by Virgil
excitum ruit ad portus et litora complent.
Down rushes to the haven-side and all the haven fills;
cernimus astantis nequiquam lumine toruo
And Ætna’s gathered brethren there we see; in vain they stand
Aetnaeos fratres caelo capita alta ferentis,
Glowering grim-eyed with heads high up in heaven, a dreadful band
concilium horrendum: quales cum uertice celso
Of councillors: they were as when on ridge aloft one sees
aeriae quercus aut coniferae cyparissi 680
The oaks stand thick against the sky, and cone-hung cypresses,
constiterunt, silua alta Iouis lucusue Dianae.
Jove’s lofty woods, or thicket where Diana’s footsteps stray.
praecipitis metus acer agit quocumque rudentis
Then headlong fear fell on our folk in whatsoever way
excutere et uentis intendere uela secundis.
To shake the reefs out spreading sail to any wind that blew;
contra iussa monent Heleni, Scyllamque Charybdinque
But Helenus had bid us steer a midmost course and true
inter, utrimque uiam leti discrimine paruo, 685
‘Twixt Scylla and Charybdis, lest to death we sail o’er-close:
ni teneam cursus: certum est dare lintea retro.
So safest seemed for backward course to let the sails go loose.
ecce autem Boreas angusta ab sede Pelori
But lo, from out Pelorus’ strait comes down the northern flaw,
missus adest: uiuo praeteruehor ostia saxo
And past Pantagia’s haven-mouth of living stone we draw,
Pantagiae Megarosque sinus Thapsumque iacentem.
And through the gulf of Megara by Thapsus lying low.
talia monstrabat relegens errata retrorsus 690
Such names did Achemenides, Ulysses’ fellow, show,
litora Achaemenides, comes infelicis Vlixi.
As now he coasted back again the shore erst wandered by.
Sicanio praetenta sinu iacet insula contra
In jaws of the Sicanian bay there doth an island lie
Plemyrium undosum; nomen dixere priores
Against Plemyrium’s wavy face; folk called it in old days
Ortygiam. Alpheum fama est huc Elidis amnem
Ortygia: there, as tells the tale, Alpheus burrowed ways
occultas egisse uias subter mare, qui nunc 695
From his own Elis ‘neath the sea, and now by mouth of thine,
ore, Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis.
O Arethusa, blendeth him with that Sicilian brine.
iussi numina magna loci ueneramur, et inde
We pray the isle’s great deities, e’en as we bidden were:
exsupero praepingue solum stagnantis Helori.
And thence we pass the earth o’erfat about Helorus’ mere;
hinc altas cautes proiectaque saxa Pachyni
Then by Pachynus’ lofty crags and thrust-forth rocks we skim,
radimus, et fatis numquam concessa moueri 700
And Camarina showeth next a long way off and dim;
apparet Camerina procul campique Geloi,
Her whom the Fates would ne’er be moved: then comes the plain in sight
immanisque Gela fluuii cognomine dicta.
Of Gela, yea, and Gela huge from her own river hight:
arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longe
Then Acragas the very steep shows great walls far away,
moenia, magnanimum quondam generator equorum;
Begetter of the herds of horse high-couraged on a day.
teque datis linquo uentis, palmosa Selinus, 705
Then thee, Selinus of the palms, I leave with happy wind,
et uada dura lego saxis Lilybeia caecis.
And coast the Lilybean shoals and tangled skerries blind.
hinc Drepani me portus et inlaetabilis ora
But next the firth of Drepanum, the strand without a joy,
accipit. hic pelagi tot tempestatibus actus
Will have me. There I tossed so sore, the tempests’ very toy,
heu, genitorem, omnis curae casusque leuamen,
O woe is me! my father lose, lightener of every care,
amitto Anchisen. hic me, pater optime, fessum 710
Of every ill: me all alone, me weary, father dear,
deseris, heu, tantis nequiquam erepte periclis!
There wouldst thou leave; thou borne away from perils all for nought!
nec uates Helenus, cum multa horrenda moneret,
Ah, neither Helenus the seer, despite the fears he taught,
hos mihi praedixit luctus, non dira Celaeno.
