, and the South bids on light whispering to the deep,
deducunt socii nauis et litora complent;
Our fellows crowd the sea-beach o’er and run the ships adown,
prouehimur portu terraeque urbesque recedunt.
And from the haven are we borne, and fadeth field and town.
sacra mari colitur medio gratissima tellus
Amid the sea a land there lies, sweet over everything,
Nereidum matri et Neptuno Aegaeo,
Loved of the Nereids’ mother, loved by that Ægean king
quam pius arquitenens oras et litora circum 75
Great Neptune: this, a-wandering once all coasts and shores around,
errantem Mycono e celsa Gyaroque reuinxit,
The Bow-Lord good to Gyaros and high Myconos bound,
immotamque coli dedit et contemnere uentos.
And bade it fixed to cherish folk nor fear the wind again:
huc feror, haec fessos tuto placidissima portu
There come we; and that gentlest isle receives us weary men;
accipit; egressi ueneramur Apollinis urbem.
In haven safe we land, and thence Apollo’s town adore;
rex Anius, rex idem hominum Phoebique sacerdos, 80
King Anius, who, a king of men, Apollo’s priesthood bore,
uittis et sacra redimitus tempora lauro
His temples with the fillets done and crowned with holy bays,
occurrit; ueterem Anchisen agnouit amicum.
Meets us, and straight Anchises knows, his friend of early days.
iungimus hospitio dextras et tecta subimus.
So therewith hand to hand we join and houseward get us gone.
Templa dei saxo uenerabar structa uetusto:
There the God’s fane I pray unto, the place of ancient stone:
‘da propriam, Thymbraee, domum; da moenia fessis 85