Nor grim Celæno in her wrath, this grief of soul forebode.
hic labor extremus, longarum haec meta uiarum,
This was the latest of my toils, the goal of all my road,
hinc me digressum uestris deus appulit oris. 715
For me departed thence some God to this your land did bear.”
Sic pater Aeneas intentis omnibus unus
So did the Father Æneas, with all at stretch to hear,
fata renarrabat diuum cursusque docebat.
Tell o’er the fateful ways of God, and of his wanderings teach:
conticuit tandem factoque hic fine quieuit.
But here he hushed him at the last and made an end of speech.
LIBER IV
BOOK IV.
At regina graui iamdudum saucia cura
Meanwhile the Queen, long smitten sore with sting of all desire,
uulnus alit uenis et caeco carpitur igni.
With very heart’s blood feeds the wound and wastes with hidden fire.
multa uiri uirtus animo multusque recursat
And still there runneth in her mind the hero’s valiancy,
gentis honos; haerent infixi pectore uultus
And glorious stock; his words, his face, fast in her heart they lie:
uerbaque nec placidam membris dat cura quietem. 5
Nor may she give her body peace amid that restless pain.
postera Phoebea lustrabat lampade terras
But when the next day Phoebus’ lamp lit up the lands again,
umentemque Aurora polo dimouerat umbram,
And now Aurora from the heavens had rent the mist apart,
cum sic unanimam adloquitur male sana sororem:
Sick-souled her sister she bespeaks, the sharer of her heart:
‘Anna soror, quae me suspensam insomnia terrent!
“Sister, O me, this sleepless pain that fears me with unrest!
quis nouus hic nostris successit sedibus hospes, 10
O me, within our house and home this new-come wondrous guest!
quem sese ore ferens, quam forti pectore et armis!
Ah, what a countenance and mien! in arms and heart how strong!
credo equidem, nec uana fides, genus esse deorum.
Surely to trow him of the Gods it doth no wisdom wrong;
degeneres animos timor arguit. heu, quibus ille
For fear it is shows base-born souls. Woe’s me! how tossed about
iactatus fatis! quae bella exhausta canebat!
By fortune was he! how he showed war’s utter wearing out!
si mihi non animo fixum immotumque sederet 15
And, but my heart for ever now were set immovably
ne cui me uinclo uellem sociare iugali,
Never to let me long again the wedding bond to tie,
postquam primus amor deceptam morte fefellit;
Since love betrayed me first of all with him my darling dead,
si non pertaesum thalami taedaeque fuisset,
And were I not all weary-sick of torch and bridal bed,
huic uni forsan potui succumbere culpae.
This sin alone of all belike my falling heart might trap;
Anna (fatebor enim) miseri post fata Sychaei 20
For, Anna,
I confess it thee, since poor Sychæus’ hap,
coniugis et sparsos fraterna caede penatis
My husband dead, my hearth acold through murderous brother’s deed,
solus hic inflexit sensus animumque labantem
This one alone hath touched the quick; this one my heart may lead
impulit. agnosco ueteris uestigia flammae.
Unto its fall: I feel the signs of fire of long agone.
sed mihi uel tellus optem prius ima dehiscat
And yet I pray the deeps of earth beneath my feet may yawn,
uel pater omnipotens adigat me fulmine ad umbras, 25
I pray the Father send me down bolt-smitten to the shades,
pallentis umbras Erebo noctemque profundam,
The pallid shades of Erebus, the night that never fades,
ante, pudor, quam te uiolo aut tua iura resoluo.
Before, O Shame, I shame thy face, or loose what thou hast tied!
ille meos, primus qui me sibi iunxit, amores
He took away the love from me, who bound me to his side
abstulit; ille habeat secum seruetque sepulcro.’
That first of times. Ah, in the tomb let love be with him still!”
sic effata sinum lacrimis impleuit obortis. 30
The tears arisen as she spake did all her bosom fill.
Anna refert: ‘o luce magis dilecta sorori,
But Anna saith: “Dearer to me than very light of day,
solane perpetua maerens carpere iuuenta
Must thou alone and sorrowing wear all thy youth away,
nec dulcis natos Veneris nec praemia noris?
Nor see sweet sons, nor know the joys that gentle Venus brings?
id cinerem aut manis credis curare sepultos?
Deem’st thou dead ash or buried ghosts have heed of such-like things?
esto: aegram nulli quondam flexere mariti, 35
So be it that thy sickened soul no man to yield hath brought
non Libyae, non ante Tyro; despectus Iarbas
In Libya as in Tyre; let be Iarbas set at nought,
ductoresque alii, quos Africa terra triumphis
And other lords, whom Africa, the rich in battle’s bliss,
diues alit: placitone etiam pugnabis amori?
Hath nursed: but now, with love beloved, — must thou be foe to this?
nec uenit in mentem quorum consederis aruis?
Yea, hast thou not within thy mind amidst whose bounds we are?
hinc Gaetulae urbes, genus insuperabile bello, 40
Here the Gætulian cities fierce, a folk unmatched in war,
et Numidae infreni cingunt et inhospita Syrtis;
And hard Numidia’s bitless folk, and Syrtes’ guestless sand
hinc deserta siti regio lateque furentes
Lie round thee: there Barcæans wild, the rovers of the land,
Barcaei. quid bella Tyro surgentia dicam
Desert for thirst: what need to tell of wars new-born in Tyre,
germanique minas?
And of thy murderous brother’s threats?
dis equidem auspicibus reor et Iunone secunda 45
Meseems by very will of Gods, by Juno’s loving mind,
hunc cursum Iliacas uento tenuisse carinas.
The Ilian keels run down their course before the following wind.
quam tu urbem, soror, hanc cernes, quae surgere regna
Ah, what a city shalt thou see! how shall the lordship wax
coniugio tali! Teucrum comitantibus armis
With such a spouse! with Teucrian arms our brothers at our backs
Punica se quantis attollet gloria rebus!
Unto what glory of great deeds the Punic realm may reach!
tu modo posce deos ueniam, sacrisque litatis 50
But thou, go seek the grace of Gods, with sacrifice beseech;
indulge hospitio causasque innecte morandi,
Then take thy fill of guest-serving; weave web of all delays:
dum pelago desaeuit hiems et aquosus Orion,
The wintry raging of the sea, Orion’s watery ways,
quassataeque rates, dum non tractabile caelum.’
The way-worn ships, the heavens unmeet for playing seaman’s part.”
His dictis impenso animum flammauit amore
So saying, she blew the flame of love within her kindled heart,
spemque dedit dubiae menti soluitque pudorem. 55
And gave her doubtful soul a hope and loosed the girth of shame.
principio delubra adeunt pacemque per aras
Then straight they fare unto the shrines, by every altar’s flame
exquirunt; mactant lectas de more bidentis
Praying for peace; and hosts they slay, chosen as custom would,
legiferae Cereri Phoeboque patrique Lyaeo,
To Phoebus, Ceres wise of law, Father Lyæus good,
Iunoni ante omnis, cui uincla iugalia curae.
But chiefest unto Juno’s might, that wedlock hath in care.
ipsa tenens dextra pateram pulcherrima Dido 60
There bowl in hand stands Dido forth, most excellently fair,
candentis uaccae media inter cornua fundit,
And pours between the sleek cow’s horns; or to and fro doth pace
aut ante ora deum pinguis spatiatur ad aras,
Before the altars fat with prayer, ‘neath very godhead’s face,
instauratque diem donis, pecudumque reclusis
And halloweth in the day with gifts, and, gazing eagerly
pectoribus inhians spirantia consulit exta.
Amid the host’s yet beating heart, for answering rede must try.
heu, uatum ignarae mentes! quid uota furentem, 65
— Woe’s me! the idle mind of priests! what prayer, what shrine avails
quid delubra iuuant? est mollis flamma medullas
The wild with love! — and all the while the smooth flame never fails
interea et tacitum uiuit sub pectore uulnus.
To eat her heart: the silent wound lives on within her breast:
uritur infelix Dido totaque uagatur
Unhappy Dido burneth up, and, wild with all unrest,
urbe furens, qualis coniecta cerua sagitta,
For ever strays the city through: as arrow-smitten doe,
quam procul incautam nemora inter Cresia fixit 70
Unwary, whom some herd from far hath drawn upon with bow
pastor agens telis liquitque uolatile ferrum
Amid the Cretan woods, and left the swift steel in the sore,
nescius: illa fuga siluas saltusque peragrat
Unknowing: far in flight she strays the woods and thickets o’er,
Dictaeos; haeret lateri letalis harundo.
‘Neath Dictæ’s heights; but in her flank still bears the deadly reed.
nunc media Aenean secum per moenia ducit
Now midmost of the city-walls Æneas doth she lead,
Sidoniasque ostentat opes urbemque paratam, 75
And shows him the Sidonian wealth, the city’s guarded ways;
incipit effari mediaque in uoce resistit;
And now she falls to speech, and now amidst a word she stays.
nunc eadem labente die conuiuia quaerit,
Then at the dying of the day the feast she dights again,
Iliacosque iterum demens audire labores
And, witless, once again will hear the tale of Ilium’s pain;
exposcit pendetque iterum narrantis ab ore.
And once more hangeth on the lips that tell the tale aloud.
post ubi digressi, lumenque obscura uicissim 80
But after they were gone their ways, and the dusk moon did shroud
luna premit suadentque cadentia sidera somnos,
Her light in turn, and setting stars bade all to sleep away,
sola domo maeret uacua stratisque relictis
Lone in the empty house she mourns, broods over where he lay,
i
ncubat. illum absens absentem auditque uidetque,
Hears him and sees him, she apart from him that is apart
aut gremio Ascanium genitoris imagine capta
Or, by his father’s image smit, Ascanius to her heart
detinet, infandum si fallere possit amorem. 85
She taketh, if her utter love she may thereby beguile.
non coeptae adsurgunt turres, non arma iuuentus
No longer rise the walls begun, nor play the youth this while
exercet portusue aut propugnacula bello
In arms, or fashion havens forth, or ramparts of the war:
tuta parant: pendent opera interrupta minaeque
Broken is all that handicraft and mastery; idle are
murorum ingentes aequataque machina caelo.
The mighty threatenings of the walls and engines wrought heaven high.
Quam simul ac tali persensit peste teneri 90
Now when the holy wife of Jove beheld her utterly
cara Iouis coniunx nec famam obstare furori,
Held by that plague, whose madness now not e’en her fame might stay,
talibus adgreditur Venerem Saturnia dictis:
Then unto Venus, Saturn’s seed began such words to say:
‘egregiam uero laudem et spolia ampla refertis
“Most glorious praise ye carry off, meseems, most wealthy spoil,
tuque puerque tuus (magnum et memorabile numen),
Thou and thy Boy; wondrous the might, and long to tell the toil,
una dolo diuum si femina uicta duorum est. 95
Whereas two Gods by dint of craft one woman have o’erthrown.
nec me adeo fallit ueritam te moenia nostra
But well I wot, that through your fear of walls I call mine own,
suspectas habuisse domos Karthaginis altae.
In welcome of proud Carthage doors your hearts may never trow.
sed quis erit modus, aut quo nunc certamine tanto?
But what shall be the end hereof? where wends our contest now?
quin potius pacem aeternam pactosque hymenaeos
What if a peace that shall endure, and wedlock surely bound,
exercemus? habes tota quod mente petisti: 100
We fashion? That which all thine heart was set on thou hast found.
ardet amans Dido traxitque per ossa furorem.
For Dido burns: bone of her bone thy madness is today:
communem hunc ergo populum paribusque regamus
So let us rule these folks as one beneath an equal sway:
auspiciis; liceat Phrygio seruire marito
Let the doom be that she shall take a Phrygian man for lord,
dotalisque tuae Tyrios permittere dextrae.’
And to thine hand for dowry due her Tyrian folk award.”